laography | you could be my ever after

[ Where is he going to start. ]

Uh.

[Nailed it.

Mentally wincing at his own stupidity, Stiles gingerly pushes himself up into a sitting position, leaning over a little so they're closer together. It hurts, but he just feels better about himself (less babied, maybe) if he's actually up and sort of moving. His hand leaves Derek's face when he gets up, but he brings it back, almost like he's not even thinking about it, like it's something to hold onto. ]

...thanks, I think. [ Is that what he wanted to say? Close enough. ] I know you hate it when Castiel calls you heroic and stuff, so maybe you'll react less groan-y if I say it, I dunno, but. Y'know you're...totally right where you belong. We've got some pretty cool people in the Middle but not a lot of people would fight off one of their demons to get rid of someone else's.

[ His shoulders shrug, a tiny motion, but he locks his gaze back on Derek's. ]

[ Letting Stiles pull away so he can sit up, Derek straightens a little, himself. His hands slip away from his wrist and arm, essentially giving them back to the moving teen, but he's surprised when his hand comes back up to cup his face again. It doesn't show visibly, beyond the way that he stills so as not to disturb where his fingers settle along his jaw into the press of his stubble.

A slow blink passes over his face as he listens to Stiles speak, and he almost seems to fluster a little with the mentioning of being called heroic. Castiel barely gets away with it, and he's been his best friend since the angel found him and gave him a purpose again. But Stiles saying it, that manages to strike a chord in him.

Not as hard and heavy as what he says before he shrugs, and all he can do is bring his hand up to cover Stiles', fingers curling around his as he presses it against his cheek. ]

Even if-- [ His voice is thick, and he takes a moment to swallow, purse his lips into a thin line, before he speaks again. ] Even if it wasn't her. Even if it was some errant demon out to get a leg up on the rest of the echelon, I would have gotten it out of you.

[ He doesn't even get a chance to enjoy the fact that Derek looks flustered (holy shit, what, Derek Hale has more emotions than pissy and pissier ), because his hand's up around his own and he's talking like that, and christ, Stiles needs a minute to swallow the butterflies in his own throat.

He's got Dean, who watches over him like an older brother, Scott, his best friend, Lydia, who doesn't even know his name. None of them have ever spoken to Stiles quite like this, like he's literally the most important person in the world, and it hits him so hard he can't reply immediately beyond staring at him. ]

's what kind of makes you a hero, dude. [ Holy shit. ]

I'm not a hero. [ This is an argument that he and Castiel have gotten into more than once-- though to an outsider the tones don't exactly convey 'argument'-- and it's one that he always has an immediate reaction to. It's almost kneejerk at this point, even with what remains of his family and pack, and it takes just Stiles saying it for the response to come out. But it's even and calm, all while he regards Stiles for a second. ]

Especially with you. [ This isn't exactly how he expected Stiles waking up to go, but who is he kidding. His life is unpredictable without the sixteen year old bundle of bad ideas that somehow work out in the end and a too-fast mouth. ] It's actually sort of selfish with you.

Okay, how the hell is saving my life selfish. Your definitions are kind of screwed up, maybe you should consult a dictionary.

[ Derek, you're so weird. Like beyond weird. He was going to take his hand away, but now it's being held there, and the statement stole his interest, instead. He cocks an eyebrow at him, regarding him right back, skepticism bright in his honey brown eyes. ]

And for that matter, a lot of people'd probably see me dying as kind of a blessing so maybe you are kind of an anti-hero. [ Wait is he babbling. He's totally babbling. ]

Because for some deranged reason that isn't the case anymore. Because you are fucking infuriating on any given day, but I've gone from wanting to strangle you to scruffing to just--

[ His fingers twitch against Stiles' where they're settled, and he lets out a low sound-- almost a growl, but not quite. It's not frustrated enough for it, but more exasperated. With both Stiles and himself. He wants to know when this happened, when Stiles managed to find a place under his skin when he was least expecting it and had been trying to keep people out for years. ]

I don't want to lose you.

[ Huh.

He blinks slowly, trying to process that information. Derek, Derek Hale, guard dog of the Heaven Kingdom, technical enemy to his own ("technical", as if Dean wasn't absolutely head over heels for Castiel), just said he didn't want to lose him. In fact, that sounded a lot like--

No, no way. Something warm curls in his gut and he leans forward a little, enough that their foreheads are touching, and turns his mouth up in a grin, lopsided. ]

Told you I'm not dying that easy.

[ Waiting for Stiles to process his words, Derek actually fights to not fidget-- he doesn't normally fidget, it's such a Stiles thing to do-- but then he's got the human squire with the big mouth and sharp eyes leaning into his space. He doesn't pull away, but rather brings his free hand up as if to reach out and touch him. There's hesitation for a moment, fingers starting to curl in the air as if he's going to draw away, but...

But he reaches to settle his palm across the pulse of his neck, fingers wrapping around to the back of his neck as he looks back at him. A small huff of a laugh escapes him suddenly, and he offers him his own lopsided smirk. ]

You're tenacious but not invincible. [ He tips his head a little closer to him, brushing their noses together and coming so close that he can breathe Stiles in. ] But I'm not going to let anything happen to you.

I know. [ And then, it just feels like the most natural thing in the world to just--finish the space between them, summon up his courage nad press his mouth to Derek's.

How things had come this far, you couldn't get an answer from him. But they'd mutually saved each other's lives so many times now, bantered, exchanged letters, fought, joked, nearly died together, that he'd gotten to know so much more of the Guard Dog than he'd originally seemed. That there was more than a gruff exterior, more than a sour face and a quick temprament. There was someone brave, smart, funny, someone who challenged him and drove him batshit insane in all the best and worst ways.

And he thought he'd been so in love with Lydia all this time that maybe this crept up on him. Either way, when he pulls back, there's a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes--fuck, he probably shouldn't have done that. There are literally a million reasons why he should probably be on the ground with his throat ripped out right now. ]

[ Something just fits right into place as Stiles closes the space between them, and he doesn't hesitate to return the kiss as it's given.

The buildup has been a long time coming, he thinks. Between their abrasive interactions and the much more smooth ones, there's just been something there that had to grow, that hadn't been there at the start. But he'd been so absorbed in keeping himself from getting close to others, even as he tried to protect the people that'd become his at the same time, that it had struck him hard in the face the moment that Kate had come forward again.

At the risk of losing what he'd found. Even if it was frustrating, loud, talkative, brave in the face of fear, but clever and sharp and actually pretty funny underneath stupid comments.

Rather than ripping Stiles' throat out with his teeth, as he'd threatened once before, Derek follows after him without hesitation as he pulls back. His hand shifts up, thumb tracing along the line of his jaw as he kisses him, softer and brief, but a reassurance to the uncertainty that he catches the moment that it comes. When he pulls back, he keeps their foreheads together, looking at him with more certainty than he's felt in a while. ]

[ This is where he's supposed to say something totally profound, right? That Derek definitely reciprocates, and he's supposed to be able to say something to reel him in forever.

But he's Stiles so of course he just cracks a really stupid looking grin. ]

Holy shit.

[ Probably should not be cursing when there are angels present. Whoops. But that was kind of curse worthy, and he flushes red at the tips of his ears, fidgeting his grip. ]

Charming as always.

[ But Derek just snorts, thumb tracing the pattern of spots just below his ear as he stays close to him instead of pulling away. His expression remains soft, if a little crooked still, like his face doesn't really remember how to smile just right yet. But the fact it can remember to smile at all is thanks to a couple people, one of them right there. ]

Blasphemy in Heaven.

[ He doesn't actually seem bothered, though, and it's fairly obvious. ]

I am 99% sure making out with one of the heavenly bodyguards is more blasphemous than me swearing. [ That comes out tartly, but it doesn't quite match the fact that he's still grinning, letting him trace the spots by his ear and leaning in to press their foreheads together again. ]

I should get possessed by demons more often. [ Oh black humor. How Stiles deals with emotions, to be perfectly honest. He drops his hand from where it's situated against stubble and rests it on his shoulder instead, leaving his bad arm between them and still smiling like a loon. ]

I think Dean has you beat. [ His tart comment is returned dryly, and a little snidely-- Castiel could do so much better, but Dean makes him happy and he guesses he can respect the prince knight in most aspects. And for a moment, his expression matches Stiles' for a little longer.

But then his touch stills, and he brings his freed hand up to frame the other side of Stiles' face. A flash of red flickers through his eyes, and he nips at his mouth, discontent but soft. ] No, you shouldn't.

Oh, are you going to do that every time you disagree with me? I hate baseball, your interrogation techniques suck, and stubble is so last century. [ Nothing will ever stop him from being a smartass, and he grins at the nip, bumping his nose into Derek's almost playfully. Yeah, he can go with this.

Holy shit, he's still not over the fact that Derek is down with kissing him. ]

He's gonna have a lot to say about this being blasphemous. Believe me.

This would be more effective if you actually meant any of what you were saying. [ But still, Derek closes the space between them and catches Stiles' lower lip between his teeth easily. He should be a little ashamed that it's... actually something he's thought about doing before, but he honestly isn't. Especially not when he slowly pulls away, leaving his mouth red and fantastically assaulted.

He might look a little smug as he snorts. ]

I believe you.

[ Before he can snipe out a response he's being kind of assaulted, and Stiles' snappy comeback dies in his throat as he leans forward with Derek's teeth, eyes going half lidded and wrists crossing behind his head. He's barely got time to react, think anything besides oh my god, to try and kiss him back, before Derek is pulling away.

Well, his brains are somewhere across the kingdoms and are probably not coming back anytime soon. ]

Whuh.

[ Oh, that was so worth it.

A slow and easy grin spreads across Derek's face, and he slowly eases his hands down from framing Stiles' face to settle on either side of his neck. He's still smug, but he's also enjoying the look on Stiles' face on top of the way his mouth looks now. It makes it a lot easier to try and ignore the way that his skin has been crawling ever since an old demon turned up from the past.

And it reminds him that he didn't lose anything, not this time. He just gained something. ]

Oh my god. [ That finally comes out of his mouth as his brain finally shifts back into gear, and Stiles shakes his head, a brilliant fluster coming across his cheeks. Everything feels so surreal it's almost like he's still dreaming, and Stiles raises his lip mockingly. ]

Yeah, yeah you think you're such a hotshot, when I'm not bleeding half to death we'll see how much of a hotshot you actually are. [ He's being kind of an idiot. ]

More of one, probably. [ Derek does not hesitate to lean back in to just barely brush his lips across Stiles', just to be a shit while he's making such a stupid face and acting like an absolute idiot.

It's endearing, in a way that is explicitly Stiles'. He'll never quite understand all of the strange, strange things that make up this obnoxious loudmouth, but at least he's started to find the quirks charming somehow. ]

You're such an ass. I regret everything. [ Dramatically, he wiggles around like he's trying to free himself--in the process, he jostles his arm and makes a funny noise that gets choked back in half a second, like he's trying to hide the fact that holy god, yes, that still definitely hurts.

Revenge'll have to come later. He needs to get in contact with Dean still, considering "he" murdered a guard this morning, and it wrinkles his nose at the thought. God...]

Sure you do. [ But it's not as if Derek is about to miss that-- hell, even if he were clear across the room he would have noticed-- and he shifts back and away from him, avoiding contact with his arm until he can reach out and simply take his hand. Taking away the sudden pain is better than letting the sting linger, in his honest opinion, and it further solidifies that joking aside?

He doesn't regret a thing. ]

All right, stop squirming.

you could be my ever after

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goddamnit stop being cute

Are you looking in a mirror Stiles.

shoosh no

Uhm yes.

uhm no

Don't argue.

i play stiles it's my job to argue

pushes over

oomph

STILES...

haters gon' hate

SIGH

You love it.

For some reason.

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	Once upon a time This place was beautiful And mine But now It's just a bottom line Barely comes to mind But ever after was mine