Don't be such a drama queen. [ He snipes that pretty much immediately when Derek basically rolls his eyes and sighs at him, in the kind of words a servant really should not be saying to a king, but, you know, whatever. Stiles nods and pushes a package of papers towards them, topped with a letter. ]
Their King is hesitant about it. [ Because of what happened, but he doesn't really need to say that part out loud. ] The dignitary basically fed me and Dr. Deaton a lot of bullshit about how impressed they were with the kingdom but thought we didn't have a lot of ~growth potential~ [ Said so, so sarcastically, hands waving in a jazz motion ] and they need something to to solidify the entire alliance.
So a visit might be in order. [ And another sympathy wince. Sorry Derek. Visits mean dinners and hostings and politics and basically nothing that anyone wants to do, ever, but Stiles kind of has an idea....it just depends on what Scott'll do with it. ]
That's king to you. [ Without looking up from where he's going through the drawer, he brings up one hand to knock the back of his fist into one of Stiles' knees. Once he gets what he's looking for, though, Derek shifts to sit up a little more, cracking his back in a slow stretch before he starts to set things out. This includes the package that Stiles pushes forward, and he takes the letter first to read over it.
If he's bothered by Stiles' behavior, he doesn't indicate it. ]
Don't have-- that's a crock of shit. [ A disgruntled rumble leaves him, but he sets the letter aside. ] We're in the middle of rebuilding, I don't know what the hell they're expecting.
[ But then he Stiles points out that they're likely slated for a visit, and he brings his hand up to rub at his eyes with thumb and forefinger. Dinners and hostings and meetings and his already scarce nights of sleep completely disappearing. ] Might as well.
Drama king, then. [ Stiles rolls his eyes at the hand and brushes his touch off, even if the weird, easy relationship between them is something he can't just pretend doesn't exist. It's kind of ridiculous, the amount of rapport he's put together with the freakin' king of all people, but--when it gets down to it, Derek's just a person, too.
Werewolf. Whatever.
Sucking in a breath through his teeth, Stiles ponders over his last point, his idea. Derek is probably going to rip his throat out the minute he mentions it is. ] That is, unless...you, arrange a meeting of a different kind, if you know what I mean.
[ Wow, great start. ] He's got a daughter, yanno. Bout my age.
[ The king should always establish connections with his people, but what he's got with Stiles is something completely different. It's not something that he would've expected from their first meeting, but all the same he's not exactly keen on letting go of it. Stiles has, thus far, kept Derek relatively sane. He's been so much help since the fire happened, that he's not as lost as he could've been.
Slowly lifting his head a little, he looks up over his hand at Stiles at the noise he makes, eyes slowly narrowing a little. For as underestimated as his intelligence is, it takes a moment for his words to click into place.
When they do, his eyes narrow further. ] About Scott's age.
Name's Kira Yukimura. [ Flipping through one of the packages for him, Stiles leans directly into Derek's space as he pulls out what looks like a photograph of a girl with dark hair and pretty almond eyes. If you ask Stiles, Kira is Scott's type to a T--she's smart, gorgeous, dark haired, and could probably kick his ass sideways. Since the Allison Incident ended, Stiles had been trying valiantly to help Scott move on, and Kira Yukimura might just be the answer to that.
Derek's gonna kill him. Whoops. ] She's seventeen, a princess, rich and her dad's looking for a match for her. You know it'd work perfectly.
[ He's prepared to fight for this--he can see why it would bother Derek, when he was betrothed to a girl who passed away because she couldn't take the bite. The key is Kira is--she's human. At least as far as Stiles knows. ]
[ Listening despite his obvious lack of enthusiasm for this entire situation-- evident on his face-- Derek doesn't move when Stiles leans into his space, hardly batting an eye at the intrusion and instead accepting the picture to look at the girl. Admittedly, she does look like she'd be Scott's type, even though he's not particularly inclined to admit that the type also included Allison Argent. While she might not ally herself with what Kate had done, might still be on the kingsguard, he just does not trust her like he had before.
He sweeps away the thoughts of ash and smoke for now, working his jaw a little. ] It would, if they actually meet and mesh.
[ Between Paige and Kate, he's been numbed to the idea of love being for him. Scott? Scott deserves love, deserves that happiness. And ever since things ended with Allison, he's been half-smiles when he thinks no one notices. So he mulls over it, an internal debate before he seems to give up, clear eyes flicking up to meet Stiles' bright amber. ] We send the invitation, but if it looks like it's not going to work in any way, shape, or form, it's called off and we think of another way to get the alliance as a Plan B.
[ That was not the answer he was expecting. Stiles pauses midway through his defense of his argument--he had prepared a whole defense and everything, and shuts his mouth with a click. ] Seriously?
[ It doesn't take him long to realize after that, that he's doing it for Scott. Despite his exterior appearance, the way he shuts himself off to the rest of the world, Stiles knows probably better than anyone that Derek's problem has always been that he cares too much. At least in this case, it'll be more helpful than anything else. There's a pleased smile on his face, probably startled out of him, and Stiles nods emphatically. ] Yes--yes, definitely. But, dude, I'm telling you now, this is going to work out perfectly. I would bet my meager salary on it.
Seriously. [ For as grudging as his agreement is, Derek is at least a little amused by the fact that he has-- once again-- caught Stiles off guard. He takes great delight in it every time it happens, especially when it either riles him up or it causes him to smile like that.
That may be a problem.
Dismissing it as Stiles reaffirms that it'll work, he lets out a quiet chuff and draws his papers close to him, shuffling through them until he can find one that hasn't been scrawled on by either of them. Thoughts and notes and errant games to distract while they're trying to pen their words to paper. As he regards it, considering what to write. What he does is teasing, in his smooth and neat scrawl: ]
One "Stiles" Stilinski has wagered his salary in a bet. Raise said salary to ensure there is more to actually place in the running.
[ Stiles' mouth drops open--Derek is seriously the king of the backhanded compliment, not just an entire land of people--and he snaps it shut only to take the paper when he gets it pushed towards him and scratch out the quotation marks with his quill, because Stiles' real name does not exist as far as he's concerned, then shoves it back towards Derek and points at the paper. ]
Ohh no, you are signing that one, because when this goes off without a hitch and my man Scott--er, the prince, falls ~madly in love~ with Princess Yukimura, I am getting that raise. And it is going to get used to take a vacation. [ And invite you, he wants to say--but since that's not possible, that's obviously a joke. ]
[ To say that Derek isn't delighted by the gobsmacked look on Stiles' face would be an outright lie, but he keeps his reaction more muted than he actually feels. Something small and satisfied settles over him, and he leans back in his seat as he watches Stiles take the paper and his own quill to scratch out the quotations. At every opportunity, he is going to tease him about his embarrassment for his real name.
It makes the stress of everything so much easier to deal with, and he feels a little less exhausted.
A laugh does leave him, low and amused, and he reaches for his quill again. ] Right, that is absolutely how this goes down. [ But still-- ]
I'm glad you believe in me. [ Stiles grins at him, bright and teasing and still sincere, because Derek looked tense and angry when he first walked into the meeting and Stiles likes to consider cheering him up a part of his job.
...so maybe sometimes he takes his job a little too personally. Whatever, no one really needs to know about his stupid, ridiculously unattainable crush. Stiles has Gordon Ramsey taste on a McDonald's budget, basically.
Carefully, he takes the paper and adds, whirling the paper around with a flourish: witnessed by: stiles stilinski in his own messy handwriting. It looks ridiculous beside Derek's politician signature, but he doesn't even care. Stiles smacks his hand against the table and grins at Derek, folding the paper and putting it in his breast pocket, even tapping it once for emphasis, wiggling his eyebrows. ] Consider this bet made.
I question my sanity every time I do. [ Despite the fact that his tone is dry, there's no heat to his voice, and Derek lets Stiles take the paper so that he can add his own note to it. It's one of the most informal agreements he's ever done, and honestly it helps to ease his nerves a little way. Because he has official business to do, arrangements he needs to finalize, repairs he needs to oversee.
He doesn't want to look at those papers. Barely wants to look at the Yukimura truce, barely wants to do anything. Stiles helps to ease him into it, even as he feels the ache of loss still lingering in him. He should question that, but he decides not to. He'll just enjoy this while he's still allowed to.
Chuffing low at the way Stiles tucks the paper away, he just taps the back of his hand against his knee and looks down at all the paperwork they have to go through. At least it means that their handwriting will mingle more, stark contrasts reflecting their writers and the relationship they have. ] We'll see how it goes.
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uwu*
Their King is hesitant about it. [ Because of what happened, but he doesn't really need to say that part out loud. ] The dignitary basically fed me and Dr. Deaton a lot of bullshit about how impressed they were with the kingdom but thought we didn't have a lot of ~growth potential~ [ Said so, so sarcastically, hands waving in a jazz motion ] and they need something to to solidify the entire alliance.
So a visit might be in order. [ And another sympathy wince. Sorry Derek. Visits mean dinners and hostings and politics and basically nothing that anyone wants to do, ever, but Stiles kind of has an idea....it just depends on what Scott'll do with it. ]
MORE SIGHS
If he's bothered by Stiles' behavior, he doesn't indicate it. ]
Don't have-- that's a crock of shit. [ A disgruntled rumble leaves him, but he sets the letter aside. ] We're in the middle of rebuilding, I don't know what the hell they're expecting.
[ But then he Stiles points out that they're likely slated for a visit, and he brings his hand up to rub at his eyes with thumb and forefinger. Dinners and hostings and meetings and his already scarce nights of sleep completely disappearing. ] Might as well.
no subject
Werewolf. Whatever.
Sucking in a breath through his teeth, Stiles ponders over his last point, his idea. Derek is probably going to rip his throat out the minute he mentions it is. ] That is, unless...you, arrange a meeting of a different kind, if you know what I mean.
[ Wow, great start. ] He's got a daughter, yanno. Bout my age.
no subject
Slowly lifting his head a little, he looks up over his hand at Stiles at the noise he makes, eyes slowly narrowing a little. For as underestimated as his intelligence is, it takes a moment for his words to click into place.
When they do, his eyes narrow further. ] About Scott's age.
no subject
Derek's gonna kill him. Whoops. ] She's seventeen, a princess, rich and her dad's looking for a match for her. You know it'd work perfectly.
[ He's prepared to fight for this--he can see why it would bother Derek, when he was betrothed to a girl who passed away because she couldn't take the bite. The key is Kira is--she's human. At least as far as Stiles knows. ]
no subject
He sweeps away the thoughts of ash and smoke for now, working his jaw a little. ] It would, if they actually meet and mesh.
[ Between Paige and Kate, he's been numbed to the idea of love being for him. Scott? Scott deserves love, deserves that happiness. And ever since things ended with Allison, he's been half-smiles when he thinks no one notices. So he mulls over it, an internal debate before he seems to give up, clear eyes flicking up to meet Stiles' bright amber. ] We send the invitation, but if it looks like it's not going to work in any way, shape, or form, it's called off and we think of another way to get the alliance as a Plan B.
no subject
[ It doesn't take him long to realize after that, that he's doing it for Scott. Despite his exterior appearance, the way he shuts himself off to the rest of the world, Stiles knows probably better than anyone that Derek's problem has always been that he cares too much. At least in this case, it'll be more helpful than anything else. There's a pleased smile on his face, probably startled out of him, and Stiles nods emphatically. ] Yes--yes, definitely. But, dude, I'm telling you now, this is going to work out perfectly. I would bet my meager salary on it.
no subject
That may be a problem.
Dismissing it as Stiles reaffirms that it'll work, he lets out a quiet chuff and draws his papers close to him, shuffling through them until he can find one that hasn't been scrawled on by either of them. Thoughts and notes and errant games to distract while they're trying to pen their words to paper. As he regards it, considering what to write. What he does is teasing, in his smooth and neat scrawl: ]
One "Stiles" Stilinski has wagered his salary in a bet. Raise said salary to ensure there is more to actually place in the running.
no subject
Ohh no, you are signing that one, because when this goes off without a hitch and my man Scott--er, the prince, falls ~madly in love~ with Princess Yukimura, I am getting that raise. And it is going to get used to take a vacation. [ And invite you, he wants to say--but since that's not possible, that's obviously a joke. ]
no subject
It makes the stress of everything so much easier to deal with, and he feels a little less exhausted.
A laugh does leave him, low and amused, and he reaches for his quill again. ] Right, that is absolutely how this goes down. [ But still-- ]
no subject
...so maybe sometimes he takes his job a little too personally. Whatever, no one really needs to know about his stupid, ridiculously unattainable crush. Stiles has Gordon Ramsey taste on a McDonald's budget, basically.
Carefully, he takes the paper and adds, whirling the paper around with a flourish: witnessed by: stiles stilinski in his own messy handwriting. It looks ridiculous beside Derek's politician signature, but he doesn't even care. Stiles smacks his hand against the table and grins at Derek, folding the paper and putting it in his breast pocket, even tapping it once for emphasis, wiggling his eyebrows. ] Consider this bet made.
no subject
He doesn't want to look at those papers. Barely wants to look at the Yukimura truce, barely wants to do anything. Stiles helps to ease him into it, even as he feels the ache of loss still lingering in him. He should question that, but he decides not to. He'll just enjoy this while he's still allowed to.
Chuffing low at the way Stiles tucks the paper away, he just taps the back of his hand against his knee and looks down at all the paperwork they have to go through. At least it means that their handwriting will mingle more, stark contrasts reflecting their writers and the relationship they have. ] We'll see how it goes.