The Smallest Beginning (Sterek)

Chapter 4

Stiles was lucky when he arrived at the block of apartments and someone was coming out. He smiled falsely at the stranger as he stepped inside and headed to the lift in determination. His fist hammered against the door till Derek opened it looking pissed as hell till he saw who it was.

"Stiles, what is it? Are you okay? Is it the baby?"

"Why are you having me followed by your little pack?" Stiles demanded shoving past him and looking around the apartment with a careful eye. His eyes zeroed in on his laptop loaded onto a page for baby's cots and prams. His heart squeezed a little inside of him and he looked at Derek as he walked over closing the lid.

"Priorities," Derek answered casually sitting down at his table and taking a sip of the coffee still steaming there. "I had to know you were okay, you may hate me, you may want nothing to do with me and you may want me to have nothing to do with my baby but I think differently. This is my baby as well as yours and I'm stepping up here, Stiles. I want to help you, I want to get to know you, and I have to know you're okay."

"Oh yeah, by having a group of teenagers following me. I don't need protection. I'm perfectly fine -"

"Danny told me five minutes ago that he saved you from being run over." he said interrupting him.

"Are you kidding me?" Stiles whispered slapping a hand over his eyes. "It was nothing! The guy would have stopped. I don't need this! Tell them to back off."

"No," Derek said staring down at the table.

"What?"

"No, Stiles, I don't know what else I have to do to convince you that I'm not the bad guy you think I am."

"The second time we met you shoved me up against a wall and called me a stalker."

"I'm sorry about that, I shouldn't have done it, and it will never happen again. I'm sorry for saying you were a stalker, I'm sorry for saying you were shit in bed, I'm sorry for treating you like crap." Derek said meeting his eyes before looking away towards the wall.

"You can't even look me in the eyes!"

"Stiles, I'm trying here! You're so...stubborn! I'm trying, what else do you want me to do?"

"I want you to stop being an asshole!"

"That's what I'm trying to do here! Let me be there for you, let me be involved. Can we – can we start again?" he cried gesturing at him. "Let's forget the past month, let's forget all the crap in between and start again."

Stiles narrowed his eyes at him thoughtfully before turning on his heel and walking to the couch to sit down. Derek watched him for a long moment before coming over to join him.

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me about you," Derek suggested with a shrug. "I only know the small stuff."

"Well my name is Stiles Stilinski, it's a nickname, and no you're not learning my real name. It's too awful and you probably can't pronounce it. I used to live with my dad, the sheriff, but that was before I came here to Berkeley and I'm eighteen. I'm currently studying history and other subjects in college."

"That sounds like you're resume," Derek muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"Well what the hell do you want me to say? I lost my mom to cancer when I was just a kid. When I was fourteen the supernatural world invaded my life when I watched some creature gnaw on some dude's neck! I was seventeen when my best friend was bit by a werewolf and my whole world changed because I had to support him, I had to take care of him because he's my best friend. I got accepted into Berkeley and it was the best day of my life, my dad was so...he was so proud of me." Stiles murmured staring down at his hands.