Like it or Not

I'm glad we're doing this

Stiles and Derek climbed out of the car in front of Stiles' apartment.

"Thank you for tonight. You really made that event more bearable. And then after... I actually felt like part of the team." Derek's eyes dropped to his shoes as if he were embarrassed to be admitting that.

"You are." Stiles shrugged.

Derek looked up at Stiles' whiskey eyes. His hair was slightly mussed from his fingers carding through the strands. His cheeks were dusted pink, likely from the alcohol.

"God you're gorgeous," Derek huffed.

Stiles'lips parted and his brows rose.

"Why do you look so surprised by that?" Derek asked.

"I just... I mean... have you seen you?" Stiles gestured heavily to the Greek god that was Derek Hale. "And honestly compared to Elijah I am—" his sentence was cut short by Derek's finger pressing to his lips.

"Don't." Derek's tone was low. It reminded Stiles of before they started to 'date'.

Derek's finger slid from Stiles' lips, his hand now cupping the side of his face. He brushed his thumb along his cheek before leaning in.

Stiles leaned into Derek's lips. The kiss was soft and gentle, and tasted faintly of alcohol.

"Tomorrow night, let me take you out," Derek said, only inches from Stiles' lips.

Stiles only nodded, still caught up in the moment.

"I'll be here at seven."

Stiles nodded again as Derek pulled back.

Stiles so badly wanted to pull Derek back in and lead him into his apartment building and to the elevator and into his bed, but instead, he watched as Derek climbed back into the car.

He bit down onto his bottom lip as he watched the car disappear down the road. God, he had it bad for Derek.

-

At ten til seven Stiles was ready. He'd felt bad cutting the day with Scott short but Scott was very understanding and encouraged him to have fun with Derek.

He shook his head as he stared into the mirror. He never imagined Scott would be encouraging him to have fun on a date with Derek Hale. He inspected himself in the mirror. Derek refused to tell him where they were going so Stiles opted for slacks and a simple white button-down. Not too fancy, not too casual.

Derek's words from last night popped into his head. 'God you're gorgeous' He stared at himself trying not to think about how he compared to Elijah. He had Derek, not Elijah.

With another shake of his head, he turned away from the mirror and headed downstairs.

Derek saw Stiles walk out of his apartment doors and his stomach flipped. It was baffling to him that he could feel this excited to see someone. It was so different from the hopeful dread he used to feel when he saw Elijah.

"Hey, gorgeous." Derek slid an arm around Stiles' back, pulling him into a soft kiss.

"Hey yourself," Stiles said when they parted.

"Ready?"

"You gonna tell me where we're going?" Stiles asked as he and Derek climbed into the car.

"You'll see when we get there," Derek grinned.

Stiles noted the way his hands gripped the steering wheel.

"You're nervous."

"Of course I'm nervous. I'm taking the guy I like on our first real date."