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Affettuoso

Derek does a double take when he sees Stiles in one of the break rooms, standing there listening to the radio, eyes closed. He's swaying slightly, nodding his head along to the music. It's something classical Derek doesn't recognize, haunting and beautiful.

Stiles looks slightly out of place with the modern furniture, skin luminous in the glow of the office lights. He's wearing some sort of hipster getup today, pulling off a disheveled just-out-of-bed look crossed with some otherworldly fae creature. The clothes are simple enough, a loose-fitting sweater and some sort of trendy leggings— and what leggings they are, skintight and flesh colored, hugging the curves of his ass sinfully.

Derek knows he should probably announce his presence soon, but he's content to just watch Stiles for a moment, drinking in his rare presence. Stiles hardly ever comes into the studio; Derek has no idea what the exact stipulations of his contract are but he knows Stiles only films with them once every other month, and one time, memorably, twice one November.

(It's not like Derek has memorized Stiles' schedule, except it totally is.)

Derek was on his way to get lunch, or maybe for a meeting. He totally forgets what, standing there, a slow smile dawning on his face as he watches Stiles from the hallway.

"Excuse me, Mr. Hale," Marisa says behind him, carrying a hefty camera and wobbling under the weight of bunch of extension cords.

Derek nods and steps out of the hallway and into the break room, letting her pass. He mentally kicks himself for just standing there like a lovestruck fool, but it's been exactly forty-six days since he saw Stiles, and he still remembers the taste of his skin, how Stiles feels underneath him, how he sighs when Derek kisses him on the shoulder, the way his eyes glaze over as Derek slides inside him.

Pornstars aren't supposed to pine for their co-stars. Fuck them, yes, maybe have an affair with them offscreen. Or actually declare their affection for one another and start dating, like Boyd and Erica, as Boyd so helpfully reminded Derek after he caught Derek yet again "moping and pining at videos."

It wasn't like that. Okay, maybe it was.

The last time Stiles was in the studio, after he left, Derek sat in his office, watching and rewatching their takes after Stiles had gone home, searching in every expression, every affectionate gesture, hoping he'd find something, anything to show that Stiles might feel the same way.

There had been the one night the power went out last February and there was nothing they could do to be productive, but Stiles had just hung out with Derek, sprawled out on the studio couch, practically sitting in Derek's lap. They'd talked until the sun came up, and Derek knew it then.

He loves Stiles.

It's hopeless, though, he knows.

Stiles' eyes open, broken out of his reverie from Marisa's voice, and his eyes flicker to Derek standing in the doorway. The sad, wistful look melts from his face, and his lips quirk up a bit in a semblance of a smile.

"Hey there," Stiles says casually.

The tone is easy, veering towards Stiles' usual snark, but there's an underlying layer of longing that makes Derek's heart ache. He doesn't know why Stiles is unhappy, but he wants to fix it, wants to pull Stiles into his arms, kiss his forehead and tell him it's going to be alright.

But that's not the kind of relationship they have.

Stiles grins at him flippantly. "I'm getting fucked today. Wanna watch?"

As it turns out, Stiles has just renegotiated his contract with After Dark, the erotic films studio that's owned by the much larger entertainment franchise Hale Studios. Now Stiles has plans to shoot more videos, solo and with a partner. He's on set to film another one today; Derek had no idea. Stiles has been shooting with them for a year, but it's always been like clockwork, six shoots a year, spaced out evenly throughout the year, solo and partnered videos alternating. He's only ever filmed with Derek. (It has nothing to do with the fact that Derek convinces all the other actors to take the day off when he sees Stiles on the schedule.)