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Derek Hale was about to become a hermit.
Well, not really a hermit, but he was planning on limiting human contact for the next four months. It wasn’t going to be a hardship for him because he was never really a social person. He had always preferred to be by himself, though he had played basketball one year in high school so he would have an after-school activity to put on his college applications.
When he’d gone in college, he’d originally planned on being an English teacher. He’d taken various English, writing, and teaching courses. But in his senior year, he’d gotten an amazing idea for a novel, something that both teenagers and adults would enjoy reading. It had involved werewolves and other supernatural creatures going on adventures and saving the world. He had decided to change his major to writing, thankful that it didn’t require classes too different from the ones he had been taking when teaching had been his major. When he hadn’t been in class or working on homework, he’d been working on his novel.
Once he had graduated, he’d started looking for a publisher. Several had turned him down, but one had been very interested in his story. It had been Alan Deaton of Deaton Publishing. With Alan’s help, he had polished his book and he’d become a published author at only twenty-three years old.
Now at twenty-five, Alan had approached him about writing a sequel to his novel. Derek had agreed, and the two agreed on a one-year deadline. But it was much harder to write the sequel. His original idea hadn’t been working out, and he had procrastinated horribly because he hadn’t been inspired. But finally, inspiration had hit last week. Unfortunately, it had hit four months before the book had been due to his publisher. So Derek had made the decision to cut off all contact with anyone and just concentrate on writing and editing in order to finish the book in time.
“Are you really sure about this, dear?” his mother, Talia, asked him on the phone.
“I’m sure, Mom,” Derek assured her. “I have it all planned out.”
And it was true. It was simple to get anything he wanted delivered. Grocery stores and other stores delivered. Restaurants delivered. And the people who delivered could just drop things off without talking to him. There would be no interaction with anyone to distract him. It was going to be just what he needed.
“I know,” Talia said. “But we’re really going to miss you. It’s not going to be the same without you visiting every so often.”
“I know, but I need to do this. I’ll never finish otherwise.”
He really did love his family. While he didn’t usually socialize much with other people, his family was a different story. Most of his relatives still lived in the same area that he did, including extended family like his uncle Peter and his family.
“Well, you take care of yourself, Derek. And get in a little interaction with the people who deliver to you,” Talia said. “It’s not healthy to not talk to anyone.”
“Okay, okay,” he said, not planning on doing that at all.
**********
The next day was the first day of Derek’s self-imposed isolation. He made himself a cup of coffee, then brought it to the coffee table in his living room where his laptop was already set up for him to get right to work. He stretched out his fingers and sat down to write.
A couple of years had passed and Derek had enjoyed his success, as well as the royalties. He’d had book signings and interviews and he’d somewhat enjoyed talking with his fans, who had loved the relationship between the hero, Jack, and his sidekick, Thomas. Most of them had believed that it was only friendship between the two, especially since Jack had a relationship with a woman, but there were some who had wanted more of a relationship.
In the last book, there was a woman who had shown interest in Jack. Her name was Katherine, but it was not meant to be for the hero. She wound up being an evil hunter and tried to kill Jack multiple times. But good prevailed and Katherine was killed by Jack and Thomas.
The original idea he’d had for the sequel was a deeper quest using information that they had found in the last book. The quest was interesting, but the story needed something more, and that’s when Derek had lost interest.
Then he’d started thinking about another relationship for his hero. He’d gone back to the comments from the fans who had wanted the hero and sidekick to get together. They weren’t going to suddenly be a couple in one book when they’d never shown a romantic interest in each other before. It’d be a slow burn, like other authors would say.
But he wasn’t all that experienced with romantic relationships himself. There had been a sweet girl that he’d dated awhile in high school until she had moved away. There had been a couple of girls who had been very interested in him in college and they each had been very angry when he hadn’t wanted to go out with them. He’d nearly had to get a restraining order on one of them, but thankfully, she’d finally left him alone. He’d actually dated one girl in college, but it had mostly just become a friends-with-benefits deal. But he had never actually dated a guy before, despite being bisexual, just a few drunken kisses.
He decided that he needed to get inspired and see what worked and what didn’t for him. He picked out an interesting romance movie and started watching it. And it wasn’t frivolous. It was important research for the romance in his story.
**********
It was Friday, and Derek’s first week of being a hermit had gone well. He had watched quite a few romance movies in a few weeks and a few short stories as well. He’d gotten a few ideas and wrote them down as possibilities to include. And then he’d have takeout every night.
Derek perused through the takeout menus he’d picked up over the years. He’d already had Chinese, Thai, and some all-American diner food this week. Today, he was in the mood for pizza. He pulled out the few pizza menus he had and one of them caught his eye.
He vaguely remembered going to Boyd Family Pizzeria with his family when he was younger. It was a family-run pizza place, obviously. His father had gone to school with one of the Boyds. Apparently, every first-born son in the family was given the name Vernon, but they all had some sort of nickname so they’d know who was actually being called or talked about. His father’s friend was Boyd the III but went by Vern, if he remembered correctly. Last he heard, Vern’s mother was still running the place, Vern helped, and the next generation son had recently started helping, too. He was four or five years younger than Derek and went by just Boyd because he hated the name Vernon. Derek couldn’t blame him for that. But whatever names they all chose to go by, it looked like Boyd Family Pizzeria would be around for a long time.
Glad to give a family friend some business, he called the phone number on the menu and placed his order for a meat lover’s pizza and some garlic rolls. That would last him for tonight tomorrow, he thought.
He sat on the couch and continued writing. Soon enough, the doorbell rang. Derek had paid already over the phone, so he figured he’d just open the door, take his food, tip the person who delivered it and get right back to work, just like every other time that week.
He opened the door. The guy who stood there looked no older than a teenager. Derek wondered if the kid was still in high school. He wore a white hat and a red shirt with “Boyd’s” written in cursive on it. A bunch of moles dotted his face. He grinned and looked at a receipt he was carrying along with the food. “Are you Derek?” he asked.
Derek grunted in response. Like before, he had no interest in talking.
“Not the talkative type,” the kid said. “That’s cool.” He poked his head in and looked around the room. “Nice place you’ve got here.”
Derek was getting annoyed. This kid just wouldn’t stop talking and he seemed to expect Derek to respond to him. All the rest of the delivery people he’d dealt with just dropped off his stuff with no additional chatter needed or wanted. This kid wasn’t getting the message. So he just took the pizza box and the bag with the rolls in it, put a decent tip in the kid’s still outstretched hand, and gently closed the door. There was no resistance as he shut the door and there was no cry of pain, so he didn’t feel bad about closing the door on the kid.
He pulled out a slice of pizza and took a big bite. Yeah, Boyd Family Pizzeria pizza was still just as good as he remembered. It was worth the slight inconvenience of one talkative kid. He’d probably never see the kid again anyways.
**********
The following week, Derek called Boyd Family Pizzeria again. It was a different night than he’d called the week before, so hopefully the kid wouldn’t be delivering his pizza.
But when he opened the door, there was the kid again, big grin on his face and pizza box in his hands. “Hi, again!” he greeted happily. “You must have really liked your pizza to order it again! Which I am glad for because customers keep the business going and me in a job!”
Derek resisted the urge to just grab his pizza, push the kid out the door, and slam it in his face. He did take the pizza though and handed over a tip, glaring at the kid.
“You really are the silent type,” the kid said. “Must be hard to get to know people that way. Don’t worry, though. I’m gonna crack through that shell of yours someday!”
Derek couldn’t help but chuckle at that. The kid was relentless, but he was just so cheerful and sincere about it.
The kid’s grin got even bigger. “Hey, it’s already working! See you around, Derek!” And with a wave, the kid left.
Derek closed the door, a bemused smile still on his face. He still didn’t even know the kid’s name.
**********
Sure enough, the kid was at the door again the following week with his pizza. “Either you really like the Boyds’ pizza, or you really like me! Maybe even both!”
Derek merely shrugged.
“You’re one mysterious dude,” the kid mused. He glanced around the house. “Hmm, I spy a laptop over there. Do you work from home? Are you working on something?”
“Writing,” Derek answered, then closed his eyes in dismay. Not supposed to be talking to anyone, he reminded himself.
“Writing!” the kid beamed. “What do you write? Newspaper articles? Blog posts? Fanfiction? Some awesome book?”
Derek remained silent. He couldn’t be getting into a conversation with this kid. He couldn’t get distracted.
“Aw,” the kid pouted. “Well, I’ll leave you to your exciting writing and pizza. Good night, Derek.” He turned and left the house.
Instead of closing the door, Derek stepped outside as the kid walked to his vehicle, an ancient-looking blue Jeep. “What’s your name?” he asked.
The kid startled. “Whoa, you talked voluntarily!” he blurted out. “Oh, and I’m Stiles!”
Stiles? That was an odd name, Derek thought as he shook his head and walked back inside.
He actually liked Stiles’ talkativeness. He was naturally a more introverted and quiet man, but he enjoyed listening to others, especially when they enjoyed what they were talking about. They lit up when they talked, and there was a special gleam in their eyes from excitement. And despite only seeing Stiles for maybe ten minutes over time, he saw that gleam in the kid’s eyes.
That gleam might be how Jack starts to fall in love with Thomas! Derek slid onto the couch and started writing about how Thomas started talking about flowers and how his mother used to grow them when she was alive and Jack liked to listen and was interested in what Thomas had to say.
After about fifteen minutes of nonstop typing, Derek sat back and reread what he’d written and smiled. Stiles hadn’t been a distraction at all. He’d been an inspiration!
**********
Derek called again for pizza the following Monday. No, he didn’t want to see the kid, Stiles, again, and see what things he had to say.
But no matter what he told himself, he was disappointed when instead of the mole-spotted boy with the big grin, he got a curly-haired kid with a scarf wrapped around his neck despite it not being winter. He looked rather bored as he looked at the receipt, then at Derek and asked, “Derek Hale?”
This was exactly the amount of conversation that he’d originally expected when he started isolating himself. But Derek couldn’t help but wish for the talkative Stiles instead of the curtness of this curly-haired scarf kid. He merely nodded at the kid, who handed him his pizza and left.
Derek closed the door and sighed. He wasn’t missing Stiles. He wasn’t.
**********
Despite having it earlier in the week, Derek ordered from Boyd Family Pizzeria again on Friday. He told himself that it was only because he wanted pizza again. He even ordered something different from his usual meat lover’s pizza. He got supreme because he wanted variety. Not the same guy delivering his pizza.
When the doorbell rang, Derek swallowed. He opened the door with trepidation.
He hoped that the relief wasn’t plain on his face when Stiles was the one at the door with his pizza. Apparently it was because Stiles’ grin got even larger. “Aw, Derek, did you miss me?” he asked playfully. “Isaac, that’s the guy who delivered your pizza earlier, he told me that he had delivered a pizza to you. He said he didn’t even get a word from you. Guess I’m just special!” he finished with a wink.
Derek merely smiled. He did miss Stiles’ talkativeness.
“Or maybe not!” Stiles looked at his face and his grin drooped a little bit. The kid looked so sad when he did that, and Derek really didn’t want him to be sad.
“I have to write,” he blurted out. “It’s why I don’t talk. Trying to concentrate.”
“Oh!” Stiles looked surprised. “Well, write away, my good man, and enjoy the pizza you paid for while doing it!”
Derek nodded and took the pizza from Stiles’ hands.
“Well, see you later, Derek!” Stiles waved and turned to leave. But before he took more than a couple of steps, he turned back to Derek. “By the way, I usually work Thursdays through Sundays, if you don’t mind me talking to you again! Then there’s Isaac, and Kira just started delivering last week! She’s really nice, and my bro just can’t stop talking about how pretty she is!” Stiles slammed a hand over his mouth. “Go! Shoo! Write! I’ll stop now! Bye again!” And he ran off.
Derek shook his head and chuckled. He’d have to remember Stiles’ schedule from now on.
**********
True to his word, or at least his thoughts, Derek ordered pizza the following week on Friday. And sure enough, Stiles was there to deliver it. “You must really like me, dude!” he beamed at Derek.
“Don’t call me dude,” Derek said. It reminded him too much of Laura going through her valley girl phase when she’d been in middle school. It had been utterly horrifying. He resisted the urge to shudder at the memory of it.
“Duly noted,” Stiles said, saluting. “My buddy, Scott, he and I call everybody dude. He’s like my brother from another mother. Well, actually, he’s been my real brother for the past couple of years! Step-brother, really, but who cares about the step, right? We just wanted to be brothers.” Stiles had a fond look on his face. He clearly loved this Scott brother of his, despite not being blood relatives. “Do you have brothers?”
Yeah, Derek knew he wasn’t going to be concentrating while Stiles was here and probably not for a couple of hours after he left. He figured he may as well talk to the guy. “Sisters, actually,” he said.
Stiles’ eyes widened at getting a response for once. “Cool!” he said. “Older or younger?”
“Both, actually.”
“Ah, the middle child,” Stiles nodded sagely. “I’ve heard that’s rough. Scott and I are the same age. I’m a few months older, really.” He looked at his watch. “I can’t stay today, though. I’ve got another order in my car ready to be delivered. Not far from here, though. But I’ll see you later, Derek!”
**********
Over the month that followed, Derek found himself learning more and more about Stiles. He was a twenty-year-old college student. The raggedy-old Jeep that he was always driving around had been his mother’s and he was incredibly attached to it. His mother had called it Roscoe and Stiles had continued the tradition. He had been going to a nearby college with classes from Monday to Thursday, leaving him free to work from Thursday night to Sunday. His finals were coming up in a week. And his brother was in love with Stiles’ coworker Kira.
He occasionally felt a little guilty that he was learning so much about Stiles while revealing barely anything about himself except for the fact that he wrote and had sisters.
But Stiles was just a delivery driver and Derek was just a customer.
**********
“Scott is so into Kira,” Stiles told him the following Saturday while delivering another meat lover’s pizza. “He finally asked her out, and she said yes! They should be out right… now! It’s all he’s been able to talk about for days!”
“Well, he’s excited,” Derek said.
Stiles’ tales about his brother had actually been excellent inspiration for his story. Adding a lovesick side character had been a great contrast to the more slow-burn relationship between Jack and Thomas.
“You should have seen him,” Stiles said fondly. “He was pulling out all the clothes in his closet, screaming about how he didn’t know what he was going to wear to impress Kira. So I told him that he didn’t need to impress her, that she liked him just fine as he is. I think I managed to calm him down.”
Derek smiled. Having a friend like Stiles in his corner would be pretty nice. Scott was a lucky guy.
**********
Derek was doing really well with his writing. He was nearly finished with one month left to go. He was just about ready for the tedious process of editing. Of course, more editing was likely to happen once it was sent to Deaton. Still, he was pleased.
Most people had understood that Derek needed to be left alone these four months. His family was sad, especially his mother, but they respected his wishes and rarely called him.
That day, though, he’d gotten several calls from his mother, but he was really in the zone and didn’t answer the phone. He didn’t feel right, though, not answering after at least four calls. He was worried that maybe something was wrong. After he’d written everything that was in his head, he figured that he would call her back.
Before he could, another call came through. He checked the caller ID and saw a name that he wasn’t expecting to see at all. He picked up immediately and blurted out, “Cora?”
“Yes, you idiot. It’s me,” came Cora’s voice. He could practically hear her eye roll.
“But where are you? I thought you were backpacking through South America with Malia?”
Cora had always been very independent and did things her own way. She hadn’t wanted to go to college like her older siblings. She was more interested in travel and life, as she had put it. She insisted on traveling the world. Wanting their little girl to be safe, their parents had insisted that she travel with someone. Cora had chosen their cousin Malia, who did things her own way herself. Malia had agreed, and off the two of them had went.
“We’re back for now,” Cora explained. “Malia was a little homesick. We’re gonna go back in a couple of weeks.”
It hit Derek, then, why his mother had been calling him so much. If Cora and Malia were only going to be around for two weeks, she would absolutely want Derek to see them.
Well, he had completed most of his novel. He could take a day off and spend some time with his family.
**********
Derek smiled as he mingled with his family, both immediate and extended. It was good to see them again.
“So I heard from Vern recently,” his father, Robert, said, sitting at the table next to Derek. “He says you’ve been ordering pizza from their shop at least once a week.”
“Yeah.” Derek was suspicious about where the conversation was going.
“And he says that one particular delivery boy delivers most of your pizzas,” his father continued. “In fact, he said that the kid asks to deliver your pizzas.” The corner of his lips quirked up. “Anything you want to tell us?”
Yup, Stiles had been mentioned, though not by name. Though, really, Derek had nothing to hide. “He’s just interesting. He’s actually given me some inspiration for my novel.” he explained.
Laura took the seat on the other side of Derek. “Maybe he’s got a crush on you!” she said with glee, her eyes twinkling.
Derek rolled his eyes. Of course his sister’s mind went straight to romance, just like those silly novels she’d always read. “I doubt that, Laura.”
“Ooh,” Laura’s eyes lit up even more, and she nudged his arm repetitively. “That could be your next novel! Delivery of Romance! A story of loneliness, love, and pizza!” She laughed.
“That sounds like a Hallmark movie,” Derek said flatly.
“Nothing wrong with those!” Laura pointed her finger in Derek’s face.
“And what’s going on over here?” Talia came over to the table.
“Someone has a crush on Derek!” Laura blurted out.
“Oh!” Talia said, then turned to Derek with a smile. “Is this so?”
“Derek and crush in the same sentence? What have I been missing?” Cora also joined them at the table.
“Ugh,” Derek said, rolling his eyes again. “He is a just. A. Friend,” he said, emphasizing each word to make sure they got it.
“If you say so, Der,” Laura said, patting him on the back.
Thankfully, Robert changed the subject, and Derek felt a sense of relief despite the fact that there was nothing to hide. Nothing at all.
**********
There was only a couple of weeks left before Derek’s book was due to his publisher. He was really pleased with how his novel was turning out. Things were going to be going back to normal soon. No more isolation from his family. No more deliveries.
No more pizza.
No more Stiles.
That didn’t sit well with Derek at all. He really liked Stiles and didn’t want the kid out of his life.
Then Derek got an idea. He’d order another pizza and give Stiles his phone number to call him to hang out or something. He didn’t know if Stiles would go along with it, but it seemed like Stiles liked him too and might want to be friends outside of pizza.
It seemed like his order was taking forever. Derek paced back and forth in his living room endlessly, peering out the window every so often for the headlights of Stiles’ Jeep.
Finally he looked at the clock. Nearly an hour had passed since he had placed his order. That was very odd. His previous deliveries had only taken about thirty minutes from ordering to delivery.
Derek’s eyes widened. Oh, god, did something happen to Stiles?
Concerned, he called Boyd’s. After a few rings, a female voice answered. “Boyd Family Pizzeria!”
“My name is Derek Hale, and I placed an order about an hour ago, but it still hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Oh, crap,” said the voice, then she yelled to someone off the phone. “Boyd! Stiles hasn’t made his delivery!”
Then a deeper voice that Derek recognized as Boyd’s said, “I knew Stiles shouldn’t have been riding that deathtrap.”
Deathtrap? Sure, Stiles’ Jeep was old and kind of dilapidated-looking, but a deathtrap? It had seemed more likely to just stall out or something. Maybe that was all it was. Maybe Stiles’ Jeep was stalled out somewhere and he was just waiting for a repairman or something. Yeah. That was probably it.
“Derek?” Boyd came on the line. “We’re so sorry about your pizza not arriving. If it hasn’t come in the next ten minutes, give us a call and we’ll make you a brand new pizza, or if you’re dissatisfied with the original pizza. But whatever happens, we’re going to refund your money.”
Before Derek could respond that he was fine with that, headlights suddenly shone in through his window. “I think my pizza’s just arrived!” he said excitedly.
“That’s great,” Boyd told him. “Let us know if there’s any problem.” And the phone call was disconnected.
Derek held his breath as he waited for the doorbell to ring. What if it wasn’t Stiles? What if it was a neighbor’s car instead?
He was about to just open the door and peer out into the night to see who it was when the doorbell finally rang. Derek let out a long, relieved breath and opened the door.
It was Stiles, but he wasn’t his usual cheerful, smiling self. His cap and hair were completely messed up. His skin and clothes were filthy with dirt. But worst of all were his legs. Both pant legs were torn, the right one from his ankle all the way up to above his knee. And his right shin had a massive abrasion on it, almost as if he had been dragged. He had other cuts and scrapes on his body, but none as bad as the one on his leg. He could barely stand on it. He seemed to be balancing his weight on his left leg. The pizza box that he was carrying was dented, dirty, and half-opened revealing a slightly squashed pizza.
“Oh my god, Stiles,” Derek breathed. “What happened…?
Stiles gave a weak smile that didn‘t reach his eyes. “Well, you see, my Jeep died on me, and she needed some repairs. But I couldn’t work with the Jeep in the shop. So Scotty lent me his motorcycle so I could still deliver pizzas. I guess that wasn’t a good idea…”
Derek winced.
“Hey, at least I didn’t hit any other people or any vehicles!” Stiles said. “And I’ve delivered your pizza successfully!” He looked down at the dilapidated box with much of the pizza toppings stuck to the lid. “Um, somewhat successfully?” He gave a somewhat convincing smile to Derek along with the pizza box.
“Are you going to be okay?” Derek asked him. “How will you get back?”
“Scotty drove me here,” Stiles said, pointing out the door to the car with its lights still shining. “He borrowed Kira’s car. He’s gonna get me home.”
“Alright,” Derek said. “Take care of yourself, okay? And be careful.”
“Aw, big guy,” Stiles smiled at him, one of his big, genuine ones. “It’s nice to know that you care. See you around, Derek.” He turned around and limped away, little groans coming from him as he walked away. A few moments later, the car in his driveway backed up and drove away.
Derek was still standing there with the door open and the squashed pizza box in his hands. “I didn’t even give him my phone number,” he whispered, still in shock.
**********
The next day, Derek tried to put Stiles and his injuries out of his mind and work on editing his story. He did an okay job of it because he was still worrying even while cleaning up the story.
He smiled at the relationship between Jack and Thomas. It was a real slow-burn kind of relationship. It developed over the whole story. The hero slowly falling for the sidekick’s charms. Thomas talking and being enthusiastic and interesting and wanting to spend time with Jack and…
Oh my god…
Derek froze. That… sounded an awful lot like his relationship with Stiles.
It was true that Stiles had been the inspiration for some of Thomas’ traits that Jack was falling for. Could it be that Derek was falling for Stiles in the same way?
He thought about the kid and his adorable moles and big grins and his enthusiasm and never giving up at getting Derek to talk to him and he realized yes, he was indeed falling for the pizza delivery guy. He needed to talk to him right away.
…But Derek never gave Stiles his phone number. And as awesome as Boyd Family Pizzeria was, he didn’t think that they would give out the phone number of an employee. He thought about ordering a pizza, but Stiles was hurt and might not be working.
Derek didn’t care. He was going to order a pizza tonight and just pray that Stiles would be there to deliver it.
He couldn’t concentrate for the rest of the day, no matter how hard he tried. He wound up just giving up on the day and watching mindless TV shows where he didn’t have to think. The only thing on his mind was Stiles and the realization that he liked him.
Finally it was after 6 and he felt confident that Stiles would be there by then. He called the pizzeria and placed his order.
“Oh, hey, Derek,” Boyd, who had answered, said. “You didn’t call last night. Was your pizza okay?”
“Yeah, it was,” Derek said, not caring in the least how squashed it was, only that Stiles was alright.
“It should be on time tonight,” Boyd told him.
Derek was even more impatient waiting for the pizza than he was the night before. He wondered if he was going to wear out the floors in his living room, then shook his head at the ridiculousness of the thought.
Soon enough, he saw headlights approach, and he was nearly bouncing out of his shoes with anticipation. He practically ripped the door open the second the doorbell rang.
But his mood quickly sank when he saw that it wasn’t Stiles at the door. “Hi!” said the perky girl with long black hair holding a pizza box. Her smile quickly faded, though, as she looked at him. Derek’s disappointment was apparently written all over his face. “You’re looking for Stiles, right?” she asked him ruefully.
Derek’s eyebrows raised. “How did you know that?” he asked.
The girl’s smile was back and brighter than ever. “Stiles told me. My name is Kira!”
Derek’s eyes widened in recognition. Kira… That was the girl that Scott was going out with. Scott who was Stiles’ roommate and brother and best friend. “Yeah, he told me about you.”
Kira nodded. “Yeah, I’m dating his brother. Not really his brother, but I’m sure you know what I mean! Anyways, Stiles told me that if I ever had to deliver to Derek Hale, give him his number and address in case you wanted to call or visit him!”
“How is Stiles?” Derek asked, his heart pounding.
“No broken bones, thankfully. But the Boyds wanted him to take a couple of weeks off to recover.” She leaned in to whisper to Derek despite the fact that there was no one else there. “I think they’re hoping he’ll have his Jeep repaired by then. He’s not very good with motorcycles!”
Derek couldn’t help but chuckle at that.
Kira took the receipt that came with Derek’s order, flipped it upside down, and scribbled down something. “Here you go! See you around hopefully!” She handed Derek his order and the receipt and left after Derek handed her a tip.
Derek closed the door, put down the pizza box on the coffee table, and looked at the receipt. A phone number and address were neatly printed there.
He honestly didn’t know what to do or say. He wanted to visit Stiles so badly, maybe bring him some flowers, and sit there and listen to him talk, but he was scared. What if Stiles didn’t like him in the same way that Derek did? What if he was like that with all his pizza deliveries?
He was nearly finished with his novel except for some more editing, and even if he wasn’t, it was an emergency. It was time to finally reach out to his family.
In the end, it was easy to choose which family member to call for help. It’d be way too embarrassing to talk to his parents about someone he liked. Uncle Peter would laugh at him, so he was a hard no. There was no way in the world that he was going to call his baby sister Cora for love advice. But Laura was just the right person for the job. He quickly dialed her number and waited for her to pick up.
“Hello?”
“Laura!” Derek cried out. “I need your help!”
“So you can’t even say, ’Hi, favorite sister of mine! How are you doing? I have missed you soooooo much!’?” Derek could tell that Laura wasn’t mad though. That was her teasing tone.
“I’m sorry, Laur, but this is serious!” Derek was getting frantic.
“Alright.” Derek heard rustling over the phone as Laura presumably got herself more comfortable. “What’s the matter, baby bro?”
“There’s this guy…”
“I knew it! I knew you had to have a crush on the pizza delivery boy, too!” Laura blurted out, then started laughing. “So, Derek, were you wooed with large amounts of cheesy goodness and plenty of meat?”
“No!” Derek cried out. “He was nice. And he talked a whole lot. And he had all these moles. He was charming,” he finished, feeling embarrassed.
“Oh, Der,” Laura said softly, no longer teasing or laughing. “You really do like him. So what’s the problem then?”
Derek explained all about ordering the pizza and intending on giving Stiles his number at last, Stiles’ accident, and finally Kira giving Derek Stiles’ address and phone number. “I don’t know what to do or say, Laura!” he finished.
The line was quiet for a few moments, then Laura said, “Well, he wanted you to have his address and phone number, so he clearly wants to hear from you or see you. Tell him how you feel! It’s probably better to do that in person, so I say go visit him!”
Derek felt like he could finally breathe freely again. His sister giving him the advice he’d hoped that she would give made him feel so relieved. “Thanks, Laura,” he said sincerely. “I’ll come visit you soon.”
“You’d better!” Laura warned, chuckling. “And I want to hear all about your new boyfriend!”
“He hasn’t agreed yet!” Derek protested, feeling his face burn.
“Soon enough! See ya, Der!”
**********
Two hours later, Derek stood on the doorstep of Stiles and Scott’s house, a bouquet of pink carnations clutched in his hand. He knocked and waiting nervously at the door.
The door swung open and a kid with a nice smile and a crooked jaw stood there. “Hey!” he greeted with a grin. “Are you Derek?”
“Yeah.”
“Awesome,” the guy‘s grin grew larger. Then he turned and yelled, “Stiles! It’s Derek!”
“Oh my god, he’s really here!” yelled a very familiar voice coming from the couch. “Let him in, Scotty!” Then grunts and groans started coming from the couch.
Derek walked in over to the coach and saw Stiles laying there in a shirt and boxers. His right leg was all bandaged up from below the knee down to his ankle. There was a little blood on the bandages, but it looked like way less than Derek was expecting with the injury that Stiles had had. The other cuts and scrapes were healing nicely and didn’t look quite as red and irritated anymore.
Stiles beamed when he saw Derek standing there. “Derek!” he greeted. “Welcome to my-- well, our humble abode!”
Derek still was at a loss for words. He remembered the flowers that were still behind his back. “Here,” he said, holding them out to Stiles.
Stiles grabbed them and held them up to his nose. He took a big whiff and closed his eyes. “Ah, they’re so nice! Thank you!”
“Who’s out there?” called a female voice. Then Kira came walking out of one of the other rooms. She gasped, “Stiles, he came! Oh my god, he came!”
“I think Stiles can see that,” Scott joked, but the adoring look he was giving Kira showed that he loved her just as much as Stiles had always said.
“I can. And it’s a wonderful vision indeed,” Stiles quipped, waggling his eyebrows at Derek.
And why was that so ridiculously charming? The guy he had a crush on was a complete dork and Derek couldn’t care less.
Kira had taken Stiles‘ flowers and put them in a pretty vase. She set the vase in the middle of a round table. “Come on, Scott,” she said, looping her arm through her boyfriend’s arm. “Let’s give them some privacy.”
Scott nodded. “Wanna go see a movie?”
“Yeah!”
“See ya later, bro,” Scott said to Stiles, leaning forward to give his injured roommate a one-armed hug. “And good luck!” He grinned.
Stiles grinned right back and clapped Scott on the back. “Don’t come back too quickly!”
After the door closed after Scott and Kira had left, Derek, whose eyes hadn’t left Stiles since he saw the guy on his couch, walked closer and sat delicately at the edge of the couch by Stiles’ legs so as to not hurt his bandaged leg.
“You decided to come after all!” Stiles said. “I wasn’t sure if you would or not, but I told Kira to give my information to you anyways. But I’m so happy you did!”
“I really wanted to give you my number earlier,” Derek confessed. “But then you had your accident and it kind of slipped my mind.”
Stiles waved his arm as if to push the thought out of Derek’s mind. “Don’t worry about it. You’re here!” His smile was so bright, it was practically blinding. “So, why did you want to give me your number?”
Derek took a deep breath. This was it. “I’m an author,” was the first thing he said. “I’m an author, and you completely inspired me.”
Stiles looked delighted. “I did?”
“Yeah. You were so enthusiastic and happy, you acted the way I wanted the love interest in my story to act to make the hero fall in love with him.” Derek reached for Stiles’ hand and held it. “And then I realized that I was falling in love with you.”
“Oh my god!” Stiles blurted out. “I’ve been falling for you, too. You and your stubble and your pretty eyes and your quietness, yet you seemed to not mind me talking, and let me tell you, people get pretty tired of me quickly.”
“I’d never get tired of listening to you,” Derek told him. “And I want to tell you all about myself, too. I had a writing deadline, and I was trying to not let myself get distracted.”
“Did I distract you?” Stiles looked concerned.
“No,” Derek said. “You were just what I needed to write.”
“That is so sweet! Can I kiss you?” Stiles blurted out.
Derek answered by scooting closer to Stiles’ head and leaning down to kiss him. Stiles lifted his head to meet his and Derek swore he saw fireworks. It was innocent and chaste and just perfect.
Stiles looked just as awestruck when the pair separated. “That was amazing,” he said dazedly. “We should have done that sooner.”
Derek chuckled.
“Come here and cuddle with me!” Stiles said, lifting an arm in invitation. “I’m watching my favorite movies! Do you like Star Wars, by any chance?”
“This is not the droid you’re looking for,” Derek said in response, laying on the couch next to Stiles, watching out for his leg.
“Oh, you are just perfect for me!” Stiles grinned, wrapping himself carefully around Derek.
*********
Two weeks later, Derek submitted his manuscript to Deaton. There was nothing he could do now until Deaton had sent the novel back to him with his own commentary on edits that needed to be made. He no longer needed to be a hermit. It was Saturday night, and Derek knew exactly where he should go.
“Welcome to Boyd Family Pizzeria!” said a familiar female voice belonging to a beautiful blonde girl at the counter.
One of the Boyds poked his head out of the kitchen window and his face lit up in recognition. Derek recognized him as a grown-up version of Boyd. “Oh, hey, it’s Derek!” he said.
“Boyd!” Derek greeted. “Haven’t seen you in forever!”
“Yeah,” Boyd agreed. “You’ve just been calling a lot lately for quite a few months. You’re one of our best customers now!”
“Ooh, so this is Derek who was calling so much!” the blonde grinned. “I’m Erica, his girlfriend.” She pointed at Boyd. “I’m starting to learn the family business!”
“Looks like she’s in for the long haul,” Derek said approvingly.
Another head poked through the window to the kitchen. “Derek!” greeted Vern. “Good to finally see you! You’ve been calling so much!”
Suddenly, the double doors leading to the kitchen swung open and Stiles burst through, his hat askew on top of his head. “Derek!” he yelled up, running right up to him and wrapping his arms around him. He was still limping slightly, but his injuries had mostly faded away after two weeks.
Derek smiled. “Hey, Stiles.” He wrapped his own arms around Stiles.
The doors swung open again. “Too much love around these pizzas, I swear,” said the curly-haired delivery guy, Isaac.
“I think it’s sweet,” said Kira, who walked through right behind Isaac.
“That’s because you’re dating his brother now,” Isaac pointed out.
Stiles grinned at Derek. “It’s like one big happy family here!”
“Speaking of families,” Boyd said. “We noticed a very nice review online from a Derek Hale raving about the pizza here. You know anything about that?” He fixed Derek with a pointed look, then broke out into a big grin.
“Nope,” Derek said, smirking. “Nothing at all.”
“Business is booming even more than it was before,” Vern said. “We have you to thank for that, Derek.”
Derek was glad that his review brought the Boyds even more success. Things were looking up for everyone.
“Alright, everyone, back to work!” yelled a female voice from the kitchen that had to belong to Vern’s mother.
“Not you,” Vern told Stiles. “Go take a half hour break and spend time with your boyfriend!”
“I can do that!” Stiles saluted. “Come on!” he said, grabbing Derek’s hand. “Let’s go take a walk!”
Derek followed Stiles, smiling. He could do this for the rest of his life.
**********
Nearly one year later, a box arrived at Derek’s house. Derek looked at the return address and his heart started pounding. He rushed into the house with the box.
“What’s that, babe?” asked Stiles, walking in from the kitchen. He had moved in with Derek several months before.
Derek didn’t say anything, but set the box down and opened it. He reached inside and lifted the hardcover copy of his novel out. “My book,” he said reverently.
“Congratulations!” Stiles said, beaming at him.
“Here,” Derek said, holding the book out to Stiles.
Stiles took it and flipped it open. There was a dedication written on the first page. “To Stiles,” Stiles read aloud. “You were so much of the inspiration of this story. You are the Thomas to my Jack.” He looked at Derek with awe. “Derek,” he whispered.
“All true,” Derek said.
And as they kissed while Stiles was still holding the book, Derek had a feeling that Stiles would continue to inspire him for as long as they lived.