puckandpie | preparing for diwali [dated to 11/12/2015]

Entry tags:

derek,
kate

preparing for diwali [dated to 11/12/2015]

Things have been back to normal for a couple days now. Or as normal as things ever get in Darrow, I suppose. There's sunshine now and blue skies (sometimes) and no monsters lurking behind corners or running through the streets, no horrid sirens at sundown.

For all of that, I still feel uneasy, constantly jumping at every sound and barely sleeping a wink. Derek's been nice enough to let me sleep on his couch once I discovered that I couldn't sleep in my own apartment alone. I should be embarrassed, I know, and I am, but it's an embarrassment I can handle if it means actually getting a few hours of sleep every night.

I've been baking a lot. Stress baking. Not everything has turned out great, but it's been something.

Right now, I'm on the hunt for a new hockey stick though. It's the first time I've really ventured out for longer than an hour or two at a time, but it feels important, a necessary step to returning to normal. Like I need to take back something I lost during those two weeks of terrible nightmares so I can move on.

There's a store in the mall I remember seeing a few months ago so I try there first. It's a little overwhelming being around so many people after two weeks spent in a nightmare followed by several days of basically hiding in Derek's apartment, but I force myself through the crowds, knowing that it'll all be worth it in the end. Hopefully it won't be too long before I can make it out onto the ice again and I'll definitely want to have a stick by then.

I don't quite make it to the store I came for though, distracted by the sight of Derek inside a clothing store with a girl I've never seen before. He has that sort of grumpy, unamused look on his face that I can recognize now as being not entirely genuine as she holds up a shirt against his chest and then shakes her head.

Curious, I step into the store, sliding past a rack of equally colorful shirts. "Well, fancy seeing you here," I say as I approach, giving a friendly smile to the girl. It's only then I remember exactly why Derek might be looking to buy something uncharacteristically colorful. "Oh, is this for Diwali?"

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She would have taken him to the Dressing Room, but as soon as she'd suggested it, Derek had given her this look, like being forced into the fashionable boutique where she works is just taking this whole thing a step too far and so she'd sighed heavily and agreed to the mall. It's not the end of the world really and she's managed to find a few shirts that are both bright and not totally hideous, but she isn't sure if Derek is actually going to go for any of them.

"You can't just veto everything I suggest," she tells him, because she's pretty convinced that's going to happen. "Diwali is supposed to be all bright and shit, so you have to be all bright and shit."

She's still clutching a vibrant blue sweater when someone else approaches them and she turns to look at him, giving him a faint, curious smile. He obviously knows Derek and she waits for an introduction, figuring that's probably more polite than just piling more brightly coloured shirts on Derek as he stands there.

Derek hadn't wanted to go shopping. If he's honest, he doesn't really want to go to the party either. A loud celebration full of bright colors and smiling faces doesn't seem to be a place that he should be at, considering what he just went through. He should stay away, in the quiet and in the dark. He should be alone.

But Kate had other plans, and Derek told Mindy that he would attend. He was looking forward to it before everything happened, and maybe he would look forward to it again. Kate was doing her best to make sure of it, it seemed. His friends seemed determined not to leave him alone for too long, and he's both grateful and resentful in equal measure. More grateful, but he doesn't want to admit it.

Kate is doing her best to find him an outfit for Diwali, and he's just wrinkled his nose at the umpteenth shirt when Bitty walks in. Derek manages a small smile, and the gestures from him to Kate.

"Hey, Bitty. This is Kate. Kate, this is Eric. He had a big part in keeping me sane when we were gone," Derek says. He isn't sure how else to describe it, and he doesn't want to think about it long enough to come up with something better. So that's all he says. While he was gone. "And yeah, it's for Diwali. And now I feel like I'm about to be ganged up on."

"Hi, Kate, it's wonderful to meet you," I say, immediately holding my hand out to her, relieved that I don't recognize her face right off the bat. I haven't met a single friend of Derek's that I don't like so far. Neil was really the only exception at first, but after everything that's happened, there's probably no one in the city I'd trust more than him and Derek anymore.

"He had a big part in keeping me alive and in possession of all my limbs," I counter, nudging him lightly with my elbow. "Suppose it balanced out in the end."

Grinning a little, I tip my head up to look at Derek. "Somehow I doubt she got you here by holding you at gunpoint. Don't you dare try pretending there ain't a part of you loving the attention. Have you narrowed down any choices yet?" I ask, looking back at Kate.

He's so open and friendly and cute that for a second Kate isn't even sure what to do. She shakes his offered hand, then glances over at Derek briefly, wondering if he can smell her confusion and brief flare of discomfort. It's not like she's against Derek having super happy friends or whatever, but sometimes Kate just doesn't really know what to do with cheerful people. She's never been much of one herself and in her experience, people who are that bubbly tend to be faking it.

But Derek wouldn't hang around with someone who was being all fake nice, so Kate has to figure it's genuine.

"It's good... I mean... it's good you were together," she says off their explanations of their time away, wishing she knew what the right thing to say about that would be. It's all so weird and confusing and she's still not entirely sure she understands what happened, but she knows enough to know that it was bad. And Kate's good at some stuff, but knowing how to deal with the seriously scary, traumatic things isn't one of them and she feels a little bit like she's failing her friends here.

So instead she's going to dress one of them.

"Oh, yeah, here," she says, holding up the blue sweater. "Nice, right? Not too flashy, totally respectable and not cashmere, because Derek won't let me take him to where I work, which would offer way nicer material than the mall, but okay, Derek, have it your way."

Derek smiles and shakes his head in amusement at Bitty's greeting, all sincere southern charm and warm smiles. Sometimes Derek forgets how thick Bitty's accent is until he hears him talking to other people, and he's still watching him when he smells something coming from Kate. He looks at her instead, scenting confusion, but he supposes that makes sense. Derek generally feels the same way when faced with bright and happy people.

He inclines his head a bit when she mentions their time away, and then rolls his eyes when she holds up the sweater. "I just thought that this would be easier, and I needed more shampoo from the organic place. Two birds."

Bitty is eyeing the sweater critically, and Derek lets out a huff. "I own a blue shirt. Two of them, in fact. Why do I need a new one?"

Really, though, he doesn't mind being here. This is taking his mind off of other things, and spending time with his friends is rarely something that he won't want to do. Even now. Especially now.

"Oh goodness, two blue shirts," I say, dramatically holding a hand to my chest. "Let's alert the media, shall we?"

I'm grinning when I drop the act, hoping he'll catch the chirp for what it is before turning my attention back to Kate. It's honestly not a terrible choice, but I feel like it could be a little bit brighter.

"What about green?" I ask, wandering over to a neighboring rack, riffling through the selections before pulling out a long-sleeved button-up and holding it up for inspection. I catch myself before stating how it would probably really bring out his eyes and instead ask, "What do you have against Kate's store?"

"Ooh, nice," Kate says when he takes a green shirt off the rack and she reaches for it, holding it up against Derek's chest as well. Then she pulls it back and puts the blue back, which is nice, too. Brighter than the blue shirts he already has, which she knows for a fact because she has seen the inside of his closet multiple times.

"Yeah, what do you have against my store?" she asks, although she's teasing, which has to be evident enough in the grin she gives him. It's nothing against her store, she's sure of that, but's always fun to give Derek a hard time and right now she doesn't want to treat him any different just because shit got scary and hard while he was gone. It's probably better not to. "Ooh, I like how that sounds, though. My store. Hopefully it'll actually be my store one day and then he'll have to come in all the time, because I'll be the boss and somehow this logic works in my head, just run with it."

"I have nothing against Kate's store, aside from it being expensive," Derek says, sounding put upon. "And the aforementioned thinking it would be easier, which I'm now seeing was wildly optimistic."

He knows that Kate is teasing him, and not walking on eggshells around him, and he's grateful for that. He looks down at the green shirt and looks at it thoughtfully, reaching up to touch the fabric as he looks up at Bitty. "Are my eyes green today?"

Derek knows that they tend to change color, and not just in the werewolf way. Most of the time they're a pale gray, but sometimes they're a mossy sort of green, just like his dad's were. It's a little harder to look in the mirror on those days, because it's painful to know how much he's starting to look like his father. Especially now, after seeing him in that other place. His green eyes were so cold and cruel, and Derek knows it wasn't real, but he hates that it's temporarily overshadowed the memory of his father.

"That's some logic," Derek says to Kate, smirking a little. "But this green one is okay. I was sure between the two of you, you'd try to get me into something traditional."

It takes me less than five seconds to decide I like Kate, particularly her blunt manner of speaking and the way she teases Derek. If there's anyone that needs a good teasing and reason to smile, it's Derek, and she seems really good for making it happen.

As I've quickly come to discover, Derek's been pretty good at picking friends here.

I'm still grinning at Kate, eager to follow her logic as asked, when Derek turns a little toward me. Swallowing a little, I seize the opportunity to really look at his eyes and hope he doesn't interpret the kick in my heart rate for what it really is. "Yeah. The fabric sort of pulls out the color," I tell him before cocking my head to the side. "Wait, does that mean you're open to something more traditional? Because we can make that happen."

Kate doesn't need werewolf senses to tell there's totally a thing here and her eyebrows shoot up as she busies herself getting another shirt off a rack for Derek. (This one is purple, because he's going to be punished for not telling her there's a thing. Whatever the thing is, she wants to know. She's a pain in the ass like that, which he should know by now.) Because he's basically asking Eric to gaze into his eyes and Eric is totally taking him up on that and if that's not indicative of a thing, then Kate doesn't know what is.

"He's already vetoed sequins," Kate informs Eric as she pushes the purple shirt into Derek's hands and gives him a sweet smile.

"And for the record, since it seems to be the topic of conversation, my eyes always stay brown, but they are big and gorgeous," she adds.

"I'll just stick with the colors," Derek says with a smirk, looking down at Bitty and then over at Kate just in time to see her brows shoot up. He quirks a brow in return, and then catches the shirt and looks down at it. "Joke's on you. I like purple."

He laughs softly at what she says next and shakes his head in fond exasperation. "Yes, big brown doe eyes."

Both shirts look nice, and he hands them to Kate so that he can take off his leather jacket. He has a fitted black v-neck on underneath, so he takes the purple shirt back and pulls it on, not bothering with the dressing room. "What are you guys wearing?"

"Your eyes are beautiful," I assure her with a nod of complete sincerity before watching Derek inspect the newest shirt Kate's picked out. It really is a beautiful purple and I have not a single doubt it's going to look amazing on Derek.

He slips out of his leather jacket and I let my gaze drag down the stretch of black fabric across his chest before forcing myself to turn my attention back to the racks, bypassing a few of the more glaringly bright selections for something I think Derek might actually consider.

"I haven't decided yet," I say. "I have a really nice red cardigan, but nothing quite bright enough to wear underneath it. Ooh, how about this?" I ask, pulling out a light teal sweater.

She likes this kid more and more with every word he says and she smiles prettily at him before watching the way he can't quite look at Derek now that he's taken off his jacket. There's such a thing here and Kate grins in amusement, though she doesn't make any such effort not to look at Derek.

She might be married and totally in love, and Derek might be one of her best friends, but she's going to take the opportunity to admire a nice chest in a tight t-shirt when it's presented.

"Ooh, my outfit is amazing," she tells them. "I have lime green heels with red soles, a red skirt and a mint crop top with mint nail polish and a lime green purse. I'm gonna look super hot."

"Taking this colorful theme real seriously, huh?" Derek asks with a smirk. The shirt fits him like a glove, and he buttons it up to the center of his chest and rolls his sleeves up, flexing a bit to test the give. "I don't doubt that you'll look hot, though."

He turns to face them and spreads his arms out, showing them the shirt. "Well?"

They're both going to go all out, he's sure, but this one pop of color should be enough for him.

"That sounds incredible!" I tell Kate as she describes her outfit, picturing it in my mind with every detail. "I can't wait to see it all in person. Did you get it all at at your store?"

Derek gets my attention a second later though and I glance back at him, noting how the shirt clings to his arms and sides. I swallow.

"That's a really good color on you," I agree, quietly putting the teal sweater back on the rack before crossing my arms over my chest with a grin. "It's gonna be like wrangling a blind horse into a doghouse to get you into more color than that, isn't it?"

"Dude, have you ever seen a Diwali celebration?" Kate asks Derek. "I'm going to be the one who looks like I'm blending in if this is the extent you go to." Not that she's really ever seen a Diwali party either, not beyond what she's looked up online, but that won't stop her from pretending she's an expert.

Then he's flexing and Eric's eyes are practically bugging out -- okay, not really, but Kate is good at reading people -- and she almost laughs. It's just so cute and she wonders if they're both totally blind or just pretending they don't notice.

"Yeah, you look good. I'm going to attack you on the day off and give you like, a sparkly flower crown or something, but this is a pretty great start."

"Were weird sayings invented in the south?" Derek asks, laughing a little and shaking his head. He looks over at Kate and quirks a brow, totally ready to call her on her shit. "Have you? Google doesn't count."

He looks down at the shirt and then looks around, eyes landing on a blue cardigan. Maybe more color wouldn't hurt him.

"That seems like something you'd do," Derek says with a roll of his eyes. "Just leave off the sparkles."

Derek continues to look around the store, and then does up the top button of his shirt, wrinkling his nose a bit at the snugness around his throat. "Should I get a tie?"

The shirt looks a little strange buttoned all the way to the top and I shake my head before reaching up to fix it, undoing the top two and smoothing the fabric across his shoulders briefly before stepping back and cocking my head to inspect.

"No tie," I tell him. "At least not with this. Do you want one though? We could find you a nice shirt and cardigan. Also, for the record," I say, glancing back at Kate with a grin, "I am absolutely in favor of the sparkly flower crown."

Now they're undressing each other. Kate's about fifteen seconds from shoving them both into a closet and locking the door and refusing to let them out until they kiss or something.

"Mindy showed me pictures of a real one," she lies, giving Derek a look. "I think that counts. It's totally legit, even if I wasn't there."

She appraises the shirt situation, then nods her agreement. "If you want a tie, it needs to be a different shirt. But a bright tie with a bright cardigan could look really good."

"You realize that you literally cannot lie to me," Derek tells her, eyes shining with amusement. "But sure, I'll let you be the expert."

Bitty's fingers are warm and smooth when they brush his throat, and Derek swallows hard. It's difficult for him to let anywhere near a spot so vulnerable, but with Bitty it isn't so bad.

"A cardigan," Derek says flatly, letting out a put upon huff. "I don't think I've ever worn a cardigan in my life."

Glancing between Derek and Kate, I can't help but grin. The comfort between them is obvious and I wonder for a second if there's ever been anything more than friendship between them. (In truth, I wonder that about a lot of Derek's friends now that I know about him and Neil even if I know I shouldn't. It's not any of my business.)

"Well, there's a first time for everything, isn't there?" I reply, wandering over to the rack again and flipping through until I find a bright blue knit one and bring it over. "So how long have y'all been friends anyway?"

"Forever," Kate answers, even though that's not the truth. It sort of feels like it is, though. "I've known him longer than I've known my husband." Which maybe isn't the best way to judge, because Kate and Newt had only known each other for a year before getting married, but she's still absolutely certain that this whole schedule had worked for them.

"We met... shit, I don't know, a few years ago," she says, looking at Derek for confirmation. "On the beach. My dog was like, all heart eyed over him, I think she fell in love that day."

Edited 2015-12-02 17:21 (UTC)

"She thought I was hot," Derek says, a little distracted as he takes the sweater. The material is soft, and he rubs it between his fingers before looking up with a smirk. "Kate, not the dog."

He grins and lays the cardigan over his arm as a possible option, nodding at approval at Bitty. "Or maybe Jeff did too, who knows."

It feels good to joke around a little after all they've been through. All the things that he saw still make him lie awake at night, still make him shift and run through the woods until his paws ache, but there are still things that make him smile.

"Goodness, that is a long time," I reply, squashing the stupid ache inside me that's feeling a little too sympathetic to a dog I've never met. "For Darrow anyway."

It takes me a second or two to realize Jeff is the dog in question and I smile again, desperately hoping my face isn't as red as it feels. Just in case, I turn to start rifling through the rack again in search of another option.

"Also, this entire town thinks you're hot," I tell him over my shoulder. "I'm sure Kate and Jeff are hardly the first to see that. Do you have a preference on tie color? We can start there and work outward."

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preparing for diwali [dated to 11/12/2015]

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