time to talk [dated to 1/13/2016]

[puckandpie]

It's that quiet time of night, the last half hour or so after Derek's already booted out the last of the stragglers and the few employees left over are all silently cleaning up so we can head out as quickly as possible. We don't need that many hands for closing, to be honest, just one or two in the front to take care of the tables and floors and me in the back to clean up the kitchen. So I'm really not surprised at all when I push open the kitchen door to find only Derek finishing up with the bar in front.

I already have my coat on -- the leather one Derek got me for Christmas because it fits me so, so well -- and am looking forward to the quiet walk home. After hours and hours of forcing smiles and chipper conversation, it'll be nice to not have to pretend for awhile.

Derek's back is to me and I let myself watch him for only a moment or two before heading for the door. I know he can both hear and smell me so, as much as I'd maybe like to, it's not like I can just sneak out.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Hale," I say, hoping there's enough of a teasing lilt still left in my voice as I reach for the door.

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[triskehale]

Once Bitty laughs, Derek pops back up onto four feet, tongue lolling out happily as he looks up at him. Nudity really is no big deal, and it isn’t like Bitty has anything to be embarrassed about anyway.

He huffs out a laugh when Bitty asks him to go get their clothes, covering his crotch with his hands and shivering. Derek nods and walks forward to rub himself against Bitty’s legs, nipping playfully at his hip before he takes off like a shot towards where they left their clothes. It takes some nosing and pawing at things, but he eventually gets their shoes and clothes wrapped up in two bundles, carrying everything in their shirts. He grips them both in his teeth and trots back over to where Bitty is waiting, dropping them onto the ground.

And then he shifts back himself, stretching his arms up over his head and shaking himself a bit, grinning at Bitty. He feels the urge to hug him, but he should probably wait until they’re clothed, for Bitty’s sake. “Well? How was it?”

[puckandpie]

Derek jumps to his feet and pads over to me, nosing and nipping at my hip before I swat at him, feeling my face go red. That's his nose, essentially, right on my bare skin. If he's not carefully, we're both going to be terribly embarrassed soon.

Luckily, he runs off soon after, presumably to get our clothes as asked. I stay where I am, feeling overwhelmingly exposed in the cold air. It takes him awhile to return and, by then, I've curled into as much of a ball as possible, knees drawn up to my chin and my arms tight around my legs. I'm absolutely freezing, shivering violently, and I've never been so relieved as when I see him come barreling down the slope.

"Oh, thank goodness," I breathe, when he drops our clothes into small heaps right at my feet. I don't even think before grabbing my shirt and shoving it on. The fabric is just as cold as my skin, but having another layer at all is nice.

I glance up again at the sound of Derek's voice, my eyes catching on the fact that he's completely naked. Again. It feels different now though. Less mortifying somehow. I really really wish I felt like I could look my fill, but at least this time I don't glance away immediately, even managing a smile as I grab my underwear and push to my feet to slide them on.

"It was amazing," I tell him, meaning it completely even as I'm still shivering. "Is that how it feels every time you turn? Just... wild and free? Like you could do almost anything?"

[triskehale]

“Shit,” Derek breathes out, feeling like an ass as he watches Bitty shiver. He steps into his own black boxer briefs and pulls them on before grabbing his leather jacket and putting it around Bitty’s shoulders, keeping an arm around him to hold him close and transfer some of his body heat.

“Yeah, it’s a little like that,” Derek says with a breathless grin, nodding at Bitty’s description. “Problems just sort of seem to melt away, at least for a little while.”

Derek’s smile softens and he presses his cheek to the top of Bitty’s head, truly feeling like pack in that moment. “I’m glad you liked it.”

[puckandpie]

I'm still shivering as I step into my jeans, my shaky fingers clumsy on the zipper and top button before Derek's heavy leather jacket is suddenly around my shoulders and he's hugging me close. It helps, thankfully, and I carefully keep my head turned away so I'm not pressed right up against his bare chest. However much I'd like to be.

"I loved it," I correct him and my voice, now that I'm a little more warmed up, doesn't waver at all. "To be honest with you, I don't know why you ever walk around in the people suit. Except, I suppose if I looked like you do, it wouldn't be so bad."

I realize what I've said only after the words are out and feel my face flush immediately hot. Which is stupid, I know. It's not like Derek doesn't know he's attractive, not like he doesn't know I specifically find him attractive. Still. It feels dumb to say it.

[triskehale]

Derek laughs at that, but it’s a warm, pleased sound. He squeezes Bitty again and then lets go to retrieve his own jeans. They’re tight, like most of his pants, and he has to wriggle a bit to get them up his hips. His Henley comes next, and he reaches back to tuck the tag in. “There’s nothing wrong at all with your people suit, Bitty.”

He knows that Bitty doesn’t seem to have all that much confidence in himself, and Derek knows how that can be. He wants to help if he can, and it’s not as if he’s telling a lie. Bitty is attractive with a body to be proud of.

“But I sort of need to be in the people suit to talk to my friends and do my jobs,” Derek says, chuckling a bit as he leans against a tree to pull his socks and boots on. “And the longer I spend as a wolf, the more the animal takes over. So it’s good to be human. Besides, all I had was the people suit for twenty-four years. I’m used to it.”

[puckandpie]

There may not be anything exactly wrong with how I look, I suppose, but I'm certainly no Derek Hale. Heck, I'm not even half as attractive as half the non-native Darrow population, I've noticed. I'm an athlete, I know I have muscle definition, but I could work out every minute of the day and I still wouldn't look anything like Derek or anyone on my team back home.

Maybe, at some point, I'll figure out how to be okay with that.

I keep Derek's jacket over my shoulders as I bend to slip on my shoes on socks, glad for the distraction away from watching Derek get dressed. The very last thing I want to do is ruin the morning by embarrassing myself any further.

"So how does the animal take over?" I ask him, reluctantly shrugging Derek's jacket off and handing it back to him so I can slip into my own. I give him a teasing smile, just shy of flirting. "Do you just find yourself more inclined to chase your own tail?"

[triskehale]

"Very funny," Derek says, rolling his eyes in fond exasperation. He waits until Bitty gets his coat on, and then he drapes his own back over Bitty's shoulders, wanting to keep him warm. "Instinct just takes over. The longer I stay in the form of a wolf, the more like a wolf I become."

He starts to lead them out of the woods, back towards the city. "I'm glad you had a good time. I really enjoyed myself."

[puckandpie]

I'm not expecting Derek to drape his coat over me again before we start walking, but I don't protest. Maybe it's a little too indulgent, but wearing Derek's coat is a little bit like having his arms around me and I like that. I don't want to let go just yet.

"It really was amazing," I tell him, glancing over as head out of the woods, snow and twigs crunching under our feet. "Sorta helped, uh... clear my head, you know? I'm-- I didn't tell you, but Simon and I sorta broke up right before Christmas. I'm honestly not really sure we were dating to begin with, we certainly weren't exclusive, but he's already seeing his ex-roommate who's a real jerk and, as stupid as I know it is, I've been feeling pretty low about that. And New Year's Eve was a catastrophe in so many ways and I've never been so homesick in all my life. It's... it's been a lot lately. So being out here with you, doing this was... it was really incredible. I don't think I could thank you enough."

[triskehale]

Derek was already pretty sure that Bitty and Simon had broken up. He hasn't smelled Simon on Bitty since just before Christmas, and that along with Bitty's sullen mood was evidence enough. He's glad that Bitty's relaxed enough to tell him what's going on, and Derek gives him a sympathetic smile before reaching over to give the back of his neck a reassuring squeeze.

"There's no need to thank me. I wanted to share that with you," Derek tells him, leaving his hand on the back of Bitty's neck while they walk. "Simon's an idiot. And I know things are rough, but I also know that they'll get better. That isn't something you would have heard me say a few years ago, but it's true. They will."

[puckandpie]

Derek's hand is warm and reassuring on the back of neck, a settling sort of weight. Better yet, his words aren't pitying or condescending and I'm suddenly not sure why I didn't just tell him earlier. It's not really that I ever thought Derek would make me feel worse, but admitting to everything felt so very pathetic.

But, even if Derek doesn't see me the way I see him, I don't think he believes I'm pathetic. I guess I just have to remind myself of that sometimes.

"Simon isn't an idiot," I argue with a small Simon. I know I'm definitely right about that one, but I can't deny that Derek saying otherwise feels sorta nice. Which is awful, I know, but it does. "He's actually really very nice. We're just not right for each other, I guess. But it sure felt nice to be wanted for awhile, even if it wasn't for long." Tipping my head back, I look up at him then, my face warm but my smile hopefully even warmer. "I'm glad things are better for you now than they were a few years ago. And I'm glad... I mean, I miss home every single minute of every day, but I'm glad I met you. I'm glad I can call you my friend."

[triskehale]

Derek doesn't understand how Simon could choose Baz over Bitty, but then again, he barely knows Baz. And Bitty is, well. He's Bitty.

"You'll find someone right for you. Someone who wants you," Derek says with confidence. He's long since stopped believing that for himself, but Bitty is different. He's kind and warm and he deserves someone good.

"I'm glad that you're my friend too," he says, smiling down at him and squeezing the back of his neck again before sliding his hand down Bitty's back and letting it fall away. The trees open up and they're in the park, back to real life, and Derek places a hand on his stomach. "Are you as hungry as I am? I'm always starving after a shift."

[puckandpie]

'I want it to be you,' I narrowly manage not to say. It's right at the tip of my tongue, but after everything we've shared this morning, I'm too afraid to ruin it by either making a fool of myself or pushing Derek into an uncomfortable rejection.

He squeezes the back of my neck and I know Derek is just a tactile sort of guy and that the way his hand drags down my back doesn't really mean anything. But goodness, do I want it to. I want to reach over and take his hand, hold it the way Simon used to hold mine so easily. I think I miss that part, most of all. Just the way he'd hold my hand out in public without a care.

Luckily, the moment snaps a second later when Derek raises his hand to his stomach, patting it with a smile. "There's that burger place not too far from here," I point out, hoping my smile doesn't falter too much. "Guess you burn off a lot of calories running around without a care in the world."

[triskehale]

“Guess I must,” Derek says with a laugh. “Shifting takes up a lot of energy. I’m always starving afterward.”

He knows exactly which burger place Bitty is referring to, and Derek tosses a jovial arm around his shoulders, pulling him for a brief squeeze before letting go. It’s just been such a good day, and he can only hope that it was of some help to Bitty. He deserves to be happy. “Come on, lunch is on me.”