The house smells like cinnamon and spice when Stiles gets home. There’s a fire burning in the fireplace that warms the entire room, chasing away the lingering chill from the cold evening air outside. Stiles shrugs off his coat, hanging it on the hook by the door before taking off his hat. It’s late January, and winter’s definitely arrived in Beacon Hills. The temperatures are colder than usual this time of year, and it’s definitely a relief to come home to a warm house, good smells in the air, and a loving husband who gives awesome hugs.
Stiles follows those good smells into the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe and watching Derek pour something into a bowl that he starts manually mixing. “Hey you,” he murmurs, a soft smile on his lips when Derek looks at him.
“Hey back,” Derek says, lips curving into a smile that makes his eyes crinkle. “Busy day?”
“Yep. There was an accident out on the highway, no injuries but five vehicles involved,” Stiles tells him, walking on into the room and sitting on one of the stools by the island. There’s music playing, old stuff Derek always enjoys listening to while cooking, and there are two pies cooling on the counter. “Other than that, just a typical day at the station. How about yours?”
“Not bad. I spent a few hours helping out at the worksite, framing up Cora and Isaac’s place, and then I decided to bake.” Derek shrugs. “The one on the right is sugar free, so you can take it to your dad tomorrow, and I’ve got another two in the oven.”
“You know, he already likes you more than me, so you don’t have to keep buttering him up with healthy sweets.” Stiles is totally teasing, but he enjoys watching the flush appear at the top of Derek’s ears.
“He does not, and I’m just trying to keep him satisfied with indulgence foods so he doesn’t risk your wrath by buying Oreos,” Derek points out. “The other pies are for the joint pack meeting tomorrow night. With how much everyone eats, I figured I’d better start cooking today.”
“God, I know. It’s like feeding a herd of wild animals.” Stiles snickers. “Which is actually sort of true, if you consider werewolves, hellhounds, werecoyotes, and kitsunes to be animalistic.”
“You’re an ass.” Derek pours whatever he’s been mixing into a pan before he puts the pan on the counter. “An ass who is partially correct, but still an ass.”
“Sorry, I didn’t hear anything past the being right bit.” Stiles smirks when Derek rolls his eyes. “You know, it isn’t necessary to go all out for the meeting tomorrow.”
“It’s the first big mutual pack meeting since the holidays, Stiles.” Derek’s eyebrows are talking to him. “Since we got married. I want it to be a great night for everyone, which means enough food to satisfy them all.”
“You’re adorable.” Stiles slides off the stool and walks over to Derek, pinning him against the counter. “Don’t stress yourself, though, okay? We always have pack dropping in, and they love us because we’re amazing.”
“I’m not stressing,” Derek promises, leaning down to kiss him lightly. “I just get bored when you’re working the mid-shift, and baking helps keep me busy when I don’t have anything else to occupy my time. Tomorrow’s going to be a good night regardless, I know that, but desserts can only help makes thing better.”
“Kira told me that she and Malia plan to come over at five tomorrow to help get the meal cooked,” Stiles says, tugging Derek away from the counter as a slow song starts to play on the station streaming from Derek’s phone. “Keep Malia away from open flames and sharp objects.”
“Noted.” Derek starts to sway with him as some old time dude sings about crying to him. He recognizes the song from that Dirty Dancing movie, he realizes, moving his arm up behind Derek’s head and playing with his hair as they slow dance. Derek puts his arms around Stiles’ waist, his hands resting on the small of his back, a slight smile on his lips as he looks into Stiles’ eyes. “Did you happen to talk to Jordan at work today?”
“No, it was too busy to catch up with him during lunch. Since Allison came back last week, we’ve been on the road more than we’ve been at the station, it seems.” He’s thrilled to have Aly back in the patrol car with him, where she belongs, but it does mean he isn’t able to kill time being lazy anymore because she never lets him get away with that shit. He laughs when Derek suddenly dips him down, flipping his non-existent hair when he’s back up. “Smooth moves there, babe.”
“Always the tone of surprise,” Derek deadpans, lips twitching as another romantic song comes on. Man, those old timers knew how to write sexy slow music. Stiles strokes the nape of Derek’s neck as they sway and shuffle to the music.
“Why did you want to know about Jordan?” Stiles asks curiously. “He did text me about doing lunch tomorrow, so I figured he wanted to talk.”
“Laura proposed to him last night.” Derek shrugs. “Jordan wasn’t expecting it, to say the least, and I figured he’d talk to you and Scott before he makes his decision.”
“I’m honestly surprised he didn’t just say yes. They work so well together, especially since he’d given up finding someone who understood his sexuality and respected it,” Stiles admits. “Laura’s sure she’s ready?”
“I’m surprised she asked when they’ve only known each other a few months, but I’d be a hypocrite if told her it was too soon considering our rather short courtship,” Derek says. “She really does care about Jordan, and Laura’s never been one for patience once she’s made up her mind about something.”
“Jordan cares about her, too.” Stiles smiles. “It looks like we won’t be the only Hale-McCall pack marriage for much longer. Good for them.”
“He hasn’t said yes yet,” Derek reminds him, stroking the small of his back with his thumb as they sway to the old music.
“He will.” Stiles knows that Jordan’s going to accept once he’s had time to think and make a choice. “We have ten more minutes until your time goes off. Think we can get a few more dances in before then?”
“I’m sure we can.” Derek kisses him lightly before pulling him closer, Stiles’ cheek resting against his shoulder as they slow dance to a song about love and happiness.