I Would Fake Forever With You(Sterek)

Resourceful

The sound of knocking on his door caused Stiles to bolt up. A sheet of paper stuck to the side of his face from where he had been laying face down on his table. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes trying to focus. How long had he been out? He glanced at the clock to see it was five til twelve.

"Shit," Stiles swore scrambling up from the floor.

Another knock sounded on Stiles' door.

Derek heard shuffling before Stiles' door swung open to reveal a frantic Stiles.

"Whoa, you okay?" Derek glanced past Stiles to see papers strewn about the coffee table.

"I fell asleep, I'm so sorry, give me like three seconds and we can go," Stiles was already pulling off his shirt as he made his way further into his apartment.

"Make yourself comfortable," Stiles called over his shoulder.

Derek closed the door behind him and allowed his eyes to scan Stiles' apartment. It was decorated in simple colors. Beige and blue mostly. The dark blue couch sat covered in papers along with the coffee table that Derek was sure was a dark stained wood. The only pictures on the wall were baseball themed with the exception of one picture. A woman, she had long brown wavy hair and Stiles' sparkling brown eyes. This must have been his mother. Derek looked for any other pictures, landing on a small table that held four frames. He picked up the first picture to see Stiles with a red headed woman. The two were in uniform, in front of the FBI academy. The next picture was of a dark haired man and an Asian woman holding each other. The third picture was of the dark haired man and Stiles. The last picture was of Stiles in a graduation cap next to a man in a sheriff's uniform.

"Okay, sorry, we can go," Stiles' voice pulled Derek's attention from the frames. Stiles' hair was damp but he looked much more awake and was dressed in a completely different outfit.

"That was fast," Derek said raising a brow.

"I'm no stranger to being behind," Stiles shrugged.

Derek smirked before setting the picture back on the desk.

"The red head is Lydia. She's one of my best friends," Stiles explained.

"And these others?" Derek glanced back at the other three frames.

"Scott and Kira, they're dating. And that's my dad," Stiles gestured to each picture.

"I had one of Allison, but it also had Theo so I need a new one of her. She's another friend of ours," Stiles gave a sad smile before going to the couch.

"And that, I'm assuming, is your mother?" Derek glanced back at the woman on the wall.

"Yeah, that was about a year before she got sick," Stiles nodded, scooping up the papers.

"If you're too busy to do this, I completely understand," Derek frowned at the papers. They looked to be lesson plans.

"No, it's okay, I'll finish this later tonight. Lydia is covering for me tomorrow afternoon, I just need to get the lesson plan to her by morning," Stiles insisted. "I didn't sleep well so I kind of fell asleep during."

"Stiles if-"

"I'm fine, I promise," Stiles assured Derek once more. He refused to let Derek down simply because he'd spent half the night crying over Theo. "We should get going."

Derek only nodded. He had a feeling Stiles rarely put himself before others. It made him feel bad for asking Stiles to deal with his parents. It wouldn't be a pleasant lunch.

-

Derek's hand slid into Stiles' as they neared the restaurant. "I apologize in advance for anything my mother says."

"It's fine, I can handle it," Stiles gave Derek's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"How is it you are so unaffected by them?"

"For starters, they don't know me, they can't make a proper judgement call this early. Secondly, most of their comments stem from their own insecurities. Thirdly, we're not actually dating," Stiles gave a half shrug.

Derek's stomach dropped. Sometimes Derek forgot it wasn't real. Sometimes he let himself believe that Stiles and him really were together. If things were different, he might have suggested to Stiles they stop faking it. But Stiles wasn't in a place to date him and even if he was, his family would surely deter him.

Derek pulled open the door and immediately wished the floor would swallow him whole.

"What do you mean there's nothing you can do? I called last night. There is no reason our table should have been filled," Talia's voice was raised.

"Mom, what is going on?" Derek growled, pulling her back a bit from the poor host.

"Our table is unavailable. They gave it away," Talia fussed, her tone now less loud.

"We can go elsewhere," Derek practically begged.

"I don't want to go elsewhere, I want our table to be available."

"Mr. Pain, Michael right? How are you?" Stiles stepped forward with a large smile on his face.

"Oh Mr. Stilinski, I'm afraid I don't have a reservation down for you, ummm-" Michael started typing on his computer with a nervous expression.

"I'm here with, Mrs. Hale actually," Stiles winked.

"Oh, I see," Michael glanced at a still fuming Talia.

"I know it's not kosher to pull a table from the back, but I happen to know it's possible. This lunch is really important to me and...if you could swing this, I think I can help your grade with a little extra credit. Wasn't the deal, you get the job if you get the A?" Stiles smiled charmingly at the host, whose eyes lit up.

"Oh, yes, of course, I'll have your table ready in just a few minutes," Michael nodded eagerly before rushing off.

"You know that young man?" Talia asked, her tone much more calm.

"He's a student in my class. Our director promised he'd have a spot if he passed with an A. He's a few points shy."

Sebastian looked up from his phone for the first time, "I appreciate someone who's resourceful. Dere, you should take notes."

Derek's brows raised, glancing at Stiles.

"He doesn't need to be resourceful, he's a bartender," Talia hissed.

Derek rolled his eyes just as Michael returned. "Your table is ready."

"Perfect, thank you Michael. I'll have that extra credit to you first thing in the morning," Stiles grinned.

Derek had never been so thankful to have Stiles around. He had diffused the situation in a simple and calm way.

"Thank you," Derek leaned into Stiles as they followed the host to their table.

Stiles only winked making Derek's heart leap. Was he already so gone on this guy? They'd barely known each other a few days. Granted, they had spent almost every moment together and acted as a couple the entire time. He was technically dating Stiles. It only made sense he would fall for him. His problem had always been that he fell too fast.