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Stiles knew from the minute that Chad eyed his jeep with disdain in his eyes that he was not going to enjoy a minute of their date. In hindsight, he should have realized that anyone named Chad would not have been good company, but Stiles couldn’t really be to blame; it had been entirely too long since he had been on a date, especially one that could end in Stiles finally getting laid for the first time in too long for Stiles to admit without complaint.
“You said nothing fancy, so I thought this place could work,” Chad said like he was already annoyed with Stiles’ choice in dining. Stiles thought for a fleeting second that they should have just skipped the date and went straight to dessert. Sex in Stiles’ new bed his dad had bought him as a college graduation present would have been way more instantly gratifying. Stiles rolled his eyes and it didn’t go unnoticed by the man who walked in after them. The man looked away pretty quickly, but Stiles thought he saw a slight smile. He was glad for the small reassurance that he wasn’t completely off base with Chad’s comment.
“This looks great. As long as they have good french fries, I’m usually easy to please,” Stiles joked, sending a friendly smile in Chad’s direction. Chad smiled back and Stiles was reminded why he had chosen this frat boy of all other guys he had met at Scott’s graduation party. The host called the name “Derek” and the man next to him grabbed a small hand and started walking into the dining area. Stiles took a closer look at the chocolate eyed child and sent him a large smile when he turned and noticed Stiles staring.
“Strike one against this place,” Chad commented with a roll of his eyes. Stiles glanced at him and tilted his head, raising an eyebrow in question. “They came in after us and should be seated after us.” Chad said the words like they were obvious and Stiles resisted the urge to roll his eyes again.
“He had a kid,” Stiles said in the same tone. “It’s only right that they are seated first,” Stiles continued at Chad’s questioning look. Chad smiled at him but Stiles could see the fakeness of it. He stood up and walked to the host, pointing at Stiles with that golden smile on his face. Stiles waved shyly, not quite sure what his date was doing, but assuming it was something annoying. The host seemed charmed as he chuckled and waved over a waiter. Chad turned with a pompous smirk on his face and beckoned Stiles over, sliding a hand around his waist in a possessive way Stiles wasn’t sure he liked.
“Stick with me and you’ll get priority everywhere you go,” Chad said. Stiles knew he was supposed to be impressed but he really just couldn’t wait for this date to be over. He was grateful when they were seated because over Chad’s shoulder was the cutie from before happily sipping on a milkshake. The kid waved the minute he saw Stiles, flinging his oversized straw wildly, bits of strawberry ice cream landing on the table in front of him and the floor. Stiles couldn’t help but laugh, covering it with a cough when Chad glared over at him.
“So, how do you know Scott?” Stiles asked, trying to think of something to speak with this guy about. Again, he thought that they should have skipped dinner.
“Scotty and I go way back,” Chad said, leaning back in his chair and tossing an arm over the back. Stiles thought he was definitely the kind of person who took up two seats on the subway and didn’t offer the extra one to the elderly.
“I’ve known Scott since diapers,” Stiles said in return, finding himself pretty aggravated at the insinuation that Scott was better friends with this douchebag than he was with Stiles. Chad nodded slowly and glanced around the dining area, holding a hand up to wave over a waiter. Stiles groaned and wanted nothing more than to hide underneath the table.
“Can you bring us a few drinks stat? The stronger the better. Vodka in both,” Chad ordered with a snap of his fingers. Stiles reached out to touch the waiter’s arm.
“I’ll just have a coke, please. Hold the… strength. And take your time,” Stiles requested with a reassuring wink. The waiter sent him a thankful glance and started back toward the kitchen, sending a slight glare in Chad’s direction. Stiles knew exactly how he was feeling. When he turned back to Chad, he was looking down at his phone, typing away furiously and paying less than no attention to Stiles.
He didn’t mind as much as he should have, opting instead to glance back at the highchair behind his date. The kid was kicking his feet happily, gulping down the rest of his milkshake with a loud slurp. As if sensing Stiles’ gaze, he turned his head slightly and smiled the most adorable smile Stiles had ever seen no matter how much ice cream was caked around the child’s lips. Stiles smiled back and wiped his hands over his face dramatically. The kid mimicked him and then looked down at his hands, now covered in ice cream, and back up at Stiles with panic on his face.
“Lukas, napkin next time?” The man, Derek presumably, who Stiles thought had to be his father said begrudgingly, taking the kids, Lukas’, hands in his and wiping them down. Stiles applauded silently, holding his hands up so that Lukas could see his pride. Lukas smacked his own hands together, now clean and bared his teeth at Stiles again.
“What are you going to get?” Chad said, not even taking the time to glance up at Stiles. Stiles looked down at the menu and shrugged, flipping to the second page and closing his eyes. He swirled his finger around in the air before placing it down on the menu. “What are you doing?” Chad asked, furrowing his eyebrows. It wasn’t a good look for him. The same look was being sent to him from Derek and Stiles blushed heavily as the man noticed him.
“Um…” Stiles had to take a moment to think about what he was doing and shook his head as he looked back down at his menu. “I’ll eat pretty much anything and I’m bad at making decisions, so I just close my eyes and let my finger decide!” Stiles said as the waiter approached. “My finger decided I would get the turkey club with extra tomato and light mayo,” Stiles said with a smile. Chad wasn’t nearly as charmed as anyone else Stiles had been on a date with had been, but really, what was Stiles supposed to expect.
“Can you tell me more about the lobster roll? Frozen or fresh? I’m assuming frozen,” Chad started, but Stiles tuned him out, focusing again on the toddler. His father was holding up the menu and Lukas was aggressively poking at the back. He wasn’t paying attention to where he was pointing, too busy looking at Stiles and nodding his head like he was trying to mimic Stiles’ earlier movements. Stiles felt his heart burst at how cute the kid was.
“Lukas,” his father warned in a low voice. Stiles could see the slight smile on his face, though, and it had him smiling back. Lukas pulled back and crossed his arms with a pout before glancing at Stiles from the corner of his eyes. Stiles mimicked him that time, the pout on his lips over-exaggerated. He could see Lukas holding back his smile so Stiles stuck his tongue out instead, crossing his eyes along with it. Lukas was sent in a fit of screeching laughter that caused most of the other customers to stare. Stiles hid his face in his hands to conceal his laughter at the gruff look on Derek’s face.
“They really let anyone into this place, huh?” Chad commented a lot louder than Stiles would have liked. Derek glared over at them and Stiles sent him an apologetic glance as he peered down at the glass in front of him. When Chad looked back down at his phone, Stiles sighed and grabbed the straw from his cup.
“This place is great for everyone. It’s why I like it so much,” Stiles said in defense of the small restaurant. He wasn’t about to shell out big bucks on a date he wasn’t sure he was going to enjoy or risk Chad offering to pay for an overly expensive meal and then think Stiles was obligated to sleep with him. Stiles was a lot of things, but he wasn’t desperate enough to break his dry spell with someone like Chad and that was becoming clearer and clearer every second.
“I like to avoid children at any cost,” Chad said as he gestured back toward Lukas. The kid seemed to notice and looked down shyly, his feet stopping their happy kicking. Stiles glared at Chad before putting the bottom of his straw into his mouth and blowing the ripped piece of paper at the top of it directly into Chad’s face. Chad gaped at him, but Stiles barely noticed, his eyes set on Lukas who was smiling once more. Lukas’ father was barely holding in his laughter, trying to hide it behind a fist as he took a bite of his food. Stiles was satisfied that Lukas had smiled again and glanced back over to Chad.
“Kids keep us young,” Stiles said as he placed the straw back in his drink and blew bubbles into the carbonation. Chad looked around like he was ensuring no one was watching and Stiles couldn’t help but laugh. “Lighten up, Chad. Would it kill you to be a little juvenile sometimes?” Stiles asked with a roll of his eyes.
Chad rolled his own in return and focused once again on his phone. “Acting like a child is a surefire way to not get laid,” he muttered with a shake of his head. Stiles gaped at him with wide eyes, blinking a few times as he didn’t even look up from his lap to insult Stiles. He pushed out his chair and reached into his wallet, tossing a few bills onto the table before walking toward the door with a huff.
“Where are you going?” Stiles turned to unleash his anger at Chad only to see Lukas’ dad standing behind him, Lukas propped on his hip. He looked past the man’s shoulder and saw Chad arguing with the waiter, not even bothering to look in Stiles’ direction.
“Apparently I’m going home. Alone. And not getting la--” He caught Lukas’ eyes, full of too much worry for such a small child, and cut himself off. “Late. Not being late. For my, uh, bedtime. Cause it’s very close to bedtime, isn’t it, little guy?” Stiles asked, reaching forward to run his finger down the bridge of Lukas’ nose. Lukas blinked slowly and watched Stiles’ hand as he pulled it back, resting his head on his father’s shoulder in tiredness.
“Sorry your date turned out to be such a dud,” the man said as he held the door open for Stiles. Stiles was just a little impressed at his ability to hold the sleeping child and be a gentleman all while being that good looking.
Stiles shrugged as he stepped out into the cold night air, taking a deep breath in and reveling in the chilliness. “I didn’t exactly say yes because of his strong intelligence,” Stiles admitted with a soft chuckle. The man laughed with him and started walking toward the parking lot, grabbing his keys out of one pocket to unlock the very unexpected red minivan a few yards away.
“Lukas really got a kick out of you. He doesn’t usually interact with people that easily,” he said as he glanced down at the almost sleeping child on his shoulder. Stiles peered down at Lukas as well and received a sleepy smile in return. Stiles’ heart clenched at the movement.
“I’ve got a whole classroom of little ones who think Mr. Stiles is the coolest,” Stiles commented, shrugging his shoulders again. The man laughed softly as they reached the car, propping Lukas a little higher on his hip. “Lukas is lucky to have such a cool dad like...” Stiles trailed off, the lamest attempt at confirming the man’s name, but every step closer to the car meant another step closer to them driving off without him knowing. And he really wanted to know what name to think about later.
“Derek,” he said in response, stopping in front of the car and taking a very intense interest in the gravel at their feet. “My name’s Derek. And this is…”
“Lukas!” If a voice could sound sleepy and excited all at once, that was the sound that escaped from the child’s mouth, almost cut short by the monstrous yawn that followed. Stiles chuckled along with Derek who swiped a hand across Lukas’ forehead.
“Someone is ready for bed,” Derek commented as he placed a gentle kiss on his son’s temple. Stiles didn’t think it was possible for him to be as instantly in love with someone as he was with Derek at that moment. His heart seemed to swell on his chest as Lukas nodded and seamlessly fell into sleep.
“Thank you for keeping me entertained during that horrible date. I hope you never have to go on one of those,” Stiles whispered as he brushed a soft hand over Lukas’ hair.
“Can I call you?” Derek asked quickly. He tilted his head at Stiles like he wasn’t quite sure what possessed him to speak and Stiles smirked to himself as he nodded. “I mean, you don’t have to, but I mean…” Stiles cut him off by holding his phone out, nodding at it for Derek to take. He did, entering his number before fumbling the phone back to Stiles. Stiles held back his laughter and took a few steps back toward his own car, very grateful he made Chad get into his beautiful jeep.
“Call me anytime,” Stiles said as he reached his car. He leaned onto it, watching as Derek buckled Lukas into his seat with such delicacy Stiles almost couldn’t take it. When he was done, he turned back toward Stiles and ducked his head when he saw Stiles watching intently. He sent one final shy wave before starting the car and driving off, leaving Stiles to bite down on his bottom lip to try to control his smile.
Stiles’ phone chimed when he’d settled himself in bed for the night and a simple, can i call now? , showed up on the screen followed up an adorable photo of a sleeping Lukas. Stiles wondered how long it took for marriage and adoption to be in the cards as he sent back a resounding, please .