Chapter Text
Why the hell did Stiles get Derek. Out of anyone for a Secret Santa (all in the name of pack bonding, damn it, why did he ever come up with the idea) Derek was probably the worst. The hardest to pick a gift for. What did the guy even like? Did he even own a DVD player? Who didn’t own a DVD player. Anyone else he could have gotten the Star Wars trilogy (the original, because come on), and called it a gift of cultural expansion. Besides Scott, but Scott was almost so easy to buy for it was like cheating.
God, Stiles never knew what to buy people. He always went too big if he was trying to impress. He bought Lydia a freaking TV for her birthday (never mind he returned it). Not that he was. Trying to impress Derek, that is. Or at least he was just trying to make the guy smile. That wasn’t weird, wanting to make Derek smile? That he was sort of obsessing over it?
So who could blame him for wincing when Lydia called Derek’s name, and Stiles’ had to walk over to the gift pile and fling the bag in Derek’s arms while babbling, “I didn’t know what to get you, so I thought that this would be okay, it’s suppose to be ironic and funny okay? And yeah, sorry if it sucks.”
Derek stared at the present for awhile (at least he wasn’t glaring at it) before grunting, “Thanks.” Without further ado he grabbed the shirt from inside and took it out, spreading it for the group to see. The moment of truth.
No one said anything for a bit, but there were quite a few eyebrows raised. Well, literally everyone’s eyebrows were raised. Including Derek’s.
“What is this?” the alpha managed to get out, sounding confused.
“It’s three wolves moon!” Stiles exclaimed, flailing his arms. “The women know from the wolves on the shirt that you, like a wolf, are a mysterious loner who knows how to 'howl at the moon' from time to time- Come on, you have to have heard of that!” Everything kind of hanged on the fact that Derek understood the joke. Which didn’t seem to be the case.
And then the most surprising sound ever came from Derek’s mouth. Could that be- but no. A smile was all Stiles was hoping for, a pie in the sky dream, and was that just a laugh? Short and dry, sure, but a laugh! Stiles had gotten Derek to laugh!
“You can’t expect me to wear this monstrosity,” Derek said while still smiling.
Everyone seemed to relax all at once, and a collective breath was released.
“Hey, at least consider it for PJs. Everyone needs at least one set of ironic pajamas!” Stiles was grinning like a madman and he didn’t even care.
Scott cut in on the banter with, “Why don’t you give Stiles his present Derek?”
Both Stiles and Derek gave Scott a hard stare, the alpha saying, “How did you know I got Stiles?”
Scott blanched. “Ah- well..”
Jackson punched Scott’s arm and everyone else suddenly was avoiding eye contact like crazy. Wait, what? Was this a setup? Stiles glanced at Derek with a questioning look, only to look away at the enigmatic (and intense) look the man gave back in return. What the heck? What were their friends trying to do?
Derek shrugged and grabbed his gift from the table, a hefty box that he lifted easily but took Stiles by surprise with its weight as it was dropped into his arms.
“Thanks,” Stiles muttered, not sure how to take this new development. With a little handling he got the wrapping (surprisingly well done, though a boring, plain blue) off to reveal a wooden chest with intricate runes carved on it. “Holy shit!”
Derek smirked, and whoa, two smiles in one night? That’s gotta be a record. “Open it.”
Stiles placed the chest gingerly on the table, listening to what sounded like glasses clinking together. The contents were revealed to be vials of various powders and liquids, as well as a leather bound book and what looked like archaic lab equipment. “Wow...”
“Deaton helped me with where to purchase it all, so it’s authentic,” Derek muttered, walking to stand next to the boy. “I thought it would be useful for you to develop your skills.”
It kind of said more than that. It said that Derek appreciated Stiles enough as part of the pack to encourage how the boy wanted to be part of it. It was really meaningful, and suddenly Stiles impulse ebay buy seemed really weak in comparison.
“Oh, dude, sorry, this must have cost a fortune and I gave you a stupid joke shirt.” Man, talk about unequal gifts, a shirt was pathetic in comparison.
Derek shook his head, and was that embarrassment? The alpha was embarrassed. “No, it’s fine. It was... surprising. I liked it.” He smiled again, and whoa, Stiles didn’t know he could keep up with how handsome it made the normally grumpy werewolf.
It wasn’t until Lydia coughed discreetly that Stiles realized how long they had been staring at each other. “If you two are quite finished, I believe Danny is next,” she announced with a sly smile.