ride or die (like the bonnie to your clyde)
Inspired by this post by @superwolflin:
“We better get stiles going back to his apartment after the FBI class, opening the door and shouting for fucks sake Derek I’m not harbouring your fugitive ass again as Derek walks around the corner eating a bowl of cereal like what?”
“I can explain!”
Stiles took a deep calming breath as he calmly marched into his apartment and calmly slammed the door shut behind him, causing the door jamb to rattle.
“Stiles—” Derek tried again, attempting to catch hold of Stiles’ forearm as he stormed past him with a determined expression on his face.
All of the windows in Stiles’ tiny, cramped studio apartment were open, allowing much needed light and air to filter through the room. However, that all died when Stiles hastily snapped them shut and drew the curtains closed with a loud whoosh. Stiles swung past Derek again to secure every lock on his front door, taking every precaution possible to make sure they couldn’t be overheard, even though the FBI could easily breach the door if they wanted to.
He crossed his arms over his chest and turned to glare at a shirtless, guilty-looking Derek. If he wasn’t so furious, Stiles might’ve stopped to appreciate Derek’s shirtless-ness and how adorable he looked standing in his pajama bottoms, sleep-rumpled and bleary, eating a bowl of cereal. But he’d already seen enough shirtless Derek for one day from that video the FBI had caught of him running in the woods.
“What the fuck, dude!” Stiles hissed, trying to keep his voice low. “When you showed up here last night, you couldn’t have given me a heads up that you were on the run? Instead, I had to find out on the first day of my internship with the fucking FBI!”
Derek had the audacity to roll his eyes. “None of this makes sense to me either, Stiles. I know I should’ve told you, but I don’t even know what to say or where to begin. What was I gonna do? Knock on your door and say, ‘Long time no see. I’m wanted for mass murder’?”
It was pissing Stiles off just how nonchalant Derek was being about this. Last night, he’d been so excited to have Derek Hale walk back into his life. Now, he was embittered for having been misled. Especially after they’d spent the whole night talking and catching up which resulted in Stiles struggling to get himself out of bed on time for his internship the next morning.
Seeing that Derek was about to take another bite of his cereal, Stiles decided to swoop in vindictively before he could.
“Hey! I was eating that!”
“Fugitives on the run don’t get to eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch!”
Stiles was in the foulest mood while pouring the cereal down the drain in the kitchen sink. Because not only had Derek omitted the truth about the reason for his unannounced visit, but he was also making Stiles waste a whole bowl of cereal on a college budget!
“I’m sorry, Stiles,” Derek huffed and held his arms up in surrender. “Really, I am. Trust me, the last thing I wanted to do was get you involved. I know you’re putting your ass on the line for me, especially with your current career choice as a FED.”
Stiles didn’t miss the way Derek’s nose wrinkled at the word FED, and he lifted an eyebrow in question.
“What?” Derek shrugged. “I’ve had a bad relationship with the police for most of my life! Of course, I’m not going to like cops of any kind!”
It was a good reason. Stiles wasn’t about to argue with that. Not after he’d gotten Derek arrested and accused him of killing his own sister.
“Please don’t be mad, Stiles,” Derek pleaded with puppy-dog eyes. “If you’d just give me a chance to explain the situation as best as I can, I will. This all started when I—” “Don’t!” Stiles exclaimed and rushed to cover Derek’s mouth with his hands. He couldn’t help but blush at the feeling of Derek’s soft lips under his palm and the burn of his scratchy, course stubble. He whispered, “It’s better for you if you don’t tell me anything right now. I don’t want to hear anything I can’t unhear, okay?”
The room remained silent when Stiles dropped his hand again. However, it was an awkward silence. Stiles chose to ignore it and walked towards his dresser, stumbling in the dim light. He tugged his constricting tie loose, unfastened his cuffs, and slid off his crisp, white dress shirt. The first day of his internship had been exciting but he was ready to slip into more comfortable clothes. He was feeling more at ease in his softest t-shirt and sweats and turned back to Derek, only to see him gazing at him with hard, assessing eyes. Yeah, the last thing he was feeling now was comfy.
He shifted nervously, chewing at his bottom lip and waiting restlessly for Derek to speak. Although, Stiles definitely didn’t expect what Derek said next.
“You don’t believe me.”
“What?!” Stiles’ eyes widened, not understanding how Derek was making these connections. “You don’t believe me! You really think I could…that I would…” His face contorted as he fought to get the words out, glaring at Stiles with so much scorn. Like he actually believed Stiles would betray him like that. “I really thought you of all people would…Never mind. This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have come here.”
“Wait! Wait a second!” Stiles dashed over to Derek quickly, refusing to let Derek go anywhere thinking such ridiculous things. Derek was stubborn of course, turning his head and not wanting to look at Stiles, so Stiles gripped his chin and forced him to make eye contact. “I know you, Derek. Of course, I think you’re innocent.”
Even though he wanted Derek to know that he was being earnest, it still irritated him that Derek had to listen to his heartbeat before his feathers could unruffle and his buttcheeks could unclench.
“I’m not mad at you” Stiles reiterated. “I’m mad for you!”
Stiles knew there was no way to explain why he was angry without revealing his super embarrassing unreciprocated crush on Derek. A crush he thought had ended long ago but still lingered despite having not seen Derek in years. Finding Derek outside his door last night had rekindled all sorts of emotions that Stiles had locked away. All that pinning and hope sprung forth, as did his fanciful thoughts of him and Derek actually having a romantic future. But he couldn’t think about any of that now. Not when they had this looming over them.
“I’m mad that this is happening to you again. I’m mad because you don’t deserve this. I’m so tired of this sick joke the universe keeps playing on you where you’re not allowed to be happy!”
By this point, Stiles was doing a good job of working himself, so much so that he started pacing a hole in the floor without realizing it.
“You leaving was supposed to be the end of this for you! You were supposed to be happy! That’s the whole reason I never called you when you were gone even though I missed you so much— like way more than I thought would’ve. I didn’t want to see you dragged into this bullshit again. I wanted better for you!”
Stiles was heaving after his rant. He was mortified. Absolutely mortified. He knew he’d said too much and could barely lift his eyes from the ground, not able to withstand seeing any hints of rejection from Derek’s expression. Anyone could see that Stiles’ concern for Derek was much more than a display of friendship, but one of love. Still, Stiles would do his best to downplay it by masking it with humor.
“Besides, I wouldn’t be standing here if you were actually a mass murderer,” Stiles joked, swallowing as much of his humiliation down as possible. “If you did have a hit list, my name would probably be at the top.”
“Why?”
Stiles looked up at Derek and smirked. “Because I drive you crazy.”
“That is very true,” Derek snorted then eyed Stiles with a look that was hard to decipher. “Although, there is another thing keeping you safe.”
“What?”
“The fact that I’m in love with you.”
Hearing those words come from Derek felt like a punch in the gut. Stiles could almost imagine himself stumbling back, the metallic taste of blood in his mouth and the ringing in his ears. In their world, there’d been nothing but pain and suffering, that for Stiles, this didn’t feel any different. It was violent; the onslaught of emotion he held for Derek. Very reminiscent of all they’d been through together. And Stiles had no doubt that what Derek was telling him now was the truth.
“Can I eat my fucking breakfast now?” Derek returned to the kitchen cupboards and got out the box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. “I was really enjoying that cereal before you barged in here and confiscated it,” he muttered under his breath, “Typical FED.”
Thankfully, Derek stopped talking shit once Stiles’ arms wrapped around his torso and hugged him from behind. Stiles wasn’t quite sure how they’d work out with Derek hating his job so much. He thunked his head against Derek’s shoulder playfully then rested it there, releasing a weighed down sigh.
“I love you too,” he sighed again, “And I promise you, I’ll do everything in my power to clear your name.”
“I know,” Derek chuckled, lifting a hand to ruffle Stiles’ hair. “That’s exactly the reason I came.”
Stiles only squeezed him tighter, not wanting to ever let go. He knew that what they were doing was breaking the law, but he also knew that he could never let anything bad happen to Derek. So, he guessed the only thing left to do now was figure out who was Bonnie and who was Clyde.