A/N: I know I should be getting on with Still Of The Night but I've had a bucketload of real life getting in the way and I've had a friend from the States staying with me for the last two weeks making writing impossible. But she's out tonight and I had to write something so here's a little fluffy morsel to be going on with. Hopefully I'll get back on track with Still in the next two weeks.
Stiles slouched against the pillar at the back of the school hall. From this vantage point he could see nearly all of his pack. Scott and Allison were dancing already, to be honest they'd been joined at the hip from the moment they'd all got out of the limo; one amorphous being: Scallison. Stiles smirked at the portmanteau name. Yeah, he was gonna have to use that. Jackson was lurking over by the refreshment table while Lydia was trying to draw Coach Finstock away, presumable to enact that age old rite of passage – spiking the punch.
Stiles reached up and caught hold of one of the streamers that a dozen peppy girls had spent a day decorating the hall with, he pulled it down. There was just one pack member absent. As Stiles thought about the missing wolf, his hands rended the streamer into tiny pieces, dropping them to the floor to fall over his feet; feet which weren't dancing. Specifically, feet which weren't dancing with his boyfriend. That is, if he even had a boyfriend. Stiles didn't know. Oh sure, he'd been almost literally making the beast with two backs with Derek for over 6 months now, the pack knew, even his father knew, well, maybe not about the beast part but he certainly knew that there was a thing between the two of them. The problem was, did a 'thing' constitute being boyfriends? Stiles had never asked, just in case the answer was no.
So, when Senior Prom came round he stayed quiet, he never mentioned it. He let the girls have their excitement regarding dresses and frippery and he pitched in his share of the limo and he didn't even contemplate asking anyone to go with him, not even the one person who made his world spin and his stomach flip. He was too scared that if he tried to put a name to the relationship, he'd end the relationship.
Lydia skittered over giggling, "Mission accomplished!" Jackson, slid round behind the pair of them in what he thought was a cool and artful manner but which really wasn't.
"Go get it while it's fresh", he said. Stiles just raised an eyebrow and otherwise ignored him.
"C'mon Stiles, have some fun." Lydia pulled at his hand, "Dance with me?" Stiles yanked his hand away.
"No", he said, "really not in the mood"
"Well you only have yourself to blame, you should have asked him."
"Yeah, because what Derek wants is totally to be stuck in a school hall with a hundred teenagers", grumbled Stiles.
"How do you know what he wants if you don't ask him", shot back Lydia as she was pulled on to the dance floor by Jackson. Once again Stiles stood alone, watching the parade of youthful exuberance in front of him.
Nothing's going to change, he thought so he figured he might as well dull his senses. He wandered over to the refreshments and queued to fill a cup with punch. Taking a sip he almost spat it out. Jackson must have managed to get at least two bottles of vodka in there. Better drunk than lonely, he mused so he forced most of it down and slowly ambled back to his original vantage point.
The dance was more than half over by now and for that Stiles was grateful. The band had changed tempo from upbeat songs to a series of slow numbers and he could see his packmates smooching on the dance floor. Another streamer bit the dust. Suddenly the cup vanished from his hand. Stiles looked up, he thought he saw a vision, he thought he could see Derek standing there looking divine in a black suit and dark grey shirt and tie. He figured there must have been more vodka in the punch than he thought until the vision took his hand and said, "Dance with me?"
"Derek?" spluttered Stiles, "what are you doing here?"
"You never asked me to be your date even though I was waiting for you. I couldn't leave you alone for your senior prom." Derek moved Stiles on to the dance floor and pulled him in against his body. The couple swayed to the slow rhythm of the band. Stiles rested his head against Derek's shoulder and sighed.
"I didn't think you'd be interested in high school stuff. I wasn't even sure you were that interested in me." Stiles said quietly.
"Haven't the last six months shown you anything?" asked Derek. "I know what I want, I want you, I thought it was obvious."
"Maybe I was too scared that you wouldn't see me like that outside of the pack."
Derek drew their still clasped hands in between their bodies and with his other hand stroked soft lines on the back of Stiles neck. He looked down at the only person who'd ever made him feel like he wasn't meant to end up alone after all. "Kiss me", he whispered quietly to Stiles.
Stiles broke the hand clasp and reached up to stroke Derek's cheek. "Here?" he asked, "in front of all these people?"
"Yes, here. I want people to see us; I want them all to know that you're with me."
Stiles tipped his head up and brushed his lips against those of his boyfriend's. Yeah, he figured he could call him that now. Derek pressed back and gently urged Stiles' mouth open and there in the presence of his contemporaries, Stiles showed the whole school that he was a hopeless romantic and kissed his lover for all he was worth.