/ / / 4 \ \ \

"What on earth do you mean why?" Lydia asked.

Stiles waved his hand at her. "Not why me but why…me?"

Lydia laughed at him.

"You know what I mean," Stiles said. "I get why people agree to go out with me or ask me out. I'm funny, cute, smart and I'm amazing in bed."

"And so bloody modest too," Lydia said.

"Why are you dating an Australian?"

"She's hot."

Stiles laughed. "I understand why I am attractive to some but this is Derek, who really doesn't like me, so why on earth do you think he has a crush on me?"

Lydia frowned and took a deep breath. "It's hard to describe since Derek is more closed off than a Vulcan after Kolinar."

Stiles laughed. "I am so glad you think Zachary Quinto is hot."

Lydia leaned close. "Why are all the lovely ones gay."

Stiles tugged her down and started to tickle her. "I'm not completely gay, you want to throw Isabel over and we'll run off to Vegas and get married?"

Lydia laughed and got comfortable. "Derek is different with you, he asks for your help and once you're there he tries to push you away. He asks about you in that really obviously trying to be casual way and when we talk about you without him asking you can see him perking up. It's nothing obvious, it's not like when you had a crush on me."

"I just love how you throw that in my face whenever you feel like it."

Lydia kissed him on the cheekbone and pulled back. "You really had no idea?"

"Nope."

"Admittedly he hides it well and he's never admitted to anything but once we started noticing it was really obvious…Scott doesn't see it."

Stiles nodded. "So Jackson has taken it on himself to encourage Derek to do something about this crush that has never been admitted to, could be fake and doesn't make any sense anyway since Derek has only dated women; Kate and Erica?"

"You only looked at women too and then you met Thomas and went after him like a cat in heat."

"Pfft," Stiles said smiling at the memory of that time with Thomas. "I had a crush on Danny in high school."

"Really?" Stiles could see the utter glee on Lydia's face at that bit of information but Stiles wasn't worried, he'd admitted as much to Danny one night when they were both drunk. The kiss that had followed proved to them both that they would never be anything but friends. They had lived together ever since.

They could hear someone moving around in the kitchen now.

"I have a question," Lydia said. "Before I demand some coffee."

"Shoot."

"Do you like Derek?"

Stiles allowed himself a moment to think about it even though he knew the answer. "No."

"Oh."

"He's Derek, I've never thought about him like that."

Lydia stood up and changed the topic suddenly. "I remember the promise of pancakes."

"Oh alright," Stiles stood up and grabbed an old top to pull on before they went outside.

"You're serious, nothing?"

"I can honestly say with the exception of noticing the man is fucking hot I have never thought about him like that."

Lydia bit her lip. "I always thought you might have had a crush on him back in high school; when you were trying to become part of the pack."

Stiles shook his head. "I didn't need to have a crush on anyone to want to be part of a werewolf pack."

"You could have asked for a bite."

"No," Stiles said and walked to the door.

"Right," Lydia dropped it and followed him out of his bedroom and into the kitchen where Jackson was half asleep at the table there moaning about a straw for his coffee.

"You worked it out yet Stiles?" Danny asked.

"Jackson thinks Derek has a crush on me."

"He does," Jackson muttered into his arm.

"Stiles isn't interested in Derek," Lydia supplied.

"Oh," Danny said matching the tone Lydia had used earlier.

"Ah crap." Jackson threw in.

"Since I still don't believe that Derek feels like that I really don't think it is going to be an issue." Stiles said and started cooking them all breakfast.

TBC...

If I keep going at this pace I'm going to finish this before the big bang and as this is helping me deal with the incredibly heavy topic of that it would be terrible...or I'd have to start something else. Hmmm.