Stiles patiently waits while Cora talks with Isaac about something that's getting a bit flirty and gross. He loves them both but Jesus they're disgusting. They dance around each other all the time but add some werewolf friendly alcohol to the mix and it's nobodies business.
A couple suggestive looks later and Cora extricates herself from Isaac. She glances back as she goes and disappears off into the crowd. Isaac nods to Stiles as if to say this space is available now. Gee thanks.
"Dude, you two are disgusting" Stiles grins at Isaac. Isaac shrugs, "We try. Any way, I saw some pretty vomit inducing behavior coming from your corner a while ago." He cocks an eyebrow in stiles direction.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Yeah, he may have come over to talk about this, but he's not a girl, he can have a conversation first.
"You have that look. Come on. Get it out. Say it." That's the funny thing about Isaac, he just knows.
"Since you asked. I think I'm royally fucked. That thing that I've been repressing for the past 8 months, yeah not so much anymore." He sighs and reaches for a beer from the table behind Isaac.
He takes a long drink and sees the sideways eye Isaac gives him, but he just shrugs and opens his own and does the same. "Ok so basically, Derek's back, you can go back to being emotional about him, but you can do it with him instead of just leaking angst all over us." Isaac knows what's up.
"So, it's complicated, the stuff he's dealing with is complicated but I think that might be the gist of it, yeah." He must look unsure because Isaac says,
"Dude, you know before he left the overwhelming gross feelings weren't just directed at him, it was at you too. We could all feel it going both ways." Stiles flounders, his mouth opening and closing. He's figured Derek knows about his feelings but, "Are you sure, this seems to be affecting me completely differently to him."
Again with the side eye, "Dude, werewolf, remember."
"Ok, look. My ego probably can't handle this much in one go. You won't get my head past the door, we'll be stuck here forever."
"It's not an ego boost, it's the truth, I think we just figured out while he was gone how much of a big deal that connection actually was." Isaac shrugs again.
"No one thought to speak to me about it? I mean I've been pretty whiney about the whole thing."
"We thought you'd figure it out on your own, considering the amount of whining you did, which you mostly have. Just not to the extent that we can see."
Things Derek had said start to click into place, why the Isobel woman went off about the pack being more closely bonded than Derek let on. Why she followed stiles and Derek sheepishly skimmed over that part. Just a lot of whys.
Stiles feels a little bit silly now, he's good with problems but his own, obviously he's in too deep to see the silver lining.
So, as much as he wouldn't like to deal with this right now. At his friends rehearsal dinner, his brain is ready to go. Derek. Derek. Derek. Derek. Mate. Mate. Mate?
That word, it's too much.
It popped up and the air left Stiles lungs.
He sinks into the closest chair, scrambling for air.
How could he have not seen that coming. The way Derek was speaking, he knew something was up, but this. No. It's impossible.
Stiles is Stiles. He honestly doesn't know what he had expected when Derek tried to say he knows what Stiles is feeling.
