The Formally Creepy Mansion | Thursday Evening

[robinonadderall]

Stiles had not been having a good week, but he made a real effort to pull himself together by Thursday so he could work on giving Derek a good, drama-free birthday. He bought meat lovers pizza, how could it go wrong?

It could probably go wrong in a lot of ways, but Stiles wasn't trying to focus on that.

[For the birthday wolf! Up early 'cause I'm working the late shift, ugh]

Comments

[robinonadderall]

Stiles continued on into the kitchen, shoulders hunched and moving slower than he had been before. You were just determined to ruin your own birthday, weren't you Derek?

He put a single candle in the red velvet cupcake he bought and lit it 'cause that's what you did on someone's birthday. He had gotten one for himself too but ate it about five minutes after he brought it home.

Stiles had also gotten Derek a gift but left it (sloppily wrapped and labeled) on the kitchen table for him to find later. He wasn't sure if this was the right time to give it now. It probably wasn't as much as Derek spent on the iPad for him, but Stiles had done his best.

He came back into the living room and gently placed the cupcake on the coffee table so the candle wouldn't go out. "I don't want to talk about it. Now make a wish and blow out your candle."

[justlurkinghere]

Derek sighed like the big, useless drama queen he was under all that angst and man pain, but did as instructed to blow the candle out. He didn't make a wish and you can't make him.

"She's worried," he settled on, plucking the candle it so he could peel the wrapper off the cake portion. And by 'she' Derek meant himself. So.

[robinonadderall]

"This is talking about it," Stiles said. "The thing I just said I didn't want to do."

[justlurkinghere]

"Pretty sure this is me talking and you sulking," Derek replied. And oh god, he was turning into Laura. This was horrible. He broke the cupcake in half, shoving one at Stiles.

[robinonadderall]

Stiles shook his head, gently pushing Derek's hand away. It was Derek's birthday cupcake and Stiles had already eaten one anyway. "What do you want me to say?"

[justlurkinghere]

Shut up and take your sympathy cupcake!

"They're getting worse."

[robinonadderall]

"And?" Fine, he'll take your stupid cupcake, Derek.

[justlurkinghere]

"And it's rainbows and puppies," Derek shot back sarcastically.

[robinonadderall]

The only reason Stiles didn't snap at Derek was because it was his birthday. Instead he went with sulky. "I'm still not seeing what you want from me here."

[justlurkinghere]

Perfect time to start this then!

Derek huffed, eating his half of the cupcake in one go. "You keep hiding this like no one is going to notice."

[robinonadderall]

"I don't think you guys are stupid, I know you know," Stiles said, pointedly looking away from Derek when he had white frosting on his face. Because really. "What I want is for you to ignore it. It's not your problem."

[justlurkinghere]

"That's stupid. Of course it's our problem," Derek shot back displaying all that newly aged maturity. "It's you."

[robinonadderall]

"And if this problem had a solution to it then the help would be appreciated," Stiles said. "But seeing as there isn't one, all you two are doing is making me feel guilty for worrying you."

[justlurkinghere]

"You worry us when you hide this shit!"

Just let him cradle you tenderly, Stiles.

[robinonadderall]

"What do you want me to do?" Stiles said, trying not to get angry and failing. "I can't come crying to you every time I have a nightmare for the rest of my life! I need to handle this on my own!"

[justlurkinghere]

Why can't they just have a nice evening? Oh right, Beacon Hills.

"So, what? You're just going to pretend everything is fine?"

[robinonadderall]

"What else can I do?" he asked. "Please, share your brilliant plan to make me normal again."

[justlurkinghere]

"Talk to someone." Oh god, that hurt to say. Because it's not like he could follow his own advice. BECAUSE HE WAS FINE, OKAY? FINE.

[robinonadderall]

"Like a therapist?" he asked. "You want me to see a therapist for a problem caused by a mystical Druid tree stump?"

[justlurkinghere]

Yeah, go see if Hannibal is taking patients. This in no way could end badly.

"Or Kitty," Derek snapped. "Or your friends!"

Maybe him if you liked brooding silences, scathing sarcasm, and sad puppy eyes.

[robinonadderall]

Hey! Hannibal was a nice guy!

"I don't see how that will help. I told you right from the start that there's no fixing this," Stiles told him. "I thought you said you weren't going to try to fix me."

As funny as Derek having frosting on his face was, it was kind of hard to take him seriously like that. So Stiles did the polite thing and reached up to wipe of the spare frosting with his thumb.

[justlurkinghere]

Derek's expression went blank for a moment as he remembered how to brain again. Like he was rebooting for that.

Then he scowled like Stiles had done it on purpose to throw him off. "I'm not trying to fix you." He kinda was. "You can't expect me to not want to help."

He wasn't actually heartless, after all.

[robinonadderall]

"And I told you that you can't help," Stiles said, absently sticking his thumb in his mouth to get the icing off. "And Kitty should know that too, she was there when the whole thing was explained to me."

[justlurkinghere]

...

Derek hated you so much now.

"Would you still try to help her if she was the one dealing with it?"

[robinonadderall]

"She's not the one dealing with it, I am," Stiles said, shaking his head. "I already asked her to kill me, I'm not about to make her feel worse by going into detail about my nightmares."