Many things in Derek's life could be traced back to the moment he asked Stiles out.
This particular nightmare of a shopping trip was the most recent in a long list of developments that had led him to his complicated relationship with most of his pack.
To be fair, things had started out normal. Or at least, normal for them. They went to Ikea together because they all felt entitled to have a say on the furniture Derek would buy for the new house. Derek supposed it was fair, they already spent an awful amount of time at Derek's place and he was sure that once their lease was up, Stiles would take up Derek on his invitation to live together. Of course, it was very likely that by the end of the year, Kira will have moved into his place indefinitely, Isaac will have decided that Derek's house was way better than Scott's apartment, and Lydia will have moved enough of her closet to be able to say she lived there as well.
In short, they all had a reason to want to be there helping Derek choose between living room set-ups and patio furniture. Not that any of them needed to be there, but it was nice to be out and about with them like a somewhat normal group of people.
Still, Derek regretted choosing a day that promised snow. There was hardly ever any snowfall this side of California, but the crisp air that greeted him, Stiles, and Kira when they left the house should have been enough for him, a born wolf, to know there would be some snow during the day.
He did not expect the storm to trap them and a dozen more customers inside Ikea. That kind of thing only happened in the type of silly, romantic clichés that Scott and Allison liked to watch for their biweekly movie night (Derek still rolled his eyes every time they used "movie night" as synonym for "we're getting away from everyone and having loud sex that even Stiles cannot ignore").
Still, here they were, two hours into what would probably be a long night by the looks of the people demanding to talk to someone so they get them out.
Derek, sitting on a sofa with Stiles to his right and Allison to his left, carefully watched as the manager tried to calm people down, with varying degrees of success. Scott and Lydia were cuddling in a love seat, using one of the blankets the employees offered them to stay warm, while Kira and Isaac were talking in hushed whispers sitting cross-legged in the ottoman behind Scott.
"Should we intervene? I feel like we should intervene," said Allison.
"I don't know, Ally. Crowds like that…" Stiles trailed off with a shrug.
"I could tell them to shut up and let the manager work," Allison added.
"You're only going to make them angrier," Derek said, grabbing her hand. "Besides, we'll be out of here soon. I'm sure someone must be doing something to get us out."
Stiles sighed. "I have a feeling you just jinxed us, babe."
"Jinxes are not real."
"You say so now, but what if—"
"Stiles," Lydia called from her place on Scott's lap. "Please don't finish that sentence. Jinxes might not be real, but let's not tempt the Gods, shall we?"
Derek should have known better than to hope Stiles would be wrong.
When the lights went out, there was a collective groan throughout the whole store. At least one of the employees mumbled that they did not get paid enough to deal with this while one of the customers resumed his angry tirades against the staff, as if they were personally responsible for the snowstorm.
Derek's eyes adapted to the darkness fast enough that he saw the moment Allison was done with the asshole yelling at the poor employee. He tried to grab her wrist to stop her, but she was way ahead of him and moved her arm out of the way as she walked decidedly towards the angry customer. Derek barely saw the whole thing: one moment Allison was walking towards the man, then she had maneuvered him against a wardrobe, twisting his arm back.
"If you don't stop giving the employees a bad time, I'm gonna dislocate your shoulder so hard you're going to feel it for weeks," she threatened.
"Let me go, you bitch! Do you even know who I am?"
Isaac and Scott both said hey! at the same time, just as Kira stood up and slowly walked closer to Allison.
"I know you're an entitled asshole who thinks he can yell his way out of here." Allison twisted the man's arm higher when he started to complain again. "Newsflash, you idiot, the employees don't control the weather. The roads are blocked and who knows how long it'll take the Fire and Rescue to get to us, given there are emergencies all around town.
"So I suggest you shut the fuck up and behave or you'll have a medical emergency to add to your growing list of complaints."
Allison shoved the man against the wardrobe once more and let go, turning around to go back to their sofa. That's when the man made the stupidest decision he could have made: he grabbed Allison's arm. Derek was sure his eyes glowed red momentarily as a growl formed in his throat. Scott and Isaac weren't far behind, just as protective of her as he was.
Kira spoke up first, her eyes glowing faintly. "Oh, man. Oh, you absolute idiot. You'd better let my girlfriend go now or you'll be extremely sorry."
The man looked between the two of them, then made a dismissive sound. "Pff, as if I'd be scared of a couple of weak, skinny dykes."
One moment Derek was sitting next to Stiles, then he was next to the man, grabbing his wrist. If his eyes glowed crimson, then so be it.
"Maybe you'll be scared of their 6' boyfriend, but really, you should've never messed with Ally to start with," he said.
As if waiting for Derek to say that, Allison disarmed the man in less than five seconds, making him kneel on the floor as she twisted his arm back. The man screamed, making everyone turn in their direction. Derek could see the manager coming over with a flashlight, a worried expression on his face.
"Allison," Derek warned.
She immediately let the man go, shook her head and made her way towards Stiles, sitting on his lap.
"What's going on here?" the manager asked.
"Just a little misunderstanding," Derek said, putting on his best fake smile. He put his hand out to Kira who took it immediately. "Come on, Kira."
"Hey, wait! Take this." The manager gave him a flashlight. "What's your name?"
"Derek."
"Well, Derek, could you and your group not start a fight when we're trapped in here for the foreseeable future? You seem like a sensible one. Don't give me another headache, I don't think I can take it."
"Sure. Sorry for that"—he quickly glanced at the name tag—"we'll be good, Justin."
The man looked mildly surprised to hear his response, then turned to the asshole who was still kneeling on the floor. "And you, you better respect my employees or you'll sleep all alone in the employees' canteen and no one will bring you blankets or food."
Derek turned his back on them, walking hand in hand with Kira to the sofa. She sat on the arm, while Derek paced in front of Allison and Stiles.
"Don't start another fight," Derek told Allison. The woman just rolled her eyes at him. "I'm serious, Ally. I know the guy was being an asshole, but we could do without any dislocated shoulders to make him even worse."
She sighed.
"Besides," added Stiles. "I could barely see shit. I need a front row seat to all the times you put an asshole in his place."
"Stiles," Derek warned, while Isaac, Lydia and Scott laughed in the background. "Don't encourage her."
"Sorry, sorry. It's so fun though."
"Stiles."
"Sorry, babe." Stiles put his hand out to Derek. He sighed and took it, squeezing once to show he wasn't mad.
He ended up sitting next to Kira and leaning his head on her thigh. The beginnings of a headache threatened to form before his enhanced healing took care of it. Still, it left him sensitive to everything around him: the constant mumbling of the people in the store, staff walking around offering blankets, the wind howling outside, the heartbeats of his pack surrounding him.
Derek had never wanted his own bed more than then.
Derek didn't realize he dozed off on Kira's thigh until he woke up with Allison's giggles at something someone said. Something had changed, he noticed hazily. His head was still on Kira's lap but he was covered by a thick, wool blanket.
"If someone drew a mustache on me, I'm dissolving the pack."
"You wouldn't," three voices said at the same time.
"Fine. I wouldn't, but I'd start a new pack tradition called '6 a.m. morning runs'. Participation mandatory."
"Derek, love, you are not getting me to run that early," said Lydia.
He opened his eyes and glanced in her direction. "You'd do if I asked nicely."
Lydia looked at him for a moment, raising an eyebrow at him. "How nicely?"
"On my knees," he replied, to Scott and Stiles' catcalls.
Allison laughed, that charming, musical laugh that made Derek fall for her in the first place. When Derek looked at her, she turned her beautiful brown eyes on him. She looked a little flushed, happy even under the circumstances, bundled up to her shoulders in a blue blanket.
"Mmm, now that's an idea," she said, caressing his calf with her foot.
"Don't start something you're not gonna finish," Derek warned, feeling a shiver go through him.
She smiled. "Who says I'm not?"
Isaac cleared his throat. "I think we have more urgent matters to attend."
"Yeah, I think the green sofa you suggested in an abomination," interrupted Scott.
"What's wrong with the green sofa?" Isaac asked.
"Honey, it's a green velour sofa," Lydia said. "Not on my watch."
"You," Kira intervened, "wanted a sectional in black. You are not allowed to turn my living room into a minimalist showroom."
"It's my living room," said Derek, but he was mostly ignored.
"Lyds, I'm with Kira on this one," Scott said. "It's gonna be a nightmare to keep clean. Derek sheds."
His pack laughed and Scott beamed, as if he'd said the funniest joke in the world.
"I still veto the green sofa," said Lydia.
"Don't I get a say in this?" Derek asked.
"Of course," Stiles said. "Final pick."
"What if I want the green velour sofa?" he saw Lydia's smile and felt his heart flutter.
"You don't," she said. "You liked the sectional Kivik sofa."
"I haven't said anything about choices yet," Derek said.
She pulled her own blanket up her shoulders, bundling closer to Scott. "No, but I noticed you looking."
"Is that the black sectional sofa?" asked Kira.
"They also have it in grey," he defended.
"And at least six other colors," Isaac said, looking at his phone.
Kira perked up at that. "Do they have it in green?"
"Not green," said Lydia.
Isaac showed Kira his phone. "What about pink?"
"Not pink," Derek said immediately.
"What's wrong with pink?" Kira asked.
"It's not going to match the walls," Derek admitted. "Black will match everything."
Stiles and Allison laughed at that.
"We can repaint the walls," Allison added.
"Oh, no, I am not going through the remodeling process again," Derek said. "You guys were a nightmare."
A chorus of hey! made him smile. They had been impossible while Derek decided on colors for the living room and the rooms. Though that was nothing compared to the pool/tub discussion.
"What about something blue?" asked Stiles. That would fit your style without feeling like a minimalist showroom, as Kira said."
Derek thought it over. It would certainly match his vision and it would make the living room look brighter, homely even.
When he realized everyone was looking at him expectantly, he said, "okay. The Blue Kivik then."
His entire pack cheered.
"Now, for the bedrooms," Lydia started. Derek rolled his eyes but ended up sitting up straight to join the conversation. It would be a long night either way.
"Tvarö has a lot more personality," said Lydia.
"Nämmarö can seat more people though," Scott argued.
"We can get two sets," Derek said. "I'd rather we choose something we'll like."
They had changed positions and now Derek was sitting in the sofa, pressed against the arm because Isaac wanted to sit somewhere where he could share his finds on his phone with everyone. Allison was sitting smushed between Isaac and Stiles, while Stiles now had a lap full of a sleepy Kira. How she could even doze off with Stiles' leg jiggling up and down was a mystery.
"What about Jutholmen?" asked Isaac, passing his phone to Lydia. "It looks modern. Is that what we're looking for?"
"That corner seat looks awfully uncomfortable," Scott said, taking a peek at the image on Isaac's phone.
"It's a modular, we can break it up," argued Lydia, passing the phone back to Isaac.
Allison looked at the screen and frowned. "Are all outdoor sofas this boring? Can't we have something in red? Maybe a pattern? What's with this plain white nonsense?"
Stiles snickered at that. "You know what? I think you're right, I've never seen a red sofa outdoors. Maybe we could change the upholstery."
"The whole point of coming to Ikea was having less work to do," Derek said.
"And you think you'll be happy with your white ensemble of patio furniture?" Stiles pressed, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Fine, you're right, I'll hate it."
That's when Lydia decided to speak up. "You know, I think my mother bought her outdoor furnite from a local store that does custom made upholstery. I could ask her for the details."
"Yes, please," said Allison. "I'm sure we'd all love you for that."
"You all already love me," Lydia said with a smile.
As usual, she was right.
At some point around 11 p.m., electricity was restored. Derek squinted against the harsh white light, but his eyes adapted quickly enough. He noticed Scott rubbing the sleep from his eyes —he hadn't noticed that the man had fallen asleep at some point— while Isaac stood up and stretched his long limbs.
Justin The Manager exclaimed a loud "thank fuck!" that got a laugh from most of the people present.
Derek did notice that when the light came on a couple of people immediately looked in their direction, frowning at either their closeness, their nonchalance or the way Lydia followed Isaac example and started stretching mesmerizing everyone in the pack. Derek tried to remember if the seven of them had ever attracted that much attention from other people but he couldn't recall any situation remotely similar to the one they were in now.
Justin The Manager came over to check on them. "Everything alright, guys?"
"Any news from outside?" asked Allison.
"Yeah, dispatch says that while Beacon Hills has electricity again, there's higher priorities for Rescue."
"What could be a bigger priority than three dozen people trapped in a store?" Isaac wondered.
"Well"—Justin put his hands on his hips and sighed—"there was an event at Beacon Hills High and there's over a hundred teenagers trapped in a place with no central heating… and the bus collision on Main and the apartment building on fire near the museum."
"Oh, for fuck's sake," exclaimed Stiles. "Can Beacon Hills get a fucking break?"
"I'm sorry there's not more we can do," said Justin.
"God, no, this isn't against you, man" Stiles remedied quickly. "I just wish there was one month when nothing happened, you know? One month of absolute quiet where the biggest gossip in town was someone's new car or something."
The manager smiled. "On the other hand, we're going to raid the cafeteria now that we can see where everything is. Are you guys hungry?"
"Starving, actually," said Isaac.
"Then come on. Try not to start any fights though." That last part, he directed to Allison and Derek specifically.
Allison gave him her brightest smile. "On my best behavior, I swear."
They sat at a table together and ate meatballs, rice and sauteed veggies —heavy on the meatballs for the wolves. Moreover, they could all drink a cup of coffee or hot chocolate to stay warm.
They were in the middle of an argument about the best Batman movie —an argument that had been had enough times in the pack that there were sides now— when Derek caught someone coming closer from the corner of his eye. He turned his gaze on the man and realized it was the guy that grabbed Allison earlier.
The pack slowly noticed his distraction and turned to look at the man, Scott standing up when it was clear the man was coming to their table.
"Hey man, stay back," he said, putting his hand up to signal him to stop.
Isaac also stood up, as tall as he could, behind Allison who looked at the man with a raised eyebrow. Derek didn't know what face he was making, but the man swallowed before stopping a couple of feet away from Scott.
"Hey, I just… erm…"
"Yes?" said Lydia, a sickly sweet tone to her voice.
The man looked at the his hands, then back at the table. He looked terribly uncomfortable. Derek thought it served him right.
"I just wanted to apologize," he said, looking at Allison. "I shouldn't have grabbed you like that. I'm sorry."
"Didn't you also treat them like shit?" Isaac asked, faking innocence. "Something about 'skinny dykes' if I recall correctly."
"Weak, skinny dykes," said Kira.
The man squirmed under their gaze. "Look, it was a mistake, okay? Clearly you have some weird shit going on in here"—he gestured at them weakly—"none of my business, really."
"It was none of your business two hours ago as well," Stiles said.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry, okay? I'm done here."
Just as he turned around, Allison spoke up. "Apologize to the staff, sign up to an anger management class, stay the hell out of our way the rest of the night and we're good."
The man glanced at her, nodded, then kept walking.
Under his breath, he mumbled something about fucking werewolves but Derek ignored it in favor of his pack. "You okay, Ally?"
"Yeah, he's just another entitled asshole who got scared. If I never see him again, it'll be too soon."
One of the employees —Aline if Derek remembered correctly from when she served them food— called the room to attention timidly. "Hey, everyone? Justin says we'll do a final round of coffee, then we can bunk down for the night, so if you want caffeine, now's the time."
The pack exchanged looks. "Bunk down?" Lydia asked.
Derek sighed. This night could not possibly get any worse.
Justin The Manager called Derek aside and quietly asked him if it was possible their group stayed together when they assigned beds.
"Do you have any King beds?" Derek asked.
"A couple, but I have a bunch of elderly people to accommodate and—"
"It's okay," he reassured the man. "Just show us to the one farthest away from everyone. We'll sort it out."
"You're probably the least problematic customers I've ever had. Minor fights aside."
"Eh, we've all worked customer service," he said.
Justin smiled and pointed to the end of aisle. "Take the blue bed. I'll corral the rest of the people in here."
Derek thanked him and waved at his pack to follow him. Stiles took that as an invitation and jumped on his back, wrapping his legs around Derek's waist. Immediately, running on instinct, he grabbed Stiles' thighs to stop them from toppling over.
"To infinity and beyond!" he yelled, pointing ahead of them.
The girls laughed, but Derek wasn't fazed. He just walked carrying Stiles in a piggyback ride until they reached the bed, where he just dropped him unceremoniously.
"Justin wants us to stay out of the way. I think you frightened him, Ally."
"If that's all it takes to scare him…" she started.
"Oh, he wouldn't last a day with any of you," said Isaac. "You guys are weird."
"And you aren't?" Stiles asked from the bed.
"Not half as much as you."
"Oh, you wish you had my whimsy," Stiles said.
"Guys," Lydia interrupted. "This is a great conversation. Can we have it when we're under the blankets? I'm freezing."
"We won't all fit here," Scott said, helpfully.
"We'll make do," Derek replied. "We'll do shifts. Five people can sleep there, it'll be a tight fit, but it's cold and we could probably use the body heat."
"We could split up," Kira suggested.
"We might be out of here earlier and it would be good to have someone awake in case someone comes over. I'll stay up now, decide who stays up with me amongst yourselves."
Allison took a blanket from their pile and wrapped it around her shoulders. "I'll stay up with you. I'm not tired yet."
Derek nodded and picked up a blanket. "Alright, the rest of you get some sleep."
"Sir, yes, sir," Stiles saluted, getting into the bed right in the middle, with Lydia and Kira to each side. Scott and Isaac got in each on one side, taking with them the rest of the blankets for extra warmth.
Derek sat on the love seat just a few feet away and put the blanket around his shoulders, keeping it open for Allison in invitation. The woman smiled and sat on his lap, snuggling close to him. She was warm and smelled like Lydia's shampoo and Stiles in a way that made him feel safe.
"Hey, are you mad?" she asked all of a sudden. "We hijacked your shopping trip and we continue to make decisions that are probably not ours to make."
"I'm not mad. Why would you think I'm mad?"
"We've been a nightmare tonight. Especially me. Sorry for starting a fight for nothing."
"Ally," Derek said, waiting for her to look up at him. "I'm not mad. I like spending time with you, and I like watching you put guys in their place."
"It was such a stupid thing though."
"Who cares, Ally? It's fine." Derek put a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Besides, tonight has been weirdly educational."
"How come?"
"I learned that a green velour sofa is somehow an attack against fashion," he joked.
Allison laughed in his lap, bright and warm and stunning. Derek felt all kinds of things with that laugh. When her laughter dissolved, she looked at Derek with her beautiful brown eyes.
"What?"
"I love you, you know?" he said.
"I know." She kissed the side of his face and added, "me too."
A bang somewhere up front of the store startled him and he sat up straight, alert. Allison followed his gaze and asked "someone at the door?"
Stiles' phone rang loudly, making everyone in the bed groan. Instead of getting the call, Stiles hid his face under a pillow until it stopped. Then Derek's phone vibrated in his pocket. When he checked the screen, he saw Stiles' father name on the screen.
"Sheriff," he answered.
"How many time will I have to tell you that Noah will suffice?" the Sheriff asked.
"One more?"
He sighed. "Stiles texted me earlier tonight that you guys were trapped in the Ikea downtown. The Fire Department should be outside. Someone was trying to contact the manager but apparently his phone has been turned off."
"I'll let him know," Derek said.
"Everyone okay?"
"Yeah, we're alright. Just tired."
"Get some rest after this." After a moment, he added, "and tell my son to answer his damn phone every once in a while."
"Will do. Thank you Sh— Noah."
He hung up as Allison stood up, stretching her hands over her head, then she went to wake up the pack. He stretched his legs and went to find Justin The Manager.
The man was sleeping bundled up in a love seat near the front, where two other people were awake watching a movie. He woke him up gently, but the man still startled.
"Hey, the Fire Department is outside. What do you need us to do?"
They got to Derek's place somewhere around 4 a.m., after the paramedics checked them out and cleared them to go.
They could have gone to their own apartments, but apparently no one wanted to part ways after that particular experience. Derek was dead tired, but he still took some time to shower to wash the store's smell out of him, not that anyone else cared at that time of the day. When he got out of the shower, Derek noticed that Stiles and Lydia were in his bed already, trading lazy kisses, clearly distracted.
"Where did everyone else go?" he asked.
"Kira and Allison wanted to sleep, so they're in the room next door."
"And the guys?"
"Guest room."
Derek's guest room was only a guest room in name. It wasn't like he had many people to invite to his place, so most of the time it was the room where people had sex when the main room was busy.
"Got it," Derek said, as he finished toweling his hair dry.
"Come on, love, we were waiting for you," said Lydia.
"Were you? You seemed to be doing just fine without me."
"We are miserable without you, what do you mean?" Stiles said with a smile. "Will you get into bed already? Lydia's feet are cold as ice."
Derek smirked. "Well, we can't have that, can we?"
Suddenly, sleep was the last thing on his mind.