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"Are we there yet?" Stiles was anxiously looking out the window of the Camaro.
"For the millionth time, when you see the signs for Universal Studios, then we're there," Derek replied grumpily.
Slouching down into his seat, Stiles frowned. "You take the fun out of everything, Derek."
"I just don't understand why we had to come all the way to Orlando for a theme park when there's a perfectly good equivalent in Southern California," he said.
"But they don't have the Islands of Adventure!"
"You live in Beacon Hills," Derek grumbled. "Don't you think you've had your fill of adventure?"
That was a good point. Stiles considered his response carefully before replying. "I'm seeking adventure of the roller coaster variety… not the batshit crazy supernatural adventures that we always seem to get sucked into."
"There are roller coasters in California," Derek pointed out.
"Not these ones!" A sign for Universal went by, prompting Stiles to glance over to Derek. "Hey Sourwolf… guess what?"
"If you say
'We're there'
I swear to God!"
"Leave it to you to take the amusement out of going to an amusement park!"
Derek pointed to the GPS on the dashboard. "It says we're 10 minutes away. I want 10 minutes of silence."
For the 10 minutes it took to get into the park, Stiles attempted to glare at Derek, but his ADHD forced him to look at the sights surrounding him. When they finally parked, Stiles got out of the car. "Can I geek out now?"
"Yes," Derek replied.
As they walked toward the ticket office, Derek ordered Stiles to stay put. Stiles wasn't sure why until he noticed Derek pulling out his credit card. He quickly ran up to the box office. Seeing the total displayed on the screen, Stiles got a little angry. "Derek! Why did you pay for me?"
"Because I can," Derek said dismissively, handing a ticket to Stiles. "Now do you want fun and amusement or not?"
"How do you do that?" Stiles asked.
"Do what?"
"Make the word 'fun' sound like a chore," Stiles replied. "Is it a gift or a curse?"
"Let's go," Derek said, grabbing Stiles' hand and pulling him toward the park, ignoring his sarcastic question.
Studying a map of the park, Stiles said, "Let's go to the Marvel Island first, then we can work our way around and end up back here when we're done."
Motioning in the direction, Derek said. "Lead the way."
The first ride they came upon was the Hulk. "Did you know that this was once the fastest roller coaster in the country?" Stiles mused as they waited in line. Derek grunted his acknowledgment. "I guess you could say it was the Alpha!" Derek glared. "It's almost our turn to get on the ride!"
"Do you say everything that comes to your head?" Derek asked.
Stiles felt genuinely hurt by that. "I'm sorry," he said, his face falling. "It's just after everything that happened, I need to think about anything else…"
Suddenly, Derek felt like a complete asshole. "No, I'm sorry. I should have realized…"
"If I had known you wouldn't enjoy yourself, I would have just invited Scott," Stiles said. "I just really wanted to be with you."
Derek didn't expect that response. "What?"
"It's time for us to get on the ride," Stiles said, evading the question. He wasn't sure how to answer it. He didn't know how to tell Derek that he was the thing that helped him hold onto himself while he was possessed by the Nogitsune. Or that he thought he might be in love with Derek.
During the course of the ride, Stiles screamed and laughed at will. It felt good to be able to let loose. It was exhilarating and when the ride finally came to a stop, the adrenaline was pumping. "That was fricken awesome!" he exclaimed as they pulled into the area to exit the ride. "Did you see a flash? I think I saw a flash… Maybe they took our pictures!"
Stiles raced down the stairwell to the photo area and searched the screens. Immediately, he found theirs. "Derek… your eyes did the thing…"
"That's too bad," Derek replied.
"Maybe not," Stiles replied, studying the picture further. "Because it looks like I'm riding next to the Grumpy Cat…" Derek's eyes narrowed. Stiles glanced over to see the look on Derek's face. "Yeah… that's the one…"
"Let's go," Derek growled.
As they exited back into the heart of Marvel Superhero Island, they saw crowds gathering. "I think the Heroes are doing a tour!"
"Heroes?" Derek asked. "What heroes?"
"The Marvel Superheroes!" Stiles said, his voice sounding higher-pitched than he intended beneath his excitement.
"Of course…"
They waited for the crowds to dissipate because Stiles wanted a photo with Wolverine. Right before the heroes were ready to leave, Stiles went up to Wolverine, holding his park map. "Will you sign this for me?"
The actor smiled and scrawled his signature onto the map. "How long have you been a fan?"
"My whole life," Stiles replied. "I always loved Wolverine's claws!"
Derek scoffed. "You call those claws?"
"You have better claws, bub?" Wolverine asked. Stiles' stomach turned in geekish fandom at how in-character this man was.
Derek approached. "As a matter of fact, I do." Stiles looked over to see Derek's eyes flash bright blue. He looked down at the werewolf claws that were protruding from his fingers.
"What the hell?" the actor murmured, backing away.
Before anyone else could see, Derek's hands had returned to normal and a smug smirk was plastered on his face. "You ready to move on?"
Derek's demeanor improved throughout the day. There was one point when they were drinking Butterbeer in the Harry Potter section that Stiles thought he might have seen a genuine smile. "You've got a little foam in your facial hair," Stiles told him.
"Can you get it for me?" Derek asked.
Stiles was unsure why Derek couldn't get himself, but he leaned across the table and wiped the coarse hair of Derek's beard with his finger. He managed to suppress several dirty jokes as he saw the white liquid on his finger. Instead, he simply brought it to his lips in a move that forced Derek to raise his perfect eyebrows in a curious way.
They moved on, riding rides and seeing attractions until they got to the last island in their wake: Seuss Landing. "Do we really need to go through this?"
"My mom read the Dr. Seuss books to me when I was little. Of course we need to go through this!" Stiles replied. "Didn't your mom read you these books?"
"No," Derek replied. "Werewolves have their own stories."
"Little red riding hood?"
Derek growled.
Approaching the first ride, Stiles headed toward it. "Come on, Derek!"
"Tell me you're kidding!" Derek complained.
"If I did, I'd be lying."
Derek grumbled something Stiles couldn't hear and followed him down the path. They weren't the only 'grown ups' in line. They were, as Derek noticed and pointed out, the only grown individuals without small children in-tow. He couldn't help but to regard Stiles in annoyed curiosity as a care-free and whimsical smile spread across his face. However, as Stiles began to hum along with the music that accompanied the ride, Derek's curiosity faded into yet more annoyance. Stiles was oblivious to the glare he was receiving until the very end of the ride.
"Did you enjoy the ride?"
"I hate you so much right now," Derek replied.
"How did you not enjoy that?" Stiles demanded.
"I could ask you a very similar question," Derek responded.
"That ride was awesome," Stiles replied dismissively.
"That ride was stupid. It was the stupidest thing I've ever done. That's time in my life I will never get back!"
"Says the werewolf who ages differently!" Stiles quipped. Derek looked shocked. "Yeah, I know about that. Peter told me a while back. Besides… it wouldn't kill you to let loose a little bit! You're so serious all the time. It's got to be exhausting."
Derek took a deep breath, pulling him close and kissing him. Stiles was taken completely by surprise, but melted into the kiss nonetheless. It was deep, passionate, rapturous and unexpected. As it ended, Stiles stood there, breathless and disoriented. When he finally managed to speak, he asked only one question: "What was that?"
Derek paused for a moment. "Whimsy," he replied. "Now let's keep going."