#tumblr protest | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

undercoverbastard · 8 months

Text

Yowlin’ For You

“Don’t believe me?” he asked, a bit haughtily, lips becoming pursed. “Hmm… did your supposed, imaginary cat sound anything like… this?”

Stilinski proceeded to meow long and loud, making Derek clamp down and bite at his lips to hold in the laughter. The guy wasn’t too bad, his imitation of a yowling cat was pretty spot on actually. But, still, there was something undeniably hilarious about a shirtless college student with pillow creases still marring their face throwing their head back and yowling at the top of their lungs like a distressed cat. Matt on the other hand looked none too pleased.

“No, actually, it didn’t,” he huffed.

“Oh? Hm - maybe this?” Stilinski asked, making several shorter, higher-pitched sounds, imitating a chittering cat. Derek was now raising his eyebrows, eyeing the guy. Even from his placement behind Matt, he could see red splotches crawling up the RA’s neck and speckling his skin, showing just how frustrated he was becoming. Stilisnki remained undeterred.

+.+.+

OR: another writers block + 15 WIPs + tumblr prompt = something involving cats that is meant to make you feel good. that's it. that's the fic.

Derek froze up when he turned the corner, his dorm room in sight and the RA - Matt - standing there knocking loudly. He slowed his steps, trying to make out what was being said.

“Hale!” Matt finally loud, ending his incessant mumbling, voice sharp. “Open up! I know you have a cat in there!”

Hearing the words, Derek began to freak out. He watched as Matt began to search his pockets, more than likely trying to find his master key for the dorms. Quickly, Derek strode up, trying to maintain an air of nonchalance. He wasn’t all too sure he was pulling it off - there’s a reason he refused to take theater, even if Laura was a Big Name among BHHS for all the roles she played (that was reason number two for why he didn’t sign up: Laura).

“Matt? Everything okay?” Derek asked, scrunching up his eyebrows in fake confusion. He could feel his heart thudding loudly in his chest. The only reason he was even half-sane was because Fenny never turned him down when he scooped her up and made her cuddle with him. Otherwise, Derek probably would have overdosed on Redbulls or impaled himself on his pencil after falling asleep at his desk at 4 AM while doing an essay (for the nth time.

When Matt heard Derek, he whipped around with a murderous look in his eye. Angrily, the shorter man moved much too close to Derek, with only a few inches of space between them, and shoved his finger harshly into Derek’s chest. This was the closest Derek had ever been to the RA and he was quickly understanding why the entire floor avoided him like the plague no matter how dire a situation may be. Matt made Derek’s skill crawl .

“I know there’s a cat in there! I could hear it and it explains why I’ve felt like I’ve had a damn cold for the past two weeks. You know the rules; no pets. Get rid of it,” the last few words came out from clamped teeth, a vein popping out on Matt’s forehead and making Derek shrink in on himself. Which, aside from that gross display on Matt’s face, was not at all accurate. Fenny had been living in the dorms since the third week of the semester. They were barely a week away from finals; it had been much longer than two weeks and therefore was not the cause of Matt’s stupid cold symptoms! Though, Derek thought, that fact would not help his case.

Fumbling, Derek grappled for words, silently shaking his head as he looked at the other. Unfortunately, when Derek clammed up, he got what his sisters lovingly called ‘murder face’ - his eyebrows knit together, his lips dipped into a harsh downward curve, his jaw tensed, and he overall looked like he was ten seconds away from a killing spree. Oddly enough, such a look did nothing to deter Matt - if anything, it only egged him on further.

Squinting his eyes, Matt stabbed his finger into Derek’s chest again, leaning forward into uncomfortable levels of closeness. “Anything to say, tough guy?”

“I,” Derek finally got out, his jaw unclenching just enough, “don’t know what you’re tal-”

“BULLSHIT!” Matt suddenly yelled, causing Derek to lean back as far as he could. The shrill sound of Matt’s voice made his ears ring. Not only did the guy give off the world’s biggest Creeper Vibes he was also headache-inducing. Quite literally, in Derek’s case, seeing as his brain felt like it was being assaulted by the sharp tingling sensation that now took residence in his eardrums.

Luckily, before Matt could continue his screeching and squalling, a door opened up just next to Derek’s - behind Matt. A guy popped his head out, squinting angrily at the duo. He had a mess of brown hair that seemed to spill in all directions and Derek could still see the creases from the guy’s pillow pressed into one of his cheeks. If the murderous squint he had directed at them didn’t show his displeasure then the exaggerated frown did. It was almost comical how low the guy’s mouth was downturned.

“Dude, what the hell is going on out here?” the guy asked, his voice rough from - what Derek assumed - his interrupted sleep. Derek would later reflect on just how nice that voice sounded, deep and rough around the edges; tinted with sleep.

Matt let out what was probably meant to be a growl before turning to face the other. Derek was all too glad to have his attention directed elsewhere so he could take a couple of steps back and reestablish his personal bubble. He did, however, feel guilty that Matt’s rage was now turned towards this stranger (this admittedly cute stranger, who Derek was now realizing he had never seen and was largely disappointed by such a fact).

“Butt out, Stilinski,” Matt snapped, making a shooing motion with one hand. Surprisingly, the guy - Stilinski - seemed unphased by the angry outburst. If anything, it seemed to egg him on as he opened his door even more, lips curling up into a lazy smirk instead of their previous frown. Derek watched as the guy leaned back against his door jamb, arms crossed over his bare chest, head cocked in question as he looked both Derek and Matt up and down. He was sure Stilinski’s eyes lingered on him a bit longer, but they quickly snapped back towards Matt before he could take even a second to process the probability.

“I would,” Stilinski drawled, “but your hissy fit is disturbing my beauty rest. And I need my whole 3 hours, Matty. Looks like this takes a lot of effort - you don’t want my dashing looks to wither away now, do you? Exactly - so I can’t butt out.”

The more the guy talked, the easier it was to see the smirk on his face. By the end of it, he was all but grinning at Matt, a twinkle of amusement and mischief lighting up his eyes as he spoke. It seemed like a familiar song and dance with the way he said ‘Mattie’, the snark and sass secondhand. Or maybe that’s just how this guy was, Derek thought.

Matt’s attention seemed to be focused entirely on Stilinski now as he took a couple of steps closer to him. However, the other man stayed as he was - relaxed, unbothered. He was definitely familiar with Matt, then. No one could be faced with someone as unsettling as Matt Daehler for the first time and be this unphased.

“You can blame your lack of sleep and apparent ‘beauty’ on Hale and his damn cat,” Matt hissed. “Now go back to your room and butt out .”

At this, Stilinski seemed to straighten up, a proper look of confusion no painting his features. Derek found the confused pout and cocked head reminiscent of a puppy. Just as cute, too.

“Cat? I think you’re mistaken, Mattie, cats aren’t allowed in the dorms, and Hale,” he nodded, jutting his chin in Derek’s direction, “is as prim and proper as they come. I don’t even hear the guy open his door after 9 PM. Think ya got the wrong guy, dude.”

Matt gave his attempt at a growl once more, shaking his head. “Cut the shit, I heard the meowing. Do I looks stupid?!” A muffled huff of laughter was given at the end, Stilinski moving a hand up to rub at his jaw as if to hide the action, but if Derek could hear it from where he stood he was certain Matt could too. Derek’s own silent chuckle caused him to duck his head, doing his best to remain in the background of whatever was now going on.

“Hate to burst your bubble,” Stiles said, grinning widely and not-at-all sorry or apologetic, “but that wasn’t a cat. That was me!”

It was Matt’s turn to laugh, his snort loud and clear as he shook his head. This reaction prompted Stilinski to raise an eyebrow as if in challenge. Derek was, by this point, utterly lost on where this whole thing was going. Maybe Stilinski was also harboring a cat? But if so - why out himself? And if he wasn’t harboring his own fluffy, cuddly refugee, then why bother swooping to Derek’s defense?

“Don’t believe me?” he asked, a bit haughtily, lips becoming pursed. “Hmm… did your supposed, imaginary cat sound anything like… this?”

“No, actually, it didn’t,” he huffed.

“Oh! Oh! How about this one - I do this one a lot when I’m bored-”

He promptly cut himself off, producing a long mrrrow and a rumbling purr-adjacent sound at the end. The purr was shaky, less accurate, but more of an afterthought than the ‘mrow’; at this point, Derek could tell he was just fucking with Matt, seeing how far he could push the guy.

“I mean, maybe you heard a hiss? I do that one a lot too, yanno, doing homework and stuff. Here, let me show you,” Stilinski offered, now standing up straight and taking in a deep breath as he prepared to - apparently - hiss at Matt. Unfortunately (or maybe, fortunately, for Stilinski’s remaining pride and Matt’s barely contained rage), Matt cut him off with waving hands.

“I get it, I get it! It was you, Jesus Christ,” Matt grumbled. “Just cut it out with the fucking cat noises and stay out of my sight, I don’t care anymore.”

Turning to cast one last withering look at Derek, Matt huffed and stalked off. Stilinski gave a mock salute with two fingers, his lazy smirk quickly and easily settling back into place as he watched the RA slink away and around the corner. After several seconds of quiet, when Matt was possibly out of earshot but also possibly not, Stilisnki burst into laughter, bending his body in half as he curled into himself and clutched his stomach. His laughter was loud and clear, pouring out from deep in his stomach as the sounds wracked through his body in waves. Derek couldn’t help but grin at the sight, the joy from the other contagious.

After he had his fill of laughing and had once more straightened himself out, Stilinski finally looked up and met eyes with Derek. Derek gave an awkward half-smile in response, hesitantly raising his hand slightly to offer a wave as means of greeting. The only response was an amused smile.

Figuring the interaction was done with, Derek gave a nod of thanks, ducked his head, and made the final few steps until he was in front of his door. He jiggled the door while twisting his key in the lock for a second or two before a voice spoke up, suddenly much closer than it was the last time Derek heard it.

“So can I see him?”

Jerking, Derek shoved his door open a few inches as he pivoted to come face-to-face with Stilisnki. Who was now standing next to Derek. Still shirtless. With his hands in his pockets. And rocking on his feet. And with the cutest, most hopeful smile on his face. Shit .

Realizing he’d not answered and was still staring at the guy, Derek shook his head to clear himself before clearing his throat, mumbling a quick, “Her.” Which was not what he meant to focus on or respond to - but at least it was a response. Sort of.

Stilisnki scrunched his eyebrows in confusion before understanding dawned, a more excited tone coloring his voice when he corrected himself, “Can I see her ?”

Derek darted a glance down the hall, cocking his head back and forth ever so slightly, before sighing and deciding fuck it. With a nod, he was suddenly pushed back away from his own door as Stilinski wormed his way into his room. Once he got over the abruptness of the actions, Derek followed him in and shut the door behind himself. When he turned around, he came face to face with the sight of Stilisnki laying on the ground on his stomach, a hand outstretched just under Derek’s bed as he clicked his tongue softly to try and coax Fenny out.

Fenny was usually quiet and content with keeping to herself. If she wasn’t sleeping next to Derek at night or curled up in his lap while he studied then she was often found under his bed, curled up on her own fluffy bed filled with toys and blankets. The toys she had were rarely played with, however, though she did entertain herself endlessly with the dangling strings of the hoodie thrown over the back of Derek’s desk chair. He’d gotten an extra long piece of cord and threw it over the back of the chair, tying it to the middle support beam that held up the backrest. That way, he could wear his hoodie without feeling guilty and Fenny could play with the string without knocking his hoodie to the ground and ending the fun accidentally. It was a win-win.

“Oh, what a pretty girl, oh! And you’re so soft, like a piece of fluffy cotton candy - and just so sweet,” Stilinski cooed, words falling in a mumble as if he couldn’t control them. He praised Fenny with every word even faintly resembling ‘pretty’ at least twice, compared her to soft clouds, all but recited a poem about her ‘silky’ fur, and proclaimed several times how he would be forced to kidnap her if she didn’t stop purring in such a ridiculously cute way. Derek was actually a little scared the guy would, in fact, try and steal her.

Derek was caught up in his thoughts, doing his own silently cooing over how adorable Stilinski was acting sprawled across his dingy dorm carpet just to pet a cat, that he missed the question. He caught the tail end of it, a murmured ‘...name?’. Assuming he was asking Derek’s name, Derek replied as such.

“Derek. Derek Hale.”

This prompted Stilinski to turn bodily towards Derek, propping himself up on one elbow, and raise his eyebrows in question. With amusement clear as day, he asked, “You named her Derek? Not a name I’d think of for a cat, or a girl, but I’m not one to judge.”

Derek felt himself flush momentarily as he shook his head. “No- no, her name is Fenny, I’m Derek… sorry.” This only made the guy laugh, his shoulders shaking with the noise and movement of his body, uncontrolled by the laughter freely flowing out just as before.

“Ah, that makes much more sense,” he mused before adding, “I’m Stiles.”

Derek rolled the name around in his head, finding it oddly suiting for the guy (though, Stiles Stilinski ? That had to be some nickname, maybe a middle name, right? He knew a few people who had things for alliteration with names but… Stiles Stilinski? ). The guy must have heard his thoughts as he puffed out another breath of air in laughter as he assured Derek it was ‘just a nickname for his inconceivable first name’. Derek couldn’t help but ponder what Stiles’ actual name was, along with what his favorite color was, what bands he listened to, if he preferred Mexican or Italian, if he’d prefer to get coffee or catch a movie instead on a first date…

Shaking himself from his lost train of thought, Derek awkwardly cleared his throat, once more catching Stiles’ eyes before he ducked his head down a bit. “Uh, thanks. For, you know, covering for Fenny and me. With Matt. I don’t know what I’d do if they made me get rid of her,” Derek said, thinking a proper thanks was called for, all things considered. His brain may have gone off course but the realization of what just took place in the last ten minutes made him realize all that led up to Stiles being in his dorm room now and how it could have gone terribly wrong instead.

Stiles simply waved him off before he dragged himself back into a standing position, his fingers lazily dragging themselves through Fenny’s fur once more as he fully stood up, causing the black-haired monster Derek called a pet to quietly protest and begin to wind herself around Stiles’ legs in search of more pets. Stiles grinned down at her quickly before looking back up at Derek.

“No problem, Mattie Boy is a real piece of work - I’d have done it just to get under his skin. Helping you and Fenny out was just the cherry on top,” he said, popping the ‘p’ at the end and offering a crooked grin. He suddenly tilted his head, a question dancing in his eyes.

“Fenny… how’d you come up with that anyhow?” Stiles asked, genuinely seeming intrigued. Derek blushed a bit, already knowing a follow-up question would be asked once he explained the name.

“Ah, well… I called her Fenrir when I first found her but then it just… became Fenny and… yea,” Derek mumbled. Stiles seemed to light up at that. It made Derek feel things, very bubbly happy things, at the intrigue and delight that swam in the other’s eyes, his eyes all but glowing and glinting in the dully lit room.

“From Norse mythology? Awesome, dude! How’d you even come up with that? And where’d you even find her? I mean, I saw you sneak in once with some litter a couple of months back so I know it’s been a while but she’s pretty quiet. Have you had her this whole time? Dude - sneaking her in must have been a bitch,” Stiles rambled, a seeming mountain of questions already piling up. Derek felt overwhelmed just the slightest but couldn’t help the slight smile that peeked out.

“It’s kind of a long story,” he muttered, shrugging. The mischievous glint returned to Stiles’ eyes, though his posture seemed to become a bit shy, smoothing out and ever so slightly hunching in on himself as he eyed Derek for a moment.

After a brief pause, Stiles shrugged in seeming nonchalance as he announced, “I’m not busy. Maybe you could tell me about it. Maybe over coffee or something…”

Derek squinted ever so slightly, seeing how the softest of pinks began to bloom over Stiles’ cheeks, how his hand reached up to push through his hair while his eyes darted to the side as he awaited an answer. Maybe Derek wasn’t the only one interested.

“Sure,” Derek offered, “it’s a date.”

Stiles grinned widely, straightening up immediately. “Okay, yea, awesome! Let me just, uh, I’ll go grab my phone and wallet if - if you’re free now…?”

Derek nodded, taking another look at Stiles, allowing himself a minute to properly look the other over. With a sly smirk, he added, “Now works. But… are you going to grab a shirt too? Or do you usually forego a shirt on a first date?”

Stiles looked down, seemingly surprised at his state of dress, before barking out a laugh and shaking his head. When he looked back up at Derek, he already knew from the grin on the other’s face that his next words were going to be just as teasing.

“No, not usually… unless you’re lucky,” Stiles replied, offering a wink. He moved towards the door, seemingly to go grab his phone, but paused just before opening the door. “If you’re really lucky, maybe I’ll forego more than just the shirt. Guess we’ll see.”

With that, Stiles slipped out of the room and down the hall. Derek was left grinning at the closed door, a rush of excitement and delight pumping through his veins. Fenny decided her presence had been ignored long enough and began to paw at his legs until Derek picked her up. Scratching her stomach and listening to her purr, Derek mumbled to himself.

“If I am lucky, you’ll have the room all to yourself tonight, Fenny.”

Fenny purred and nuzzled against his chest, seemingly uncaring of the declaration. Derek took as her agreement to such an arrangement. He’d deal with whatever passive-aggressive shredding of clothes Fenny decided to do in protest if such a thing happened at a later time. For now, he had to focus on getting ready for his date. And on how to convince Stiles to forego his shirt again. And the rest of his clothes.

End Note:

Please note this is not edited or beta read or anything. I’m aware there’s typos and I’ve tried to clean it up as best as I can but there’s bound to still be some! This was originally posted on AO3 and a link to it will be posted after this as well!

If any changes / edits are made on AO3 it’s for minor changes such as spelling or grammar. Changes will not be made in this post - please see AO3 for the most updated version of anything posted here!(:

23 notes · View notes