It’s a Kind of Magic

Title: It’s a Kind of Magic
Author: Claire Watson
Series: Create Your Own Bingo stage one
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Genre: Coffee Shop AU
Relationship(s): pre Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Content Rating: Gen
Warnings: None
Author Notes: Normally I write Teen Wolf fics from Stiles’ point of view, so this is a bit of an exception to the usual rule. Derek’s head is a very different place from Stiles’, and the Derek in this story had a very different background to the one canon-Derek had when Stiles met him.
I hope I’ve done him justice 🙂
Also, I thought about naming this story ‘Outlook for Thursday’ but thought it might be a bit more obscure than I usually like so I went with my second option.
Beta: Grammarly
Word Count: 1,423
Summary: Derek’s had problems with magic users before, so he’s certain the barista at the new coffee shop is doing something to him.

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“Alright then,” Laura said, “you wait in the car while I get my order. I’ll text you when I’m done and seated, then you come in. If there’s any magic going on, we’ll know soon.”

They were at the Caffeine Cove, a charming little cafe that had opened literally next door to Hale & Associates, the family law firm where most of his loved ones worked. When Derek arrived home after his first year at college, everyone from his grandparents to his uncle Peter raved about the quality of the coffee and the food.

He’d been eager to see for himself.

At first, he’d thought it was just like any other tiny coffee shop that mostly catered to professionals on the go: a bit pretentious, prices too high, but otherwise fine.

Then he’d actually got to the counter and ordered his coffee from the barista, an energetic guy going by the unlikely name of ‘Stiles’ who had the most distracting hands Derek had ever seen. To his mortification, he nearly walked away without paying, only a loud comment from the woman behind him bringing him back to his senses.

“Don’t worry about it,” Stiles said with a wave of his hand when Derek stammered an apology. “I’d know those eyebrows anywhere; you’re a Hale, right?” At Derek’s nod, he continued, “Hale & Associates gives me, like, 80 per cent of my business, dude. I can handle the odd absentminded walk-out.” He indicated the payment terminal where the transaction had already been loaded.

“Don’t call me dude,” Derek said as he completed the transaction, his knee-jerk reaction to that nickname since his sister dated a surfer who never bothered to learn anyone’s name, using ‘dude’ as a catch-all substitute, even for Laura. That was what killed the romance; Laura wasn’t interested in putting up with being called ‘dude’ long-term, no matter how amazing the sex was.

Stiles raised his eyebrows. “If you insist, sir.” He ripped the receipt off. “And does sir wish to keep his receipt?”

“No thanks,” Derek said, still feeling off kilter. He turned to go, raising the coffee to his lips as he crossed the threshold.

It was the best coffee he’d ever tasted.

v^v^v

Embarrassed by his reaction, Derek decided to buck the trend and get his coffee elsewhere.

There were two problems with this.

The first was that after tasting Caffiene Cove’s ambrosial coffee, paying for substandard fare went against the grain. The second was that his family noticed and wanted to know why.

Since he didn’t want to explain what a fool he’d made of himself on his first visit, he decided just to bite the bullet. Surely things would go better the second time.

They didn’t.

Something about Stiles’ eyes, his hands, his voice, or the span of his shoulders under his thin shirts always made Derek even more tongue tied than usual.

There was also the way Stiles always mockingly called him sir, proving that he also remembered their less than ideal first meeting. In the moment he could never remember the pre-prepared responses he’d thought up while thinking over their interactions late at night.

Stiles always remembered his order, too, and had taken to making it as soon as Derek walked in. Derek took the hint that Stiles wanted him out of the shop as quickly as possible, and always retreated post haste. Sometimes he was there with a big order, though, and waiting around for six different coffees to be made and various danishes, savouries, and cakes to be boxed up for him to take back to the office was part joy and part frustration.

If Derek was honest, he liked watching Stiles at work without feeling like he was overstaying his welcome.

Stiles wasn’t the most graceful of people, but all his movements were imbued with an energy that Derek found fascinating.

It was unnatural.

That’s when Derek figured it out.

Nothing about Stiles should be that compelling, and nothing he did to the coffee was any different than any other barista in the district, so there was no reason it should taste so good.

Stiles must be using magic of some kind. It lured people in and made them want to stay; it probably even made the food and drink addictive so people felt like they had to return.

When he explained his theory to Laura, she listened attentively. Their pack had come across enough sketchy magic users that no suspicion would be dismissed out of hand.

“I haven’t noticed anything,” she said, “and neither has Uncle Peter. He’s normally the one that sniffs magic out. And our talismans haven’t so much as pinged.”

Derek hadn’t thought of that. His talisman hadn’t reacted, either. But what if Stiles was crafty enough to know a way around their talismans? What if Stiles was only casting magic on him for some reason? He mentioned that to Laura.

“Tell you what,” Laura said after giving it a few minutes thought. “Why don’t we get out talismans recharged, and I’ll go in with you. If you’re being directly targeted, then I should be able to tell. Magic always makes my skin tingle, even the good stuff.”

That led them here.

Derek waited for the text to let him know it was time to go in. He didn’t know what he wanted to happen; part of him hoped that he was wrong and Stiles wasn’t casting magic on him. The rest of the family would be sad if the Caffeine Cove had to close, and Derek really would miss the coffee.

“You’re not going to like this, Bear; I think you’re wrong. This coffee is delicious, but there’s no magic in it.”

Derek glowered, both at the use of his childhood nickname and at Laura’s dismissal of his concerns. “He’s doing something,” he insisted. “It’s either on the coffee or he’s casting it on me directly, but he’s doing something.”

Laura sighed. “What exactly are you feeling that makes you think he’s casting magic on you?”

Derek struggled to put his feelings into words. He’d never been the most articulate of his family; he was often teased for being the lone stoic, silent brooder in a family of extroverts. Usually, it didn’t bother him; his family was good at reading his body language, and he didn’t care what anyone else thought.

Laura listened to his halting description of how he was affected. “Oh Bear. That’s not magic. Or, maybe it is a kind of magic, but it’s nothing that he’s doing on purpose.”

Derek frowned.

Laura leaned forward and hugged him. “You’re attracted to him, Derek. Your instincts are telling you that he’s compatible with you. Why don’t you ask him out?”

Derek balked. “I can’t do that; he hates me! He always calls me sir! He makes my coffee as soon as I walk in the door so he can get me out again as soon as possible!”

Laura raised her eyebrows. “He leans over the counter to give you your coffee. He smiles flirtatiously at you. When he says ‘sir’ it doesn’t sound like he hates you to me.”

Derek stared at her. At first he thought she was having him on, but he knew what she was like when she was trying to trick him, and none of the usual signs were there. Plus, it was unlikely she’d try to trick him about something like this. Ever since her disastrous attempt to convince him to date someone after Paige’s death, she’d promised wholeheartedly not to meddle in his love life ever again.

“I won’t pressure you,” Laura said gently, possibly remembering the same thing Derek was, “but I really think he would be receptive.”

“I’ve never actually dated a guy.”

“I’d never dated a woman until Braden. Sure, it didn’t work out, but I don’t regret it.” Laura hugged him again. “Come on. Let’s go home. You can mull it over in safety as long as you like, and I won’t mention it again. Whatever you choose to do will be completely up to you.”

Derek followed her back to the car. Now that he was considering it, the idea of dating Stiles didn’t seem as outrageous as he’d first thought. That churning in his stomach…was that just nerves, rather than magic?

Maybe it was worth finding out.

Well, no time like the present. He knew himself and knew if he thought about it too much, he might never get up the courage.

He turned around. “Wait here.”

Time to take a chance.