Chapter Text
“Welcome ladies and gentlemen to today’s event here on Surfrider Beach in beautiful Malibu, California. Today we have two of our very own, local surfer Stiles Stilinski and Lunar Coast owner Derek Hale, going head to head in the ultimate showdown to see who really rules the water.”
Isaac’s voice rang through the speakers lining Surfrider Beach and Derek looked at the shore from his place in the ocean. Cora had really done a good job organizing the event. Isaac was the announcer, seated on a platform under a tent so that he can see the ocean over the heads of hundreds of spectators. Paparazzi had joined too after hearing about the Hale family being involved. Next to Isaac were the judges: Old Man Rick and two other old surfing locals whose names are known around town. It truly looked like a professional surf comp with flags and speakers and everyone either sitting or standing on the beach, anxiously looking out towards the competitors.
“Are you ready for this?” Stiles asked from his place on his surfboard next to Derek. They had paddled out a bit ago, now just sitting calmly past the impact zone to prepare themselves for what was about to happen. The day was beautiful with cloudless skies and a bright sun that lit up the blue water. Derek thought Stiles looked more beautiful, though, sporting a red lycra and his wet hair clinging adorably to his head. Derek was wearing his own black lycra, to which his boyfriend had complimented the way it made his abs and biceps look earlier.
He leaned over to kiss Stiles, not caring who from the shore was watching or taking pictures for the media. “Yeah,” he said truthfully. “I am.” Derek had been out surfing a lot more since finding out about the competition. He had managed to pull out a few of his old tricks too, and now there was a small thought in the back of his mind that he actually could have a chance at winning this. “But before your feelings get hurt, I show no mercy on the water, even to my boyfriend.”
Stiles splashed him a bit with a laugh. “Before my feelings get hurt? Oh please Hale, I think one of us is leaving this water in tears and it’s not me.”
“We’re expecting a great competition day,” Isaac’s loud voice continued. “These two are the top amateur talent in Malibu. Let’s hear it one last time for our competitors: Derek and Stiles!” The audience erupted into applause, some pumping their fists and others jumping up and down. It filled Derek with a warmth for his community. He could make out his mom, sisters, Erica, and Boyd sitting all together with Stiles’s friend group close by. Everyone looked ecstatic to see the two men out in the ocean. “Our competition will begin in 60 seconds. Each surfer has the opportunity to catch three waves. Their scores for each will be determined by our panel of judges here and the two best waves will be scored to find a winner.”
Derek couldn’t lie and say he was feeling nervous. Yeah, he was comfortable on a board again, but now hundreds of people, some he didn’t even know, were watching him closely. Stiles seemed to notice his unease and squeezed Derek’s hand.
“Hey,” he said calmly. “You’ve got this.”
Derek offered him a small smile back, feeling slightly better. This whole experience, though, the feeling of a crowd watching him from the sand, made him think of his dad.
”Are you ready son?”
Derek shook his head rapidly, a panic growing in his chest as he looked out towards the water where the first heat was competing. He was up next against four other boys and scared out of his mind. This was regionals, and he had to place in order to move on.
Matthew wrapped his son in a hug, then stared into his eyes seriously. “It’s okay to be nervous,” he said. “But we’ve been training you for this everyday. If you pull out what you’ve shown, you’re a shoo-in for first. I want you to go out there and paddle like your life depends on it. You don’t let anyone take your wave, okay? You rip into that water harder and faster than you ever have before. You’re a powerhouse.”
”I’m a powerhouse,” Derek repeated, slowly calming down at the man’s fatherly touch. Matthew hugged him again, a proud smile on his face.
”Yes you are. Now get out there and surf your heart out.”
And that was exactly what Derek was going to do. This wasn’t a real competition, but it mirrored the excitement he had experienced when he was in a heat, watching his father cheer him on from the shoreline.
“Let our competition commence!”
He snapped out of his nostalgic state and right into surfing mode. Stiles was already paddling fast, a huge wave rising behind him. Derek let him have it, instead opting to watch the man dance across the water like he had been doing it for hundreds of years.
“Red is up on his first wave!” Isaac announced. “Stilinski kicks it off with a very nice ride, and a strong carve off the top.” Stiles moved his board up and down, cutting it back occasionally and spraying water up as the wave propelled him forward. “He definitely knows what the judges are looking for. That will be a solid wave for red.”
Stiles finished his ride, the crowd and Derek combined cheering him on. He paddled back over to the outside of Derek, a tired smile on his face. “You aren’t supposed to cheer on your competitor,” Stiles said teasingly.
Derek shrugged and looked back, another wave approaching. “Call it pity applause,” he said with a wink as he dropped onto his stomach and started paddling. Paddle like your life depends on it. Matthew’s words echoed in his ears and they made Derek feel stronger. He dug his hands into the ocean, pulling the water back to push forward. Once he felt the board beneath him start to lift, Derek pushed himself up onto his feet with ease, catching his balance before expertly riding the wave.
“We have black up and moving!” Isaac said. “Big snap off the top. He draws out his second bottom turn, and hooks it one more time. Derek Hale is holding nothing back today ladies and gentlemen.”
Derek beamed as he maneuvered his board across the water, dancing across the top and bottom of the wave before it faded out and he dove into the ocean. Once his head resurfaced, he could hear his family’s loud voices saying his name from the crowd. They were standing and jumping, and it only motivated him to do even better.
“Wow,” Stiles said once Derek rejoined him. “Where was that a couple weeks ago? I think you might just actually give me a run for my money.” It was Derek’s turn to splash him now, but he couldn’t wipe the grin off of his face.
Both of their second waves went just as well, Stiles only tenths of points ahead of Derek when the time came for their last wave. Stiles went first, waiting for the perfect swell to roll up behind him. He paddled hard, popping up in time to dive right into carving the water perfectly. The crowd went wild when Stiles pulled out an aerial turn, landing back onto the wave smoothly and going right into hitting a vertical flip off the top. It was surely his top wave of the day, a fifteen second ride feeling like it lasted fifteen minutes.
“What a wave for Stilinski!” said Isaac, surprise even in his voice. “Hale is going to have to score a 9.6 at least on his next wave if he wants to win this competition.”
Derek was madly in love with Stiles. He was deeply enamored with the man he was competing against and wanted to scream it from the rooftops. Right now, though, all he could think about was grabbing his last wave. Derek turned around to see a big one starting to rise behind him, so he paddled. Right now, the only thought in his mind was to make his father proud and surf this wave for him.
“And black is up on his last ride!”
Isaac’s voice was only an echo in Derek’s ears. Instead, the loud rush of moving water around him filled his mind. He felt one with the surfboard beneath him, letting it do its magic of ripping across the wave. The swell was massive, bigger than any wave either of them had caught that day. Derek let one of his hands skim the curved water next to him as he hit a roundhouse cutback into an off-the lip. He was flying through the ride, an indescribable feeling filling him up inside.
Derek finished his ride by hitting the move he was always known for in competitions. He hadn’t tried it out since getting back on the board, but it used to come as second nature to him. Now, Derek gained speed to prepare, bending his knees up and down for momentum.
“I think he’s going to try to hit an air reverse!” Isaac cheered.
Derek’s board came completely out of the water as he rotated midair 270 degrees. He landed back down with his tail forwards and quickly whipped the board back around to a normal stance. The crowd erupted as he hit the water and the wave ended. Stiles quickly paddled over to him, a gobsmacked expression on his face.
“Holy shit,” Stiles breathed out, just as surprised as his boyfriend. Derek laughed in shock and slowly came down from his high. He really just did that.
The two men paddled back to shore, immediately surrounded by friends, family, and strangers high fiving them and applauding. The paparazzi tried to aim their cameras over heads to snap pictures of the couple.
“What the hell Derek?!” Erica exclaimed and punched her best friend playfully. “I didn’t know you could do that!”
Scott grabbed Stiles into a headlock and rustled his hair. “You did amazing bro!” he yelled then turned to look at Derek too. “Both of you.”
Cora walked up to the pair, a smug look in her eye as she crossed her arms. “Please, I’ll accept gifts later for my beautiful work in organizing this event.”
Derek rolled his eyes and ran at his sister, scooping her up into a hug that made her squeal. He moved on to hug Laura next, then his mother. Talia was overwhelmingly proud as she kissed her son’s forehead. “Your father would’ve loved to be here and would’ve been so proud.”
Derek’s breath hitched for a second and he smiled sadly. “He is here,” he said and stared down at the board in his hand. It had been Matthew’s, a sleek teal and white with faded writing on it that said Hale. Derek had chosen it with hesitation, but being out there with it helped. That last wave felt like his father was pushing him forward, giving him the wings he needed to soar to his highest potential.
Stiles attacked Derek with a hug next, both of them dropping their boards as they melted into each other. The onlookers around them either cooed or just looked confused, not knowing the competitors were romantically involved.
“As you can see, we had a real lover’s quarrel out there today,” Isaac said through the speakers. Derek looked over to see the man giving him a wink and a wave. “But the judges have finished tallying up the scores from today’s competition.”
Everyone gathered around a makeshift stage on the sand. Stiles and Derek stood up on it, gripping each other’s hands as Isaac joined them with the microphone in hand.
“You both rode great today gentlemen,” said the curly-haired man. “The judges wanted me to say that the scores were unsurprisingly close, but one of you won by 0.2 points. The winner of the competition today is…” he drew it out for dramatic flare, “...Stiles Stilinski with a fantastic average score of 9.3!”
Everyone hollered Stiles’s name, the man’s face dropping in surprise as Isaac handed him a cheap trophy Cora had picked up from the party store. Derek felt no sadness at not winning, for he was going against the greatest amateur surfer he had ever seen. Instead, he wrapped Stiles in his arms and dipped him down, pressing a long kiss to his lips that had the crowd wolf whistling and cheering even louder.
They separated and both wore the dopiest grins. “I knew you’d win,” Derek said with no envy behind his words. “You were amazing.”
“We were amazing,” Stiles said and kissed his boyfriend again. He had both of them hold the trophy above their heads. While Stiles looked out to smile for pictures, Derek only paid attention to his lover. He stared longingly at his bright smile, the light moles dotting his cheeks, and his golden eyes that sparkled in the sun. What had this man done to him? Derek just knew Stiles was the one. He had never felt happier, safer, and more loved than when they were together.
…
After the craziness from the day’s festivities died down, Derek found himself sitting on the beach that night. The sun was setting, so a little bit of light still lit up the water. Stiles was next to him, head on his shoulder and hand in his. A group of kids playing in the sand were the closest people to them while still being hundreds of feet away.
Stiles’s free hand was drawing into the sand with a stick. He completed a heart and wrote D + S inside like they were two teenagers in high school again.
“Sap,” Derek teased, which made Stiles only stick his tongue out and outline the heart in another heart.
“You love it,” he scoffed, staring up at Derek lovingly.
Derek lightly rested a hand on Stiles’s cheek and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. “I do,” he said, butterflies erupting in his stomach. “I love you.”
He had wanted to say it for so long, and no moment seemed more perfect than now. After everything they had been through, Derek was sure of his feelings. And if Stiles could stick around after literally having a gun to his head by Derek’s crazy uncle, then maybe he felt the same way too.
Stiles’s breath caught in his throat and he stared into Derek’s eyes. His mouth was slightly open, his palm growing sweaty in Derek’s hand.
“I love you too,” Stiles finally responded, so much emotion behind his voice. That was all it took for Derek to smash their mouth together again in a passionate kiss. They breathed each other in as their lips danced together. Every time he kissed Stiles, it felt like Derek’s first time. Every kiss sent fire through his body that felt amazing as it struck every nerve. They pulled apart and pressed their foreheads together, both smiling from ear to ear.
Derek moved to put his arm around Stiles’s shoulders, pulling the man as close as humanly possible against his side. They stared out into the ocean again, the sky growing darker above them as waves crashed along the shore.
“Who knew I’d end up with moneybags Derek Hale?” Stiles said with a chuckle.
“And I’d end up with the beach bum Stiles Stilinski,” Derek respondes fondly. “We’re like modern day Romeo and Juliet.”
“You do know how Romeo and Juliet ends, right?” Stiles asked, expression concerned.
“Uhh,” Derek started, trying to pull out his knowledge from freshman year english class. “Happily ever after?”
Stiles sighed and pressed a kiss to Derek’s lips. “Oh boy,” he said with a laugh. “We can be Romeo and Juliet before Act 5.”
Derek just shrugged. “Never got that far.”
They sat in silence a bit longer and enjoyed the noises of their hometown around them. Derek could picture himself on this beach in ten years, Stiles still next to him hopefully wearing a ring on his left hand. Derek would be balancing his own child on a surfboard, starting them as early as possible. With two surfer parents, it’d be impossible to get out of growing up following the same sport.
The fact that such domestic thoughts came so easily to Derek truly told him this was real. He truly loved the man next to him. As a 24 year-old business owner now, he wasn’t looking for a casual summer fling. He wanted this to be real, and by the way Stiles was cuddling in close and staring up at him with pure love in his eyes, he’s pretty sure Stiles did too.
“So now that I’m dating a rich and powerful resort owner, am I still considered a beach bum?” Stiles broke the silence and pondered with a laugh.
“Hm,” Derek said and furrowed his eyebrows in thought. He smiled devilishly down at the man he loved. “I don’t know about the beach part, but definitely still a bum.”
Stiles gaped and leaned back to stare at Derek with fake hurt on his face. “How dare you Hale,” he said and held a hand up to his heart. Stiles took a handful of sand and threw it at Derek’s chest.
“You didn’t,” Derek said in shock. Stiles was immediately on his feet when Derek started grabbing his own sand to retaliate. “Come back here Stilinski!”
They laughed and hollered as the day came to an end, chasing each other back and forth along the beach, splashing in the water a bit too. Derek’s 24 year-old self was sent back to feeling like a child, but he finally felt free. Free of the rigid social structure, of his uncle’s expectations, of being afraid to show who he truly was to the media, and of the grief that had locked him down for so long. Now Derek was free to love the man he was running after with his whole heart, and you can damn well bet he was going to.