A/N: THe prompt for this story was "Fire."
"No!" Derek tosses in his sleep, yanking the covers around, twisting his body up in them. "No, NO!" He screams at the top of his lungs, waking the boy beside him.
"Hey!" Stiles shakes the man, using all the force he can muster at 4:17 AM to try and stop whatever dream is plaguing Derek. "Wake up, Derek, wake up." He shoves and shoves and shakes and prods, and finally, Derek awakes, his eyes glazed over, every inch of his features laced with fear.
"Stiles?" He looks so helpless, so weak, and Stiles knows exactly why. They've been together long enough to know that only two things can make Derek look so scared, so frightened. One of them is losing Stiles, and the other is the memory of the fire that took all but two members of his family.
"It's okay," Stiles whispers. "I'm right here." He leans close, pulling Derek to him, kissing his jaw, his cheek, his neck, trying to calm down his boyfriend. "Which one was it?" he asks, when he feels Derek's hand take his gently, not clinging, but clearly needing him.
"The fire," he says quietly, looking away from Stiles, ashamed of being so affected by a nightmare, but Stiles understands. He understands what that fire did to Derek's family, and he knows what it's like to suffer loss.
"I'm so sorry." He curls in closer to Derek, hoping that his warmth and comfort can start to lull the man back to sleep.
"Not your fault," Derek grumbles, his arms moving around Stiles' thin frame, pulling him close, needing him right now to feel safe, to feel loved, because everyone else that was supposed to love him is gone. All that he has is Stiles, and sometimes, he fears that loving Stiles is the very thing that puts him at risk of losing him. It's dangerous, being connected to a Hale the way that Stiles is, but most of the time, they pretend that it's fine, because neither wants to say goodbye.
"I love you," Stiles offers, having no good response to Derek's statement.
"I know you do." Derek sighs, resting his chin on Stiles' shoulder, kissing the boy's cheek softly. "If you didn't, you wouldn't put up with my shit."
"Your nightmares?" Stiles turns, looking right at Derek. "You have every reason to be terrified. That fire took your whole family." He places a soft kiss on Derek's nose, trying to convey just how much he loves him through the slight gesture.
"I lost everyone I loved once," Derek states. "Promise me I'm not going to lose you too."
"You're not going to lose me." Stiles stares him down, his hand on Derek's scruffy cheek. "If there's an attack, I'll stay strong until you come to get me, I'll fight until the bastard goes down, and if there's a fire, I'll walk through the flames to make sure you don't have to lose anyone else, and you'll just have to love me all burned, because you're stuck with me."
"It wouldn't matter to me." Derek reaches up, tracing a pattern on Stiles' neck with his finger. "If you were burnt, disfigured, as long as you love me, I'll love you."
"I love you too," Stiles whispered. "And no fire is going to keep me from you. Now go back to sleep."
Derek nods, and closes his eyes, drifting off again, comforted by the reassurance that Stiles will be there for him, no matter what.