A/N: Another prompt I saw on Tumblr that I wanted to try. The prompt didn't specify season or anything so it's kinda vague in the timeline. Erica and Boyd are dead but that hardly pertains to the story at all.
Prompt: Derek has left Beacon Hills, and Stiles hasn't adjusted; he keeps going to the loft, complaining mindlessly as he goes to raid the fridge, but there's nothing there. But still, Stiles goes back time after time, finding comfort in the empty loft, even if Derek is gone. Maybe… maybe he'll come back and help them figure all this out. Sometimes he just sits, silently, waiting, hoping. Then one day he goes into the loft, rambling like always, regardless that no one is there to hear him. He opens the fridge and pulls out a can of his favorite soda, hoping onto the counter and taking a sip. He stops, because there is Derek, eating breakfast, staring at him. He came back!
"Hey, so like, pleeeeease tell me you know something about faery circles, 'cause we're getting absolutely nowhere," Stiles called out as he walked to the fridge. Derek didn't usually just volunteer information until they needed it, and Stiles was hoping he actually had information to give this time. Deaton wasn't helping at all, which was totally frustrating. Stiles reached halfway into the fridge before pausing, hand touching air, the fridge completely empty. "Oh yea… you aren't here… Right…"
He looked around the loft, seeing just how empty the place looked- it wasn't like Derek had kept the loft full of personal items anyways but there was a definitely air of emptiness now. Stiles wandered over to the couch and sat down. What were they supposed to do now? Derek was the most experienced out of all of them, not counting Deaton, who liked to speak in riddles. With him gone, they had no one to turn to.
"Guess I should just head home then, no point in staying…"
Stiles sighed and stood up, heading to the door. A few days later though, Stiles found himself there again, automatically calling out to Derek before catching himself.
"It's just familiar, that's all. It's where we just to troubleshoot everything. Who says I can't like being here, maybe it helps me concentrate or something." Stiles felt a tad ridiculous, trying to justify himself to no one- he was here alone after all. He set his laptop down on the coffee table and found his usual plug in the wall, powering it up.
"Now, let's see if I can't figure out something about this faery issue we're having..."
The time passed quickly enough, his phone going off a few hours later; his dad wanted to know if Chinese food was good for dinner. "Is it dinner time already? Wow." He stood with a groan, not moving at all for a few hours left him stiff, his eyes tired.
The days passed, Stiles finding himself going to the loft more often than not; Scott was busy with work and practicing with Deaton, Allison and Isaac were practicing with her dad, and Kira with her mom. So it wasn't like he was needed anywhere else right now.
As more time passed, Stiles continuing to go to the loft after practice, he realized just how much time he spent with the sourwolf, trying to figure out the daily supernatural issues going around. Plus he didn't have any angry werewolves crawling through his bedroom window anymore… Had they really become too dependent on the older wolf? Where was he anyways? Why did he just leave? Stiles sighed, it wasn't like he would get any answers from an empty loft. It wasn't long before Stiles brought a few snacks to keep him from starving during the long hours he spent there.
Sometimes he'd just come and sit in the loft, just to get away from everything and let the silence center him. It was almost like he was just waiting for Derek to come down from the upper level and huff, telling him to just go home already. But of course, Derek was gone and wasn't going to be coming down the stairs. Weeks turned into months and new problems were always springing up, the loft became Stiles's escape from the supernatural. No one else ever came here as far as he could tell, just him, so it was nice to have a place where he could concentrate.
Early one morning, after a particularly bad meeting with a rogue Nymph, Stiles stormed into the loft, soaked to the bone, frustration level high.
"Stupid invading Nymph!" he cried out, throwing the loft door shut behind him. "She had to know we already had a residential lake Nymph in the Preservation but noooooo, she's gotta start a turf war! Ophyroe sure is strong though, that little invader didn't stand a chance! Damn I had no idea they were so territorial though… And of course, it just had to happen in the middle of Autumn and I'm freezing now! But at least no one else should be accidentally drowning at the lake now. Well I mean, if some dumbass gets drunk maybe… but it won't be from Ophyroe, or well, the intruder making waves…literally."
Stiles sighed and yanked open the fridge, grabbing a can of soda and popping it open. "Damn… I need to start k-keeping clothes here or something. Dammit I wasn't expecting to go for a swim t-today and-" The soda can just fell from his fingers as he turned. Sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal, spoon halfway to his mouth, was Derek.
At the sudden silence, Derek raised his brows, curious about what else Stiles had to say about Ophyroe and this intruder. "Don't let me stop you, please, go on." Slowly he brought the spoon the rest of the way to his mouth, knowing Stiles couldn't stay silent for long.
"Are… You're really here right? I haven't finally lost it?"
"Depends, how long have you been coming here, talking to yourself?"
Stiles narrowed his eyes, "Don't you judge me with your judge-y eyebrows, I can see it. I've seen your judgmental eyebrows enough to know- wait, you… you are really here! I mean, I sit and talk with myself a lot and I tend to visualize when I'm working through a scenario, but I've never just hallucinated before… right?"
Derek nodded, "I'm really here, I mean, don't take my word for it but the fact that the lights are on and there is food in the fridge again should be a good sign that I'm not just in your head. Did… did you not think I was coming back?"
Belatedly Stiles remembered he'd dropped his soda, bending down and picking it up before grabbing some paper towels and mopping up the mess. "You've been gone for over two months now!"
"And yet I was still paying the electricity bill, which I notice you've been taking advantage of. You do remember, I'm not technically in Scott's Pack… so it's not like I need to check in with him every day. Something came up that required my attention and I figured you guys would be okay without me for a bit. Scott has my number, he could have called, you could have, Isaac, even Allison or Kira."
Stiles nodded, "Well I mean we could have but I figured, after everything that happened, you'd take Cora and get the hell out of Beacon Hills. I thought a call wouldn't really be welcome…"
Derek took his now empty bowl to the sink, "If I decided to cut ties with all of you, I'd tell you before I left. You would all know if I was leaving for good, since the only reason I'd really desert you guys is if we got into a huge disagreement."
"I, well ok… I'm glad you're back. I um kinda used your space while you were gone."
"Nothing new there, you used my space when I was here too. So, please tell me more about how some dumb Nymph thought they could take up residence in Ophyroe's lake."