Derek's heart clenched tightly, and seemed to halt.
It happened so fast...
He and Scott facing off hunters. The blond hunter eying him hungrily as he raised a dagger tipped with the telltale purple-black substance: wolfsbane.
Just then a familiar blue Jeep thundered onto the scene, flooding the dark clearing with its headlights.
"Stiles no..." Derek thought frantically.
The hyper teen scrambled from the front seat, and determined eyes immediately shot to Derek's own.
The blond hunter scowled at Stiles, and fixed Derek with a murderous glare.
Stiles was already running. Derek could see what was going to happen...
"Stiles no!" he shouted.
The dagger was hurled. Time seemed to slow down in Derek's mind. Stiles had a determined look on his face. He'd already decided.
The boy rushed in front of him and gasped. Derek knew the dagger had found its mark...
Stiles fell forward and Derek caught him. The boy was gasping for breath, but then he smiled...
"Why did you do that!?" Derek spat.
The hunters turned and fled for it. Derek had eyes only for Stiles. The manic light in those whiskey orbs was weaker...
Stiles gasped and tears leaked down his face.
"I love you," he whispered.
Derek didn't try to fight the sob that choked forth from him. He took the human's face between his hands.
"Stay with me!" he ordered through tears. "Stiles!"
Scott stepped forward, but then seemed to hesitate. Derek glared at him fiercely.
"Save him Scott!"
"He doesn't want it," Scott said quietly, shaking his head.
Derek let forth a sound like a wounded animal as Stiles's eyes fluttered closed.
"He's dying Scott!" Derek choked. "Damn you! He's your brother!"
Scott nodded as his own tears fell.
"If you don't save him," Derek whispered. "You'll regret it for the rest of your life..."
Scott eyed Stiles, but he still looked conflicted. Fuck it all! Now wasn't the time to hold anything back.
"I love him!" Derek confessed loudly, imploring Scott. "I can't lose him now..."
Scott closed his eyes and sighed.
"Remember those words Derek," he said. "I'll hold you to them."
When he opened his eyes again they were the alpha red. Derek held out Stiles's arm. The boy whimpered, and Derek wondered if this was right to do.
Scott paused. He'd heard it.
"Only if he wants it," he said firmly, standing his ground.
Derek sighed and shook Stiles a little, holding him close against his heart.
"Do you want it?" he asked gently.
"I'm afraid," Stiles whispered, his heartbeat now alarmingly slow. "I..."
Stiles choked and his body went almost completely limp.
"So afraid you'll die at 17?" Derek asked quietly.
He felt the boy hesitate, weak as he was...
"Scott," Stiles whimpered. "I don't...don't want to d-die...do it..."
Scott nodded and was forward in flash, jerking Stiles arm up. He sank his fangs into the flesh. Stiles gasped weakly, but then he seemed to regain some of his drive.
"Bite me!" Stiles ordered breathily through clenched teeth. "Yes!"
Derek knew Stiles was feeling the venom. The power the venom alone gave. It did not mean he would survive it...
"Strong," Stiles whispered, and then he collapsed against Derek.
Derek hugged the unconscious teen against him, repressing the urge to cry anymore. He needed to be strong now. All they could do was wait and see...
Strong...
Derek thought he knew what the word had meant. Stiles had believed he was weak all his life. Derek already knew that Stiles was far from weak. That was why he had to survive...
"We can't take him to the hospital," Scott spoke, breaking Derek's trance. "My mom would flip out, and so would his dad."
Derek nodded.
"Hospitals won't help the bite take or not," he said quietly. "My loft..."
Derek hoisted Stiles into his arms and started to run. He would not stop running. It was his turn to carry Stiles now...
oooOoooOooo
Stiles came to, hearing himself release a whimper. He was sure he had been dead. It was like nothing. Maybe he still was...
He was lying against something soft. The smell of the place was familiar, but there was something richer about it. The smell stimulated his brain, and his eyes flew open.
It must be night. Scott was sleeping on the floor next to him in a sleeping bag. He was in Derek's loft. His running in front of Derek to save him...
It seemed like a blur, honestly.
His breath quickened as he remembered something else too...
It hardly felt different. He needed to check.
Stiles jumped to his feet, feeling what- gleeful? Like a kid with a new toy?
He looked around the room. Already his senses were improved. He never would have seen so well in the dark before. What he was now...he found that it suddenly didn't matter. He still felt like same old Stiles mostly.
Then he spotted what he needed- a crowbar laying in the corner. Derek wouldn't mind, and he could just buy him another.
Stiles grabbed it up and tried to bend it. He was still surprised and almost wet himself when the metal bent as easily as cardboard.
"I'm a werewolf," he whispered aloud, needing to hear himself say it. "I'm not dreaming..."
"You're not dreaming," a familiar voice confirmed.
Stiles jerked around and Derek was standing there with his arms folded. He looked almost happy.
"Derek!" Stiles exclaimed, running into the older man's arms.
Derek hugged the boy to him, his heart almost leaping for joy that Stiles was okay.
"I love you," Derek muttered, planting a kiss on the younger wolf's hair.
Stiles eyed him tenderly and moved in for a kiss, but stopped when a soft blue light illuminated Derek's cheeks.
His heart fell slightly as he remembered what blue eyes symbolized, but then Derek's hand cupped his cheek. His eyes turned blue like Stiles's own.
"Your eyes are beautiful," Derek whispered. "Just like mine..."
Then they were kissing. Not a hard, heated kiss- a sensual, longing kiss of lovers finally come together.