The Lonely Eclipse
All Our Firsts
Author's note: I am open to prompts for this series because technically it is coming to an end. I might still have a Valentine's Day to round out the series but I don't want to say goodbye but the holidays are done. What other firsts would you read? Not sexual though, please, I can't write it these days...
Stiles knew he shouldn't worry, that Derek wasn't just a werewolf and he was anything but weak. Derek could take care of himself. Derek carries a gun now, so this was not a big deal. But when Derek's phone calls became more insistent, wondering if Stiles was going to be home for the eclipse that he wondered if Derek wasn't saying what he needed.
It was January 29th and Derek had called again for the third time that day on a fifteen-minute break when Stiles broke, "Derek can I ask you something?"
"Yeah of course, then I should get back to work before your dad puts me on toilet duty or something."
Stiles chuckled, "He wouldn't do that, you're his favorite deputy."
"He would definitely do it because I'm his future son-in-law," Derek said with a snort.
Stiles laughed again, "Fair point. So, I remember the last time we had an eclipse. You lost all your supernatural abilities and this one is going to be huge. Like it happens every 80 years kind of huge, so do you want me to come home? Stay with you?"
"No," Derek said too quickly to be completely honest. "I'm okay and you have a morning class. It's not a big deal. I'm just feeling a little extra needy right now. I don't want to and I want you to stay focused on the goal of getting good grades."
Stiles nodded, knowing that Derek would hear the movement through the phone, "Okay Der, just remember that your going to be okay. Braeden taught you to use a gun, my dad is the best with a gun and you're a sexy cop now."
"Are you telling me or yourself right now?" Derek asked, Stiles could hear the smile in his voice.
"Maybe I was a little worried about you too, and I miss you so badly. I'm hoping for some downtime before Valentine's Day but I don't know if I am going to make it to Beacon Hills for the day."
"Valentine's Day is just a Hallmark Holiday, Stiles. We can celebrate another day."
"But," Stiles started, thinking of the last Valentine's Day. When Derek was dosed with Wolfsbane infused flowers, Stiles didn't want to miss out on having a good V-Day with his Sourwolf. "Last Valentine's Day was so shitty."
"I don't remember that, sure I got attacked and I was sick but I remember you proposing an experiment the next morning that has turned into something pretty fantastic."
Stiles smiled, thinking back to the red string and how he'd asked Derek to keep trying with him. He looked down and turned the engagement ring on his finger, "I miss you Der."
"I know Stiles, we'll figure something out."
"I should let you get back to work," Stiles whispered and waited until Derek agreed then ended the call. The eclipse was going to start tomorrow night and it probably wouldn't be visible for long but Derek sounded so small about it. He didn't want Derek to be alone and feeling vulnerable. It was a bad idea, he was going to miss a class but that didn't matter. He already had the work done for the week and he could send it into the teacher if needed.
With that decided; Stiles packed his backpack with the laptop and charger, a change of clothes and his keys. He loaded into the jeep, heading to his last class of the day then he would drive home.
Derek tapped on his leg as he and Bowman drove through town on one of their routine treks. Bowman looked over at him for a second then turned his focus back on the road. Derek knew he was nervous, and the ticks were visible to his partner and undoubtedly to the other deputies and Noah as well but the last time they had an eclipse he'd been in the middle of a fight to the death. He'd watched multiple alphas get killed. It was the perfect opportunity to attack, for any supernatural creature that wasn't a werewolf.
And he didn't really have a pack here. Scott was gone for college, Stiles was out of town and Lydia was gone. Malia had left for her trip with her dad and Liam and the other betas were around but they didn't know him and they didn't come to him. They weren't a real part of his life, especially since Derek didn't really consider himself to be a part of the McCall pack, he was an omega and the others pretty much left him alone.
Derek also didn't want Stiles to come home because of this. Derek didn't need his claws to survive anymore, Braeden and Noah had seen to that but he didn't like the idea of being alone.
"Are you okay Hale?" Bowman finally asked, breaking the awkward silence.
Derek nodded, "I don't like eclipses, they weird me out."
"Hmm," Bowman hummed noncommittally as they continued on their way, "Is it because you're a werewolf?"
Derek turned in his seat so forcefully, it shifted the car a little as he stared, agape at the man he'd been working with for months now. "What?" he squeaked, trying desperately to get his voice under control but it was always like this when someone found him out.
It was Kate all over again every single fucking time!
"Derek, I grew up in Beacon Hills, the people here are not as stupid as you and yours like to believe. I knew the second you found that guy, saying it was an anonymous tip even though we never got anything from the tip line, hell I knew long before that. Your family is well known for being the town weirdoes and if someone in this town knew the right people or what to search for, we could easily find out what you are. This isn't a threat; this is to let you know that you don't have to be alone. I don't know what the eclipse does but I am guessing since your shift is dependent on the cycle of the moon, it's not fun."
Derek shook his head, still staring at his partner and wondering what the hell he was supposed to do. He couldn't help it when he knew where the suspects were because of his extra senses, or was able to catch the culprit because of his speed but Parrish had been grooming to take Stilinski's place so there was no way he would have been paired with a newbie deputy like Derek. He didn't know if any of the other deputies knew about the supernatural and Stilinski did the best he could when pairing them up.
Bowman was a good man and he wasn't lying when he said this wasn't a threat so maybe he could trust the man.
"You know that the Sheriff knows about it right?" Bowman asked.
Derek frowned, "He knows about what?" still playing dumb.
"Hale," Bowman said again with a snort and shook his head, "You are marrying his kid, so the Sheriff clearly trusts you with the one thing that he loves above all else. You are one of the best guys on the force so I don't care about the claws and the fangs as long as you never turn them on me. I just thought that after all the time we've spent together since we joined the force, you deserved to know."
Derek nodded and turned back to the normalcy of the check before they headed back to the station. He nodded to Bowman before he walked towards Noah's office and knocked on the open door. He looked back around the office but as far as he knew, he was the only werewolf on the force and Parrish didn't have the same super hearing that Derek was born with.
Noah looked up, "Hey son, what's up?"
"Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Noah shoved aside whatever he was working on and gestured to the door. Derek walked into the room and closed it behind him and leaned in as close as he could without making it look suspect, "Bowman knows."
"Bowman knows what?" Noah frowned, his face so similar to Stiles's when he was confused about something. Derek wanted to hug the man, get some of that Stilinski smell on him, god he missed Stiles.
"He called me out as a werewolf. Says he's known for a long time. I don't know what to think. It's too dangerous for more people to know about me."
"Derek, calm down," Noah said and clasped his hands together on the desk, interlocking his fingers. "Do you need me to talk to him or something? Did he threaten you?"
Derek shook his head, his stomach gurgling in horrified shame that he'd said anything to Noah at all. "Quite the opposite, he didn't want to omit that he knew anymore. He figures that you know as well and I'm sure me coming in to see you as soon as we walked in the door will finalize that opinion."
"Derek, I don't think it matters that he knows or that he knows that I know. If he isn't going to out you to the rest of the guys, I don't think it matters. In fact it would help you function at the highest level you can if your partner knows about you."
"But I was careful!" Derek snarled.
Noah sighed and picked up his phone, holding a finger up to stall Derek. He pushed one of the buttons to the desks out in the rest of the station and said, "Can you come in here for a minute?"
Derek heard Bowman agree on the other end of the phone and gulped. A few seconds later, not nearly long enough for Derek's heart to stop pounding against his ribcage, the door opened and Bowman sat down in the other chair in front of the Sheriff's desk.
"Look Gene, I need to know that all my deputies are capable of doing a good job and right now Deputy Hale is concerned about what you spoke of on your routine drive. Care to share what you plan to do with the information?"
"That he's a werewolf?" Bowman asked with a frown.
Derek growled, flashing his blue eyes even as he closed them to hide the reaction, "Be quiet!" he snapped. He forced back the wolf, keeping his teeth from elongating and turned to his partner.
"We don't have any other wolves on the force right?" Bowman asked him.
Derek shook his head, "I don't understand how you can be so forthright about this. Are you going to tell everyone what I am?"
Bowman sighed and turned back to the Sheriff, "I didn't think this would be such a bad thing, knowing I know. I am sorry about this Sir."
Noah waved him off, "Just answer the question and Derek, listen to his heart and body."
Derek nodded, taking a couple deep breaths and thought of Stiles. He focused on the sound of his fiancé's laugh, the sound of him saying 'I love you' and when he rubbed Derek's back or curled up behind him in bed. His heartrate dropped and his breathing evened as he calmed down then he turned to his partner, "Answer the question."
"I have no intention of telling anyone this information, I have no intention of using it to hurt you or Sheriff Stilinski or Stiles Stilinski. I wouldn't do that to you, I just wanted you to know that you don't have to hide who you are from everyone."
Derek listened but there was no upticks, no hitch in his breathing or sweat. There were no signs of lying and he took another breath and nodded to his partner, "I'm sorry of overreacting Gene."
"Please, you have no reason to apologize. I shouldn't have thrown it at you with any warning, that was on me. I was just worried; you've been really off balance ever since you heard about the eclipse and its tomorrow. I don't know anything about what it would do to you, I just figured with Stiles out of town maybe you needed a friend."
Derek sighed, "The eclipse will remove all the supernatural powers I have, the wolf will not be accessible to me which includes the healing and extra senses. Since I was born a werewolf, it will weaken me to not have access to my other half but it's in the middle of the night so as long as I don't have to work a shift, it should begin and end without incident."
"You shouldn't be alone Derek," Noah stated and Derek turned to look at his future father-in-law.
"I'll be fine, sleep right through it and everything will be done."
"Does Stiles know about this?" Noah asked gently.
Derek nodded, "I told him I am fine and I am. Please just let me sleep through it?"
Noah nodded and dismissed them from the office. Gene and Derek went about the rest of their shift normally, Derek went home to his empty loft and hoped that even though Stiles said he wouldn't be able to come for Valentine's Day, maybe they would be able to see each other the weekend before or after. Derek disliked the long absences as much as Stiles did, he just refused to make a big deal out of it otherwise Stiles might balk at going to school.
The next day he went to his mid day shift and worked with Gene even though he could feel the eclipse coming. It dragged on his limbs, making his uniform feel heavier and though Noah and Gene shared a couple of looks neither said anything to him about it. It was around seven in the evening and Derek was dragging, his hand holding up his head while he worked on his daily paperwork when one of the doors out front opened and closed. He felt the familiar patter of Stiles's heart before he smelled his fiancé and when he looked up, Stiles was staring at him from across the room. Derek smiled, tired but happy to see his love even though Derek knew he should send Stiles right back to school. He was undoubtedly missing classes right now but he couldn't even move let alone try and be angry about something he couldn't be angry about.
Stiles walked over, "You're coming home with me to the loft. We are going to cuddle on the couch and binge watch some TV show while you sleep this off. So come on then."
Derek shifted his gaze, looking over at the Sheriff who was waving them off.
"You're sick Hale, go home before you give it to anyone else," Bowman said with a grin.
Derek nodded at his partner and Stiles helped him out of his chair before they wandered out the front door towards the jeep. He didn't drive a car today since Bowman picked him up that morning. Derek hadn't wanted to drive when he felt so tired. Stiles tucked him into the passenger seat before he came around to the driver side and they drove home in silence. Stiles reached over and pressed a hand to Derek's knee.
"I should have known you would play the martyr about this. When you need me, you call and say 'I need you Stiles' okay?"
Derek nodded and they continued the drive in silence. Derek pressed his head back into the headrest, closing his eyes for a minute. Stiles shook his shoulder gently hours or minutes later and Derek jerked back awake to see they were in the parking lot in front of the loft. He looked over at Stiles who was smiling one of his soft smiles.
"Let's go inside and get you into bed Sleepywolf."
Derek nodded and they walked up the stairs, then into the loft. Derek let Stiles help him out of his uniform, letting the clothes puddle on the floor around his feet. Stiles gently placed the work belt with his gun over on the table in front of the couch and when Stiles leaned down to untie the laces on his boots Derek placed a hand in Stiles's messy hair.
"I love you so much Stiles," he husked, emotion clogging his throat.
Stiles looked up as he reached down and tugged one shoe off then the other, one hand cupping the back of one knee at a time. With the shoes off, Stiles pulled off Derek's pants then rose from the ground, hands running up the outside of his calves and thighs, over his hips and waist until they were standing together.
Stiles pulled Derek over to the bed and guided Derek into the soft comforter, then pulled off his own clothes before climbing in next to Derek. Stiles nudged Derek a little so Stiles was laying on his back towards the center of the bed then tugged Derek into his side. Derek tucked his head onto Stiles's chest and curled into his fiancé's body. Stiles worked his fingers through Derek's hair and rubbed against his scalp. Derek nuzzled into Stiles's collarbone and soaked in the feeling of someone being here. Not just someone, but Stiles was here even after he told him not to come. Stiles had come anyway.
"I'm here Derek, you can sleep. You're safe. I won't let anything happen to you."
Derek nodded, sniffed a little as his eyes watered. He didn't know if he could sleep, even with Stiles there. Then something amazing happened, between the calming patter of Stiles's heart under his ear and the gentle touch of Stiles's fingers in his hair lulled him into sleep.
When Derek woke up again, it was to the gentle rumble of the wolf in his chest and the reassuring hold Stiles had around him.
"How you feeling Sourwolf?" Stiles husked against the top of his head.
"Still a wolf, I slept through it. I didn't think I could but you make everything possible, it seems."
Stiles smiled, pressing a kiss into Derek's forehead, "Well same here Der. I am going to have to leave again soon but I just couldn't handle the thought of you being alone."
Derek nuzzled into Stiles's chest again, "That's the thing, as long as we are together I'm not alone. Thank you for that."
"Thank you for loving me," Stiles whispered back and despite the fact that Derek had to go to work and Stiles needed to head back to school but for now neither one of them let go of the other.
And suddenly the thought of a future eclipse wasn't so scary. He had Stiles. It wasn't just Stiles though, he had Noah and even Gene. He might not have an alpha but Derek had a pack.