Derek Hale sat up, drenched in sweat and guilt buried in his chest. Once again he had a nightmare, all smoke and ash and Kate Argent. He heard a solid heartbeat, the only on in the house this late. He recognized it as Stiles. The kid was still there even this late, granted the house HAD been rebuilt from the ground up using the original blueprints found in the city hall archives. So, he had probably woken up after everyone left and began to clean up the wrecked living room. He had a habit of doing that. Falling asleep around ten and waking up at o'dark thirty. Derek grunted as he got up from bed and pulled on a pair of pajama pants that he wasn't sure were actually his. Stiles was clanking around in the kitchen, doing dishes, and just generally picking up the mess the wolves had made during dinner. Derek was grateful that at least one of his pack members knew what cleaning was, or else he'd be shit out of luck trying to do it all by himself. Stiles smiled gently at him and raised an eyebrow. He motioned to the dishes waiting to be washed.

"Care to lend a hand?"

Derek smirked and grabbed a towel out of the drawer next to the sink.

"You wash, I'll dry." He said standing to Stile's right.

"Sure thing, Wolf-boy." Stiles was full-out grinning now, and he flicked the sudsy water at Derek. Who let out a breathy chuckle and set his attention to drying the recently bought set of china.

"I'm still trying to figure out how the pack can make such a mess. I know for fact that Melissa makes Scott clean the house when she's working. So I know he knows how to do it. I'm sure Jackson could easily learn how, and Boyd and Isaac don't really make much of a mess, so I'm not going to bother there. But, I'm pretty sure Erica would skin me if I asked."

At this, Stiles scrunched up his face and looked at Derek. He promptly flicked him on the nose and sighed at the extensive shit-storm the wolves left. That's what he gets for turning a bunch of teenagers, but there's no reason Stiles should be left cleaning it up. He'd have a talk with them later about mistreating his mate.

Well, he wouldn't use those exact words, since no one knew about it yet, not even Stiles himself. He probably never would , because Derek likes what they have going on. He wasn't going to destroy his bond over something like mating. His wolf didn't take rejection well. Stiles finished washing the last dish and handed it to Derek,waiting for him to finish drying it before he spoke.

"Derek, I know this is probably going to be super awkward for you and I'm really sorry, because I know you aren't interested in me and you are like Adonis league attractive and under all the caveman grunts and brow gestures you've got a good heart and I was wondering if maybe you'd possibly like to go out with me on a date or something and if not please pretend I didn't say anything." He spat out in one breath and was left breathing heavy. His confession was shocking to Derek, yes, because he assumed that any attraction he could smell on Stiles was due to the fact that he was only just 18. Derek knew that any teenage boy going through a sexuality crisis would be putting off waves of arousal, but he didn't think Stiles would actually want to DATE him. Especially since Stiles knows all the bad things about Derek's life and personality. It was really a shock, but it was a good one, and he felt himself smiling and staring at the boy who was now just blushing and picking at the bottom of his t-shirt.

"Alright. When do you want to go?" Derek looked at Stiles and the kid began to realize what Derek said w as, in fact, not a rejection but an acceptance to his offer. Stiles' eyes looked stunned, but he had a goofy grin on his face and he was practically radiating joy from all his pores.

"Um, how about later today? I mean I'd suggest going now, but its way too early and I dont think anywhere would be open at this hour." He grinned as he rambled and Derek chuckled.

"Sure thing, Little Red." It was a nickname the pack had for Stiles, since he was always wearing his tacky red sweatshirt or one of his plethora of red t-shirts and over shirts. Derek had to admit though, red was a good colour on him. It brought out the blush of his cheeks and the lush of his lips. Stiles laughed at the nickname and replied to a text from Scott.

" Apparently Scott finds it weird that I'm still at your house, even though he knows I fell asleep. I guess he expects me to drive home when its pitch-black out." Stiles sighed fondly and put his phone back in his pocket.

"Well, first of all Scott is a dumbass who thinks everyone can see in the dark even if they're only human, and secondly this IS the pack house, so you're welcome to stay when you like. Third, you may or may not be my mate and I'm just warning you now." Derek immediately realized that the third thing slipped out before his mind filter could check over it. He kicked himself mentally. This was why Derek didn't like talking much. It always caused problems. He noticed that his gaze had been dropped to the floor, and he looked up at Stiles.

The boy looked completely and utterly ecstatic. Derek could smell him so strongly that his wolf was going crazy to scent mark him.

"You. Just. Said. That. I. Am. Your. Mate. Didn't you?" Stiles was talking in fragments and his grin just grew larger with each word.

"Idiot." Was all Derek could muster, and he tried to suppress his smile.

"I think you should ask me properly though." Stiles smirked mischievously, noticing the quirk of Derek's lips.

"Be my mate?"

"Sure. So does this mean that we're like, werewolf married now?" Stiles begins to giggle like a school girl talking to her crush. Stiles decided to be brave and wrap his arms around Derek's neck, eliciting a sub-vocal growl from the older man. Their lips met halfway and the pressure was heartwrenchingly gentle. Derek gave him a wolfish smile, pulling him by the hand into the living room. His hand was callused but still soft none-the-less. He stopped suddenly, letting Stiles crash into his chest gently, their scents mixing together.

" Well lets just start with this." He flops down on the couch, pulling Stiles with him, with the boy on top of his chest, legs in between his. He began to rub his face against Stiles and he began to chuckle, murmuring softly about how Derek was a giant puppy as he rubbed at his scalp with his fingers. Derek only huffed and pressed into the touch.

"We should do this more often. It's nice." Stiles said trying to sit still so Derek could rub his scent into his skin. They laid together on the couch, and Stiles woke up without having noticed he fell asleep. The sun was shining brightly on his face and there was a heavy weight on top of him. There was the sound of light breathing and the feeling of warmth seeping into his bones. He hadn't felt safe like this in years, not since what happened to his mother.

It was a comfort, and for once he could fully relax and unwind. Forgetting about the promise of coffee with Derek until later, he snuggled against the Alpha of his heart.