The thing is, Stiles and Derek don't talk about the whole 'Stiles is now Derek's anchor' thing. They both know it - it's kind of hard not to, because every time Stiles is in the vicinity of a hurt Derek, which is actually a lot (and yet Stiles freaks out every. Single. Damn. Time), he sort of pulls Stiles to him and doesn't let go. Like, for a long time. The first time it happened, Stiles thought Derek was high from all the drugs Deaton had given him. The second time it happened, Derek had actually snuggled with him. Like, on the couch. The third time, Derek had almost lost his arm, so they'd had to manoeuvre around the temporary (half an hour because werewolves have totally unfair healing mojo) sling. And Stiles may or may not had his head under Derek's chin. And his arms could possibly have been around Derek's waist.

And, if we're being honest here, Stiles isn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth or whatever. If Derek wants to snuggle with Stiles whenever he's hurt then Stiles? Totally not going to complain. It was around the fourth or fifth time it happened that Deaton cryptically said something about ships, but Stiles still didn't actually click. Like, Deaton was weird all the time. One more cryptic comment wasn't going to cause a light bulb moment. Sometimes the 'letting the kids word it out' tactic was fine. But when a pack member is going to die unless you give them a rare plant or something, you can afford not to speak in riddles. Seriously.

Anyway, it wasn't like Derek was going to tell him, and the idea of being an anchor to Derek was ridiculous to Stiles. More ridiculous than Scott getting an A on his Algebra test or unicorns appearing in the forest (and because his life was weird as fuck, the latter was actually more probable because apparently this was seriously his life now). But it wasn't until Scott walked in on them one time and walked straight back out within a second, nose scrunched, eyes wide, that it finally clicked. Because Derek may not talk about it, but Stiles was fairly sure he didn't do this with the others in the pack. The image of Derek and Boyd wrapped around each other was surprisingly not that hard of an image to conjure up, but that didn't make it realistic.

And then The Accident happened and, well. It became pretty damn obvious.

Stiles has been confined to the Pack House. Apparently the demon (Azazel, which they found out because of Stiles' flawless research, thank you very much) is way too dangerous for Stiles to be near. Lydia is with him too, but she seems content to at least pretend she isn't worried. She's painting her nails, and Stiles is kind enough not to say anything about her hands shaking noticeably enough that she has to constantly reapply it. Stiles is pacing. Has been for twenty minutes, at least, even though Lydia has told him to stop in various threatening tones. He's also been checking his phone non-stop, to no messages.

The thing is, Azazel seems to be in a different league. The same league as the Alpha pack all those months ago, when Erica and Isaac actually nearly died. And Stiles still can't think about Scott and Derek, crumpled on the ground, broken bones and blood, without wanting to throw up. Lydia is refusing to talk about it, but Stiles' mind won't stop. It's running on overdrive and he keeps thinking the worst possible things and he can't help it. So when his phone (finally) rings, his hands flail about in surprise which causes him to drop it onto the floor. It takes him three tries to actually pick it up and ask "hello?" breathlessly. Slightly terrified.

"Stiles." It's Deaton and fuck shit this cannot be good. Where's Scott? Why isn't Derek on the other end?

"Yes. What's happened? Is anyone hurt? Is Azazel –"

"Stiles." Deaton says again, before clearing his throat. "Azazel's dead. But Derek took a – well, he's hurt. Not as badly as he would have been if Scott hadn't – but it looks quite bad. I think you should come here. The rest of the pack are on the way back to the house now, so Lydia can stay there. I'll see you soon."

Stiles can count on one hand the amount of times he's heard Deaton speak in broken sentences. His heart speeds up and he stuffs the phone in his pocket, hands shaking. He makes it halfway to the door before remembering Lydia and running back and saying: "I need to go to Deaton. Derek's hurt. They're all coming back here though so –"

Lydia nods. "Go. I'll see you soon." Stiles thanks her and then he runs.

Stiles breaks so hard outside the vets that he almost hits his head on the steering wheel. He goes into park and practically flies out of the car, heart thumping Derek Derek Derek over and over. When he enters, Deaton is nowhere to be seen but Derek is leaning in pain against the desk. His eyes are closed, but when Stiles comes in they open and he makes a broken sound and winces. Stiles doesn't mean to, really. But his legs act independently and he just runs, crushing himself against Derek and wrapping his arms around Derek's neck and just breathing in. It's not even weird, it's just extremely comforting, which Stiles knows he will overanalyse later. But not right now, because Derek makes another sound, like a deep relaxing breath and Stiles can feel the weight go out of him. Derek's arms wrap around Stiles and hold him close before he ducks down slightly to bury his head into Stiles' neck, inhaling deeply which should probably be extremely weird.

And then it clicks. Because this? This isn't weird, not for them. It's their normal. Stiles is Derek's anchor as much as he is Stiles'. And it isn't a revelation, because in the corner of his mind, Stiles has known this since the first time Derek reached out for him. They protect each other, and they're part of a pack, but there's so much more to it than that. Stiles and Derek, they're something else. Stiles lets his eyes close and fully sinks into the hug, letting his brain quieten down over the torrent of thoughts and feelings.

Derek is emotionally stunted, but Stiles thinks that maybe, just this once, actions speak louder than words.

Hi hello it's been a while. I'm eighteen now. That's a thing that happened. Also I am in love with Teen Wolf. And Stiles. And Dylan.

I hope you enjoyed this. Reviews are really nice and loved but not necessary :)

It's been forever and will probably be forever until I post again (if ever, I don't tend to write to publish on this website anymore) BUT I hope you're all well and have a great Christmas and New Year! I miss this site and you guys quite a lot. Message me and say hi if you want, I'd love that :)

Paige x