It was the summer after senior year, just a few days after graduation, and Scott was sitting with Allison on the couch in his living room, discussing college and the upcoming fall when she asked a question that left him in stunned silence. "Where is Stiles going?" she questioned.
Allison's brow furrowed softly as she looked to her boyfriend, who just sat there with a completely blank expression on his face, finally answering after a few long moments. "I... I don't know," he answered with a frown, sitting up a little more.
He and Stiles used to discuss college options; they had promised they were going to go to college together and be roommates. However, Scott had not even thought about that when he had filled out his applications. He and Allison were going to go to college in the neighboring town. He was going to stay at home, while she was planning on pledging to a sorority and would stay there. If not, she would stay at home as well. After all, campus was less than a half-hour away. Scott was going to get into the veterinary school on campus while continuing to work part time as an assistant for Dr. Deaton. Scott, as hard as he tried, could not seem to come up with a single definitive thought as to what his best friend would be doing.
To be honest, Scott had not seen much of Stiles at all in the last week or so, though they had taken some photos together just before their graduation ceremony in their caps and gowns, Stiles proudly wearing the class salutatorian sash (he was only second to Lydia by a few minor GPA points) and a bright smile. Though, if Scott was totally honest, most of the time that Stiles had smiled that day, he had been glancing off somewhere else that Scott had not bothered to look at. Probably his dad.
The previous few years were less Stiles-filled than all his years before, if he really thought on it. Ever since he had gotten bitten, he had gotten so busy with trying to stay normal and protecting everyone that he and Stiles had very few actual bonding moments like they used to have before high school. It felt as though a rock had landed somewhere in his stomach when he realized that he had not even gone to see Stiles on the anniversary of his mother's death that year. "Scott?" Allison asked softly, resting a hand on her boyfriend's arm, breaking him away from his thoughts. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah... I just, I think I need to go talk to Stiles," answered Scott with a nod, frowning a little as he shifted guiltily on the couch.
Stiles was always there for him, and he had been a pretty terrible friend over the previous year. The last time Scott could remember really hanging out with Stiles was on Stiles' eighteenth birthday. However, both he and his best friend had seemed fairly distracted the whole evening. They had watched horror movies until the early morning hours while pigging out on an abundance of junk food since Stiles had insisted that he did not want a big party or anything; but, they had each spent more time randomly checking their phones than paying attention to the movies.
"Okay," stated Allison with a nod, standing up with a smile as Scott stood next to her. "I should go spend some time with my dad, anyway. He's going on a trip to Mexico for a while."
Once Scott had finally finished saying good-bye to Allison (almost a half-hour later), Scott finally left the house, locking up behind him after leaving a note telling his mother where he was going to be. He then made the short drive across town to the Stilinski house, rather surprised to see the sheriff's cruiser sitting in the driveway; but, Stiles' Jeep was there as well, so at least he knew that his friend was there. Scott parked the car and turned it off before making the walk to the door, which he knocked on after finding it locked, which made Scott's brow furrow a bit. He and Stiles never locked their front doors unless they were asleep, and it was too early in the evening for that. Scott's expression changed into a smile, though, when the sheriff answered the door. "Hello, Scott," John Stilinski said slowly, looking over Scott's shoulder, as if expecting someone there. To be honest, John was quite surprised to see Scott on his front porch at all. He knew that the pack was gathering for a movie night and had expected Scott to be there.
"Hi, can I come in. I kinda need to talk to Stiles," Scott replied with a sheepish smile. He knew he had not been around much, but he planned on fixing that.
"Scott... Stiles isn't here." John's brow furrowed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "He's over at Derek's. I kind of thought you would be there, too."
"He's at Derek's?" Scott's jaw dropped as his gaze immediately snapped to the right, in the general direction of where Derek was living.
John frowned as he studied Scott's reaction. Obviously, there was some serious miscommunication going on somewhere along the line. "Uh, yeah. He's been spending a lot of time over there since after the whole kanima thing."
Scott made a flailing motion that was not unlike something that Stiles would make in extreme distress while attempting to form words. Not only did the sheriff know about the supernatural and he seemed okay with it; but, Stiles was spending a lot of time with Derek Hale. "Two years? He's been spending time with Derek for two years?"
"Yeah," sighed John, drawing out the word before shaking his head a little. "I think you're right. You do need to talk to Stiles."
"Yeah, I, uhm..." Scott ran his fingers through his hair, face folded in a mix between a hurt expression and a scowl.
John sighed and reached out to gently squeeze the teen's shoulder. "Just go talk to him, Scott. I'm sure he'll be glad for it."
Scott nodded and sighed softly before thanking John and turning to head back to his car. The teen made it to Derek's place in record time, despite having stopped at the apartment that the alpha had been renting only to find no one there and no cars. Once figuring that out, he made his way out to the old Hale house. What he found once out there was not what he was expecting. The place was completely remodeled and rebuilt; and, if the lingering smell of fresh paint was anything to go by, it was a new development that Scott had not been let in on.
There were four cars sitting outside, however. Danny's car; Jackson's car; the car that Isaac, Boyd, and Erica shared; and, Derek's Camaro were all parked in the driveway next to an incomplete garage. It was really rather a nice place, though Scott would not admit it out loud. He scowled as he got out of his car and walked up to the front door. He knew that everyone would know that he was there, and he went right in, not bothering to knock. Scott was just glad that the door was unlocked.
He slowly made his way through the rooms, seeking out everyone else, following the muffled sound of a television in another room. Scott finally found them in the finished basement that was the designated game room. There was a pool table and a ping pong table as well as a large flat screen television with a a gaming console sitting next to it. In front of the television was a large, square couch that was really more like a bed with edges. He could make out the shapes of Lydia, Jackson, Erica, Boyd, Isaac, Danny, Derek, and Stiles all tangled together on the couch, drinks and snacks littering the wooden edge that kept the bed-like couch from falling apart. "What are you doing here, Scott?" questioned Derek in a tone that was more surprised than angry, which surprised Scott almost more than the fact that Stiles was leaning against Derek, head on the alpha's shoulder while the elder man ran his fingers through Stiles' hair that had been grown out a bit. Stiles had taken to keeping his hair still kind of short, but not anywhere near the buzz-cut he used to have.
"I went by Stiles' place looking for him," Scott answered, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets as Stiles actually looked away from the television to his friend. "I wanted to talk."
"I thought you were spending the evening with Allison," replied Stiles, idly running his fingers through Isaac's curls with the other teen's head on his lap. They did not always cuddle in a big bunch like that; but, whenever they had movie marathons in the rec room like that, the entire group kind of found a way to wound together. Typically, they would all claim a couch or chair or the floor in front of the television upstairs in the living room. Sometimes the closeness was more preferred, especially after one of them had gotten hurt, like Erica had done the day before.
Scott nodded a little and sighed as he said, "I did, I mean... I was. I kinda... realized that I really needed to talk to you, though." He tried to ignore the way that Isaac was looking at him with an irritated frown and the fact that Erica looked like she wanted to rip his throat out. Even Lydia and Jackson seemed to be more irritated with him than usual.
"Talk to him tomorrow," Danny suggested with a shrug. "You're kind of interrupting our movie."
Since when was Danny even part of the pack? Scott frowned a little, wondering if he was still human, or if Derek had bitten the other lacrosse player, too, and he had not been informed. Of course, he guessed that since he denied Derek as his alpha, he had no business knowing what the pack did. What irritated him the most, though, was the fact that Stiles was basically in the middle of a werewolf pile, and beyond looking a little flushed from the excess body heat, seemed to be completely comfortable where he was. "Go home, Scott," Stiles said with a soft sigh, closing his eyes for a moment as Derek ducked his head against the teen's shoulder. Whether it was to press a kiss there or to simply nuzzle against Stiles, Scott could not tell. Either way, it set Scott on edge a bit while he watched Stiles visibly relax. "Or stay. I don't care. Just shush. We can talk tomorrow. Dinner with dad before eight."
Scott weighed his options, eyes glancing over each of the forms in the tangled mass on the couch before nodding a little as he said, "I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay. Should be home around seven." Stiles nodded a little but let his gaze fall back onto the television, where there was some kind of explosion in which Lydia made a comment of how she could make a better one than that.
After Scott had left and the movie was over, Stiles found himself in the shower that was in Derek's private bathroom, the one connected to the alpha's bedroom. Derek was locking up the house, making sure that the fire in the fireplace was completely out (a habit none of them commented on, but they all assisted with). Isaac and Danny were asleep in Isaac's room, and Erica was crashing in Boyd's room for the evening with him. Honestly, Stiles did not know why they did not just officially claim a single room. They spent more time sleeping in the same bed, anyway. Jackson and Lydia were crashed out on the couch down in the rec room, despite Jackson having a room of his own in the house. They did not often use it, for no real reason past the fact that Lydia had yet to make her decision on what color the walls should be painted and she thought the room was creepy unfinished. Stiles had his own room as well, one he used to use during pack sleepovers, but over the past... well, Stiles is not even sure when it really started. It was sometime after the whole showdown with the witches that had kidnapped him and intended to use him as some kind of sacrifice. Anyway, Stiles started accidentally falling asleep in Derek's room while they were talking. That turned into Stiles' things slowly finding their way into the room until he had his own shelf in the dresser and a spot in the bathroom for his toothpaste, toothbrush, and other personal products. It took Jackson's annoyed, "Dear god, he practically lives in your room, anyway. You should just make it official," before Derek's room became Derek and Stiles' room. Of course, Stiles spent just as much time at home with his dad as he did at Derek's place. More often than not, Derek would be over at the house with him. Pack nights were once a week, and those were the nights that they would stay over at Derek's, unless there was a new big bad in town.
When Stiles finished his shower, he dried off and pulled on a pair of sweatpants that he stole from Derek, folding the waistband over once so they fit on his hips like he liked instead of higher up on his waist all itchy and annoying on the scar there that never actually hurt but was annoying. Magical wounds did that sometimes, apparently. He also pulled on a t-shirt that he was pretty sure belonged to Erica, but who was keeping track of whose laundry was whose anymore? Certainly not Stiles. He smiled when he saw Derek already in the bed, only wearing a pair of sleep pants that were getting a little thin from use. "Hey. Everyone asleep?" he questioned as he crawled into the bed next to Derek.
He smiled as the alpha made a noise of assurance, draping an arm around Stiles middle as they lay with the teen's back pressed to his chest. Derek brushed his lips against Stiles' shoulder, over the scar that he knew was there beneath the t-shirt. He had put the scar there, completely on accident. There were times he still felt guilty, but Stiles made sure that the feeling did not stay for long. "Will you stay tomorrow?" Stiles asked softly after a few moments of silence between them in which Derek's fingers traveled along Stiles' arms and hands slowly, mapping out the skin that he already knew well. "Like... downstairs while we talk in my room. It's... I don't want to be completely alone. It's going to be bad."
"I'm sure it will be fine," replied Derek as he pressed a kiss just behind Stiles' ear, making the teen sigh softly. Derek did not say that he would not stay, however, and Stiles took that as an agreement.
"He's going to play victim."
"He's the one who pushed you aside, remember?"
Stiles frowned a little, but pressed back against Derek a little more, letting the werewolf hold him closer. "Yeah. S'just... I miss him, y'know? I still think of him as my best friend. He's just been... busy."
"Get some sleep, Stiles." Derek gently squeezed Stiles' arm before nuzzling against the teen's shoulder.
"M'kay. Only 'cause I'm tired, and not because you told me to."
A smirk tugged on both their lips and Stiles sighed contentedly as he let his eyes fall closed, drifting off to sleep with the rise and fall of Derek's chest with his breathing against his back.
The next morning, Stiles wakes up to long, lazy kisses from his surprisingly very affectionate werewolf boyfriend that results in them being late to leave for his house. He did not mind in the slightest, and knew that his father was already expecting it. Stiles was always late after staying over at Derek's. Scott was already there when they pulled up in the Camaro and could not hide his complete and utter shock when in the light of day he could see Derek with his arm around Stiles' waist, fingers resting just above the waistband of the teen's jeans while Stiles was wearing Derek's favored leather jacket. "Morning, Scott," Stiles said with a smile, nodding toward the house. "Dad's probably got breakfast done. C'mon."
Scott does not say anything, but nods and follows the other two inside. Breakfast was rather light-hearted despite the tension in the room, and Scott was completely amazed at the fact that the sheriff was friendly with Derek instead of glaring and being intimidating. "I'll let you know if I hear more on that pack that was spotted," John had told Derek just before he had left to head to the station.
Once the sheriff was gone, Derek took the plate that Stiles was washing out of the teen's hand, pressing a light but lingering kiss to the pulse point just beneath Stiles' jawline before he said, "I've got this. You two go upstairs and talk."
Stiles nodded a little but sighed softly, turning enough to steal a kiss from Derek that made Scott glare off to the side. The last thing he wanted was to watch his best friend kissing Derek-Freaking-Hale. Neither teen said anything as they went up the stairs to Stiles' familiar bedroom. Nothing about it had really changed over the previous few years beyond the fact that it smelt stronger of Derek than it ever had before and Scott noticed quite a few of Derek's things around the room. Scott opened his mouth to start talking, but he did not make a sound as Stiles held up a hand to halt him. "Before we really get to talking, you should know," Stiles stated as he sat down on his bed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I love Derek; I'm in love with him. We've been seeing one another for about a year, now, but I only realized I loved him a few weeks ago."
"How did...?" Scott gestured over his shoulder toward the door, not sure if he was trying to ask how they got together, or how Stiles realized he loved Derek, or how he didn't know about them.
"We started dating after... Lucas, yeah, Lucas was the creeper-wolf's name. Anyway, it was after Lucas came and made a mess of things. I realized that I actually enjoyed spending time with Derek and that he was more than just a stalking asshole with a tendency to boss people around. So, I basically told him he was going to take me to dinner, or I'd give dad permission to get into the wolfsbane bullets." Stiles smirked a little at the memory, laughing a little to himself, knowing that Derek was probably smirking a little as well down in the kitchen despite the alpha's attempts to not listen in to their conversation. It was hard for Derek to tune out Stiles' voice. "I tried to tell you, hell I tried to come out to you twice, but you either shrugged it off with a 'that's great' and went on to talk about Allison; or, you weren't listening." Scott had the decency to look ashamed at his own actions at that point, and he tried to apologize, but Stiles spoke over him. "I only realized that I was actually in love with Derek recently. It was on the anniversary of mom's death. I didn't go to school, didn't call anyone. Dad told the school I wouldn't be there, but he stayed home too.
"We sat around for a while, but then I went to the cemetery and Derek was already there. He was just... waiting. He held me when I cried and did not once pass a single judgment. He understood how I felt and told me he wished I never had to feel what I was feeling. He took me home, made dinner for my dad and I, and just kind of... spent time with us. He took care of me without expecting anything in return. He was just... there, and I realized that I didn't just care about him. I was in love with him. I had a freak out moment with my dad, who just laughed and said it was about time I caught on. Of course then there was the threats of shooting and dismemberment if Derek pressured me into anything and all that stuff. Which he hasn't, by the way." Stiles laughed softly and reached up to run a hand through his hair, watching Scott's reaction to all the information that was being dumped on him.
Scott swallowed thickly, his eyes shifting around the room. Honestly, how had he missed Derek becoming such an important part of his best friend's life? It was like a kick in the gut, but Scott did not want to try to play the victim, as much as there was a part of him that wanted to cry out how unfair it was that Stiles never told him. Stiles had tried to tell him important things, but he had, apparently, been on too much of a one-track mind to notice. "What else have I missed?" Scott asked slowly, hesitantly, as if he was unsure if he wanted to know the answer.
"Derek is a much better alpha now. He listens to us; but, everything he has always done has been for the pack. Yes, he has been selfish in some of his actions, and he knows that. When it comes down to it, though, he cares about all of them... even Jackson. Jackson's less of an asshole now, though he has his moments. Erica and Boyd are practically married, and Danny knows about everything. It's kind of hard not to with him dating Isaac." Stiles shrugged a little, picking up a pen that was on his bed to fiddle with as he spoke, taking off the cap only to put it back on before twisting it around a little. "All this stuff has always been there for you to see, Scott. You just... didn't."
Stiles sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a moment before looking to Scott. "You left me," Stiles said in an almost broken voice, sounding almost like he had just accepted it.
"What? No, I didn't. I've been here, I..." Scott was trying to scramble for something, anything to rid Stiles of the brokenly amused expression that was on his face.
The human teen shook his head a little, waiting for Scott to sit down on the desk chair before speaking again. "You were never there when I needed you, Scott. Sure, sometimes you would luck out on last minute heroism, but it was always Derek who was saving me, and I him. Derek was the one who answered my phone calls, no matter how annoying he was. Derek was the one who never hung up on me because he was talking to someone else. You... you always chose Allison. She was always more important, whether it was protecting her when she did not need it or striking deals with the man who beat the shit out of me in order to stay on his good side." Scott's brow furrowed in confusion at that admittance, and Stiles shrugged a little. "Sophomore year? That... that time that I was all bruised and I said it was nothing? You never asked again, never cared to see if I was actually okay; even when I flat out lied to you. Then, when I needed you so we could tell my dad about everything, your phone was off because you were on a date with Allison. I get that she makes you happy; trust me, I get how it feels to have someone you love. I've just learned to accept that you can't be here for us both, and I take the back seat."
Stiles wanted to point out that with the pack, they watched after one another, they protected one another. If one was helping Stiles, there was still someone to help the others. It was more than a friendship, and more than just protection. They were a family, and a part of him wished that Scott would be a part of it. "So, yeah, I get that Allison is your everything, and I'm learning to be okay with that," Stiles said with a shrug, keeping his eyes trained on the pen in his hand. "You just can't expect me to be completely forthcoming with you when you barely give me the time of day anymore. I see more of Jackson than I do of you, Scott."
"Stiles, I'm sorry," Scott said through a breath he did not realize that he had been holding. He had not even stopped to realize how much of Stiles' life that he had missed. He had known he was completely wrapped up in Allison; but, he had thought he was doing a good job balancing them, work, and school. "I didn't realize I... 'Ve been a shitty friend."
"The worst." Stiles smirked a little in a way that let Scott know that he was mostly teasing, looking back up at the other teen. "You're still my best friend, Scott, and I love you, y'know. I've just got more than you know. I'm... I'm part of the pack, have been since before Derek and I got together, even. We're all friends... no, we're family. I would do anything to protect them, and they would do the same for me. It's... it's not always easy times and puppy-piles. There are arguments. We get on each others' nerves. Still, we're a pack and we're all there when it matters."
Scott frowned faintly as he listened to Stiles continue to talk about how they all have gotten to know one another more, how Isaac no longer tries to come across all tough and brooding, how Jackson even talked to him at school and Lydia danced with him at senior prom, how Erica and he sometimes hate one another (and how she spent a lot of time being jealous of Stiles and Derek before Boyd finally asked her out), how the entire pack and not just Derek grew and became more open. They had all grown up and turned into great people right underneath Scott's nose while he spent more time worrying about not pissing off the Argents and sneaking around with Allison.
"I know I've been a terrible friend since..." Scott said with a soft sigh, running his fingers through his already mussed hair.
"Since I dragged you into the woods where you got bit and turned into a creature of the night? Yeah, well, maybe I kinda deserved it," stated Stiles with a shrug, though the slight upturn of his lips detailed that he was only partly serious.
Scott rolled his eyes and tossed a piece of paper in Stiles' general direction, though it fell short. "That's not your fault, y'know. I did not have to agree, and it could have been you that Peter bit." Scott scowled at that thought, and if the faint growl he heard downstairs was anything to go by, Derek was not too fond of it, either.
"He offered once, well, twice." Stiles shrugged a little. "Told him I didn't want to be like him. It was kind of creepy, to be honest." The younger of the two teens pulled a slight face and shuddered a bit, glad that Peter was long gone somewhere else, scaring other innocent victims.
The two of them had been talking for nearly an hour, and it was long after Derek had come up and said he would come by later after he finished doing the shopping he needed to that Scott brought up something that startled Stiles and made him smile at the same time. "D'you think that maybe... maybe I could be part of the pack?" Scott asked slowly. He was still unsure what he thought of Derek; but, from what Stiles was telling him about the pack and how they needed one another, Scott thought that maybe it was time that he stopped pretending that he did not need all the help and support he could get. His mother was already an honorary member of the pack, he had found out; and, somehow, that did not upset him as much as he thought it would.
"That's something you would have to talk to Derek about. I might be dating him, but he's still the alpha."
Scott nodded a little, and Stiles smiled at him. All at once, it seemed like the tension between them dissipated, though things were far from being okay again. There were still trust issues (mostly from Stiles to Scott), and there would be a lot penance on Scott's part before they were back to normal. Scott was trying, though, and as much as Stiles wanted to be mad and hate Scott, he couldn't. They were brothers, and best friends. Nothing, not even some animosity would change that. It was time for them to heal and regroup. Things were different, but they would make it through like they always had; together.
Thanksya for reading! Check out this nifty graphic I made for the story: here