A quick, Derekira/Dira/whatever you may call them fic. If you've been on my tumblr, you know I ship them a lot, more than I do Scira or Derek/Erica. However, I tried to keep it friendly between them, although I'm afraid I didn't do such a great job. They're probably OOC but I tried my best to keep them true to character. Hope you enjoy it.


"'Oh, Kira, I have to stay late. You can walk home, can't you? It's only a few miles.'" Kira muttered to herself, frustrated with her dad for not telling her she would have to get home on her own. She would have asked Scott for a ride earlier, had she known. "Yeah, it's fine. It's not like there's a dangerous demon controlling Scott's best friend or anything."

"Are you talking to yourself?" Kira spun around at the deep, amused voice. Derek. She knew he was a werewolf, but nothing more about him. Scott had answered his story was "complicated" when she had asked.

"Of course not." she scoffed, sounding unconvincing even to her own ears. "Okay, maybe a little," she admitted, smiling sheepishly. That seemed to amuse him further, much to her confusion. "It's just that my dad had to grade papers and now I have to walk because Scott has practice and couldn't-" she broke off mid-explanation to stare at him. "Wait, are you following me?"

He was unaffected by her outburst but didn't answer her question; he just looked at her with that slightly amused expression. It wasn't a smile, but he didn't look stony as he did when they where in the factory. His silence was her answer, she supposed.

"Oh, my god. You are, aren't you?" Rather than ask why or ask him to stop, she turned and started walking again. If he didn't want to tell her, he wouldn't whether she asked or not. And she couldn't force him to stop. At least, she didn't think she could. He knew what he could do; she didn't know the first thing about how to use whatever power she had. She couldn't pretend she wasn't a kitsune, but she did know she didn't understand how to use any power that came with it.

"Scott asked me to." Derek said simply, breaking into her thoughts. She realized he fell into step with her easily, matching her pace.

Kira glanced at him in surprise. Scott had been pretty distant with her lately, although she was pretty sure it was because his best friend was in danger and Stiles was the world to him, everyone knew it. Even so, most of his friends, including Derek, seemed to think it was her fault Stiles was possessed. Although Derek didn't seem to blame her as much as the others did. He wasn't as short with her as they were-not abnormally, at least. And whenever the twins or Lydia were too intense and Kira became nervous, he always seemed to notice and would tell them to back off or answer for her, usually with a insulting name attached to it. She didn't understand him. Scott was right. Derek was definitely complicated.

"Do you do everything Scott asks?" She looked up at him from the corner of her eye, hoping to get some information from him. He didn't look at her, just stared straight ahead. She thought she heard him exhale more heavily than normal, but she figured she must have imagined it.

"It's hard to explain." he finally said and she giggled, earning her a look of mild surprise.

"Complicated." she added, with a slight smile. His brows were furrowed, his features clouded in confusion but he nodded slowly. They walked in silence for a while, but it wasn't awkward, as Kira would have expected. It was comfortable, almost natural. After a while, though, her curiosity got the better of her.

"What about dating?" she asked and he gave her that look again, the confused look that made her feel stupid and want to laugh at the same time. This time, though, she didn't really want to laugh. He looked a little pained, too, and she wanted to know why. "I mean, not you, specifically, of course. Just...in general. With werewolves."

"It's not easy." he said slowly, his brows still furrowed, although he no longer seemed confused. "Scott's managed a lot better than I did, though. The Argent girl was a good match for him, but she's seemed to move on. He cared for a lot." Derek seemed to sense her disappointment and looked at her. When she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, he decided to continue.

"He cares a lot for you, too, though. He wouldn't have asked me to come if he didn't." He said it so easily, so honestly the Kira itched with the desire to ask why. He beat her to it, though. "If he hadn't cared, he wouldn't have sent anyone. If he didn't care much, he would have asked one of the twins or Isaac to walk with you."

"Why does who he asked matter?" Kira asked, trying to piece together what exactly Derek was saying.

"Who would you want protecting your parents; me or Isaac?"

"Well, when you put it like that..." she allowed, smiling up at him. That seemed to amuse him, and he smiled back. It was only for a moment, and it disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared, but it was there long enough for her to decide that she liked the way he looked when he smiled.

Kira slowed to a stop, having reached her house, and looked up at him. "Well, you're duty's been fulfilled. I'm home, safe and sound. I'm even in one piece." she smiled, looking up into his hazel eyes. He nodded, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. "You'll be safe getting home, right?"

"You're telling me to be safe." he repeated. She could tell that she had succeeded in amusing him once more. He didn't smile, but she saw his eyes light up like they had earlier. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, Kira. I'll let Scott know you got home safe and sound, in one piece."

Kira smiled and turned around, bouncing up the steps leading to her house. She turned the key in the lock and got inside without turning to look at him. He watched her up until she closed the door, a small smile lifting the corners of his lips before he turned to head back home.

Kira thought their relationship might be complicated. He was a werewolf and friends with people who thought she meant them, or at least their friend, harm. She didn't know what she could do. She didn't know if she were an malevolent spirit or one of the more neutral ones. There were so many reasons that they shouldn't be friends. To put it simply, it would be too complicated.

But she was lonely. And she loved his smile. And Kira's life was already a mess-what was one more complication?