Derek couldn't sleep in the last few days so it took him a bit by surprise when he woke up for a similar voice calling his name. As he opened he eyes, he saw Stiles let himself in, with a key Derek didn't know he had. The boy brought some food and his laptop. The werewolf didn't know how long he was sleeping but it was dark outside and his arm, he laid on, was asleep.

'Why are you here?' he asked as he sat up on the couch.

'Good to see you too, sour wolf' the boy said with a light smile on his face. 'I came to feed you… at least that's what I told Scott and the others when they tried to stop me. I just didn't think it's a good idea for you to be alone right now. I mean tonight.'

'I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me' Derek said when the boy gave him the pizza box. 'Thanks for the food! But I think you should go home and get some sleep. You didn't really have the opportunity lately. Mostly because of me. Now I can take care of myself.'

'I'm not leaving' Stiles shook his head and sat down next to the werewolf with some spring rolls and sesame seed chicken on his plate. 'Not until you eat. And there's something I should've told you before but maybe now is the time. And it's definitely better if I tell you before you see it yourself. In case you finally decide to leave this wonderful loft of self-reproach.'

'What happened?' Derek stopped between two bites and raised his eyes to face the boy. Stiles didn't look him in the eye, in fact he looked everywhere else but his eyes. He played with the chopsticks, poured orange juice and took up the sleeves of his shirt. After some minutes of awkward silence and pointless fumbling, Derek cleared his throat and grabbed the boy's arm. 'I can handle it, Stiles.'

'The twins came back to Beacon Hills from God-knows-where because Ethan couldn't stand to be apart from his possible mate, who is Danny by the way. And Aiden thought that if they wanted to beat Deucalion, it'd be easier for them to help us fight him. So now it seems they left Deucalion's pack and want to join us instead' the boy gabbled, still without looking him in the eye.

'When did they come back?' the werewolf asked after some minutes.

'They came to us four days ago' Stiles sighed and faced the older one. He had pure regret in his eyes and Derek couldn't decide if it was because he didn't tell it before or because he did it now.

'So you knew it since then' his voice wasn't threatening. Maybe a bit angry. 'Why didn't you mention this before? You had plenty occasions.'

'You really think I would bother you with things like this?' he put down the plate and turned to the werewolf with his whole bust. 'You were mourning for Cora, damn it, you still are. I might be annoying and bothersome. But I'm not insensitive.'

'And they want to join the pack?' Derek stood up and walked to the counter.

'You heard me' Stiles nodded and swallowed a piece of chicken.

'They want to join the pack after Aiden killed her?' his eyes turned into red.

The boy shook his head and slowly stood up. 'He didn't killed her. He injured her but-'

'He injured her and that's why Jennifer had the opportunity to poison her on the first place. It was his fault' the claws and fangs appeared too and Stiles started freaking out. 'They think I would be able to accept them as pack members? Letting them join my pack? I'd rather kill them.'

'I don't think you have a word in that. Because they don't want to join your pack… they want to join Scott's' the boy said as he stepped closer. Derek raised his eyebrows and Stiles knew he didn't understand how could the boy be the alpha of two other alphas. 'Yeah, you missed that part too. Apparently Scott's the true alpha. At least Deaton says so.'

'Good for him, bad for the twins' Derek said with an evil smirk. He started to loose it. 'If they're not my pack, I can kill them without regret.'

'And you would declare a war against Scott, Isaac and me as well? There are rules in Werewolf World you know more than I do' Stiles put a hand on Derek's shoulder and looked him in the eyes, they were hazel again. 'And I know you're not able to kill anyone without regret.'

'Why would you think that?' the werewolf asked as he glared at him but his voice sounded relieved.

'Because I know you. You're not a monster' the boy answered with ease and walked back to his food. 'And because your life motto is „I'm a predator but I don't have to be a killer."'

'You know I killed before' he replied and watched him nodding.

'Yeah, right' Stiles said with his mouth full of chicken. 'You killed Peter and he came back from dead. I wouldn't say it was a succesful mission.'

'Not just him' Derek shook his head and walked to the window. 'I even killed people I loved.'

'Correct me if I'm wrong. But as far as I can remember, it was Kate Argent who used you and then murdered your entire family. You can't blame yourself for what she did' the boy turned to him.

'I wasn't talking about them' Derek bowed his head.

'You meant Paige…' Stiles realized and shook his head. 'Her death wasn't your fault either.'

'How do you-' he started but the boy interrupted.

'Peter told us about why your eyes were blue as a beta and not yellow-ish like… uuum Scott's' Stiles said and waited for him to say something.

'It's because I killed an innocent' Derek nodded. 'I was selfish and reckless. And she died.'

'You were sixteen and not the one who bit her. It wasn't your fault' Stiles protested.

'She accepted me as a werewolf and I couldn't her as a human' the older one faced him after the last word. His eyes were full of guilt. 'I might wasn't the one who killed her but I was the reason she died.'

'Look, obviously I didn't know her. But I'm pretty sure she'd think you're wrong' the boy said. 'And I know you think that every bad that ever happened is because of you. I get it. But it's just a series of really bad luck. And it's not your fault.'

'Everyone dies around me' the werewolf replied dryly. 'Humans, werewolves and even emissaries.'

'The situation is not as bad as it seems, you know' seeing Derek's questioning eyes Stiles sighed. 'Deaton's alive, Scott and Isaac are too. I'm alive as well.'

'Yet' the werewolf bowed his head.

'Why? Are you planning on kill us? Or just me?' though he asked it with a smile, the boy took a step back.

'Of course I'm not. But everyone who's important to me gets hurt. Don't tell me you still don't get it' Derek answered and walked back to the couch.

'Did I hear well what you just said? I'm important to you?' Stiles laughed and sat down next to him. 'I'm flattered.'

'You have serious problems with your priorities' the werewolf said and he tried really hard to cover a smile. The boy just looked at him with a mixed emotion of disbelief and joy in his eyes and a twitch in the corner of his mouth. 'You helped me through the last week. It's a natural reaction from me to care about someone who might help me again. Keeping you alive is the part of my self-preservation mechanism. The question is why you cared about me on the first place.'

'Believe it or not… that's what friends do' Stiles shrugged.

'So you think we're friends' Derek said, it was between a question and a statement.

'We might be. I mean we are something' the boy answered with a smile.

'You're a pack member and I'm an alpha. That's what we are' the older one replied with a sneer.

'First of all, I'm not a werewolf. I don't feel the bond like Isaac does' Stiles was a bit hurt so as he always does, he expressed his displeasure. 'And second… I know you are an alpha but you're not mine. You said it yourself. If I'm in anyone's pack, it's probably Scott's.'

Derek shook his head when he realized the bitterness in the boy's voice. 'Even they think that you are my pack's stepmother.'

'Well, Scott has his own pack so he might change his mind about it' Stiles said dryly. 'Though it's cute that you refer me as your partner… in pack terms. I mean.'

'When did I say that? It's like you're calling yourself my work-husband' Derek raised his hands and showed quotation marks at the last word. '…in pack terms.'

'Is it just me or you felt the tension too?' Stiles leaned to the older one.

'God, Stiles! How can you be so frustrating?' Derek asked and sat back.

'It's funny, I would say you're the frustrating one' the boy shrugged and smiled at him. 'With your territory marking madness.'

'What territory marking madness?' the werewolf raised his eyebrows.

'You kidding with me? You really didn't realize?' Derek shook his head and Stiles laughed out loud. 'You were practically trying to convince me to leave Scott for you. I mean his pack for yours. You should control your werewolf-self because it can lead to serious issues, buddy.'

'Don't call me buddy, Stilinski' the older one said madly and grabbed the collar of the boy's shirt.

'Should I call you mate then?' he asked with a smirk but when he realized what he just said he started to shake his head. 'I didn't mean like that mate. Not like that.'

Derek pulled him closer and he did the eyes-lips-eyes triangle in perfect sync with Stiles. He remembered they had done that before and as he looked him in the eye, he would be sure the boy recalled the same memory. 'I'm so going to regret this' he said and he closed his eyes when his lips touched Stiles'. He reacted immediately and exhaled with a loud moan as he kissed him back. The boy seemed a bit unexperienced but really enthusiastic. After some minutes of barely breathing, they started to see weird patterns but didn't want to let each other go because they were afraid of what might happen after they open their eyes.

Lastly it was Stiles who broke the kiss and pulled back. 'I think I should go.'

Derek nodded and watched the boy as he grabbed his laptop and left the loft in a minute. He didn't look back at him, only when he closed the door behind him. The werewolf knew he stood at the other side of the door for a while because he heard his unbelievably fast heartbeats, which were in perfect sync with his own. After ten minutes he calmed down and heard as Stiles started the engine of the jeep. He cleaned the table, put the food in the fridge and walked back to the couch. He couldn't sleep all night because he kept thinking about how bad idea was it for him to be alone, especially that night.