The party was in full swing, music filling Scott's large backyard, fairy lights illuminating the grass and pavement while food and drink and those cliché red cups sat across two tables covered in a blue cloth. Stiles was watching his clock, it read 11:30. All night he had been catching up with the pack, and now he was standing next to Peter, whose gaze was trained on the full moon above their heads, his eyes flashing a pale blue for a spilt second before reverting back to their original colour.

"Funny night Stiles" he commented calmly, voice quiet and tone soft.

Stiles nodded, eyes falling over the members of the pack, noting one was missing "Where's Derek?"

"Just past the house, I suppose six years of isolation would make you sick of parties and people… especially this many people" Peter answered, folding his arms and smirking "You'd think he'd be glad for a pack again"

"He's not?" Stiles asked, confused and curious at the answer he had been given.

Peter shook his head "No, he's not… it's like… it's like sleeping on a hotel bed, you miss your old bed like crazy, but then you get home and you discover the little hole in the sheet, the scraping material and the lumps in its mattress… only then do you want for the hotel bed… Derek's in limbo between the two beds… essentially he's sleeping in his car, unsure if he wants to go home or run away again"

"That was… deep" Stiles tried after a moment of silence "I'll be back"

"Watch him Stiles, it's been six years" Peter warned, and Stiles had to stop and memorise what concern sounded like coming from Peter.

He looked to Scott for a moment, making a gesture to say that he was leaving the back yard and the Alpha nodded, mouthing 'don't be long' before returning to his conversation with Jackson and Isaac. As he moved away from the house, the music and light slowly faded, and the air seemed to get colder. Stiles shoved his hands into his pockets and spotted Derek close by the beginning of trees, shoulders set and head down.

He didn't know what to say, and the tirade of emotions began again, this time with anger and hurt rearing their ugly heads.

"You left" he bit out, words harsh and unexpected even to him.

Derek nodded and turned to Stiles, head tilting up to compensate for the small incline he was at the bottom of "I know"

His acceptance bothered Stiles, the way he just admitted to tearing up their lives "Scott was so scared… he had no idea what he was doing… finding our parents cost us the safety of Beacon Hills, I've seen creatures I didn't believe existed outside of the Supernatural novels… I – We needed you Derek" Stiles sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, peering at Derek past his hand "I wanted to hate you… for a really long time I thought I did… thought I could" another sigh and then Derek was right in front of him, eyebrows knotted together in concern, a look he had only ever seen when he was injured or the pack was in trouble.

He lifted his arms into the air in a defeated way "But I couldn't because I was in love with you… still can't" he admitted, and in that instant he saw the moment when Derek put together that Stiles was not the same teenager he'd left alone six years ago.

"You loved me" Derek repeated, a little dull and flat.

"Still love you" Stiles confessed, a sort of weight falling from his heart "And when you left it hurt everyone…"

"I…" Derek began, but Stiles silenced him with a shake of his head

"I forgave you ages ago Derek… it's the rest of the pack who needs an apology, and maybe the readoption of the third Hale" Stiles advised.

This time it was Derek's turn to shake his head "No… I was going to say I love you too… I just didn't know how to say it then"

Stiles scoffed "This is sickeningly easy… come on; Scott's bound to be worried by now"

They walked back to the party together, hand in hand, and Derek didn't let go when they came into view, nor did he let it go for the rest of the night. He had promised Scott that there would be no more silence between them, and on the stroke of twelve he kissed Stiles in front of everyone else.

In Stiles' very relevant opinion: it wasn't a bad start to a new year.