Maybe if my heart stops beating
It won't hurt this much
And never will I have to answer
Again to anyone
Please don't get me wrong
Because I'll never let this go
But I can't find the words to tell you
I don't want to be alone
But now I feel like I don't know you
Never Let This Go - Paramore
When Derek woke up everything hurt, he was tired, he was weak, his vision was shitty, and his limbs felt like jelly.
He yawned heavily before his vision came into place. Looking around, Derek realized something; he had no idea where he was.
It took him a moment or two to stand but when he did he quickly examined his surroundings.
He was in a decent size apartment, nothing fancy, just the small couch, an entertainment center with a flat screen on top, a friggin' huge dog crate next to the couch (which Derek would be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit interested in), a small table for two, a kitchen, and a sink full of dirty dishes.
Then, there was the two bedrooms and bathroom once you cross the hallway.
Derek hadn't even realized that his sense of smell had been dormant until it hit him full force.
Derek's other senses were crowded by the onslaught of smells; there were too many to pick out but one very, very distinct smell hit Derek like a freight train. The whole place smelled like Stiles.
Holy crap; Stiles.
He didn't remember much but he did remember finding a very shocked and confused Stiles, after that everything went black.
Derek sighed in frustration; Peter was right, coming back from the dead does take a lot out of you.
But of course that left a very important question; how did he come back from the dead in the first place?
Well actually, being back left a lot of questions, questions like where was the pack? Did they defeat Deucalion? Did they figure out who the Darach was? Did they defeat the Darach too? How long has he been dead? How did he find Stiles? And where the hell was Stiles now?
Nothing could ever be simple, could it?
Derek huffed and ran a hand through his hair, which he didn't realize was so messy until now. Hopefully Stiles wouldn't mind him taking a shower.
Well, might as well check things out.
Derek straightened up and strode (albeit clumsily) into the kitchen.
From afar the kitchen didn't look to bad but now that he was actually in it… the place was a shit stack.
Damn, did the kid ever clean?
Derek rolled his eyes to ignore the mess and fucking terrible smells (thank you very much werewolf senses).
Derek kept examining the kitchen until he got bored, Derek was about to leave and go 'explore' a little more until he saw the fridge. Honestly, Derek hadn't realized he was hungry, but according to his stomach, he was.
Derek smiled lazily and was just about to open the fridge door until he saw a folded piece of paper with the words 'FOR DEREK' written on them, taped to the door.
Derek pulled off the note, unfolded it, and began to read.
'Derek,
I'm gone at work, I'll be back at 1:00 pm. You were passed out and I didn't wanna wake you up. There's some chicken in the fridge if you get hungry. Also I cleaned the bathroom, figured you would need to take a shower or something. If you need to change clothes you can wear some of mine (I left some clothes that I'm pretty sure should fit you folded up on the bathroom counter, I've grown a little since the last time you saw me). Also, I'd advise you to stay out of my room, it's messy as hell and Shep's in there (my wolf-dog... don't ask). Anyway, my phone number is on the fridge if you need something. Okay that's all, try not to kill yourself while I'm gone. – Stiles
Derek let a small huff of laughter leave his lips, Stiles hadn't changed a bit.
Derek wondered how long 'the last time you saw me' was but decided to leave that for later.
After pigging out on chicken, washing the dishes (Stiles better fucking thank him for that later), taking a shower, getting dressed, going in Stiles' room even though he was strictly advised not to, taking Shep out for a quick walk, but that was after the twenty minutes it took him to get the wolf used to his presence, but eventually she did and Derek pretty much fell in love with her after that.
Shep reminded him of his mother in her wolf form, they didn't look alike considering Shep was completely white with the acceptance of a gray mark that resembled a star on her chest, but it wasn't her looks, it was her sweet, calm but still very protective attitude.
Derek had loved a lot of things about his mom but her unconditional love and support was something Derek had desperately needed over the years.
It was 12:30 and Derek literally just wanted to flop down on the couch and sleep for eternity, but he decided against it, he had questions and Stiles had answers. So instead he ventured back into the junk yard that was Stiles' room and looked for something to do, he was going to clean up a bit just to pass the time but then he noticed a bookcase and well, Derek would be damned if he didn't check out what kind of books Stiles read.
Derek wondered over to the bookcase and found a disorganized pile of books covering one shelf.
Derek silently scanned over the many authors and book titles.
Derek found Stiles' taste in books quite interesting, to be honest, he found books like An Abundance of Katherines, The Fault in our Stars, and Looking for Alaska all by John Green. He found a book titled 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak, he found every single J.K. Rowling book in existence, The Lord of the Rings series, and lastly (and strangely the only books in order) a series called 'The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel' by Michael Scott, it was a relatively small collection of books but books were books. Derek debated for a while but finally decided to try out 'An Abundance of Katherines' to cure his boredom.
Stiles walked halfway into his apartment and already, he could tell something was different, like for one, he could tell someone washed dishes (which unless Shep grew opposable thumbs, meant Derek woke up and decided to clean his kitchen… awkward) and he also came back to a very a bored Derek sprawled across his couch, a book in hand, and a sleeping Shep curled at his side making his position look rather awkward.
Stiles cleared his throat and shut the door behind him.
Both figures jolted to attention at the sudden noise.
Shep climbed off the couch to greet Stiles while Derek stepped off the couch and started to situate himself.
Stiles was the first to speak.
"I always pictured you as a Book Thief kind of guy." Stiles said, acknowledging the book Derek held.
Derek just shrugged.
"So you finally decided to wake up."
"Apparently so," Derek said, stretching. "Exactly how long have I been asleep?"
"Three days."
"Three days?"
Derek's voice didn't hint disbelief like Stiles would've expected, instead, he merely sounded curious; so Stiles took the opportunity to elaborate.
"Yeah, the first two days you were completely passed out; I skipped work to make sure nothing happened to you but when you have an ass for a boss you can't skip work forever. So the third day I took a late shift, hoping to find some sort of change in your disposition but you were still sound asleep, but when I got up for work this morning you had started to stir a lot in your sleep so I took that as a sign that you might be waking up, I couldn't afford to skip another day at work so I left you that note and hoped that you would wake up… and you did."
"Huh…" Derek deadpanned.
They were silent for a while; nobody said a word, just stood in a silence too awkward for Stiles' liking.
"Sooooo," Stiles began. "I see you crossed the forbidden border."
Derek raised his eyebrows in question.
"You went in my room."
Derek nodded.
"I also see you cleaned my kitchen, thanks for that."
"You better thank me, cleaning that kitchen was hell."
An awkward silence fell upon the two again.
Stiles was thinking of what to say before the silence was broken, this time by Derek… shit.
"How long?" Derek asked.
"How long what…?"
"How long have I been dead?"
"…Five years…"
"And what's the pack been doing for five years?"
This was the question Stiles didn't want to hear; and most definitely didn't want to answer.
Stiles didn't reply, guilt and remorse evident on his face.
"Stiles, what has the pack been doing for five years? What happened while I was gone?"
Stiles knew Derek had a right to know, hell, Derek had more than a right to know, the poor guy needed to know, but Stiles wasn't exactly sure if he was ready to tell him.
"Stiles, what the hell happened when I was gone?" Derek voice wasn't filled with curiosity anymore, Derek wanted to know, and he wanted to know now.
"I-I don't know…"
"What do you mean 'I don't know'?" Stiles couldn't tell if Derek was confused or pissed, possibly both.
"I mean, after you died I left the pack and Beacon Hills, Derek, I honestly have no idea what happened to them, and after five years of ignoring them, Beacon Hills, and all of that other supernatural shit, I don't wanna know. So, I'm sorry, I am, but I just don't know."
Stiles expected Derek to explode, scream at him, punch him, kill him, maybe even eat him, he expected anything but what actually happened.
Derek actually looked sad, not for the pack, or for himself, but for Stiles.
"Okay." Was all that Derek said.
"O-Okay…?"
"Okay." Derek repeated.
"So that's it? You're not gonna kill me, for, y'know, leaving the pack and stuff?"
Derek just shook his head.
Stiles let out a sigh in relief. "Oh thank God, I thought I was gonna become werewolf kibble for a second there."
Derek rolled his eyes. "That's because you're overdramatic."
"No, that's because you're friggin' violent."
Derek actually laughed at that, well, as much of a laugh that you can get from a guy like Derek Hale.
Forty-five minutes later, Derek was back on the couch reading, while Stiles searched the pantry for a snack, well, at least that's what Derek thought he was doing; he couldn't really tell.
"Hey dude," Stiles called from the kitchen.
"Yeah?"
"Did you eat my skittles?"
"Uhh… yeah, why?"
"…You have five seconds before I dig you a new grave." Was all that Stiles said, and by the sound of it, he was pretty damn serious.
