Stiles was avoiding Derek. It wasn't obvious the first time and Derek shrugged it off the second, but by the third time it was glaringly obvious. Especially so because when Derek's dad heard he baked Derek his favorite cookies and gave him a bear hug like he was five again. Derek thought for sure though the fourth time that Stiles would never blow off Laura's birthday party.

He was wrong and knew he was wrong when the Stilinski's Ford Taurus pulled up and there were only two heartbeats instead of three. Stiles did send a beautiful and deadly looking set of lava glass ceremonial knives that Laura never let out of her site. The next reality television night Stiles blew off left Derek feeling miserable and without much thought on his part he curled up on Stiles end of the couch.

Derek pulled the afghan Stiles had made the summer before and pulled it around himself so that just his eyes and the top of his head was peeking out. By the end of the third episode with Stiles scent around him Derek felt marginally better, but when he stood up and the afghan fell away he felt miserable and bereft without Stiles heady pine and cinnamon scent in his nose. Derek felt even worse when he realized just how much Stiles scent had faded from the apartment and that without the blanket there really wasn't much scent at all.

Derek stood in the middle of his kitchen staring into space for a few long moments before giving himself a mental shake and walked over to his living room to turn the light and TV off. Derek went from room to room double checking everything was secure and off before finally ending up in his bedroom. Stripping off all of his clothes Derek got under his covers, pulling the slightly scratchy afghan behind him.

Derek laid awake thinking about Stiles and wondering when his life had gotten so goddamn difficult and complicated. Derek was still awake when the first rays of sunshine pierced his darkened bedroom. Derek forced himself up and started going about his morning routine on auto pilot. Get up, get dressed, exercise, eat, get cleaned up and with an extra twist of getting ready to head over to his parents' home to help set up for their anniversary party. Derek found that he didn't care for the pitying looks everyone kept sending his way.

Worse than the looks though was Uncle Peter cornering Derek and telling him to man up and kiss the boy already. When Derek had just stared at him in shock Peter had taken it for sudden onset retardation and gave Derek a long pitying look and a list of techniques he might employ. Derek had always thought it in the back of his head but he was sure of it now, Uncle Peter was a perverted monster who fed on others unhappiness.