Stiles walks out of the building, approaching his jeep, when a car honks in his direction. He turns to find Derek and "the kids" waiting by the camaro. He walks over. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We came to pick you up after practice," Claudia says with a bright smile.

"I see that. Is that a good idea?"

Derek shrugs. "No one knows who they are except us. And they're around your age. People'll assume we're all friends."

"And you're our responsible big brother," Stiles teases, because he can not.

DJ and Claudia snicker. Derek rolls his eyes, but Stiles doesn't miss the smile he tries to will from his face. "We're going to go get burgers," Derek says.

"I can't leave my jeep."

"We'll come back for it. It should be safe here at the school. No one's going to steal it," Claudia insists.

"Because that would mean someone other than Stiles wants it," Derek quips.

Stiles- 1. Derek- 2.

"You want some ice for that burn, tata," DJ laughs.

"Werewolf's got jokes," Stiles grumbles under his breath as he climbs into the front seat. The others follow. "Where we getting burgers," Stiles asks.

"Arnie's diner," Claudia answers.

"They have the best curly fries," Stiles exclaims.

"We know," DJ and Claudia exclaim, rolling their eyes as though it's the billionth time they've heard him say that. Derek smiles as he slips on a pair of dark shades.

"I take it we eat there a lot," Stiles blushes.

"Not really. We have dinner at home more than we go out to eat," Claudia says, and the idea of family dinners every night makes Stiles' heart flutter. "But dad brings you curly fries from there sometimes when you're cranky or sad."

"When's the last time I was cranky or sad," Stiles asks.

"When DJ was late turning in his college application for Brown and didn't pick a safety school," she says.

"You didn't choose a safety school," both Stiles and Derek snap at him as they turn toward the backseat.

DJ snaps his claws out and snarls at his smirking sister. "I wonder what would happen if I clawed your tongue out. Would you grow a new one?"

"Let me get this straight," Stiles says, sounding way more serious and "motherly" than he intends to, "You not only didn't pick a safety school, but decided to apply to an Ivy League school and turned in your materials to them late?!"

DJ retracts his claws. "Just a day! I can blame postage, you know. Snail-mail."

"I somehow doubt the admissions board at Brown gives a damn about flimsy excuses such as that when considering undergads in the fall."

DJ groans. He's having the exact same argument in the past as he did in the future.

"You apply to 5 schools, Deej: your number one school, two backups, and your safety. How many did you apply to?"

Claudia snorts, loving her brother being lectured by their teenage parents.

"Just Brown," he mumbles.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"Brown is the only school I want to even go to!"

"And what happens if you don't get in?"

"Then I have a gap year and apply again in May!"

"No. You'll apply again in May, and you'll apply to your two backups and safety school, too. And don't think you're just going to be hanging out all summer either. You're getting a job."

"Oh, come on, tata! Lots of people take a gap year before they go to college. And I can spend it at home, helping dad with pack business. I'm the next Alpha anyway!"

"Really," Stiles asks Derek excitedly for confirmation.

Derek nods. "Yeah. He probably is. Laura was supposed to take over for my mom."

"Hey. I always wanted to ask you, how do Alphas hand over their power?"

"An Alpha can bequeath their power any time they want. It's the Alpha's discretion when they feel like their chosen beta is ready to lead the pack. And some Alphas hold onto their power until they die, and then their power goes to the next pack leader."

"Does the Alpha always choose their eldest to hand off their power to?"

"Most Alphas do. Some leave their mate, or second-in-command to take over the pack, but that rarely happens."

"Why?"

"Usually when a new Alpha takes over, the second-in-command changes, too. Peter was my mother's...and I was supposed to be Laura's." Derek's quiet a moment as the car draws silent with him at mentioning his family, and how things were supposed to be. "...Mates are treated as an equal to the Alpha," he says, picking the conversation back up. "So when the Alpha stands down for the next, typically their mate does, too. Packs that are lead by the Alpha's mate are usually packs that lost their Alpha too soon."

"How long are Alphas in power before they step down from the 'throne'?"

"15-25 years, depending on the pack."

"It's so weird to hear you ask questions, tata. You usually know this stuff like the back of your hand. Even more than dad sometimes," DJ says.

"Don't think I'm done talking about you, mister," Stiles reminds his son, who deflates in response, looking a lot like Derek but with Stiles' frown.

"Why Brown," Derek asks, looking at DJ through the rearview mirror.

"It's a literary school, with amazing writing programs. A lot of successful novelist come out of there. I want to be one. You know, before I'm Alpha."

Stiles catches the smile on Derek's lips.

"Well, I wholly support you becoming a writer, and an Alpha, DJ…if you can manage to turn a college application in on time," Derek says.

DJ groans. "Can we move off me and talk about something else please?"

"Fine. We're done torturing you. What do you want to talk about," Stiles asks.

DJ smirks wickedly. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe Claudia letting Uncle Isaac's son, Gaius, get to third base with her."

Derek has to pull over to the side of the rode when Claudia launches at her brother baring fangs, and Stiles can't stop laughing.

»»»

Derek ignores Stiles' leg bumping up against his own under the table as they talk over burgers and milkshakes.

They're sitting on the same side, knees knocking together, while Stiles tries to engage in a progressive lecture with Claudia on her "virtue," and the importance of being "safe." The poor girl looks ready to die of embarrassment while her brother giggles to himself.

Derek is trying hard not to wolf-out and go hunting for a boy that's not even a thought yet.

On the way to the diner, Derek snarled about killing Isaac and "fixing him so he can never have children." Stiles tried calming him down by "opening up a dialogue" and "not scaring her from being responsible and practicing safe sex."

"I'm not having sex," she snaps, wanting the torment to end. "…sort of."

"Well, what exactly did you and Isaac's son do," Stiles asks.

Derek doesn't know if he can't take the direction this conversation is obviously headed toward. He wants to flee, but he's boxed in, with Stiles having the aisle side of the booth.

"I am so not going to tell you that."

"You will if you want this conversation to end like I do," Derek tells her. Stiles is like a dog with a bone when it comes to evasiveness. A back-and-forth has started and he's curious about their daughter's actions; the human's not going to let this go, and the sooner Claudia quits being insolent about information he wants, the less of a headache Derek will have.

She groans. "Is this what your talks are like with them," she asks DJ.

"In the beginning, but as long as you tell the truth and listen to the lecture you're good," DJ answers.

"Fine," she says. "First, me and Gaius are not like a thing, like boyfriend and girlfriend. We're just friends…that made out for a while…and then I told him he could touch me. So there was no pressure, no forcing. I wanted to."

Derek pushes his plate aside. Hearing his daughter talk about letting some boy fill her up isn't very appetizing.

"And were you okay when he did touch you," Stiles asks carefully.

"Well, yeah. It was nice, but I didn't want to go any further and he was cool with that. And I didn't have to touch him. I mean, he totally asked and I said 'no' because I was nervous, but he seemed okay with that."

"Then what happened," Stiles asks.

"We finished watching the movie, you guys came home from 'date night', and Gaius went back home. Probably to jerk off or something," she says, taking a big bite out of her cheeseburger.

"Oh, my God," Derek groans. DJ snorts hard into his chocolate milkshake.

"Well, okay. That's all we wanted to know, Claudia. Thank you for telling us. We're glad Gaius didn't pressure you, and you didn't pressure him. You respected one another's boundaries and that's important. There's nothing wrong with sexual exploration." He elbows Derek in the ribs, "Right, Derek?"

"Fifteen is too young for sex, and I will snap the neck of anybody that hurts you. Either of you," Derek threatens.

"So not the point, sourwolf."

"It was my point."

Stiles readies to argue, but then closes his mouth, obviously thinking the better of it. Derek's admittedly curious about why Stiles suddenly backs down, then he remembers that Stiles knows. About Kate. Everything about Kate.

Pity, Derek thinks, but Stiles doesn't smell like sage. Instead he tries to steer the conversation on.

"Anyway, Derek and I—"

"It's weird when you don't say 'dad and I'," Claudia chimes in.

Stiles shoots Derek a flustered look. "Um, do-do you want me, or u-us, to say that?"

"No. You don't have to. It's just weird, you know? Because you guys are such a team, and saying it the other way makes it seem like you're not."

"Um, no, uh, we're-we're a team. Sourwolf and I can act like teammates…sometimes."

"But you're not really. You're on Scott's 'team'," DJ says with a tone.

"Hey, look, guys, Scott's my friend—"

"Some friend," DJ grumbles. "I mean, what kind of friend makes you choice between them and the love of your life," DJ continues.

"'Love of my life'," Stiles repeats.

"Yeah. That's what you always say dad is: the love of your life, and your best friend. Which makes me really curious about what it is you could have ever seen in that redheaded girl," DJ says, picking at the fries on his plate.

Derek feels surprisingly interested as well.

"Who told you I was interested in Lydia," Stiles asks.

"Aunt Erica," DJ says. "She said you moon all over her so bad it's gross."

"Uh, well, I-I don't feel that way about her anymore, but… Lydia's just beautiful and smart, and kind of scary, you know," Stiles defends.

"And bitchy," Claudia adds.

Derek can't help it. The laugh is out of his mouth before he even knows it.

"Dad is all those things," DJ says. "He's beautiful, smart, and very scary."

"Well, yeah, of course he is—" Stiles cuts himself off, flushing all over his face and neck. Derek hears his heart thumping like the wings on a hummingbird.

"So you have a type: sexy, but dangerous. Totally where Deej gets it from," Claudia snarks.

"I don't have a type," DJ protests.

"You so do! You love you a good looking bad boy. Or girl. I mean, Bailey. Molly. April. Kendra. Steve. Yusef. Diana. That kid with the motorcycle that goes to Beacon Hills High-"

"Hold on. You guys don't go to Beacon Hills High," Stiles asks. They shake their heads. "Where do you go?"

"Trinity Prep Academy," Claudia answers.

"Private school?! We can afford private school?!"

Derek is just as shocked, despite the only appearance of so are his eyebrows flicking upward simultaneously. He can imagine them being stable enough to afford private school for their kids, but he's a little taken aback at their children not attending their old high school. Werewolves are big on tradition, and it seems odd that his children don't attend the same school he did, given they're being raised in the same town, and it's his territory. "Wait. Trinity Prep? That's Satomi's territory. We have her permission for you guys to go there? I know she's not unreasonable, but I just thought…"

DJ and Claudia exchange looks.

"What," Derek asks.

"We probably shouldn't say anything, but Satomi died right before we were born. Her territory got raided in a pack war you were helping her fight. You won obviously, but part of the spoils was that you got her land when nearly her whole pack was wiped out. Beacon Hills isn't our only territory, dad," DJ reveals. "Beacon County, and the four counties touching it, is all ours."

"Fuck," the werewolf responds.

"Oh, my God. You made Derek swear," Stiles giggles.

Derek feels like he can barely handle just the town of Beacon Hills. It's more than a surprise to find out 27 years from now he's Alpha to a total of five counties. His family hasn't held that much land since the late 60s.

"So…is anybody going to tell me who Satomi is, or do I have to venture a guess," Stiles says.

"She's a werewolf—was a werewolf apparently. She lives in Trinity County. It's her territory. She and my mother were friends. Why was there a pack war?"

"Derek, I don't think that's something we should know," Stiles tells him.

"But if we know then maybe we can prevent it from happening."

"It seems to me we already do."

"Fine, but maybe we can know when it's coming and make sure it goes as planned and save a few lives that end needlessly."

"That sounds awesome, Derek, but impossible. What if we win the pack war, but because you got up 5 minutes early that day or Erica ripped out someone's throat instead of clawing them, something else happens instead, like I die, or my dad, or you die? Or you lose your Alpha powers or something?"

"I would never let any of that happen."

"You can try, but it doesn't mean you'll be successful."

Derek scowls at that implication of him failing.

"I'm not being a dick here. You know that. It's just… I know what it's like to want to change the past, especially at the expense of saving someone you love, but I think in this case, if we keep watching the front door for what we know is coming, it might open up a window behind us for something we didn't expect. The universe seems fucked a lot of the time, and it is, but a physical paradox we invite is going to make it even more screwy."

"I know that. I understand laws of causality, Stiles. It's..."

It's just that Satomi is a friend, and a physical connection to my mother, my family, aside from my shitty, now-crazy uncle. It doesn't feel right to let her die, too.

Stiles places his hand atop Derek's, gentle and considerate, as though he heard every word in his head. Derek looks into bright, copper eyes that speak volumes of understanding, of empathy, and his neck grows hot and ears turn pink.

"Um, yeah. Sure. You're probably right," he says, drawing his hand away from Stiles' touch.

"Really," Stiles says, like he can't believe Derek agrees.

The werewolf simply nods.

"I mean, we do pretty good it seems without knowing much and fucking with timelines. We get them," Stiles says nodding to their children. "And our territory gets expanded, and everyone's alive. I think that's all right, right?"

Stiles looks hopeful, as though Derek's response could either destroy everything, or create the heavens.

"...Yeah. Yeah, what we have is alright," Derek agrees.

The Alpha wolf tries not to think too much of the smile lighting up Stiles' face, that quickly turns into a bashful smirk when their kids stare at them with knowing grins.

»»»

Stiles, Derek, their kids and Derek's betas are in the family room watching E.T.: The Extraterrestrial (because Erica said she had never seen it, and Stiles couldn't abide by that at all) when Lydia shows up, banging on the door.

Derek nods his approval, and Boyd goes to answer the door. The redhead barrels into the room with Boyd trailing behind looking mostly annoyed at her aggressive entrance. She grabs the remote and turns off the TV.

"Uh, excuse me," Claudia says to her.

Lydia ignores her in favor of setting her glare on Stiles. "This is what you're doing? Mini-golf and movie nights? I thought we were working on sending these two back to wherever the hell they came from!"

"Can you guys excuse us for a second," Stiles asks.

"No! I've been researching and reading Old English and Latin and Greek until my eyes hurt and you're here playing with the kiddies! I held up my end of the bargain and now I want what I asked for in return! Now!"

"Lydia, look, we've been talking about it, and we're grateful for you helping, but it's not a good idea if DJ and Claudia divulge major chucks of information about the future."

"Oh, no way! I did not just get into some massive fight with Scott and Allison, my best friend, over helping you, to walk away with nothing. I want to know what happens to us. All of us. They have to tell me."

"You got into a fight with Allison? Did Scott kick you out of the pack?!"

"He's dumb, not insane. I walked away and said I'd be back. With information. So let the little ones spill."

"Lydia—" Derek starts.

"You. Uh-uh. Don't talk to me. I think I've been understandable civil in regards to you, considering you spent a good amount of time trying to kill me when you thought I was a kanima. Not to mention, your crazy uncle attacked me."

"How is that Derek's fault," Stiles asks.

"It's not," Derek snaps. "I have no control over my uncle and his bullshit. I'm sorry he hurt you, but I've already tried to apologize to you about it. Along with accusing you of being the kanima," Derek states.

"When was this," Stiles asks Lydia.

"Three months ago. I came to her house to explain and apologize and she turned me away," Derek says.

"You never told me Derek tried to apologize."

There's a wrongness in her eyes, but this is Lydia Martin; she's on a roll, and looking sheepish right now isn't good for her argument.

"Why would she? She's selfish," DJ pipes up. "You want information? Fine. I'll give you information," he says, getting to his feet.

"DJ. What did I say earlier at Arnie's. No," Stiles reminds.

"No way, tata! I'm not going to sit here and let her walk into our den and start making demands and yelling at people and being disrespectful to dad! This is our house! And my fathers are Alphas! If you were a part of a real pack, you'd understand what your behavior means and be reprimanded for it."

"But she's not, DJ," Derek tries to diffuse.

"So, I'll give her a history lesson."

"DJ—"

"Tata ends up in a coma."

The room quiets and turns still.

"He comes back home for the summer between his sophomore and junior years at college and there's a fight with some shapeshifters. Dad tells Scott about them being a threat and asks him for help. Scott refuses until tata convinces him it would be in his best interest to link up with dad, just for this one fight. Dad comes up with a plan of attack, but Scott hates it. Tata fixes the plan, but Scott still hates it, being a whiny bitch about the whole thing. He only agrees to go along with it because tata says he should. During the fight, Scott deviates from the plan and almost gets killed, but tata is there and saves him, and gets hurt so bad he ends up in a coma for 3 days."

"Holy shit," Stiles whispers.

"Daddy doesn't leave your side for one second while you're in the hospital," Claudia adds. "And you guys get really close after that. You end up being really good friends, and Scott can't stand it, like he's being replaced or something. So, out of respect, daddy backs off, but by then…by then you said you were already in love with him."

DJ continues, "You tell Scott and you ask him to be a good friend and support how much you love someone, even if he does hate them, but he refuses. He forces you to choose between him and dad. You choose dad, and that's the sad fucking end of you and Scott. That's the end of you and his crappy pack losers."

"Well, not really," Claudia says. "He moves to San Francisco after vet school or something. He comes back into town for holidays and stuff, to see his mom, but none of us talk to him. He tried once, at the grocery store, but you shunned him. We didn't even know who he was at the time. You told us the whole story on the way back home."

Stiles… Stiles doesn't know what to say. How to react. He's frozen at all the information hitting him at once. He nearly died, and Derek was broken up about it. They got close and fell in love. And Scott, his best friend in the world, just couldn't accept it. He could be supportive of Stiles loving someone, and being loved back.

Everything in him is screaming that it's a lie. Scott is nothing if not a true friend, who loves love and would totally support Stiles being truly, madly, deeply head over heels for someone. Even if it's Derek.

His dislike for Derek can't outweigh their friendship… But there's this festering pile of something rotten, right in the pit of his stomach, and he knows without a doubt what DJ said was true.

Stiles bolts from the room, hurrying upstairs to lock himself in Boyd's room, slamming the door shut!

Derek immediately follows him up there. He raps lightly on the door. "Stiles."

"No! I can't right now!"

"It's just me. Open the door."

Stiles rests his forehead on the wooden door, trying to breathe easy.

"Stiles. Please." Derek's voice is soft, and full of concern. He's never heard him sound like that before. "We don't have to talk. I just want to know if you're alright."

Stiles takes a deep breath, gripping the knob tight, wanting to break it; for him to have the strength to shatter it into broken metal pieces.

Instead, he twists the door open, and Derek comes in, closing it gently behind him.

"Are you okay?"

"A coma! I end up in a coma! That's fucking terrifying!"

"DJ shouldn't have told you that. Any of it."

"He was angry. At Lydia. She was being rude to him, to his family. I get that, but… A fucking coma! After saving that ungrateful asshole's life and he can't even…"

"You can't hold faults against him for something he hasn't even done yet. Besides, we know now, what happens, which means things probably change. Maybe he changes. Maybe we don't even become something now, and you and Scott can still be friends."

And at that moment, something hurts, right in Stiles' chest. It's like a thousand tiny needles prick his heart, all at the same time. And something he wasn't expecting pops into his head:

I'd hate to lose you.

"Stiles, are you okay? Your heart's beating really fast, and smell a little like lemons."

"Lemons?"

"Citrus. Anxiety always smells tart, like lemons to me."

Stiles can't help but to smile, finding that interesting. "Do all emotions have a smell?"

"Most."

Stiles wants to rattle off every feeling there is and ask Derek what each one smells like, but now's not the time. "I should go."

"You can stay the night here. If you want."

"No. I want to go home. I need to sleep in my own bed tonight, and I'm sure Boyd's pretty tired of the couch, and Isaac's snoring."

"...Okay."

Stiles is certain this time the werewolf looks disappointed.

They reluctantly make their way back downstairs.

Lydia is gone. The betas are outside on the patio, and DJ runs up to Stiles, apologizing profusely.

Stiles tells him not to worry about it. He'll be back in the morning to make breakfast and take the betas to school. He hugs him and Claudia 'goodnight' and tells Boyd, Isaac, and Erica he'll be over at seven in the morning.

Derek walks him out. Stiles gives him a small wave when he climbs into his jeep and turns the engine over. He tries not to think too much about how Derek waits on the front steps until Stiles pulls out of the driveway and down the street.

"We want to see grandpa."

"No. No. No. No. No," Stiles says.

"Why not? He doesn't know who we are."

"He also doesn't know about werewolves and how dudes can get pregnant."

"Grandpa doesn't know?!"

"I take it in the future he does," Stiles says to his son.

"He'd kind of have to if you're pregnant three times, Stiles," Derek smirks like an asshole, making Stiles rolls his eyes.

"Please, tata. Seeing Grandpa always makes us feel better," Claudia pleads.

"Oh, no. Don't bat your eyes at me, young lady. Unlike the marshmallow here, I'm immune to your powers."

Now it's Derek's turn to roll his eyes.

"And what exactly are you two feeling so bad about," Stiles asks.

"…Telling you guys about how you and Scott aren't friends anymore," Claudia answers.

"And about you being in a coma. I'm sorry. That must have been really fucked up and scary to hear," DJ adds.

Derek knows they feel bad. They spent the whole day moping around the house, hoping Stiles wasn't angry, and that they didn't cause some horrible rift in time because of it.

DJ's a lot like Stiles; clever, but ruled almost entirely by his emotions. He let Lydia get the best of him in her fit last night, and now he's haunted by what his actions might have caused. He has to learn to be more diplomatic in a crisis. He's smart enough to get there, but still too young to school his feelings somewhat. With more training he'll be a great Alpha when the time comes.

If it comes.

"It's okay, guys. Really," Stiles tries to reassure.

"Uncle Isaac said Lydia didn't come to school today, and that that's unlike her," Claudia says, looking worried.

Both she and DJ appear nervous, like they screwed up beyond belief.

"Guys. Calm down. I text her during study hall. She's fine. She said she 'just needed a personal day'."

They still look so sad and concerned.

Stiles sighs and grabs his keys. "Alright. Let's go visit 'grandpa'."

»»»

"Stiles!"

"Down here, dad!"

The sheriff takes the stairs to the furnished basement to find his son, Derek, Isaac Lahey, and four kids he's never seen before playing Monopoly. "Hello."

DJ and Claudia get to their feet, fighting the urge to run up and hug their grandfather.

"I told you I was inviting some friends over."

"I know. I just thought you meant Scott and Allison and the effervescent Lydia Martin."

"No." Which is all Stiles offers in regards to the mention of Scott.

"Do you really describe Lydia as 'effervescent'," Derek asks, fighting back a laugh.

"No!"

"Right," Derek snickers. The betas make it worse by giggling under their breaths as well.

"Stiles. You're friends…" the sheriff reminds.

"Oh, uh, yeah. This is Boyd and Erica. You already know Isaac, and you already know Derek, Isaac's legal guardian and former murder suspect."

Derek shoots him a glare that Stiles cares very little about.

"Murder suspect," Claudia says with wide, shocking eyes.

"Oh, shit." Way to scare your daughter, Stilinski, Stiles chastises himself.

"It was all a misunderstanding," Derek assures her.

"Completely my fault," the sheriff owns. "Which I will continue to wholly apologize for."

"No need," Derek says. "Wasn't really your fault," he says, eyeing Stiles.

Stiles shrugs. Said I was sorry.

"And you two. Who might you be," the sheriff asks.

DJ steps forward. "My name's DJ. I'm Erica's cousin from San Francisco, sir." He extends his hand.

The sheriff smiles and takes it. "Glad to know you're hanging out with polite kids at least." He turns to Claudia, "And you young…" His eyes fall deep into hers, staring, seeing something breathtaking and mysterious. "I-I'm sorry. It's just… You look a lot like someone."

"Someone you knew," Claudia asks even though she's very aware of who she resembles.

"Yes."

"Was she pretty?"

"No. She was beautiful."

It takes everything in Stiles not to burst into tears. Derek leans a little closer to him.

"Sorry. That must sound inappropriate."

"No. I know what you mean."

"…She had violet eyes, too."

"Like Elizabeth Taylor."

A wide smile cracks on the sheriff's face. "Yes. Exactly like Elizabeth Taylor."

Claudia smiles back. "But only lighter."

"Only lighter."

It's a thing. A thing between them that they say. Stiles can tell. Their moment is nothing if not moving.

"You should play Monopoly with us," she suggests.

"Oh, no. I don't think you guys want an old man crowding in on your fun."

"Actually, we'd like it if you joined us. Please," DJ tells him.

The sheriff scans the room of nodding heads.

"Come on, dad. You can be the racecar."

The sheriff smiles. He puts down his lunchbox, the two files from under his arm, and removes his gun belt carefully, placing it on an end table. He removes the magazine from his gun, along with the bullet in the chamber, not wanting to have a loaded gun in a room with a bunch of teens, before putting it inside the drawer of the end table. "Stiles, you and I both know I'm always the top hat."

Stiles sighs, defeated, and forks over the top hat token to his dad. "Then what piece do I get to be now?"

"Here," Derek says, placing the thimble in Stiles' palm. "I'll be the racecar," he winks at Stiles with a flirty smile.

Stiles blushes, closing his fist around the token in his hand.

Derek Hale winked at him.

He opens his fingers, looking at the thimble there, suddenly wishing he had an acorn button to give back.