Chapter Seven: The Rose and the Thorns
Derek woke up to Stiles curled up close to his side, the human's body fitted to the space like he was made for it. It was stupid and romantic and he was a sap but that didn't seem to bother Stiles very much. Getting that call a month and a half ago had been a welcome sight on his phone. There were days when he was in Alaska when he would look down at his phone and give a little smile and Cora would groan and tell him to grow up and go get Stiles if he wanted him so badly.
He would consistently follow that up with, "I can't. He's with Lydia."
Derek didn't even know about the text break-up until he got to Stiles's dorm room that night. He'd been agreeing to things the entire time, trying to show Stiles that he'd wanted him for long enough to have gotten over whatever gay crisis he could have been having. He agreed to fake date the human, for crying out loud, and Stiles just kept on talking like they weren't real.
He'd never considered that Stiles would be the oblivious one between the two of them.
"Hey," Stiles muttered as he started shifting, nuzzling his nose into Derek's neck and hugging the werewolf even tighter.
Derek gave into the seemingly never-ending desire he had to touch and kissed the top of Stiles's head before speaking, "Good morning."
Stiles, ever the epitome of movement shifted enough to look at Derek. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Derek's and the werewolf sighed as he pressed a palm into the side of his boyfriend's face and sank into his lips. He opened to Stiles's caress and groaned, their tongues pressing and trading spit back and forth. Stiles gasped in the back of his throat as he moved up even higher and slid one of his legs over Derek's waist. He just settled there, not over Derek's hips and his dick but just above and the werewolf couldn't help but smile. Their teeth clicked together and Stiles pulled back.
"Is this okay?" Stiles husked gently.
Derek nodded, letting his hands find Stiles's waist and slid up his back. He moved his hands under the human's shirt and his hands covered the smooth skin of Stiles's lower back. Derek started to pull him down when his fingers grazed over raised skin and he pulled back and frowned at him.
Stiles shifted his shoulder, forcing Derek's hands back down and away, "What is it?" he whispered.
The human, this amazing and tenacious human that Derek just loved more than he could handle, turned away "I don't want you seeing that. Feel that. It's not fair because I'm scarred from everything that happened and you… you're not, not your skin anyway."
"Stiles," Derek responded because he didn't know what to say. He wasn't physically scarred by everything but he'd been traumatized by it, in some ways he wished he had marks to show the hurt inside. He didn't want Stiles to think that those marks made him ugly or something less than. He sat up and without waiting; Derek pulled his boyfriend's shirt off and dropped him down on the bed. Stiles grumbled in annoyance but didn't try to hide after all maybe sensing that Derek wasn't going to let this go. He scrambled off to the side of the mattress and sat down to put his back on display and Derek sat up to look his fill. There were white lines like a lightning bolt across his left shoulder blade, it was subtle but Derek knew that he'd been feeling it. He could see other marks here and there. Several looked like claw marks others were from more mundane weaponry but nothing that he remembered Stiles getting but the human was so good at pretending that he hadn't been hurt in fights and after he'd left there hadn't been a lot of people to watch out for the humans. He felt sad that he'd never considered that this kind of damage was something Stiles had to live with, it was something Derek didn't ever have to worry about. Derek gripped Stiles by the shoulders and turned him around.
"You don't need to hide this from me."
Stiles nodded but his scent turned sour with shame. Derek reached out and pressed Stiles's hand to the center of his stomach, just below his ribcage, pressing those long fingers that he'd had dreams about more than once into his skin.
"What?" Stiles asked gently even as his fingers shifted and caressed the skin beneath his digits.
Derek reached down to pull his shirt off and placed Stiles's hand back to his stomach then let them run up and over his pecs and shoulder blades. "Kali stabbed me through the back and slammed it into the floor of the loft, if I wasn't a werewolf I would have died but I can still feel that phantom pain sometimes, not because it didn't heal, but because Cora was disappointed in me and what I was back then. I don't know if I agree with her now, I did the best I could.
"What most people didn't know what that I ran into the house when it was still on fire, I was burned pretty badly for being in there only a short time, then Laura dragged me back out and I hid out until I healed. I know what it feels like for my skin to burn and then I think about the fight with Kate, the torture and everything else. Just because it heals, doesn't mean I didn't feel it and it doesn't mean that I forgot it. These marks don't make you weak or ugly, they make you strong and courageous."
Stiles shook his head but his scent didn't remind Derek of shame and worthlessness anymore, but the flush of happy embarrassment.
"You are the only one who carries so much of the marks on your body, and yet you never stopped going into battle. Its like Batman and Superman."
Stiles looked up and smiled, "Oh do tell," he said and moved to climb into Derek's lap. Derek gladly accepted his boyfriend's weight and pulled Stiles in to kiss him before he started.
"Once upon a time," Derek started and Stiles snorted out a laugh.
"Come on, be serious."
"Weird, saying something like that to me huh?" Derek whispered and pressed another kiss to the side of Stiles's jaw who just hummed happily. "But really, sometimes it's easy for werewolves or anyone who has the power to survive great pain and injury to go running into battle because there is a better chance of survival not to mention the protective nature of our aggression. If its about pack or territory, it wouldn't matter if we healed; we would always go to war. Doesn't mean it's enjoyable but it's easier. Superman doesn't get hurt very often because of his abilities, Batman goes into battle with a mask and his intellect and tools, and he's the braver of the two because he doesn't have something that makes it easy to run towards danger. You, Stiles, were always the bravest of any of us. You were always Batman."
Derek scented the tears before he looked up and saw them, he even understood them so when he leaned forward and rubbed his nose up and over the tear tracks, it was a simple acknowledgement then Stiles tightened his arms around Derek's shoulder and they just sat there hugging.
"Does that make you Superman in this story?" Stiles whispered into his neck and Derek chuckled and shook his head.
"I don't think that's likely, I'm more likely to be one of the anti-heroes like Arrow," the werewolf said, breathing deeply at Stiles's neck where his scent was the strongest.
"Don't sell yourself short Sourwolf," Stiles moved back just enough to hold the werewolf's cheeks in between his hands, "You have the backstory that any super villian would love and yet you care and you do whatever it takes to save who you can, even though you were always a grump about it. Your right, I think Superman had it too easy for it to make any sense for the metaphor but it doesn't change my point. You, Derek Hale are a hero."
Derek chuckled; flushing in embarrassment then reached out and pressed his fingers into the scars that he could see. Leaning down and pressing his lips to one of them, it looked like a knife wound he listened to the choked off moan that rumbled through Stiles and echoed into Derek. He'd never experienced this, someone liking him for being just who he was.
And Derek reveled in it.
He took Stiles's mouth in another deep kiss and just decided to stay there until either one of them got to hungry or had to get up for some reason. He shifted and slumped back onto the bed, dragging Stiles with him so they wouldn't have to stop kissing. Stiles smiled again and their teeth clacked before Derek dragged him back for another open mouthed, messy kiss. Stiles was starting to move in his lap, shifting slightly to rub over Derek's very interested dick while his own was rubbing between their bodies. Derek's hands were slipping away from Stiles's face and down his chest when he heard the very obvious slamming of a cabinet then a clearing of a throat and he laughed into Stiles's neck.
"What?" the human whispered, panting. Derek was surprised he hadn't heard the not-so-subtle banging.
"Your father's gentle reminder that we aren't supposed to be getting up to anything under his roof."
Stiles groaned and chuckled, "Everyone is making me far more virginal than I actually am."
"No one said you were a virgin," Derek frowned.
"They sure are going for a cockblocking record then."
Derek grinned and pressed a kiss to Stiles's temple, "We did promise your dad that we wouldn't get up to anything that required a closed door. I would rather respect his wishes and not rush into the physical aspect of this."
"We have been dancing around each other for years now. How is any of this a rush?"
"Because we came here pretending to be something we weren't for the sake of someone else. I told you this wasn't a one-night stand for me and I want you too, I just want you for a long time. I don't want to screw that up today."
Stiles leaned back and pressed a palm into Derek's cheek, staying away from his neck like he knew. Because he did and Derek couldn't help the warmth that spread because Stiles knew werewolves and him well enough to know that the neck is a vulnerable place. Derek reached up and slipped Stiles's hand down to cup the side of his neck and smiled at his partner. "I don't want to screw things up either, so I will allow all the cockblocking as long as we have a chance to follow through later."
Derek rolled his eyes, "I promise there is time for sex later. We can find someplace when we're ready."
Stiles bounced a little, pressing a kiss into Derek's jaw before jumping up out of the bed, "I have a list and don't you forget it."
"Does this list include the loft?" he asked as he leaned back and watched Stiles grab some fresh clothes.
"Of course, in that ridiculous bed since its still there. Maybe making out in front of those windows," Stiles's scent started peaking into that heavy lust again and Derek took a deep breath as Stiles continued to ramble. "I'm not actually into like the voyeurism thing but maybe just a little, if I knew for a fact that I wasn't naked in front of a crowd. I don't know what I'm saying, I'll shut up."
"You haven't yet," Derek said with a grin and Stiles threw a shirt at the werewolf who laughed. By the time he dragged the shirt off his face, Stiles was waving as he rushed out the door and towards the bathroom while Derek got dressed and walked downstairs. He nodded his thanks when Noah handed him a cup of coffee and gestured to the island. He settled there and took a sip of the coffee.
"I was surprised Stiles handled the dinner as well as he did. I thought he was going to cause a scene."
Derek shrugged, "I know that Parrish is one of your deputies but the toast was hard on him. You have to know it was like picking Parrish over Stiles, maybe not to anyone else but to Stiles. The only reason he didn't do anything was because he figured that Lydia might not be on the level with Parrish either. Apparently he didn't know about Lydia and Stiles?"
"As far as I know, that would be a complete shock to him, Parrish isn't the kind of man that wouldn't come to me and Stiles and apologize if he had known there was something going on. He would have been ashamed for his part in it, he's a good man."
Derek shrugged because he'd heard about the first time Parrish and Lydia had been involved when she was still in high school but there were age of consent laws that undoubtedly say that they weren't completely in the wrong. He'd been glad when Stiles didn't do anything but coming back to Beacon Hills had just turned into ripping open old and new wounds for his new significant other. "He's hurting you know?" Derek finally whispered because the man deserved to know and Stiles needed his dad more than he needed to be strong. If anyone knew that it was Derek.
Noah sat down at the table across from him and heaved a long sigh. He scrubbed his hand across his face and Derek listened and made sure that Stiles was still in the shower. He was undoubtedly going to get a couple licks for this; a pissed off Stiles but it didn't stop him from listening when the other man spoke. "This isn't just about Lydia, is it?"
Derek shook his head, "He doesn't think he knows himself anymore, he doesn't feel like his friends are going to have his back and their behavior since we got here isn't helping. They are more interested in proving that I shouldn't be with him or he shouldn't be with me than actually listening to him. After the Wild Hunt, even everything with Theo, he feels a lot lost and he needs you more than anything. He needs you more than Parrish needs you."
Noah flinched and nodded, "I understand Derek."
The werewolf tilted his head and knew Stiles was going to be coming down the stairs in a few minutes, "He needs to be reminded why he is amazing right now."
Then he stepped away from the table quickly, grabbing a second cup of coffee and walking over to the stairs and handing Stiles the black brew as he walked up the stairs, kissing the human gently on the head as he passed. Stiles stared after him for a moment then walked the rest of the way downstairs. He showered quickly and wondered if the Sheriff was going to go for the straightforward approach and hopefully Stiles would understand that his dad needed to know and that Derek wasn't trying to break his confidence. Hopefully he wouldn't think of it like that but know that he wasn't alone in his corner.
Then again, Derek thought as he walked into the bathroom and stripped out of his clothes, this was Stiles who was more than a little desperate to always be okay standing on his own two feet, to never let his dad know he wasn't going to be okay or let all his werewolf friends know that he couldn't fight side by side with them.
So then, Derek was screwed if the Sheriff didn't go for subtle approach and both of the Stiliski's were about as subtle as a heart attack. "Shit," he whispered under the spray of the hot shower as he stepped in.
Group Message: Me, Foxfire, Red Banshee, and Coyote
Foxfire: I am coming in this afternoon, how is everything? Any updates on Stiles and Derek? I didn't hear back about what you guys found out.
Coyote: Thank god, maybe you can zap some of our friends into making sense again.
Foxfire: Huh?
Coyote: Let's see, Scott is apparently decided to be a jerk to Stiles instead of talking to him; Lydia is keeping secrets from everyone which is stupid. Now I'm not supposed to talk about the fact that Scott and I are having sex.
Me: MALIA!
Foxfire: You and Scott?
Coyote: What's the problem anyway?
Me: Kira? I'm sorry; I didn't want anyone to find out like this.
Foxfire: If that were true Scott, you would have told me when it started, you would have told Stiles too. You wouldn't even touch me in public until Isaac and Allison started making out but you couldn't tell me what was happening. And now you're telling me that two of his best friends betrayed him in romantic relationships in less than a year?
Red Banshee: You don't get to sit in the desert and pass judgment on us Kira, you left us and here we were!
Foxfire: Good thing I can come to town and pass judgment straight to your face then huh?
Me: What has happened to all of us this past year?
…
…
…
Me: Guys?
Derek was surprised when he got out of the shower and got dressed to find a note on the pillow, saying to meet Stiles at the Sheriff station in an hour. He found that both the Stilinski's were gone from the house so he ate a couple of pieces of toast with peanut butter then headed out. The jeep was gone so he figured that walking through town was his best option, though he wasn't too worried about it. He'd spent months at a time walking around towns and cities; it was good for him and the wolf.
He was left walking and wondering if Stiles was going to be angry with him. Since the Sheriff was also gone, he couldn't ask. Derek looked around as he walked through town but he didn't see anyone or anything he wanted to stick around for. It had been too long and Stiles was the reason he came back and he didn't think there was any reason to stay.
Derek pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number from memory, waiting a couple rings before the call was picked up by a surly sounding, "What. Do you know what time it is?"
"Not much earlier in Alaska so don't start with me Sis."
"Hey Der," Cora's voice turned soft, another blessing of being in Alaska together after some counseling was that the hard protective shell of his little sister had softened with him. "How's Washington treating you? Been on Instagram lately?"
Derek chuckled; he should've known that Derek showing up on someone's social media was going to get attention from his only surviving family. "What have you seen?"
"I've seen you getting really close to the one pack member that you wanted to find, good for you Derek."
He smiled, "Do you mean that? I didn't want to leave you but there was so much unfinished and now I have a chance to have something real for the first time in years."
"You going to bring him here sometimes soon? Meet some of your distant relations, let me pick on the both of you."
"You know the wedding is this weekend, you could come and crash the party? See him now instead of a year from now which would be the next time he would have the time. His school schedule is pretty tight, trying to get into the FBI program."
"See everyone again, all those misfits you were obsessed with helping? What are they like now?"
Derek sighed, "I don't know Cora, I think they're all lost, the pack is fractured and Stiles is alone. He shouldn't have been left alone, that's not what pack is about."
"Then I guess you have to show them," Cora returned easily, like she was shrugging and thinking that she really shouldn't have to tell him that.
"Like it's so easy, have you met these people?" Derek asked with a smile. He knew she was right, they needed someone who at least had grown up in the werewolf life, the last couple of years seemed to have done damage to everyone who had stayed in Beacon Hills and it left him with the overwhelming guilt because he left them on their own.
"Oh my God Derek, I can actually hear you berating yourself. Are you regressing! Do you need to have a phone session with the doc?"
Derek shook off the thoughts, "Maybe. It's been a weird couple of weeks. I don't regret going to Washington and I know that Stiles and I needed to come here, but it hurts him to be here. I don't like that they're hurting him. Coming home shouldn't have to be like that."
"Going home was always like that for us, for years now. You get it so you can help him. So don't be an idiot and be there for him."
Derek smiled, "Got it sis. Say hi to everyone for me."
"Will do, talk to you soon. Loser."
She hung up, Derek rolled his eyes and walked the last block and pulled open the door to the Sheriff's station. He walked over to the front desk and smiled a little shyly, it was still hard to come in here like he wasn't a criminal or a person of interest in several crimes in town. The deputy behind the desk just smiled and pointed to the back, "Stilinski is waiting for you in the Sheriff's office."
He nodded and walked back to Noah's office and found Stiles sitting on his father's desk, the Sheriff nowhere to be found. Stiles was standing still, arms crossed over his chest and more serious than he'd seen the human look in days. He thought about his conversation with the Sheriff that morning and tucked his hands into his jean pockets and waited.
"You talked to my dad about me," Stiles said and looked up.
"Yeah, I did," Derek responded there was no point in lying.
Stiles pushed away from the desk and walked towards him and despite the fact that Derek still had the strength to knock the human on his ass, he took a half step back because he didn't want to screw this up but Stiles needed his dad. Then Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek's shoulder, "I'm pissed that you didn't let me get there on my own with him but after the last four years or so of lies I kind of get why you didn't. Thank you. I didn't know how much I needed to know that my dad didn't regret picking me over my mom, even the evil doppelganger that she was. I didn't know I needed to know that he wouldn't pick someone over me. Stupid fucking Wild Hunt!"
Derek pressed into the side of Stiles's neck and accepted the hug, tightening his arms around the human's waist. When Stiles pushed back, he released his hold and looked at Stiles who was grinning. "Derek Hale, do you trust me?"
"Yes," he said without hesitation.
Stiles's smile somehow got even brighter while his cheeks flushed slightly in happiness, "Good because I have a plan for today and I want you to know that my only bullet point is you being happy. I need you to tell me if anything is a problem for you okay?"
Derek nodded, though he didn't know what he would have a problem with. Stiles bounced forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek then dragged him out through the station and out to the jeep. Derek got in and Stiles bounced into the driver seat, narrowly missing the steering wheel with his head in the haste and Derek groaned, "I don't understand how you made it to adulthood sometimes."
"You and me both bucko," Stiles responded with a wink.
Derek smiled and reached out to press his hand into Stiles's shoulder for a minute before he went back to quietly watching the town pass away then they were heading towards the Preserve, he turned to Stiles with a frown, "Are we going out to the property?"
"No, close by but not there."
Derek nodded and went back to watching as they drove into the forest along the made road up to the Hale house then Stiles stopped before they got there and looked over at Derek and smiled. "Derek Hale?"
"Stiles 'I don't know your first name' Stilinski," Derek returned and Stiles chuckled.
"Someday I'll tell you."
"What are we doing Stiles?"
"We are going running," Stiles returned with a goofy smile and Derek flashed on watching Stiles run ahead of him, flat out booking it through the forest with Derek in pursuit. The wolf inside growled happily at the thought, Derek tried to pull back from the happy feeling because Stiles hadn't said he was going to let Derek catch him. Stiles jumped out of the jeep and bounced around the hood and opened the door and dragged the werewolf out of the vehicle. He waggled his eyebrows and leaned forward. Derek accepted his weight and pressed back into the side of the jeep for a minute, letting Stiles kiss him.
"Running?" Derek whispered when Stiles moved back a little.
"I am going to run into the woods and you are going to chase me. I know you can catch me, but how often do you let loose and just run."
"Rarely, and never what you're talking about," Derek whispered hoarsely. "You know that I had control problems when I was younger then the world went to shit and I never asked someone to run with me."
"What about a full shift? Like your mom and like when you were hurt?"
Derek frowned, "You remember that?"
"Of course, I remember everything about you."
Stiles slid his hands up and down Derek's arms, while his hands tucked in close to the human's waist. He thought about being the wolf, how free it felt and sighed, "I don't know how I did it. I can't do it now but I can do a beta shift and chase you. I can't tell you how much I want to chase you. I want to catch you."
Stiles grinned, pressing a kiss to Derek's mouth then whispered, "Close you eyes, cover your ears and count to 180."
Derek did and he felt the lingering kiss on his lips then Stiles was gone. Derek focused on his sense of smell as it faded into the distance. This was going to be fun. He counted to 180 seconds and uncovered his eyes and looked around. He shifted into his beta form easily, taking a deep breath and realized how much more vibrant Stiles's scent was in this form. He found the trail and took off after the human. Running Stiles down wasn't going to be tough, especially since Stiles apparently was crunching and crashing through the brush, laughing every once in a while but then this wasn't about the hunt. This was about the run, which was the best part. He ran, weaving through the trees, catching flashes of Stiles in the distance. He didn't think this was going to take very long but as Stiles laughed again, Derek knew it didn't matter. Stiles was letting him be exactly who he was born to be, so when he grabbed Stiles from behind and tumbled them both to the ground, he forced his body down into the dirt so the fragile bones and skin were not damaged in the fall.
"You caught me!" Stiles laughed, pressing his hand to Derek's cheek where the hair had grown out. Stiles watched his face, letting his fingers slide across the pronounced ridge of his forehead. "I'm glad you can be yourself like this with me, I only ever wanted someone to be themselves with me, for them to want me for all of me."
Derek let his face melt back into human so he could press Stiles down and share a kiss. Stiles settled down against his chest and the weight over his chest was warm and comforting. The kiss went on for a wet and sloppy minute before Stiles moved back to put his chin on Derek's chest and he couldn't help but say, "Thank you Stiles, for letting me be myself with you. I always knew that I could be with you, even in the beginning when I was telling you to chop my arm off. I knew that even though you seemed determined to hate me, maybe in solidarity of Scott or whatever, you actually gave me the benefit of the doubt. You were one of the first to wonder if my family didn't deserve what happened to them so this isn't a surprise but it is welcome."
Stiles leaned in and kissed Derek's scruffy chin, "It was because I loved Scott and I couldn't handle the sudden I'm Gay crisis in my head when I saw you. I was such a jerk," he said with an amazed chuckle.
"You also hit Scott with lacrosse balls and got him beat up for keying someone's car."
Stiles stared down at him, "How do you know that, creeper?"
"You were both idiotic about just everything, so I was always watching, scared that you and Scott were going to out me even more. The Argent's knew about me but if they thought that I had bit Scott then they were going to be well within their 'rights' to kill me."
Stiles nodded, "Okay well as much as I love our miserable past together, I am more interested in our hot and amazing future," Stiles waggled his eyebrows and Derek smiled back.
"How about the rest of the day?" Derek asked instead.
Stiles moved just enough to rub his hands together with glee, "Well I have a little surprise for you this afternoon but I am thinking it might be nice to just stay here for a little while longer?"
Derek nodded, rubbing a hand up and down Stiles's back in a comforting gesture. His boyfriend closed his eyes and resettled on Derek's chest, his cheek pressed down on his hand and settled. The silence was nice and thankfully the ground was actually warm from the day's sunshine. He didn't think he'd ever see the day where he was the first to speak when he was with Stiles Stilinski but he wanted to talk.
"Stiles, do you want to just be quiet?"
He smiled against Derek's chest and lifted just enough to talk, "I am not married to the idea of silence though I have to make a note in my calendar because Derek is asking to talk instead of me."
"Har har," Derek flushed and fell silent because now he just felt self conscious about it.
Stiles sighed, his stomach pushing into Derek's stomach. "I didn't mean to make you nervous."
Derek shrugged, "This is more normal anyway for me, the not talking."
"Tell me something please?" Stiles whispered.
"I talked to Cora and she wants to meet you now that we are dating," Derek blurted out.
"I've met Cora, why would I have to meet her again?"
"She wants to see you again, I have pack in Alaska. I could show you what it's like there."
Stiles smiled, "I wouldn't mind going there, in the summer I hope you mean."
He nodded, "Yeah we can go in the summer."
"Derek, I don't know if I want to stay here if the only thing I am going to do is find out how much I don't have in common with my friends anymore. Lydia and Parrish are getting married in a couple days, Scott is more distant and combative than I have ever seen him before and the others are, I don't even know."
"They're lost, its like they all forgot how to be a pack."
Stiles laughed but it was a sad afterthought of sarcasm, not real humor, "I don't know if they ever knew how to be a pack. I read all the books you know, I listened when you and Cora and Peter talked about what it was like to grow up in a pack. Scott never moved beyond 'I am alpha, hear me roar'. I love the guy but we all needed more otherwise I wouldn't have been getting the calls."
Derek frowned, "What calls?"
Stiles shifted in embarrassment, "Jackson, Danny, Ethan, Isaac and Kira. They all tend to call me. Jackson just rambles on about how shitty Lydia's current taste in men is, Isaac tells me about his adventures, Kira just talks to me. Danny knows about werewolves, him and Ethan don't realize that they both talk to me about the other. They all scattered over the years and for some reason they call me."
Derek leaned up on his elbows and pressed his lips into Stiles's forehead until the human shifted and they shared a quick kiss. "What was that for?" Stiles whispered.
"Because for the sake of your pack, you let them call you and complain, even Jackson."
"Pack? No, if they were in anyone's pack it would be Scott's. I'm not a werewolf why would that matter? They just don't want to call Scott especially now that he has the baby betas."
"They are searching for something too Stiles, and you're giving it to them. Don't sell yourself short."
"Yeah yeah," Stiles grinned then pushed down and away from Derek's body and stood up. He reached down and Derek put his hand in Stiles's palm and they rose and started walking and Derek wondered about why the others would be calling Stiles. It seemed like they were all searching for something and Stiles had been the one to pick up the phone. They walked back to the jeep and Stiles got into the driver seat again.
"Where to now?" Derek asked as he put he seatbelt on.
Stiles waggled his eyebrows in answer and Derek rolled his eyes and watched as the world sped up around them and he just keep taking deep breaths of Stiles's scent until they were pulling up in front of the loft, "Are we doing the whole nightmare down memory lane again?" Derek asked.
The human just winked and walked towards the building. Derek followed behind, taking Stiles's hand when he reached back for Derek and when they were in front of Derek's door he turned and pressed his fingers into Derek's forehead gently. "Close your eyes, I know its silly but I wanted you to have this. I may not be able to surpise you with a lot of things but I thought maybe this would be good."
Derek closed his eyes and felt as Stiles took his hands and slid the door back on its track. Stiles pulled him through the open door and he trusted the younger man to keep him safe, something he hadn't done in a long time. The last time he'd trusted anyone like this and it didn't get screwed sideways for the trouble he was talking to his mother. He couldn't count Paige because his lack of trust in her had gotten her killed.
"Open your eyes," Stiles said excitedly and Derek did, looking around to see the bed was made and there was a blanket on the floor with a picnic basket full of food laid out in the center of the space and everything was lit in flameless candles, the small ones that people use to decorate their homes. It wasn't wavering and golden like candlelight but it was a close second and it wasn't triggering to him. He squeezed Stiles's hand, "You are amazing, did you know?"
Stiles shrugged bashfully, "You like?"
Derek smiled, "I didn't know you were such a sap."
"Sap?" Stiles asked with a chuckle then rubbed the back of his head with a hand, "Yeah I guess I am capable of sappiness after all. I haven't had a lot of opportunities for sappiness in the past couple years."
Derek dragged him closer, pressing one hand into the back of his neck and kissed Stiles for a long moment, swapping open-mouthed kisses for an unending breath of air then Stiles pulled away with a groan, "Come on Sourwolf, there's food and cuddling in our future."
Stiles fed Derek strawberries; they drank wine that he wasn't going to tell the Sheriff about. He still didn't think the man was really going to be okay with the age difference, especially if it came with booze for his underage son.
"It's just wine Derek, you can't get drunk and I am not drinking to get drunk. I am drinking this to be romantic and you are just going to relax okay?"
"Okay," Derek smiled and nodded.
They ate and then Stiles, attempting to be sexy moved across the blanket on his hands and knees, Derek grinned when he climbed into the werewolf's lap and pressed a kiss into Derek's cheek. He wrapped his arms around Stiles's back and thought about what else they could be doing besides cuddling, undoubtedly that had been the plan when Stiles came here with him. Derek didn't have a problem with the idea but just as Stiles started kissing down his neck, he groaned because maybe Stiles's cockblocking theory wasn't that far off.
"Oh yeah baby, you like that?" Stiles whispered misinterpreting the sound and pressed his teeth into the joint of his jaw. When Derek stood up and Stiles moaned as he let himself drop to the floor before the werewolf walked over to the door and opened it.
Derek watched as Stiles covered his mouth in shock but he could see the smile behind the human's hand, "Don't even think that I am not keeping track of another cockblock from this town. Seriously there has got to be a conspiracy going on. Kira Yukimura get your fantastic ass over here and hug me!"
Derek rolled his eyes and watched as the kitsune grinned at them. The werewolf couldn't help but notice that she was here and not with the others. She must've tracked them here. She was still wearing a short plaid skirt and leggings with combat boots and a tank top with a jean jacket over the top and when she went bouncing across the room to throw herself at Stiles and they both laughed together.
When they were done hugging it out, Derek walked over and pressed in close to press a little bit of his smell into her skin, over her head and she leaned into him for a half awkward hug. Stiles chuckled and pushed into their embrace and they just made it into a group hug, which was easier at least.
"You're here in town!" Stiles exclaimed.
"Yeah, I was coming into town for the wedding but I have been hearing about you guys from the others and I tracked you here. I just wanted to see you, Stiles you have been such an amazing friend this last year and I wanted to know if you were happy."
Derek looked over to Stiles just as he looked back, "Yeah, I'm happy here with Derek."
"It's good to see you Derek, how is your sister?"
He smiled, "She's good, been asking about everyone here since she knew I was going to end up coming here with Stiles. She is settled in Alaska with some of our distant relatives and their pack. Good place for her."
"Not for you?" Kira asked with a wink.
Derek looked at Stiles, "It was good; just didn't have exactly what I was looking for." Stiles flushed, shoving his hands into his pants pocket before he nudged Kira.
"You came here instead of to the pack?"
Kira frowned, "Not my pack, hasn't been for a while. Kitsune normally just stick close to their own kind, I was with the pack because of Scott and ever since we broke up all those other friendships didn't seem to be reciprocal except for you. Whenever I call, you picked up. You were always there for the bitching and the groaning through weapons training and everything, I came here because you're my friend and my pack. And I think you deserve to know what else they are hiding instead of finding out the hard way."
Stiles moved to sit on the couch, dragging Kira to sit next to him, "What are you talking about?"
She looked over at Derek who was still standing near the door, arms crossed because he was pretty sure he knew what she was going to say. There was something to Scott's scent, beyond the anger and distance. Something like sex and he'd been glad after all these years that Stiles wasn't a werewolf because he hadn't known the other day.
"Do you know about Scott's dating life?" Kira asked.
"I know that he's been telling me all about his one night stands since you guys broke it off," Stiles winced when he said it.
"That might be true but I just found out that he's sleeping with Malia."
There it is and Stiles blinked a couple times and looked up at the ceiling before he shifted his gaze over to Derek and he sighed. Stiles spoke, "I don't have a right to be upset about this, we broke up because of all that shit with Theo and nothing could make it better." It was difficult to listen as Stiles's voice turned neutral and his scent grew thick with hurt and shame. He may not think he should feel something about this but he did.
"Are you okay?" Kira asked gently, placing a hand on his knee. Derek was surprised when the motion didn't cause the territorial part of himself to growl especially considering they were in another territory and this thing with Stiles was so new.
"Yeah I'll be okay, are you okay?" he asked, turning his hand to lace their fingers together.
Kira forced a smile, her cheeks wobbling a little as she tried hard not to cry but the tears were in the air. "It hurt to find out that he'd moved on to her, after what we had been through. That he didn't tell me, when I left things so confused but a part of me wanted to finish my training and come back to him. I just couldn't believe about Scott and Malia, then Lydia and Parrish. Like isn't there a bro code about that sort of thing?"
Stiles chuckled wetly, "Undoubtedly his excuse is the same as it was with Lydia back in the day." His voice pitched a little higher and definitely whiny as he said, "It's a werewolf thing, you wouldn't understand."
Derek could see Scott using that excuse anytime he did something mean though he didn't know about the Lydia. He crossed his arms and grumbled, "That's a load of shit really."
Both of them turned and looked at him, "What?" Stiles asked.
"Blaming being a 'wolf when you do something. I had trouble with control, it didn't make me kiss people I didn't already want to kiss."
Stiles nodded, "I figured, he was a jerk sometimes back then and always had an excuse. Is it okay to say that I wish I didn't realize these things about my best friend?"
Derek walked over and squeezed his shoulder in comfort; "No one wants to know that someone they care about is willing to hurt them in selfishness. Maybe knowing is just so you aren't side swiped when it happens."
Stiles gave him a hard side-eye, "Seriously, go back to being emotionally constipated for a minute. Cannot deal."
Derek glared at him for a minute for that as Kira snickered.
"Derek it's good to see you, really," the kitsune said with a grin.
He nodded to her and went back to watching Stiles who was smiling but the expression wasn't reaching his eyes and there was a pinched look around his mouth. He couldn't do this alone anymore, Derek realized. Stiles wasn't going to leave because it was too important to be here even if it killed him a little at a time to stay but maybe if he wasn't alone, it wouldn't break his heart so badly to go to the wedding.
Stiles needed his pack and apparently that wasn't Scott and Lydia.
"Hey Stiles, can I see your phone, I think I left mine at the house?"
The human nodded distractedly and unlocked the screen before he handed it over and Derek went to work. Posting some pictures from their adventures the last couple of days and then looking over as Stiles started demanding that Kira show him some of the moves she'd been learning and looking thrilled at the prospect of knowing something his classmates might not know. Since Stiles was busy, Derek settled on the couch and started sending messages, not really knowing what he was going to get back, making sure to give people his number to respond to before deleting the messages and putting the phone back down on the arm of the couch. He went back to watching Stiles as Kira repeatedly handed his ass to him in hand-to-hand but the human never got angry, always laughing at himself in a way that left Derek smiling at him.
He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and Kira turned at the sound before she winked at him and went back to working on Stiles's stance or something. Kira was going to make a wonderful ally in this, and Stiles didn't look so much like the weight of the world rested between his shoulders.
It was a start anyway.
