Stiles jerked awake from the nightmare that had just enveloped him. He winced slightly from the soreness in his chest that made itself known from the sudden movement. The sight of his Dad being killed mercilessly by Hunters played in a loop in his head despite him screwing his eyes shut and trying to stamp it out.

His head snapped up when a hand gripped his shoulder suddenly jerking him from his thoughts. A concerned face met his and it took him a second to realize who it was. When he did, he felt himself begin to relax.

Derek didn't ask him if anything was wrong. He simply sat there with Stiles in the moment and let him catch his breath. Slowly his heartbeat returned to its normal rate and pattern.

"Thanks, uh where are we?" Stiles asked hoarsely as the hand slipped from his shoulder leaving him feeling oddly colder than it ought to have. "I guess I slept a bit longer than I thought."

He looked around their surrounding area and saw they were sitting in a small nook side by side with a bit of an overhead. It protected them from the worst of the elements as the rain still continued to come down lightly. The sun was out now, peaking through the clouds, giving the hope it would relent soon.

The temperature felt like it was in the lower temps, the winter would be upon them soon.

"The forest." Derek answered frankly.

Had that been a joke?

"Okay, where exactly in the forest?" Stiles returned sarcastically glancing at Derek out of the corner of his eye.

"We're somewhere near Dunsmuir I think. My main focus was losing the Hunters on our trail." Derek finally answered, eyes still trained on the outlying forest. His tone spoke of weariness as did the dark circles under his eyes.

Stiles took the moment to look at Derek with the benefit of the sunlight on his side. Last night the darkness didn't really afford him much. The memories even had a bit of a hazy quality to them.

The most obvious fact was Derek was extremely good looking, there was no denying it. It had been easier to ignore when he had felt close to dying but now it was here in his face and it was hard to overlook. Now was not the time to go there.

Not like there was a chance anyway.

His hair was short and very dark in color looking as if it had been styled by the rain instead of ruined. Did werewolf powers extend to their hair because if so the benefits kept on rising. He had aggressive stubble as well that was nearing the point of being a beard if it continued to grow. The rest of his features looked to have been chiseled by a master extending from his face to the rest of what he could see.

If he had been merely a traveler coming into Beacon Hills Stiles knows he would have tried to approach him and ultimately fail. Some people were just untouchable in that area for him, especially people out of his league.

It was an odd disconnect to know that this man, Derek, was his Wolfy from before. Some body language translated easily through from even how he was sitting now spoke volumes of how the wolf sat. It was clear to Stiles that it was the same person that had saved him that night in the woods.

"Why did you do it?" Stiles found himself asking without his brains consent.

Derek glanced towards him obviously confused.

"Do what?" Derek responded tilting his head slightly. Another gesture reminiscent to his wolf side.

"Why did you save me from the Hunters that first night in the woods?" Stiles explained keeping his eyes trained on Derek. "I mean, is that something you did regularly because I never heard about those tales from anyone."

Derek suddenly broke eye contact looking clearly uncomfortable with the question. If anything Stiles would say he looked flustered but it was hard to say. The word really didn't fit the gruff looking man.

"Do you even know why?" Stiles ventured tired of waiting for a response.

"I do." Derek said abruptly but still wasn't meeting his eyes.

Stiles found himself rolling his eyes coming to the conclusion that this might not be something he would figure out for a while. Apparently the verbal exchange between them would be as stunted as before. It was an odd disconnect from how much Derek had talked last night when he was hurt.

Absentmindedly, Stiles stretched his back and was surprised the pain in his chest was now mild when moving and no longer hurt that much to breathe, at least, at that moment. His headache was also gone but his searching hands did reveal he had a gash of some sort on his forehead. That must have had been what had been bleeding into his eyes the night before.

A hand guided his away from touching the wound. Derek didn't meet his eye as Stiles allowed his hand to fall back. Best to avoid infection in this situation he supposed.

As Derek pulled his hand away Stiles tried to figure out what could have happened last night while at the same feeling regret at the loss of contact.

Either what had happened to him hadn't been as bad as he originally thought. That didn't seem likely; he knew what he had felt when he thought he was dying. The other option was something odd had to have happened. The thought that he had somehow subconsciously healed himself crossed his mind but that had never happened before to him and in all the stories he had heard from Deaton it only happened to dedicated healers.

His eyes looked to Derek.

"Did you heal me last night?" Stiles asked suddenly breaking the silence that had formed. His voice sounded unnaturally loud even with the rain pattering outside.

"I can't heal, all I can do is take away the pain." Derek answered in a reasonable amount time only meeting Stiles eyes for a quick moment.

"Then how come I'm not dead?" Stiles pointed out, "I know I had some ribs broken and possible a cracked skull not to mention I used basically everything to make sure you didn't die."

"That was stupid." Derek responded sounding as if he was reprimanding Stiles.

"What, saving you?" Stiles asked taken aback. Vaguely he remembered Derek saying that over and over again last night.

"Yes."

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Stiles snapped back getting angry.

Derek didn't even glance at him. If he still had fur Stiles knew it would be bristling.

"I saved you because you didn't deserve to die, not because of me most of all. If anyone was stupid it was you busting into Sonoma like you did." Stiles explained fervently feeling frustrated that his grand act had apparently been unwanted.

He would not be shamed for what he had done and he didn't regret, even if Derek was acting like a jerk.

"I didn't want to be saved." Derek basically growled out ignoring Stiles logic about the brash act.

"You wanted to die?" Stiles asked incredulously.

"I didn't want to die, not yet." Derek responded back almost in a low growl not caring apparently about the hypocrisy of the statements he was proclaiming.

"You are impossible." Stiles felt a vast of different sordid emotions swirl inside. Maybe he had misread the situation. He felt like the friend he thought he knew was gone and replaced with this surly man.

Perhaps he wasn't giving Derek enough credit.

"Whatever, what I did can't be taken back even with your oh so kind words. Not like I can change anything now." Stiles pointed out looking away from Derek knowing he sounded annoying. "I still don't regret it and by the way, you don't get to make me feel small."

Derek sounded like he was going to say something but was struggling to find the words. He ended up just sighing loudly and turning away as well.

If this wasn't awkward, then the word needed a new definition.

"I need to go back to Beacon Hills." Stiles finally mentioned breaking the silence.

Stiles didn't know much but he did know one thing. It was time to leave. He stood up feeling the confused look on his back.

"What are you doing?" Derek asked, the bewilderment evident in his voice and Stiles reveled in it.

"I'm leaving." Stiles explained turning back to face Derek who had a confused expression. It made him look oddly young and vulnerable. "And I would like you to come with despite this little moment."

Derek immediately seemed to sink back into himself, the previous expression vanishing like fog with the wind.

"Why would you want that?" Derek muttered looking for all the world like he wanted to curl up in himself as if he was searching for his old comforting build and fur.

"Because you are my friend and I don't go around abandoning friends, especially good ones." Stiles made sure his voice was steady as he stared down at Derek. "Besides, we seem to make a good team."

It was now on Derek, Stiles has laid his cards on the table. It was now that he would find out if his friend was still there. If anything they had once shared was still there.

Wordlessly Derek returned his gaze and stood up fluidly. Even in stillness a certain grace filled him. It was disconcerting to watch but not wholly unpleasant.

Stiles let a small smile come unbidden to his face. His hand came up on its own violation, to do what, he wasn't sure. He let it hang midair between them debating whether to complete the movement or to let it fall back down.

Derek didn't leave him hanging. A strong hand grasped his and with a solid movement they shook hands. To say the sensation was odd would be not giving it enough credit but it felt real.

"Alright Stiles." Derek said calmly staring him dead in the eye, "I'm with you."

"Okay then." Stiles said back, the happiness evident in his voice as he stared back. "I'm glad we got that sorted out."

Stiles felt his cheeks slightly heat up as the heavy gaze of Derek's eyes continued to stare at him almost in wonderment. It was a mixed emotion that bubbled up within him that made him want to run away while at the same time never wanting to lose it. Stiles stood there caught between fight and flight.

He didn't know what to feel when it was time to pull away.

Their hands parted almost hesitantly as if neither of them wanted to give up the touch. Stiles didn't let the moment turn awkward this time as he soon turned and picked up his discarded bag and slung it over his shoulder. He needed to reign himself in he wanted to have any dignity when this was over.

On the plus side the rain seemed to be letting up and without a cloak to keep him warm he was thankful for this one kind act by Mother Nature.

"Do you think you could lead the way? You seem to have a good nose for direction." Stiles asked tilting his head towards Derek who still seemed uncomfortable with something. His pun sadly was not readily noticed.

Derek nodded a second later and began to walk forward in what had to be the right direction. Despite the fact they Stiles was still a little tiffed about the reaction Derek had to him saving him, he wasn't one to let the time be squandered., not when there were so many potential questions to be asked. Whether or not Derek would answer was still to be seen.

"Where did you get the pants? I'm assuming you turned back naked but I will be the first to admit that I don't know the first thing to how that would happen. Only have Scott for comparison and he has never turned into a wolf." Stiles asked, rambling a bit only just realizing he probably shouldn't stare that long at said pants.

"I got them off one of the dead hunters." Derek answered looking unfazed by this action.

"Oh, guess that's better than walking around in the nude, not that it bothered you before." Stiles rattled off trying to get some kind of laugh or smile. The dreariness was a getting to him.

"I kind of miss it." Derek offered up then looked to regret saying it.

"Miss what, pants or being naked?" Stiles asked lightly with raised eyebrows trying to figure out what the gruff man meant.

"Nevermind." Derek grumbled.

"You can't say something like that and expect me to let it go." Stiles pointed out crossing his arms and trying for a defiant look.

Derek let out an aggravated sigh but relented, "I miss my fur."

"Can you not turn back?" Stiles inquired not knowing if it was possible himself.

"I don't know. When it happened originally it was…involuntarily." Derek said quietly at the end.

For such an imposing man he seemed to shrink in on himself a lot.

"Involuntarily? So it was forced on you then." Stiles stated trying to wrap his head around what had happened to cause the Legend to assist in the first place. "What happened to cause that?"

"I don't know." Derek offered weakly looking like he wanted to talk about anything else but that.

"You don't know or you don't want to tell me." Stiles couldn't help but point out feeling like there was a lot Derek wasn't telling him.

"A bit of both maybe." Derek mentioned quietly avoiding his eyes and keeping his gaze straight ahead staring at the trees

"You do trust me though right because dude I got to say I still trust you even with all this shit that just happened recently" Stiles asked feeling trepidation crawl down his spine.

The fact that it took Derek a bit of time to answer did not help him feel any better.

"I do, I just can't believe you still trust me." It sounded like it was hard for Derek to admit. That hint of vulnerability was showing again.

"Really?" Stiles knew he sounded taken aback but that was because he was.

Derek shot him a look that screamed you are an idiot. In response Stiles merely shrugged not caring the least at this point still trying to figure out why that was such a ludicrous idea. Derek had to remember all the times he saved him and been there for him when he needed him.

"I've killed countless people Stiles. Probably some people that were innocent." Derek sounded exasperated gripping his hands into fists tightly. "I don't remember everything but I do remember that I have taken life from people."

Derek's body language radiated self loathing guilt. It was beyond obvious what he thought about himself and it was kind of painful to look at. These past couple of years must not have been kind to him. That much was beyond obvious.

"You remember specifically killing people that weren't trying to hurt you?" Stiles asked hesitantly. Looking back at the tales that were told about the so called Alpha he never remembered tales of innocents being taken. Only the rumors that one it existed, and two it was a bane for the Hunters.

Derek glanced at him and for a second looked surprised before he steeled it over and was looking forward once more.

"I don't specifically but I remember a lot of blood, pain, and hate." Derek practically spat. "I'm not a good person Stiles. There was a reason I was in that form."

"You didn't answer my question." Stiles pointed out pulling his backpack off to grab some jerky out of it.

"I know." Derek said quietly glancing at the jerky..

"I'll give you some of this if you give me a straight answer." Stiles bargained sending Derek he hoped what was an encouraging smile. He knew he didn't look great at the moment but his charm still had to shine through in some capacity. The circles under his eyes and gash on his forehead be damned.

"Yes, I trust you, I thought it was obvious." Derek responded rolling his eyes looking somewhat looser than when he was talking about death.

Stiles handed him some of the food and for the next few minutes they were able to enjoy the comradery and stillness of the forest as they walked. It was a nice moment of reprieve after all the chaos that had been previously been wrought. If he pretended, he could imagine he was just out for a walk with a friend right outside of Beacon Hills.

This was of course not true and the slight ache in his ribs with each step was a solid reminder of that fact.

The real ache though was the urge to get home back to Beacon Hill and have some sort of normalcy return back to his life. If he could just get back soon enough to explain everything to his Dad and the rest of the town populace then maybe, just maybe, they could explain what had happened and have the town rally behind him and Scott.

If the Hunters got there first or if they were already there, then that would make things…complicated.

Stiles really hoped that his letter had reached his Dad by now to hopefully layaway any of those complications. He supposed that he might just have to improvise when he reached the town especially when it came to Derek. Truth be told, he hoped they could both meet up with Allison and Scott before they reached the outskirts of town.

Though, if Scott and Allison were probably out there somewhere 'reacquainting' themselves with one another, well Stiles couldn't really well blame them. Especially after what both of them had gone through. Being that close to losing him probably had shaken Allison to the very core not to mention Scotts own brush with death while his girlfriend and best friend watched on.

Good mental scarring was hard to overcome.

"Do you think you are going to hang around once we make it back to Beacon Hills?" Stiles suddenly found himself asking. He told himself he had to know for the sake of planning out what was going to happen once they reached Beacon Hills but he knew that wasn't true. There were of course deeper reasons that made him feel oddly vulnerable and exposed, "I mean, are you going to stick around or go back to doing what you were doing before I met you."

This time it was him avoiding Derek's gaze. Even though he wasn't looking he could practically feel the confusion thrown his way. It was like Derek didn't seem to understand that anyone would want him around.

"I haven't really given any thought to the future for a long time" Derek revealed slowly sounding now more like he was talking more to himself than to Stiles. "For the most part I acted on instincts until recently."

"If it counts for anything I wouldn't mind having you around. Probably wouldn't hurt for you to have more practice interacting with people anyways now that you know, are human again." Stiles said trying to explain some rational other than the fact that he just wanted Derek around because he liked him and felt some odd connection.

God, he was turning into a fourteen year old again.

"Okay." Derek said simply.

Stiles turned to him feeling his mouth drop open just a bit and his eyebrows noticeably rise.

"Okay that you will hang around or okay I get what you are trying to say." Stiles asked needed to know for sure either way.

"Okay that I will hang around. Not like I have someone else to go." Derek said this time meeting his gaze and giving just for a short moment, a small smile that spoke volumes.

Stiles returned the smile with a full on grin. Before he knew it, he found himself laughing clear and bright. The relief he felt in that moment overwhelming him. He struggled to gain control over himself.

"Sorry, it's just, it feels nice to finally feel like something is going my way."

Stiles looked back forward, feeling his face redden from the exertion and uncalled for emotions, and set his shoulders back. This was going to go right. There was no way it could get worse than it had at Sonoma, right?

He should have knocked on wood.