"Call it a, ah, favor to a friend."

The two men stared at each other for a moment, sea-green crashing against forest-green, and Derek could tell, just by looking at the person in front of him, that he was outmatched. This man, Perseus Jackson, was something different than Derek. He was tall, a good 6'0, and held himself like a man commanding an army. His gaze was steady, unwavering, and, for a split second, the werewolf wanted to look away.

"Thank you," Percy said, all calm, as he was slwly released by the Hale. He smoothed out his shirt, rolling his shoulders a bit, but never moving away from the werewolf. "Now, speak. I'm sure you have some things to say, Derek Hale."

Derek couldn't help but shiver when he said his name because it held so much power and he couldn't remember the last time he felt so intimidated by someone, "What are you?"

Percy's lip twitched up into a smile, like he found the question amusing, "I'm human." He tilted his head, "Well, partly."

"What do you mean?" Derek narrowed his eyes, pushing his fear to the back of his mind in favor of focusing on protecting his pack should this man be a threat.

"Look," Percy frowned momentarily, looking out to his right at where the pack was. "All you need to know is that, if I was going to kill your merry band of misfit puppies, I would have already. So, can we please get back to the house before Stiles causes a fire?"

Derek was silent for a moment, listening to the man's heart, before he nodded, "Alright."

"Good," Percy walked a few steps before he stopped and looked back. "Oh, and, Derek? Don't tell them I know their werewolves. Call it a, ah, favor to a friend."

The house was still in one piece, thankfully, and Percy skipped inside like he and Derek didn't just have a serious conversation in the woods. He casually walked into the kitchen, easily scooping up the bottle in Stiles' hand, "Ah, ah, this is vinegar, dear child of mine. Der, where's the vegetable oil?" He smiled at the Stilinski when he let him take over and the man zoomed around the kitchen, preparing another batch while waiting for the Hale to speak.

"Don't call me that," The alpha growled. "Cabinet over the stove. What do you prefer to eat for dinner?"

"I don't know, spaghetti's good. Maybe lasagna. Who knows, Alfredo?"

There was a beat of silence before Erica gave him a deadpanned stare, "You like pasta?"

Percy shot her a grin, eyes twinkling, "I'm just making cookies."

Scott slung an arm around the man's shoulder and tried not to make any sudden movements when he stiffened, giving him time to relax under his touch, "Well, you're in luck 'cause Stiles makes the best spaghetti. Ever."

"Well," The nineteen year-old seemed to take a small breath and his unease went away like a wave in the ocean. He looked at the Stilinski, who was keeping Erica and Isaac away from the cookie dough, "You'll have to make some tomorrow."

"Don't you have work?" Stiles teased, giving a large smile when the other's eyes widened.

"I do have a thing called lunch," Percy pouted but grinned at Jackson when he nudged his arm. When no one was looking, he winked and handed the blonde some blue cookie dough. Jackson gave him a wolfish grin (no pun intended) and popped it in his mouth.

"Fine," Stiles rolled his eyes, absentmindedly smacking Boyd's hand away from the pink bowl on the counter.

"Percy, do you have a KiK?" Isaac asked as he played with his phone.

Percy casted him a suspicious look, answering slowly and hesitantly, "...Yeah…"

"What's your name?"

"...Consulting Cannibal…"

There was a beat of silence as everyone turned to stare at him.

"What?" He shrugged, flicking a bit of cookie dough off the counter and over at Jackson, "I was eating steak when I made it."

Jackson grinned slyly, "Was it medium-rare?"

Percy nodded seriously, "Extra bloody."

"Aand we're done here," Stiles pushed them apart, looking a bit disturbed.

Jackson and Percy looked at Stiles before looking at each other, small giggles escaping their mouths. Their laughter grew to chuckles before turning into full-blown laughter. They were leaning on each other, crocodile tears coming from their eyes, and Stiles was suddenly struck with how different they looked. They were about the same height, yes, but Jackson and Percy were like day and night with their hair colors. They looked like people you wouldn't expect to be friends from first glance.

The oven beeped and Percy gently pushed Jackson and Scott away, moving to put the trays inside. Once it was closed, he moved around the bar to sit on a stool, spinning around. Suddenly, he gasped, flailing his arms, and would have fallen over had Derek hadn't reached forward and caught him, "Oh, my gods…"

"What?" The alpha looked down at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Christmas is in five days…"

There was a beat of silence before Stiles flailed his arms, making an odd choking sound in the back of his throat. Isaac looked like a deer caught in headlights, looking ready to pass out as realization caught up with him. The others were clearly excited, though there was a small frown on Jackson's lips.

"Shit," Everyone said as one.

Percy sat on his bed, writing in a small notebook, listening to his iPod. It seemed that, even after all this time, he couldn't let go of the past. The music, the words sung softly and strongly, with emotion amplified with a electric guitar held with careful hands, always brought him back, reminded him of the good that was woven in the past, of the smiles and laughs mixed inside the tears and cries.

He sighed before looking down when his phone went off. It was a message from Stiles, a picture. It looked like the flyer for that karaoke contest Lydia and Erica were talking about. It was Saturday, this week, and anyone could join. There was the five hundred dollars listed at the bottom, though the flyer told everyone to have fun, that this was also for families to enjoy each other's presence.

Percy was lucky it was Monday and Stiles and John were out of the house because, once he was done reading what was in the picture, he hurled his phone against his bedroom wall, cracking the glass. "I'm done!" He huffed, flopping back on his bed, using his arm to cover his eyes, "I'm done…" He sighed again, getting up to grab his phone. He looked down at the screen and blinked, tilting his head, because, to him, it made the image of angel wings and a halo.

Suddenly, his lips tilting up, forming a beautiful smile, "Or… Maybe not."

Hey, guys! Sorry for the wait.

If you have any questions or requests for this story, message me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

With that being said, HAPPY NEW YEARS! Happy holidays to everyone and know that you're loved and appreciated. It's 2017 and you've made it this far.

-Jones