Author's Note: I wanted to do a thanky you type thing but I'm cray cray tired! Much love to everyone who's left reviews...you peeps are awesome! Enjoy! xx


Derek regretted agreeing to the pack coming over to his apartment almost as soon as they stepped in the door. At Stiles' insistence, he'd gone and bought a rug because there were only so many times he could stand listening to Stiles tell him that it would be rude to make people sit on bare floorboards.

"Seriously Derek, do you have some kind of aversion to carpets and generally acceptable living standards?" Erica asked, peering into his bedroom and pulling a face. He scowled at her from his position in the kitchen, annoyed by how much she sounded like Laura.

"It's better than the train depot." Isaac pointed out, flopping down on one of the couches. "Even if it does smell like they've been fucking in here."

"Be nice." Stiles chided from the kitchen area, where he was helping himself to Derek's supply of beer. "Or he'll make you all go away and then I'll have to smoke all this on my own." He pulled a large bag of weed from his pocket and put it down on the counter.

"What's that?" Erica asked, stalking across the room to where Stiles stood and snatching the bag off the counter, pulling it open so she could sniff at the contents.

"Seriously?" Stiles asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Even he heard the snort of laughter that Isaac tried to stifle. "What alternate universe did you grow up in? It's weed, you loser."

"One where I wasn't allowed to go to parties in case I had a fit and died. I didn't get much of a chance to go out and smoke pot." Erica snapped, her cheeks flushing. "Does this even work on us?"

"Yes."

"How would you know? You're not a wolf."

"Derek, tell her." Stiles yawned, twisting the cap off his bottle of beer and throwing it towards the sink. "Tell her how I'm all kinds of right."

"It will affect you." Derek muttered, taking the beer Stiles was holding out to him. "I don't know why it does, but it will."

"You don't have to smoke it if you don't want to." Stiles shrugged, wandering away to sit on the couch next to Boyd, tuning out the sound of Erica quizzing Derek incessantly.

"So where's Scott?" He asked, turning towards Isaac who was busy hooking Stiles' laptop up to the television.

"He was having some existential crisis when I left. Because Allison was being weird about coming over here."

"And Scott can't do anything by himself." Stiles grumbled, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "He's a terrible, terrible friend."

"You don't do anything without Derek these days." Boyd pointed out. "So you can't complain too much."

"Boyd, it's my birthday. You're meant to be on my side."

"I'm not on anyone's side. There aren't sides here." He smiled at Stiles and plucked the bottle of beer from his hand. "Thanks man."

"Hey! I was drinking that!"

"Now I'm drinking it." Boyd laughed.

"You suck." Stiles pouted, folding his arms across his chest and flopping back against the couch cushions.

"You know what does suck?" Isaac asked, looking up from the laptop. "Your Spotify playlist and the fact that there's no WiFi here."

"You mean it's not full of crap like Coldplay?" Stiles grinned, digging in his pocket for his phone and tossing it to Isaac. "And voila, internet."

"Derek, you really should get internet if you're going to let us hang out here." Isaac commented as he connected Stiles' phone to the laptop.

"I'm not letting you hang out here. This is a one off." Derek replied, leaning on the back of the couch and scowling at Isaac, who was still messing around with Stiles' phone. "And stop reading Stiles' messages."

Stiles opened his mouth to bitch at Isaac but was distracted by a knock on the door. Derek growled softly at Isaac, who grudgingly dropped the phone to the floor and busied himself making snide remarks about Stiles' taste in music.

"It's open." Derek muttered over his shoulder as there was another knock on the door.

"Scott!" Stiles squealed, flailing his way off the couch as Scott and Allison entered the apartment and stood awkwardly just inside the door. "You came!"

"Uh, yeah." Scott replied, trying, and failing, to fend off Stiles' hug. "Only if Allison's dad asks, we weren't here."

"He doesn't want me..." Allison started, glancing quickly at Derek before falling silent.

"He doesn't want you hanging out with me?" Derek asked, scowling.

"Something like that." Allison replied hesitantly, hugging her jacket tightly around herself. "Sorry."

"It's OK."

Stiles glared from Allison to the rest of the pack, who had resumed their pre-squeal conversations.

"No, it's not. It's not OK that you're OK with people not being OK with you." Stiles complained, poking Derek in the chest.

"Yes, it is." Derek replied shortly, putting one hand on Stiles' shoulder and steering him towards the couch. "Just leave it."

"But..."

"No." Derek slid his other hand over Stiles' mouth to stop him talking, pulling him back against his chest. Stiles scowled slightly at being silenced before quickly settling for preening; Derek was essentially hugging him in front of his pack, which given his aversion to public displays of affection was a rare event.

"Sit." Derek whispered, pressing up against Stiles' back before pushing him onto the couch and taking a seat beside him. He took Stiles' hand, twisting their fingers together and gave him a quick smile. "And be quiet."

Stiles pouted for a moment, watching as Isaac and Scott argued over his laptop and who was going to be in charge of picking music. Allison appeared to notice his discomfort, leaning over and dropping a gift bag into his lap with a small smile before perching awkwardly on the edge of the other couch.

"It's from me and Scott." She smiled as Stiles dug into the bag, pulling out a white hat.

"What's..." Stiles started, turning it over to look at the label.

"It's a Finn hat!" Scott grinned, getting up from the floor and snatching the hat from Stiles' hands so he could force it onto his head.

"He made me go in Hot Topic for him to get it." Allison added, covering her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket to hide a smile as Scott took a photo of Stiles with his phone.

"You do realise that if I'm Finn, you're Jake, right?" Stiles asked, fastening the Velcro beneath his chin and grinning hugely.

"Dude, dog jokes aren't cool!" Scott complained, taking a seat beside Allison, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulder. Stiles shot him a guilty looking smile before settling back beside Derek, watching as he rolled a joint, curling up against him when he finally finished. For once, Stiles was content to just sit and listen as the conversation flowed around them; he was vaguely aware that Allison and Boyd were awkwardly discussing how Jackson had come back to town three days ago but didn't really care to listen to their speculations as to why he hadn't spoken to anyone in the pack. He was too busy focusing on the fact that Derek's fingers were entwined with his once more, gently stroking the back of his hand with his thumb.

. o o o .

It turned out that once she'd got the hang of smoking, Erica, in classic Erica style, went over the top, trying to prove that whatever the rest of the pack could do, she could do better. Within a few hours she was a giggly mess, flopping about on the couch with Stiles, who at least had the excuse of having had several bottles of beer as well as the weed. They were ignoring the rest of the pack, sniggering and whispering together.

"E!" Stiles exclaimed in what he seemingly thought was a hushed whisper. "E, I don't want to be Batman anymore!"

"Huh?"

"I don't wanna be Batman. Wanna be Deadpool."

"You don't want to be Iron Man?" Erica asked poking him in the chest. Stiles looked down at his t-shirt for a moment then shook his head.

"Nope, Deadpool."

"You're not cool enough to be Deadpool." Erica replied drowsily, resting her head on Stiles' shoulder. "Maybe you should be Jubilee..." They both dissolved into fits of giggles as Erica passed the joint to Stiles and pecked him on the check. "'Cause Deaton thinks you've got a spark!"

"I'd make an awesome Deadpool. I'm sassy."

"You're not sassy. You're a dick."

"And you're a bitch."

"I liked Deadpool when he was Ryan Reynolds." Erica mused, pulling her hair over her shoulder so she could braid it.

"That was a terrible movie and we should never speak it's name." Stiles complained, glancing up to see Derek watching him, a hint of an amused smile on his face.

"Hey Stiles," She whispered. "Derek's doing that thing." She gestured towards where Derek stood leaning against the kitchen counter, talking quietly with Boyd and Isaac.

"Thing?"

"That thing where he looks at you like he loves you."

"Derek does love me." Stiles grinned, looking over at Derek again. "Derek thinks I'm cool enough to be Deadpool."

"Derek doesn't think you're cool at all." Derek replied. "Derek thinks you're a dork."

"But Derek loves me?" Stiles asked, sitting up and pushing Erica away from his shoulder.

"For now." Derek murmured, cocking an eyebrow.

"See?" Stiles crowed, holding his hand up for a high five. "Derek loves me."

Erica ignored his hand, slouching down on the couch so she could put her feet up on the coffee table.

"Aww, are you jealous, E? 'Cause Boyd doesn't look at you like that?" Stiles goaded, poking Erica in the ribs.

"Fuck off." Erica mumbled, hunching her shoulders over. Stiles glanced from her angry face to Boyd, who was glaring at them from the other side of the room, looking as though he'd completely checked out of the conversation with Derek and Isaac.

"Want to go for a walk?" He asked, leaning close to Erica and putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and nodded, twisting around the grab her coat from the back of the couch. Stiles glanced over at Derek who shrugged, shooting him a small smile and mouthing 'be careful'. He returned the smile and went to retrieve his new jacket from Derek's bedroom.

"Come on." He leant over the back of the couch and patted Erica on the shoulder; as they left the apartment, he noticed that she didn't look at the others once.

"Hey Stiles?" Scott asked as Erica pulled the door open. "If I'm not here when you get back, it's 'cause I'm taking Allison home. But I'll probably come back." He glanced at Derek. "If that's OK?"

Stiles didn't wait to see Derek's response as he slipped out into the cold night air behind Erica.

"Ugh, is that Derek's jacket you're wearing?" She asked, sniffing him surreptitiously as they walked down the stairs. "You two are disgusting."

"It's my birthday present from him." Stiles grinned, linking one arm through Erica's and wedging his free hand in his pocket. After a few minute's walk, Erica dragged him into a darkened alleyway, leaning against the wall. "So can they still hear us, or are we good to talk now?"

"Good, I guess." Erica shrugged.

"So what's the matter?" Stiles asked, using his phone as a flashlight and examining the ground, sitting down once he was satisfied there was nothing gross there. "I'm guessing I struck a nerve, right?"

"Me and Boyd aren't getting on all that great right now."

"I thought you guys were tight again?"

"So did I. I just...he's still talking about going to Columbia."

"And? So what if he goes to school in New York? You guys don't have to split up over it."

"Long distance relationships never work." Erica huffed, sliding down the wall to sit opposite Stiles. "My sister said so."

"Has your sister ever actually been in a long distance relationship?"

"No, but..."

"So what does she know? Anyway, Boyd might not go to Columbia. College is still a long ways off, you might be worrying over nothing."

"Don't tell me you're not stressing about it. About going away and leaving Derek behind."

"I'm not. I mean, I did for a bit, but I'm fine with it now."

"Yeah, but you're not going as far away as New York, I bet." Erica sighed, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Well, no, I'll probably go somewhere closer to home, but that's not the point. If it's meant to work, you guys will make it work. Why do you care so much about him leaving town?"

"Because he said he wouldn't. When we ran away, right before summer vacation, he said he wouldn't leave me. But if he goes to Columbia, he'll be leaving me."

"Erica, he's allowed to go to college. Look, I pretty much know jack shit about relationships, considering Derek is my first ever, but if you try and make him stay in town if he doesn't want to, it's going to mess things up between you even more."

"Stop trying to be wise." Erica complained. "I'm not trying to be all irrational; I know it'd be good for him to go to Columbia if he's got a chance of getting in. I just don't want to lose him."

To Stiles' horror, he heard Erica start to sob quietly, hiding her face against her knees. Stiles crawled across the small gap between them to sit beside her, pushing her hair to one side so he could put his arm around her shoulders.

"Have you ever actually told Boyd this?" He asked gently. "Like properly told him how it bugs you instead of just arguing with him?"

"I tried to but he just sits there all zen and stuff it about, saying that whatever happens will happen."

"Maybe he's right." Stiles suggested tentatively. He heard Erica scoff as she tried to shrug his arm off her shoulders. "Look, I'm not siding with him before you say that. I'm just saying, arguing with him clearly isn't making either of you happy."

"I don't like you like this you know." She laughed drily. "You've really got no right being all right about stuff. It doesn't suit you."

"Deal with it." Stiles grinned, squeezing her tightly. "Want to go back to the apartment? We can sit on the couch and judge people from school if you want?"

"In a minute?" Erica asked, patting him on the knee. "Can we just hang out here for a little bit longer? Just so they don't realise I've been crying when we get back?"

"If that's what you want, yeah."

"Thanks." Erica smiled, dropping her head onto his shoulder. "I like being friends with you, you know. It's better than having a crush on you."

"I like that you don't spend every waking minute making jokes about my sex life anymore." Stiles shrugged.

"You don't go all purple and angry about it anymore."

"I never went purple."

"You totally did." She turned her head to grin up at him. "Hey, you can be my gay best friend!"

"I'm not gay." Stiles huffed, pushing her away and scowling at her.

"Bestest bisexual buddy?"

"That's slightly better. Can we go back yet? I think my ass is starting to freeze."

"So get Derek to warm it up for you later." Erica snorted. "Hey, is Derek gay?"

"Hey, you just rhymed." Stiles deflected as he stood up.

"Well, is he?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" He asked, holding his hand out to Erica to help her up.

"Because you're sleeping with him? Who else asked you?"

"Scott. And I don't know, I've never asked him. I'll tell you the same thing I told Scott, all I'm bothered about is that we're into each other. If he wants to tell me if he's gay, or bi or whatever he can do, but I'm not going to force him to tell me."

"You two are weird." Erica replied, screwing up her nose as she brushed dirt from her pants.

"Not really. Did you ask Boyd if he was straight before you guys got together?"

"Well, no, but..."

"So why do I have to ask Derek what he is? He didn't ask me."

"Alright, alright. I get it." Erica huffed. "I was just curious!"

"Yeah, well. Don't be."

"Maybe I'll just ask Derek myself..." She grinned as they started back towards the apartment.

"Maybe he'll break your arm." Stiles muttered darkly. "Just leave it, OK? If he wanted people to know, he'd tell them."

"I'm pretty sure he can defend himself, Stiles."

"Shut up. I'm just..."

"Yeah, just saying. Got it. Come on, let's get back before they think we've been axed murdered by one of his skeezy neighbours." Erica laughed, linking her arm through Stiles' and dragging him back up the street towards Derek's apartment building.