Stiles was on the phone with his father and that was a conversation Derek really didn't want to hear. He made sure to catch Stiles' eye and to motion towards the door to indicate that he would be outside.
When he stepped out on the porch, there was nobody else in sight and Derek took a breath in relief. He had feared that Scott or one of the other two would corner him but they weren't here at the moment so he took the chance to slip behind the building. Here he had stacked the wood for Edith, a memory that made him smile, but it still felt too close. If somebody was looking for him, they would easily find him here. So Derek put his hands in his pockets and started walking. There was a little path leading to a few backyards, this was most likely the shortcut to visit the neighbors, but soon Derek was out in the open field. The woods weren't far, it would be easy to just slip between the trees and go deeper, maybe even visit the Nemeton again. But from here it was miles away and Derek didn't want to worry Stiles by disappearing on him. So Derek just stepped into the woods far enough so he wouldn't be easily spotted from the motel and just walked along the edge for a little while.
Their conversation from last night was still fresh in his mind. All the ways things could go wrong and even if they went right, Stiles wanted him to leave afterward. So his initial impulse was to say no. Derek was fine just the way he was, he didn't need to become real, whatever that meant.
However, not even an hour ago Theo had seen an in-between, something he shouldn't have seen. They had been lucky that it had been Theo and not somebody else. It could have happened in the middle of the mall when he'd been shopping with Peter. Plus, Stiles was exhausting his magic just to keep him around. Derek didn't like that.
Stiles also seemed to have a problem with the fact that he could order Derek to do whatever he wanted him to do. He hadn't used that power lately but the fact alone that he could seemed to bug him. Derek couldn't see what the fuss was about, he was looking for Stiles' advice anyway.
Then there was the fact that his existence depended on Stiles. If Stiles died or otherwise wasn't able to summon him any longer, Derek would be dead. He guessed that it would be just one long in-between that never ended and that didn't sound too bad. But it also was something that didn't sit right with Stiles.
Derek stopped with a sigh. This was getting him nowhere. He leaned his back against the trunk of the nearest tree and let his head fall back to look up. There were patches of sky visible between the leaves but it was overcast today and all Derek saw was gray.
Stiles had made it clear that it was Derek's decision and that he was fine either way. One way would put everything at risk, maybe killing one of them or even both. And if Stiles would be able to work his magic as a werewolf was anybody's guess.
And he was thinking about Stiles again and how he would be affected. Derek let his head thump against the rough bark.
What do I want? Derek asked himself but had no answer to that. He had always followed Stiles' advice.
Derek pushed himself off the tree and put his hands back in his pockets. And paused. Derek looked down on himself. He hadn't paid much attention to his clothes but now he noticed that he wasn't wearing the outfit he had picked out the other day. But these were also things he had chosen for himself. Stiles had remembered and he had put in the afford to come up with something new and not just the same old stuff again. And back at the motel was still the bag with the things Peter had bought for him. Things Derek had picked for himself.
And food. Stiles had used food to explain to him why he wanted him to leave. Derek liked food. He had his favorites and things he didn't like and he was looking forward to trying out more. He wanted to try out more. And not just food.
Derek wasn't sure what Stiles meant when he said he wanted more for Derek but he had the feeling that this was part of it.
Today Derek had woken up in bed with Stiles and that had been nice, he would like to do that again but it was a rare occasion, usually, there was an in-between over night. One second he was sleeping with Stiles in his arms and the next he was standing in the middle of the room. He had experienced waking up with Stiles and getting out of bed on his own only a few times so far but he liked those mornings. The memory of each one was something precious he liked to think of now and then.
Stiles wanted him to take a leap of faith and trust him that there was so much more waiting for him out there even if he couldn't even imagine it at his point. Derek remembered clearly the night he had used the bathroom for the first time and how his stomach had grumbled and how he had no clue what that even meant. He had just followed his instincts, searching for whatever was eatable in their room to satisfy his stomach. And Stiles was right, those chicken nuggets had been the best thing he had eaten in his life and he would still be happy with just chicken nuggets every day. At that point, he hadn't been able to picture something better. But now he knew that there were much better things out there. It was still morning and he was already looking forward to whatever Edith had in mind for dinner.
So maybe he should trust Stiles on this, maybe he should take the leap.
Still deep in thoughts Derek turned around and started walking again, he didn't want to stay gone for too long.
When he stepped out of the woods, he saw someone coming for him. Scott. Of course, it was Scott.
"You." Scott pointed a finger at him. "I don't know what you're up to but you won't take him away."
Derek just raised his eyebrow at him and waited until Scott had come up to him.
"I thought I'm just a shade," Derek said. "How can I be up to something?"
That made Scott splutter, he hadn't expected that comeback.
"I don't know what you are, if you're a shade or something else, but you're not taking away my best friend." Scott was right in his face now.
"That's Stiles decision to make," Derek told him. They all had their decisions to make but Peter and Stiles were already set on theirs. They had been before they had even told Derek about the one he had to make.
"Leave him alone." Suddenly Scott's eyes were glowing red and his face shifted. "He is mine."
That was the alpha speaking, Derek got that. He knew that feeling, that he wanted Stiles to be his but at the same time knowing that Stiles belonged to someone else. It wasn't something rational. Derek knew that Stiles didn't belong to either of them, that he chose his alpha and that he was free to change his mind whenever he wanted but to the wolf part of them that didn't matter. To Scott, Derek was a rival who was trying to take over his pack.
When Derek locked eyes with him, they were equally red and he felt his face shift. His clawed hands were hanging loosely at his sides but he was ready to defend himself if necessary.
"He's mine," Scott growled and launched for Derek. Derek jumped back, blocking Scott's attack with his arm.
"I don't want to fight you," Derek said and blocked the next blow.
"Too bad, I want to fight you." Scott spat the words out, his snout twitching and then he was on him again. Derek didn't hold back any longer. He was fighting back. They were both alphas but Scott was fueled by his rage. His attack didn't even make sense, even if he managed to defeat Derek he would be back at Stiles' side rather sooner than later. Derek was pretty sure that Scott could kill him and it wouldn't change a thing. However, he would not just stand there and let Scott kill him. So Derek fought back.
He lost some ground but he was holding up pretty well. They were both bloody, long gashes on their arms and torsos and on Derek's face where Scott at broken through his defense but that had already stopped bleeding.
"Stop!" Somebody yelled. There were people running towards them but Derek kept his eyes on Scott.
"Goddammit, Scott!" That was Stiles but there were other voices yelling at them. Derek didn't let himself get distracted but Scott made the mistake to look over.
Without even thinking Derek used the moment and slashed his throat.
"Derek, stop!" Stiles yelled when Derek raised his claws again. He didn't want to kill Scott, he just wanted to keep him down, but suddenly he wasn't able to do anything. He stopped. His hands fell to his sides and he just stood there and watched Scott scrambling to his feet.
Without hesitation Scott rammed his claws into Derek's torso, right under his rib-cage, aiming upward. Derek could feel the claws tearing through his flesh, through his lungs and heart.
"Derek!" Stiles yelled while Derek tasted blood in the back of his throat. He wanted to say something but suddenly his mouth was full of blood.
With a sickening noise Scott got his claws free and without that support, Derek just fell to his knees. It didn't even hurt. Derek looked down and pressed his hands where the blood was gushing out of him. Weird. Above him Scott made a triumphant noise, maybe he was trying to yell but his throat was too mangled for that, either way, Derek saw the claws coming for him. He closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he was back in their room.
His hands flew to where the wound had been a second ago but he only found his clothes whole and dry and what felt like unbroken skin underneath. Even the taste of blood was gone.
"What happened?" He asked and only now he had a look around to confirm that he was alone with Stiles. The other man was sitting at the table, his crutches leaning next to him and he looked tired. He had blood on his clothes and hands and there were even sprinkles on his face.
"You died," Stiles said with a haunted look on his face. "I saw you dying."
"I'm not dead." Derek stepped over to him but slowly, he had the feeling that Stiles would be easily spooked right now.
"I know." Stiles nodded. "But earlier? I had forgotten about it. I didn't think. I told you to stop and you stopped. You just stood just there and let Scott ..." His voice broke and he was looking with hollow eyes into the distance. "I should have gotten you out of there earlier."
"It's okay," Derek said. He reached out for Stiles, slowly to give him the chance to tell him to stop but when he didn't, he placed his hand on his shoulder. A second later Stiles was hugging his middle. He was shaking and dry sobs were escaping his mouth.
"I'm okay," Derek told him and held him close. "I wasn't trying to kill him." Derek empathized. He hadn't tried to kill Stiles' best friend, he wanted Stiles to know that.
"You were defending yourself, I know." Stiles nodded into his chest.
"Where's Scott?" Derek strained his ears but there was nobody close by.
"In his room, you did a number on him." Stiles looked up at him and with the heel of his hand, he wiped his eyes. "Maybe if he has to suffer from injuries caused by an alpha he'll rethink his opinion on you." He gave him a weak smile.
"But he's going to be okay?" Scott would live, that much was clear but Derek didn't want to do permanently harm him.
"Yeah, he's survived much worse."
"That's good."
They were hugging for a moment longer but then Stiles peeled himself off Derek.
"I should be flattered," Stiles said and cleared his throat to get rid of the last traces his tears. "Two alphas were fighting over me."
"Who won?" Derek knew that winning or losing the fight didn't matter, it was Stiles' choice.
"You. Always you." Stiles craned his neck for a quick kiss. "They are leaving in the morning."
That was new.
"How did that happen?"
