By the time Stiles was released by the doctors it was late afternoon. With his father still going in for his late shift Derek stuck around to drive Scott and Stiles home. Scott insisted on being dropped off first despite his house being closer to Derek's and thus being more convenient for Derek to drop off second. Something about meeting up with Allison later. The excuse was flimsy at best. Stiles suspected Scott wanted Stiles and Derek to become civil by sheer proximity.

The idea of being alone with Derek outside of the hospital gave him the weirdest emotional rollercoaster. His emotions went by so quickly he didn't have time to process them. The weird memory flashes didn't help either.

"We're here." Stiles looked up from his phone and at his house. His jeep was parked outside meaning they had managed to get it home from the woods. Derek got out and walked around the car to open Stiles door and offered him a hand out of the Camaro. Stiles ignored how his stomach did a somersault and took it. His legs didn't feel so hot. The back of his neck had a small stab of pain and he grabbed for it. "You okay?"

"Yeah I think I've still got some minor side effects but otherwise I'm feeling a lot better."

Derek nodded. "Mind if I come in for a bit while you settle in? I don't need you falling down the stairs or something."

Stiles glared. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself in my own house." But Derek proceeded to follow him up to the door. To make matters worse, Stiles' legs were not as up to the challenge as he'd hoped and Derek did need to steady him.

It was embarrassing.

"Yeah let's baby the fragile human. That's not demeaning or anything."

Derek snorted, but didn't say a word and it lightened Stiles' own mood a bit.

"Laugh it up, sourwolf. You'll find wolf's bane in your morning coffee."

That made the alpha smile and wow, was that weird.

Stiles glared harder. "Get annoyed with me."

Derek was unphased. "Can't. Too happy you're not dead."

Stiles looked around, then pinched his skin dramatically. "Oh hey, wow, so this is real life. You know, you've threatened to rip my throat out." He grimaced and pointed to his mouth. "With your teeth."

"You were being difficult." And there was that tone again.

The almost flirty tone.

Stiles fumbled with the keys to his house but managed to get them in the lock. "Entering through the door? Real step up for you."

"Well your dad insisted I stop climbing in the windows when no one is home. People will think I'm breaking in." Stiles stopped where he was as Derek kept walking past him toward the kitchen. An image of Derek asleep on his bed flashed through his mind but was gone the next second. Derek pulled a beer and a soda out from the fridge. He paused at the look on Stiles' face and raised an eyebrow. "What did you think? The sheriff wouldn't catch on that someone was breaking into his house? He's smarter than that. Now go sit down. The nurse said to take it easy."

Stiles snatched the soda from Derek and whipped around to trudge to the living room with dignity but wobbled again. Once again Derek caught him and Stiles wanted to die. "When my legs are back on track with what I want them to do you'll be sorry."

Suddenly, the alpha scooped him up princess style. Stiles face heated up and he flailed a little ungracefully as Derek walked to the living room.

"Put me down!"

"Sure thing." He let Stiles plop unceremoniously on the couch and the soda can in his hand went flying. Stiles scrambled to catch it but Derek was already there, soda outstretched. "What happened to you being grateful?"

"I'm taking it back. You're awful." Stiles switched on the TV and stretched out on the couch. "Now shut up, Breaking Bad is on."

Surprisingly, Derek sat at the other end of the couch and did, in fact, shut up.

It was so weird. Stiles' skin itched and he had this weird bubbly feeling he couldn't beat down. It was so foreign and weird. Like he was caught up in some recursive loop.

But after a couple commercial breaks and ordering take out Stiles was kind of grateful again. The company was nice. Derek was an uncultured swine who knew nothing about Breaking Bad and kept asking questions which Stiles explained in detail.

"If we had universal health care this wouldn't be a problem." Derek shrugged after another scene of Walt justifying his actions because he had cancer. He stood and went back to the kitchen.

"I mean… you're not wrong."

The front door opened and Stiles craned his neck back to see. "Father of mine! You're home."

"I am." When Derek returned he had two beers, handing one to the sheriff.

Stiles glared.

"Why are you two so buddy-buddy? It's Twilight Zone spooky in this place."

His dad shrugged. "Kid killed a river monster, saved my son from an otherworldly realm, bought beer? I might adopt him."

Derek clinked his beer to the sheriff's and sat back down on the couch.

Stiles went beet red and buried his face in the couch cushion. "I should've stayed in the fae world."

His dad came over and ruffled his hair before heading toward the kitchen. When had it gotten long? "It's great having you home, kiddo."

Stiles watched his dad head to the kitchen and grinned despite himself. "Good to be home."

Shortly after his dad finished the take out they'd gotten him and they had heard about the station being abuzz with news of Stiles' return, Derek got up from his spot on the couch. "Time I was heading out."

Sheriff nodded. "See you next Friday?"

"Yup. Night, Sheriff."

Stiles stood, for the first time feeling less feeble. "I'll walk you out."

Derek didn't protest and they headed out to the driveway. Once outside, Stiles didn't understand why they hell he'd come out there. But as they approached the Camaro, Derek turned and opened his mouth.

"Why are you like this?"

Derek closed his mouth, brow furrowing.

Stiles ran a hand down his face. "That wasn't how I meant that to come out… could you be a little grumpy? For me? As a treat?" Finally Derek actually looked annoyed and Stiles pumped his fists. "I've still got it." Derek continued to glare at him. "Sorry, I'm not adjusting well. Change weirds me out."

Derek's annoyance seemed to evaporate and was replaced by actual disappointment. He looked like a kicked puppy. "Is it really that bad."

Stiles flailed. "Shit, no! I mean, I just… I don't know. Annoying you is fun. It's like… our dynamic. I be annoying, you look murderous. I've missed that." He paused because that broke his brain. Somewhere inside he knew that he did. During these last few weeks he'd really, really missed that.

He had missed Derek.

He ached and it was both so foreign and so true he felt it in his bones.

Derek smiled that smile again. The one from the hospital that was damn near adoring. It was like staring at the sun. Stiles held up a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't. Whatever you were gonna say was gonna be sappy and ruin my annoying you." They stood there a few more seconds and Stiles realized Derek wasn't making any move to leave. Neither was he but this was his house. He could stand in his own driveway looking stupid if he wanted. He'd earned it. It was his God given right as an American-

Oh.

Stiles timidly outstretched his arms in the universal gesture to mean 'hug' and Derek hesitated before caving like... something that caved very easily.

It was like the hospital but somehow way more intense. There was no one around to watch so he didn't feel nearly as weird burying his face in Derek's shoulder. Was it still weird? Hell yeah. Did he care? No.

"So you're a hugger now?"

Derek just nodded, not letting go.

"Have I mentioned I'm very happy you're alive?"

Stiles' heart skipped several beats. "Didn't know you could be happy."

Derek chuckled. "I was beginning to think the same thing."

He needed to stop staying things like that.

When Derek finally stepped back, it was Stiles who hesitated to let go, which surprised himself quite a bit.

"See you next Friday." After a second, Stiles frowned. Had he agreed to a meet up on Friday? "What's Friday?"

"Pack meeting."

"Oh…" He knew that... why'd he know that? "See you there."

Derek backed up to his car like he thought Stiles might disappear if he took his eyes off him before sliding into the Camaro and pulling away from the house. When Stiles went to go back inside his dad was at the door.

"Spying is rude, you know." He did his best not to glance after the retreating taillights of the black muscle car but failed.

"So... Derek huh?" His dad asked. Stiles wasn't sure what kind of question that was.

"Yeah, he's chilled out a lot. Really acting responsible."

The sheriff crossed his arms. "Responsible. Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

Stiles faltered. "I- well, you know, it's an important quality in a pack leader. That and a steady supply of leather jackets." What the hell was happening? He pushed past his dad and into the living room, reclaiming his spot on the couch and hoping the discussion was over.

"Just tell me this wasn't going on before the fairy incident, was it?" Clearly it wasn't over. "Because I don't think I can handle that you were keeping werewolves AND a boyfriend secret. Was the red head a red herring? Seems like something you'd do."

Stiles laughed nervously because oh no. This was not a conversation he was having. "He is not my boyfriend. He's not even really my friend."

"You could do worse."

Stiles gawked at his father. "You're the sheriff. He's several years older than me! He was accused of murder!"

The sheriff in question pointed at him. "By you! No one at the station who knew the Hales believed him capable of killing Laura. If you weren't so into playing detective you'd have known that."

Stiles let that hang between them for a bit. "You can't be serious."

Why had Derek not just left him to die in the fairy realm?

"I'm not thrilled about the age gap. But I do know he's a good kid and I don't think he's trying to take advantage of you. Though I will be on the lookout for that sort of thing."

Stiles buried his face in his hands. "Please stop."

"I trust you to make some choices, thank you. And I've got a good feeling about this one."

"I told you we're not a thing! Why are you suddenly Team Hale?!"

He sighed. "I wouldn't call it sudden. I've known him longer than you. Have you forgotten I watched him grow up?" When did his dad become head of the Derek Defense Squad? "Your mom taught him the alphabet-I had to tell him his whole family was gone . I came home once while you were missing and found him in your room as lost as I was." A scene of his dad and Derek eating breakfast flashed through his mind, and something akin to his heart breaking happened and unhappened in his mind so quickly he didn't have time to process it before his dad continued on his weird tirade. "He was willing to put his neck on the line for even a chance that you were alive. And if he's who you want to be with, I'm not gonna stand in your way. You aren't one to let people in unless they're really something."

Stiles waited a second then shook his head. "I appreciate that but I swear we're not like that. Can we please drop it?" He managed to meet his dad's eyes then but he couldn't maintain it.

His dad sized him up then nodded. "Alright." He sat in Derek's empty space on the couch and kept his eyes on the TV. "But if it's not like that for you, let him down gently. That's all I'm saying."

Stiles couldn't focus on the rest of the Breaking Bad reruns because there was just so much to process from the last five minutes.

The whole thing was making his brain hurt.

What can I say? I'm suspicious. Stiles felt his heart skip, as those words echoed in his brain, He could see it clear as day-Derek smiling, big and bright… a smile he'd never seen in person.

His chest tightened and he just didn't understand why.