Author's note: I was really looking forward to this chapter=)
"What the FUCK, Stiles?!" Derek thundered, looking positively murderous. Stiles took a step back, calculating his odds at survival should he try to make a run for it.
"I… You… you weren't listening," he stuttered, resisting the urge to cower. The last time he saw Derek glare at him this way, they were in the holding cell of the police station. The irritated skin on Derek's face, broken lip, and bloodshot eyes which were still tearing up made him look so much scarier though.
Derek grabbed him by the collar and Stiles flinched showing his neck on instinct. He half expected those fangs to sink into his flesh to "rip his throat out" the way Derek liked to threaten. Once again Stiles wondered what possessed him to meddle into the fight. He should have just walked away, right? Let the Alphas deal with their business.
Ridiculous.
"You would kill each other," he found his voice, staring back at Derek's furious face.
"I was fine," Derek growled, "And he deserves to die."
"No Derek, it's not…"
Derek let go of Stiles's collar to throw his hands in the air as he yelled in his face. "He KILLED my family, he tried to kill ME!"
He sounded more than just angry, he sounded hurt. As if Stiles betrayed him by trying to "save his uncle". Which, of course, wasn't the case at all. Stiles couldn't care less about Peter but he didn't want Derek to end up in jail for murder. Not to mention, that despite Derek's claims he didn't look like he was confidently winning that fight.
"I couldn't just do nothing and let you throw away..."
"Wait, WHAT?!" Peter boomed, interrupting both of them.
Derek turned to him. "You've already admitted it. No point in pretending now."
"I have admitted what exactly?" Peter looked shocked. And yes, he could be pretending, but Stiles was positive he was genuinely stunned by Derek's words.
"I know all about your collaboration with Blast Pharmaceuticals behind my back! You have no qualms about selling our pharmaceutical division to the conglomerate that is behind the death of our family. And why would you, you were in on it from the beginning!"
Peter gaped at him at loss for words. His shirt was ripped and his cheek was sporting a dark purple bruise, his face was not as red as Derek's, who probably got most of the pepper spray dose (not like Stiles was actually looking where he was spraying), but he didn't seem to care about any of that. He sat down on one of the tombstones, cradled his head in his hands, and started laughing.
That was certainly not the reaction anyone expected. Derek frowned in confusion but didn't look like he was gonna jump at his uncle for an extra dose of ass-kicking.
"All this time I thought you couldn't get over the fact that I told your parents about that stupid engagement," Peter said shaking his head. "As if you could keep that thing a secret, to begin with." He smacked his forehead in a quintessential facepalm. "And Voila! Apparently I am a murderer now. Well, at least it's nothing as shallow anymore."
Stiles was sold even before Peter started speaking. Derek was not buying it.
"Yeah, you are gonna deny it now. Not like you stood to gain the most shares in the Hale Industries after their deaths. Not like I told you I was going to spend the night at Paige's place the night her apartment magically suffered a gas leak. Not like you were negotiating with Blast for months before they pinged us the offer."
"You are an idiot, Derek."
Name-calling must have been running in the family. Stiles couldn't help but see aching similarities between the two Alphas.
"Yes, I am. I should have employed your methods and hire proper goons to blackmail you instead of wasting money on private investigators," Derek spat back.
"So those were yours? Oh my fucking God." Peter winced as if the absurdity of Derek's statements was physically hurting him. "So pray tell, dear nephew, what have your PI's dug on me? Other than business emails on the acquisition."
Derek clenched his fists and scowled at Peter, but he didn't look so sure about himself anymore. "You were obviously careful..."
"In other words, you have nothing. Now, why would that be?" Peter wasn't trying to persuade him, he knew that Derek had nothing on him because there was nothing to be found.
Stiles saw Derek deflate unhappily. If he wasn't still worried that Derek might do him bodily harm, he would have hugged him.
"But… you never even entertained the idea that it was Palmer. And you must have known what mom had on him," by now Derek's voice lost all of its bite and sounded more like an excuse.
Peter's face softened as he sighed. "I thought you didn't know about the dirt she had on Palmer. I thought that by keeping you out of this I was protecting you."
"Moron."
The two stared at each other, some silent communication going on between them before both broke into a grin. Peter got up and walked over to Derek embracing his nephew in a bear hug. "You are the moron. I was simply looking out for you."
Derek returned the hug for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head. "You are doing a shitty job then. They are still after me. They are persuaded I have the evidence. I searched the fire site for days looking for that flashdisk. It's not there."
"I know."
Derek's eyes widened. "No fucking way! You have it?! But then why haven't you given it to the police?! That would bust their stupid 'faulty wiring' version."
"Because it's not enough. You need more than just a motive to prove murder."
Derek didn't argue. After all, he told Stiles the exact same thing.
"And if my moronic nephew ever listened to reason, then we would have long since been a part of Blast Pharmaceuticals, getting access to the inside information!"
"You wanted to sell our star business to the competitor… to get evidence?"
Oh, the irony. Derek thought Peter killed his family for money… And in fact, Peter was ready to sacrifice their cash cow for a chance to get justice for their murder.
"I think you guys should work on your communication skills," Stiles deadpanned, making both Alphas turn their heads. It looked like the men forgot all about him while they figured out their differences, and now that he dared to open his mouth again, the way their eyes narrowed didn't promise anything good for Stiles.
"I'll hold him for you," Peter said with an evil smirk.
Derek rolled his eyes. "I'm not beating him."
"You look like you want to."
"No, YOU look like you want to," Stiles retorted, frowning.
"Oh, I'm dying to." Peter had his smug look back in place. "But I'm not gonna deny my nephew the pleasure. We have just made up."
"No one is beating Stiles." Derek blocked Peter's way, though his voice sounded more annoyed than threatening.
His uncle made a tsking sound and rubbed his sore eyes. "You're spoiling him."
"Why did I even bother saving your ass," Stiles shook his head bewildered.
"Hey now. Just so that we are clear - you saved your boyfriend's ass. Not mine."
"Runs in the fucking family," Stiles grumbled under his nose. But apparently not quietly enough, because both Alphas frowned at him. "The 'Alphahole genes'. You are not all that rare after all," he noted sarcastically, waving his hand at Derek.
Derek ignored the jab and grabbed the pepper spray from the ground. He gave it a shake and let out an annoyed huff. "Should have let you keep the fake gun."
"Why?"
"It's empty. I gave it to you for protection and the two times you used it I ended up first with a sore ass and then with sore eyes," he spat, throwing the can at Stiles.
The irony wasn't lost on Stiles. He caught the empty can and cast Derek a sheepish smile.
"Now that sounds like a story I need to hear," Peter chuckled. "Come over tonight. We have some catching up to do."
"Yes we do," Derek agreed with a small smile of his own.
xxx
Stiles wasn't entirely sure he was out of hot water for using the pepper spray on Derek. The Alpha didn't seem angry, looking deep in thought as they drove back home, but then again, he didn't have to be angry to punish Stiles.
Stiles's ass was still a bit sore from the morning and he wanted to avoid a spanking at all costs. Asking if he had one coming might have put his mind at ease, but it would have also reminded Derek about the incident itself. So Stiles didn't and instead focused on coming up with reasons why he absolutely had to do it and why Derek should just accept it.
As they exited the elevator on their floor they saw the delivery guy with a package. Derek frowned at first examining the box, but then must have recognized the origin and smiled to himself.
Stiles beelined for the beer to the fridge, wondering if he should bring up the first aid for Derek's face or just pretend it was fine since the Alpha's superior health must have already dealt with the worst of it.
"Stiles?"
He peeked behind the fridge door and saw Derek crook a finger at him. His stomach did a flip flop as he reviewed his defense in his head.
"Hm?"
"Come here."
"Why?"
"Because I just told you to."
"No thank you, I'm fine here."
"Stilinski!"
"Am I in trouble?"
"You will be if you keep disobeying me."
"Just tell me what it is and I'll obey you."
"Jesus Stiles, why does it always have to be so hard with you, why can't you just do as you are told?" Derek's voice sounded more amused than frustrated though.
"Because you have the sadist face on."
"The sadist face?" the Alpha raised an eyebrow, his smirk deepening like he knew exactly what Stiles was talking about and enjoyed it a little too much.
"Yeah that face," Stiles confirmed pointing a finger at him. "I'm not trusting that face!"
"Stop being dramatic and come here, I have something to show you."
That won Stiles over as his curiosity trumped his wariness. When he flumped on the sofa next to Derek the Alpha swiftly unlocked the clasp of his necklace and it dropped down in a puddle on his lap.
"Hey!"
Derek pulled the ring from the necklace and then did the same on his own necklace. Before Stiles could ask what he was doing, Derek handed him a small black velvet jewelry box. Stiles's heart fluttered as he opened it and found two pendants inside. He couldn't help a burst of surprised laughter when he realized that the pendants were a mix between the Hale triskelion and the BDSM one.
"What's this? The first rendition of Hale kinkskelion?" he asked grinning.
Derek matched his grin. "I wanted to have something more personal. Turn it around."
Stiles turned the pendant and read, "Adorkable moron". The other pendant said "Alphahole dickhead". He laughed again and then shook his head at the Alpha.
"And you call ME a teenager?"
"Call it as I see it."
This was probably the most romantic thing Derek ever did and it made Stiles's heart swell with affection, his feelings suddenly overwhelming.
"Thank you. I love this! I …" Stiles stopped abruptly. The last thing he wanted was to confess in the heat of the moment only to receive a Han Solo's signature 'I know' in response. After all, Derek made it abundantly clear that their relationship was temporary just a couple of hours ago.
Derek sat up when Stiles suddenly fell silent. "What is it?"
Stiles knew he should have made a joke or changed the topic or diverted Derek's attention some other way. It would have been a sensible and safe thing to do. But his feelings were all over the place and he was craving some clarity, so he ended up blurting, "What am I to you?"
The Alpha frowned in confusion. "In what sense?"
Stiles lost his nerve right there. "Nevermind."
There was a moment of awkward silence as Stiles tried to get a grip on his raging emotions.
"You are such a teenager."
"I'm not a fucking -"
"I love you."
"- teenager," he finished saying and then stared at Derek. "What?"
The Alpha chuckled. "I said that you are a teenager."
"No, I heard…"
"And that I love you," Derek smiled, dropping his gaze. Stiles would bet he was blushing, but his skin was still red from the pepper spray, so there was no way to tell. "I thought it should be fairly obvious by now."
"I…" Stiles resisted an urge to scream, dance, or jump around pumping his chest. He could take a confession with dignity. He cleared his throat, willing his voice to remain in the normal tonality. "I love you too." There. That didn't come out overly eager and breathless at all.
"Now that was fairly obvious for a while now."
Stiles rolled his eyes, wanting to be annoyed but grinning like dork instead. "You're such a dick."
"But you love me anyway," Derek parried, using the same phrase Stiles did before. "Even though you have a unique way of showing it. You know, pepper-spraying me in the face and stuff." He gave Stiles a pointed look.
"I'm not sorry."
"I know." Derek smiled warmly and then leaned in cupping his face. "It's ok, I'll find a way to make you pay."
"Can't wait," Stiles breathed out before Derek silenced him with a kiss that would put half of the Hollywood industry to shame.
xxx
"What the fuck are you doing?"
Derek's voice coupled with a sudden feeling of alarm jerked Stiles into awareness. His skin was crawling with premonition and he knew that something very bad was happening, but the fog on his conscience kept sweeping him back into dreamland. He tried to get his eyes to open and groaned at the headache. Somebody was gripping his arm painfully. Why was he so sleepy? What was going on?
"I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this."
He recognized Liam's voice and didn't like how absolutely freaked out it sounded. Stiles finally opened his eyes and lifted his upper body to see what was going on. He was lying on the sofa in the living room. The room was dimly illuminated by the TV and the night lamp, suggesting it was late. Liam was sitting next to him, his hands grasping a syringe and shaking, his face dangerously pale and panicking, tears streaming down his cheeks.
What the hell was going on? What was he missing?
He remembered the day - the morning kinkfest, the encounter with Peter in a cemetery, Derek's confession, the follow-up sex… But what happened next? Oh right, Derek offered him to tag along to visit his uncle, but since Stiles was pretty sure they needed some alone time after everything that happened, he politely refused. Then Liam came over for dinner as usual and the two of them settled to watch some Netflix show together.
And then nothing...
"What is in there?" Derek's voice was like ice. Stiles turned his head to see the Alpha approaching them slowly, eyes a nasty shade of crimson practically glowing in the dark.
"I'm sorry," Liam cried, dropping the syringe on the floor.
"What is in there?!" Derek bellowed. Too loud. Stiles's temples pulsed in protest.
"Heroin."
That's when Stiles realized what the annoying pressure in his arm was about as he noticed the rubber band squeezing his biceps, making the veins bulge on his forearm.
Derek's face lost all color. "No… No, no way," he stumbled backward, shaking his head and looking nauseated.
"I'm sorry! I wanted to tell you. I couldn't.. I..." The teen broke down in heavy sobs.
"No fucking way," Derek groaned, his face twisting as if he was ready to start crying as well, as he grabbed the sofa to still himself. The fact that the Alpha was so shaken scared the shit out of Stiles. He was clearly missing something, something important.
"What is going on?! I don't understand. God, my head is killing me," Stiles said, surprised how raspy his voice sounded.
"You sedated him?!"
Liam nodded his head, still wailing.
Stiles tried to force his mind to focus. If Liam sedated him, it explained the grogginess. The rubber band on his arm suggested that the shot of heroin was intended for him. So the boy sedated him so he could inject him with a dose of strong opioid. That made sense, he supposed. The only question remained - why?
"Why did you want to drug me?!"
"The BRP," Derek said, face hidden in his hands, looking utterly defeated.
That didn't make things any clearer. Why would Liam want to sabotage Stiles' rehabilitation? Did Stiles do something to him? No, even if he did, the kid would never get even this way.
"I don't understand." Stiles sat up, taking off the rubber band and squeezing his hand in a fist a couple times to get the feeling back to his fingers. "Why?"
"Because it would land Derek in jail," Liam finally explained, taking a couple of shallow breaths.
That still didn't make any sense. Why would Liam want to get rid of Derek? What could he possibly…? Oh no… no way!
Stiles remembered the first time the kid approached him was to offer him weed, but surely it wasn't for that purpose? It couldn't be… But his mind already started putting the pieces of the puzzle together, even as his whole being protested the idea.
He remembered how quickly Liam agreed to get into their apartment, how he stole Derek's laptop but brought it back when it got locked, how easily he agreed to stay overnight, and yet refused to give any info about himself. And then he kept coming back…
"Why?" Stiles whispered, his voice giving out, already knowing the answer.
Liam hugged his knees and let out another couple of heartbreaking sobs, before finally managing to get the words out. "I work for Deucalion."
TBC
So, this was a looong time in the making. Surprised? Shocked? Guessed it all along? I would love to hear your thoughts.