The last few days had been a roller coaster for Derek but in a good way. Until Stiles had shown him that video of himself. Stiles found it kind of funny but Derek's first thought was Kate.

Stiles made a few good points about why it was unlikely that Kate or any other hunter would come after him now but Derek could not shake off that thought.

It was not helping that they were heading to Beacon Hills. The closer they got to their destination the more Derek felt everything weighing down on him. When at the dinner table Stiles mentioned that Kate might stumble over him on the internet now, Derek could barely hold it together. It was the perfect opening for John to ask more questions, in person he would get a better reading on him than via screen, and Derek knew that he would just crumble if John asked the questions clearly on his mind.

John had one look at him, though, and did not ask. Instead, he handed out beer and asked about Derek's recent change of career.

The conversation became more relaxed with that. The man was still Stiles' dad and the sheriff, two very good reasons for Derek to feel uncomfortable around him, at least a little bit, but he had to give the man kudos, he was trying his best to make Derek feel welcomed in his house.

When it was time to turn in Derek wondered if he was supposed to sleep in the guestroom but Stiles just grabbed him by the wrist, waved his dad good night, and then he was dragging Derek up the stairs into his room. It was still a teenager's room with a teenager's bed but they made it work.

Derek couldn't exactly pinpoint when it had happened, it was a fluent thing after all, but he knew without a doubt that he went to bed with his boyfriend.

"You have no idea how sexy it is that you can tell," Stiles said when he used the term boyfriend. His heart picked up a beat and Derek caught all sorts of happy emotions in his scent and yes, horny was among them. With his nose right in Stiles' neck, it was impossible to miss.

"We're not going to have sex while we're under your dad's roof." Derek kissed his neck.

"Absolutely not." Stiles shuddered in horror. "Did I tell you about that one time when I had Danny over? He was my first lover back in High School. We were what? Fifteen?" He paused, trying to figure out their age. "Anyway, we'd fooled around before, you know, the usual. Some kissing and wandering hands, quick handjobs behind the bleachers. I'd tried to suck him off that one time but I couldn't stop gagging." He chuckled at that memory. "Anyway, Dad had a night shift and Danny was over and we thought that it was a good time to figure out how that whole dick in the butt thing works."

"He walked in on you?" Derek guessed.

"Yep." Stiles let the word pop. "We were both naked, I was trying to top, and Danny was screaming bloody murder because we might have been a bit too sloppy with the prep."

That was quite an image. Derek chuckled into Stiles' neck.

"It gets better."

Derek felt Stiles' grin on his arm he was using as a pillow.

"He came in with his gun drawn."

"He didn't."

"He absolutely did," Stiles confirmed. "Most awkward moment of my life and that means something."

"What did he do?" Derek wondered.

"He holstered his gun and said that at least I was wearing a condom," Stiles said. "Then he left to get a drink." He shook his head at that memory. "So no, no sex while we're here. Not that I expect to have sex with you that often anyway," Stiles muttered but he did not sound sad about it.

Derek drew him closer until his back was firmly pressed into his chest.

"We can at least cuddle." Derek liked that better anyway.

They fell asleep like that.

John let them sleep in the next morning and didn't comment on it when they crawled out of bed around ten. John had taken the day off for them but he had to work the rest of the week so they spent the day with him.

Most of the time they just sat together, talking about this and that. Derek heard more embarrassing stories about Stiles and reluctantly he added one or two small anecdotes of his own. It still felt strange when he mentioned his family but he wanted Stiles to know more about them than what they had read in a police file. They didn't make a big deal out of the fact that Derek shared those little bits and they didn't try to make him talk more about them for which Derek loved them.

Stiles had been still in a he phase when Derek had kissed him good morning but it had faded off. Derek could tell by the way they carried themself and how they moved but it was in their scent as well. Derek couldn't quite put a finger on it but one look at Stiles and he knew that this was his partner and not his boyfriend. Stiles had assured him that he didn't have to try to keep track of where they stood at any given moment and that partner was a good term in general but for one, it was not that hard to tell, and second, Stiles was just so happy every time Derek addressed them with the right pronoun.

In the afternoon, Laura texted him, asking how he was doing. Derek excused himself and went upstairs to Stiles' room to call her, he wanted to hear her voice. Plus, he wanted to give Stiles and John a chance to catch up without him being around.

"Hey, little brother," Laura answered after the second ring. "How are you?"

They had texted over the last few days but Derek had been kind of busy and didn't have the time for long conversations. Now he finally had time to talk.

Like him, Laura was worried about the internet thing but by now she'd checked it out herself and she found it kind of hilarious.

"Cute gamer." He could hear the smile in her voice. "I give you the cute but you're the only person I know who's not a gamer."

"I'm not cute," Derek grumbled which made her laugh. "Besides, I work for a game developer and Stiles showed me a game the other day. It was fun." He didn't remember the name and he hadn't thought about it since then but suddenly he wanted to check it out again.

"Playing one game for a few hours does not make you a gamer," Laura reminded him. "Neither does answering emails and maintaining the social media accounts."

"I do other things at work too." Derek pouted but she was right. "You're having dinner with Boyd and Erica today, right?" Derek changed the topic.

Over the weekend Laura had spent some time with Erica. She didn't outright say it but Derek got the impression that she'd made up her mind and was only waiting for Derek to come home so that she could make Erica an offer. Maybe Stiles had made up their mind by then too.

"How is it?" Laura asked. "Being back in Beacon Hills?"

"Haven't seen any of it yet," Derek admitted. He was playing with the idea to visit the graveyard and maybe even the house but he wasn't sure if he was ready for that. And what if somebody recognized him when he set a foot outside?

They talked for a little while longer but then Laura had to get ready for dinner with Erica and Boyd. Derek told her to tell them hi from him and Stiles and then they ended the call.

Needing a moment, Derek just sat on Stiles' bed.

Downstairs John and Stiles were talking. Derek didn't mean to eavesdrop but without any distraction, he picked up on their voices easily. They were talking about him.

John had just asked how he was doing and Derek held his breath for Stiles' answer.

"He's getting there," Stiles said. "He had to deal with a lot lately, you interrogating him was not helping." They paused and Derek imagined that Stiles was glaring at their dad. "He's getting better but I'm a bit worried about being back here, though. It hasn't been that long."

Since the fire, Derek filled in the blanks. Since everything. Stiles was not wrong there.

"Why did she pick the Hales?" John asked out of the blue.

"What?" Stiles got caught off guard by the question. Same as Derek.

"Kate Argent," John clarified. "Why did she pick the Hales? What's her motive?"

"How should I know?" Stiles asked. Derek wasn't even on the same floor as them and he could tell that they were lying.

"Stiles," John said. "I don't know how you figured it out but I can tell that you've figured it out." There was another pause. "Tell me."

Derek was up and at the door in a heartbeat but then he just stood there, unsure what to do.

"I can't." Stiles let out a breath. "I want to, I do, but I can't."

"Stiles," John said gentle now, caring. "If somebody is pressuring you or Derek …"

"It's not like that." Stiles sounded frustrated.

Derek wanted to go downstairs but he might just make it worse. He didn't know what he would say if John asked him directly.

"Stiles, I want to help you," John said. "I want to help Derek but I can't do that if I don't know what's going on. If he's fallen into the wrong crowd you have to tell me."

"Wow," Stiles made and Derek could hear them flailing. "Derek is not a criminal. He's never done anything wrong in his life. That bitch is the only criminal he knows."

Derek felt his throat working with emotions. The way Stiles was defending him …

"Okay!" Stiles burst out. "It was a hate crime."

Now it was John who didn't know what to say. He was most likely trying to work out what kind of hate crime Stiles was talking about. He knew that Derek was bisexual but that didn't explain the hate against his whole family. They were no minority in any shape or form. At least not in the usual sense of that term.

"You have to give me a little more than that," John said after a long moment. "If Kate is part of a hate group, that's something I have to look into."

There was no going back from here, Derek realized. He heard Stiles struggling for something to say but aside from the truth, there was nothing to say.

Derek had the sudden urge to just escape through Stiles' window but instead, he left the room through the door and walked downstairs.

"Hey, Derek." Stiles jumped at the chance to change the topic. "How's Laura doing?"

Derek felt John's eyes on him when he walked over to sit down next to Stiles on the couch. John was still trying to figure him out and Derek just knew that if not now John would ask him directly rather sooner than later.

"I'm a werewolf." Derek looked him straight in the eye. "My family was a pack of werewolves. That's why Kate came after us. She's a hunter. She murdered my whole family because we're not human."

"This is nothing to joke a…," John started but stopped abruptly when Derek flashed his eyes at him. A second later Derek let his face shift.

"What the ...?" John recoiled but at the same time he reached for Stiles. To get them away from Derek, he guessed.

"Dad, it's okay," Stiles reassured him and put a comforting hand on Derek's shoulder at the same time.

Derek let his face melt back into his human form.

"I won't hurt you." Derek avoided John's eyes and shrank into himself. "And I would never hurt Stiles. But if you want me to leave, I'll go."

"You're not going anywhere." Stiles cut in. "Dad is not going to kick you out."

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Stiles glaring at their dad while they used their body to shield Derek from him. Derek could kiss them for that if he weren't so scared.