A/N I definitely won't be able to post next Sunday so I decided to post a chapter today after all.
Stiles got that everything was a bit much for Derek lately so when he said that he needed to be alone for a while, they understood. They figured that he just needed some time and space and that he would be back around noon.
He wasn't.
That was when Stiles sent him the first message, just asking if he was okay. Derek didn't even read it.
By now Stiles was pacing up and down the living room, debating with themself if they should go out to look for him or not. They didn't want to come across as controlling and overbearing. If Derek needed some time, they would give him all the time in the world but was it too much to ask for a sign of life?
Two hours, one unanswered call, and three unread messages later Stiles was driving around town in search for Derek. By now they were convinced that something had happened to him.
"If I don't find you in the next five minutes, I am going to call Dad," Stiles threatened. They were driving by the graveyard again. Maybe Derek wanted to visit his family but no such luck. "C'mon, you're on foot, how far can you have gone?"
Stiles called their dad after four minutes.
It had been a quiet day for the Sheriff's department, aside from a teenage shoplifter nothing had come in. No accidents, no incidents of violence. Stiles hated their dad a little bit for thinking that Derek might have gotten into a fight or had even injured somebody but they got that it was part of his work.
John assured them that Derek would most likely be home soon but he promised to keep an eye out for him.
"If it's something I did …"
"It's not your fault," Stiles assured him. "Coming home brought up some stuff and with everything else …" They made a helpless gesture which their dad couldn't even see over the phone.
At some point, Stiles was convinced that Derek had made a run for it. It made sense. Derek had told them that he and Laura had almost fled to South America when Stiles had found out about werewolves. Maybe he was on his way there now.
Stiles sent him another message, begging him to not leave them like this. They were most likely overreacting but they couldn't help it. In their mind they were already convinced that Derek was gone.
"Pick up your damn phone." Stiles listened again to the ringing but Derek did not answer. Frustrated Stiles hit the steering wheel. They had driven around town for hours now and still no sign of Derek. He might be halfway to Mexico by now.
When the phone in their hand started ringing, they almost dropped it.
Derek was okay. He wanted them to come and get him.
Stiles wanted to kick themself in the butt. Of course, Derek was at the Hale house. Where else would he be? But the house was so far out of town and Derek had been on foot, it hadn't even occurred to them.
"Yeah, but halfway to Mexico sounded reasonable," Stiles muttered and took the turn that would bring them out to the preserve.
When they arrived at the house, there was no sign of Derek.
"Great." Stiles cursed and got out of the car to have a look around.
They found Derek around the corner of the house. For some reason, he was sitting naked on the ground with his clothes piled next to him.
Stiles didn't get much out of him but when they got him dressed and into the car, they called it a win.
By the time they arrived at home, Derek was more or less back to his old self. If anything he seemed embarrassed over the trouble he'd caused.
Both, Stiles and John, were quick to assure him that it was nothing to worry about.
Stiles made good on their promise of greasy food and cheap ice cream and by then John and Derek seemed to be good. They were talking, about Stiles and their shenanigans, what else, but it was good-natured and Derek even laughed here and there.
Naturally, the conversation turned to werewolves after a while. Nothing too personal but John was curious. Stiles could tell that it brought up memories for Derek but he seemed content. After dinner, he even offered to take this to John's office.
"Only if you're fine with this." John gave him an out but Derek was determined.
"You need to know a few things. About Kate." With that, Derek stood and led the way upstairs.
Stiles would have loved to join them but this was a thing between their dad and Derek. So they stayed back, put the melting ice cream in the freezer, and took care of the dishes.
They were tempted to sneak up to the door to eavesdrop but they knew that Derek would notice them.
They stayed in there for over two hours. By then Stiles was back to pacing up and down the living room. They were doing that a lot today.
When they finally came out of the office, Derek went straight for the bedroom. Stiles caught a short glimpse of him, he looked beyond exhausted but not as distraught as after the last interrogation.
"Everything okay?" Stiles asked their dad.
"Yeah." John made. He looked equally exhausted. And as if he needed a drink. "But I don't think he wants to be alone right now."
When Stiles entered the bedroom, they found Derek lying on the bed in his wolf form.
"What a day." They sat down next to him. "This is supposed to be a vacation."
Derek let out a huff.
"The rest of the week is going to be just us." Stiles let themself fall back and pillowed their head on Derek's flank. "We need a break."
Derek made a confirming noise and licked their fingertips.
The next morning Derek stayed in his fur.
Less drama that way, Stiles guessed and didn't urge him to change form. Stiles made scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast and after some consideration, they put Derek's plate on the floor. Derek gave them a look but it was the most comfortable way for him to eat, he couldn't deny that.
"I'm not sure if your wolf stomach can handle coffee," Stiles said to which Derek shook his head. "Okay, no coffee for you, then. Milk?"
Milk was fine so Stiles got out a bowl. Derek wolfed down his breakfast in record time and then he just lay there with his head on his paws, waiting for Stiles to finish their breakfast.
Stiles cleaned up after them and then they moved over to the couch. Stiles reclaimed their laptop just to make sure that their dad hadn't messed with their stuff and while they were on it, they wanted to see if that cute gamer thing had died down by now. Simultaneously they were on their phone, catching up on what was going on in their group chat. So far nothing new about Erica which counted as good news.
Derek had jumped on the couch with them and now he was dozing with his head in Stiles' lap. Whenever they could spare a hand, they scratched him behind the ear.
They didn't have time to keep up with the news coverage of the convention before so that was what they checked out next. Stiles had hoped that the cute gamer thing had died down by now but the hashtag was still going strong. Maybe next week.
Since Derek had a few days off, Finstock was in charge of their Twitter account. It was different. Coach had his own way of dealing with things but Stiles liked the way he was handling the whole cute gamer thing. According to Coach Derek was inventory and could not be rented. And no, he didn't have a name, phone number, or address.
They had dinner with Melissa that evening but otherwise, they stayed home most of the time. After doing overtime for weeks and the convention they both were in dire need of some downtime.
Derek stayed in his fur for hours. He slept as a wolf and since it was just them in the morning he stayed a wolf until either John came home or he wanted to leave the house for some reason.
Stiles didn't mind. Derek wasn't much of a talker in his human form either and after two days Stiles was pretty good at reading his body language. They had long conversations with him and they only noticed later that they had been talking to the wolf the whole time.
At first, Derek was wary around John and vice versa but they were getting more comfortable around each other with every day and on Saturday Derek merely flicked an ear when John came home from his shift.
John had seen wolf Derek a few times in the morning but he still paused when he spotted the giant wolf on the couch. Stiles was lying stretched out with Derek as their pillow. It was comfy and Stiles was glad that Derek had not thrown them off just to get into his human skin, and some pants, before John came in.
"I don't even want to know." John passed them and went upstairs to get out of his uniform. They were still in the same position when he came back downstairs but Stiles did sit up properly to ask him about his day.
"Is he going to stay like this?" John had more eyes for the wolf on his couch. "We have a reservation for three people at eight and I doubt they allow dogs let alone wolves."
Derek cracked open an eye before he yawned, showing off his impressive teeth.
"My point exactly," John said, not in the slightest impressed.
Derek licked his chops and got a mischievous look on his face. It was all the warning they got before a very human Derek was sitting on the couch.
Without missing a beat Stiles threw him a cushion to cover himself up. His clothes were all upstairs if they recalled correctly.
"And I'm pretty sure pants are required," John added before he hurried over to the kitchen to do whatever.
"You can be a bit of a bastard if you want to be." Stiles grinned at Derek. "I like it."
They leaned in for a kiss.
"But maybe you should get dressed now."
Derek did get dressed and the three of them had a nice dinner. It was their last evening in Beacon Hills, they would have to leave in the morning to catch their flight back to New York and Stiles didn't know when they would be able to visit again so they wanted to spend as much time with their dad as possible.
They went to bed late that evening but for once Stiles fell asleep with a very human Derek spooning them from behind.
When it was time to say goodbye the next morning, Stiles and their dad hugged and for a long moment, Stiles didn't want to let go ever again.
"Watch out for them," John told Derek. "They tend to get into trouble."
"Will do," Derek answered sincerely.
John caught him in a manly one-armed hug and told him that his door would always be open for him. Derek didn't know what to do with that, that much was obvious. He always expected the worst, to get rejected or even killed simply for what he was, he didn't know how to deal with acceptance.
Stiles saved him by reminding him of the time, they needed to get going if they didn't want to miss their flight.
By the time they landed in New York Stiles was dead on their feet. It had been a long day, they were tired and exhausted and they had work tomorrow.
They would have liked to spend the night with Derek but he wanted to see Laura and Stiles didn't want to be in the way for the family reunion. Or better pack reunion because they had the suspicion that Derek needed to reconnect more with his alpha than with his sister.
They would see each other at work in a few hours anyway. So they kissed goodnight and then Stiles was alone in their empty apartment.
"Home sweet home." Stiles dropped their stuff near the door and then they fell face-first onto the couch.