Stiles was here for their late dinner. John had picked up burgers and fries on his way home and to his surprise he found Stiles sitting on the curb in front of his house, waiting for him.

First thing John did after he let him in was to give him a key. He'd wanted to do that for a while now but had never gotten around to it.

"You sure about this?" Stiles hesitated to take the offered key.

"I want you to have it." John placed the key on the table in front of Stiles and to make it not too awkward, he put a burger next to it. "Besides, with Derek you come and go as you please anyway."

"If you put it that way …" Stiles took the key with a grin.

With that out of the way, they dug into the burgers. John had even thought about the coke to go with it and Stiles finished half a bottle in three big gulps before he poured the rest into his glass.

Only when Stiles was down to nibbling at the fries John wasn't eating, John remembered the envelope Mark had given him.

"What's this?" Stiles asked when John slid the envelope across the table.

"From Mark."

Stiles snatched his hand back as if he'd been burned.

"What's in it?" He eyed it warily but didn't reach for it again.

"It won't bite." John rolled his eyes at him. "I didn't open it but it feels like money."

"I don't want his money." Stiles spat out the words. "I don't need his money. Tell him where he can shove his money." He pushed the envelope hard enough to send it over the edge. John picked it up and put it in the middle of the table again.

"Mark says there's a letter too."

"I don't want to read how sorry he is." Stiles stuffed the last fries into his mouth while he glared at the envelope as if it had personally offended him.

"I only promised to give it to you." John shrugged. "You can use it to light that stove of yours if you want."

"I might do that." Stiles nodded grimly but he wasn't able to take his eyes off the innocent white rectangle on the table.

John didn't know if he would accept the money, Stiles had his pride, but he knew without a doubt that he would read the letter. Out of curiosity alone.

For now, he made a show of stuffing the offending envelope into the bag he had with him with a huff.

"How was your shift?" Stiles asked to change to topic and John didn't push it. Instead, he told him about those arguing neighbors.

"Still no clue what has started it." He shook his head.

"Most likely something trivial that happened ages ago," Stiles said wisely. "Since then every little thing sets them off."

"You're probably right," John agreed. Things like this started small and they only ended when one party moved or died, whatever happened first. Some neighbors helped along with the latter but so far John had been lucky and hadn't been called to a case where things had escalated that badly.

To lighten the mood Stiles told him about his day. He'd walked into town earlier and had spent quite some time in the library. He mentioned Denise and talked about the books he wanted to read.

"Oh, and I saw the Winchesters in town."

"Where?" John bit back a groan. After Dean had his talk with Derek he'd hoped that they would leave. He hadn't gotten the chance to talk to either of them but according to Stiles, Derek and Dean had parted on good terms. Which didn't mean anything.

"Ran into them when I left the library."

"Did they bother you?"

"Sam wanted to know if I'm alright." Stiles shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "He knew about what happened at the lake, Dean must have told him."

"Has Derek told them about Mark?" John asked. If the Winchesters knew that Mark was a werewolf …

"Of course not." Stiles snorted at the idea. "Derek's not stupid, he knows to keep the werewolf part out. But he must have mentioned that I got injured. Sam was worried and oh so caring, damn that guy has some serious puppy dog eyes going."

"That's all?" John didn't trust the Winchesters. He didn't put it past them to use an opportunity like this to gather more information.

"They were beating around the bush but they wanted to know about me and Derek." Stiles balled up the empty wrapper and aimed for the trash can. It hit the rim and fell to the floor. Stiles made a face but didn't get up to put the wrapper where it belonged. Not that John cared, he had too many empty bottles and used dishes clattered around the house to complain about a wrapper next to the trash can.

"What did you tell them?"

"That it's none of their business," Stiles answered. "Didn't stop them from probing and prodding even more. Wanted to know what my life's like, if I'm happy, stuff like that. Well, Sam wanted to know that, Dean outright asked if I want to get away from Derek."

"Do you?" John asked. That question had never really occurred to him. When Stiles had come out to him, he'd stated it as a fact that he belonged to Derek. Since then he'd gotten to know them both better and he could tell that they had found an arrangement that worked for them. They looked out for each other and Stiles considered Derek his best friend.

But now John wondered. Stiles was kind of stuck. He couldn't leave the lake for long, he didn't have an ID, he didn't age. Thinking about it, he was very limited in the things he could do. Maybe he wanted an independent life away from Derek.

"No." Stiles shook his head. "I'm happy with Derek."

"Could you leave him?"

"No." Now Stiles locked eyes with him. "There is no way. I don't want you to start looking for one. You won't find one and even if, I don't want one." He paused to make sure that John understood. "Even if the Hales gave Derek the pack member they still owe him, it wouldn't change anything about me. And that's okay."

"Okay." John nodded. "Did they accept that answer? The Winchesters, I mean?"

They had the knight in shining armor vibe but so far there hadn't been anything they had been able to do. There was no need for knights in shining armor in Beacon Hills but with the pack and Derek living here, John got that it was hard to believe.

So if they couldn't do something about Derek and couldn't pinpoint the werewolves, they might want to take it upon themselves to free Stiles.

"I think Dean wants to let it be, he mentioned something about a possible case in Ohio, but Sam wants to save somebody. Which apparently means me." He rolled his eyes at the idea.

"So not leaving and more poking around, great." John leaned back in his chair. They were done eating, now he was eyeing the cupboard where he kept his liquor.

"No way, mister." Stiles snapped his fingers in front of his face. "You're not getting drunk again tonight."

"Don't tell me what to do," John snapped at him but deflated a second later. "Sorry, it's been a long day."

"It's okay," Stiles assured him in a tone that told John that he wasn't the first alcoholic Stiles was dealing with. Given that he used to hang out at places like the Red Rodeo, it didn't come as a surprise. It didn't help the shame burning in John's face, though.

"I need you to drive me home later," Stiles said as if that was the reason he wanted John to stay sober. He tapped the bag sitting on the floor next to him with his foot. "I'd ruin my stuff if take the express-way with Derek. Besides, getting wet every time is no fun and Derek is not my personal taxi."

That was something John hadn't thought about either. He'd just assumed that this was the way it worked, that Derek came to get Stiles and not that Stiles went back to the lake on his own.

"You could use the jeep," John offered quietly before he had too much time to think about the idea. He had his cruiser from the sheriff's department, he didn't need another car. The jeep had been Claudia's until she'd been too weak to drive. John didn't want to sell it but just letting it sit around, collecting dust didn't seem right either.

"What makes you think that I can drive?" Stiles asked.

"Who doesn't know how to drive?"

"I don't." Stiles made a grumpy face. "So what?"

"You never learned to drive?"

"When I grew up horsepower meant actual horses," Stiles reminded him. "The first automobiles were a curiosity and then it was something only the rich had." He shrugged. "Kind of missed the point when cars really became a thing."

"With a car, you could get farther away from the lake," John said, warming up to the idea. "And you wouldn't have to walk into town." How much time did Stiles waste regularly just to get into town?

"Yeah," Stiles made. "But even if I could drive, a car costs money. It needs gas. I don't know if you've noticed but I'm not exactly swimming in money. And I can't just steal a car whenever I need one. Heard it's frowned upon to steal cars." He grinned at John.

Jokes aside, John guessed that it wasn't the stealing part that bothered Stiles, it was the fact that the stolen cars would regularly end up at the lake. It would draw attention to the lake. Nobody wanted that.

"I can teach you how to drive," John offered. "You could borrow the jeep from time to time."

He was already set to give it to Stiles entirely but he didn't tell him that. Stiles was not good with accepting gifts and the last thing he wanted was John's pity.

This way, however, a grin spread on Stiles' face.

"When?" Stiles asked and John just knew that he would bug him daily until they did this.

"My next day off?" John suggested. He didn't even know when that was. At the moment he was dragging himself from day to day, he hadn't even looked at his schedule for the rest of the week. He only knew that he had another day shift tomorrow.

"Deal."

Stiles must have been in town for quite a while because not half an hour later, Derek stood in the kitchen.

"John's going to drive us," Stiles yelled before Derek had even stepped away from the sink. The Nöck raised an eyebrow at John but seemed fine with the solution.

They took the jeep, it was easier to clean up after Derek had been in there. John really should invest in some plastic sheets.

Stiles took the backseat and Derek sat next to John. It was a strange feeling, having him in the passenger seat, but Derek was content with this way of transportation.

"Today I learned that Stiles can't drive," John said to Derek. "So I just have to ask, have you ever been in a car?" He'd meant it as a joke but thinking about it, Derek didn't have a reason to get in a car. He didn't need it to get wherever he wanted and since Stiles didn't drive, Derek hardly ever caught him in a car when he came to get him. At least not in a moving car. The Red Rodeo came to mind again.

"A few times," Derek answered his question. Of course, John wanted to know when and where which led to Stiles telling the story of that one time he took a Greyhound just because.

"Fell asleep not an hour into the ride. Only woke up when Derek sat down next to me at one of the stops." Stiles laughed at the memory. "Still no clue how he talked his way onto the bus without a ticket but before he had me awake enough to get out, we were on the road again. We were stuck there until the next stop."

"I still don't understand where you wanted to go." Derek glared at him but John could tell that he wasn't actually mad. "You didn't even go anywhere, you just fell asleep."

"It's still the farthest I ever got away from Beacon Hills." Stiles grinned at him. "Your face when you realized that you were stuck in that bus for hours was totally worth it."