Note: I'll remove this note after a few days, but I just wanted to say that I've spent the last month or two revising and rewriting the earlier chapters of this story. I wanted to finish it, but also wanted to clean it up a little. I'm sure there are still some errors, but I feel overall better about it than I had when I abandoned it years ago. I'm committed to finishing it this time, and hoping to have updates at least weekly if not sooner. So if you are just picking this up because you got a notification that I added a new chapter, consider going back and taking a look from the beginning. Nothing really major has changed, except some of the character names (Lydia's mother's name hadn't been revealed when I first wrote this story, so I was using something different, same with Stiles's mom, and Scott's dad. Anyway I went back and made those fixes and made some other changes. Hope you enjoy.

Stiles knew that Derek hadn't gotten enough sleep, but other people were starting to move around. His mother came to check in on him, but when she saw how he was holding Derek's arm over his shoulder she just smiled and quietly withdrew. Stiles hadn't slept, that wasn't really anything special. He'd gone a lot of nights without sleeping. He just wanted to make sure that no one bothered Derek.

The next person that came was the boy that was his age, Scott. He had a drink carrier in one hand, and a bag of food in the other. When he came around the corner, he stopped short, seeing Stiles sitting on the floor next to Derek's cot.

"I'm going to talk really quiet, so as not to disturb your boyfriend, okay, dude?" It took Stiles a moment to realize that Scott was addressing him and doing it so quietly that no one else would be able to hear. "I think it's awesome that there's a werewolf on our side. Makes it seem like one day there might be an end to all this. If a werewolf and a hunter can fall in love, like anything is possible right?"

Fall in love? Stiles looked down at Derek's hand, at the skin that had been damaged to cure Stiles of the poison bullet Laura had used. Was he in love? Could you fall in love with someone you just met? Derek shifted in his sleep, and Stiles couldn't help but smile as Derek's breath tickled the back of his neck.

"I have some food, and coffee too," Scott whispered. "You can hear me, right? Nod if you want me to bring it over, blink twice if you want me to set it down here where I'm at, or like… I don't know flip me the bird if you want me to leave you alone."

Stiles smiled, then nodded. He didn't want to let Derek go, but he would never turn down food. Plus, Scott seemed determined to be as quiet and as unobtrusive as possible, which was a sort of kindness that Stiles had forgotten existed.

A huge grin spread over Scott's face, like they'd just shared some big secret. He took exaggerated steps but still managed to be almost completely silent. He knelt next to Stiles, setting down the drink carrier and the bag. Even with the distraction of the hamburgers and french fries Stiles noticed that Scott smelled nice, like he'd been around so many animals that they'd just seeped into his skin.

Scott held up a hand, fingers outstretched and a huge grin on his face. It reminded Stiles of a friend he'd had a lifetime ago, before everything was pain and blood. It was strange because the two of them couldn't have been any more different. Jackson was pale, with blond hair, and ice blue eyes. In his memories Jackson smelled like cool winter mornings, crisp and energizing. Scott's skin was dark, with hair and eyes that were the same color as Stiles's, but they felt warmer. Stiles raised his hand that wasn't holding Derek's and splayed his fingers out too, just the way Scott had his.

Without making any sound, and so slow like he didn't want to spook Stiles, Scott brought their hands together. Derek let out a soft sound, like the beginnings of a snore and Scott's eyes got huge, like someone had caught him stealing food. Stiles grinned, because he could tell from Derek's slow heart beat and steady breaths that he was still sound asleep.

"Okay," Scott said, voice still quieter than a mouse. "I'm going to leave you two dudes to it. Sorry again about the noisemaker. I hope you can forgive me and we can be buddies one day, okay?"

Stiles nodded. "T-thanks," he said, loud enough for Scott to hear, but quiet enough that he hoped it wouldn't disturb Derek. He heard an immediate bump, skip, bump in Derek's heart, but it smoothed out quickly.

Scott pivoted while maintaining his kneeling position, then used the same exaggerated but quiet movements to retreat the way he'd come. He almost lost his balance at one point and Stiles couldn't help but laugh a bit. He heard the same bump, skip, bump in Derek's heartbeat. Stiles didn't want to turn his head to check and make sure he was alright, because Derek's breath on the back of his hair and neck made him feel warm, warmer than he'd been in years.

"It's going to be hard to eat if I only have one hand," Derek said.

Stiles's heart bump, skip, bumped at Derek's voice. He let go of Derek's arm, started to slide away from him but Derek curled his fingers into Stiles's shirt, holding him in place. Stiles didn't know what to do so he just froze. He couldn't hear Derek's heart because his own blood was thundering in his ears, and the air seemed so much harder to breath than it had been just a few moments before.

"I like the sound of your laugh," Derek said. "I hope you find more reasons to do that."

Derek's breath didn't feel warm on Stiles's neck anymore, it felt hot, sent tingles running down his spine. Stiles leaned to the side, turned his head, and Derek moved his at the same time. Their mouths were so close together, Stiles couldn't help but breathe in the air Derek breathed out.

"Y-your…" It was still hard to talk, but he needed to tell Derek.

"My what?" Derek asked.

"B-breath… smells bad," Stiles said.

Derek turned his face away, buried it in the cot. "Really?"

Stiles could make out what Derek said even though he'd mumbled it. He nodded then realized Derek couldn't see him. "Very," he said, because it was something Derek should know. It wasn't the worst thing Stiles had ever smelled, but after being focused on the food, and then Scott, it was sort of jarring. He regretted saying it though, because Derek pulled away and twisted on the cot to sit up.

"That's brutal," Derek said. "But you know you have bad morning, or I guess afternoon breath when the guy who doesn't really talk tells you the hard truth. Can I at least eat before I go brush my teeth in shame?"

Stiles didn't think he could ever tell someone that they couldn't eat, so he stayed quiet. He picked up the bag and offered it to Derek. The hunter didn't take it, he just stared at Stiles. Since Derek didn't seem to want the food yet, he set it back down.

"You can sit up here with me," Derek patted the spot next to him on the cot. "You don't have to sit on the floor."

Stiles had difficultly looking up into Derek's green eyes, but he did it anyway, locking gazes with him. The hunter had an intense gaze, never backing down from anyone or anything. It was a confidence that Stiles hadn't ever felt, even before he'd been taken by the Argents.

Derek's heart bump, skip, skip, bumped, and it made Stiles worry, like maybe there was something wrong with him. He got his feet up under himself, leaned forward and put his ear to Derek's chest. He thought maybe he was hearing something wrong. The rhythm of Derek's heart turned into a rapid pounding beat.

"A-are you okay?" Stiles asked.

"Ye—" Derek coughed, cleared his throat. "Yeah. I'm good."

Stile's heard the lie, even with the irregular rapid beat. It made him even more uneasy, like there was something wrong with Derek and he was trying to hide it so that Stiles wouldn't worry. He pulled his head away from Derek's chest and climbed to his feet. Stiles needed to figure out what was wrong, his own heartbeat went wild, and he knew that golden light was burning in his eyes.

Derek looked up at him, and it was so strange because Stiles was always the one looking up at Derek. The hunter wasn't afraid, at least Stiles didn't think so. But he didn't know why Derek was just staring at him, mouth hanging open a little bit.

"What's wrong?" Stiles asked, and his voice didn't sound hesitant to his own ears. "Your heart is beating really fast."

Derek blinked at him, opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then closed it again. Stiles reached out, running his thumb over the base of Derek's neck. His skin looked flushed, red creeping up towards his face.

"Are you sick?"

"N-no," Derek said, then coughed to clear his throat. "I'm not sick."

There was no lie in Derek's rapidly beating heart. He didn't understand why Derek wouldn't tell him what was wrong. Maybe he just needed to eat. Stiles turned away from Derek, knelt to pick up the bag, then thrust it at Derek's chest.

"Eat," he said. It wasn't a suggestion. He used the same tone of voice his mother used when she was serious.

Derek let out a sigh of relief, even though Stiles could still hear his heart hammering in his chest. Derek grabbed a burger out of the bag. Without looking back at Stiles, he quickly unwrapped it and started eating it like it was the first meal he'd had in days. Stiles nodded his head, fully intending to make sure Derek ate enough before he took anything out of the bag for himself.