"Your sister is attempting to reach you on your cellular device." I groan, pulling my pillow over my head as the ringtone continues. I only just started dozing off. "Your sister is attemp-"

"Okay, okay," I mutter, reaching out and grabbing my phone from the nightstand, squinting as I slide it to answer. "Yeah?"

"Aracely Maria Delgado." Ay Dios, she used my full name. She's going to finish the job the Alpha tried to get Scott to start. "Why did Melissa just call me saying you and our little cousin were chased by a serial killer?"

I pull the phone away from my face and inhale deeply, hold it for a four count, and then slowly let it out. It's okay, Ares. She's half a country away. She can't actually kill you right now, unless she somehow learns brujerìa, and she's too smart of fuck with that… right?

Fuck.

"Tia es una mentirosa, okay?" I start.

"Oh, really?" And wow, my dear sibling actually sounds hopeful. I kinda feel bad for having to tear it down for her.

"Yes," I go on. "I never actually saw the serial killer chasing the kids."

"Aracely!" I wince and pull the phone away from my ear. "Are you fucking serious right now?!"

"Alicia, I'm fine," I reassure her. "I mean, I didn't even know there was a serial killer there until the cops showed up. I was just looking to pick up Scott."

"That doesn't make it any better, pendeja! You could have been killed!"

Huh. I wonder if this is how the boys feel when I get onto them for doing stupid shit. I must get it from her. I roll onto my back and drop an arm over my eyes. "Well, I know that now." I pause, frowning as I think back to her opening line. Melissa had called Alicia. Oh god, what if she had called Aaron? What if she called Dad. "Does Aaron know?" I ask quickly, sitting up. The movement is too fast, and my head spins, but not so much that I can't hear her reply.

"Yes, he knows," she answers, and I barely suppress a groan. "It took nearly twenty minutes to talk him down from going up there and finding that fucker himself."

"Fuh-huh-huck," I groan, dropping back down heavily and covering my eyes again.

"He had his gun packed and everything," Alicia goes on, sounding almost smug. "He's gonna call you later, by the way."

"Fantastic." I lift my arm off my eyes. "Um, does… does Dad know?" I ask hesitantly. Alicia makes this noise in the back of her throat. It sounds an awful lot like Derek's growls, and I'd be impressed if it was anyone but my sister.

"I haven't talked to him," she says sharply. "He's probably not even home. Do you want me to tell h-"

"Jesus, no!" I lift my arm off my eyes. "Can you imagine? He'd tell Elisa and she would eat that shit up." I shake my head. "No, don't tell him about it, okay?"

She sighs. "Sure, mija. You're still in trouble when we come see you, but if you're really okay-"

"I'm the okayest. No one's more okay than me right now."

"Alright. Alright, fine, go back to sleep, I know it's early over there."

I turn my head and squint at the clock on my nightstand. Five twenty AM. "Ugh, no, I should be getting up now anyway. Can't let something so stupid as a serial killer keep me from my morning run."

"You still do that?"

"Yup," I say, hauling myself up. "I didn't come up here to get fat." She makes a noise, so I go on to assure her, "I like to eat and need something to balance out all the food."

"Ten cuidado," Alicia orders, and I roll my eyes as she goes on. "If I get another call from Melissa, I'm not going to talk Aaron down, and we will come get you."

"Yeah, yeah. Go to work."

"Love you, hermanita."

"Love you too, Seester."

I end the call and drop my phone by my side. It's still super dark out, and I don't feel like dealing with blinding myself, so I reach over and flick my scentsy on. I sit for a moment, not wanting to move after the effects of my sleepless night hit again full force. Nothing like the fact that a monster werewolf just tried to get your little cousin to kill you to keep you up staring at the ceiling for the entire night.

"Fuck." I rub my face and stand, dragging my cobija after me as I shuffle out of my room and down the stairs. Have to start the Turtle so I won't freeze to death. Which is bullshit, because I almost never had to start my car this early back in Texas.

I pause in front of the door, gathering my blanket tightly around myself and grabbing my keys from the hook I made Scott put them on last night. I unlock the door and flick on the porch light. Taking a breath to mentally prepare myself for the cold, I throw open the door and step out.

And promptly collide with a very solid body.

"Què."

I blink and step back to get a look at what exactly got in my way. And then blink again, because the body in front of me looks a lot like one Derek Hale to my poor sleep deprived brain.

"Ares?" he asks carefully, like he's not sure if I'm all there, and honestly, he isn't too off the mark. I blink up at him again, just to make sure he isn't actually be a figment of my tired imagination, then look past him at the Camaro parked behind my Turtle but leaving room for Melissa's car when she gets home. Alright then, he's real.

"Qué estás haciendo aquí?" I demand. "You're in the way."

His eyebrows shoot up and he glances back at the cars. "Ares, I texted you fifteen minutes ago. You're not running today."

I crinkle my nose at him. "Tch, mentiroso," I accuse, pulling my blanket tighter around me as the cold comes into the house. "You didn't text."

He sighs and takes my shoulders, turns me around, and gives me a gentle push back inside. "I said we weren't running today because of last night. You told me to, and I quote, 'Fuck off, Derek Hale, I do what I want.' Except with typos."

I frown and try to think back to this supposed conversation. Any and all recollections stop just before Alicia called me. "I have no memory of this."

"Literally fifteen minutes ago. I even told you I was coming to stop you." He drops his hands and I turn back to see him dig his phone out of his pocket. I scratch at my nose, swaying as he holds up the screen for me to see. I squint at it, and holy shit, he's right.

Just so we're clear we're not running today
(D)

im runin i cant get fay
(A)
Ares no
The Alpha is still out there
(D)
teh aplha can eat a dick im runnin
(A)
Jesus christ Ares I'm coming over don't leave
(D)
Fucj yiu dere Hale o do hwat i want
(A)

Wow, I am absolute shit at texting when I'm dead. I narrow my eyes at the timestamp and yup, it was only about ten minutes before Alicia had called. Derek pulls the phone away before I can see what he has as my contact name, but I swear I saw a burger emoji in there, the asshole.

"You can barely stand, you sure as shit can't drive, and I don't see you making a single lap," he says. "You'll just hurt yourself."

I make a face at him. "Derek Hale, do you care?"

"Would I be here if I didn't?" he demands. I blink up at him in surprise, and his mouth snaps shut when he realizes what he just said. He huffs in annoyance and glares to the side. "Just stay here, okay?" he mutters, stepping back toward the door. Before he makes it, I reach out and grab his arm, dropping half of my blanket in the process.

"You're dumb," I tell him, and he shoots me a look. "Quedate, lobo tontito," I go on, and his expression softens.

"Ares…"

"You're right, the Alpha is still out there. Stay. Safety in numbers, right?" I tug his arm. "Come on, you came out here to take care of me, and you're probably just as dead as me right now."

He sure as hell looks it. He has dark circles under his eyes, more prominent than usual, his hair looks like all he did was run his hands through it to make it look somewhat tame, and I know the look of slept in clothes anywhere. Dude had just as shitty a night as I did.

He looks towards the door, considering his options. "We can crash on the couch and watch shitty early morning infomercials 'til it's time for me to go to work," I compromise.

He frowns. "You're going to work?"

"Still like my paycheck, so yes?"

He shakes his head in disapproval. "You're impossible."

"And you're staying," I counter.

He sighs and I know I've won. It's a good feeling. Nice and warm. "What about Scott?"

"Since when do you ever take Scott into consideration?" I demand, and he arches a brow before giving a small nod.

"Right."

He reaches back and shuts the door, locking it after him to keep out stray alphas and Stiles-es, and gestures for me to lead the way. Gathering my blanket around me so I don't step on it and fall flat on my face, I turn and make my way to the living room, not bothering to turn the light on when I get there. My poor eyes can only take so much abuse. This proves to be a mistake, as the living room turns out to be a landmine of shoes, courtesy of one Scott McCall.

But we make it back to the couch easily enough - I only tripped once, and Derek caught me before I could actually do any damage to myself or Melissa's coffee table. I pull the blanket off long enough to drop down gracelessly. I drape it across my lap and pat the seat next to me, looking up at Derek.

"Siéntate," I order with as much authority as I can muster in my current condition. Either it's more than I realize I was capable of, or Derek felt sorry for me, because he plopped down with no arguments. I hold out the blanket for him, and he stares at it for a second before glancing down at me.

"Derek Hale."

"Ares Delgado."

I blink in surprise. Can't say I ever expected him to turn that on me. I shake my head. "Take the blanket."

Rather than start an argument, he takes the blanket and drops it in his lap. I nod in approval and slouch down into the couch, propping my feet up on the coffee table and leaning my head on Derek's shoulder.

"Why were you up so early?" I ask, breaking the silence that had fallen between us. He doesn't answer immediately, and I think he isn't going to at all. Not that I blame him.

"I couldn't sleep," he admits. "Last night…" he pauses before letting out an annoyed huff. "Last night sucked."

"Yes. Yes, it did." He glances down at me and I crinkle my nose at him. "But hey, it coulda been worse."

"Oh?"

"I didn't have to taze you?"

He snorts. "Ah, the highlight of the night." The noise that comes out of my mouth sounds suspiciously like a giggle. Derek lets out a surprised laugh and pulls back to look down at me. "What was that?"

I shake my head and bury my face into his side. "Perdon. I am very tired," I tell him, my voice slightly muffled. I pick my head up and he situates himself back into his previous position.

"I can tell."

"Hey, you're tired too," I remind him, flicking his arm.

"Yeah, but I'm not code switching like you are."

"But you seem to understand it well enough." I let what I say sink in for a moment. Huh. Derek knows Spanish. What a surprise. "Dude, kudos to you for being bilingual. Proud of you, buddy. Gonna get bank wherever you end up working."

He shakes his head. "I think you need to go back to bed, Ares," he says, and I make a face as he continues. "You're weird when you're tired."

I wave a hand dismissively. "Get used to it, Hale. Most of my life is spent tired."

"And suddenly everything makes so much sense," he drawls.

"Asshole," I say through a yawn. "See if I feed you later."

"I think I'll live."

"Most optimistic thing you've said since I've known you." I grab the blanket and pull it up to my shoulders, yawning as I rest my head on Derek's arm. We sit quietly for a moment.

"I thought we were going to watch shitty infomercials," Derek says, his voice close and quiet.

"Lost the remote."

"Ah."

We fall back into silence, and it's comfortable. A welcome feeling after last night. It's soft, and warm. Safe.

"ARES! YOUR BROTHER IS CALLING!"

It's amazing how these few panicked words can so easily rip me out of full REM sleep.

"Holy shhhiiiit!" I gasp, lurching forward and tearing the blanket off of me, smacking something hard enough to sting my hand in the process.

"What the fuck!" is the responding growl, and I twist to face the sound. My vision blurs, and my head spins from the sudden movement, and for a moment I'm too disoriented to recognize where the hell I am. But it passes quickly enough, and there's Derek Hale sitting on Melissa's couch next to me, leaning forward and holding his nose in his hands, blanket thrown across his lap.

"ARES!"

Scott's shrill cry and heavy footsteps pull my attention from the ailing werewolf next to me. There are currently more pressing matter at hand than figuring out why I was just sleeping next to Derek on the couch.

Sure enough, I can hear the ringtone designated for my brother nearing, growing louder and louder, like the tolling of funeral bells. Which is what everyone around me will all be subjected to if I do not answer that call.

"Your brother is attempting to reach you on your cellular device. Your-"

"You already missed a call!" Scott exclaims, as he rushes down the stairs, stumbling but catching himself at the bottom.

"Hijo de su chi-FUCK!" I jump up and slam my shin into the coffee table. "Fuckfuckfuckshit!" I hiss, hobbling over to Scott where he stands frozen at the bottom of the stairs.

"Why is Derek here?" he demands.

"Der - ah, no se, I'll remember later," I say through gritted teeth, trying not to focus on the fact I'm gonna have a huge, gross bruise on my leg now. Scott narrows his eyes at me, pulling my phone back when I reach for it. I bare my teeth at him, and his steps back in alarm. "Gimme my damn phone, Scott!" His eyes go wide and he extends his arm out toward me, and I snatch my phone out of his hand.

"-is attempting to reach you on-"

"Aaron!" I exclaim happily, whirling away from Scott and planting a bright smile - fake and pained though it is - on my face. Derek looks up at the sudden change in my tone, eyes wide in surprise. He's still holding his nose, but I can't see any blood between his fingers, and I kinda have more important things to deal with before figuring out what the deal is with his presence. "What's up, broski, everything cool?" I ask, limping across the room as quickly as I can.

"You have exactly ten seconds to convince me to not go get your ass and bring you home."

Hoo-fuh-huh-huck me. Gently. With a chainsaw. I rush out of the living room as quickly as I can without falling over a shoe or hurting myself anymore that I already have.

"Okay, I know what tia told you and Alicia, but I'm fine. I'm completely okay," I assure him as I walk down the hall to the kitchen and hope it gives me enough privacy considering the pair of werewolves in the next room. Not that they haven't already heard enough.

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" Aaron demands, and I duck my head.

"I was sleeping. It's what people do-"

"Ares."

"I was!" I huff. "Look, are you gonna yell at me, 'cause if you are, I'd appreciate it if you would just get it over with."

There's silence on the other side, and for a second I worry that he's just preparing his lecture. Which, based on experience, will be worse than anything Sheriff Stilinski has thrown at me.

Finally: "We sent you to Melissa to get you out of trouble, not for you to get into it," he says, and it hurts more than it should.

"And here I thought it was to get me out of my horrible depression and downward spiral of destruction after a rage induced joyride," I counter dryly, then wince, remembering the werewolves in the living room. While Scott has some idea of what lead to my coming to live here, he doesn't know the whole story. And Derek doesn't know anything, and I'd like him to not know too much about my crazy just yet.

"That too," Aaron answers without missing a beat. I throw my head back and wait for him to continue. "What the hell were you even doing going to that school alone, tonta?"

I crinkle my nose at the insult. "I wasn't alone," I snap, and immediately regret it.

"Who the hell was with you then?" Aaron demands. "So I can kick their ass for letting you go."

"Ay, it doesn't matter," I say quickly, because poor Derek doesn't need any more attempts on his life. And knowing my brother, he'd finish the job Kate Argent didn't.

"Don't make me ask Sonya," he threatens. "It'll end badly for everyone involved and you know it."

"I haven't talked to Sonya today."

"You will."

I let out a frustrated groan. "Ya, dèjame en paz! Haven't I been through enough?"

Aaron goes quiet for a second. "Okay. Okay, I'm done."

"Thank you." I sigh "I'm fine, bro, seriously."

"Si dices, hermanita. But if you pull this shit again, I'm going and kicking your ass and dragging you back home, got it?"

I roll my eyes. "Can't kick my ass if I'm dead," I sing.

"Què-"

"'Kay, love you, bye!" I say quickly, and hang up before he can get mad. When he doesn't immediately call back, I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. Crisis averted, way to go Ares. Glancing back down at my phone, I note the voice mail from Deaton flashing in the top corner. It's only 7:50, and I don't have a shift for another thirty minutes or so, but I'd bet money the message is something along the lines of him letting me know that work was not happening for me today. What is it with Melissa telling everyone we almost died?

And speaking of said tia, she should be home by now. Did she sleep through Scott's freakout? I wish I had that skill.

Whatever, I have to deal with the two werewolves that are suspiciously quiet in the living room. It's worrisome, is what it is. I make my way back down the hall, ignoring the throbbing pain in my leg, because apparently I can't get a break.

Scott's still standing by stairs when I get back to the living room, glaring at Derek, who stands next to the couch, my comforter folded in his arms. Which. Aw. He's the best.

"Holy shit, that went way better than I thought it would," I exclaim, making my presence known. Scott looks up at me, expression quickly warping from annoyance to hope.

"He isn't coming to steal you back to Texas?" he asks hopefully, and Derek looks between the two of us, expression concerned when he realizes Scott's question is serious.

"Not this time," I say brightly, limping to Derek and holding my hands out for the blanket. "Lucky for you. Y'all'd be hella fucked without me."

"You can say that again," Scott mutters as he deflates. "So what's Derek doing here?"

I take the blanket from Derek, juggling it for a second before finally having a proper hold of it. "He came to stop me from going running because occasionally he's smarter than me," I say, crinkling my nose at him. A smile threatens to break free from him, but he quickly schools his expression as Scott goes on.

"Okay, but why is he here now?"

"I needed a cuddle-buddy," I say without missing a beat, turning away from Derek, who makes a funny sort of noise in the back of his throat, kinda like he's choking, to head up the stairs. Scott, who's face is twisted in disgust, throws his arms up to cover his head like the melodramatic nerd he is.

"Ares! No, don't say that!" he exclaims.

"Ay, soflamero," I chide, walking past him up the stairs. "Derek, don't let Scott chase you away, I'm feeding you."

"You don't ha-"

"Yeah, Ares, don't-"

"Que te quedas!" I say over my shoulder. "If you're gone when I come back down, I'm changing my running time and not telling either of you when it is to stop me!"

There's a moment of silence, and for a second I worry my threat might not have worked. But lo and behold, a defeated chorus of "Fine" follows me up the stairs, and I nod in victory. You gotta know when to count the little things.

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all.

Translations

1. Tia es una mentirosa - tia is a liar
2. Ten cuidado - Be careful
3. hermanita - little sister
4. cobija - blanket
5. Qué estás haciendo aquí? - What are you doing here?
6. mentiroso - liar
7. Quedate, lobo tontito - stay silly wolf
8. Siéntate - sit down
9. Perdon - I'm sorry
10. dèjame en paz - leave me in peace
11. soflamero - melodramatic
12. Que te quedas - that you stay