AN: Okay so, I haven't written a thing all week and felt really bad about it... And then this happened. Really I mostly wrote this to get myself back in the groove, so to speak. Kinda just, flexing the old writing muscle. I've been feeling really out of shape in that regard. But this made me feel loads better so I will be getting back to Pocket!John real soon now, I'm so sorry I haven't updated that lately! Also I will apologize for the fact that this is not an Avengers thing, but I'm positive I will write a one-shot for that soon. I have an idea for it that I hope you will like so I'll get right on that.

In the mean time, please enjoy a little Pocket!Stiles :) (no slash)

(Scott) "Derek! Derek, where are you?!"

Things were not going well. Scott had his hands full dealing with this big-ass monster and had just gotten a text from Allison telling him there were three more on the other side of town and if he didn't get there quick she and her father were going to be overrun. On top of all that, Stiles was missing.

Scott had smelled Derek the second the other werwolf walked into the school. He was hoping the older man could help him dispatch the hulking beast quickly so he could aid the Argents. So he called, and Derek came running. Even with the two of them fighting together, though, they were having a hard time with it. And Scott had a horrible suspicion that this fight was just a distraction to keep him from separated from his friends.

"Allison's in trouble!" He shouted to Derek as soon as the fight let up a little.

Derek nodded, "Go, I'll handle this."

They dodged another volley of attacks.

"But the whole reason I came here in the middle of the night was because I got a message from Stiles." Scott was loath to leave. Especially since this had all obviously been a trap. Stiles could be in very real and immediate danger.

Landing a few good hits themselves, the creature retreated for a moment.

Derek seized this opportunity and pulled Scott behind some cover where they could talk longer without being interrupted. Before he could start, however, Scott spoke first, "I'm worried about him, he's been gone for almost a week. If we're right about a witch or a sorcerer being behind everything that's been happening, who knows what they could have done to him. I know he's here, though, I smelled him when I arrived, but it was faint..."

Derek stopped him there, "Go help Allison. I'll take care of things here, and then look for Stiles. Don't worry, I'll find him if it takes me all night. I promise."

Scott hesitated for a moment. But he trusted Derek. Finally, he nodded and took off running. Alone with his prey at last, Derek came out of hiding and faced it head on. It roared at him, black ooze dripping from various shallow wounds on its hulking, mutated form. The pain only made it angrier, and even more deadly.

Derek rolled his shoulders. Baring his fangs, he releasing his own animalistic growl. Not a shred of fear in his eyes, Derek charged.

(some time later)

The dead body of the creature disintegrated, leaving nothing behind but black dust. Derek was convinced this was the work of some kind of magic, for lack of a better word. He wasn't one to believe in all that mystical voodoo nonsense. But then again, he was a werwolf, so maybe it wasn't all that strange.

He shook those thoughts out of his head. It didn't really matter anyway where these things came from. Let the others worry about all that. Right now, he had a promise to keep.

Derek took a deep breath, letting the stale air that smelled of sweat and cleaning supplies fill his lungs. At first that was all he could pick up, there was nothing else here as far as he could tell. But then the faintest trace hit his nose. Even with his heightened senses it was barely detectable. It was there, though. And that was good enough for Derek.

Once he had picked it up, it was easy enough to follow. Though, Derek was concerned at just how weak it was. He was positive it was Stiles, but at times it was hard to tell. After a while, it finally led him to the boys locker room. The scent was strongest in there, although still quite weak. Derek was sure this was where Stiles was. However, it was quiet. Too quiet. Cautiously (for he was rather suspicious at this point), Derek stepped into the dark room.

"Stiles?"

No answer.

"C'mon Stiles," he moved silently through the room, searching. "This isn't funny. I know you're in here, I can smell you. So quit hiding. It's pointless."

Was it his imagination, or did he hear something? Like the scurrying of a rat.

Focusing on his ears, Derek called once more. "Stiles?"

There it was again, coming from under the lockers. Pinpointing the exact location, Derek moved swiftly. Dropping to his knees, he lowered his head and for a moment did not understand what he was looking at.

It was Stiles, shrunken down to an impossible size, hiding in the corner.

"What the-"

The tiny boy cringed at his voice. He pressed against the wall, hiding his face in his arms. Now that he was so close, Derek could smell the fear coming off of him in waves.

"Hey, Stiles, it's just me. Derek. You don't have to be scared." He tried his best to soften his voice, but Derek was not good at this sort of thing.

Stiles made a pitiful moaning sound. Curling into a tighter ball, he tried to make himself invisible.

Slowly, and as gently as he could possibly manage, Derek reached for the boy. The tips of his fingers brushed against his trembling form. No pain. That was good at least. Derek sighed, withdrawing his hand. He didn't want Stiles to be any more frightened than he already was.

"Listen, Stiles, I don't want to give you a mini heart-attack or anything. I can see that you're, uh... a little beyond reasoning right now, so... I'm just gonna wait here until you're ready to come out."

Damn, he was really not good at this. Stiles was his friend and he felt all kinds of horrible leaving him alone so scared and helpless. But he got up and sat on the bench anyway. Derek would be right there when Stiles needed him. The only thing he could give him at the moment was space. If he did anything more, Derek was afraid the poor kid might panic and hurt himself, or Derek might even harm him accidentally.

So he waited. And listened. Derek could here his tiny heart beating irregularly fast. He listened as it gradually slowed and Stiles seemed to calm down. It took him a little longer, however, to come out of hiding.

Derek watched without moving as Stiles stepped cautiously into the open. When he spotted the werwolf sitting a few feet away, he turned on his heels, almost as if he was going to go straight back and never come out again. But, after hesitating for a second, he kept on turning. Rubbing his eyes, Stiles blinked up at the massive form before him, like he was a particularly stubborn illusion that refused to disappear.

He heaved a sigh of frustration, "this- this is real... isn't it?"

"Afraid so," Derek replied.

Stiles rubbed his nose, then ran his hands through his hair, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. All his nervous ticks appeared. Even at this size, Stiles was still a spaz.

"Do you know what happened to you?" Derek asked.

"Yeah... I- I mean no, not- not really... I dunno, it's all... swirling together. I can't- I can't think."

He was getting frustrated, Derek could tell. It would probably be best to get him out of here. Derek lowered his hand in front of the mini-teenager. He shrunk back a little, surprised, but didn't run, which Derek took as a good sign.

"What are you doing?" The words tumbled from his mouth in a rush as adrenalin coursed through his system, prompting Stiles to get away fast. He fought against it, though, Derek was a friend. He didn't have to run.

"I'll take you Scott. You guys can figure out something, plus he's really worried about you. So, unless you want to walk all the way across town, this is our only option."

Stiles eyed the large hand and then Derek himself with a great deal of trepidation. "I'm not at all comfortable with this."

Rolling his eyes, Derek gave him his best exasperated look. "Well, I'm not really either, but we don't have much of a choice here."

His mind was going a million miles an hour. Stiles was terrified and confused, which was not a good combination. Part of him still thought that maybe this was all just a dream and that he would wake up at any moment. Stiles wanted that to be true so very badly. But he knew that this was real. And though Derek generally scared him on a good day, the now colossal man was his only hope.

"Screw it," Stiles finally muttered. He clambered over Derek's fingers and stumbled onto his palm. Grabbing his thumb for support, Stiles thought his heart was going to pound right out of his chest as he was enveloped in a cage of flesh.

Derek was taken aback when the kid practically tripped into his hand. Stiles was definitely not the most coordinated guy around. Curling his fingers around him protectively, Derek stood. His patience was running a little thin and he wanted to get out of the school quickly. However, when he felt Stiles' heart rate pick up again, he slowed down.

"You okay?" Although he would never admit it out loud, Derek felt a great deal of concern and responsibility for this tiny figure trembling in his palm. It was so surreal, the kid was barely bigger than his thumb! And he was holding onto the digit as though his life depended on it.

Stiles jumped at the sound of his voice, it was much louder now that he was closer to Derek. All at once he seemed to realize what it was he was clinging to and jerked away. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Derek thought he could see a red tinge creep into the teenager's cheeks.

"Yeah, uh, yeah I'm fine. Totally, totally fine. This is- this is completely normal."

Satisfied with that answer, Derek started moving again before Stiles stopped him.

"Wait wait wait wait!"

Derek looked down at him, annoyed, but his expression immediately softened when he saw Stiles' face. He wasn't so much terrified anymore, but nervous, which was encouraging to the werwolf. And though he couldn't meet Derek's eyes for more than a few seconds at a time, Stiles still made an effort.

"What is it?" He asked softly.

"Ah... Well, ummm..." He sighed, "thanks man, for not- I mean..."

"Forget it. I'm just keeping a promise."

"But still, I appreciate you coming for me."

Derek nodded, a silent acceptance of his gratitude. Though he never would have said it out loud, the hardened werwolf appreciated his thanks more than Stiles knew.