cut
To answer all of you wondering, yes this is a repost. Anyone who wants to know why, you can read it on my profile. I've just started getting over it, PLEASE don't make me go through it again by writing about it.
On a lighter note, I want to thank all of you beautiful darlings for reading and reviewing. You are the best readers a writer could ask for. :D
cut
Stiles sighed as the doorbell rang again. He looked around the living room at Erica, Boyd, Isaac, Peter, Jackson, Lydia and his dad before he stood up and made his way over to the door. He unlocked them and raised an eyebrow when he saw Derek and Scott standing on the porch.
Derek had his trademark scowl on his face and Scott looked like a hopeful pup asking for a pat on the head.
"Took you long enough." Stiles muttered and took a step to the side to let the two in. Derek frowned and Scott's eyebrows rose making him look even more pitiful.
"We caught the scent a little further down the street." Derek spoke lowly as Stiles closed and locked the door and walked after them into the living room. "We tried to trace it but it disappeared once we entered the forest."
"Do you have any idea what it was?" Erica asked and Derek shook his head. Stiles took a seat on the couch beside his dad and Isaac, Scott squeezed in beside Erica and Boyd on the love seat, and Derek stood in front of them all with his arms crossed over his chest.
"No." Derek said. "It doesn't smell like a Werewolf."
"So it's something else." Stiles concluded. "It's a pity I can't find what it is based on its scent." He rubbed his chin in thought.
"Do we have any trails? We could compare it-"
"We would get nothing." Stiles interrupted Lydia and she looked at him sharply. "If it's a shape-shifter, then it's much like the werewolves. All we would get is the print of a human foot. If it's anything else then we wouldn't find anything at all. Not one book I've read showed the footprint of a supernatural thing, and trust me, I've read them all."
"Not the bestiary, you haven't." Lydia said.
"Have you seen any pictures in the bestiary?" Stiles asked and Lydia frowned. "Didn't think so."
"Stiles is right." Peter jumped in. "Right now the best we can do is start a search party; try to scent it out."
"That could take too long." Erica commented. "Especially because we can't all go. Someone must stay with Stiles at all times."
"We could split up." Derek said and looked around. "Isaac, Scott and Jackson have the best noses. They can run along our borders and try to catch the scent. Erica, Boyd, Peter and I can split up between watching over the Sheriff and Stiles."
"You don't need to watch over me, kid."
"I beg to differ, Sheriff." Peter countered with an amused smirk and John raised an eyebrow at him. "You are Stiles' father. Whoever is trying to get to Stiles might try to do so by taking you. It's a risk we can't take."
"I think I can take pretty good care of myself."
"You'd need proper bullets." Stiles murmured and John looked at his son with a frown.
"Stiles-"
"Werewolves can only be killed by wolfsbane and mountain ash bullets. Other shifters either react to white mistletoe, silver or mountain ash, but not all of them. You'd need at least three different sorts of bullets and stakes."
"Stakes?" Erica paled.
"Yes. Vampires can only be killed with a stake made out of the hawthorn tree. A banshee for example, can only be killed by a stake made out of the ash tree. A skin-walker can be killed by a silver bullet, but it needs to be a very good shot."
"So basically, I need to have my own bullet factory." John bit out sarcastically and Stiles snorted.
"Or you need to have a werewolf beside you. One thing is common to all creatures. Rip off their head and set them on fire. They won't be walking again." Stiles drawled and John raised an eyebrow at him.
"You're quite knowledgeable about all those things," he muttered and Stiles shrugged.
"I did my homework; managed to translate a great deal of the bestiary." Lydia raised an eyebrow at him.
"I thought you didn't know Ancient Latin." she said and Stiles shrugged.
"I had a lot of time these past two weeks, and I was bored."
"So you learned Ancient Latin." Isaac teased.
"You ever heard of Google translate?" Stiles drawled with a smirk and Isaac snorted.
"Anyway." Derek interrupted and everyone looked at him. "As much as I know there's one thing all supernatural creatures have in common; they scent out their prey."
"So the fastest way to get this thing would be to use me as bate." Stiles said.
"No." John shook his head vehemently. "Absolutely not." Erica, Isaac and Scott nodded their heads in agreement.
"You're too valuable to use as bait." Peter reasoned and Stiles rolled his eyes.
"It -or they - could be watching us this very moment. It will know you are all trying to catch it. For all we know it could pull back again. It only came out when you stopped me from leaving and started knocking on my door for whatever stupid reason. It either wants me, or it wants you. As much as I know the fact that you stopped me from leaving is the very reason this thing came out. It may have gotten the wrong idea about my position in your pack and is now trying to get me."
"What wrong idea?" Scott asked.
"I don't think a single supernatural creature would dare enter a werewolf territory without a valid reason. Either it's not alone or it's really desperate. For what, I don't know. I'm just human so the only reason it actually would have a reason to go after me is because of you."
"Or because of your spark," Peter said and Stiles looked at him with a frown.
"Oh. I forgot about that," he muttered and Peter snorted.
"All that information in your head and you forget about what we talked about hours ago," Peter said and Stiles smirked.
"I have problems with short term memory."
"Yeah, right." Peter rolled his eyes and Stiles chuckled.
"Since when are you two all friendly?" Lydia asked snidely and Stiles looked at her with a dull expression.
"Since Peter was the only one who never wronged me and actually bothered to talk to me on occasion."
"I wouldn't call threatening your life talking." Peter said.
"It's all semantics." Stiles shrugged.
"And here I thought you didn't like me."
"Oh, I don't like you. But I do have to admit that while you are a psychopath, you are good to have around occasionally."
"I'm flattered." Peter drawled.
"You're easily flattered."
"Enough." Derek interrupted Peter's answer and everyone looked at him. "Stiles, are you sure of what you said?"
"About why this thing is coming after me? Quite." Derek nodded.
"We can't change anything at the moment then. We'll stick to the first plan. Scott, Isaac and Jackson will try to locate whatever it is. They won't try to make contact. We need to know what it is and if it's alone."
"I don't see why I'd have to go." Jackson muttered and glared at Stiles. "I have nothing with him."
"But you are part of this pack." Derek growled and Jackson looked at him almost defiantly. "Or at least you want to be part of it. Either you help us with this or you pack up and try to make it alone. Your call."
Jackson paled and bowed his head. "He's gonna leave either way." He glared at Stiles who glared right back at him. "We should just let him get on a plane and take off."
"I don't suppose your brain can comprehend more than lacrosse rules." Peter drawled and Jackson glared at him. "Stiles is a spark. His scent can be traced by anyone who knows what to look for. By stopping this thing we are at least making sure it doesn't get him. Whether he leaves or stays after that is his choice and his choice alone. What we need to do right now is make sure this thing stays as far away from him as possible. Him and John."
"Didn't know you'd be so worried about me." John commented dryly and Peter smiled at him.
"You are the town's Sheriff and a damn good one, especially now that you know about the supernatural. It would be a pity to lose you."
"And in no way is your worry for him connected to how he smells." Stiles said under his breath and the werewolves snickered. John and Lydia looked at the smirking werewolves in shock while Peter cleared his throat and shifted in his place.
"That was not nice, Stiles." he chastised.
"You keeping secrets from me isn't nice." Stiles countered and Peter rolled his eyes.
"What is life without a few secrets?"
"Safe," Stiles stressed out, and Peter raised an eyebrow at him. "If you don't know about something, you can't protect yourself from it. If you can't protect yourself, and there's no one around to protect you, you're sure to get yourself killed. Knowledge is power. With power you have greater chances to survive than without it."
"That's an interesting philosophy." John drawled and Stiles looked at him. "Since you kept me in the dark for quite some time."
"Because there were others to fight those battles." Stiles said. "There were the Argents as messed up as they were and this lot here. The reason I told you is because I knew I would leave eventually, and you'd need to know how to protect yourself or where to go if anything appears."
"So you're still determined to leave." Derek concluded and Stiles looked him in the eyes. The alpha stiffened, feeling more than a little trapped being caught so off guard by the teen's penetrating stare.
"I don't see a reason beside my dad to stay." Stiles countered. "And, no offense dad, but I don't see why I would stay if my scent is putting not only myself but you as well in danger. I'm not an alpha who can mask his scent whenever he wants. Magic goes only so far and the only way for me to hide my scent is for me to be with some supernatural creature, preferably an alpha."
"When did you come to that conclusion?" Peter wondered with shock in his eyes, John was gaping while the others in the pack paled.
Especially Derek.
"While we were waiting for the others to arrive. I connected everything you told me about my scent and me being the spark and everything Deaton told me. Not to mention I found a few useful books last week. While there are people who have the Spark, it varies in strength. After you told me what you did I only needed to connect the dots." Stiles shrugged.
Peter chuckled and shook his head. "It seems that no matter how hard I try I just can't keep up with you."
Stiles hummed, tilted his head back, and looked at the ceiling. He blew a gust of air into the bangs that fell on his forehead. 'I really need to get a haircut.'
"I'm just good at finding the information I need," he said aloud and looked at everyone again.
"Isaac, Jackson and Scott will gather as much information for you as they can. We'll take care of this quickly." Stiles looked at Derek with searching eyes. A moment later he nodded although Derek could smell the confusion on Stiles.
"Should he stay here or…?" John asked.
"I don't think it's safe for either one of you to stay here." Derek said. "Moving you will attract attention, but it could also draw him or them out." Stiles nodded and Derek's shoulders straightened.
"That does make sense. It will be easier to track them if they come out again." Stiles murmured and Derek nodded, rolling his shoulders.
"But where could we move?" John asked.
"There's not enough place in your flat for all of us." Peter told Derek and the Alpha nodded with a frown marring his features.
"Do you have room in your apartment?"
"I have one more bedroom" Peter answered.
Derek nodded. "Stiles can come with me, and John can stay with you. We're close enough, and your apartment is closer to the police station than my flat. Erica lives two streets away from me so she would be close to us. Boyd lives close to the station so he can come in if the Sheriff is threatened."
"You should all just call me John. I don't like to be addressed formally when I'm off duty." John murmured and Derek nodded at him.
"Pack up, both of you. We're moving right away. Scott, Isaac, and Jackson can go home. Rest as much as you can because you'll have a long day tomorrow."
"Thank God we're on summer vacation." Scott said and stood up. "Stiles, could I – could I have a word with you? Alone?" Stiles looked at him. Scott shifted in his place and bowed his head before Stiles hummed and stood up.
"I need to take a few things from my room. Come on." He made his way out of the room and Scott looked at his back with a hopeful expression, but it vanished when Peter shook his head at him. The teen followed after Stiles while the others stood up.
"Go. Peter and I will take care of Stiles and John," Derek said and the others nodded.
"What will be my job, oh great leader?" Lydia asked and Derek looked at her.
"If Stiles will allow you to help him, you will do research with him."
Lydia snorted and rolled her eyes. "If he'll allow me? I'm doing research with him whether he likes it or not."
"I don't know what you told him today but he seems fond of neither you nor Jackson." Peter drawled and Lydia glared at him. "We are not soldiers you can order around; Stiles especially. He may not show it, but he's more dominant than it seems. He doesn't and will never react well to people who clearly outrank him have the audacity to hand him orders; that is excluding his father."
"Isn't he the alpha mate? He'll be submissive to someone one day." Jackson said snidely and Peter raised an eyebrow at him dully.
"He's the alpha mate. The only one he will be submissive to will be his alpha; definitely not a measly, self-obsessed beta like you. He could easily hurt you now. If he mates a werewolf and you piss him off he could easily and without any guilt tear your head off."
"You'll have to explain a few things to me," John said while Jackson bowed his head in thought.
Peter smiled at John and nodded. "I will answer all your questions as long as I know the answers."
"You should feel special, John." Erica teased while the others smirked. "Peter rarely gives straight answers, he must really like you." John raised an eyebrow at her while Peter cleared his throat.
"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?" he asked and Erica rolled her eyes.
"Sure, sure. I'll see you all tomorrow," she said, grabbed her boyfriend's arm and pulled him along. She shouted good night to Stiles and left.
"I'll make my way home." Isaac said. "I'll sniff around to check if anyone was close."
"Go." Derek said with a nod and Isaac left. "You two should go as well." Derek said to Lydia and Jackson. "If you insist on helping Stiles, come over to my flat around noon." Lydia nodded and marched out without a word.
"Those kids won't have it easy." John muttered before he looked at Derek. "You watch over my son, you hear me?"
Derek nodded at him. "Nothing will happen to him. I promise," he said and John hummed.
"Good; because even though my bullets won't kill you, it will hurt."
"I have no doubt." Derek replied easily.
cut
"What did you want to talk about?" Stiles asked and took a seat on his bed.
Scott stood a few feet away with his hands on his back, his head bowed, and he was shifting his weight uncomfortably making Stiles sigh and roll his eyes.
"Scott, look at me." The werewolf raised his head and looked at his once best friend. "What did you want to talk about?"
Scott sighed and slowly walked over to Stiles. He took a seat on the bed with his eyes focused on the wall in front of him and licked his lips. "I messed up real bad this time, didn't I?" he stated and Stiles snorted.
"If it's any comfort you aren't the only one who messed up."
Scott looked at Stiles with a small frown. "You didn't-"
"I'm not talking about myself." Stiles corrected and tilted his head to the side to look at Scott. "You, the pack; everyone. I really tried, but friendship is a two way street. I thought we were more than friends, Scott. I thought we were brothers. It hurt when you replaced me with Allison, you know? It hurt when you trusted a hunter more than you trusted me." Scott face crumbled in shame and regret.
"I never trusted her more than I trusted you. I just – I just – I fell in love with her. I thought it was for real and I – as much as I hate myself for this, there's no other way to say it." Scott said and swallowed heavily. "I know that no matter how much I apologize for it, I have no right to ask for forgiveness. I was hoping Allison and I would work out. Derek has every right to throw me out." He paced the room, pulling at his hair and talking in a rushed manner.
"I know he has every right to distrust me. But Derek... he allowed me into his pack. He still doesn't trust me, I know that. I can accept that but what I can't accept is the fact that I've lost you." Scott looked in Stiles' eyes. "I can't forgive myself, and I know that I can't expect you to forgive me. I can only hope that one day you'll be able to talk to me again."
Stiles swallowed difficultly and looked away. Looking in Scott's eyes, seeing the honest pain and sorrow in them, it did things to Stiles' resolution. He still loved Scott. He loved him despite everything. His heart hurt because of that. Because even though he could see that Scott was honestly sorry, even though he could see that Scott was in pain, he couldn't, he simply couldn't forgive him.
He couldn't pass over everything that happened. It would be great if he could simply forget about everything and trust them again. But no matter how much he wanted to do that, he couldn't. He couldn't trust them not to hurt him.
"I will leave, you know?" Stiles said and Scott tensed up. "Once this is over, I will leave." he repeated. "But-" Stiles stopped and looked out the window.
"But?" Scott pushed hopefully and Stiles looked at him with a small, sad smile on his face.
"But maybe, one day, maybe I'll come back; when I'm sure I can trust all of you and the pain isn't so fresh." Stiles said, tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling.
"I'll prove it to you." Scott said firmly and Stiles looked at him. "I'll prove to you that you can trust me. I'll prove to you that I'll never forget you again. I'll prove to you that I can be a good friend to you." Stiles swallowed heavily and nodded minutely.
"Sure." Stiles whispered and Scott frowned.
"No, I will. I swear I will. I swear I'll show you that you can trust me." Stiles looked in Scott's eyes and his heart tightened when he saw honest determination in Scott's brown orbs.
"And I'll be waiting." Scott smiled widely and Stiles chuckled before rubbed Scott's head with his right hand and the teen wolf swatted his hand away.
'I'll be waiting.'
cut
"Can't I take my car?" Stiles asked, looking longingly at his trusted jeep.
"Erica hid your engine parts somewhere." Derek said with sheepish amusement coloring his voice.
"Can't you make her tell you?" he whined and Derek rolled his eyes, opening the front passenger door of his car for Stiles.
"No," Derek cut off. "Get in." Stiles rolled his eyes and entered the car with a huff. His dad and Peter left already. Derek took a seat, closed his door and gunned the engine. Stiles couldn't help but shiver at the sound of it. He liked Derek's car. He liked it quite a lot.
Honestly, he liked everything about Derek. Not that he would ever admit it. The one thing that he was willing to admit was the fact that he had a nasty habit of falling for people he should never fall for.
He didn't know when his distrust and dislike for the dark haired alpha turned into appreciation. It might have been the first time he saved Derek's life. It might have been when they were trapped in the swimming pool for almost three hours. It might have been the first time he looked at the alpha, back when he was still an omega.
Derek was a grunt.
He was a man hardened by life.
He was a man who loved once and lost everything.
He was a man who cared, but was afraid to show it.
Derek was a good man, who learned the hard was that good men lose everything if they trust wrong people. He trusted once and that trust was broken in the most horrible way possible. Stiles could see that. He understood that.
If he were to be perfectly honest, he couldn't really blame Derek for anything. His sister was murdered, he faced a dangerous man and he reacted the only way he knew. In his desire to protect those he gathered around himself he kept an emotional distance from them by being harsh and demanding.
He pushed Stiles away because he wanted to protect him; because he knew Stiles would only get hurt.
'Hurt them. Hurt them to save them; a philosophy that chooses the lesser of two evils.' Stiles thought. He felt a shiver run down his spine when Derek looked at him from the corner of his eyes. 'Even though he doesn't want to be alone, Derek will rather push everyone away than have them hurt. He would rather have everyone hate him than have them get hurt or killed.'
"Is something wrong?" Derek's voice broke through Stiles' thoughts and Stiles looked at the alpha with a contemplative look.
"You're a right idiot, you know?" Derek raised an eyebrow at that, sparing a glance for Stiles before he concentrated on the road again.
"I think you've said that several times."
Stiles hummed. "I think I did, as a matter of fact. I said that many times either to your face or to myself."
"Why would you say that to yourself? If I'm not mistaken that would mean you were thinking about me." Derek asked and Stiles raised an eyebrow.
"Of course I thought about you. You're the alpha; you've been in the middle of all the shit that went down here and you were a possible threat several times." Derek rolled his eyes.
Stiles chuckled. "Alright," he admitted. "I considered you a possible threat several times. You can't actually blame me for that."
Derek nodded and chuckled lowly, making a shiver run down Stiles' spine. It was neither Derek's normal grunt, nor was it the less normal amused, mocking chuckle. "I could say that you're wrong, but I would by lying, and it would go against everything we – I am trying to change around here. I was stubborn and I was doing things the wrong way. I thought it was the best way, but I guess I should be man enough and admit that I was wrong."
Stiles' eyebrows met the line of his hair and Derek spared him an amused glance.
"What?" he murmured.
"Nothing." Stiles wondered. "I do believe that's the longest sentence you've said around me that didn't include the usual threats." Derek chuckled again and Stiles snorted. "Well I guess people are wrong. You can teach an old dog new tricks." Derek rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Are the dog insults really necessary?" he murmured and Stiles smirked.
"You're right. Dogs are supposed to be a men's best friends." He murmured and Derek tensed up immediately.
"Stiles-…"
"Don't bother, dude. What's done is done. Let's just get this over with so that you can all go on with your normal lives and I can continue working on getting my own life." Stiles grumbled as Derek parked his car in front of an old, at first sight run down building.
Derek got out of his car without a word and Stiles followed after him. They entered the building and Stiles followed Derek into an old elevator. Once they got out of it Stiles actually stopped in his tracks and looked around in wonder.
'You shouldn't judge a book by its cover,' he thought to himself, quite impressed by what he was seeing. The huge living room they were in had big windows that let in a lot of light and they were placed in a way that the room would be bathed in daylight from dawn till dusk. A set of round, metal stairs in the back led to the upper floor and Stiles thought that the bedrooms were there. He could see the kitchen to the right and a big, comfy couch to the left with a few big armchairs around a low tea table. Under the window was a huge table with several chairs. There was no TV to be found, but there was a big bookshelf filled with different books.
Everything looked so open and spacey that Stiles couldn't help but feel comfortable.
The heavy metal door closed behind him and Stiles looked at Derek.
"To be completely honest I expected a lot of things, but I didn't expect this."
"Let me guess." Derek muttered in faint amusement. "You've expected a den." Stiles snorted.
"Well judging by where you've lived until now you can't blame me." He said as Derek walked beside him and threw his cell phone and keys on the table. Stiles sighed and walked after him.
Derek walked over to the couch and took a seat with a sigh. Stiles couldn't help but smile. He walked over and took a seat beside Derek. Testing just how far Derek would let him go he leaned back and raised his legs. He placed his feet on the table and crossed his ankles. He threw his arms behind his head, entwined his fingers and used his hands as a headrest.
"Let me guess." Derek looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Isaac?" Stiles asked and Derek raised an eyebrow at him.
"What do you…?"
"This is a lot of space for a few werewolves. When you think of how old this building is and that it's probably an old warehouse, then you come to a conclusion that the upper floor has a glass roof. Since this is outside of town and it's a metal structure you guys can do whatever you want. It's a good set up for little wolfy ears; privacy for everyone." Stiles ranted and Derek was looking at him with a raised eyebrow for the whole duration of Stiles' speech.
"You're really something, you know?" Derek said softly, barely keeping the wonder from his tone and Stiles snorted before he tilted his head back again and shrugged his shoulders.
"I've been trying to tell you that since we first met and it took me packing up to leave for you to figure that out."
"I heard what you said to Scott." Derek spoke lowly. Stiles sighed and straightened, his feet hitting the floor with the sound echoing in the big room.
"Derek…"
"No." Derek interrupted him by raising his right hand and Stiles raised an eyebrow in return. "Let me speak." Derek turned in his seat and looked in Stiles' eyes. "I know apologizing for everything I've done to you would be meaningless. I know that there is nothing I can say or do to change your mind about leaving. I know that we – I wronged you. I just keep making mistakes, don't I?"
"You have every right to leave and never talk to us again, but you have to know this." Derek swallowed. "We – We didn't plan this." Derek looked in Stiles' eyes imploring him to believe him. "We didn't plan this thing to attack you. I know you've thought of that!"
"Our plan was to show you how it would be if you stayed. Our plan was to make you talk to us. We hoped that, even if you would chose to leave, you would stay in contact with us and that through that we would be able to prove to you that you do have something to come back to; that you do have a place here." The werewolf's voice lowered to something akin to sadness. "We hoped to prove to you that we do need you."
Stiles shifted uncomfortably, not knowing how to feel or how to take Derek's second sudden onslaught of emotions. He'd previously been much happier to assume the man had no emotions but the be proved wrong again and again was… something he couldn't explain.
"Now, the others might want to bite my head off because I told you this, but I needed you to know that this was never our plan." Derek looked in Stiles' eyes again. "I never gave you a reason to trust me. I never gave you a reason to want to come anywhere near me, but if you ever even thought of giving me and the pack a chance than please, at least until this is over, please trust us." Stiles swallowed difficultly.
He wanted to look away, but something in Derek's eyes was keeping him captive; it was keeping his eyes locked on Derek's.
"Stiles..." Derek started, stopped and took a deep breath, "if you allow us to handle this, if you allow us to help you, I swear to you - I swear to personally drive you to the airport the moment this is over. I will not try to stop you. I know we messed up. You saved my life and I – I owe you." He winced and continued, although his voice was strained. "I owe you more than I ever owed anyone. I don't want to further offend you by saying that this is my way of repaying you, but if there's no other way for me to convince you to let us close enough to stop this without you or the Sheriff getting hurt then I'll say whatever you need me to say."
Stiles finally managed to tear his eyes away from Derek's, and he actually felt the werewolf tens up. "You know?" Stiles cleared his throat as he bowed his head, his hands rubbing his knees in a nervous gesture "I think right now you've said more than you've said in the entire time I've known you."
Derek scoffed. "Well maybe if I talked from the beginning we wouldn't be in this situation." He said through his teeth.
Stiles sighed. "Yeah, maybe." Derek frowned as silence settled between them with Derek observing Stiles, and the teen tugging on a few loose seams on his right knee.
"Derek?"
"Hm?"
"I always wanted to ask you this. Peter gave me an explanation, but I want to hear your words." Stiles said and looked in Derek's eyes.
"What is it?" Derek asked.
"Why didn't you offer me the bite?" Stiles asked. Derek looked away with a frown and Stiles was about to give up hoping he would get an answer when Derek spoke up.
"I was afraid of you." Stiles tensed up and looked at Derek with wide, shock filled eyes.
"What?"
"I am afraid of you." Derek stood up and started to pace.
"What are you talking about?" Stiles asked and stood up as well, watching as Derek paced in front of him.
"Stiles, you're a wild card." Derek stopped pacing and looked at Stiles. "You've always been a wild card. You're smart and strong, and you're human and yet not. You're the kind of human I've only once run into and it cost me everything." Stiles frowned and almost recoiled.
"Kate Argent." Stiles paled and licked his lips even though his mouth was dry. "Are you saying…?"
"You are just as, if not more dominant than she was. You're even more resourceful than she was. You're stronger, smarter, better in every possible way, and no matter how much I absolutely hate saying this, that actually frightens me. It frightens me because the first time I trusted someone who had the characteristics of an alpha I lost my Pack. It frightens me because the second time I trusted someone who was an alpha, I lost said alpha. It frightens me because no matter how hard I fucking tried to push you away, you were always, always there reminding me that there will always be people out there who can challenge me, who can challenge my control, who can challenge my decisions, because to me that meant nothing but loss."
"Derek, I would have never-"
"I know." Derek interrupted him and ran his fingers through his hair. "I know you're not Kate. I know you're not Laura. I know you're different, and I know you can be trusted."
"But you can't help it, can you?" Stiles wondered, looking at Derek as if someone just smacked him over the head. "Every time you look at me you see them. You see Kate who killed your family, and you see Laura, the only family you had left. Every time you look at me you don't see me-"
"No-"
"You see them."
"No!" the self-depreciating smile that started to appear on Stiles face disappeared as soon as it started to appear when Derek snapped at him. "What I see in you is everything I could have been if only I didn't meet Kate. I see in you everything I could have been if I still had Laura. She was never meant to be an alpha, Stiles. The only reason my sister became an alpha was because I was too weak, too stupid - too overtaken by guilt and anger to become what I was always meant to be. When I look at you, Stiles..." Derek swallowed and looked away from Stiles for a moment. "When I look at you I see what I could be. And it scared me. It scared me because it goes against everything I've seen and done so far." Stiles looked away from Derek with his hands fisted by his sides.
"So you pushed me away, you didn't offer me the bite, you did your best to scare me off because – because I'm supposedly better than you?" he chuckled morosely and shook his head, "You are an idiot, Derek Hale."
Derek huffed and raised his hands before he pushed them in the pockets of his jeans.
"I never said I was the sharpest tool in the shed." He admitted and Stiles looked straight at him as he took a deep breath.
"No, you aren't." He rounded the low table and walked over to Derek. "You are the dumbest, most oblivious person I know, and since I hung around Scott McCall for a long time I think that's saying quite a bit about you, Derek Hale." Stiles stopped right in front of Derek, and the alpha tensed up when Stiles' scent washed over him.
Their faces were centimeters apart, and Stiles' sweet breath was fanning over Derek's face. They were so close Derek could see the scattered amber flecks in Stiles' eyes; like sunlight breaking through red tinted glass.
"You are scared of me? You are scared of a little, hyperactive boy; a boy who's only good at research and getting himself in trouble. You're scared of a boy who wanted nothing more than to find a place where he belonged; a boy whose friend was turned into a werewolf on pure accident, who tried his best to help his friend, who lied to his father to protect him. You're scared of a boy who was willing to cut off your arm to save you; a boy who stood in front of a kanima and your betas, and held you above water level for several hours. You are scared of a human, just because-"
"Because that human could do things I couldn't do!" Derek interrupted him sharply and Stiles frowned. "You were afraid of me, and yet you were brave enough to look in my eyes and tell me you weren't. You were brave enough to defy me again, and again, and again. You've read me like a book, Stiles. That would frighten anyone."
Stiles frowned and tried to back away, only for his thighs to touch something. His breath hitched in his throat when he realized that something was the table, and that Derek somehow managed to back him into it while they were talking without him realizing it. He looked up in Derek's eyes and lost his breath when the Alpha leaned closer to him, his eyes burning with something Stiles couldn't name.
"You want to know why I never offered the bite to you." Derek growled. "You are the only human I've met that would never ask for the bite, not because you're afraid of it killing you before it would turn you, but because somewhere in that information filled brain of yours, you know you don't need it. I never offered the bite to you because I knew you don't need it - because I thought that giving you the bite would change you. Because even though you are a constant fucking reminder of everything I lost, you are also the only reminder I have of what I could be and what I should be. I guess I became so good at denying myself everything that it became a habit. A nasty habit-"
"That's hard to shake off." Stiles murmured and Derek nodded. "If you do anything often enough it will became a part of your character. A part that is difficult to change."
"You've lied to a lot of people for a long time," Derek said and Stiles frowned. Derek looked away from Stiles' eyes and at his chest. "Your heart; right now it beats calmly. For the whole time that I've been around you this evening, never once did it skip a beat like it usually does when you're talking."
"Maybe because for the first time ever you've been the one doing most of the talking?" Stiles tried to tease, but it came out serious, and Derek looked at him with a smirk. Stiles' heart skipped a beat and Derek's eyebrows jumped up a little.
"Your heart-"
"It was nothing." Stiles said.
It was a lie.
He knew that.
And he knew Derek knew that.
"That's some nasty habit." Derek muttered. Stiles chuckled and smirked at Derek. The alpha couldn't help but notice the way Stiles' smirk wavered a little.
"Hello kettle I'm the black pot." Stiles murmured and leaned back unconsciously as Derek leaned forward.
"You're afraid of me."
Stiles breathed out a chuckle. "You're the one afraid of me and that still doesn't make any sense." Derek grunted and Stiles actually yelped when he felt Derek's hands on his waist.
"Should I repeat every reason I've said until now? I do believe I could think of a few more."
"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?" Stiles wondered and Derek chuckled.
"No."
"Then don't make me the first one." Stiles growled. Derek chuckled and they moved towards each other when the loud sound of the elevator door opening made them jump apart.
"O-kaaaaay." Isaac dragged out looking first at Derek and then at Stiles. While both of them tried to look normal, they were pale and seemed shaken by something. "Should I ask?" he frowned in wonder and Derek cleared his throat.
"Isaac, show Stiles to the free bedroom. I'll keep first watch. Both of you need your rest." Derek said and vanished into the kitchen leaving the two gaping teens alone.
"Erm…" Stiles looked at Isaac who gave him a small grin and pointed towards the ceiling.
"Ready to go up?" Stiles gave his best to smile and nodded.
"Sure." he said and followed after an almost skipping Isaac up the stairs.
"This is Derek's room. I don't go in there unless absolutely necessary." Isaac pointed at the first door to the right. "This is the bathroom." He opened the door opposite of Derek's room and Stiles' eyebrows met the line of his hair.
"It's huge." He muttered and Isaac grinned.
"Ain't it?" he said excitedly before he closed the door and moved on. "This is my room. You can come in whenever you want, but we'll mostly hang out downstairs." Stiles marveled at the sight of an excited Isaac, having never come quite close to meeting him. The closest he'd come was smug Isaac, the one that bragged about his new found abilities.
They moved over to the last room in the hallway and Isaac opened the door with a grin. "And this will be your room." They entered and Isaac smirked when he saw the look of wonder on Stiles' face.
"Where are your things?" Isaac asked.
"In the car." Stiles spoke distractedly.
"I'll go get them." Isaac vanished while Stiles looked at where he would sleep until the pack took care of his problem.
He was right. The roof was made out of glass and so was half of the three walls in front of him. There was a huge king sized bed in the middle of the room, shelves and cabinets were lined up under the windows and Stiles could only gape as he gazed upon the star covered sky. The almost-full-moon was glowing down on him and he could hardly believe how much he liked this.
"I take it you like what you see?" Stiles turned on his heel and looked at Isaac who was grinning at him from where he stood in the doorway with Stiles' bags in his hands.
"Yeah." Stiles cleared his throat, and Isaac grinned harder before he walked in and placed Stiles' bags under the foot of his bed.
"You should get some sleep. Erica, Boyd and I woke you up pretty early and you've had a difficult day. You should rest." He nodded distractedly and Isaac smiled brightly. Stiles choked up when Isaac pulled him into a hug and squeezed him tight enough to leave him breathless.
"Good night, Stiles. I'll see you tomorrow." Isaac murmured against Stiles neck and the human teen, not knowing what else to do, patted Isaac's back lightly.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he replied softly, fingers lightly dragging up the other teen's back before Isaac let go of him, smiled and left the room.
Stiles swallowed difficultly and without even taking his shoes off threw himself on the bed face first. He turned his head to the side, before he rolled on his back and looked at the star covered sky.
'What in the name of all that is holy was that?' he thought.
His body was still shivering, his heart was beating loudly in his ears, and his thoughts were a jumbled mess. Derek's scent was still strong in his nose and he could still feel the warmth of Derek's hands on his waist.
'I don't even like him that way?!' he winced at the blatant lie, 'Okay, now I started lying to myself.' He growled and rubbed his face with his hands before he threw them over his head. He looked at the moon and huffed.
His thoughts ran a thousand miles an hour. He closed his eyes for a second, trying to rationally think things through, but unexpectedly and quietly sleep creeped up on him.
And his thoughts quieted down.
cut
Stiles woke up to sun hitting him straight in the face. He groaned as memories of the day before flooded his mind, pulled his blanket over his head and buried his face in the pillow.
'Good going, Stiles. They all pay attention to you for one day, and all of a sudden you're thinking of actually coming back.' The memory of his and Derek's talk hit him hard and he opened his eyes.
'What was that?' he thought. It looked like Derek was about to kiss him.
He was about to kiss Derek!
'Not that he was complaining.' he snorted. 'I wasn't complaining.' He huffed and turned on his back. He covered his eyes with his forearm and groaned.
"Everything would be so much simpler if I just left." he muttered. He heard the door open and sighed.
"Stiles? You awake?" Erica's whispering voice reached his ears and a small smile pulled on Stiles' lips.
"How many times did you come in, Erica?" he droned and Erica giggled. She walked quietly over to the bed and Stiles huffed when she threw herself over him. "Still human!" he wheezed and Erica rolled her eyes. She shifted around until she settled beside Stiles, threw one arm around his waist and laid her head on his chest.
"Softy." Stiles chuckled and wrapped one arm around her shoulders while he left the other over his eyes.
"How many times?" he asked again and Erica hummed.
"I got here at half past 8. Around 6 times," she said and Stiles raised his head to look down at her.
"Just how late is it?" he asked and Erica smirked at him.
"It's 2:30pm." Stiles' eyebrows met the line of his hair.
"Derek let me sleep in for so long?" he wondered and Erica rolled her eyes.
"He's the one who told us not to wake you up."
"Us?" Stiles asked as he moved, and Erica rolled over on the bed while Stiles stood up. He frowned when he realized he was only in his pants and red undershirt. He didn't remember taking his shoes off, let alone his jacket. His shoes were by his bags and his jacket was neatly folded on them.
"Lydia is downstairs. I'm under the impression that she's trying to see for how long she can tap her foot against the ground until Derek rips her throat out."
Stiles placed his jacket on the bed and dug around one of his bags for a change of clothes. He looked up when he found some and raised an eyebrow when he found Erica snuggled into his pillow with her face buried in his cover.
"Erica, what are you doing?" he asked warily.
"You smell nice," she murmured and Stiles raised an eyebrow at her. "You smell like home."
"Erica?" he called out softly and she raised her head to look at him. "Let's go down. I think it's about time we save Derek." Erica smiled and hopped off the bed.
"Will you wait for me while I go to the bathroom?" Stiles asked when they got out of his room.
"It would not do for a woman to face a dragon alone."
Stiles snickered. "Are you talking about Lydia or Derek?" he asked and Erica smirked as they reached the door of the bathroom.
"I'll decide while you do your thing." She pushed Stiles towards the bathroom and he chuckled as he got in. He took a quick shower, threw his old clothes in a hamper and got dressed quickly before he started roaming through the cabinets to try and find an unused toothbrush. He almost cheered when he found one and quickly washed his face and teeth. He looked up at his reflection and sighed.
'Just take it easy, Stiles. They'll find out what it is quickly enough. Once this is done, you'll take your things and get the fuck out of here.' He took a deep breath and straightened.
"I'll fucking run if I'll have to." He turned on his heel and opened the door only to find Erica hopping in her place.
"Judging by Derek's heartbeat I'd say he's about to pop a blood vessel." Erica blurted out and Stiles winced.
"That would be messy." He commented and all but ran down the stairs.
"Morning!" he shouted and almost fell over the last step when he saw Derek and Lydia locked in a quiet stare-down in the middle of the room.
Derek looked as imposing as ever, with his massive arms crossed over equally massive chest, and Lydia stood in front of him, arms crossed and foot tapping against the ground.
"Erica! Run for the hills!" Stiles shouted and the two looked at him, while Erica ducked behind Stiles, trying to remain invisible. She covered her mouth with her hand to try and muffle her laughter, but Stiles could feel her shivering against him.
"About time you woke up." Lydia hissed. "Come on. We have research to do." She marched over to the couch, Derek growled and Stiles raised an eyebrow at her.
"I just woke up. I hadn't eaten anything, I need my coffee. Sit there like a good girl and wait for your turn," he drawled snidely making Erica, Derek and Lydia tense up. Lydia looked at him with a slightly confused frown while Erica and Derek exchanged almost amused glances.
"What would you like to eat?" Derek asked and Stiles looked at him before he shrugged.
"Whatever you have in your fridge that isn't dog-food." Derek's shoulders sagged and he rolled his eyes while Stiles grinned and marched right beside Derek.
"Would you stop with the damn dog jokes?" Derek most certainly did not whine following after Stiles leaving the two girls alone in the living room. Erica glared at Lydia and the strawberry blonde raised an eyebrow at her.
"What?" she asked innocently and Erica growled.
"Curb your jealousy or I'll curb it for you." Erica pressed out through her teeth.
"Jealousy?" Lydia asked lightly. "I don't know what you're talking a-" in the next moment Erica was by Lydia's side, her claws around Lydia's neck and her yellow eyes boring into hers.
"You will stop bossing Stiles around or I swear to God I will rip your tongue out. He saw something in you that made him believe you two would be good friends. You will either start showing whatever he saw in you or you'll be flying out of here head first."
"He's leaving either way." Lydia hissed. "Derek told him-"
"So what!" Erica snapped. "Just because Derek told him of the plan doesn't mean we'll change anything. Unlike you, we want Stiles to stay. I left as well and I came back. He will at least be smart enough not to get caught." Lydia gulped when Erica let go of her and moved back a little.
"What makes you think he doesn't deserve me being angry with him?" Lydia asked sharply and Erica glared at her.
"Because whatever he did to you is nowhere near as stupid and inconsiderate as what you did to him; what we did to him. Now, for whatever reason, he's right here and we have a chance to prove to him that he can rely on us. We can prove to him that we'll watch over his dad until he comes back. We can prove to him that we want him. If you don't share our sentiments then pack up and go. We can do this without you."
With that said Erica turned on her heel and walked over to the table. She hopped on it, threw Lydia one last glance and focused on her fingers, and Lydia swallowed and looked at the tea table, heavy silence settling over the room as each girl sunk into thought.
cut
Derek leaned back against the kitchen table with his arms crossed over his chest while Stiles marched right over to the fridge and practically flung it open.
"Stiles?" Derek called in a calm tone, but Stiles just bowed forward before he grabbed a bottle of milk, some sausages and a box of eggs before he straightened, closed the fridge and made his way over to the stove.
"Stiles." Derek tried again and frowned when Stiles started opening the cabinets, looking for a pan. Derek sighed and pushed himself away from the table. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked to the side before he looked at Stiles again.
"You want to know what I'm thinking?" Stiles spoke quickly and turned to look at Derek who tensed up and frowned. "I'm trying to figure out just what happened last night. You see, I thought you tolerated me, and all of a sudden we're almost kissing!" Stiles flailed.
"Now, I don't know about you, but I don't go around kissing people I tolerate! As a matter of fact I don't go around kissing people! I don't like that, because not three days ago I was determined to leave and never look back, and all of a sudden I'm thinking of actually coming back to this God forsaken place. You're not my alpha! You can't go using your alpha mojo on me! You can't go implanting these stupid feelings, because once I'm gone you lot will just forget about me!"
"Stiles-"
"You don't even like me! So whatever stupid trick you're using here, you stop right now or I swear to God, I will feed you so much mountain ash you'll have a fucking tree growing out of your fucking ass!" Stiles thundered as his shoulders heaved with every strained deep breath he took.
"You done?" Derek asked dully and Stiles took a deep calming breath.
"Yeah." He rubbed his face with his right hand while he fisted his left on his waist.
"Good."
In the next moment Stiles was sitting on a kitchen cabinet with Derek between his legs, his red tinted eyes glaring into his and his hands on the upper cabinet on either side of Stiles' head.
"Now, you'll listen to me." Derek said, gesticulating his anger and offense at Stiles accusations with precise finger pokes. "I said I tolerated you, but that's not what I meant. I'm not trying anything. The fact is that I'm attracted to you, no matter how strange you may think it is, and obviously you are attracted to me, for whatever reason. Now, this can stop right here with the both of us acting as if nothing's going on. We handle this, you leave and whether you do come back or not will depend on your decision and your decision alone." He leaned back to give Stiles room to breathe and think now that he'd gotten his attention.
"I won't force you into anything. If you come back and whatever this is still exists between us, we can talk about it and give it a shot. What happens before you do or don't leave, depends entirely on you." Derek finished.
"You're one messed up son of a gun." Stiles muttered and Derek smirked.
"Hello kettle I'm the black pot." Stiles huffed and rolled his eyes as he tried to avoid looking into Derek's amazing eyes.
"So," he stuttered out, feeling all kinds of embarrassed and shamed for what just happened and would very much like to move past it. "I was – I was kind of making breakfast."
"Take a seat at the table. I'm hungry too." Derek muttered and moved away from Stiles. The teen looked after him with a raised eyebrow, shock written over his handsome features.
"You can actually cook?" Derek glared at him, and Stiles grinned. "Now that's the Sourwolf we all love to h-"
"Don't." Derek turned to look at Stiles fully.
"What?" he asked in confusion and Derek sighed.
"Don't lie."
Stiles frowned. "How do you mean that?"
"I mean that false smile and snark and - that. Don't do that." Stiles frowned at him and Derek sighed again, dragging his fingers through his hair. "Stiles, I can smell the lie on you. Please, just until all of this is over. Stop. Pretending." Stiles swallowed and looked away. A moment later he tensed up when he felt a big, heavy, warm hand on his shoulder, and he looked up in Derek's eyes.
There was nothing gentle about Derek Hale; not if you didn't look really, really hard. If you somehow managed to look deep enough, you'd find it. You'd find the gentleness he has forsaken when Kate Argent tore his heart to pieces. You'd find the worry and care he buried under anger and rage after he lost Laura. If only you could look deep enough.
If you didn't all you'd see was arrogance and anger, and muscles and hatred and his piercing eyes and the suspicious frown. If you didn't look deep enough you'd see nothing but the wall. And Stiles could look deep enough. He could always look deep enough. Ever since the first day and he didn't want to see.
He wanted someone to blame.
He wanted the perfect bad guy.
He wanted so desperately for this man to not be what Stiles could see Derek was, because that would mean he was…
'Just like me.' Stiles swallowed difficultly.
In the next moment Derek was the one who tensed up.
He tensed up when Stiles moved and hid his face in Derek's chest. His breath hitched in his throat when Stiles lifted his arms slowly and fisted his hands in Derek's shirt on the small of his back. His heart skipped a beat when Stiles moved closer to him, and almost as if having a mind of their own, Derek's arms wrapped themselves around Stiles, pulling him as close as he could get.
"What if I don't want to stop lying?" Stiles whispered and Derek bowed his head, burying his nose in Stiles' hair.
"Then we'll just have to keep on lying to each other."
cut
"Anything?" Derek asked as he walked into the living room only to find Lydia, Stiles and surprisingly Erica pouring over books. Stiles had his laptop in front of himself and he was chewing on one pen while he had another in his right hand and he was spinning it between his dexterous fingers.
"Since we have nothing to go on? Nothing." Stiles grumbled around the pen in his mouth. "Any news?"
"Your dad just called in. He's back at Peter's apartment. Nothing unusual happened today. Isaac, Scott and Jackson are on their way back. Boyd just checked the surroundings of Peter's apartment and once the other three are back they'll go back to your house to see if they've come looking for you."
Stiles hummed and took the pen out of his mouth. He threw both pens on the table, rubbed his face and sighed. "I'm done for today. I can't read another line."
"I'll go home, then. Call me if you have anything to work with," Lydia said and left the apartment without another word, breezing beside Derek without sparing him a glance.
"Since we all know she's getting laid regularly, do you think the stick's just too far up her ass or Jackson's just really bad in bed?" Erica commented uncaringly and while Derek just raised an eyebrow at her, Stiles snickered.
"Considering the stick Jackson has up his ass?" Stiles joked and Erica grinned almost evilly.
"Erica, you should go home. Isaac will be home soon and we don't want your parents to worry," Derek said and Erica sighed.
"Whatever you say, Papa-Wolf." She bowed down and kissed Stiles' cheek, catching him by surprise. "See you tomorrow, Mama-Wolf!" she said cheerfully and ran out of the apartment before either could say anything.
"What – what did she mean by that?" Stiles blurted out in shock and Derek shook his head.
"I think my mind would blow up if I knew what Erica Reyes thought half the time," Derek said and Stiles shivered. A moment later he yawned, leaned back in his armchair, pulled his legs up and turned on his side after he wrapped his arms around his knees.
Derek raised an eyebrow at that and an amused smile pulled on his lips. He walked over to Stiles and shook his shoulder. "You're already falling asleep. Go to your room."
"Mmm-no. Comfy." Stiles grumbled and Derek rolled his eyes.
"Stiles, either you go to your room or I'll carry you up." Stiles whined and Derek raised an eyebrow at him. "As you wish." He bent down and effortlessly picked up the half asleep teen into his arms. Stiles only whined again and wrinkled his nose.
"Y'smell like a wet dog." Stiles mumbled and Derek raised an eyebrow at him even though Stiles couldn't see him.
"It's raining outside," Derek said and Stiles grumbled something not particularly intelligent.
Derek chuckled as he kicked the door of Stiles' room open and walked over to the bed. He laid Stiles down on it and carefully pulled off Stiles' shoes. He debated for a moment if he should take off Stiles' shirt and pants but decided against it. He didn't want to invade the teen's privacy more than he already did.
"Good night."
"G'night." Derek stopped with his hand on the knob, smiled and chuckled.
Derek closed the door behind himself and with a sigh leaned back against the door. If he concentrated really, really hard he could hear the whispers of Stiles' steady heartbeat.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath then pushed off the door and made his way back to his room with a determined look set on his face.
cut
Stiles frowned and groaned as he woke up. He rolled on his back, knowing it will physically hurt to immediately open his eyes. 'I hope the guys find something today. At least then we'll actually have something to work with.' He sighed and slowly opened his eyes.
Stiles was slow to actually drag himself out of bed settling to go at a snail's pace. He yawned and scratched at his chest. In the next moment his breath hitched in his throat, his heart skipped a beat and his thoughts came to a sharp stop.
"Oh, my God." His eyes flew open in panic, and the scream that bubbled up his throat was one of pure horror and fear. "Derek!"
cut
This is a good one. ;)