A/N So sorry it took so long to update but i had problems with the hospital. I hope you enjoy the words i have conjured up from many years of education surrounded by idiots who tried to stop my learning by being idiotic.
I may have to go hospital soon but if i don't expect an update. I'll be writing in my spare time.
This story is all just words. And words are just letters. And what are letters. Some shapes that some person made up. And humans are just made of cells and i can't handle this it's to late at night.
I live in England by the way so it's like two thirty in the goddamn morning.

Derek had absolutely no idea what was going on. Neither did the whole pack if the way they were staring at Stiles was anything to go by. Lydia had caught Jackson before he could hit the ground and now he is quite literally gaping at Stiles. Derek knows the feeling.

Stiles is just standing there, fake smile plastered across his face while nine pairs of eyes stare at him in absolute shock. He raises an eyebrow at all of them when no one speaks for a full minute. This seems to unfreeze Scott and he hears him make a choking sound. Stiles seems to get sick of the silence and turns back around and kneels next to the demon with the knives stuck in various parts of its body. Derek can smell the thick smell of sulphur leaking out of the body and he wrinkles his nose in disgust. When Stiles just proceeds in pulling the knives he hears Scott make another choking noise.

Stiles stands up and stretches his arms above his head, Derek doesn't miss the way he winces, before he speaks, "The weighted silence is really getting old guys. Like, does Scott have something stuck in his throat cause keeps choking and dude I'm not gonna lie, that noise in just plain nasty."

Scott's eyes widen and he takes a step towards Stiles before he stops, "Stiles. How… what… Is that really you?" Stiles rolls his eyes and sweeps his hands down his body.

"In the flesh buddy"

Surprisingly it's Erica who's the first to tackle Stiles. He sees Stiles blink once and then sputter when he gets an armful of blonde. Derek was expecting him to fall under her weight but he just catches her in his arms and holds her awkwardly while she hugs his neck. Derek takes a step forward then stops, Stiles has been gone for years and a part of Derek can't actually believe he's back. This Stiles smells different, he doubts any of the pack can tell but Derek's the alpha.

The Stiles that went missing didn't smell so weighted. This one's scent is thick in the air, thick with layered emotions that Derek can't decipher. Part of him doesn't want to because the scent smells dangerous and sad and a million different things.

Derek can see Stiles trying to shake off Erica but just ends up flailing his arms a bit while she's still attached to him, Stiles almost trips and that makes the air rush out of Derek. It's good to know some things never change. Scott choking noises have only gotten worse and he's slowly making his way to where Stiles' eyes are wide and his mouth is full of blonde hair. Erica sees him approaching and jumps off Stiles only to plaster herself against his side. When Scott first touches Stiles the pack an invisible dam seems to break and everybody except Derek runs forward to tackle Stiles and he hears Stiles mutter a quiet "Oh shit" before the full force of the pack hits him and he goes down like a rock. He hears a high pitched squeak which he's pretty sure is all Stiles and everybody starts talking on top of each other.

"How are you even?"

"-Did you go?"

"-Cant believe it"

"Stiles-"

"Missed you so mu-"

Derek lets his eyes bleed to red and roars out a quick "Everybody quiet!"

The whole pack stops speaking at once and the silence is stifling and then a quiet groan comes from the middle of the pile and Stiles groans "You guys, I think you're crushing my internal organs. Yep, there goes my kidney." Everybody moves gracefully off of him and Derek steps forward to help him up. Stiles looks at Derek's offered hand and ignores it in favour of getting himself up and brushing off his clothes. He blinks at Stiles in shock and slowly lowers his hand. Stiles' still fake smile drops from his face and he suddenly looks five years older. His expression is scarily blank and where years ago Derek could see the small cracks in Stiles' masks this Stiles has none. He takes the intricate knife out of his jeans and slowly wiped the blood off of it with his shirt.

When everybody goes without speaking for another minute Derek has had enough. He steps forward and puts his hand on Stiles' shoulder, ignoring the way he freezes up. "Stiles, what happened?"

Stiles is nodding before he's finished speaking and Derek looks on in confusion as he shakes off the shoulder and starts walking backwards. "It's been what two, three years since I last saw you guys?"

Boyd's jaw clenches and he slowly says, "Three years and seven months."

Stiles nods along "Seems like a lot longer. You guys look different. Older. Happier. You look good." He's looking at Derek when he says it and a small pained smile ghosts across his face, it's the first one that doesn't look faked.

Derek hears someone behind him growling and it's Jackson who speaks up, "Cut the bullshit Stilinski and just tell us where you've been." Derek doesn't miss the way Stiles freezes up at the name Stilinski.

Stiles looks down at his watch and Derek sees the way his surprised face falls on. "Is that the time. I thought it was earlier. It's just so late-"

Derek glares at him. "Stiles"

"I mean I have got to get going-"

"Stiles"

"I am on a schedule and I got places to be, people to see"

"Stiles!"

"Ok, down wolfy. No need to get all fangs and claws on me. I come in peace."

"Stiles. You get that you can't just leave like that, you know that we need to talk" Stiles lets out a breath and seems to deflate.

"I'm staying at the motel down Gregson Street, room number 14. I hate to say this but you need to come alone. It might not be safe for anyone else."

Scott whines and seems to choke again before he splutters out "But Stiles. What do you mean dangerous, why can't we come."

"Scott. Stop. It's dangerous for you, that rooms lined with mountain ash and you don't wanna know what. Someone might even be following me, Derek's the alpha which, surprise surprise, means hes stronger than you and has better instincts. If some sneaky sons of bitches try to get the jump on him he might have a chance to survive. For all I know the person that attacks him might not be human. I could have demons on my ass. I don't have time to chat I should really go. Um, bye." Stiles turns and jogs out of eyesight and everybody is to shocked to stop him.

Twenty seconds after Derek can't sense Stiles anymore everybody starts shouting over each other and Derek has had it. "House, Now. Pack meeting." He hears Jackson quietly murmur 'yeah no shit' and spins on his heel to growl at him. Jackson raises his arms and steps back and Derek loses it. He shifts and runs home.

The pack meeting is chaos.

Everybody shouts over each other and nobody even tries to calm down. Some claws are out and eyes are glowing and all through it Derek stands in the corner staring at the lopsided cake they left behind when they heard the gunshots.

Nobody answers when Isaac asks "Where did Stiles go in the first place?"
Nobody answers when Danny asks "Why is he back now. After so long. And why does it seem like he's a hunter? And why the fuck were there demons?!"

Nobody answers because nobody knows.

The pack agreed that only Derek should go to Stiles' motel until they find out more about why he's here. That's why Derek's standing outside a grimy motel room trying to distinguish Stiles' scent underneath the mixture of hundreds of other people, thousands of different smells. For some reason he can't smell or hear anything from inside the room and it's making him nervous. He feels like pacing, or dragging his hands through his hair but he stays still and makes his expression carefully blank. After taking a few deep breaths Derek knocks three times on the door and waits for an answer.

When the door opens Derek freezes.

He could have frozen because of a number of things.

The absolute stench of sex that Derek can smell from inside of the room.

The man who clears his throat with a dopey smile on his face who squeezes between Derek and the door frame to get out of the room.

The stench of sex on the man.

The way Stiles looks, rumpled and almost relaxed and beautiful and…

But that's not why he stops. He stops because of the scars, the scars upon scars, littering Stiles' body. They don't look like they were made of claws and not even all of them look like cuts. Some of them look like deep burns that were branded on his skin. There are thick and thin scars, and circular scars and they are everywhere. His wrists have scars which wrap right around both of them, the scar tissue even paler than his normal skin.

Around his bicep there's strange tattoos that cover and wind around his arm and run across his chest. They are deep startling black even though they look at least a year old, and the patterns capture Derek's attention and he feels as if he can't look away.

Stiles almost relaxed posture freezes up immediately when he notices Derek staring at his chest. He turns around to grab a shirt from the bed and Derek makes a small whining noise when he sees his back. Amazingly, disgustingly, it's worse than his front.

Stiles' jaw is tight when he finally acknowledges Derek, his battered body hidden from view. "Sorry about that. I wasn't expecting you until at least tomorrow morning"

Derek has had enough of this Stiles hiding things and changing the subject and so he slowly stalks towards him while his eyes burn red. Instead of backing away like Derek though he would do, Stiles stays in exactly the same place and doesn't move an inch, not even when Derek's shoes are touching his bare feet. Derek almost can't breathe through the rage that's coursing through him. Just the thought of how Stiles got those scars, the ones that look like burns and cuts not claws. Never claws. It looks like something human. It looks like something Derek would kill to get rid of, to be able to smooth away all the blemishes on Stiles' skin.

"How?"

Stiles knows exactly what he talking about and doesn't hesitate to answer and lie. "Comes with the job, you hunt for a couple of years and you're bound to get a couple of claws in you. I mean I'm sure if you were-"

Derek doesn't hear Stiles' heart skip but he doesn't need to. "Stop lying to me"

Stiles' whole body stiffens and he looks straight into Derek's eyes with an expression that seems to plead 'stop asking'. But Derek can see through all of his bullshit and he needs to know. He needs to. So he shakes his head and Stiles groans and steps away from Derek while dragging a hand through his hair.

"Derek, just leave it alone. Just do this one thing for me. Just leave it" His voice had more emotion than Derek's been able to read since he first saw him fighting and Derek aches because he asking Derek stop but he can't.

Stiles looks up and huffs out a bitter laugh before he starts pacing around the room. "Of course you won't just leave it alone and of course you're going to look like that, and of-fucking-course the demons are going to lead me here on the one time the whole pack is here. This is bullshit. Pure bullshit."

Derek gently grasps Stiles' shoulders and tries to plead with his eyes, he sees Stiles shudder once before he seems to collapse in on himself and then on to the bed. He's cradling his head in his hands when he starts speaking in a small voice. "You guys really don't know where I went do you. I just disappeared." Stiles' eyes are shining when he looks up and Derek nods.

"Just tell me where you went Stiles. Just tell me how you got those scars."

Stiles is shaking his head before Derek finishes speaking and Derek can see his fingers twitching and his toes tapping and Derek's just glad to see some of Stiles' habits but when he hears Stiles' breath shake and his amber eyes shining wetly those thoughts fly out of the window and Derek feels his heart start beating faster.

"I don't thi-, I really don't think I can. I can't. I can't do it. Don't make me. Don't. Just I can't." Stiles voice breaks and his breathing speeds up and Derek doesn't know what to do so he lays a hand on Stiles' shoulder and squeezes. All of a sudden Stiles tenses and Derek can feel his defences shoot up.

"We should get back to business shouldn't we big guy. I know you don't want an unknown hunter on your territory for too long so I'll try and get out of your hair in no time."

"What are you talking about? What unknown hunter?"

Stiles looks at him like he's the most precious idiotic child in the whole universe. "Well me silly" He even swats Derek on the arm and Derek feels a years old scowl slip onto his face easily.

"You're not an unknown hunter. You're Stiles."

"And you're Derek. So glad we've established what we already know."

Derek growls in frustration while Stiles smirks. "Where have you been Stiles? You disappear three and half years ago and nobody knows how or where you went. Your trail was cold and everybody was a mess, your father was a mess," Stiles looks down to his feet at that, "We were lost. For all we knew you were dead Stiles or you hurt badly and we couldn't get to you, we couldn't save you. I was, I was lost." Stiles looks up at him with eyes that say too many things, so many things that Derek can't decipher, "Then you just show up killing demons. And you're completely different yet you're the same Stiles I knew. But you talk and act like a hunter and you're so different that I just want to scream and you won't tell me anything and you don't smell the same. And I come here and it absolutely stinks of sex and there's a random man in your room and you have scars. So many scars and you still won't tell me anything and then you talk about leaving when we have no idea what happened to you and I can't do it. Where have you been?"

Stiles chuckles and chokes out, "I think that's the most I've ever heard you say in one go."

"Cut the bullshit Stiles and just tell me"

And in one moment, the moment between heartbeats, Stiles looks up at him and it's his eyes again. Stiles looks at him and Derek knows. He knows why Stiles' eyes say so much and why his scent is so heavy. It's because of how much he's seen and lived and it almost looks like a little part of Stiles died along the way. Like someone chipped at him, scratched and clawed and dug their nails into his heart and found everything that mattered, everything Stiles held dear and broke it. Broke him. And Derek can't breathe because he can feel it, feel his pain and his sadness and the million different ways that he's broken and Derek thinks he understands, even if it's just a bit, he thinks he understands how Stiles feels.

How it feels to be broken, how it feels for your heart to be glass and to feel it shatter inside of you. For the little shards of glass to drag and burn every time you breathe, to feel it under your skin every time you move. To know that you're alive because the pain reminds you every second you shouldn't be. Derek knows, and so does Stiles.

Derek steps closer until his forehead is touching Stiles' and he breathes out a gentle "Stiles"

And Stiles looks up with those eyes and he just says "They were human Derek. They weren't… they… they were human."

There's one tear, just one and Derek's heart breaks once again.