Stiles let out a low whistle of appreciation as he looked around the large room he'd been shown into by Derek. One of the lower levels of the building Derek's loft was in had been converted into a gym for the pack, and Stiles was reminded of Oliver's underground basement lair in Starling City, or the training gyms at Nanda Parbat This one, however, was made for werewolves. Everything was reinforced to handle a werewolf on full moon, allowing the werewolves to do what they wanted without holding back for fear of trashing the place.
Around the outside of the room was a parkour course, much like the one at Nanda Parbat, although Stiles was willing to bet that this one would be harder, given that it was designed for werewolves, while in the centre there where sparring matts and weights, and other workout gear. At the far end of the room was a shooting range, obviously intended for the human members of the pack.
"Impressive," Stiles turned to face Derek with a smile, "Now I know why you're all built like Greek gods."
Derek's cheeks coloured at the compliment, and Stiles smirked at the reaction, before he turned around to join Jackson, who had moved towards the centre of the room. As Stiles walked towards Jackson, he spotted a salmon ladder, towering above the rest of the equipment, and tilted his head curiously.
"Hey Jackson," Stiles began. Jackson looked towards him, then followed Stiles' line of sight to the salmon ladder.
"Race you to it?" Jackson offered.
Stiles looked over his shoulder at the rest of the pack, "I've got a better idea."
"What are you boys talking about?" Chris asked, joining Jackson and Stiles.
"Nothing," Jackson shrugged, although Stiles caught the quick smile Jackson threw towards him.
"Do you do much working out in here, Chris?" Stiles asked.
"Me…god no, I'm getting too old for this level of training. Your dad doesn't either, although we both have used the shooting range, just to get the practise in, without bothering with going to the public one, or to try something new out. Lydia sometimes does sparring training with Parrish or Derek, but she doesn't attempt the ladder or the Parkour course anything like that though. Parrish does, and the wolves all do, and Kira of course, why, you thinking about it?"
Stiles shrugged. Melissa had pulled out his stiches a couple of days earlier and said he should be ok to go back to physical activity, and so far he hadn't done anything major, just doing some light exercises and his katas every morning.
"Stiles…I've heard rumours of what the League training is like, plus snippets of what you've talked about doing during training. I don't think you would have much trouble, and, well, I kind of want to see they're reaction" Chris dropped his voice to a conspiring whisper, before he wandered casually back towards the pack.
Stiles and Jackson both smirked at one another, and Jackson reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Stiles began stretching, unnoticed by the rest of the pack, who were engaged in conversation lead by Chris, who was distracting them from what Jackson and Stiles were doing.
"So, what's your plan?" Jackson asked.
"Parkour course, then I'll do the Salmon ladder." Stiles replied, studying the course for any choke points, and plotting his route through the course.
"Don't push it too hard." Jackson warned, "This was designed for werewolves."
"Dude, I've done courses that were designed for people twice my size. I know what I'm capable of and how to adapt the course to suit my skill level."
"Good," Jackson nodded, "Because I don't have to be the one to tell Oliver that you broke your neck trying to show off."
"Ha. The only thing that's going to get broken are the jaws of the pack when they hit the ground." Stiles replied, finishing off his stretches and warm up, before he wandered nonchalantly back towards the pack who were conveniently standing near the start of the course, with Jackson following behind.
"So," Stiles began casually, attracting their attention, "is it work out time?"
The pack all turned their attention towards him as Stiles pulled the t-shirt he was wearing over his head, exposing his bare chest, complete with his scars and various tattoos. Most of the pack had seen it all on the night of the fight against the league, while Melissa had been tending to Stiles' wounds, but at the time Stiles guessed that they'd been more worried about his injuries then looking at his exposed skin.
Stiles knew how much muscle he'd put on while he was away. He'd found some boxes of his old clothes just the other day and he'd been surprised by how tight they were now compared to how they had fitted before. It had been a little shocking to realise just how much his body had changed during his time away from Beacon Hills.
Now, Stiles turned his back to the rest of the pack, stretching slightly, flexing his muscles just slightly, before he started towards the parkour course.'
"Stiles, be careful," Derek called, a hint of nerves in his voice. It made Stiles feel warm, deep in his chest, at how worried Derek was, although there was a part of him that was determined to prove, once and for all, that he wasn't the same helpless teenager he had once been. Sarcasm was no longer his only defence.
Stiles moved through the course, jumping over obstacles, hurdling over gaps and using what was around him to climb to different levels. He could feel the eyes of the pack on him. Scott and Liam were cheering him on, and Jackson was busily recording him, as well as the Pack's reaction.
Stiles jumped off the last obstacle, finished the course with a flip that, although not completely necessary, was a bit fun, but he didn't stop there, leaping off a platform towards the salmon ladder, catching the bar with both hands on his way down, and then using his momentum to begin to slowly climb. He blocked out the noise of the pack, although they'd fallen mostly silent, focusing instead on his own body and his momentum, along with the rhythmic clanging of the salmon ladder as he climbed.
Reaching the top, Stiles threw in a few chin ups, just because he could, before he pulled himself up and rested his stomach on the bar, looking down at the ground, and at the pack. He could see their mouth's hanging open in shock…and the smile on Jackson's face. He flipped the whole way over the bar, swinging a couple of times so he could let go and change his grip slightly, before he began to descend again all the way to the bottom rung, where he flipped off and landed in a crouch on the mats on the floor below the ladder.
His arms were burning a little from the amount of energy he'd used, and his abdominal muscles were protesting the strenuous workout after not having done much lately, but Stiles generally felt pretty good. It hadn't completely warn him out, although a drink of water and a rest for a few minutes sounded like a good idea.
"That was pretty cool Stilinski," Jackson was the first to comment, seeing as the rest of the pack were still sharing at Stiles in shock.
"You get their reactions?" Stiles asked with a smirk, high fiving Jackson, who nodded.
"Oh yeah…I'll send it to you. When I'm back in Starling City and things get rough I'll watch it…and laugh at them."
"Send it to Danny and Ethan as well, they'd appreciate it." Stiles requested, and Jackson nodded enthusiastically, fiddling with his phone.
"I think you broke Derek," Lydia offered, looking at the way the Alpha's eyes had glazed over.
"Just a bit. Dude, that was awesome," Liam agreed enthusiastically, "I've never seen a human do that. It was way better than when Parrish does it."
"Jordan does quite well for himself, Stiles has just had more specialised…training," Lydia defended her boyfriend, as Parrish wasn't there.
Chris clasped Stiles on the shoulder, "Well done. That was…amazing, Stiles. You should be proud of yourself, of what you've achieved. Allison would be proud."
"Thanks Chris."
"Chris is right, that was so cool," Scott enthused, "Coach would flip if he saw you now."
Stiles smiled at his best friend, but deep down he was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the pack's praise. Lydia, however, seemed to spot it before the werewolves noticed it.
"Weren't you all going to do some training, not pester Stiles?" she prompted pointedly. Scott immediately nodded, his eyes widening slightly as his nostrils flared a little, obviously picking up the subtle change in Stiles' scent.
"Yeah, come on, I've got to go to work tonight, and I want to have a shower before I have to start my shift."
Scott, Jackson, Kira, Liam and Chris moved away, occupying themselves with their own training, leaving Stiles with Lydia and Derek, who sat down on the floor on either side of Stiles.
Lydia offered Stiles a water bottle, and he took a lengthy swig, "thanks," he murmured, staring at his hands.
'It's ok, they can get a bit much sometimes," Lydia shrugged, watching the pack, giving Stiles some illusion of privacy. Stiles appreciated it, his head spinning. His abdomen, where Kate had clawed it, was beginning to ache a little, and he was fairly sure he'd pushed it too far.
Wordlessly, as if he knew Stiles was in pain, Derek reached out and touched his hand to Stiles' bare arm. Stiles startled at the gesture, turning his head and watching silently as the veins of Derek's arm went back, the werewolf absorbing his pain. There was a part of Stiles that wanted to pull away, convinced, even after all this time, that he didn't deserve to have his pain taken like that…that he deserved to be in pain, but Stiles managed to silence that particular thought.
"Thanks," Stiles mumbled again. Derek nodded in acknowledgement.
'Your tattoos…do the mean anything in particular?" Derek asked in a gentle voice.
Stiles nodded, "Scott's pack, obviously," Stiles tapped the two bands around his left bicep, near identical to Scott's tattoo, "and your pack, again obviously", Stiles indicated the triskelion on his right shoulder blade, "Together I had them to…remind myself that I wasn't alone, that no matter what happen, I had you guys with me, even though you weren't actually there, and you probably thought I was dead, I still had you all with me. The tattoo for Scott's pack…has a double meaning to it," Stiles admitted, turning his arm over so the underside was exposed, revealing the scarring within the tattoo, the fine white lines of raised skin, clearly resembling two capital A's.
"How did you do that?" Derek asked, although Stiles suspected Derek really didn't want to hear the answer, but he still replied truthfully.
"I waited for the tattoo to heal, and then I…wrote the letters…with a small knife. It was still early on, and let me tell you, it was mild compared to what I saw some of the other people doing to themselves at Nada Parbat."
Derek looked nauseated, and Lydia had tears in her eyes, although she was trying to hide it.
"What about the one on your hip," Lydia poked at the top of it, and Stiles recoiled…not because it had hurt, but because Lydia had accidently touched one of his ticklish spots.
"That's for my dad, it's just the silhouette of his badge. I couldn't let myself forget him. Also, it was a way of anchoring myself…from drowning in how…dark everything was there. It reminded me of the kind of person I wanted to be…that I wanted my dad to be able to be proud of me."
"I'm sure he is, Stiles," Lydia offered encouragingly.
"What about the one on your back?" Derek asked.
"Ah, yes… that one. That one has a story behind it. I don't know if you guys heard it the night…the night that you were captured, but Kate and some of the others called me 'the fox', or something along those lines."
Derek and Lydia nodded, and Stiles continued, "At the league pretty much everyone has a nickname…a alternative identity. Part of it is so you lose your sense of self, but other parts is to hide our identities from the rest of the league. Not many people their trust the other members…trusting others goes against the training. My nickname was Al ththaelib Aldhy yudir mae al dhdhiab…not much of a nickname, I know, I think my actual name is easier to say, but, you know, when in Rome..." Stiles shrugged.
"Anyway Ra's knew about the Nogitsune…he was convinced that I was going to become this great leader within the League, perhaps even Ra's' heir, which is stupid because the guy literally has a proven way of being brought back from the dead. He named me Al ththaelib Aldhy yudir mae al dhdhiab when I was still fairly newly arrived at the league. It's Arabic, it means the Fox who runs with Wolves. The tattoo on my back is the word Fox in Arabic, and then in Japanese, because the Nogitsune was a Japanese spirit, originally. I put the tattoos there so I could, literally, put my demons behind me."
Stiles looked over at Derek, aware that all of the werewolves had been eavesdropping on the conversation. Derek's eyes were filled with compassion.
"They…they suit you," Derek nodded, "they reflect who you are…what you value. It's good that you were able to use them to focus on not losing yourself."
Stiles shrugged, focusing on his water bottle. Lydia got to her feet and moved away, leaving him and Derek alone, and Derek slowly and cautiously put his arm around Stiles' shoulders. The weight felt reassuring…calming Stiles' overactive mind and settling his turbulent emotions, and Stiles leaned against Derek's side.
"I've got to say, though, you looked amazing out there," Derek added with a smile. Stiles felt his cheeks colour at the compliment, and he looked over his shoulder at the rest of the pack.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" Derek offered. Stiles nodded rising to his feet and draining the bottle of water, throwing it into the rubbish bin.
"We'll be back soon," Derek called to Scott, who was sparring with Liam, and nodded briefly…before Liam took advantage of Scott's distracted state and licked him in the stomach, sending Scott to the floor.
Knowing that the Alpha would heal quickly, Stiles and Derek walked out of the gym and down the stairs to the ground level, walking out into the daylight. Derek led the way to the back of the property, which backed onto the woods. There was a worn path through the trees, and Derek led Stiles along it. They said nothing as they walked, until the came to a fallen tree alongside the path.
"They can't hear us now," Derek told Stiles. Stiles nodded. Years ago, before the Nogitsune…back when Scott first got bitten he would have been terrified being in this situation. Now, after everything he'd been through, Derek was far from scary, even when he was trying to be intimidating, especially now, after the conversation Stiles and Derek had shared the morning.
Stiles stepped closer to Derek, who wrapped his arms around Stiles, holding him in a tight hug.
"You looked so good out there. The way you were using your muscles. I wanted to take you right then and there," Derek practically moaned. Stiles snorted, tucking his head against Derek's neck.
No-one other than Derek and Stiles knew about the fledging relationship between them, although Stiles was fairly sure that everyone knew that Derek and Stiles had feelings for one another. So far, however, there had been next to no opportunities for them to be alone together. There was no need for them to hide the relationship, of course. They were both consenting adults now, but after so many years of bottling up everything and trusting next to no one Stiles had wanted to keep things quiet for the time being, and Derek had gone along with the plan.
Derek kissed the top of Stiles' head, and Stiles let out a happy murmur, lifting his head from Derek's shoulders so he could kiss the older man.
"What are you going to do now?" Derek asked once Stiles pulled away. Stiles sighed and they both sat down on the fallen tree.
"The first thing I need to do is get myself declared not dead," he replied, "which, unfortunately, means going back overseas for a bit. I could do it here, but then there would be a lot of awkward questions regarding how I got into the States, and since I'm using a fake passport that wouldn't be a good. "
"Then what…are you going back to Starling City and help them? Jackson seemed to want to go back."
"Jackson belongs in Starling City. He's at home there…he has a pack…a family, and yeah, I could be a member of that pack, easily. They would happily have me there, well, Jackson might pretend to be pissy about it, but the rest of them would be fine with it…but my place is always going to be here in Beacon Hills. It took coming back here for me to understand it, but this is my home. I don't want to leave. I want to stay here, with you, and Dad, and be a member of Scott's pack, and help protect the town which I grew up in."
"Stiles, you could go anywhere. Once you're legally alive again you could go to college or travel, or anything you want." Derek pointed out, "the world is more than Beacon Hills.
"I've seen a lot of the world, Derek," Stiles reminded, " and yeah, maybe one day I will go to college or travel a bit, but…seven years ago I got Allison killed. Chris is getting too old, and so is my Dad, and Parrish has his job and can't be everywhere at once. I think someone needs to step up in the role as resident pack hunter and general badass human, don't you?"