"I'm not going to let that happen," Peter breathed, distracting Stiles from the horrible deaths he'd already managed to imagine. "Even if I didn't owe you my life. I wouldn't allow it to happen." He inhaled deeply and Stiles let his body move with Peter's, enjoying the contact. "To be honest I'd rather never kill anyone again. There's already so much…" He drifted, either not having a way to finish the thought or not wanting to.
"What are we going to do?" Stiles questioned. Peter sighed.
"I was so hoping Scott would be swayed. But he seems to want me dead as well."
"But you're stronger than Derek," Stiles protested, "why does he pose a threat at all?"
"I'm stronger than Derek. He is stronger than you. Jackson as well. He and Scott together could, hypothetically, take out you and Jackson. Without you two…I doubt I'd last very long at all."
"You really think he'd kill us?"
"I can't be sure of what Derek is going to try and do. He's hardly in his right mind. Even if he wouldn't, the threat is still present." He fell quiet for a moment. Stiles could almost hear him thinking over his words. "If anything it's worse now," he whispered. "Chances of Derek trying to kill Jackson have gone way down. I expect he'll try and use him for a pawn instead. If that doesn't work…that only leaves you." Stiles shifted uncomfortably.
"So what exactly am I supposed to be hoping for here?"
"You can still hope Scott cracks and leaves Derek without a fighting chance."
"But he'd still have Jackson." Peter didn't respond to that, sighing again.

…

Danny was leaning against the lockers when Jackson closed his. Jackson didn't jump in surprise; he'd heard and smelled him coming.
"I cannot believe you missed the championship," Danny said airily, looking to the ceiling. "Coach was fit to tie. But we won so-" he cut off suddenly, glancing at Jackson for the first time. "Man…have you been sleeping?"
"A bit," Jackson answered quietly. He flinched when Danny laid a hand on his shoulder. Danny yanked his hand back, visibly shaken.
"Jacks-"
"Don't call me that," Jackson growled, cutting him off. Danny's jaw flapped open. He stared at Jackson silently for a long time. Jackson shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't unlike Danny to be quiet. He usually weighed his words carefully. Now however, it was making Jackson extremely uncomfortable. "I have to go," he mumbled, yanking his bag closer, almost like a shield, before setting off down the hall. Danny sighed before following along behind him. He didn't speak, not even after Jackson ducked into the bathroom and leaned against the wall. He simply stared at him and waited. Jackson wondered if anyone could be patient like Danny. "A lot of stuff has been going on," Jackson eventually offered hollowly.
"Starting with?"
"You'll miss class."
"I don't see how that fits in with the story," Danny said, pulling himself onto one of the sinks and crossing his arms.
"I thought you were mad at me," Jackson tried again, flimsy resolve getting even shakier.
"Yeah well…I'm assuming you're going to explain that." Jackson sighed heavily before hauling himself up onto the sink next to Danny.
"I'm not supposed to be telling you any of this. And that's assuming you're even going to believe me."

Jackson had to wolf out twice before Danny believed him. And that was just about the werewolf part. He'd only just finished with the mating frenzy part when the door burst open and a sophomore came in, freezing and doing a double take.
"Can I help you?" Jackson snapped. He visibly paled.
"N-No…not even a little bit," he stuttered before turning and going back the way he came.
"Must you scare the children?" Danny questioned. Jackson rolled his eyes and slid off the sink. This was a horrible idea. Not only should he not be doing it at all…how could he begin to explain Derek? He couldn't tell Danny about that. "So that was why you…you know."
"Yeah. I'm still sorry by the way."
"Apology accepted. But that's not what you've been losing sleep over. I'm assuming." Jackson sighed.
"I can't…talk about that right now." Danny frowned.
"Jackson, what happened?" He picked up his book bag and left the bathroom. Danny followed him again. For the first time Jackson wished he and Danny didn't have nearly identical schedules. Danny watched him all day. Jackson could literally feel Danny's eyes on him. "So the frenzy is over?" Danny questioned in the parking lot.
"Yeah." For him it was.
"And how did that happen?"
"Derek forced me."
"Derek forced you to…what?"
"End the mating frenzy. With him." Jackson said the words haltingly, absolutely unable to meet Danny's eyes.

Danny drove him home. He walked inside with Jackson. He even went to his room with him. When Jackson finally let it go, when he finally broke down, Danny was there. Jackson didn't have to be strong with Danny because he never had been. He never had been and Danny had never had a problem with that. Jackson really had taken him for granted all these years.
"I'm sorry Danny. S-Sorry." Danny stared at him incredulously.
"Sorry for what?"
"Why are you even friends with me?" Jackson demanded, sitting up and scooting to the edge of the bed before scrubbing his face. Danny sat up and followed, hugging him from behind.
"I'm friends with you because I see the amazing guy you are. The guy that gets buried sometimes. The guy who never deserved what he got." Fresh tears burned at Jackson's irises.
"I'm pathetic," Jackson mumbled.
"No you aren't."
"I'm a douche," he continued, not even slightly dissuaded by Danny's words.
"You overcompensate at times."
"I hate myself," Jackson whispered. Danny hugged him tighter.
"I love you."
"What?" Jackson croaked, craning his neck to look at Danny. Danny smiled softly.
"I love you Jackson. You're my best friend. You always have been."

Danny's fingertips smoothed over Jackson's cheeks, wiping away the tears. Jackson's eyes closed briefly. He let it happen. Danny tilted his jaw closer and kissed him. Jackson let that happen too, even though it felt wrong. He stamped down on the feelings. He didn't owe Derek anything. Danny loved him. Danny had always loved him.
"You don't understand," he whispered softly, pulling away. It wasn't because he wanted to. It was because he had to do the right thing. "I can't be with you Danny. I can't be with anyone other than Derek." Danny smiled, dimples appearing suddenly.
"Jackson," he said sternly, "shut up and let me kiss you."
"I want to," Jackson returned, shocking himself with a smile as he caught Danny's hand. "I want to but nothing can come out of it. It wouldn't be fair to lead you on."
"When did you turn into a fourteen year old girl?" Danny inched closer; his dimples doing a remarkable job of making Jackson forget the dig. "I just want you to feel good," Danny explained, one hand landing on Jackson's chest. "Maybe I want to feel good too."
"I…" Jackson's voice failed him. What could he say to that? Didn't he deserve someone who actually wanted him? If only for a few moments? Even if it couldn't mean anything? Apparently tired of waiting, Danny kissed him again. Jackson moaned softly, one hand going to the back of Danny's head. Danny pulled him back into the bed, groaning when Jackson rolled on top of him. It was wrong. It was right. Everything was twisting and turning inside of him and Jackson hadn't a hope of keeping it straight. Danny was holding him close, kissing him gently. Jackson wanted to stop, partially. He wanted to pull away. But he was almost certain he'd never been kissed by someone that genuinely cared for him. It was addictive. Just like he had been ever since Derek had grabbed him, Jackson was completely torn. What he wanted and what his body was telling him were going in opposite directions. He broke away with a groan. "I have to stop," he explained breathlessly.
"Okay," Danny said agreeably. Jackson sighed and let his forehead fall to Danny's shoulder.
"You're amazing." Danny threaded his fingers through Jackson's hair.
"I know."

Jackson rolled off and slid enough away so that their bodies weren't touching. "You okay?" Jackson shrugged. It didn't actually hurt…not exactly. His body was just tense. Almost as if it expected a fight. "You look constipated," Danny supplied, smiling again.
"Very helpful."
"Hey look," Danny said, propping himself up on an elbow, "you didn't do anything that I wasn't up for. And I'm not going to spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been. Yeah I love you but it would never actually work between us."
"Why not?" Jackson questioned, forehead wrinkling as his eyebrows encroached on it.
"You're too pretty for me. And you're a jock."
"First of all, people need to stop calling me pretty. Second of all, you're a jock too."
"I like punks. I've told you this before Jackson." Jackson just chuckled, covering his eyes briefly.
"I didn't know you were so shallow."
"I like what I like." Jackson dropped his hand before looking to Danny again.
"That's not really the reason, is it?" Danny's smile faded.
"I've always known I couldn't have you Jackson. The reason why changing hasn't had much effect overall." Jackson shook his head slowly.
"This is too much."
"Life is short. You gotta take the good where you can get it."
"Don't make it sound easy or anything."
"You over think everything my friend."
"You're a hippie masquerading as a jock," Jackson shot back. Danny snorted before shoving at him playfully. Jackson laughed a few moments before calming down. He sighed and managed a smile. "Thanks Dan." Danny took his hand in response, twining their fingers.

A/N: Jackson/Danny is officially adorable. I almost regret not sticking with them for this fic. Oh well. We all know I love Jackson/Derek. And I promise that will be getting better.

Updates might be slower coming up. I finally have to go back to school. Oy.

Thanks for reading and reviewing and you know…being awesome in general.