"Hale?" Stiles demanded at a pitch that hurt his ears. He looked around the parking lot almost desperately. "This isn't-you're-what?"
"You're not going to faint are you?" Aaron asked, grinning at him.
Stiles gaped, wondering if he'd actually gone insane. He didn't really look like Derek, he was blonde for god's sakes, but Stiles thought he could kind of see it. The eyebrows. The jaw. Maybe he took more after his mother or something. Stiles frowned momentarily. Or his father. He didn't really know, obviously.
"Is this real?" he finally sputtered.
Aaron laughed, loudly.
Stiles tried not to scowl in response.
"Course it's real, you think you could imagine this?"
"You're part of Derek's pack," Stiles exhaled softly.
Aaron nodded, lips still curled.
"Mm."
"Can we hug again?" Aaron's teeth were showing in a grin just like that.
"Yeah." His arms wrapped around Stiles again, cheek tucking to his shoulder.
Stiles' hands curled in Aaron's jacket and he breathed out slowly. This felt really good. In a way he couldn't understand, didn't really want to.
"You give really good hugs," he sighed, finally forcing himself to pull away.
"I'm pack," Aaron was smiling again. "It's in my DNA."
"But I'm not-" he cut off to swallow and breathe again, "Derek and I aren't bonded anymore. I'm not pack."
"The hell you're not. You were pack. You are pack."
The words hit Stiles oddly, latching into his chest and pressing deep.
"I didn't ah…" He was weirdly flattered and stupidly happy. "I wasn't aware that was how it worked."
"We're kind of stubborn like that."
"Is he okay?" Stiles asked, changing the subject without fully intending it. There were so many questions suddenly filling his mind but somehow this seemed the most important.

Aaron watched him a long moment.
"We have plenty of time to talk. I want to talk about you first. If you don't mind."
"Did something happen? He's not hurt?"
Wow okay he went from zero to call life alert in two seconds.
"Stiles he's fine," Aaron said, eyes softening momentarily. "Where can we go to talk? Is there a restaurant you like?"
"You want to talk about werewolves in public?"
Aaron's lips curled again and Stiles was going to start a tally against his will, he could feel it.
"No I want to talk about you in public. Plus shouldn't you be a bit cautious?"
It took Stiles too long to realize he was teasing. He huffed an irritated breath.
"Cautious enough not to be seen in public with a stranger yeah. Woods or my house?"
"Inviting me to your house? You like to live on edge don't you?"
"You're a werewolf. You'd be able to track my scent anyways wouldn't you?" Stiles demanded, tone shifting towards incredulous.
Aaron held both hands up in front of him.
"Caught me. Are you going to have your father arrest me?"
"You're kind of an asshole," Stiles told him seriously.
"You don't even know me," Aaron tsked quietly.
"Yeah well. First impression: asshole."
"Feisty. Must have been good for Derek," he tacked on thoughtfully.
"Pretty sure he fantasized about killing me multiple times," Stiles offered with a bright smile.
"He did."
Stiles scowled again.
"Asshole."
Aaron's smirk was completely unrepentant.
"You sure you want to be alone with me after calling me an asshole?"
"Hey I have a vicious guard dog," Stiles announced, trying to remember which command that meant maim but don't kill.
Aaron's smirk only grew as his eyes flashed blue.
"I'm terrified."

Gus' tail was wagging as they made their way inside. His dog, his dog, liked Aaron better. In fact Gus wasn't even acting like Gus. It was like he was high on acid or something.
"No seriously, did you drug my dog?"
"Just so you know, the fact that you think I have to is insulting," Aaron told him, heading for the stairs.
"Hey," Stiles called after him, not really surprised when he was ignored. The resemblance was a bit easier to see now. "I don't recall saying we were doing this in my room," he muttered, sure Aaron was listening. By the time he made it up to his room Aaron had already unpinned both his posters, tacks left abandoned on a corner of Stiles' desk. "Hey!" he protested, probably too loudly, "Not cool man!"
"I was trying to figure out why they smelled so much like you," Aaron murmured, pushing Stiles away when he tried to fix them. "Why your scent would be so concentrated at the corners of them, what would make you touch them again and again…but now it makes sense."
Stiles huffed, ignoring the fact that he was blushing hotly.
On the back of each poster were pictures of him and Derek, taped securely.
"You got back before I could actually investigate," Aaron added.
Stiles' eyes widened as realization hit.
"You were here before? Without my permission? Oh my god."
"It's a good hiding spot," Aaron told him, completely ignoring the accusations. "I guess you'd have to be pretty good at hiding things, being a cop's kid."
"Just say what you really mean," Stiles scoffed, "you've already been through my private possessions. Private. In my room. My roo-"
"Is the emphasis supposed to make me feel worse?" Aaron cut him off, eyebrows lifted slightly.
Stiles narrowed his eyes while violently thinking asshole.
"Yes actually. But you obviously have no sense of decency so just say what you actually want to say."
"I don't trust you," Aaron said bluntly. "I want to," he added after a moment, "but I don't."

Stiles sort of deflated at that.
"Oh," he let out. There were a few moments of silence before he crossed to his bed and sat slowly. "Well that's…" but he drifted, unsure how to finish the sentence.
"That's why I'm here."
Stiles stared at him blankly.
"Okay?"
"Do you love him?" Aaron glanced to the exposed pictures. "Or was it fleeting? The human in you?"
"You make it sound like an insult," Stiles had to look away, doubt swamping him.
Did he love Derek? Really love him? He missed him like crazy but that was the easy answer.
Aaron stayed quiet, letting him think, and Stiles finally met his eyes again.
"How am I supposed to know? I think I love him. I feel like I do. But how do I know? How am I really supposed to know? What if I love him but I'm not right for him? What if we only wanted each other so bad because we couldn't have each other? What if there's some super hot werewolf who's perfectly perfect for him and I'm just…"
His fingertips dug into his scalp and he forced himself to breathe.
Aaron dropped into the desk chair and wheeled it a few inches closer.
"It's good that you're worried about this Stiles. It's even better that you're worried about Derek over yourself. I can see why Peter likes you."
He pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced to the screen.
"Should we try something?"
Stiles wasn't sure if he liked the expression on Aaron's face.
"Would it really matter if I said no?"
"Not really," Aaron admitted, grinning.
Stiles was briefly reminded of a demonic cherub. Asshole. Asshole! Better, Stiles thought, oddly satisfied.

Aaron's phone was suddenly ringing, laid flat in the palm of his hand.
Stiles' heart found its way to his throat and he couldn't swallow around it.
"Hello?"
"Hey Mom," Aaron said easily.
"Aaron," she returned. "How are…things?"
"Good. Very good."
Aaron shot Stiles a wink, as if they were sharing a joke.
"Hey is Derek around?"
"Mmhmm. Wanna talk to him?"
"Please."
Stiles was gripping the edge of the mattress as if it was all that was keeping him from shooting right into the atmosphere. Holy fuck. Aaron was the devil. He could hear Aaron's mother calling for Derek and he wanted to die.
"Hey Bro. How's life as a hobo?"
Aaron rolled his eyes and smiled simultaneously.
Stiles couldn't move at all.
"Traveling is good for the soul, you should try it sometime."
"And being away from pack for the first time?" Derek questioned where Stiles expected a pause.
"I have pack with me," Aaron told him, "always."
"Yeah I suppose you're right."
"You sound better."
"Yeah," Derek said. "It's getting easier. Curt says I'm a natural."
"That's not exactly what I meant but alright."
"I still prefer hand to hand. Landon thinks I'm insane."
Stiles was utterly lost in the conversation but he couldn't care less. Derek. And he sounded so good.
Aaron paused and it seemed deliberate. From what Stiles knew of him, it was.
"The nightmares?"
Stiles' stomach twisted violently.
"They're better. Sort of."
Aaron hummed.
"I just worry about him."
"I know."
"It's better this way," Derek murmured.
But he didn't sound like he meant it.
"At least he's safe," he added, sounding steadier.
Oh my god.
Me.
He's having nightmares about me.
Stiles didn't know how to deal with that. He was suddenly thankful he hadn't been dreaming. Or at least not remembering if he was.

"Things will get better," Aaron said.
Derek laughed quietly and quickly.
"Yeah I know. Everyone keeps telling me anyways."
Aaron smiled at Stiles again.
Stiles flopped backwards on the mattress.
"Well then it must be true."
Derek was silent again.
"Yeah," he agreed softly. "Well Will and I are going for a run. I'll talk to you later?"
"Mm. I'll be home soon."
"Good. Here's Mom. Bye Aaron."
"Bye Derek."
"So how is the weather there?"
"You know," Aaron said, pushing out of the chair and dropping down next to Stiles, "weather."
"Groundbreaking report." There were a few beats of silence and Aaron's mother started humming softly.
Aaron didn't say anything, lips curled softly.
Stiles tried to blink away the tears that had gathered. It didn't work.
"Okay, we're good."
"He's crying Mom."
Horrified, Stiles swiped at his cheeks. He kicked at Aaron, glaring when his attack was dodged easily.
"Hello Stiles," she offered warmly.
He managed a dignified sniffle in response.
"Is it too early to say welcome to the family?"
"I don't understand what's happening," he admitted, tone petulant.
"Well it takes a little while to get things sorted from across the country."
"But Derek doesn't know Aaron is here?"
"No. He wouldn't have agreed to it."
More tears leaked out stubbornly.

"He loves you." How a woman he'd never met could sense his distress over the phone Stiles had no idea. "But he believes he can't keep you safe. He still has things to learn. He's still young in so many ways."
Aaron's fingertips found the back of Stiles' hand, tracing lines.
"So is this like…you're trying to get us back together?" Damn that was hope in his voice. Just that fast.
"I don't want you to worry Stiles. Everything is going to work out just fine."
"I'm not worrying," he lied, "is that a yes?"
"You love each other."
Somehow he had the feeling that was as much of a direct answer as he was going to get.
"You don't know us, so I know this is hard but I want you to trust me Stiles."
"Okay," he agreed softly. Really what else was there to say? "What's going to happen?"
"Well Aaron has a few issues to smooth over. Once he's done with that it should all be very easy."
"Easy," Stiles echoed.
"It's a good thing Derek is past his snooping years," she offered with a chuckle.
"I don't understand," Stiles repeated, tears finally slowing.
"Well you know what they say about putting the cart before the horse don't you Stiles?"
Stiles turned enough to glare at the phone. He couldn't decide if Mama Hale was a saint or a demon.
"Yes," he finally said dutifully.
"Everything will be alright."
"If you say so."
He swiped over his cheeks again, sniffling quickly.

Stiles only half listened as Aaron and Mama Hale said their goodbyes. Nothing more about what they were planning was said.
Stiles realized slowly he was barely more in the loop than Derek.
"You still have some time to make your decision," Aaron said eventually, still tracing along Stiles' wrist and hand. "It's a little late to back out," he offered with a half smile, "but you still can. If you want."
"After all this? Doesn't really seem possible."
"Yeah I know what you mean."
"When are you leaving?"
"Should be day after tomorrow. You might have to start those up again once I'm gone," Aaron said, gesturing vaguely to Stiles' pills.
"How long were you spying on me?" Stiles demanded sharply, eyes wide.
"Admittedly listening to you and Danny at the party might have led to my mistrust of you."
Stiles yanked his hand away, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.
"You are such an asshole," he reaffirmed.
"Well I'd just gotten to town," Aaron muttered, "so naturally tracking your scent was the first thing I did. Not my fault I got let in."
"Fuck you I was drunk."
"You said you were buzzed," Aaron pointed out.
"You and Derek have other brothers right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Because I'd like to like someone in this family other than Derek."
"Shut up you'll love me."
"I doubt it."
"You'll have to love me," Aaron told him smugly. "This is a full family operation right now. No me, no Derek."
"Yet you're here and Derek isn't."
Aaron's smile didn't waiver.
"I'm going to enjoy making you eat your words Stiles."

Stiles was left with no response but sticking out his tongue. His stomach had been fluttering but now it was apparently entering panic mode and gurgling quite painfully. What if this was actually going to happen? What if he was going to see Derek again? What if they got to be together? He inhaled, throat clenching and eyes widening as his air cut off. It took two seconds for him to relax enough to breathe again. His hands were shaking and he curled his fingers slowly. There was no reason to freak out. Nothing was for sure. There hadn't even been anything but hints so far. Absolutely no reason to start panicking. Or to get his hopes up. The breath he'd just managed leaked back out slowly. That was the downside he supposed.
"Are you alright?"
Stiles made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat.
"What are you afraid of?" Aaron asked after another moment.
"Everything," Stiles admitted, words pushing right out of his mouth, "I'm scared I'll see him again. But I'm scared I won't. I'm scared it will be just like before. Or that it won't. That it will be worse or even better. And I don't even know what I'm the most afraid of." He sucked in a quick breath. "And then sometimes I tend to talk too much, especially when I'm freaking out, and I sort of forget to breathe and then I have these panic attacks and yeah." He forced his lips closed, slapping a hand over them.
Aaron slid closer to him, snaking an arm beneath his neck and pulling him closer by the shoulders.
Some of the panic melted away and Stiles sighed.
"How did you do that?"
"I consider you pack Stiles. On some level you can read that. It makes you feel safe."
"Thought you didn't trust me."
"I just had to be sure. We protect our own Stiles."
Stiles sighed and let his eyes close.
"That's good," he exhaled.
"Everything is going to work out," Aaron told him.

…

Derek was spending more time by Laura's tree than anywhere else lately. A few times he'd even fallen asleep under it. Mostly the rest of his family just left him to it. Derek didn't mind the quiet. Everyone had things to do, their own place in the pack. Just because he hadn't found his place yet didn't mean anything. He'd find something.
His mind drifted to Aaron for a minute and he smiled softly. He wondered if his brother was having a good time on his trip. Derek couldn't really complain, it was his shitty timing coming home. Aaron had been planning this trip for over a year now. Not that even he knew where he was going to end up. It was just an exploration of sorts.
Derek would be worried, if he hadn't lost three of five drills to his baby brother. Aaron just had a knack for knowing exactly when Derek was going in for the kill. Curtis had assured him that he wasn't the only one Aaron could do it to and it comforted Derek more than it should have.
Getting away from the pack would be good for him. It wasn't odd for young wolves to leave home for a bit before they settled down. If Curtis wasn't so ingrained in the pack Derek was sure he would have done it too. By the wistful look on Will's face, he wanted it as well.
Derek wondered if he would have been excited about it if Laura had never died. If he hadn't felt like he needed to leave. But he didn't let himself think about very long. It wouldn't do any good anyway.
He did what he'd learned to do when he was tired of sitting still. He went to the clearing and grabbed some weapons to work with. Maybe it should worry him that it was beginning to soothe him rather than push him off balance. He wasn't going to think about that yet.

Amelia was a hellion. On some level Derek had already known that. But she'd sink her knife into spots she knew for a fact were still healing. Repeatedly.
"What did I do to make you so angry with me?" Derek groaned, rubbing at a spot just under his arm.
Amelia all but snarled, spinning a knife in her fingers.
Derek jumped back as she took a step forward.
"I think I'm moving to target practice now."
He'd just notched the bolt in a crossbow when Amelia sighed.
"There's this boy," she allowed.
Derek fired before glancing to her.
"This boy?"
"He won't make a move," she said next.
Derek tugged another arrow from the bucket.
"Why not?"
Amelia launched one of her daggers into the target he was already using.
"He's scared of me."
Derek took a long look at the target.
"I wonder why that is," he murmured finally.
Amelia glared at him before throwing again.
Derek winced as the blade split the shaft still sticking out.
"The point is," she continued, "he's intimidated and it's ridiculous."
"Well," Derek stalled, wondering why she was talking to him about this. "You could kill him with one hand huh?"
"And Dad's the Alpha. Not to mention Curtis is already like Alpha Jr."
She huffed before pushing off the ground and moving into the shed. Barely a minute had passed before she returned with a bow and arrows.
"I'm never going to get laid," she said casually, making Derek miss his target completely.
"Amelia," he groaned.
"What?" she fired two arrows rapidly before turning to look at him. "It's not like I'm expected to get married first."

Derek sighed, rubbing a hand down his face.
"It's not about sex."
Amelia groaned.
"Please don't go all alpha male on me Derek I need a cool older brother! One I can talk to! Come on!"
Derek bit his tongue to keep from suggesting Aaron. Even if he was here he'd never take it seriously.
"Plus you've already been mated. To a boy. Where there was a power imbalance. You're the best person for me to talk to."
Derek's hand tightened on the stock of the crossbow.
"It didn't work out," he reminded her darkly.
"Extenuating circumstances," Amelia brushed off, lifting another arrow to her bow.
Derek was silent and for several minutes the only sounds were each of them firing into their targets.
"I didn't really…know what I was doing," he said finally. "My wolf made the decision for me and then I just kind of had to stumble along. Fly blind."
"If I wolfed out he'd probably wet himself," Amelia muttered bitterly.
"Stiles wasn't scared of me."
Amelia stopped, turning to him.
"Even though he should have been," Derek continued, pulling the trigger with more force than was necessary. "A human not afraid of a werewolf…I can't even understand it. He's such an idiot." He laughed but it sounded wrong and he had to stop to catch his breath.
"But how did you get him to not be scared of you?"
"We're not talking about that," Derek gritted out.
"Are you blushing? Oh my god, you are!"

Derek growled quickly before gritting his teeth again. He dropped the crossbow to the ground, stalking towards the target.
"Wait, okay, okay, I'm sorry. I take it back." She caught his arm, fingers curling. "I'm sorry Derek I am. You can talk to me about this stuff. I won't tease you."
"I still don't know how you know about Stiles in the first place." He pulled out arrows with his free hand, offering Amelia her daggers before throwing the ruined arrow to the ground.
Amelia's hand fell away as she took them, sliding them into the holder on her forearm.
"Well you told Will," she said hesitantly, "and then I maybe overheard Will telling Aaron."
Derek frowned again.
"And how did you manage to overhear?"
"I can be sneaky," she defended, fingertips drifting over the hilt of a dagger.
"I'm well aware." After several pressing moments of silence Amelia sighed.
"I'm sorry okay? I just knew you wouldn't tell me yourself because you and I have never been close like you and Will and I just want to help you Derek. I want to know what happened while you were gone. I want you to be okay and I want you to be happy and I love you. And if you love Stiles I want to know about him too because he's a part of you now and it's important." She fidgeted uncomfortably when she was done and Derek couldn't help a quiet sigh.
"I would have preferred you just asking me yourself."
"Well," Amelia hesitated, "now I am."

They talked for nearly two hours, lying next to each other in the grass and weapons abandoned a few feet away.
"But if he wants to be with you and you want to be with him then why can't you be together?"
"Because he's human and his father lives in on the West Coast," Derek explained again, sighing internally.
"And it's not safe for you to go live with him," Amelia added.
"Yes."
"Even though you could kill anyone that tried to hurt him?"
Derek tensed slowly, eyes inching open. It wasn't that the statement bothered him. It was the opposite. Derek knew without a doubt that if anyone hurt Stiles, if they tried, he would have no problem taking them apart.
"I'm not enough," he dismissed finally. "I can't be with him all the time. I can only protect him from so much."
"But you want to be with him," Amelia pressed.
"And what if I decide to go be with him, do everything I can to protect him and miss one single minute where something happens to him? What if I'm the reason he dies?" His teeth click together and for several long moments he can't say anything. "I already went through that," he managed, barely. "If I had to again it would kill me."
"But what if he came here?"
Derek closed his eyes again, lips curling.
"That would be…everything I could ask for."
"Maybe he'd be willing to. What if?"
"He still has his father. High school. College. A career."
"So maybe it will happen. Just not now. Don't give up."
"Shouldn't I be telling you that?"

It didn't take long to clean up the clearing together and they made it home just in time to snag some of the food Curtis had brought. It hardly took any time for Will to join them on the couch and Derek felt lighter and pulled closer at the same time. For the first time since returning home he went to bed on his own, trying to shake the nerves rattling around in his chest. Everything would be fine. He just had to keep reminding himself of that.

He shouldn't have been surprised; maybe he wasn't really, when Will shook him awake a few hours later.
He sighed and sat up.
"Thanks," he let out.
Will nodded, stepping further into the room.
"I think I'm going to go see Laura," Derek said, making him pause.
"Alone?"
He nodded.
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
Slipping from the bed he moved around Will to pull on jeans and a shirt.
"Derek just…you're okay right?"
"It wasn't anything I haven't seen before."
"You want me to wait up?"
"I don't know how long I'll be gone."

He didn't let his wolf out, not that it wanted to come, curled in some deep corner of him. Instead he walked through the trees on two feet, picking between roots carefully. By the time he actually got to the tree that marked Laura's grave he was markedly calmer. He sat down carefully and sighed, letting his head rest against the bark.
"I wish I could talk to you, just one last time."
Finally admitting it out loud released a weight in Derek's chest and before he knew it more words were pouring out.
"I'm so sorry Laura. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'm sorry I blamed myself for so long. Dad's right. You would have smacked me and told me to stop being an idiot. But you weren't there and I couldn't deal with it and I'm sorry for that too."
His fingertips pressed tight to his eyelids and came away damp.
"I wonder what you would say if you were here. How much smarter you'd be now that you're older. God you'd probably give Curt a run for his money." He let out what was almost a laugh, too hollow. "I miss you," he exhaled then. "God I miss you so much."
He inhaled quickly, slightly alarmed by the sniffling sound, and swiped at his eyes. He hadn't cried in a long time.
He stayed until he was breathing normally again, surprised at how much better he felt.

His walk back home was at the same reserved pace and by the time he climbed up to the porch he was ready to climb back in bed and sleep for a good while.
"Wipe your feet," his mother called as he stepped through the door.
Lips curling, Derek paused to do as he was told.
"What are you doing up?"
His mother was on the couch, one lamp beside her turned on, papers scatted across the coffee table.
"I heard you leave," she explained, glancing to him. "Thought I'd look over some stuff while I had time."
"Stuff?"
"We're looking into some property."
"Sounds boring," he admitted, leaning in the doorway.
"Yes well it doesn't exactly thrill me either. We do things we don't necessarily like all the time. I know you already know that."
She set down the sheet of paper she'd been holding and stood, crossing to him before running her fingers through his hair and stretching up to kiss his brow.
Derek smiled as he had to bend his neck to help her get there.
"How would you feel about going to look at it when everything goes through?"
His mouth fell open just a bit in shock.
"Um. Yeah, sure. Where is it?"
She smiled and lifted one shoulder in a shrug.
"Oh…west of here."
"Okay."
"You should get some sleep Honey."
With a pat to his cheek she went back to the couch, picking up a different paper.
"Well goodnight," Derek offered, half thinking he should sit and look at papers with her. He was really just too tired to look at a bunch of paperwork over a property purchase or transfer or negotiation. Whatever it even was. His luck it was somehow all three at once.
"Goodnight," she returned, still looking at the paper.
Derek shook his head once before stepping back. He'd worry more about this property later.
Climbing the stairs Derek wondered how big it was. Maybe they'd need to add a guard to the perimeter just to get around it. He paused before stifling a yawn. He'd ask tomorrow.

A/N: So I know this is just a hair short but. Yeah.

Hope the new formatting is better!

When I was in doubt I threw in a soft line break.

I'm not in love with it but if it's easier to read that's what's important.

1 The Hales are geniuses okay.

2 I feel I should mention that Derek doesn't know Stiles is from Beacon Hills. He knows California. That's it.

And yeah I think you can sort of see where this is headed.

^.^

Thanks for reading!