Stiles opened the door as soon as the door bell rang. He had waited nearly an hour for his favourite thai restaurant to deliver his food and by now he was so hungry he was ready to put his cat in the oven. The same asian delivery boy as always held Stiles big order infront of him and gave him a bright smile.
„Your food, Mr. Stilinski. And your mail had dropped onto your doormat."
„Thank's, Kevin", he said and took the bag full of cartons and the two letters from him. He swiftly turned inside to drop everything on the kitchen table and then came back to pay for it.
„You not gonna open it?", he asked Stiles. „Could be important."
„Yeah", Stiles huffed as he pulled out his wallet. „Just like the last onces were important. First one was from my doctor. Told me I couldn't continue working for the NSA because of my PTSD. The second one was from my boyfriend who didn't want to be in a relationship with an unemployed nutjob."
„My, that is bad luck", Kevin said sympathetic. „But my grandfather always said, it never rains every day. This one's good news, give it to me. I bet you lunch."
„Okay", Stiles agreed, picked one of the letters from the kitchen table and handed it over.
„Come on!" Kevin made grabby hands and snatched it out of Stiles grasp. Eagerly, he ripped it open and read the letter out loud. „You are fired!"
The smile on the boys face froze, but Stiles just rolled his eyes unimpressed. He knew he couldn't keep his job with the shape his cab was in, no matter how long he and Danny had known each other.
„I'm sorry", the delivery boy said and Stiles started to get irritated by the boys pity impression.
He took the letter back and looked it over shortly, as his phone started ringing. „Well, at least I have a free lunch."
„Good philosophy! See good in bad, me likey."
Checking the caller ID and seeing his father's number, Stiles immediately answered. They had a routine of talking to each other every sunday and his father seldom called on another day, except if it was an emergency.
„Dad?!"
„Stiles, boy, you got several broken fingers so you can't punch my numbers? I left you seventeen massages and don't tell me the machine is broken again, those things work for one thousand years."
„Dad, what happened?", Stiles asked panicked as his father continued to babble about things he couldn't make sense of.
„I better leave you to it", Kevin said unsure and began to retreat.
„Yeah, thank you." Stiles closed the front door distracted, his full attention on his father's voice.
„I wanted to congratulate you, son! You've got to visit me, right."
„Dad, what are you talking about?", Stiles stressed out. The laugh that came from the other side of the line calmed down his nerves a bit.
„How can someone so intelligent be so dumb. You must have noticed it by now, the whole land knows about it except for you. New York must have numbed your senses, I knew it would be no good for you to move there. You need me to come over and straighten you up?"
„No, dad", Stiles declared irritated. „I don't need you to come here. I need you to calm down and tell me what the fuck you're talking about. I just came home, I just smashed my cab, I lost my job, I got mugged. Beside that everything is peachy! Thanks for asking! Now would you settle down and explain this to me calmly?"
„Oh, so you don't know that you won a trip to Los Angeles for two for ten days plus tickets to Lydia Martin's concert. And I suppose you don't want to visit your old man even if you're gonna be in the same state as me."
„If I had won a trip, I'd know about it", Stiles said confused. „Someone would have notified me." His gaze turned towards the kitchen table where the other letter lay.
„They've been blaring out your name on the radio for the last hour, you idiot."
The door bell interrupted them and Stiles took a quick look through the peep hole.
„Dad, I've got to call you back", he insisted as soon as he recognized the people outside. Without waiting for an answer, he hung up and opened the door.
Infront of him stood three hunters, two of them he knew all too well. Back when he worked for the NSA, he had to team up with hunters from the WCD on a regular basis.
„Mr. Argent", he greeted the men who was the head of the werewolf-related crimes department. „How nice to see you in this neighbourhood. Allison", he nodded at the young woman, who waved back with a friendly smile and lovable.
„Hey, Stiles."
„And, uh.. whoever you are. Are those hunters of yours getting younger and younger or am I so old?"
Chris Argent stepped inside, followed by his companions, and blatantly took a look around in the small room. „Nice apartement, agent. Looks like you're living a wonderfull life." Unabashed, he picked up the cup full of mold, scrutinized it's contents and than threw it back into the sink. He turned his piercing eyes towards Stiles. „Heard you lost your job."
„You heard that, huh?", Stiles responded unfazed. „Well, don't worry, I'll get another job."
„Don't bother, we have one for you. Agent Stilinski, you're selected for a mission of the utmost importance."
„What mission?"
„Save the world."
Stiles laughed under his breath as the hunter kept talking.
„You're to leave immediately for Los Angeles. Retrieve three stones from the banshee Lydia Martin. Bring them back with the utmost discretion as possible. Any questions?"
„Yeah, just one", he replied in a bored voice. „Why me? I retiered two years ago, you remember?"
„Three reasons." Argent stretched out his arms towards the young woman. Allison Argent was Chris's daughter and a former partner of Stiles. They had worked a lot of cases together before his PTSD had forced him to quit his job and he knew that she was one of the best in her field. She handed her father a thick folder with Stiles' name on it and he opened it, lazily turning the pages.
„One: As part of The Special Forces Unit of the National Security Agency you are an expert in the use of all weapons and vehicles needed for this mission." He pulled out a long list and held it infront of Stiles, who didn't really need to see it, he knew all the weapons and vehicles he was able to use, thank you very much.
„Two", Chris Argent went on. „Of all the members of your unit you were the most highly decorated."
„And the third one?", Stiles asked without really wanting to know.
„You're the only one left alive. You checked your mail?"
„No, I've got enough good news for today", Stiles deadpanned.
„Might be important", Argent said without really paying attention to Stiles. He crossed the small space towards the kitchen table and opened the letter lying there. A giant pop-up card came into view, declaring that the receiver was the winner of the great prize.
„You have won the annual Cheerio's contest, a trip to Los Angeles and tickets for the banshee's great performance. For two", he read out aloud, not sounding one bit gleefull. „Here are your tickets."
Without waiting for his reaction, he pushed the two accompanied tickets against Stiles chest.
„You rigged the contest?"
Argent nodded. „Congratulations."
„You couldn't think of anything more discret, huh?", Stiles contemplated as he examined the tickets.
„Old tricks are the best tricks, right?" He put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. „Agent Argent will accompany you. As your wife."
Stiles eyes shot toward his friend from another lifetime, a time he had tried to forget. „I'm not going."
„Why not?" Argent seemed to be genuinely perplexed.
„One reason. I want to stay the only one alive!"
Before Argent could respond, the door bell rang once again.
Paying his guest no mind, Stiles walked past the hunters and took a look through the peep hole. His heart took a leap when he saw the beautiful, grumpy face of Derek on the other side of the door. Derek, who should be with Scott and not alone on the streets, because the law is out searching for him. He turned around in panic and stared at the three hunters infront of him.
„Shit."
„Who is it?"
„Huh?"
„Who is it?", Argent repeated.
„Uhm, my husband", Stiles lied quickly.
„You married?", Allison perked up.
„Yes. No! I just met this man, but I'm gonna marry him. I love him, but he hates all agencies. He knows that working for the NSA ruined me and he doesn't want me to have anything to do with it. If he sees you guys, he'll go berserk." His mouth ran a thousand miles per minute.
„Agent!", Argent tried to stop his rambling.
„You've got to hide. You've gotta help me, you've gotta hide somewhere!"
„Stiles!", Allison yelled at him. „We'd love to help you, but this place is tiny, where can we hide?"
Stiles threw his head around in a frenzy, his eyes stopping on the old oaken wardrobe that he had wanted to get rid of ages ago, because it took in most of the space in his small apartement. He opened it hectically and pulled out the clothes to make room the hunters.
„Stilinski, we don't have time for this", Argent told him flatly.
„It's just- just one minute", he grabbed the third hunter by the arm and pushed him into the wardrobe, not caring about his loud complaints. „You have no idea how much you help me!"
Allison was pushed in next with a little less force needed.
„No idea! I'm gonna get happily married and I'm gonna invite you all to my wedding-"
„Stilinski!", Argent shout out, as Stiles tried to squash him into the tiny space next to the other hunters.
„Stilinski!"
„What?" Stiles paused his actions and looked at Argent pleadingly.
„The three of us won't fit in there", Argent insisted.
„Sure you will!"
He closed the wardrobes door in the hunter's face and stemmed his wholde body against it. For a short moment, the three people inside moaned as they were fitted into the small space, but then they were thankfully silent. Stiles turned the wardrobe's key in case the hunters suddenly didn't want to play along anymore.
He looked at the mess that was his home. He couldn't let Derek in here. As fast as possible he gathered the dirty dishes from the kitchen counter and put them together with the clothes he had thrown out of the wardrobe into his fridge, which used to be always empty, anyway.
„I'm coming",he shouted, as the door bell rang once more. He rushed to the door, one hand combing through his hair, and opened it with a broad smile on his face.
„Apipoulai." Derek gave him a short nod and Stiles figured that it meant 'Hello'.
He raised his hand in a greeting of his own, when suddenly Scott stepped between them, holding a gun pointed at Stiles face. Stiles raised his other hand in surprise and slowly walked backwards, as the werewolves came inside, Derek closing the door behind them.
„Scott, what are you doing?"
„I'm really sorry to have to resort to these methods, Stiles, but we heard about your good luck on the radio and we need the tickets to the LA opera.
„If you wanted to go on the vaccation with me, dude, you could've just asked."
„This isn't a vaccation, dude." Scott was wearing his righteous true-alpha-face and Stiles feared that his former best friend was about to do something stupid. „We're on a mission."
„What kind of mission?"
„We have to save the world, Stiles."
Stiles let out a laugh. „You gonna save the world?"
„Yes!", Scott answered, angered by Stiles obvious skepticism.
„Well, good luck."
Derek snarled at them before Scott could start a fight. With a gloomy face, he pointed towards the door. Despite the heads-up, Stiles and Scott jumped in alarm, as someone banged his fist against the front door.
With his muscles straining under his skin, Derek sniffed the air before he said curtly „Alphas."
„Must be the same guys that took me to Deucalion today", Scott gulped.
„They can't see us with you, they can't know who you are!"
„Stilinski?", an unfriendly sounding voice yelled through the door. „Open up, Mr. Stilinski."
Jumping into action, Stiles pushed Scott down onto the ground and under his bed. Scott understood Stiles' plan immediately and disappeared within seconds.
Then he pulled Derek by his arm into his tiny bathroom and steered him into the shower. „You are just my boyfriend, who can't come out right now, because he's taking a shower, okay?", he told the man, hoping that he would understand that he needed to keep quiet. For good meassure, Stiles put his fingers against his closed lips and Derek mimicked his action. Content, that he will play along, Stiles pulled the shower curtain closed and went to open the door.
The angry alpha was still pounting his fist against the door and it nearly connected with Stiles face, when he opened it.
„I'm sorry, I was just about to get into the shower with my boyfriend", Stiles told the big werewolf who was flanked by a pair of twins. As if on cue, the sound of the running shower started.
The man suspiciously squinted his eyes at him. „Stilinski."
„No, you must have rang the wrong doorbell."
„Don't try to fuck with me, boy", the alpha snarled and his eyes started to glow in an alarming red, as he fisted the fabric of Stiles' tee shirt in hands and hauled him up.
„Ennis", a dark haired woman suddenly called from further down the hall. „I've got him."
Stiles strained his eyes to look at the door she was standing infront of and noticed that someone had snitched Stiles name tag from his apartment and had sticked it to the other doorbell.
With a big, fake smile, Ennis let go of Stiles shirt. „I'm sorry for the interruption. Have a nice evening." He pushed the human back into his apartement and pulled the door shut.
Stiles leant heavily against the closed door and let out a gush of air. The loud bang of another door being kicked down suddenly resounded through the whole building complex. Stiles was ready to run outside and stop the werewolves when he saw Scott under the bed vigorously shaking his head. So he stayied put and listened helplessly, as the four alpha werewolves stormed in on his surprised neighbour, who angrily shouted at them and tried to shoot them with his shot gun. The turmoil of their fight turned down, as they beat him up and dragged him out of the building.
When everyting was silent again, Stiles first instinct send him into his bathroom.
„Derek?", he shout out worried, as he pushed the shower curtain aside.
The man stood shivering under the spray, fully clothed, the wet fabric clinging to his muscled body, and Stiles brain malfunctioned for a moment. Some stray droplets sprayed against his face and Stiles noticed that the water had turned cold. He eventually teared his eyes away from the mouth-watering sight infront of him and leaned over to turn of the water.
„Shit", he said as he lead the quivering Derek out of the shower. „You took my words a bit too literal. Here, let me wrap you up." He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Derek's shoulders, rubbing it up and down Derek's arms, to dry him off and warm him up at the same time.
„Literal?", the werewolve repeated after Stiles and he looked up into his eyes, finally noticing that he was practically holding the man of his dreams in his arms.
„Yeah, literal", he mumbled as he took in every bit of the other man. How he was only slightly larger than Stiles himself, how his eyes were neither really green nor blue or brown, and how silver water droplets ran down his nose and fell from it's perfectly shaped tip.
„You know what's funny? I met you twice today and both times you ended up in my arms. It's my lucky day", he smirked.
Derek stared back into his eyes, leaning into Stiles body heat, when another cold shiver shook his whole body.
„We've got to warm you up!", Stiles announced nervous from the sudden intimacy. „I know what will warm you up."
He lead Derek out of the bathroom and started to rummage through the dirty kitchenette.
„Tea. Some hot tea and you'll be fine again. You know, I never really drink tea, but my dad does, so I have some here in case he visits, which he never does."
He found the unopened box of tea and threw one bag in a cup, then put it into the microwave. As the water heated up, Stiles looked at Derek, who watched him with wary eyes and immediately felt self-conscious again.
„Honey!", he blurted out and kept himself occupied with his next quest. „Can't drink tea without honey. You'll see, honey's great. A hot cuppa tea with honey. That's everyone's cuppa!" He cringed at his bad joke and became even more nervous under Derek's unyielding gaze. The microwave pinged, but he but he didn't notice in his haste searching for the honey.
„I've got this great honey somewhere. You know about honey? There are these little animals who make it and these other animals who eat it. Bees and bears, you know, but I forgot which eat it and which make it but- Here it is!", he shouted triumphantly and held the jar up for Derek to see.
„It tastes great", Stiles said and took off the lid for Derek to see the jar's content. The werewolf scrutinized Stiles face, calculating, until something in his eyes shifted and he reached out his hand and pushed one finger into the honey. The human watched mesmerized, as he pulled his finger back out and put it into his mouth, slightly sucking on it. He savoured the taste slowly, his eyes narrowing with pleasure. Stiles could feel his cheeks heating up and he wondered how his face could still turn red, when he could feel all his blood rushing down into his lower body. He was entranced with the way Derek's mouth worked around his finger and when his tounge darted out to lick at the golden substance sticking to his skin, Stiles couldn't keep the whimper escaping from his mouth.
A loud gag yanked him out of his trance and he wrenched his head to the side, watching Scott scrambling out from under the bed.
„Dude, gross!"
„Shut up!", Stiles squeaked embarrassed. „You could have said something way earlier. Besides, I never really liked that douche from 11B, but he surely didn't deserve to be trashed by a pack of alphas!", Stiles spat out, disbelieving that his old friend could let this happen.
„Stiles, you have no idea who these guys are!"
They both stopped their argument when Derek suddenly started stripping and wringed out his still dripping clothes. They quickly turned around as he peeled of his wet jeans.
„You want some tea?", Stiles asked Scott as they both kept their gazes straight forward towards the kitchenette, trying to think about anyting but the perfectly shaped, naked man in his home.
„Yes, please." Scott nodded and Stiles put up a towel to take the hot cup out of the microwave.
„It's not really my speciality, but you must live kinda healthy nowadays, since you're now a true alpha and all." He turned towards Scott, when suddenly a fist connected with his temple. The cup fell out of his grasp as his world turned black and he slumped onto the ground.
„Vano da, mechteba?!", Derek shouted enraged at Scott.
„Soun domo kala chon hammas!"
„No, I'm not proud of what I did!", Scott snapped back and grabbed the letter with the tickets. „But we don't have the luxury of choice. Now, come on!"
He stormed out of the apartement and Derek followed him reluctantly, throwing one more worried look back at Stiles.
Within a few minutes, the human came back to himself, woken by the sound of beating and shouting. Feeling kind of betrayed, he rubbed his throbbing head and then turned towards the noise, remembering, that a party of hunters was still locked into his wardrobe.
Putting on his most innocent expression, he unlocked the door and pulled it open. Three pairs of murderous eyes fixed him coldly.
„I'll take the mission."