A/N: So, I totally meant to have this out sooner than this but I started my new class and it's a frickin' bitch to navigate! They changed the entire layout and it's math to boot! Guuuuh. There's an assignment due every single day now so it'll probably take me longer to post now. I'm sorry! (Totally ranting here…)
WARNING: Graphic descriptions of male x male smexyness and self-harm
DISCLAIMER: me no own
ENJOY!
Chapter 19
The week passed by slowly. Nothing new or exciting happened at school or at home. There was no news about the killer or any more deaths and his dad was in a bit of a huff about it. In the evening before they went to sleep Derek and Stiles would swap stories. Stiles would tell Derek little bits about his mom, how she'd been the center of his world and Derek would tell him about his family in return.
By the time that Saturday finally rolled around there'd still been no movement by the killer and Stiles had been growing more agitated. There was the constant worry that any minute he could be jumped by this psycho supernatural killer. Scott was supposed to be the one on Stiles watch-duty but he'd called and said his mom needed his help with helping her friend from the hospital move so it was Derek watching him again today.
"You're here all the time. Aren't you sick of me by now?" Stiles asked as they strolled into the kitchen to start up some breakfast.
"If it'd been the old you who couldn't stop talking for two minutes I would have said yes. But I actually miss having you talk twenty-four seven so no, I'm not sick of you."
"You actually miss my talking? What has this world come to?" Stiles muttered as he pulled a package of bacon out of the fridge, that'd been put in there the night before to defrost, along with a package of sausage and the eggs. "You want pancakes too?"
"Nah. I'll stick with toast."
"The good ol' classic American breakfast, got it."
"Want me to help?" Derek offered but Stiles just shook his head.
"I got this. You go do whatever you usually do in the mornings."
Getting out two pans Stiles started up the burners and sliced open the packages of cold meat and began lining the bottom of the bigger pan with bacon. He cracked two eggs into the smaller pan while the bacon popped and hissed.
"Sunny side up or scrambled?" he called out to Derek who was currently doing push-ups in the hall.
"Sunny side up."
"Gotcha."
The eggs bubbled for a bit longer before Stiles scooped them onto a plate with his spatula. The bacon was flipped before it turned crispy then he put them onto a paper towel covered plate to de-grease. Bacon scented air floated around him and made his stomach growl, reminding him that he hadn't eaten dinner last night and he better feed it. Quickly he cooked the rest of the bacon before starting in on the sausages that cooked in the grease left over from the bacon, making it tastier. He cooked one scrambled egg for himself before shutting off both burners and piling Derek's plate high with bacon and sausage, leaving about four pieces of bacon and two sausages for himself. He popped the toast into the toaster last since it would've gone cold if he'd done it first and placed the warm, brown pieces next to the eggs on Derek's plate.
"Do you want ketchup or syrup or hot sauce for your food?"
"Those are all three appalling options. I'll take some salt and pepper for my eggs." Derek said as he came into the kitchen all sweaty from working out for the twenty minutes it took for the food to cook.
"They are absolutely delicious depending on the mood you're in." Stiles objected while getting out the salt and pepper and placing it on the table before bringing the plates over.
Derek sat across from him in his dad's usual spot while he sat in his. He ate quickly since his stomach was kind enough to accept it without complaint. By the time he'd finished his eggs Derek only had three pieces of bacon and one sausage left on his plate. Those were gone too when Stiles finished his sausage.
"Want more? I can make plenty more."
"It's ok, I don't need more. It was really good though, thanks." Derek said as he got up to wash his plate.
Stiles had told him time and again that he'd do the dishes but Derek always insisted on doing them since he was a 'free-loader' at his house. Stiles had proceeded to tell him that he was there for the inconvenient job of baby-sitting him so he couldn't call it free-loading. Still he'd objected vehemently until Stiles gave up and just let him do the dishes. They'd fallen into a nice pattern where Stiles would make the food and Derek would clean up.
They were lounging around on the couch in the late afternoon watching a really bad eighties sci-fi movie when Derek's cell phone rang from his pocket. He whipped it out and pressed it to his ear.
"Isaac, what's wrong?"
Stiles stared at him as his eyebrows danced with expression. Whatever Isaac was telling his eyebrows shoot up in surprise before it made him growl and frown.
"I'll be there in ten minutes, twenty tops. Don't move." He said and ended the call before dialing another number. "Scott, Isaac caught the thing's scent on the other side of town. I need you to get here now." He growled into the receiver before ending the call without waiting for Scott's answer.
"How far away is Isaac?" Stiles asked as Derek got up off the couch and headed towards the stairs.
"He said he caught the scent in the back alley way of Bernard Street next to the bakery and it was fresh, not ten minutes old. I'm going to help him track it down since I don't want him going after it alone."
"Then you should hurry and go!" Stiles said as Derek slipped into his leather jacket and shoes.
"I have to wait until Scott gets here."
"No you are not waiting until Scott gets here. He's only like ten minutes away and you could be with Isaac sooner rather than later when the thing could've already attacked him. I'll be fine. Hurry up and go!" Stiles ushered, waving his arms at Derek in a shooing motion.
Derek seemed torn but finally huffed and nodded. "Ok. Keep all the doors and windows locked after I leave. Don't go near the windows and call your dad to tell him what's going on."
Stiles' heart was thudding in his chest, beating against his ribs. "Ok, I will. Just hurry up and get to Isaac. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me and catch this thing. It killed a sixteen year old girl Derek, it has to be caught."
"Ok."
They rushed downstairs and Derek was out the door before Stiles had time to say goodbye. Quickly he locked and bolted the door and drew all the blinds shut over the windows downstairs and upstairs. Stiles clutched his fully charged phone to his chest as he locked himself in his bathroom. He dialed his dad's number and waited in sick anticipation while it rang three times before his dad finally picked up.
"Hey Stiles, what's wrong?"
"Dad, Derek just got a call from Isaac saying he caught the thing's scent in the alley off Bernard Street. He called Scott and he's on his way over but he had to leave me alone."
"Ok, calm down son, everything's going to be alright. Keep yourself hidden and I'll be home soon. I'll send a few deputies over to Bernard Street."
"Ok, hurry dad. I might be just the teensy bit freaking out."
"It'll be fine Stiles, just breathe. Derek's going to be fine, Isaac's going to be fine, and you're going to be fine. Take deep breaths and count to one hundred and back. I'll be there before you finish counting down."
"Alright. I love you dad."
"I love you too son."
They hung up and Stiles starting doing what his dad told him to. Starting from one he started counting to one hundred. The methodical rhythm started calming his pounding heart by the time he got to thirty. When he got to eighty-three the phone in his hand started vibrating and Katy Perry's Dark Horse started playing loudly.
"Isaac? What's going on?"
Panting filtered through the phone filling Stiles with dread before Isaac started gasping quietly into the phone. "Stiles, I need your help. The thing was on its way to your house and we caught it in the woods. You have to come help us. Derek's really badly wounded and I can't see it. Stiles hurry!"
The line went dead and Stiles sat there frozen for a full three seconds before bursting out of the bathroom. He ran to his room and tugged on his shoes and grabbed his baseball bat and keys before running downstairs and out of the house without a second thought. Once he was in his Jeep he floored it towards the woods that were closest to his house. He sped all the way to the tree line before jumping out and running into the shade of the trees, leaving his Jeep running.
"Derek! Isaac!" he yelled and pulled his phone from his pocket and hit Isaac's speed dial.
The phone rang and rang but no one was answering. Fearing the worst he ran faster, keeping the phone plastered to his ear and dialing Isaac's number over and over before trying Derek's. There was a click on the other line.
"Stiles? What's wrong?! Why are you out of breath?! Stiles!"
Stiles stumbled to a stop as he listened to Derek's voice. "Derek! Are you alright?! Isaac said you were really badly wounded!" he gasped.
"What?! Stiles, I haven't been able to find him yet. I went by Bernard Street but there was nothing. There was no scent of the creature's or Isaac's."
Stiles went stock still as he thought about what Derek just told him. "D-Derek. I don't think that was Isaac." He said, his voice quaking with fear and dread.
"Oh no. Stiles! Where are y…"
The phone was violently smacked from his hand and Stiles turned quickly to come face to face with…Isaac? No, it wasn't Isaac.
"What are you?" he asked unsteadily, backing up quick from 'Isaac', holding up his bat.
"Stiles, it's me Isaac." the thing said sweetly using Isaac's voice but that disgusting smile wasn't Isaac's.
"No, no you're not. You are not Isaac. Isaac could never make that face. What have you done with him?" Stiles gasped when his back hit a tree hard in his retreat and swung the bat.
The thing smiled sweetly and caught the bat, tearing it from his fingers before it held up Isaac's phone. "Oh don't worry, he's just fine. He wasn't my target. You are." the thing finally dropped the pretense of being Isaac, throwing the bat far behind him, and stared at Stiles hard with a malicious grin. "You know, it was really hard getting to you. All those werewolves around you at all times. I watched you throughout school too. Whenever one of your classmates was sick I'd take their place. And you didn't even notice. I even sat next to you twice."
The thing was still wearing Isaac's face but its voice was sickly sweet, using a tone that Isaac never could. Stiles quickly turned and bolted around the tree but the creature darted forward and wrapped a hand around his neck, its fingers impossibly long, Isaac certainly didn't have fingers that long, and wrapped completely around his neck and squeezing.
"Why are you running away? I just want to play. Don't you want to play with your buddy Isaac?" it asked and Stiles grappled at its grip, trying to create room to breathe.
Stiles kicked at it but it only squeezed harder and he would have made a pained sound if he could. The thing pulled him against its body and suddenly they were moving through the woods. Whatever this was it was fast and when they finally came to a stop he struggled hard, trying to get lose but again it tightened its hold, stopping the blood flow in his neck. Finally he stopped moving as he slowly choked. The thing seemed pleased by this and released him, chuckling as he crumpled to the ground, gasping violently on the ground.
"Why are you doing this?" Stiles asked in a hoarse voice when he could.
The thing tapped its finger against its chin and made a mock thinking face with Isaac's features. It really started to sicken Stiles that this thing was using Isaac's looks.
"'Why'? Does there have to be a why? What if I just say that I want to? I got bored and this has been so much fun so far. You have been the biggest challenge so far!"
It stepped forward and Stiles scrambled back and held out a hand. "Stay away from me!" he screamed at it.
The thing made a mock sad face and knelt in front of him. "Oh, you don't want to play with your buddy Isaac after all? What about Derek then? Would you play with him?"
Stiles stared at it in horror and confusion as its face seemed to melt in front of his eyes. Isaac's pretty face and blond hair melted away before it was quickly replaced with an all too familiar face, one that made his heart stutter in recognition. Green-hazel eyes stared at him and a wide smile stretched across a stubbled face.
"Oh yes, this one is definitely the one, huh?" it asked with Derek's voice.
Stiles scrambled back even farther with a cry. "No! Stop it!"
"No way, not when we're going to have so much fun!" it said cheerfully.
"No! You're disgusting! Stealing other men and women's face to trick people and rape them to death." Stiles cried, tears leaking from his eyes in terror.
"That's true, I have to steal other's faces but I do prefer the male faces. I am male after all." It said.
"I don't care what you are. You're a sick fuck that should go die." Stiles cursed it as he shut his eyes so it felt less like he was talking to Derek.
"Oh, that's not nice." it…he grabbed Stiles' chin and forced his face towards him. "Look at me. Look at your precious Derek as he takes you over and over in the dirt until you lose consciousness."
"No." Stiles whimpered.
"Either look or things will start to get very painful very fast." He threatened in the growl Derek uses all too often.
"At least don't use his eyes or voice. Please." Stiles pleaded in a small, defeated voice.
"I might be able to do that." He agreed. "But you have to make sure you keep your eyes on me."
Stiles nodded carefully against the grip on his chin. When the thing spoke next he used a voice he was completely unfamiliar with.
"Open your eyes. Look at me." He hissed in a voice too high for Derek but still definitely male.
Stiles slowly, unwillingly opened his eyes and was met with an amber gaze. This bastard was using Stiles' own eyes instead.
"You bastard." He growled and glared at him.
"Aren't I just?" he said with way too much glee.
Stiles moved, trying to push himself backwards away from this thing but was quickly stopped by a face in his and a heavy hand pushing him flat onto his back.
"Time to get down to business." He said in a much too serious voice for the smile he had.
"No wait!" Stiles yelled and pushed against his solid chest stolen from Derek's image. "At least…at least tell me what you're called. I can't call you Derek knowing you're not him."
The thing set about undoing Stiles' pants as he nodded. "Alright. Humans have called my kind a lot of different things but I guess the closest would be a Popobawa meaning 'bat-wing' in Swahili. It's accurate in the sense that my true form has bat-like wings but I am absolutely not a one-eyed creature! That was only one of my stupid ancestors and suddenly we all look like that! It's also true that I 'sexually-assault' people though I prefer that I sexually indulge them instead. They don't even know that I'm not their lover that they're humping. You're one of very few who have ever figured out that I'm not who I look like." He paused in pulling Stiles' legs free of his underwear and stared down at him. "Tell me, how exactly did you figure out that I wasn't that stupid young werewolf?"
Stiles had been staring up at him in horror as he lay powerless under his de-robing hands and was slightly startled by the question.
"Y-you called Derek earlier from across town. You couldn't have been all the way out here so fast if you really were Isaac. You also smacked the phone out of my hand. You don't talk the way he does. There are a lot of things. What's your name?" he asked in way of stalling.
His face twisted in thought and Stiles had to look away from 'Derek's' face.
"I guess I shouldn't have flown here. Oh well! I have what I want. My name doesn't matter. Call me what you want."
"I need to know!" Stiles yelled.
He froze and glared at Stiles. "I was last called Nathan." He said and stripped Stiles' shirt from his torso.
Now Stiles lay naked on the wood's rough floor, twigs, leaves, and rocks digging into his back but he could hardly focus on that as the thing spread his legs wide despite his struggling. Nathan leaned forward and buried his face in the hair above Stiles' dick and inhaled.
"Oh, I picked a good one. You're a virgin!" he said with glee. "Has anyone even touched you here before? Maybe you're precious Derek?"
"No! Leave me alone!" Stiles yelled loudly, crying out and pushing and hitting at Nathan's head.
A growl ripped through the forest and Nathan yanked himself upright, still holding Stiles' legs up and open. Stiles looked around with bleary eyes but he could hardly see in the dark shadows of the trees as the sun began to set over the mountain side. Something smashed into Nathan who still held on to him and jerked him across the ground until he was finally let go and he quickly scrambled to his feet and pressed himself against a tree, trying to see what was going on.
There seemed to be two Derek's. One had Stiles' eyes and the other had glowing blue eyes. He immediately knew who was who. The real Derek held Nathan by the throat but Nathan had his claws in Derek's side. Quickly he looked around, frantically searching until his gaze settled on his discarded bat about fifty feet away from him. He dived for it and scooped it up in his grip before running at the two of them. Nathan saw him coming and quickly shifted/melted until his face was exactly like Derek's, glowing eyes and all except there was one defining feature that he couldn't change.
Stiles lifted the bat above his head and brought it smashing down on Nathan's head and he crumpled in Derek's hands. Derek let him go and he flopped to the ground, blood seeping from beneath his hair. Stiles shook like a leaf as he stared at the perfect Derek look alike he'd just bashed to the ground. He cried out and dropped the bat, hands covering his mouth and backing away as his panic rolled through him.
"Stiles!" Derek called and darted to Stiles' side. "Breathe Stiles, come on." He said and went behind Stiles and wrapped his naked body in his arms. "Come on, breathe with me. In, out, in, out. Breathe in the nose, out the mouth. One, two, one, two, one, two."
Stiles focused on Derek's chest, the air rushing in and out of his lungs. It took several minutes until the constricting panic subsided enough for him to finally breathe.
"D-Derek." He squeaked and suddenly he was turned around and pressed against Derek's chest.
"Stiles. Oh my g…" Derek seemed to choke. "I couldn't find you. You were just gone."
"It…it, it was…it…" Stiles couldn't get his words out.
"Stiles! Derek!" Scott's voice called out and Stiles turned his face away from Derek's chest to see his friend running up to them with red eyes. "What happened?! Did you get it?!"
Derek and Stiles both whipped around to look at the thing but he was gone, the only evidence that he'd been there was a pool of thick blood on the ground. Quickly Derek picked Stiles up and held him tightly to his chest as he growled at Scott.
"Derek?" Scott asked, confused.
"Are you really Scott?" Derek growled.
Scott looked scared and slightly offended at the question but Stiles already knew that it was actually Scott. "Derek, his clothes. The monster can't switch his clothes. Those are Scott's clothes."
Derek was still growling and carefully moved towards Scott but kept his body between him and Stiles. His nostrils flared and that seemed to finally settle him because the growling stopped under Stiles' ear.
"Sorry." He said to Scott and straightened out but still held Stiles against himself.
"It's cool man. Let's talk back at Stiles' house since I am absolutely positive I don't need to see Stiles' junk."
"I need to track that thing down." Derek rumbled lowly.
"It's already gone, whatever it is, and it hardly has any scent so it'd be almost impossible to track it."
"I still have to try." Derek said and started to pull away from Stiles but he cried out and clung to him with all his shaking strength. "All right, all right, I won't let you go. Come on, let's get you back home. You need something for your back."
Once it was brought to his attention Stiles noticed that his back was indeed hurting him a great deal. It was probably from when Nathan had dragged him across the ground when he'd been hit. Stiles nodded and Derek hoisted him up into his arms but he couldn't find it in him to protest the treatment. Derek's arms went around his butt and covered him since he was still completely exposed and Stiles leaned over his shoulder. There was no way he'd ever see those clothes again, not that he would.
"My bat." He said gently and Scott quickly ran back and retrieved it but didn't give it to Stiles who was clutching at Derek still.
They ran for a while and Stiles was surprised that they'd gone so far into the woods. It seemed like miles and miles until they finally broke the tree line. His Jeep was turned off and he briefly wondered if it'd died of if one of them had turned it off for him. His question was answered when they all climbed in, Scott driving and Derek in the passenger seat with Stiles sitting in his lap facing away from Scott. They were all silent until they got back to Stiles' house. Papa Stilinski came running from the house as soon as the Jeep pulled up.
"Do you have him? What happened? Is he ok? Jeez, his back…"
"Inside." Derek said briefly before moving with Stiles still in his arms towards the house.
Once inside Derek gave both the Sherriff and Scott another good sniff to make sure that it was them before carrying Stiles towards the stairs.
"I'm going to draw him a bath and take care of his back before anything else is discussed." He said without stopping.
Stiles' fingers were numb from clutching Derek's jacket so tightly and it was difficult to make them unclench when Derek finally set him down on the cold toilet lid. As soon as Derek had straightened from setting him down Stiles gripped his shirt, absolutely refusing to let go of him. Derek stretched over to the door and locked it before reaching over to pull the shower curtains aside and plug the tub before starting the water. Derek knelt in front of Stiles again and stared into his dazed, scared eyes. Stiles stared back and was so glad that the familiar green-hazel stared back at him.
"He looked just like you." He said quietly, barely above a whisper.
"I know, but it had your eyes. You have no idea how angry that made me."
"I know what he is. It's actually a he, he said so. He was a male of his species." Stiles began and once he started he didn't want to stop. "He said that he was a species called Popobawa which means 'bat-wing' in Swahili. We'll have to tell Allison and Lydia so they can look it up. I've never heard of it before. He could take any shape he wanted, he could look like anybody but he liked being male the best since he's actually a male. His name is Nathan, well, that's the last name he'd been called by."
Finally Stiles fell silent with only the rush of water to fill the sudden quiet. Derek was staring at him hard, an intent look on his face as he absorbed all the new information. No other words were exchanged until the steaming water had almost filled the tub and Derek shut off the water and the few last drips were the last of the sounds.
The chaos in Stiles' mind completely undermined the silence that rang in his ears. The scene in the woods kept replaying and replaying over and over in his head. Every time his eyes flicked up to Derek's face he had to repress both a shudder of fear and a shiver of excitement. It was wrecking him again.
Derek watched Stiles as he shivered gently on the lid of the toilet seat but didn't attempt to move or touch him. The water was still steaming hot since he'd accidentally turned the hot water up too high and was waiting for it to cool down. That was the only reason why he wasn't urging Stiles' shivering body into the water. Looking at him now he seemed terrified and confused and he didn't want to do anything else to frighten him. That thing had worn his face to hurt Stiles and that made black fury bubble up within him but he kept it hidden behind a neutral face.
"He looked just like you." Stiles whispered, catching Derek off guard and making him growl in anger before he tamped it down.
Stiles looked at Derek with sad eyes and carefully reached out a shaking hand to touch his fingertips to Derek's stubbled jaw.
"He had your face and your body but I'm so glad he didn't keep your eyes. I don't want to be afraid of you." Stiles' voice cracked on the last syllable and Derek's face drew up into a sad frown.
"I don't want you to be afraid of me either. I don't want you to be afraid ever again." He growled.
Stiles allowed himself a small smile. "Well aren't you such a sweetie. You sweet talking me because I'm in shock or because I'm naked?" he joked which surprised him almost as much as it did Derek.
Derek shook his head in amusement before putting his hand into the water to test the temperature. "The water's cool enough now. I want to wash out the cuts on your back before I bandage them up."
"'Kay."
Stiles allowed himself to be helped into the tub, covering himself with a hand to preserve whatever little dignity he had left but knew it didn't matter since Derek's been up close and personal with his junk so it made little sense. It did make him feel a little better though, a little more in control of his nudity unlike before.
The water stung as it filled his cuts and he grimaced at the pain. This was completely different from cutting himself since he hadn't done it himself for the purpose of overwriting the other pain inside of him. The water came up to his biceps and barely remained in the tub without spilling over when he sat down. It felt good to wash away the filth on his skin as if he were washing away the day.
"Hey Derek…" he said quietly
"Hmm?" Derek leaned on the edge of the tub next to Stiles.
Stiles stared down into the rippling water without actually seeing it. "Will you sleep with me?" he asked quietly.
Derek flinched at the question and stared at Stiles in confusion. "Uh, I'll stay with you when you sleep, yeah."
Stiles drew in a deep breath before steeling himself to look at Derek. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I mean, will you have sex with me?"
Derek's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the unreadable expression in Stiles' eyes. "Why are you asking me this? I thought we already went over this. It isn't the right time for this. I want you to think it over completely so we aren't just jumping into this in the heat of the moment."
"I have been thinking it over and I think that what happened today just solidified my resolve. If I'm ever going to have sex I want it to be with you. When that thing attacked me today and got so close to taking what wasn't his I regretted not having sex with you more than I've ever regretted anything. He'd relished in the fact that I was still a virgin and when he'd said that it was a good thing he looked like you I couldn't help but agree." Stiles looked away in shame.
Derek sat back on his knees as he took in what he'd just been told. It took him a few minutes in which Stiles didn't say anything or move an inch but eventually he let out a long, unsteady breath.
"Alright."
Stiles jolted in surprise before lifting his head to look at him with a cautious expression. "Are you saying yes because I want to or yes because you want to? 'Cause I don't want you to say yes just because I want to. I want you to want it too. No, I need you to want it too."
Derek sighed. "I really screw these things up. I want to Stiles, I just don't want to force you into a dangerous relationship with me. If we have sex I will want you all the time. I'll be possessive and territorial over you and I won't want to let you out of my sight. I wouldn't be able to hold myself back."
Stiles finally relaxed and a real smile passed over his face. "Is that all? You hold yourself back enough. I don't want you to do that with me. If anything it's dangerous without you. You're a big bad wolf who can beat the snot out of practically anything and I'm just a wimpy human. And sex!" Stiles let out a laugh. "I'm a hormonal teenager with the refractory period of a rabbit in heat!" Derek's mouth twitches into a half formed smile but it makes Stiles practically melt. "Yeah, I'm definitely ok with being in a relationship with you. Trust me, I'll probably be a billion times more territorial and possessive of you since you're pretty much the epitome of sex on legs. No one would want me but everyone wants you."
Derek raised an ever expressive eyebrow at him and Stiles finally let out a peel of laughter that made warmth blossom underneath Derek's skin.
"Alright, we can give this a shot. But first I want you cleaned up, bandaged and healing before we do anything at all."
Stiles pushed his bottom lip out in a mock pout but it quickly changed to a smile. "Ok. I think I can manage that. You'll have to be patient with me since I'm a whiny, slow-healing human."
Derek smirked. "I think I can handle that. Now turn around and let me wash the dirt and sticks out of your back."
"Be gentle with me oh mighty werewolf. I'm but a dainty human." Stiles snorted but turned around as instructed.
Derek rolled his eyes and poured water over the top cuts that weren't submerged in the water drawing a hiss of pain from Stiles. Over the next half an hour Derek carefully wiped a soft cloth over Stiles' cuts while said Stiles whined and complained about his injuries. Thankfully Derek had learned to ignore his sniveling over the years and was able to thorough cleanse his cuts. Washing his hair was a bit more difficult since he didn't want the suds to get into the wounds since that would sting like a bitch but he managed by making Stiles lean forward and tip his head down to that the filthy suds ran forward instead of backwards.
Once Stiles was clean and warm and feeling better than he had in a while despite the fear still niggling in the back of his mind at the thought that Nathan was still out there, he stepped out of the bath and into the towel Derek held up after pulling the plug to let the water drain. He pressed his face into the soft, fluffy material and sighed into it before scrubbing his head and face dry. He managed to dry the entire front side of him but allowed Derek to take over drying his back and legs since bending down kind of hurt since it pulled at the skin on his back.
"Some of the cuts on your back are still bleeding slightly so I'll take care of those first. Sit down on the toilet facing the wall so I can patch you up."
"M'kay." Stiles said with no argument and set the towel down on the toilet lid so it wasn't cold under his warm butt.
The first-aid kit was easy enough to sniff out and Derek pulled it from its place beneath the sink and tugged it open. There were plenty of small Band-Aids but only a couple larger bandages.
"Do you have any more large Band-Aids? I need at least four but there's only two." He said, holding up the two large ones while rifling around the box.
"Uh…no, we don't. You can just use gauze and surgical tape." Stiles said with a low, guilty voice.
Derek looked over at Stiles, detecting the guilt in both the tone of his voice and the scent he was radiating. He was hunched into himself and pressing his fingers against the ridges his scars made on his wrist.
"Oh, uh, yeah, that's fine. I can work with that." Derek said awkwardly and pulling those out.
Neither of them mentioned what use the other bandages had been put to and simply continued on with the medical aid. Derek poured antiseptic alcohol onto a gauze pad and put a steadying hand onto Stiles' shoulder to brace him and keep him from moving.
"This is going to hurt."
Stiles tensed but nodded and clenched his fists. The first touch burned like acid and he squeezed his eyes shut against the pain. The next touches simply spread the fire across his back as Derek continued to clean and disinfect his cuts to get rid of everything the bath couldn't. Eventually the light touches stopped and slowly the burning dulled into a throbbing ache and Stiles breathed a sigh of relief. After that the spread of Neosporin and sticking of bandage was a quick process. Derek was very careful with the placement of tape to avoid sticking it to another cut and when Stiles was finally able to stand up he turned to look at the monstrosity on his back.
"Wow, it looks like I barely survived a close call with a large blender or something."
"You'd be so lucky." Derek huffed and Stiles punched him lightly.
"Smart aleck. Leave funny to me."
"I will when you start being funny." Derek shot back.
Stiles gave him a bogus offended face. "Ah! I am totally offended. I am the funniest person you've ever encountered in your life!"
Derek patted his shoulder where he wasn't injured. "You keep telling yourself that."
Stiles stared at him, his mouth agape before he devolved into real, natural laughter. Derek smiled wide at the sound that he'd surprisingly missed. The other injuries on his elbows and one on his left hand were simple enough to take care of with smaller Band-Aids and soon he was completely taken care of.
A knock came from the other side of the door and Stiles managed to pull himself together enough to call out, "Yeah?!"
There was a soft cough from beyond the door before Papa Stilinski's voice filtered through the wood. "You feelin' better in there? I made some soup if you guys feel hungry."
"That sounds great dad. Could you get me a pair of boxers and my pajamas?"
"Sure thing kid. I'll be right back."
Stiles leaned his butt against the sink with the towel tucked around him and stared at Derek who stared back while his dad fetched his clothes. It took less than a minute for there to be another knock on the door. Derek pulled the door open and blocked the entrance to retrieve the clothes from his father before shutting it again.
"Thanks dad! I'll be down in a few!" he called before his dad left.
"Sure thing kiddo." His dad said before Stiles heard his slippered feet shuffle away.
"He probably thinks we're doing naughty things in here now." Stiles said once his dad was out of ear shot, taking the clothes from Derek.
"That's fine with me. We will be soon enough."
Stiles couldn't help the unflattering flush that lit his skin from his face all the way down his chest. "Hah, yeah, we will won't we?" he said with a small, shy smile.
"We'll take it as slow as you want."
Stiles nodded and quickly slipped his feet into the red plaid boxers and pulled them up to cover himself. His pajama shirt was thankfully loose and long-sleeved so it didn't irritate his bandages and hid his scars on his wrists. He'd really have to find some sort of wrist band that covered those. Quickly he slid his pajama pants on and gave a sigh of relief at being fully covered once again.
"Now, let's go chow down! I'm starving!" Stiles announced before quickly darting forward and pressing a barely there kiss to Derek's mouth before dashing out the door.
A/N: This was a good chapter. I liked this chapter a lot. Intense and revealing. Me likey. I really wanna get to the smexy times soon but not too soon cuz this story is a lot more than just the sex. All my other stories are focused on the sex instead of the story and I don't think they're very good simply cuz of that.
Also! There actually is a wiki page for the Popobawa and I'll be explaining more about it in the next few chapters too. Whoever guessed Incubus was very close but those aren't as violent as the Popobawa.
Thank you to all of you who review! I wanna name everyone and acknowledge them all I but there's so many of you that this author's not would go on forever! I won't do that since it's already really long. So, I love all of you! Thank you! Keep feeding me reviews and I'll continue producing chapters! ~hearts~