Stiles The Teen Wolf
Episode Two: Second Chance at Front Line

Hunters. Derek waited until they were out in the woods in the middle of the night, fangs, claws, and fur, to talk about hunters.

"Derek! That;s information I could have used like hours ago!" Stiles hissed as his feet took him further into the woods. He'd found his anchor, and he didn't like it at all.

"Stiles, pain is one of the basic anchors for every wolf. It's not your anchor specifically, so stop whining and run, they aren't going to stop chasing us."

Stiles wanted to turn around and snarl at Derek he really did, but Derek was doing him a favor. He had to remind himself of that fifteen different times that night, one of which was when one of the hunters shot a goddamn arrow through his forearm. An arrow! Like that kind of thing is still cool or something. It was lucky Derek had been there. Actually, screw that, Derek was the one who dragged me out of my house for a leisurely moonlight run! But that had been to protect his father, should the man come home during the night.

So Derek had dragged Stiles out during the light, walking together, side by side down the street. He'd left his dad a note and he was still too pissed off at Scott to message the boy about where he was going, so if his trust in Derek was misplaced, he'd soon be dead. Didn't matter now, not really, since Derek wasn't the one who tried to kill him tonight.

"Who the hell was that?!" Stiles panted, hands on his knees as he stood on the burnt and broken front porch of the burnt up old Hale house. Apparently this was the place Derek was staying. Seriously, the guys creepy meter goes up with every new piece of information. I may have made a bad decision here somewhere folks.

"Chris Argent." Derek growled in anger and something Stiles didn't really recognize. He needed to become an expert at decoding Derek Hale otherwise this relationship was going to be a downhill spiral.

Wait, did he say Argent? Stiles physically felt his guts sink into the soles of his feet. His head spun and before he even realized it he was tipping forward. The strong arm around his chest stopped his fall and he was soon pulled up, his back against a warm chest.

"Are you okay?" There was concern there, something Stiles really wasn't sure Derek was capable of until now, but that was okay. He leaned on the arm around his chest as he mind raced.

Chris Argent? Related to Allison Argent, probably her dad by the looks of him. Oh god, I set my best friend up with a girl who hunts werewolves. Oh my god, I set my best friend up with a girl who is going to be going after ME!

"Oh man, I need to sit down." He didn't even bother pushing Derek's arm away, he just dropped right there at the bigger man's feet butt first on the rotten wood. "I'm gonna be sick."

He could feel Derek's frown at the back of his neck but the humor in that only registered subconsciously, his conscious mind however was in turmoil.

"Stiles?" Derek's voice was tight, but he didn't bother answer. He needed to sort out his mind, needed to think. "Is it really so bad Stiles?"

And just like that, the thoughts flew out of his head. He turned his torso, looking up into Derek's face. "What?"

"That you can see better, hear more clearly, move faster than any human could ever hope?" Stiles was just a little confused, but it didn't matter, Derek went on. "You've been given something that most people would kill for. The bite is a gift."

"Whoa! Dude, calm down, I wasn't like, it wasn't about-" Derek's eyes felt like lava rolling down his face as the man stepped away, turning his back on Stiles. "Wait! Wait okay, it's not about the bite. It's actually kind of cool, awesome really. I mean…I'm a werewolf. Dude, I'm a freakin' werewolf, I get that kinda accepted that a while ago. It wasn't that man, I promise." Stiles was trying to say anything and everything to get Derek to turn around, to not go running off and leaving Stiles there alone on the porch or a decapitated house. Somewhere along the lines he must have said something right because Derek did turn around, a smirk on his face.

"I think you're the first turned person I ever met who called the bite 'awsome'." Derek said with a shake of his head.

Stiles laughed out loud at the way Derek sounded saying the word.

Derek walked to the porch stairs, sitting on the top one and rolling his eyes at Stiles. "I'm serious though. It's not all bad. Once you have control. And you're going to need me to help you get control. You and me…we're brothers."

Something about that sentence, that last part in particular, rubbed Stiles the wrong way. He didn't really like it but he didn't really know why. He'd called Scott a brother multiple times. So instead of voicing his irritation, he opted for questioning.

"Do you have any?"

Derek looked back at him in confusion and Stiles scooted forward until he was seated next to Derek on the top of the stairs. "Brothers I mean. Did you any like, real brothers."

Derek's eyes hardened, his body stiffed and Stiles felt it through the few inches that separated their sides. He felt Derek shut down and Stiles yelled at himself for being so stupid. They were sitting on the porch of the man's burned down childhood home, how freakin stupid was that question.

"Just one. I had a lot of cousins though, two sisters." The answer was clipped and the tone was begging Stiles not to ask any more questions. Begging with a very sharp knife and the thread of death. Okay, personal question are a no no.

"I always wondered what it was like." He said quickly, turning the topic away from Derek and onto himself. "To have siblings, you know? I mean, I've known Scott for years and we're close but-" He didn't finish. Not that he had to finish. This situation was enough of an answer really. Scott wasn't here, Scott hadn't even believed him. Scott wanted a date with an actual girl over helping Stiles. "I always figured siblings, real ones, are the ones who never let you down. You know, at least when things are serious. They're always there to have your back."

He knew his tone was lowering, his sadness almost a palpable thing but he couldn't help it. It was lonely at home. Just him and his dad, not that he didn't love his father but…he had wanted a sibling.

"You know wolves have packs." Derek said and Stiles couldn't distinguish the weird tone of voice.

"Yeah. And?" Stiles prompted, wanting to know where this was going. Derek's face showed exactly how slow he thought Stiles was, but the younger teen just shrugged his shoulders repeatedly and fast, flailing his hands to get Derek to go on.

"Packs are a wolf's only family. When you are in a pack, you have a place, a purpose in it that only you are able to fill. Parents, litter mates, none of it matters because the connection to pack is stronger than anything humans feel for their 'families'."

Stiles sort of understands where Derek is going with the speech, and he can't help but feel the warmth spread across his chest and stomach.

"So, what are you saying? That we are like, pack or something?" He was smiling, his tone belligerent, joking around with hope. When he got Derek to smile, he felt pride.

"You need me to learn control. I need you to help stop the Alpha. We might not be pack, but we're something." Derek answered and that was okay for Stiles. For now he didn't even miss Scott, though thinking about his friend made the sting of betrayal rise all over again.

"Come on." Derek rose from his seat, slapping a hand on Stiles' shoulder, the touch sending a jolt of something through his arm. "We got about two hours of moonlight left and you seem okay for now. Let's take you home before your dad starts to worry. Don't worry Stiles, we'll figure it out."

The walk back to the house was much more peaceful than the walk out to the woods.

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The Argent bombshell didn't hit him again until Monday morning.

He'd ignored all of Scott's attempts for contact, opting instead to familiarize himself with his senses.

Stiles realized over the weekend that he didn't need his Adderall anymore. He still had bouts of hyper activity, but those were emotional more than mental. He found ways to keep himself calm, one of them was listening for heartbeats. It was reassuring for some reason, but it was always other people's, never his own.

When no one was in the house - which was often with the other half of the body still not found, though Stiles was pretty sure Derek was the one who took it. It'd been his sister after all. - he would instead work on his sight and smell.

He knew every house-hold secret in his neighborhood by the end of the weekend and he felt he had a pretty good handle on controlling his wolf-atude. That's why when he saw Scott on Monday morning in front of his school parking lot waiting for him, he didn't instantly rip his best friend's throat out for betraying him last Friday night.

"Dude, hey. You didn't answer my calls all weekend." Scott said as Stiles climbed out of his car, his backpack over one shoulder and his eyes on everything but his best friend.

"Yeah, was a little busy." He answered testily. Scott wasn't giving up though, he followed after Stiles.

"So hey, maybe we should talk about that werewolf thing. Did you find out anymore? Did you change during the full moon or what?" Stiles could hear the laugh in Scott's voice as he asked. He knew Scott wasn't mocking him or anything, Scott was trying to joke about it as a way to break the ice, a way to get Stiles to say something sarcastic so they could go back to their usual banter and move on from the friendship stump they've tripped over. But even knowing all of that, Stiles was angry.

"You would know if you'd believed in me and helped me out!" Stiles growled as he turned on Scott. He knew his teeth were now fangs and some part of him was satisfied when Scott gasped and backed away from him with wide, frightened eyes.

"Holy shit dude!" Scott yelled, getting the attention of passer-byers. Stiles gained control over his teeth before turning on his heal and walking away.

It took a little longer this time, but Scott still followed behind him, his voice kept low this time so others wouldn't hear.

"So you were serious? You weren't kidding, you're a freakin werewolf?"

Stiles rolled his eyes at his dense friend. "No Scott, I'm the god damn tooth fairy, can't you see my wings? Yeah man. I'm a werewolf."

Scott was smiling when he got in front of Stiles and blocked his path. "Dude that's kind of awesome."

Stiles tried, he really did, but he couldn't hold out for long. Soon enough he was smiling too.

"So like, what can you do? Are you faster now? Can you see in black and white? Do you have claws? I saw your teeth but do you go hairy and stuff all over?" Scott asked question after question and Stiles pushed it all away, right up until he saw Allison Argent waiting by Scott's locker.

He froze, his whole body tense as he remembered the man who'd shot him in the arm with a crossbow.

"Stiles?" He only heard Scott's voice distantly as he saw Allison spot him and Scott and make her way to them.

"Hey Scott." She smiled before turning to Stiles. "You're Stiles right? Scott told me you're his best friend."

He nodded his head mutely, trying to organize his brain and work out everything before he acted on reflex and ripped her to shreds. He was a threat on him and Derek. Not THE threat though Stiles. Stay calm. She's related to the threat. We don't even know if she knows about her father, she could be just a normal girl completely oblivious to her family secrets.

"Anyways." She turned to Scott with a smile. "I have to go meet Lydia before class. See you there?"

Scott answered with something Stiles didn't really pay attention too and soon the threat was gone and Stiles body finally relaxed.

As soon as she was out of earshot though, Scott rounded on him.

"Dude, what the hell was that! You were staring at her like you wanted to eat her. You know I called dibs right? And what about Lydia, did you have a crush on her since like-"

Stiles pushed at Scott's chest, a little harder than necessary but not enough to push the boy away.

"Man, I think we need to talk."

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Lacrosse practice came fast and Stiles was slightly nervous.

He had taught himself ways to control his change, keep his heart rate in check, but never in a high-stress situation. He wasn't sure he could keep control. Not the mention what the whole Friday night talk to Scott had done to his heart. He was on edge and he knew it, one small incident could send him over the edge. Still, he wasn't going to quit Lacrosse. Not yet.

But soon he realized that had been a bad move.

Everything started off fine, Jackson was on Defense today with players lined up to get passed him. Scott got laid out and that's when the bad started.

Coach man Scott go twice, the first was brutal. Stiles could feel his claws coming out as he gripped his stick almost to the point of snapping it. It was hard watching someone hurt his friend, his 'pack' Stiles realized. He knew what Derek meant now. The need to have his brother's back was over whelming. So when Scott got past Jackson on his second try, Stiles was relieved, right up until Jackson slammed into Scott from behind after Scott had made the goal.

Rage was a dangerous thing and when it was Stiles' turn, it took over.

"Stilinski! You're up! Go go go!" He could hear the coach in the distance, but his focus was on Jackson who didn't seem to care about Stiles one way or another, just about blocking.

And that was his mistake.

Stiles came at him like a bulldozer, he dropped Jackson to the ground, hearing something in the other boy's shoulder crack, but he was overwhelmed by the sense of the attack. He had taken down prey, had protected his pack, his instincts were screaming.

Suddenly Scott was by his side.

"Stiles! Stiles what's wrong. Come on man get up."

"Scott, it's happening, I can't control it, I can't-" He stopped, his senses picking up on something misplaced, something familiar.

"Come on man, we'll get you inside. Come on!"

Scott rushed with him into the school's locker room, but not before Stiles caught a glimpse of Derek.

Oh thank god. Derek.

Once he was inside though, he was lost.

He pushed Scott away, trying to get the boy to leave, to run so he wouldn't hurt him, but it was too late. Instinct took over and as Scott stumbled back, Stiles prepared to strike.

Again there was the arm around his chest and the warm hard presence at his back. Neither was welcomed at the time and Stiles tried to rip away, but Derek held strong, his claws sinking into Stiles' upper arm, the pain bringing the younger boy back to himself.

"What are you doing! Stop!" Scott was yelling, rushing forward only to be pushed back by Derek.

"Don't get any closer!" He called as his grip on Stiles strengthened.

"D-Derek." Stiles groaned, his body giving out only to be grabbed before he hit the ground. This was becoming a familiar scene.

"You idiot! You knew you wouldn't be able to keep control, why did you still go out there." Derek scolded, setting Stiles down on one of the benches as Scott looked on, a very confused scowl on his face.

"I was doing fine until Jackson-" He tried to argue but as his heart pounded at the argument, he felt his teeth come down again.

"You're eyes are flashing you idiot, get yourself under control." Derek called, clipping the side of Stiles head. Stiles growled for a moment before taking a deep breath and focusing his hearing.

He found Derek's heartbeat with ease, the melody already slightly familiar. The other heartbeat though, Scott's he realized, was frantic, scared, stuttering and thrashing in the boy's ribcage. Stiles suddenly noticed Scott was having trouble breathing.

"Oh shit!" He bolted up and rushed for Scott's locker. The inhaler was there when he looked and he brought it to Scott in seconds, putting it up to the boy's face as Scott wheezed. "I'm sorry man, come on, take a breath."

Scott did as he was told and soon enough his breathing was under control but not his heart.

"What the hell Stiles!" Scott yelled and Stiles actually flinched back at the high pitch his friend shouldn't be able to reach.

A hand landed on his shoulder before it was gone and so was Derek's presence.

"That's the part of the story I didn't tell you." Stiles admitted before jumping into the tale before Scott could say anything.

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"You need to stay away from Lacrosse."

Stiles didn't even have the energy to be surprised as Derek's voice assaulted him the second he stepped into his bedroom.

His dad was downstairs pouring over files and Stiles was drained. He really didn't want to argue with Derek.

"Yeah, I know."

"Then what were you doing out there?" Derek asked with irritation as Stiles fell face first into his bed.

"I don't know Derek." Stiles answered with a bit more snark. "I just- I was practicing. It was easy to control when there wasn't a reason to need it. I figured I could, I don't know, keep my cool."

"Yeah, I saw how well you kept your cool. You shifted Stiles, right there in front of everyone. If they find out what you are, it's not only going to be the hunters after us, it's going to be everyone."

"They didn't see anything Derek." Stiles argued, sitting up and turned to face the man. "And they won't see anything. I won't play. I can't say I'll quit the team, but I won't play until I learn more control."

This seemed to placate Derek enough for the older wolf to sit down too.

"Seriously Stiles." Derek sighed, his head in his hands. "I thought you were smarter than that."

The jab sent a bolt of anger through Stiles body but he managed to keep it down with a deep breath.

"You're eyes change too you know."

"What?" The comment was so random Stiles was taken aback as he looked up to find Derek staring straight at him.

"You're eyes. It's not just your claws and fangs and the hair. Your eyes shift too." Derek demonstrated, the flash of sky blue send a shiver through Stiles that he just couldn't explain.

"Really? Are mine the same kind of electric blue?"

Derek shook his head, his face taking on the sadness Stiles was getting used to seeing. "No. They're yellow, almost gold. That's the normal color for werewolves, for Omegas and Betas anyways."

Suddenly, Stiles remembered the question he'd wanted to ask but got distracted from before.

"Oh that right! Can you explain pack dynamics to me?"

Derek's eyebrow raise was also starting to become a familiar sight and it made Stiles smile.

"Why do you want to know?"

Stiles shrugged before opening his mouth to answer. He hadn't thought about it, but as the words came out, he realized they were true. "I just figured it was something I'd need to know. I don't want to be a lone wolf all my life, I like the thought of a pack, a family."

"Omega." Derek interjected, confusing Stiles.

"What?"

"Lone wolves. They are the Omegas. Those that wander without a pack." Derek tilted his head. "Although the eye color doesn't always correspond, it changes depending on what you are."

Stiles nodded, following along. "Alright, I'm game. So what are you, what does blue mean?"

Again with the sad look, Stiles was really beginning to question Derek's strength of character, until the man spoke up again. "A killer. That's what blue means. It means that an innocent person died at the hands of the wolf with blue eyes. A lot of the time, packs hunt animals in the woods, but if someone wonders too far into the forest, its hard to hold back our nature and a hunt turns into murder. Everyone goes through the first hunt though, its like pack initiation."

"So you had to kill someone?" Stiles felt mortified. He'd thought the color of Derek's eyes were amazing, almost breathtaking, but if what they meant was so bad, he wasn't sure how to feel anymore. To kill and innocent person, he didn't even think Derek was capable of such a thing if he were being honest...now he wasn't sure.

"Not just anyone, an innocent human. She...was bitten Stiles. She was suffering, she asked me to..take away the pain." Derek explained quickly, though his eyes wouldn't meet Stiles'.

Still, the young werewolf calmed at the explanation. Okay, that's really freakin' terrible, but way better than becoming a cold blooded murderer.

"So what do red eyes mean? The werewolf that bit me had red eyes." Stiles was pretty sure what it meant, but it never hurt to have the theories confirmed.

"Red eyes are Alpha's eyes. An Alpha's bite is the only one that can turn people." Stiles had sort of guessed at that one too.

"So it really wasn't you that turned me." Stiles murmured, but Derek heard him.

"What, you didn't believe me the first time?" The wounded sound of Derek's voice made Stiles smile just a bit before he shook himself out of it.

"No, I mean, yeah, I mean. Yes. I believed you, it's just nice to have proof you know?"

Derek nodded before he rose from the bed and walked towards the window. "Make sure you stay away from the field. It seems you're very protective of the people you consider pack. If Scott gets hurt again, you could lose control."

"B-but he's first line!" Stiles argued. "I can't just not see him play."

Derek turned and pinned Stiles with those misty green eyes that were starting to grow on him. "Then figure out a way to control you instinct. You have very strong sense of Pack, you want to protect him and that isn't bad. What's bad is how far you would go to do it."

And just like that, Derek was gone.

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"Did you take the body? You now, the one in the woods. Your sister."

Stiles really hadn't wanted to ask. He hadn't even wanted to bring it up, but he couldn't really help it. The game was coming up and his father had enforced curfew on the whole town. The Alpha was still on the loose and no one had any clues. His dad was on a direct train to danger and Stiles needed to find a way to help, but he couldn't if he didn't know anything more.

So he'd gone to Derek and decided to be straight.

Apparently, it had been the best decision given the circumstances.

"Yes." Derek answered stiffly.

Stiles just nodded. Sensing the tension. He trusted Derek at this point. The man wasn't a murderer, he was just a werewolf trying to keep everything from falling apart and Stiles could sympathize.

"Why did you guys come back anyways?"

This seemed to be an easier question for Derek, because he didn't answer with nearly as much strain.

"Laura found out something. Something about the fire that killed our family. We came back here for more answers but-"

"But someone wanted to keep their own secret. Yeah I get it." Stiles interjected, sighing at the hopelessness of the situation. "Did you at least give her a burial?"

Derek nodded stiffly, his gaze going to the side of the house where Stiles had originally smelled the blood. That had been what had actually prompted him to dig tonight. The night was only meant to be a lesson in control. They'd been getting into the habit of practicing when Stiles' father was away at night and it always somehow ended up being at the old Hale house. Derek had started Stiles on martial arts so the teen would have more knowledge than just how to swing his claws around. Stiles had to say, it helped keep him under control, when he knew he could fight back with more than instincts.

"My dad thinks it was an animal attack." He said off handedly, practicing his sight as he peered into the forest. "Something red." He called out right after.

"Really?" The sardonic tone of voice wasn't meant as a dig to his father's skills as a cop, at least, Stiles hoped it wasn't. "He's kinda right though, isn't he?" Derek answered before he called out his answer. "Red brick fence, seven miles out."

"Damnit!" Stiles called, tossing his head back in defeat. "I thought for sure you wouldn't be able to see that one."

Derek snorted. "I've had longer at this than you pup."

That's another thing, ever since the training had started, Derek had gotten into the habit of calling him canine baby names. Pup, puppy, cub all of them had been used at some point. Also at some point, Stiles had stopped fighting it.

"Yeah yeah. I wonder if all pure-bred dogs have the same pompous attitude you do." He jabbed back, getting a chuckle out of Derek.

When he left that night, he left without any new clues to add to his minimal collection.

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"Please tell me you found something on Derek." Scott's voice was pleading and Stiles' was annoyed as he answered.

"No, because Derek isn't the killer. Didn't I tell you that? It was his sister man, why would he kill his sister."

"Stiles, it has to be Derek. There is literally nobody else. You are spending too much time with him, he's messing with you or something."

Stiles groaned into the phone as Scott argued the same topic again. They had gone back of forth on this since that afternoon in the locker room. Scott didn't trust Derek but Stiles did.

"Who's the werewolf here buddy?" Stiles asked. Of course, he was ignored.

"I'm serious man, your dad needs to catch whoever did this by Saturday. If the curfew is still up, I won't be able to go out with Allison." And with that bit of information, Stiles suddenly knew why Scott was pushing so hard that the murderer was Derek, even though Stiles denied it every time.

"Scott, you can't be serious. Derek had been teaching me how to control myself man, he's been helping me! He's looking for the killer too you know. It wasn't him."

"Stiles, he's got you confused or something. It was him man, everything points to him. You even told me that he admitted to taking the body from the woods."

Stiles felt protective or Derek so he argued. "It was his sister man, he wanted to give her a place to rest, a burial. Besides, he already lost most of his family in the fire, why would he take out his own sister?"

"Maybe the fire was his fault and his sister knew. You said he told you that she'd figured something out and that's why they came back, he could have killed her to keep her quite."

"But why do it in Beacon Hills? Why not kill her before she ever set foot back here again? They had no family Scott, no one would miss her, so why kill her in the woods of Beacon Hills?"

"I don't know Stiles, he wanted to get caught?" There was shuffling and then Scott sighed. "Come on man, it has to be Derek. It can't be anyone else. Your dad needs to bust Derek and get this curfew off of everyone's backs. Allison told me to invite you know. Lydia is going to be there."

The thought wasn't as tempting as it would have been a couple of days ago. In fact, the thought was actually a little repulsive. "Yeah, with Jackson Whittmore, sucking face. I don't need to see that man, have mercy on my soul I don't remember doing some evil, demented things in my past lives." Scott's laugh was a relief. Maybe his friend would finally let it go. No such luck though.

"So where did he bury her anyways. His sister, if it actually is his sister."

Stiles thought about not telling Scott, thought about all the ways the information could cause harm. But again, like every other argument he'd had with himself on the matter, the answer was always the same. This as Scott.

"Next to the Hale house. I think he wanted her to rest with the rest of the family. You know, pack mentality sort of thing. If I ever died, I know I'd want to be buried near my mother, so I can see where his going."

And that…had been his fatal mistake.

The next time he saw Derek, it was in the back of his dad's police cruiser, hand-cuffed and glowering.

"You told him. I thought I could trust you, I thought you could trust me." Derek had growled.

"I do trust you! I just thought I could trust him too!" Stiles had argued, desperate to get through the cold wall Derek was building up again. But no such luck.

"And can you. Can you trust him?"

Stiles didn't know. He honestly wasn't sure he could trust Scott anymore.

Then his dad pulled him out of the cruiser by the arm and dragged him outside.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sheriff Stilinski chided, his glare more scalding than Derek's had been in the back of the cruiser.

"I-I.." He didn't know how to answer really, but he figured he would go with the truth, even if it wasn't the whole truth. "I'm just trying to help."

"Alright." He dad said, apparently not letting him off the hook. "Then why don't you help me understand exactly how you came across this."

That's when the Sheriff had Stiles. He honestly didn't know what to say, he couldn't say he was friends with Derek that would bring up way more questions than it answered. He couldn't say he was a werewolf who has super senses, he couldn't say anything really so again, he settled for the truth. Old and incomplete as the truth was.

"Oh-kay. We were…looking for my phone."

"Which you dropped when?"

"The other night."

"The other night when you were out here looking for the first half of the body."

"Yes."

"The night that Scott told me he was alone and you were at home."

"Yes." The word came out before he could catch it and he cursed in his head. "No." He switched with wide eyes, but it was obvious by his father's face that his credibility was out the window. "ah crap."

"So he lied to me." The Sheriff probed Stiles panic and natural instinct kicked in.

"That depends on how you define lying."

"I define it as not telling the truth, how do you define it?"

Stiles stumbled over his thoughts before, once again, his mouth just started moving on its own. "Reclining your body…in a…horizontal…position?"

"Get the hell out of here." His father breathed, giving him an out. Stiles took it. No matter how bad he felt for perpetually fucking Derek over, he was going to take any chance his dad gave, to escape unscathed.

In the car though, when he saw Scott's face, he was ready to let his wolfy side loose on his best friend.

"I can't believe you did that to me." He growled as he drove.

Scott was on his phone, keeping as far away from Stiles as the Jeep allowed. "To you? I didn't do anything to you Stiles! Derek is the murderer, he has to be."

"He was helping me Scott!" Stiles yelled, his voice much deeper than usual. God he was angry, he was so pissed off and the only thing holding him at bay were the few lessons Derek had taught him about control before all of this shit happened. "If it wasn't for him, I would be ripping at your throat right now with my very sharp, very DEADLY teeth!"

"I'm not sorry man! He was helping you because he wanted to control you, wanted you in his pack or something. Didn't you say the eyes defined the pack placement or something? You said his eyes meant he killed someone, why is it so hard to believe that it could be this girl?"

"It was his sister!" Stiles repeated for the millionth time. He was going to lose, he was going to explode and shift and kill Scott.

The betrayal of his truth, it hurt a lot, but most of all it was how Derek had looked at him from the back of the cruiser. He had betrayed Derek too.

"You're going to help me prove he's innocent."

"What?!"

Stiles ignored Scott's rise in pitch as he drove on, the thought making itself a more solid presence in his mind. "You are going to help me find proof that he is innocent. And you better hope to god e forgives you Scott, or I never will."

"Why are you so hung up on this Stiles? You've known him for all of two weeks, maybe less."

He honestly didn't know. He couldn't put it into words though, couldn't articulate his gut feelings, but he knew what it felt like. Derek had helped him when Scott had left. Derek had been there when Stiles lost control and Derek had saved him when the hunters came after them, always keeping Stiles in front so he could make sure he never lost sight of him. But most of all, Derek had lost his whole family. Even his sister.

"Because he understands." Stiles decided to say. It wasn't all of it, and it wasn't nearly enough, but that was the only real answer he had.

He could feel Scott's glare.

"He doesn't understand anything Stiles he's a freakin' murderer! When are you going to understand THAT!" Scott yelled and Stiles slammed on the breaks.

The jerk forward slammed Scott's head into the dashboard and Scott groaned, but Stiles didn't care.

"Get out!" he roared. Scott didn't seem to hear him, so it came out again, the grown tracing his words with dark ice. "GET OUT!"

And Scott did this time. He scrambled to open the door of the jeep, falling out into the dirt road as Stiles drove away.

He didn't once look back.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

When the news came that Derek was let out of jail due to the medical examiner determining the killer was animal and not human, the first thing Stiles did was go to see Derek. He was expecting to be turned away, expected to be chased out, beaten, to be reamed for breaking the trust of the one person who honestly wanted to help him. But he was shocked to find out that he wasn't.

"I am so sorry, I did-I mean—I wouldn't. I mean, I didn't know he would, I thought I could—I didn't think he could-" But he never got any of those sentences finished as the second he was within arms-reach, Derek grabbed his shoulders and wrapped his arms around him.

I am being hugged. I'm being hugged by Derek Hale. Derek Hale is hugging me.

"Ugh…Derek?" He was smaller than Derek, so his words were muffled by Derek's shoulder.

"You're the only pack I have left."

Stiles didn't really know what to do or say so he just sort of, wrapped his own arms loosely around Derek as the taller wolf squeezed him.

"I didn't think of you as pack, didn't think of you as anything really, but when they asked me if I wanted to make a phone call, my first instinct was to call you." What felt even stranger was that Derek's tone wasn't emotional. In fact, it was pretty empty, like he was reciting facts from a text book, but the hug was tight, almost too tight. It did a pretty good job of conveying the things Derek himself wasn't saying.

Besides all of that, it felt good. The contact, something Scott hasn't done since the whole werewolf thing, Stiles missed it.

"Yeah, you're the only pack I have too." Stiles murmured, even though he didn't really know if that was true or not, it didn't matter. The hug ended and Derek moved away like it had never happened.

"Green, blue, pink." Derek said as he stared over Stiles' shoulder.

Stiles turned and peered out into the woods. In seconds he knew what it was. "Humming bird six miles o-" he turned back around to face Derek, but Derek was gone.

Well. I'm beginning to think he enjoys being creepy.