What is this? An update! You bet it is!

Hello my lovelies. I just want to take a moment for all the kudos and comments that gave me the fuel to get out of the slump once again (graduation's so close.. Almost there!)

I can rant later. Here's a new chapter for all you wonderful people who have shown this little baby of mine so much love! Thank you 3

P.S. – I don't have a beta so if there's any errors, blame me!

Chapter 15: From Within

"No, I'll not add any last-minute items." Derek's voice sounded stern and final. The shopping cart's wheels gave out little squeaks as he pushed it through the fresh produce aisle. "I asked all of you to make lists before I left this morning. It's not my fault you hadn't gotten your head out of your ass by then and didn't listen." He hung up before Erica could grumble her request for pop-tarts.

He picked up some tomatoes and lettuce before moving on to the dairy section. His phone vibrated in his pocket. Derek rolled his eyes before taking it out, knowing what he would see even before looking at the screen.

From: Stiles

Just get her pop-tarts. I'll think of some other punishment. XOXO

He was barely moving the cart since his eyes were on the phone. And he had enough confidence on his werewolf instincts to avoid bumping into someone. So Derek was a little surprised when he heard the clang and looked up to see a woman startling into her surroundings.

She was reading something on the label of a whipped cream mix while pushing her cart. Her brown eyes widened a little before looking at him guiltily. Her soft brown waves kept moving from the little jump she did after the carts bumped.

"I'm so sorry! I- I was- it's my fault. It's like texting and driving, but in a grocery store." Her pale skin flushed red in embarrassment before she clamped her mouth shut.

Derek just quirked an eyebrow before offering a little smile.

No need to behave like a brooding serial killer anymore, right?

He internally scoffed at the Stiles-like voice in his head before pulling his cart away from the woman's. "It's fine. Can happen to anyone. Just be careful." He offered her another polite smile before moving with his cart.

"Um.. do you know where the eggs are?" The woman looked at him sheepishly. "I'm new in town. It's the first time I've stepped foot in this store and I don't know who to ask. I feel so lost.." Her voice trailed off as she kept looking around.

"It's just two aisles down," Derek pointed a little to the left. "Don't worry. You can ask anyone. We don't bite."

Ha! Liar, liar, fur on fire.

He didn't want to get stuck being her guide. As soon as she looked to the direction he was pointing at, Derek pushed his cart and moved from there.

"I know you can do it! Come on, man!" Scott's voice boomed across the loft over everyone else's. The betas were all cheering in their own way.

"Let's go Batman!"

"You got this, Stilinski! A little more."

"Stiles! Stiles! Stiles!"

"Put your scrawny ass into it, come on!"

"Cora! Don't talk about his ass like that. It's weird." Isaac's face all scrunched up as he stared at the youngest Hale in horror. Boyd was the only one not vocal, he just clapped along to show his support.

"Why would it be weird?" Cora looked confused even though her eyes were fixed on Stiles who didn't even notice their bickering in his concentration.

"I don't know.. it just feels like you're hitting on my mom or something. It just feels weird." Isaac shrugged his shoulders as he got back to cheer for the Spark.

"It's not working!" Stiles said loudly and all the cheering slowly ebbed away. He was sitting on top of a big table with his legs crossed. A book was lying in front of him that he was trying to lift without touching. He had no idea what he was doing. The betas just saw him with his eyes closed sitting in front of the book. It seemed like he was physically trying to move the book from how clenched he looked.

Stiles breathed heavily as he looked around at his pack. Scott looked the most disheartened, but he still seemed hopeful. Cora just rolled her eyes and walked away from the table. Erica was patting his back slowly while Boyd stood on his right with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You do realize you're a Spark and not a wizard, right?" A voice drawled out from the couch. Jackson almost growled at hearing the oldest Hale putting in comments. He still couldn't stand the guy, let alone trust him.

Peter was lounging on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table. His head was tilted on the back of the couch and his eyes were closed. Jackson wanted to punch the relaxation out of him.

"There's no use trying to Wingardium Leviosa a book. It doesn't work like that."

"How does it work, then?" Stiles jumped down from the table and walked closer to the former Alpha. "I'm tired of hearing that I'll know when I'm ready. I don't know when that'll be. I already used my Spark, but have no idea how! I need to control it. The next time one of those assholes show up, we gotta be ready."

Peter opened his eyes and stood up from the couch in swift motion. "I agree. But it's also true that none of us can help you." He slowly walked closer, looking at Stiles from head to toe. "None of us have the Spark magic inside. It's yours. So you have to figure it out."

"Thank you! You've been a big help." Stiles spat out sarcastically. Peter sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Look, all I can say is you don't have to try too hard. Just remember the last time you used your magic. You didn't mean to, but your magic did exactly what you needed it to. So you need to find that feeling again and channel it. Then you can learn how to control it."

Stiles stared at him for a while, his posture calming down. He took a few breaths through his mouth and turned around. The betas were still standing around them, witnessing the whole exchange. Cora was leaning against a window, facing them. He looked at the book which was still lying on the table.

Stiles relaxed his body and cleared his head. He just thought about what he wanted to do, what he wanted to happen. Among the pin drop silence, suddenly a whoosh sounded as the book flew towards the Spark. He acted quickly and barely grabbed it with both hands. His eyes were as wide as saucers. He looked at the book and then at everyone's stunned faces.

The shock soon wore off as Scott started to jump up and down. "Whoo! I knew it! I knew you could do it!" He practically skipped towards Stiles who was still clutching the book to his chest. Scott's yells brought him out of his stupor and he started to laugh loudly with his best friend.

Then a ripple went through and all the betas were screaming in joy and jumping around the Spark. Peter just looked at the scene before him with a half smile on his face before calmly walking away.

Derek finished loading all the grocery bags in the back seats of the Camaro before shutting the door. As he was walking around to get into the driver's seat, he heard a sound to his left. He looked up to see the woman from before, a grocery bag dropped at her feet while she struggled to hold onto the other one in her arms.

He almost walked away before giving himself a little mental shake. He walked over and helped her get the spilled contents back into the bag. Fortunately, nothing was broken or crushed.

"Oh God, thank you! It's just not my day.." The woman was still looking down when she gave a nervous laughter as they both grabbed the groceries and put them back in the bag. She finally looked up at him and stopped for a second before grabbing the items again. "Hi, I'm not making a good first impression, am I?"

"It's okay." Derek offered a polite smile before standing up with her grocery bag and making sure it's not ripped.

"I'm Jennifer." Her face lit up with a brilliant smile as she stuck out her right hand while her left held the other bag. Derek held onto the bag in his arms with both hands, making it seem like things might spill again. But he did return her smile with a toned down one of his own.

"I'm Derek. Where's your car? I'd feel better putting these down first." Jennifer took her hand back and laughed a little before walking towards a grey sedan. She unlocked the car and put the bag in the passenger seat with Derek following close behind.

"For the second time today, thank you." Jennifer extended her hand towards him again with a grin. As his hands were empty this time, Derek had no choice but to shake her hand. As soon as he touched her hand, a tingling sensation spread across his neck. It felt as if something was about to grab him but couldn't touch him for some reason.

He made sure to keep his face blank as he pulled his hand back after a firm shake. He rubbed the back of his neck to get rid of the unusual sensation. "Have a good day, Jennifer. Hope you won't need anymore assist today."

"Yeah, one can only hope. See you around, Derek." She smiled before getting into her car. Derek walked back to his Camaro, still thinking about the tingling on his neck when his phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out before getting into the car. He couldn't stop a smile from gracing his lips after seeing the name.

As soon as he answered it, he heard the chatter of his betas. Before he could say anything, an excited voice nearly screamed into the phone. "Der! What's taking you so long? Get here right now! You won't believe what just happened. Come quick!" The phone cut before he could utter anything. He rolled his eyes with a fond smile before getting into his car and driving out of the parking lot.

"Why are you not more excited? You should be more excited." Stiles grumbled while putting away stuff inside the functioning refrigerator the Alpha finally installed in the loft kitchen. Derek hated to admit it, but the loft felt more and more like a home every day. And he couldn't help but note how that had to do more with the people around him than the new furniture and appliances.

"I am excited. I'm just not that surprised." The betas just grabbed their favored snacks as soon as their Alpha dropped the bags and bailed. Derek and Stiles were in the kitchen putting everything away. Isaac did help Derek carry everything from the car since there were too many bags to grab in one trip.

"What do you mean not surprised? I made a book fly, Der. Fly! Whoosh!" Stiles waved his hand in front of Derek's face while the older man just chuckled.

"Yes, I understand. I just meant that I know you'll figure it all out in no time. You already used your spark to find Isaac at school. I saw you use it the other day to track Erica. Compared to that, this is nothing." He finished putting the meat in the freezer before turning towards Stiles who was putting cereal boxes inside a cupboard. Derek walked over to him and stood right behind him before leaning towards his ear. "Besides, if anyone can figure it out, it's you."

His voice was barely above a whisper which send tingles down the younger man's spine. Stiles could feel the warmth from the werewolf's heated body even though they weren't touching yet. He slowly turned around to see the Alpha's eyes glinting with something he couldn't quite place.

"You getting sappy-wolf on me now?" He smirked as the older man moved closer, causing Stiles to lean back towards the counter. Derek flashed a grin as his arms rested on the counter, trapping Stiles in. Their breaths almost mingled together as Derek kept leaning closer. His eyes kept glancing towards Stiles' lips who licked them, his breath coming out a little faster than normal.

"Maybe a little." The werewolf muttered before closing his eyes and softly capturing the lips of the Spark. Stiles felt his own eyes close as the familiar taste of the Alpha engulfed his senses. Their lips stroked each others like a painter's brush softly gliding over the canvas. Derek took his bottom lip in between his own lips as he slowly nipped at them. Stiles didn't even realize when his breath got caught in his throat. All he could feel was Derek's warmth surrounding him, with his familiar scent of leather, and pine against his nose and his lips tasting faintly of spearmint, sugar and coffee.

They pulled back from the kiss, both of them breathing heavily even though it was nothing like their makeout sessions. Stiles slowly opened his eyes to stare into the brilliant kaleidoscope eyes which were moving all over his face.

"Someone might walk in." Stiles said when Derek showed no sign of moving back, his arms still caging the younger man in.

"I'll hear them when they do." Derek grinned again, his bunny teeth on display. He quickly kissed Stiles' cheek before stepping back and going back to the groceries. "You excited for tonight?"

The Spark was still in a haze as he shook himself out of it before looking at the Alpha. "Of course. Can't wait. Hard to believe that it's my first date and I'm going with Derek Hale." He chuckled as he stood next to the Alpha, their shoulders brushing.

"I could say the same." Stiles froze.

"What do you mean? It's not your first date, right?" Stiles laughed nervously before looking at Derek whose ears looked much redder than before. "Hell no! You've never been on a date?"

"Technically, no. I didn't go on any official date with Paige. We met up during breaks and after school. And I wouldn't call anything me and Kate did a date.. so, not really. Anyway, why is that so hard to believe?" He finished putting everything away and leaned against a counter. Stiles spluttered before gesturing at the Alpha.

"Have you seen you? I get the mess after Paige. And nothing with that psycho counts as normal, but what about when you were in New York? You're telling me no one tried to get all over that? Guys and girls?" Derek looked embarrassed and barely met his eyes.

"Well, it's not like no one tried or showed interest. I wasn't in a headspace to date anyone back then. It's difficult to connect with someone who doesn't know anything about the supernatural. And the ones who did know were either related to my family, or wanted to harm us. So, no. You're the first."

They both fell quite after that. Derek had of both his hands resting behind him on the counter while he stared at his feet. He looked up when he heard Stiles move close to him. The younger man had a tender look on his face as he slowly approached him.

Stiles smiled before shifting closer and kissing him softly. His hand rested on Derek's left cheek where his thumb brushed across the cheekbones. Stiles leaned his forehead on the older man's for a few seconds before stepping back. "I'm glad I'm your first."

Derek grabbed the hand that was still resting on his cheek. He smiled before turning his head a little and kissing Stiles' palm.

"Me too."

I know! I know! It's kind of a filler. But I needed to write something to get rid of this slump. Big stuff coming up soon. As always, let me know your thoughts. Ciao!