Chapter Text
The only thing Stiles was thinking at this point was ‘How the Hell did I end up like this?’.
He was in the woods, surrounded by werewolves. Not just his werewolf friends, no, but also by a pack of Alpha werewolves. Everybody was fighting, growling and tearing up clothes, there was blood everywhere. Stiles couldn’t figure out who was winning, if any of his friends were injured or dead, he couldn’t see or hear anything. Except what was right in front of him. And, point in case, under him.
Stiles was on top of Derek, straddling his hips. Which, yeah, would have been incredibly awkward, if one of the alphas hadn’t injured Derek so badly that he couldn’t get up and if he didn’t actually need Stiles to apply pressure to the wounds on his abdomen and chest.
Derek told him to run. Stiles didn’t listen. Derek begged him to leave. Stiles looked up and saw one of the Alphas running straight towards them.
‘How the Hell did I end up here?’
₪
A lot of important things changed in Stiles’ life, the night when Jackson became a werewolf. Firstly, he took the first step into getting over Lydia. Which he did, about one month later. Secondly, he decided he will tell his Dad about werewolves and everything that happened. Which he did, with Scott and Derek’s help, two months later. Thirdly, he realized he needed to convince Scott to join Derek’s pack. Which he managed to do, eventually.
Things were calm after that. For about three days, till Erica and Boyd came back, bruised and battered and with little information of the Alpha pack. Derek was on high alert after that, always giving Stiles updates on the situation, thus making sure Scott knew what was happening.
They all went back to school, of course they did. They spent lunches together. Stiles and Scott, Erica and Boyd and Isaac. Alison was ignoring them all, and they were ignoring her. None of them could forgive her for what she did, and she couldn’t forgive Derek. After Jackson and Lydia had a long conversation with Derek and after asking Stiles a series of specific questions, they started sitting at their lunch table as well. A few days later, Danny joined them. Stiles wouldn’t have figured out that Jackson told him, if they didn’t have to do another Chemistry project together. In the middle of a pizza break, Danny asked if Derek could turn into an actual wolf if he wanted. And that was one good question, because Stiles didn’t know the answer to it.
Derek treated all of them as if they were pack, even when Scott was saying ‘no’, and even if Stiles, Lydia and Danny were human. They trained together, they hung out together, they all had to bear Peter’s sneaky comments, they all were afraid because the Alpha pack had not made a move ever since they arrived in town.
After the ‘coming out’ conversation with the Sheriff, Scott apologized to Derek and acknowledged him as his Alpha. That night, Stiles received several texts from Derek, who was thanking him for convincing Scott.
Stiles: Stop thanking me, he was being stubborn and stupid. This was probably the best decision of his life. … I may be exaggerating.
Derek: You are exaggerating. But my pack is lucky to have you both.
By the end of the school year, Stiles was feeling better than he has in years. He was in Derek’s pack, he got along well with everyone, his father knew everything. They all trained in the woods, Derek bought a huge apartment which held weekly movie nights. Alison was still ignoring everyone, but the wolves didn’t have hunters on their tails every full moon.
Close to the end of the summer, the Alphas started attacking. They only targeted the wolves, always catching them alone, hurting them, never killing them. After two weeks of mental torture and physical pain, all the wolves were on edge. And Stiles was terrified.
He was at the supermarket, buying random things he ran out of and stacking up on chocolate. His phone rang, a text from Derek.
Derek: I saw your Jeep in the parking lot. Pack meeting in 30m, don’t be late.
Stiles: Stop spying on me! I’ll be there.
After putting his cell back in his pocket, he turned around to see a young guy, around his age, staring him down. The dude was wearing a leather jacket over a white t-shirt, his dark hair was spiked up in the front and he was smiling in a really condescending way.
‘Can I… help you?’
His eyes flashed red as he handed Stiles an envelope. ‘For Hale.’ He was gone before Stiles got to blink.
The letter set a time and place for the ‘final battle’. Pack Hale vs. Pack Alpha. If Stiles wasn’t so scared, he might have commented on the general inclination every Alpha has towards acting like a comic book villain. But he didn’t. The fight was in 3 days and it was clear to everyone that this wasn’t something they could back out of.
Derek banned every human from the fight. Of course, Stiles didn’t listen. He got to the woods half an hour later than the wolves. But he was prepared; he had a baseball bat and a knife, both soaked in wolfsbane, a bag (small enough to fit in his pocket) with mountain ash and one with wolfsbane. And a lighter, just in case.
The first thing he heard when he got out of his Jeep was gunfire. This was very bad, why would there be guns at a werewolf fight? Stiles really hoped the Argents or some other hunters didn’t decide to show up.
When he got to the clearing, he couldn’t see anything for a few seconds, even though it was the middle of the day. Everybody was fighting, and it was all happening so fast. The Alphas had guns, clearly with wolfsbane bullets, and even though it was hard to use them without shooting their own, they still were firing. Before he got a chance to actually panic, the Alpha who handed him the letter was right in front of him. He wasn’t shifted, and he clearly didn’t think Stiles was a threat. He was laughing, so the baseball bat that collided with his head caught him by surprise. The wolfsbane gave Stiles more time to properly bash his head into the ground. Three hits later, the wolf was dead.
Stiles felt an adrenaline rush like never before. He just killed a man, ok, he was a werewolf, and an evil one, but the fact still stand. He just killed someone. But he didn’t have time to think about it now. He got up and looked around. Derek was on the ground, crouching over his stomach, 20 feet from him.
When he got to him and saw how badly injured he was, his instinct kicked in, so he kept Derek’s legs still and put pressure on the claw wounds on his stomach. There was a bullet hole in the wolf’s shoulder, and Stiles had a flashback.
‘Go. Run. Go. Please, Stiles, just go.’
‘Shut up and heal!’
Stiles looked around, trying to find a gun so he could heal Derek’s gunshot wound. He looked in front of them and saw a fully shifted Alpha running towards them. He didn’t have enough time to do anything else, so he grabbed his knife. When the wolf jumped, Stiles leaned back just enough to stab him in the neck. He turned around and saw Boyd pinning the Alpha down. But he couldn’t let the beta kill him, one grumpy Alpha is enough for this pack, thank you very much! So he got up and bashed his head with his bat. That was two. In a day. Shit.
He looked around and realized that the fighting stopped. All the Alphas were dead. All his pack was still alive.
‘Oh thank God. Ok. Ok. Are you good? Well, no, obviously you’re not good, the wounds heal slower but is anyone of you shot?’
‘Oh my god, Derek!’, Erica shouted.
‘I’ll take that as a no. Ok, I need a gun. Someone get me a gun. And someone come here and put pressure on the claw wounds.’
In a few seconds, Stiles was crouching down near Derek, ripping off the remains of his shirt so he could get better access to his wound. Isaac had a t-shirt pressed to the Alpha’s stomach and there were three different guns in Stiles’ lap.
He took out a bullet and handed it to Scott. ‘You know the drill, quick!’
Stiles got out his lighter and his ID card from his sock. Scott gave him the bullet’s head and he burned the wolfsbane on his ID, because of course he couldn’t set the thing on fire on the ground, in the woods. He couldn’t think about Erica’s cries or the terrified look on Jackson’s face.
‘Boyd, Jackson, I need you to keep him still now.’ He put his free hand on Derek’s cheek, making the wolf open his eyes and look at him. ‘Derek, I know this will hurt, but you know I have to do it. Ok?’
‘Do it.’
Derek screamed and shifted half-way through, as Stiles shoved the wolfsbane into the wound. Then, he passed out.
₪
After he made sure all the pack was well and healing, after burning the bodies and getting Derek into his bed, Stiles went home and slept for 15 hours straight.
When he woke up, Derek was sitting on the floor, leaning his back on the bed, reading ‘The History of Lycanthropy’. Stiles thought that it was kind of sad that he knew that book just by the color of the covers. Also, he realized he wasn’t even startled when waking up with Derek in his room. Not anymore.
‘Dude, you’re such a creeper.’
‘This book is surprisingly accurate.’
‘Yeah. Too bad the author’s dead, I would’ve liked to talk to him.’ Stiles stood up. ‘Mother of god, I am so hungry.’
He made his way to the kitchen downstairs and made coffee. He was craving pancakes, for some reason. So he checked for syrup or Nutella or something. Yay, they had strawberry jam AND Nutella. When he turned around, he realized Derek wasn’t there.
‘Uhm, Derek? You … wanna come down here, buddy?’
When the wolf appeared in the doorway, Stiles was awake enough to notice that Derek didn’t have his shoes on, and that he had striped socks. He was wearing a pair of black sweat pants and a Beatles t-shirt. He was still holding the book.
‘Stiles, you’re staring.’
‘Sorry. I’m… sleepy. And you’re wearing a Beatles t-shirt.’
The wolf narrowed his eyes. ‘Is that a problem?’
‘Quite the opposite. I just didn’t know you… listened to music. Anyway. Uhm. Coffee and pancakes?’
‘Sure’, Derek smiled as he sat down at the table, and continued reading.
They didn’t talk while Stiles cooked. He was grateful for that, but that did not mean he could stand the silence. So he turned on the old stereo they had in the kitchen, knowing that his cooking cd was still inside. Yes, he had a playlist he liked to listen to when he cooked, it helped with filling the silence and it gave him energy. So, Stiles made pancakes and sang and danced to Arctic Monkeys. ‘I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ was his favorite, so he maybe put on a show for Derek, singing as loud as he could and shaking his ass while he flipped pancakes. When he turned around, the wolf was staring, his eyes wide. Stiles grinned like an idiot. Derek rolled his eyes and started laughing.
As they ate, the boy could see that Derek was concerned. He did the thing he always did when he was thinking or searching for words, he clenched his jaw. It was obvious that they needed to talk, but Sties was, for the first time in years, comfortable with the silence.
When they finished eating, Stiles sighed dramatically and frowned at Derek. ‘Let’s go in the living room, I have a feeling the conversation we’re about to have will end with me wanting to curl into a ball and die, so the couch is a good decision’.
The boy sat down on the far edge of the couch, back to the armrest. He brought his knees to his chest and buried his chin into them. Derek sat down on the other end of the couch, lifting his feet on the coffee table. But he wasn’t talking. And Stiles knew that this was going to be one of those heart shredding discussions, he knew Derek was mad because he didn’t listen to him, because he put himself in harm’s way and because he killed. He also knew he couldn’t really argue with that. But Derek still wasn’t talking, he was just staring at the ceiling and drawing circles on the couch with his fingers.
‘Derek? Go on with it.’
‘Go on with what?’
‘With whatever it is you feel the need to say. You’re clearly here for a reason, probably to scream at me for how stupid and careless I am. So, come on, the faster you start, the quicker it will be over.’
Derek nodded and turned his head to look at Stiles. ‘You are stupid and careless. You could’ve died. Again. You were the only human in a werewolf fight, half of them Alphas. And…’ The wolf’s eyes skimmed Stiles’ body, and his expression changed from angry to soft and tired. ‘And you killed two Alphas and saved my life. Again.’
‘I really wish you’d stop almost dying for like, half a second.’
Derek wiggled his toes and sighed.
‘I really wish you’d listen to me, every once in a while.’
Stiles smirked. ‘I do listen. I listen all the time, I am a great listener. I just… don’t obey all the time. There’s a difference.’
‘So… that’s what? Five, six times I have to thank you for saving my life? What’s the number at?’ Derek seemed almost annoyed.
Stiles smiled, he stretched his feet until they were touching Derek’s side. ‘Zero. Let’s make it zero. Forever. I cant’t be bothered with counting how many times you or any of the pack saves my life. So. Zero. Always. You know that I’m thankful, and I know you’re thankful I just… I’m tired of it, so, zero.’
Derek nodded slowly and let out a long breath. ‘I’m sorry, Stiles.’
‘What for?’
‘For not pushing you away from all of this.’
The boy laughed. ‘Yeah, like you could’ve. And, let’s be honest, you have tried in the past. But no, Derek, don’t. I… wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re my friends.’
‘You killed two people.’
Stiles crooked his nose and puffed. ‘No, I killed two evil werewolves, and yeah, maybe I won’t ever forget their faces, but it was either us or them. I can’t regret that. It’s not survival of the fittest, it’s survival of who’s worthy. And the bitches had it coming. They deserved it and you know it. Plus,’ Stiles pushed his feet under Derek’s outer thigh. ‘You killed three Alphas yesterday. And you were right to do so. ’
Derek ran his hand through his hair and let his head fall back on the couch. ‘You’re 18. You shouldn’t have to think like this.’
‘Neither should you. It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it. I’m not saying I’m not secretly wishing for Iron Man to just stop by for a while, but until that happens, we have to do whatever we can to keep this damn city in order.’
Derek raised an eyebrow. ‘How are you so calm? Now, and then, in the woods. You heart was beating like crazy, yeah, but you were on top of things, giving orders and dodging bullets.’
Stiles closed his eyes. ‘Things change, Sourwolf. Maybe I’m more mature now.’
‘No. You’re wearing Sponge Bob pajamas. And… you’ve always been like that, if I think about it.’
The boy frowned. ‘They’re comfy AND fun, don’t judge.’
‘Stiles…’
‘I’m fine, Derek. I really am. Stop thinking about it.’
The wolf narrowed his eyes and put a reassuring hand on the boy’s ankles. ‘You’re not fine.’
Stiles looked up, straight into the wolf’s eyes. ‘No, I’m not fine. But I’ll never be fine. Neither will you.’
Derek frowned in confusion.
‘Scott tells me I still smell like my mom sometimes. And that’s impossible, I know that, but he doesn’t question it. I don’t either… And I know it has nothing to do with what we were talking about. But it kinda does?’ Stiles frowned. ‘I already know how to deal with death. And so do you. Yeah, we’re never gonna be fine, but we have to be ok. And we will be, because our breakfast club is tough as Hell.’
‘Did you just call my pack a breakfast club?’, the wolf pouted and Stiles bit his lips to hold back a laugh.
‘Yes, obviously.’
‘So, judging by the fact that you went from heart breaking topics to pop culture references in 3 seconds, I have to assume that you’re ok.’
Stiles couldn’t help smile at that, because this is what he liked the most about Derek. Even if he didn’t talk much, when he did, he didn’t beat around the bush. Every time Stiles would mention his mother, he’d also change the subject instantly, and nobody would say anything. Except Derek. It should annoy him, but it only made him respect the Alpha more.
‘I’m great. And glad everybody else is safe.’
‘Can I ask you something?’
‘Yeah, dude, that’s how conversations usually work.’
‘Why in god’s name would you bring your ID to a fight?’
‘Excuse you, mind the condescending tone, it was a great idea that kinda helped saving your life.’
‘Yeah, ok, but that’s not why you did it.’
‘No… I… I know how frustrating a John Doe mutilated dead body could be.’
Derek startled. Stiles smiled. ‘I can’t really wear dog tags, can I? Even thought that would be funny, considering you lot.’
Derek looked straight into his eyes. ‘You’re insane.’
‘It’s a smart thing to do.’
‘Completely insane.’
‘It’s sad you’re just figuring this out now.’ Derek shrugged and straightened up a bit, clearly moving past the subject.
‘Go shower and get dressed.’
‘Where are we going?’
The wolf growled a bit. ‘To buy cupcakes and sodas, then at my place to watch, and I quote, the stupidest movies we can get our hands on.’
‘You don’t seem too pleased to have a pack bonding session.’
‘I really don’t like stupid comedies.’
‘That doesn’t surprise me at all. What type of movies do you like, though?’
Derek raised an eyebrow. Stiles rolled his eyes.
‘Dude, I’ve known you for how long now? And I have no idea what kind of movies you like. It’s a travesty and a proper insult to my personality!’
The wolf laughed.
‘Tell me. Derek, stop laughing. Come on, if you don’t tell me, god, stop laughing, if you don’t tell me, I’ll assume the worst.’ At this point, Stiles was laughing too, because, apparently, laughing is contagious. ‘You like snuff movies and every once in a while you indulge yourself with cheesy romcoms!’
‘Oh my god, noooooo’. Derek took in a deep breath, holding down his laughter. ‘I don’t really like movies, as you call them. I like films. Any genre, it doesn’t matter, as long as they’re artistic.’
Stiles narrowed his eyes. ‘What does that even mean?’
Derek stood up and made his way to the bookshelf, where Stiles’ DVD collection. ‘Let’s see. I liked Trainspotting for the cinematography, Harry Potter for the scenery and effects, A Space Odyssey for everything that was visually appealing and for the story, if I’m being honest. Hm…’ As he continued to read the titles of DVDs, he brushed his fingers over them, tapping lightly every time he found one he liked. If he didn’t know better, Stiles would’ve thought he was in some kind of a trance. ‘Lord of the Rings had great scenery and make up, any of these Tim Burton movies has great everything, oh wow, I haven’t seen V for Vendetta in a while, need to rewatch that.’
Five minutes later, Stiles fake coughed, just to get Derek back to reality. The wolf startled and turned around, throwing the boy a judgmental look. ‘You have some pretty decent movies, I can see you have potential, but I swear to god I have never ever seen a bigger collection of shit action movies in my life.’
Stiles rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at Derek. ‘I’ll go shower. You can continue to cultivate me in the art of cinematography after.’