Alpha Boy - 8/9
Author: Daniela
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Pairing: Sterek
Rating: PG13
Category: Adventure, Angst, Romance, Humor
Series/Sequel: No
Disclaimer: I don´t own them. Nobody is capable of owning them.
Summary: What´s a boy supposed to do with a big scary wolf?
Warnings: M/M, Slash
Feedback: Doesn´t scare me. :)
Email: daniforblue@yahoo.de
Released: October 2015
Beta: badly_knitted
Word Count: 5.659
Stiles spun around, ready to dazzle whoever dared to attack him. After all - he was magic, right? Oh God, help me.
"There you are." Peter grinned, eyes shining a striking bright blue.
Batman meets Joker. "Stay away from us." He hugged the girl to his chest. "Okay. Okay. We´re okay." He could feel she was burning up because of a fever. No, we´re not.
"S-Samual." Rae arched her back, choking the name out like a prayer.
"We´ll find him, okay?" he soothed her, staggering due to her weight and his exhaustion. He wouldn´t surrender her to Peter without a fight, though.
"Easy," Peter snarled, but put his claws away. "I´m not here to hurt you."
Yeah, right! He glared at Peter, then took a step back. Flight was the only option. He couldn´t run yet, the burden of the girl had slipped down. What? Startled he looked at her. She had gone very still, almost like she was dead. Oh my God! You are, aren´t you? You´re not breathing. Oh, no, no, no. "Shit!" He almost dropped her in shock.
Peter hurried to his side, and helped him carry the dead weight.
"Do not touch her," Kali croaked and dragged herself up.
"Stay back," Peter spat, showing a bit of teeth. "We´re only trying to help."
We? What are you talking about? There is no we. "Rae! Come on!" He was slightly shaking her which didn´t get him a flinch or a sound. "She´s not breathing," he finally disclosed. A cold hand gripped his heart, squeezing tight.
"RAE!" Kali howled, and jumped forward.
"Give her to me," Peter barked. "I know what to do."
"YOU DO NOT TOUCH HER!" Kali stumbled towards them. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she was shaking all over yet she raised her arms coming at Peter.
"He won´t," Stiles promised. "I´ll do it." Given that the operating table was crowded he put Rae on the ground. Next he adjusted her head like he had learned in first aid class. "I´ll help her." He locked eyes with the out of her mind werewolf. Out of her mind mom, I guess.
Kali stopped, and nodded briskly. Staggering she gripped at the metal storage rack to keep herself from falling down.
"Okay. Here we go." Stiles bent over Rae and checked if her throat was clear. "Okay. Alright. I see nothing." He covered Rae´s mouth with one hand, and then blew air into her nose, which was the easier way with little children. Once. Twice. "Come on." Thrice. He gulped and took a breath himself. No! No panic attack. Not now. "Come on, Rae. I need you to fight." He continued breathing life into her. My God! How many times already? How long since she wasn´t breathing by herself? How long could he do this without breaking down? Come on. Breathe! Sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes and his knees were hurting due to the extreme pressure he put on them. His eyes flickered briefly to the bodies beneath the blankets. Don´t. Don´t do that. Just don´t. He blinked rapidly. "Ah, god. I-" He swallowed a mouthful of air and bent over her tight little face again. He wouldn´t let that girl die. Not after he had found her. She wasn´t the one to suffer for all this-
"Stop," Peter hissed, grabbing his arm. "I heard a murmur."
Stiles froze in motion. There. Peter was right. He could feel a puff of air on his lips. He noticed the small chest slightly rising up and down. Rae breathed by herself again, a smell like rotten blackberries. He almost fainted. Whatever! Thank you, God. Thank you, thank you, thank you. He pulled back and looked at Peter. "Now what?" Rae was alive, yes, but her condition was still serious because of her severe chill.
"Hold her." Peter put his hand on Rae´s trembling arm, squeezing tight.
Kali growled and took one step forward. The rack wobbled.
"You want her healthy again?" Peter addressed her calmly. "You know how this works."
Kali stopped. Teardrops were falling from her eyes dripping to the ground. "Just don´t hurt her."
"I won´t. I´m not a monster." Peter held on to Rae, groaning like he was in pain. The girl arched up, gasping. Peter was shifting, his eyes were burning bright, and then black fluids were flooding into his veins, pumping up his arm and...
Ugh. Okay. Stiles wasn´t sure what he witnessed, considering the incident lasted only thirty seconds. The important thing was that Rae immediately looked and sounded much better as if a shadow had been lifted from her soul and taken away.
Peter on the other hand looked sick when he let go of Rae. Quickly he turned the girl over to her mother.
"My baby. My sweetheart." Kali embraced Rae, weeping. "I thought I´d lost you."
"Mommy," the girl murmured. "I want Samual. Where is he?"
"Oh god," Kali said, and more tears were falling, sprinkling her daughter´s face. "Please, be still. You need to rest."
"I want my wolf," Rae staked her claims.
"Rae..." her mom said, sounding helpless. She put her child on the second camp bed, caressing her cheek.
"Here you go." Peter fished something from his pants. The stuffed wolf. He put the toy in the girl´s arms. "Derek wanted you to have it back."
Grateful Rae snatched her favorite toy and hid her face in its fluffiness. Kali eyed Peter warily.
"Derek overheard you asking about the kid," Peter explained to Stiles. "He believed you. He knew what you were up to."
Did he? Stiles couldn´t handle thinking about Derek right now. He was pretty much done. "Where´s Samual?" he murmured, making sure Rae couldn´t hear him. Though he already knew he couldn´t bear the truth. He couldn´t bear the pain caused by their actions.
"Dead." Peter´s face turned gloomy.
"How do you know?"
"I killed him."
"Right." Stiles wanted to turn around and run away. He wanted to leave all this misery behind. He wanted...oh god... he´d wanted things so very different...than this.
"That you take his death to heart speaks in your favor, Mr. Stilinski." Deaton came out of the supply room.
Stiles wasn´t even surprised anymore how the guy always just popped up. "Does it?"
"I see your injuries healed well."
Stiles touched his face. He hadn´t considered looking in a mirror before leaving the Hale house. Well. He didn´t think that Derek even owned one. His skin felt pretty smooth, just the tiniest roughness disturbed his searching fingers. "Lucky for my beauty."
"Luck has nothing to do with it," Deaton disagreed. "Rather the fact that you were chosen."
What are you saying, man? Don´t talk in riddles. I think I´m done with riddles for a long time.
"Let me show you something." Deaton pointed at the covered up bodies.
No. Please. I don´t want to see the dead. I don´t want to see the misery I´ve caused.
Deaton didn´t wait for any agreement, though. He walked over and uncovered the first body. One of the Betas whose name they´d never learned. In death he looked like an everyman walking the streets of Beacon Hills. Deaton uncovered the second body. Samual. Stripped down to his boxers.
"Take a good look and then keep talking about beauty or having any luck," Deaton said. The boy named Samual, who would be missed terribly by a little girl named Rae, was covered in scars. Mutilated in the worst ways.
Stiles choked at the horrible sight. "How? He was a werewolf."
"Not a born werewolf."
"Neither is Elias. So how did he survive?"
"Kali was able to save him because he was still alive when he was brought here, though she had to give up her Alpha powers to achieve such a miracle. The price was her falling back to being a Beta."
"I didn´t know an Alpha is able to do that."
"Every Alpha is, but it´s dangerous. Kali could have died. I helped her through the process. I did it once before. That Alpha wasn´t so lucky. She died. The Beta she saved survived but he was changed forever." Deaton paused. "Not in a good way."
"She must truly love him. She can´t be all bad." Isn´t she? What makes you so sure? You were wrong before. "How the fuck are her eyes not blue? She killed her own father."
"A man who raped her since she reached the age of twelve. A man who offered her to various Alphas as a gift to make better deals for his own pack. A man who tried to kill her child."
Stiles didn´t know what to feel. Kali was the enemy. The bitch who tried to kill him. The evil one who had kept Boyd and Erica imprisoned. But what he had just learnt meant Kali had gone through hell and still she kept going. He couldn´t feel empathy for her, right? Not ever. "Peter cannot be trusted," he said to avoid a statement and rather deal with matters he could grasp.
"No," Deaton agreed. "But he cares for Derek. He´d never let something happen to him. He´s protected him since Derek was born. I´d claim that Peter even loves Derek if Peter were able to love at all." Deaton covered the two bodies up again. Their suffering was over. He and Stiles went back to the other room.
Holding on to Elias´s hand in desperation Kali comforted her little girl. In spite of Peter having vanished into thin air the former Alpha eyed him and Deaton suspiciously.
"Those two are maybe lost and have done more than wrong but they´re not evil," Deaton said, not in the slightest affected by her distrust.
Elias didn´t move a muscle. He was sound asleep. Hugging her favorite toy Rae had fallen asleep, too.
"Rae must be the one who broke the mountain ash circle," Stiles realized. "Who´s the father? Don´t tell me Elias, for god´s sake."
"Unlikely." Deaton covered Kali and Rae with a blanket. "Her father I assume. Kali killed him because he tried to get rid of Rae."
"Not because she´s human, right?"
"I think rather because of the crime he had committed against his own daughter. Kali´s eyes are proof enough that she has never killed an innocent. I can´t say that about your Alpha."
Oh shit, yeah. He still hasn´t dared to ask Derek why his eyes were blue before he turned into an Alpha. "What does Derek intend to do with them?"
"He hasn´t said yet. He certainly pities them for their fate." Deaton eyed him closely. "What do you think? What should we do with them?"
"That´s not my decision to make."
"I think it should be."
"Who cut Kali´s nails?"
"She did that herself. As penance."
"Okay. But why is she wearing the bracelet? You think that´s wise?"
"That thing didn´t hold any power. Kali clings to it because her dead mother once gave it to her."
"What? But how...I can´t...no way..." Stiles flailed his arms. Holy moly! That meant that he...no...that was impossible.
"It was always you, Mr. Stilinski. You and the spark." Deaton pointed at Kali and Elias. "Like it is them. The power comes from ourselves. There is no greater magic."
"I´m not ready to...." Stiles didn´t want to disappoint the man. "Sorry."
"I think you are. You and we all just need time to recover." Deaton switched the light off.
"You were right," Stiles whispered, humbled by his kindness and understanding. "There is always more than one side to a story." He realized something surprising. He didn´t hate them anymore. That didn´t mean he liked them or that everything they had done was forgiven but maybe... just maybe... he would be able to even tackle that one day.
"Certainly." Deaton looked at him curiously. "Do you intend to continue your training now that you´ve got a grip on mountain ash?"
"Sure," he agreed, relieved that they didn´t discuss his doubts any further.
"Good. First of all you will work off the cost of the mountain ash you have stolen from my personal supply."
"Uh...right. Sorry for that," he spluttered, pinched. "I´ll do everything to make it up to you." Oh, look at that. Deaton had a wicked smile. Who would have guessed?
"I am certain you will, Mr. Stilinski." His expression turned serious again. "I recognized your potential since you´d started looking out for Derek."
"Uhu..." No. He was not going to say something about that. Not today. He was done for today. He had enough things troubling him without solving the mystery of Alan Yoda Deaton. Nope. He wouldn´t argue that he´d never looked out for Derek in any way. That all he´d done was caused by coincidence not affection. Right. Enough was enough.
He went home, knowing that the worst was still not over. Right. As expected the reunion with his dad wasn´t a happy one. His dad glared at his appearance. "Earth and leaves. Were you running through the woods again? Was Scott around, too, or were you on your own?"
"Scott was around, dad. That´s the..."
"I don´t wanna hear a word about it," his dad cut him off. "Go to your room and sleep it off. I have to go to work." He pointed at the shirt Stiles was wearing, frowning with puzzlement. "And what about that thing? Seriously? I thought you´d thrown that away a long time ago."
Yeah. Me, too. He bent his head to hide the blush creeping over his face. "Sorry." He shuffled up the stairs. Well. He should be glad that his adventure was over. He could have died. He should be glad that he could throw the dratted shirt into the washing machine, getting rid of everything reminding him of Derek. He should be glad that Derek didn´t come here looking for him. Yeah. Well. He was not. He couldn´t stop thinking about Derek. As much as he wanted to forget the whole freaking incident he couldn´t. Neither Derek´s soothing words nor the soft touches, and least of all the sweet, wet kisses haunting him in his dreams. God! The first restless night went by, his favorite pillow had no effect at all, and by the next morning he was soaked in his own come. Christ! He was a whole lot of pathetic. That had nothing to do with him sneaking out of the house, though. He just couldn´t face his dad right now. He could barely face himself.
In class he was so still that even Mr. Harris approached him afterwards. "Is something wrong, Mr. Stilinski?"
"Uh...no...w-why´re you asking?" That man´s concern was disturbing the crap out of him.
"You were unusually quiet today," his teacher said, a man who mostly treated him badly and hated the pure sight of him.
"Yeah, well," Stiles mocked, "isn´t that what you always wished for?" He didn´t wait for a response but walked away. He didn´t want to reply to any more questions or attract any more attention.
During break he sat with his friends, of course. Lydia looked stunning as if she was glowing from the inside. He could only guess what the reason was. Allison sat between Scott and Isaac, and all three of them looked pretty cozy around each other. They didn´t talk much because of the gloomy events. Nobody mentioned Derek. Yeah. He should be glad they didn´t. Guess what? He was not. He was bursting to talk about Derek, talk about the wolfman for hours. Certainly he wouldn´t be the one starting on the topic. Right. Stop it, you idiot. Stop it now.
Lacrosse training was equally bad. He couldn´t even find the right footing. The coach was raging at him. Duh! Scott and Isaac sucked as well. They were distracted by staring at each other. Oh, man. Hey. He never thought he´d ever consider wishing for a guy like Elias to come back to the team if only for his amazing skills. Okay. Fine. School sucked. The whole fucking day sucked. In the afternoon he went back to the animal clinic to check on Rae.
At his arrival he found Elias with his eyes open humming to Rae, who was clinging
to both him and the wolf in her arms. Kali was looming over the dead body of Samual, crying soundlessly. Off and on she caressed the dead wolf´s dark skin. Feeling like the odd man out Stiles roamed through the rooms looking for Deaton. Instead he spotted an open notebook, resting on the table. His name was in it. Stilinski. Apprentice, he mouthed. Brave. Talented. A lot of spirit. Faithless. Rash. Disrespectful. First task: Mountain ash. Mastered. Second task: Wolf´s Bane. Planned. One day he might be able to- Oh My God! His mouth dropped open, and as he fumbled with the notebook in shock, a piece of paper stuck out from the pages. A picture. Stiles couldn´t resist taking a look. A woman. Oh? Was this-
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such a snoop."
Stiles jerked around, scowling. He recognized that voice all too well by now. "What do you want?"
"What do I want?" Hands behind his back Peter was bouncing on his feet. "What do you want, boy? Do you expect Derek to crawl to you? Didn´t he get wounded badly enough watching over you? Wasn´t that hole in his chest enough proof of what you mean to him? Was I wrong about you? Are you a coward after all? Do I need to drag you there?"
"Leave me alone, creep," he mewled, tucking the picture back into the book. Furious he walked away from Peter. He knew he was behaving childishly. He knew that the freak was right. He was a coward. He didn´t dare to claim the man who was apparently already his. He didn´t dare to take a risk. How had he even managed to confront Kali in the woods? What was he thinking back then? Why was he holding back? What was he waiting for?
Peter didn´t let him escape. "I don´t know why you´re still running. You smell so much like Derek it´s disgusting. You´re supposed to be with him. I know you want him. So, what´s the problem?"
"None of your fucking business," he snapped. A second later he covered his mouth thinking of Rae.
"He´s right, you know," Kali said, covering up Samual´s body. "You can´t run from what is meant to be."
"Isn´t that the reason why Samual had to die?" Stiles replied, his affliction heightened due to her interference "Because you turned him?"
"No. That was only the final nail in the coffin. He has scars you never want to see. He suffered all his life." Once more she was shaking. "One day my father actually beat him to death. I saved him by giving him the bite." Fresh tears were streaming down her face. "My baby brother." She turned away from the one she couldn´t save. "He died protecting Rae. He thought your blue-eyed Beta would find and kill her. He thought he could take him. He was wrong."
Stiles stood frozen and mute. There was nothing to say. He clenched his fists until his fingers hurt. He didn´t even glance at Peter. He wondered if Peter´s strength came from being dead and reborn.
"So was I," Peter said in a gentle tone Stiles had never heard him use before. "He was brave. He fought like hell to protect the child from being found. All I can offer you is that I killed him quickly. He didn´t suffer."
Kali didn´t absolve him of his guilt but she wiped away her tears and sobered up. Then she walked over to Elias and Rae. The Beta had stopped humming. The girl had fallen asleep again. Kali sat down on the bed´s edge. Elias grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb over her skin. Kali sighed and leaned into him.
"Why do even care about me and Derek?" Stiles grumbled at Peter, remembering Deaton´s statement. "Since when do you care about anyone other than yourself?" Not that he believed a word of it.
Peter stopped bouncing. "I want Derek to be happy. He deserves to be happy. He hasn´t been happy in a long time." He cleared his throat which was the most awkward sound Stiles had ever heard the rogue werewolf make. "I´m trying to make amends."
"He just told us your Alpha asked us to join the pack," Kali chipped in, sounding alert despite her sorrow. "You think we should do it? You think I can trust him?" She paused, slightly shifting. "Stiles?"
"Sure, you can," Stiles blurted, baffled that she addressed him by his given name. Really, Derek? That´s your plan? That´s the course you´ve chosen? That Kali was asking him for advice was even more surprising. "Derek would never betray you." He ignored Peter´s smirk. He ignored his heartbeat speeding up. If the creepy uncle deserves a second chance... well, why not? Instead of blood and death there is going to be hope and peace. Why the hell not?
"I think you´re right. He´s not keen on violence. He respects humans. He doesn´t make rash decisions. He takes care of his pack." She bent down and kissed Elias on the forehead. "He listens to his mate."
Huh? "He´s traumatized like you," Stiles added generously. "Derek understands pain."
"Unlike my father. May he rot in hell."
"So, what´re you going to do?"
"I can´t say yet. Elias and I need to talk about it first."
"Sure. Got it." He reached out to Kali. "Let´s start again. What d´you say?"
For an eternity she looked at his hand like it was a biting snake.
"Uh..." Stiles thought he had made the biggest mistake of all.
"I misjudged you." Firmly she shook his hand. "You are an Alpha. The human kind."
"Thanks," Stiles said, strangely touched. "I was wrong about you, too. You're not a bitch, but you're some woman. A survivor."
"Yeah, yet I couldn´t save Samual." Her shoulders slumped, and she nuzzled her face into Elias´s neck to find some comfort.
"Well done, Mr. Stilinski," Deaton said, standing right beside him. "You´ll be good at this."
Oops. Hey. That guy was like a ghost. Once again Stiles didn´t see him coming in.
"Talia would be proud about her son´s choice."
"I´m not so sure," Peter disagreed smugly. "She never liked cowards."
Oh. That stung. Yeah. He hung his head. The worst was that Peter was right.
"Why do you think I came back here today?" Peter´s tone turned gentle again. "The Alpha sent me to look out for his boy."
"I know." Yes. He knew. He just didn´t know how to handle Derek. He didn´t know if he was ready for such a guy. A werewolf, for god´s sake. An Alpha at that. "I´m sorry. Tell him I need more time."
"Well, considering how long he´s already waited for you that´s the least of his problems."
"Whatever," Stiles huffed and walked out. Surprisingly Deaton went along. What now? Some new lecture?
"I never told anyone this, Mr. Stilinski, but becoming Talia´s Emissary was the most important decision of my life. Talia cared for me and she always respected my advice, and the day she died my heart was broken and it will never mend. But I wasn´t her mate. Derek´s father was. Still I never regretted my choice or one second at her side."
"Why are you telling me this?" He climbed into his Jeep.
"Because I know what bothers you."
"Yeah, well, I´m not his mate either." He started the car, glad to have something to do to keep his hands busy. "I´m human like you."
"The point is that Talia never kissed me, nor did she hold me in her arms the whole night licking my wounds."
"How the hell do you know about that?" Once again Stiles was in awe of his mentor.
"I have my sources," Deaton deadpanned. He got hold of Stiles´s left hand and put a vial in its palm. "Wolf´s Bane. I want you to get used to it. Start slowly. Only a sniff a day."
"Ugh..." Okay. Fine. Stiles put the vial into the dashboard compartment. He meant to perform his mentor´s task but not right now. He couldn´t concentrate on anything at the moment.
Deaton stepped back. "Have a safe drive home."
"Yeah. See ya." Clumsily he shifted gears. The Jeep jerked forward, making a complaining noise due to the unusually harsh treatment. Crap! Stiles caressed the wheel to apologize. So? Doesn´t he want more from life than driving on the safe side? Isn´t he ready to lose his way if just for a little bit? Doesn´t he want another bite of the sweets? What big teeth you have? He shuddered with excitement. Holy mother of God! He knew who he wanted to taste and eat alive.
In the days to come he dialed Derek´s number a few times and then he hung up at the last second. Once or twice he got a glimpse of a Camaro driving by his house. That could have been an illusion, or worse, wishful thinking. Yes, he wanted Derek to seek him out and at the same time he feared the wolf´s appearance. He just didn´t feel ready to be an Alpha´s mate for god´s sake. Frustrated about not making a move he ate a lot of Reeses´s candy bars, as if plenty of sugar would do any good.
School didn´t go any better. Isaac, the ass, was teasing him constantly. Now and then Scott rowed with him over his behavior, yeah, and Isaac liked it way too much. The growls he gave Scott in return were of the X-rated sort. Scott was visibly turned on. So was Allison. Oh, yeah, school was hell.
On Friday Stiles took a time out and went to the cemetery visiting his mom´s grave. He brought her a sunflower which had been her favorite. For a few minutes he just stood there gazing at the gravestone in silence but then he started talking. He told her everything that had happened over the last days. Crap! He just realized it had been only a few days since his life had turned upside down. "I saved a girl´s life, you know," he finished, and hung his head. "I wish I could have saved you." He sighed heartily. "I wish you could be here to give me some advice." Though she wasn´t here anymore talking to her always gave him comfort. "I was lucky, you know, having a mom like you, though only for a few years." Maybe his loss was minor compared to the tragedy Kali and Samual had suffered, but everyone had to carry the burden of his own loss, right? "I love you, mom." He blew her a kiss and went home.
In the evening he was feeling close to bursting into flames. No surprise due to having barely slept in days. Stupid pillow. Stupid wolf. Yeah, right. Desperate, he was leaning against his window yearning for the stars. Go. Go. Go to him. The waning moon was ascending the sky, mocking him for being a wuss. Man! He kicked his bat resting in the corner. He would have kicked himself if he´d able to do such a stupid thing. He was beyond ready to go and... Okay. Come on! Let´s go!
"Stiles?" His dad walked in. "What about us having dinner tonight? I think we should talk, don´t you?"
What? Now? Stiles bit his lip. For the whole week he and his dad had barely seen each other. Well. He could understand why his dad was mad at him. He was definitely grateful that his dad didn´t know what had really happened. Yeah. A small consolation in all this mess. "I don´t know, dad. I´m not in the mood."
"Come on, son. I found a great new place in the loft of a tall building. They even serve curly fries."
"Fine. Why not." He sighed. "I have nothing better to do anyway."
"Thanks for the overwhelming joy at sharing some time with your old man," the sheriff commented dryly.
"Sorry, dad." He just remembered the fixed shirt. The shirt he had lost in battle. He was ungrateful. "I promise to behave." He slipped into his red hoodie.
"Careful with the promises," his dad murmured, a strange expression crossing his face.
"What?"
"You´ll see."
Stiles was too self-involved to notice where they were going until his dad stopped the car. The building in front of them appeared abandoned, spooky even. "Are you sure we´ll get something to eat up there?" he said, frowning. "It looks a bit creepy."
"Pretty sure." His dad fetched a package from the backseat.
"What´s that?"
"A present for the host."
Stiles was perplexed but he only just figured that his dad had tricked him shamelessly when his best friend opened the sliding door to the loft. "Hey. I´m glad you could make it."
"What the hell? Dad!"
"Sorry, son. I couldn´t bear to see you sulk anymore."
Stiles spotted Allison and Isaac huddled against each other on a comfy sofa. "What is this? What are you up to?"
"We´re having a party," Scott explained, cheerful. "We can´t celebrate without the guest of honor." He was glowing like the happiest wolf that had ever been bitten.
"Why here? What is this place?" Stiles snapped. Yeah, frustration was a bitch.
"It´s Derek´s new home. You didn´t think he would live in that burnt down house forever, did you?"
Honestly? He kind of did. The house added perfectly to Derek´s mysterious flavor.
"Okay, time for me to go." His dad put the package into his arms. "Be a good son and come home at least for breakfast tomorrow."
"Dad!" Stiles stared at him, clueless. What had he been thinking to bring him here? What did he know? What...? "I don´t understand."
"I´m not stupid, boy. Do you think you can stay away the whole weekend and then come home looking like you had made out with a scrubbing brush and I wouldn´t figure out what´s going on?" His dad sighed, shaking his head. "But you´re almost seventeen, and, well, I know how serious you pined over that Martin girl...so..."
"I´m not pining over Derek."
"Sure you´re not. You´re way past that," the sheriff ignored his denial, "That´s okay. I don´t mind as much as you maybe think."
"You don´t?" Stiles was baffled. "You don´t even know..."
"I know everything. Derek told me."
"What?" Stiles shrieked. No way. Derek didn´t, did he? Not everything?
The sheriff laughed. "No worries. He spared me the details, thank god, but showed me what is really going on. Werewolves are real." His smile turned into a grimace as if the memory was not something he wanted to hold on to. "So, I know now that he´s a big part of your life, and considering the tragedy in his past I didn´t want to be the one in the way. So..."
"He´s not a bad guy, you know."
"I know because you wouldn´t like him otherwise. Now run into his arms already."
"Dad!" What the freaking hell? His dad was gloating. His friends were sniggering. Why, oh why, was this his life? "Holy God, I don´t even know what to say... I...."
"I love you, son." The sheriff hugged him, squashing the package in the process. "That doesn´t mean we won´t go to dinner eventually."
Right. "I love you, too, dad." He blinked tears from his eyes. Yeah. They were both stupidly pathetic.
"Thanks. I needed that." The sheriff waved at the pack. "Keep it legal, guys." He was gone.
Slightly shell-shocked Stiles inspected Derek´s so-called new home. There was almost no furniture. Not very different from the burnt down house in the woods, though the ambience was brighter and more welcoming. Two sofas, a coffee table and a comfy bed. Hey! He turned awkward like a silly kid who was figuring out for the first time how sex was done.
Scott put an arm around his shoulders and showed him in. "Come on. All your friends are waiting."
Stiles noticed the picture next to the shelf with the orderly line of books, oh there they are, and almost choked. Derek must have cut out the middle of his ruined shirt, namely the target, and had it framed behind glass. A unique trophy. Oh My God! "I can´t do this."
"Moonshine!" Isaac quipped. "You are the hero. You beat an Alpha. You can at least talk to him."
Stiles stared at him. If even Isaac was being nice to him the world was going to end up in ruins, right? "I did nothing. Allison saved me. Remember?" You should, idiot. You need to talk to Derek. You need to make this void inside of you go away.
"We did it together," Allison disagreed. "You were more than brave having no weapon and all."
"I had mountain ash. It worked just fine."
"Right," Scott said. "Why didn´t you tell us about that?"
"I wasn´t sure. I wanted to surprise you."
"Congrats. Derek was certainly surprised. He almost ripped Kali and Elias apart for what they did to you. I still don´t know why he didn´t."
Stiles did know. Derek was a predator but not a killer.
Erica and Boyd were coming down the stairs. "Batman," Erica cheered. "Nice to have you back."
Once more Stiles was checking Boyd´s hands. Ten fingers still.
"Derek sewed it back on," Boyd gave away.
"Will it work?"
"Derek said yes."
"It doesn´t matter." Erica seized the finger and started licking it. "I love you in every shape." She sucked the finger into her mouth.
"Where´s D-Derek?" God! Why was he stuttering? What was he afraid of? Why was he feeling so much? A playful slap grazing his ass made him feel even more. Holy fuck! What now? Whoever-
"I´m right behind you."
