Well….put your hand up if you assumed I would never finish this?
I've been trying to write this for years and a couple of weeks ago all of a sudden my muse was back and I was able to write it. I was so worried I wouldn't get it finished but I finally did. Yay!
I am almost certain I've lost the general thrust that this story started with since the explaining isn't really done by Derek but it's close. After all it's basically become a 13+1 now. Plus some more at the end.
Thank you to anyone who has stuck with me and still reads this last part. To all of the people who encouraged me along the way as well I really appreciate it.
I'm done, I'm done, I'm done. I'm so pleased it's finally written but also sad that it's over. Thank you again and enjoy!

Five Times Derek Growled At Stiles And One Time He Explained
by Moonbeam

+1.0 – Joshua

"Stiles!" Stiles knew the voice and it was not coming from Scott even as his best friend reached out and touched him. Stiles looked down to see what Scott was doing to find his abdomen wet with blood…the drips hitting the floor beneath him.

"Stiles!" Derek's scream was the last thing Stiles heard as he hit the ground.

/\/\/\

Joshua slid his memory card into the computer while the camera battery was recharging.

The photos started coming up and he clicked on the first one so that he could start adding to his notes. His father had always told him that the most important thing about hunting was to know your target; their strengths, weaknesses, habits, and preferences. Joshua had been tracking this man for a month and he was certain that he was dealing with a werewolf.

Joshua looked at the two timetables he'd hacked into the university servers to download. He knew when both would be out of the house and the best time to test them. He was certain they were werewolves but he had to know before he could move his plan along. He flicked through the rest of the pictures, he couldn't be sure if the younger of the two men, Stiles, was the other's, Derek's, mate or not. Joshua kept catching him with other people, one woman in particular, who he seemed to be either involved with or who he simply spent a lot of time flirting with. In Joshua's experience werewolves were possessive and territorial of their partners but he hadn't seen Derek possessive enough for Stiles to be his mate and yet there was definitely an air of relationship about the two of them as well. There were too many questions about these two and Joshua hated unanswered questions.

Joshua made himself something to drink and set himself to planning their first meeting.

/\/\/\

Joshua checked the hallway again before he knocked. The apartment wasn't normal student housing, close by but too expensive for most students so he was fairly certain none of the other tenants would be around during the middle of a work day. He waited patiently even as his fingers itched to reach into his pocket and grab his water pistol. The younger of the two men came to the door first and Joshua stared at him.

"Hello?" The possible werewolf, Stiles, asked.

"Are you Stiles Stilinski?" Joshua asked focussing on the man in front of him and trying to keep an eye on the space behind him. They should both be there but the older man hadn't come out.

"Yes." That was all Joshua needed to know, he could hear Stiles continuing as he pulled the water pistol out of his pocket and shot…the man spat the water out, glared at him, questioned his intentions but he didn't growl or howl and he didn't react like a werewolf. Joshua frowned and began questioning his research when Derek appeared.

"Derek Hale?" Joshua asked just to be sure even though his face matched all the surveillance photographs and Joshua had been following him for a month. Stiles reached out for Derek but the older man said yes before the human was able to stop him and Joshua shot him as Stiles was able to warn him.

Derek reacted as expected; he was definitely a werewolf. Joshua's research was right. Though it did pose the question of what a werewolf was doing with a human who wasn't treated as an omega and wasn't family. Joshua had never seen a human who was simply a member of a werewolf pack. He needed to do more research, he needed to watch them more carefully, and he really needed to work out what was going on in this little pack.

The door slammed in front of him but Joshua wasn't paying attention anymore. He tucked his water pistol back into his pocket and left the building. He had work to do.

Joshua made it home after going through his usual anti-tracking routine and pulled up the documents he was keeping on Derek Hale and Stiles Stilinski. He typed HUMAN in red next to Stiles' name but didn't close the document. He would not harm the human however there was obviously more to this relationship – he knew what Derek was and chose to live with him. Joshua wrote WEREWOLF next to Derek's name and found all the files he could on humans in werewolf packs. He had not been able to find information on Derek's pack yet but now that he knew that Derek was definitely a werewolf he could watch him and find out everything he would need to know to put a stop to the werewolf pack. He needed to take down the whole pack, simply cutting off the metaphorical head by killing the alpha wasn't enough. Another would take Derek's place and if he was liked then the pack would attempt to hunt Joshua down.

According to the vast resources that Joshua, and his family before him, had built up there were only three reasons that a werewolf kept a human in their pack; they were intended to be turned, they were human family members (Joshua would need to research that option just to double check), and they were kept as an omega (the new, disgusting meaning of the word rather than the traditional position of a werewolf without a pack). Of all of the possibilities the first seemed the most likely. Which would alter Joshua's timeline; he needed to stop Derek before he turned Stiles and Joshua had another werewolf to hunt.

/\/\/\

Joshua had become aware of the possibility of a werewolf at Berkeley when he found an article from years before, a woman's body found in an abandoned lot – she had been mauled, the official police report said a wild animal, possibly a pack of stray dogs, but Joshua's instincts had been alerted by the article. He had packed up the hotel room he'd been staying at and headed for the campus. He'd been in the area for close to two weeks before he was able to get a lead which led him directly to Derek Hale, who had been a student at the university at the time of the woman's dead and had now returned. There were a number of staff from the university that spanned the time and of course all of the local residents. However, the murder, a mere fortnight before Derek had left the university, and the three separate reports of a giant dog on campus within the last year pointed to werewolf. The campus police, and the real police, dismissed all of the reports because the people making them were drunk. Joshua wasn't so quick to dismiss their reports so he went and talked to them all. There was a chance that some of the report might be alcohol related but the description of the beast they had seen was closer to werewolf than dog. Joshua had started to watch Derek, and his roommate, and with his test now out of the way he was sure that he had his culprit. He would need to find the rest of the pack before he made his move though; Joshua did not like to go into any situation without as much information as possible.

/\/\/\

Joshua had not intended to confront the werewolf again. He had all the information he needed; Derek was a werewolf, therefore he needed to be put down as soon as Joshua knew exactly who his pack were and the best ways to kill them.

He hadn't intended to see Derek at all that second time – he wanted to know more about Stiles. Joshua had been watching the human but he needed to know more. He had found the best time in Stiles' schedule to intercept him. Derek wouldn't be on campus – they never met after this particular class.

Joshua was watching from the pillar of another building when Derek walked up to Stiles' class. Joshua swore – he knew he should walk away but he wanted to talk to Stiles and he had his blade with him as a precaution. Perhaps if he followed they would separate and he would be able to corner the human and warn him away from the dangerous path that he was walking.

He knew he had been spotted though and he debated whether to leave or to pursue. On one hand if he was able to catch them he might get some information. And by this point they knew that Joshua was following them. They would change their patterns and then Joshua would have to find another opportunity to separate Stiles which might make him too late to ensure that there wasn't another werewolf to deal with. He kept following, attempting to work out where the werewolf was leading him.

He saw them dart out from an alcove and realised that the werewolf was protecting the human. He would never be able to get Stiles alone now. He would simply need to wound the werewolf and then catch up to Stiles and explain why living with a werewolf was a terrible idea.

Derek led them into a clump of trees and stopped, turning to face Joshua with Stiles tucked almost behind him.

"I know you are human, you can leave." Joshua offered, knowing Stiles would not take him up on it.

"Who are you?" Stiles asked.

"Joshua." Joshua had been known by many names but he always kept his Christian name, the one given to him by his father.

"Why are you following us?" Derek growled, stepping just a little more directly in front of Stiles.

"Because you are a werewolf and I hunt you filthy mutts and I will be here to make sure you don't hurt anyone else at this school." Joshua always found it helpful to make the werewolves think that he was just a hunter – them underestimating him was a powerful tool.

"Anyone else?" Stiles asked popping his head up above Derek's shoulder, Derek growled at him so Stiles dropped back down. So, the human didn't know about the other murder. Perhaps it was someone that Derek had been sleeping with before Stiles. Joshua would have to do more research to see if that was Derek's way of breaking up with a human – ripping their throat out.

"I read about the last person here. I will kill you when I am sure I have all of you though."

Joshua took the opportunity their confusion gave him to lash out at Derek. The blade was dipped in his own personal mixture – designed to debilitate and if untreated perhaps even kill; though werewolves were notoriously hard to kill. He didn't want Derek dead yet though it was beginning to look like he would be able to trace the rest of the pack through Stiles. Joshua turned to leave as Stiles rushed to the werewolf's side. He couldn't resist turning around and offering a final piece of advice.

"I'd leave him, human, before you get dragged down to hell with him."

Joshua turned again and rushed from the clearing. He knew that Stiles wouldn't leave Derek to chase him but he didn't take any chances as he did everything he could to make sure no one could follow him – werewolf senses or not.

/\/\/\

The next time he saw Stiles it was an accident. He was sitting in a café near the public library and he looked up to see Stiles and a woman, MJ – definitely human and unaware of werewolves, sitting on the other side of the establishment. He knew the moment that Stiles saw him meaning he couldn't slip away as he'd intended when he saw the other man. Stiles said something to MJ and then rushed from the café heading back to campus. Joshua should have known not to go to a café so close to campus. He knew he wouldn't have another opportunity to speak to Stiles alone. Joshua had given up on the possibility of Stiles leaving the werewolf but he could at least see what information he could get from the other man now.

"Why are you doing this?" Stiles asked, turning around and watching him.

"He's a werewolf."

"And a good man."

Joshua shook his head at Stiles' gullibility. "He's not a man anymore. He's a werewolf. He will just end up hurting you."

"He's been a werewolf his whole life – he's a better man than you." Joshua filed that information away for later – born werewolves were reported to be stronger than made ones but he had never dealt with one before. "He has never hunted someone down like you're hunting us."

"He's the werewolf. If you walk away I'm not going to come after you."

"I'm not about to leave him when I know you're trying to kill you."

Joshua understood what the other man wasn't saying – he wouldn't have left Derek no matter what was happening.

"Obviously, he survived our last meeting then."

Stiles swore but Joshua would have heard if the werewolf had have died. "You sliced his chest open," Stiles said, gesturing along his chest and Joshua caught sight of a flash of black ink. He stopped listening to the other man and reached out, grabbing Stiles' arm.

Stiles tried to pull away but Joshua dug his fingers in so that he could see the tattoo on his wrist. It was a werewolf mark. He recognised it from his grandfather's journals. There could only be one reason for a human to be wearing a werewolf mark. It was a pack mark. He had read about them but they were not as common as they used to be. Joshua realised that Stiles wasn't just naïve, he was stupid enough to be planning to be turned and believed that he was already in the pack. Joshua dropped Stiles' hand and left. As he made his way home he knew he was going to have to stop Stiles along with the rest of the pack.

/\/\/\

Joshua drove along the highway following Derek's black Camaro. Stiles was still in Berkeley but Derek was the werewolf so the hunter didn't mind letting the human out of his sight. They were heading home for the summer with Stiles to follow Derek. Joshua hadn't realised that they weren't originally from Berkeley. If they were only living in Berkeley for university he might have misjudged Derek's position of alpha. Joshua would know for sure once they arrived; Derek's pack would be in his home town. Joshua hadn't focussed heavily on where they came from as werewolves tended to stay at home, or close to, but now that he knew they were both from the town of Beacon Hills he knew where the rest of the pack must be.

When they arrived Derek drove away from the town again and into the woods that overlooked the town. Joshua parked at one of the many hiking stops and set out to find the property.

He surveyed the woods for two weeks until he was sure that he knew exactly who was in the pack, where the buildings were, and their weaknesses.

Then he started planning his attack.

/\/\/\

On a Wednesday, just after dawn Joshua started moving towards the house. He hefted the heavy backpack on his shoulder and moved as quietly as he could through the trees. In his backpack he had everything he would need to keep the wolves in the house. He had watched them long enough to know that the town's sheriff knew about the wolves but he wasn't sure if the man was corrupt or not. From what Joshua had been able to find out in his research Derek had been arrested once for murder but he was released and his uncle was discovered to be the murderer instead. Werewolves always ended up murdering someone; Joshua knew that. He suspected, from the fact that Peter Hale's crimes were reported, that the sheriff wasn't under Derek's thumb even if his son was.

Joshua was a hunter though and he wasn't going to take any chances. The sheriff wasn't working and after a full moon the wolves would be worn from their run the night before and less powerful than they were in the lead up to the lunar event.

He circled around the house, checking all of the windows and doors with his binoculars. There was no sign of movement within the house and the whole pack would be there. Joshua had come out the night before to make sure that all five members of the pack, plus their two humans, were there. He crept up to the front door, setting his traps to ensure they couldn't escape and circle around behind him. He had debated calling out a hunter he knew lived in the area…Argent, but the pack wasn't too big and if the other hunter hadn't already taken this pack out he might have died since Joshua had last heard from him.

When he was sure that the flash bang grenades and the other traps were set he snuck around to the backdoor of the house and took a deep breath, preparing himself. He looked up and into the kitchen door and swore when he saw Stiles standing there frozen. In the moment their eyes met Stiles turned and started running. Joshua pulled his sawed-off shotgun out of his bag and shot a hole in the backdoor as Stiles' voice rang out through the house.

Joshua stepped through the backdoor as the first growl filled the air. He swore and started moving.

"Stiles, get to the panic room," Derek yelled out.

Joshua cursed – he hadn't come prepared to lay siege to a panic room, especially not in a panic room that was in a werewolf's house. He rushed through the kitchen and cut Stiles off from running down a hallway.

"What are you doing here?" Stiles asked.

"I'm making sure these werewolves never kill another human being." Joshua twisted and shot the werewolf who was running at him but Danny twisted and caught the buckshot in the side instead of the stomach. Joshua threw the gun away – he wouldn't have time to reload with all of the pack coming towards him at once. Joshua hated a plan that didn't come together.

He pulled the sword from the sheath on his back. He liked the weight of the hilt within his fist and turned to face Danny who had placed himself between Joshua and Stiles. He knew the rest of the pack was about to crash into the room, a little surprised they weren't there already, and he knew he would need to take them out quickly. He twisted his wrist and lunged at Danny slicing into the werewolf's side and twisting up until he hit rib. He pulled his sword back and lifted his arm ready to take off his head when Stiles yanked the werewolf out of the way.

Joshua grunted out his displeasure and stabbed at Stiles, missing him by a hair's breadth. He twisted back into the movement and caught Stiles' shoulder nicking the skin and drawing an immediate flow of blood.

The growl that hit Joshua was loud, violent, and terrifying. He made another lunge for Stiles but the man pulled away again, getting caught under the weight of Danny next to him and falling heavily. His fall revealed Derek running at him, fangs and claws sharp and eyes leaking red around the electric blue. Joshua shifted his stance and let Derek's momentum embed the blade into the werewolf's body; stalling his momentum. Stiles had pushed Danny out of the way and was standing up, ignoring the pull of Scott's hands to pull him away from the fighting. Lydia was running in though, yanking Derek, and the blade, from his grip. Joshua swore and reached out, using the werewolf's grip on Derek to help him pull the blade from the resisting flesh.

/\/\/\

"Derek!" Stiles yelled out, fighting against the hold Scott had on him. He couldn't let Joshua hurt Derek.

"Stiles," Scott said, finally pushing the human back and into the wall. "Stop, you're going to get hurt."

"Derek's been stabbed."

Scott turned and watched as Jackson rushed at Joshua, side stepping the blade and landing a heavy punch to the hunter's jaw.

"We've got this. Get down to the panic room."

Stiles nodded – he knew he'd be a liability at the moment but he couldn't make his feet move seeing the Derek's blood forming a puddle under him.

Scott turned his back on Stiles and rushed into the fight, using his forearm to knock the blade out of the way before he punched Joshua splitting the hunter's lip. He missed the small blade that Joshua pulled from his hip and stabbed into Scott's chest. Stiles knew it wasn't his heart – the wrong side of his body but his own heart stopped in fear. He needed to do something. He needed to stop Joshua but…

Stiles rushed from the room, grabbing items as he went until he made it into the kitchen and the lemons. He didn't even know if this was going to work as he squeezed lemons into a mug and listened to his pack howl, bodies thump, and the frantic sounds of fighting. He finished and rushed back down the hallway, ducking around Derek, who was pulling himself back to his feet, and Lydia, who was unconscious, to throw the mug right into Joshua's eyes.

The moment the lemon hit Joshua swung around blindly and his sword slid through the flesh of Stiles' stomach before he dropped to the ground in pain. Stiles heard the sirens in the distance – Allison must have called them from the panic room. He looked down at Joshua writhing on the floor and felt no guilt, only pleasure that he's protected the pack.

"Stiles!" Scott yelled and Stiles turned to him, the world suddenly moving very slowly.

"Stiles!" Stiles knew the voice and it was not coming from Scott even as his best friend reached out and touched him. Stiles looked down to see what Scott was doing to find his abdomen wet with blood…the drips hitting the floor beneath him.

"Stiles!" Derek's scream was the last thing Stiles heard as he hit the ground.

When he woke up he was in the hospital, the stark white everything and the beeping from next to him telling him where he was. The pain throughout his stomach and abdomen confirming it for him, he looked to the side and found Derek sitting next to him looking at him intently.

"Derek?" Stiles croaked.

"Stiles." Derek said; staring at him silently.

"What happened?"

"Joshua stabbed you twice. You had surgery. Your dad is talking to the doctor."

"Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah. We all healed from what happened."

"Did you bite me?" Stiles asked slowly trying to keep his eyes open.

"No." Derek said, surprised he even asked.

"Okay, so tired." Stiles let his eyes close and felt sleep overtaking him. Derek was here so it would all be fine.

Derek let his hand ghost down Stiles' arm when he was asleep again. He would be okay, he had to be okay. Derek hadn't slept since the fight, since his pack had stood against the hunter who kept coming after them. Since they had stopped him but not before Stiles had been injured.

Derek closed his eyes and could still see Stiles lying on the floor bleeding out.

He pulled away from the younger man and looked at him knowing that he would have to walk away. And stay away. He had always known that being in Stiles' life would put him in danger but now he couldn't keep pretending that he was strong enough to protect the human.

The door opened behind him and Derek turned around to see Sam.

"Sheriff, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

Derek looked back at Stiles. "I need to go."

"He'll want to see you when he wakes up."

"He was awake for a few minutes. He's seen me."

"Derek, you know-"

"That it was my fault he was hurt. So, I shouldn't be here when he wakes up."

"He won't blame you."

"He'll understand," Derek said walking through the door.

"No, he won't," Sam said quietly in the hospital room but Derek heard him anyway.

He could sense the pack in the waiting room so he slipped out of another exit and ran home.

/\/\/\

Stiles woke again late the next day when they were changing his dressings.

"What?" He groaned out, trying to push them away.

"Stiles," a woman said, looking down at him.

"What, stop."

"Stiles," suddenly Melissa entered his line of sight.

"Melissa?"

"Stiles, calm down, we're changing your dressings. You need to lie still."

"Dressings?" Stiles asked, breathing heavily. He blinked at her. "I…oh, Derek. The hunter. Am I okay?"

"You're fine, Stiles, just relax."

"Okay."

Stiles stared at the ceiling as they moved him around and redressed his wounds. His ankle hurt, his shoulder and stomach felt like they were on fire, and he could tell that his face was swollen. He tried to work out what else hurt but the harder he tried to concentrate the more difficult he found it until he fell into unconsciousness again.

/\/\/\

"He's waking up."

"How do you know?"

"His heartbeat is different."

"How ca…you're right."

"Of course I am, we're brothers."

"I don't think you understand what brothers means."

"H-H," Stiles had to stop and clear his throat, "he's my brother."

"From another mother," Scott finished.

Stiles opened his eyes and found the pack sitting around his bed.

"What's going on?"

Scott walked over and rested his hip against the bed. "You don't remember?"

Stiles thought back and remembered, trying to sit up. "Joshua. Is Derek okay?"

"Lie down," Scott said, pushing Stiles back into the bed. "He's fine."

Stiles looked around the hospital room. "Where is he?"

Scott turned and looked at Lydia.

"He's not here. Is he healing?" Stiles asked.

"He was here until you woke up. Then he went home."

"I only just woke up."

The hospital room door opened and a doctor walked in.

"You're not all supposed to be in here at once," the doctor said, holding the door open. "I need to check Mr Stilinski over so you're all going to need to step outside."

"Okay," Scott said, stepping away quickly and ushering the rest of the pack out of the door. Stiles knew he was trying to get away just a little too eagerly.

"What happened to me?" Stiles asked.

The doctor got the chart from the wall and smiled at him. "My name is Dr Oliver, how are you feeling?"

"My abdomen is sore and my shoulder hurts. My ankle is pretty sore too."

"Is that everything?"

Stiles shook his head. "Just the important stuff."

Dr Oliver nodded and started checking him over as he talked. "You came into the ED with stab wounds on your abdomen and shoulder. You have torn ligaments in your left ankle along with several other bruises and contusions."

Stiles looked down at his stomach when the doctor pulled the covers off him. There was a large bandage circling his lower abdomen. "Well, there goes my chances for a perfect six-pack."

The doctor chuckled. "The wound was quite serious, Mr Stilinski."

"How serious?"

"The wound nicked your intestine after passing through all three layers of abdominal muscles. You are lucky that the sheriff's department arrived when they did."

Stiles remembered talking to Derek…the alpha hadn't bitten him and now he understood why – he hadn't had time.

"That is lucky," Stiles said quietly, thinking about the look on Derek's face. He continued listening to the doctor with one ear.

"You won't be able to put any weight on your ankle for a couple of weeks but other than that we should be able to release you the day after tomorrow."

"How long will I be in hospital for?"

The doctor frowned at him. "Should I ask one of your friends in while we discuss this? I know your father isn't here."

Stiles blinked at him. "Scott."

The doctor walked to the door and asked Scott into the room.

"What's wrong?" Scott asked, stepping up to the bed.

"Mr Stilinski, can you tell me how old you are?"

Stiles frowned at him. "Twenty."

Dr Oliver looked at Scott who nodded.

"What is seventy-three minus fifteen?"

"Fifty-eight."

"If tomorrow is Tuesday and I ask you to come in ten days later what day would it be?"

"Friday."

"Why are you asking these questions?" Scott asked, leaning forward; worried.

"Stiles, asked a question that I had answered a few moments before."

Stiles grimaced. "I remembered Derek being here when I woke up."

Scott sighed. "He's not confused. Derek always distracts him."

The doctor nodded. "I need to make sure so I'm going to ask a few more questions."

"Okay," Stiles said, focussing on the doctor.

"I'm going to say five words. I want you to remember them. Silver, copper, tomorrow, yes, purple."

"S-"

"First, can you tell me the square root for sixty-four?"

"Eight."

"And the five words?"

"Silver…copper, tomorrow, yes, purple."

"That's good, Mr Stilinski, I don't think we need to worry about unidentified issues but we are going to keep you under observation for the next forty-eight hours. Then we should be able to release you the day after tomorrow assuming the wounds continue to show signs of improvement."

"You told me about the abdominal wound but I don't know about the shoulder wound."

"It's a straight puncture wound that didn't nick anything important. The knife went in approximately a centimetre. There is severe bruising however and you have injured your rotator cuff."

"How long will it take to heal?"

"The rotator cuff and ankle injuries will take up to four weeks to heal completely. The stab wounds will be six to twelve weeks depending on you and the after-care."

Stiles nodded thinking of the shortest option. "Just before we go back to school."

"The bruises and contusions will all heal in the next week to ten days."

Stiles nodded. "But I can go home the day after tomorrow?"

"Assuming your wounds do not develop an infection."

"They won't." Scott said.

Stiles laughed and then groaned. "Don't make me laugh."

"Sorry."

"A nurse will be in within the hour to give you the next round of antibiotics and pain medication."

"Okay, thanks."

"And he'll be changing your dressings and then you should rest. Your friends should probably leave you to rest."

Scott nodded. "We'll say goodbye and leave."

The doctor nodded. "Do you have any questions, Stiles?"

"No, I think you covered everything."

"If you think of anything please let me know."

"I will, thank you."

The doctor left them alone and Stiles turned to Scott. "Where is Derek?"

Scott groaned. "Stiles."

"Scott."

"He's at his place. He saw you when you woke up yesterday."

"Are you sure he's okay?"

"Yeah," Scott said, displeased. "He's healed."

"He does hate the hospital," Stiles said. "Can I have your phone?"

Scott made a face. "He's being an arse, Stiles."

"Why?"

"Because a member of his pack is in hospital and hurt and he's hiding at his house."

"He's never liked to be at the hospital – he doesn't like to be reminded that we're fragile. Actually, it's just me, isn't it? Allison never ends up in the hospital."

"No, she doesn't. But if she was then I'd be there with her."

"Except you're dating…epically in love. It's a bit different."

Scott opened his mouth and then nodded and handed over his phone.

"Hey, where's my dad?"

"He's at home. Mum dragged him home and told him he had to sleep and eat before he was allowed to come back. He was one of the sheriffs that responded the call out to the house."

"He wasn't supposed to be working."

"Apparently someone called in sick. He hadn't left your side since. Except for when you were in surgery."

"Thank your mum for me."

"I promised him I wouldn't leave so I'll get the pack and then you can sleep and I'll read a book."

Scott slipped out of the room and got the rest of the pack. They said their goodbyes and all hugged him gently before they left. As soon as they were gone Stiles unlocked Scott's phone and called Derek.

"Scott?"

"Hey, Derek."

"Stiles, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wanted to call and make sure that you were completely healed after Joshua's attack."

"I'm completely healed. How are you?"

"Just fine, everything is healing. I should be released the day after tomorrow."

"That's good. You're feeling okay?"

"Yeah, nothing really hurts and everything is going to heal well…plus, I'll have a couple of good scars."

Derek growled into the phone.

"I'm going to be fine. You can come and see for yourself when I'm home. I know how much you hate hospitals."

Scott made a noise from where he was sitting in the chair beside Stiles' bed.

"I will," Derek said but there was something in his voice that made Stiles' spider sense tingle. "I'm glad you're awake and feeling better. I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay, yeah, I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Derek."

Derek said his goodbyes and then hung up.

"Everything okay?" Scott asked.

"Don't pretend you weren't eavesdropping."

"Are you ever going to do anything about your feelings for him?"

"You don't want me to do anything about it."

"He's my friend and my alpha."

"And I don't think you think he's good enough for me."

Scott made a face. "I never said that."

"But you've started making this face whenever I talk about him or he and I are mentioned."

Scott let out a long breath and shrugged.

"Scott."

"I want you to be happy."

"I am happy."

"Then I'm happy."

"You are a terrible liar. You have always been terrible – after all of this time you think you'd be better."

"I worry about you being hurt because you're in love with him and you're not with him."

"I'm scared."

"He won't ever kick you out of the pack."

"But he might get weird and we'd stop being as close as we are."

"Is this better than knowing, for sure?"

"What do you think?"

"I think he's in love with you and would fall to his knees thanking the heavens if you told him you loved him. Or, he'd run away because he's scared."

"You think he's in love with me? Please."

The nurse walked in. Scott rested back in his chair.

"The doctor recommended rest," the nurse said, pointedly looking at Scott.

Scott shrugged. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I can ignore him and sleep," Stiles shrugged, watching as she injected something into his IV.

She didn't looked pleased as she looked down at Scott.

"His dad is only home sleeping right now because I promised I wouldn't leave," Scott said. "I'm not going anywhere."

"He's my bodyguard," Stiles said with a smile and a yawn. "He's protecting me while I sleep."

"Okay," she said, shaking her head at them both and making a note in his chart.

"Thanks, Beth," Scott said, smiling at her sweetly.

"So-"

Scott held his hand up. "Just relax and sleep."

Stiles yawned and glared but closed his eyes and relaxed back anyway.

/\/\/\

Sam was standing and looking out of the room's window when Stiles woke up the next morning. He was wearing his uniform.

"Dad?"

Sam turned around and smiled at Stiles. His face transformed with relief as he walked over and hugged Stiles. The hug put some pressure on Stiles' shoulder but he bit down on the groan.

"I'm okay." Stiles told his dad.

"You worried me."

"I'm sorry."

Sam kissed Stiles on the forehead and pulled away, sitting down.

"You're in your uniform."

Sam made a face. "I can't leave Joshua sweating in the cell anymore. I've got to go in and deal with him."

"What's happening with him?"

"He's been rotting in there since you were hurt."

"That seems fair. Is he blind?"

"No."

Stiles made a face. "That's a shame."

"Stiles."

"He stabbed me. He tried to blind Derek once. He hurt my pack. I wanted to blind him."

"He tried to blind Derek once? You've seen him before?"

Stiles grimaced. "Maybe."

"Unbelievable. I'm going to have to get Derek down to the station to answer questions now. And you're going to get a visit from a deputy when you're feeling better. How could you keep this from me?"

"I didn't want you to worry."

"Too late."

"I'm okay."

"I know. But you had surgery and I saw you lying in Derek's arms bleeding which took years from my life. I was…am worried."

"I'm going to be good as new. With a few scars for the trouble."

"No more scars after this."

"I will try not to scare you again."

"I know that's all I'm going to get so I suppose it's enough."

"I didn't mean to make you worry."

"You could have gone down to the panic room with Allison."

"I don't know how Scott got her to go down there."

"I might have carried her down over my shoulder," Scott said, pushing the door open.

"We had words," Allison offered, coming in behind him.

"I'd still do it again."

Allison made a face at him.

"I had no idea what was there attacking us," Scott told her and then turned to look at Sam. "Sorry we were late."

"Not late," Sam said, standing up. "Stiles only just woke up so it's perfect."

"You going in?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah.

"Be safe."

Sam shook his head at Stiles but leaned down and hugged him anyway.

"Love you," Stiles said quietly.

"I love you too, son, I'll be back later."

Stiles nodded and watched his father leave.

"So, you're babysitting again?" Stiles asked when his father was gone.

"I came with cards this time."

"Excellent," Stiles said, reaching for the remote that would raise him into more of a sitting position.

They played card games until well after lunch when the rest of the pack arrived.

Lydia was the first one through the door, sitting on the edge of Stiles' bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, I think they're still giving me to good drugs."

"Are you going to share?" Jackson asked, walking into the room with a brown paper bag.

"No, but you might have to…what's in the bag."

"Fried rice and Szechuan beef."

"I love you," Stiles said, reaching out.

Jackson scowled at Stiles but the human knew that he appreciated the words. The werewolf handed him the bag and Stiles opened it with glee.

"What about the rest of us?" Scott asked.

"I'm the one in the hospital bed injured." Stiles reminded him.

"Well, if you're going to pull the injured human card then I suppose I won't steal any of your food." Scott sighed pathetically.

Stiles laughed and held out the container to Scott who came over and stoles a few pieces of beef. "Oh man, that's the good Chinese from Dragon Express."

"Of course," Jackson said, looking at Scott with annoyance.

"Jackson knows which Chinese is my favourite."

Jackson smiled at Stiles with pleasure, preening under the praise.

"You're good," Lydia said, bending down to kiss Stiles' forehead.

Stiles ate the rest of the rest of the rice and Szechuan beef while the pack chatted around him.

"Sorry I'm late," Danny said, sliding into the room later.

Stiles looked at him and laughed. "Nice hicky."

Danny slammed a hand to his neck. "It's still there?"

Stiles nodded. "So, it must be fresh."

Danny flushed.

"Was it the fireman?" Jackson asked, turning to his best friend.

"You picked someone up after the fight?"

Danny nodded. "Alison called everyone and he was cute."

"I'm so impressed," Stiles told him.

"You should be," Lydia said, "he's hot."

"He's a fireman," Stiles said with a wink, "it's nice to learn that some stereotypes are true."

"He was the only hot one," Allison told him.

"I only need one," Danny said.

"Then you're doing it wrong," Jackson said with a laugh.

Lydia smacking him upside the head. "Cheating on someone isn't okay."

Jackson rolled his eyes. "I never agree to monogamy."

Lydia looked at him with pity and shook her head at him. "One day I am going to enjoy watching you fall in love with someone so stupidly that you panic and fall apart."

Stiles bit down on his lower lip to keep himself from saying anything.

"But, when it happens we'll all be here to support you," Danny offered.

"What makes you think I would fall apart…or that I'll ever fall in love?"

"We all fall in love eventually," Allison said. "In one form or another."

"It's nothing to be afraid of, Jackson." Stiles said. "The worst that can happen is that they aren't interested."

"And then you can pine for the rest of your life," Lydia said, smiling at him.

"I'm not Stiles. I'm not…I didn't mean that," Jackson said, looking at Stiles.

Danny slapped Jackson. "It's fine that you're pining for Derek. Completely normal."

"It's not normal," Lydia said. "It's a TV show. Normal is telling him and having sex."

"Or not having sex," Stiles offered, "if he's not interested."

"Please, of course he's interested," Jackson said.

"What?" Stiles said.

"What?" Jackson asked, looking around the pack who were all staring at him. "I'm sick of watching Stiles pine, I'm sick of watching Derek act like a lovesick puppy. And I saw Derek yesterday; he's blaming himself for Stiles being in here."

"Derek isn't a lovesick puppy," Stiles said.

"Of course he is," Lydia told him.

Stiles looked at his pack and every single one of them was staring at him in agreement with Lydia. "You cannot all think that Derek is in love with me." They all nodded. "Impossible, I'd know if he was in love with someone."

"In love with you," Lydia said. "And it's not even that – the two of you are basically mated."

"Lydia!" Scott growled.

Lydia shrugged. "The cat's out of the bag, why should I hide anything anymore?"

"You were hiding it?" Stiles asked, looking at Scott.

Scott looked at his best friend and sighed. "We were letting things progress naturally."

"Is this because you don't want me to date Derek?"

"I want you to date Derek if it's what you want. I'm just not sure he's good enough for you."

"But you think he loves me?"

Scott nodded.

"It's not possible."

"Why not?" Allison asked. "You're an amazing person. Why couldn't he possibly love you."

"Because I live with him. He couldn't hide that from me."

"He's not hiding anything," Danny told him. "He probably thinks he is but he would be less subtle if he were wearing a sandwich board."

"So, you're telling me…I've been in love with him for years but I missed the fact that he was in love with me when he hasn't been hiding it or anything. I'm not an idiot."

"No, you're not," Danny said. "But, you're missing the forest for the trees."

"Here's the thing," Lydia said, stepping forward. "If it wasn't you, and Derek was doing any, any, of the stuff he does then you'd know he was mated."

"What?" Stiles asked, moving awkwardly on the hospital bed.

"What would you think if Jackson welcomed a woman into his home to live?"

Stiles looked at Jackson who was trying to disappear into the wall. "Are you dating someone?"

"No."

Stiles blinked slowly. "I don't understand."

Scott reached out and put a hand on Lydia's shoulder. She shrugged him off.

"Stiles, if a woman moved into Jackson's home what would that mean?" Lydia asked again.

"That he was beginning the process of bonding with them."

"And you moved in with Derek – into his apartment – into a place where he lived alone."

"I have – we all have – a room in Derek's house. We helped him build the place."

"But none of us actually live there – full time. It's only for sometimes."

Stiles rolled his eyes and then groaned. "That hurt."

"You're hurt." Scott pointed out.

"I know."

"And this can wait." Scott said.

"No," Allison said quietly, "it can't. Jackson's right. Instead of Derek thinking that being around Stiles could get him hurt like his family was hurt this time he is actually the reason that Stiles was hurt. Joshua came after Derek and in doing that Stiles ended up in hospital with a stab wounds and torn ligaments so we need to do this now or Derek will pull away completely and he will never let Stiles in."

"Allison," Stiles said weakly. "It wasn't his fault."

"I know. But, what would Derek think?"

Stiles looked down at the scrapes on his hand. "He's going to blame himself."

"Right," Lydia said. "So, what would you think if Danny invited a human male into the pack, told him all about us?"

"That he was going to get mated and married."

"But when Derek welcomed you into the pack." Danny asked.

"He didn't have a choice," Stiles pointed out, looking at Scott. "He wanted Scott in his pack and I came with Scott."

"You earned your place in the pack," Scott argued.

"Well, I know that."

"What about if I was an alpha who relinquished control of training my betas to someone else?" Lydia asked.

"I was hazardous to everyone's health," Stiles pointed out.

Lydia threw up her hands. "For a moment stop thinking about it being you and Derek. Pretend Derek was some random alpha, who had a pack member who was sought out for advice over the alpha, a pack member who questioned the alpha and who the alpha agreed with more than eighty per cent of the time. Pretend that you know of an alpha who would open his home to a human without a thought. An alpha who would welcome a human cop into his pack, one who encourages his pack to view this human as equal to the alpha."

"Derek never did that."

Each one of the wolves shook their heads at him.

"An alpha who gave a human an entire room so that if he goes mad like his uncle then that human can stop the werewolf and protect the pack. That's what the second-in-command does. The alpha's mate."

"Well yes, but it's just because I helped Scott resist Peter."

"Why don't you want him to love you back?" Jackson asked.

Stiles turned at looked at him. "What?"

Jackson looked uncomfortable as he walked over to Stiles and sat on the bed next to the human's knees. "Everything that Lydia has said is true and you're just refusing to accept it so I want to know why you don't actually want him to love you back."

"Because he's…"

"In love with you."

"Jackson," Stiles said, looking at the werewolf.

"You love him and he loves you and anyone with half a brain can see it – even I saw it."

Stiles tried to smile at the joke but couldn't make his lips stretch.

"It isn't that you're scared, is it?" Scott asked. "I mean – we would understand if you were scared of losing Derek given what happened with your Mum…and your Dad after."

Stiles looked at Scott, trying to work out what to say.

"Perhaps, we should leave Stiles alone to rest," Allison said, resting a hand on Scott's arm.

Stiles nodded, once, and then grimaced. "I am tired."

The pack nodded and filed past to offer Stiles comfort before they left. Scott hung back and watched Stiles.

"Are you staying?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah," Scott said.

"Okay."

Allison poked her head back into the room and looked at Scott.

"I'm just going to stay until Stiles falls asleep."

Allison smiled at him and walked back into the room. "I'll see you in the morning," she said with a kiss.

Allison left and Stiles closed his eyes, knowing Scott would stay the whole time he was asleep to watch over him.

Stiles couldn't sleep, the pack had left over an hour before and he couldn't seem to slip into sleep even though he was exhausted.

"What's wrong?" Scott asked quietly.

"He's a werewolf so being scared of him dying is ridiculous."

"It is."

"And I once saw Peter stick his hand through Derek's chest so probably it's not going to be something like Mum."

Scott stood up and came to sit next to Stiles. "I'm not saying that is why you haven't seen how Derek feels."

"Scott, be completely honest with me."

"He loves you. He's never told me but he does."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because…because, I thought when you were ready you would see it but I never expected you to get hurt like this."

"And if Derek does love me then he'll definitely close that door to me because I was hurt when someone came after him."

"Yeah."

"Then we're just going to have to stop him from doing it."

"First, you need to get some sleep and heal. You're hurt."

Stiles smiled. "I am, but I'll heal."

Scott placed his hand on Stiles' ankle and concentrated – pulling the pain out of the human's body.

"You shouldn't do that," Stiles said but now that the underlying pain was gone the pain meds were making him feel fuzzy.

Stiles passed out, snoring. Scott smiled down at him and relaxed into one of the chairs. He hid in the bathroom whenever the nurses came to the room to check on Stiles.

/\/\/\

Stiles woke up slowly to find his father sitting next to his bed.

"Dad?"

"I sent Scott home."

"He stayed with me last night."

"I asked him to," the sheriff admitted.

"I know."

"Joshua was actually Joshua Michaels. He was wanted for murder in Nevada."

Stiles sat up. "What did you do with him?"

Stiles' father folded his arms across his chest. "I'm probably going to have to send him to Nevada for prosecution for murder. The DA is looking into the cases."

"He didn't kill me."

"He wanted to," Sam said, angry.

"Dad."

"Stiles, you could have died."

"I'm going to be okay. The wolves would never have let me die."

Sam stopped and rubbed a hand down his face. "No, Derek would have died first."

"So, you think he loves me too?"

Sam scooted forward on the chair. "You finally worked it out?"

Stiles shrugged. "The pack told me."

"Why?"

"Because they think Derek is going to shut me out now."

Sam's eyes flickered down to the table and then back to Stiles.

"What?"

Sam reached out and pulled an envelope off the table – handing it to Stiles. "This was left at the nurse's desk."

"What is it?"

"A letter."

Stiles knew, with cold certainty, that the letter was from Derek. And he knew what it would say – he felt like he could write it himself if he wanted to. He didn't want to. With conviction came the realisation that Derek was in love with him. Had been in love with him for years. He'd been an idiot and now he was about to lose something he could have had a long time ago.

"Give it to me," Stiles said, his voice more detached than he would have expected.

"Stiles, do you want me to go and talk to him."

Stiles laughed. "No, I really don't."

"If you need me to…"

"Thank you."

Sam handed over the letter and Stiles opened it slowly.

"Before you read it, you should know they will be releasing you this morning."

"I know."

"And until they actually release you, you can't go out there and convince him he's wrong."

"I know."

Sam sighed. "I'll go and see if they can move it along."

Stiles waited until his father had left the room before he unfolded the paper, looking at the neat, beautiful penmanship without actually reading the words. He traced a finger over his name at the top of the paper and hated Derek as he trailed a nail over the curl of the s. He hated himself as well. He hated the situation and hated that he was going to have to read the letter that Derek had written him to break his heart. But, he knew he needed to and he took a deep breath and actually focussed on Derek's writing.

Stiles,

It's my fault that you were injured earlier today. Humans should not be in a werewolf pack and I should have known that. All humans that have been part of werewolf packs have been in danger. I have put you in danger and while you have constantly proven that you are capable of looking after yourself you are still weaker than we are. I cannot continue to allow you to put yourself in danger to be part of our pack.

I told you that pack was for life and that is true but I cannot protect you as I should. I lied to myself, convinced myself that I would be able to keep you safe when I don't know what, or who, may come after us. Since you joined my pack you have been in danger too many times. I cannot stand by and allow any member of my pack to be hurt so I am quitting university. I will return to Beacon Hills and keep my land and the pack safe. In the time you have left at university the ties to the pack will diminish. Then when you return I believe you will be able to separate yourself from the pack without losing the friendships you have with the remaining wolves. If you are not pack then you should not be in danger.

Joshua chose to come after you because you were pack. He chose to come after you because to a hunter your place in the pack would appear important. As it has been. It cannot be an important place in the pack anymore. You cannot hold an important place in the pack. I would never have wanted to do this but circumstances leave me with no choice. I am breaking pack bonds with you, Stiles.

I am sorry.

Derek

Stiles read the letter again and scrunched it up into a little ball viciously but he couldn't bring himself to actually hurl it at the wall. Now that he understood he realised how much it would have cost Derek to write those words. Now, that the pack had pointed out what he had been missing – that he was Derek's mate even if they had not bonded, then he understood that it would have caused Derek great pain to have said those things to Stiles.

Knowing that did not make the words hurt less…somehow he believed that he hurt more knowing everything.

A few minutes later his father came in with a doctor. Stiles sat through the examination plotting what he would need to do as soon as he was released from the hospital.

They fitted him with a cane, his shoulder injury preventing him from using crutches, and finally, what felt like hours later, they released him with instructions for follow up visits and physical therapy consultations. Stiles assumed his father was listening because he hadn't been.

The moment they got down to the car Stiles turned to his father.

"I need to go home, have a shower, and then you need to drive me to Derek's place."

"I thought you'd want to go straight there."

"If I go there smelling of the hospital he will be even more recalcitrant that he will be just seeing me with a cane, bruises, and bandages."

"I have to say this, Stiles. He is right; you would be in less danger if you walked away."

"I couldn't walk away from Scott, or the rest of the pack, even if I could walk away from Derek. And you know what Mum always used to say."

"Stilinski men love once and they love hard," Sam said quietly.

"You proposed to her after you'd been dating for a week."

"She didn't accept straight away."

"Would you have walked away if you knew then that she would get sick, that she'd die and…and, that it would hurt like it did?"

"No."

Stiles smiled sadly, feeling his eyes warm with the possibility of tears. "I love him. I've been in love with him for years and I am finished being scared. I am finished with the angst and pain and I am not going to let him take something away from himself, or me, that will make us very happy just because I might be in a little danger."

"Okay."

"I'd take the bite before I let him push me out like this."

"You said you don't want to be a werewolf."

"I also said," Stiles told his father as they turned into their driveway, "that if I had to, to be part of the pack, then I would do it."

"That's not right, Stiles."

Stiles smiled. "He won't let me."

Sam unbuckled his seatbelt and came around to help Stiles from the car. "What?"

Stiles walked slowly into the house, getting a feeling for using the cane for balance, and smiled at his father. "Derek will never bite me. I know he promised you he wouldn't unless I was dying but he is not kicking me out of this pack. And if I have to buff him out, I will."

"Right," Sam said. "Shower and then I'll drive you over."

"Dad," Stiles said, stopping at the bathroom doorway and grabbing his father's wrist. "Thank you."

Sam kissed Stiles on the forehead. "I care about him too and I think you could be very happy together. I only want you to be happy."

"I am happy…I think I could be happier if I can convince him not to do this."

Sam smiled. "I don't think he is going to know what hit him. We Stilinski men are very bull-headed when it comes to love."

"I'm counting on it."

Showering hurt more than Stiles was expecting, draining him of more energy than he would have liked and by the time he was done he looked weary. The stark bruises seemed to be even more pronounced after the shower than they had been before. He wondered if he could do anything to hide it. He didn't want to delay going though. He wanted to catch Derek before the alpha had any more time to convince himself that this was the only option.

Stiles walked out of the bathroom and got dressed. He went into the kitchen to get his father to reapply one of the bandages and knew he must look even worse than he thought.

"How bad is it?" Stiles asked.

Sam attempted to smile. "I think you should go upstairs and lie down."

Stiles let out a long sigh. "I thought as much."

"But if you want to go at least have something to eat and call Lydia to put some makeup on you."

Stiles smiled at his father and pulled out his phone. "What's for lunch then?"

"Stew. Melissa put it in the fridge this morning."

Stiles smiled. "She's so lovely."

"Yes, she is."

Stiles sat down on the couch gingerly. "I'm just going to rest while it heats up then."

"That's a good idea," Sam said carefully.

Sam moved around the kitchen quietly and Stiles sank down into the cushions of the couch stretching out. He knew he was going to fall asleep – the exhaustion floated over him like a wave and he heard his father running the tap just before the world went black.

Stiles woke up with a start sometime later to the smell of beef stew and Lydia's perfume. He got up slowly, sitting on the couch to find Lydia curled up in one of the other chairs eating and talking to his father.

"How long did I sleep?"

"Only an hour," his father said.

"I told him that an hour wouldn't have made that much of a difference and you look better than you did before." Lydia threw in.

"Can you make me look better still?"

Lydia scoffed at him. "Of course I can."

"Food first," Sam said, putting a bowl of stew down on Stiles' lap. "And something to drink, what do you want?"

"I need my tablet too."

"I'll get it." Sam said standing up.

"Thanks, Dad."

"How are you going to approach this?" Lydia asked him.

Stiles let out a huff of breath and moved the stew around in his bowl. Melissa made the best stew but he wasn't sure if he even wanted to eat it. He knew he needed to though and took his first bite while he was mulling over Lydia's question.

"I'm going to kiss him."

Lydia smiled. "That's a good start."

"And then I'm going to yell at him for trying to push me out of the pack. He promised me that he would never do that again."

"What?"

"Dad didn't tell you?" Stiles asked.

"Of course I didn't," Sam said, walking back into the room. He handed Stiles two tablets and a glass of water.

Stiles swallowed them and turned back to Lydia. "He left a letter for me at the hospital."

"Telling you that it was his fault that you were hurt and that you should leave the pack and probably that he was going to do something noble."

"Yep."

"Eat up then."

Stiles started eating more quickly. "He said he's going to give up on university."

"That's stupid," Sam said.

"I know," Stiles told him. "And I'm not going to let him get away with this."

"Then we need to get started on making you look like you weren't beaten up by a psycho werewolf hunter a few days ago."

Stiles put down the bowl. "Okay, make me beautiful."

Lydia covered as many of the bruises as possible, taking away the paleness of his skin at the same time.

"If he gets too close he's going to know you're wearing makeup."

"That's okay."

Lydia sat forward and kissed him quickly on the forehead. "We've been waiting for the two of you to get together."

Stiles smiled. "Yeah?"

"You're our alpha's mate. The pack needs the two of you to sort out your shit. And I want you to be happy, Stiles."

"Thanks, Lydia."

"Now, go and get your alpha."

"Aye, aye, Cap'n."

Sam shook his head at both of them. "We should get going."

"Right."

Stiles stood up and then stopped and turned to look at Lydia.

"You're doing the right thing, and you can do this." Lydia told him

"I can?"

"You can."

"Okay!"

Stiles thought about what he should say to Derek as his father drove him to the alpha's house. When they arrived it didn't look like anyone was home but Stiles climbed out of the car anyway and turned back to look at his dad.

"He doesn't look like he's here." Sam told him.

"He is."

"Want me to wait?" Sam asked.

"Nope, if you're here it will be easier for him to try and kick me out."

"And if I leave?"

"He'll have to be nicer to me."

Sam looked sceptical.

"I've got my phone and I'll call you back if I need to be picked up."

Sam looked up at the house.

"You like Derek," Stiles reminded him.

"But you're injured."

Stiles smiled at his father. "Love you too, Dad."

Sam nodded with a sigh and left Stiles. He looked up at the house and then began walking past the house to the shed. Stiles wished Derek hadn't decided to hide out in the shed the longer he had to trek across the uneven ground to the outbuilding. Stiles didn't call out to Derek though; not wanting the werewolf to see him struggling over the leaves and twigs.

Finally, he pulled the door open and stepped inside.

"Derek?"

Derek stepped away from the work table and turned to look at Stiles.

"What are you doing here?"

"I got your note."

"Then you shouldn't be here."

"I'm not going to let you do this," Stiles said, walking over to Derek.

"Leave," Derek said, with a growl. "Get out right now!"

"No," Stiles said, stopping in front of Derek and leaning heavily on the cane. "You don't get to kick me out after that letter."

"It said everything there was to say," Derek said his voice harsh in the mostly empty space.

"No, it didn't," Stiles said. "It told me the exact opposite of what you think it did."

"Just leave me alone, Stiles. I am not going to discuss this with you."

Stiles smiled at Derek sadly. "I love you, too."

Derek froze.

"I was stupid not to say something before, but, I do love you and your attempt to be all noble and tell me that I should walk away from the pack when you really mean walk away from you isn't going to stop me."

"I almost got you killed," Derek said in a small voice.

"I've almost got me killed way more than you have," Stiles said with a smile.

Derek growled at him.

"And I choose this life, I choose this pack. I will not want to be part of the pack any less if you make me stay out of it for two years. I am part of this pack. This pack is part of my family and that isn't going to stop."

"You're in danger."

Stiles smiled at Derek. "Turn me then."

"You don't want to be a werewolf."

"I always said if I had to be one to be in this pack then I would welcome the bite. So, turn me."

"No."

"It can't be all your way, Derek. I don't want to lose you."

"It's safer."

"Fuck safer. I want you. I've always wanted you. And the pack has told me that you want me too."

"You're human and-"

Stiles stepped forward and kissed Derek. The werewolf froze for a second and then slid his hand around the back of Stiles' neck and tilted the human's head to the left so that he could kiss him more thoroughly. Stiles moaned into his mouth and Derek pulled away, causing Stiles to over balance.

Derek grabbed onto his upper arms to steady him. "This is a bad idea."

Stiles licked his lips. "This is a brilliant idea."

"You're hurt."

"I will never, ever be hurt enough to not do that."

"Stiles," Derek said, voice slipping into a tone that could be called begging on someone else.

"Derek, do you love me?"

"I am not-"

"Don't lie to me, please."

Derek sighed. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"If you make me leave the pack, and stop being your friend, then you will be hurting me."

"That's not fair."

"I want you to be with me, and I want us to be happy. But that's fine, let's try this; it wasn't your fault that I was hurt."

"Joshua went after you because you're part of the pack."

"Joshua went after me because he thinks all werewolves should be killed."

"And you were there because you live with me, because he knew you were part of my pack."

"And if he hadn't attacked me he would have still attacked your pack. Is it that different that I was hurt than you were, or that anyone else was?"

"You shouldn't get hurt. And being part of the pack means you're more likely to be hurt. More likely to be hurt because of me. I will not be the reason someone else dies."

"I'm not dead."

"But-"

"No," Stiles said, dropping the cane so that he could hold onto Derek's hands. "I want you to think about this. Think about seeing me at the supermarket." Derek opened his mouth to talk but Stiles shook his head. "Imagine me there with some other guy, some other girl."

Derek growled.

"Because I hate the idea of you going out to have a life without me in it."

"I'm not going to."

"Derek."

"No, I'm not-"

Stiles pulled on Derek's hands until he could hold Derek's face in his palms without having to move. "You deserve to be happy. You didn't do anything wrong and I won't let you get hurt like that again."

"Stiles, you can't promise that."

"I can promise to protect you for the rest of my life. I can promise that I'm not going to let someone like that into our pack again. I promise to continue being the person that the pack can come to with the things they don't talk to you about. I can promise to do everything I can to keep our pack together and happy. I can promise to love you."

"Stiles."

"I love you, I've been in love with you for years and I'm scared too because I watched my mother die and then my dad fall apart when she was gone. But, he'd never go back and change a minute and I want the chance to have a life with you that has everything possible in it."

Derek rested his hands on Stiles' elbows. "I can't watch you get hurt because of me."

"I can't promise to never get hurt but I won't get hurt because of you unless you hurt me. What someone else does doesn't mean that it's your fault."

Derek sighed. "I wanted to protect you."

"By hurting both of us?"

Derek sighed. "I need to think about this."

"I'm not leaving."

"Stiles."

Stiles pulled Derek into a kiss, a short press of his lips to Derek's. "Leaving you alone with your thoughts is dangerous."

"You love me?" Derek asked quietly.

Stiles kissed Derek again, licking into the werewolf's mouth. "Yes."

"I still want time to think."

"Okay," Stiles said, pulling back.

Derek reached down and handed Stiles back his cane. Derek frowned at Stiles as he shifted his weight back to the walking stick.

"I'm going to heal. Good as new."

"Okay."

"I will kiss you again."

Derek smiled. "That isn't a punishment."

"I prefer positive reinforcement."

"Should you be out of the hospital?"

"They released me this morning."

Derek rubbed his thumb across Stiles' jaw. "You're wearing makeup."

Stiles flushed. "I looked a little pale. Lydia came over and made me look better."

Derek sighed. "Will you take it off?"

Stiles nodded. "Let's go to the house and I'll show you."

Derek turned around to turned everything off and pack up.

"I'm going to start back for the house," Stiles said, watching the play of muscles along Derek's back under his shirt.

"I'll just be a second."

Stiles let out a breath. "It's going to take me longer to walk back to the house."

Derek turned around and looked at Stiles. "Give me a minute."

Stiles bit his lip and nodded.

Derek went through shutting everything down and then met Stiles at the door. He turned off the lights and held the door for Stiles.

"Have you eaten?" Derek asked as they walked.

"Melissa brought some stew over this morning."

Derek smiled. "Her stew is amazing."

"I know, I didn't eat much. I was nervous about convincing you not to follow through on your letter."

"You're not playing fair."

"All's fair in love and war."

Derek huffed out a laugh.

"I just want you to kiss me regularly."

Derek stopped abruptly and turned to Stiles. "What?"

Stiles shrugged his good shoulder. "I want to kiss you every morning for the rest of my life. I don't care what I need to do to convince you that this is worth it. I will do it."

Derek leaned forward and kissed Stiles. "Okay."

"What?" Stiles asked, pulling Derek back for another kiss.

"Okay, I love you."

Stiles smiled. He smiled so broadly his bruised jaw ached but he didn't care. "You wanted time to think about it."

"I don't want you to kiss someone else every morning."

"I promise."

"We haven't even really started dating yet. You can't promise."

"Yes, I can."

"No."

Stiles nodded. "I'm a Stilinski, this is how we roll." He pulled Derek into a long kiss, relaxing into the other man's body for the first time.

When Stiles pulled away Derek caught his wrist. He twisted his head around until he could press his lips to the tattoo on the inside of Stiles' wrist.

"I have wanted to do that," Derek said, voice harsh, "since the first time I saw it."

"Really," Stiles' asked twisting his arm so that he could see his tattoo.

"Makes you mine," Derek said pulling Stiles in so that he could kiss the human.

"Take me back to the house so I can sit and we can keep kissing."

Derek backed away quickly. "Are you in pain?"

"No, but this will be easier if I'm not in danger of standing on my hurt leg."

Derek's face darkened.

"Hey," Stiles said, poking the werewolf's nose. "You're never getting rid of me now. I'm much too stubborn to let you go so you'd better get used to kissing me and dealing with the fact that I get hurt sometimes. I'm more likely to trip over than I am to be attacked by a werewolf hunter. I can do a statistical analysis…or have Lydia do it for me, if it will help."

Derek groaned and turned towards the house. "You should be resting."

"Kissing you is resting."

"A little kissing but you should be resting."

"I can rest in your bed after sex."

"No sex."

"What?"

"Not until you are completely healed."

Stiles grinned. "That is such good motivation…can I convince you that mostly healed is a better plan."

"Completely healed," Derek said, leading the way up the step to the door.

"Fine, completely healed."

Derek held the door open for Stiles who walked past him and went through the kitchen and into the bathroom to rub the makeup from his face. Beneath it he still looked pale but he didn't look as bad as he had after his shower. He dropped the towel onto the bench and caught Derek watching him from the doorway of the bathroom.

"What do you think?" Stiles asked, turning around and grabbing the crane to walk towards the werewolf.

Derek lifted a hand to rub his thumb over Stiles' jaw. "You have a lot of bruises."

"Bruises aren't that big a deal. You're just not used to them because you've always been a werewolf."

"They mean you're hurt."

"And I'll heal. Everyone gets bruises."

Derek pulled Stiles into a kiss.

"Do you want to lie down?" Derek asked as they walked to the lounge room.

"With you?"

"No, in a bed, where you can elevate your ankle."

"With you?"

"No."

"Then no."

Derek glared at Stiles who smiled back at him.

"I have my pain medication in my pocket and clothes in my room. I'm never leaving."

"Your dad won't like that."

"He drove me here to seduce you."

"He did not."

"Fine, he drove me here so I could tell you I loved you and we could get together."

"He…he doesn't mind us dating?" Derek said sounding completely unsure.

"No," Stiles said, tugging Derek into the living room and sitting him down on the couch. "Why would he?"

"I'm a werewolf."

"He likes you."

"You got hurt…" Stiles glared at him, "…as a result of being around werewolves."

"And I could have just as easily been hurt in some other way. He knows I love you and he knows you would never hurt me so why would he not be okay with this. Plus, it's not his choice to make."

Derek frowned. Stiles tugged him over for another kiss.

"Do you want something to eat?" Derek asked, pulling away.

"No, I want to make out with you." Stiles said. "Stop trying to distract me."

"I don't want to hurt you when I get carried away."

Stiles beamed at him. "Okay, we'll just sit here then." He turned and propped his leg up on the coffee table, snuggling into Derek's side with his good shoulder.

"This is good," Derek said, curling his arm around Stiles.

"Yeah, this is good."

They sat together in silence for a long time until Derek sat up, holding Stiles to his side to stop him from losing balance.

"What?"

"Pack."

Stiles laughed and gingerly pulled away from Derek and called out to the pack. "Are you just eavesdropping?"

Derek looked at Stiles. "Did they know you were coming here?"

"Lydia did," Stiles said, rubbing at his nose.

Derek growled quietly at the large window.

"That's not going to stop them."

"They're being nosy."

"They are all invested in us being happy."

"What?"

"They all told me they knew we loved one another. They are probably just here to make sure that we got together."

Derek sighed with exasperation. "They're being nosy."

Stiles laughed and used Derek's thigh as leverage to stand up. He grabbed the cane and started walking towards the door.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to kiss you in the doorway and then tell them all to leave. Then I'm going to take my next round of tablets and we'll find something to watch while we cuddle."

"Are you going to ask me?" Derek asked.

Stiles turned around and smiled at Derek. "Will you come and kiss me in the doorway to make your pack go away?"

Derek was standing next to Stiles before he finished talking. The alpha threw open the front door of the house.

"You are all running the perimeter next training session," Derek called out into the trees.

Stiles tugged him around and kissed him thoroughly.

One of the wolves howled – Stiles thought it was Scott, and moments later the noise grew louder as the other betas joined in. Stiles pulled away and smiled out at the trees; he couldn't see the rest of the pack but he knew they were there.

"Happy now?" Derek asked.

"Nope," Stiles said, yanking him into another kiss.

Derek slammed the door shut and wrapped his arms around Stiles. The human dropped the cane and wrapped his good arm around Derek's torso. Stiles moved, trying to get closer and twinged his ankle. He tried to bite back the sound but Derek pulled away and looked at him with worry.

"I'm fine."

"You're still injured."

"But you want to kiss me."

"You should go home."

"No!"

"Just until you're feeling better."

Stiles shook his head. "I'll go home later…if I have to."

Derek pulled Stiles closer and kissed him again.

"You just really love me," Stiles said happily.

Derek made a face but he nodded.

"I promise I'll be good if I can stay here," Stiles said, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Derek groaned. "I don't trust myself."

Stiles grinned at him.

"And I really don't trust you."

Stiles smiled. "That's because you know me."

"A movie on the couch. I'll make some popcorn and then you're going home."

"We could instil the wall of Jericho."

"I don't know what that is."

"A wall of pillows down the middle of the bed."

"No."

"Then I want to watch The Lego Movie."

"No."

"Please?" Stiles asked, blinking up at Derek.

"You're going to sing the song for days."

"Yep."

Derek looked at Stiles and shook his head. "Okay."

Stiles whistled. "Man, you really do love me."

"Go and get comfortable. I'll get us popcorn and a drink."

"I'm just going to call my Dad. Let him know that you love me."

Derek opened his mouth to say something and then shook his head and walked into the kitchen. He kept and ear on Stiles though. He could hear the echo of the ringing phone even from the kitchen.

"Stiles." Sam said the moment he answered the phone.

"Hey, Dad. Derek loves me."

"That's nice."

"It's very nice."

"So, are you ever coming home again then?"

"Yeah, he said I'm too injured for sex."

Derek growled but he could still hear Sam's groan.

"Sorry, Dad."

"Call me when you are ready to come home. And keep everything else to yourself."

"Okay, later, Dad."

Derek put the popcorn in the microwave and could hear the sounds of the movie menu starting – he really did love Stiles.

/\/\/\

Derek finally convinced Stiles to leave after another movie, and dinner, and ice cream, and forty-three kisses (which he counted).

He drove Stiles home carefully and then was kissed thoroughly in the car before Stiles left to go into the house.

Stiles was back at his house just after breakfast the next day with the rest of the pack in tow. Derek didn't bother to be annoyed just made the rest of the pack wait on Stiles while he sat close to the human's side.

The next few days, weeks, continued on in the same way. Stiles would kiss him as often as possible. The human would spend as much time with Derek as possible, and Derek had to force himself to send Stiles home again at the end of the day.

Then one day, Stiles showed up at his house without his cane and without the sling on his shoulder. Derek knew he was screwed.

"Stiles."

Stiles walked up the porch stairs and threw his arms around Derek, kissing him hungrily.

"I'm not completely healed," he admitted. "But, my stitches have been removed. I can walk normally and my sling is gone. That's good enough."

Derek groaned and tried to pull away but Stiles tightened his hold and refused to be pushed away.

"You have a healing abdominal wound. That is not something we should rush."

"I'll lie back and think of England."

Derek laughed. "No, I don't want to hurt you."

"Fine, fine, no sex but I practised this morning and orgasms don't hurt so you're getting me off…after I get you off and I'm sleeping here tonight. And we're ordering Chinese for when we get hungry."

Derek buried his head in Stiles' neck and smiled. "Okay."

Stiles threw his hands up in the air. "Yes. Come on."

"Now?"

"You've made me wait for weeks…now."

"You practised?"

"I knew you wouldn't have sex with me if I didn't promise that I wouldn't get hurt."

Derek pulled back and quirked an eyebrow at Stiles. "You played me."

Stiles shrugged. "You put my comfort above yours so you wouldn't agree to have sex with me until I'm completely healed with doctor's approval. And at this point we both have purple balls. I want to at least be able to sleep with you. You have to start with your top offer and then you can negotiate down."

"You've been watching those pawn shop shows again, haven't you?"

"Dad loves them and I've been pretty house bound lately."

"We are not watching them when we go back to Berkeley."

Stiles grinned at Derek. "Not even sometimes."

"Not even ever."

"You're no fun. Oh hey, now that we're dating can I keep living with you?"

Derek growled and pulled Stiles into his body, making sure not to put too much pressure on Stiles' abdomen. "I'm not…yes."

"You're not what?"

"Nothing," Derek said, pulling Stiles into his body for another kiss.

"You're kissing me to make me forget."

Derek smiled and kissed him again.

"So, what are your plans for the day?" Stiles asked, running his hands through Derek's hair.

"Danny and Jackson are coming over soon. We were going to clear out those trees that were knocked out in the storm last month. Add them to the woodpile for winter."

"And other than that?"

"Nothing."

Stiles smiled. "Now you have plans. I'll make the three of you lunch."

"You don't need to do that. It will take us an hour; at most, they don't need to eat."

"It's lunchtime."

Derek made a face at him. "You're going to feed them anyway, aren't you?"

Stiles nodded. "And I'm feeling a heap better now so I can go back to keeping everyone from dying of food poisoning."

"You do understand that werewolves can't get food poisoning, right?"

"I can."

Derek smiled. "I wouldn't let you eat bad food."

"How would you know?"

Derek tapped Stiles' nose. "I can smell bad meat."

"Oh."

"That's why I only buy meat from certain butchers. I can smell the good stuff."

Stiles made a face. "That's really something I should have known already. Just never thought about it I suppose."

"So, you don't need to worry about us so much."

Stiles rolled his eyes and kissed Derek. "I'm not going to stop."

"Why?"

Stiles tugged on Derek's hand and pulled him into the lounge room. "I've been thinking about this a lot since we got together."

"Thinking about what?"

"You're the alpha."

"I know."

Stiles smiled. "And I'm what?"

"You're Stiles," Derek said, fidgeting.

"I knew it," Stiles said, poking Derek in the side and making the werewolf twist away and bite down on a laugh. "What am I?"

"You're Stiles, a member of the pack."

"I'm more than just a member of the pack."

"That's not fair to the rest of the pack," Derek said quickly.

"Nah, see, now that I'm not blinded by thinking that you're not interested in me I've looked at our pack in a more objective way."

"And what-" Derek twisted and looked out of the window.

"They're here?"

"Yeah."

"We will continue this conversation later," Stiles told him.

"Of course we will," Derek said standing up. He kissed Stiles and slipped out of the room and house.

Stiles went out to the jeep and collected his bag, putting it on the chair in Derek's room before he started making sandwiches for the four of them. He made a second plate to put in the fridge in case he could convince Derek that he was actually healed enough for sex. He appreciated the fact that Derek cared for him so much but a man could hope. He was happy that Derek loved him but he'd been waiting for Derek, pining after Derek, fantasising about Derek, loving Derek, and wanting Derek's body for years and now he could have him. He could touch him if he wanted to, Derek would welcome it – did welcome it, and Stiles couldn't do much about it because of some hunter that had tried to take his pack away from him. Stiles knew his body was still healing – his wound was still tender to the touch even if it was completely closed over. He'd done his research though and he would be tender for a while – he'd asked his doctor and so long as they were careful he'd be fine. He also knew that he was anxious to get it over with – he was a virgin which he hadn't minded up until the moment he knew he could have sex with Derek.

He unravelled each lettuce leaf and thought even more about why he was so eager – he didn't think there was anything wrong with being his age and being a virgin. He knew he was the last of his friends and he knew that Derek was the reason he'd never pursued any other options and now that he had the chance to sleep with the person that he'd thought about sleeping with for years he didn't want to wait anymore. He didn't want to wait even if his wounds would hurt. He wished he could go back in time, shake himself and Derek, so that he could have all of the experiences he'd missed out on before and yet he was still missing out on them.

Stiles viciously cut the sandwiches and tried to remind himself that he could be patient with this; he'd waited this long and he could wait a little longer. He knew he shouldn't pressure Derek either – the other man only had bad experiences with relationships from what Stiles had seen and Stiles wanted to be a good experience – he wanted to be the best and the last experience that Derek ever had with a romantic relationship. He just needed to keep reminding himself that waiting a couple of weeks wouldn't really matter. It grated – he had never been very good with self-control or with patience and he just wanted.

He looked out of the window and saw the werewolves, all shirtless of course, carrying the wood to the wood shed. He allowed himself a few minutes to enjoy the way Derek looked shirtless before he filled a jug with water. Stiles took everything outside and put it on the table. Before he had had a chance to turn around and tell them there was food Jackson and Danny were standing at the table and looking at him.

"Go and wash your hands before you eat," Stiles told the two betas with a shake of his head.

They both nodded and walked into the house to wash their hands.

Derek walked over and stopped next to him.

"You have to wash your hands too."

Derek smiled and leaned forward to kiss Stiles. Stiles smiled at him when he pulled away and nodded towards the house. Derek kissed him again and walked into the house to wash his hands. Jackson and Danny were staring at him when they came back out.

"What?" Stiles asked.

Danny grinned. "You're very cute."

Stiles frowned at him.

"It's so odd to see you kissing," Jackson said.

"Get used it to," Derek said, walking straight past Jackson and kissing Stiles again. "It's going to be happening a lot."

Stiles smiled and ducked his head, very pleased.

"Good," Danny said, looking at Derek intensely. "Because you do understand that you have to treat Stiles right, right?"

Derek nodded.

"What about me?" Stiles asked. "Who is going to warn me not to break Derek's heart?"

Jackson turned and looked at him. "Don't break Derek's heart."

"Thank you." Stiles said with a bright smiled.

"Eat and leave," Derek told them.

"Mean," Jackson said, grabbing onto two sandwiches in each hand. "I'll take them home with me if you're going to be a bad host."

"Take the whole tray if you like," Stiles offered.

"You both want us out of here," Danny said.

"And Stiles' sling is off." Jackson pointed out.

"He's not using the cane." Danny said, inclining his head at Stiles.

Jackson started laughing. "Derek is finally getting some."

"Derek and Stiles," Danny corrected, "are getting some…finally!"

"It's none of your business." Stiles told them both. "And now you can't take the tray."

Jackson pouted.

"Fine," Stiles said, taking two sandwiches from the plate. "Take the tray and do not call Lydia."

"I have to call Lydia," Jackson said.

"No, you don't," Stiles said.

"Stiles," Danny said, "you might be the next best thing to an alpha but Lydia would make our lives hell if she found out we kept this from her."

Stiles laughed. "Okay, fine."

"I'm the alpha," Derek said.

Stiles made a face. "Just let them tell Lydia. She'll know anyway."

Derek cocked an eyebrow at them. "You think they are more scared of Lydia than me?"

"In this?" Stiles shrugged. "You're their alpha and they will follow your instructions. Then Lydia will make them pay. She's going to know anyway – just by looking at me, so why not let them tell her and then when I do see her she'll be prepared to ask me a heap of questions and she'll have been tempered by Allison."

Derek took a deep breath and glared at his betas. "Not until tomorrow."

"Deal," Jackson said, grabbing the tray of sandwiches and his shirt. "Come on, Danny."

Danny grabbed his shirt and followed Jackson around the side of the house.

"I made more sandwiches," Stiles told Derek.

Derek smiled.

"And we can watch something."

"I thought you were going to drag me upstairs."

"Then I remembered that even though I've been waiting years…we've been waiting years, we've got a lot more time and I shouldn't be pressuring you when you're just trying to take care of me."

Derek tugged him towards the house. "You're not pressuring me. It's very hard to convince myself to resist you."

"Then we'll go and watch a movie or play a card game or something and see where things go."

"Superhero marathon?" Derek asked.

"I'll make some popcorn."

"I'm just going to go and get changed," Derek said.

"I don't mind the sweaty, shirtless thing."

Derek laughed and kissed Stiles, walking the younger man back towards the house. Stiles rubbed his hands down Derek's back. The werewolf's skin was cool to the touch and Stiles held on tightly as Derek explored his mouth. Stiles buried his fingers in Derek's hair and tried to take over the kiss, licking into Derek's mouth. He pressed his other hand low on Derek's back. He ran his fingers lower, slipping them beneath the fabric of Derek's jeans.

Derek pulled back, breathing heavily against Stiles' lips. Stiles dropped his head down and kissed along Derek's collarbone.

"We should go inside and I'm going to have a shower."

"Want some company?" Stiles asked, squeezing Derek.

Derek pressed into Stiles again and kissed him sloppily.

"No," Derek whispered against Stiles' lips. "I'm having one alone."

"Shame."

Derek kissed Stiles again and walked away to have his shower. Stiles stayed right where he was for a few minutes to catch his breath before he went inside and made popcorn. He'd set up the first Captain America movie and got them both drinks by the time Derek walked into the kitchen.

"You mentioned sandwiches?"

Stiles smiled. "They're in the fridge."

"I saw your bag in my room."

Stiles froze. "Yeah…is that okay?"

Derek nodded and kissed Stiles as he walked past to get a plate of sandwiches. "What are we watching?"

"Captain America."

Derek led them into the lounge room and pressed himself into Stiles' side.

"This is much better than opposite sides of the couch," Stiles said, snuggling into the other man.

"I-" Derek started.

"I understand, I didn't mean it that way. I'm just happy to be close to you."

Derek threw his arm over Stiles' shoulders. "Me too."

They finished the bowl of popcorn as Steve was being hit with gamma radiation and then Stiles twisted around so that he was leaning against the arm of the couch and had his knees over Derek's lap.

"What's this?" Derek asked.

"Comfortable."

"I'm not comfortable?"

Stiles sat up and kissed Derek. "I could use you as a pillow instead."

Derek quirked an eyebrow at him so Stiles twisted around and poked Derek until the alpha was resting back against the opposite arm rest. Then Stiles fit himself into Derek's side.

"You're awfully demanding."

"You wanted me to snuggle with you."

"I never said snuggle."

"I can read your mind."

"God, I hope not."

Stiles laughed and returned his attention to the screen just as the guy who played Thorin died.

As Captain America was leading the charge in to save Bucky Derek leaned down and kissed Stiles, ignoring what was happening on the screen.

"This is the best bit." Stiles said between kisses. "It's when the lovers are reunited."

Derek shook his head and kissed Stiles again.

"But, you're going to kiss me now?"

Derek nodded and dropped his head to kiss the skin next to Stiles' ear. "Just want to kiss you."

Stiles smiled. "I'm completely behind that."

Derek smiled and pulled back to kiss each one of the moles on Stiles' face and neck. Stiles ran his fingers though the werewolf's hair and tugged him back to his lips to kiss Derek properly as often as he could.

"You know," Stiles said, leaning forward so that he could reach more of Derek and flinched.

Derek pulled away. "It hurts?"

"No, this is just a bad position. Lie down."

"We-"

"I'm fine, but leaning over you like this is awkward."

Derek smiled and leaned back, wriggling down and settling his head against the arm of the couch. "Get comfortable then."

Stiles beamed at him and moved until he was leaning on his good shoulder and was tucked between Derek and the back of the couch. "I'm good, start kissing."

Derek shook his head at Stiles and wrapped a hand over Stiles' wrist. "Yes, Sir"

Stiles smiled and leaned forward to kiss Derek. "So long as you understand your place."

Derek laughed into the kiss until Stiles joined him and they knocked their noses together. Stiles had to pull away and bury his head in Derek's neck as the giggling took over.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked.

Stiles nodded and forced himself to calm down, kissing along the tendon on Derek's neck. "Sorry."

"I love you, Stiles."

Stiles pulled back and looked down at Derek. "I love you too."

"Good," Derek said, wrapping his hand around the back of Stiles' neck and pulling him down into a kiss.

They laid there kissing for several minutes and Stiles could feel that urgency that was always simmering below the surface getting hard to ignore. Derek was arching up into him though, as turned on as he was.

Stiles was lying off centre on Derek and just as he was about to wriggle over to finally get some pressure on his cock Derek pulled away and looked down at him.

"You're not, are you not interested?"

Stiles arched up against him twisting his hips, his hard erection pressing to the flesh of Derek's hand.

"You smell like you always smell," Derek said nuzzling his nose into space between his neck and shoulder.

Stiles moaned and flushed hotly. Derek could feel the heat pouring off his skin.

"What?"

"This is how I always smell?"

"Mmmm, like soap, fruit and sweat." Derek said reaching down to palm Stiles' cock. He pulled Stiles soft pants down so that he could get closer. Stiles groaned at Derek's attention which had completely focussed on him.

"So, I always smell like I do when I have your hand down my pants?"

Derek pulled away though his hand didn't pull out of Stiles' pants. Derek smirked at him.

Stiles slapped his shoulder. "Don't be smug."

"So long as it's always been because of me."

"Oh trust me it has," Stiles said arching up into Derek.

Derek smiled and pulled back. "We should go upstairs."

"Yes!" Stiles said, immediately rolling up and climbing off the couch. He ignored the protest of his muscles as he moved much more focussed on the erection half hanging out of his pants.

He walked out of the lounge room and headed for the stairs and Derek's room. He could hear the werewolf following him and couldn't resist stopping halfway up to turn and catch Derek in a kiss. The werewolf took Stiles' weight as he kept kissing him and continued up the stairs. They pulled apart at the landing and Stiles grabbed onto Derek's hand to go into the bedroom but froze in the doorway. He looked at the chair where he'd put his bag but it wasn't there anymore.

"Stiles?" Derek asked confused, pressing himself to Stiles' back.

"Where's my bag?"

"In the cupboard, I put all your stuff in the drawer."

Stiles turned around and threw himself at Derek, ignoring the stretch of his abdominal muscles, to attack Derek's mouth and start them both walking towards the bed.

"That was good?" Derek asked when Stiles moved his lips down to Derek's neck while the human sucked air in through his nose.

"You gave me a drawer," Stiles said, dropping down. Before he got to his knees Derek caught him and pulled him back up. "What are you doing?"

"We're not rushing."

Stiles smiled and grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt. He was about to lift it up and over his head when Derek took his own shirt off. Stiles froze, half enjoying the view and half worried what Derek would think when he saw the human.

Derek reached out for him as soon as he'd dropped his shirt to the floor. Stiles watched Derek's face as the werewolf lifted his shirt up and over his head.

"Why are you watching me like that?" Derek asked.

"Curious," Stiles said. "After all, I'm not nearly as buff as you."

"So?"

Stiles shrugged. "Sometimes all of the werewolf nakedness that happens around here is a bit intimidating."

"I'd prefer to see you shirtless than any of the other members of the pack."

Stiles smiled and started walking back towards the bed. "Yeah?"

Derek nodded and toed off his shoes while Stiles sat down and did the same. When he was done he crawled back into the bed and beckoned Derek to follow him. Derek settled on his elbow over Stiles and kissed him again, moving on from his lips quickly and down the line of tendon on his neck, along the ridge of muscle on his shoulder and back in on his collar bone. Stiles arched into the touch and reached out to hold onto Derek as the werewolf licked his Adam's apple before moving down to swirl his tongue around the hollow between his clavicle.

"Is this a werewolf thing?" Stiles asked, watching Derek nose his way down the faint line between Stiles' muscles on his way down to the human's belly button.

"Is what a werewolf thing?" Derek asked, licking at the skin above Stiles' scar which was still pink and somewhat swollen. Derek paused and looked down at the scar. Stiles reached out for him when the werewolf had been frozen in place for too long.

"Derek?"

Derek looked up at him with eyes that were icy blue. The werewolf moved back up the bed, holding his weight on his hands while he pressed down to kiss Stiles hungrily. Stiles arched up into him, curling his arms over Derek's back and pressing his body up into the werewolf's. Stiles pulled away when his chest started to burn from lack of oxygen.

Derek looked down at Stiles breathing heavily and pressed a kiss to Stiles' cheekbone.

"Is what a werewolf thing?"

"The scenting me while you nuzzle thing."

Derek froze and looked down at Stiles.

Stiles shook his head and grabbed onto Derek while he rolled until the werewolf was under him. Stiles propped himself up on his elbow and smiled down at Derek.

"It's a good thing," Stiles said, smirking before he leaned down to follow the path Derek had taken – along his neck, around the curve of his pectorals, down his body to Derek's belly button where he kissed the little dip under it just before he hit the trail of hair down to Derek's cock.

Stiles smiled when Derek's cock bobbed against his neck. "I can tell you think it's a good thing too." Stiles pulled back and kissed Derek's head. "Or at least, your cock agrees."

"I agree," Derek said, a little breathless.

Stiles smiled and swallowed Derek's head licking at his opening and sucking while Derek's hips jerked under him. Derek gripped the sheets and Stiles could feel how tightly he held himself to stop his hips from jerking up into Stiles' mouth. Stiles pulled off with a final lick and looked down at Derek.

"You don't need to do that." Derek was breathing heavily and Stiles couldn't resist smiling down at him. "I'm not delicate and I don't mind if you move."

Derek flushed under Stiles and he reached out for him. Stiles shook his head and dropped back down to swallow as much of Derek's erection as he could. Curling his hand around the base where his lips didn't reach.

"Stiles…you…"

Stiles smiled around the flesh in his mouth and set himself to sucking, licking, and jacking Derek's cock until the werewolf arched up. Stiles was about to pull back when Derek froze and started coming down Stiles' throat.

"Fuck," Derek groaned out and collapsed back down into the mattress as though he had deflated.

Stiles crawled back up Derek's body wiping his mouth. Derek pulled him into his body and Stiles twisted until he was lying on his side. Stiles rest his head on Derek's shoulder and basked in the werewolf's afterglow.

Derek started trailing his fingers along the line of Stiles' ribs before his chest had stopped heaving. Stiles arched away from Derek's fingers and into his body.

"Are you ticklish?"

Stiles shook his head. "Sensitive."

Derek laughed and twisted down and around to kiss Stiles who melted into it.

"You don't need to rush," Stiles told him.

"Yeah, I do." Derek palmed Stiles' cock.

"I'm not…that's really good."

"And it's my turn," Derek said, pulling out from under Stiles and pushing the human onto his back. Derek kissed his way down Stiles' body, pausing to kiss along the healing flesh on his abdomen before moving down and nosing at the skin where thigh met hip.

"You're going to tease me?"

Derek nodded and nipped at a mole on the inside of Stiles' thigh before quickly darting up and lapping at the human's balls before dropping back down to nuzzle his way down to Stiles' knees.

"If you have a toe-sucking fetish I'm down with trying it," Stiles said, propping himself up on his elbows. "Hell, I'm down with trying everything but for today your focus should be here." Stiles took a hold on his own cock and started stroking himself. Derek growled and grabbed his wrist to stop the movement.

"Mine," Derek grumbled and he wrapped his hand around Stiles' hand and moved them both together.

"Yeah," Stiles panted out, "yours."

Derek grinned down at Stiles and bent over to lick at the human's cock. He savoured the pre-cum on his tongue and winked at Stiles.

"Oh God, you're teasing me."

Derek nodded and pulled both his and Stiles' hands away.

Stiles pouted at him.

Derek laughed and leaned up to kiss him but before their lips touched Stiles hooked his leg around the werewolf's thigh and brought their cocks into contact. He started rubbing himself along Derek as he pulled the other man down into a kiss.

Derek growled and arched his hips down into Stiles, pressing the slighter man into the bed as he cock hardened against Stiles'.

Stiles whistled. "Score one for the horny human and the refractory period of a werewolf."

"Stiles," Derek said, stopping his hips.

"Derek," Stiles whined.

"Don't use big words."

"You like my vocabulary," Stiles told Derek, wriggling under him.

"I'm doing something wrong if you can use big words."

Stiles bit his lip and smiled. "Big words for a big cock," Stiles said, rolling his hips.

Derek groaned and dropped his head down onto Stiles' shoulder. "Bad jokes."

Stiles ignored the pain in his abdomen and kept rolling his hips against Derek's. "Bad jokes, good sex."

"I will stop," Derek threatened, rocking his hips down into Stiles uncontrollably.

Stiles laughed. "No, you won't. I could pun all day and you'd still fuck me."

Derek groaned, defeated, and started rolling his hips more deliberately, reaching down between them to wrap his hand around both of them cocks.

Stiles moaned out Derek's name, chanting it without control until Derek moved his hand with a twist around Stiles' cock's head and he came – spurting over Derek's hand with a silent, open-mouthed scream. Derek's hand kept moving, rubbing Stiles' come into his own cock until he came as well and Stiles felt the wet heat of the other man's come on his abdomen.

Stiles slumped back into the bed and braced for Derek's weight but the werewolf wriggled down the bed and lapped at Stiles' abdomen – tasting them both. After a few licks Derek reached down and grabbed something from the floor to wipe Stiles' abdomen.

Stiles looked down. "Was that my shirt?"

Derek looked and shook his head. "Mine."

"Good."

Derek laughed and rested his head low on Stiles' chest. Stiles threaded his fingers through Derek's hair and closed his eyes; every muscle heavy. He could feel Derek's breath on his skin and couldn't resist smiling.

"You said something about Chinese," Derek said a few minutes later, tracing patterns on Stiles' stomach.

Stiles nodded. "Yeah…" running his fingers tiredly through Derek's hair.

"Are you sleepy?"

"Mmmm."

"Go to sleep."

"Stay," Stiles said, pressing his hand into Derek's skull.

"I'm not going anywhere," Derek told him, kissing the skin above Stiles' healing scar.

"Mmmkay," Stiles said, relaxing into the bed.

Derek kept tracing patterns on Stiles' stomach until the other man's breathing deepened and he could be sure that Stiles was asleep. He slipped out of the bed as carefully as he could and made sure that he didn't wake Stiles. He crept from the room and went downstairs; making sure the house was secure before he went back up and found Stiles lying in the middle of the bed with his arms thrown out until he was taking up as much of the bed as possible. Derek sighed and crawled into the bed, fitting himself around Stiles until he could rest his head on Stiles' chest again. He closed his eyes and let the sound and feeling of Stiles' breathing soothe him into sleep.

When Stiles woke up the sky outside was turning dark and he could feel the heat of Derek's breath puffing over his belly button. He couldn't keep the smile off his face as he looked down at Derek's relaxed face. Stiles needed to pee. He was hungry and his stomach was grumbling under Derek's ear but he didn't want to wake the werewolf up. He didn't remember the last time he saw Derek this relaxed and he wanted to see it more. Stiles couldn't resist lifting his hand and running his fingers through Derek's hair – it was deceptively soft.

Derek stirred and twisted around, rubbing his nose against Stiles' skin. Stiles smiled and continued petting the werewolf.

"You're awake," Derek said, turning his head and kissing Stiles.

"I'm awake."

"And hungry," Derek commented when Stiles' stomach growled until his ear.

"That too, and I know this is not sexy or anything but I also really need to pee."

Derek laughed and rolled off Stiles, watching as the human scurried from the bed, getting caught in the sheets, and finally made it into the bathroom.

"Food!" Stiles yelled out.

"You said something about Chinese."

"You know what I like."

Derek flipped over and hunted down his phone. He called Dragon Express and ordered, getting two Szechuan beefs, and then flopped back into the bed to wait for Stiles who bounded back into the room completely ignoring the fact he was naked to hurry into the bed next to Derek. He dropped his head into Derek's shoulder and laid half on top of the other man.

"Comfortable?"

Stiles wriggled. "Yep."

"We're going to have to get dressed when the Chinese comes."

"Only one of us. Rock, paper, scissors?"

"I'll go," Derek said, wriggling down so that he could kiss Stiles.

What felt like moments later, the doorbell downstairs rang. Derek pulled himself away from Stiles with a groan and pulled a pair of pants on. He kissed Stiles again and went downstairs quickly to pay for the food. When he turned around Stiles was walking down the stairs.

Derek looked at the pants Stiles was wearing and lifted an eyebrow in question.

"We're eating."

"So?"

Stiles laughed. "So, what? Am I just going to spend the next four weeks before we go back to Berkeley naked?"

Derek shrugged. "It's feasible."

"Will you be naked too?" Stiles asked, sidling up to Derek and wrapping his arms around the werewolf's middle.

"Yes," Derek said, kissing Stiles. He pulled away when Stiles' stomach growled again. "If you're dressed now we might as well watch a movie while we eat."

"Will we finish it this time?"

Derek shrugged.

"I'll get us some plates and stuff. You pick a movie."

They made it half-way through The Avengers and stopped just long enough to put the leftovers in the fridge before they went back upstairs and got naked again.

/\/\/\

Stiles woke up to the sounds of someone knocking on the door downstairs. Loudly.

He felt Derek rousing next to him. The werewolf tightened his arms around Stiles while he nuzzled into the human's shoulder. Stiles didn't even think about the doorbell as he gingerly twisted around and buried his head against Derek's neck.

"Are you sore?" Derek asked, voice even rougher than it normally was in the morning.

"Did I forget us having sex?"

Derek laughed and ran his hand down over Stiles' abdomen and the healing scar there.

"It's always sore in the morning but no sorer than normal."

Derek kissed Stiles pressing the human down into the mattress.

There was another knock on the door downstairs.

Stiles pulled his mouth away from Derek. "Who's down there?"

"I don't care; they'll go away."

Stiles welcomed the next kiss, gladly slipping down into the bed with Derek as the werewolf's hand slipped further down his body along the regrowing hair below his belly button and down to his cock.

"Derek!" Lydia and Danny called out.

Stiles sat up which pressed his cock more firmly into Derek's hand. "Oh God."

Derek grinned down at him wickedly.

"The pack is downstairs."

"So? They'll leave." Derek told him ducked down to lap at the tip of Stiles' head.

"Derek…pl…oh fuck it," he said dropping back into the mattress and watching as Derek grinned around the human's cock.

Stiles assumed later that the rest of the pack left at some point.

The End