Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Here we are, Beacon Hills.”

“And this is where Red said there was a supernatural to-do? Doesn’t look like much.”

“Neither did Sunnydale, if you weren’t aware of the hellmouth.”

“You have a point there, pet.”

“So, check in to the hotel, make a quick round, then start to dig for info tomorrow night?”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

--

Stiles rolled his eyes when he heard his bedroom window slide open. “You know, I’m pretty sure this house has these things called doors.”

“So?”

Stiles turns to see Derek taking off his leather jacket and sitting down on the edge of his bed. “Maybe you’d like to change up your routine a bit and try to use one?”

“This is easier. And I wouldn’t have to explain to your father the Sheriff why I am visiting his 16 year old son in the middle of the night.” Stiles was kind of impressed by the level of deadpan sarcasm Derek managed to pack into that one sentence.

“My dad’s not home, and I know you know that, Creeperwolf, don’t even try to pretend you don’t.” Stiles turned back to his computer and the fruitless search for information about kanimas. “I haven’t found anything useful, before you get all growly at me.” He heard a rustle of cloth as Derek shifted a bit before responding.

“That’s not why I’m here.”

Stiles waited a few beats until he was sure that Derek wasn’t going to elaborate on that statement, then spun his chair around to scowl at Derek. “Care to explain what you mean by that, oh Laconic One? Or am I supposed to divine your meaning by reading your eyebrows?”

Derek scowled at the eyebrow comment, then shook his head. “There’s a vampire somewhere in town.”

Stiles’ own eyebrows rose. “A vampire.” Derek nodded. “A for-real vampire?” Derek nodded again, furrowing his brow a little. Stiles sighed. Looks like he was carrying the rest of the conversation on his own.

“Have you seen this vampire, or do you know where it is, or any other information? I know you’re not one for a lot of words, Derek, but seriously, please, use some words, because even the awesomeness that is my brain cannot compute a response without enough input data.”

Derek’s lips made a strange little uptick, like he was trying not to smile, then he leaned over and took off his shoes. Stiles watched open mouthed, not entirely sure how to respond to that.

“I smelled it earlier, when I was out checking the perimeter of the territory.”

Once his shoes were off, Derek stretched out on Stiles’ bed. Stiles swallowed his immediate response, hoping that Derek wouldn’t notice the smell of arousal. Oh, who was he kidding, of course Derek could smell it, had probably been smelling it for a while now, he couldn’t have missed it when they were in the freaking pool, pressed up close together. Or any of the other times they were in the same general area. Stiles hoped Derek just wrote it off as normal teenage boy hormones.

“So you know where it is. Do you know how to kill it?” Derek grunted in response.

“And you are capable of killing it on your own?” Another grunt, which Stiles took to be affirmative.

“Sooooo….. You are here, why?”

Derek glared at Stiles for a moment before looking up at the ceiling. “It has a human with it - a regular human, not a thrall it’s feeding from, I couldn’t smell any blood or decay - and I’m not sure what to make of that. They are apparently staying in a hotel in town.” Derek frowned, and his next words sounded like he was pulling them out and it was painful. “I was hoping you would go with me tomorrow to find him and ask him about it.”

“The vampire?”

“The human.”

“Ah. Because you are not good with words, no sir, you are not, and I am awesome with words, words are my domain-” Stiles cut off at Derek’s glare. “Okay, then, I can do that. My dad is working all weekend, and Scott is busy mooning over Allison, and this kanima research is going nowhere, and I can recycle my 9th grade English paper because I was always awesome, so I have time. Lucky you.” Stiles grinned at the disbelieving look Derek gave him.

Chapter Text

“Are you sure this is it? I don’t want to wake some poor guy this early if you’re wrong.”

“I’m not wrong.”

“But how do I know that?”

“Stiles! I can smell them, both of them, and I can only hear one heartbeat in the room. Now shut up and knock.”

“Fine, but if you’re wrong you’re buying me apology curly fries.”

--

Xander groaned and shifted, pressing his face into the pillow.

“Who the bloody hell is knocking on our door this early on a Saturday?” Spike’s growl drifted over from somewhere to Xander’s left. “Make them go away, Xan.”

Xander let out a loud sigh, then pushed himself up as the knocking resumed, sounding more insistent. “Okay, okay, keep your panties on, I’m coming.”

“That’s what you said last night.”

Xander snorted and poked Spike hard in the ribs as he rose from the bed. “Oi!” Chuckling, Xander pulled on a pair of sweats and a tank top, put his eyepatch back on, and went to open the door. He was greeted with a teenager nervously bouncing on his feet and a scowling guy in a leather jacket that made him look like a character straight out of Grease.

“Holy crap, are you a pirate?” The kid grunted a little when Leather Jacket elbowed his ribs.

“Uh, I mean, I’m Stiles and this is Derek. Um… We just wanted to welcome you to Beacon Hills! Are you going to be in town long? We could show you around, you and any friends you might have in the area, show you all the best parts so you don’t waste your time looking for tasty treats that should not be under any circumstances eaten because they might have family that will miss them. And no one will mention allergies to sunlight, or… you know, any other allergies you might have. And that’s totally not a threat or anything, because I wouldn’t do that -”

Stiles finally managed to snap his mouth shut. Why the hell had Derek let him keep talking?

“Um. So. Welcome?”

Xander blinked at the torrent of words spilling from the kid’s mouth, and glanced at Leather Jacket (Derek, he reminded himself), who snorted.

“Subtle, Stiles.”

Xander took in Derek’s misleadingly relaxed stance, his predatory aura and the way his nostrils flared every so often, scenting the air. Okay, that one’s a werewolf. The kid, probably human, though I won’t rule out magic user. Xander thought quickly; this might be someone to help them navigate the area a little better. Or they might be trouble. Best to find out now.

“Okay,” Xander said slowly, “Thanks? I’m Xander, and that was quite a welcome. I think. Since it seems you and your, uh, friend have a lot of questions, why don’t we sit down for a bit? More comfortable than standing in the doorway.” Xander stepped aside to allow them passage without actually inviting them in - old Sunnydale habits die hard, even though he was sure neither of these guys were vamps.

Stiles grinned. “I do, so many questions!” As he stepped forward, though, Derek’s hand clamped down on his shoulder.

“No.”

“What? Derek, you said we needed answers, there are answers here, I don’t want to stand out here in the hallway like a weirdo creeper. You might be used to doing the lurking thing, but me, not so much.”

Ignoring Stiles, Derek squinted at Xander. “The vampire’s in there.”

Xander rolled his eye and didn’t even try to pretend he didn’t know what they were talking about. “Yes, of course he’s in here, but he won’t hurt you - unless you are here to try to hurt him, in which case I should warn you that is a very bad idea.” Xander narrowed his eye at Derek.

“See, Derek? It’ll be okay, I trust you to save me if this is a trap to get my tasty youthful blood or something.”

Derek scowled. “You’re an idiot. If they eat you, it’s not my fault.”

“You won’t let them eat me. I know you secretly like me, Sourwolf.”

“I might, if you don’t shut up.”

“Rude!” Stiles stepped closer to the door, pausing just before he passed Xander. He asked, “He won’t eat me, right?”

An accented voice floated out from inside the room. “Maybe, maybe not. You look like you’d be a tasty treat.”

Stiles jumped a bit and tried to peer into the dark hotel room. All he could make out was pale blond hair and a glimpse of pale skin. He could hear Derek growl softly behind him.

“Spike, play nice.” Turning to Stiles Xander said, “No, Stiles, Spike will not eat you. At least, not in a ‘grr suck your blood’ kind of way.”

Stiles made a twitching sort of motion, and Xander grinned at him. Stiles gave him a bitchface in return, which only made the grin wider. A light flicked on, revealing a rumpled bed with a blonde hottie in black jeans and no shirt lounging on it. Stiles thought his teenage hormones might go into overload, because hello! This vampire was totally hot. No wonder all those girls in the vampire stories went into fits of bad judgement, if this is what they looked like.

Stiles heard Derek growl even louder behind him. Very close behind him, in fact. And huh. There’s another movie trope come true-ish. Hot werewolf and hot vampire, young virgin caught between them…. And Stiles really needed to stop thinking. He glanced over to Xander, who looked amused. Stiles didn’t know the story with the eyepatch, but Xander was pretty hot too, nice muscles under that tank top. So many hot guys in this little room…. Shut up, brain! You are doing nothing to help me here.

“Xander, pet, why are we entertaining guests instead of sleeping?” Spike sounded mildly put out, but Stiles wasn’t about to think that he was really that indifferent; he’d seen Derek snap from apparent relaxed lounging to snarling death machine too many times to think that casual slouch meant he wasn’t in danger if they said the wrong thing.

“They have questions, Spike, and since this one’s a werewolf,” Xander gestured to Derek, “I figure they could answer some of our questions in exchange.” He ignored the look of surprise on the kid’s face, and the way Derek’s shoulders tensed.

“You’re in my territory, I want you out.”

And of course this is what comes out of Derek’s mouth. Stiles rolled his eyes. “Derek! Rude.” Turning to Xander, he said, “I’m sorry for him, he has no manners. Raised by wolves, you know.” Stiles waved a hand as if to encompass all the poor manners that one could expect from that.

Xander laughed. He liked this kid, he reminded Xander of himself at that age. Which wasn’t all that long ago, but felt like two lifetimes all the same. “Yeah, I know a few werewolves too, I know how they are about their territory. Vampires are similar.” Xander threw a smirk at Spike, who scowled in return.

“I don’t get all weird about a piece of real estate, like a fucking dog.” Derek’s eyes flashed red at the dog comment, but both Spike and Xander ignored him. Which Stiles thought felt was either incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid.

“No, but you do get all weird about the people you consider yours.”

“Yeah, well. I don’t like it when people touch what’s mine.”

“My point exactly.” The two glared at each other for a moment, clearly rehashing an old argument.

“Aaaaanyway…” Stiles tried to steer the conversation back to the topic at hand. “So, uh, what brings you to our neck of the woods?” He winced at the words the moment he said them, but didn’t try to back track.

“Why don’t you guys have a seat, get comfortable, huh? I’m guessing we will be discussing this for a while.” Xander sat down on the foot of the bed, facing the chairs as Stiles sat down. Derek settled for standing next to Stiles.

“Oh my god, Derek, can you relax for a moment?”

“No.”

Stiles rubbed his hand over his short cropped hair. “Fine. Stand there like a creeper.” He turned to face Xander, who was looking at Spike and having some sort of silent conversation. Xander rolled his eye and turned back to Stiles.

“So, I guess it’s up to us humans to have a civilized conversation while the vamp and wolf glare at each other.”

Stiles grinned. He really liked this Xander guy. “That’s often how it goes.” Stiles could feel Derek’s glower, but he didn’t look up at him. “So, are you gonna keep avoiding the question? What are you guys doing here?”

“Not avoiding, really, it’s just I suspect the answer is going to take some time to explain. Also, we have some questions of our own, which might take some time on your part to explain.”

“Okay. So, who starts?”

“Since we are in your territory,” Xander glanced up at Derek, “Why don’t I go first?”

Derek answered, “Agreed.” Stiles is mildly surprised at the mostly reasonable tone Derek managed to use, only a little growly.

“Spike and I are technically agents with the ISWC - that’s International Slayer and Watcher’s Council - though we don’t usually use that title except when dealing with local law enforcement.” Seeing Stiles start to open his mouth to ask more questions, Xander hurried on to explain as best he could. “It’s an international agency that deals with supernatural threats to humanity - though as far as most government agencies are concerned, we deal with terrorist threats worldwide, and work on top-secret projects. In reality, we find and train slayers - have you heard of slayers?”

Stiles shook his head, but saw out of the corner of his eye Derek nod. “Right. Well, just a quick overview - in every generation a chosen one is born to protect the world from the forces of darkness.” Stiles’ mouth started to curl up, and Xander grinned at him. “I know, corny line, but it’s true. This chosen one, she - and it’s always a girl, between ages 12 to 16 - she fights vampires, demons, etc. Whatever preys on humans and threatens life in this dimension.”

“Oh my god, I have so many questions right now, I don’t even know where to begin-” Stiles started, but Derek put his hand over Stiles’ mouth.

“Let him finish his explanation, then you can ask questions.” Stiles glared at Derek, but nodded. Xander flashed a smile at Derek, who gave a half grin back. Stiles scowled for a moment, then a mischievous gleam entered his eye. Xander didn’t trust it, and sure enough a moment later Derek jumped and pulled his hand back.

“Did you just lick me? Are you five?” Derek asked, wiping his hand on his jeans.

“Serves you right, dude.”

“Don’t call me dude.”

“Whatever.”

Turning back to Xander, Stiles asked, “Okay, you train slayers. What does that have to do with Beacon Hills? Is there a slayer here? And why does a vampire work with a vampire slayer, anyway?” He nodded in Spike’s direction, who hadn’t moved at all since the conversation started. The utter stillness creeped Stiles out a little.

Xander shook his head. “There’s not a slayer here, not that we know of, anyway. As for Spike, well…” He glanced back at the vampire, who just raised an eyebrow in return. “That’s a long story. But he’s one of the good guys, he’s been with us for a lotta years now, one of the original Sunnydale group.”

“Sunnydale? Isn’t that the town that fell into some sort of giant sinkhole a bunch of years ago?”

“Yeah - good ol’ SunnyD was located on something called a hellmouth, which was both a surprise and not a surprise, if you knew the rate of suspicious deaths in that town.”

“Hellmouth?”

At the looks on Derek and Stiles’ faces, Xander nodded. “Yeah, it’s pretty much what it sounds like. It’s a place where the walls between this dimension and one of the hell dimensions are very thin. It attracts all sorts of weird and evil things - like vampires-” Xander gestured vaguely behind him.

“Oi! I’m not weird.” Spike crossed his arms and glowered at Xander.

Xander grinned, but didn’t look back at Spike. “Evil, though.”

“Damn right, and you’d best not forget it.”

Stiles cut in, hands starting to fly through the air as he spoke. “So what does this have to do with why you are here? And what did you mean by ONE of the hell dimensions - how many are there? Are there multiple heaven dimensions? Can there be more than one hellmouth at a time? Oh god, are we on a hellmouth? That’s it, isn’t it? Beacon Hills is on a hellmouth, that’s why all this crazy weird shit is happening, isn’t it?”

“Relax, we don’t know there’s a hellmouth here, which is why we’re here. There has been an increase in supernatural activity in the area, and our precogs - that’s people with precognitive ability - have said that the events will increase in frequency and intensity over the next year or so.”

“Increase? You mean it’s going to get worse?” Stiles was torn between fascinated and horrified.

“Yeah, sorry. But keep in mind that it might not be a hellmouth, it could be something different attracting the supernatural element.”

“How will you be able to tell the difference? Does that mean it won’t be as bad, or that it will eventually go away? How do we close a hellmouth, if one is here? What does this mean for the pack, are they in danger? What about the people of Beacon Hills? Should this be something where we try to evacuate the town? How would we even do that? And what about this agency you work for? How big is it, and can they help us evacuate if needed?”

Stiles’ eyes widened in horror. “Oh my god, if we have to evacuate the town, how am I going to explain this to my dad? I can’t just say ‘gee, dad I think everyone in Beacon Hills needs to go out of town on vacation at the same time.’ He’s the town Sheriff, he sees through all my lies, it’s like a superpower.”

“That’s because you’re a terrible liar, Stiles.” Derek said helpfully. Stiles glared at him.

“Not helping, Derek.” Derek smirked in response.

“Whoa, slow down there for a moment. Okay. First, don’t go jumping the gun right to evacuation; we still need to evaluate what’s going on. We do have methods of detecting the hellmouth, if it is one. Unfortunately, those only work if it’s established, not if it’s just starting to form. That is why we need to keep an eye on things for a while, to see what kind of supernatural beings are showing up. As for telling the difference…” Xander turned to Spike, and gestured for him to join story time.

“We find where the highest concentration of mojo is, have a looksee, and see if the vibes coming off it are hellmouthy.” Spike made a face. “Been spending too much time with you, Xan, if I’m using words like ‘hellmouthy’.”

Xander gave Spike a fond smile. “You like it.”

“Not admitting to anything.” Spike turned his face to the side. They could all see the smile that graced his face anyway.

Derek snorted. Stiles turned to look at him. “You hear any lies?” Derek shook his head.

“Xander’s telling the truth, but I can’t tell with the vampire, no heartbeat.”

“Really?” Stiles looked at Spike, his curiosity in overdrive now. “How do you, you know, do things, move and talk and stuff, without physiological processes? Is the mirror thing true? If so, why? I can see you, so you clearly reflect light, so why would that not work with a mirror, which only reflects light bouncing off of objects? What about sunlight? Is it sunlight as a whole, or a certain wavelength that causes the burning? What about wooden stakes and garlic?”

Hands moving quickly through the air, gestures flicking as fast as his words, Stiles continued without stopping to breathe. Derek wondered if that was Stiles’ superpower.

“Why does any of that work, anyway, that’s so weird. The explanations I have for why things work on werewolves is specious at best, with no concrete reasons. I hate things that don’t have a reason.” Stiles scowled at that, as if the entire internet had failed him personally.

Xander and Spike looked a little baffled and overwhelmed by the stream of words that flowed from Stiles. Derek gave a song-suffering sigh, and finally, finally, sat down in the second chair.

“Welcome to my world,” he muttered sardonically.

“Oh haha, Sourwolf, I’m all kinds of fucking lovable and you know it.”

“Hence why you’re still alive.”

Stiles grinned happily, trying to ignore the swooping sensation in his stomach. He simultaneously wanted to push Derek for more on that statement, and to never ask in case Derek changed his mind and decided he hated Stiles. Can’t think of that now, there’s other people in the room.

Chapter Text

Xander and Spike were both grinning, glancing between Stiles and Derek. Derek wasn’t sure he liked the way they both seemed relaxed and amused. He definitely didn’t like that Stiles smelled of excitement and arousal, or the way his heartbeat sped up slightly when Spike smirked at him. It was all Derek could do to stop himself from snarling and snapping his teeth at the vampire.

“Reminds me of you, Xan, when you were that age.”

“I did babble a bit, but I don’t think I was quite that smart.”

“Red was. Still is, but she talks less now.”

“Yeah, bet Giles is more than relieved by that.”

Spike chuckled. “I bet the Watcher would be thrilled with Tasty Treat here, he’s got all kinds of curiosity and you know how he loves to teach the young ones.”

“You make that sound so dirty, you know that?” Xander replied, fond exasperation coloring his tone.

“Yep.” Spike smirked.

“Anyway, Stiles, that is a lot of questions, most of which we have answers to - including the sunlight thing, which is interesting - but I have a few questions of my own before we get into those discussions.”

“Sure, shoot. But not literally.”

Xander focused on Derek. “Are you a born werewolf, or turned?”

“Born.”

“Last name?”

“Hale.”

“Ah. I’m sorry for your loss.”

Derek looked briefly shocked, then his features shifted toward a slightly constipated expression. “Thank you. How did you know?”

“We did some research on the history of the area, it came up. We didn’t know you had returned to Beacon Hills, though.”

Derek just nodded. He could practically feel Stiles bite his tongue on a dozen more questions, and was grateful for it. He found it interesting that Xander extended his condolences, though. Definitely not something he was used to, at least from humans. This one seemed so different from other humans that Derek wanted to trust him - which of course meant he shouldn’t. He desperately needed answers, though, and he would never admit this out loud (especially in front of Scott) but he was in over his head with the whole alpha thing. These people seemed like they knew a lot, and Derek was willing to play civil for a while if it meant having access to some information.

“So, given the flash of red eyes earlier, I take it you’re an alpha?”

“Yes.”

“And there was mention of a pack?” At Derek’s nod, Xander continued, asking the next question delicately. “And they became werewolves… voluntarily?”

“Yes. I offered the bite and gave them time to think it over before biting them.”

Stiles snorted. “Which is a thousand percent better than your uncle.”

Derek tensed up, sending a glare at Stiles.

Xander asked, “Your uncle?”

“Was the alpha before me. He was… unbalanced. He bit Scott - Stiles’ friend - without permission. He also attacked another girl, as well. I had to, uh, deal with him. Hence my becoming the alpha.”

“Ah. That sucks, I’m sorry.”

Derek looked up at Xander, surprised. That was twice now, that Xander extended condolences, treating Derek like a person, and like he understood how difficult that decision had been for Derek. He was unsure what to do with that, so he just nodded. He wasn’t sure he could speak around the sudden lump in his throat anyway.

Xander seemed to understand, and gave a small, sad smile. A faint scent of sorrow wafted from him, making Derek think that Xander has had his share of loss. After a couple of minutes to allow Derek to get control of himself, Xander continued asking questions. Who were the other people in the pack, are the Argents still the resident hunters here, have there been other run-ins of the supernatural kind recently?

That last question starts a glaring battle between Derek and Stiles, until Derek huffs and gestures for him to speak. “Yeah, there’s been some deaths in the area. We think it’s something called a kanima? Do you know what that is?”

Xander nodded. “Yeah. Do you know who it is?”

Derek and Stiles look at each other. Stiles shook his head, but didn’t meet Xander’s eye.

“Bullshit.” Spike sat forward, suddenly not looking as bored and distracted as he was earlier. “You know, or you suspect someone.” He tilted his head and looked closely at Stiles, who swallowed roughly. “You have a couple suspects, right, and don’t know which one it is? Why don’t you give us their names, then, and we’ll do our thing?”

Stiles shook his head. “No, I can’t take the chance that you’ll kill them. They’re… friends. Sort of.”

“Stiles.” Derek started to speak, but Stiles cut him off.

“No, Derek! We’ve been over this. No killing anyone who might not even know what is going on, what they are or what they’re doing.”

Xander held out his hands placatingly. “We won’t kill anyone, unless there is no other choice. We do want to prevent any more deaths, but we’re not hunters, kid.”

“Damn straight we’re not. Lot of blood thirsty wankers, no sense of finesse at all.” Spike dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand.

“What do you know of finesse, Blondie?” Xander turned to Spike, an amused smile on his face.

“I can finesse with the best of them, pet, and don’t you forget it.”

“Oh, of course, what was I thinking, you have over a century of practice causing mayhem and perfecting your ‘finesse’, as evidenced by your supreme lack of being able to do the laundry without ruining something.” Spike snarled at Xander, eyes flashing yellow. Xander didn’t even flinch, just grinned a little wider and leaned toward the vampire. “You gonna ‘finesse’ me, Big Bad?”

“You just watch me, pet. I’ll finesse your brains out.” Spike leered at Xander. Stiles was actually kind of impressed at the amount of leer Spike was able to express. His pulse quickened a bit at the thought of what Spike and Xander might be doing after he and Derek left. Or what they had been doing before Derek and he had arrived….

Hearing the increased thump of Stiles’ heartbeat mixed with a spike (bad pun, Derek, stop that) in the ever-present scent of arousal Stiles gave off, Derek grabbed the back of his shirt and hauled him up. “Leaving now.” Spike smirked, no doubt having heard Stiles’ heart as well.

“Okay, yeah, that’s probably a good idea. We can get together later, go over more information. I want to meet the rest of the pack, if that’s okay with you?” Derek was thrown a little off balance by the question - not by Xander’s request, but that he had asked at all. It made Derek uneasy, that this human was so laid back and straightforward. He couldn’t smell or hear a lie on him, though, so Derek nodded reluctantly.

“Okay. Give Stiles your phone number and he’ll text you the address.”

Xander handed them business cards with only his name and phone number under the initials ‘ISWC’ as they left. Shutting the door behind their surprise visitors, Xander looked at Spike.

“Well, what do you think, Spike?”

“Seemed a bit easy, pet. Derek is a lot more controlled than I would have expected from a new Alpha werewolf, especially since we are essentially invading his territory.”

“Yeah, I think part of it is that he’s still pretty young, and even though he clearly doesn’t like the idea, he needs help. Also, I think he was controlling himself for Stiles’ sake.”

“That one is interesting, all energy and curiosity and almost no fear. I don’t know if that makes him an idiot or if he’s more than he seems. He smells of magic.”

“Magic, huh? Yeah, I guess that could make him more dangerous than he seems. But I didn’t get any evil vibes from him, just enthusiasm and protectiveness.”

“I guess we’ll find out when we see them later. Since I’m awake, how about you take off those clothes and I’ll fuck your brains out?”

“Classy, Spike, so classy.” Xander smiled as he shed his clothes.

“For you, pet, always.”

--

When they climbed back into Derek’s car, Stiles started to speak rapidly, almost hitting Derek in the face as he gushed about how cool that was, and he had so many questions, and now someone would answer them. It occurred to Derek that there was a lack of whole-body flailing in the hotel earlier. He wondered if Stiles had been trying to present a more congenial and united front with Derek and the pack. Or perhaps he was too busy being attracted to the vampire to move as much. Derek wasn’t sure which one it was though, and that made him a little angry.

“Stiles. Shut. Up.”

The hurt silence from the passenger seat yanked on Derek’s guilt until he finally spoke again. “I’m sorry. I-” He cut himself off, not sure what he was trying to say.

“They make you uncomfortable.” Stiles was, as always, more perceptive than Derek would like. “Is it just Spike that makes you uncomfortable, or was it both of them?”

“Both. They’re… different. I don’t trust them.”

“You don’t trust anyone.”

“I trust you.”

Stiles turned in his seat to stare at Derek. He stared for so long that Derek shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “What?” Derek asked.

“I just…. Never mind.” Stiles turned back around and started to drum his fingers nervously on the dashboard. “Wait, where are we going? This isn’t the way back to my place.”

“We’re going to the warehouse. We need to make a plan.”

We? Stiles felt inordinately pleased that Derek included him in the plan. “Sure, why not? Can we stop for food on the way over? It’s almost lunch time anyway.” Derek didn’t answer, but he pulled into a drive through soon after. Stiles grinned at him happily, and Derek pretended that it didn’t affect him. Not at all.

--

Derek growled and swiped at Stiles, who dodged and shoved more curly fries into his mouth - Derek’s fries, as Stiles had finished his own already. Derek was amazed that a human kid could pack away almost as much food as a full-grown werewolf, and it amused him to pretend to keep the fries away from Stiles. Not that he would do such a thing.

“Quit stealing my fries and call Scott. We need a pack meeting.”

“He’s gonna say-”

“I know what he’s going to say,” Derek growled, “Call him anyway. Tell him, unless he wants me to kill off his friends without his input, he’ll show.”

“Yeah, no, I’m so not going to tell him that.” Derek started to snap out an order, but Stiles kept talking right over him.

“You see, that is why Scott won’t join your pack, you give these ridiculous ultimatums and threats that are clearly poorly thought out and completely failing to take into account that furry little problem or not, Scott is a nice guy. Like, he traps spiders and releases them outside instead of squishing them like a normal person, and he works with puppies and kittens that he always wants to take home, and the only reason he doesn’t is his mom won’t let him. Seriously, if it weren’t for Melissa, he’d be like that crazy animal lady that drives the food truck in Short Circuit.”

Stiles aimed a look at Derek, trying to emphasize his point. “It’s like you’ve never met Scott, when you say things like that.”

Derek pinched the bridge of his nose. He can feel the headache already pounding behind his eyes. “Fine, Stiles, what do you recommend?”

“Well, for one, I’m going to ask him for his help - Scott is a sucker for a plea for help from a friend. I will appeal to his good side, and I won’t lie to him or threaten him. Are you sensing a theme here?”

“Fine. You call Scott. I’ll call Isaac and Boyd. When you are done kissing McCall’s ass, you can call Erica.”

“I am not kissing his ass, I’m treating him like a friend, respecting him as a person. That is not ass-kissing, Sourwolf, that is interpersonal relationships, something in which you could use more practice.”

“Whatever. Call Scott.” Derek strode away, pulling out his own phone to make his calls. He grit his teeth when he heard Stiles stuffing the last of the fries in his mouth before placing the call to Scott. Sometimes Derek wasn’t sure if he wanted to kiss Stiles, or bite him into submission. He wasn’t sure if there was much of a difference where Stiles was concerned.

Chapter Text

The pack gathered in Derek’s abandoned warehouse. “What up, Boss Man?” Derek had to restrain the urge to roll his eyes at Erica’s words.

“What’s ‘up’ is we have visitors in town, people who have indicated they might be able to help us with the kanima problem. They need more information, though, and I need you all to be able to recognize their scents, in case you run into them around town.”

“So why am I here?” Scott asked, confused and hostile.

“Scott, dude, you really need to meet these guys, I mean, the one guy is like an awesome pirate and his boyfriend is even-”

“Enough, Stiles.” Derek cut him off. He wanted the vampire to be a surprise, to test the pack’s readiness and their response to his orders. “They should be here soon. I need you all to pay attention and don’t start shit.”

“Why do we even need their help, anyway? I thought we could take care of it ourselves?” Isaac crossed his arms, clearly less than pleased at having outside help.

“We are fighting on two fronts here, the kanima and the Argents” Derek ignored Scott’s low growl at the mention of the Argents, but Stiles wasn’t going to let that slide.

“Dude, I know you and Allison are attached at the hips, but her dad certainly doesn’t like you, her mom is frankly terrifying, and her granddad is turning out to be just as psycho as her aunt Kate was. You can’t tell me they aren’t a very big threat to everyone’s continued existence here.”

“Except you, Stiles. Why are you worried about them?” Boyd, when he did speak, usually had very good points. This wasn’t one of them, in Stiles’ opinion.

“One, they have shown an extreme lack of regard for the state of my humanity in the past, and two, they seem to hold grudges against people who are aware of the existence of werewolves but aren’t actively trying to kill them. And coming from the son of the Sheriff, trust me, just ‘cause they’re human doesn’t mean they aren’t monsters.”

“Truer words were never said.”

Everyone except Derek spun in surprise at the voice coming from behind them. Derek made a mental note to train them harder in situational awareness; it wouldn’t be good to have them miss something because they were distracted by something as simple as a conversation. They could get killed that way, and Derek doesn’t think he’d hold up very well if his new family starts to die off just after he got them.

On the other hand, it was impressive how fast they reacted to a potential threat when they knew there was one. Scott, Erica and Isaac immediately went into Beta form and spread out to flank the newcomer, while Boyd simply shifted position so he could fade into the background more easily. They didn’t attack, though, each of them flicking their eyes at Derek to see what his orders were. It was gratifying.

“Xander!” Stiles’ enthusiastic greeting had the betas glancing at each other in confusion.

“Stand down. This is our guest, Agent Xander Harris.”

“Agent?” Scott asked, looking bewildered. He had shifted out of wolf form at Derek’s command, which pleased Derek to no end. Isaac, however, looked about ready to bolt.

“Isaac, come here. Now.” Once Isaac had slunk over, Derek put a hand on the back of his neck, murmuring, “It’s okay, he’s not that kind of agent. Just stay near me.” Isaac nodded unhappily.

Erica shifted back and went to stand near Scott, crossing her arms and glaring at Xander.

“Nice to meet you all. You can call me Xander, and this-” he turned, motioning to someone they couldn’t see yet. “Spike, come out so they can see you.”

The vampire - and Stiles was fascinated with how someone so pale with bleach-blond hair could disappear in the shadows that well - slunk out of said shadows to stand near Xander.

Scott immediately shifted back into beta form and started to snarl, which set off Erica, Isaac and Boyd. Stiles saw what was coming and tried to head it off.

“Scott! No! He’s on our side!”

“I don’t know what he is, Stiles, but he doesn’t have a heartbeat. Stay back!”

“No, Scott, listen!”

“Stop! Now!” Derek’s order did not deter anyone except Boyd, who looked at his alpha with uncertainty. The rest of them, however, launched themselves at the vampire.

“NO! Stop!” Stiles tried to run into the fray, but Derek caught his shirt and tugged him back.

“Stay back, Stiles.”

Derek turned back to the fight intending to wade in when he stopped, surprise coloring his face. Stiles turned to look, and his eyebrows shifted up in surprise. The betas - who were new, yes, but they were fast and strong, and a little crazy - were losing. And not to just Spike, who appeared to be doing nothing but sidestepping the attacks easily, with a smirk firmly in place. No, Xander had imposed himself between Spike and the betas, and was using a series of moves that knocked them all on their asses.

It didn’t keep them down long, but it was clear that Xander was holding back, just trying to fend them off. He moved with the efficiency of a long-experienced fighter, and Derek could make out several weapons that Xander didn’t even try to use. Derek shook himself. As impressive as the display was, he needed it to stop. Letting his eyes go red and his fangs grow long, Derek let out a roar that knocked the betas to the floor.

“I told you to stand down!”

Isaac whimpered and tried to hide behind Erica, who looked wide-eyed at Derek. Scott, however, recovered quickly enough to glare. “What the hell is this, Derek?! What is that?”

“This is Spike, he’s from the same agency as Agent Harris. He’s a vampire.” Erica and Isaac looked at Spike wide eyed, who just smirked and blew them a kiss.

“A vampire? That’s your idea of help?”

“They have experience, knowledge, and resources. That’s not something I’m going to pass up just because they make you a little uncomfortable.” Derek crossed his arms, challenging Scott. Bad move, Stiles thought, as he stepped in to divert the argument. He waved at Xander.

“Hey guys, so how was your day?”

“Hey Stiles. It was good.” Xander smiled, though he didn’t stop watching Scott and the others.

“And how was your day, pet? Have fun at school? Learn anything useful?” Spike leered a bit at Stiles, who tried to fight off the brief arousal that inspired. He was less than successful as he felt Derek step closer to him, arm brushing his shoulder. Stiles wasn’t sure if this was a reward or punishment for something he did in a past life.

“Uh, yeah, it was okay. Finstock is still crazy, Harris is still an ass. Same old same old.” Stiles grinned at Spike.

Scott made a weird, angry gurgling sound. “Stiles! What are you doing? Nevermind.” He made a cutting motion with his hand as he turned to Xander and Spike. “We don’t need your help, you can go back where you came from now.”

Derek’s eyes flashed red, Scott’s going yellow in response.

“That is not your call, Scott. They are here to help, and I have decided to take them up on their offer.”

“Bullshit! You can’t just bring in anyone you want just because you want help to kill our friends!”

“I’m not trying to kill anyone! The kanima is killing people, in case you forgot!”

Scott snarled at Derek, but before he could launch himself at the alpha, Stiles stepped closer to him and grabbed his arm.

“Scott, buddy, you need to calm down,” Stiles said.

Scott shook Stiles off. “No, Stiles! What is wrong with you? I mean, your infatuation with Derek is bad enough, but a vampire? Do you just have a kink for things that can kill you?”

Stiles gaped at Scott. He didn’t just- That was- Stiles couldn’t even complete the thought, he was just all tangled up with embarrassment, and hurt and anger at his best friend. His supposed best friend, who just announced his crush in front of not only Derek, but almost everyone else they knew. Stiles felt tears begin to burn behind his eyes, and before he could humiliate himself any further, turned on his heel and walked quickly out of the warehouse.

Scott’s eyes widened when he realized what he had just said, and in front of whom. “Stiles! Stiles, I’m sorry! Wait!” He started to go after Stiles, but suddenly Derek was there, grabbing his arm. “Let me go, Derek!” Scott struggled, but Derek was a lot stronger and easily held him back.

“I think you’ve done enough, Scott.” The anger, mixed with disdain, in Derek’s voice made Scott’s shoulders fall.

“I didn’t mean to, it’s just-”

“It doesn’t matter what you meant, you did. He’s not going to want to talk to you right now, the least you can do is respect your friend.” Derek’s words made the shame in Scott’s stomach burn brighter.

“I’ll go get the whelp.” Spike’s offer had the werewolves all staring at him.

“I don’t think so,” Scott snarled.

“How about I go get him?” Xander offered, his tone mild, but his eye glared at Scott fiercely. “Being the only other human here I might be able to persuade him to come back.”

“Yes, Xander, thank you.” Derek said, squeezing Scott’s arm and letting his eyes bleed red as he glared at the rest of his pack before they could protest.

--

Stiles left the warehouse, trying not to simply give in and actually run away. He scrubbed at his eyes and stifled the noises that wanted to bubble out of him. This was so stupid! It’s not like he hasn’t made a fool of himself before, or had arguments with Scott before. It was just so fucking humiliating, to have his feelings thrown out there for everyone to see, for Derek to see. In front of Xander and Spike, as well. Though Stiles had only met them this morning, he was starting to admire them a little. The way they handled being attacked by three angry werewolves, especially the way Xander had handled himself - it gave Stiles hope that he wouldn’t always be the weakest, most useless person in the group.

Ha, like your life ever goes the way you think it should, Stilinski. You should know better. Feeling a wave of anger and resentment wash over him, Stiles wished he hadn’t accepted Derek’s offer of a ride this morning. If he had his Jeep here, he could leave and go lick his wounds in private with a locked window and an Xbox full of Halo 3. Stiles kicked at the sidewalk, wondering how stupid it would be to try to walk home alone this late through the sketchier parts of town.

“Hey.” Stiles spun around, almost tangling his legs and falling. Xander caught him and gently set him back on his feet.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Looking for you, of course.”

“I- Oh. Um. I’m fine.” Stiles scratched nervously at his neck and looked everywhere but at Xander.

Xander smiled. “Here, let’s have a chat, shall we?” Xander gestured for Stiles to have a seat on a low wall that was partly crumbled away. He took a blue crystal from his jacket pocket and set it on the ground. A few muttered words later and it started to glow a soft purple-green color. “This is for privacy - no one will be able to hear our conversation, superhuman senses or not.”

“That is so awesome!” Stiles reached out to poke at it, but Xander stopped him.

“Touching it will inactivate it, and I figured you wanted a little down time where super hearing wouldn’t be a concern.”

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” Now Stiles felt awkward again, and fidgety. He wasn’t sure what to do with his hands, so he just sort of crossed his arms and tucked them under. He also avoided eye contact, knowing that he couldn’t hide how raw he was feeling at the moment. After a minute of silence, Xander started to speak.

“You know, when I was your age, I wasn’t so different from you.” Stiles looked at Xander, disbelief clearly written on his face. “No, really. I was the Zeppo, the goofball, the one and only non-magical, non-superpowered, non-werewolfy human in our group. We had the Slayer, of course, with all her strength and speed and prophetic dreams and destiny; we had a powerful witch, who could do almost anything she put her mind to, and who was a genius in her own right. There was the werewolf, with all those werewolfy powers like hyper-senses and super fast healing.

“We had the vampires - Angel first, then Spike. And Buffy’s Watcher - he’s human, but he’d studied all this stuff for years, and he was trained to fight alongside his slayer, so he was far from useless. And then there was me. Sixteen years old, just learning vampires exist, weaker than a fledge, no knowledge to speak of. Useless, except for my smart mouth and raging hormones, which got me into more trouble than I care to admit.

“My friends, who love me, only saw that I was weaker than they were, more prone to injury and unable to heal as fast or use magic and didn’t have the common sense to avoid injury in the first place. I was told several times to make sure I remained ‘fray adjacent’ - in other words, stay out of their way. It made me angry, and it hurt. Here I was, knowing what was out there and willing - no, needing to fight it and defend my friends, my hometown, my world - and my well-meaning friends wouldn’t let me. It was kind of awful.”

“But, I saw you, in there, fighting off a pack of werewolves, and I know you were holding back dude, I could tell that you didn’t want to actually hurt any of them. You only have one eye, and you’re human, and you fought off a pack of werewolves! If that’s not the definition of badass, I don’t know what is.”

Xander chuckled. “Yeah, well, my point is, I wasn’t always a badass. Sometimes I was just an ass.” His expression darkened slightly, a small frown crossing his face. “Often, actually.” Shaking his head to chase away whatever bad memories were plaguing him, Xander grinned at Stiles.

“So, while I’m in town - would you like to learn a few things that might help give you a little more of an edge? A little Zeppo vs. the world type thing?”

Stiles gaped at Xander briefly before breaking into a huge smile. “That’s like asking if pizza should have cheese on it. Of course!”

“Cool. If you’re feeling better, we can go back inside and brief the rest of your pack on what’s going on, do that exchange of information thing, and then arrange for times to meet up for a little training.”

Stiles jumped up to his feet. “Awesome, dude!”

Xander started to bend down to pick up the crystal. Before he did, Stiles said quietly, “Thanks, Xander.”

Xander looked up at Stiles, a small smile playing on his lips. “You’re welcome, and any time. I mean it.” He grabbed the crystal and strode toward the doors to the warehouse.

Stiles followed, feeling lighter than he has in weeks. The feeling dimmed as he entered the warehouse. He realized that pep talk or not, Xander hadn’t touched on one of the main problems, which was looking at him worriedly while holding onto Scott’s arm. He felt a little flip in his stomach at the thought that Derek was worried about him, but tried to reason with his hormones that no, that was worry Derek would have for anyone, that Stiles wasn’t special. His stomach refused to answer that call, and continued to jump nervously.

--

An awkward silence had fallen over the group after Xander left. The wolves on one side of the warehouse stared at the vampire who stood almost nonchalantly on the other. Scott struggled a little against Derek’s grip, but gave up fairly quickly and without a serious fight. Derek was a little surprised, but not willing to push Scott too hard by pointing it out.

“So, these are your pups, then, Derek?”

“Yes.” Derek gestured as he spoke. “Erica, Isaac, Boyd.” Giving Scott a small shake he said, “And dumbass here is Scott.”

Scott gave a growl, but didn’t try to get free again. He also pointedly did not look at the vampire. Spike met Derek’s eyes and they shared a ‘kids, what can you do?’ look. A moment of uncomfortable silence followed, then Spike dug into his pockets briefly before leaning against a pillar and lighting up a cigarette.

Scott wrinkled his nose. “Do you have to do that? This isn’t your crypt or wherever you keep your coffin.”

Spike fixed him with a sharp glare. “First off, I’m not the one making a prat of myself tonight, that’d be you. Second, I live in an apartment, not a crypt. It has a proper bed and electricity and everything. Don’t be speciesist.”

Scott gaped a little. “An apartment? That you, like, pay rent for, and everything?”

“Well, no, the building is owned by the Watcher’s Council that Xan and I work for, so they provide the housing as part of our salary. Do pay for internet and Netflix, though.”

Scott scrunched up his face like he was trying to picture a vampire with a paid job and a Netflix account and it just didn’t compute. Derek suppressed a smirk, thinking that Stiles would have said something snarky about the expression if he was in the room.

“Really? I thought vampires were all grr, suck blood and kill everything?” Erica was peering at Spike curiously.

“Most are. I’m special.” Spike smirked at her.

“You sure are, Blondie-Bear.” Xander’s amused voice made the betas jump again, while Spike made a bitchface at the nickname. Derek sighed internally. He really needed to train them better. Then he looked at Stiles, who almost seemed to be hiding behind Xander, his eyes a little red and not meeting anyone’s eyes.

“Stiles-” Scott started to speak, but Derek yanked at his arm and growled.

“Not now, Scott. You can grovel later.”

Scott glared, but didn’t struggle against the grip on his arm. “Fine.”

Derek looked at the rest of his pack, noting they all looked pretty sorry right then. “You all need to sit down and listen. When asked questions, answer them.”

Isaac and Boyd drifted closer to Derek and sat on the floor, while Erica sauntered over to perch on a fallen pillar. Derek pushed Scott down to sit on the floor, then settled himself close enough to grab Scott if he tried to take off again.

Spike crushed the butt of his cigarette under the heel of his boot, but otherwise stayed where he was leaning. Xander sat on an overturned bucket and Stiles perched on a crate near Xander. Derek roughly pushed down the urge to growl. He could deal with that later. Pack business first.

Xander glanced at Derek, who nodded. “So. How many here have heard of slayers?”

Chapter Text

It was late when the pack meeting broke up and everyone started to go their separate ways. Erica and Boyd were first out, disappearing with barely a wave goodbye. Isaac went into the abandoned subway car while Scott lurked in the background while Stiles said his goodbyes to Xander and Spike. Derek shook Xander’s hand and, surprising everyone, offered to shake Spike’s. Spike looked wary, but after a nudge from Xander he shook Derek’s hand briefly.

Xander turned to Stiles. “Bye, Stiles. We’ll see you tomorrow evening, for the tour of the town.”

Stiles grinned. “Sure thing, dude. I’ll text when I’m on my way over.”

“When we’re on our way over.” Derek corrected.

Xander nodded. “Of course. See you then. C’mon, Blondie.”

Spike nodded to Derek, and gave Stiles a leer. “Until then, Wolf Boy, Tasty Treat.”

Derek gave a low growl, and Stiles elbowed him in the ribs.

After Xander and Spike left the warehouse, Stiles turned to Derek. “I think I need a ride home, since you drove me here.”

“Sure.” Derek went to grab his jacket.

“Wait, Stiles, I’ll give you a ride home.”

“Scott, dude, you are my best friend and you always will be, but right now I’m still mad at you. Come talk to me tomorrow, after I’ve had some time.”

Scott seemed to wilt at Stiles’ words. “But-” Derek bumped Scott as he passed behind him. Scott glared at him, then sighed. “Yeah, okay dude, but I’m really, really sorry.”

“I know, Scott. Talk to me tomorrow.”

“G’night, Stiles.” Stiles nodded in response.

Derek tossed Stiles’ hoodie at him. “Let’s go.”

“After you, Sourwolf.”

By the time they got to the car, Stiles was rethinking his Scott-avoiding strategy. He didn’t really want Derek to smell his nervousness or hear his accelerated heartbeat, but his only other choices were to ride home with Scott - who he was still pissed at - or call his dad. And yeah, no. So Stiles’ only hope was that Derek’s natural aversion to talking in general and about feelings in particular would give him a quiet (if nerve-wracking) ride home.

Stiles should have known he didn’t have luck like that.

“So, about what Scott said earlier….” Derek said, looking out through the windshield and not at Stiles.

“Uh, yeah?”

“You want to explain exactly what he meant?”

“Not really, no.”

Derek finally turned his head to glare at Stiles. “Well, too bad.”

“No, uh-uh, you do not get to dictate this conversation like that. I have rights, you know, like the right to remain silent. And the right to an attorney. Do you see an attorney in this car? No? Then I refuse to answer all questions on the grounds that it might incriminate me.”

Derek sighed. “Stiles, you’re not under arrest, I just want to talk.”

“Argh,” Stiles rubbed his hand over his face. “Yeah, I know, Derek, it’s just- What do you want me to say? I’m thoroughly embarrassed here. And I know you are probably uncomfortable with what Scott said too, and I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked you for a ride, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I’ll stay away from you if that helps any.”

“What? No, Stiles, that is not what I meant at all.” Derek, glanced over at Stiles, taking in his nervous shifting, his fingers tapping, his eyes wide and darting. He sniffed the air a little and got a whiff of sour nervousness and bitter resignation. “Stiles. Calm down. I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Stiles huffed a laugh. “Yeah, maybe not physically, but….” He trailed off, looking away from Derek and leaned his forehead against the passenger side window. “Whatever. Just get it over with, tell me how much you respect me as a person, and that it’s not me it’s you, et cetera, et cetera.”

“What? Stiles-” Derek cut himself off as he realized they were less than a mile from the Stilinski house. Making a quick decision, Derek pulled over and parked on the side of the road.

“What are you doing?” Stiles looked over at Derek.

“We are going to have a goddamn conversation, and you aren’t leaving this car until that happens.”

“I don’t want to have this conversation, Derek.” Stiles balled up his fists on his thighs, hitting them a little. “Just let me wallow in my misery at home.”

“No. Now, start talking.”

“Goddammit!” Stiles reached for the door handle, only to have Derek’s hand shoot over and grab Stiles’ hand, pulling him so Stiles was facing the werewolf. Derek took his other hand and held them so Stiles couldn’t get away.

“I said no, Stiles. Now spill.”

Stiles struggled briefly, but then sagged when he couldn’t get loose. “Fine, fine. You want to know what Scott meant? He meant I’ve been pining after you, Derek. I want you, but more than just in a sexy way. I think I’m falling for you. Is that what you wanted to hear? I can’t believe you don’t know anyway, you have to smell it on me. Now let me down, then let me go.” Stiles’ face set in hard lines, but Derek could hear the rabbit-fast heartbeat that belied Stiles’ attempt to appear calm.

“Stiles, I-” A knock on the window startled both men. Derek turned, wide-eyed, to see the Sheriff leaning down and peering in the car.

“You mind rolling down your window?” The Sheriff mimed the old-fashioned winding movement. Derek pressed the down button.

“Yes, sir?”

“Hi dad, it isn’t what it looks like, Derek was just giving me a lift home.” Stiles gave a sad attempt at a grin while trying to yank his hand from Derek’s grip.

Sheriff Stilinski looked at his son, looked at Derek, then pointedly looked at their hands. Derek abruptly dropped Stiles’ hand, and put his own on the steering wheel in plain sight.

“Right. Stiles, you’re out pretty late, how about you get in the squad car and we’ll call it a night?”

“Um, sure dad. Bye, Derek, thanks for the ride!” Stiles practically bolted from the car. Derek was pretty sure the only reason he didn’t actually run was to prevent his dad from asking too many questions.

“Stiles!” Derek called. When Stiles turned to look at him, Derek gave his best flirty grin. “See you tomorrow. Call if you’re going to be late.” Stiles looked aghast, which made Derek’s grin even more. The smile died, though, when Derek looked up at the Sheriff, who was still staring down at Derek. With his fingers tapping his belt near his gun.

Derek swallowed. “Goodnight, sir.”

Sheriff Stilinski sighed. “Goodnight, son. Drive safe.”

Derek nodded as he put the car into drive and took off. Son? That shouldn’t have felt as nice as it did, the Sheriff didn’t mean anything by it, but Derek couldn’t push away the warm feeling bubbling up inside of him. This was turning out to be a pretty decent day, what with the prospect of new allies, Stiles’ apparent interest, and now the Sheriff didn’t seem to hate him. Derek tried to let himself enjoy it for a little while, before the other shoe dropped and shit hit the fan.

--

Stiles stayed quiet for the few minutes it took to travel the rest of the way to their house, steadfastly ignoring the questioning looks his father kept throwing his way. He hoped that he could throw out a goodnight to his dad and shut himself in his room to brood and try to distract himself from what had transpired in Derek’s car. No such luck.

As soon as they walked into the house, before Stiles could get a word out, the Sheriff spoke. “So, Stiles, how was your evening?”

Stiles huffed a little and looked at his dad. “It was fine, dad.”

“And how is Derek these days?”

“He’s fine too.”

“I bet.” John muttered, running a hand through his hair. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but getting Stiles to talk about it was like pulling teeth. It didn’t used to be this way, usually Stiles wouldn’t shut up about anything and everything in his life. John knew more about Lydia Martin than he ever wanted to know. But this thing with Derek Hale? Not a word.

He knew Stiles had been keeping something from him, something that had him sneaking in and out of the house at all hours, getting into more trouble than usual with Scott. And now he knew his son was possibly seeing more of Derek Hale than John wanted to think about.

“Just-” John took a deep breath, thinking. He considered that Stiles was Stiles and tried to come to terms with the fact that he didn’t have as much control over his son’s life as he would like. For all the distance lately, he still knew his son, and knew that Stiles was a good judge of character. Not to mention that Stiles was a force of nature when he wanted something, and John never did have much luck in stopping him.

“Just be safe, son, that’s all I ask. And tell me if he doesn’t treat you right.”

Stiles stared at his dad. What? “What? No, dad, it isn’t what you think-”

“Son, you’ve been sneaking in and out of the house a lot lately, you are keeping things from me, and you admitted that you know Derek Hale better than you led me to believe. And on my way home today I came across you two in his parked car, holding hands. I know I’m not a genius, Stiles, but I’m not an idiot either.”

“I- Just- Dad, I-” Stiles shook his head, trying to organize his thoughts. How could he explain without telling his dad about werewolves? But if I don’t, he’ll go on thinking I’m dating Derek. Stiles didn’t know which his dad would think was worse - Derek being a werewolf, or Derek, a former suspect in a murder case, dating his underage son.

He said carefully, “I promise, dad, that I am being as safe as humanly possible. I don’t mean to keep things from you, it’s just… Derek’s Derek, you know? And, and I don’t know, well, a lot of things. I need some time to work things out, is all. Okay?”

His dad looked at him in that way he had that always made Stiles feel like he was being x-rayed. “Okay. For now. I’m trying to understand, I really am. But I want you to know, Stiles, that you can tell me anything. Anything at all, no matter what the circumstances.”

Stiles gave half a grin and hugged his dad. “I know dad.” Stiles was glad his dad wasn’t a werewolf, he’d be able to smell the lies and the guilt from a mile away.

“Okay, us old people are up way past our bedtimes, and you have school in the morning. Goodnight, son.”

“G’night, dad.”

John watched his son trudge up the stairs before shaking his head and pouring himself a drink. Derek Fucking Hale.

Chapter Text

Xander stretched, cracking his back and neck. Throwing his arm to the side, he opened his eye when he met only the bed and pillow. “Spike?”

“Right here, pet.”

Xander glanced over near the window, where Spike was looking out through a slim gap in the curtains. “What are you doing?”

“The mutts have been sneaking past all day. I hope they aren’t trying to be stealthy, ‘cause they’re crap at it.” Spike turned from the window to look at Xander. “You sleep alright, Xan?”

“Yeah. You?”

Spike shrugged. “Well enough.”

“Nightmares again?”

“No, it’s just not home, and we’re in a town full of werewolves. So I’m a bit jumpy.” Spike moved from the window to perch on the bed by Xander. “Speaking of home - you gonna tell me about what has you all worried?”

Xander sighed. “Yeah. I know I should have discussed it with you before, but I wasn’t sure how to bring it up. I think we are going to be here for longer than we thought at first.”

Spike frowned. “And why does that have your panties in a twist?”

“I know how much you don’t like to be away from home and the girls too long, and I didn’t want to upset you. But you also know there is a lot to do here, and I’m not the only one who likes this pack.”

Spike sighed. “No, you’re not the only one. And you’re not wrong, I like having a place that is ours, where we can relax and just be us.”

“Yeah, me too. And I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry, pet, things are how they are.” Spike looked at Xander for a moment. “I think there is more to this than what you are saying though.”

“Yeah, but it’s nothing new. Just tension with Buffy and Willow and Giles. I just wish-” Xander cut off as Spike’s hand covered his mouth.

“You know better than that, Xan! Last thing we want is some wish demon popping in here, making everything a hundred times more complicated than they already are.”

“Yeah, okay, I won’t use the ‘W’ word. But you know I’ve been kind of… dissatisfied with the work we’ve been assigned by the Council lately. With the exception of this case.”

“Yeah, Xan, I know. Maybe we should talk about that when this case is over, go over our options. If you want to go gallivanting across the world, though, I need some notice first.”

Xander sat up slightly, reaching a hand up to grasp the back of Spike’s neck and pull him down for a kiss. “Understandable.” Xander lay back down, pulling at Spike, who followed willingly. “Is there anything I can do to convince you to run off with me?”

Spike grinned. “Oh, I can think of a thing or two.”

“Excellent.” Xander returned the grin, then settled back as Spike moved to climb on top of him.

--

Several hours later, Xander and Spike readied themselves to meet with the wolves again. Hopefully tonight’s meeting will go a little smoother than last time, because Xander was sure that their time in Beacon Hills would be longer than expected. They were going to need to look into more permanent digs than a hotel room. A short-term lease apartment, perhaps. He’ll ask Derek and Stiles later, see if they can point him in the right direction.

“Ready, luv?” Spike shrugged into his leather duster.

“Yeah, Spike, let’s roll.”

Arriving at the warehouse - Xander was going to have to pressure Derek into getting a real apartment, the warehouse is just not a place for people to live - Xander noted the little betas were more alert, and actually noticed their entry.

“Seems like Derek had a word with his puppies.”

Spike smirked. “Yeah. As much good as that’ll do them.”

Xander grinned as he approached the pack. “Derek.”

“Xander. Spike.” Spike nodded.

“Hey, Stiles.” Xander offered a smile for the young man hovering by Derek’s shoulder.

“Hey Xander. So… what are we doing today, anyway?” Stiles glanced between Xander, Spike, and Derek.

“We are going to pool our knowledge of kanimas, see if we can come up with a non-lethal method of dealing with one, then you guys are going to tell us who are your suspects.” Xander held up a hand to forestall any protests. “Not to hurt them, but to see if we can eliminate anyone from the running, and to see what might be done to test the rest. Once we figure out who it is, we will come up with a plan to capture and if we can, help them. Is that acceptable to everyone?”

Derek nodded, the betas following suit, except for Scott. Scott scowled. “That easy, is it? You just waltz in here-”

“Scott. Shut up.” Derek growled.

“No, Derek, you invite these strangers in, this vampire, and let them just dictate to us-”

Derek’s eyes flashed red. “I said shut up, Scott.”

“Scott, buddy, please. Can we just try this? It’s better than the plan before, which was to argue with Derek about how to take care of the kanima problem, and fight with each other, and not get anything actually done about the kanima problem.” Stiles held his hands out in front of him, palms up. “Please, Scott?”

Scott huffed and scowled, but nodded his assent.

“Okay, then, good, thank you. I promise, we can come up with something else if this doesn’t work, but I think these guys have way more experience than any of us, so they probably know what they are doing.” Turning back to Xander, Stiles said, “Okay, kanima stuff.”

“Yeah. But first… Derek, can we have a word?”

Derek nodded, and moved over to a corner of the warehouse with Xander and Spike. Stiles noted that Xander pulled out the same blue crystal from the night before.

“Stiles?” Scott’s voice pulled Stiles from his reverie.

“Yeah?”

“Listen, about yesterday….” Scott hunched his shoulders, staring down at his shoes.

“Yeah, I know, Scott. It’s okay.”

“Really? You- You aren’t mad at me?”

“Well, maybe a little. But I know you didn’t mean to, and Der-” Stiles stopped and coughed a bit. “Well, anyway. It’s okay.”

“I’m really sorry, Stiles. Still bros?” Scott offered up his crooked smile and puppy dog eyes. Stiles couldn’t even blame the werewolf thing for those puppy eyes, Scott had been good at those as long as Stiles had known him.

“Yeah, Scott, still bros.” Stiles offered his fist, which Scott lightly bumped.

Isaac wandered over to them. “Why can’t we hear them?”

“It’s that nifty crystal Xander put down, see it? It muffles sound or negates sound waves, or something, I don’t really know how it works, but it makes it so you can’t hear anything outside of whatever radius it has. Supernatural hearing or not.”

“Well, Derek doesn’t look happy.” Isaac jerked his chin in that direction.

“To be fair, Derek never looks happy.”

“True.”

--

Derek folded his arms, looking between Spike and Xander. “Well?”

Xander glanced at Spike, a wordless conversation passing between them. “Well, first things first. I know we promised Stiles and the others that we wouldn’t kill the kanima….” Xander ran a hand through his hair. “But from what we know, it may not be possible to stop it without killing it. We will try, of course, but I thought I would let you know that we have a last resort if needed to protect your pack.”

Derek frowned, but nodded. He figured they would need to kill the kanima anyway, but if they wanted to try to capture it first, well, they were the experts. “And?”

“Not much for words, are ya, wolf boy?” Derek gave Spike a flat look. “Not that that’s a problem, mind, I like the strong, sexy, silent type.” Spike lifted a brow, challenging Derek to respond.

“Spike. Stop hitting on the sexy werewolf, please.” Xander said mildly. He turned to Derek, who managed to look like he was annoyed and flattered at the same time. Xander was impressed.

“I’d apologize for him, but well, honestly he can be a lot worse, so I’ll save the apologies for later.”

“Oi! Don’t need you or anyone apologizing for me. I can do that m’self, if needed. Though I don’t see what’s wrong with telling a good looking bloke he’s good looking. I’m sure his boyfriend out there would agree.” Spike glanced over at Stiles, who was chatting with his friend Scott.

“Spike-” Xander ran a hand over his face. “Never mind. Derek. What I really needed to tell you - well, to ask you, is in regards to Stiles.”

Derek couldn’t help the low rumble that started in his chest. Xander began speaking faster, trying to get the words out faster to head off any potential violence.

“No, no! This is just about his role in your pack. Look, I know you want to protect him, and I know he doesn’t have any superpowers like the rest of the pack, and that he means more to you than you will probably ever admit-” Derek’s low growl ramped up a notch, and Xander put his hands up, palms outward. “Whoa, there, don’t worry, that’s all your problem, I won’t interfere. Unless you want me to. But my point, Derek, is that you want to protect Stiles, and yes, he is human, but that doesn’t mean he’s useless-”

“I never thought he was useless. Just the opposite, in fact.” Derek uncrossed his arms, taking on a more open stance, trying to hear what it was Xander was trying to say. Guy could run on at the mouth almost as much as Stiles.

“Be that as it may, my point is that Stiles could do with some training.”

“Training.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Yes, mutt, training. In hand to hand combat, in weapons, in interrogation.”

“No.”

“Listen up, you berk-”

“Spike.” Xander put his hand on Spike’s arm. “Let me.” Turning to Derek, Xander aimed for a reasonable tone. “Derek. When you guys have any sort of run-in with the supernatural, you probably throw yourself into it, right?” Derek nodded. “Okay, and your little betas too?” Another nod. “And Stiles?”

Derek sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Yeah. He does, often before any of us knows there’s anything wrong.”

“Okay, so you can agree that he’s not going to stay fray-adjacent.”

The corners of Derek’s mouth curled. “No, which is why I’m thinking of duct taping him to his desk chair when we go after that kanima.”

Xander chuckled. “Won’t work. Trust me.”

“And your solution is to give him training, make him think he can take on supernatural creatures on his own?”

“Mate, let me tell you, Xander here was just like your boy there when he was that age. Softest little tidbit you could have asked for. And he kept right on helping the slayer, taking on baddies bigger, badder, and stronger than he was nearly every night. He had some close calls, but once he figured out which end of the stake to hold, he became a menace in his own right.”

Derek shook his head. “I still don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to like it, you just have to live with it.” Xander clapped Derek on the shoulder. “I know you want to protect him. You just need to realize that he wants to protect you too, insofar as he’s capable, and he won’t be dissuaded from trying. It’s best if he knew how to at least avoid getting killed or mauled while helping you and your pack.”

Derek sighed again, then nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay. Does that mean you guys will be in town for a while to train him? I’m willing to, but I don’t know a lot about how humans defend themselves.”

“We’ll be here for a while. I’m thinking first with this kanima thing, then our research into the Beacon Hills area, and Stiles’ training, and perhaps working with you and your pack to establish a friendly exchange of information and help - yeah, we’ll be here awhile.”

“Fine. I’ll talk to Stiles about it. I’d like the two of you to work with myself and the pack too, we could use more training.”

“Of course. And….” Xander scratched his head, wondering how to bring up the living conditions of Derek and Isaac.

“And?”

“About this warehouse….”

“What about it?”

“It’s shite, mate, not fit for man nor wolf. And I should know, I used to live in a crypt. But you, you’re not dead, you should be someplace living people, y’know, live.”

Derek scowled. “It’s safe. The Argents and other hunters in the area don’t know where we are, the cops don’t know where Isaac is-”

“Whoa, wait, what? Why are the cops after Isaac?”

“They think he killed his father.” Seeing Xander’s face cloud over, Derek rushed to explain. “No, he didn’t, it was the kanima, but since we can’t tell them a giant were-lizard killed the abusive bastard, they are currently focused on Isaac.”

“Geez. Okay, I understand, but still, you need a real apartment or house or something to actually live in. As for Isaac, let me make some phone calls, okay, and we’ll see if we can’t pull some strings.”

The startled look on Derek’s face made Spike smirk. “Yes, we can do that, and yes, we will try to help your puppy. Not the first time we’ve had to deal with the authorities going after the wrong person. Or maybe being one of the bad guys themselves.”

“No, Sheriff Stilinski is a good guy. Ignorant of the supernatural, but a good cop and a good person.” Derek looked over at Stiles. “And a good father.”

“Yeah, we’re getting that impression. I’m hoping to convince Stiles to let his dad in on the supernatural element in the area - you wouldn’t believe how much easier things are when local law enforcement, at least some of them, are in the know. And he deserves to know, this is his town, and he wants to protect it. He can’t do that when he’s missing a lot of important information.”

Derek snorted. “Good luck with that. Stiles is adamant that his dad does not know anything. I think Stiles is trying to protect his dad from, well, all of this.” Derek waved his hand vaguely between the three of them.

“Yeah, I know, but I’m still going to try to convince Stiles it’s for the best.” Xander bent for the crystal. “Ready to get this ball rolling?” At Derek’s nod, he deactivated the sound barrier and turned toward the waiting betas and Stiles.

--

Finally. Stiles rolled his eyes. He was a little antsy waiting for Derek and Xander and Spike to finish talking about whatever they were talking about - and Stiles had several ideas of what that might be, none of them good. Whatever, he wanted info, and to talk to Xander more, and to both be near and avoid Derek even if that was just awkward for everyone else in the room.

“Sit.” The immediate response by the betas to Derek’s terse word brought a snort of laughter from both Xander and Stiles. Derek, to Stiles consternation, sat near him. Very near. Like their knees were touching near. Stiles counted quickly backward from 10, then tried to do it in French to settle the nervous flutter in his stomach. He didn’t move his knee, though. Because I’m stupid and desperate and pathetic, he thought.

“Okay, so let’s start, shall we?” Xander took control of the meeting, setting the tone easy but still business-like. “Kanimas - this is what we at the ISWC know about them: an aberration of the werewolf transformation, a kanima is a lizard-like creature with paralyzing venom in its claws.”

Stiles already had his hand up, visibly trying to restrain the questions ready to bubble out of his mouth. Xander glanced at Spike, who smirked back. “Just like Red.” Xander nodded, smiling.

“Yes, Stiles?”

“Okay, I get that there are aberrations, that’s just a thing that happens in nature, but why a lizard? That isn’t anything close to a werewolf, not just a different species, it’s an entirely different class of animal altogether, reptile instead of mammal. Why doesn’t the person just turn into a different sort of canine, it’s not like there’s a lack of them out there. And why is the venom in its claws instead of its teeth? And is there any way to tell if the person is aware of their kanima self? And-”

Xander held up his hand, halting Stiles’ questions (which kind of amazed Derek, who wondered if he could learn that trick). “Whoa, we’ll get there, I don’t know the answer to all of those questions, but I’ll do my best. Let me finish listing what we know first, then Derek will list what he knows, and we can go from there, okay?”

Stiles frowned, but nodded. Xander continued. “A kanima is rare, we aren’t entirely sure why it happens, but when it does, the person affected does not usually know they are transforming, or what they are doing while transformed. We have documentation that indicates a separate person or persons may actually be in control of the kanima, directing its actions, though how or why I don’t know.” Xander opened his hand to gesture for Derek to take over.

“A kanima is rare, as Xander said, and it is caused by a bite gone wrong.” Derek shifted uncomfortably, reminded that it may be his fault if Jackson turned out to be the kanima. “The stories I was taught say it is a creature of vengeance, that it seeks out and punishes those who have wronged it or a loved one in the past.” Derek looked as Stiles. “It is apparently also afraid of water.”

Stiles couldn’t help the grin that flashed across his face. Derek’s acknowledgment of his heroics lit a warm fire inside him. The grin faded though, as he thought about the information just shared.

“So, wait, just-” Stiles stood up, needing to pace while sorting his thoughts. “So the kanima is someone who doesn’t know he or she is a kanima, and possibly under the control of another person who does know who the kanima is and is using it to kill people? People that may or may not have done him or her wrong in the past? Is that what we are saying here? That someone out there is using another person without their permission or knowledge as a weapon?”

Xander looked at Stiles thoughtfully. “Yeah, I think you have it about right. That puts a little different spin on this. Derek?”

Derek was also staring at Stiles, his gaze holding something more than Xander’s had, though Stiles was unsure what. “Yeah.” Derek visibly shook himself, looking from Stiles to Xander. “Yeah, that changes a lot of things.”

Chapter Text

Stiles wasn’t sure when, exactly, he became a masochist, but clearly he was one. Why else would he be standing on the edge of a clearing in the forest, a few lamps set strategically around the perimeter lighting the place up enough for his eyes to see a little, watching a bunch of beautiful, half naked, sweaty werewolves go through some training routines along with a beautiful, half naked but not sweaty vampire? He could have spent the last week anywhere other than here, where he was sure his almost painful erection could be smelled and heard and fucking felt on the air by everyone present.

But then he wouldn’t get to watch all the pretty people grapple with each other, without shirts. Stiles is many things, but stupid is not one of them. Xander, who had done a few exercises with the werewolves at the start, had left off to watch and give advice as Spike systematically took each of them down again and again. He was standing near Stiles, and while he was wearing a shirt, was definitely categorized in the “beautiful people surrounding Stiles because his life is both awful and awesome” column.

“So, Stiles. Have you been practicing?”

“Um, sure?” Stiles licked his lips nervously. “I’m not exactly well-coordinated, though, so don’t expect much.”

“No worries, just keep it up, you’ll improve.”

Stiles grinned. “If you say so, dude.”

“I do say so. Give me a moment before we start.” Xander called out, “Isaac! Don’t drop your guard when you can’t see him, that’s when he’s most dangerous. He doesn’t have a heartbeat, but he does rustle leaves or breathe sometimes. Listen to the disturbances in your environment.”

Right then, Spike appeared out of the darkness behind Scott, quickly lifting and tossing him at Isaac. “Listen to him, pups, he’s fought against me for more years than most of you have had hair on your bollocks.”

“Crude, Spike, very crude.”

“But true.”

“Yes, true.” Xander trotted away to the small pile of stuff he and Spike had carried to the clearing. Picking up a few items, he came back to Stiles. “Okay, let’s review the basic stance and blocking, then we’ll start with falling.”

“Falling? You have met me, right? I can fall all on my own just fine.”

Xander smiled. “It’s not the actual falling, but how you fall, that makes the difference. Falling correctly can mean the difference between getting up to fight or run, and bruising or breaking something that prevents either of those options.”

“Okay then. Show me?”

“Let’s start with your stance.”

Derek listened while Xander patiently showed Stiles how to stand and how to fall so he didn’t hurt himself. He couldn’t argue that Stiles needed the training, especially if he insisted on throwing himself into fights to protect the pack. Derek wished he knew how to keep Stiles safe, out of the fight, but the only way would be to push Stiles so far that he left the pack altogether. Derek didn’t think he was strong enough to do that. He was too selfish, he wanted to keep Stiles nearby, to keep him close.

As Xander started throwing a few balls and rolls of duct tape and sticks at Stiles, testing his blocking, Derek wondered if he should also show Stiles a few moves. He could show Stiles how to startle or confuse a werewolf, at least enough for him to get away, maybe find help. It would give them time to work close together, which Derek recognized was a Bad Idea. He still wanted it. Maybe Derek just liked to punish himself. He snorted softly. Yep, that’d be the reason.

Derek had been watching Stiles and Xander so intently that he missed Spike knocking down all his betas and sneaking up on Derek until Spike kicked his knees out from under him and swiped his forearm at Derek’s neck, sending him to the ground. Standing above him, Spike smirked. “Gotta keep your mind in the game, wolf boy.”

Derek picked himself up off the ground, ignoring Spike’s taunt. “You’re right, I was distracted. Let’s try that again.”

“Distracted with what, I wonder?” Spike stepped away a small distance, unnaturally graceful. Derek was slightly creeped out by it, and the smug grin on the vampire’s face did little to mitigate the creepy factor. Derek shook his head - he’s clearly been spending too much time with Stiles lately.

“Were you perhaps too busy watching a certain Tasty Treat to pay attention to me? I’m kind of hurt. I’m hot, I’ve been told so by numerous teenage girls.”

Derek returned a taunt of his own. “Is that where you get your kicks? Teenage girls?”

“Kicks. And punches. The occasional stabbing. They’re a bloodthirsty lot, slayers.”

Spike circled around Derek, who turned, keeping the vampire in sight. Noting he had Derek’s attention, Spike started to move faster, weaving in and out of the nearby trees, trying to get behind the alpha werewolf. He had to admit, Derek was good, he had to try a bit to make the wolf lose track of him. As he snuck up behind Derek, Spike had to dodge the sudden twist and snarl of teeth as Derek spun and lunged at him.

“Oh ho! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!”

Stiles and Xander paused their training to look up at the sparring between alpha werewolf and master vampire. The betas had all stopped as well, pulling back to form a semicircle around the pair. Isaac and Erica seemed to be muttering, and exchanging money, but Stiles barely noticed any of that, he was caught up in watching Derek and Spike face off. It was amazing. They moved so gracefully, almost like a dance. Stiles knew he was gaping like a moron, but couldn’t bring himself to care.

Spike wove back and forth, striking lightning fast at Derek, who was turning and twisting, trying to snag the vampire. Stiles thought Spike was a little faster, but Derek had an almost uncanny ability to predict where the vampire was going to strike next, dodging and returning blows quickly. Spike’s speed and utter fearlessness in the face of Derek’s fangs impressed Stiles to no end.

“I gotta say, that is pretty damn hot.” Stiles startled when Xander spoke. Xander didn’t look away as he said, “I’ve always liked watching Spike fight, even back when I hated him. And Derek is very pretty too - watching them together is awesome.”

“Blergle!” Words failed Stiles as the thought of Derek and Spike together flashed across his brain, made a u-turn and set up camp right in the forefront, blocking all other thoughts. Xander chuckled and Stiles caught Erica turning a smirk in his direction, having heard Xander’s comment. Evil, Stiles thought, they are all evil.

--

Derek was having fun. This last week had been weird, but good weird. Facing off against a challenging opponent, but knowing it was not a life and death situation, was great. Though he had a hard time concentrating on sparring with Spike, because he was too amused with Stiles’ strangled response to Xander’s comments. Spike noticed Derek’s distraction and grinned.

“Your boy is gonna sprain something if we keep doin’ this much longer.”

Derek barked out a quick laugh before stifling it. The betas - and Stiles - startled at the sound, which made it harder to stop laughing. Spike showed no such restraint and laughed out loud, eliciting a squeak from Stiles. That was the last straw for Derek, who just gave in to the guffaws bubbling up, which is when Spike took advantage and tackled him to the ground. Derek couldn’t bring himself to care much though, it had been way too long since he had a good laugh. Spike merely straddled the werewolf and grinned down at him.

Stiles stared. He couldn’t help it. Derek was laughing. Laughing! Stiles couldn’t even be jealous of the pretty vampire sitting on Derek, because it was so unexpected. And beautiful. Stiles couldn’t look away if his life depended on it. The betas were also staring, mouths hanging open slightly. Stiles didn’t even notice that his feet carried him closer to the betas surrounding Derek and Spike until he heard Scott speak softly.

“Holy crap.”

Xander sauntered up next to Stiles. “You gonna sit there all night, Blondie?”

“Might, Xan. You gotta problem with that?” Spike arched an eyebrow over at Xander.

“Nope. But I am taking pictures.” Xander did have his phone out, and there were a few shutter sounds. Stiles noticed Erica fumble her phone out, though she only had time for one or two pics before Derek apparently realized his position, shoved Spike off and stood up.

“I think that is enough for tonight. We’ll meet again tomorrow night.”

“But Derek!” Erica started, but Derek merely glared at her and the others until they dispersed. Erica grumbled the entire way. Scott had his phone out, texting Allison most likely. Stiles wasn’t surprised when Scott gave him a distracted wave before disappearing into the trees. He wasn’t surprised, but still a little ticked, because Scott clearly forgot he had given Stiles a ride.

“C’mon, man! I left my jeep at home!” Stiles kicked at the dirt. “Crap.” Stiles wandered back toward where Xander was packing up his things while talking to Derek.

“All right, then Spike and I will head out, we’ll be back tomorrow night. Hopefully we’ll have heard from Giles or Willow on the translation of that kanima text. Stiles, you need a ride home?”

Before Stiles could respond, Derek answered for him. “No, I’m giving him a ride.”

“Dude! I can answer for myself!”

Derek just looked at him, then turned to walk alongside Xander and Spike to the parked cars. Stiles continued to grumble as he followed behind. Getting into Derek’s car, Stiles proceeded to cross his arms and pout. Derek, climbing into the driver’s seat, cocked an eyebrow at him. After they drove in silence for a while, Derek looked over at Stiles again, his eyebrows quirked up in a question.

“What? I’m pouting. Obviously,” Stiles huffed.

“Yes, I can see that. Why are you pouting?”

“Dude! You didn’t even give me a chance to say no before hijacking me into a ride home!”

“You’d rather walk?”

“No, you don’t get to do that! You know what I mean. I’ve tried to be good and avoid- er, give you space, I know that what I said the other night wasn’t what you wanted to hear, and… and….” Stiles sighed. “I don’t know, Derek. What do you want from me?”

“For you to shut up and listen, for once.”

“Rude!”

“Stiles.”

“Fine.”

“Look-” Derek turned to look at Stiles. “Stiles, about what you said before, I didn’t get a chance to-”

“Watch the road!”

Derek jerked back around. “What? It’s fine, there’s nothing there.”

“Road safety, Derek, is never to be taken for granted.

Derek growled and pulled the car over. “Better?”

“Not really. But I don’t think you’re going to let this go. So, get on with it.” Stiles steadily looked out the window, shoulders tense.

“Stiles.” Derek pinched the bridge of his nose. Taking a deep breath, Derek tried to start again. “Stiles. Look at me, please.”

Sighing, Stiles uncrossed his arms and turned toward Derek. He looked so forlorn that Derek was torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to kiss him. His words, so carefully rehearsed in his own mind, suddenly evaporated. He couldn’t do it, he couldn’t tell Stiles that it wouldn’t work, say the words that would push him away - even if it was for his own good. Derek supposed that made him an incredibly selfish bastard, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss on Stiles’ lips.

Stiles’ eyes widened, his breath catching. Derek heard his heartbeat increase until it seemed like it was beating too fast, breathing becoming harsh. When Derek broke the kiss Stiles leaned forward to chase Derek’s mouth as it moved away. He made a small whimpering sound as Derek avoided his mouth to lean his forehead against Stiles’. They just stayed that way for a few minutes, looking at each other.

Stiles’ brain took a moment to reboot. He tried to allow the quiet to continue, but eventually he had to speak. He was still Stiles Stilinski, quiet was not a natural state of being for him.

“So. Um. What?” Great, he was inarticulate at best, just making random noises at worst. Stiles sometimes hated his brain.

Derek laughed softly. “Was that a question?”

“Yes? Sort of.” Stiles sat back a little. “I just - did you mean that?”

Derek frowned. “Do you think I’d do something like that if I didn’t mean it?”

“No? Maybe, if you felt sorry for me….” Stiles trailed off as Derek pulled away, eyebrows furrowing.

“I don’t feel sorry for you, Stiles.”

“I- really?” Stiles hated how pitifully hopeful his voice sounded.

“No, Stiles. Though, after this conversation, I am starting to feel a little sorry for myself.”

Stiles stared for a moment before barking out a laugh, much too loud. “Ha! Oh my god, did you just make a joke?” Stiles threw all caution to the wind and wound his arms around Derek’s neck. “First you laugh - you actually laughed! In front of people and everything, and now you are making jokes. This is the best day ever!”

Derek chuckled a little, hands moving to grip Stiles’ waist. It felt as if some dam inside him had broken open, and it felt both wonderful and freeing and terrifying all at the same time. He couldn’t help but feel as if it would blow up in his face at any moment, but now that he took the plunge, was helpless to stop the fall. Fuck it. He leaned forward and kissed Stiles again.

Of course, that was when fate - the bitch - decided to step in. A knocking on the window interrupted before they could get very far into the kiss, and Stiles, looking over Derek’s shoulder, froze with a horrified expression on his face. Derek turned slowly, freezing himself when he saw the Sheriff looking in at them, hand resting on his sidearm.

“Oh shit.” Stiles, arms still wrapped around Derek’s neck, tried to back away into his own seat.

“Stiles, let go. Ow, Stiles, let go!”

Derek struggled briefly, disentangling himself from Stiles and turning toward the Sheriff again. Glancing around, hoping for witnesses, Derek noticed they had stopped not too far from where they were parked the night before, when the Sheriff had caught them in a much less compromising situation. Relax, Derek told himself, you were just kissing. There wasn’t even tongue. He can’t get too mad at you for kissing his underage son ohmygodI’mgoingtodie.

Trying to look like he wasn’t panicking, Derek rolled down his window. “Sheriff.”

“Derek.” Sheriff Stilinski leaned down a bit to peer into the car. “Son.”

“Heeeeyyyy, dad. How, how are you tonight? Enjoying this wonderful weather? That’s all we were doing enjoying the, uh, the weather. Tonight. Inside the car. With the windows rolled up-” Derek put his hand over Stiles’ mouth, muffling the babble.

“Thank you, Derek. Stiles, I am going home. Derek, I expect you to be dropping him off within the next 5 minutes.”

“Yes, sir. Goodnight, sir.”

Sheriff Stilinski grunted, glared at him and Stiles, then walked back to his car.

“Holy shit.” Stiles breathed. Derek nodded his agreement, and put the car in gear. They drove the rest of the way in silence, Derek pulling into the driveway right behind the Sheriff.

“Sooooo….” Stiles sounded nervous again. Derek couldn’t blame him, his own nerves were in need of a good run in the woods.

“We can talk about this tomorrow, okay?”

Stiles nodded. “Okay. I have school, but would it be okay if I came by after?”

“Yeah. Assuming your father doesn’t kill me before then.” Derek said, looking at where the Sheriff was standing in the doorway, watching them.

Stiles snorted a little trying to stifle his laugh. “Yeah. I promise I’ll miss you if he does.”

Derek looked at Stiles, hoping he didn’t look as sappy as he felt. “Okay then.”

“Okay.” Stiles stared at Derek for a moment, then, mustering up his courage, leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “See you tomorrow!” Stiles scrambled out of the car and up to the house, where his dad was glowering. Derek gave a wave, then backed out of the driveway as fast as he could without burning rubber. He didn’t think the Sheriff would appreciate marks on his driveway. Or on his son. Derek sometimes hated his brain.