Work Text:
Stiles looked up at the clock. Five more minutes until class ended. His fingers twitched, the pencil in his hand bobbing along with them. He chuckled inwardly as he reminded himself of Britney Spears in that old music video with her impatiently waiting for class to end, too. Anna, the girl sitting next to him, shot him an annoyed look, but Stiles didn’t care. He couldn’t help it. It was getting too hard to concentrate with so much anticipation pouring out of him.
It was Friday afternoon, and English was his last class of the week. Soon, he’d be packing up and heading home to Beacon Hills for the long weekend. It was about a three hour drive home if traffic wasn‘t too bad, and by the evening, he’d be with his dad, his friends, and Derek.
He still had a massive crush on the werewolf, and he’d hoped that being away for college would tamp down on his hopeless crush. Unfortunately, it just made Stiles miss Derek more and worry about how he was doing without Stiles there to look out for him.
He turned his focus back to the class. The professor was in the middle of passing out the midterm reports that everyone had written. He eagerly reached for his own report as the professor passed it to him. “Good job, Stilinski,” he said.
Stiles grinned at that. He knew that, at least in the past, he strayed off topic far too easily. He fondly wondered if Coach still talked about his ridiculous paper about male circumcision. Man, he loved writing that paper regardless.
Finally, the professor dismissed the class, and Stiles managed to hold in his whoop of glee, but he couldn’t help but pump a fist into the air. He’d left some of his clothes back at his house, so he didn’t need to pack anything, except for a few assignments due on Tuesday. He just had to head out to Beacon Hills.
He pulled out his cell phone and called the Sheriff’s station where his father most likely was. Once he got put through, he greeted, “Hey, daddio! Classes just ended, so I’m heading home now!”
“That’s great, son!” his father said. “I’ve been missing you, being away at college.”
Stiles smiled. “I’ve missed you, too, Dad.”
“I’ve still got to be at the station for about five more hours. How about you pick up something to make for us tonight for dinner? Is it just going to be the two us, or is anyone else going to be there?”
“Nope, just us tonight. I’ll be seeing the pack tomorrow,” Stiles explained. “I think I’ll make some burgers tonight.”
“Meat?” He could hear the hopefulness in his father’s voice.
Stiles glared at the phone despite knowing that his father couldn‘t see him. “Alright, just this once, since it is a celebration. But tomorrow, it’s back to your diet.”
His father laughed. “Are you sure that I’m the father here?”
“Pretty sure,” Stiles said with a big grin on his face. “You know I do it because I love you, right, Dad?”
“I know, and I love you too, kid. Be careful on the way home, okay?”
“Okay, see you in a few hours!” He couldn’t wait.
**********
Three hours later, Stiles passed the “Welcome to Beacon Hills” sign. He headed to his usual grocery store where he and his dad had been shopping for years. But before going inside, he took out his phone again.
“Stiles,” greeted Derek. He sounded as gruff and monotone as ever, and Stiles missed that so much.
“Hey, Sourwolf! You miss me?” he asked.
“Not really,” came the answer, but Stiles knew that Derek would probably never admit it if he did, so he just ignored it.
“So, what I was calling you about,” Stiles went on. “You know I’m home this weekend, and I’m at the store picking up some stuff for dinner tonight for my dad and me, and I was wondering if you needed me to get anything for you or your puppies?” he asked, using the teasing term he called the pack. “I can swing by your loft real quick to drop stuff off before I go home to make dinner.”
There was a pause. “You don’t have to pick anything up for us, Stiles,” Derek said, a note of confusion in his voice.
It sounded as though Derek couldn‘t believe that someone would want to help him out, and Stiles wasn‘t having that. Derek Hale deserved everything good in the world, and Stiles was going to make sure that he got it.
“Well, I like to be able to help out. You know that!” he scolded lightly. “And if you need something, I’m going to get it for you!”
“Stiles...”
His name sounded so fond when Derek said it that Stiles’ heart skipped a beat and he nearly sighed with a big dopey smile on his face. He could almost imagine he and Derek being in love and Derek saying his name like that as they hugged, in between long sessions of making out, after a round of rigorous sex…
“…you hear me?”
Stiles nearly jumped. He was so busy imagining himself with Derek that he completely missed what he said. “Uh, do you mind… repeating that?” he asked, wincing.
The phone was silent and Stiles could practically feel Derek’s eyebrows judging him even though he wasn’t anywhere near him. Finally, he heard, “I said could you pick up some snacks for maybe a movie night this weekend. You know what everybody likes.”
“I can do that,” Stiles said, nodding despite not being seen.
“Oh, and Stiles?”
“Yes?” He bit his lip nervously, wondering what Derek was going to say to him.
“Thank you.” And then Derek hung up.
Stiles stared at his phone for a few moments, before throwing his hands up in the air and laughing giddily, still gripping onto the phone. He didn’t care that the mother and her two children walking into the store just then were looking at him like he had two heads. Derek Hale said thank you, to him!
He marched into the grocery store with a big grin on his face, mentally creating a list of what he would need.
**********
Derek hung up the phone and shook his head with a smile on his face. Stiles always managed to surprise him.
“Was that your boyfriend on the phone, nephew?”
Derek turned and rolled his eyes as Peter sauntered down the staircase, a cocky smirk on his face. “What are you talking about, Uncle Peter?”
“Oh, come now, nephew,” Peter said, walking over to where Derek sat. “You know you love that boy. It‘s so disgustingly obvious.”
“There‘s nothing disgustingly obvious about it because it‘s not true,” Derek pointed out, glaring at his uncle. “Stiles is just a human packmate.” And that’s all there was to it.
“Riiiight,” Peter drawled. “Like you don’t let him boss you around like he was the alpha instead of you. You’ve never let any of the others do that, not even Lydia, though she certainly tries. And you let him shop for you and decorate your loft. I don’t remember you being a fan of Batman, and yet there are several mugs with him on them in the cabinet. And you‘re a lot more irritable when he‘s not here while he‘s away at college. Well, I can‘t blame you there,” he mused. “He’s certainly not boring. And he owes me another chess game. Maybe this weekend…”
Derek didn’t find it at all surprising that Peter had formed a rather close friendship with Stiles, despite the fact that the rest of the pack were still rather wary of him. They both had very dry wit and their speech was full of sarcasm, and they were both very intelligent and enjoyed games which required some thought. One of his uncle’s favorite things to do with Stiles was play chess. Stiles had won the last few games they’d played, and Peter had some new moves up his sleeves that he wanted to try out.
But Derek was not in love with Stiles Stilinski. He was a good and loyal packmate, but he was just so loud and talkative and annoying and he just didn’t like him that way. He wasn’t even looking for anyone, considering how badly his past relationships had gone. Yes, it was certainly better that way, and overly nosey mole-spotted teenagers were certainly not what he would ever be looking for in a potential boyfriend. Or girlfriend.
Whatever, he sighed. Stiles still managed to irritate him even when he wasn’t there.
**********
Stiles whistled as he carried his multiple bags to his Jeep. He had everything he needed for burgers for him and his father, plus several bags of treats for Derek’s loft. He made sure to get everyone’s favorites, like strawberries for Erica, lemonade for Boyd, and caramel corn for Isaac. And he made extra certain to pick up a couple of boxes of Derek‘s favorite healthy cereal that he liked so much.
After he packed everything in the backseat, he checked his watch. He had about one and a half hours before his father got off of work, which was enough time for him to make a quick stop at the loft and drop off the food for the pack and maybe even get in a conversation with Derek, and Peter, too, if he was there.
Nodding to himself, he was about to climb into the driver’s side when he felt the back of the collar of his shirt getting yanked and he stumbled back. “Hey!” he yelled, trying to keep his balance.
“Well, well, well. Here we’ve got the Hales’ little human,” came a male voice.
Stiles whirled around and saw a group of three men standing around him. His eyes widened slightly when he noticed one of them was hiding a gun in his coat. “Well, well, well,” he said casually, wishing that he had his baseball bat with him. He only had some mountain ash, which would do nothing against humans. “You must be hunters.”
“He’s a smart one,” said one of the hunters, and all three of them laughed.
Stiles glanced around. The sun had just set a little while ago, and the parking lot had just a few cars in it, and nobody was around to see what was happening. He had a bad feeling that he might not be able to get away from this situation.
The hunters had closed in so that any escape route was blocked, except for getting in the Jeep itself. He spun around and launched himself back into the driver’s side, but before he could get his key in the ignition, he felt something hit the back of his head and he lost consciousness.
**********
It was an hour and a half since Stiles had called offering to pick up food and then bring it to the loft, and there was still no sign of the kid. Derek glanced at his phone for at least the tenth time.
“Just go ahead and call him,” Peter said from his armchair by the wall of windows where he was reading. “It’s obvious you’re worried about him.”
Derek sighed, but he picked up the phone anyways. Stiles’ number was easy to find because it was the first one on his speed dial. Within seconds, he was listening for Stiles to pick up his phone. Unfortunately, he just got the teen’s obnoxiously cheerful voice mail message.
He tossed his phone on the couch in annoyance. “No answer.” He had a bad feeling. Stiles wouldn’t just ignore a phone call unless he was in class. He stood up and put on his leather jacket.
“Where are you going?” Peter asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“To find Stiles. He always comes when he says he’s going to, so there must be something wrong.” Stiles was extremely dependable that way. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stalked to the front door.
Peter put his book aside and stood up as well. “Wait, I’m coming, too. You might need some help if something did happen to the little human.”
Derek grunted in agreement, and together, the two Hales left the apartment in search of Stiles.
**********
The first thing Stiles noticed was that the back of his head really hurt. Why did he have such a massive headache? He couldn’t remember…
His eyes flew open. The hunters!
He looked around in alarm, trying to ignore the throbbing in his head. He was in a huge room, most likely in a warehouse. He wasn’t tied up, which would make escape a lot easier. But he saw the three hunters off to the side talking, though he couldn’t make out what they were saying.
One of them happened to glance over at Stiles. “Oh, look, he’s awake!” he gloated to his comrades.
Oh, crap, Stiles thought. He scooted back away from the men.
One of the men grabbed Stiles by the front of his collar and lifted him up. Stiles was having trouble breathing being held like that, but he couldn’t help saying, “Hey, what’s with all the grabbing of my collar? You’re going to ruin this shirt, and it’s one of my favorites!” His mouth often got him into trouble, but he couldn’t help it. Like he’d said plenty of times before, sarcasm was his only defense.
“Well,” said another hunter coming up beside Stiles. “How about we do something that won’t ruin your precious shirt?” He grabbed Stiles’ right arm with one hand and his wrist with the other and twisted.
Stiles felt something popped and he tried not to cry out in pain. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.
**********
The first place Derek drove to was the Stilinski house. There was no sign of either the blue Jeep or the Sheriff’s cruiser in the driveway and there were no lights on in the house. Clearly, no one was home.
Ten minutes later, he pulled the Camaro into the parking lot of the grocery store where Stiles usually shopped. As soon as he arrived, he caught Stiles’ scent and saw the Jeep in the parking lot, but he was also catching the scent of blood. Worried, he immediately parked and ran over to the Jeep.
The driver’s side door was open, with the groceries Stiles had clearly bought sitting in the back seat. His phone was laying on the ground, a crack across the screen but still working. Derek growled when he saw some blood, Stiles’ blood from the scent of it, on the seat. Somebody was going to pay for this, badly. “Someone’s kidnapped him,” he gritted out as Peter came up beside him.
He turned and sniffed the air, thankful that it was late and nobody was around to see him behaving clearly like a wolf in public. “This way,” he growled to Peter, pointing to some tire tracks in the spaces next to the Jeep’s heading out the parking lot.
Peter took over driving the Camaro while Derek kept the windows down and concentrated on tracking Stiles’ scent. He growled and pointed whenever he wanted his uncle to change direction.
The areas they were driving through were pretty bare, with no houses nearby and only the occasional vehicle. Eventually, they found themselves on the outskirts of Beacon Hills in a deserted warehouse district.
As they got out of the car, Derek leaving his leather jacket inside, Stiles’ scent was wafting from the warehouse in front of them, and Derek could make out his heartbeat. There were three other heartbeats coming from inside, which must have belonged to the kidnappers. Derek waved his hand in a “come on” motion to Peter, and the two men crept up to a window.
As they got closer, they were able to hear the conversation inside. “Tell us where the alpha is, and maybe we’ll give you a chance to escape,” said a male voice that Derek didn’t recognize, followed by laughter from others in the room.
“Like I‘m gonna tell you that,” came Stiles’ voice. His voice sounded off, like he was in pain, but it was still strong and full of sarcasm. “It’s not like you’re going to invite him here for tea or something. Doesn’t really have the right atmosphere.” Derek didn’t have a good view of Stiles, but he could just imagine the smirk that was likely on the teen’s face. It made him want to smile.
But that desire was gone immediately as he heard Stiles’ gasp as one of the men grabbed him by the neck. “We’re going to find him, and we’re going to kill him, but not before we kill you first in front of him,” the hunter said.
Then a third voice added, “Let him see how we’re going to kill his pack.”
“You couldn’t kill my alpha,” Stiles said seriously. “You were only good enough to catch a human, and only because he was distracted by dinner.”
Derek finally got a good view of Stiles’ face and saw the smirk he wore despite all the bruises and injuries he had. He was the most stupidly brave and wonderful and loyal person he’d ever known.
I do love him. I love Stiles Stilinski. He was shocked at the revelation.
“Congratulations, nephew. You finally realized it!” Peter muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes and clapping Derek on the back.
Derek reddened. He didn’t realized he’d said it out loud.
A loud slap resounded in the warehouse, and Derek saw red as he watched Stiles recoiling from being hit in the face. He howled loudly as his fangs and claws came out and his eyes glowed alpha red. He didn’t care that his clothes were ripping as he completely wolfed out. All he cared about was getting to Stiles.
**********
Stiles’ face was so sore after that last slap. He was pretty sure that it hurt more than his wrist. He just wanted to shove his face in a bucket of ice and just leave it there for a few days. That kind of sounded really nice. But his thoughts were disturbed by a howl echoing in the warehouse.
“It’s one of the beasts! Maybe it‘s the alpha!” one of the hunters yelled. “Get your guns and your bows and be ready!”
Stiles snorted derisively. He easily recognized that howl. Derek had come for him. And Derek would never be brought down easily. He had utter faith in the alpha werewolf. “You guys are so going down,” he smirked at them, ignoring the pain in his lip.
“Shut up, brat!” Pain radiated from his abdomen as he got punched in the stomach hard enough to cause him to fall backwards. He crashed into the wall behind him and fell to the cement floor. His vision was starting to get a little wobbly.
Seconds later, Derek’s beta form came crashing through the window, growling loudly and completely ripping into the hunter who had just punched Stiles. A second wolfed out form, one Stiles recognized as Peter, fought another hunter, dodging wolfsbane bullets as he was shot at.
He fought to stay conscious as he watched Derek and Peter take out the three hunters. He couldn’t feel sorry for the hunters as their lives ended with blood and throats being torn out. Derek didn’t take kindly to anyone who hurt his pack.
“Stiles.”
There was suddenly a hulking wolfed out alpha in front of him, trying to speak through the fangs protruding from his mouth.
“Derek,” Stiles tried to smile. “Knew you’d come.” He struggled to keep his eyes open.
**********
“No no no,” Derek muttered through his fangs. Fainting was bad when someone might have a concussion, and he would never let Stiles die on his watch. He reached out and cupped Stiles’ cheek, studying the bruises and cuts on his face, then gently took his right arm as he examined it.
“Der?” Stiles murmured. “What’re you doing?”
“You can’t die on me, Stiles,” Derek told him, gently petting his head.
“Wasn't planning on it,” he said, his eyes still half open.
“We have to get him to a hospital, Derek,” Peter said. “And let his father and the pack know what happened.”
Derek looked at his uncle and nodded. After that, he only had eyes for the injured boy in front of him.
**********
A few hours later, Stiles was resting in a hospital room with his injuries bandaged, including the wound on the back of his head, and a brace on his injured wrist, which thankfully was just dislocated with no breaks. Scott’s mom, who was on duty tonight, allowed Derek and Peter to be able to come into the room to see him. She must have made them go home and change, though, because their clothes weren’t torn or bloody. And Derek had his leather jacket on, which made him look so cool.
“Well, it doesn’t look like I’m going to get to play chess with you after all this weekend,” Peter lamented. “You’re my best opponent.”
“We’ll play again some other time, I promise,” Stiles smiled. “And I’ll beat you… how many times in a row is it now? Four times, I believe?” The corner of his mouth quirked further up.
Peter wagged his finger back and forth. “Uh uh uh,” he admonished. “I will win next time, young Stiles. Just you wait. But for now, I will leave you with my nephew.” He winked, then waved and left Stiles’ room, closing the door behind him.
Now it was just Derek and Stiles in the hospital room. Stiles looked up at him, not knowing what to say. Derek, and Peter, had saved him once again, which only made him fall in love even more. And the werewolf was looking back at him, a blank look on his face. It was awkward, but Stiles didn’t want him to leave. “Th..thank you. For saving me again, you know,” he said quietly.
“I had to. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Derek replied, taking his uninjured hand in his. “You got under my skin without me even noticing.”
Stiles stared at him openmouthed for a few moments. Is this for real? But then he gave Derek a half-grin. “Wow, I didn’t know my wish was finally going to come true. Wish I didn’t have to get hurt to get it, though.” He winced as his talking caused his lip to start hurting again.
Suddenly the pain was all gone as a hand rested on Stiles’ arm. He could see the black veins traveling up Derek’s arm. “Oh, yeah, that’s really nice. What a good boyfriend,” he slurred, patting Derek on the arm. “Are you going to be my boyfriend now? Because that would be really awesome.”
Derek laughed. It was joyful and carefree, and it was a sound that Stiles wanted to hear lots more of. “Yes, Stiles, I will be your boyfriend.”
“Awesome,” Stiles repeated in a happy daze and closed his eyes in bliss. “Hey, will you kiss me when my lips aren’t messed up anymore?”
“Of course. But for now…”
Stiles felt a kiss on his forehead, and he practically melted into the hospital bed. Who knew that Derek Hale was such a romantic?
Derek suddenly looked up in alert. Stiles turned his head to see if anyone was coming into his room.
“Stiles!” his father cried as he burst into the room, Scott on his heels. He came up beside Stiles on his other side and grasped his shoulder. “Peter called me. What happened?”
“Hunters,” Stiles said. “They thought the human would give up the wolves, but I’d never do that.”
“We’re so glad you’re okay, buddy!” Scott said.
Stiles smiled up at Derek, who smiled back. “Me, too.”
The Sheriff looked back and forth between Stiles and Derek. “Is there something you need to tell me, son?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“There is, Dad,” Stiles said, still smiling.
**********
Stiles remained in the hospital for a couple of days to give him some time to heal, . He wasn’t able to type well as his arm was in a brace, but Derek offered to type for him as Stiles dictated what he wanted to write. It took a lot longer than it normally did, because Stiles did like to ramble on, but the two enjoyed being together while Stiles recovered.
“I don’t know what I’m gonna do about class, though,” Stiles mused as they took a break from homework. “It’s not like you can be there for me while I wait for this thing to be taken off .” He glared at the brace on his arm.
“I… could come to class with you and write for you for a week while you practice typing one-handed until your wrist heals,” Derek offered shyly.
Stiles gaped. “Oh my God, you are like the most awesome boyfriend ever!” he gushed. “What did I ever do without you?”
Derek’s cheeks were turning red, but he looked rather pleased with himself.
He called his professors on Tuesday, explaining that he was in the hospital and would be back to class the following day. Thankfully, they were all understanding,
**********
“What happened to you?” Anna asked, eyebrows up in alarm as Stiles limped into English class.
Stiles waved his uninjured arm. “Had a little accident.”
“Doesn’t look so little to me,” Anna muttered, then pointed to his brace. “How are you gonna be able to write anything?”
“Oh, my boyfriend’s gonna help me!” Stiles said gleefully, then turned as Derek walked into the classroom, carrying Stiles’ backpack.
Most of the class was staring at the injured Stiles and the mysterious man who came in with him. Stiles just winked at them and showed Derek to the empty seat behind his. “Thanks a lot for this, Derek!” he grinned.
Derek smiled back at him. “I’m always here to help.”
“You know,” Stiles said, a sly grin growing on his face as Derek unpacked his notebook and other things he needed for class. “I believe I asked you if I could have a kiss when my lips felt better. Well, they’re feeling a lot better, and they haven’t bled in like a day. So, what do you say, Sourwolf?” He waggled his eyebrows.
The werewolf rolled his eyes, but leaned over and pressed his lips briefly to Stiles’. Derek’s lips were unbelievably soft and gentle, and Stiles grinned into the kiss, not caring if it hurt a little. He could hear wolf whistles from the class around him, but his eyes were only for the werewolf in front of him.
“Yeah, totally worth the wait,” he said with a wink.
Before Derek could respond, the professor walked in then. “Alright, everyone, take your seats,” he said. Stiles sat down at his desk and Derek took the one behind him.
He felt a nudge on his arm. “Not bad, Stilinski,” Anna grinned, glancing back at Derek. “Nice going!”
Yeah, Stiles thought to himself as he looked back at Derek, who smiled softly at him. I’m pretty darn lucky.