Derek Hale wasn't sure what this Pink Moon would bring to campus, but he really hoped it wasn't drunk undergrads running around naked again. He wasn't sure what the hell was up with the Pink Moon, but ever since he had started college, every single one, he ran across naked undergrads running around. The five inches of snow on the ground would help that, Derek hoped. He shook out his fur as he made the loop around Yale's grounds. Derek was glad to stay here for his extended degrees, but fucking hell April was a cursed month.

The snow on the ground wasn't expected, but it was the last little fuck the world from Mother Nature. Derek loved the snow. He loved when Yale was covered in it. Beacon Hills didn't get snow. Sometimes a dusting, but usually by the time the sun was up for an hour, it was gone from the world.

A scent on the wind had Derek stopping in his running around. He had smelled it more than a few times and wondered who it was. It smelled really fucking good, and he wasn't sure who it was. He followed his nose since this was the first time he found that smell when he wasn't on his way to a class. There were days where he would rather follow the scent than to TA in whatever class he was doing it in. There should be no one out at this time of night, only Derek and a few other Werewolves who ran the edges of the grounds to make sure that no other Werewolves slipped through on the night of the full moon. There had only been one during Derek's freshman year, but none since he had been known to be there.

Derek knew that he was not long to be there anymore. He was nearly done with his post-graduate degree and would be going home to Beacon Hills to fully join his pack. The college would have to push up one of the other Betas who went to school to take over the running of the grounds at night.

The scent of the person he was tracking grew bigger as he neared the mythical sciences building. A young man was standing outside of the place. Derek cursed internally. Every few years, there was someone who had magic who stumbled over the buildings but knew nothing about magic and was shocked to see it. Derek would have to babysit the fucker until someone else woke up that could either help him or bind his magic if he wanted it bound so he wouldn't see things like that.

Derek ran to where his backpack was on the far side of the building. There were another two backpacks there for the two normal Betas that were helping him run the grounds. They couldn't do the full shift like him, but they didn't like running in shirts and boots, so they stripped them off. Derek changed as quickly as he could and slipped out to where he could find the kid again. The kid wasn't where he was supposed to be, and Derek was pissed that he had to chase him down. The only good part was that he was easy to follow, given his scent.

The kid was close by when Derek rounded the last main school building hidden by magic. The kid was going deeper into the area, which was not good. Nothing good was back in this area. Derek found him slipping into one of the greenhouses, so he put on a burst of speed to hopefully catch the door before it shut. He just got a claw into it as it was slipping shut. Derek was glad as he didn't have access to these places, and only those that did could open the door. Derek sent off a text to the main guard who was on duty that night. They had an invader. Derek was just glad this wasn't the greenhouse with the wolfsbane inside.

Derek found the guy at the back of the place, standing in a swath of moonlight amplified around the room using mirrors. He looked beautiful, the way the moon made his skin shine and highlighted the moles spread across his skin. He was dressed strangely for the weather. He had nice strong boots on but the fact that he was shirtless a little distracting. Derek tried to look away from him, but he couldn't. He felt like he was being drawn in. Derek noticed that he wasn't nearly as young as Derek thought he was. He looked only a few years younger than Derek was, maybe around Cora's age.

"Beta Hale?" the man asked.

"Yes," Derek answered.

"The guard on duty texted me where I was. He's not gonna be coming. I'm here with permission. The school board asked me to look into why their full moon blooming nightshade isn't doing as well as it used to. So I came on the moon."

"You've been here before. I've smelled you."

"Yeah, I've been a visiting lecturer the whole year. The Pink Moon is the best moon for this kind of thing."

Derek tried to take a step forward, but he was stopped by something. He looked down to see a glowing circle. It wasn't a Mountain Ash barrier but something else. He looked at the man and watched as he dripped blood onto a tendril of the plant growing everywhere at the back of the area.

Magic made the moonlight amplify, and Derek felt the urge to do something he had never thought about before. He wasn't sure what the hell was going on, but he kept his urges in check and tried to watch what was going on.

The flowers that started to bloom withered and died on the vines but then all of the vines began to drop their leaves. The vines began to shudder and then leaves sprouted out again, and new flowers budded and then bloomed. They looked better than the ones that had been on there beforehand. The magic stopped. Derek watched as the man slumped down and the barrier keeping Derek back faded. Derek took a step toward the man.

"The plant was in a death spiral after someone poisoned it," the man said.

"Who?"

"I don't know. I don't know anyone's magical signature enough to know. I have it trapped in the ash of the dead flowers." The man waved his hand toward the ground, where there was indeed a pile of ashes. "Can you get them into a jar? There is one on the shelf just behind you."

Derek turned to grab the jar and the small dustpan and hand broom that he saw there. It took only a few seconds for Derek to do as he wanted. He watched Stiles get a long-sleeved shirt and then a coat on from where he had tossed them to the side before Derek had got there.

"Who are you?"

"Sorry, I guess that I should have led with that. Stiles at your service, no, you are not getting more than that."

Derek nodded his head, but he knew exactly who this was. The moles all over his face that Derek could see now along the name told Derek exactly who it was.

"Afraid of the Fae?" Derek asked. He took a step toward Stiles.

"You've not met and dealt with anyone of the Fae if you are asking that," Stiles said. He was eying Derek as Derek got closer to him, but he didn't stop him from grabbing his arm and pulling him close. "You are moon drunk."

"Not as much that as drunk on you," Derek said.

"Well, at least you didn't say you were drunk on too much time," Stiles said.

"Hmm, I don't think I see you as a Ghola, especially not Duncan."

"Well, read there, Beta Hale."

"Call me Derek, please," Derek said.

"Ah, I think that maybe we shouldn't be this close." Stiles tried to step back, but Derek went with him.

"Come on, Mieczysław, don't be that way."

Derek had only seconds to inhale the scent of Stiles before he was on the floor, and he felt like he had been hit with a taser. He looked up at Stiles.

"How in the hell do you know my name?" Stiles asked.

"I know precisely who you are. Cora used to bitch that you were the reason she came in third in your class behind you and Lydia Martin. I didn't know you were magical, though. Stiles is a one-of-a-kind nickname."

"Oh, you are one of those Hales. I was told the three Betas' names, and only one I was told could do the full shift. I know the old families can do that, but the bloodlines are so spread that I never thought you were one of those Hales. How is Cora?" Stiles asked. He held out a hand to help Derek up.

Derek took his hand and let himself be pulled up to stand again. The room was still filled with moonlight, but Stiles' body wasn't glowing anymore. Derek assumed that it had been part of the magic. "What exactly did you do?"

"Oh, I put it through a growth cycle, that's all. Nothing too bad. It was safe for you here. Do you still feel like you want to chase and rut me?"

"Yes," Derek said.

"Oh, so that wasn't the magic?"

"I've smelled your scent across this campus for months."

"Since I've come here, I would say. So you are pretty well entrenched here. How much longer do you have on your degree?"

"I will be finishing out this semester. I defend my dissertation a week before graduation. I'm pretty much ready for it and then will be headed home."

"Ah, that's good. I will be heading home when I'm done lecturing here."

"How did you get a job doing that?" Derek asked.

"I went to Rivers, and I finished up my degree there this last year, nothing nearly like you. Just a normal few degrees but taught how to hunt."

"Hunters with magic are rare in the United States. When the Argents settled here, they chose not to pull that along with them."

"Yes, I've learned that about the way that life is here. A family is trying to change it, but the Argents, Chris in particular, is resistant to change." Stiles looked up and grinned. "It's almost over; this room will grow dark in a few minutes. Why don't we head into the food hall in this set of buildings."

"They aren't open."

"This one is. There are many people here studying magic that sleep during the day that are awake at night. These three halls are open all the time."

"I didn't know that. I've seen the lights on but assumed it was cleaning staff."

"Yeah, we have a few kids that slip in to get food. No one really makes sure that the kids who are buying food are actually from these halls. I'm sure that after you run the perimeter, you can slip in for a snack if you want. Have some cash, and you'd get whatever you wanted."

Derek nodded his head. He hadn't ever noticed that the place was full like it was.

"Do you want to join me for a quick meal?" Stiles asked.

"Where are you living right now?" Derek asked.

"With one of the professors. It's been really nice. Why?"

"I'm in a place all alone. My roommate graduated last year. Why don't we see how food goes, and then if you think I'm not moon drunk, we can see what we can get up to in my bed."

Stiles raised his eyebrows at that. "You really want to get me into bed. If I didn't know any better, I would say that you were letting the moon do something stupid to you, but I know you are not moon drunk. I'm starved, though, from the magic. Let's go." Stiles stepped away from the center of the room toward Derek. He walked close to Derek, closer than he needed to get to pass by Derek.

Derek followed him out of the greenhouse and had slipped off to grab his backpack. He met up with Stiles just outside of the main hall. Derek hadn't been inside of the halls for the magical people that were part of Yale. He felt the magic brush over him as he entered, and he wasn't sure what it was. He hoped that nothing horrible had happened when he passed through there.

The food hall was bustling with people. Derek saw at least fifty, and most of them had their noses in books. The smell of coffee was filling the room, coffee, and food. Derek's stomach growled.

"Sounds like you are hungry. Come on." Stiles waved and headed toward a small station at the far side of the place. It wasn't until they were closer that Derek realized it was a burrito place. It was nothing like a Chipotle, but it smelled great. Stiles ordered two massive burritos but got one in a bowl without the tortilla, as well as a large chip and queso.

Derek told the person making the food what he wanted in his burrito after he had gone through and made Stiles' without asking Stiles what he wanted in his. Hell, it seemed like Stiles came here a good bit given how well he knew the guy and was talking to him while he made Derek's burrito. There wasn't a place like this in the main food hall that Derek went to. He was going to have to come back here time and again. He wanted to just rub his face in the burrito.

"So where are we sitting?" Stiles asked when they had their food and drinks.

"Wherever."

"Dude, I never eat in here. I take this back to where I am staying. We can go to your place if you want. Make it easier to get me into bed if you say the right things." Stiles winked and then headed toward the door, dropping the tray off after lifting off the food for them. He shoved it all into a bag and then handed that to Derek.

Derek wrapped an arm around Stiles' shoulders when he caught up with him, angling him toward where he lived. It wasn't a long walk, thankfully. Derek loved how close it was to campus. His parents paid a pretty penny for it, but his uncle, Peter, ensured that the pack always had enough money to do what they needed to do. The Hales never wanted for money, even with all of the kids of Derek's generation going for more than a simple four-year degree. Hell, Derek wasn't even the only one going for a doctorate.

"Posh as fuck," Stiles said as he looked around the foyer of the apartment building.

Derek waved his hand toward Stiles, and the guard on duty nodded his head. Stiles would be allowed in and out if Derek was home.

"Well, we Hales do have a lot of money," Derek said.

"And you love to shove it around." Stiles didn't sound bitter about it.

Derek knew that something had happened with Cora and Stiles' Jeep, which had caused the Jeep to be refitted with everything under the hood. He knew that it would have been cheaper to get him a new one, but Derek hadn't been told why that didn't happen.

"So you chose to come here instead of going home to spend time with your father? After being away for school, I would have thought that you would have gone there to spend a year or two," Derek said as he opened up his apartment door.

"Oh, I spent the summer before the new school year started there. And I went back for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's not like I'm that attached to my father," Stiles said. At the end of his words, his voice sounded a little snappy.

"Stiles, I got home every other weekend to see my family. I have a small pack here of students without their home packs, but it's not enough. I am not making fun of you."

"Sorry. A few post-graduate students here laugh at me for calling my father weekly, and they are in the fucking classes that will put them into this world. They are part of it now, but they will be even more part of it. I just...it's hard sometimes. Dad and I are all each other has."

"I'm heading home next weekend. Why don't you fly with me? I'll pay."

"In exchange for what?"

"My mother not bitching about the Sheriff talking about how much he misses his son," Derek said.

"He still does that? I'd say I'm embarrassed, but really, I miss him too. Fine. Yes, book me a ticket. Fucking hell."

Derek texted Peter and knew that he would bitch at getting the text as early as it was there, but Derek didn't care. He could smell the sadness on Stiles. It wasn't fresh but old as hell and constant. Derek wanted to make sure that he stopped smelling like that. Derek had no clue why he was so attached to this man already, but he was, and he didn't really care why. He didn't make him feel wrong like Kate had done.

Kate Argent had made Derek think that they were mates, and it had broken Derek's want to believe in them. Yet, there was something about Stiles that made Derek want to believe in them again.

By the time they were done talking and eating, Derek could see that Stiles was ready for bed, just not sex. Derek grabbed the remnants of the meal and took them to the kitchen to throw away what was needed and then clean up the dishes that had been used since Derek always ate a burrito over a plate. Stiles had used a real fork, as he called it.

Derek entered the living room area to find that Stiles was out like a light. Derek got his shoes off and then worked on getting him onto the couch at a better angle. His phone vibrated, so Derek pulled it out. He found it was a text from someone named Deputy Do-Right, and it was a check-in. Derek could see the number but couldn't call it. He wrote the number down and then dialed it on his own phone.

"Hello?" a voice asked cautiously on the other end.

"Hello, is this one of the Deputies from Beacon County?" Derek asked.

"Yes, Deputy Parrish. Who is this?"

"Derek Hale, Sir. I'm with Stiles. He did something with nightshade, sent it through a growth cycle, and is now passed out on my couch. I saw you texted him about a check-in. I can send you a picture from my phone to show you, and I'd gladly let anyone from the local cops in to check on him."

"No, it's fine. He texted that you were with him, but I hadn't heard anything since. He has eaten?"

"A burrito and more chips and queso than I was able to eat."

"He's going to wake up just as hungry. I hope you have food."

"I do. He's coming home with me next week. I am not sure if he's going to surprise his father or not."

"Oh, that Derek Hale. Yes, well, he's not told his father anything, but then it seems like it was pretty recent. It's nice to know that someone there is looking out for him. So you are one of the Werewolves that runs the grounds on the full moons?" Parrish asked.

"Yes." Derek wasn't sure how he felt about this man knowing so much about everything, but then this was a man who probably aimed to keep Stiles alive. He would forgive him butting into things.

"How were things tonight? I know that Stiles said the snow would hopefully keep the streaks down to nothing."

"He knows about that?"

"It's a Yale thing and has been for the humans for a long time," Parrish said.

"Really? I've not heard that."

"Well, have you asked anyone about it?" Parrish asked.

Derek paused because he had not. He just assumed that it was shitty luck. He pushed those thoughts away as Stiles started to move. He walked over to him and laid a hand on his back. Stiles settled down immediately.

"He sleepwalks, can sometimes have night terrors, and has panic attacks."

"Why are you telling me this?" Derek asked.

"Well, I'm staring at your uncle here, who is glaring at me and demanding the phone."

Derek pulled his phone away from his ear to see that he had two missed calls from his uncle. He had been ignoring the vibrations of his phone since he assumed it was someone either drunk texting him or a shit ton of emails.

"Let me talk to him," Derek said.

"Derek, your mother is a little upset with you."

"Why?" Derek asked. He hadn't done a fucking thing to make anyone mad at him.

"You have met the young man she wants to court to see about getting him to be the emissary," Peter said.

Derek heard the laughter on the other end of the phone as at least two people began to laugh. "Put me on speaker."

"What's so funny?" Peter asked.

"You want Stiles as the Hale Pack Emissary?" a voice asked.

"Sean," Peter growled.

"He would destroy all pack diplomacy," Parrish said.

"Why?" Peter asked.

"He would rather kill someone and ask questions of the corpse if they even postured that they would go after someone who was considered to be his. He'd be a good magic user and a fighter for the pack, but that's about it. He's not leaving his father anywhere, so he's headed this way after he finishes his year lecturing at Yale. He's rare as he's from Rivers, and isn't attached to any hunting family formally," Sean Wilcox said.

"Formally?" Peter asked.

"Did you not do a good job looking at him?" another voice asked.

It took Derek a few seconds to recognize Matthew Roberts' voice. He and Wilcox were Betas for the Hale Pack but had been part of the Sheriff's department for a long time. They would know a lot about Stiles. Yet, it seemed they knew something that Peter hadn't found yet.

"I looked at him and his father a great deal. Why?" Peter asked.

"You didn't look at his mother?" Wilcox asked.

"Why would his mother matter? She's been dead a long time?" Parrish asked.

"His grandfather on his mother's side moved here and was under the protection of your grandfather, Peter, then your mother. However, I have found out that the protection kind of died out after that. The daughter he brought with him was kind of lost in the shuffle."

"Why would anyone be under protection like that?"

"Mieczyslaw Gajos didn't want to be in the business that his wife did, and neither did the eldest daughter, Claudia."

"Gajos?" Derek asked. Even though he couldn't see his uncle, he was pretty sure he knew what look was on his face. Derek looked at Stiles. His aunt was the head of the Gajos hunting clan. "Who is Hellcat?"

"Celeste and Kais' adopted daughter Helena Gajos. Why?" Wilcox asked.

"He talked about her a little while ago. So we can expect them to butt into life in Beacon Hills, can't we?" Derek asked.

"Yes, how did you not report this?"

"Talia told us to keep things that are private just that. I assumed that you both knew, and it was part of why I was pushed to stay when I thought about leaving and moving to the Beacon Hills PD when they were looking for new officers," Wilcox said.

"No, we pushed that because I knew that you were doing it out of duty and not an actual want to leave. Derek, I'll upgrade your ticket as well. First-class the whole way, preferred every fucking thing. Is your Camaro still in the long term at the airport?" Peter asked.

"Yes, I got an email it was serviced, and the gas tank topped up two days ago in preparation for me coming home. I have no clue what Stiles is going to be bringing home with him."

"Usually not much at all. He likes to pack light. I blame Helena for that," a new voice chimed in.

"Sheriff," Peter said.

"Hale, why are we discussing what my son brings home with him?" the Sheriff asked.

"Well, Noah, we were talking because he's currently asleep on Derek Hale's couch and will be flying home with him next weekend. Peter needed to know what to pay for as far as extra baggage."

"Oh, I see. Well, good. I guess I won't need to get out the bullets."

Derek wasn't sure that he was needed for this part, but he really didn't want to just hang up. Stiles moved again, making a noise that sounded like he wasn't going to stay asleep for much longer.

"Derek, good night," Parrish said.

"Good night," Derek said. He hung up and made sure to toss his phone somewhere safe. It was charged enough to last the night, and he had no alarms set for the next morning.

Stiles rolled to his side and began to rub at his eyes. He looked around like he was trying to figure out where he was. "Derek?"

"Yeah, I'm right here."

"You got an extra bed, right?"

"Not really. We got rid of that when my roommate moved out. I've got a desk and shit in there. My siblings sleep on the couch here when one is visiting. My parents stay in a hotel."

"Ugh, so this is my bed?" Stiles asked as he shifted to try and get comfortable.

"I mean, it doesn't have to be." Derek figured that he was already in it.

Stiles looked at him for a few seconds before he nodded his head. "You are keeping some kind of clothes on, and I sleep in pants. So please, show me the way to your abode, and then you can loan me a pair of sleep pants."

"Sure." Derek held out his hand and pulled Stiles up and then into a fireman carry.

Stiles screamed a little, but his body was lax as Derek carried him to the bedroom. He dropped him on the bed with a laugh. Derek looked at him there in his bed. Stiles seemed to realize that something was slightly different, but he didn't say a single word. He just pushed himself up to where he was resting on his elbows and looked at Derek with a smile on his face.

"You might not be leaving the bed for a while," Derek said.

"That's okay with me," Stiles said.

"Like every single night here until we both leave here," Derek said.

"And?" Stiles asked.

"No freaking out about how attached I am?" Derek asked.

"Dude, you wanted to fuck me in the greenhouse. You said you've smelled me around campus. I block my scent for the most part. My teacher taught me how to do that and had a loophole in the spell she created for it. She was raised in a pack, and only her pack could smell her and her mate. I know all about mates and what they mean. That it's like one in a million instead of one of a kind. I'm not gonna say no to someone like you, at least not before learning if I like you or not. So get me clothes. I'm cold," Stiles said.

"I think you are always cold," Derek said.

"I'm used to BH and shit. Even Rivers was warmer than back home. The magic that it gave off made the whole area warmer than normal." Stiles yawned and began to wiggle out of his pants. He stayed in his boxers but got his long-sleeved shirt off.

Derek saw the Gajos sigil over Stiles' heart this time. He had missed it before, and he wasn't sure what he felt about that. The Gajos family was honorable. They were someone that Derek's mother trusted. They were doing well at slowly taking over the United States. They were good people. The Sheriff was the best person, and with family like that, it would be hard for Stiles to hide if he was someone who couldn't be trusted. So Derek just grabbed what he needed to change and tossed sleep pants onto Stiles' face.

By the time that Derek was done in the bathroom, Stiles was under the covers and on his side, curled up like he was cold. Derek slipped under the covers, trying to let a little warm air out as possible. He wasn't sure what he was going to do when Stiles scooted back.

"Cuddle time. Let's go," Stiles said. He yawned so hard that his jaw cracked.

Derek wrapped an arm around Stiles' middle and pulled him back just a little more to where Derek could get comfortable. He felt tired after the day he had and knew that sleeping in was on the schedule. He just hoped he could sleep with Stiles in his bed, and even if he couldn't, he wasn't going to regret it at all. He closed his eyes as Stiles' breathing began to even out again.

The End