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Full moon nights were when Derek missed his family the most. They had always been celebrations with food and running through the preserve. It had never been the same after that, not with just Laura and him, and certainly not now.
He did have a pack now. But they were all bitten wolves or not even wolves at all and they didn’t know the traditions of the Hale family. Derek supposed that that was his fault for not teaching them, but to be honest, they really hadn’t had the time for frivolity when the Nemeton had been acting like a beacon summoning supernatural creatures, and hunters of the supernatural, to Beacon Hills.
It was finally peaceful now, though, and Derek could teach the pack his family’s traditions now, but he still felt hesitant just thinking about it. After all those years, he had a pack family again, a found family with a couple of actual family members, but he was still so nervous that it could all be taken away from him in an instant.
His body couldn’t scar, but his soul was very damaged because of Kate Argent.
So that’s why he was all alone, running through the preserve. The full moon that night was the Pink Moon, not because it was actually pink, but because it was the full moon occurring in April. There was no light from it, though, because it was obscured by clouds. Derek could still feel the pull from the moon regardless if he couldn’t actually see it.
He thought about his family as he ran. The Pink Moon symbolized rebirth. The Hales would always have a bonfire with lots of food and most of the women would wear pink and insist that the males of the family join in. Derek remembered when his mother and Laura had gotten him into a pink button-down shirt while he had scowled the whole time until he had finally been able to take it off. He would have given anything to have them there forcing him into a stupid pink shirt.
He felt a few droplets hit him, and then the rain started coming down in earnest. Of course it was going to rain tonight. Derek sighed and continued running, not caring that his clothes were getting soaked and spattered with mud.
Finally, ten minutes later, he emerged from the cover of the preserve and headed toward his loft. Soon he would be able to take a warm shower and dry off.
As he approached the loft, he was surprised to see lights on through the windows. He listened for a heartbeat and instantly recognized it. It was Stiles.
Suddenly, Derek felt a little bit better and warmth filled his chest. Stiles was a pack member, human, yet just as loyal as any wolf. At one point, he hadn’t been able to trust Stiles, and Stiles hadn’t trusted him, either. But eventually, they had ended up saving each other over and over, and Stiles had grown into the person he trusted the most out of everyone.
If Derek was being honest with himself, he would admit that he actually felt more than friendship towards the plucky human. He had wormed his way into Derek’s heart with his ridiculous flailing and stupid jokes and unfailing loyalty. He could smell attraction from Stiles as well, but he had never said anything to Derek, so Derek didn’t think Stiles wanted anything more than friendship. Honestly, his life was better with Stiles even as a friend and packmate.
He entered the building at last and went upstairs to his loft, no more out of breath from climbing several flights of stairs than he was from running. He unlocked the door and stepped inside.
Sure enough, there was Stiles brewing some coffee. “I saw you out the window,” he said, turning around with a lopsided grin. “I figured you’d want to warm up, even though you run hotter than humans do.”
“Thank you,” Derek said. Stiles was so thoughtful. He took care of his father by making him healthy food, and now he was taking care of Derek.
He went to his room and removed all his wet clothes, then slipped into boxers, sweatpants and a simple tank top. After drying his hair with a towel, he went back out to the kitchen barefoot.
When Stiles handed a cup of coffee to Derek, it felt warm in his hands. He took a careful sip, and the warmth from the coffee flowed through his body. He gave a contented sigh. It was exactly the way he liked his coffee--black with a splash of milk.
“Good, huh?” Stiles asked knowingly.
“Yeah.” Derek took another sip, then looked over at Stiles. “Why are you over here?” he asked. “There’s no pack meeting tonight.”
“Yes, but there’s a full moon,” Stiles pointed out. “You never schedule pack meetings when there are full moons. I wondered why you didn’t because it would make sense for werewolves to meet and howl at the moon or whatever you guys would do. So I figured there had to be some reason for you to want to be alone. And of course, your family. So, I thought I’d come and keep you company and listen if you maybe wanted to talk about them.”
Of course. Smart, clever Stiles figured it out. He always figured things out. Derek shook his head with a laugh. “You really are something,” he said.
They stood there for a few moments, just sipping their coffees. Then Derek said, “It’s the Pink Moon tonight. Mom always insisted on us wearing pink. Laura loved it, and most of our female cousins, too. Cora hated it, though. She complained more than us guys, sometimes.” He chuckled.
Stiles chuckled, too. “Sounds like she didn’t change too much.”
Derek got a fond look on his face. “Yeah, she’s probably in black or something else as far away from pink as we speak.”
“Doesn‘t she have a leather jacket in her closet, too?”
Picturing Cora in a leather jacket made Derek want to see all of his family again. “I miss them,” he admitted out loud. “I miss all of them.”
Stiles’ hand gripped Derek’s shoulder. “I know, big guy.” Then he gasped. “Hey, Derek, check out the sky!”
The rain had clearly ended at some point after Derek entered his building. The full moon, no longer obscured by clouds, finally shone forth in all its glory. But most unbelievable was the pale rainbow shining faintly in the sky. “A moonbow,” Derek said softly in awe.
“Those are supposed to be really rare,” Stiles said, his voice as quiet as Derek. “Most people have never seen one.”
“Mom saw one once,” Derek said. “She said it was supposed to be a good omen.”
Stiles smiled and took Derek’s hand in his own. “I know you’ve been really lonely since your family died,” he said. “But you have the pack now, and you have me. You’ll always have me. This pink moon can be the rebirth of your life.” His heartbeat never wavered once with those words.
Stiles was unbelievable. Derek thought that a person like Stiles was even rarer than a moonbow. And he was one of the lucky ones who had somehow earned his trust and loyalty. “Thank you, Stiles,” he said hoarsely. “That means a lot.”
“Of course, big guy!” Stiles beamed at him.
Their hands were still joined, and Derek found that he didn’t mind that at all. From the happiness wavering off of Stiles, it seemed like maybe he didn’t mind, either. “Can we just stay like this?” he asked.
Stiles squeezed Derek’s hand. “Of course.”
With Stiles’ hand in his, Derek was feeling braver. “And maybe… tomorrow, we could go to your favorite diner… together?” he asked hesitantly.
Stiles’ jaw dropped. “Derek Hale, are you asking me on a date?”
Derek squared his shoulders. “Yes, Stiles, I am asking you on a date.”
“Of course I will, you silly wolf!” Stiles yelled, letting go of Derek’s hand and flinging his arms around him instead. “I thought you’d never ask!” At Derek’s questioning look, he continued. “I learned after pining for Lydia all those years. Not gonna go offering affection if I don’t know if it’s wanted. At least Lydia and I are friends now. And I would have continued just being your friend if that’s all you wanted. But you don’t, so that’s even better, because I like you way more than Lydia!”
Derek laughed and wrapped his own arms around Stiles. “Well, I told you now.”
“You did,” Stiles affirmed. “You would’ve had me no matter what, but now? You’re gonna have your arms full of Stilinski awesomeness!” He nodded down at Derek’s arms around him.
“I’ll just have to live with that,” Derek told him.
“Awesome,” Stiles grinned.
It really was a rebirth of his life, Derek thought as they stood looking out at the full moon and the slightly faded moonbow. With Stiles beside him, he felt like he could do anything.
And he decided that he was finally going to teach the pack all of the Hale family full moon activities.