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Stiles often wandered the loft at night, checking in on his pack mates one by one. He wanted to be sure that they were sleeping soundly. He would tuck in Isaac, who didn’t quite make it under the covers before he fell asleep. He would pick up the pillows that Peter knocked off the bed as he nestled down into his expensive sheets. He would listen with weary fondness to Derek, who sleeptalked when Stiles wasn’t in bed with him. Once, he had to carefully guide Erica, the sleepwalker, back to bed. He then watched Boyd wrap an arm and a leg around her as if to hold her in the bed this time. He just wanted his pack mates to be comfortable and safe; it made his restless nights a little easier to bear. As always, Shadow followed him around the loft, making sure that his human was going to be okay.
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Derek had been sound asleep in their bedroom when Stiles started screaming. He took off running down the hall, only half-awake.
“Stiles! Stiles! WHY ARE YOU SCREAMING ARE YOU HURT!? IS THERE AN INTRUDER IN THE HOUSE!? Stiles!!”
He finally got to the kitchen and flipped on the light switch. He sighed when he saw Stiles kneeling on the ground, wailing in despair at a fallen bowl of spaghettios in front of them.
“....Baby,” Derek said, sighing.
He knew that Stiles hadn’t been sleeping well again, he had felt him climb into bed late and get up not even a few hours later. He hadn’t thought that it had reached this point but had been wrong apparently. Stiles continued wailing softly, looking down at the bowl.
“Babe, it is three in the fucking morning-“ He was interrupted when Stiles started wailing as he crouched down to get the bowl. “Alright. I will make you some more spaghettios and then we are going to bed.”
Stiles nodded, looking up at Derek with tired eyes. It was going to take more than some pasta to help his mate, but he was willing to try anything at this point.
Once they got back into bed, Shadow curling up against Stiles, he had something else to contend with.
"I swear to the gods above, if you do not stop wriggling."
"But I'm a worm. See? Wriggle, wriggle." Stiles whispered, still half asleep.
Derek sighed, running his hands over his face with a tired groan.
"You're so lucky I love you."
Stiles smiled and laid his head on his chest.
“I love you too.”
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Derek didn’t know what prompted him to wake up so suddenly, but when his gaze drops onto Stiles’ empty spot, which had been overtaken by Shadow, he was suddenly wide awake. Sitting upright, he searched the room for his mate, only to come up empty-handed. The same when he checked in the bathroom. As he went to walk back to the bedroom, his eyes caught sight of Stiles’ figure on the couch.
He silently padded over to him. Stiles seemed unaware of his presence, even as he took a seat beside him. It was only when his hand grazed his own that he snapped out of his daze. Stiles’ lidded gaze slinked over to him as he craned his head slightly.
“What are you doing out here, baby?”
Turning away, Stiles dropped his chin onto his knees.
He mumbled back, “Couldn’t sleep.”
He nodded his head in understanding. Grabbing one of the throw pillows, Derek propped it up against the armrest then dropped back. Stiles’ eyes flickered over to him in question. He responded by wordlessly opening his arms. Stiles hesitated, then uncurled from his ball and crawled over to him. Resting his body on him, his head hit his chest and his arms wrapped snugly around him.
“Thank you, Der.”
His lips brush along his hairline.
“Try and get some sleep, baby.”
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Derek caught Stiles’s arm as he tried to slip out of bed.
“Where are you going?” He asked softly.
“Just to get some water. I can’t sleep.” The circles under his eyes were dark as Derek looked over his face.
Derek sat up.
“Did you take the meds?” Stiles didn’t answer. “Baby, I told you to take them.”
“I don’t like them. They make me feel fuzzy.” Stiles folded his arms across his chest, not looking at Derek. He felt like a child but the only reason he didn’t sleep was that he couldn’t relax with Derek next to them, knowing that he was getting ready to go to a meeting in a few days.
“You are taking them tomorrow,” Derek said, his tone leaving no room for arguments.
Stiles sighed and nodded.
“I just…”
“Baby, I know that you probably won’t sleep the entire time that I am gone, but I need you to sleep when I am here. I love you and I need you to be healthy,” Derek said, reaching over to cup his face.
Stiles rested his face in Derek’s hand, closing his eyes.
“I know, I just...my Adderall already makes me feel weird.”
“I know baby, I know,” Derek whispered, pressing a kiss to Stiles’ forehead.
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"I - I can't sleep, and I don't feel good, and I just...I wanna go home, Der..." Stiles mumbled through sobs as Derek held him close to his chest.
He had decided to join Derek on his trip overseas, somewhere with a significant time difference from home. The jet lag was extra bad paired with insomnia that Stiles already suffered from, and they had been forced to leave Shadow at home this time. On top of it, he had started to feel sick, and Derek only realized this when he woke up to hear him crying.
“I’m sorry, baby. Do you need some medicine? Can I get you something to help you?” Derek asked, seeing the black lines on his arms.
Stiles hadn’t expressed being in pain, but he obviously was. His boyfriend buried his face into Derek’s neck, whimpering.
“Please. I just want to go to sleep,” He whispered.
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After the stressful and anxious day that they had been having, it was no surprise that they both were not really wanting to wake up the next morning. Derek woke up a few minutes before Stiles and just stared at him. He was suddenly struck by how much he loved him. He was asleep on his pillow, his whole body facing him. He knew that he was only wearing his shirt and a pair of boxers under the pile of blankets, but he still had his cold feet wedged between his legs where they had been all night.
When Stiles woke up, he smiled.
“Take a picture, it'll last longer." He said behind a yawn, before kissing him.
When they broke apart, Derek grinned and started to reach for his phone.
"I just might." He said.
He smiled and scooted closer, laying his head on his shoulder. He lifted his phone over their heads and turned to press a kiss on his forehead. Stiles closed his eyes, tilting his face up slightly.
“I still feel awful some days. I don’t think that will ever stop.” He looked down, eyes trained on his roughly bitten nails that threatened to bleed, even as he rested his hand on his chest. “But today,”
Stiles smiled, the light reaching his eyes. It’s faint, barely even there, but it is unmistakably present. Derek smiled as he lifted his eyes to look at him.
“I feel lighter.”
“I’m so happy that you are feeling better, my love. But, we do need to get up before the pack comes looking for us,” He said softly, pressing a kiss to his forehead.
“Hold me just a little while longer.”