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UC Davis dorms were small; As in, could barely fit 2 occupants small. That, however, did not stop Stiles from trying to cram the entire pack into his room whenever they were all finished with their classes. Thankfully Scott was his roommate, so they didn’t have to worry about pissing off some random student, or accidentally dropping “werewolf” in a conversation. Stiles wasn’t too keen on being sent to the psychiatrist in his first semester of college for claiming werewolves were real (which they are, don’t get him wrong, but most people don’t really understand that).
Their hall-mates had adjusted to the crowd that usually spilled out of the room and into the hall. Isaac, Erica, and Boyd all went to Davis with Scott and Stiles, but Allison, Lydia, and Jackson were enrolled an hour away at UC Berkeley. Despite Allison driving up every weekend to spend time and do homework with Scott, the werewolf still spent an absurd amount of time bemoaning their long-distance relationship. Stiles tried quieting Scott by reminding him of the 2 and a half hour drive to Beacon Hills that he would have to drive to see Derek, but Scott always pulled the excuse that both Derek and Stiles could drive to see one another. It was a pitiful excuse, really. It’s not like the lovesick couple had access to those newfangled cellular telephones and the internet. All griping aside however, they had all made it work for the first few months of the semester.
Once they had gotten into the swing of the year, the pack had started driving into Sacramento on the weekends. They found some great 18 and over clubs where they spent many nights. Stiles especially took to the clubs, finding he was more coordinated on the dance floor than anywhere else (“The flailing looks purposeful when you’re surrounded by strobe lights,” Lydia had laughed).
They never really got to drive home to Beacon Hills unless it was for the holidays, so Stiles had to revert to Skyping Derek every chance he got. Most of his classes were in large, stadium-style classrooms, so Stiles would often Skype with Derek. He plugged in his headphones, threading the wire under his shirt, so he could listen to Derek with one ear, and to the professor with the other. Derek had mocked the idea at first, but as the semester had progressed, it was one of his favorites things. He got to spend a good hour watching Stiles half-focus, and it was entertaining to make random comments in Stiles’ ear and watch him try to stifle his laugh on the other end of the line. Sometimes Derek would consider buying Stiles a higher-quality microphone, and had even found himself browsing Amazon for USB microphones a few times. While he could hear and see that Stiles was fine, Stiles’ built-in microphone wasn’t strong enough to pick up his heartbeat (admittedly, few microphones would), leaving Derek a little stranded. He was used to hearing Stiles’ steady heartbeat and it’s little spasms any time Derek pulled him close. That’s why Derek’s favorite conversations were when Stiles would call him late at night in hushed tones, so as not to wake Scott. They would just talk for hours about their days, how the town was, if Derek was keeping his loft clean (“What is there to clean, Stiles? It’s all cement and used furniture.”), and sometimes as Stiles was drifting towards sleep, he would ask Derek to tell him about his family.
The first time he had asked was over the first weekend of the semester. Stiles had been thinking about it all summer, but never got the guts up to ask him about it, worried that it would cause a rift between them right before he left for a few months. In his defense, he hadn’t had his full mental faculties that night, what with the full class schedule he had and making sure the rest of the pack was settling into school well. With his phone pressed against his ear, one arm pulling the wolf plush that Derek had gotten him right before he left close to him, Stiles had mumbled, “Der, what was your family like?”
It was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over Stiles, startling him awake. He started stuttering, trying to figure out how to salvage the conversation. Derek smiled a small smile at his boyfriend. He hadn’t talked about his family since Laura was killed, and no one asked about them.
“My mom was great. My dad was technically the alpha, but it was always my mom who called the shots.” Stiles let out a soft breath, settling back into his bed with a fond smile, not willing to spoil this moment of truth with his words.
“I only had two sisters, but we had so many cousins and adopted siblings in the house, which is why it was so big. My favorite was little Isa, who reminds me a lot of Isaac. She was a little quiet, but the kindest girl you’ll ever meet. She had almost white hair and the most precious green eyes. My dad took her in when the Redwoods pack, one of our allied packs, was attacked and Isa’s mom was killed.” Derek took a breath and was about to continue, when he heard Stiles’ steady breathing. He waited another minute, listening more carefully.
“Goodnight, Stiles.” The phone had slipped down from Stiles’ face, and it was positioned just so, and Derek could hear his faint heartbeat. It had been the most comforting thing for him since his boyfriend and pack had left for school.
Stiles’ affinity for words leant itself to his love of texting. Initially, Derek wasn’t big on the whole idea of texting, protesting that they would have more meaningful conversations over the phone. Stiles had eventually convinced him by consistently sending him random little texts throughout his day.
Our projectors are called WolfVision. Can your eyes project too?
If I called you Lassie, would you kill me?
What about Wolf Boy?
Wolf Man?
Someone told me to get The Bite. Apparently it’s a burger now.
Do you think my dad would murder or just maim me for getting a tattoo?
Most of Derek’s responses were rather brief until Stiles sent a long string of drunk texts to him, complaining that they don’t get to talk often enough, which is why he was so adamant about them texting.
Derek texted Stiles the next day, Good morning. Take an aspirin and drink some water.
Stiles groaned when his phone howled at him (shut up, Derek had smiled at it), but smiled and did a little fist pump when he saw Derek had texted him first.
He quickly texted back, Will do. I hope Lydia isn’t immune to this too. She deserves payback.
Since then, the couple texted each other on a semi-consistent basis. Apparently, their years of stealth practice in Beacon Hills had transferred to their relationship too. Isaac was always checking in with Stiles, telling him to call Derek and making sure things were ok between the two of them. Anytime Stiles even smiled at a good-looking classmate, Erica would start vibrating with a low growl and Scott made the best kicked-puppy imitation Stiles had ever seen. They all seemed to think Stiles had forgotten Derek as soon as they drove out of Beacon Hills.
Stiles knew the pack was just being protective of their alpha and friend, but he didn’t think they really needed to get involved, so he just ignored them whenever it happened. When Stiles had asked Derek to trust him when he went off to school, Derek had scoffed, sparking a weeklong fight. At the end of the week, though, they were on the same page, determined to make their relationship work. The now deep-rooted trust was apparently a major concern for the pack, however. The weekend before Halloween, they all went out to a club and Stiles spent the three hours at the club dancing with a variety of frat boys. Erica glowered at Stiles when he walked over to their table to get water.
“Hey Stiles, you might want to… back off from all the guys. It’s not like you’re single anymore.” Scott said, glancing nervously at Stiles from where he sat with an arm around Allison.
“If you’re trying to make Derek jealous, there are other ways…” Isaac said, as quietly as could still be heard in the club.
Stiles looked at them with a shocked expression. Even Boyd stepped forward, “Stiles, it’s not worth it.”
He threw his arms in the air, “You guys are ridiculous! I’m just having a good time, and I am absolutely not doing this to make Derek jealous! Now if it’s not going to offend your delicate senses, I am going to go back to dancing!” Stiles scoffed and turned away from the pack.
“Actually it does offend us.” Erica said, thinking the human wouldn’t hear her.
“That’s too damn bad then.” Stiles said, walking off towards the DJ.
Stiles didn’t rejoin his group until about 2am, when he saw them paying for their drinks and getting ready to go. The air was still tense, but Allison chatted with Stiles about which professors he liked that semester. He loved most of his teachers, but he wishes his Ancient Greek professor was a kanima so the Argents could hunt him. Erica never stopped glaring at the boy, but the others held a conversation all the way back to campus. Stiles crashed in Boyd’s bed in his and Isaac’s dorm room, since Allison was staying over in Scott’s room, and Boyd was spending the night in Erica’s room. Before he crashed for the night, he shot Derek a text.
Wish you were here for Halloween. You could be the Big Bad Wolf to my Red Riding Hood. Love you Der.
Derek smiled at the text when he saw it flash on his phone screen. The rest of the pack had sent him cryptic warning texts and hinted that Stiles was at a club with other men. He knew Stiles would tell him all about it soon, so he hadn’t worried. When he got the good night text however, he knew everything was fine.
The week leading up to Halloween was crazy, as it is on most college campuses. There were parties all week, students seemed perpetually drunk all week, but Stiles and the rest of the pack steered clear of most of the festivities. The Sheriff had made all of them promise not to get drunk while they were away, and Derek had solidified that with some serious threats of mutilation if they let other members of the pack get wasted. They had all agreed to wait until the actual day of Halloween to go clubbing. Stiles was just going to wear a red cape with a hood, which wouldn’t get too hot while he was dancing, and the rest of the pack had settled on a variety of different costumes; For example, Allison and Scott were Mario and Princess Peach. Stiles had nearly hurt himself from laughing too hard when they tried them on. It was so wrong, having Allison as the damsel in distress, but Scott just looked too funny in the Mario costume for him to let them dress up as something else.
The drive to the club wasn’t too bad, but Isaac was shifting uncomfortably for most of the drive. Once Stiles was out on the dance floor, Jackson turned to Isaac in the booth.
“All right pipsqueak, spill. Why’re you so squirmy?” Boyd shot him a look. The entire pack was trying to get Jackson to be a little bit less brash with Isaac.
Isaac glanced at Stiles doing the Macarena to Party Rock Anthem, “I called Derek.”
That got the pack’s attention.
“I know Stiles really likes him, but I think he forgets because they haven’t seen each other in months. So, I asked Derek to meet us here.” Isaac shrugged.
No one really argued, though they were all mentally preparing for Derek’s meltdown. Stiles was dancing with a group of guys, and they all knew Derek would barely be able to smell his boyfriend through all their scents. Stiles didn’t seem to care about anything but what song was next as the hours passed, only occasionally stopping by the table for a sip of water.
Around midnight, Derek stepped into the club. He saw his pack tense up when he walked in, most of them shooting nervous glances towards Stiles. He slid into the booth next to Isaac, affectionately cuffing the boy in the back of the head as he took his seat next to him. He focused his nose towards the drinks and quickly found Stiles’ water and sipped on it. Looking up, his gaze was met by a variety of gazes, some worried, others confused.
“Happy Halloween?” Derek said, a slight laugh to his voice. Scott’s mouth may or may not have dropped open, but he was never the most composed of the pack.
“Derek… Stiles is…” Isaac started, but he didn’t really know what he was going to tell him.
Derek glanced over to the dance floor and smiled a bit when he saw Stiles.
“Ok, what the hell.” Erica finally said from across the table. Derek raised an eyebrow at her and she looked like she was about to chuck her drink, glass and all, at the alpha.
“You wolf-out when a squirrel gets too close to your car, and yet you’re perfectly okay with your boyfriend getting all sweaty and excited with a bunch of nameless men when you’re not here. What. The. Hell.” Erica crossed her arms defiantly. The others around the table didn’t utter a word, though all eyes were glued on Derek.
Derek sighed and leaned back. He glanced at Stiles flailing his way through a remix and the same smile grew on the alpha’s face. “I trust him.” The eye rolls and incredulous looks were a pretty clear response for Derek.
“Honestly though. We talked it through before he left, and we talk at least every other day. He tells me what happens every time you guys go out, even when idiot frat boys hit on him. I don’t like that he gets hit on, that’s true. But I know Stiles, and I know he wouldn’t do anything to betray my trust.” He glanced at Stiles again, “Besides, I’m glad he gets to have fun like this. College was miserable for me, and you guys didn’t exactly get to have a normal high school life. If he wants to go out and enjoy dancing… or whatever you call that, then I can only be happy for him. After everything he has been through, he deserves to let loose every once and a while.”
The looks he is met with when he looks back are much different than they were before. He’s pretty sure he heard Scott “aww,” but he couldn’t be sure over the pounding bass of the club.
“Derek!” Stiles tackled Derek’s side and slid into the booth next to him, reaching across him to sip some water. Derek rolled his eyes and threaded his hand through Stiles’ under the table.
“You want to come dance with me?” Stiles asked, as Derek turned into his neck. Derek muttered something but Stiles couldn’t hear it over the music. Derek huffed into his neck, making Stiles roll his eyes.
“No, you go dance, Stiles.” Stiles kissed Derek on the cheek before sliding out of the booth back onto the dance floor.
“Ugh, you two are sickening.” Scott grimaced at seeing Stiles kiss other people.
Derek, and the rest of the table minus Allison, gave him a judging look.
The pack spent the next few hours filling in their alpha on how school and life was going. Occasionally a couple or two from the pack would slip out of the booth to dance for a little while, but they always retreated to the booth within half an hour. Come 2am, Stiles had enough with dancing, and the pack wandered outside. Derek drove Stiles and Isaac back to school in the Camaro, while the rest of the pack drove back in Boyd’s car.
As Derek pulled onto the freeway towards Davis, Stiles looked over at his boyfriend. “Why’d you drive all the way up here for Halloween, Der?”
Derek glanced at him with a small smirk after catching Isaac’s shrinking figure in the rearview mirror.
“I called him.” Isaac said quietly.
Stiles turned around, all frustration and anger fading away from his face when he saw the guilty look on the boy’s face. He sighed and waited for Isaac to make eye contact with him.
“Hey, I appreciate it, ok? I can’t believe I have friends who care about me enough to keep me from doing something stupid to ruin my relationship, but next time, you don’t have to go behind my back.” All tension seemed to dissipate at that.
“There are reasons Isaac is my favorite.” Derek grinned at his beta in the rearview mirror. His phone started barking—“Very funny, Stiles.”—as his other betas angrily texted him. Isaac waved at the rest of the pack in the car behind them, flashing them a shit-eating grin. Stiles was cackling at the texts, making sure to read Lydia’s text aloud for Derek to appreciate: Good choice.
Stiles kept looking at Derek throughout the drive before finally mumbling a shy, “I’m really happy you’re here.”
The car swerved ever so slightly, and Derek turned to Stiles with a look so soft, puppies would cuddle it. He slid his hand across the center console and intertwined his fingers with Stiles’. Isaac cleared his throat in the back seat.
“Mom, Dad, don’t forget that I’m here too.” Stiles laughed and chucked a box of mints at the boy, teasing him with “my baby” jokes while Derek just smiled. Isaac kept laughing and yelling mom jokes at Stiles, reminding Derek that maybe he wasn’t too bad of an alpha if Isaac was this comfortable and out of his shell around the pack. Derek couldn’t stop smiling the rest of the drive back, even when Stiles told him he was getting creeped out.
Once the pack arrived at school, Stiles gave Scott significant eyebrows until he mumbled something about staying in Isaac’s room for the night. Derek bid his pack goodnight, ruffled Isaac’s hair and followed Stiles to his room.
Stiles curled up in Derek’s arms on his crappy dorm bed. He sighed happily, realizing why college had felt so slow the past few months.
“You know, I really missed you. The past two months have been really slow and I just realized why.” Derek tilted his head a bit, looking down at Stiles slouched against his chest.
“Even though we talk everyday and Skype and all that, I miss you so much. I miss this. I miss the Derek hugs, which I still swear are the best things in the world, and I miss being able to just… recharge. God, Derek I haven’t felt this energized since we left Beacon Hills!” Stiles flailed, as if to prove his point.
“Science calls those hormones.” Derek retorted drily. Stiles snorted and looked up at him with a look that must have been stolen from Scott or Isaac. Derek rolled his eyes and kissed him. Stiles settled back into Derek’s warmth, trying to deny sleep for as long as possible.
“Hey, Der can you tell me more about your family?” Derek made a soft noise of consent, sucking in a deep breath.
“You know Laura was my older sister, right? Well she was the next in line for Alpha, and seriously needed to be knocked down a peg sometimes by us ‘mere betas.’”
Stiles laughed, “She seriously called you that?”
Derek made slight bug eyes at his boyfriend, “Yeah, though, to be fair, it was only once on the first full moon after she was told she was to become Alpha. Anyway, my little sister Cora and I took it upon ourselves to remind Laura every once in a while that she was still a beta.” Stiles wore a proud smirk, clearly in approval of the shenanigans.
“We managed to scare three boyfriends off by telling horror stories of baby Laura, courtesy of Uncle Peter, and Ms. Morrell helped us trap her in the bathroom a couple of times. She couldn’t break the mountain ash circle and we had taken her clothes before Ms. Morrell closed it. You know… Ms. Morrell was a lot more fun when she was in high school…” Derek chuckled at the “you think?” look that Stiles was giving him.
“So Peter was just as fun back then?” Stiles asked lightly.
“More. And his wife, oh gosh my aunt made the best snickerdoodles,” Stiles snorted.
Derek raised an eyebrow and Stiles choked out, “That word is way to ridiculous to be coming out of your mouth.” Derek rolled his eyes and continued.
“Her snickerdoodles were legendary, but my dad made the best cakes for our birthdays. He was always one-upping himself, so us kids always looked forward to the cakes the most. We actually dreaded going to other kids’ birthday parties because we didn’t want to eat the cake.” Stiles smiled into Derek’s chest as he settled in.
Derek pulled the blanket over them both. “I went to NYU because it was my parents’ alma mater. That’s where they met and I…” Stiles stretched up and kissed Derek hard and fast.
“I love you.” Stiles said sternly. The pain that had slowly been seeping into his face dropped away and all that was left was the love. Stiles was the antidote to all of the pain and self-loathing that had plagued him, if only Derek could explain to the boy how much he saved him.
“My parents used to say that my sisters and I made fun of each other because we loved each other and when push came to shove we would be the nosiest siblings and care for each other beyond measure.” Stiles breathed out contentedly.
“I guess that just proves how well you were raised then, because your pack is the same way. There is so much love in the pack, if you look carefully enough between all of the insults and eating too much.” Derek laughed into Stiles’ neck.
“They worry too much. I love it.” Derek grinned a bit as he mumbled to words to Stiles as he started to drift off to sleep.
“They’re our kids, so they’re worried about what they would have to do if we divorced. I call Scott, by the way.” Stiles muttered, sleep beginning to slur his words.
“Isaac and Boyd are mine, you can keep Erica, she insults me too much.” Derek smiled as he burrowed deeper under the covers with Stiles.
When he got no response for the college student, he took quiet breaths and listened to the steady beat of Stiles’ heart. As the rhythm slowed down to the careful beat of sleep, he relaxed. He pressed a kiss to Stiles’ forehead and whispered his I love you to the sleeping figure. Finally, peace came and Derek drifted off to sleep, to join Stiles in his dreams.