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The windows of the loft were cracked open just enough to let the cool night air drift through, carrying the scent of pine and rain from the Preserve. Derek sat on the couch with a book open in his lap, though he hadn't turned a page in several minutes. His wolf was content, lazily tracking every movement Stiles made around the apartment.
Which, Stiles had noticed, again. He shut the refrigerator a little harder than necessary and leaned against the kitchen island, arms folded across his chest. "Derek."
A hum.
"We need to talk."
That earned him a glance over the top of the book. Derek studied him for a moment before quietly setting it aside. "What's wrong?"
Stiles hesitated. It wasn't Derek. That was somehow the problem.
"You..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You know I love you."
"I do."
"And I know you love me."
"Yes, I do."
"And your wolf..." He sighed. "Your wolf definitely loves me."
Derek frowned."...Yes...?"
Stiles looked away toward the windows. "But I don't think your wolf sees me as an equal."
Silence settled between them.
Derek blinked. "What?"
"I know that sounds weird."
"It does."
Stiles let out a frustrated laugh.
Derek stood and crossed the room slowly, stopping a few feet away instead of crowding him. "Explain."
Stiles searched for the words. "It feels like..." He exhaled. "I don't know. It feels like your wolf sees me as something it owns."
Derek's eyebrows shot upward. "What?"
"I said it sounded weird."
"My wolf doesn't —"
"It does."
"No."
"It does."
Derek folded his arms. "My wolf chose you."
"I know."
"We're mates."
"I know."
"We're nearly bonded."
"I know all of that."
"Then why would you think you're... owned?"
Stiles groaned, dragging both hands down his face. "Because that's what it feels like."
Derek tilted his head, completely lost. "My wolf protects you."
"I know."
"It watches you."
"I know."
"It worries."
"I know."
"It wants you safe."
"I know."
"It wants you happy."
"I know!" Stiles threw his hands into the air. "And that's exactly the problem!"
Derek stared. "...How is that a problem?"
Stiles opened his mouth, closed it and opened it again. "I don't know how to explain wolf logic."
Derek's lips twitched. "You usually explain everything."
"I know."
"So explain."
Stiles sighed dramatically before pointing at him. "I'm not my twin."
That seemed to derail Derek even further. "...What?"
"I'm not Izzy."
"I noticed."
"I don't like feeling owned."
Derek blinked once, then crooked his head. "But... you are mine, and I'm yours."
Stiles pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know."
"So..."
"No." Stiles waved both hands. "I mean yes. We belong to each other."
Derek nodded immediately. "Yes."
"But I feel like your wolf has claimed me."
Derek nodded again. "Yes."
"No."
"...No?"
"Not like chose me."
"...Then what?"
Stiles searched desperately for words. "Like... your wolf just decides."
Derek frowned harder. "Decides what?"
"Everything."
He gestured helplessly. "That I'm yours. That I need protecting. That if somebody looks at me funny, they're a threat. That if I get hurt, the world needs to burn."
"...Yes."
"Derek!"
"What?!"
"You keep saying yes!"
"Because that's what happened."
Stiles made a sound somewhere between a groan and a whine. Derek genuinely couldn't understand why this bothered him. To a wolf, none of those things were domination.
They were devotion. Protection. Instinct. Love.
Seeing Derek's confusion only made Stiles sigh. "Okay."
He leaned back against the counter. "Look, You know your uncle and Isabelle?"
Derek immediately relaxed. "Yes."
"She likes being owned."
For one long second Derek simply stared at him. Then he laughed. A full, surprised bark of laughter that echoed through the loft.
Stiles looked offended. "What?"
Derek was still laughing.
"What?!"
Derek shook his head, trying unsuccessfully to stop smiling. "You really think my uncle owns your sister?"
"Doesn't he?"
"No."
"The whole D/s thing?"
Derek chuckled again. "In words on paper?" he admitted. "Maybe, but honestly?"
He shook his head. "No."
Stiles frowned.
"If anything..." Derek's smile became softer. "...your sister owns my uncle."
Stiles blinked. "What?"
"My uncle would never admit it, but it's true." Derek leaned against the island opposite him. "Peter acts confident."
"He is confident."
"He acts like he has everything under control."
"He usually does."
"But the second Isabelle smiles at him?" Derek smirked. "He's finished."
Stiles snorted. "Okay, so he's obsessed with her."
"My point exactly."
"What point?"
Derek looked toward the windows for a moment, choosing his words. "My uncle's wolf..." His expression softened. "...was obsessed with your sister before she ever became a wolf."
Stiles listened quietly.
"It didn't claim her because it wanted power. It claimed her because it couldn't imagine existing without her."
Derek met Stiles' eyes. "There's the difference."
Stiles looked thoughtful. Derek continued. "My wolf is obsessed with you."
Stiles blinked. "...Obsessed?"
Derek smiled faintly. "You've met him."
"Fair."
"It wants to know where you are."
"It does."
"It listens for your heartbeat. It can smell when you're anxious before you say anything."
Stiles looked away. "...Yeah."
"It wakes me up if you have a nightmare. It notices if you skip meals, even before I do. It knows when you're pretending to smile."
Stiles swallowed. Derek stepped closer. "My wolf doesn't belong to itself anymore."
Stiles looked up.
"It belongs to you."
Silence filled the room. Stiles simply stared. "What?"
"My wolf chose you."
"I know."
"No." Derek shook his head. "I don't think you do."
His voice had become quieter now. "When a wolf chooses a mate..." He rested a hand over his own chest. "...it gives away pieces of itself. I don't get to decide whether my wolf worries. I don't get to decide whether it panics when you're hurt. I don't get to decide whether it calms down the second you laugh."
A tiny smile tugged at Derek's lips. "You own those reactions."
Stiles looked almost bewildered. "I thought... I thought your wolf just... tolerated me because Derek Hale decided I was his mate."
"Mischief." He cupped Stiles' face. "My wolf picked you before I admitted I loved you."
Stiles frowned. "...Really?"
"It followed your scent, I followed. It waited for you. It watched over you. He trusted you."
Derek smiled. "I was the stubborn one."
That earned a reluctant laugh.
"Yeah," Stiles admitted. "You kind of sucked."
"I did."
"You really did."
"I know."
They both laughed. The tension eased. After a moment Stiles spoke again. "So..."
"So?"
"Your wolf doesn't think I'm... property."
Derek's expression turned impossibly gentle. "No."
"It doesn't think I'm beneath it."
"No."
"It doesn't think humans are lesser."
"No."
"It thinks..." Derek brushed his thumb across Stiles' cheek. "...that you are home."
The words settled into the silence. Stiles felt something in his chest loosen. "I always thought your wolf was watching me because I belonged to it."
Derek smiled. "It's watching because it believes it belongs with you."
Stiles' eyes widened. "That's... different."
"It is."
Stiles leaned forward until his forehead rested against Derek's. "I think I understand."
Derek smiled. "My wolf doesn't stand above you." He gently intertwined their fingers. "It stands beside you."
"And if it had words of its own..." He laughed softly. "It would probably spend all day telling you you're its favorite human."
Stiles grinned. "Favorite?"
Derek nodded. Stiles reached up, wrapping his arms around Derek's neck. "You know..."
"Hm?"
"I think I needed to hear that your wolf belongs with me..." He smiled. "...instead of me belonging to it."
Derek kissed his forehead. "We belong to each other.bNo one above the other. No one beneath. Equal."
Stiles smiled against his shoulder. "Equal."
For the first time in days, Derek's wolf settled completely. Not because it had won. But because its favorite human finally understood what it had been trying to say all along.