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“It’s Britney, bitch!” Stiles shouts as he walks in.
Today, he’d be moving into Derek and Isaac’s loft. What’s even the point of knocking if he’s going to be living here from now on?
Isaac lights up with excitement while Derek smirks at him. The two sit on the couch, watching their brand new television set. Isaac springs up off the couch and approaches Stiles.
“Any stuff left to carry?” Isaac offers.
“Nah,” Stiles says. He looks down at his two giant suitcases. “This is about it.”
“Oh okay,” Isaac says, disappointed.
“Thank you though,” Stiles adds. Isaac lights up again.
“I’ll show to your room,” Isaac says. He takes one of his suitcases.
“Why thank you kind sir,” Stiles says. He already knows where his bedroom is, but let’s Isaac show him anyways. The beta is clearly as excited as him.
“Here’s your room!” Isaac says, gesturing to the door. “You’re right next to mine, see!” He points to the next room over. Stiles is already aware of this, and Isaac knows that Stiles already knows.
“College is going to rock,” Stiles says. He can’t wait for summer to end, so they can start.
He plans on taking courses in law enforcement, criminal justice, and then attending the nearest Police Academy. He wants to be a police officer like his father. Scott will taking pre-med and later attend medical school. He’d be following in his mother’s footsteps. Allison wants to be a photographer and Lydia is working her way up to win a Fields medal. Isaac wants to be a domestic violence counselor, and Danny plans on being an NFL football player. The pack plans on staying in the area to attend college. Nobody can stand the thought of being far apart from the other.
Stiles puts his clothes away in his new dresser. Isaac is helping him unpack when he comes across his old comic books.
“This one’s my favorite,” Isaac tells him.
“Mine too,” Stiles says.
After Isaac picks them up and sets them in the bookshelf, he returns to find what has been buried underneath all the comic books. Isaac picks up the magazine to get a better look.
“Um, Stiles what’s this?” Isaac asks. He flips through the pages of naked men. “Huh…hey these guys aren’t too bad looking.”
“Oh my God!” Stiles says. He snatches the magazine from him and hides it behind his back. Isaac can’t help but laugh a little.
“Stiles, are you gay?” Isaac asks. He has huge grin on his stupid face.
“Bisexual,” Stiles says. “I’ve only come out to my dad. Scott doesn’t even know. Please, please don’t tell anyone.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t say a word.” Isaac promises.
Stiles and Derek are always staring at each other, so Isaac isn’t too surprised by this news. Their unresolved sexual tension has become so unbearable that it’s gotten on his nerves. Whenever they argue, Isaac wants to slam their faces together and shout “Now kiss!” The rest of the pack seems to have caught onto them too.
Suddenly, there’s a knock on the bedroom door before Stiles goes to sleep.
“Come in,” He says.
Derek opens the door and walks in.
“Hey,” Derek says. “I - er - just wanted to check up on you…see how you’re doing?”
“Doing pretty good, thanks,” Stiles says.
“Are you free tomorrow?” Derek asks.
“Scott and I were planning to hang out,” Stiles says.
“Oh, never mind then” Derek says. He turns to leave.
“Well, I mean I could cancel if you want,” Stiles offers. Scott and he had been hanging out for the last three days anyway.
“No, that’s okay,” Derek tells him. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Why did you want to know though?”
“Isaac and I were going to go to the movies tomorrow.” Derek says.
“Hmm…if I go, can I bring Scott too?” Stiles asks.
“Yeah sure, that’d be great,” Derek says. “It’ll be more fun that way…might as well invite the whole pack with us.”
“Okay, cool.”
“Cool,” Derek says. “Night Stiles.”
“Night Derek.” Stiles says as he closes his door.
The pack walks out of How to Train Your Dragon 2.
“That was pretty cute!” Allison says.
“Yeah,” Danny agrees with a bright smile.
“Pixar never fails,” Lydia says.
“It’s kind of true though.” Scott confirms.
“Doesn’t Toothless remind you of Derek sometimes?” Stiles says. “Dark and broody as hell?”
Everyone except Derek laughs.
“Hiccup’s a lot like you, Stiles” Isaac tells him. “Brave and loyal”
“Hey did you guys see The Maze Runner?” Stiles quickly changes the subject. “The book is somewhat similar to the movie, plus the lead actor is a phenomenal actor.”
“Oh! We saw that one!” Allison tells him.
“It was really good!” Scott says. Isaac nods in agreement.
The pack had taken two cars to the movie theater. Derek and Isaac drives Lydia and Danny home while Stiles takes Allison and Scott.
Stiles heads back to the loft after dropping them off. Suddenly, an animal runs out in front of his jeep.
“Oh my God! Cat!” Stiles shouts. He stomps on the brakes in time and takes a moment to breathe. He parks his car and gets out.
A black stray cat sits right in front of his headlights.
“Hey there little one…” Stiles says. He slowly reaches his hand out.
The cat rubs their head against his hand, purring. Their silver eyes glisten against its midnight black coat. The stray looks awfully thin. The poor thing has major gashes and scratches throughout their body.
“Hmm,” Stiles checks his watch. “Not too late to visit Deaton.”
“Hello, Stiles” Dr. Deaton greets him.
“Hey Doc,” Stiles says. He holds the cat in his arms. “This little one ran out in front of my Jeep. I’m not really sure where the cuts came from, but I was wondering if you’d check them out for me?”
“Of course,” Deaton says. “Follow me.”
Stiles sets the cat down on the counter. Dr. Deaton snaps on a pair of latex gloves.
“It’s a boy by the way,” Deaton says. He examines the wounds. “Looks like he got into a fight with another animal,” Stiles tries to calm the cat as Deaton carefully cleans out his injuries with some gauze soaked in antibacterial solution. He seems puzzled by his misty eyes. “I’ve never seen a cat with eyes like this before.”
“Yeah, same,” Stiles tells him. “I’ve been thinking about keeping him. He doesn’t have a collar or tag on him, so I don’t think he belongs to anybody.”
“You’d make a great pet owner, Stiles.” Deaton says. He pulls out a bottle of ointment from the back of the room. “Put this on his cuts every day. It’ll help keep it from getting infected.” He hands it to him. “His injuries aren’t too serious.”
“Thanks, Doc” Stiles says. He strokes the cat’s back.
“No problem,” Deaton says. “Now that will be five hundred dollars.”
His eyes widen in shock. He doesn’t have that kind of money right now.
“I’m just kidding, Stiles!” Deaton laughs. “It's all on me.”
“You really scared me there, Doc” Stiles confesses. He laughs and carries the cat out of the back room. “Thank you so much for everything! I’ll take good care of him.”
“I know you will,” Deaton says. “Goodnight, Mr. Stilinski.”
“What the hell is that?” Derek asks. The wolf isn’t too happy about what the human brought home with him.
“It’s called a cat,” Stiles says. He sets down a plate of scrambled eggs for the stray. “He ran out in front of my car on my way home.” The cat starts devouring the eggs.
Isaac passes by the kitchen. He stops when he sees the tiny critter eating. “Aw,” He says with a smile. “You guys got a cat? Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“We are not keeping that thing!” Derek says.
“That ‘thing’ is a domesticated, carnivorous mammal.” Stiles says.
“I don’t see what the problem is,” Isaac says. He kneels and gently pets the cat. “It's just a cute little kitty cat.”
“I want that thing out of here, Stiles!” Derek growls. “Or I’ll throw it out myself!”
“No, you won’t,” Stiles counters. “You won’t do anything because Isaac and I love the cat too much. You know how it’ll hurt us if you get rid of it.”
Derek glowers at them for a long moment before storming off. He really hates when Stiles is right.
“Want to go get cat supplies with me?” Stiles asks.
“I don’t know,” Isaac says. “It’s pretty late. Isn’t the store closing pretty soon?”
Stiles checks the time on his wristwatch.
“We should be able to make it,” Stiles says. He grabs his car keys off the counter. “You coming or not…?”
“Not much else to do,” Isaac says. He strokes the cat one last time before standing up.
“That’s what I thought,” Stiles says. He looks down at the cat. “If Derek lays a finger on you, you have permission to scratch and bite him, you hear me?” The cat meows at him and continues to devour his scrambled eggs.
They return with cat supplies. Stiles sets up his food and water bowls while Isaac fills the litter box. Derek walks in and groans at the sight.
“What’s your problem?” Stiles asks. “Why do you hate cats so much?”
“I just…do.” Derek says. He growls and the cat hisses back at him.
Stiles begins to baby talk the cat. “Don’t worry, Mr. Snuggles, I won’t let him hurt you,” He says. He picks him up and holds him close. “He’s such a dick, I know.”
Isaac walks into the kitchen and stops beside his alpha.
“His name is Mr. Snuggles?” Derek asks. Both of them give him a weird look.
“Well just because of your priceless reactions,” Stiles tells them. “I’m going to call him that now.”
“We bought a laser pointer!” Isaac says, brightly. He points the laser at the floor and moves it around the room. Mr. Snuggles leaps out of his arms and starts chasing the light around.
“Aw, see Derek!” Stiles says. “Isn’t he cute?”
“Shut up,” Derek growls and leaves.
Stiles wakes to his cat walking across his chest and jumping off the bed.
“Mr. Snuggles, where are you going?” Stiles asks. He props himself up on his elbows and watches the cat leave the room. The animal turns the corner of the bright hallway. Stiles sighs and tries to go back to sleep.
Stiles rouses again to his bedroom door loudly closing. His eyes slowly adjust to the darkness. The lights from the hall gleam under the door’s bottom crack. Suddenly, two shapes block out some of its light. It takes a long moment for Stiles to realize that they’re two feet.
“Who’s there?” He asks the darkness. There’s no reply.
The leftover light casts a human shadow across the bedroom floor. He hears footsteps thudding closer and closer to him. Stiles screams at the top of his lungs and runs to the corner. He presses his back against the wall, as far away as he can get. The figure quickly corners him. Their bodies press together and a warm breath hits his face. It snatches his wrists, causing him scream louder than before. He tries to escape their grasp, but the entity is too strong. Running footsteps loudly echo the hallway. Derek shouts his name.
The figure turns their head, acknowledging the commotion. They know his pack is coming to rescue him. The entity releases him and backs into the darkest corner. The door bursts open and illuminates the bedroom. They flick on the lights, their faces full of concern. Nobody is in the corner anymore.
“Stiles,” Derek says, rushing towards him. The wolf sets on hand on his shoulder and tilts his chin up with the other. The human meets his eyes. “Stiles, what happened?” He’s never seen him so worried about him before. “Are you hurt?”
Stiles shakes his head. Derek takes his face in his hands.
“Derek, his wrists,” Isaac says. Derek redirects his attention to his wrists. They raise his wrists and examine them closely. There are fresh bruises, forming like handprints.
Isaac begins searching the room with claws out. He checks under bed, inside his closet, and in their shared bathroom. Meanwhile, Derek looks back up at Stiles.
“Who touched you?” Derek asks. His eyes flash a possessive red.
“…Someone was in here with me,” Stiles explains. “I don’t know who.”
“Isaac,” Derek says. “Do a careful check of the entire loft. Make sure nobody’s here.”
Isaac nods and obeys his orders.
Derek leads Stiles into his own bedroom. The wolf has the human sit down on his bed while he checks his closet and bathroom. There’s no intruder to be found. Derek wraps a soft blanket around Stiles and crouches in front of him.
“Hey,” Derek says. He takes his chin again and tilts his head to meet his eyes. “You okay?”
Stiles gives him his best reassuring, crooked smile.
“Let me see your wrists again.” Derek demands. In one blink, his eyes turn red and he looks them over again. He gently traces the bruises with his fingertips. “You can sleep in my bed tonight…” He isn’t offering, it's more of a command. “I’ll stay up and keep watch.”
Stiles feels bad, having Derek stay awake all night for him. Since he’s the alpha, he probably needs more sleep than anyone. The man has responsibilities and all. He feels selfish for wanting the alpha to keep watch for him. He hasn’t felt this scared and vulnerable since Gerard kidnapped him. Derek has always made him safe and knows he would stop at nothing to protect him.
Stiles would do the same for him.
“Didn’t find anyone,” Isaac says. He extracts his claws and peeks his head in the room. Derek is now sitting in the chair across from the room. “I’m going back to bed…you sure you’re okay, Stiles?” The human nods at him.
“Want to sleep in here with us?” Derek offers.
“Nah, that’s okay,” Isaac says. “I got my claws and stuff if someone tries to attack me.”
“Okay,” Derek says. “I’ll be up, keeping watch, if something happens…scream.”
“Sure thing,” Isaac says and returns to his room. “Goodnight!” He closes the door.
“Thank you,” Stiles says softly. The human’s head falls back into the pillows. The wolf reaches over to pull the comforter over him.
“No problem, now go to sleep,” Derek tucks him in.
Stiles falls asleep, feeling safer than ever.
The next morning, Stiles rouses to find Derek sound asleep in his chair. The human’s really glad that the alpha got some sleep after all. Isaac and Peter sleep with their backs against the wall. Last night, they came in to stay up with Derek.
Stiles throws the bed sheets off and the noise causes a huge stir in the bedroom. All of them rouse and stand up – ready for battle. They scan the room, expecting the worst, but eventually relax.
“When did you get here?” Derek asks his Uncle Peter. He only remembers Isaac coming in last night.
“About three in the morning” Peter tells him.
“Oh,” Derek says.
“How was your trip?” Isaac asks.
“It went pretty well, thank you.” Peter says.
“Where have you been?” Stiles asks.
“I went on a little vacation…alone. It was fantastic,” Peter says. “Did I miss anything while I was gone…? Other than that hideous cat staying with us?”
“He isn’t hideous!” Stiles yells. “Mr. Snuggles is beautiful just the way he is!”
“You named him Mr. Snuggles?” Peter says. He looks at him, unimpressed.
“Something tried to attack Stiles last night.” Derek changes subject.
“Do we know who it was?” Peter asks.
“I don’t know. It was too dark to see anything.” Stiles explains. “Maybe I just had a bad dream or something.” He realizes the figure resembled Derek’s physique, but doesn’t question it further.
“Even if that was remotely true,” Derek says. “It still doesn’t explain your wrists.” Stiles looks down at his wrists. His bruises are more visible and are a mix of brown, red, green, and purple.
“Damn,” Peter says. He sees the bruises from across the room.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Stiles agrees with Derek.
“I’ve heard of creatures leaving bruises on their victims before they kill them.” Peter says.
“What?” Everyone’s eyes widen in shock.
Stiles and Isaac play with Mr. Snuggles on the floor.
“What up?” Scott asks. He bursts in with several boxes of pizza. Danny, Lydia, and Allison follow behind him.
“Not much, how’s my Scotty doing?” Stiles asks. He stands up and walks over to chat with his best friend.
“Getting prepped for college,” Scott tells him. He takes some plates out of the cabinet and sets them down on the table.
“Already…?” Stiles says. He shouldn’t be surprised by this.
“Yep,”
“And how’s my Danny boy doing?” Stiles slaps him on the back.
“Same as usual,” Danny says. “How are you?”
“Okay, I guess.” Stiles tells him. Last night’s events replay in his head. He walks over to Lydia and opens his mouth.
“I’m doing just fine, thank you,” Lydia says. “And you’re doing fine too.” She had been listening to their conversation.
“Aw, you guys got a new cat?” Allison says. She sits down on the floor with Isaac.
“He ran out in front of Stiles’ car the other night,” Isaac explains.
“My Dad’s allergic to dogs and cats,” Allison says. “So I was never able to have one.”
“He’s allergic to dogs and cats?” Isaac repeats.
“Yeah,”
“Never would’ve thought a werewolf hunter would be allergic to cats, especially dogs,” Isaac laughs. “That’s really ironic.”
“I guess so,” Allison giggles and kisses him on the cheek. Scott sits down in between them.
“Don’t forget about me,” Scott says. Allison and Isaac kiss Scott on either side of his cheeks.
Allison, Scott, and Isaac have been in polyamorous relationship for a while now. It started off complicated because all three of them had feelings for each other and weren’t sure who to choose over the other. They finally settled on loving each other in a three person relationship.
“Are you going to play with the cat all night or are we going to watch a movie?” Lydia asks. She sits down on the couch with her pizza.
“I brought The Avengers.” Danny sets it up in the DVD player. Everyone looks at Danny as if Jesus Christ is standing before them. The pack takes a slice of pizza and heads over to the couch.
Allison sits between Scott and Isaac on floor. Both have an arm around her back and their fingers intertwined together. Peter lounges in the nearby recliner. Lydia sits on the couch with Danny’s head in her lap. His legs are sprawled out across Stiles and Derek’s laps. Mr. Snuggles lies on Danny’s chest and watches the movie too.
“The Avengers is amazing!” Scott declares during the opening credits.
“Hell yeah it is!” Danny says.
Stiles falls asleep halfway through. He had seen it a million times already. His head grows heavy and falls onto Derek’s shoulder. He doesn’t bother moving him, instead he wraps an arm around him and snuggles him closer. Derek falls asleep shortly after.
After the movie ends, Danny and Lydia stand up. Isaac kisses Scott and Allison goodbye, and then hugs the rest of the pack. Peter even does too. Stiles and Derek remain asleep on the couch together.
“The movie’s over,” Peter says, as he shakes Derek awake. “Time for bed.”
The wolf opens his eyes and smiles when he finds the human still asleep on his shoulder. Derek carefully scoops Stiles in his arms and carries him upstairs to his bedroom. He tucks him in and sits down in the chair like the night before. Isaac and Peter join them again, but bring pillows and blankets this time.
Nothing unusual happens for a long while. Stiles eventually returns to sleeping in his bedroom again, but Derek doesn’t want to risk anything. His latest rule is to keep the door open at all times.
All morning, Stiles researches potential monster candidates on his laptop. His searching suggests a Demon, except it’s more likely to possess you than anything. There’s also Succubi or Incubi which are sex demons. They’re believed to cause sleep paralysis and lie on top of sleepers at night. Peter hasn’t been much help since mentioning monsters leaving bruises on their victims.
Derek walks into his bedroom.
“Hey,” Derek says.
“Hey,” Stiles says.
“Scott called,” Derek explains. “He says Lydia found a dead body. They think it might be another rogue on the loose. Do you want to come?”
“No, not this time,” Stiles says. “I’m really beat. I’ll probably take a nap.”
“Oh, okay.” Derek says, surprised. Stiles never misses out on stuff like this. He’s always been the pack’s little detective that figures everything out before everyone else does.
“Keep me updated,” Stiles says. He closes his laptop and dives into his bed.
“Sure thing! Isaac and Peter are staying back too,” Derek tells him. “You sure you don’t want to come?”
“Yeah,” Stiles buries his face into his pillow. “See you later.”
Derek opens loft door. Mr. Snuggles slips past his legs back into their apartment.
“Stupid cat,” Derek mutters, closing the door behind him.
Stiles is napping on his stomach. He’s been feeling awfully drowsy since the attack.
Suddenly, a heavy weight presses down on the bed and flips him over onto his back. He snaps open his eyes to find Derek straddling his hips, their noses nearly touching.
“Um…hi,” Stiles says. He finds his behavior terribly odd. “Why are you top of me?”
Derek doesn’t respond. His face is firm as he stares into his eyes. The human awkwardly pushes the wolf off of him. He gets out of bed and notices his door closed.
“Aren’t you the one who said you wanted it open at all times?” Stiles says. Derek quickly blocks the door before Stiles can put his hand on the knob. Their eyes lock for a long moment. Neither say anything, so Stiles checks his wristwatch.
“You’re back early.” Stiles says. He hates the uncomfortable silence. “Did the pack and you find anything out about the-” Derek cuts him off with a rough kiss.
Of course, Stiles kisses him back. He’s been waiting for him to make the first move for like forever! It isn’t exactly what he pictured. I mean what kind of weirdo lies on top of him while he’s sleeping? Derek is straddling him on the bed again before he even realizes it. They make out for a long while before the wolf’s hand slides under the human’s shirt.
“Woah! Wait!” Stiles says. He stops him from going any further. He probably would’ve gone all the way with him, but his gut is screaming at him not to. There’s something off about the situation…really off. “Um, don’t you think we’re going a little too fast?”
Derek doesn’t say anything again and stares at him blankly.
“Did you lose your voice or something?” Stiles asks. “Why aren’t you talking?”
Derek gets up and deserts his bedroom. Stiles chases after him, but finds nobody there. He’s vanished. Maybe he did his super-fast wolf run downstairs or something? He looks over the balcony. Isaac and Peter are chatting in the kitchen.
“Hey guys,” Stiles says. “Where did Derek go?”
“Didn’t he tell you?” Peter asks, surprised.
“He’s out with the rest of the pack right now,” Isaac explains. “Lydia found a dead body.”
How did they not see Derek come back?
“I just saw him a minute ago,” Stiles says. He reaches the spiral staircase and sudden burst of dizziness hits him. “That…that doesn’t make sense.”
“Are you feeling okay?” Peter asks, concerned.
“You don’t look so good, Stiles…” Isaac tells him.
Everything starts spinning, his surroundings stretch and shrink. He briefly sways back and forth until his body and gravity have made up their mind. He fails to catch himself as he falls forward and takes a long nasty tumble down the staircase.
Stiles doesn’t really recall their conversation. He doesn’t remember Peter carrying him over to couch and Isaac racing to grab ice packs.
“Derek said he’s on his way,” Isaac says. He places an ice pack on the Stiles’ forehead. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of the pack shows up with him.”
Stiles falls in and out of sleep over and over again. He catches glimpses of the pack surrounding him, but fails to remember what anyone said or did.
“Hmm, what happened?” Stiles asks. He carefully sits up on the couch. There’s hardly any pain from his plummet down the stairs. He feels good as new.
“You fell down the stairs, dude” Scott reminds him.
“You took quite a tumble,” Peter says. He soaks a cloth at the sink.
“How are you feeling?” Lydia asks, concerned.
“Pretty good, actually,” Stiles says.
“That’s good,” Allison says, relieved. “You scared us pretty bad.”
“I know I fell down the stairs, but what happened after that…?”
“Peter brought you to the couch, Isaac called Derek, and then we came back with him to make sure you were okay.” Scott explains.
“Where’s Derek?” Stiles asks. He looks around. Allison, Lydia, Scott, Danny, and Isaac are here, but there’s no Sourwolf. Peter seems to have left too.
“Well…he sort of collapsed…” Scott says.
“What? Is he okay?!” Stiles asks, frantically. His heart drops into his stomach.
“He’s fine,” Allison says. “Peter’s checking up on him again now.”
“Remember that one trick I showed you?” Scott brings up. “Werewolves lessening another’s pain?”
“Derek did it on you and well...” Danny cuts off.
“And what?” Stiles says. If he doesn’t get any answers soon, he’ll get off the couch and go check on Derek himself, which he’ll probably do anyway.
“He held on too long,” Scott tells him. “I tried to stop him but…he wouldn’t let go of you. He wouldn’t stop lessening your pain.”
“It drains a lot of energy and it’s why he collapsed,” Isaac says.
It also explains why Stiles doesn’t feel any pain at all.
“I need to see him,” Stiles says. He starts to get up off the couch. Scott puts a hand on his shoulder.
“Woah! Easy…take it easy,” Scott orders. “Slower.”
Stiles doesn’t listen to his best friend. He needs to know if Derek’s alright or not and breaks out into a run.
“Hey, I said slower, Stiles!” Scott groans.
Peter sits beside Derek on the bed. He pats the damp cloth on his nephew’s forehead. Derek lies on his back, pale as a ghost.
“How is he?” Stiles asks. He approaches the bed and nervously shuffles his feet.
“He’ll be fine after a long night's rest,” Peter reassures him.
“Stiles…?” Derek mutters. He opens his eyes a little.
“Hey,” Stiles says. Peter leaves, keeping the door open ajar.
“How are you feeling?” Derek asks.
“Really good,” Stiles says. “You didn’t have to do that for me, you know.”
“Yeah, I did.” Derek says.
“Why did you?” Stiles asks him.
“I can’t bear to see you in pain,” Derek says. He closes his eyes again. "I don't want you to be in pain, Stiles."
Stiles lies down on his side with him. He inches closer and snuggles into his chest. Derek uses all of the energy he has left to wrap an arm around him. Stiles quickly recalls them making out earlier.
“Thank you.” Stiles says. He buries his face into neck.
“You’re welcome,” Derek says, weakly. They fall asleep together.
The next morning, events seem to repeat themselves. Stiles is researching on his laptop when Derek walks in.
“There’s been two more murders,” Derek says. “Do you want to come?”
“Nah, I could use a break from all these supernatural cases,” Stiles says. He hasn’t been feeling good lately. “See you later.”
“Isaac and Peter are here if you need anything.”
Stiles can barely concentrate because he’s been thinking about Derek. Neither had mentioned anything about yesterday to each other. He takes another nap to take his mind off of it.
Stiles sleeps for at least three hours until he’s being straddled him again. Derek is kissing him before Stiles opens his eyes fully. It startles him a bit, but he quickly eases in to it. The human slides his hand around his neck and pulls him closer. They have another heavy make-out session again. Stiles worries things might become too complicated between them, so he doesn’t care if neither of them mention it again. All matters right now is that Derek is here in his arms. Stiles feels dizzy and tired again as the time passes.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Stiles says. He pries Derek off his swollen lips. “I’m…I’m too tired for this.” And then the wolf leaves the bedroom.
Stiles takes many naps over the course of a few days. He starts expecting Derek to stop by and make out with him again. Every time, he gets more tired and weaker. He doesn’t really question it. Derek always leaves without a word whenever Stiles ends their sessions.
After another long make out session, Derek returns to his bedroom and sits down his bed.
“Hey, you’ve been sleeping a lot lately, you feeling okay?” Derek asks. He feels his forehead and cheeks for any sign of a fever. “Your head isn’t warm.”
“I don’t know man, I’m just really tired,” Stiles tells him.
“I can make you some soup?” Derek offers.
“Nah, that’s okay.” Stiles says. He closes his eyes again. “Thank you though.”
“Yeah no problem. If you do want some, just let me know,” Derek says. He gets up off the bed. “Give Scott a call, he really wants to talk to you about the recent killings.”
“Okay” Stiles groans.
“Oh and stop leaving your door closed,” Derek scolds him for millionth time. “Keep it open at all times.”
Stiles is too tired to argue, especially since Derek’s the one who’s been constantly closing it. He ignores him and goes back to sleep.
The next morning, Stiles calls his best friend.
“Hey Scotty,” Stiles says. “Derek said you wanted to talk to me about the murders."
“Yeah,” Scott confirms. “I can’t figure out what the hell the creature is. Maybe you’ll figure out if I tell you everything we’ve found so far. You know, since you’re so into paranormal stuff.”
“Try me.”
“Well, it definitely don’t look like a werewolf could’ve done it,” Scott explains. “My mom and your dad have been examining the dead bodies. Each victim has bruises shaped like handprints on their wrists.”
His eyes widen as he looks down at his own bruised wrists. Stiles isn’t sure whether to tell Scott what happened to him nights ago. Why did it spare him? Maybe because the monster heard the pack coming to rescue him. Or possibly for other reasons…
“You still there, Stiles?” Scott asks, waiting for a reply.
“Yeah, sorry” Stiles says. He doesn’t want the rest of the pack worrying about him. It hasn’t come back to kill him, so it's probably moved on from him, right? “Did they find anything else?”
“Nobody can figure out how they possibly could’ve died,” Scott tells him. “The causes of their deaths are unknown.”
“I have no idea what it could be,” Stiles says, honestly.
The cycle repeats itself except Derek doesn’t leave to investigate any other murders. He comes in his room and begin their make out session. The wolf acts more rough and aggressive than usual. The human goes with the flow. Stiles strips and tosses Derek’s shirt onto the floor. He runs his hands across his bare chest and traces over his defined muscles. They inch down to his belt when the door suddenly slams open.
Oh God. It’s either going to be Isaac or Peter that walks in on them and it’ll be the most awkward thing ever. Stiles and Derek find another Derek standing in the doorway.
“Will you please keep the door open-” Derek begins to scold. He’s too shocked by his doppelganger to continue. “Stiles! That’s not me!” He shouts, concerned for his safety.
Stiles looks at Derek and back at his duplicate. He squirms out from under him and tumbles onto the floor. He crawls across the room and then uses the wall as leverage to stand up. He’s confused as hell. His mind floods with numerous thoughts and questions.
“Who are you?” Derek demands, fully wolfed out. His eyes look over his clone. “What are you?!”
The other Derek doesn’t respond. He steps out of bed and vanishes within thin air. Stiles quickly scurries over to the real Derek’s side.
“I can’t smell him on you,” Derek says. His eyebrows furrow together in confusion. He extracts his fangs and claws. He looks both furious and hurt. “I saw you kissing him…it must be able to cover its scent up or something...”
“Derek…I-” Stiles cuts off. He can’t find the right words to make the situation better.
Stiles feels dizzy and nauseous like never before. The human reaches out for the wall to grab, but the wolf is already there to catch him.
“Stiles…?” Derek says. His vulnerable eyes are filled with concern. His weary knees give out from under him and his arms flop at his sides. “STILES!”
Derek’s on his knees, holding Stiles in his arms. The wolf tries keep his head from falling back. The human’s eyelids are half open and his lips are parted. His surroundings spin again and turn blurry.
“ISAAC!!! PETER!!!” Derek yells.
Everything goes black.
“Stiles,” Derek says. He hovers above him.
“Derek…” Stiles utters. He slowly opens his eyes. “What happened?”
“You fainted,” Derek says.
“How long have I been out?” Stiles asks. The whole pack surrounds him on the couch.
“Four hours,” Danny tells him. “Peter thinks he knows what the monster is.”
“We think it’s the same creature that’s been killing people lately,” Scott says.
“What is it?”
“If it can impersonate Derek, it’s a type of shifter,” Peter tells him. “A Druitt.”
“I’ve never heard of it,” Stiles thinks over his past research.
“It can turn into any person or animal they want,” Peter explains. “They can’t mimic voices correctly, so they avoid speaking because it’ll blow their cover. They use physical contact through touching, kissing, and sex to feed off their victim’s energy till they die.”
Stiles heart drops into his stomach. All that time, it hadn’t been Derek. He thought he was being emotionally constipated, but it just hadn’t been him at all. It would mean that Derek never made a move on him and kissed him before. He considers the night they snuggled after lessening his pain. It had been the real Derek, but maybe it didn’t mean anything. Besides, the pack snuggled with each other all the time. Maybe Derek has never had feelings for him at all. Stiles feels so violated that he wants to curl up in a ball and cry. He’s on the verge of a panic attack.
“Why didn’t it feed off me completely on day one?” Stiles asks. He tries to ignore the knot forming in his throat.
“It can have multiple victims at a time,” Peter says. “It might spare a certain person or two, and come back for its food later like a mountain lion.”
“How do you know all of this again?” Isaac asks.
“I'm a genius,” Peter says.
“FYI – They can teleport too,” Stiles says. He tries hard to focus on the situation instead of his feelings.
“Derek and I already discussed this,” Peter confirms. “They can teleport and become invisible at will.”
“Damn! Are you sure we’re not dealing with Houdini here?” Stiles says, impressed.
“It could be watching and listening to us right now,” Lydia speculates.
“And we wouldn’t know it,” Allison adds.
Stiles looks over at Derek. He looks rather angry. Stiles isn’t sure if Derek’s mad at him or the Druitt.
“How do we kill it?” Derek asks, craving vengeance.
“We use its latest victim to lure it in and kill it,” Peter suggests.
“What?!” Scott and Derek shout.
“No!” Derek roars. “I’m not letting you use him as bait!”
“Do you want to kill this thing or not?” Peter yells.
Derek hesitates. The light drastically dims in his eyes.
“There has to be another way!” Scott pleads.
“I’m afraid there isn’t one,” Peter sighs. “Stiles is the only one who can kill it.”
“…Then I’ll do it.” Stiles says. He stands up and bravely steps forward.
“No!” Derek says. The wolf takes the human’s face in his hands. He looks deeply into his caramel brown eyes. “You don’t have to do this, Stiles.”
“You heard him, Derek,” Stiles says. “There aren’t any other options. I’ll be fine, I promise.”
“When does it usually make an appearance?” Peter asks.
“Early afternoon.”
“Then tomorrow we kill it.” Peter says.
Ten more minutes until the clock strikes one. Stiles prepares himself. He hasn’t felt this scared in a long time. Today could be his last for trying to save the others, as well as himself.
“Do what you usually do when it shows up,” Peter says. He hands him a pointed wooden stake. “Stake him in the heart when he’s not expecting it. You might have to play along for a bit.”
“Damn, is it a vampire too?” Stiles says.
“No,” Peter says and pats him on the shoulder. “But you might as well be Buffy Summers.” Stiles can’t help but smile at that.
The whole pack is nearly crying as they take turns hugging him.
“Don’t die,” Danny says.
“Be careful, Stiles.” Allison says.
“Don’t do anything stupid.” Lydia says.
“Slay that motherfucker!” Isaac says. None of them expected that to come from Isaac’s mouth. The beta practically tackles the human onto the floor.
“Kick his ass, Stiles” Scott says. His best friend squeezes him tightly.
“C-can’t breathe…Scotty.” Stiles gasps for air.
“Oh! Sorry!” Scott releases him. “You’ll do great!” He confidently slaps him on the back.
Derek is the last to approach Stiles. They look at each other for a long moment, as if trying to memorize every inch of the other’s face. Derek finally pulls Stiles into a warm embrace.
“I love you,” Derek whispers in his ear. The human’s heart flutters at those three words. He buries his face into the wolf’s shoulder and quietly sobs.
“I love you too,” Stiles says. His heart pounds against his chest. Neither of them want to let go of the other. Stiles forces himself to do so, and tries to hold back tears in the process. One last time, Stiles looks at each of his pack members and then enters his bedroom.
The human lies down in his bed. He stares at the ceiling before letting sleep take him over.
The pack hides across the hallway.
“It was Mr. Snuggles the whole time!” Isaac gasps quietly. The pack peek their heads out from their hiding place.
The silver eyed black cat walks into the open doorway. The animal gradually morphs into Derek. There’s a horrible crunching noise, followed by its back legs straightening and growing taller. The fur turns into human skin and clothes. The paws shift into hands and feet.
“Holy shit” Danny whispers. Derek’s duplicate walks into Stiles’ bedroom.
The shapeshifter shuts the door behind him. Stiles rouses as the Druitt straddles his hips once more. The so-called Derek closes in on his lips. Stiles kisses him back, nearly forgetting they’re not the real Derek. He briefly stops kissing him before remembering to act his way through it.
The Druitt’s eyes are closed while Stiles’ remain open. He slips his hand under the blanket and clutches the wooden stake. He waits for the perfect moment. He kisses back until the creature slides his hand underneath his shirt. He pulls out the stake and slams into the left side of his chest. The shifter resembles Derek, but hisses at him like a cat. Stiles scurries out of bed and to the other side of the room.
“And I thought you were an easy target,” The other Derek snarls. His voice sounds nothing like the real one. He rips the stake out of his chest and tosses it aside.
Stiles didn’t stab it deep enough. He holds back a scream as he realizes he’s the only one who can do this. He doesn’t want to risk the lives of his pack. The doppelganger approaches him, no longer willing to spare him anymore. It will feed off him completely like its other victims.
Stiles crawls across the floor as fast he can. The doppelganger grabs his ankles and drags him backward before the human can reach the stake. He’s flipped over his back and the monster straddles him again. The shifter leans in to kiss him again. Stiles turns his head away, trying to keep his poisonous lips away from his own, but it doesn’t seem matter. The duplicate pulls back his shirt collar and exposes some of his flesh. His lips work their way down his neck to his chest. He grows weary again and his head spins.
Stiles desperately looks back at the stake. He winces, as he sketches his arm out as far he can go. His pinky grazes the stake and manages roll it back into his hand. Stiles drives it deep into the monster’s chest again.
“Yippee ki-yay, motherfucker!” Stiles quotes the movie, Die Hard.
The Druitt’s eyes turn silver, resembling Mr. Snuggles’ eyes. Stiles realizes that the doppelganger had been Mr. Snuggles the entire time. The monster bursts into flames and turns to dust right before him.
The next morning, Stiles wakes to the real Derek nuzzling his neck. He had crawled into his bed in the middle of the night.
“I can smell him all over you now that he’s dead,” Derek growls. Jealously boils in the pit of his stomach. “He smells like that rotten cat.”
Stiles can’t help but laugh. “I can’t believe it was Mr. Snuggles this whole time.”
“You made out with a cat,” Derek says. He lifts his head up to see his reaction.
“Ewwwwwwww” Stiles squirms, disgusted. Derek returns to working on covering up the Druitt’s scent with his own.
“I’m never letting anyone touch you ever again,” Derek says. He plants kisses everywhere. “You’re mine.”
“I’m all yours” Stiles confirms, as he steals a kiss off of his lips.