#fbi!sterek

Stiles clutches his chest and starts laughing then, arms shooting up as he almost falls backwards in his chair but he catches himself on the desk, staring in amusement at the older man.

Derek rolls his eyes as he hangs up the phone, writing down the last of the information and checking his coat for his keys, “You wanna go out and grab lunch early?”

“Yeah,” Stiles nods and rubs a hand over his face, cheeks hurting from smiling for so long and he logs out of the system, turning his monitor off before grabbing his things.

Derek starts to stand up as well and stops when his phone rings, he glances around to Erica, but she’s talking with Lahey on the other line and the alpha narrows his brows, sitting back down, “One second,” he says in confusion and picks up the phone, “Hale.”

“Agent Hale, this is Marcy from the fifth floor,” the woman says, “I know it’s almost lunch time, but would you mind coming up for a moment? Your presence has been requested on an urgent matter.”

Derek frowns and nods silently, listening to the woman in question’s heart beats and voice on the other side of the line just a couple floors above them, “I’ll be right up,” he says and hangs up the phone, standing and looking at Stiles in confusion, “I’m being summoned upstairs, if you wanna stay, I’m… not sure how long it’ll take.”

Stiles tries not to act too disheartened as he nods, laying his things back down on his desk, “Yeah, no problem. Just come back down and grab me when you’re done? Maybe we can go to lunch then.”

“Of course,” Derek says as he walks around the desks, lifting Stiles’s chin and kissing him firmly, “If it takes too long, just go without me, but I don’t see why it would.” He reaches down to squeeze his mate’s shoulder before moving out of the office area, walking to the elevator and putting his hands in his pockets once he’s hit the button.

He steps inside when the doors open, pushing the button for the fifth floor and frowning to himself as they close. In all of the years he’s worked with the FBI, he’s never had to go up any higher than the third, which makes him a little nervous - if he didn’t know already that Deaton is the one that fires agents, he’d assume that was the reasoning, he’s more then deserved it on multiple occasions.

The doors open and he steps out, seeing the woman, Marcy, sitting at her desk and motioning to him as he moves towards her with raised brows.

Marcy smiles at Derek and leans back in her chair, steepling her fingers as she nods to the huge wooden door to her left, “He’s ready to see you,” she says vaguely.

Derek frowns at the comment and moves to the door, opening it and stepping in only somewhat tentatively as he tries to remain as calm as possible under the circumstances.

“Derek Hale,” the man in the chair says, tone slightly amused, his back to the werewolf, “Glad you could make it up.”

Derek tilts his head slightly at the sound of the voice, scenting the air and, though the man’s scent is familiar, he’s having difficulty placing it, “Sir,” he starts, trying to sound respectful, “Is there something you needed me for?”

“There is,” the man confirms, still keeping his back to the agent, “I like you, Derek,” he says sincerely enough, “But I’m going to tell you what I don’t like. I don’t like when another of my kind is reckless, blatantly exposing themselves to humans.” He turns around then and leans forward, resting his elbows on his desk, “Do you know why I don’t like that, Derek?” he asks coldly.

Derek’s eyes widen as he sees the man finally and a chill runs through him as he remembers Boyd being shot right in front of him. The blind man that took his gun, and Derek knows now that the man in the shadows was his uncle, the third he’s seen in the bureau before, but this one - just like Peter - is clearly a werewolf, whether he’d said it or not, Derek would’ve known at once, “Why..?”

“Because it endangers me,” Deucalion points out, able to tell almost at once that Derek knows who he is now, “Your uncle has endangered me once and I’m not going to let it happen again, do you understand me?” he asks threateningly.

Derek swallows tightly, “I’ve always been careful about exposing werewolves to the public,” he says calmly, “No one saw me shift.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Deucalion tells him, “A woman who goes by the name Lula Phillips saw you - your colleague, Martin I believe, handcuffed her to her vehicle,” he says, waiting for the other alpha’s reaction.

Derek clenches his jaw as he thinks back and, though he hadn’t realized it at the time, this man was probably right, “I didn’t do it on purpose,” he says weakly, “She’s locked up now, anyway, it’s not like she can do much to expose our kind.”

“You’re right about that last part, my friend,” Deucalion says, “But she’s not in jail, I had to take care of her because of your little mishap. It was really very naive of you, doing what you did and, as much as I’d like to just let things go, I’m afraid I won’t be able to do that.”

“What are you gonna do?” Derek asks as he narrows his brows, “Kill me? Get rid of me like you got rid of my partner when he found out about Blue Moon? Order me to quit the FBI, or fire me? You’re not my alpha, if you think I’ll just let you push me around because you’re in the position you are with the humans, you’re mistaken.”

“Perhaps you’ll reconsider that when you take a look at these,” Deucalion pushes a manilla folder across his desk for the other alpha, waiting for him to open it, “I really would hate for certain… details to be released, it would put your little darling in a conundrum.”

Derek snatches up the folder and glares at the other werewolf before opening it and it’s as though his heart stops entirely. He looks at the older man as his chest rises, body shaking with rage as he tries to force himself to talk, “What do you want me to do?”

Deucalion pushes a stapled stack of papers across his desk then and grins, “It’s easy, really. You’ll be transferring, the paperwork has already been done. You leave immediately for New York.”

Derek’s mouth opens as he looks down at the papers and he shakes his head, “I live here, I have a mate.”

“Not anymore, you don’t, not unless you want his life to be ruined,” Deucalion leans back in his chair some, “I want you gone and, if you don’t take what I’m offering you, I assure you… I can make his life a living Hell.”

“Why?” Derek asks as he narrows his eyes, “Transfer him as well, and… Scott McCall and his wife, he’s part of my pack now - you should know that already.”

“I do, and let me be the first to tell you: I don’t like it,” Deucalion’s voice drops an octave, all amusement gone from his expression, “This is my territory, don’t make me defend it, because I will. I’m stronger than you, Derek, it wouldn’t end well. So, like I said, I want you gone and no, I will not be transferring the others because that would be too kind, especially after what you’ve done.”

Derek looks back down at the papers, his chest tightening painfully and the lump forming in his throat as he tries to breathe, “... am I supposed to just leave him here?”

Deucalion’s lips curl up into a smirk and he nods, “No contact, either. If you can promise me that, I can assure you no one will harm him.”

Derek nods and takes the papers numbly, “Okay,” he says and turns, shoulders shaking as he reaches out for the door and opens it, trying to think of what he’s supposed to say to Stiles.

Derek parks his vehicle beside Stiles’s jeep and he’s been silent the entire ride back from work, unable to bring himself to tell his mate what happened on the fifth floor of the bureau, but now he actually has to, and just looking across the seats to Stiles is painful to do. He’s been trying to think of some way to ensure that there will be absolutely no contact between them after he leaves, and as much as it kills him to even consider what he has to say next, he knows it has to be convincing.

He takes off his seat belt and climbs out, walking to the door to unlock it as he keeps his back to Stiles.

Ever since Derek got the call to go up to the fifth floor, he’s been acting funny and Stiles, regardless of how hard he tries, he can barely get more than two words out of the guy. Frowning, he unbuckles himself as well and climbs out, worried about his mate as he follows him to the front door, “Are you gonna talk to me at all?” he asks softly, stepping to the werewolf’s side to try and look at him properly, “Tell me what happened, Derek.”

Derek closes his eyes as he unlocks the last deadbolt and opens the door, walking in and turning around to look at Stiles, “Do you remember when you overheard them saying that I was transferring to New York before? You asked me about it a few times.”

Stiles swallows in trepidation and nods, “Uh, yeah,” he says, nervous now because he doesn’t understand why his mate would bring it up, unless- “Are they transferring you?”

“Yes,” Derek responds and presses his lips together, “I requested it a while ago, the papers were finalized this morning, and I’m moving out tonight.”

“Y-Y-You requested it?” Stiles asks in confusion and numbly reaches out behind himself to close the door, “Why didn’t you tell me, I could’ve put in for transfer, too. Just give me a few days and I will, then we can just-we can go together.”

Derek narrows his brows as he shakes his head, “No, I don’t want you to transfer with me. I’m leaving because of you, because this…” he looks Stiles over and motions to his mate, “You can’t give me what I want.”

Stiles swallows down the lump in his throat and his eyes water, because what his mate is saying, the words leaving the werewolf’s mouth are so unlike Derek and he’s having a difficult time grasping all of this, “B-But we’ve talked about this, we can-there’s adoption, Derek. I-I don’t understand, things have been good,” he says, “Things are good,” he amends weakly.

“No, they’re not. I’ve been miserable with you, trying to think of how to tell you,” the alpha lies and rolls his eyes, “I don’t want you. I want a family, and children, and a wife that can provide that for me,” he looks around the living room, “I don’t want this.”

The words curl into Stiles’s chest and squeeze at his heart like a vice, making it difficult for him to breathe. He’s always been a little self-conscious, convinced that Derek could do better, knowing that he should do better, but the alpha had insisted that it wasn’t what he wanted, that he wanted Stiles - and now, now he feels unbelievably naive for ever believing the werewolf in the first place.

“We’re mated,” Stiles tries to reason, shaking his head as the tears fall and he doesn’t have the dignity at this point to even wipe them away, “Does that not mean anything to you?”

“It doesn’t,” Derek says as he looks away from Stiles, turning to move into the bedroom to take a few personal effects. He comes back just as quick as he left, trying not to let Stiles see what the words are doing to him, to see the state the younger man’s in because of him, “It was a mistake - maybe if I get far enough away from you I can just forget you exist already.”

Stiles doesn’t bother stifling the sob that Derek’s words pull out of him, body trembling and he has to sit down, because if he doesn’t he knows his legs are going to give out, “Everything we had was a lie?” he asks frantically, “You told me you loved me, Derek, you-you-” he covers his face for a moment, “You told me you loved me.”

“I lied,” Derek lies, eyes narrowing as he forces out a bitter chuckle, “I do that a lot. I never loved you - you were just easy, convenient, willing,” he walks past Stiles, “And I’m over it, you should get over it, too, and stop acting like a fucking child already.”

Stiles clenches his jaw at the remark and it feels like someone is repeatedly hitting him in the stomach, “This isn’t you,” he shakes his head, because it’s not, his mate has never acted like this, “It’s not-this isn’t you.”

“The truth hurts, doesn’t it?” Derek asks rhetorically, putting his hands in his pockets, trying to seem as casual and careless as possible, “Well, it was nice knowing you, Stilinski, but I’ve got a plane to New York in about three hours and the ride to the airport is difficult at this time. So, when I don’t come back, maybe you’ll realize that it was… really me that’s leaving you, and you can fucking get over it.”

He turns to the door, opening it and then stopping to take his keys from his pocket, removing the ones for the house and tossing them on the ground at Stiles’s feet, “Oh, and I probably won’t need those anymore.”

“Derek, don’t,” Stiles’s chin quivers and he picks the keys up, moving out the front door in an attempt to stop the werewolf, “I dunno why you’re doing this, trying to make me believe all of this shit, but I know you and-it’s not-this isn’t you. We can work it out, you don’t have to go, I can be better for you, just-please don’t go.”

Derek turns to look at Stiles as he backs to the driver’s side of his vehicle, lifting his arms and shaking his head, “I don’t care, either way. Even if you could be better, I’m done with you. Don’t you get it?” he asks, “It was sex, it wasn’t even good sex, and I never loved you. So, you know, just in case you feel the urge to look me up or fucking stalk me, don’t.”

Stiles’s brows narrow in anger suddenly and he frowns, throwing the keys to the house as hard as he can at Derek as he fights back more tears, “I don’t fucking believe you!” he screams, “But if you wanna go so badly, then go, you fucking asshole!”

“I’m going,” Derek says, forcing out a laugh as he shakes his head and turns to his vehicle, climbing in and starting it up as he grins at Stiles and pulls out of the driveway, peeling off down the road. The moment he knows Stiles can’t see, the smile drops from his face, tears blurring his eyes and he lets out a shaky breath as they start dropping down his face.

“Yeah,” Derek says as he watches his mate, unbuttoning his own shirt as he toes off his socks, “I think he’ll be fine. He’s a good person, he’d never be careless enough to endanger his family.”

“Yeah, I know,” Stiles says and looks at the dried blood under his fingernails before moving to step into the shower, “I just worry about him and I-I wanna make sure we help him as much as we can, at least until he’s used to it, anyway.”

Derek nods in agreement, “I’m concerned as well, but I don’t think there’s anything to worry about,” he pulls off his shirt and starts unbuckling his belt, “I’m more concerned about his kids saying things…”

“Heidi won’t,” Stiles says confidently, staying away from the spray of water until he gets his splint off, leaning out of the shower to toss it on the bathroom counter, “She’s too smart.”

The alpha steps out of his pants, pushing his tight boxer briefs down his thighs, “I know she is, but kids are still unpredictable, smart or otherwise,” he says as he moves to the tub.

“I think that if she understands the consequences, she’ll be more likely not to say anything,” Stiles steps aside, making room for his mate as he moves under the spray, “Scott’ll just-he’ll need to explain everything in detail so that she understands, if she understands then it should be fine.”

Derek joins Stiles, wrapping his arms around the smaller man’s waist, hands sliding over his mate’s skin, “Should be,” he agrees, dropping his head down and pressing soft kisses along his neck.

“Mm,” Stiles sighs in relief the moment he feels Derek’s lips against his skin, all the tension from the evening bleeding out of him and he leans into it, “Feels nice.”

The alpha grins as he turns his head, biting Stiles’s throat, just above his adam’s apple as he slides his hands down the other man’s legs, “We were interrupted.”

“Yeah,” Stiles says softly and smiles to himself, “Yep, that’s a thing that happened.” He turns around then and looks up at Derek, left hand trailing over the slickness of the werewolf’s chest and down along his stomach, “You wanna pick up where we left off?”

“Yes,” Derek responds, voice deep as he runs his palms down Stiles’s back, shifting closer to the smaller man as he leans down, pressing a quick kiss to his partner’s lips, and then a second as he growls low in the back of his throat.

Stiles smiles at the growl and reaches up to wrap his arms around Derek’s neck, deepening the kiss and licking into his mate’s mouth, groaning softly at the familiar taste as his left hand grips at the werewolf’s hair, “How d’you want me?”

Derek feels his mouth dry a little at the question, fingers smoothing over Stiles’s ass as his eyes narrow, he almost reacts with a typical comment, but changes his mind, smirking slowly as he leans down more to whisper in Stiles’s ear, “In me.”

Stiles feels his cock throb at the comment and he shivers in excitement, because this isn’t something they’ve done since the older man’s heat, “Okay,” he says numbly, but he knows that the angles won’t work in the shower, because the alpha’s too tall, “After the shower, then?”

The alpha reaches past Stiles for the shampoo, “Yeah.”

Stiles grins to himself and goes for the body wash after Derek gets the shampoo, trying not to seem like he’s too excited as he lathers up the older man’s sponge, mindlessly scrubbing along his mate’s body.

Derek washes Stiles’s hair quickly, occasionally leaning in and kissing him, rinsing out the soap and running his hands over the younger man’s shoulders as he scents Stiles’s neck. He reaches out for the body wash and, though he knows that Stiles isn’t trying to seem eager, he doesn’t bother to try and hide it for himself.

Stiles hangs the sponge back up and snags the shampoo, chest swelling some when he really thinks about how domestic they’ve become, taking care of one another like this, “Lean down here a little,” he says, because he knows he won’t be able to wash his mate’s hair otherwise.

“Mhm,” the alpha mutters as he leans down, taking the sponge and lathering up the body wash in it before running it down Stiles’s thighs and calves.

Stiles kisses Derek’s cheek as his fingers scrub the shampoo through his mate’s soft hair, body still thrumming with excitement.

Derek runs the sponge up Stiles’s back, over his shoulders and down his chest, leaning in again to kiss his mate before standing upright to rinse the shampoo from his hair.

Stiles waits until the werewolf has his hair rinsed and then steps back under the spray to rinse himself off, hands rubbing over his body to get the body wash off and he raises a brow at the alpha when he’s done, then proceeds to step out of the shower to grab his towel.

Derek follows after quickly, turning off the water and taking his own towel. He dries off, walking behind Stiles and leaning down to kiss the back of his neck, the alpha’s hands reaching down to grab Stiles’s ass.

Stiles dries his face and scrubs the towel against his head, then looks back at the alpha suggestively, unable to keep from smiling before he tosses his towel into the hamper.

Derek puts his own towel in after Stiles’s, grabbing the smaller man’s waist and pulling him close as he guides his mate out of the bathroom, down the hall, and into their bedroom, hands lifting to cup Stiles’s face as he kisses him.

Stiles hums against the werewolf’s lips and his brows raise of their own accord, “Eager?” he breathes, his own anxiousness beginning to show as he tries pushing his mate more towards the bed.

“Yes,” Derek admits willingly, and though Stiles doesn’t have the strength to move him in the slightest, if he wanted, he lets the younger man take control, his hands dropping to run over Stiles’s chest as he smiles slightly and stares at his mate.

Stiles nods and the admittance makes him smile, pushing his mate gently onto the bed as he leans over the side of it, “Like last time?” he asks curiously, eyes raking down over the werewolf’s body beneath him, “Or like this?”

Derek shrugs and repeats Stiles’s words from before, “How do you want me?”

“I think I’d like to actually see your face this time,” Stiles tells him, bracing himself against the mattress with his good hand as he leans down some to kiss Derek, “Is that okay with you?”

Derek kisses Stiles back, shifting slightly on the bed and running his hand down his mate’s side as he nods and spreads his legs, “Yeah, of course it is.”

Stiles can’t deny that it feels a little different than last time, the urgency is gone and things are more calm, they’re both more clear headed and that, in turn, kind of makes him nervous. He tries not to let it show, though, and he nods before leaning for the lube. After sitting it next to them, he shifts down and presses slow, tentative kisses along the werewolf’s hairy chest.

Derek watches Stiles curiously, slowly lifting one of his legs and running his heel down the younger man’s calves, “Calm down,” the alpha says as he reaches up to smooth his fingers along the back of Stiles’s neck, “Why are you worried?”

“I’m not worried,” Stiles says, lifting his mouth some from his mate’s chest to look him in the eyes, “I’m nervous, there’s a distinct difference,” he explains, kissing Derek’s nipple.

“Not where this is concerned,” Derek responds, thumb moving to brush Stiles’s cheek, “Why are you nervous?”

“I dunno,” Stiles leans into the touch for a moment, head turning and kissing the pad of his mate’s finger, “It’s just-this is different,” he smiles slightly, “Before… it was more of a need, things were heated and… spur of the moment.” He blinks slowly, “I want this, I’m just nervous.”

Derek lifts a brow at the explanation, “It’s not always heated. Are you nervous because you’re on top?”

“I’m just nervous, I dunno,” Stiles shrugs halfheartedly, “And I know it’s not always heated, I don’t mind. Like I said, I want it… badly, I really do,” he nods and leans back down, flicking the older man’s nipple with his tongue.

The alpha lets out a soft breath as Stiles licks him and he drops his head back, “You don’t need to be nervous,” he says as his other hand runs down his mate’s side, “You’ve already done this before.”

“I know,” Stiles whispers against the skin, not bothering to further explain why it’s different. Instead, he tries to focus all of his attention on his mate, kissing and nipping all over the werewolf’s chest, tasting the older man’s flesh as he moves further down, eyes flitting up to watch Derek’s expression when he sinks his teeth into the alpha’s hip.

Derek gasps, eyes widening and his hand curls in the back of Stiles’s hair as his mouth drops open in surprise, “Stiles,” he groans weakly.

Stiles hums quietly and releases the skin, tongue lashing out over the mark soothingly before he moves lower, mouth trailing hotly down Derek’s happy trail and he takes a moment to breathe his mate in before gently kissing the tip of his length. He can’t really use his right hand much, so he bends his right arm and holds himself up with his forearm pressed to the mattress, reaching out with his left hand for the lube. He can’t really warm it up before he puts it on the older man, either, so he at least tries to warn him, “It’s gonna be cold.”

“That’s fine,” Derek says as he lifts his legs, eyes still focused on his mate as he waits. He’s tempted to offer a hand, considering Stiles can only really use one of his own, but he’s not sure if it’d be appreciated at this point.

Stiles presses his lips to Derek’s inner thigh just as he applies some of the lube directly to his mate’s entrance, shutting the cap and tossing it aside as he draws the skin into his mouth lightly, thumb brushing over the slick rim as he marks the werewolf again.

The last time they’d done this Derek had been half out of his mind with his heat, just desperate to get things moving, but now that he’s more aware of everything that’s going on, he can’t help comparing it to his previous experiences with being on the bottom. Stiles is unusually gentle, even though he doesn’t have to be, and Derek finds it easier to relax with his mate than he had the men he’d been with before. He keeps running his hand through Stiles’s hair, more to calm himself than to comfort Stiles.

Stiles isn’t necessarily moving slowly for the older man, because he knows Derek can handle just about anything he’d dish out. It’s more for himself and it sounds selfish, but he doesn’t want to just rush into it still being a nervous mess, because it’d just end up going bad and quickly. So he takes his time and leisurely presses his index finger into the werewolf’s entrance, allowing the rim to adjust as he leaves a trail of marks up and down his mate’s thighs.

Derek growls lowly as Stiles marks him up and his body shakes eagerly, cock drizzling pre-come down the side of his waist as he whines in the back of his throat and fights the urge to speed his mate along.

Stiles pulls his mouth off of Derek’s thigh and leans up a little further, pumping his finger in and out lazily before pushing in a second, head dipping down to catch the pre-come with his tongue, cleaning the werewolf’s skin before suckling on the plush cap of the older man’s cock.

Derek all but winces as Stiles cleans him off and his length throbs painfully, knot swelling slightly as the alpha lets out a frustrated huff of breath, but still doesn’t ask Stiles to do more, pulling his bottom lip into his mouth and dropping his head back.

Stiles smiles to himself, because he can practically feel the impatience wafting off of Derek in waves, so before the older man even has a chance to adjust to the second finger, he shoves a third in as he takes more of the werewolf’s cock into his mouth, groaning around the girth.

“Stiles,” Derek mutters numbly, looking down the best he can with his head back on the bed, “Please,” he says then, unable to stop himself as he watches the smaller man, his toes curling as his free hand grabs at the sheets to keep himself sated in some way.

Stiles pulls off of Derek’s length, leaving it slick and shiny, lying heavy against the older man’s stomach as he removes his fingers from his mate’s heat as well. He uses the excess on his fingers and smears it against himself, then moves slowly, mindful of his right hand as he lines up and pushes in all in one breath, staring down at the alpha, “This what you wanted?”

Derek nods and reaches out to touch Stiles’s torso, one hand grabbing his side, the other smoothing up his left pec, “Yes,” he breathes out as his heart races, legs lifting higher and wrapping around his mate’s back, “Yes, that’s what I wanted.”

“And I thought I was impatient,” Stiles says fondly, wincing at how snug the werewolf is around him as he dips down to kiss Derek affectionately.

The alpha kisses back at once, his body arching off the bed slightly as he licks at Stiles’s mouth, “Please,” he mutters against his mate’s mouth, “Move.”

“Okay,” Stiles says and pulls his hips back, drawing his length out some before pushing back in, groaning as his mouth pops open and he stares down at the alpha. He reaches up mindlessly and plays with his mate’s hair, trying to distract himself from how tight the werewolf is.

Derek growls lowly, his body shaking as Stiles pulls out and, though he can’t feel any pain in the slightest, there’s still this dull, pressured ache that causes him to groan and reach down to brush his fingers over his knot.

Stiles glances down, eyes following Derek’s hand and he raises a brow at the older man, “I’d do it for you if I didn’t need my left hand,” he rocks into his mate slowly and snorts out a soft chuckle, “This is a lot more difficult than it looks.”

“It’s fine,” the alpha says softly, “I know you’re injured,” he huffs as he smiles to himself, his feet sliding over Stiles’s backside as he urges his mate on a little.

“D’you not want it slow?” Stiles asks curiously, leaning down to brush his nose along Derek’s, “Tell me what you want.”

Derek narrows his brows and shrugs, “It’s fine slow,” he says, “I’m just… Anxious, but you can take your time with me, no rush,” he reaches out and runs his thumb along Stiles’s chin and jaw as he kisses his mate, “I don’t mind, either way, I just want this.”

Stiles kisses back and nods just once, letting out a soft whimper against the older man’s mouth as he increases his pace some, relying on the support of his right arm as he reaches down to grip Derek’s thigh with his left hand in order to hike it a little higher, “You’re really fucking tight.”

“Probably because I don’t do this often,” Derek mutters dismissively, wetting his lips as he breathes and wills his body to relax again. He’s not used to this at all, during his heat it’s something else entirely, and the only other past experience was from years ago.

“Maybe we should do it more,” Stiles says suggestively and his brows narrow, body beginning to flush all over from exertion as he fucks down into the werewolf.

“I wouldn’t mind doing it more,” Derek admits at once, running his fingers through Stiles’s hair as he lets out a shaky breath, “I know it’s difficult, with your hand, if you want-I could ride you.”

“If I-If I want?” Stiles’s eyes widen and he stares down at the older man like he’s straight up lost his goddamn mind, “Are you kidding me? Of course I want,” he says, smiling suddenly.

Derek chuckles and sits up, flipping them quickly as he minds Stiles’s hand, laying his mate down under him as he shifts his knees on the mattress and arches his back. He reaches behind himself and places his palms down on the bed as he lifts off Stiles’s cock almost completely, then lowers down slowly.

“Oh Jesus fucking Christ,” Stiles groans out because the imagery is ridiculous, watching his mate above him and it causes his cock to throb inside of the werewolf’s heat. It’s easier like this and he doesn’t have to put quite as much strain on his right hand, he can just… lie back and enjoy it, left hand moving to Derek’s waist, gripping it firmly.

The alpha grabs handfuls of the sheets as he moves, chest heaving and eyes closing as he fucks himself down on Stiles’s cock, his own throbbing painfully as it bounces lazily between them. He gasps as he moves, brows narrowing as he feels his own orgasm building unusually fast.

Stiles whimpers and tries to shift his legs some on the bed, hand moving from Derek’s waist and he smooths his palm up along his mate’s abdomen, teasing the older man’s right nipple before drawing it back down to brush the backs of his knuckles down along the underside of the werewolf’s shaft.

Derek opens his eyes and looks at Stiles, gaze dropping to the other man’s hand as he reaches back up, leaning forward and resting his arms on either sides of his mate’s head as the alpha stares down into his eyes and continues to move atop Stiles, “I love you.”

“I love you, too, big guy,” Stiles says, eyes glazing over some and he leans up the best he can to kiss Derek, hand still idly teasing his mate’s length as he tries not to think about his own impending orgasm, “So much.”

Derek lets out a shaky breath as he scents Stiles, leaning in to nip and bite at the younger man’s neck before mouthing up Stiles’s cheek and temple, resting his chin near his mate’s hairline as he tries to keep his release back, “You’re close,” he breathes out, body shaking with the words, “So am I.”

“Fuck,” Stiles moans out and lifts his head to kiss down Derek’s neck, left hand now loosely fisting his mate’s length as his kisses turns into nips. When his mouth reaches the spot between the werewolf’s arm and his pec - the same place the alpha had marked him - he sinks his teeth in roughly, harder than he ever has and he comes simultaneously.

Derek gasps in pain and his eyes widen, looking down at his mate as his eyes flash and his body tenses, one hand moving to grab the nape of Stiles’s neck as he growls. It takes him a couple seconds more than Stiles to come, but he does, regardless, knot swelling and his bottom lip trembling as he stills atop his mate.

Stiles whines against the skin when he feels Derek clenching around him and he lets go, the taste of copper on his tongue as he licks the indentations his teeth left and seeing the mark makes his chest swell proudly, even though he already knows Derek is his.

“Weren’t satisfied with normal bites?” the alpha teases, even though too many parts of him are far too pleased that his mate felt the need to draw blood.

“Mm,” Stiles shakes his head, “Sorry, I dunno, I just-I really wanted to. And we need to like, do this again really soon, because wow.”

“Once your hand gets better,” Derek says as he licks the blood from Stiles’s lips, “That way you can do it all properly.”

“I mean you riding me,” Stiles points out, nudging the alpha’s nose with his own as his breath finally calms some, “That’s what we need to do again soon.”

Derek grins and stares into his mate’s eyes, combing his fingers through Stiles’s hair, “We need to do all of it again soon, not just the riding.”

“Yeah,” Stiles nods and lets his eyes flutter closed, the older man’s touch causing him to shudder and smile, “Yeah, I’m on board.”

Derek growls again in warning at the term ‘pups’, his hands gripping the steering wheel as the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, “Shut up, Stiles.”

“You know you want to,” Stiles grins, groping the older man’s flaccid length, “Think about it, Derek; think about breeding me, pumping me full of your pups, my stomach getting all big and round. Come on.”

The alpha groans weakly, dropping his hand to cover Stiles’s as he arches his hips up. He can only be expected to resist his mate so much, “Stiles,” he says again, voice softer, and he looks at his partner, sighing in defeat, “Fine.”

Stiles pulls his hand back at once, grinning widely as he all but jumps through the two front seats, climbing into the back and peeling his clothes off eagerly, “Hurry up,” he whines.

Derek follows after, grabbing Stiles around the waist as he sits in the back seat, pulling the younger man into his lap and squeezing his ass, “But this better be quick,” he says firmly, arching his hips up.

“Depends on you, big guy,” Stiles groans halfheartedly and leans in to mouth along his mate’s neck, biting down hard and marking him for the first time in a while as his hands scramble to get the alpha’s shirt off.

“Why does it depend on me?” Derek asks as he runs his hand over Stiles’s stomach, dropping his head back as Stiles bites him. He reaches back down to unbutton the younger man’s pants when the phone in his back pocket starts ringing.

“Don’t-” Stiles warns, all but prying his lips from the werewolf’s neck to look him in the eyes, “Don’t answer it, just-keep touching me.”

“I have to answer it,” Derek says, “We’re on a stakeout, if I don’t answer it then they’ll know we aren’t doing… what we’re supposed to be doing,” he growls in annoyance and pulls his hand from Stiles’s pants, reaching down to his pocket and taking out his phone. He dabs the screen and catches his breath before answering as calmly as possible, “Hale.”

“Hey!” Scott says hurriedly, “Listen, uh, Stiles told me where you guys were staking out at, and we need help. We’re like, literally three blocks or something from you guys and we need back up; we’re in pursuit and we need you guys to head them off or something at the end of Main.”

“We’re on it,” Derek answers and ends the call, dumping Stiles off his lap and climbing into the driver’s side seat, “Get dressed, now,” he says as he starts the vehicle and pulls out from where they’ve been stationed at the past four hours.

Stiles grumbles and picks his shirt up, pulling it on reluctantly and buttoning it as he makes his way back up into the passenger's side seat, grunting as he gets situated, “I told you not to answer it, we were-that… it could’ve been good, but no, you had to answer it and leave me with a hard on.”

“McCall called,” Derek responds as he rolls his eyes, “They’re in pursuit, if I didn’t answer then I wouldn’t be doing my job…” which is ironic, because technically they weren’t.

“No, you would’ve been doing me,” Stiles responds sarcastically, shoving his shirt back down into his slacks.

“Later,” the alpha says as he passes the second block, listening intently as he drives out, stopping at the end of main and watching the car as it speeds towards them and swerves at the last second. He puts his vehicle in park and climbs out, pulling his gun from it’s holster and flipping off the safety as the passenger in the other car jumps out as well, “FBI!”

Stiles’s eyes widen when Derek gets out and shouts, heart racing because for a second, he honestly thought the vehicle was going to slam right into them. It takes him a moment to get with the program, shoving out of their car and pulling his gun from it’s holster as well, wincing at how his pants pinch his erection as he rounds the car, pointing it towards the one that almost hit them.

Derek ducks as the man turns and shoots at him, missing him and then the guy aims at Stiles and the alpha moves quickly, reaching out and grabbing his mate, yanking him in and moving in front of the smaller man, wincing when the bullet hits him in the right side of his hip.

Stiles feels sick to his stomach, reaching out for his mate even though he knows it can’t really hurt the werewolf, “Baby, are you okay?”

Lydia’s car pulls up behind the Dodge Neon and she jumps out of the driver’s side, aiming quickly and shooting the woman that’s climbing out of her own driver’s side in the shoulder, “FBI, you stupid bitch!”

Derek shakes his head and turns to shoot back at the other man, “I’m fine, of course I’m fine, Stiles.”

“Don’t you ‘of course I’m fine’ me,” Stiles squawks indignantly, “I’m allowed to worry, you stubborn fucking werewolf.”

Scott climbs out of the vehicle and glances over the hood at Lydia, about to shoot at the guy, but then he bolts off towards the alleyway off to the side of the road. He follows instinctively, keeping his gun pointed as he shouts at the man to stop.

“That’s my point, I’m a werewolf,” the alpha says, giving Stiles a pointed look, “Don’t worry about me, it’s pointless,” he turns, straightening back up to follow after Scott as Lydia walks to the woman, pulling a pair of handcuffs from her pocket.

The guy panics just as he’s about to reach the other end of the alleyway, able to feel the agent on his heels and he turns suddenly, arm slinging out and he pulls the trigger with a shaky hand, eyes wide before turning  to run off again.

Scott hears the gunshot before he feels it, the ringing loud in his ears as the sound reverberates off of the brick walls. He looks down and only after he checks his abdomen does the pain even really begin to register, and it’s like it hits him all at once, overwhelming him and causing him to drop to his knees, hands clutching at the growing red spot on his shirt.

“Scott!” Derek shouts, moving to the younger agent and reaching out to catch him. Thankfully, he’s had experience with gunshot wounds plenty of times before now. He lays Scott back on the ground carefully, his hands moving to cover the wound even as blood gushes out between his fingers, “Stiles, give me your shirt!”

Stiles follows Derek and he feels numb all over when he sees Scott laying on the ground, heart sinking to his stomach, “Scotty?” he asks worriedly, realizing belatedly that Derek had asked for his shirt. He takes it off as quickly as he can and gives it to his mate, then moves around to his best friend’s other side and kneels down, “Goddammit, bro, why didn’t you just take him out?”

Scott coughs and grimaces in pain, groaning and fighting the urge to wail, “I didn’t wanna kill him,” he explains, shaking his head as he looks up at Stiles, “Dude, don’t let her-don’t let Lydia see me.”

“Don’t worry about your wife, Scott, worry about yourself,” Derek says firmly, taking Stiles’s shirt and covering the wound as he pulls the phone from his pocket, “Keep talking to us, tell me how you’re feeling, can you feel your legs?”

Scott shakes his head and the pressure to his stomach forces a strangled sounding cry out of him, “I can’t, oh God,” he doesn’t want to panic himself, but he can’t help it, “Stiles,” he grits out, “Buddy, I don’t think I’m-”

“Don’t you even dare say it,” Stiles cuts him off, staring at him sternly, “You’re-you’re gonna be fine, buddy, you gotta be, right? You got Heidi-bug and Ollie, they need you, man.”

Lydia cuffs the woman to the car door quickly before making her way into the alleyway, walking nervously as she sees Derek and Stiles huddled around her husband.

Scott’s skin begins to pale some with the amount of blood loss and he feels cold, body wracking with tremors as he feels warm gushes of blood squirting out of him, “I-I-If I don’t,” he starts, the pain so overwhelming he can hardly think straight, teeth starting to chatter, “Make sure they know I love ‘em, okay?”

“No,” Stiles refuses vehemently, eyes watering as he clenches his jaw, “‘Cause you’re gonna be fine, and then you can’t just-you can tell them yourself.” He looks up at Derek then, trying not to freak out, “You gotta do something.”

“Scott?” Lydia asks softly, eyes wide as she moves to them.

“Do what?” Derek asks lowly, voice harsh as he looks at Stiles, “I’m not magic, I can’t heal him, yes-” he turns into the phone, “This is agent Hale of the FBI.”

Stiles’s eyes widen and he leans across Scott to grab the phone from Derek’s hand, ending the call and tossing the phone, “Are you fucking stupid?” he asks, hands shaking now, “You’re-” he tightens his lips into a thin line and looks at his best friend, then back up to his mate, “You can heal him, Derek, please.”

Derek narrows his eyes, “What are you talking about? I’m a werewolf, not a magician.”

Lydia drops to her knees at Scott’s head, reaching out to touch his hair, “Scott, baby-”

“M’okay,” Scott mumbles for Lydia’s benefit, even though he doesn’t have the slightest clue what he looks like, he’s barely even able to register what they’re talking about at this point.

“Maybe not,” Stiles says to Derek, “But you’re an alpha,” he raises his brows, chin quivering, “He’s not gonna make it if you don’t-I need you to, Derek, he’s my best friend, okay? I can’t lose him.”

“The bite is a gift,” Derek responds numbly, shaking his head, “It comes at a cost, and it could kill him just as well.”

“The what is a gift?” Lydia asks in confusion, looking at Derek.

Stiles keeps his eyes rapt on his mate, because he knows that if he looks down, he’ll lose it completely, “It’s not like he has much to lose right now, he’s gonna die if you don’t bite him. I’m begging you, please do it.”

“I can’t do that to him, Stiles,” Derek says firmly, “I can’t curse him to this life, he’d be better off dead than to have to deal with the things I do-”

“Just fucking do it!” Stiles yells then, eyes brimming with tears as he looks at the older man fearfully, “Now!”

Derek growls loudly in response, eyes changing as he shifts, Lydia gasping and covering her ears as fur sprouts out over his face, hands reaching down quickly to take off his holster and his clothes tear as he shakes. The alpha stands up on his hind legs as he reaches out with his claws to lift Scott’s shirt, leaning in quickly and biting him.

Stiles has to look away when it happens, unable to watch as he listens to Scott scream and he moves to Lydia,  turning her away from it as well as he pulls her against him, hugging her close, “He’s gonna save him, Lyds.”

“What’s going on? What is he?” Lydia asks, eyes wide as she looks at Stiles, “What is he, Stiles? What the fuck is he?” she’s all but shrieking hysterically at this point.

Stiles grabs her by her biceps and looks her in the eyes as calmly as he can muster, “He’s a werewolf,” he tells her, “He’s gonna save Scott. You saw him, Lyds, he wasn’t gonna make it. This way he’ll live.”

“A werewolf,” Lydia responds, eyes still wide as she nods, “A werewolf… why didn’t I figure it out before?” she asks sarcastically, numb from the ears down, “Makes sense…”

Derek pulls away from Scott, sitting back on his haunches and licking at his teeth as he watches, listening to the bite already taking effect.

Stiles blanches as he stares at Lydia, willing himself not to look past her at his friend lying on the ground, “It does?” he asks.

“No! It doesn’t make any fucking sense at all!” Lydia shouts, pushing Stiles away and turning to look at the large creature sitting there by her husband. As much as she wants to argue, though, she saw it happen right before her eyes. He looks more like a bear than anything, a very canine-featured bear, but wolves don’t get that big, not even in the wild, not unless they got bit by a radioactive spider, “Werewolf…” she says slowly.

Stiles steps up beside her and nods, now looking at the form of Scott on the ground, bite wound accompanying the bullet wound and he frowns, “Werewolf,” he confirms before glancing at Derek.

Lydia moves to Scott again, looking at the bite on his side and then to Derek nervously, “Is that gonna scar?”

Derek rolls his shoulders as he straightens up a little and then shakes his head, “No.”

Stiles moves to his mate then and leans into him, fingers latching onto his fur as he looks the werewolf in the eyes, “If it takes, how long will it be?” he asks worriedly.

“Minutes,” Derek huffs, “It’s already healing him,” he admits then, looking at his mate.

“Healing him?” Lydia repeats, looking back at the wound on Scott’s side.

Stiles stays next to Derek, but he nods at Lydia, “Werewolves have healing abilities, it’s why I had Derek bite him.”

“Oh, of course they have healing abilities,” Lydia says sarcastically, “Of fucking course they do.”

Derek watches as the wounds start healing and he can hear agent Martin’s heart start racing faster than before as she stares at them as well.

Stiles’s eyes widen some as he watches his friend heal right before his eyes, letting go of the werewolf to move forward on numb feet before kneeling back down next to his best friend, hand shaking as he touches Scott’s arm, “Scotty, buddy, come on, wake up,” he urges.

“No,” Scott groans, completely disoriented, because the last thing he remembers is blacking out from the pain - he’d been shot. He reaches down at once and touches his stomach, frowning when he doesn’t feel anything aside from his skin, so he sits up and looks around and screams suddenly when he sees the huge bear/wolf hybrid, scrambling backwards until his back hits the wall, “Holy shit!”

Derek huffs in annoyance, leaning down to pick up the tatters of his clothes, his gun, his holster, and his cell phone as he ignores Scott’s reaction to him.

“Calm down,” Lydia says as she watches her husband, “He’s just a werewolf.”

“Just a werewolf?!” Scott shouts, eyes almost bulging out of his head as he looks at her, then back to the huge... thing.

“Dude,” Stiles puts his palms up and moves closer, trying to calm his friend down, “It’s Derek, okay? You were dying, man, and he saved you. He bit you, you’re a-you’re a werewolf now, too.”

“Yeah,” Lydia says matter-of-factly, “Werewolves can heal.”

Scott looks between both Stiles and Lydia, feeling like he’s in some kind of a Twilight dimension or something, “Were-werewolf,” he repeats incredulously, even though the damn thing is right in front of him, “I-I’m a-” he shakes his head, trying to take it all in. It sounds bizarre, but he doesn’t know how else to explain everything else that’s going on right now, how to explain the fact that his gunshot wound is completely gone, “Right.”

“Yeah, that’s Hale,” Lydia motions to the werewolf as he walks out of the alleyway, “He literally exploded out of his clothes like-not ten minutes ago.”

“Uh huh,” Scott nods numbly and stares at his wife intently, “You saw it a-and you’re okay… right now? Because I’m-is this real life?”

Lydia moves to him to touch his cheek, “Yeah, baby, it’s real life… and apparently werewolves are like a… a thing, I guess…” she reaches out with her other hand to look at his stomach, “I watched you heal right before my eyes, you had the bullet wound and the bite from him right here.”

Scott reaches up and touches the hand on his cheek, his eyes searching hers before he pulls her into a hug, burying his face against her neck, “I thought I was gonna die,” he admits, eyes widening even more when he can smell… her, and not just the way he can normally smell her, it’s more - like he can distinguish certain things about her scent, “You smell good.”

Lydia blushes and smiles slightly, “What? My perfume?” she asks in confusion, leaning in and wrapping her arms around him nervously, “It’s-it’s just the stuff you got me for Christmas…”

Stiles grins when he hears Scott mention Lydia’s scent and he pats his friend on the back before standing up, otherwise silent as he takes off after Derek to see what happens now, unsure of whether or not his mate will have to help Scott deal with being a werewolf.

Derek climbs into the driver’s side of his vehicle as carefully and quietly as possible, shifting back to his human form as he moves to the back to grab a change of clothes, tossing down the tatters of his old ones.

Stiles reaches their car and frowns when he doesn’t see Derek up front or standing outside of it somewhere, but he narrows his eyes when he sees movement in the back,  so he opens the driver's side door and pokes his head in, “You getting dressed?” he asks, getting a nice view of his mate’s ass.

“Yes,” Derek responds and smells Stiles’s scent change slightly, smirking to himself as he dresses quickly, pulling on his tie as he looks at his mate, “Did you want something?”

“Yeah,” Stiles says and leans back out, “I wanna talk to you, so… when you’re fully dressed, come out here,” he requests softly.

The alpha huffs and grabs his back up pair of shoes and his coat that he’d left in the back seat (thankfully), before stepping into the driver’s side seat, sitting down to put on his shoes, “What do you want?”

“I just-I wanted to apologize for yelling at you the way I did,” Stiles says, standing next to the door and looking down at his mate, “I’m sorry. I panicked and… had you bite him, because I couldn’t stand the thought of living my life without him in it.  And… I also want to thank you for saving my best friend’s life. So can you like, hurry up and get your shoes on so you can stand up, I wanna kiss you.”

Derek narrows his eyes at Stiles, tying his left shoe before he steps out of his vehicle, reaching back to grab his holster and his gun, turning the safety back on as he looks at the younger man, “I know why you did it, but it was blindly ignorant of you to request me to do such a thing.”

“It was either let him die now,” Stiles starts and moves closer to Derek, frowning up at the werewolf, “Or have you bite him, and regardless of how shitty a typical werewolf life is, I’d much rather have him around like this than not at all.”

His eyes flit down to his mate’s lips for a moment, “Lean down here?”

Derek wants to argue the point further, but doesn’t, eyes softening and he leans down, reaching out to touch Stiles’s waist as he kisses his mate.

Stiles presses up into it, trying to pour all of his love and appreciation into the gesture as he wraps his arms around the werewolf’s shoulders, fingertips moving against the nape of Derek’s neck.

Derek wraps his arms around the smaller man’s body, pulling him close and kissing him harder, tilting his head as he closes his eyes and runs his tongue out over the bow of Stiles’s upper lip.

Stiles groans softly and nips at the werewolf’s tongue, grinning weakly as he kisses Derek again, “Thank you,” he says, hands clutching the older man’s head to pull him down some more as he peppers kisses all over his face, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“Stiles,” Derek mutters, standing back upright to stop his mate and the alpha lifts his brows as he looks down at the younger man, “You can thank me later, right now we need to deal with McCall and this case, before it gets out of hand.”

“Okay,” Stiles nods, still grinning as he stares at Derek, leaning up on his tip toes suddenly to kiss the werewolf one last time.

Derek closes the driver’s side door, ignoring the girl still shrieking and kicking against her own door as she tries to break the handcuffs. He walks past her, back into the alleyway and to Scott and Lydia, watching the two as he clears his throat, “I guess we need to talk.”

Scott’s eyes snap to Derek when the agent clears his throat and it’s like there’s something in his DNA now that needs to respond to the older man, “Yeah, okay,” he says, nodding in agreement as he stands and pulls Lydia up with him, “Can she stay, though?”

“She’s your wife,” Derek responds flatly, “This affects her and your children just as much as it affects you.”

“Okay,” Scott says, narrowing his eyes at Derek as he rubs his hand up and down Lydia’s back, keeping her close to him, “What do we need to talk about?” he asks, “I mean, other than the fact that I’m now apparently a uh-a werewolf.”

“There’s a lot more to it than just that,” Derek says in annoyance, frowning, “It’s not gonna be easy, it’s dangerous. It’s difficult enough for me, and I’ve been living with it my entire life. If you think you can handle it, you can continue working, but chances are you’ll have to take some time off, at least to adjust.”

“Adjust?” Scott asks curiously.

“You’ve already noticed your sense of smell,” Derek points out, “Sometimes it’ll be overwhelming; you won’t always smell just your wife, you’ll smell things you don’t want to, hear things, taste things. Adjusting to this lifestyle isn’t easy. And you’ll have other urges you can’t always control.”

“Like what?” Scott asks, eyes wide and inquisitive.

Derek glances at Stiles for a moment, “During the full moon, you’ll get ‘moody’,” he explains it like Stiles normally does, “You’ll shift, you’ll get angry. The urges… I’m not sure if they’re different, since you were bitten and not born a werewolf, but chances are they’re the same. You’ll want to scent Lydia, mark her - especially if you mate her. You’ll become more protective of your children than you are already.

“Chances are I'll miss something today. Stiles broke my phone, so you can call him if you have any questions, he knows just about everything I know, but it's likely you won’t need much more than that. And… the full moon’s in a week, so you’ll probably be best taking those days off and staying with us, just in case.”

“How many days?” Scott asks, already feeling disgruntled with the idea of being away from Lydia, Heidi and Oliver, “How long will I need to be away from my family?”

“Just two days,” Derek says in assurance, “The day after the full moon you’ll be sluggish and tired, but you won’t be an ass.”

“Alright,” Scott nods and moves his hand to Lydia’s hip, tugging her closer instinctively, “Is there… can I hurt them?” he asks.

Derek nods, “You can hurt just about anyone. I suggest, if you’re angry at any point, it’s better to take it out on furniture,” he shrugs, “But it’s dangerous, like I said, that’s why I don’t bite people,” he glance at Stiles and then back to Scott, “It’s not like you’ll wake up and have killed them in your sleep, nothing like that, but you have to be… gentle, very gentle with them all, like you're touching, or grabbing a cotton ball, they’re delicate.”

Scott frowns when he realizes just how firmly he’s holding onto Lydia and he loosens his grip, pulling his hand away guiltily, “I’m sorry, baby,” he says sincerely, “Was I hurting you?”

“Not so much,” Lydia says and shakes her head, “It’s fine.”

Derek watches the exchange and then reaches out to take Stiles’s wrist, “You’ll leave bruises, no matter how much control you think you have. It isn’t easy, just… don’t take it out on yourself. The worst times are when you’re sleeping, you probably don’t want to sleep fully until you’re comfortable with your strength, or keep something else in your arms, not your wife.”

Stiles moves closer to Derek and smiles at Scott, “I’ve got faith in you, dude, you’re gonna rock this,” he says encouragingly.

“I could hurt her in my sleep?” Scott asks, appreciative of Stiles’s words, but more concerned with Derek’s.

“You could kill her, easily,” Derek admits, swallowing tightly, “It’s not easy having the strength we do, but it’s not just then. Taking her hand, opening doors, driving your car, picking up your daughter or your son, taking off your clothes. Every single thing you do is gonna be difficult.

"Get in as much practice as possible on the things you can afford to lose,” the alpha says warily, “Cups are good to practice on, the paper ones at work.”

It’s a lot of information to take in and it’s still all a little too surreal, but Scott nods and swallows audibly, worried about harming his family more than anything, “What about other things?” he asks vaguely, unsure of how to word it, “I can…” he frowns, “I can feel you, like… your presence… is that normal?”

“I’m your alpha,” Derek explains, “I sired you, so you’ll always feel me, wherever I am. If I was dead, even if I was across the planet, you’d know in a heartbeat.”

“That’s weird,” Scott says then, but he nods, “My nose burns and I’m getting a headache, is that normal, too?”

Derek nods, “Yeah that’s normal, unfortunately,” he narrows his brows, “There’s not much you can do about scents, just try not to scent the air-” he shows Scott, quickly scenting the area around them, “Once you’re used to it, you can block out certain scents, but for now just try to ignore it. And if it becomes too much, just scent your wife, that’ll normally help - especially if you’re mated to her.”

“What do you mean ‘mated’?” Scott asks, “I’m already married to her, we have two kids… I don’t get it.”

Stiles chuckles a little at that, rubbing a hand over his mouth as he raises his brows at Lydia, then he looks at his friend, “You’re gonna notice some physical changes to your junk, dude,” he says, “But try not to freak out, it’s not all bad,” he tries to reassure him, glancing briefly at Lydia, “It’s really not, so you don’t freak out either.”

“Don’t freak out?” Lydia asks, making a face, “My husband’s a werewolf, I don’t see it getting weirder than that.”

“It gets a little weirder than that,” Stiles corrects her, still grinning, “He’s uh-he’s gonna have a knot, like around the base of his dick,” he reaches down and makes an obscene gesture with his hands, showing her about how wide it’ll be, “Mating consists of him… well, you know, you’re smart, you can figure it out.”

Lydia looks between Stiles and Derek as her cheeks heat, “So you… you two have done this-this… you two have… you’ve mated?”

Stiles nods and his grin turns a little more sincere, “And it’s… it’s probably more serious than marriage. You and I, we’re human so it may not really affect us the way it will them, but if you’re anything like me… you’ll feel it, you’ll feel the draw to Scott afterwards, you’ll never wanna be without him.”

Derek blinks and looks at Stiles, crossing his arms over his chest as he turns back to Scott and Lydia, trying not to think too much into what his mate says, “It’s more than marriage, it’s physical, it’s a binding, and it’ll never fade away once you do it.”

Lydia nods slowly, glancing at Scott, “Well, we’re already married, I don’t see why we wouldn’t make it… official?”

Scott grins slowly at Lydia and a sudden, pleased growl erupts from his chest and his eyes widen, hand coming up to cover his mouth as he looks at Derek in confusion, “What was that?” he asks, panicked.

“A growl?” Derek responds shortly, as if it wasn’t obvious, “That’s bound to happen, when you’re pleased, or angry… you probably shouldn’t keep this from Heidi, or Oliver when he gets old enough, just as long as you make sure they know not to tell people. Your daughter’s smart.”

Scott lowers his hand and clears his throat, nodding at the alpha, “Yeah, she is,” he agrees, even though he’s still kind of worried as to how she’s going to handle it.

Derek presses his lips together, “It’s best, though, if you keep it on a need to know basis. It’s dangerous knowledge to some people, hunters - and if humans found it, I think you know already how bad that would be.”

Lydia sighs in annoyance, “Great, this is just what we need,” she crosses her arms, “Like our lives aren’t busy and complicated enough already.”

Scott frowns and looks at his wife then, shaking his head as his brows narrow, “Why are you being so bitter right now?” he asks, “He saved my life, Lydia… would you rather I be dead?”

“Of course not,” Lydia responds quickly and looks at Scott, “But now, we’ll be lucky if you don’t out yourself or kill one of us.”

Scott’s frown deepens and he loves his wife, he really does, but he wishes she would think about the things she says sometimes before she says them, “Do you not have any faith in me at all?” he asks, inexplicably hurt by the way Lydia’s acting.

Lydia turns to Scott completely and shakes her head, “That’s not it at all, baby, but are you listening to what he’s saying at all? I mean, we’ve all seen how miserable he is at work, and how many phones he breaks. This is a guy that’s been doing it his entire life.”

Derek listens silently and he can’t help but to take a little offense to what she’s apparently observed over her time working with the FBI.

“Right,” Scott tries to say in understanding, nodding as he stares at Lydia, then he glances at the other werewolf, “Is that all for now, or..?”

“I think we’ve covered enough, just as long as you’re careful and let Martin do most of the things you’ll need to watch, like opening doors, you should be fine - just practice as much as you can when you’re alone,” Derek says stiffly, “If you have any problems or anything, just call Stiles.”

“Okay,” Scott says, still nodding somewhat before turning back to his wife, searching her face before kissing her cheek gently and then he stalks off silently towards their car.

Stiles frowns when his friend walks off and he looks at Lydia, “I know you love him, so show it a little more. He’s gonna need it now probably more than ever, just make sure he knows you’re on his side.”

Lydia nods as she watches Scott, “Yeah, of course I’m on his side,” she says and follows after her husband.

Derek watches them leave and looks at Stiles then, “I’m not sure how we’re supposed to clean all of this blood up…”

“Yeah,” Stiles nods and grabs his coat as well, but he doesn’t button his, “And I imagine it’s probably gonna be a uh-a relief to them, in a way. We can’t bring Sharon back, but at least we put the guy who killed her behind bars. There’s some sense of justice, at least.”

Derek reaches up to Stiles’s back, touching it gently as he watches his mate, “He can’t do it to anyone else, that’s what matters,” he says as he clears his throat, “We’re not taking the jeep,” he mutters as he moves passed Stiles to grab his keys.

“Then what are we taking, Derek?” Stiles asks in confusion, “A magical pumpkin? We haven’t found your car, so…”

“There’s no point looking for the Camaro,” Derek responds, “The person that picked it likely had it taken care of completely within the first couple hours. I bought a new vehicle.”

“When?” Stiles asks in confusion, “We’re hardly ever apart, when did you even have the time?” he follows his mate, staring at him incredulously.

“You slept in this morning,” Derek points out, “And I’ve… had it in mind for a few days,” he admits and shrugs, walking into the hallway with his free hand at his side as he smirks to himself.

“Well, what’d you get?” Stiles asks and moves to squeeze passed the older man, beating him to the front door before going outside, stopping when he sees the vehicle, “It’s a… um-It’s… extremely family oriented,” he muses, looking over the Toyota.

Derek chuckles as he joins Stiles, wrapping his arms around his mate from behind as the alpha leans down to whisper in his ear, “I wonder why,” he says as he touches the younger man’s stomach.

“You’re such a big sap,” Stiles says and grins, touching his mate’s hand before turning in the arms surrounding him to lean up, kissing the werewolf affectionately, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Derek replies quickly, kissing Stiles back, reaching up to cup his cheek for a moment before he pulls back to lock the door. He’s been slightly concerned about buying the vehicle, just in case Stiles didn’t react well to it, but so far he seems approving enough.

Stiles moves to the vehicle and waits on Derek, reaching up and cupping his hands against the passenger's side window as he looks in, observing the inside of the car and smiling to himself when he notices how spacious the back seat is - big enough for a couple car seats to fit comfortably.

Derek moves to the driver’s side, unlocking the car and climbing into his seat, watching Stiles curiously as he pulls on his seat belt, “What do you think?”

“I like it,” Stiles says as he climbs in as well, looking around the inside of it as he buckles himself in, “I’d like it a lot more if we had the means to justify buying it, but I-I do, I like it.”

“We’ll have that soon enough, it’s just a matter of time,” the alpha says as he watches Stiles, “Consider this an incentive,” he starts the vehicle and pulls out of the driveway, reaching across the seat to touch his mate’s leg, “I’m working on the rest, I just figured that since I needed a new vehicle, anyway, why not invest?” which is saying something, even for him, considering he doesn’t invest, investing means that hoping has become more than just an idea.

“It’s nice,” Stiles nods, instinctively reaching down to touch the hand on his leg, curling his fingers around it, “You know we’re gonna catch all kinds of shit for it, though. Especially from Lydia,” he says, grinning to himself.

Derek frowns in confusion, “‘All kinds of shit’?” he repeats, “Like what?”

“I think she knows we want kids,” Stiles explains, “I think she knew I wanted them before I even knew myself. So don’t be surprised if she prods, or asks 'when'.”

“Ah,” Derek says and nods, “It’ll be… Difficult to explain,” he admits, “They don’t know about… everything. And if we find some method that’s supernatural in nature, there’ll be difficulties in general, as well.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Stiles says, smiling weakly at his mate as he curls his fingers around Derek’s hand tighter.

Derek glances at Stiles, his eyes flitting to the younger man’s lips as his chest tightens fondly and he squeezes Stiles’s leg, “When we get there,” he repeats in agreement and it’s an unusual thing to say aloud, because he’s not used to speaking out of such confidence. He’s not even sure where it’s coming from, considering how tentative he’s always been to want more than what he already has, but he can’t help himself.

Stiles sits in silence then, at least until they get to the funeral home and his stomach starts twisting into knots when he sees all of the vehicles, “How should we do this, gather the family and Kelly all at once and just tell them?”

Derek narrows his brows as he parks, taking his hand from Stiles’s, “I’m not sure if it’d be appropriate to tell them before, or after the service…” he takes off his seat belt and looks at his mate, “Let’s try to feel it out instead of deciding now.”

Stiles nods in agreement and unbuckles himself as well, taking in a deep breath before climbing out of the vehicle, both equally nervous and excited.

The alpha climbs out as well, locking up and joining Stiles on his side, reaching out to touch his mate’s back as they walk together.

Kelly isn’t difficult to pick out amongst the groups of people, even if Derek didn’t have both her scent and her voice to work with. She’s wearing an unusually bright pink sundress, her purple hair put up in the back and, when she sees them walking towards her, she practically shrieks and runs to them.

“Hey!” she says, grabbing Stiles at once and pulling him into a hug, “I was beginning to worry if you fuckers were gonna show,” she exclaims loudly, “Good to see you two.”

“Good to see you, too,” Stiles says sincerely and squeezes the young woman tightly before pulling back, even more excited now at the prospect of telling Kelly they caught Lawrence.

“What’s with the soccer mom car?” Kelly asks as she glances past them, “I like the blue jeep, don’t tell me you traded it in or something, that thing was so bad ass.”

“Shit no,” Stiles snorts, “Are you kidding me? Roscoe’s my baby, that’s Derek’s new car,” he explains, grinning at the alpha, “Well, our new car.”

Derek lifts a brow, about to ask who ‘Roscoe’ is before he realizes that his mate has named his jeep.

“Oh, cool,” Kelly says slowly as she leans into Derek, “So you’re like settling down and shit?”

“Something like that,” the alpha responds.

Kelly glances between the two and notices how Derek’s hand is still on Stiles’s back and then she smiles widely, “Holy fuck, you two are together. I knew you were partners, but I didn’t know you were… partners.”

“Yup,” Stiles says proudly, glancing up at Derek before looking back to Kelly.

“That’s kinda awesome,” Kelly says and looks at Derek as well, glancing him over, “I’ve always liked the whole like-” she motions between them, “Bear-twink thing, it’s cute. And now-oh!” she gasps and puts her hands together, “Oh my God, now you’re gonna have little shit machines together, that’s so hardcore.”

Derek smiles slightly at the comment as Kelly starts making unusual sounds and then she throws her hands up and hugs him finally.

Stiles wants to ask how she figured out they want kids, but he guesses that it wasn’t a difficult conclusion to come to considering his mate’s new vehicle - it has soccer mom written all over it. He grins when Kelly hugs the werewolf and raises his brows expectantly at Derek, as if to say ‘you better hug her back’.

Derek narrows his eyes at Stiles, but then he leans down slightly and does just that, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her gently.

When Kelly moves back she’s shaking her head and pulling her purse from her shoulder, “That’s shit, I told myself I wasn’t gonna cry today,” she complains as she grabs a tissue from her bag to dry her eyes before it gets out of control, “So,” she clears her throat, “You like my dress?”

“It’s… bright,” Stiles says and smiles sadly, “I didn’t know Sharon, but I think she probably would’ve liked it.”

“She bought it for me,” Kelly makes a girly pose, “She always complained that I didn’t wear enough bright colors,” she looks down at herself, “I don’t do the whole ‘dress thing’, you know?”

Derek nods, still somewhat astounded at how like Stiles the girl is sometimes - determined as Hell.

“I didn’t wear it at all until this morning,” Kelly admits, “But I figured why the fuck not? Some people think it’s rude, but Shar would’ve liked it. So how’s the case going? Did the photo help any?”

Stiles clears his throat a little and glances at Derek before meeting Kelly’s eyes, “Actually, there’s something we need to tell you… and Sharon’s family,” he says vaguely, not smiling, because he doesn’t want to give too much away.

“You caught him,” Kelly says and nods, “I knew it, I knew the moment I saw you two out on the street that you were gonna fix that fucker,” she looks between them, “I dunno if you knew what I was saying but I hope I got my point across.”

“You did,” Derek assures her, his hand running down Stiles’s back slightly.

Stiles can’t deny it, it’d be too cruel, so he just smiles and shows her his splinted hand, “I got in a few good hits for you,” he tells her.

“Oh, shit,” Kelly says, reaching out to look at it, “That’s kind of awesome,” she moves to hug Stiles again, “Thank you, seriously, if it wasn’t for you two…” she turns to kiss Stiles’s cheek and shakes her head, “I don’t know, I-I’m glad you two were the one’s handling the whole thing.”

Derek frowns as her eyes start tearing up again and he reaches out to put his hand on her shoulder, unsure of what he can say to comfort her otherwise.

Stiles breathes out shakily and drapes his arm over her shoulders, nodding towards the front doors of the funeral home, “You wanna walk in with us, maybe help us round up the immediate family?” he asks softly.

“Yeah, totally,” Kelly says as she pulls back and collects herself a second time, “They’re already seated up front, I just came out to make sure you guys didn’t feel uncomfortable, you know? I’ve been that awkward ass duck at funerals before,” she admits and smiles, wiping her eyes with the same tissue and breathing calmly, “We should tell them before things get going, they’d wanna know.”

“Okay,” Stiles says, nodding as he moves tentatively towards the building, “Let’s go.”

“So do you guys want like a couple beers or something?” Kelly asks as she walks with them, glancing at Derek, “You look like you could use a beer.”

“Beer at a funeral, never heard of that before,” Stiles mumbles to himself and looks at Derek, “He’s not really a big fan of alcohol in general,” he tells Kelly politely.

“So I’ll get you a beer,” Kelly looks at Stiles, “And him like a water or something? Soda?”

“Water’s fine,” Derek answers shortly.

Kelly nods, “Cool, and I hope you guys haven’t eaten, because the food is pretty amazing,” she says as she smiles, “It’s not really a traditional funeral, it’s more like a dine-in today.”

“My kind of funeral,” Stiles muses and looks around once they step inside, groups of people gathering about in different places, some standing and some sitting.

Kelly smiles wider at the approving comment, “Well I fucking hope so, I worked my ass off on it - we got that Chinese buffet shit from the Sesame Inn,” she leads them to one of the tables up front, tapping Sharon’s mother on the shoulder, “Carol, guess who dropped by?”

The woman turns and then stands up, reaching out to shake their hands, “Agent Hale, agent Stilinski, good afternoon.”

“Ma’am,” Stiles nods and shakes her hand before looking around, finally meeting the woman’s eyes, “We have something we’d like to discuss with you, if that’s alright? We’d just like for you to gather the immediate family, so we can tell you all at once.”

Carol nods as well, “Yes, Kelly,” she turns to the younger girl, “Lisa’s in the back with the kids, just bring her over,” she looks to the buffet tables on the far wall, “Jason, can you come over here?”

Derek watches Kelly walk off towards the back area where most of the kids are and he runs his hand back up to Stiles’s shoulders as Sharon’s father joins them with a few plates in his hand.

“Yeah, hun, what’s-oh,” the man puts the plates on the table and offers Derek his hand, “You two got some questions for us about Sharon?”

“Not quite,” Stiles tells Mr. Lottrie and looks at his partner, because he isn’t really sure who should be the one to tell them, “As soon as Kelly and Lisa return, we can uh-we can begin.”

Kelly walks back to them, Sharon’s older sister by her side as they join Stiles again, “Okay, we’re all here,” she looks at Carol and then to Stiles and Derek expectantly.

Stiles clears his throat and feels a little bit of pressure, standing in front of Sharon’s family like this with all of their eyes trained on him and Derek, “As I’m sure you all know, Ms. Puri provided us with information regarding your daughter’s killer.”

He glances at Kelly then and wets his lips, then looks between Sharon’s mother and father, “And we’re here today to tell you that we caught him.”

Carol’s eyes widen and she puts her hands to her mouth as she looks at them, her husband nodding and reaching out to rub her back.

“That was fast,” Lisa says and raises her brows in surprise, “You FBI dudes are efficient.” It sounds sarcastic, like she doesn’t mean it, and her father turns to glare at her, but Derek knows that she’s sincere - wrong, considering how long they’ve been trying to catch Lawrence Owen, but sincere.

“Thank you,” Jason says then, as if to apologize for his daughter and he smiles sadly at them, “It’s comforting to know that he won’t be able to do this to another girl, ever again.”

Derek nods in agreement and glances at his mate, shifting slightly closer to Stiles when Carol finally reaches out to take the younger man’s hand again in both of hers this time.

Stiles begins to shake Mrs. Lottrie’s hand, but then he steps closer and gives her a quick hug instead, “I’m glad we could catch him for all of you. I know it’s not-It’s not the kinda justice I’d want, but I hope all of you can rest easier knowing he’s rotting in prison.”

“It’s not the justice I’d want either,” Lisa admits, moving from her dad before he can say anything, “But I’m pretty sure his friends in prison will take care of the rest, he’s a tiny old fart, isn’t he?”

“Yeah he is,” Kelly responds and grins, “He’s like fifty-five or something,” she turns to Stiles and Derek, “So, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get you two some food and get you seated, eating always makes this shit go by faster.”

Stiles leans into Derek and follows Kelly, for the first time since he’s started the FBI he thinks he might actually have a reason for sticking around, a reason to persevere even when cases look grim, because this, being able to tell a family that they caught a loved one’s killer, there’s not much else that compares to the satisfaction it brings.

“So,” Kelly says conversationally as she joins them at the buffet table, handing Stiles his plate and letting Derek get his own as she takes up one for herself, “We’re you two like a thing before or after the whole FBI gig?”

“After,” Derek answers shortly, glancing at Stiles.

“Ooo, that’s kinda hot,” Kelly admits and giggles, snorting slightly as she nudges Stiles, “You had to have some of that giant bear meat, huh?”

Stiles looks at Kelly as if to say ‘duh’, “Tell me you wouldn’t wanna climb him like a tree if you were into dick,” he says, grinning at the young woman.

“Well, I don’t have a problem with dick, itself,” Kelly says, glancing at Derek, “I can definitely appreciate a real man, it’s just that they’re in short supply… and I love my ladies,” she shrugs, “But dicks aren’t a problem. I’ll live vicariously through you, though, you can climb him like a tree for every other person that wants to.”

Derek feels his cheeks heat, but doesn’t respond as he makes his plates, shaking his head to himself as he listens.

“Speaking of dicks,” Kelly gives Stiles a look, “It’s all like… proportional, right?”

“Oh God, yeah,” Stiles tells her shamelessly, not minding at all that Derek can hear them - Kelly’s kind of like a friend at this point, anyway, “Like a fucking horse.”

“Nice,” Kelly reaches out to snatch up a couple egg rolls, “Does he ever bottom for you? Tell me you tap that ass, because seriously. I’ll be disappointed if you don’t.”

“Mmm,” Stiles hums fondly, “He does have a nice ass, doesn’t he?” he asks rhetorically, grinning at Derek before looking back at Kelly, “And yeah, he does.”

Kelly laughs and slaps Derek on the back, “Good for you, dude, it’s nice to see a bear that can take it just as well as he gives it,” she leans in to the taller man, “And how about Stiles, huh? Tell me all about it.”

Derek glances at Kelly with a raised brow, his hand stilling in mid-reach for some lo mein, “What?”

“Oh please,” Kelly all but shrieks, making a motion with her hands, “His little body, come on, dude. He’s like the leanest little twink, and his lips - please, come on.”

“Yeah, Derek,” Stiles urges with a shit eating grin, watching his mate curiously, “Come on.”

Derek looks between them, feeling unusually nervous and confused, “What?” he asks again.

“You don’t talk much,” Kelly replies, “I’ll make it easy for you,” She motions to Stiles, “You’ve gotta agree that every time you look at him and how tiny he is compared to you that you get a little stiff, right? He’s like-and his ass, I mean seriously, that’s gotta be a thing.”

Derek narrows his brows at her as she looks at him expectantly again, “Yeah,” he agrees then, frowning even more when she leans in close.

“You’ve gotta tell me,” she says, eyes widening, “You’ve gotta tell me how it is to just be able to pick him up and toss him around, stuffing your like-gigantic horse-” she stops when Derek covers her mouth and glares at him, putting her hands on her hips for a moment before making a lude gesture with her hands, just between her legs.

Stiles almost drops his plate and starts laughing, finding the almost panicked expression on Derek’s face more than priceless, “If he won’t tell you,” he starts, trying to catch his breath, “I’ll tell you all about it later, promise.”

Kelly waits for Derek to pull his hand away and then she finishes, “Stuffing your gigantic horse dick up his ass,” she says before he can react and she grins at the look he gives her, “Oh please, just tell me, please.”

“Ms. Puri-”

“Ew, fuck no, don’t ‘Ms. Puri’ me,” Kelly makes a face, “Good fucking God, man, I’m not my mom. Just tell me that you like the size kink, okay, and I’ll leave you alone, big guy. I know how sensitive you are.”

“I do,” the alpha replies shortly.

Kelly turns to Stiles then, smiling in satisfaction, “Mhm, knew it.”

“I’m surprised you got that much out of him, honestly,” Stiles tells her and takes his plate before moving to a nearby table, “It took me like, the better part of a year to get him to warm up to me in the slightest. Granted, he was secretly in love with me for a good while, but still.”

“Secretly in love with you?” Kelly asks curiously, following Stiles as Derek goes back to making his plates, “That’s kinda cute, it’s like… fate or some shit. I’m not worried, I know he likes me too much, and he definitely likes you, it’s not like he can argue the point.”

“He doesn’t like very many people,” Stiles points out, “You should feel privileged,” he says around a mouthful of rice.

Kelly nods, “Yeah I figured that pretty much the first time I saw you two walk into Sharon’s house. And, you know, when I went to the bureau. Not a lot of people there like him, either, so I guess it’s mutual. But I like him, he’s totally like a big cuddly teddy bear or something, and the way he looks at you,” she shakes her head, “I dunno, I’m a good judge of character, normally.”

“Yeah,” Stiles nods mindlessly, trying not to groan at how good the food is, “He’s definitely a big softy, don’t let him tell you otherwise.”

Derek joins them then, sitting down and setting his plates on the table as he glances between them, “So you planned the funeral?” he asks to try and get them off of talking about him.

“Uh, kinda,” Kelly says and shrugs, “Shar kinda talked about a lot of things like this, she was always really straightforward about how she felt about funerals, and we’re good friends with the family that runs this place, they’re cool. Carol didn’t wanna do anything because she wasn’t sure what would be right, so she asked me to help.”

“That was really nice of you,” Stiles mentions, poking at his beef and broccoli, “I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult all of this has been for all of you.”

Kelly smiles and waves it off, “Difficult? Nah, not at all. She’s my girl, right? So I wouldn’t really feel right if someone else had done it, or if it’d been done wrong. We’re celebrating her life, not burying another body of a person none of us knew, so we let the preacher say all that stupid horse-shit that barely any of us believes, anyway. Shar would’ve choked me out if I’d let that happen, and not in the nice kinky way, either.”

“Still,” Stiles says, “It’s a nice gesture, I’m sure her family appreciates the help.”

“They’re my family too,” Kelly responds softly, “I knew Shar pretty much all my life, I practically lived at her house, and soon enough I actually will,” she looks down at her plate as she takes a bite of her eggroll, chewing slowly.

“You wanna know somethin’ that really pisses me the fuck off? I was supposed to stay at her house that night, but I wanted to cram for a meeting with our Writer’s Club, just in case I got called on, right? I ended up not even going because she got murdered that night…”

“I’m sorry,” Stiles tells her and reaches to rub his hand against her forearm for a moment, smiling sadly before he draws it back.

Kelly smiles at Stiles and takes another bite of her eggroll, “It’s okay, it’s just-stupidly ironic. All because I didn’t want her getting me sidetracked, like I know she would’ve, and then she was home alone that night. Carol and Jason were out, taking Lisa to a fucking doctor’s appointment - it was like the perfect storm. I was the one that found her the next morning, came to give her back her smokes and… yup.”

Derek watches her silently from his seat, his knee gently shifting against his mate’s leg as he eats. It’s interesting hearing the details from her perspective, to actually get to know someone’s experience, but it’s also upsetting because he knows that feeling all too well.

Stiles subtly reaches beneath the table and sets his injured hand on his mate’s leg as he nods minutely to Kelly, brows narrowed pensively, “I would tell you it gets better, or like, give you some kind of corny speech about how bad things happen to good people… but,” he shrugs, “The truth is is that it’s all bullshit and it never really stops hurting, you just learn to deal with it after a while. I really am sorry you lost her, though.”

“Me too,” Kelly says as she finishes her food, the front doors finally closing and she wipes her mouth with her napkin, clearing her throat, “I mean, I read Harry Potter, so I get the whole thing, it’s cool. So, I gotta go up and do my shitty sappy thing, you guys keep eating and I’ll be back after.”

Derek nods as he watches her go up to the microphone, quieting the people in the large room as she introduces herself with an awkward bow and he turns to look at Stiles as this soft, sad music starts to play.

He takes his mate’s hand gently, “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” Stiles responds quietly and pushes the rest of his food away, looking at Derek for a moment, “I’m just glad we’re finally able to close this case, it feels good.”

“I know,” the alpha agrees, listening slightly as Kelly says a few things that make some of the people in the room laugh, being as unusually entertaining as she’s been with them, “I think this is the first case I’ve even really cared for in… a while,” he admits, “And it’s your first real case, starting and ending, I mean.”

“It’s a pretty big case, too,” Stiles muses, “I think I’d be more excited, but… with as many victims as there were, it’s kinda difficult to um-yeah…” he says vaguely.

Derek leans in to kiss the top of Stiles’s head, “The only silver-lining is that we’ve stopped him there. He won’t do it again, keep that in mind. I know the body count can be overwhelming, but it won’t get bigger, because you worked to stop him as soon as you possibly could’ve.”

“We,” Stiles corrects his partner and smiles fondly, leaning to press a chaste kiss to his cheek, “We worked to stop him as soon as we possibly could’ve.”

“I know a few of you already know what’s coming next,” Kelly says as Derek turns back to look at her and she glances around the room, “Most of you have already finished eating, those of you that haven’t - don’t feel rushed. But feel free to join in once you are. If those of you that are ready would please stand up and come to the front, you don’t even have to be good at it, it’s just slow dancing, it’s nothing special - trust me I’m like fifty times worse than any of you will be.”

Derek raises a brow as people around them start to get up and he looks at Stiles tentatively, “Do you… want to?”

“This is so unconventional,” Stiles mumbles to himself, but smiles and stands up, raising his brows at his mate, “Come on, show me your moves.”

Derek doesn’t know about ‘moves’, he was taught to dance when he was younger - he hasn’t in a while, it’ll probably be awful, but he doesn’t like the idea of sitting and being awkward, instead. He stands as well, taking Stiles’s good hand and leading him around.

Kelly grins as she sees them get up and the music starts playing louder behind her, “Come on people, don’t be shy,” she says as a few other tentative couples stand up as well, “That’s more like it.”

Stiles steps closer to Derek and instead of straining his arms in an attempt to keep them around his partner’s neck, he settles his palms on the alpha’s chest and leans in close, humming his contentment as he rests the side of his face against the werewolf’s chest as well.

Derek smiles to himself, his palms resting on Stiles’s waist as Kelly starts singing, it’s an unusual funeral, but he thinks he prefers it to just about every other one he’s been to before. The sundress, the food, and now dancing, it’s more like a get together, instead of a mourning. The alpha reaches up with one hand, running his fingers through the back of Stiles’s hair as he listens to the soft, sad song Kelly’s singing for them.

Go to sleep, may your sweet dreams come true,

Just lay back in my arms for one more night,

“I didn’t know she could sing,” Stiles mumbles, left hand smoothing along Derek’s chest as they move together slowly.

“I overheard her talking to Mr. Lottrie about it before we got out of the vehicle,” Derek admits and chuckles, the hand on Stiles’s waist guiding the younger man around as he stares down at Stiles.

I’ve this crazy old notion that calls me sometimes,

saying ‘this one’s the love of our lives’.

“How come we’ve never danced before?” Stiles asks then, pulling his head from Derek’s chest to look up at him, “This is the first time, which means that this will technically be our song from here on out. It’s sad.”

Derek narrows his brows in confusion, “What do you mean ‘it’ll be our song from here on out’?”

Cause I know a love that will never grow old,

And I know a love that will never grow old.

“That’s exactly what I mean, this is how that works, dude,” Stiles explains, “The first song you dance to becomes your song, so this is ours now.”

“Why?” Derek asks still, “Is this a human superstition?”

When you wake up, the world may have changed,

But trust in me, I’ll never falter or fail.

“It’s a human thing, duh,” Stiles responds fondly, finding it humorous how confused Derek is, “Unless you don’t want us to have a song?”

“I don’t listen to music,” Derek admits and shrugs, “It doesn’t make a difference to me.”

Just the smile in your eyes, it can light up the night,

And your laughter’s like wind in my sails.

“Right,” Stiles says and puts his head back against the alpha’s chest, a little disappointed that the werewolf doesn’t seem to care if cheesy traditions like that mean anything to him.

Derek smiles and rolls his eyes fondly at his mate, “Is the song supposed to pertain to the couple in a significant way?”

Cause I know a love that will never grow old,

And I know a love that will never grow old.

“It usually does, yeah,” Stiles mumbles and closes his eyes, lulled by the soft sway.

“Does this matter a lot to you?” the alpha asks then, fingers brushing along the back of Stiles’s neck.

Lean on me, let our hearts beat in time,

Feel strength from the hands that have held you so long.

“Not a lot,” Stiles says, “But a little, yeah, I am kind of human.”

Derek reaches his hand back around, lifting Stiles’s chin to look him in the eyes as he continues to move, “Then it matters to me.”

Who cares where we go on this rutted old road,

In a world that may say that we’re wrong.

Stiles stares up at Derek and feels his chest tighten, stomach fluttering with butterflies and he’s not sure if he’ll ever stop feeling this way when he looks at his mate, “I love you,” he says softly, smiling slowly at the alpha.

“I love you, too,” Derek says, leaning down and kissing Stiles as the song closes and changes. He pulls back, smiling and feeling like he needs to point something out, “We got to have Chinese… did you mention that to her? Because I didn’t.”

Stiles wants to protest the distance between them now, having gotten far too comfortable resting against the taller man, “I didn’t say a thing,” he shrugs, “Just a weird coincidence, I suppose.”

Derek settles his hands back on Stiles’s waist as he stares at his mate, “Most of it has been weird coincidences,” he says as he shrugs, “Do you want to keep dancing?” he asks curiously, “Or will we end up with more than one song?”

Stiles sniggers and shakes his head, “No, it’s fine. It doesn’t really work that way, we can sit back down if you want?”

“No,” Derek says before he can stop himself and then clears his throat, “I don’t mind this.”

“Okay,” Stiles says, trying to hide his grin as he pulls the older man close again by his tie, “Cool.”

Derek feels his heart race slightly and he smiles back, one hand moving around to the small of Stiles’s back, his other reaching up to his shoulder, “Right… cool,” he mutters to himself.

“I like this,” Stiles tells him then, “It’s not something we do, like, ever. I like knowing people are probably watching us, knowing that we’re together.”

“So you’re an exhibitionist,” Derek says and chuckles, “I should’ve known.”

“I dunno if I am or not,” Stiles says truthfully, “But I like the thought of other people knowing I’m yours.”

“That reminds me of something my father used to say,” Derek admits suddenly, narrowing his brows because he never really talks about his family with Stiles.

Stiles’s expression softens and he stares up at Derek curiously, placing his palm over the older man’s heart, “What’d he used to say?”

Derek smiles sheepishly and shrugs, “Things I wasn’t supposed to overhear, about marking and mating, how he’d-it’s nothing.”

“Okay,” Stiles says, pushing up to press a gentle kiss to his mate’s lips. It’s already more than he ever really anticipated hearing about Derek’s family, so he refuses to push for more.

“It’s not sentimental,” Derek says back as he realizes Stiles is dropping the question, “It’s just… inappropriate.”

“It’s cool,” Stiles shrugs flippantly, still grinning somewhat as he leans back in close again.

Derek decides to relate the comment to something else he knows about his kind, “Most werewolf packs that are… secluded from humans, it’s in their nature to claim and mark in front of others. To mate, to knot,” he explains, voice somewhat low.

“So,” Stiles says, pulling back just enough to look up at the werewolf again, finger pressing to his mate’s chest, “Somewhere deep in there, there’s the urge to just take me in front of everyone?”

“Yes,” Derek admits, “But it’s more than that, it can be more…” he narrows his brows, “I would do it in front of them, because we were in front of them, to show them.”

“Part of me wishes you could,” Stiles says honestly, reaching up to touch his mate’s face, “We’d probably both get arrested, though.”

Derek responds shortly, “Part of me, most of me, doesn’t particularly care whether I can or can’t, and is still willing to do it, regardless of the consequences.”

“Then what keeps you from doing it?” Stiles asks curiously, thumb brushing against Derek’s beard.

“The ‘Were’ part,” Derek answers, leaning into Stiles’s touch.

“Well,” Stiles says softly, moving his hand down to Derek’s neck, touching the skin there and then moving it to the older man’s shoulder, “For what it’s worth, I’d want you to.”

Derek stares down into his mate’s eyes, “It’s worth a lot,” he says softly, leaning in and pressing a soft, slow kiss to Stiles’s forehead.

Derek feels his cheeks heat at the comment and rubs his hand soothingly over Oliver’s back as he smiles, “It’s nice to have practice beforehand,” he says, trying not to react too obviously to what Stiles said, and then he crosses one leg over the other, sitting Oliver up in his lap and staring at the baby as he stares back at Derek with wide eyes.

“Yeah, that way we won’t really be going into it blind,” Stiles says, watching the two of them, “I’m pretty sure the only downside to babysitting is the fact that it just-it kinda makes me want a family right now, you know? But this is-it’s good, it’s good for us.”

“We’re too busy to be able to commit fully to a family, too,” Derek responds, smiling slightly, “It’s new - the relationship, you can barely keep your hands off me to work, the last thing we need is children involved in that.”

“I know,” Stiles says and narrows his brows at his mate, “Trust me, I know. But it doesn’t hurt to think about it or to long for it.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Derek says, even though he disagrees, somewhat, but there’s no harm in his partner thinking about it and longing for it - it’s actually nice to know that it’s something Stiles does want, now. The alpha leans down, tickling Oliver’s sides as the baby giggles and reaches up to get a hold on his beard.

Stiles watches and when Oliver grabs a hold of Derek, the visual makes his heart stutter. And if he actually had a uterus right now, it’d probably be aching, longing to be stuffed full of his mate’s pups. His hand stills in Heidi’s hair when his eyes flit to the older man’s neck and he raises a curious brow, “What’s wrong with your neck?” he asks, somewhat worried.

Derek glances at Stiles as Oliver pulls on his beard hairs, “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve got like a-a… it’s like a nasty looking bruise,” Stiles tries to explain, reaching out with his other hand and pushing down the collar of the werewolf’s shirt to get a better look, “It’s uh, it kinda looks like a hickey,” his eyes widen at that and he notes the teeth marks, “Oh my God, it is, b-but how?”

“From when you marked me?” Derek asks and shrugs, he saw it that morning when he was trimming. He’s not sure why it stayed, but it’s not like it hurts, “It’s fine.”

“It’s fine?” Stiles snorts incredulously, “Whatever, dude. It’s awesome. I-I can like…” he hums suggestively, but doesn’t really elaborate, “You think it’s a mate thing?”

Derek nods, “That’s my best guess. I’m not sure if that’s actually the case, but it’s likely,” he says as he turns back to Oliver, smiling and leaning in to brush his beard against the boy’s cheek, making him giggle even more and flail wildly.

“Easy, baby,” Stiles says and reaches out to touch Derek’s forearm, “You’ll give him beard burn or something, I don’t wanna have to explain that to Lyds.”

“I am being careful,” Derek says as he looks at Stiles, “I wouldn’t hurt him.”

“I know you wouldn’t, but have you seen your beard lately?” Stiles asks and grins, reaching to scrabble his fingers against it, “You’re about due for a trim.”

“I trimmed this morning,” Derek responds, lifting his brows and leaning in to Stiles’s fingers.

“I find that extremely hard to believe,” Stiles says and grins wider at the way his mate reacts to his touch, “If you don’t stay on top of it, you’re gonna end up looking like some sort of mountain man.”

He’s silent for a moment, but then he humors the thought and raises a brow, “Then again, that might not be so bad.”

Derek rolls his eyes and lifts Oliver above his head, “I’m not hairy enough already, for you? You need more fur?”

Stiles almost chokes on his tongue at that and his eyes widen, then soften, and after that he grins suggestively - the myriad of different expressions all at once making his face hurt, “I like your fur,” he says lowly, thinking about how it clung to his sweated skin during his mate’s heat.

Derek smirks at the tone of Stiles’s voice as he gently tosses Oliver up a little and catches him, “I know,” he says as the little boy giggles loudly, “I noticed that,” he looks at Stiles, “I like that you like it.”

Stiles grins wider, but then he clears his throat, because they need to change the subject, “You think he’s hungry?” he asks, motioning to Oliver, “And do you think I should lay her down? I just don’t want her to end up with a kink in her neck.”

“I’ll get her,” Derek offers as he moves to hand Oliver over to his mate, standing up and reaching down to pick up Heidi, keeping her close as he moves to take her into the guest room.

Stiles picks Oliver up and stands up to move into the kitchen, baby perched on his hip as he bounces him, “Alright, Ollie, what’re you feeling, huh?” he knows the baby won’t answer, but it’s just the principle of the thing - he likes talking, “You want bananas or some of that yucky squash your mommy said you needed to eat?”

Derek sets down Heidi in the bed, covering her up and moving back out, down the hall and into the kitchen, walking up behind Stiles and kissing the back of the younger man’s neck as he touches Stiles’s waist.

“Mm,” Stiles hums his contentment and turns away from the cabinet to kiss Derek, even as Oliver pats his cheek with his chubby little palm, “Okay, okay. I get it, no smooching,” he says, smiling as he pulls back from his mate, raising his brows at Oliver, “You happy now?”

Derek chuckles and leans in to press another kiss to Oliver’s cheek, moving around them to the counter, “Banana?” he offers, raising a brow.

“Yeah,” Stiles says, steadying Oliver with a hand to his little tummy, “We’ll give him the squash in a little bit.”

Derek nods as he takes one of the bananas, peeling it and grabbing a knife and a plate, slicing it down into little pieces before offering it to Stiles, “He likes the banana more, anyway,” he says and looks at the boy’s expression when he sees the plate.

Oliver’s eyes widen and he coos, arms flailing as he grunts and tries to reach for the plate, causing Stiles to chuckle, “Yeah, I’d say,” he takes the plate from Derek and moves to the table, setting it down before taking a seat, settling the baby onto his leg. He picks up a small piece of the banana and offers it to Oliver, touching it to his lips, “Here you go, little man.”

Derek sits at the table as well, watching Stiles and smiling as he reaches out to touch Oliver’s back, “You’ll make an even better father.”

Stiles looks up at Derek then and his mouth pops open, brows narrowing and he’s about to say something, but Oliver takes the opportunity to bite down on his finger while he’s distracted, “Ow,” he all but yelps, jumping slightly and pulling his finger away as the baby giggles.

“You denied the boy his bananas, you’re gonna get bit,” Derek responds and smirks, “He bit me yesterday.”

“Wasn’t denying him his bananas,” Stiles grumbles lightheartedly and gets another small piece, giving it to Oliver, “I was distracted for all of a second and he bit me. It’s your fault, you should kiss it better.”

“As far as he’s concerned, it’s the same thing,” Derek says as he looks at his mate, leaning over to take his finger and press a short, soft kiss to it.

Stiles grins so wide it almost makes his face hurt, then leans down to whisper in Oliver’s ear, “He’s a big pushover, huh? A big softy.”

Derek narrows his eyes at Stiles, “I think Erica Reyes said something similar to you on your first day as my partner.”

“She was right, then,” Stiles muses and feeds Oliver some more banana, “Because you are, mainly just with me, but you definitely are.”

“You, children, people that aren’t stupid,” Derek says as he watches Oliver shake his feet in excitement and grab Stiles’s wrist, “It’s not my fault that that’s a small percentage of the human race.”

Stiles chuckles at Derek and wiggles his hand when Oliver gets a hold of his wrist, trying to keep the baby from gnawing on his finger, “True.”

“What kind of name would you give a pup?” Derek asks before he can stop himself, his cheeks flushing as he looks away from Stiles and Oliver, “Have you thought on it before?”

Stiles’s smile fades and he looks up at Derek, heart racing suddenly as he wets his lips, “Um,” he mumbles, mindlessly feeding Oliver, “Well, it would depend on gender, I think. But uh, yeah, I’ve thought about it.”

Derek tightens his jaws as he listens to his mate, of course Stiles has, he was with Heather for ten years and she clearly wanted children. The thought’s had to cross the younger man’s mind at least once or twice, “When?” he asks, just as a kind of follow up.

“Recently,” Stiles responds, watching his mate’s face curiously to gauge his reaction and bouncing his knee some to keep Oliver from whining.

Derek turns to look at Stiles then, trying to change the conversation, or at least make it less serious, “Would you name it something Polish? Like Przemyslaw?”

Stiles blanches when his mate says his real name and it’s so odd hearing the older man say it, because no one has actually said it in years. The last person who actually said his name was his mother, “Uh,” he splutters a little bit, honestly kind of impressed with the fact that Derek pronounced it right, “No,” he tells him, “Not polish.”

Derek chuckles at Stiles’s reaction and he licks his lips as he sits back in his seat, “People don’t say your name much, do they?”

“Or at all,” Stiles adds on, “My dad doesn’t even say it, it’s just-wow, so weird actually hearing it. Kudos on the pronunciation, though.”

“I looked it up,” Derek admits shamelessly, “I would’ve never guessed right, otherwise. It fits you.”

“It does?” Stiles asks in confusion, because that’s the first time he’s ever heard someone say his name suits him.

Derek nods, “Well, yeah, Stiles and Stilinski fit as well, but your actual name does, too,” he says thoughtfully, “Is there a reason you don’t go by it? Besides for the fact that no one could pronounce it.”

“Um, no, not really,” Stiles responds and rubs his hand over Oliver’s back when he’s done with the banana, patting the baby gently to burp him, “People just… tend to butcher it, so it’s easier to go by Stiles.”

The alpha stands up, moving around the table to Stiles, brushing his fingers through Oliver’s soft baby hair as he leans down and kisses his mate, “I would’ve, if I didn’t have a year to practice it.”

Stiles smiles and arches his neck, trying to kiss back the best he can from his seat, “You’re not gonna start calling me by it all the time, are you?” he asks curiously, hand stilling when Oliver burps.

“I won’t if you don’t want me to,” Derek says as he stands upright and takes the plate from the table, “Not if you prefer 'Stiles'.”

“I prefer 'Stiles',” Stiles says and stands up, hoisting the baby back up on his hip, “I’ve been called Stiles for the majority of the twenty-seven years I’ve been alive.”

“I’ve been called ‘murderer’ for the majority of my thirty-seven,” Derek responds, “That doesn’t mean that I’ll go by it, though.” He glances back at Stiles as he washes the plate, “It’s what you identify with, not what you’re called most.”

Stiles narrows his brows at the older man, “I identify with Stiles,” he says, kissing Oliver’s fingers when the baby grabs at his lips.

The alpha puts the plate away and joins his partner’s side, “Then that’s what I’ll call you,” he says as he smirks, “That… And ‘moron’,” he shrugs, “That’s what fits you most,” he reaches down, fixing the back of the younger man’s shirt.

“You know, if I didn’t already know how much you love me, I’d probably think you hate me,” Stiles muses and shakes his head at the older man, grinning weakly as he carries the baby back into the other room, “Did you wanna set up his pack n’ play in the bedroom? It’s getting kinda late.”

“Yeah,” the alpha responds, watching after Stiles for a moment, Oliver sitting in his arms and Derek’s eyes drop down to his partner’s ass before he swallows tightly and leaves the room, walking down the hall and into the bedroom to get everything set up.

Stiles gives Derek a few moments, waiting long enough for the werewolf to get the thing set up and the blanky put down in it, then he joins his mate in the bedroom, laying Oliver down in it gently before holding his hand out towards Derek, “Can you get me his stuffed bear over there on the chair, please?”

Derek picks up the stuffed animal and hands it over, walking past Stiles as he takes off his shirt and moves to the dresser.

“Thanks, baby,” Stiles mumbles and sets the stuffed bear down next to Oliver, smiling when the baby turns into it and hugs it, “Night, little guy,” he says and moves away from the pack n’ play, reaching down to pull his own shirt off.

Derek looks at Stiles as he toes off his socks, unbuttoning and unzipping his pants as his eyes run over the younger man’s body again, “When we take them home tomorrow, you wanna check out that ice cream shop?”

“Huh?” Stiles asks as he strips down completely, hopping his way into a pair of his pajama bottoms, “Oh, the ice cream place. Yeah, that sounds fine,” he nods, moving the crawl into their bed.

“After we drop them off, just in case,” Derek pushes his pants and boxer briefs down his legs before changing into his own pajamas and walking to the bed.

“Okay,” Stiles says and reaches out to his mate’s side of the bed, slinging the comforter back for him and wiggling closer in anticipation, wanting to snuggle close to the older man.

The alpha climbs into the bed, laying down and pulling Stiles in as he covers them both and leans in to kiss along his mate’s neck, “This time was easier than the last.”

“Yeah,” Stiles utters softly and reaches up to scratch his fingers through Derek’s hair, eyes fluttering shut as he arches his neck into the soft press of his mate’s mouth, “A lot more enjoyable, I think.”

“Mhm,” Derek breathes as his right hand runs down Stiles’s side, “Last time it was like we were arguing, even though we didn’t really talk at all,” he mutters as he sucks along the younger man’s shoulder.

“It was mostly my fault,” Stiles tells him quietly, body tingling as he tries to shift closer to Derek, “Stupid, pent up frustrations regarding children. It wasn’t really easy having an epiphany and suddenly realizing just how badly I want a family, especially when I was-I had been so sure, positive even, that I didn’t want kids.”

Derek nods in understanding, “I know the feeling,” he says as he pushes down the side of Stiles’s pajama bottoms, grabbing the skin of the boy’s hip and pulling him in close, “It’s been a touchy subject for the both of us, too - that didn’t help.”

“I’m glad we’re over it,” Stiles says and his breath hitches, skin warming where Derek touches him, “Glad we got shit figured out. I hate arguing with you.”

“Me too,” Derek says as he scents Stiles’s neck, closing his eyes as his hand runs down his mate’s thigh, spreading his legs slightly as the alpha presses short, quick kisses over the soft moles on Stiles’s collarbone, “I don’t like it, either.”

“Mm,” Stiles hums and moves the hand in Derek’s hair down, touching the nape of the older man’s neck as he spreads his legs a little further, uncertain of where things are going right now but wanting to let the werewolf know he’s okay with whatever, “Lowell,” he says suddenly, voice soft, “If it were a boy, it means 'young wolf'.”

Derek starts to smile at the name, but his own wolf practically groans - it’s so pleased - and Derek opens his mouth, turning to suck the skin under Stiles’s ear, “And a girl?”

Stiles smiles as well and his entire body is thrumming, hands clutching his mate close as he tries to turn his head some to whisper into the werewolf’s ear, “Accalia,” he tells him, kissing the edge of Derek’s jaw, “Pretty much means 'she-wolf'. We could call her 'Lia'.”

“You’ve thought about this a lot,” Derek says as his hand moves from Stiles’s thigh, reaching up to run over his mate’s stomach, “I like them,” He mutters as he looks Stiles in the eyes and kisses him.

“Good,” Stiles says and kisses back eagerly, “I’m glad, really really glad, actually.” It’s bad enough he’d been considering names, especially when the prospect of having a family is so far off, but he takes solace in the fact that his mate likes the names.

Derek’s palm smooths over the smaller man’s belly before reaching back down into his pajama pants, taking Stiles’s soft cock and stroking it, his tongue lashing out to run over his mate’s lips, “So am I - that you think about it that much,” the younger man has no clue how pleased it makes Derek’s wolf, to imagine Stiles sitting down and looking into names in relation to terms about him.

Stiles whimpers softly and his lips part, length beginning to harden in Derek’s large, calloused hand, “Derek,” he breathes, brushing their noses together before kissing the werewolf again as his hips lift from the bed a little.

The alpha growls low at the sound of Stiles’s voice and he jerks the still somewhat flaccid length, feeling the slick head once he pushes back the younger man’s foreskin and Derek looks at Stiles, watching his cheeks turn red and he reaches down with his other hand to cup Stiles’s balls, gently massaging the flesh between his fingers.

The way Derek growls causes Stiles’s skin to break out in goosebumps, shivering against the older man and his length twitches, “So fucking hot when you do that,” he says mindlessly, head rolling back against the pillow as he fights the urge to moan aloud in fear of waking the kids up.

Derek pulls his hand back then, pushing the pajamas down a little further so that they don’t get bunched up. He reaches out and takes Stiles’s hand, wrapping those thin fingers back around his mate’s cock, Derek’s covering them as he turns into Stiles’s neck, “I can tell,” he says as he guides the younger man’s fingers, “Your scent spikes up when I do it.”

“This is hot, too,” Stiles squeaks lowly, wetting his lips as his hand pumps his length, looking down between them to watch the older man guide him in the dark of their room, “Fuck, Derek.”

“Mmm,” Derek hums in response to the tremulous sound of Stiles’s voice and he chuckles lowly, “Good?” he asks, even though it’s clear just how much the younger man likes it. He scents Stiles’s neck again, the hand cupping his partner’s balls moving up his stomach and chest to pinch and roll Stiles’s right nipple.

“Oh God,” Stiles gasps and nods, and if it weren’t for his mate guiding his movements, his hand would probably be completely still right now, because it feels too good, “We um-” his cock twitches and he lets out a soft groan, “This needs to be like, mutually beneficial.”

Derek lifts his brows and turns to drag his teeth along the other man’s jaw, “It already is,” he says, and Stiles probably would never understand just how mating works, but it’s more than mutually beneficial, just doing this - although he’s tempted to just fuck Stiles, as long as the younger man can keep quiet, it should be fine.

“Yeah, I get that,” Stiles whispers, “I understand, pleasing you makes me feel good, too, but…” he smooths his free hand down the front of the werewolf’s chiseled chest, fingers just barely dipping down past the hem of his pajamas, “I want you to get off with me.”

“No,” Derek stops and grabs Stiles’s wrist, “Not like that,” he lets out a huff of breath and presses his lips to his mate’s neck, reaching out then to grab the lube from just under the leftmost pillow with one hand as he pushes Stiles’s pajamas off completely.

“How do you wanna do it then?” Stiles asks and eyes the lube, making sure he keeps his voice low, because there’s a sleeping baby not even ten feet from them.

Derek considers the question and, for as many times as they’ve fucked, there’s one obvious position they haven’t had sex in yet (at least not in a completely consensual, loving way). He pours the lube on his fingers, reaching behind Stiles and rubbing the tips of them between the younger man’s cheeks as he lowers his voice, “In my lap, I want you to ride my knot.”

Stiles lets out a weak, indiscernible whine and nods almost at once, “Yeah, okay, that’s-yeah, let’s do that,” he agrees, entirely too eager as he spreads his legs wider for his mate.

Derek smirks at the sound of Stiles’s voice all shallow and breathless, his middle finger slipping into the younger man as he nips along his mate’s neck, “You’ve gotta be quiet, though, you think you can do that for me?”

“Mhm,” Stiles hums and grips the nape of Derek’s neck, breaths coming out in short, heavy puffs as he wiggles his hips down some, wanting more of his mate, “Yeah, I can do that.”

“Good,” the alpha says as he pushes in a second finger, “I don’t wanna have to gag you,” he adds and works the fingers in and out of Stiles carefully, spreading them apart and scissoring them inside his mate.

“Oh fuck  but you could,” Stiles whines, hole clenching down around the werewolf’s fingers, “I seriously wouldn’t mind,” he says, knowing he probably won’t be able to keep quiet anyway.

Derek blinks at the comment, though he probably shouldn’t be surprised at how eager Stiles is for it, considering the boy’s oral fixation. He pulls his fingers back, laying down on his side of the bed on his back and pushing his own pajama bottoms down his thighs before lifting a brow, “Come on.”

Stiles moves quickly and he’s never been more thankful for a quiet bed than he is right now, slinging a leg over the older man’s waist and settling himself down against the werewolf’s bare skin. He leans down at first and kisses his mate, the corner of his mouth pulled up into a lopsided grin as he leans back and lifts himself some, taking the werewolf’s cock and guiding it as he starts to sink down.

“Always forget how big you are,” he grunts, mouth hanging open as the length stretches him.

Derek stares up at Stiles, one hand reaching out to grab the other man’s hip and offer support, the other reaching up Stiles’s stomach, fingers running through his partner’s happy trail as he wets his lips and watches with wide eyes.

Stiles doesn’t want to go slowly with this part, but he knows that if he doesn’t, the girth alone is liable to rip him, so he has to work himself down on Derek’s cock with patience. He looks down, his own dick hard and curved up towards his stomach, eyes raking along the miles of his mate’s skin laid out on display beneath him and when they flit up to the werewolf’s face, he can’t help the groan that escapes.

“Shhh,” Derek says softly, reaching up to cover Stiles’s mouth as he smiles and shakes his head, “What did I say?” he can empathize, though, he’s seconds from sobbing, himself - he’s just better at keeping completely silent. He didn’t prep Stiles as much as he normally would, but part of him wanted the tightness to be almost painful this time.

“Trying,” Stiles whispers harshly, wincing slightly as he pulls back up and lowers himself back down, taking more of the length this time. He moves his hands to Derek’s chest, right thumb brushing over his mate’s left nipple as he seats himself as well as he can for the moment, rim being tested by the alpha’s knot.

Derek breathes out shakily and runs his right hand up Stiles’s back, his left thumb brushing along the other man’s lower lip as he waits and looks over his mate’s body hungrily.

Stiles leans back down again after kissing his mate’s thumb, dropping wet, open mouthed kisses along Derek’s chest as he starts working his hips, thighs flexing as he fucks himself on the werewolf’s length, trying to get himself nice and lax before he even tries pushing down further.

Derek reaches back behind Stiles, grabbing the younger man’s left ass cheek as his fingers rest against Stiles’s hole, feeling his length as his mate moves atop him. His other hand drops down to run his fingers through Stiles’s soft chest hair as his toes curl and Derek growls low each time his partner drops back down onto him.

Stiles touches the hand on his chest, fingers curling around it before he brings it up to his lips and sucks two of the digits into his mouth, giving himself something to stifle the sounds he knows he’s probably about to make. He shifts his knees in closer and stares down at Derek, heart starting to race slightly, because it’s been a while since they’ve done anything knot related. He wants it, even though he hasn’t really been prepped much at all, so he starts grinding down, further and further each time, whimpering and moaning around his mate’s fingers as he feels his entrance stretch.

“Ah,” Derek gasps and drops his head back, feeling the pressure of Stiles’s body bearing down against his knot and his legs shake, length throbbing inside of his mate as his eyes water. It doesn’t help that they younger man has his fucking fingers in his mouth, sucking on them and still making those little whimper sounds.

Derek’s reaction urges Stiles on, his own length twitching and dribbling pre-come from excitement as he whines around his mate’s fingers, forcing himself further onto the knot as his hips rock up and down. The only downside is not knowing how far he’s gotten and it’s too dark to look down and see, so he really doesn’t know how much more to anticipate.

The alpha reaches back around to the younger man’s front, taking Stiles’s cock and stroking it as calmly as possible considering the rest of his body is shaking almost violently, “Slower,” he says in a huff of breath as a tear drops down the side of his face.

Stiles pulls the fingers from his mouth and leans down far enough to kiss along Derek’s cheek, then just next to the older man’s eye where he saw a tear streak, “Does it hurt?” he asks lowly, slowing his hips for his mate, but still sinking down on the knot steadily.

“Not exactly,” Derek says as he wets his lips, “It feels good, but yeah it’s… it’s kind of fast,” he mutters numbly, grabbing the back of his mate’s neck and pulling him in for a quick kiss.

“Sorry,” Stiles mumbles breathlessly against Derek’s lips, resting himself a little more firmly against his mate as he kisses back, thighs starting to burn a little with exertion. There’s a dull ache from being stretched more than he’s used to, but it feels nice and he inadvertently clamps down around the knot just from thinking about it.

Derek gasps against Stiles’s lips, his hand moving back down to the younger man’s waist, guiding him down a little more and arching his hips up as he lets out a shaky breath, “It’s okay, it’s… like I said, it feels good.”

“It does,” Stiles agrees lowly and groans, dropping his lips down to his mate’s neck, darkening the mark he put on Derek the other day and making a new one just beneath it as he grinds down.

“You should… Do more,” Derek breathes out, smiling slightly and though he hadn’t thought much on what Stiles was capable of, before, the idea of it now is more than appealing.

“Hmm?” Stiles asks and pulls his mouth from Derek’s skin, eyes glazed over somewhat as he looks at the werewolf, “Like what, baby?”

Derek takes Stiles’s hand and puts it on his chest, lifting his brows suggestively as he continues stroking his mate’s length, thumb brushing under the head on each uptake.

Stiles’s eyes flutter for a moment and his cock twitches, but then he looks down at his hand on the alpha’s chest, still somewhat confused. He curls his fingers against the skin, though, and draws his hand down slowly, blunt nails making little pink lines appear on his mate’s skin as his eyes flit to Derek’s unsurely.

“Yeah,” Derek says, voice low and soft as he growls, his eyes flashing as he looks down at the little marks, his hips arching up to rub his knot against Stiles even more, “Go on.”

Stiles is intrigued, so it’s not like Derek has to tell him twice. He puts both of his hands on the alpha’s chest then, hips undulating against the werewolf as he smirks and scratches down the flesh hard, feeling some odd sense of pride when he sees thin little beads of blood form, “Fuck.”

Derek watches with wide eyes, “Yeah,” he agrees, nodding silently otherwise and he’s not sure if it’s considered to be a blood kink, what they’re doing, but he likes the idea of the marks being left on him tomorrow, and the day after.

“I like that I can do this to you,” Stiles admits when the scratches don’t automatically heal, cock leaking pre-come like a spigot, “Gonna start doing it more often, marking you up like you do me, make sure everyone knows you’re mine.”

“I am yours,” Derek repeats, smiling and reaching up to the scratches, fingers brushing the cuts as he looks at the thin lines of blood, “Mark me all you want.”

Stiles grins at that and leans back, sitting upright in his mate’s lap and with a distraction like this - marking Derek more - it’s marginally easier to work himself down on the knot. He reaches behind himself slightly, eyes glued to the alpha’s face as he rakes his fingernails up the inner sides of the older man’s thighs.

Derek spreads his legs slightly when he feels the younger man scratching at them and his eyes all but roll back in his head, his hands grabbing Stiles’s arm when he feels his knot swell a little, “Wait-” he mutters, “Not… not yet, or I’ll…”

Stiles stills completely and looks at Derek in confusion, skin flushed and sweated and it takes everything he has not to whine, “Or you’ll what?”

“I’ll come,” Derek says, lifting his brows as he shifts his knot against Stiles’s backside, “Unless that’s what you want, you should stop, for now.”

“Okay,” Stiles says and he doesn’t really want to stop, but he will, because he doesn’t want Derek coming until he’s worked himself completely down onto his mate’s knot, “How much further?” he asks, pulling his arms from the alpha to lean back some, bracing himself with his hands on Derek’s knees, “A lot?”

“Yeah,” the alpha breathes, “It’s already swelled a little, it’s not gonna be easy,” he says as he rests his hands on his mate’s waist, “Just be careful.”

“I don’t have the patience,” Stiles tells him, letting his head loll back as he continues to lift himself up and down, brows notching together in concentration as he breathes calmly and pushes down a little further, “Just want you in me already.”

Derek nods, “Ride me, give it a breath,” he says as he guides his partner back up, trying to calm himself as well. His cock is practically aching at this point, teeth clenching together as he breathes quickly out of his nose.

“I am riding you,” Stiles complains and leans forward again, busying himself by mouthing along the cuts on his mate’s chest while he fucks himself on the older man’s cock, “I should just-I should just take it, sink down,” he murmurs lowly, nipping at one of the welts, “And if I tear, I can have you take the pain away… with your tongue.”

“No,” Derek growls, running his fingers through the other man’s hair, “Just wait, don’t force it - it won’t be good for either of us.”

“And if we wait,” Stiles responds and looks up at Derek from where he’s licking along the older man’s chest, “It’s gonna take all night.”

“No it’s not, stop being an impatient brat,” Derek says as he jerks the younger man’s length once more, “Get off before taking it, it’ll be easier,” he slides his other hand down Stiles’s thigh soothingly, staring into his eyes.

“Keep your hand on my dick for longer than five minutes and I actually might,” Stiles retorts sarcastically, but he grins at the older man, moving up further and biting down around the alpha’s left areola.

Derek rolls his eyes, “It’s difficult to do anything with you grinding down on my knot, Stiles,” he says pointedly, pumping his mate’s cock quickly as his other hand rubs the inside of Stiles’s thigh.

“Are we arguing while we’re fucking?” Stiles asks probably a little too excitedly, soothing the mark around Derek’s nipple with his tongue, thighs burning as he continues to move, “Kinda like it.”

“You would,” Derek says back, chuckling and arching his chest against Stiles’s mouth, “I didn’t realize we were arguing.”

“Mm,” Stiles hums and moves up to mark the other side of his mate’s neck, “We’re not, not really, s’just banter,” he utters, digging his teeth into the warm skin and groaning against it.

Derek fights back a gasp as he feels Stiles biting him and he tilts his head, exposing his neck more for the other man as his hand reaches down, teasing across the head of his mate’s cock, smearing the pre-come down the underneath and he rocks his hips a little.

“Derek,” Stiles gasps against the wet skin and his mouth hangs open for a moment, toes curling as he feels a mind numbing warmth radiate throughout his groin, “Squeeze a little harder, I’m close.”

“Mhm,” the alpha breathes through his nose, his hand tightening around the length slightly as he watches Stiles, trying not to get too excited himself, otherwise the knot would get bigger and then it’d be completely impossible to do tonight, at least without more prep.

Stiles whimpers when Derek obliges and leans back again, staring down at his mate as he feels his orgasm near, “Baby, can you-” he gasps and wets his lips, “Can you um-” he stops again, because he doesn’t really know how to ask for it.

“Hmm?” the alpha asks, narrowing his brows, “Can I what?”

Stiles’s eyes rake over the werewolf’s face and he grins hopefully, “Shift… just a little?” he asks, trying to stave his release off a little longer.

Derek starts to move slightly before he realizes what Stiles is asking isn’t for him to shift, it’s for him to shift, “Oh,” he says and smiles, changing as he watches Stiles, fur sprouting over his face as he eases his hold on the younger man’s cock, claws growing out as he tries to keep the shift at a minimal.

The change practically makes Stiles sob and he reaches up, pressing his fingertips through the fur on the side of his mate’s face, “D-Do the-do the eye thing, please?” he asks, chest heaving as he watches the werewolf.

Derek smirks and flashes his eyes a few times before keeping them red as he stares at his mate, smelling the sharp scent of the boy’s arousal as it spikes up.

“Oh fuck,” Stiles moans when the older man’s eyes stay red and he tenses, coming hard and all but doubling over against the alpha, gasping for breath as his hole clenches spasmodically around Derek’s girth.

Derek gasps and pulls Stiles off of him, laying the younger man on the bed beside him and crowding up behind his mate as he slides back in smoothly. His hands grab Stiles’s hips and pull him back as the alpha rocks his knot against his partner’s hole until it pushes in past the complete width and he lets out a huff of breath.

“Ah,” Stiles whimpers and reaches back, grasping at the older man’s hip as he tries to keep himself lax, “Derek, fuck.”

“I know,” Derek responds, reaching up with one hand to cover Stiles’s mouth, “But you need to keep quiet,” he says as he pulls the knot back out, his whole body shaking as he slams back in again.

Stiles yelps against the hand covering his mouth and he’s pretty sure he goes cross eyed for a second or two, body still thrumming from his own release and with his mate fucking him with his knot, it causes his length to twitch desperately.

Derek gasps as his knot pushes in almost completely and he drops his head against Stiles’s neck, biting the skin and pulling back out again. He’s close, so close, and the sixth time he feels the entire knot sink in, he has to press his mouth against his mate’s neck to stop himself from howling. He holds Stiles flush against him as he comes, back trying to arch, but he fights the urge, letting out a weak, strangled sound against the other man’s skin.

Stiles groans out Derek’s name against the older man’s hand, but it comes out sounding so muffled it’s completely indiscernible, body vibrating with pleasure and he reaches down, hand smoothing over his slightly inflated stomach as he whimpers and breathes the best he can.

Derek pulls back finally, resting his nose just behind Stiles’s ear as he pants, the tears pouring down his cheeks as he collects himself and reaches out instinctively to touch his mate’s stomach, but he pauses and smiles when Stiles’s hand is already there, “I love you,” he says as he laces their fingers together.

“I love you so much,” Stiles responds quietly, still trying to catch his breath as he moves their hands around his belly, wishing that it wasn’t just Derek’s come causing the protrusion, but the older man’s pups instead.

“Me too,” Derek says, all but hearing Stiles’s train of thought as he pulls the younger man in as close as possible and covers them both up with the blanket. He turns and presses a soft kiss to Stiles’s hair, breathing calmly as he closes his eyes, “Hopefully… soon enough.”

Stiles grins slowly and wraps his fingers around Derek’s wrist, pulling it away from his shirt as he watches his partner’s face, “You know I can undress myself, right?” he asks, gaze now locked with the werewolf’s as he finishes unbuttoning the fabric. He’s still sore and wrung out from earlier, but being able to relax and take a nice hot shower with his partner is definitely appealing.

“I’m more than aware of what you can do,” Derek says as he reaches up to take off his tie, loosening it and removing it from his collar as he reaches out again, drawing Stiles in and pushing the shirt from the younger man’s shoulders.

“Mm,” Stiles hums when Derek pulls him closer and he inhales the older man’s scent subtly, eyes flicking back up curiously, “You were extraordinarily bossy today,” he points out, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards, “Is that gonna become a common thing, or..?”

Derek lifts a brow at the question and feels his heart race a little as he considers an answer. It’s been a while since everything that happened in the bathroom at the office, he wasn’t really that aware of how he was acting, before. He’s not even sure where it came from, but his wolf can be insistent sometimes, so maybe it was just some kind of instinct kicking in.

He’s still not sure, he’s not even sure if he’s against it happening again, “I… probably not,” he says and swallows tightly, “I didn’t mean to get like that.”

“I’m not complaining,” Stiles tries to reassure Derek, still grinning slightly as he shakes his head, “In fact, it’s kinda hot when you get all demanding and take charge,” he says lowly, wetting his lips as his gaze drops to his partner’s for a moment.

Derek wraps his arms around Stiles, leaning close to kiss him before pulling back to take off the younger man’s belt, “I wasn’t sure if it was that or just the plug that was making you so aroused,” he admits, unbuttoning his partner’s pants as he looks Stiles in the eyes.

“I’m not gonna lie, initially it was the plug,” Stiles says as he runs his palms down Derek’s chest, “But then you pushed me up against the door and told me what to do, and it was…” he purses his lips thoughtfully, blowing out a shaky breath before slowly pushing his partner’s shirt off of his shoulders, “It was nice.”

The alpha nods at the admission and pushes the younger man’s pants down with his boxers, “Okay,” he says as he takes off his own pants and steps out of them before lifting Stiles up and moving them both to stand in the tub.

He runs his palm down his boy’s chest and stomach, around to his back and lower, between his cheeks, fingers brushing the flat base of the plug as he stares at his partner, “If you like it, I’ll do it again.”

Stiles presses his lips to Derek’s right pec and shakes his head, breath hitching slightly, “Nah,” he says dismissively, “It’s okay.” He doesn’t particularly want his partner to do something strictly for his benefit, he wants the werewolf to enjoy it, too.

Derek pulls Stiles under the stream of water, lifting his chin to look him in the eyes, “It’s not a difficult thing to convince me to do,” he says as he leans down to kiss along the younger man’s neck, “I’m an alpha now, it comes naturally to me.”

Stiles tilts his head and his mouth opens some, slack-jawed as he all but offers his neck to Derek, hands reaching up to grasp at the werewolf’s shoulders, “If it comes naturally, then maybe I don’t need to convince you of anything,” he breathes.

“Exactly,” Derek says as he takes the skin exposed into his mouth, running his tongue over it before biting Stiles, one hand reaching out to grab the shampoo, the other - still pressed against the plug - takes the end of it with the tips of his fingers and shifts it around inside his boy.

“Derek,” Stiles whimpers, the slight movement of the plug causing his eyes to widen and he digs his blunt nails into the werewolf’s skin, “I-I don’t-I don’t think I can come anymore today,” he says, even though he’s not entirely opposed to testing that theory.

“I’m not trying to make you come,” Derek says as he pulls back, taking his hand away before pouring shampoo into his palm, lathering it together and grabbing Stiles by the back of the neck, pulling him in before running his hands up through the wet hair, “I’m gonna take it out here.”

“And put a different one in when we get out?” Stiles asks curiously, eyes fluttering closed the moment he feels Derek’s thick fingers working through his hair.

“Mhm,” Derek confirms as his fingers move, scratching along Stiles’s scalp as he rinses thoroughly, “Afterwards, yes.”

“Okay,” Stiles says numbly and looks up at Derek, tension easing as the water beats down on his muscles.

The alpha washes himself as well before soaping down Stiles’s body, his hand sliding between the younger man’s cheeks again, his other running between Stiles’s legs, under and around his balls before he drops to his knees and traces the body wash down his partner’s thighs as Derek presses his mouth to Stiles’s stomach, lips brushing the scar from the bullet wound.

Stiles watches Derek in awe, right hand lifting up to card gently through his partner’s hair. It seems kind of humorous to him that he actually had a mini breakdown over no one wanting him, over no one wanting to be with him because of his scars and yet, here the older man is, kissing one of them and proving him wrong.

Derek glances up at Stiles as the soap rinses from his body and he turns the smaller man to the wall of the shower, pressing him against it as Derek positions himself behind his partner and stands back up, fingers returning to the plug as he shifts it again, pulling at it carefully as he leans in to the younger man’s ear, “Relax.”

“I am relaxed,” Stiles tells him lowly, pressing his palms to the shower wall as he tries to look back at Derek, wanting to feel more of the older man’s body against his own.

Derek slowly eases the plug out, setting it aside as he spreads Stiles’s cheeks, staring hungrily at the worried hole before reaching out to press his fingers inside. He leans down, kissing and biting his partner’s neck and shoulder, finger sliding in effortlessly.

Stiles gasps at the sensation and even though he’d been pretty insistent about not being able to get off, his body betrays him and his length hardens, because Derek’s fingers are so much better than a stupid silicone plug, “Oh God.”

“Feels good?” Derek asks softly as his fingers curl, brushing over Stiles’s prostate lightly as his other hand reaches around to fist his cock, his tongue running up the younger man’s neck as he looks at Stiles.

Stiles barely manages to nod, legs trembling as he keeps his head tilted some for the werewolf, “Derek,” he all but whines the name, pushing his hips back eagerly in an attempt to get his partner’s fingers deeper.

Derek leans in and kisses Stiles, his fingers thrusting inward quickly, his tongue pressing between the younger man’s lips as he all but lifts his partner clean off the bottom of the tub, a third finger slipping in as his other hand starts slowly working Stiles’s length.

Stiles groans against Derek’s mouth and his hips twitch slightly, inwardly struggling with himself over wanting to thrust into the older man’s hand and wanting to cant his hips backwards on the fingers keeping him spread open.

“Please,” he begs weakly then, nudging the werewolf’s nose with his own.

Derek growls at the sound of Stiles begging and he pulls both hands back completely, looking into the younger man’s eyes as he tries to breathe calmly, his own body shaking with excitement.

“Stiles,” he says tentatively, reaching out to grab his partner’s hips and he’s not sure if he wants to ask, or if he should just take it for himself. His fingers grip the skin firmly as he watches Stiles for a moment and then he shifts closer, arching the younger man’s back, lifting Stiles onto his toes as he presses his length against the worn hole.

Stiles’s length throbs in anticipation and he stares back at Derek the best he can, “That’s it, big guy,” he encourages as he wets his lips, then shifts his hips back to urge the werewolf inside of him, “Fuck.” He reaches back with one hand, grasping at his partner’s slick thigh as he tries pushing further back on Derek’s length.

The alpha watches his boy’s eagerness and he lets out a shaky breath as his eyes widen and he pulls Stiles back, length sliding in. It’s not surprising that the younger man is still tight around him, but it’s more than welcoming, muscles lax as he shifts on his feet.

He doesn’t stop until he’s almost in completely, the base of his knot just barely brushing Stiles’s cheeks and Derek swallows dryly and drops a hand to run along his partner’s thigh.

“Come on, baby,” Stiles says breathily, reaching down to touch the hand on his thigh as he focuses on how good the stretch of Derek’s cock is, “Move a little more, fuck me,” he prompts, clenching his hole around the girth as he stares into the werewolf’s eyes.

Derek shifts even closer still, one hand grabbing Stiles’s waist and holding him against the wall as he starts pulling back out, groaning weakly as he does so, and then he holds the younger man firmly before drawing Stiles back onto him, his hips arching slightly once he’s in again and another growl escapes his throat as the base of his knot is tried.

“Stiles,” he gasps as he moves, his whole body trembling as he struggles to keep his legs still on the floor of the tub.

Being able to finally have Derek in him like this is going to spoil Stiles and he knows he’s not going to want another plug after this, the flesh feels so much better than the plastic and he grunts as the older man pulls him back. He tries to keep up as well, not wanting to rely strictly on the werewolf, so he pushes his hips back, moans getting louder as he tests himself on his partner’s knot, trying to go back just a little further each time, rim stretching tightly around the girth.

Derek reaches out to shut the water off as it starts getting cold, his arms wrapping around Stiles as he lifts the younger man and removes them both from the shower, walking out and down the hall, into the bedroom before laying his partner on his hands and knees on the mattress. The alpha climbs atop him, pressing back in easily and resting his chest against Stiles’s shoulder blades as he kisses the younger man and starts moving again.

Stiles kisses back almost desperately, brows narrowed in concentration and he whimpers lowly against Derek’s mouth, “Oh my God.” He tries to move his hips back, but it’s difficult under the werewolf’s weight, “You gonna knot me?” he asks breathlessly.

“No,” Derek says as he moves quickly, breaths escaping his mouth as he holds the younger man’s waist in one hand, his other moving to take Stiles’s right and lace their fingers together, “Not now, you’re… not ready for that.”

“Please, Derek,” Stiles begs and squeezes the werewolf’s fingers between his, hole clenching instinctively when he feels the length inside of him brush against his prostate, “I trust you, you won’t hurt me, just-just knot me, please? I want you to.”

Derek growls loudly, “No,” he says as his length throbs, knot swelling slightly and he shakes his head, “I know you trust me, that’s not the problem,” he lets out a huff of breath against Stiles’s cheek as he holds his partner close, “I will hurt you without proper preparation, Stiles, and it wouldn’t be safe.”

“I just want you already,” Stiles whines weakly, turning his head some more to press their lips together, “I want you to mate me, officially make me yours and I’m-” he sighs, but the sigh turns into a soft moan, “I’m tired of waiting.”

“It won’t be much longer,” Derek says as he thrusts in quicker, the water between them causing awkward, embarrassing sounds, but he pointedly ignores it, “Soon, I’ll knot you, but you have to wait,” he explains as firmly as possible, “Something as important as this can’t afford to be rushed, and done wrong.”

Stiles’s brows furrow in disappointment and he doesn’t really want to give up, but he knows how much this means to Derek, so he sighs and nods, deciding that having some of the older man like this is better than nothing. And it’s more than he even anticipated happening today, so really, things could’ve been worse.

“Okay,” he concedes and tenderly kisses the werewolf again.

Derek chuckles weakly, grabbing Stiles’s cheek in his large hand and holding him close, “Always impatient,” he murmurs as he moves, his knees sliding up on the bed, pushing Stiles until they’re closer to the headboard and he takes a pillow, shoving it under the younger man’s stomach.

“Generally, yeah,” Stiles smiles weakly to himself and gasps when Derek props his body up a little higher, cheeks heating when he glances back over his shoulder to meet the werewolf’s eyes.

The alpha stares back, his whole body trembling as he moves, fighting off the urge to shift or knot Stiles up. It’s not helping that the younger man is asking for it, even begging.

As much as he wants this to last longer, they do have to do other things before sleep, and the longer he draws this out, chances are he’s going to end up losing his control and knotting Stiles up anyway, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Stiles says at once and reaches around the best he can to touch Derek’s cheek, weakly scratching against the stubble before he kisses the werewolf. He wants to tell his partner just how much, tell him that he’s never really loved someone else this much, not like this, but he bites his tongue and opts to continue kissing his boyfriend instead.

Derek kisses back heatedly, breath hitching as he pulls Stiles back up onto his knees and the alpha thrusts into him quickly, the base of his knot testing Stiles’s entrance every time, his arms wrapping around the younger man completely. He breaks the kiss, dropping his head to scent Stiles’s neck, trying to get himself closer by surrounding himself with his boy.

Stiles reaches down and covers the arms around him with his own, fingertips moving gently through the hair on Derek’s forearms and he tilts his head once again, chest heaving, “Mark me,” he encourages softly, “The way I know you want to, not just your typical little love bites. Mark me, Derek.”

The alpha narrows his brows and, as much as he shouldn’t, he’s already said ‘no’ to Stiles once about knotting - and his wolf is pushing at him insistently to go ahead and do it already.

He turns the younger man slightly onto his side, Derek’s upper half curling around to the front and he presses a quick kiss under Stiles’s right pec before leaning up, running his tongue over his partner’s nipple. He shifts up even higher, eyes locked on Stiles’s as he turns towards the soft flesh between his boy’s shoulder and his chest - just at the curve - and Derek opens his mouth to bite Stiles hard, teeth sinking in as he sucks the skin into his mouth.

“Ah, fuck,” Stiles hisses and watches Derek with wide eyes, pain shooting throughout his chest and he buries his fingers in the werewolf’s hair, tugging gently as he gasps and squirms.

Derek stills so that he doesn’t tear the skin, finally pulling back and licking at the mark he’s left before tilting his head to kiss Stiles as he starts moving again, his breathing more labored now, growing closer as he tries to keep as calm as possible, his claws sharpening for a moment as he gasps.

Stiles doesn’t bother removing his hands from Derek’s hair, kissing the older man heatedly as he groans and whimpers, hole clenching when he feels the subtle pricks of the werewolf’s claws against his skin, “Want you to come in me,” he murmurs, flicking his tongue against his partner’s lips.

“Stiles,” Derek whines throatily, his toes curling as he closes his eyes and drops his hand to run over his boy’s stomach, turning to press his forehead to Stiles’s cheek for a moment before pulling back and laying the younger man down right, settling over him again.

Stiles is hard, length leaking against the pillow positioned beneath him and if he knew it wouldn’t hurt like hell, he’d try to get off or maybe even touch himself a little more. But given how sore he was just earlier today and how much he’s actually gotten off, he knows beyond a doubt he’d probably end up sobbing with his release.

It’s not so bad just like this, anyway, being completely surrounded by Derek, the older man’s thick length keeping him spread open and stuffed full, so he doesn’t really bother too much with himself.

Derek all but wraps himself around Stiles, moving quickly and breathing in the mix of their scent as he licks his lips and retracts his claws, kissing out along the younger man’s shoulders and neck, nipping and biting as his chest heaves. He’s almost unaware of the sounds he’s making, whines and growls, neck all but arching as he howls and comes at the same time, seed filling his boy as he slumps against him.

“Oh,” my God, Stiles thinks to himself, eyes widening at the sounds and the howl causes him to shiver, grunting under the brunt of Derek’s weight, “You okay, big guy?” he asks softly, grinning to himself.

The alpha pulls back carefully, hands smoothing up Stiles’s sides as he smiles lazily and nods, “Yeah.”

“You... do that often?” Stiles asks curiously, turning some to look at the werewolf, “You know, the whole howling when you come thing?”

Derek sits back on his knees, keeping himself inside of Stiles as he shakes his head, “I haven’t done it before.”

Stiles grins wider at that and nods subtly, “So I do that to you then?” he asks rhetorically, “Awesome.”

“I guess so,” Derek says as he chuckles, “I don’t often do… most of what just happened,” he admits, running his hands over the younger man’s back, fingers kneading the flesh under them.

“Oh my God,” Stiles groans when Derek starts massaging him and his eyes almost roll back into his head, “What about this?” he asks, “Is this a thing you don’t often do? Because if not, maybe you should. You should definitely do more of this.”

“I don’t,” Derek says, leaning down to Stiles’s ear and lowering his voice, “But I feel like you deserve it after the day you’ve had.”

“Tall, sexy as all fuck, and caring,” Stiles says to himself and hums his contentment, “I’m gonna marry you some day.”

Derek grins at the words, they seem sincere, but he tries not to take them too seriously - even though that’s what he wants, more than anything else. He leans down, kissing Stiles and carefully shifting his hips atop the younger man as he continues to massage his fingers into his partner’s skin.

Stiles smiles against Derek’s mouth and whimpers, the subtle movement of the older man’s hips combined with his talented fingers all but turning him into a puddle of goo, lax against the mattress, “We could just completely forgo supper and just stay here, for like… you know, forever. That’d be nice. No work, no serial killers, no outside world at all - just you and me.”

“Tempting,” Derek says as he pulls back, “But eventually Scott would come looking and your father would be concerned.” He reaches out for the drawer, procuring a larger plug and setting it by his knees as he starts to move back, length sliding out from the younger man.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Stiles says and lifts his hips from the bed when Derek pulls out, “Don’t do that, just stay in me. You’ve got this whole afterglow thing all wrong, big guy.”

“I want to do this while you’re lax,” Derek responds as he pulls the pillow back into place under Stiles, fingers then pressing back into the younger man, feeling the warm fluid around them before withdrawing some to smear over the width of the plug, “Anything else can wait.”

“Okay,” Stiles says and narrows his brows some when he feels the fingers in him briefly, “But next time we’re just gonna lay here and you’re not gonna pull out of me. I don’t like being deprived of quality snuggling time.”

The alpha lifts a brow at Stiles before arching the younger man’s hips, “Stay,” he says firmly as he pushes the fluids spilling out back in and presses the front of the plug to his boy’s worried, worn hole, rolling the plug against it until it starts sliding in.

“If you want me to stay still, then you should hurry up,” Stiles tells him, mouth gaping open at the press of the plug and his hips twitch some, wanting to roll back against the pressure.

Derek smirks as he watches Stiles’s body go somewhat rigid and he pushes the plug in completely, the width spreading the younger man a little wider than he had. He leans in, tongue lashing out and running up the side of Stiles’s thigh, licking up the seed from his skin.

“Oh my God,” Stiles murmurs numbly, “I really wish an orgasm sounded more appealing right now, because that feels so nice.”

He looks back over his shoulder and raises a brow, taking in the sight of Derek’s huge form behind him, “Did you just… did you just plug all of your come up inside of me?” he asks, already grinning again.

Derek nods as he licks up the rest of the fluids, moving to lay down beside Stiles and pulling the younger man in, “Yes,” he says as he kisses Stiles, “Is that a problem?”

“No,” Stiles snorts at Derek and pushes the older man’s shoulders, laying him flat against the bed and wincing as he moves to straddle him, laying down atop the werewolf, “Are you kidding me? Why would that be a problem?” he asks, playing with his partner’s hair as he peppers his face with gentle kisses.

Derek shrugs and shakes his head, “I’m just making sure,” he says as he rests his large hands on the younger man’s waist, “We know a lot about one another, but as far as sex goes… I don’t think either of us even know ourselves there; I don’t wanna cross a line.”

“You didn’t,” Stiles reassures Derek and brushes their noses together, scratching his fingers against the werewolf’s scalp, “It’s actually kinda hot… but is it like-is it a werewolf thing?” he asks curiously.

“I’m not sure,” Derek admits as he leans into Stiles’s touch, “There wasn’t a lot I knew before… everything happened - my knowledge is limited as far as my own kind go.”

“If you think about it, it’s kinda like you’re knotting me without actually knotting me,” Stiles says in amusement, smiling as he kisses along Derek’s scruff, “Maybe it’s a breeding thing? I dunno.”

Derek considers the observation and runs his hands up Stiles’s body, “I wasn’t even considering why I was doing it, while I was doing it. I just… did it.”

“Either way, I’m okay with it,” Stiles shrugs and lets out a bated breath when Derek moves his hands, “But then again, I think I’d be okay with just about anything you wanted to do to me. Pretty fucked up, huh?” he asks, pulling his hands back as he sits upright in the werewolf’s lap.

“Not really,” Derek says as he looks along Stiles’s body, “I could easily say the same,” he admits then and runs his palm over the other man’s stomach, his wolf all too pleased about his seed being stuffed up in his boy, “It’s unnerving, but it’s not ‘fucked up’.”

“You could say the same?” Stiles quirks a brow at that and reaches down mindlessly to cover the hand on his stomach with his own, “What if I said I wanted to fuck you?” he asks seriously, watching the werewolf to gauge his reaction, “Would you let me?”

“Yes,” Derek responds without even giving it a second thought, and he would, he’d give himself more than willingly, “I’ve…” he stops before he can say anything more because he’s not sure if this is quite the right time to tell Stiles something like that, so he narrows his eyes and shakes his head, “Yeah, I’d let you be top.”

Stiles is somewhat taken aback by the response and he grins almost stupidly down at the older man, reaching up to scratch the side of his head, “Wow, okay. I wasn’t really expecting you to say that, but I’m…” he chuckles, “That’s awesome, because you have a really nice ass and it’d just be tragic if I never got to get all up in it.”

Derek feels his cheeks heat at the comment and he sits upright, looking down at Stiles as he brushes his thumb along the smaller man’s skin, “Right… are we ready to cook dinner, now?”

“I’m gonna be thinking about fucking you the entire time, but yeah, sure,” Stiles nods and grins wider at Derek, noting the pink tinge to the werewolf’s cheeks and it looks nice on him. He lifts his leg and hoists himself off of the older man, moving slowly to get up off of the bed, “An alpha werewolf at my mercy, yeah, that’s gonna go to my head a little.”

It’s an odd compliment, but Derek takes it for what it is, and he stares at the younger man, eyes dropping down Stiles’s body.

Comparing what he was like last year and how he is now, it’s a drastic change, and it’s almost upsetting. To think that his partner could’ve been like this the entire time - he can afford to have a few things go to his head, it’s what Stiles deserves.

Derek leans in, pressing his lips to the mark he made, “Just don’t go putting it on your Friend Book page.”

Stiles lifts a hand almost at once to cover his mouth, bursting out in laughter until his eyes start watering, “Oh my God,” he wheezes, finally uncovering his mouth to shake his head fondly at the werewolf, “It’s Facebook, baby. Not Friend Book,” he chuckles again in amusement and leans up to kiss the older man, “And I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Derek doesn’t particularly care what the website’s name is, so he doesn’t comment on it, leaning in to lick at the corner of the younger man’s lips, tasting the smile as he moves to the edge of the bed and stands up, “If it wouldn’t draw attention, I wouldn’t mind you doing it - but it would.”

“It’s not like I’d advertise the fact that you agreed to bottom for me, anyway,” Stiles says and pulls on his pajama bottoms, not bothering with a shirt because he wants to be able to see the mark on his skin, “I’m greedy, that knowledge is for me and me alone.”

The alpha chuckles and steps into his own pajama bottoms, tugging them up his legs before turning to Stiles and leaning down to kiss him again, “That doesn’t surprise me,” he says as he smirks, “Seeing as how you handle cases, it doesn’t surprise me at all.”

“What do you mean?” Stiles asks, staring up at the older man curiously as he keeps him close by the drawstring attached to his pajamas, “How do I handle cases?”

“Internally, for the most part,” Derek explains, “You don’t have a problem keeping things to yourself. It’s a good quality, not a bad one. Considering what I hear around the office most of the time, you’re one of the few that doesn’t mouth off about them.”

Stiles smiles slowly and pushes up on his tip toes to kiss Derek once more, patting his partner’s hip before moving around him to leave the bedroom, “Alright, come on. If we don’t at least get supper started now, I may actually starve to death. I think your appetite is starting to rub off on me a little,” he teases, walking into the kitchen.

“Seed. Arousal, excitement, fear, trauma; she was terrified.”

“I would’ve been, too,” Stiles mutters and shakes his head, “We gotta find this guy, Derek, he’s getting worse. We still have more Ions to check out, we need to do that before we go home today. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

Derek stills when he sees something behind his partner and he reaches out for Stiles’s arm, “Turn around.”

Stiles narrows his brows at the expression on his partner’s face and turns around slowly, eyes scanning a little message board on the wall and he swallows sickly when he sees their work cards pinned to it, “Derek,” he mumbles uneasily.

Derek walks to his partner and then to the cork-board, “There’s blood on them,” he points out and takes the cards down.

“Is it her’s or his?” Stiles asks curiously and tamps down the way his stomach rolls nervously, “And why-I don’t understand… is he trying to let us know that he knows who we are?”

“It’s hers,” Derek says and turns the cards around to show Stiles the words written on the back. On his, there’s ‘I’; and on Stiles’s, there’s ‘know’.

“Does he just want us to know…? Or is he threatening us?” Stiles asks, staring at the cards once more before meeting his partner’s eyes.

“I don’t know; how would I know that?”

“It was just a question, Hale, I dunno,” Stiles flails a little bit, feeling uncomfortable, “I’m trying not to freak out, okay?”

“I know,” Derek says as he listens to Stiles’s heart beats rising and he moves to his partner, reaching out with his free hand and taking Stiles’s as he meets his gaze, “It’s okay, I’m here.”

Stiles searches Derek’s face and he’s thankful that they’re partners, because he doesn’t know if he’d be able to handle this part of his job without the werewolf around.

“We should check this scene more thoroughly for anything else,” Derek says as he glances around, moving to grab one of the evidence bags and dropping the cards into it.

“Can you get this room?” Stiles asks and gestures to the door with his thumb, “I’ll go look around everywhere else that isn’t in here.”

Derek leans down, pressing a soft, chaste kiss to his partner’s lips to try and calm him down a little more before he steps back to stare at the board again, "Alright."

Stiles smiles at Derek tenderly and feels the tension in his shoulders ease some before moving out of the room, checking all of the others rigorously in an attempt to find anything else that might have been left for them.

Derek checks the room over but, other than the cards, he finds nothing else. He’s not sure if it’s comforting or not, but he returns to the hall and walks into one of the rooms Stiles is checking over, “Nothing?”

“Nope,” Stiles tells Derek and puts the couch cushion back down, straightening his back and shaking his head as he turns to his partner, “Maybe it was just the cards.”

“The case isn’t really a secret,” Derek says and puts his hands in his pockets, “Anyone could find out that you and I are handling it, but the fact that he feels the need to warn us makes me think he feels threatened.”

“Maybe we’re getting too close for comfort,” Stiles muses and rubs a hand over his face, “And we can’t really pull back any… you don’t think he’d act out, do you? I mean, aside from leaving those cards?”

“I hope not,” Derek admits and motions to the door, “Lets go take a break, we’ll let someone else handle the neighbors, you could use some air.”

“I’m fine,” Stiles insists stubbornly, but moves to the door anyway and steps out of the house, putting his hands on the railing of the front porch for a moment and shaking his head, “I’m never gonna be able to handle this,” he says, “It’s never not gonna bother me.”

“You’d be surprised what a person can get used to, being around it as often as I have.”

“No, I know. I know you’re desensitized or whatever, I just don’t think that’s a possibility for me. I really don’t… I don’t think I’d ever want to be desensitized to something like that in there.”

Derek can understand that well enough, even though he knows that chances are it’ll happen, given time, “Come on, let’s go for lunch.”

“You would be hungry right now,” Stiles snorts and smiles slowly at the older man before walking down the steps, heading towards the Camaro.

Derek follows after Stiles, climbing into the driver’s side seat and glancing at his partner once they’ve pulled off the side of the road, “Are you gonna be okay for now?”

“Yeah; yeah, I’ll be fine.”

Derek reaches out to take Stiles’s hand, “We’ll catch him, we’re close.”

“I know,” Stiles says and squeezes Derek’s hand in his own, even though he’s not particularly sure he believes it.

A sharp incessant ringing pulls Stiles from his sleep and he shoots up in bed when he realizes it’s the phone, blinking blearily at the alarm clock that reads 3:22 AM. He groans and moves, all but laying across Derek’s chest as he grabs the phone, answering it and putting it to his ear, “Yeah?”

“Baby,” Scott says in a rushed breath.

“I’m flattered, Scotty, but I’m with Derek now,” Stiles responds sleepily, trying not to shove his elbow in his partner’s chest.

“No, dude, the baby,” Scott amends and Stiles is pretty sure he can hear his best friend’s eye roll over the line, “He’s coming, are you gonna meet us at the hospital?”

“Oh,” Stiles’s eyes widen and he nods, belatedly realizing Scott can’t see it, “Yeah,” he says, “Yeah, bro, we’ll be there,” he assures, “See you soon.”

He ends the call and puts the phone back down, dropping his head to Derek’s chest for just a moment, “We gotta go,” he kisses all over the werewolf’s sleep heated skin and starts to roll over Derek to get up, “Lyd’s gonna have the baby.”

Derek grunts and wraps his arms around Stiles, pulling him in and burying his face against the younger man’s neck, “Hmm?”

“The baby,” Stiles says and droops against the older man’s body all too willingly, because it feels so nice being close to Derek, especially when he’s so sleepy, “Her water broke, we gotta go.”

Derek runs his hands down Stiles’s body as he huffs and turns his head to press his lips to his partner’s jaw, “What baby?”

“Lydia’s baby,” Stiles tries to explain some more, knowing Derek’s just as out of it as he feels, “You know, the one in her stomach. It’s coming,” he says and shivers, reaching up to card his fingers through Derek’s hair, “Come on, big guy. We need to go.”

Derek sighs and curls against Stiles even more as he shuts his eyes, “It’s just a dream, go back to sleep.”

“It’s not a dream,” Stiles tells the werewolf and smiles at him, kissing his lips and scratching against his scalp, “And if we don’t go, they’re never gonna forgive me. It’s my godson, Der, come on.”

Derek lets go of Stiles as he sits up and climbs out of bed warily, moving to the dresser to get a change of clothes.

Stiles walks around the room sluggishly, grabbing one of Derek’s big work shirts off of the back of the chair in their room, pulling it on and rolling the sleeves up before grabbing his jeans.

He goes to put his foot in and hops some when he loses balance, shrieking as he falls and when he hits the floor, he grunts, pants halfway up his thighs, “Maybe we should just stay home,” he sighs.

Derek moves to Stiles and plucks him off the floor, setting him on the bed, “Don’t rush yourself,” he mutters, “Otherwise you'll get hurt.”

“I’m equal parts sleepy and excited,” Stiles says and pulls Derek down by the nape of his neck, “Accidents are bound to happen.”

“Mm,” Derek hums and leans down, pushing Stiles against the bed and kissing him as he reaches down to pull the younger man’s pants up his thighs, grabbing Stiles’s waist and lifting him back onto his feet as he breaks the kiss and returns to getting himself dressed.

“You know,” Stiles starts and moves to put his shoes on, probably a little too affected by the older man being able to man handle him like that, “I’d like to do that again, really, really soon. Except, maybe next time, you can pull my pants down instead of pulling them up, yeah?”

Derek chuckles and steps carefully into his own jeans, taking a shirt and moving to get his shoes, “Let’s get through this first, then we’ll talk about sex, I don’t wanna get sidetracked.”

“Pft,” Stiles rolls his eyes at the taller man and moves to grab his jacket, “I dunno, I’m starting to think it’s not even possible for you to get sidetracked. We’re two grown men with unlimited amounts of mostly unresolved sexual tension and you still haven’t tried anything with me.”

Derek lifts a brow as he puts on his socks, “I thought I explained this before. Sex isn’t something I do often.”

“Right,” Stiles runs a hand over his face, removing the crust from his eyes, “Okay, big guy. Guess I can wait longer,” he says, leaving the bedroom to head out towards the front door.

Derek finishes putting on his shoes, grabbing his keys and moving after Stiles, reaching out for him before he can reach the door, “That’s not to say I don’t want to do it with you,” he points out as he kisses Stiles’s temple, “I just figured we should get you moved in and settle down a little before we do anything… really serious.”

“You wanna settle down with me,” Stiles responds dopily and smiles so wide his face hurts, clutching at the werewolf’s cheeks to pull him into a short, heated kiss, “You’re a big softy, you know that?”

Derek leans in again to kiss Stiles back and mutters: “Just with you.”

He opens the door and locks it behind them, moving to the car and climbing in. It didn’t really feel dark until they got outside though, and now he’s realizing that he’s tired again.

Stiles smiles to himself, even as he’s buckling himself in, glancing over at his partner as his heart stutters, making him feel like a schoolgirl with a crush or something, “And kids, apparently,” he adds a few minutes later.

“Children are an exception to it,” Derek says as he drives, glancing over at Stiles, “You’re… different.”

“How am I different?” Stiles asks and figures that Derek’s sleepy enough, maybe he can get away with a few questions before they get to the hospital.

Derek shrugs, “Because I want to mate you.”

“And what does that mean to you?” Stiles asks curiously, turning in the seat some and drawing his legs up as he watches Derek’s face, “Tell me what mating means to you.”

Derek lets out a huff of breath, “About the same thing it means to every other werewolf, mating is… serious. Knotting, marking, keeping you, settling down together.”

“Is it a ‘together forever’ kind of thing?” Stiles asks curiously and feels something akin to actual fucking butterflies in his stomach at the thought.

“It’s permanent.”

“A-And you want that… with me?”

“I’ve been wanting it for a while, with you.”

Having Derek confirm it makes Stiles so giddy he doesn’t even really know what to do with himself. He should be flailing all over the place, but he remains still, watching the older man and smiling.

After a moment, he unbuckles his seat belt and leans over to kiss Derek, trying to be quick about it so his partner doesn’t wreck, “I love you,” he says, kissing just next to the werewolf’s ear before sitting back down.

Derek smirks at the soft touch of his partner’s lips and almost closes his eyes in response but then thinks better of it, having a difficult enough time staying awake, “I tried not to want it, especially after I told you how I felt.”

“I’m sorry I handled it so poorly,” Stiles admits and reaches over to rest his hand on the werewolf’s thigh, “I seriously was in shock.”

“I know,” Derek says, “It’s fine,” he turns into the hospital parking lot, taking a space out of the way and turning off the car before climbing out numbly.

Stiles takes just a moment to himself and pulls up Derek’s shirt that he put on, bundling it in his hands and he brings it to his face, breathing in the older man’s smell before climbing out as well, straightening the fabric back out, “They’re probably already inside,” he says, moving to take Derek’s hand, “Come on.”

Derek moves to the younger man, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close as they walk together. He’s still barely awake, but he doubts he’d ever be so tired that he missed Stiles scenting his shirt, and his wolf is more than pleased, wanting to ditch the hospital altogether and knot Stiles in the car or something, but he pushes it back and tries to ignore it the best he can.

Stiles all but clings to Derek’s side as they walk into the hospital together and he grins when he sees Scott standing at the nurses station, “Scotty!” he calls out to get his friend’s attention, walking towards him and he pulls away from Derek slightly, “Where’s Lyds?” he asks, “The baby coming yet?”

“They’re checking her,” Scott says excitedly and puts his hands on Stiles’s shoulders, shaking him a little, “I’m gonna have a little boy, dude!”

“Yeah,” Stiles pulls his friend into a quick hug before letting him go, “I’m excited for you, buddy,” he says, smiling down at Heidi when she steps out from behind Scott, “You excited to be a big sister?” He asks her.

Heidi nods and rubs sleepily at her eyes, mumbling out a soft ‘yeah’ before moving to an equally sleepy Derek, her doll under one arm as she raises her free one expectantly.

Derek bends down and picks her up, holding her easily as he listens to Lydia in a room nearby, turning to look at Scott’s daughter and smiling, “Rude awakening?” he asks, “Your brother’s already disturbing your sleep and he isn’t even born yet.”

“I know,” Heidi yawns and wraps her arms around Derek’s neck, holding onto her doll with one hand as she nuzzles against the large man, already falling back to sleep.

Stiles grins as he watches and looks to Scott, “Well, if she’s not close or anything and if it’s gonna be a while, we could take Heidi home with us until he gets here,” he offers, then looks at his partner again, “That’d be okay with you, right?”

“Yeah,” Derek agrees as he runs his hand over the little girl’s back, listening to her heart beats slowing, tense muscles loosening as she falls back to sleep, “It’s fine.”

“Cool,” Scott says, a little surprised that Derek’s okay with it, “Yeah, the doctor should tell me here in a minute what’s going on. So if you guys wanna sit in the waiting area until then..?”

“No problem, dude, just let us know,” Stiles pats Scott’s shoulder and turns to Derek, touching his arm as they move towards the seats, “She really likes you.”

Derek walks to the left seat and sits down carefully with the little girl, dropping his head back against the wall, “Most kids normally do.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with bringing her home with us?” Stiles asks again, watching Derek and how natural he is with Heidi.

“We’ll have to take off work,” Derek muses aloud, but shrugs, “I don’t mind.”

“Okay,” Stiles says softly and points to her, “Do you want me to take her?” he asks, unsure if his goddaughter’s clinginess is an issue or not.

“It’s fine, Stiles,” Derek responds and takes the younger man’s hand, pulling him closer before wrapping his arm around Stiles, “I don’t mind.”

“Okay,” Stiles repeats and rests his head on the werewolf’s free shoulder, waiting as patiently as possible to hear something from Scott so he’ll know whether or not they need to stick around.

Derek shifts slightly to get the doll to stop digging into his arm and he leans down to press a kiss to Stiles’s head, “We’re taking her home.”

Stiles lifts his head and stares at Derek in confusion for a moment and then it dawns on him, “Oh,” he says, “Sometimes I think I actually forget you can do that,” he admits just as Scott’s walking up to them.

“Looks like she’s only four centimeters dilated,” Scott tells them, clasping his hands together, “Doctor said it might be a while, so if you guys wanna go back home and get some more sleep, that’d be cool. Pretty sure Heidi wouldn’t complain.”

Derek stands up and puts his hand on McCall’s shoulder in reassurance, “Call if you need anything,” he responds as he meets Scott's gaze, “We’ll be back later today.”

Scott nods numbly, completely bewildered as he looks up at the older man, “Thanks, Hale. I appreciate it,” he says, furrowing his brows.

Stiles moves to Scott and hugs him again, just as thrown with how okay Derek is about all of this himself, “He’s a keeper, huh?” he whispers just next to Scott’s ear, knowing the older man will hear him regardless.

“Shut up, Stilinski,” Derek says as he watches them, reaching out to grab Heidi’s doll when her arm drops from his shoulder and it starts to fall.

“It’s code for ‘I love you’,” Stiles tells Scott and moves closer to Derek, smiling at his buddy as he waves and tugs Derek back towards the doors, “It is code for ‘I love you’, right?” he asks once it’s just him, Derek and a sleeping Heidi.

“Sure.”

“Whatever, it’s so code for ‘I love you’, so be prepared for me to get all sappy and shit every time you say it from now on.”

“Do you wanna take her, or do you wanna drive?”

“I can drive,” Stiles says, reaching into Derek’s pocket for the car keys, “I don’t wanna wake her up, she looks all peaceful and stuff. I know that feeling, you’re pretty comfortable to sleep on.”

“Right…” Derek mutters and carefully opens the passenger’s side door, sliding in easily and adjusting the seat for his legs. He doesn’t bother with the seat belt for multiple reasons; the top being they aren’t nearly as effective as he is.

Stiles grins to himself and climbs in the driver’s side, buckling himself in and starting the car. It feels odd being back behind the wheel again after so long, given the first and last time he’d driven the vehicle was when Derek was high on Blue Moon.

He drives carefully, though, glancing over at Derek and Heidi at each stop light. If his partner weren’t actually a werewolf and if the drive wasn’t so short, he probably would’ve opted to lay her down in the back seat, just so he could buckle her in, but for now, he knows she’ll be safe.

Derek glances at Stiles every once in a while, holding Heidi firmly and trying to think of if he should let her sleep in the guest room. The bed isn’t that high off the ground, “Does she sleep in a bed at Scott’s house?”

“She has a little toddler bed, yeah,” Stiles says, glancing quickly over at Derek, “I’m pretty sure she ends up in bed with Scott and Lydia most of the time, though. We can try putting her in the guest room, she’s not really a big mover when she’s out.”

“I noticed,” Derek responds and chuckles softly, “We might want to wake her up when we get home, just so she knows her surroundings.”

“That’s fine,” Stiles responds, nodding as he pulls onto their road, “She’ll probably just pass right back out afterwards,” he tells the older man, slowing the vehicle just before their driveway and he turns in, cutting the ignition before grinning at his partner, “Come on, let’s get her in.”

Derek opens his door and climbs out, not being as careful as he would if he knew they weren’t about to wake her up. He drops her carefully from his shoulder, holding her in his arms as he walks to the front door, waiting on Stiles to unlock all the locks.

Stiles lets out a frustrated huff of breath after the first lock, then looks at Derek and shakes his head, “Are all of these even really necessary?” he asks, moving down each one until he pushes the door open for the older man.

“It’s stopped me from ripping the door open twice now,” Derek admits as he walks in and sits on the couch as he pats Heidi gently to wake her up.

“Mm,” Heidi mumbles sleepily and blinks slowly at Derek, looking around curiously, “M’tired,” she whines, smacking her lips slightly.

“We just wanted to let you know where you are, Heidi-bug,” Stiles tells her when he moves closer, rubbing her back and kissing the back of her head, “We’re gonna keep you until your mommy has your brother, okay?”

“Okay,” Heidi rubs her eyes and slumps back against Derek, “Wanna sleep,” she says, trying to get comfortable.

Derek stands back up, smiling to himself as he takes her into the guest room, pulling the comforter out from under the pillows and setting her in the center of the mattress. He covers her, leaving the bedroom door open and walking into his and Stiles’s to take off his shoes finally.

Stiles meanders back into their bedroom and stops at the doorway, regarding the older man curiously and wondering if he’s always been so good with kids.

“Have you always been so good with kids?” he asks subtly, unbuttoning his jeans and stepping out of them, kicking his shoes off in the process.

“I guess,” Derek says and shrugs as he pulls off his socks and removes his shirt, “I’ve dealt with a few before, on cases. And I had Cora to look after when I was younger.”

“You’re a natural,” Stiles points out and crawls back into their bed, leaving both his boxers and Derek’s large shirt on as he gets settled under the covers, “It’s kinda cute.”

“Kids normally like me,” Derek repeats from before, “I guess it’s because I seem like a cartoon character to them,” he takes off his pants, changing back into his pajama bottoms before moving to the bed and climbing in, scooping Stiles up into his arms and holding him close, “Tall, like a giant, constantly moody.”

“Sounds like a sexy cartoon,” Stiles says and grins, wrapping his arms around Derek’s neck and pulling him closer as he kisses the older man’s bearded jaw.

Derek chuckles at the comment and runs his hands up under the boy’s shirt, touching his skin as he presses quick, breathy kisses to Stiles’s face, “Only to you.”

“Whatever,” Stiles scoffs playfully and tries to catch Derek’s lips with his own, “You are, you’re so damn sexy I dunno how I even managed to make you fall in love with me. I’m lucky,” he guesses, shrugging as he tries to press closer to the werewolf.

“Or unfortunate, depending on who you ask,” Derek says as he rolls slightly on top of the younger man, “Either way, I’m luckier than you.”

“Nuh uh,” Stiles shakes his head, hiking his leg up onto Derek’s hip as his eyes rake over the older man’s face, “I’d like to think I’m pretty lucky. Given the fact that I’ve survived not only a stab wound, but a bullet wound as well, and now I have this big, gruff, yet surprisingly tender werewolf in love with me.”

Derek doesn’t argue it, but he could, he doesn’t want to come off wrong, or upset Stiles, so he leans in close and kisses his partner, fingers running down Stiles’s leg, “Gruff, yet surprisingly tender,” he mutters and shakes his head, “You’re probably the only person on the planet that thinks of me that way.”

“Yeah,” Stiles says and moves his palms down the sides of Derek’s neck, down along his shoulders and arms, “And I’d like to think I’m the only one who knows you like this, too,” he says, thinking about how satisfying it is that he was so stubborn and persistent with the older man.

“You don’t need to think it when that’s how it is,” Derek responds as he closes his eyes and presses a few more kisses to his partner’s face, “It’s just you.”

“Just me,” Stiles repeats happily and sighs his contentment, trying to keep his partner close, “We should sleep, we dunno when Lydia’s gonna have the baby.”

Derek hums in agreement as he turns them onto their sides, his arms wrapped completely around Stiles as he buries his face into the younger man’s neck and breathes him in, “We’ve got plenty of time.”

“Mm,” Stiles hums and burrows closer to Derek, if that’s even possible, “Love you, big guy,” he murmurs sleepily, already at ease by being held so close.

“I love you, too,” Derek says softly, voice somewhat muffled as he turns to kiss Stiles’s neck, sliding his leg down the other man’s as he falls slowly back to sleep.

Heidi stands at the end of the big bed, barely able to see the forms atop it and clutches her baby doll closer as she reaches up to tug on the sheets, “I had a bad dream,” she says softly, unsure if either one of them can hear her.

Stiles hears Heidi and sits up a little, yawning as he squints and looks at her little figure in the dark before thwapping Derek in the side to wake him, “Baby, can you lift her up here?”

“Mm?” Derek mutters and turns, leaning over the side to pick up the little girl before setting her between them. He turns into his pillow before he realizes it isn’t Stiles and he grumbles, reaching out blindly to pull Stiles closer as well, “What’s wrong?”

Stiles cuddles close to Heidi and as close to Derek as he can get without squishing her, hand brushing her soft brown hair back off of her forehead, “Bad dream?” he asks and kisses her cheek.

Heidi nods and tries to make sure she’s physically touching both Derek and Stiles, their presences soothing her nerves, “Yeah,” she says softly, “Is my mommy gonna be okay?” she asks.

“She’s gonna be fine,” Stiles tries to reassure her, closing his eyes again already, “Isn’t that right, Derek?”

“Mhm,” Derek hums in agreement, clearing his throat as he looks down at the little girl, “She’s strong, like you. She’ll be fine.”

Heidi nuzzles closer to Derek then and sighs, seemingly content with the answer, so she closes her eyes.

Stiles follows the movement and scoots closer as well, reaching out to touch Derek’s cheek before drawing it back to try and get some more sleep.