#sw23moon

So Derek went through life never quite fully getting the hang of getting his transformation under control during the full moon. The various places he lived at, he would always make sure to lock himself in during his transformation so that he wouldn't go rampaging through the streets of New York on a full moon.

In the back of his mind, his mother's words stayed with him, even though he'd experimented with a million other things as anchors that never seemed to quite work. It wasn't until he moved into a loft apartment and then met his downstairs neighbour, Stiles Stilinski, that things started to change.

It wasn't exactly love at first sight. In fact Derek found Stiles to be a little annoying and a spoiled college kid at first who was just living off his parents' money. But then, somehow, they began spending more and more time together, and as Derek got to know Stiles more he realised he'd misjudged him. He was pretty insecure at times and tried to mask his social anxiety by - ironically - becoming a party animal. But there was a caring side to Stiles that softened Derek to him. Stiles was often concerned with the welfare of his friends, making sure they had everything they needed and helping them as much as he could. He even managed to drag Derek out of the loft to go and party with other people once in a while.

Though Derek could get annoyed if this didn't fit in with his regimented schedule of being a hermit, he did find himself enjoying his time with Stiles. It was during one night out in a club when Derek realised he'd lost track of time... and the moon. The copious amounts of alcohol might have had something to do with it, but there was another reason too. Stiles had been on his mind all night as they were dancing and having fun, so when he walked outside and saw the full moon, Derek just stopped and stared at it.

He could feel the urge to shift come over him, the fire running through his blood... but for the first time in his life he had control over it. He turned around to see Stiles coming outside to find him, a quizzical expression on his face. "Where did you disappear to?" Stiles asked, glancing up at the moon.

"Oh, nowhere... I was just having an epiphany of sorts," Derek grinned and reached out to take Stiles' hand.

The energy that passed through that single touch was electric, and it surprised Stiles who almost pulled his hand away but then after a moment squeezed Derek's hand tighter.

"Well this is new," Stiles said, sounding a little surprised but definitely pleased.

It was the first time they'd intimately touched like that on purpose, neither having spoken of their attraction to the other before. Derek hadn't even mentioned anything remotely related to werewolves that might give Stiles an inclination that Derek was more than he seemed.

"I don't know what's going on with you tonight, but I like it," Stiles smiled and chuckled, wiping his tired drunken eyes with a smile.

"Yeah, there are a few things I need to tell you," Derek admitted, a glint of joy in his eyes, "But don't worry."

"Well see, that's why I like spending time with you... I never feel like I have to worry when I do," Stiles explained, his voice playful but the message earnest. "You make my anxiety just melt away. I can actually enjoy myself, enjoy life"

Derek smiled to himself, then to Stiles. "It's the same for me," he said softly. He couldn't tell Stiles yet how happy that made him, but it wouldn't be long before he did. Even though Derek hadn't realised he was falling in love, he knew without a doubt he'd found his anchor.

The pair took things slowly after that, carefully navigating the path from platonic to romantic, but every full moon Stiles would come over and they'd hang out, most of the time just watching movies and talking about anything and everything. Just having Stiles around him was enough to help Derek maintain control over his werewolf transformation.