Theo's way to keep Derek off his trail is to seduce Derek with shakespeare references
only he didn't expect to actually develop real feelings for Derek, no, that was noooot part of his plan
i'm just imagining Stiles trying to appeal to Derek about Theo's bad intentions by appealing to his previous track record with villains, which both backfires and doesn't
because Derek gets seriously pissed at him, like fuck you you don't fucking know me, but also......it plants the seed of doubt in him
makes him doubt Theo just enough that it hurts so much more when it turns out true
he's just far enough gone on Theo that he thinks maybe there must be something else going on or some way for him to come back from this
he thinks back to Jennifer and the way her motivations had good at heart, in a way, and if she'd just gone about it differently, trying to find a way that this time could be different
that Theo could be different
Derek calls Theo out on being scared
all his manipulations, all his power-mongering, all the aggression, it comes from fear, and Derek is intimately acquainted with fear and how it becomes anger and hatred
if anyone could talk Theo down from that ledge from a place of experience, it might be Derek, who's toed that line before
also who else do we know who created a pack, trying so hard to be an alpha when he was very very not suited to the position? and got people killed?
Theo arguing back with Derek because, no, he's wrong, he's got to be wrong
Theo too entrenched in his denial to accept and admit to how much he's driven by fear, clinging to his assertions that he's going to be better at this, that it's all going to be better when he's got the power
Derek shaking his head, both horrified and so so sad, because he knows where this leads
and it's not just his own broken heart, again
i'm so tempted to say it goes too far, that Theo crosses that line that even Derek can't forgive him for
but my shipper heart wants Derek to get through to him, to get underneath his skin just enough, that Theo can't go through with it
that Derek's words pierce through that veil of self-denial enough for him to realize that the DDs are using him and nothing he does is ever going to be enough for them
they are the ones who make him feel like he might be worth something
like he might be safe someday, somehow
like he could do (be) enough for them, if he tried
maybe it's Derek giving up on him, Derek walking away from him, that does it
Derek's disappointment hits him so much harder than the Doctors'
when he lets them down, he's afraid, but when it's Derek? that just hurts
best of all possible worlds, Theo has a breakthrough (or a breakdown, more likely), all his carefully composed walls crashing down because he wants
he wants to feel safe, he wants to not be afraid, he wants to feel wanted in a way he hasn't since he was a little kid, and Derek makes him feel those things
Derek and Scott and maybe, if he tries, the rest of them too someday
even with all the mistakes he's made and all the harm he's done, they make him feel like he can earn that, like striving for good might actually get him somewhere
i’m just saying, there are certainly points of connection here that i think could be jumping off points for an emotional connection between them
there are ways for them to relate to each other, understand something of each other's experiences
and that's always my base line for a ship