in which stiles finds derek chained up in the argent’s basement. and then derek sees stiles, and his face switches from pained exhaustion to absolute outrage, and he says, “do you somehow not see where you are right now? you don’t wanna be involved in this, stiles! so turn around, right now, and run.”
and just leave him there to be tortured some more? yeah, that’s not happening.
“so, fun fact,” stiles says, waving a little silver key, “but handcuff keys are actually pretty universal. or they are in the US, anyway. so, if you happen to make a couple copies…”
and then derek’s grimacing, rubbing his wrists, and his shoulders.
“follow me for more lifehacks,” stiles says to no one, and derek looks at him. “uh, inside joke.”
“with yourself?” derek says, and stiles says, “hey, don’t knock it ‘til you try it. i’m sure you of all people could use more whimsy in your life.”
“i think i’m good,” derek says, and then stiles says, “we should probably run now.”
“and leave you here alone?” derek says. “i don’t think so.”
“well what then?” stiles says. “you gonna bite your way out?”
“maybe next time,” derek says, and wraps an arm around him, and then—stiles’ shoes are barely skimming the ground, and they’re both moving at hyperspeed.
“note to self,” stiles says. “wait to eat until after a derek rescue.”
he’s somehow managed not to vomit until no longer in motion. still, it’s a very close call.
“you’ll get used to it,” derek says, and stiles says, “no i will not. we’re never doing that again, oh my god.”
“we’ll see,” derek says, shrugging, and stiles says, “next time? i’m gonna vomit all over you.”
but he goes quiet when he checks on derek’s torture wounds again.
and then derek touches stiles’ throat, and all the nausea wipes away.
“whoa,” stiles says. “how, wait…”
“we can take pain,” derek says. “it’s easy.”
“well, that’s… handy to know,” stiles says. then, “hey! it’s literally handy.”
even derek’s worst wounds are vanishing, now. like none of it happened at all.
“so crazy,” stiles says, tracing where the wound was. his shirt’s still just as bloody. “what’d she even want, huh?”
“the alpha?” derek says. “at least, that was the excuse for it.”
“yeah, i wonder why some alpha is going around killing werewolf hunters,” stiles says. “if this is what they do to like, the innocent ones.”
and derek shivers. “i’m not innocent.”
“yeah, that’s what all the bad guys say,” stiles says. his voice keeps coming out so soft without him even meaning it to. “the real threats, you know, they have to warn everyone who starts to fall for their charm. ‘cause like, they wouldn’t be able to live with themselves otherwise.”
“there’s a lot you don’t know about me, stiles,” derek says. “and trust me, you don’t wanna know.”
“try me,” stiles says, and derek shivers again.
“it doesn’t have to be now,” stiles says, and derek shakes his head.
“no, you should know—what could happen.”
he swallows, and breathes in, and breathes out hard.
he doesn’t say anything else.
“i killed my mom,” stiles says. “i’m the reason.”
“what?” derek says. “no you’re not.”
“my dad told me,” stiles says. “it was like, the week after, and i knew… i knew there was something on his mind, the whole week, whenever he looked at me, you know? like i knew, i knew the answer already. so i… i just asked him, that night, and he told me.”
“that’s not,” derek says, and then, “how drunk was he?”
and stiles stares at him. “how did you…”
but it doesn’t matter, anyway.
that just makes it truer, if anything. lowered inhibitions, right? so everything just spills out.
“did he even remember saying it?” derek says. “in the morning.”
stiles shrugs. “does it really matter? if that’s what he really thinks…”
“it’s not,” derek says, and stiles says, “yeah, well you don’t know that. so i’m not so innocent either.”
“it’s not the same,” derek says, and stiles scoffs. “it’s not even close, stiles.”
“the fire, huh?” stiles says, and derek looks up at him sharply. “and your domme of the day. who was also your substitute teacher for like five minutes in the tenth grade, right when her dad was the principal. what are the odds?”
“how do you…” derek says, and stiles says, “i may have… copied my dad’s file on the fire? and the motive becomes a lot less of a mystery once you know about werewolves. and then, hey, i wonder what the like, biggest hunter family in town were up to at the time! but yeah, who knows what went down, right? maybe kate just really loved english back then.”
“it’s not that simple,” derek says. “i’m the one who—pursued her. in the beginning.”
“oh, well in that case you’re incredibly dangerous,” stiles says. “i don’t know what i was thinking. a kid with a crush? yeah, you clearly caused that fire single-handedly.”
“no,” derek says, and then, “i don’t know.”
it feels shitty not paying for it. and just… waking up, and playing normal, like it doesn’t even matter. like it doesn’t even matter that it happened at all.
like she wasn’t even real, but she was your mom.
and derek doesn’t say anything. for a long time, nobody says anything.
they just stay close, and breathe the same air for a while.
