I Like That You're Broken (Broken Like Me)

Chapter 1

"Derek, Derek! C'mon, Sourwolf, wake up!"

The mentioned beta wolf jumps awake to Stiles standing above him, shaking his shoulders. Still half asleep, Derek gives Stiles a glare for waking him up. "What is it, Stiles? I swear, if you say that you're horny, then you're free to jack off in the corner because right now I'm just a little too tired to fuck you."

Stiles' face goes red. After three years of dating Derek, he still hasn't gotten over being flustered whenever the topic of sex came up (ha, inappropriate jokes anyone?). Still, the younger male shakes his head. "No no, it's not that. If it were, I wouldn't have woken you up that way. Uhm... right! I felt the wards go off. A shifter is in the preserve. And from the feels of things, they're coming this way. It's not one of the pack's, I know how all of their presences feel."

It had been shortly after Stiles finished with his internship for the FBI and returned to Beacon Hills that Deaton informed him what a spark is, and added the minor detail that Stiles himself is a spark. Since then, Deaton has all but retired his position as emissary (though he still is at the clinic, there to help if needed) and passed it on to Stiles. Meaning Deaton's responsibilities such as placing protection wards around the entire town, have also fallen to Stiles.

Stiles doesn't mind it, really. Sure it's a lot of work and takes a lot of energy. But he can now finally take a step up from being the local human of the pack. Plus, being emissary means he has just about as much authority to make decisions as Scott (except for the whole I-am-the-alpha-you-must-listen-to-me part).

Derek sits up, his brain waking up more at Stiles' mention of an intruder on the preserve. "How close are they?" He asks the younger, the usual serious look on his face.

A shrug comes from the spark as a response. "Close but not too close that they'll be at our door in five seconds."

In the years since Scott and Stiles graduated from Beacon Hills High, they had helped the Hales rebuild their home in the preserve. Peter had helped some, Cora had even dropped by to visit and help out for a few weeks. It's become a meeting spot for the McCall Pack. Stiles and Derek had even moved in, giving the loft to Malia and Kira.

Derek stood up from his bed and grabbed a sweatshirt to put over his matching grey wolf pajamas (which Stiles totally bought for Derek). Now ready to leave, Derek and Stiles travel through the two story Hale house to the front door. They leave, stepping out into the dark, shadowy woods of the preserve.

The couple walk together, Stiles in the lead and Derek following closely behind with his werewolf senses heightened to try and hear the intruder. Crickets chirp, owls hoot and the wind swirls through the air with a soft breeze.

A few minutes pass in silence, no sign of the intruder anywhere. And then Stiles puts a hand in front of Derek to stop him. The younger gives a 'they are nearby' look that Derek understands easily.

Derek's eyes flash a threatening blue as soft footsteps become audible. Besides him, Stiles fidgets with his wooden channeling ring he and Derek had made to help Stiles control his powers. The pair watch as a figure appears. They both stand still, waiting for the figure to reveal themself and judge on whether this person is a threat or not.

The figure puts their hands up in surrender. "Come on, guys," the figure says, in a casual voice as they step closer so that the two men can so who they are, "you know I come in peace."

It's a voice both Stiles and Derek recognize. There's a short moment where both men take in that they know who this is. Derek is the first to speak. His voice is hesitant, not completely sure if this is who he think it is. Slowly, he speaks one word, one name.