The Hale house loomed ahead as Stiles pulled up in his blue jeep. He could see Derek pacing back and forth through the large front windows. "Here we go again," Stiles sighed to himself.
Ever since the two had to get closer and actually trust eachother a few months ago, it seemed like they were constantly arguing over one thing or another. Derek claimed Stiles was too reckless and needed to be more careful, while Stiles maintained he could handle himself just fine thank you very much, and he wanted to help Derek with things.
Today's fight was sure to be about the previous night's run-in with some rogue omegas. Stiles had distracted the wolves so Derek and the others could flank them, but in the process had gotten scratched on his arm. It was a minor injury, already mostly healed, but Derek had still blown a gasket when he'd seen the blood.
Steeling himself, Stiles went inside to face the music. "Hey, Sourwolf," he said, trying to keep his tone light. But one look at the deep scowl on Derek's face told him this argument would be one of their worst.
"We need to talk," Derek growled, eyes flashing blue. Stiles sighed. 'Here we go again indeed...'
"Talk about what, Derek? The fact that I did my part last night and got us the advantage we needed?" Stiles shot back defiantly.
"Your 'part' put you directly in harm's way!" Derek fumed. "You're not a werewolf, Stiles! You don't heal as fast. You are HUMAN.One of these times you could really get hurt."
"And whose fault is that? If you'd just turn me-" Stiles started to reply heatedly.
Derek cut him off with a low, dangerous rumble. "We're not having this discussion again." His tone brooked no argument. "You don't even want to be a werewolf!"
Stiles threw his hands up in frustration. "Then what do you want from me, Derek? I'm trying my best here. I can't just sit on the sidelines while you all risk your lives. You didn't care before we started dating!"
Grabbing Stiles' arm, Derek pulled him in close until their faces were mere inches apart. "I want you to be safe. I want you to still be here after every battle, so I don't have to lose someone else I care about."
Stiles paused, swallowing hard at the raw emotion in Derek's eyes. He stopped arguing instead letting out a sigh and relaxing on the couch with Derek but it was tense between them.
Stiles tapped his pen impatiently against his textbook as he tried to focus on studying. But his mind kept drifting back to the awful fight he'd had with Derek a few weeks prior.
It was over something silly, really - Stiles had made an offhand comment about Derek's taste in music that rubbed him the wrong way. But Derek had blown up, fangs dropping as he tore into Stiles for his "disrespect." Stiles had shouted right back, storming off fuming.
They hadn't spoken since. And Stiles had been skipping out on all pack meetings and bonding days, not ready to face Derek. Even Scott's pleading for him to come back so the alpha wasn't as rough at training, but Scott couldn't convince him to return.
Stiles sighed, running a hand through his hair. He missed the pack - missed movie nights, training sessions, and bickering over pizza toppings. But most of all, he missed Derek. The time he spent with Derek.. The kisses.. the cuddling. The broody alpha had become one of his closest friends before all this.
Speak of the devil - Stiles' phone buzzed with an incoming call from Scott. He debated ignoring it, but reluctantly answered.
"Hey man, what's up?"
"Dude, you need to get over here now!" Scott urged. "Derek is freaking out."
Stiles frowned. "What do you mean?"
