Shatter My Reality

What if I lose you?

The loft was quiet at this time of night. Everyone had gone to bed hours ago. Silence wasn't something Stiles was a fan of. It left too much room for his own thoughts. But right now, on Derek's couch, in Derek's loft, the silence was comforting.

He had succeeded in not waking Spencer when he slipped from his room. However, he never made it out of his room without waking Derek. It was like he was just waiting for Stiles to wake up. Tonight was no different.

"Tea?" Derek asked, looking as if he hadn't even been asleep.

Stiles couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. He enjoyed his tea with Derek, even if they were the product of sleepless nights. "Sure."

Derek walked straight to the kitchen. Stiles' eyes trailed after Derek. His hair was slightly mussed, making Stiles wish he could run his fingers through it. Derek hadn't bothered to put a shirt on. Stiles tried to remember when Derek stopped getting fully dressed for their talks. The first night, he watched Derek come out of his room, his shirt crumpled as he buttoned his jeans, a concerned look on his face. Tonight, he was in a soft pair of sweats and no shirt. He looked comfortable.

Stiles leaned back against the couch and thought about what his father had said about him and Derek. If his father knew how he felt, did Derek know, too? His father was a clever man, but then again, so was Derek. He wondered if anyone else knew. How obvious was he? Maybe he could ask Scott. But then again, Scott was the most oblivious one. Lydia would be the better one to ask. She would have said something already, though, right?

"I can practically hear you thinking," Derek said, shoving the familiar blue cup in his direction.

Stiles took it and scoffed. "I'm not thinking. Who said I was thinking?"

Derek raised a brow as he sat next to Stiles, a mug in his own hands.

Stiles glared down into his cup. "I'm just processing the past few days." He conceded.

"You seem to have warmed up to Spencer."

Stiles glanced at his closed bedroom door as if Spencer were standing there, listening to them. "It's taking some getting used to, but... he's family. It's not his fault Mom lied. If anything, he's been through more than I have with all this. I lost Mom before I even knew her. I couldn't imagine after seventeen years. And then to find out she lied about everything. She kept him in the dark about his magic. She suppressed it."

"But he found you and your dad. I'm sure he's glad to have family. There's nothing worse than being alone," Derek said.

Stiles reached out, placing a hand on Derek's forearm. "No matter what happens. You'll never be alone as long as I'm around."

Derek stiffened. "And what happens if Lydia's visions come true? What if-" he cut himself off, closing his eyes. "What if I lose you?"

Stiles pulled his hand back as if he'd been shocked. The vulnerability in Derek's words twisted in his chest.

Derek met Stiles' eyes with concern.

Stiles swallowed. "You've got a backup." He joked, gesturing to his room.

Derek's jaw clenched. "I told you before, he's not you."

"You have to admit, we're pretty similar." Stiles was going for light-hearted, but the fact of that still weighed on him.

"Similar or not, there's no replacing you."

Stiles scoffed a laugh. "Careful Derek, I might start to think you care."

"Good."

Stiles paused, his cup at his lips. He met Derek's eyes over the rim. There was an earnest expression on his face.

"You keep making jokes and being dismissive of Lydia's visions, but we're all worried."

Stiles pulled his bottom lip between his teeth.

"I was gonna wait until tomorrow to tell everyone, but..." Stiles set his mug down. "I think you were right to suspect that it could have been Spencer Lydia was seeing. There's a pack in town. Dad mentioned them the other day, but I was so caught up in everything with Spencer that I didn't pay attention. He said they're not doing anything, but I have a suspicion."

Derek's brows knit as he set his own cup down, focusing his full attention on Stiles.

"Mom moved her and Spencer all the time. The pack was likely hunting them. What if they've hunted down Spencer?"

Derek opened his mouth to respond, but his words were drowned out by a shrill scream coming from upstairs.

Stiles nearly knocked over his mug of tea as he jumped to his feet. Derek was already halfway to the stairs.

They clambered up the stairs to Lydia's room. The rest of the pack was already gathered around her. Peter and Spencer came in moments later.

Lydia was sitting up in bed, gasping, with tears streaked down her pale cheeks.

When she saw Stiles, she scrambled across the bed and threw her arms around his neck, sobbing, "It was you."

Stiles smoothed Lydia's hair down her back. "It's okay, Lyds, it was just a dream."

Lydia pulled back, shaking her head. "No. It was like the other visions, but it was different. Derek was there and Peter too. You were... you protected them, but..." she clung to Stiles' neck once again.

"How do you know it was him and not Spencer?" Peter asked.

"His magic. It was how Stiles does it." Lydia answered, pulling away again.

"Okay, then Stiles just has to agree not to save Derek and Peter."Malia shrugged.

Stiles snapped his head toward Malia. "I'm not agreeing to that."

"You're not dying to protect me, Stiles," Derek growled.

Stiles whirled around. "I'm not gonna stand by and watch you die."

Derek's expression darkened. "I can't lose anyone else."

"So what, I should be okay with losing you?"

"Yes," Derek answered too easily.

"Well, I'm not," Stiles snapped, taking a step toward Derek.

Derek and Stiles glared at each other, neither one backing down.

"Okay, well, I'm not okay with Stiles dying for me either, but I'm also not okay with dying, so how do we prevent this from happening?" Peter asked, his eyes falling to Lydia.

"I only saw three figures before Stiles used his magic, and then I only saw claws go through Stiles." Lydia's voice wavered.

"It's the Dara pack, isn't it? That's who Dad saw. That's who kills you." Spencer spoke up quietly from behind Peter.

Stiles met his brother's eyes with a sympathetic expression. "I think so."

Tears welled in Spencer's eyes. "I don't want any of you to get hurt because of me." The room swirled with a sharp gust of wind.

"Hey, no, focus." Derek took Spencer's shoulders like he had at Deaton's.

Spencer closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"You're not at fault here, okay? We're gonna figure this out." Derek spoke sternly, but there was a softness to his tone.

Spencer's eyes opened. "But it is my fault." The air whipped again.

Derek's hands cupped Spencer's face, forcing him to lock eyes with Derek. "There's no blame to place. You're part of this pack, and we look after each other. Look at us. None of us are pointing fingers. None of us are accusing you. This is something we'll handle as a pack. Together. But I need you to calm down. Don't let your magic hurt anyone."

Spencer nodded, pulling in a deep breath.

Derek released Spencer as the room fell still once more.

Stiles' chest ached. As much as the idea stung, he was glad Spencer would be here if something happened to him. He'd make Spencer promise to look after Derek. Someone had to.

*AN*
Hope you like it!