Payment (revised)

Chapter 10

edited: 5/12/20

edited: 6/20/23

"I'm going to pick you up."

Derek paused and backtracked. He hadn't intended to sound so harsh.

"Is that okay?" The Alpha added.

The confidence he normally wielded like a sharpened blade was lost to him.

Derek washed away the mess that had coated Stiles until he was completely free from the substance. The consequence being the water was now a rusty brown color. Derek didn't want Stiles to feel nervous again, and knew he needed to get the boy out of the tub with care.

Stiles's eyes were closed, his eyelashes fluttering lightly against his flushed cheeks. The boy had completely sunk into the luxury of Derek's ministrations. Stiles was so relaxed he barely realized when his head had fallen against Derek's shoulder. A wet spot was gathering on the Alpha's shirt, neither of them cared.

Compared to the boy Derek had found next to Scott's bloodied body, Stiles was a completely different person.

Protectiveness swept the Alpha. He wanted to keep Stiles like this. Calm and happy with Derek watching over him.

Stiles was barely coherent but he nodded sluggishly against Derek's chest as an answer to the Alpha's original question.

Derek found himself smiling unabashedly. He was completely unable to resist Stiles's charm, and he leaned down to rest his forehead against the top of the boy's head.

Derek had the urge to press a kiss to the dark strands that had curled from the water. All he would have to do was bend down a little farther and his lips would caress the boy's freshly washed hair.

The Alpha inhaled sharply and discarded the thought. For the moment, Derek had Stiles's trust.

He didn't want to jeopardize that.

The Alpha carefully pushed Stiles off of him, and rolled back his sleeves. Derek then stuck his hands into the murky water and gathered the boy's fragile body in his hold.

"Wrap your arms around my neck, Stiles," Derek whispered, not wanting to disrupt the boy.

Stiles did as asked.

The Alpha had a feeling Stiles would do anything that was asked of him right now.

One would think Derek would be happy about that. Finally, Stiles was listening to orders.

If he was being honest, the boy's compliancy sat uneasy with him.

This wasn't Derek's Stiles. The one with the witty retorts, the one who wasn't afraid to call him out on his shit.
This was a Stiles Derek had never met before, and he had to navigate their relationship carefully.

The Alpha easily lifted Stiles out of the water that wanted to cling onto the boy's frame, and placed him on the side of the tub where Derek had sat to bathe him.

Goosebumps gathered along Stiles's arms as he was exposed to the cool press of air, Derek pulled the boy closer.

Stiles wasn't a child, but right now he looked young. It rattled Derek. The Alpha grabbed a towel from the floor, and secured it around the boy. Stiles grumbled as Derek worked on drying him off.

"Talk to me, Stiles," Derek said, the words came naturally to him, "What's running through that head of yours?"

Stiles's eyes were shut tight, and he was leaning into Derek's hands ghosting over him with the now damp cloth.
For the next while Stiles was silent though Derek was positive he had heard the question.