Suffer Well (Sterek)

Make sure you were okay

Derek rummaged through the pantry looking for something to snack on. Cora and Amora had gone to dinner together that night, and Dominic's canceled date had rescheduled, so Derek was on his own for dinner. He didn't mind though, in fact he preferred it. He had the house to himself and no one to bother him.

Just then the doorbell rang causing Derek to tense. It was eight pm, who would be stopping by that late?

"Dominic, you better not have double scheduled again," Derek growled making his way to the front door. The last time Dominic had done that, Cora had to tell the poor girl he was out with someone else. Talk about awkward.

Derek opened the door to see one of the familiar faces from the night before.

"What are you doing here?" Derek growled stepping out and closing the door behind him, as if what was inside was a secret.

"I uh, just wanted to check and make sure you were okay. I had all night and all day to think about what happened and to process it all. I also did a lot of research and I noticed that it said wounds from an alpha took longer to heal, I wanted to make sure you were okay." Stiles rattled quickly and nervously.

"How did you find me?" Derek snapped.

"Uh, my dad's the sheriff, I used his computer to look you up," Stiles shrugged.

Derek clenched his jaw.

"So are you okay? Did they heal already?" Stiles asked, his eyes raking over Derek gently.

"I'm fine," Derek snapped.

Stiles waited as if he expected Derek to continue.

"They're still healing," Derek sighed. This guy took the time to look Derek up on his dad's computer just to check on him, the least he could do was tell him what he wanted to know.

"So uh, we also didn't say thanks. You didn't have to intervene, so...thanks," Stiles shifted again.

This guy made Derek nervous with all his fidgeting.

"And don't worry, I didn't tell anyone." Stiles smiled a bit.

"You're Stiles?" Derek asked making sure he had it right.

"Yeah," Stiles lit up at the fact that Derek remembered his name.

"And who was your friend that was bit?" Derek asked struggling to recall the other guy's name.

"Scott. His bite hasn't healed yet."

Derek could smell the nerves.

"It will, he would already have rejected the bite if he was going to," Derek assured Stiles. He knew the pain of losing someone to the bite, he could at least put Stiles out of his misery about that.

"Oh, thank god," Stiles let out a sigh of relief, "He still doesn't believe we weren't drugged," Stiles rolled his eyes.

"He'll realize soon enough," Derek responded simply.

"Could you, like, I dunno, make your eyes do that glowy thing again," Stiles asked hopefully.

"Stiles, go home," Derek huffed.

"Right, yeah, good idea," Stiles nodded backing towards the blue jeep that sat parked in the driveway.

Derek mentally kicked himself for not hearing Stiles pull in. He watched as Stiles climbed into his jeep. It was strange that he had checked to see how Derek was, he wasn't used to that from anyone other than family. It made Derek anxious. The last time he trusted someone, it got his family killed. He would definitely be keeping an eye on Stiles.

-

Stiles pulled out of Derek's driveway. That had gone better than he thought it would. He didn't know much about Derek and it was obvious Derek didn't trust Stiles but he remembered how upset his dad had been after running the call. He felt like maybe Derek didn't have many people in his life. The least Stiles could do was check and make sure Derek's guts didn't fall out on his way home the night before.

Stiles glanced in his rearview mirror as the large white house grew smaller. Derek had saved his and Scott's life. They definitely owed him more than a simple thank you.

"Damn it," Stiles swore aloud. He should have gotten Derek's phone number, at least then he could announce his next visit. Next visit? When had he decided there would be a next?

-

Derek laid down on his bed. He opted to skip dinner as his stomach was in too many knots from his surprise guest. He couldn't help but replay the interaction over in his head. Had he said too much? Trusted too easily? He didn't think so.

He recalled the scent Stiles was giving off. He was nervous and excited. Then briefly anxious, when mentioning Scott's bite. What if he only stopped by to ask about Scott's bite. Maybe he didn't actually care if Derek was okay? What if that was only a cover? Who was he kidding of course it was only a cover. Why else would Stiles have taken the time to look him up and drive all the way out to his house at eight o'clock at night? Stiles couldn't possibly care if Derek was okay. He'd been a fool for believing him.

A sadness washed over the werewolf; Of course no one cared, he wasn't worth caring about.

*AN*
Sorry it's been a while, here's a small one for you. I promise the next one will be longer.
Ps. Derek's house is the pic at the top.