Sterek

Chapter 10

I was extremely confused when he stopped the car outside the animal clinic.
'Doc Deaton was the emissary to my Mom's pack. He helped out a lot and I think he could help us out as well.' Derek explained before getting out the car. I followed him and we entered the clinic.
'Deaton.' Derek called out. It was only a moment later when Deaton appeared behind the counter.
'Ah Derek, I heard that you were back in town, how can I help you?' He said.
'Well... It's a little hard to explain.' He commented.
'Let's go through the back then and you can try to explain it to me then.' Deaton suggested. We nodded and then followed him through to the room where we had been the day before, healing Derek.
'Why don't you start at the beginning then.' Deaton started.
'I've always had kind of a sixth sense about people. But when I met Derek it was way more intense like I could actually feel his emotions. And so I thought I could maybe take it further so I was playing around and I kind of, got inside his head while he was dreaming? And then after that he touched me and I accidentally got inside his mind and I could almost hear his thoughts? And when he was in pain I could feel it. Also when he's close by I sort of know, like I sense him. So that's pretty much all that's happened on my side.' I then had a thought. 'Also Derek's eyes kind of randomly glowed when he saw me the first couple of times.' I added. At that point Deaton turned immediately to Derek.
'And you say you don't know what's going on?' His tone was accusing. Derek shifted uncomfortably.
'The thought crossed my mind but I dismissed it, I didn't think that it was possible. And I've never heard about a case that was this intense. I mean the whole mind thing shouldn't come until after, right?' Derek replied.
Deaton looked thoughtful. 'Usually yes. But I think this is different because of Stiles' abilities. And the intensity really just depends on the people Derek, you know that, just look at your parents, they were a force to be reckoned with. Particularly Talia- her love was fierce.' I felt the stab of pain and grief that shot through Derek and shifted closer to him in silent support. Deaton's eyes tracking my movement. 'Just look at that Derek. He moved closer the minute I mentioned your family. He's offering support. It's almost instinctual. You know what this is.' Derek looked lost and like he didn't know what to do.
'He might know but I certainly don't and I'm not exactly thrilled about the way you guys are talking like I'm not even really here.' I piped up. Derek sighed and turned to me.
'Do you trust me?' He questioned, looking straight into my eyes.
'Undoubtedly.' I responded immediately.
'Then trust me when I tell you that I understand what's happening but I can't tell you yet.' He pleaded with me. I considered briefly.
'I'm not exactly happy about it but sure. If you can't tell me yet then I'll just have to wait until you can.' I eventually replied.
The relief on his face was obvious. And then I was hit by his emotions I stumbled slightly as the wave of relief washed over me and then it was like I couldn't control the grin that spread across my face and the way every muscle in my body felt relaxed.
'So guilt makes it hard to breathe and relief is like taking a muscle relaxant. Interesting. I feel like if you're ever happy it's going to be like I've taken ecstasy.' I commented with a dopey grin on my face.
Derek chuckled and it made my feel proud that I was the one to make him laugh. All the while Deaton was watching us with curious eyes.
'You really feel his emotions that strongly?' Deaton asked.
'It's like someone has taken his emotion, dialled it up to eleven and then shot it straight into me. It creates physical reactions. Believe me the guilt thing was not pleasant and neither was pain. Or sadness for that matter.' I told him.
'That is unusual. I don't think Talia ever mentioned anything like that. I shall have to do some research into this. Derek if I could have a number to contact you at if I find anything?' Deaton asked. Derek nodded and pulled out his phone. After they had swapped numbers I swiped Derek's phone from his hand.
I quickly added my number before sending a text to my phone so I would have his number before I handed his phone back to him. He looked at me for a minute then shook his head with a small, fond smile on his lips.
I pulled out my own phone and saved his number under the name Sourwolf. 'We good to go Sourwolf?' I asked him.
'Sure. Thanks Deaton.' Derek said as he headed for the door.
'Anytime Derek. I'm still the emissary for whoever needs one. Be it your pack or Scott's.' And with that statement we were gone.
*
'Wait Derek.' I told him as we got to the car. I had a weird feeling, like something was majorly wrong. 'I need to drive. And before you make some comment about your car, trust me, I need this.' I said to him. He looked puzzled but handed me the keys.
'Let's go then.' He said before getting into the passenger seat. The second I got into the driver's seat I let my mind go blank and switched to auto pilot. I let it guide me to where I needed to go and ended up at the Video Store.
There were cop cars and ambulances everywhere and Derek turned to me with wide eyes.
'How did you know?' He asked. I shook my head and got out the car.
'You should get a birds eye view. If you go onto the roof, you'll be able to get a better idea of what went down and you'll be closer for scents.' I told him. He nodded and disappeared into the shadows as I made my way over to where my dad was.
'Stiles what are you doing here.' He asked as soon as I was close.
'I don't know. I just ended up here. That doesn't matter. What happened?' I questioned.
'Another animal attack. Killed the attendant and freaked out Jackson and Lydia. They were lucky.' He replied. He was looking around accessing the scene as he spoke. I could suddenly feel Derek's presence behind me and I relaxed slightly, I hadn't even realised that I was tense. Derek subtly touched my hand and I heard his voice in my head.
'Alpha.' I nodded in response to his statement.
'Derek, I'm not sure how wise it is for you to be here. Most people don't even know that you're back in town.' My Dad commented upon seeing Derek.
'Stiles drove. We didn't know that this was happening. And I'm not really concerned about what other people think Sheriff. People always talk, nothing I can do about it.' Derek was looking at Jackson as he spoke who was standing near an ambulance giving us a weird look. I grinned at him and he looked away.
'Either way you two best be going home right about now. And Derek use the door for Christ sake. It's a lot safer than trying to climb through Stiles' window.' He laughed at our shocked faces before walking away.
'Did he just..' I started.
'Yes. Yes he did.' Derek finished. He tugged lightly on my hand and we headed back to the car where I handed over the keys.
'So the alpha is back at it again. What are we actually going to do about that?' I asked.
'Honestly I have no clue. We don't do this, alphas I mean. Just because we're predators doesn't mean we're killers.' His voice was heavy. 'Something must have seriously messed this guy up.'
'That's not really an excuse though. Lots of people get messed up. We don't all become psycho killers. You are not him Der.' I told him as I understood what he was hinting at.
'I know that.' He replied quietly. We pulled up at the house then. 'But we all have that potential, to give over to our more primal side. Sometimes it's really hard to stay human. It's often extremely tempting and it's a constant struggle to hold on to that which makes us human, that makes us stronger in some cases. Morals, family...' He sounded like he was trying to convince me of something.
'And I reiterate, you are not him. You still have your humanity and I will help you keep it. Always.' I assured him. 'Otherwise you wouldn't be you- and that would be a real tragedy.' I joked before getting out of the car. He followed after a minute with a soft smile on his face and I grinned back at him as I unlocked the door. I set my backpack down by the door and went straight through to the kitchen.
After a brief look in the fridge I had decided what to make and started to pull out all the ingredients. I set a pot of water on the stove to boil before grabbing a pan and some minced beef. I browned off the meat and added spaghetti to the now boiling water. Turning back to the meat I added some onion and a tin of chopped tomatoes. As I was cooking I could feel Derek's eyes on me from his place at the counter. I threw some pre-chopped veg into the pan with the meat and left the whole thing to simmer for a little while. I pulled out two pasta bowls and set them on the counter before lifting some oregano and some pepper to season the meat mixture. By the time I had the mix the way I liked it the pasta was cooked and all that was left to do was plate it up.
Setting a bowl down in front of Derek I spoke for the first time since entering the house, 'Spaghetti Bolognese.' Then turned to my own plate and started to eat.
'Stiles this is amazing.' Derek said after his first bite. I blushed, and kept my eyes on my own plate, embarrassed by the praise.
'Mama McCall made sure I could fend for myself since Dad works a lot and can't really cook. So I try to make sure that there's always food in the house and leftovers for Dad when he comes home- I'm trying to get him to eat healthier.' I told him, I normally don't tell people this stuff but I always feel comfortable with Derek, like I could tell him anything.
'It's good that she did that for you and that you take care of your Dad like that.' Derek commented.
'We're all that each other have left. So I'm trying in my own way to make sure that he's going to be around for a while. And I'm going to protect him from all the supernatural stuff as much as possible, if it comes to a point that him knowing will make it easier then I'll explain it to him. Whatever it takes to keep him safe.' I vowed with determination. Derek was watching me with something akin to awe in his eyes. I could feel something warm and fuzzy coming from his emotions, I couldn't quite figure out what it was but it made me feel... comfortable almost. I'm not sure how to describe it but it felt nice.
'Whatever you're feeling you should feel it more often. It's nice. Very calming.' I commented warmly.
'It's weird that you make offhand comments like that, like this is a completely normal thing that's happening.'
'What is normal? Don't you get it Derek? I've never been normal. This whatever it is, it just means that there may just be a reason that I'm not normal. That maybe I was meant for something more.' I shook my head. 'You linked to my mind earlier, how did you do that?' I asked curiously.
'Partly because of what Deaton said, now that I know for sure what this is I know more about how it works. Also because I was touching your hand- the physical contact makes the mental link stronger. We can start to work on it a little more but there are limits as to how far we can go right now, there are certain... restrictions. We have to have meet specific conditions before we can fully use our powers and that's part of what I can't tell you right now.' Derek explained.
I nodded and began to clear the table. Throwing a towel at Derek, which he caught easily, I told him; 'I'll wash, you dry.' And started to wash the dishes. We worked in a comfortable silence, moving around each other with ease, like we'd been doing this for years. When we were finished we threw ourselves onto the sofa and turned on the tv.
After flicking through the channels we settled on some Sci Fi movie. I wasn't paying much attention, just thinking. My thoughts eventually drifted back to what Scott had said in the locker room. He couldn't possibly mean what I think he meant. He said that I was blind, did he mean that I didn't see that Derek cared for me in that way? Even if that is what he meant, he couldn't possibly be right. It was foolish to believe that Derek felt the same way as I did.
Feeling tired of my thoughts I closed my eyes and cleared my mind. I could sense Derek's presence and was tempted to reach out to it, seeking comfort and a connection to something. I didn't however, as that would be an invasion of his privacy. I leaned back into the sofa and just drifted in my thoughts until I felt a nudge against my mind- instinctively I threw up mental walls so that whatever was there couldn't get near my thoughts, I wasn't having anyone in my mind.
'Stiles, what did you just do?' Keeping the wall up in my mind I turned to Derek as I opened my eyes.
'I don't know- it was instinctive, I was protecting myself. It's like armour, it prevents anything from getting inside.' I replied as I slowly let the wall slip when I couldn't feel him anymore.
'Why would you want to protect yourself from me?' He asked quietly and I could feel the sadness coming from him, it tugged at my heart. I automatically shifted closer to him and without thinking placed my hand on top of his.
'It's not about you. Not really. I'm just not ready to have you in my head, and I know that's totally hypocritical since I've already been inside yours but that was an accident and I won't be doing it on purpose without either your permission or no other choice. There's things in my head I don't want to share, not yet anyway, I'm sure that there's things that you don't want me to see either. Is that okay for now?' I asked him.
'Of course that's okay. I'm sure if we work on it we should still be able to communicate with each other without actually going into each other's minds, the wall may make that harder but not impossible. There is some things I'd rather you not see but I'm sure that we'll come to a point where it won't matter. Anyway, I was trying to ask if you were okay, you kind of spaced out on me. Is this still about what Scott said? Why was he so smug anyway?' Derek questioned.
'That's an interesting question. I'd imagine that he felt that he was right. I think he's lost his mind and that he can't possibly be right. And now I just can't stop thinking about it and it's driving me insane. I can't even consider the possibility that he might be right though.' I groaned and closed my eyes, throwing my head back. 'Why did he have to open his stupid mouth?' I was frustrated and kind of pissed at Scott.
'Hey. I could help if you actually told me what Scott said.' He pressed. I shook my head mutely. 'Then what do you want me to do?' He asked.
'Beat up Scott?' He laughed. 'I don't really mean that. I don't think that there's anything you can actually do.' I replied with a sigh. 'It's just the kind of thing that'll sort itself out eventually, and it might result in me punching Scott. In the face.' He laughed again and it made me feel good. I smiled a little. 'Actually, just keep doing that.'
'Doing what?' He questioned.
'Laughing. I don't know if it's this... bond or whatever but it makes me feel really good when you laugh. So just keep laughing.' I murmured, suddenly feeling tired.
'Sure thing Stiles.' He sounded pleased, almost content. All I could feel through the bond was warmth and it felt like it was surrounding me.
'Or even better, keep feeling like that. It's good too.' I yawned and turned my head as I tried to get comfortable.
'Come here then Stiles.' Derek said and his arm went around my shoulders as my head rested on his. This was much better and I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness but before I did I managed to link to Derek long enough for me to say; 'Good Night Sourwolf.' And then I was dead to the world.

***
Author's note.
This one's a little long but I wasn't sure where else to end it so there we go.