A Place to Hide Away- Sterek

I Thought You Were Older

"What else are we going to do with all the toys and blankets that you bought me?" Stiles argued as Derek let Bones work on the scratches that had traces of wolfsbane in them. It hadn't been easy to get the Alpha to let the doctor work on him when they still had Allison, an enemy, in the presence, and some of the pack members still hurt, but Doctor McCoy had noticed that signs of slow poisoning in Derek's much calmer demeanor.

"You are not going to litter my living room with toys and blankets. Just because you're older doesn't mean you're any neater than you were at 5 years old." Derek scowled, wincing at the salve that Bones was putting on him. It was the same one that he had used with Peter, who had woken him glaring at the doctor through half-lidded eyes. He had fallen back to sleep, but not before casting a fond smile to Stiles.

"But, Derek, your living room is already a mess. At least with the toys and blankets, we could have a room that's a little bit more homier." Stiles tried to pout, but Derek ignored the attempts to appeal to his better nature. "Come on, Derek. What was the point of buying them if not to use them?"

"Five year old you was going to use them. We don't need them now that you're older."

"Will the two of you shut up for crying out loud?" Bones rolled his eyes, exasperated by their back and forth arguing. He grabbed Derek's wandering arm and forcefully put a Band-Aid over one of the cuts.

"You don't even go here." Stiles stuck out his tongue at the doctor.

"He wouldn't understand that reference." Derek turned his back, who leaned over his shoulder to see what Bones was doing. The werefox scoffed at him.

"I'm surprised that you do."

"Ooo, burn!" Erica laughed and the Alpha turned his head to cast a look of betrayal at her. She shrugged her shoulders unapologetically. "What? It's true! You like stuff that was around when you were our age."

"How old do you think I am?" Derek asked bewildered.

"Early 30's?" Erica shrugged, looking around the room at the other packmates who nodded their heads in agreements, save for Lydia who squinted at Derek. The Alpha's mouth dropped open at their responses and turned to look at Stiles who had a hand over his mouth as he struggled not to laugh.

"That's what happens when you act all snooty about not watching TV shows with us." Lydia shrugged, and Derek's mouth shut close as he shook his head in disbelief. All this time, they've been thinking that he was as old as Peter. That was a radical and hard thing to swallow.

"Guys, I'm only 24." Derek rubbed a self-conscious hand over his cheek. Had he really let himself go that much? He thought that he looked rather good for his age, but then again he hadn't really interacted with actual people for years. Maybe he had gotten stuck in his idea of what older people should look like. Laura had always told him that he dressed like a modern greaser.

The reaction around from the pack was varied, from Scott raising his eyebrows to Lydia nodding sagely. The funniest one was Stiles who leaned over Derek's shoulder to get a better look at his body, making Derek's cheeks flush at the obvious perusal that his mate was having. His wolf knew that he didn't look too bad.

"You're only five years older than us." Scott let out a laugh, running a hand through his hair. "You're just as lost as we are." He pointed accusingly at Derek.

"I never said that I had all the answers." He pursed his lips, crossing his arms over his chest. It was yanked back onto Bones' lap as he rubbed another mixture of powders into a deeper gash on the inside of his elbow. That one was going to hurt for the next few days.