iamnotbrooding | For Causticly

The sound of his window opening doesn't startle him the way it used to, but he expected it to be Scott and not Derek. He quickly composed himself and did a good job of hiding any pain he felt as he sat up, moving to the edge of the bed.

"I'm good, fine. Just a little tired and worn out, I guess, from everything that happened," he said, which wasn't exactly a lie. He was tired and worn out, but his chest and shoulder also hurt like a bitch. He'd done a good job of hiding it from his dad and to an extent his friends. They also had a lot on their plate so Stiles just... dealt with it the way he did most things. On his own.

Frowning, Derek sat on the edge of the bed and let his hand rest on top of Stiles' for a moment.

His frown deepened.

"You're in pain, Stiles, i can feel it coming off of you," he growled, closing his eyes for a moment to focus on drawing it from the other man. "Is there a reason you feel the need to hide that fact? Do you even have pain pills?"

Damn but the boy was stubborn, always trying to handle things on his own when he didn't have to. Didn't he understand that he had friends that wanted to help him, that he wasn't alone?

Sighing, Derek studied him, trying to make sense of it all.

He almost pulled his hand away but didn't, that would have been much more suspicious when he knew Derek would have just found out eventually.

"Yeah, but I don't want to take them all the time. They make me feel kind of woozy, a little," he explained, then shrugged. Pain pills affected people differently, even when taking said pain away.

"I take them when I have to." Which was mostly when his dad was home so he didn't worry.

Derek nodded, understanding at least a little bit, he didn't like anything that made him feel like he wasn't in control of himself. But, he also had super healing that made a huge difference. "I'm sorry, I tried to get here sooner, but there was a lot going on. Can I get you anything? Did you eat today?" he asked, brushing a bit of hair from Stiles' forehead, surreptitiously checking him for a fever.

Stiles did feel a little overly warm, but just figured it was him still being in pain.

"I ate earlier this morning but nothing since, haven't really felt that hungry. Um, some water would be good?"

It was nice, being taken care of. Not that he needed anyone to, but still. Nice.

"You're a little warm, but not hot or anything," he said, cupping Stiles' face for a moment before releasing him. "Stay here, I'll get you something to drink then take some more pain away, maybe you'll feel like eating when I'm done."

Derek went down to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, his eyes scanning the other contents to take note of what they had to eat. He could make Stiles a sandwich or an omelette if he got his appetite back.

He took the stairs two at a time, opening the bottle as he went so he could hand it to Stiles. He waited until he was done drinking, then took his hand to draw out more pain.

"Any better?" he asked, brushing his thumb over the top of Stiles' hand.

Stiles leaned into the touch, missing it when it was gone. "Thanks," he said, watching Derek leave. While he was gone, Stiles shifted back to lean against the headboard, legs stretched out in front of him on the bed to get comfortable. It was a good position to rest in, since it didn't hurt his shoulder too much.

Taking the bottle from Derek when he got back, he downed about half of it in one go, then settled it between his legs so it wouldn't spill. He let out a low groan as the pain faded when Derek began leeching the pain from him, the ache and sharpness from the wound ebbing away.

"Oh my god, that's so much better," he mumbled, resting his head back against the headboard.

Derek frowned, feeling guilt that he hadn't been able to get to Stiles sooner, that he'd had to be in pain for so long. But now that he was here, he didn't plan on going anywhere unless it was to get something for Stiles.

"I talked to Braeden, she told me what happened at Malia's," he said, looking at his own feet for a moment. When it all finally went down, Derek hadn't been there, hadn't been able to help anyone and he hated it. "How much damage did the glass do? Did it go through your muscle?"

He ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry I wasn't there, Stiles."

"It's not that bad," he said, not liking the look on Derek's face.

And- yep, that's what he thought. "Hey, no, stop that. This isn't your fault, okay? I did this knowing full well I might get hurt- hell, that I probably would get hurt. Besides, even if you had been there you might still not've been able to save me. So stop that, okay?" Stiles said adamantly, reaching out with his other hand to grab Derek's arm.

Derek scowls at Stiles before taking a deep breath and letting it out. He knew Stiles was right, but Derek still felt the guilt of not being there, something that stemmed from not being there for his family either. But that was his issue, not Stiles's, so he forced himself to relax.

"Yeah, okay," he sighs, sitting beside Stiles on the bed, watching him for signs of discomfort or pain.

"At least it's dead now," he says, leaning back against the headboard. "And that Theo kid is gone." Which saved Derek from having to kill the little bastard himself. "Maybe things will quiet down for a little bit."

Then he heard what he just said and snorted. "Or not."

Stiles snorts at the comment about Theo. "For now," he said, smirking. "Does anyone ever really stay dead around here?" They thought Peter had died, that Kate had died, that Gerard had died. Hell, even that Jackson had died. He knew he had a point.

"We can only hope," he says, leaning against Derek after the man settles beside him on the bed.

"When you're healed up, we're going out," Derek says firmly, nodding. They were going to take advantage of the peace while they had it since it was sure to end soon enough. "A proper date. Dinner and movie or...something? Whatever you want to do."

He leaned gently against Stiles, good shoulder not wanting to hurt him. "Or I can cook for you," he offered, turning his head to look at Stiles.

"Really?" Stiles asked, looking completely surprised that Derek actually wanted to date him. Sure, they pretty much confessed their feelings to each other, but they hadn't exactly talked it over, what they really were to each other.

"I'd like that," he said softly, honestly. "You should definitely cook for me."

Derek was silent for a moment as he scowled at the wall. "I don't actually know how to cook," he admitted, feeling like an idiot. He'd just wanted to impress Stiles somehow and he didn't even know why. It was Stiles for fucks sake.

He looked at Stiles, his scowl turning into a frown. "But, I'll try. I mean, if you still want me to. Or we can just go somewhere." He sighed. "I'm really not good at this."

Stiles can't help the little grin that crosses his face at hearing that. Derek totally lied to him and likely because he just wanted to do something nice for him.

"How about this; I cook, we eat, and you can do the dishes for me? Because that would totally make me happy. Not having to do the dishes for once."

Derek relaxed and nodded. "Yeah, I can do that. When you're healed that is. For now, I'm taking care of you." The last came out as more of an order than a statement.

"Are you sure you can't eat something? You need strength to heal."

His grin softened into a small smile, his heart feeling like it melted just a little hearing Derek say that.

"I think there's some left over mac and cheese in the fridge if you want to heat it up for me?" He asked, shrugging a little. He hadn't really been that hungry the last day or two, he pain pills, when he took them, made him feel overly sleepy and groggy.

Derek nods and jumps from the bed, going to get the food Stiles will eat, even if that food is leftover mac and cheese. It takes a few minutes to find it, heat it up and grab another bottle of water. He also grabs the apple sitting on the counter before heading back upstairs.

"Are you sure you don't want something else," he asks, glancing down at the sad little bowl of macaroni. "I can order a pizza or get you something." He sets the things on the bedside table beside Stiles.

"Thanks, man," Stiles says as Derek gets up and leaves the bedroom.

He laughs a bit at that, and the look Derek gives the mac and cheese.

"Let's see how my stomach handles this first. I don't want to waste a perfectly good pizza," he says, picking up the bowl and fork.

"Dad was home this morning, so I had to take one of the pain pills. It made me a little queasy, which is why I haven't eaten." He tried, of course, but it didn't end well.

Derek nods in understanding. "Well, I'll keep the pain away and you keep eating." If the pain Stiles was in when he got there was any indication, the pills weren't doing much anyway.

"When is your dad getting home?" he asks, looking around the room, considering places he can hide if necessary. "I don't exactly have anywhere to be." The plan had been to come back and deal with the Beast, then see where things went with Stiles. Things happened a bit faster than he'd anticipated. "I meet with someone tomorrow about an apartment. In town," he clarified.

Stiles nods and starts to eat, chowing down on the food, and it seems like his stomach might actually keep it down this time.

He pauses with the fork halfway to his mouth when Derek tells him about he apartment appointment. "What, really? You are?" he asks, then shoves the forkful into his mouth, chewing and swallowing.

"Where at in town?"

"Yeah, on Kramer Avenue, the Springs. It backs up to the woods, so it'll be easy to get to when I need it. Is that okay? That I'm staying for awhile?" he asked, suddenly insecure.

"Yes!" Stiles exclaimed, not hesitating at all. "I mean, yes, of course it's okay. I just wanted to know how far I'd have to travel to see you, that's all."

Derek gave him a small smile. "Not far. Closer than the loft was anyway. I don't really need that much room anymore, just got a small place."

Hopefully someplace he could make feel more like home.

He grinned. "It has a kitchen though."

"Good, that means I can start giving you cooking lessons," he teased, smirking a little at the other man.

It sounded nice, though, a little place for Derek to have, maybe this time they can make some good memories to go along with it.

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