A Hotel by UC Irvine | Monday Evening

[robinonadderall]

It was time for another campus visit trip, this time to a state that didn't completely suck. The tour wasn't actually until tomorrow so that left Stiles with a whole evening to watch TV and take advantage of Derek's credit card by ordering a ton of room service.

What? At least he was sharing.

"Ugh. I got pepperoni on the bedspread."

[For the werewolf sugar daddy]

Comments

[justlurkinghere]

"Out." To, you know, have his emotional break down in privacy. Possibly find an old, abandoned distillery.

NBD.

[robinonadderall]

"Well are you coming back?" Stiles was trying not to pull a Scott and get all wibbly and puppy faced when concerned but it was happening against his will.

[justlurkinghere]

Which meant Derek had to make himself look away. Because this was for Stiles' own safety.

He fished the keys out of his jacket pocket, dropping them on the bedside stand. Like that meant something. "Sure."

Monosyllabic was a valid lifestyle choice.

[robinonadderall]

This all felt like something out of a really bad dream, and Stiles couldn't actually say for sure at this point whether it was real or not. He was guessing yes for real, since his nightmares were rarely this straightforward.

"Derek, I'm sorry for saying anything, I thought being honest was the right thing to do." Obviously not since Derek was walking out on him. "I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you, I swear, just please don't leave me alone."

[justlurkinghere]

Damn it with your speaking directly to his crippling mangst!

"You didn't so anything wrong, Stiles," Derek replied, staring down at the floor. "I can't--"

He can't words. Yes.

"You should ask your dad to take you on these. Why are you even asking me? Pity?"

[robinonadderall]

Ow, that one hurt. "Of course not. We're friends; I thought you cared about where I wanted to go. I figured you'd be visiting."

[justlurkinghere]

"Caring gets people killed," Derek snapped, not able to keep that once inside. "So you're better off here. Aren't you?"

[robinonadderall]

"No, I'm really not," Stiles said. "You're not going to get me hurt or killed, Derek. You've done nothing but try to protect me."

[justlurkinghere]

"You won't let me try," Derek replied, tugging his jacket on roughly. "Now I know why."

Oh, now he was looking broken again. Oh thank god, back to angry once more.

[robinonadderall]

"That's not why, and you know it! I didn't want you to get hurt!" Stiles argued. "I want you to help me, that's why I'm trying to be honest with you. It'll kill me if you get hurt trying to help me, but I'm taking the risk because it wasn't fair of me to try to stop you."

It had taken his dad being kidnapped by the darach to figure that out, but figure it out he did.

[justlurkinghere]

Stop being the mature one here! It wasn't fair to Derek's crippled emotional age!

"How the hell would I know anything?" Derek snapped. They were just lucky the room service people weren't around now. "You're the one seeing my future."

His horrible, horrible future.

[robinonadderall]

"You know me though, don't you? And I know that you can hear it when I lie," Stiles said. "I didn't invite you here out of pity and I sure as hell don't think that you protecting me is going to get me killed."

He did still think that protecting him was going to get Derek killed.

"Boyd and Erica wasn't the other Derek's fault and that doesn't even have to be your future. You're not him, Derek."

[justlurkinghere]

"It doesn't matter," Derek hissed. "Everyone I care about dies, Stiles. I can't have a pack again. I can't have--"

You know. You.

"I am alone. That's all I'm ever going to be."

[robinonadderall]

"No, you just think you should be alone because you're afraid," Stiles corrected. "You're not actually alone because I'm still here."

[justlurkinghere]

Well, yes. Afraid and full of self loathing. LOOK AT HIM GO!

Derek stared at him for that. "Why?"

[robinonadderall]

Oh god he had to tread lightly here lest he reveal something that could possibly freak Derek out more.

"I've been stuck to your side for over a year and you still have to ask me that?" Stiles said. "You're my friend, you asshole. My best friend, sharing that title with Scott. I care about you and I'm not going to let you be alone."

[justlurkinghere]

SO MUCH FREAKING OUT.

"Maybe you should."

[robinonadderall]

"Well I'm not," Stiles said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're just going to have to deal with that."

You were talking to the guy who almost got lit on fire trying to talk Scott down from wolfsbane craziness, he wasn't about to back down now.

[justlurkinghere]

Yeah, but ~True Alpha~ and childhood best friend vs Actual Hot Mess Derek Hale.

"Then I'll do it for you."

[robinonadderall]

"What exactly do you think you're going to accomplish by doing that? I'm still losing my mind, Derek. I'm still responsible for whatever hell the nemeton is going to unleash upon Beacon Hills," he said. "If you can't watch me be thrown into a nut house or watch me die at the hand of whatever supernatural creature is coming to town next, fine, then just say that. But don't think for one second you're doing me any favors by leaving because you're not."

[justlurkinghere]

"Don't think you know me," Derek snarled. Because why not just pull a 'I'm doing this for your own good' thing now! "I don't care what happens to you."

[robinonadderall]

"So you've been overprotective and caring over the last year for fun?" He wasn't Isaac, he knew what you were doing, Derek.

[justlurkinghere]

Shhhhh. Don't bring up obvious things. It ruins all the glaring plot holes, Stiles.

"Maybe I just felt bad for the kid who wouldn't leave me the hell alone."

[robinonadderall]

"If you want to hurt me you're going to have to do better than that," he said. "It's going to take a lot of convincing to get me to believe you don't care about me."

[justlurkinghere]

...don't you make him do this. It will end badly for everyone. Mostly him.

"Really, Stiles?" Derek asked, leaning into his personal space and smiling viciously. There might have been a little bit of an angry coy look. Because he did a lot of things angry. "Why is it you keep coming to see me?"