Chapter Text
“Dude, I feel terrible that we’re all just abandoning you for the next month!” Scott moaned as he finished packing or more accurately shoving wrinkled (but hopefully clean) clothes into a duffel bag.
Stiles looked up from the new Stephen King book he was pretending to read and shrugged. Even though he was the driving force encouraging his pack to leave town, he knew he was going to miss them. Boyd and Erica left for their vision quest thing that was going to last the entire summer. Lydia and Jackson were in Europe and Allison and Scott were going to spend the next month at her family’s ranch in Montana where Isaac would be joining them in a few weeks after his art program at Berkeley wrapped up. “I won’t be alone. Sourwolf will be here.”
“Does that mean you’re going to spend the next month antagonizing him?”
“I only call him out when he’s being stupid.” Stiles turned back to the book.
Scott rolled his eyes. “Stiles…”
“Scott, I’m going to be fine. I think it’s going to be a quiet summer. We probably won’t see each other.”
“If something does come up, you’ll call him right?” At Stiles’s blank look Scott frowned. “Or Deaton? Your dad? Someone?”
“Will you stop!” Stiles flashed an exasperated smile. “I will be fine. And you’ll be fine. Spending time with Allison and Isaac all summer will be awesome. Quit worrying. You’re going to be late and they’re going to leave your sorry ass here.”
“What if they decide they don’t like me?” Scott sighed sitting down on his bed. “What if…”
“You are insane! They are crazy about you. Her dad thinks you’re amazing. Her cousins think you’re the greatest thing since MarioKart. You have nothing to worry about.”
Scott groaned and scrubbed his face with his hands. “I wish you were coming with me.”
“You don’t need me hanging around, Scotty,” Stiles laughed. “It’s going to be perfect.”
“You’ll text me everyday, right?”
“Of course I will, you idiot.”
“And Snapchat?”
Scott’s phone pinged letting them know the Argents were there.
“And Snapchat,” Stiles said grabbing his book and one of Scott’s bags. “You are going to have a great time.”
Scott looked at Stiles once more before he opened the door. “This is the first summer we’ve been apart since the third grade.”
Stiles swallowed past the lump in this throat and gave Scott a hug. “You’ll just have to make it up to me when you get back.”
Scott buried his face in Stiles’s neck and took a long sniff.
Stiles hugged him tightly then pushed him away. “I’ll see you in 6 weeks.”
“Yea,” Scott’s voice was thick. He grabbed the bag Stiles was holding and walked through the door.
Stiles followed him and watched as Scott hugged Allison and put his bags in the trunk. Allison waved at Stiles, then hopped in the backseat with Scott. Scott was already so wrapped up in Allison he missed Stiles’s last enthusiastic wave.
Stiles had cleaned the house, gone grocery shopping, planned out the menus for the week, rearranged the pantry, and sent Scott 7 text messages before his father came home 6 hours later. John looked at the spotless kitchen with a raised eyebrow. “Bored?”
Stiles shrugged and started gathering ingredients for the turkey burgers. “Scott left this morning. I figured I might as well make myself useful.”
John sighed. “You know, if you wanted to go away…”
Stiles shook his head. “I don’t. I’m fine with staying here this summer. Someone has to keep an eye on things.”
John winced. Stiles, Derek, and Scott had finally told John and Melissa about the whole werewolf thing. Stiles had been a guest of the ER too many times in the last few months for them to hide it any longer. There was a lot of screaming and yelling, but eventually, both Melissa and John accepted it. They hated it, but they accepted it. “I don’t want you doing any of your investigating alone, Stiles.”
“Dad, I’m fine. I’m 18 years old, for crying out loud. I’m no longer a kid.”
John wrapped his arms around Stiles. “You may be 18, but you’re still my kid.”
Stiles stilled and then released all the tension he was holding in. “I’ll be careful.”
John let go of his son and leaned against the counter as Stiles started frying the burgers. “Derek’s around, right?”
Stiles shrugged. “For all the good that does me. The guy hates me.”
“Hate’s a pretty strong word,” John watched him thoughtfully. “I don’t get the hate vibe from him.”
“Scott says I antagonize him.”
John watched his son for a few minutes.
“What?” Stiles frowned at his father. For a long moment they stared at each other. Finally John laughed and shook his head. “What?!?!”
John smiled at his son fondly. “Nevermind Stiles.”
Stiles’s eyes narrowed slightly as he chewed his bottom lip. “You know I don’t want the bite, right? I mean, I’m good with werewolves and everything, but I don’t think I’d make a good one.”
“I think you’d be good at anything you chose to be,” John’s voice was firm and filled with support.
Stiles blinked. “Well, I like being the squishy human. Even if that means Derek treats me like I was made of glass.”
“As your father, I’m glad he doesn’t want to you in the middle on those fights.”
“He doesn’t have to be such a condescending ass about it.”
“Language.”
Stiles pulled out two plates and two whole grain buns. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Can you get the stuff out of the fridge?”
John turned to the fridge as Stiles set the table. “You made pasta salad?”
“Yea, and lemonade. Can you grab it?”
“I almost like you being bored,” John chuckled.
Stiles threw him a dirty look as he sat down.
“There is something I’d like you and Derek to take a look at though.”
“What’s up?” Stiles perked up, loading his burger with ketchup and pickles.
“We’ve had 4 hikers in the past month wander off the trail and were found miles away from their cars, dehydrated and disoriented. Each a few days after they were reported missing .”
“They get lost?”
John took a bite of his burger and hummed his appreciation. “For three days?”
“You think something’s out there?”
John shrugged. “I have no idea. All of their statements are so scattered we thought it was drugs at first. The stories they came up with were interesting. One or two I could go with, but 4?”
“I’ll look into it.”
“With Derek?”
Stiles hesitated. “I’ll text him and see if he’s interested.”
“If he isn’t, don’t go out by yourself,” John said sternly. “I’ll go or I’ll have Parrish go with you. Are you still taking Scott’s job at Deaton’s?”
Stiles nodded. “Yea, I start tomorrow. Scott’s already walked me though what I have to do. It seems pretty straight forward.”
“Good.” John watched as Stiles finished up his dinner. “You want to watch a movie with me?”
Stiles gave a ghost of a smile. “You’ll be asleep before we finish the opening sequence. Did you bring the files on those hikers?”
“Yea, they’re on the coffee table. Read them down here with me. At least once before you go on your research binge.”
“Okay, but we aren’t watching any of your terrible Westerns.”
“John Wayne is a cultural icon.”
“Robert Downey Jr. is a cultural icon.”
John shook his head. Stiles took their plates and loaded up the dishwasher.
Need to check something out in the Preserve tonight. Interested? Stiles texted Derek after he had reviewed the files twice. It was pretty clear that there was something at work. He even knew two of the people. One of them was a nurse who worked with Melissa and the other one was a geeky gamer who barely ever saw the outdoors. So a nurse, a gamer, an out of towner visiting family and a stay at home mom. Weird. Looking at their pictures, none of them struck him as hikers.
Be over in an hour. Wait for me. Derek responded.
For a second, Stiles stared at his phone, surprised Derek had bothered to reply. Stiles didn’t know what to make of Derek’s baffling moodiness. When he had tried to joke about it with the others, they stared at him as though he was the one being an idiot.
Stiles stood up and forced his dad to go to bed before he walked into his room with the police files.
“What’s going on?”
Stiles jumped at the semi growl from the direction of his bed. “What the hell dude! You scared the shit out of me! You said an hour.”
Derek shrugged. “My call didn’t last as long as it was supposed to.”
“Your call?” Stiles asked with a raised eyebrow. “Isaac asked to come home again? I thought he was getting along better with the rest of the people in his program.”
“No, Isaac didn’t call today. I think he’s feeling better about being away. It’s good that he’s spending time with the Rutger Pack at Berkeley. They are a good pack. Your idea to send him there was a good one.”
“The suspiciously sounds like a complement, Sourwolf, which makes me think you’re doing that crappy half truth thing you do when you don’t want me to know what’s going on. Which I eventually always find out. Usually after everything goes to hell in a hand basket,” Stiles said narrowing his eyes.
Derek stared at him with a blank expression. “Sourwolf, really?”
“Yes. Now what is it?”
“What are we checking in the Preserve?”
Stiles narrowed his eyes. “4 people lost in the woods came out three days later with pretty crazy stories. I thought we’d would go to where the last one was found and take a look around.”
“Any idea what it is?” Derek asked.
“Something that causes hallucinations? Could be one of about 38 things from the Argent Bestiary. Hopefully we can find something my Dad’s men couldn’t.”
“You took a lot of Adderall today didn’t you?” Derek said dryly as he shrugged off his leather jacket and tossed it on the foot of the bed.
“You have no idea,” Stiles grimaced. “And you can use the front door like a real person. My dad’s going to shoot you one night.”
“I’ll heal.”
“Did you miss the fact that he carries wolfsbane bullets now?”
“That seems a little excessive.”
“Do I need to go over all the supernaturals that came for our blood this year?”
“We’d protect you.”
“Every little bit helps,” Stiles shrugged. “I need to look a few thing up before we head out.”
Derek picked up the copy of the new King book and made himself comfortable on Stiles bed.
“Do not spoil anything,” Stiles frowned.
Derek raised his eyebrow and started reading.
Stiles huffed and logged into his computer.
An hour and a half later Derek turned the last page of the chapter and smirked.
“Don’t even tell me you’re done,” Stiles said still staring at his screen.
“Almost. Not as good as the Dark Towers.”
“You don’t think anything’s as good as the Dark Towers.”
“No, some of his short works are good.”
“I can buy into Monkey Shines, but if you try to convince me that Different Seasons was his best work I’m going to call bullshit,” Stiles said turning to him.
“Different Seasons was great.”
“This coming from a man who hasn’t even read Barker,” Stiles said shaking his head. Their argument was an old one. Stiles was a voracious reader and was surprised to learn that Derek was one as well. The others in the pack would roll their eyes and smirk whenever Stiles and Derek got into one of their literary arguments.
“Did you get what you needed?” Derek said with a tiny quirk of his lips.
Stiles glanced at his computer and shrugged. “Most of this is probably more crap than fact, but I should be able to recognize any thing resembling a clue. Plus, I’ll have you with me. We can use your super sniffer to see if we have a new bad to deal with.”
“Super sniffer.” Derek deadpanned as he followed Stiles out.
Stiles grinned.
“Do you want to pick up something at the diner?” Derek asked as he and Stiles trekked through the woods back to Stiles’s Jeep. The hunt was less than fruitful, leaving them both unsettled.
“God yes,” Stiles breathed. “A milkshake and curly fries sound amazing right now.”
“And a burger.”
Stiles shot Derek a questioning look.
“You need protein. You’ve grown at least another inch this month.”
“Creepy, Sourwolf.” Stiles shook his head.
“For all the nagging you do about your father’s diet, you have terrible eating habits.”
“I eat healthy,” Stiles said defensively.
“You eat healthy when you’re with your father. When you aren’t eating with him, you’re not eating.”
Stiles wanted to disagree, but his thoughts flickered back over the last few times he’s eaten.
Oh.
Derek nodded when he saw understanding in Stiles’s eyes. “What are the chances of you remembering to eat by yourself?”
“I’ll be working with Deaton. He’ll make me take lunch.”
“But will you really eat something?”
“Yea, of course I will!” Stiles said indignantly.
Derek raised an eyebrow as Stiles unlocked the Jeep. Stiles opened the door for Derek and then went to his door. He glanced at Derek who was still looking at him. “Dude. You don’t even like me. Why are you worried about my eating habits? You must have something more interesting to do.”
Derek gave him an inscrutable look. “I have plenty to do, but taking care of you is important.”
“I thought you told the others to not talk to me,” Stiles frowned.
“Stiles, you hadn’t slept in over 36 hours and had exams. Of course I told the others to give you space,” Derek said clicking his seatbelt.
“I thought you were kicking me out of the pack,” Stiles admitted.
Derek stared at Stiles for a long minute. “You’re an idiot.”
Relief washed though Stiles, reenergizing him. He started the Jeep and pulled onto the road. “I aced my exams.”
Derek shook his head and looked away. “You can’t keep pushing yourself like that Stiles.”
“Because I’m a squishy human?”
“Because you’re going to make yourself sick or you’re going to fall asleep behind the wheel.”
“Do you have this talk with the entire pack, or just me?” Stiles snorted.
“Nobody works a fraction of how hard you work,” Derek said intensely. “Everyone puts themselves first, not the pack. Everyone else but you. You give everything to pack.”
Stiles flushed and pulled into the diner’s parking lot. “I don’t do anything that anyone else shouldn’t do.”
“They probably should do what you’re doing, but it seldom occurs to them that it needs to be done,” Derek said climbing out of the Jeep.
Stiles shrugged. “The curse of ADHD,” he sighed following Derek into the diner.
Stiles and Derek were quickly shown their booth and the waitress returned with waters for both of them. “So…” Stiles said after they told the waitress their order. “You going to tell me what got you to my house in 10 minutes?”
Derek frowned. “You are very paranoid.”
“But I’m right, aren’t I?”
Derek looked away.
Stiles laughed. “Admit it, I’m awesome. I know you better than you’d like.”
“I don’t understand how you and Scott have been friends for so long,” Derek grumbled.
“Scott will even admit that he’s about as self aware as this booth,” Stiles smirked. He smiled at the waitress as she brought his milkshake.
“What are your plans for the rest of the summer?” Derek asked.
Stiles peered at Derek for a moment before answering. “Working at Deaton’s. Practicing my magic. Sleeping.”
“I have to go to San Francisco for a few days in two weeks. Any interest?”
“Any interest in what?”
“Any interest in coming with me? I have a dinner but I figure we can look up some of those magic stores you’ve been research online.”
Stiles grinned. “Yes. All of it. I’d love to go with you to San Francisco.”
The corners of Derek’s lips curled up into a tiny smile. “I’ll drop by the station and clear it with your dad.”
“I could totally ask him when I make him breakfast,” Stiles said eating his curly fries.
“I thought you would be sleeping.”
“I start at Deaton’s at 6.”
Derek looked at Stiles curiously. “I know Scott doesn’t get there that early.”
“He doesn’t, but I want to get all the animals taken care of early. I always feel a little bad that they have to stay in those little cages overnight.”
“You are ridiculous.”
Stiles laughed. Derek had to pull his eyes away from the long line of Stiles’s throat. He thought back to his pack’s endless pep talks about this summer. Their advice ranged from suck his brains through his cock (Erica) to just tell him as bluntly as you can (Lydia). Maybe just kiss him (Isaac). He’s a little oblivious (Scott). Or he could wrestle him to the ground in the guise of training and ravish him (Allison with Erica and Lydia chiming in). Either way they gave him til the end of the summer to get his act together or else they will do an similar intervention with Stiles and Derek knew he wanted no part of that.
Derek sat back and watched fondly as Stiles somehow went from animals in a cage to Ferris Buller’s Day off.