Archive of Our Own

Derek unceremoniously dropped his duffle bag, then proceeded to kick the door close with absolutely no fucks to give. He'd take care of the bag later. Right now Derek just wanted to get out of his leather jacket and fucking relax.

He tossed the mail, which he had picked up before heading in, right onto the kitchen counter. Ignoring the papers for now, Derek shucked off his jacket and threw it over one of the kitchen chairs. Next were his boots, which he kicked off and to the side.

Stiles was in the living room, over at his desk set up in the corner. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the fridge open. Not surprising that that was what got Stiles to notice Derek was home, and not the door slamming. He smiled as he watched Derek pull a beer from the fridge, popping the bottle and immediately taking a swig.

"Derek!" He called happily, spinning his chair a little too much and going a full turn again and again. Derek rolled his eyes, walking over and saving Stiles before he could possibly get motion sick. "I'm glad you're back. I missed you."

"As if you hadn't been watching me on the CCTV." Derek smirked, looking at the computer monitors and seeing his point proven. Hallway outside the door, parking garage, and around both corners. Stiles blushed, quickly smacking his keyboard and making the monitors switch to the desktop.

"Whatever." The young hacker grumbled. Stiles hopped out of the chair and traveled to the kitchen, sorting through the mail Derek had brought in. "Ooooh, this one's neat." Sticking out of the pile was what looked like a plain black envelope. Stiles pulled it from the pile. "Wonder who sent this."

Derek rejoined Stiles in the kitchen, standing to his side and looking over his shoulder. The envelope had nothing but their PO Box written where the sending address would be. It was professional and therefore made Derek paranoid, already wondering how they got it into the box without going through the system.

"Probably a job offer." Derek surmised. Stiles' eyes sparkled with excitement.

"On paper? Like the old fashioned way? Who does that anymore?" Stiles' mind ran with all the possibilities of why one would go through such trouble to get into contact with them. "Seems convoluted to me. They wanted to make this as untraceable as possible. Though, I don't see how a paper trail is that different than a digital trail. If you don't do it right, you leave a trail one way or another."

"Well, they somehow got it to the box. Either by themselves or someone they have an in with at the place we have our box. This was most likely done by professionals." Derek pulled the knife from his pocket, flicking it out and using it to slice the envelope open. Turning it over, a small gray card fell onto the counter. There was a crescent moon on one side and an address, date and time on the other side.

"Think it's a meeting? An invitation?" Stiles played with the card between his fingers, weighing out their options.

"Who knows. Could even be a trap." Derek sighed, dragging his hand through his hair. "They probably want to see if I'd show when given nothing more than this. Most know I don't take jobs without all the information."

"You think they want something more than just an one and done job? Like something more long term?" Stiles gasped. "What if they want to hire you and join their crew or something?"

Derek played with the thought. "A cryptic invitation. Possibly one to join someone's crew." He groaned as realization hit, knowing who possibly sent him the card. "What do you know about my uncle?"

"You mean other than the obvious?" Stiles totally didn't go on a research binge after learning of Peter Hale when Derek told him stories about his uncle. "He's gotten more known over the last few years. Used to work alone, not afraid of doing any dirty work or taking someone out. Then suddenly there's word of him putting a crew together, gaining territory for them. His inner circle is a real tight knit group."

Peter has certainly been up to a lot since Derek had last seen or spoken to him. "If he ever worked with a partner in the past it was never in anything more than a small unit team. He usually avoided jobs that involved more than one partner. But if the end reward was worth it, he would make exceptions on a case by case basis. Looks like Peter finally saw the benefits to working with a team."

"Want me to rummage around and see what I can dig up? Put some names and faces to the lovely bunch of individuals your uncle loves spending his time with?" Stiles was already making his way back to his computer desk. Derek grabbed his hand before he could get too far, pulling him back and having them face at each other.

"If this is some kind of test. Like Peter wants to see if I'd be willing to join up with him. Well, want do you want?" Derek squeezed Stiles' hand. "I'll tell him no if any of this isn't alright with you."

Stiles smiled, taking his free hand to cup Derek's cheek. "I know. How about this. We listen to his offer first. We don't want to make any assumptions, right?" Derek smiled, brushing a kiss to Stiles' forehead.

"Alright. We hear him out." This time he placed a kiss to his nose. "We'll figure this out. Find out more information, do some research.

"Exactly!" Stiles smiled brightly, throwing his arms around Derek and giving a big kiss smacked on the lips before scampering off to his desk.

There were a few clicks that rang in the quiet room, before the silence was overtaken by an uproar of teenage boy band. "Backstreets back alright!~"

Derek simply laughed at his boyfriend's antics, letting him get lost in his monitors and keyboard as he took his beer again and started on dinner.

There were a few moments in time where Derek wondered what it would be like to work with his uncle on a job. It's been so many years. Back when Derek was first pulled into this life. The life that ripped their family apart and away from him.

Maybe working alongside Peter would help him keep one of the two family he has left in this world. His uncle and his boyfriend.

Plus who knows. Maybe it would be fun.

Derek was sitting outside the Starbucks, reading through the book he's read through multiple times before. His helmet was resting at his feet. The trademark motorcycle helmet with the wolf-like ears. (Because it's cool Derek!)

Foot traffic was average, vehicle traffic was light for lunch time hours. People heading in for their caffeine fix, a place to study for college students, all that. People with down time, people going to and from work, people just being people. Derek lowered his book as he reached for his coffee, taking a sip while he gazed across the street, looking between the crowds of people.

"Got anything?" He muttered against his cup, turning to look into the coffee shop. It's not paranoia if someone is really out to get you.

"I can see the guys who was driving, don't know if he's anything more than that." Stiles reported through the earpiece. "You'd think if they were trying to keep a low profile, they wouldn't go with something so flashy. Bet you he only owns Porsches."

Derek rolled his eyes, used to Stiles' ADHD steering him in odd directions at any moment. Some worse than others. He was thankful this one was mild but still, more focus would be nice. He put his drink down, it less than half now. "Please tell me you're not looking up different Porsche models on Google images in the middle of a job." There was a sudden silence over the comm.

"I'm not using Google images in the middle of a job." Stiles parroted under his breath, but enough that the mic picked it up. Derek huffed fondly.

"At least try to be more convincing when lying." He suggested, smiling all the same.

"Der, my love Derek." Stiles chirped. "Lies are not good for any basis of a healthy relationship. Come on Derek."

"No, not for a healthy one." Derek turned to the next page. From the corner of his eyes, he spotted two people turning the corner and instantly he recognized one of them as his uncle. Peter barely looked any different from when Derek last saw him. Still dressed in an expensive suit whenever he could, and still looked fairly young given his age and profession. "Looks like they're here."

"I see them." Stiles said, going into full game mode. "They're heading towards your meeting spot. Obviously the suit guy is Peter, then there's car guy, and then some guy who looks more like a floopy puppy than what I guess is supposed to be muscle."

"No idea on who either of those two are. You're going to have to run them through facial recognition and hope to get something." Derek suggested. He heard the clicking of keys as he stood from the table, tucking his book into his jacket and then bending down to grab his helmet. Derek straightened out his jacket and then proceeded to walk towards the meeting. As he walked Stiles read off some info he was able to pull up for a preliminary.

"Peter and Porsche Douche traded spots. They probably have their own comms. Peter is probably going to start in the car while the other two meet with you. Don't see anything on the roofs, but I'm going to do a double check to be sure. If you want, I can try and hack into their communications. Try and get a read on-"

"Don't." Derek interrupted. "We don't know if they'll be able to trace you if you attempted anything. We don't want to take any chances with anything until we know what they want." He didn't need to be on Peter's shit list, if he wasn't already. Things hadn't been bad between when they last saw each other, but a lot can happen in just a handful of years. Who knows what Peter's been through or what he was thinking. They knew Peter's reputation up to now, but doesn't mean there isn't something behind all that.

Yeah they could always move if it came down to it, as annoying as that would be. But Derek didn't want to risk anything. Not for himself, and certainly not for Stiles. They finally had a place where they could be happy together and he wasn't going to risk losing that.

There was a small part of Derek that was hoping this would all work out for both them and Peter.

"Ok." Stiles sighed, his key clicking resuming. "Oh look, now we're just down to a one man welcome party. Don't know why Puppy is hanging back but he'll probably rejoin in a bit.”

Derek made a noise of affirmation, taking note as he closed up his jacket. His weapons were hidden on his person in their rightful places. Once he was satisfied, he took his time entering the parking garage.

"So Peter is back in the car, probably keeping an eye on things using the CCTV. Porsche Douche is meeting with you and Puppy is the back up. This should be interesting." Derek could practically see Stiles bouncing in his chair in excitement. He couldn't help but smile fondly for a moment before putting his game face on.

Derek wouldn't be able to talk back to Stiles much during the meeting, not without looking like he was crazy. It's one reason he just keeps his helmet on during jobs, hides it better. But he had thought Peter would show up at the meeting he set up with his own damn nephew, so he had kept it off as a courtesy. Somethings never change after all.

He walked past the Porsche without a cursory glance. Stiles was trying to sort through the data as it came in, trying to quickly gather what he could on the two men that had been brought in. Derek frowned. He's never seen either of them before, so they were either new to town or have been operating outside Derek's circle.

"There's too many results." Stiles groaned. "There's no consistent look for the puppy, sometimes he's got scruffy hair and looks like he still belongs in high school and sometimes it's cut and looks almost like a gym bro. Mr. Porsche must never do anything too dirty from what I can see. He mostly does grifting and other jobs that need a pretty face. Puppy is probably one of Peter's go-to's for any kind of muscle."

Derek hates being watched, but at least this time he knows who it is so it bothers him a little less. Porsche Douche, as Stiles dubbed him, is leaning against a random SUV and idly scrolling through his phone. Like this meeting is the last place he would rather be right now.

"Here we go." He grumbles and Stiles goes quiet.

P.D. looks up from his phone as he sees Derek approach, pocketing his phone and holding his hand out with probably the fakest smile Derek's ever seen. Bet he's turned plenty of heads with it, but there's always more to a pretty face. Derek grunts as he shakes the offered hand.

"It's nice to meet you Derek Hale." He greets with more fake sincerity. "I'm here in place for my boss to talk to you."

"What, Peter didn't want some heart warming reunion? Rather sit back and watch from a distance?" Derek nods to the side, towards the camera he spotted on his way in. P.D.'s face flickered for a second before calming back down. Stiles snickered in his ear over the remark.

"He was sadly held up with a previous engagement." He spoke smoothly, though he looked like he was trying real hard to hold back. "He'll join us as soon as he can, I'm sure. But until then, I was given the go ahead to negotiate the terms with you."

"Sure." Derek said flatly. Looks like Peter found someone who was trying real hard to be like him. This guy was reminding Derek a lot of how Peter was when they were younger. Peter has perfected the act over the years. This guy seems like he's only started getting the hang of it in recent years. Though it looks like he has some anger impulses to work on. That'll make reading him all the more easy. "And who am I speaking with then? You know who I am, but I don't know you."

"Jackson." He supplied. Most can't get much with only a first name. But Stiles wasn't most people. First name, then add in the profile Stiles will gather from the meeting he should be ever to nail down on an exact identity on the pretty faced car boy. "Like I said, I'm here to talk things over in Peter's place. The crew has an offer for you, Derek."

"A job." Derek stated, giving him a firm yet cautious look. Jackson looked like just a pretty face, but anyone working for Peter had to know how to take care of themselves if and when things turn belly up. He may look unarmed, but that's not a guarantee. Always assume someone is able to fight, even when they look like they're not. Jackson may just be giving enough confidence in himself, or his weapons were just hidden that well. Either way, assumptions get you killed out here.

Jackson merely shrugged. "That, and a few other things."

"The terms?" Derek asked curtly. He tapped his fingers along the surface of his bike helmet, Jackson tracking the movement and just smiled. Definitely confident, most likely armed, probably thinking Derek's reputation is more talk than anything.

Oh poor boy. Definitely a newer face on the scene. Peter has done a terrible job of informing his people about his nephew. Curious on if that was done deliberately or not.

"Need you to take out a target. Make it flashy, bloody, whatever. We need it done to leave a message." Jackson produces a folder and tosses it to Derek. "A dossier on the target. Five figures, half of which you'll receive upfront and the rest after we have confirmation that the job has been completed." He fell silent as he watched Derek with a curious gaze.

Derek kept his eyes on him for a moment longer before picking up the folder. He thumbed through the papers, a frown growing and his brows bunching together. He closed the folder and threw it back at Jackson. Puppy took a step forward, hand instinctively going to his sidearm, but Jackson stopped him.

"This job is so basic it hurts. You don't need me for something like this." Derek spoke, sounding bored and irritated. Actually, it was really irritating him but he couldn't appear like he was easy to upset. "I truly hope that this isn't what you went to all the trouble of contacting me for. What exactly are you trying to accomplish with this? Peter?" He asked, giving the camera a raised brow. A direct question for his dear uncle, who has still yet to show himself.

Jackson smirked, showing a cold anger hidden behind the sharp grin. Definitely a man used to getting what he wants. Derek is probably more trouble than he thinks is worth and is probably just waiting to be able to hopefully go off on him. He crossed his arms, squared his shoulders to strengthen his stance.

"Now what makes you say that?" He asked with charm. Stiles swears in his ear as he continues to watch things unfold. Puppy looks between Jackson and Derek before stepping up, closer but behind Jackson.

"As I said, this is a basic job. If you wanted, you could have just left me this instead of a little card inviting me for a meeting. It's not like it's hard for someone like Ms. Martin to bribe someone to sneak it into my box."

It was a risky guess, but looks like he was right. Stiles had checked the cameras and logs at the building that housed Derek's PO box and managed to recover a deleted document. Trace of one L. Martin sending money to the manager of the building to make a drop on behalf of her employer. Stiles couldn't find anything more than that and it irked him.

"You're here with your little escort while Peter watches us from the comfort of your flashy little car. I'm sure a pretty face like yours, Jackson, could do this job. It's that easy. Hell, your little puppy here could do." Derek spoke blunt and direct. The pretty boy scowled, but when Puppy whispered something to him he reeled it back in.

"I'm sure you know of the risks of inviting me. That." Derek points to the folder, lying skewed on the ground between them. "That is not worth much of anything. So again I ask, why go through all this trouble just for me?"

Without Stiles' low warning in his ear, though appreciated, he turned along with the other two to see a new player walk into the garage. Or more, the player finally gets off his lazy ass and shows up.

God Peter was still a diva and a showman. The man was freaking slow clapping as he entered. "Ah Derek. You definitely live up to the reputation you've made for yourself."

Derek scowled, not afraid to show his annoyance at this point. "Peter." He growled. "You know I hate playing these games."

Peter chuckled. " Yes, I remember. But it's still too much fun." A brief look of fondness crossed his face as he looked at Derek. He was able to catch it before Peter smoothed it out. "Shall we get down to business then? Take care of this little problem for me. Think of it as a refresher for me to see what you can do."

"Called it!" Stiles shouted, almost making Derek flinch from the sudden burst of volume. Thank god he's used to his boyfriend's random outbursts.

Derek just silently stared at his uncle. He knew Peter could be patient, especially when it came to something he wanted, but strangely Derek was one of the few things that could test that patience at times. This happened to be one of those times.

"Do this for me, and if I like the results, then I'd like to offer you a place in my crew. On a probationary place to start with, of course." Peter smiles, looking to Derek with that brief fondness again. "I'll of course pay you for the job either way. And if you truly don't wish to join, then I'll never bring it up again. We got a deal?"

"If I joined you," Derek sighed. "What do I get out of it?"

"You mean besides spending time with your favorite uncle again?" Peter teased. "Seriously though. You'll have a steady pay, access to safe houses should you ever need one, back up to help you in a pinch. I know you've stuck to solo work all these years Derek, but I think it's time for a change. Something with a little less risk, but a lot more fun."

"I don't work with others." Which, yeah it's a lie, but it's needed. Stiles was safer playing in the shadows. The offer appealed to him but he didn't let it show. All the perks Peter listed sounded great. Solo work could be exhausting, and more partner work wouldn't be too bad. But the perk that really appealed to Derek was being around Peter again.

He truly missed his uncle, and he wanted to find out what kind of man he was today. If he liked what he saw, he would want nothing more to have his last living relative back in his life. Maybe even one day introducing him to Stiles.

Derek wanted nothing more than to trust Peter. But he had to be absolutely certain that he could do that again.

Puppy picked the folder up, walking it over to Peter and handing it to him. Peter sorted it all back into place before coming over to hand it to Derek. "If you want to go back to how you usual work, then that's your choice. The offer will always be there for you if you ever want it."

With his back turned towards his men, Peter gave a true warming smile. "Think on it. Let me know. It was really good seeing you again Derek." He spoke quietly to his nephew.

Derek took the folder, and Peter walked away. He watched the three leave and kept watching until they were out of sight and then Stiles confirmed they got to their car and drove off.

Stiles dove into a research binge to dig up anything and everything on their target. Coming up with all sorts of crazy ideas on how to get the job done and give the perfect message Peter wanted from it.

Bomb hidden in their office. Make it look like they were in some freaky cult and used as a sacrifice. If only they were more outdoorsy, then they could have made it look like an animal attack.

"We gotta impress them! I know Peter pretty much knows you but like, it's been years since he saw your work. Plus that Jackson douche keep giving you shitty looks. Gotta shove it to him." Derek rolled his eyes before giving a kiss.

"As long as you don't try and get me to paint anything using his blood. I have to draw the line somewhere." Stiles smiled against his lips. "If I'm leaving any kind of calling card, I'm using spray paint."

"Blood would probably be more of a pain to clean anyway. We have to be considerate to those who clean up after us." Stiles said, moving so he could sit in Derek's lap.

"Details later." Derek pulled Stiles forward, forcing the other to straddle him. He buried his face in Stiles' neck, trailing kisses and bites up and down his neck.

"Right, later."

The Hale's reunion was big. Like way big, almost giant news. With Peter practically planning a debut of sorts for Derek joining the crew, it was no time at all for the whole criminal underground to hear of it.

Stiles was keeping tabs on all of it. He even saw several mentions of people referring to Peter's crew as 'a pack of wolves', some just flat out calling them the Wolf Pack. Sounded like something out of a YA novel. Then again, the crew's mark was a crescent moon and they could be quite cruel and brutal when they meant business. So, it might make some sense how one would draw correlations from such things.

"I want to scare them so badly that they shit bricks for a week." Erica so nicely stated. Now her, she was definitely someone Stiles would call a wolf.

Derek was currently helping out on an attack against an enemy gang. It was himself, Erica and another named Boyd, who Stiles was 95% sure was at least sleeping with Erica. If they were more than that, it was probably only a matter of time until that comes next. If it's not already a thing too.

They haven't seen Jackson since the first time meeting him, and Ms. Martin still has yet to show herself in front of Derek. They were definitely more of the 'we're too pretty to risk blood on our expensive clothes' with a dash of 'we're just too good for that kind of work'. Those two would much rather rub elbows with the rich and influential and just talk them out of their things than find a way to take it all with actually effort.

Everyone stood around the table, a map of the city spread out between them. "Derek and I will be meeting with their leaders, here." Peter pointed to a spot on the map. "While we're keeping the attention of their bosses, Boyd will knock down their bikes to start a lovely chase to keep them busy for Erica to sneak inside their hideout to crack into their safe to claim our prize. When Erica has it, she'll call for Boyd to swoop in and grab her. Once you shake them off your tail you can head on home."

"What about us?" Derek questioned. "What happens if our side of things doesn't work out? If it's just me and you, we'll have no one to swoop in for us if needed."

"If this goes the way I've planned it, we won't have the need of such rescue." Peter grinned.

"Doesn't sound half bad." chimed in Stiles in Derek's ear, unknown to the others in the room. Derek nodded as he started to mentally go over his part in the plan and how to prepare for it. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of fun Derek."

As long as he doesn't have Star Wars battle music playing off in his ears, like during the last job, Derek should have no problems with this.

"I can't believe how many green lights we're hitting." Scott said in surprise as he continued them on course. Derek cracked a small smile from the passenger seat. "We'll be getting there sooner than expected."

"Got it Scott." Boyd replied, followed by a grunt. Derek couldn't help but wonder how the others were doing on their part. Hopefully they're not getting into too much trouble without him or Scott.

"You've been getting really lucky with the lights." said Peter, giving his two cents. "Lady Luck must be looking down on us. I'll be arriving early as well. Boyd?"

Swearing cut the line and Derek couldn't help but let out a laugh. He hid behind his hand and turned towards the window when Scott tried to look his way. "Looks like they forgot to lock up." said Boyd, sounding more put together. "The locks are disengaged. Security is offline."

Derek stayed out of it as the others kept talking, checking over his gun as they talked. "Maybe Derek is our good luck charm or something." Scott teased.

Derek gave them a chuckle, letting this one slip. "If you start thinking everything is due to luck, you won't survive long. You need to rely on your own skills and instincts." Scott just rolled his eyes and started whistling a happy tune as he drove.

He missed the oh so lovely singing from the talented Stiles.

"Hit me baby one more time!"

Luck had nothing to do with anything.

Derek walked into the penthouse to find Peter grumbling in the living room. His uncle was sitting on the couch, whiskey in hand as he stared at the offending papers scattered on the coffee table. He stayed back, taking in the situation before choosing to enter.

Walking further in, Derek spotted Isaac in the kitchen, making himself something to eat as he listened to Peter's in sane ramblings. "I know there's a trail leading to the bastard. Just have to find it." He grumbled to himself. "I know it was him. Just have to find out how the hell he managed it!"

"Any idea what he's going on about?" Derek asked Isaac. He decided to stay back in the safety zone with Isaac, grabbing a drink from the fridge.

"From what I've managed through the growls and grumbles, somehow someone got a hold of Peter's plans for the next heist. Sounds like Peter knows who did it and but not how they did it." Isaac answered before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Maybe I can get Danny on it. No, I need him to stay on the prep work. If I can't get them back, we need to be able to do the job as soon as possible. Before they manage to take it from us." There was a smack of a folder hitting the table and Peter downing the last of his drink.

Derek has never seen Peter so frazzled before. So less than put together. Peter prides himself on never letting his temper get the better of him. A memory from his younger days, of trailing after his cool uncle. Watching him get them in and out of trouble and never lose his cool under pressure.

Peter got up from the couch, heading into the kitchen to probably refill his drink. Derek took the glass from him, setting it aside and drawing his uncle's attention to him. "Maybe you or Erica could go rough them up for me and just take it back." He said, as if Derek had been the whole time and hadn't gotten the cliff notes from Isaac.

"Why not just hire someone to do the hack instead of Danny? Since you don't want to take him off of what he's already doing." suggested Isaac.

"No, can't trust them." Peter snapped. "Who knows how long it'll take to find someone, vet them and get them on this before the Calaveras can run the heist themselves."

"Sounds like we don't have much of a choice on this Peter." Isaac wasn't trying to argue Peter, but the man was starting to flip flop over his words. Derek crossed his arms as he watched the two go back and forth. He took a moment to think to himself before putting himself back in.

"I can get them back." His sudden outburst had the other two dropping mid arguing to turn and face Derek. It was like they forgot.

"You could if this was something physical to get back." stated Peter. "You're good at tracking by normal means. But these are digital files and would require some exceptional hacking skills to get back."

Derek shifted on his feet as his uncle just stared at him. He growled as the silence continued and became uncomfortable. Isaac stayed quiet, carefully watching the two.

"Fine, you're right. I can't do something like this, but I know someone who can." Derek pulled his phone from his pocket. "If you send me all the relevant information, I can pass it to them and they'll get it done."

"And who is this someone?" It almost sounded like an accusation. "You trust this individual?"

"Yes. They're a friend of mine."

"A friend? You have a friend?"

"Hacker. Business associate. Occasional working partner. Whatever!" Derek bit out. "And to be honest, they're better than Danny. Do you want your precious heist plans back or not? " Derek wasn't about to reveal anything about Stiles. Anything. It was safer this way. But Stiles would probably have a fit if Derek didn't let him help with this.

"So you trust them?" Isaac asked.

"They'd probably find this fun, but they also knows not to disappoint me."

Derek can already see Stiles getting way too interested in this and Derek would have to pry him away from his computer just for food, showers and piss breaks. Peter was giving them a deadline, not wanting the heist being pulled by anyone but them.

Peter sighed, mulling over his options before looking to Derek. "Alright. I'll put the information together for you to give to them. Do they want it on paper or on a drive?"

"Just give it to me and I'll get it to them."

And just like Derek said, Stiles bounced with glee as he was handed the hard drive. He even started spinning in his chair and Derek had to stop him before one too many spins. Derek hadn't even gotten more than a sentence into the rundown before Stiles was already starting up five different programs on his computer.

An excited and motivated Stiles always produced the best results. Derek could only smile warmly at his boyfriend.

Dinner was made and consumed, Derek making sure Stiles had most of it before letting him get back to work. He then took to the spot next to the desk, the comfortable arm chair he would use to sit and read. Occasionally Stiles would pull Derek into conversation and Derek was fine to oblige. The breaks were needed and he didn't want Stiles to burn himself out.

"Boyd finally asked Erica out. There was a betting pool on whether or not one of them would finally break down and ask, or if they'd keep being cowards and let the pining ride on." Derek was giving the update because he knew Stiles loved the gossip and rumors, especially when it came to the others in the crew.

When he got no response Derek turned to Stiles, who was just staring into his monitors and typing away. He could only shake his head and sigh, rising from the arm chair to come over to behind the computer chair. Bending down forward, he placed a kiss to the top of the hacker's hair. Stiles hummed in acknowledgment.

"Let me know when there's an update." Derek gave another kiss, this one to the side of Stiles' head, before going to the other room. He would give Stiles a few more hours before he pried him from his set up and got him into the shower. Eventually, he would stop Stiles from working too long without getting at least a few hours of sleep. He knew Stiles' limits. Derek would stop him well before things got out of hand.

Stiles will get the plans back for them. Derek had no doubt about that.

Two days later, Derek knocks before entering Peter's office. Without a word, he walks right up to his desk and hands over a folder. Peter starts to skim through it when he suddenly stops, looking up and meeting Derek's eyes. "These are-"

"Everything about your heist. Every piece of information the Calaveras stole from you." Peter said nothing, then just started going through the papers again. Derek decided to continue. "They even did you a favor. After retrieving everything, and making sure to delete any trace of the plans from their servers, they went a step further to make sure the plans weren't backed up anywhere else. This folder? This is the only copy of the heist plans. So don't lose it."

"What's this?" Peter pulls out what looks like almost a bank statement.

"Documentation of everything they did. Not only to show how they're charging you, but just in case you wanted Danny to look it over for verification if you felt the need." Derek explained as he watched his uncle read more. "Took a look when they handed it over, I noticed they gave you a discount of what they usually charge for something like this."

"A discount?" Peter asked in disbelief.

"They're the best at what they do. They're always busy and in high demand." Derek sounded amused yet annoyed. "Really, they could have charged you more for this since you were insistent on getting the files back as soon as possible. They paused all other jobs to work on this."

Peter looked to Derek sharply, eyes almost cold. "All this because you asked." He stated flatly.

"Because they owed me." Derek snapped, not appreciating the implications. "You wanted your precious plans back. Would you rather they still be in the hands of the Calaveras and let them profit from your work?"

Peter surrendered and changed the subject. Derek couldn't have Peter, or anyone, know the truth. Derek loved his uncle, he liked the crew he put together.

But he would do anything in his power to keep Stiles safe.

One of the better things about living in California, you have relatively easy access to the beach. Derek wanted to get some fresh air. Stiles tagged along and told him they should make it a date. So here they were.

Stiles with his arm hooked with Derek's, while in his other hand he had a churro that he was happily munching on. He had insisted on the sugary treat after they came out where they were having their lunch. Derek couldn't hold back the smile on his face.

They had been dating for so long now. Barely a year of knowing each other before they wanted to spend as much time as possible together. Derek had been so scared of not having his feelings returned. Sure, they both were not great people, their work being so different from each other, he wouldn't blame Stiles if he didn't want to be personally involved. It would've sucked still though.

Stiles hadn't mind at all of Derek's lifestyle, and had even been thinking of ways to for them to work together. He also been thinking of how things would be if they ever moved in together. Imaging work life and home life together.

Trust was hard enough for a person. But in this business? It wasn't something easy to come by.

It was fragile, precious even.

"What's got you all quiet Der? Well, more quiet than usual?" Stiles asked, tossing his wrapper as they passed a trash bin and headed for the boardwalk.

"Wondering if it's boxers or briefs today." Derek deadpanned as he slipped his hand into Stiles' back pocket.

"What if I said it's a pair of panties?" Stiles teased. He broke into a laugh as Derek growled, pulling them closer and giving a squeeze of his ass.

“You said they were uncomfortable in jeans."

"True. But they're so soft and that shade of dark red looks great on me, I think so at least." Stiles giggled as Derek's hand moved, pulling the waistband of his jeans just far enough so he could take a peak.

"These are your Batman briefs."

"Batman is sexy."

Derek rolled his eyes and snapped the brief's band, causing Stiles to squawk and flail out of Derek's arms. The older man just laughed. Stiles had a pout but was short lived, as he let Derek pull him back to his side.

The two shared a kiss, slow and sweet with the smallest hint of tongue. Derek wasn't a big fan of PDA but once in a while he could partake in it. When the warm moment was over, the two linked hands and continued their walk. They walked in comfortable silence, Derek's thumb grazing over the back of Stiles' hand.

They were just passing the arcade when Stiles used their joined hands to pull Derek's arm around his shoulder and left it there. "Have you ever gone commando during a mission before?"

"Hell no. Most of the pants I wear would chafe." Derek said with a chuckle.

"What if someone bet you to do it? And like it was a crazy amount of money to do it. Still a no?"

"I guess I would be more likely to do it if that was the case. I can always wear something else if things get too uncomfortable."

"Ooooh, imagine killing a guy and you're in a suit. I bet the pants on that would be comfortable, and sexy." Stiles purred. "No wait! What if you wore cargo shorts? Parachute pants?"

"I'd be ok with the suit, if it was needed for a job. The other two you can forget." Derek looks at Stiles and sees that look in his eyes. "You're thinking of me in the suit again aren't you?"

"Maybe. To be fair, it's a really nice suit."

"Ah well then, maybe if you're good I'll wear it and take you somewhere nice. We can dress up together." Derek offered. He lowered his lips right next to Stiles' ear. "And maybe when we would get back home I would strip you from your suit, use my tie to string you from the headboard and take you apart with my tongue."

"Yeah, uh yeah that all sounds really, awesome." Derek laughed, kissing Stiles and then leading them along again.

"How has your work been lately?" Derek took mercy and changed the subject.

"Mostly the same. All the same jobs and tasks. But yeah, it's consistent and keeps the money coming." Stiles answered. They reached the end of the boardwalk and began the walk back. "What's new on your end?"

"I've met all of the crew now, but I've yet to meet any of their contacts or allies. Lydia handles that most of the time, but I have heard a few names. It's almost scary how easy it's been to fall in place with Peter and the others. I thought it might be rough for Peter and I, given the time apart. The others only know of me by reputation, so they were hesitant at first. Which was understandable. Some of them have gotten past that now and are surprisingly good company."

"Aww, I'm so happy that you're getting along with your coworkers." Stiles smiled.

The whole time they've been walking, Stiles has been keeping an eye out for the CCTVs whenever possible. He knows where most of them are and it's a habit he has.

"I didn't think I would like this as much as I am. It's kind of nice." Derek admitted shyly.

They made their way back to the parking lot where they had parked their bikes. Derek with his sleek black sports motorcycle and Stiles with his deep red modern classic bike. Stiles would love nothing more than to share a bike, press firmly against Derek's back as they rode around the city. But Peter asked Derek to take care of something for him before the day ends. Derek didn't know how long it was going to take, so he suggested a lunch date during the afternoon and then taking care of the task afterwards.

Stiles was grateful for it. He had been missing Derek lately and moments like today. It helped when they had those big stretches of time where the most they saw of each other was first thing in the morning, and then late before bed.

He was pulled from his thoughts when a funny feeling hit. A shiver crept up his back. It was that weird feeling you'd get when you thought you were being watched. Stiles didn't try and look around, in case they were truly being watched, he didn't want to give anything away. Derek noticed the shift in Stiles' behavior and took note, silently slipping into serious mode. Which one of them was being watched though?

"Go straight home." Derek told him. "I have another errand I need to run." Stiles squeezed his hand, giving a quick glance before looking to Derek with hidden nerves.

"Have fun babe." He stole a kiss before letting go of Derek. "I'll be looking out for you."

Stiles put his helmet on before mounting his bike and then drove off. He'd take the long way home, plenty of time and paths to take to shake anyone who'd try to follow him. Stiles would check the CCTV when he got home, see if he could spot anything.

It was a few minutes before Derek moved, fully slipping into work mode. He put his helmet on after hopping onto his own bike and took off in another direction. Out from the edge of his sight, he spotted ed a figure move and get into a car that drove in the direction Stiles went.

He would probably never admit it to Stiles, but whenever Derek wore the helmet that he had gifted him, he truly felt like a wolf on the hunt.

The first chance he had, he turned around and headed to follow after the car.

"Peter." His uncle looked up from his book, turning at the sound of Derek's voice. Boyd and Erica paused their movie and Danny and Isaac watched from their place in the kitchen. The others were somewhere doing something probably.

Derek took a deep breath, doing his best to stay as calm and level headed as he could. He was still having problems trusting people completely. But he knew he couldn't just up and leave without at least warning them.

"I'm going to be gone for a while." He announced firmly. Erica was now watching with the utmost attention. Probably hoping for some kind of drama to happen.

"How long will you be gone?" Peter was trying to go for casual, but Derek knows he hates that he's telling him and not asking him.

“A week, maybe a couple days more,” he replied vaguely, eyeing Peter carefully, waiting for any reaction. Peter stared back at him, expression thoughtful.

Peter was about to go on but Erica cut in. "Wait, you're not still doing shit on your own without us are you?" It was almost an accusation. The crew thought of each other as family, and it was starting to feel that way for Derek. He was scared to admit that.

"Special circumstances. Someone is cashing in on a favor." He had to make it sound like any other contract, give just enough details to where they don't start questioning him more and figure anything out. Derek wasn't sure how much trust he could give these people still. "You don't have anything that needs me right now. You will hardly notice I'm gone."

His uncle gave him a thoughtful look. It didn't take much for Derek to figure out what he was thinking. Since no one would know where Derek was going, Peter could use that. "You have to tell me who you're going after. And that's not a condition, it's a requirement. You're part of a crew now, and what you do reflects on that. So I need more information so I can prepare for any backlash if there were to be any."

Peter stood, walking over to Derek and standing before him. Derek looked at him firmly, though with slight caution. "I didn't think of that." He grumbled. Peter was right, and Derek knew that. Any trouble that would come for him, would also come for the crew.

Derek already knew that, what with having Stiles by his side. He needed the reminder that it counted here as well. Pulling himself from his thoughts, Derek looked at Peter again.

"Someone is tailing my contact. They're most likely local since it was here in the city, but there's also the possibility they were hired by someone else." With the reach Stiles has with his work, it really could be anyone. Since Derek joined the crew, Stiles hadn't really been doing much work out of state. "Once I find out who it is and why, I'm going to take them out should they pose any real threat." Derek concluded.

This time it was Boyd that cut in. "If you need any help or back up." Derek nodded, appreciating the offer.

"When you find them, call it in." Peter ordered. "In case they do have connections here."

"Ok." A warm feeling passed over him, feeling that fondness Derek realized he had grown for these people. "I won't be too hard on them, if it turns out that they're working for someone we do business with. As long as they drop the job and don't try again, I'll call you as soon as I'm finished."

Peter smiled as he wished his nephew luck, Boyd and Erica giving waves of goodbye as Derek passed them. He made sure to acknowledge Isaac and Danny as he headed out.

Derek was more than appreciative but he needed to get back to Stiles. The sooner he got the situation resolved, the better.

"Can't believe some fucker managed to track me." Stiles was grumbling and groaning when Derek had gotten home. His boyfriend didn't launch from his chair upon Derek's return like he would on most days. No, he was firmly seated in front of his many monitors.

Derek didn't move to change, he figured he'd be heading out again soon anyway. Instead, he moved to gather what he would be taking with him for this mission. Walking over to the coat closet, Derek popped the back panel to expose the hidden space. He silently went over the inventory and pulled the weapons and ammo he would need. Heavy weaponry would probably be overkill for this, so Derek decided to keep close to his usual set of tools. Plus, given the undetermined amount of time he'd be gone, an easy to travel with arsenal would be favorable.

Derek took all that he pulled out and put it into his duffle bag, then he walked over and put a hand gun down on the desk beside Stiles. The hacker looked up to Derek for a second, saying nothing before pointing to one of the screens.

"They know how to stay hidden. Either avoiding the cameras completely, or hiding their faces when they can't. They know I can track them, but they're not doing a good job of being inconspicuous." Stiles typed away as he spoke, showing the different images he captured. "Baseball cap, shades and a jacket might work for Captain America, but not so much in the real world. I caught them more than once." He switched to a map of an area of the city where he had highlighted a mall. "They ditched the disguises here. Narrows things down a bit, plenty of people go through there during the time frame, plus a whole lot of paths of entry.”

Derek cataloged everything Stiles was telling him, memorizing the map as best he could. Public places like malls and shopping areas were not optimal for situations like this. Too many people going in and out, it can be plenty easy to disappear in the crowd. Granted you know what you're doing. This gave them way too many suspects to sift through.

"If they're worried enough to ditch their stuff, then they might assume you are working alone. They think if they switch clothes enough they can get lost long enough to track you and finish the job. Of course, I won't let that happen." Derek grabbed the back of the computer chair, pulling Stiles to him and kissing him on his forehead.

The assumption worked in their favor. That's how they liked it. Stiles was the freelance hacker who stayed in the shadows. There's not even a face to his name, just a nickname. Stiles was already a nickname, like seriously, who would think that was his real name? But since he had used Stiles all through his life it was easy to use that to find him. So when first starting out, Stiles chose Red. Nice, simple and gave nothing away.

Then a past client had referred to him as Red Riding Hood as a joke. How he was like a digital errand boy, respectfully, and since he was Red then they just tacked on the rest. Stiles rolled his eyes to it at first, but then he met Derek and his 'lone wolf' style. He started to like it. Red Riding Hood and his Big Bad Wolf.

The lone wolf has a mate, and now he has found a pack. What was once an advantage for them, one they never took for granted, was changing. Everything was different now that they had Peter and the others.

Those coming after Stiles know him enough to know that he won't venture out, lest he give away his home base. That meant that they weren't dealing with amateurs and novices. These guys knew what they were doing.

If this was the old days, Stiles wouldn't have been able to get help without leaving a trail that would lead back to him. He would catch them trying to find him, but that would be it. It would be a lot of work, a plethora of complicated techniques to handle this on his own. A smart enough hacker would be able to find him eventually.

That would be the case, if this was still the old days. Now, he had a partner and a mighty fine one at that.

"Make sure your tracker is on. I want to know where you are at all times, especially when you go dark. Lord knows I don't want to go having a panic attack when I hear nothing through the comm." Stiles slipped his ear piece in, turning to stand and slide Derek's in for him. "I'll be following you all the way on the CCTVs, but if you're out of sight for too long without giving me an update, I'll wait four hours before trying to get back in contact with you."

Derek pulled Stiles in, wrapping him in his arms. He could see Stiles was becoming a bundle of nerves and anxiety. No way he could leave Stiles like this, it would only spiral and get worse. Derek tilted Stiles face to look at him and kiss him, pouring all the reassurance and love he could. Stiles held on like Derek was his life line, holding on tight before they had to part.

"Lock the door behind me. Set the security alarms." Derek zipped his jacket, then threw his bag over his shoulder. "Don't leave and don't answer the door for anyone. Not even for me unless you checked the cameras first." They always kept the apartment plenty stock on everything, so it wouldn't be hard for Stiles to hole up until Derek comes back.

Stiles stole one last kiss, doing his best to show a brave face as he handed Derek his helmet. "Stay safe my wolf. You better come back to me."

Derek nodded, a silent promise. He slipped out the door and sighed in relief as he heard the locks click into place just before he was out of ear shot.

When he recovered the ditched disguise, Derek was able to lift a print from the lens of the sunglasses and send it to Stiles. He was able to use that to trace it back to a hired gun with an arrest record. From there, he could background check him and see who he has been working with recently.

David Atlas, 28, originally from Portland. He moved down the coast when he had to get out of dodge when his previous crew was taken out. Now he was a hired gun for a new gang.

Stiles had been able to catch footage of the disguised Atlas with three other guys, who he was spotted with often. Finding and identifying the friends made figuring out what the gang they were from much easier.

Stiles sent everything to Peter using Derek's name. As promised, they made sure it wasn't an ally before making any moves. Peter gave them the green light and then it was onto the next step.

That was to figure out who sent them after Stiles. While Stiles was sorting through the data, Derek was lying in wait. The group was currently inside a diner and Derek was waiting for them to come out. He watched one come out the door, the blond who was a huge smoker and it was that time apparently.

Without being noticed Derek crossed the street, slapped a hand over his mouth and pulled them into the neighboring alleyway. He slammed Smoker into the wall and stood darkly over him.

"What the-" Smoker's word died as he saw who had grabbed him.

"Looks like you know who I am. That should make this easier." Derek said grimly. "You should know I don't like to share. So imagine how I felt knowing someone had been trying to find my hacker."

"I haven't, that wasn't, oh fuck..." Smoker's face went pale, realization settling in. "I swear I wouldn't have gotten involved if I knew."

"I would sure hope so." Derek slipped on a special pair of clawed brass knuckles. The blades had a slight curve and were roughly three inches in length. Also, did you know that brass knuckles aren't really made of brass? Anyway, this pair was specially made for Derek. It was Stiles' idea.

Derek was ready to knock the guy out and lug him off to interrogate, but in that instance Smoker actually, fucking actually, pissed himself in fear. Apparently one look of Derek with his claws was enough. "I guess we'll just do this here."

It was less than twenty minutes for the smelly grunt to give up the information. When all was done, Smoker was left knocked out on the ground of the alley, while Derek stood back on the sidewalk. He leaned against the wall of the diner and stared at the phone in his hand.

He really wanted to get in touch with Stiles first, to check in and see how he was. But he knew there was another call he made to make first. With a sigh Derek dialed Peter and put the phone to his ear, listening to the dial tone play.

"What?" The answering tone bit out. Peter sounded annoyed, hopefully he wasn't interrupting anything.

"Uh, it's Derek." There were voices in the background, at least one of them was Scott.

"Derek? Are you ok?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine Peter." Derek felt like he was letting out a breath he had been holding in. Maybe it was because Peter sounded concerned about his well being. "I found out where they are. I have to leave town to deal with the problem. Do you have a reason for why I should or shouldn't take care of this?"

"What did you find out about them?" The annoyance left and was replaced by cold business.

"Not only did they have the name and face of my hacker, they had a lot more information on them than I thought." Derek was beyond pissed off when he found that out. He made sure to give a good hard kick to Smoker when he had told him that little tidbit. "And as far as I can tell, they had no idea I knew them. I don't know if they would still have gone after them if they had known, but it's a little late for that. It will be kind of fun to see the boss' reaction when I show up though."

Derek left it at that. He wanted to give Peter the moment to think it over. If this was any time before, Derek would not hesitate to take them all out if it meant keeping Stiles safe. But he was now attached to a crew. His deeds and consequences affected them now.

He thought Peter probably appreciated that Derek was differing to him on this. Showing that he truly understood how things were now.

"Take care of the one you questioned. Deal with them tonight." instructed Peter. "I'll have Scott and Boyd handle the rest of them. You can deal with the leader tomorrow. And Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"Get some rest, Derek."

In those few words, Peter sounded more like the uncle that he once knew, in all the months they've been back together.

Derek smiled softly as he hung up and continued on with his night.

The job was done. Everyone who needed to be dead was dead and Derek had been meticulous when cleaning up after the fact. All evidence was destroyed, nothing was left but the ashes.

It took longer than Derek wanted, but it was necessary. He had to make sure nothing could link back to Stiles, Derek or the crew. As soon as Derek was done, he sent a text to Peter and Stiles respectively stating that it was done and he was on his way back.

'Awesome!' Stiles had sent in reply. Peter just sent a thumbs up emoji, probably thinking he was being funny.

Derek was sitting on his bike, his helmet strapped on when his phone went off again. He pushed his visor up and read the message from Stiles. 'You heading home? Or do you have to go to the penthouse first?' Nice to see he wasn't the only one anxious about getting home.

'Home.'

"Don't ask Derek, he's not going to know."

Derek didn't walk into the penthouse looking for a fight, but if the first thing he hears is Jackson being a whiny bitch, he sure wouldn't mind a fight. "What are you saying about me Whittemore?"

The group was gathered at the kitchen table. Most were sitting or standing around the table. Peter was cooking in the kitchen with Isaac. Peter looked especially mad at whatever he was putting into the oven, while the others looked some variation of put off.

"We were discussing the details of our next heist." Peter said as picked an apple from the fruit bowl as he walked around the island counter. "We're going to need more hands than I originally thought."

"I was going to see if our go-to muscle was available but unfortunately they can't help us." added Lydia. "Everyone who has a specific job needs to stick with that. We can't move things around too much. So the easiest adjustment we can make is try and find at least one extra body for the ground team."

"We were trying to see who we could try and ask, when I said we should ask you Derek." said Scott, puppy smile and all.

"And I said no way you'd fucking know anyone." sneered Jackson. "Before us you always worked alone. I still don't believe you had some computer lackey buddy that you had to go and help." Derek growled at the implications of being called a liar.

He was ready to beat Jackson's face in when his chest met with Peter's hand, stopping him in his tracks. His uncle looked to him, smiling and offering the apple. Derek sighed and accepted it. "With the other contacts we've tried asking, it was a matter of short notice. Not being able to move things around to help out on something like this. Do you know of anyone that could possibly help us?"

Derek bit into the apple as he thought on it. A name does come to mind. It had been a while, so he'd have to double check to be sure he was even in town. "I might have someone. Not sure if he's in town, but I can look and see. You might have heard of him, most know him as Hellhound."

The reaction was not what Derek had expected. Isaac dropped the plate he had been holding on the kitchen floor where it shattered, Erica had actually done a spit take and was now in a coughing fit, Scott somehow was confused while the rest were the perfect blend of fear.

Guess his reputation was still just as big and terrifying as Derek's.

"You know Hellhound?" Peter stared at Derek like he was happy but trying not to look too excited. His nephew knew Hellhound, it was like Christmas came early for the man.

"He can be just as picky about jobs as I am. He has a particular style for completing his jobs." Derek warned. "I can talk to him on behalf of the crew. If he's in town I can see if it'd be interested in helping."

"I would greatly appreciate it if you could do that for us." Peter grinned. "If he can't, then we'll do what we must and work with what we have."

"If and when you get a hold of him, could you let me know Derek? That way I can start any alterations that need to be done?" asked Lydia.

"Of course."

Derek was trusting them to let him bring in someone, someone he'd actually considered a friend. He was his best friend. Jordan had got started in all things violent and bloody around the same time Derek had. They practically grew up together in it.

This was different when he had used Stiles to help. That had to be kept as under wraps as possible. Stiles was in the shadows for a reason. Jordan is front and center just like the rest of them. It was a different level of trust. It was something just as personal to Derek.

The fact that they accepted the help without hesitation, minus Jackson, felt important to Derek. He noticed he was giving his thoughts and inputs on things more and more lately. The restraints he felt once necessary, were loosening more and more.

In a spontaneous movement, Derek grabbed Peter and hugged the man. He was sure everyone was staring at them, but he didn't care. Peter returned the hug, patting Derek's back. All these years later and Derek is still his shy and caring nephew. It was just hidden under a very gruff and stoic suit of armor.

The two pulled away and Derek headed out. But not before perfectly nailing Jackson in the head was his apple.

Stiles tackled Jordan the second he was through the door. Or tried to anyway. The man didn't budge as Stiles clung to his body like wet spaghetti stuck to the wall.

"It's nice to see you too, Stiles." He chuckled.

"Stiles get off him. You're going to hurt yourself." Derek kicked the door closed as he brought in the bags he was helping carry in. Stiles happily removed himself from Jordan to latch onto Derek instead.

"Excuse me for being excited to see our friend again. It's been too long since the last time." Derek rolled his eyes, hugging his boyfriend as he hung from his body. "So Jordan, how long are you staying? You're staying with us, right? Oh we should totally make pizza tonight!"

"Sure. Pizza sounds good." Jordan laughed as he set his bag to the side. "Man, I can't remember the last time I was here."

"You crashed here when you needed my help rescuing that governor's daughter from the cartels."

Six months ago, Jordan had asked Stiles and Derek both for help on a job. Jordan had been tasked to help recover the daughter of the state governor. They were about to have a vote that would put more restrictions along the border. It was in hope that it would make it harder for drugs to be smuggled through. And of course, the drug cartels were not too happy about that.

One was so unhappy they went through the trouble of kidnapping the governor's only daughter and said if they didn't vote against it then they would kill her.

Jordan Parrish is a mercenary. He takes jobs from either side, good or bad. He just had one rule that he never backed down on, and that was that no innocents were ever to get hurt. Nothing was perfect, people got hurt, Jordan knows that. But he would minimize the casualties as much as he could.

Derek was very similar in that aspect. He knew his life wasn't great, that he was a criminal. It reminded him of his life before all this. Back when his family was alive and before he found out what his parents really did for a living. Derek and his sisters had no idea until one night, what they thought was a home invasion gone terribly wrong, was actually an assassination.

Talia and Nathaniel Hale were husband and wife crime bosses. They did their best to keep it all away from their children. That was why Peter lived with them and was always close with the kids. He was essentially their bodyguard. And he was fine with that. But that night Peter had been out of town on business, and Derek and his older sister Laura had been out late with some of their friends.

Everything changed when he got the call that his parents and younger sister Cora were dead.

"Oh yeah. That feels like forever a go." Stiles remembers the girl. She was cute, but not as cute as Derek. He stole a kiss before frolicking into the kitchen to see what they could use to throw a pizza together.

"So about that job you mentioned. Why didn't you tell me sooner you joined a crew?" asked Jordan. "The Derek Hale I know would never work this much with anyone."

"Things change." Derek grumbled defensively. "I wouldn't be in one if it wasn't for Peter."

"I'm not judging. I'm actually really happy for you. Especially because it's with Peter. I know how much he means to you."

"Yes, yes, we love Derek and his character development." Stiles kissed Derek on the cheek, then proceeded to tug on his arm. "Now let's move your butts to the kitchen. We can make our pizza as we play catch up."

"Parrish, I appreciate you helping us." Jordan accepted Peter's hand, shaking it as the man greeted him.

"Not a problem. I can hardly say no when Derek asks for a favor."

Peter looked to Derek at that, his nephew not giving much past a shrug. "I told you. We've worked together in the past."

"Everyone always seems surprised when they find out that Derek and I know each other." Jordan chuckles.

"I'm sure." Peter looked between the two before settling on Jordan. "If you follow me to my office, we can go over the plan."

It was nice having someone else able to hear Stiles while on a job. Derek was so used to having Stiles' voice in his ear whenever he went outside.

When Jordan flinched at the sudden noise in his ear, it really reminded Derek of how long it had been since they worked with Jordan.

"You ok man?" Scott asked, loading the last of the equipment into the trunk.

"Yeah." Jordan mumbled, turning away so he could fix his comm. "My settings must be off on this thing."

"Sorry." Stiles apologized while Derek chuckled under his breath.

"Want some help with that?" Scott offered, ever the kind puppy.

"I got it." Derek stepped in. He held his hand out to Jordan. "I remember your settings."

"Dude, shut up." Jordan shoved Derek before handing the comm over.

Stiles apologized again as he and Derek worked to set the adjustments. "Here, try this." said Derek as he handed the comm back to Jordan. The blonde placed it back in and listened as Stiles said his sorry's and then asked Jordan if he could bring him a souvenir from the job.

"I want something from both you and Derek. Same as always."

The job went exactly as planned. Lydia and Peter worked their asses off to plan every possible outcome. As little causalities as possible and the biggest profit they could walk away with. Jordan was a big help. They would have definitely struggled if it weren't for him.

They were all relaxing in the safe house. Derek was resting in the corner, and from the spot he watched as Jordan interacted with the others. It was surprisingly easy for them to meld together. They were laughing and joking like this wasn't their first time together.

When Peter walked over to Derek, he could see the look is his eye. "I know that look Peter."

"What look?"

"You want to ask Jordan if he'd join us."

"Ah, yes that look." Peter at least had the decency to look guilty. "He's a very capable man. He enjoyed the job as much as the rest of us. Plus, I could tell he enjoyed working with you again. This is the closest to a best friend I think I've ever seen you have."

It had been fun to work with Jordan again. Derek could admit that. "You can try asking him, no guarantee that he will say yes."

"There's never any harm in asking." Peter smiled before walking off to join the others.

"How does Argent feel about you all but stealing his only daughter away from him?" Derek asked from the back seat. Scott was driving as usual with Lydia in the passenger's seat.

"We didn't steal her Derek. Well, unless you count Scott stealing her heart that is." Lydia teased.

"It wasn't like that!"

"No, it was more of a love at first sight for both of you."

The three were currently waiting for a possible client to show up. Lydia was to do all the talking while Scott and Derek played the roles of bodyguards.

"I knew Allison personally before she and Scott started going out." Lydia continued on. "We met in high school and have been friends ever since. One day Scott accompanied me to talk to her father about a weapons shipment, and while we were going over that, Scott and Allison got to talking."

"Do you have some sort of issue with her or something?" asked Scott, not wanting to believe Derek was going to be a jerk about this.

"I don't know anything about her. You can date whoever you want. While I don't know her, I've met her father plenty of times." Derek looked out the window, his attitude souring. "I know plenty about her family."

"Well, she's considering coming with me for a few jobs. Who knows if she'll want to do more, but it'll at least be a once in a while thing." said Lydia. "She's the best weapons expert I know, and she knows how to look gorgeous while severing a man's head from his shoulders."

"Wait a minute." Scott cut in. "What do you mean you know plenty about her family?"

"You're dating this girl and you don't know about her family history?" Derek was about to slam Scott's head into the wheel for being so stupid.

"Her father Chris owns Argent Firearms and before that it was her grandfather. Allison is next in line if she wants it. They're both incredible with nearly every weapon known to man. Both have never done anything wrong to Lydia or me or any of the crew. So as far as I know, I know all I need to know about them."

At this point Scott was full body turned, looking at Derek over the seat. This was the angriest he's ever seen Scott. Derek arched an eyebrow, unimpressed by the display.

"They did plenty to me and Peter." Derek said coldly. "By the sounds of your little speech, Peter never told you."

"Told us what?"

"The Argent family is the reason that Peter and I are the last of the Hales. Gerard Argent is the one who ordered the hit on my parents, killing them and my youngest sister." Lydia was now turned in her seat as well, both her and Scott looking at Derek in shock. He just barreled on through. "Peter took Laura and me somewhere safe. He thought if we got out of town long enough that Argent would forget about us and move on. Instead, he sends his own daughter Kate after us. She killed Laura."

Derek looked between the two, giving them a chance to say something before he kept going. "I was sick of watching my family die, so I left. I figured Peter would be better off without me. So one night I just packed up and left."

The car fell silent. Derek was done and the other two were probably trying to absorb it all.

They didn't sit for much longer as another vehicle was heading towards the warehouse. The car parked and out stepped a woman followed by two men. It was like a mirror of them. Both groups entered the warehouse together, and if what Lydia said was true, Allison was already inside.

Derek didn't see the need of a sniper waiting in the catwalks. He was plenty of muscle for back up, followed by Scott as a muscled getaway driver combo. So why with the extra hand just for this? The noise in his ear brought Derek out of his pointless musings. He had to focus.

"Give me a run down of Allison Argent." Derek gave the request quickly as he was the last to enter the building.

"Allison Argent, daughter of Christopher Argent and heiress to his company. She worked alongside her father to clean up and rectify all that her grandfather had done under the name of the company. Turns out Gerard got caught supplying weapons to political enemies, both foreign and domestic, and has been in prison for a long, long time. No word on dear old Kate. But as far as I can find, Chris is still doing well from when we last did business with him."

Derek watched the meeting as he listened to the clicks and tap of the keyboard, Stiles looking for anything more specific on Allison herself. "Allison has placed top three in every archery competition she's ever entered. She has been ranked one of the best in the country for the last few years. She favors long ranged weapons but can handle close range just as well. She's quite skilled in krav maga."

Truly an Argent. Hopefully Chris made sure she didn't develop any of the same level of crazy the rest of his family was known for.

Derek watched as the Lydia pulled something from her pocket and handed it over to the woman. The ladies continued the deal, her guards doing the same as he and Scott remained to the sides.

"Oh dude! Ok so I found her Instagram, right? It's about what you'd expect from a lady her age. It's about on par with Lydia's, which y'know, makes sense since they're BFFs." Stiles started giggling, like he had just found something golden. "You know how I have Scott's email from that time I needed to send him that info for you? Well, seeing as he and Ms. Argent are all friendly-like, I thought why not take a peak in his inbox, make sure she's not playing with poor Scotty's heart for crew secrets or something."

Oh Derek thinks he knows where this is going.

"One, Scott is still the golden retriever puppy we know and love. Two, Allison is officially my favorite Argent. Three, I'm now forever scarred because I now know how flexible Scott is."

Stiles better not try to show him what he found.

Derek watched as the other group headed for the exit. The woman spoke to her men before they walked out ahead of her. Lydia led their group out after her. When reaching outside, they watched as one of the men went to their van, retrieved something and handed it over to their boss who handed it over to Lydia.

It was a folder. Lydia flipped through it before nodding happily. Boss lady whistled and then her men grabbed crates out of their van and walked them over to load them into their SUV. When the men were done, they got back into their van. Lydia shook hands with their boss, and then they were driving off.

"All done!" Lydia cheered happily, twirling on her heel as she faced her boys. "For being such good, tough men for me, how about I treat you to some lunch?" Derek was never one to turn down free food. Scott was already hopping on his feet and asking if Allison could come. He did spare a careful look to Derek as he made the request.

"Of course she's joining us." Derek said, rolling his eyes. "Have to make sure she's good enough for you."

"Are you insinuating my best friend isn't good enough for him?" Lydia scowled.

"Never." Derek smirked. "I'm insinuating she's too good for him." The two laughed as Scott looked like he had just experienced ultimate betrayal.

"Scott better not ever break Allison's heart." Stiles chimed into Derek. "He does that, and we'll never find Scott's body."

Derek kind of hated to admit it, but he enjoyed being around Allison. He tried to not let his past, let the actions of her family, cloud over their initial meeting. And he was grateful that he was able to get through things with an open mind.

Allison is exactly the kind of daughter he would picture Chris having. Derek knew Chris hated his father and sister, and would do everything he could to make sure Allison never had the chance to be anything like them. Allison was probably the best thing to ever happen to the Argent name. Derek made sure to tell Chris that.

Derek and Allison had a two man hit earlier in the day. Allison was to snipe the target from a safe distance, while Derek made sure everything at the sight was clear. He was to make sure the target was where he needed to be. Once he was taken out, and it was clear to move in, Derek sneaked into the office to retrieve a copy of the man's financial records.

Peter wanted it for some reason. Derek honestly couldn't remember. He started to zone out after Peter had given them the run down and just started ranting about the man being a sham and ripped Peter off and something else. Who knows.

After the job was done, Allison asked Derek if he wanted to join her for a victory drink at this new club she heard about. Derek wasn't one for clubs, only ever going to them when Stiles would drag him to one. Unknowingly to Allison, Stiles was a help to convince Derek to go out with her.

"Please Der! I wanted to check that place out but we haven't had time. This way you can have fun with a friend, and we'll see if we'd want to come here together some other time." The hacker reasoned.

"Alright." Derek sighed, as he experienced excited squeals at both ends.

The two had a couple of drinks together. The club also had some food. It was actually not bad. Allison ordered them some appetizers for them to munch on. When Derek saw they had curly fries, he knew Stiles was instantly won over by the place.

They had been hanging out for a few hours, surprising Derek that it got so late, when things took a sour turn.

Allison left to go use the restroom before they left. Derek told her he would wait outside the exit for her. When Allison was coming out Derek saw some guy trying to hang off of her.

"C'mon baby. Why do you have to be like that?" The man had his arm around Allison, though that didn't stop her from trying to shove him off.

If there was one thing Derek hated more than assholes, it was drunk assholes. The guy wasn't completely inebriated, but Derek could tell he had been drinking enough. He could also smell the alcohol when he got closer.

"Ready to go?" Derek asked Allison directly, not even addressing the other man.

"Yeah, let's g-"

"Who the hell are you?"

"He's the friend I told you I was with when I asked you to leave me alone." Allison was trying real hard not to make a scene. Derek could see that. But he could see this jerk had dwindled down her tolerance in the short time the leech had been attached to her.

"Aw, I thought you were just sayin' that and bein' all shy."

Ok yeah, they were leaving.

Derek grabbed the arm around Allison, pried it off of her, twisted it painfully as he shoved the man away. "We're leaving."

"The hell you are!" Drunk jerk moved to try and grab Allison again, but Derek was quicker. He put himself between them and shoved the drunk back again.

"Last warning."

Drunk jerk shouts as he charges at Derek. Before the guy could get close enough to even try and punch Derek, the merc draws his gun and flawlessly lands a bullet in the man's forearm. He drops, cradling his arm as he cries in pain.

As everyone's attention is finally drawn onto the scene, Derek merely takes Allison and heads for his camaro. Neither one said a word until Derek was pulling onto the street.

"Did you really have to shoot him Derek?"

"What? He's lucky that's all I did."

Allison burst out laughing. "Seriously?"

"Clearly 'no means no' never sank into that peanut brain with him. They say pain is a good motivator and hopefully this time the lesson really sinks in for him."

There's a snicker in his ear. "Oh my god. Derek Hale, best wingman ever."

Allison expressed her gratitude and appreciation and promised to make it up to Derek. He said it wasn't necessary, but Allison was already making plans for them to try a different club next time, and how they should invite the others too.

Everyone had left to go on a food run. Well, almost everyone. Everyone aside from Peter.

Everyone had their opinions on what to order for the night and so everyone went to get what they wanted, along with some extra to offer up for who wants it. It was a spontaneous crew night that spawned from a simple disagreement over dinner.

Derek and Boyd were at the front of the group. They had been having their own conversation while the rest were too busy talking about the latest show they were all watching and discussing the merits of each one. He was about to open the door when Derek froze. Boyd stopped as well, and the others when they saw how the two were acting.

"We weren't expecting anyone else were we?" Boyd asked, looking more confused when he heard laughter through the door.

There were two distinct voices. Peter clearly, and some mystery person. Boyd opened the door, leading the way as the others followed behind carefully. There was a bump, a squawk, more laughter with a hint of sass and sarcasm coming from the living room.

As Derek heard the voice more clearly, he sighed as he felt a headache coming on.

"Oh there they are!" Peter rose from the couch, his friend still seated.

At this point everyone was inside, placing all the food on the table as they looked to Peter and his guest. "Well, it's a good thing we have a metric fuck ton of food. Leave it to Peter to bring a last minute guest." grumbled Erica.

"Don't worry. Your dumb skinny girl pizza is safe. No one wants that." said Jackson, igniting the usual argument over pizza toppings.

While those two bickered, and the others sorted through the rest, Derek was left alone staring at his uncle. He walked into the living room, stood right behind the couch. "Say hi to our newest member." Peter said with a smile.

"Yo!" Stiles grinned. Derek noticed the beers on the coffee table. He looked from the bottles then at the two men before him.

"Looks like the party started without the rest of us." Derek lifted an eyebrow. "You wait for us to leave or something?"

"Or something."

Isaac and Lydia entered then, their curiosity winning out. "Peter, how many times have I told you? You can't just invite any cute face you see."

"Hey! I'm way more than just a cute face!" Stiles pouted.

"To be fair, everyone here is a pretty face. Just y'know, with at least one or two very less than qualities to them." said Isaac.

"See! What Isaac said!"

"Wait, how do you know my name?"

"Peter probably told him about everyone and everything by now." Derek was glaring at both of them. They probably thought Derek was just being defensive in front of a supposed stranger. But really, he was plotting the murder of his boyfriend. Oh, he was in so much trouble and he knew it.

"Stiles is a hacker. He was telling me all about his work, and I'm thoroughly impressed." Peter took his seat again, reaching for his beer and taking a sip. "Our boy here, by time he was a high school junior, he had hacked into both the CIA, the NSA and the FBI."

"All in the same day." Stiles smiled proudly.

"Does it matter? We don't need him." Oh goody, Jackson joined in. "We have Danny, and Derek's guy. We don't need anyone else."

"Aw Jacks, don't be like that."

"Don't fucking call me that!" As funny as a pissed off Jackson was, now was not the time. "How do we know this guy isn't some kind of stalker?"

"Stalk you guys? Me?" Stiles was smiling, like none of this was a big deal. Was he trying to downplay it for Derek? Or himself?

Derek had hoped if this day ever came they would have talked about it first. He wondered greatly about what had pushed Stiles into coming here.

"As paranoid as I tend to be at times, this is not the case. I had stepped out for a moment while you were all gone." Peter defended. "While I was out, I dropped my phone into a puddle. I have things on this phone I absolutely can't lose. Stiles had saw what happened and offered to help fix it."

Derek could see the small guilt in Stiles eyes. Stiles had probably been on his own run for the apartment and ran into Peter on accident. But once the two had gotten to talking, Derek could see what Stiles had been thinking.

"Besides, if I was going to stalk anyone it would be dark and broody here." Stiles gestured to Derek. You could feel the chill that filled the room. All eyes turned to Stiles and it dawned on him what he just said, and who he had said it towards. "Well, I mean-"

Derek moved around the couch, stalking over and yanking Stiles up by the arm. Before anyone could blink again, Derek had Stiles pinned to the wall.

"Derek!"

Stiles was used to Derek's rough treatment, oh boy was he, but the others didn't know that. To everyone else, Derek was pissed at the weird stray Peter picked up. From where they were placed, Derek had his back to everyone and they could only see part of Stiles.

"What were you thinking?" Derek asked lowly. He really hoped it had been just some random accident, and not something much worse. Like someone found their apartment and Stiles had to run. That Stiles needed help and he couldn't get a hold of Derek or Jordan.

"Come on Derek. I'm sure he was just kidding." He heard Scott plead. Derek ignored them and stayed focused on Stiles.

"I was bored." Stiles sighed, his hands resting on Derek's leather clad shoulders. "You had your comm off. So I left to take a walk. I was about to text you when I heard Peter curse after dropping his phone. It really was an accident."

Fuck. Derek hadn't even realized he had turned the comm off, or even when he could have turned it off. He remembered texting when everyone had first started arguing about food hours ago, but after that. They hadn't figured out what they were going to do themselves and before he knew it, Derek had been pulled into an impromptu crew night.

Stiles hadn't been doing much work outside of helping Derek with crew jobs. So when he noticed Derek was probably going to be out late, he didn't have much to occupy himself with. He probably had taken the walk to get some fresh air and maybe pick up his own food.

This was definitely a discussion for later.

"You should've called." He stated, giving Stiles an unimpressed look. Stiles' hands trailed up, letting his arms dangle over Derek's shoulders. "How many of those beers were yours?"

"Relax, I'm only on my second." Derek didn't want to deal with tipsy Stiles on top of everything else.

"Hey Derek, why do you let him down?" Scott and the others probably thought Derek was going to rip poor Stiles' throat out. They were all still frozen in shock. Derek didn't need to turn around to see. He knew what this looked like.

Stiles smirked as he brought a hand up to card through Derek's hair. "Would it really be so bad if I joined in too?" Derek dropped his head, resting his forehead against his boyfriend's.

He had thought of it before. What it would be like if Stiles was with them. Fully and truly. Rather, if it was still behind his monitors or actually in the field. Derek just didn't know if he could handle it if Stiles got hurt, or worse. He already had those thoughts as things were now and they would only get worse if things changed.

As the tension between the two melted, the tension spread through the room. Derek's shoulders relaxed slightly as Stiles ran his hand, pretty much petting him. Derek huffed under the ministrations. "There he is."

"I'm so lost."

"Is that fuck flirting with him?"

"He joked about stalking but..."

Ok, this was funny. Coming out of his worry and panic, Derek could see how this was hilarious for him and frightening for his clueless crew.

"I'm sure Stiles is merely joking around, Derek." reasoned Peter, worried Derek might scare off his new toy. "Things just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't we have our new friend join us for our crew night, and we can get to know each other."

Stiles smirked, wrapping one of his legs around Derek's waist. Derek stepped in closer to make sure neither one of them fell from the weight shift. The hacker giggled, apparently getting what he wanted with Derek getting closer and he sneaked a kiss on his nose. "I'm sorry for following along with Peter. I just missed you, and sometimes I get jealous when you go out." He whispered.

Ah screw it.

Derek captured Stiles' lips, kissing lovingly to soothe the sadness he caused. Silence befell the room, but Derek paid it no mind. "I wish you told me you were feeling that way. We could have talked about this first." Derek growled.

"I know." whined Stiles. "But hey, it worked out. Peter likes me. Right Peter?"

"Uh." Peter was lost for words. A rare occurrence. Someone would've made a bigger deal about it if it weren't for what they were all currently witnessing right now.

"Stiles." Eyes back on Derek, back to feigning innocence. "You know that's not what I meant. We were going to do this properly after we talked about it and the time was right. Not just go along with one of Peter's whims. Lord knows you've heard me complain when he does that."

"Sorry Der." Stiles mumbled, kissing Derek on his cheek. "Please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad." Derek sighed. His hands dropped down to Stiles' hips as he stepped back and made his boyfriend stand back on his own two legs. He then pulled him in for a real kiss, taking a selfish moment for himself as he felt the last of his worries disappear.

"What the fuck?"

The two had the audacity to sheepish.

"I repeat. What the fuck?"

Derek rolled his eyes. He took Stiles' hand, pulling him over to his side. "Guys, this is Stiles. My hacker and my boyfriend."

Peter was staring. Jackson was pissed, go figure. Erica looked like Christmas came early. Boyd looked indifferent. Lydia looked irritated, probably because she was lied to. Scott, Isaac, Danny and Allison looked like this was the sweetest thing ever.

"Boyfriend?!"

"He's your hacker?"

"This is better than I imagined." Stiles snickered.

"That's because they're idiots." Derek deadpanned. "Yes, he's both. Anything that can't wait until tomorrow, ask now. Otherwise, I'm taking my food and my boyfriend into the guest room."

Peter scoffed but wore a fond smile. "Go ahead." Jackson opened his mouth to argue, but Lydia was quick to kick him into shutting his mouth.

Derek walked with Stiles in hand towards the table. He grabbed the bag containing what he had ordered from the diner.

With food and boyfriend in tow, Derek went to the bedroom and shut the door behind him.

"So when we all joked that you needed to get laid and relax, you actually were?" was Erica's greeting when Derek emerged the next morning. Erica was watching him like her question wasn't weird to hear first thing in the morning. Boyd sat with her at the kitchen table, sipping his coffee as he read the newspaper.

"Babe, let him get his coffee before you harass him with your probably inappropriate questions." He said without taking his eyes off his paper.

Derek stared at them, still waking up. It was too early for this. He dragged himself into the kitchen, helping himself to the coffee and thankfully it was still warm. A big sip, then a deep breath, Derek walked over and sat in one of the chairs in front of Boyd and Erica.

"Stiles and I have been together for about five years now. We knew each other for a while before that. At first I wanted nothing to do with him or anyone else, but after a handful of jobs I kind of liked him and we became friends. Then it was a few months after that when we tried to go on a date." Pause for a coffee sip. "I don't trust easily, but somehow Stiles got to me, and thankfully it was in the best way possible."

"Aw, that's so cute." cooed Erica. "Almost as sweet as how Boyd and me got together."

"Didn't you ask him out in the middle of a fire fight?"

"And it was the most romantic fire fight ever!"

Derek chuckled, shaking his head.

"Does this mean we get to see you two be all cute and lovey dovey? Oh my god! I bet you're a cuddler! You look like you'd be a secret romantic." Erica had been bouncing in her seat the whole time they had been talking. Thankfully, though she was coming down from the high. Her face switched to something more calm. "I wish you guys would have told us sooner. You could have trusted us."

Derek frowned, looking down to stare into his mug. "You know why I didn't."

"We get that." Boyd sighed, finally dropping his paper and joining in. "We understand, we do. But for how long you've been here at this point, we were hoping you wouldn't feel like you still had to hide anything. Plus, if I'm being honest, knowing he's been watching us this time. It's kind of weird."

"Ooh, I wonder what he's seen." Erica asked with her usual sick curiosity.

"He hasn't seen anything that I haven't. As far as I know anyway." Derek was sure if Stiles had seen anything worthwhile he'd have been sure to tell Derek. "He's not that bad. If I like him, then I'm sure that you'll get along with him just fine."

"I have a question." said Boyd. "All those times we had luck with traffic lights, or those miraculous tech saves that weren't Danny, that was all Stiles wasn't it?"

Derek smirked. "He's been helping the crew as long as I have." He stood up and headed back into the kitchen.

Feeling he was in a good mood, Derek set out to make breakfast. Boyd and Erica went back to what they were doing before Derek had come out. Their heads turned when they heard footsteps coming into the room. Looking up, they saw it was the hacker. He was watching them carefully from the doorway, unsure on how to approach.

"Uh hey, Erica, Boyd." He greeted shyly. Derek turned when he heard Stiles' voice, smiling as he saw the bashful act he was doing. If Derek wasn't busy making an omelet right now, he would be over there sweeping him off his feet.

"Hey Stiles. Have a seat with us." Erica smiled sweetly.

"Be nice Erica." warned Boyd.

"I'm always nice!"

Stiles smiled nervously but did move to join the two at the table. His confidence from the night before seemed to be gone and now he was nervous about meeting the others. He wished he had given himself a peep talk before just blindly walking out to find Derek.

The hacker was pulled from his thoughts when a pair of arms snaked around him and pulled him against a hard chest. "Derek!" He squeaked as he flailed in his boyfriend's arms. Derek pressed a kiss to Stiles' hairline and then ceremoniously dumped him in a chair at the table, returning to fixing up their breakfast.

When Derek came back it was with two plates, each with an omelet just how they liked. He gave Stiles' his and then sat beside him with his own.

"Hey, how come we don't get any breakfast?" whined Erica.

"You didn't ask." Derek grinned evilly, before taking a bite.

The group got on like nothing had happened. Like Stiles had always been there. Stiles had no problems keeping up with Erica's snark and sass, able to dish out plenty of his own. Stiles was all wild gestures and flailing limbs as he got deep into his retelling of a past job he and Derek did together back when they first met. Stiles had got to the ending when Peter entered.

Derek was the only one to notice his uncle, the others too engrossed in the story still. "They're getting along nicely."

"Yeah, they are." Derek smiled bashfully.

"So, how about the two of you moving out of that apartment of yours and moving in here with the rest of us?" Peter offered. Derek doesn't know why, but the offer surprised him. "You know how big this place is, everyone else has their own rooms already. You and Stiles can share one of the bigger bedrooms. If Stiles wants, he can have his own office, or he can share the one Danny uses and we can upgrade it to have more room for the two of them."

"That does sound nice." He admits. "I'd have to ask Stiles before deciding anything." The two men both looked to Stiles, watching him smile as he tries to defend his food from Erica's grubby hands.

"Somehow, I think he'll say yes."