The Druid

Chapter 11

After dinner, Stiles settled back on the sofa and turned the TV on as he waited for Derek to join him, wanting to cuddle again. He blinked to himself when he registered how badly he wanted to cuddle but it wouldn't surprise anyone if they knew just how good of a cuddler Derek was. Stiles swore the wolf was emitting some sort of cuddle pheromone to make him crave it like an addict like he currently was.

A little bit of time passed before Derek finally sat down next to Stiles and pulled him into his arms. Stiles happily snuggled into his boyfriend, relaxing easily into him. It was so surreal to Stiles that doing this with Derek felt so natural to him. It felt so normal to cuddle and watch TV, like they had been together for longer than a couple of hours. Noah joined them in the living room, settling on his armchair. Time passed in the blink of an eye before Stiles checked his phone and stared in shock at the numbers. "I'm gonna go to bed, it's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow, Dad."

"Night, son. Sleep well." Noah responded. "Night, Derek."

"Night, Noah." Derek responded as he got up and followed Stiles and headed upstairs. "I think your dad approves of me." He said as they entered Stiles' bedroom.

Stiles flopped on the bed and watched his boyfriend rummage through his duffel to find some pyjama-like clothing. "Yeah, I think he does." He said happily. "I hope so, at least." He got up and fished out some pyjamas from his dresser for himself.

They both changed with Derek forfeiting a shirt much to Stiles' delight and climbed into bed once they were ready. Stiles immediately snuggled up to Derek and nuzzled him as he pressed his body against Derek for warmth. Derek smiled softly and wrapped his arms around Stiles, keeping him close.

"You know, I didn't think I was into guys." Stiles' voice was soft as he spoke after a couple of minutes were shared in comfortable silence.

"I didn't think you were, either. I mean, you dated Lydia and Malia so anyone would assume you were straight. I was like that when I dated Paige."

"I think I'm at least bisexual. That feels more right than saying I'm gay." Stiles looked up at Derek.

Derek smiled softly and ran a hand through Stiles' hair. "While I'm glad you're comfortable with that label, you don't have to label yourself straight away. Or even stick to one."

"I know. I feel happy with that one, though. It feels more me."

"Good. I'm glad you're comfortable with that." Derek said gently. "We should get some sleep."

Stiles nodded and closed his eyes, yawning as he shifted to get more comfortable all the while staying close to Derek. He soon drifted asleep, lulled by Derek's comfort and warmth. Derek smiled softly, watching his boyfriend for a little bit before he fell asleep himself.



Stiles jolted awake in the middle of the night, gasping for breath. It felt like his mind was covered in a dense fog of panic that obscured so much of it to the point where he didn't recognize his surroundings with no lights on. He usually slept with a night light after the events of the Nogitsune but he had forgotten to turn it on that night. He struggled to make his way out of the blankets, feeling like they were sticking to him and purposefully trying to trap him in the bed. He jumped when he felt hands suddenly grip his upper arms and immediately tried to fight the person off while still trying to escape the blankets' hold.

"Stiles, Stiles, it's okay! It's okay, you're safe! You're safe, you're with me, you're with Derek." Derek's voice cut through the fog like sharp knife and immediately calmed the younger one down. As the adrenaline started to wear off, he collapsed into Derek's hold and closed his eyes as he tried to get his breathing back under control. Exhaustion easily made itself known the more the adrenaline disappeared. Slowly, his senses reverted back to normal and his breathing evened out. A couple of minutes passed before Derek spoke again. "Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

Stiles nodded, his mouth dry as he tried to swallow. "I think so." He croaked out and reached for his drink, taking a few sips.

"You wanna talk about it?" Derek asked in a gentle tone as he rubbed Stiles' back comfortingly.

Stiles frowned as his mind suddenly turned back, like the nightmare had dissipated. "I......... I don't remember what was about." He said quietly. "Whatever it was, for some reason it triggered a panic attack." He sighed and closed his eyes again. Whatever it was he had dreamt about, it felt horrible and it had left him exceedingly weak. A feeling that Stiles absolutely hated.

Derek nodded. "That's okay." He said softly and gently rocked Stiles, having wrapped him in a comforting hold. "Do you want to lie down?" He kissed the side of Stiles' head. Stiles nodded in response, not having the strength or words to speak. Derek carefully moved them so they were and rolled Stiles over to face him and pulled him close. "We can just lie here until you feel better." He kissed the top of Stiles' forehead this time. Stiles nodded and closed his eyes and rested his head on Derek's chest, listening to the soothing sound of his boyfriend's heartbeat.

"I'm glad you're here." Stiles whispered after a few minutes. "I probably would have been up the rest of the night if you weren't. Wouldn't have been able to get back to sleep." He felt Derek run a hand through his hair and smiled a little, enjoying the soft gesture.

"Any time you have a nightmare, you call me, okay? You call me and I'll come to you. I don't care what time it is; I'll be there for you." Derek promised.

Stiles moved his head to look at Derek and nodded. "I will. Thank you, Derek." He whispered. He hadn't felt comforted like that since his mother had passed.

"You don't have to thank me, Stiles." Derek said softly and leaned forward to kiss him. Stiles happily returned the kiss and shuffled closer to him. They pulled back after a couple of minutes. "You ready to sleep?"

Stiles nodded. "Yeah." He said softly, rubbing his eyes.

"Let's get some sleep." Derek spoke softly and held Stiles securely in his arms.

Stiles nuzzled into Derek's chest and closed his eyes, yawning softly. "Night, Derek." He whispered sleepily.

"Goodnight, Stiles." Derek whispered back and fell asleep himself.

It was mid-morning when Stiles woke up, feeling mostly refreshed. He was definitely still tired but because Derek had been there with him, he had made it much easier for Stiles to get back to sleep, and Stiles was extremely thankful for it.

The position he found himself waking up in hadn't changed from when Derek had manoeuvred them and he was still wrapped securely in Derek's arms. He raised his head to look at Derek and internally swooned when he saw the wolf fast asleep. Stiles had never been happier to wake up first.

The view of Derek sound asleep was a refreshing sight. He looked so relaxed and peaceful, so vastly different to the grumpy look he usually sported. Stiles smiled softly and reached a hand up, gently tracing from Derek's forehead to his jaw.

"What are you doing?" Derek mumbled softly as a smile appeared on his face and opened his eyes, watching Stiles with an adoring look.

"Taking the opportunity to touch your face." Stiles grinned.

"And why would you need the opportunity?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You never let people touch you in general unless it's a fight or you're helping them so........." Stiles shrugged.

"Well, given we've established a relationship now, you are aware that means you have rights to that, right?"

"I know." Stiles grinned.

Derek rolled his eyes. "You're impossible."

"Hey, you're the one who fell for me, you only have yourself to blame."

Derek let out a soft chuckle and leaned forward to kiss him. "We should get up."

"Nu, I'm comfy." Stiles pouted and snuggled up to Derek again.

Derek laughed softly and kept his arms secured around Stiles. He was about to speak when someone knocked on the door.

"Boys, breakfast will be ready soon." Noah called and walked away.

"Okay, now we have to get up."

Stiles sighed dramatically. "Fine." He got up and headed to his dresser as Derek took some clothes out of his bag to change into.