Help me Derek

Chapter 7

Derek was nervous, what he felt for Braeden wasn't anything compared to what he had felt for Stiles, but, it was something, and maybe Noah was right, maybe he deserved to be happy. When Derek had asked her if she'd like to go for dinner, just the two of them, Braeden had practically glowed, which had led him to here, standing outside the restaurant in a shirt and jeans and glancing at his watch, feeling completely and utterly terrified.

As first dates went it wasn't a complete disaster, they talked about all sorts of things, Derek liked that he didn't have to keep the supernatural from her, that they could talk about whatever monster had tried to attack the town in the last month. He also liked that she already knew all his pack, they talked about how Erica and Boyd were discussing getting married, although, apparently, Erica was going to be the one to ask Boyd when she was ready, they talked about how Noah and Melissa worked so well together and that you'd think they'd been together their entire lives, Derek noticed Braeden tensed slightly when Derek mentioned how Stiles would have loved to see his and Scott's parents finally get together.

"Derek," Braeden muttered a few moments later, "I know that you cared for him, a lot, but, do you think, is there any chance of there being something here? Between us?"

"I think so." Derek answered honestly.

"I mean, if Stiles was still alive, if he was still around, would you still be interested?" Braeden asked and Derek stilled, how could he possibly answer that without hurting her feelings, Derek was pretty sure that Stiles would have been the only one for him, but, he'd never even got to tell him how he felt and maybe Stiles would have rejected him, or maybe he wouldn't, but then if they'd got together, it wouldn't be anything like Derek imagined it being, they'd probably drive each other crazy and end up hating each other within days. "Never mind." Braeden said and Derek knew he'd taken too long to answer, "I guess it's a moot point anyway. I mean, he's dead." She said, wincing slightly as she did, no doubt aware of how bad that sounded and glancing at Derek with eyes full of apology.

"Yeah, I mean, you're right, it's a moot point." Derek answered, taking the out she'd given him.

After that awkward moment, the rest of the date went surprisingly well, Derek drove them back to the house and they kissed for a few minutes before Braeden went back into her room and Derek wandered down the hall to his, a small, hesitant glow in his chest.

As time passed he felt better about a lot of things, mainly waking up in the morning and seeing Braeden in his bed, waking her up with soft kisses and smiles, even a few times, waking her up with breakfast in bed. He was probably happier than he'd been since, well, he wasn't sure when.

The town still wasn't safe, that much was obvious, he doubted that would ever change, at least once a month they would have to go out and fight some terrifying creature, goblins, trolls, fairies, vampires, selkies and succubus' to name but a few, but, with the training from Chris, Noah, Derek and even Braeden once or twice the pack were a lot better at defending themselves, sometimes Derek's hand went for his gun before his eyes even flashed and Noah called it progress and Derek laughed.

On the night of his and Braeden's six-month anniversary he was waiting outside a restaurant in Beacon Hills, waiting for her to arrive, Derek hadn't told her he loved her, it was odd that they were six months in and he hadn't said it yet, Braeden had said it for the first-time last month and Derek had stilled, not sure how to reply.

"It's okay, you don't need to say it back, I just thought you should know."

"I do really care about you." Derek replied a little awkwardly, "And I like you, a lot."

"You'll say it when you're ready." Braeden replied confidently, flicking her hair over her shoulder and leaving the room to answer a phone call. Derek had let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and tried to forget about the conversation, you see, the thing was, he wasn't sure he did love her, he cared about her, yes, liked her and got along with her, yes, had kind of amazing sex with her, yes. But she was so distant sometimes, like she was hiding something, and sometimes when he made a joke she didn't laugh, instead looking at him like she couldn't understand why Derek had even joked about whatever it was, he thought about how Stiles would grin at him, eyes bright with amazement because 'oh my god, sourwolf knows how to joke!' he knew he shouldn't compare the two of them, that they were vastly different, because Stiles had been light, innocent and fragile and Braeden was tough and strong and had seen the dark side of the world.