It's not me, it's you. No really, it's you.
Author: emocezi
Title: It's not me, it's you. No really, it's you.
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 3016
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf or Big Wolf on Campus nor do I make a profit from this work of fiction.
A/N: I want to send out the biggest ever hug to argentum_ls for being the most awesome hand holding enabler ever and letting me poke her with sharp sticks whenever I got stuck. And also for prodding me with other sharp sticks when I was just sitting around. She's the wind beneath my wings, and without her this would probably have never gotten posted.
Previous Chapter: #werefansanon
"I'm not gonna be around much for spring break." Stiles muttered, moving his fries around his plate, appetite gone.
"Is your dad taking you fishing again?"
"No. I've got some friends coming in from out of town. Relatives actually. Long lost cousin from my mothers side."
"Okay. Well I'll probably be out at Derek's all week anyway. He's got some training exercises he wants us to go through."
"Of course he does." Stiles slouched into his chair, sullen and miserable. This was going to end in blood, and probably tears.
XxX XxX
"And then turn right up here. No wait left..no I meant right."
"Merton."
"...Right."
"We have a GPS for a reason. Stop playing with the map and turn it on."
"Sorry."
"Turn right in 500 meters."
"Toldja it was right."
"Stop. Talking."
"Put your fangs away wolfboy. We'll get there, the town isn't going to vanish."
"No, but your friend might."
"Oh, I hadn't thought of that."
XxX XxX
"He's not home." Merton looked up at Tommy, then back at the house, rapping sharply on the door like that would prove Tommy and his wolf senses wrong.
"Well where is he?"
"How should I know?"
"You're the one with the canine olifactory glands."
"What? "
"Scent him out."
"...Call me a good dog and your dead."
"Tommy, your death threats stopped working on me a week after we met."
"Yeah. Is that why you always smelled so scared?"
"Shut up."
XxX XxX
A sharp knock on the door interupted the argument Scott and Stiles were having over which Batman movie had the better villan. Scott was adamant that the newer version of the Joker was the best, while Stiles was kicking it old school with Poison Ivy.
Stiles glanced at Scott before moving to the door. He had a pretty good idea of who it was, but Scott seemed unsure, his metaphorical hackles rising the closer they got to the door, lurking behind Stiles the way he always had, even before he'd been bitten and turned.
"Do you think he's here?"
"Yes he's here."
"Well sorry for asking, not all of us have magical werewolf noses." One of the men out front peered into the window beside the front door, cupping his hands around his face, trying to see past the suns reflective glare on the window pane. "Stiles. Stiles are you in here? Show yourself. We just wanna talk."
Stiles shot an apologetic look over his shoulder at Scott and pulled open the door, revealing the two men standing on Scott's front porch. He could tell immediatly the taller one was the wolf. Tommy Dawkins, the Pleasentville Werewolf stood a few inches taller then Stiles. Which meant he towered over both Scott his companion, whether he meant to or not.
The smaller man offered a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He moved in a nervous jerky manner, like he was always on the look out for the next hit. But from what he'd said of his high school years, Stiles wasn't surprised. Being shoved in a locker repetitively had that affect on a person.
"Hi. I'm Merton, this is Tommy. Which one of you is Stiles?"
"Uh. I am Stiles. This is my friend Scott."
"Ah yes. Hello Scott, I've heard a lot about you. So tell me, what kind of a name is Stiles?"
"I dunno. What kind of a name is Merton?"
"Touche." Merton muttered, looking up at the kid still blocking the doorway, his friend, the werewolf behind him. It felt wrong, and if Merton knew it felt wrong then Tommy definitely knew it felt wrong. Scott should have been the one in front, offering protection in the face of strangers.
Stiles was defiant in a way that grabbed attention, and that wasn't a good thing when you delt with monsters and things that went bump in the night. Though from what he'd said online, all he'd seen so far were werewolves and the hunters that tracked them down.
No catwomen, no ghosts, no evil werewolf syndicate, no saving the world from Satan, evil Santa or the Sandman. The kid had it pretty good.
"Can we come in?" Tommy sounded amused and apologetic for Merton's actions as the latter pushed his way past Stiles and Scott and into the house. Tommy subtly scented the air as he followed Merton inside. Stiles smelled nervous with a little defiance mixed in. Scott smelled terrified.
"Sure. Make yourselves at home." Stiles rolled his eyes, opening his arms in an ironic/sarcastic gesture. The invitation would become moot before the guests had much chance to enjoy it.
Stiles could see on Scott's expression that the magical packbond no one had bothered to explain to him had been activated. It was only matter of time before Derek showed up to protect his beta from the supposedly rogue Alpha that had just shown up at his doorstep with no explanations as to why he was there.
Hopefully Stiles could get his new friends out of town before that happened. He really didn't want to have to deal with the aftermath of that meeting. Derek barely liked him on a good day, trying to explain that he'd agreed to meet with another Alpha probably wouldn't end well.
"Okay kids, so here's the thing."
"Merton."
"What?"
"You think maybe this might go over a little easier if I talk to them?"
"Oh...yeah. Probably."
"There are always going to be humans in a wolf pack. I have two in mine. This Alpha of yours, Darren or whatever his name is, sounds like a pack I've dealt with in the past, just wants wolves in his pack, thinks humans aren't worthy of being in his presence."
"Stiles, what's he talking about?" Scott asked, eyes wide as he looked from Tommy to Merton to Stiles. Trying to figure out how his friend fit into all this.
"These are friends of mine Scott."
"How are you friends with another Alpha? Derek isn't gonna be happy."
"Derek's never happy." Stiles snapped. "He hates me no matter what I do, no matter how many times I've saved his life. He's always gonna hate me. So if I wanna branch out and see how the other wolf packs are treating their human members, I think I'm entitled."
"Stiles come on. He doesn't hate you."
"Really?" Stiles stared down his friend as Scott faltered and tilted his head down to stare at his feet.
"I can talk to Derek for you." Tommy interjected. His eyebrows raised as he caught a whiff of anger mixed with juvenile power. It had to be the Alpha the two boys were talking about, no one else around here carried the scent of power. Stiles surged to his feet and started pacing the floor in front of the couch.
"That's not good idea. I don't think you guys should meet. At all."
Scott must've caught the scent as well. He seemed to perk up, casting glances at the hall that led to the stairs.
"Little too late for that." Tommy commented blandly, rising slowly from the couch and stepping forward so both Merton and Stiles were behind him.
"I thought you locked your window Scott." Stiles muttered. Merton was already pressed into the back corner, eyes flicking this way and that for a way out. But Stiles had stepped up so he was standing at Tommy's shoulder, creating a wall of soliderity with Tommy and Scott, though he knew Scott would abandon him the moment Derek showed his face.
"You know that doesn't stop him."
"He comes in through your window?" Merton yelped, scrambling off the couch when Derek rounded the corner, eyes glowing red, teeth elongated, and razor sharp claws peeking out from his sleeves. "Woah."
Derek growled and Tommy felt the thrum of adrenaline against his bones and he glanced over to take in the boys that stood next to him. Scott looked pleased to see his Alpha, just as he should. Stiles stood his ground, but already he started to smell of fear and panic.
The boy had opened the door to two strangers with no knowledge of who they were and what they wanted other then what he'd learned about them through a chat group and emails over numerous months. They could have been psycopaths intent on raping, murdering and dismembering him for all he knew.
But here and now, in front of the wolf that should have been his Alpha, the wolf that should be protecting him, he smelled of fear. It was wrong on so many levels.
Tommy growled, letting the shift overtake him. He pushed Stiles back, claiming the boy as part of his own pack with less then subtle motions. The other Alpha ignored him, turning all his attention on his beta.
"Scott. Come here." Immediatly Scott moved, darting over to stand beside his Alpha. Stiles moved to stand beside Tommy again, not wanting to show any weakness in front of Derek. Tommy gently herded him back, making the split second decesion to welcome another strong human member into his pack.
He'd seen enough wolfpacks to know that they never consisted fully of wolves. Human's needed to be included to round out the packs strengths and weaknesses. They helped keep the wolves human. Case in point his own pack.
Merton and Lori had their own strengths, strengths that benefited Tommy. Strengths that he could never overlook. They were more then a team, they were pack. Stronger then any family ties.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" Derek snapped and suddenly Tommy saw how new to all of this Derek was.
They were roughly the same age, but he'd been an Alpha from the moment he was bitten. If Merton had relayed his conversations with Stiles accurately, this Alpha had claimed his power through the death of another Alpha, and it hadn't been very long ago. If what Stiles had said was true, this Alpha barely knew how to keep his new found power in control, let alone an entire pack of newly bitten, overly hormonal teenagers.
Derek should never have been an Alpha. He wasn't made for leading, for making decesions that affected not only him, but the pack that looked up to him. It had never been intended for him to take the role of Alpha. Tommy vaguely remembered Merton telling him about how Derek had taken power, killing his grief-crazy Uncle to protect himself and inheriting a pack in the aftermath.
"I'm not here to challange you. I don't want your pack. I don't want your territory." Tommy shifted back to human, relaxing his stance. "Just visiting one of my friends here." He tilted his head in Stiles direction.
"Stiles, leave." Derek commanded, eyes glowing a bright, vicious red.
"Stiles stays." Tommy commented mildly, herding Stiles back behind him again. Unlike Merton, who seemed afraid of his own shadow some days, Stiles seemed too brave for his own good.
Tommy had a feeling that even if Stiles were to submit to anyone, he wouldn't ever submit fully, always keeping a part of himself back. He respected that, even as his wolf grumbled that nothing less then full submission would be tolerated.
"This doesn't concern him." Derek snapped again and this time Tommy let Stiles come up to stand beside him. If he was going to bring Stiles into his pack until Derek got his head out of his ass, he needed to show the other Alpha how powerful soliderity with a human could be.
"This," Tommy opened his arms to gesture at the living room and it's occupants "Is all about him. I wouldn't be here if I didn't think he needed my help."
"Of course I was the one who allerted you to the situation. Don't forget about the handsome Goth genius cowering in the corner." Merton piped up from where he was crouched behind the loveseat, peering over the top.
"You're not helping the situation." Tommy commented blandly, keeping his eyes on Derek. All the Alpha's he'd come across had had less then pure intentions, especially when humans were involved. He hadn't driven across two states on his week off to let Merton get eviscerated because he let himself get distracted.
"This is what I mean." Stiles remarked suddenly, stepping past the invisible line of Tommy's protection.
"Go away Derek, no one's here to take anything. He was just talking to Stiles." Scott snapped, grabbing at Derek's forearm and pulling in an attempt to make him back down.
"I'm not even in your stupid pack, I don't know why the hell you're even here." Stiles sneered. Tommy took the time to note that Stiles wasn't so much brave as his self preservation instincts weren't as well developed as the average person. "Oh wait. We're in Scott's house, of course that's why you're here."
"For the last time Stilinski. Leave."
"Stop talking to Stiles like that." Scott shouted, pushing past Derek to get into his Alpha's face. So Stiles wasn't the only one without self preservation instincts. Must be something in the water Tommy decided. "He's pack."
"No Scott, he isn't. He'll never be pack." Derek slammed Scott against the wall, a hand around his throat.
"I've saved your life more then once you stupid-" Derek whirled on Stiles, eyes flashing, canines elongating as his patience failed him and he began shifting into his Alpha form. In less a heartbeat Stiles was behind Tommy, and Derek was on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.
For a moment the acrid scent of fear drenched the room, the kind of instant terror brought on by your fight-or-flight response kicking in. Merton gave a stifled whimper and Tommy bent to grab Derek by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off the ground until the toes of his sneakers scuffed gently against the hardwood of Scott's living room floor.
Derek's eyes were wide with a fear he was trying hard not to show. He'd reverted back to human form as soon as Tommy had knocked him to the ground and his hands were curled into fists to hide the trembles in his fingers.
"Every Alpha I've ever come across has been evil. Every single one of them." Tommy took a breath, flexing his hands in Derek's shirt, the muffled sound of tearing fabric suddenly loud in the silence that followed Tommy's words. "They lose themselves in the power, they forget what it is to be human. That's why we need humans in our packs, it's why they're so important. They remind us that we aren't our wolves."
"I-"
"We. Are. Not. Animals." Tommy said through gritted teeth. "And Stiles, is under my protection until you get your head out of your ass."
"I don't want him." Derek said softly. "He's too much of a distraction. He picks fights with everyone around him. He's a danger to himself and everyone else. He's gonna get someone killed."
"Derek. Don't." Scott whined, ducking past Tommy to grab Stiles by the arm.
"I don't want him in my pack." Derek said louder, making sure everyone present heard him.
"Fine." Tommy let Derek drop to his feet, flashing fang at the smaller Alpha until Derek backed out of his space.
"Wait. So we're keeping him?" Merton asked curiously, cautiously stepping around the love seat to approach Tommy. "Dibs out on telling Lori you adopted a teenager."
"You can't do this Derek." Scott snarled. "If he's not pack then I'm not pack."
"Scott don't be stupid." Stiles tried for levity, but the waver in his voice ruined the joke.
"No Stiles. I know I fucked up before, with Allison. I know I should have been around more and I'm sorry I wasn't. But I'm not leaving you again. I don't wanna be in his pack if you're not in it."
"Scott. Come here." There was a desperation to Derek's voice.
"NO! Stiles was my pack before you were. He'll always be my pack. He's my brother Derek. He's family."
"Oh god, we're having a chick flick moment."
"Shut up Stiles."
"Scott. Come here now."
" No Derek. Tommy's right, about needing people to remind us that we aren't animals. It's hard to seperate my wolf and myself sometimes, it's really hard. But Stiles helps, he makes it easy to remember which part of me is Scott. I won't be an animal Derek. I won't."
"This is where you decide what kind of Alpha you want to be." Tommy commented quietly, placing a hand on Merton's shoulder when the other man moved closer, hoping all the fighting was over. "He'll make your pack stronger then you ever thought it could be. You need to trust him as much as you trust your wolves. He's stronger then you think he is. He can handle it. Trust me."
For a moment everything seemed frozen, no one breathed, everyone waiting for Derek's reaction to Tommy's words.
A full minute passed before Derek gave the tiniest of nods, staring at Stiles with an unreadable expression. He stayed frozen in place, not knowing how to make the first move.
"Does this mean we aren't keeping him?" Merton asked loudly, his voice seeming to break the awkward cloud hanging over the living room. Tommy rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around Merton's neck, rubbing his knuckles along his human's head with a grin.
Scott whooped loudly and lifted Stiles off the ground in a hug, spinning him around and pressing a loud, smacking kiss to his cheek. Stiles responded by gagging loudly and covering Scott's face with his hand to push him away.
"So you're an Alpha werewolf who's just accepted his first human into his pack. What's that like?" Merton asked, jabbing his elbow into Tommy's ribs and pulling away from his now loosened grip. He ran a hand over his hair to make sure the spikes were still perfect and smiled, eyes shining with curosity.
"Merton. Shut up." Stiles and Tommy said simultaniously.
"Shutting up." Merton muttered as he caught sight of a hint of red glowing in Derek's eyes.
Title: It's not me, it's you. No really, it's you.
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 3016
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf or Big Wolf on Campus nor do I make a profit from this work of fiction.
A/N: I want to send out the biggest ever hug to argentum_ls for being the most awesome hand holding enabler ever and letting me poke her with sharp sticks whenever I got stuck. And also for prodding me with other sharp sticks when I was just sitting around. She's the wind beneath my wings, and without her this would probably have never gotten posted.
Previous Chapter: #werefansanon
"I'm not gonna be around much for spring break." Stiles muttered, moving his fries around his plate, appetite gone.
"Is your dad taking you fishing again?"
"No. I've got some friends coming in from out of town. Relatives actually. Long lost cousin from my mothers side."
"Okay. Well I'll probably be out at Derek's all week anyway. He's got some training exercises he wants us to go through."
"Of course he does." Stiles slouched into his chair, sullen and miserable. This was going to end in blood, and probably tears.
XxX XxX
"And then turn right up here. No wait left..no I meant right."
"Merton."
"...Right."
"We have a GPS for a reason. Stop playing with the map and turn it on."
"Sorry."
"Turn right in 500 meters."
"Toldja it was right."
"Stop. Talking."
"Put your fangs away wolfboy. We'll get there, the town isn't going to vanish."
"No, but your friend might."
"Oh, I hadn't thought of that."
XxX XxX
"He's not home." Merton looked up at Tommy, then back at the house, rapping sharply on the door like that would prove Tommy and his wolf senses wrong.
"Well where is he?"
"How should I know?"
"You're the one with the canine olifactory glands."
"What? "
"Scent him out."
"...Call me a good dog and your dead."
"Tommy, your death threats stopped working on me a week after we met."
"Yeah. Is that why you always smelled so scared?"
"Shut up."
XxX XxX
A sharp knock on the door interupted the argument Scott and Stiles were having over which Batman movie had the better villan. Scott was adamant that the newer version of the Joker was the best, while Stiles was kicking it old school with Poison Ivy.
Stiles glanced at Scott before moving to the door. He had a pretty good idea of who it was, but Scott seemed unsure, his metaphorical hackles rising the closer they got to the door, lurking behind Stiles the way he always had, even before he'd been bitten and turned.
"Do you think he's here?"
"Yes he's here."
"Well sorry for asking, not all of us have magical werewolf noses." One of the men out front peered into the window beside the front door, cupping his hands around his face, trying to see past the suns reflective glare on the window pane. "Stiles. Stiles are you in here? Show yourself. We just wanna talk."
Stiles shot an apologetic look over his shoulder at Scott and pulled open the door, revealing the two men standing on Scott's front porch. He could tell immediatly the taller one was the wolf. Tommy Dawkins, the Pleasentville Werewolf stood a few inches taller then Stiles. Which meant he towered over both Scott his companion, whether he meant to or not.
The smaller man offered a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He moved in a nervous jerky manner, like he was always on the look out for the next hit. But from what he'd said of his high school years, Stiles wasn't surprised. Being shoved in a locker repetitively had that affect on a person.
"Hi. I'm Merton, this is Tommy. Which one of you is Stiles?"
"Uh. I am Stiles. This is my friend Scott."
"Ah yes. Hello Scott, I've heard a lot about you. So tell me, what kind of a name is Stiles?"
"I dunno. What kind of a name is Merton?"
"Touche." Merton muttered, looking up at the kid still blocking the doorway, his friend, the werewolf behind him. It felt wrong, and if Merton knew it felt wrong then Tommy definitely knew it felt wrong. Scott should have been the one in front, offering protection in the face of strangers.
Stiles was defiant in a way that grabbed attention, and that wasn't a good thing when you delt with monsters and things that went bump in the night. Though from what he'd said online, all he'd seen so far were werewolves and the hunters that tracked them down.
No catwomen, no ghosts, no evil werewolf syndicate, no saving the world from Satan, evil Santa or the Sandman. The kid had it pretty good.
"Can we come in?" Tommy sounded amused and apologetic for Merton's actions as the latter pushed his way past Stiles and Scott and into the house. Tommy subtly scented the air as he followed Merton inside. Stiles smelled nervous with a little defiance mixed in. Scott smelled terrified.
"Sure. Make yourselves at home." Stiles rolled his eyes, opening his arms in an ironic/sarcastic gesture. The invitation would become moot before the guests had much chance to enjoy it.
Stiles could see on Scott's expression that the magical packbond no one had bothered to explain to him had been activated. It was only matter of time before Derek showed up to protect his beta from the supposedly rogue Alpha that had just shown up at his doorstep with no explanations as to why he was there.
Hopefully Stiles could get his new friends out of town before that happened. He really didn't want to have to deal with the aftermath of that meeting. Derek barely liked him on a good day, trying to explain that he'd agreed to meet with another Alpha probably wouldn't end well.
"Okay kids, so here's the thing."
"Merton."
"What?"
"You think maybe this might go over a little easier if I talk to them?"
"Oh...yeah. Probably."
"There are always going to be humans in a wolf pack. I have two in mine. This Alpha of yours, Darren or whatever his name is, sounds like a pack I've dealt with in the past, just wants wolves in his pack, thinks humans aren't worthy of being in his presence."
"Stiles, what's he talking about?" Scott asked, eyes wide as he looked from Tommy to Merton to Stiles. Trying to figure out how his friend fit into all this.
"These are friends of mine Scott."
"How are you friends with another Alpha? Derek isn't gonna be happy."
"Derek's never happy." Stiles snapped. "He hates me no matter what I do, no matter how many times I've saved his life. He's always gonna hate me. So if I wanna branch out and see how the other wolf packs are treating their human members, I think I'm entitled."
"Stiles come on. He doesn't hate you."
"Really?" Stiles stared down his friend as Scott faltered and tilted his head down to stare at his feet.
"I can talk to Derek for you." Tommy interjected. His eyebrows raised as he caught a whiff of anger mixed with juvenile power. It had to be the Alpha the two boys were talking about, no one else around here carried the scent of power. Stiles surged to his feet and started pacing the floor in front of the couch.
"That's not good idea. I don't think you guys should meet. At all."
Scott must've caught the scent as well. He seemed to perk up, casting glances at the hall that led to the stairs.
"Little too late for that." Tommy commented blandly, rising slowly from the couch and stepping forward so both Merton and Stiles were behind him.
"I thought you locked your window Scott." Stiles muttered. Merton was already pressed into the back corner, eyes flicking this way and that for a way out. But Stiles had stepped up so he was standing at Tommy's shoulder, creating a wall of soliderity with Tommy and Scott, though he knew Scott would abandon him the moment Derek showed his face.
"You know that doesn't stop him."
"He comes in through your window?" Merton yelped, scrambling off the couch when Derek rounded the corner, eyes glowing red, teeth elongated, and razor sharp claws peeking out from his sleeves. "Woah."
Derek growled and Tommy felt the thrum of adrenaline against his bones and he glanced over to take in the boys that stood next to him. Scott looked pleased to see his Alpha, just as he should. Stiles stood his ground, but already he started to smell of fear and panic.
The boy had opened the door to two strangers with no knowledge of who they were and what they wanted other then what he'd learned about them through a chat group and emails over numerous months. They could have been psycopaths intent on raping, murdering and dismembering him for all he knew.
But here and now, in front of the wolf that should have been his Alpha, the wolf that should be protecting him, he smelled of fear. It was wrong on so many levels.
Tommy growled, letting the shift overtake him. He pushed Stiles back, claiming the boy as part of his own pack with less then subtle motions. The other Alpha ignored him, turning all his attention on his beta.
"Scott. Come here." Immediatly Scott moved, darting over to stand beside his Alpha. Stiles moved to stand beside Tommy again, not wanting to show any weakness in front of Derek. Tommy gently herded him back, making the split second decesion to welcome another strong human member into his pack.
He'd seen enough wolfpacks to know that they never consisted fully of wolves. Human's needed to be included to round out the packs strengths and weaknesses. They helped keep the wolves human. Case in point his own pack.
Merton and Lori had their own strengths, strengths that benefited Tommy. Strengths that he could never overlook. They were more then a team, they were pack. Stronger then any family ties.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" Derek snapped and suddenly Tommy saw how new to all of this Derek was.
They were roughly the same age, but he'd been an Alpha from the moment he was bitten. If Merton had relayed his conversations with Stiles accurately, this Alpha had claimed his power through the death of another Alpha, and it hadn't been very long ago. If what Stiles had said was true, this Alpha barely knew how to keep his new found power in control, let alone an entire pack of newly bitten, overly hormonal teenagers.
Derek should never have been an Alpha. He wasn't made for leading, for making decesions that affected not only him, but the pack that looked up to him. It had never been intended for him to take the role of Alpha. Tommy vaguely remembered Merton telling him about how Derek had taken power, killing his grief-crazy Uncle to protect himself and inheriting a pack in the aftermath.
"I'm not here to challange you. I don't want your pack. I don't want your territory." Tommy shifted back to human, relaxing his stance. "Just visiting one of my friends here." He tilted his head in Stiles direction.
"Stiles, leave." Derek commanded, eyes glowing a bright, vicious red.
"Stiles stays." Tommy commented mildly, herding Stiles back behind him again. Unlike Merton, who seemed afraid of his own shadow some days, Stiles seemed too brave for his own good.
Tommy had a feeling that even if Stiles were to submit to anyone, he wouldn't ever submit fully, always keeping a part of himself back. He respected that, even as his wolf grumbled that nothing less then full submission would be tolerated.
"This doesn't concern him." Derek snapped again and this time Tommy let Stiles come up to stand beside him. If he was going to bring Stiles into his pack until Derek got his head out of his ass, he needed to show the other Alpha how powerful soliderity with a human could be.
"This," Tommy opened his arms to gesture at the living room and it's occupants "Is all about him. I wouldn't be here if I didn't think he needed my help."
"Of course I was the one who allerted you to the situation. Don't forget about the handsome Goth genius cowering in the corner." Merton piped up from where he was crouched behind the loveseat, peering over the top.
"You're not helping the situation." Tommy commented blandly, keeping his eyes on Derek. All the Alpha's he'd come across had had less then pure intentions, especially when humans were involved. He hadn't driven across two states on his week off to let Merton get eviscerated because he let himself get distracted.
"This is what I mean." Stiles remarked suddenly, stepping past the invisible line of Tommy's protection.
"Go away Derek, no one's here to take anything. He was just talking to Stiles." Scott snapped, grabbing at Derek's forearm and pulling in an attempt to make him back down.
"I'm not even in your stupid pack, I don't know why the hell you're even here." Stiles sneered. Tommy took the time to note that Stiles wasn't so much brave as his self preservation instincts weren't as well developed as the average person. "Oh wait. We're in Scott's house, of course that's why you're here."
"For the last time Stilinski. Leave."
"Stop talking to Stiles like that." Scott shouted, pushing past Derek to get into his Alpha's face. So Stiles wasn't the only one without self preservation instincts. Must be something in the water Tommy decided. "He's pack."
"No Scott, he isn't. He'll never be pack." Derek slammed Scott against the wall, a hand around his throat.
"I've saved your life more then once you stupid-" Derek whirled on Stiles, eyes flashing, canines elongating as his patience failed him and he began shifting into his Alpha form. In less a heartbeat Stiles was behind Tommy, and Derek was on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.
For a moment the acrid scent of fear drenched the room, the kind of instant terror brought on by your fight-or-flight response kicking in. Merton gave a stifled whimper and Tommy bent to grab Derek by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off the ground until the toes of his sneakers scuffed gently against the hardwood of Scott's living room floor.
Derek's eyes were wide with a fear he was trying hard not to show. He'd reverted back to human form as soon as Tommy had knocked him to the ground and his hands were curled into fists to hide the trembles in his fingers.
"Every Alpha I've ever come across has been evil. Every single one of them." Tommy took a breath, flexing his hands in Derek's shirt, the muffled sound of tearing fabric suddenly loud in the silence that followed Tommy's words. "They lose themselves in the power, they forget what it is to be human. That's why we need humans in our packs, it's why they're so important. They remind us that we aren't our wolves."
"I-"
"We. Are. Not. Animals." Tommy said through gritted teeth. "And Stiles, is under my protection until you get your head out of your ass."
"I don't want him." Derek said softly. "He's too much of a distraction. He picks fights with everyone around him. He's a danger to himself and everyone else. He's gonna get someone killed."
"Derek. Don't." Scott whined, ducking past Tommy to grab Stiles by the arm.
"I don't want him in my pack." Derek said louder, making sure everyone present heard him.
"Fine." Tommy let Derek drop to his feet, flashing fang at the smaller Alpha until Derek backed out of his space.
"Wait. So we're keeping him?" Merton asked curiously, cautiously stepping around the love seat to approach Tommy. "Dibs out on telling Lori you adopted a teenager."
"You can't do this Derek." Scott snarled. "If he's not pack then I'm not pack."
"Scott don't be stupid." Stiles tried for levity, but the waver in his voice ruined the joke.
"No Stiles. I know I fucked up before, with Allison. I know I should have been around more and I'm sorry I wasn't. But I'm not leaving you again. I don't wanna be in his pack if you're not in it."
"Scott. Come here." There was a desperation to Derek's voice.
"NO! Stiles was my pack before you were. He'll always be my pack. He's my brother Derek. He's family."
"Oh god, we're having a chick flick moment."
"Shut up Stiles."
"Scott. Come here now."
" No Derek. Tommy's right, about needing people to remind us that we aren't animals. It's hard to seperate my wolf and myself sometimes, it's really hard. But Stiles helps, he makes it easy to remember which part of me is Scott. I won't be an animal Derek. I won't."
"This is where you decide what kind of Alpha you want to be." Tommy commented quietly, placing a hand on Merton's shoulder when the other man moved closer, hoping all the fighting was over. "He'll make your pack stronger then you ever thought it could be. You need to trust him as much as you trust your wolves. He's stronger then you think he is. He can handle it. Trust me."
For a moment everything seemed frozen, no one breathed, everyone waiting for Derek's reaction to Tommy's words.
A full minute passed before Derek gave the tiniest of nods, staring at Stiles with an unreadable expression. He stayed frozen in place, not knowing how to make the first move.
"Does this mean we aren't keeping him?" Merton asked loudly, his voice seeming to break the awkward cloud hanging over the living room. Tommy rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around Merton's neck, rubbing his knuckles along his human's head with a grin.
Scott whooped loudly and lifted Stiles off the ground in a hug, spinning him around and pressing a loud, smacking kiss to his cheek. Stiles responded by gagging loudly and covering Scott's face with his hand to push him away.
"So you're an Alpha werewolf who's just accepted his first human into his pack. What's that like?" Merton asked, jabbing his elbow into Tommy's ribs and pulling away from his now loosened grip. He ran a hand over his hair to make sure the spikes were still perfect and smiled, eyes shining with curosity.
"Merton. Shut up." Stiles and Tommy said simultaniously.
"Shutting up." Merton muttered as he caught sight of a hint of red glowing in Derek's eyes.