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"You can't just open a book and say - " Stiles muttered a horrible rendition of Gaelic from one of the books set out on the table in front of him that he, Lydia and Derek were sitting around.
As soon as the words were out of Stiles’ mouth, Derek found himself tumbling off the chair and grunting in pain as his bones and muscles changed and reshaped, fur spilling over his skin. He lay on his side, panting, the full wolf shift having forced itself on him. Scrambling to his feet he shook his head, ears flapping and looked up at Stiles and Lydia.
Lydia’s eyebrows were almost in her hairline, before she dropped her face into her hand and sighed.
Stiles’ eyes looked as wide as saucers. “....oops?” he said.
Derek rolled his eyes.
***
After an intensely frustrating half hour in which Derek found himself unable to shift back, Stiles suggested they just head home and try asking Deaton for information the next day.
If Deaton decides to be helpful for once, Derek thought and Lydia’s gaze shot to him.
“Was… was that you?” she asked. Derek cocked his head and huffed.
Lydia?
She nodded her head, eyes wide.
Well... this is new.
***
Lydia sat curled up on the couch, idly turning the pages of a large tome containing information on Druidic rituals. Derek was pacing back and forth in the living room, growling lowly in anxiety every few minutes.
“Do you mind stopping that?” Lydia asked. “Stiles will be home any minute, I’m sure.”
It’s just… frustrating, not having any control over my shift. I haven’t felt like this since I was a teenager.
Lydia closed the book and looked at Derek, who had stopped pacing and plopped himself down on the ground, sighing.
“I know.” She patted the couch next to her. Derek watched her silently for a beat, then stood up and jumped onto the cushion, settling in. Lydia let her hand fall to his head and she stroked it for a moment. “We’ll figure it out.”
Stiles came through the loft door. "I'm back!" He shouted, then looked over to where Derek and Lydia were sitting on the couch and sighed. "So, I talked to Deaton," he said and went to sit on the other side of Derek. Stiles pushed his hands into his lap as if he were unsure Derek was in the mood to be touched by him. "And he said that the spell should wear off eventually.... It's just going to take some time."
“Well… that’s good, right?” Lydia said, giving Derek another scratch.
Does he know how much time?
Lydia reached out and took Stiles’ hand and squeezed it. “Derek wants to know if he had an idea of how much time.” Looking between the two of them, she went on, “Speaking of Deaton, did he know why I can hear Derek?”
"Uhh.. Yeah. I mean about the hearing thing. It's part of the spell. You can hear him because you're supernatural. It's a fail safe for emissaries to communicate with their pack when they're shifted using this particular spell. So if it had been me then you guys would be able to hear my thoughts." Stiles sighed. "He didn't say how long it would take to wear off."
Derek sighed a bit. After a moment, he turned and clambered his generous bulk halfway into Stiles’ lap, burying his snout in Stiles’ neck.
Stiles smiled and wrapped his arms around Derek's large form. "I'm sorry," he said softly, nuzzling against Derek's neck in return.
Tell him it’s okay, echoed through Lydia’s mind.
“He says it’s okay, Stiles.” Lydia said, smiling too. “Goodness knows, this isn’t the worst thing to happen to this pack.”
"I know, but still." Stiles sighed and scratched behind Derek's ears, then gave him a peck on the nose. "Good thing I'm okay with wolf hair in bed."
Lydia snorted with laughter and Derek gave her a look over his shoulder, tongue lolling out of his mouth. “I don’t mind, either. Lucky for you both.” She gave Stiles’ hand another squeeze, before stretching a bit and putting her book on the scuffed coffee table. “Well, if it’s going to wear off eventually, I suppose we’ll just have to call Derek in sick to work for the next few days.”
"I'm sure my dad will understand when we tell him that his irresponsible son turned his boyfriend into a wolf permanently for a short amount of time."
Lydia laughed again. “Your poor father. Please let me be there for that conversation.” Derek chuffed against Stiles’ neck, as close as he could come to laughter of his own.
Stiles snorted and sighed. "Well given it’s going to take place on the phone you can be present on this side of the line and not see the disappointment on my father's face when he finds out I put his Deputy on sick leave."
“How is this our life?” Lydia mused, still chuckling. She stood up and stretched again, groaning as her back popped quietly. “It’s been an exciting day, but I think I’m ready for bed. You boys can join me when you’d like.” She bent down and kissed Stiles on the forehead, before doing the same to Derek, his fur tickling her neck and face.
"Okay," Stiles said and smiled up at Lydia, his fingers still stroking through Derek's fur. "We'll be up soon."
Lydia wiggled her fingers at the two of them and padded down the dark hallway to their bedroom.
***
"I'll call my dad in the morning," Stiles said, resting his forehead on Derek's. He felt drained over the whole situation and horrible. The last thing he had meant to do was take away Derek's freedom to shift between his forms. He could only imagine how trapped Derek was feeling. "Let him know what's happening." He rubbed his cheek against Derek's head.
Derek whined, no doubt smelling Stiles’ distress. He wriggled his body until he was more fully draped over Stiles’ lap, his tail wagging slowly.
Stiles gave a quiet snort. "How can you be wagging your tail about this?" He wiggled his fingers behind Derek's ears, scratching them.
Derek chuffed a bit, then pulled back until he was looking into Stiles’ eyes. He somehow managed to convey a wealth of emotions with just his eyes, before they flashed red briefly. After another pause, he leaned forward and licked a long stripe up the side of Stiles’ face.
Stiles gave a small smile and nuzzled against Derek's neck. "Come on. Let's go to bed before Lydia changes her mind about wolf hair on the sheets."
Derek licked Stiles’ neck again, before leaping off him and down to the ground. He looked over his shoulder and wagged his tail again, before trotting down the hallway.
Stiles chuckled and shook his head, then got up and followed him to bed.
***
The spell hadn’t worn off by the next morning, or the morning after that. Stiles’ dad told the police department that Derek would be out sick for a few days, after he had smacked his son on the back of the head for inadvertently turning his deputy into a canine unit. Derek had just nuzzled Stiles’ side when he had told him that.
Lydia couldn’t take any time off work, so there went their translator, leaving Derek and Stiles to spend the next few days lounging around the house, Stiles keeping up a running commentary to fill the silence until Lydia arrived home at dinner time each day.
By Saturday morning, Derek was ready to lose it from being cooped up in the house. Once the three of them had had breakfast, he’d told Lydia he was going for a run.
“What if someone see you?” Stiles had fretted.
I can stay hidden if I need to. I just need to run.
Lydia conveyed his thoughts and Stiles crouched down to run his hands over Derek’s fur. “Don’t be gone too long,” he said, smiling.
Derek yipped and ran a few circles around Stiles’ legs, before Lydia opened their patio door and he took off like a shot, heading into the Preserve.
For a few minutes, he focused on nothing but the physical sensations, the feeling of his paws pounding over grass, then branches and rocks as he moved deeper into the Preserve. The feeling of his lungs starting to burn as he pushed himself faster, the wind blowing his ears back and rippling down his fur.
One thing that Derek had to admit, this extended shift has really brought home how lucky he is that he attained his Alpha shift. He remembered watching his mother and being so jealous that she could become a full fledged wolf. Now he had that privilege and it made him feel close to her.
Derek slowed to a trot, his sides heaving, before he flopped down in the shade under a tree. He laid there, breathing heavily for a few minutes, listening to the sounds of the woods. Before he knew it, his eyes were drifting shut.
A little nap couldn’t hurt.
When Derek awoke, the sun was high overhead, the birds singing and a gentle breeze blowing. He stretched luxuriously, then stood and shook himself off before trotting in the direction of home. He had only gone a few hundred yards before an acrid scent filled his nostrils. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled and he quickened his pace.
It was only a few more steps before he recognized the scent. It was one that he tried hard to make sure never happened, but now, as a wolf, the smell of it was nearly overwhelming. After their years together, Derek knew Stiles' and Lydia’s chemo signals like the back of his hand and right now, Stiles' smelled absolutely miserable. The air reeked of his sadness, the salt of his tears. There was some of the same emotion coming from Lydia, but it was completely overshadowed by the intensity coming from Stiles.
Derek picked up his speed, his mind racing with dire scenarios as to what could cause Stiles to set off this much emotion. Was he still this upset about accidentally trapping Derek like this? Had something happened to his father? Stomach roiling with the possibilities, Derek found himself tearing through the woods at breakneck speed. He moved faster and faster with each passing moment as Stiles’ emotions crashed over him the closer he got to their house.
Without even noticing at first, Derek’s paws started to lengthen, his fingers becoming more elongated and visible, the fur receding. He took a few more galloping bounds before the movement became awkward and he collapsed on his front, hunching into the ground as his full-wolf shift abruptly melted away, leaving him naked and gasping on the forest floor.
He paused for a nanosecond on his hands and knees and fervently hoped that no one was walking their dogs through the Preserve this morning. Catching sight of a naked man running like hell through the trees would be less than ideal. Considering his luck, they’d probably recognize him as a member of the Sheriff’s department too. He’d never hear the end of it.
Derek pushed himself to his feet and started running again. The scent of Stiles’ sadness was less acute in his human form, but still present enough to keep him moving quickly. Their house came into sight and Derek pounded up the steps to the patio, throwing the door open and dashing inside. There came an undignified yelp from the direction of the couch as Stiles flailed and landed on the floor in a heap of blankets. Lydia was looking wide eyed at him, ensconced in her own blanket nest.
“Derek?!” Stiles yelled, his face streaked with tears, nose running. Clumsily extricating himself from his blankets he ran to Derek and threw his arms around his neck, heedless of Derek’s nudity, as always. “You’re back!”
“What the hell happened, Stiles?” Derek asked, panting from exertion. He clung to Stiles too, relishing being able to actually hold him in his arms.
“It’s okay,” Lydia said, pushing off her blankets and standing to join them in a three-way hug. “We were just watching a movie and Stiles got a little emotional.” She inclined her head in the direction of the television.
Derek peeked over their heads and saw a very familiar movie paused on the screen. “Really, Stiles? The Notebook? I came running back here and managed to break the spell because you were losing your shit over The Notebook?”
Stiles pulled back, laughing even though his face was still coated with tears. He slapped Derek lightly on the shoulder. “Hey, no mocking! This is the first time Lydia’s gotten me to watch it! I was unprepared.” His face sobered a bit. “You were that worried because I smelled so sad?”
“Of course I was,” Derek said, cupping Stiles’ face and kissing him gently on the mouth. He pulled Stiles and Lydia back into the hug, Lydia smiling into his shoulder.
“Nicholas Sparks to save the day, huh?” Lydia said, snorting with laughter.
“No,” Stiles smiled. “Just Derek.”
“Always,” Derek grinned, hugging them close. “Just… no more reading spells out loud in front of me, okay?”
Lydia’s laughter rang out loud and clear as Stiles made a disgruntled noise into Derek’s neck. He just hugged them closer and laughed along.