Chapter Text
Derek’s whole body hurt. Specifically, it felt like someone had ran over him with an eighteen-wheeler, backed up, and ran over him again.
He was vaguely aware that he was lying on his back in a hospital bed. His own bed was much more comfortable and didn’t smell like medicine and sickness. Derek also smelled something vaguely familiar, but he was too out of it to pinpoint what it was. He kept his eyes closed, because he was pretty sure that the inevitable bright lights of the hospital room would blind his sensitive eyes.
Derek let out a small huff, and started to relax. If he was in the hospital, that meant that he was safe, and whatever he had been fighting had probably been taken care of. But what had he been fighting? As he started to come to his senses, all of the vivid details of the fight against Deucalion rushed back to the forefront of his thoughts.
Stiles had been hurt, and Deucalion had been laughing, and he had been so angry, but had felt so helpless. And then—he had shifted. He didn’t really remember how or why, but apparently it had happened. But was Stiles okay? Had they been able to save him?
“Urgghh….”
“Derek, are you awake?”
“’saac?” Derek asked, cracking an eye open, before instantly scrunching it back shut. The hospital lights were definitely blinding.
“Oh, thank God, Derek,” Isaac breathed, wheeling over to sit closer to Derek’s bedside. Derek breathed in deeply as Isaac’s scent filled his nose. It was the same scent that he’d smelled earlier, and based on how strong it was, Isaac hadn’t left the hospital room. “You’re okay. Fuck, you’re okay.”
“Wha ‘bout Stiles?” Derek croaked.
“He’s fine, too,” Isaac said. “He’s in another room, but he’s stabilizing. Melissa’s been working on him almost nonstop since the fight.”
“How long… was I out? ”
“About five hours or so,” Isaac answered. “The paramedics brought you and Stiles here right after the fight. Me, Scott and the Sheriff have been here ever since.”
“Deucalion?”
“Taken care of,” Isaac said. “Apparently one of Jackson’s agents had some contacts with the Justice League, and they came and apprehended him as soon as you took him out. Do you remember any of that by the way? You were a little, um…”
“Wolf,” Derek muttered.
“Yeah, how did you do that?” Isaac asked. “I’ve never seen you do that before, and I’ve known you all my life.”
“Dunno. Had to protect Stiles,” Derek answered. “Where…?”
“He’s in the room across the hall,” Isaac said.
“Kay.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, you can’t go over there yet,” Isaac said, gently pushing Derek back down to a reclining position. Derek glared at him, and Isaac cowvered for a split second before shaking his head and squaring his shoulders. “Melissa said to make sure that you stayed in bed until she could come check you out while you were conscious.”
“’m fine,” Derek mumbled, struggling against Isaac’s hands. “Werewolf.”
“Yeah, I know, but you can barely make complete sentences,” Isaac snorted fondly. “I almost lost you today, Derek. Just…let Melissa take check you out before you do anything stupid, okay? I’m gonna go get her.”
Derek rolled his eyes and nodded as Isaac left the room. He loved Isaac, but he could be a little too over-bearing at times. Derek knew where he was coming from, but most of the time he felt fine. He could probably walk right out of the hospital room right now if he wanted.
“Don’t even think about leaving, Sourwolf,” Stiles said, walking into the office, followed by Melissa and Isaac. “We have too much to talk about for you to be leaving now.”
“I wasn’t… I was gonna…”
“Stiles, I told you to take it slow,” Melissa groaned, as Stiles hopped onto a chair.
“I’m fine,” Stiles said. “What part of superhero healing did you not understand?”
Derek shot Isaac a pointed look and Isaac hung his head in response.
“Do what you want then,” Melissa said, shaking her head fondly. “But don’t come running to me when you hurt yourself again.”
“Don’t act like you don’t love it,” Stiles said, smirking.
“I’m not going to answer that,” Melissa said. “I’ll give you two some time. I’m sure you have lots to talk about. Isaac?”
Isaac looked reluctantly at Derek, as if leaving his side was the last thing he wanted to do.
“I’ll be fine, Isaac. I feel better already,” Derek said honestly, trying to reassure Isaac. “Go find Scott or something.”
Isaac sighed and nodded before following Melissa out of the room, leaving Derek and Stiles face to face.
“So… how are you doing?” Derek began awkwardly. He didn’t really know what to say. This was the first time that he and Stiles were having a conversation now that they both knew that they were superheroes and their lives weren’t in danger. It was a little daunting, to be honest.
“Good,” Stiles said, eyes twinkling. “How are you?”
“Good…, better now,” Derek answered, nodding slightly. “I’m a little sore, but nothing a couple of days off won’t fix.”
“You really think Deaton will give us some time off?” Stiles asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I didn’t mean… I… Maybe?” Derek sputtered. “I was talking about—”
“I know, I know,” Stiles chuckled. “I was just giving you a hard time. I can’t imagine how much fun Melissa must have had messing with us when we both didn’t know about each other.”
“Yeah,” Derek said, smiling wrylying and thinking about all the things Melissa said that might’ve had a double meaning. “So you’re a superhero.”
“I am,” Stiles said, inclining his head. “Red Spark. That’s me. It’s a pleasure to finally see you without your wolf face on, Black Wolf. You’re every bit as handsome as I had hoped.”
“I…really?” Derek asked, fidgeting so he was in a seated position. “But you see me, or my regular face every day.”
“True,” Stiles said, climbing over to sit at the foot of Derek’s bed. Derek criss-crossed his legs to give him some more room, and looked at Stiles expectantly. “I always thought that regular you was very handsome. I just never thought that you would be okay with me being a superhero. And so I thought…"
“That if you kept telling stories about ‘me’ to me, then I would lose interest in you,” Derek answered, biting the inside of his cheek. “That way you wouldn’t have to tell me yourself.”
“You got it,” Stiles said, smiling sadly. “And what sucks is I didn’t even know who I wanted to date more. I mean, you were so mysteriously hot as Black Wolf, but you were so regularly hot as Derek too.”
“Well at first I thought that Red Spark was annoying,” Derek said, smirking when Stiles’ mouth dropped open. “Don’t make that face. You know you were annoying.”
“I got the job done, didn’t I?” Stiles muttered, frowning and breaking eye contact.
“Yeah, you did,” Derek said, suddenly hating how hurt Stiles’ voice sounded. He wriggled out from under the blankets to get closer to Stiles. His whole body groaned with soreness as he situated himself across from Stiles, but he could worry about that later. Right now he needed to get everything out in the open and he couldn’t do that under a blanket. “And I respected you immensely. I was just smitten with the other you.”
“You… really?” Stiles asked, looking up cautiously.
“Yes. I was,” Derek said. “And as much as it sucked listening you tell me stories about your hot guy friend, who was now I know was me, I couldn’t get you out of my head.”
“This situation is so fucking complicated,” Stiles laughed bitterly, tracing patterns in the blanket. “I was such an asshole to you.”
“Black Wolf wasn’t the nicest guy either, Stiles,” Derek pointed out.
“No, I know,” Stiles said. “But it was more of a tough love. I never felt like you didn’t like me, even when I did mess around too much.”
“I always knew how great of a hero you were,” Derek said softly. “And it frustrated me that you would always goof off. But when things got serious, so did you. You saved my life, remember?”
“Yeah, and then I forced you to go out on a date with me, and look how well that turned out.”
“I thought it was a pretty good kiss,” Derek said, smirking.
“It was a great kiss!” Stiles said, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “And then it complicated things even more! Because I didn’t know which one of you I wanted to date!”
“It confused me too,” Derek agreed. “But we don’t have to choose, Stiles. That’s what’s great about this whole thing. You get all of me. And I get all of you.” He placed a tentative hand on Stiles knee. “What are you so afraid of?”
“I just feel bad,” Stiles said. “I feel like I treated you like crap, and I don’t know why you would want to even date anyone like me.”
“I want to date you because you’re smart, beautiful and you make me laugh,” Derek said softly. “I want to date you because you’ve saved my life, and I spent weeks wondering what I would do if I had to pick between you and ‘you’. But now that I know everything, I want to explore even more.”
“That should not have been that romantic,” Stiles sniffed, rolling his eyes. “Where did you learn to sweet talk like that?”
“Werewolf?” Derek tried. He wasn’t really sure where all of that had come from either.
“Maybe,” Stiles said. “Did you really mean all of it though?”
“Every word.”
“Thanks,” Stiles said, a light blush appearing on his cheeks. “I never thought I’d meet a guy who would accept both parts of me. And now I have one right in front of me, and he’s everything I wanted in a guy too.”
Derek absolutely did not preen at the praise.
“And I don’t think Scott, Melissa, or my dad would let me live it down if I didn’t date you so hard,” Stiles said, moving closer to Derek. “They’ve had to listen to me ramble about how hot you were since we started working together. In the office and on the streets.”
“Working the streets makes it sound like we’re hookers,” Derek snorted, taking Stiles’ hands in his own.
“We hook the bad guys into jail,” Stiles joked softly, resting his forehead against Derek’s.
“That was one of the worst things I’ve ever heard,” Derek said, rolling his eyes. Stiles chuckled quietly, and Derek bristled feeling Stiles’ warm breath against his lips.
“You can hook me.”
“You’re really going to try and turn it into an innuendo,” Derek asked, bringing one hand to cup Stiles’ face. “I can’t believe I ever wanted to date you.”
“But you still want to anyway,” Stiles said. “Because I’m smart, beautiful and I make you laugh.”
“And you saved my life,” Derek said, rolling his eyes.
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
“I’m going to kiss you back.”
***
“You two had to make out in the hospital bed?” Scott asked as they were driving home. “I mean I get that you two are happy you finally worked your issues out, but really? Someone’s probably died in that bed, Stiles.”
“Okay, that’s disgusting,” Stiles said. “And some lady has probably given birth in that bed too, so it balances out. Hey, why are there so many cameras and news vans outside of our…”
“Oh yeah,” Scott said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “Derek might’ve shifted back into a human when he passed out, and your mask might’ve slipped off when you got knocked unconscious and…”
“Jackson’s fucking paparazzi caught it all on camera,” Stiles said. “Well at least I know that Derek’s probably going through the same thing. And you know how much he hates crowds of people. He leaves the office parties early because he gets uncomfortable.”
“Oh yeah,” Scott said, grinning in remembrance. “Man, we could’ve watched him growl at all the reporters. Why did you guys have to go home separately again?”
“Because your mom thinks that Derek and I can’t control our sexual urges and wants us to rest properly before we have superhero sex for the first time,” Stiles said, rolling his eyes. “Like I can’t keep my hands to myself.”
“You had your hands underneath Derek’s hospital gown,” Scott pointed out. “And that was an hour ago.”
“Point,” Stiles said, rolling his eyes as they parked. “Are you ready to meet my adoring fans?”
“I wonder if I can move out so I don’t have to deal with all the publicity of living with a superhero,” Scott asked, eyeing the mass of reporters warily. “This looks scary.”
“Tough luck, dude,” Stiles said. “You signed up for this. And look at the bright side. You’ll never have to ask for an autograph.”
***
“Is this your favorite rooftop or something? I swear you’re always perched up here.”
“Hey, Spark,” Derek said, watching Stiles float in front of him. “What are you doing here? I’m on patrol tonight, you have the night off.”
“Yeah, well I got bored at home and I thought I’d come talk to my superhero boyfriend,” Stiles said. “Besides it’s not like anything’s going to happen. Crime rates have plummeted since we got rid of Deucalion and our identities were revealed to the public. It’s like all the bad guys just ran away and left. It’s kind of boring.”
“I’ll remember that when the next super villain comes to town,” Derek said, rolling his eyes. “And it’s only been a week since everything happened. Give it some time. There’ll probably be a new villain wanted to prove himself and take us down. Personally, I’m still adjusting to everyone clapping at work every time they see me.”
“They’re just so awestruck to be in the presence of a superhero,” Stiles joked, pressing a kiss to Derek’s forehead. “I know I am.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Derek snorted fondly.
“I know, and you’re still with me anyway,” Stiles said. “Speaking of work, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”
“Shoot.”
“So there’s this thing at work and it’s sort of a black tie affair,” Stiles started, and Derek’s heart clenched. He’d forgotten all about the gala. “And I was gonna go with my hot guy friend, but I think he finally settled down and got a boyfriend, so now I have no one to go with.”
“That’s a shame,” Derek said, shaking his head. “What are you going to do?”
“Well I was hoping that you would be my date,” Stiles said, biting his lip in the way that he knew would drove Derek crazy. “Unless you had someone else in mind.”
“Well I was gonna ask my co-worker,” Derek said slyly. “You know, the cute one I’ve been telling you about? We finally got our shit straightened out. But maybe if I call him and ask nicely, he’ll let you take me if you promise to treat me right.”
“I promise.” Stiles smirked.
Derek pulled out his phone and dialed Stiles’ number, chuckling at the way Stiles rolled his eyes and answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey, babe,” Derek said, making his voice as silky sweet as possible. Stiles simply smiled and rolled his eyes. “I have something to ask you.”
“Oh, whatever could it be?” Stiles asked.
“Remember that hooker I work with, Red Spark?” Derek asked, flashing Stiles a broad smile at their new inside joke. “He kind wants to take me to a company dinner or something. I told him I’d go as long as he treated me nice and you were okay with it.”
“Well I normally don’t like sharing you, Derek,” Stiles said. “But I’ve heard good things about this Red Spark fellow, but if he’s good to you, I’m okay with it. Just as long as you know whose bed you belong in. And tell this Red Spark guy, too. I don’t want him to get any ideas.”
“Like you’d ever let me forget,” Derek said. “Thanks, Stiles. I’ll let him know.” He grinned as he hung up the phone.
“So, what did your boyfriend say?” Stiles asked, eyes twinkling. “Can I take you to the gala?”
“Yes, but he wanted me to tell you not to get any ideas because I belong in his bed,” Derek said.
“How generous of him,” Stiles deadpanned, sitting next to Derek and resting his head on Derek’s shoulder.
“Yeah, he’s pretty great,” Derek said, wrapping an arm around Stiles, pulling him close.
“Do you think your boyfriend will be mad if I don’t return you?” Stiles asked.
Derek laughed into the night.
***
“Stiles Stilinksi and Derek Hale. It’s an honor to meet you two. I’m Patrick Anderson. I work in the LA branch. Do you think I could get a picture?”
“Of course,” Derek said, smiling as Patrick pulled out his cell phone and snapped a selfie. “Nice meeting you,” he added as Patrick thanked them and walked away. “This was a terrible idea.”
“Aw, wish you were here with your boyfriend?” Stiles joked, poking his lip out. “Am I not good enough for you?”
“I hate you sometimes,” Derek said, pulling Stiles close and clasping his hands around Stiles’ waist. “But no. You’re fine too,” he said, kissing Stiles gently. “I just never thought it would be so hard to live as Derek and as Black Wolf.”
“Tony Stark does it.”
“Tony Stark is also a billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist,” Derek said. “I design commercials.”
“And you save lives and you’re dating the hottest superhero in Beacon Hills,” Stiles said.
“Yeah, my boyfriend is pretty hot,” Derek said, chuckling when Stiles swatted his arm.
“No more of that,” Stiles frowned. “I am dating you. Me. Stiles Stilinski.”
“What about Red Spark?”
“That’s me,” Stiles said.
“What?” Derek said, recoiling in mock shock. “You’ve been leading a double life?”
“I hate you, I hate you, I—mmph,” Stiles was cut off as Derek crushed their lips together.
“Okay,” Derek said, smirking when they pulled apart. “You’re mine and I’m yours. Superhero identities and all.”
“Don’t you forget it either, Wolfman,” Stiles said, narrowing his eyes.
“Um, Mr. Hale and Mr. Stilinski? Could I get a picture?”
Derek was about to answer when his phone went off, signaling a new text. It was from the Sheriff.
Derek—
Argents are at it again. Need backup. Bring Stiles.
“Sorry,” Derek apologized. “Duty calls.” He grabbed Stiles’ hand and pulled him out of the ballroom.
“You know, Batman would’ve just vanished into the shadows,” Stiles said, tearing off his suit, revealing his costume underneath.
“Batman also makes everything superhero related look easy,” Derek pointed out.
“You’re easy.” Stiles shot back.
“You’re easier.”
“You love it."
“Yeah, I do.”