I haven't-- offered him the bite. I don't want that from him.
[ Derek answers quick and fast, drawing his hands back and setting them in the sand. That's - not entirely true. A part of him that wants to bite Stiles, claim him as his own, have that bond with him, but it's... complicated. They've built a relationship based on mutual trust, mutual guardianship, and the hierarchy of a pack conflicts with that.
He remembers, too, what Stiles said when he told Derek that Peter offered him the bite. Why would I want to be like him. Derek understands that it was just... personal, an indictment of who Peter is as a person, but it's - hard, not to feel like there's a deeper reason beneath the surface of that rejection. Plus... after losing himself to the Nogitsune, Derek doesn't see how it's anything but selfish to ask Stiles to give up his humanity.
Tate... wants this. Tate wants that bond, Tate wants that guidance. Tate's trusting Derek with training, with opening up about his history, with - everything - and maybe-- maybe he can help him save Erica and Boyd. Maybe he can help him keep Isaac. Derek can't let him go. Derek wets his lips, tries to explain, tries to keep Tate invested. ]
Stiles doesn't need the bite, and-- and I don't need to bite him. I'm in love with him. That's enough.
[ He thinks of Paige. Bitten, unnecessarily, so they could be together. Derek rapidly tries to think of something else.
He thinks of Erica. Erica, who was so desperate for attention and love. Thinks of Boyd, who was so fucking lonely, he became a wolf so he wouldn't have to sit at the lunch table anymore. He thinks of Isaac, battered and afraid and abused, needing strength and confidence and pride. He sees all of them in Tate. Derek doesn't want things to be equal between them - he wants to be Tate's protector.
Derek clenches his jaw, drops his eyes. He looks back up to Tate, and he lights up his eyes, red and bright and demanding. It's a dirty trick. He knows how Tate drowns in the colour of them. ]
I want to take care of you. I want to take away your hurt, and your fear. I want to protect you. You've been through so, so much, and I know that I can make it all better. This is about you. Only you.
no subject
[ Derek answers quick and fast, drawing his hands back and setting them in the sand. That's - not entirely true. A part of him that wants to bite Stiles, claim him as his own, have that bond with him, but it's... complicated. They've built a relationship based on mutual trust, mutual guardianship, and the hierarchy of a pack conflicts with that.
He remembers, too, what Stiles said when he told Derek that Peter offered him the bite. Why would I want to be like him. Derek understands that it was just... personal, an indictment of who Peter is as a person, but it's - hard, not to feel like there's a deeper reason beneath the surface of that rejection. Plus... after losing himself to the Nogitsune, Derek doesn't see how it's anything but selfish to ask Stiles to give up his humanity.
Tate... wants this. Tate wants that bond, Tate wants that guidance. Tate's trusting Derek with training, with opening up about his history, with - everything - and maybe-- maybe he can help him save Erica and Boyd. Maybe he can help him keep Isaac. Derek can't let him go. Derek wets his lips, tries to explain, tries to keep Tate invested. ]
Stiles doesn't need the bite, and-- and I don't need to bite him. I'm in love with him. That's enough.
[ He thinks of Paige. Bitten, unnecessarily, so they could be together. Derek rapidly tries to think of something else.
He thinks of Erica. Erica, who was so desperate for attention and love. Thinks of Boyd, who was so fucking lonely, he became a wolf so he wouldn't have to sit at the lunch table anymore. He thinks of Isaac, battered and afraid and abused, needing strength and confidence and pride. He sees all of them in Tate. Derek doesn't want things to be equal between them - he wants to be Tate's protector.
Derek clenches his jaw, drops his eyes. He looks back up to Tate, and he lights up his eyes, red and bright and demanding. It's a dirty trick. He knows how Tate drowns in the colour of them. ]
I want to take care of you. I want to take away your hurt, and your fear. I want to protect you. You've been through so, so much, and I know that I can make it all better. This is about you. Only you.