Deaton had said Stiles would feel his instincts fire when he found the right person. What Deaton hadn't said was all the blood would vacate his brain for parts further south and he'd totally lose the skills of thought and speech. He literally fell over his own feet the moment he set eyes on Derek and Scott had to catch him.

It really didn't help that Derek appeared to have just been in the shower and was walking around in jeans and nothing else, drying his hair on a towel. Stiles had never really considered Derek as wet dream material, but he did now.

"Hi," Scott said.

Derek just kind of grunted in return, which Stiles should not have found arousing, but he so did.

"How was your trip?"

Stiles kind of wanted to strangle Scott at that moment, because now was not the time for small talk.

"Enlightening," Derek replied, "until I started dreaming about the nemeton. I've only been gone a month, do either of you know what's going on?"

"Me," Stiles said and was proud he managed to actually sound coherent.

"Me as in you know what's going on or you're causing it?" Derek asked and Stiles saw Derek's nostrils flare just a little.

Stiles giggled and then clamped his hand over his mouth, because he had no idea where that had come from.

"White wolf," he said, because Scott was so not helping.

It was all too obvious Derek knew what that meant.

"He's a white wolf?" Derek asked, looking at Scott for a sensible answer.

"Yeah, almost killed him before we figured it out," Scott replied.

"So you and he..?" Derek asked and there was something in his voice that called to Stiles.

Scott shook his head.

"But you're the alpha," Derek pointed out.

"Totally platonic," Stiles said and indicated himself and Scott, utterly astounded he had actually managed to say that.

"I've been grounding Stiles, but it only works when we're touching. We've been trying to figure out who his mate is," Scott explained, "but none of the pack were right. Then we realised maybe all the pack wasn't here?"

"Cora?" Derek asked, sounding protective and disappointed in the same breath.

"Guess again, Genius," Stiles said and at least his brain seemed to be kind of working again.

"But we're not actually pack," Derek pointed out.

"Sorry to break it to you," Stiles said, "but Scott adopted you without even realising it, all you had to do was exist."

Scott looked a little embarrassed about that and Stiles could understand why, especially after all the shit Scott had given Derek about being an alpha and wanting everyone in his pack. Derek, however, just considered it and shrugged as if it was actually logical. Point one for the born werewolf.

That didn't really help Stiles, though, because, no matter how well Derek was taking it, the truth of the situation was only just beginning to sink in. His hormones were firing, but Stiles still had a brain and it was throwing up all sorts of issues with the whole thing.

"Scott," he said, suddenly feeling very awkward, "could you leave us alone?"

There were things he was never going to be able to say in front of his best friend.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Scott asked, looking him over very carefully.

"Derek and I need to talk," he said simply and that was all that was needed.

Scott took one look over at Derek and said; "Look after him, okay?" and Derek nodded and that was it.

Not so long ago Stiles was sure there would have been a long drawn out argument, but not anymore. Everything with the nemeton and the darkness had shifted things in Beacon Hills and Scott had been different ever since he had become a True Alpha. This felt like just another piece of a huge puzzle they were all part of and had no power over.

"Call if you need anything," Scott said and Stiles managed to crack a smile at that, because he had a dirty mind and he was proud of it, thank you very much.

Scott just rolled his eyes, patted him on the arm and then headed for the door.

"Make yourself at home," Derek said, helpfully reaching for a shirt that was over the back of the couch.

As the door slid shut, Stiles walked further into the room and was very glad when his legs actually seemed to be working again. He had never been in a situation quite like this before and he really had no idea what to do. In the end he decided to go with direct, because he wasn't exactly subtle at the best of times.

"Well the sexual attraction's not going to be a problem," he said and sat down, waiting to find out Derek's reaction.

"I know," Derek said in a surprisingly understanding tone.

"Sorry," he apologised, because he had been pretty obvious.

"Not a problem from my side either," Derek said and he looked up, surprised.

"So this is messing with you too?" he asked, because he hadn't noticed Derek reacting anything like he had.

"No," Derek said and Stiles frowned, because that didn't make much sense.

Admittedly his brain wasn't working at top speed, but it took him a little while to put that together.

"You mean you..?" he wasn't sure how to ask.

"Have been attracted to you for some time," Derek finished for him candidly.

"But you never ..."

"You're sixteen," and actually Stiles could accept that.

Sometimes, because their lives had become so crazy, he simply forgot about the age difference between most of them and Derek.

"Seventeen later this week, if it helps," he offered hopefully.

Derek lifted one eyebrow and Stiles wasn't quite sure if that meant it did or it didn't.

"Do you think the attraction was why this picked you?" he asked, because he still wasn't quite sure how that had worked out.

"Probably part of it," Derek replied. "You don't seem horrified that it's me, though."

It was a valid point and Stiles had to say he wasn't. The whole raging attraction part helped, but his higher thoughts were still functioning and no part of his brain was screaming an objection.

"I've been Lydia-centric so long I think I forgot to notice if I was straight or not," he replied. "This whole thing kind of pointed out that maybe I wasn't and you might not have noticed, but you are very easy on the eyes."

The little shrug from Derek was definitely not a denial.

"And everything that's happened over the last few months," Stiles said, "has definitely changed how I saw you. Not gonna lie, I never imagined anything like this. Maybe it's part of the whole giving up your alpha power thing as well. As Deaton always says, nature likes a balance, so maybe this is a way of giving something back."

"Or I have such deplorable taste in women the universe has decided to take that suicidal tendency away from me," Derek commented.

Stiles snorted a laugh before he had even thought about it and Derek smiled a little as well.

"Well then, who am I to argue with the universe's Derek-preservation instincts," he replied.