#(for the smoking one he's exhaling through his nose btw. so he can just immediately pull again)

[piningpercussionist]

Neil! (+ Lainey bc I Think She's Neat)

I'm gonna be inserting Lainey back into things because I feel she was a missed opportunity, honestly; not certain which design I want to go with, though- or if I wanna Frankenstein a Lainey together from the three. Input appreciated!

[thatwriteroverthere]

hi! i wanted to submit a request for a Derek Hale x fem!reader where maybe he had a rough/long day and he goes over to the readers house and is soft and cuddly and they have a cute night in. btw i appreciate your writing so much 💜

Anon you are an angel! I’m so sorry this took so long, I have a busy life, but I hope it doesn’t disappoint! 

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Opening the front door to your apartment, you threw your backpack down on the ground and immediately crashed onto your couch, yawning. You knew that if you slept now you would feel wide awake all throughout the night, so you turned on the TV to keep yourself alert. Just as your limbs started to turn to lead, all drowsiness was knocked out of you by a soft rap at the door.

Sitting up, you furrowed your brow. Had you really heard that? Was it just your tiredness playing tricks on you? But it came again, slightly more insistent this time.

You made your way hastily to the door, stumbling slightly, curious as to who it was. Scott and Stiles always called beforehand and please, oh, please don’t let it be another volunteer. The surprise you felt at opening the door and seeing Derek Hale standing there was immediately overwhelmed by concern when you noticed scratches on his face and a profound weariness in his eyes.

“Did I wake you?”

You barely heard the question. It was like he didn’t have enough energy to speak louder than a whisper.

You shook your head. He could probably tell that you were lying based on your bedraggled appearance, but he didn’t argue when you opened the door wider and stepped aside to let him in.

He ambled immediately to the couch and sat tenderly on its edge. He stayed as still as a statue, looking down at the floor. Approaching him cautiously, you wanted to ask what had happened, if he was hurt, but honestly, the look on his face spoke for him, so you didn’t bother. Not like he would have talked about it, anyway.

You knew this wasn’t the first time Derek Hale had had a rough day, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. And you knew that right now, if he needed one thing, it certainly wasn’t an onslaught of questions or a scolding for putting himself in danger, he just needed someone to be there for him. However, you suddenly became overwhelmingly aware of the silence in the room.

“You all ri–”

“No talking,” he cut in.

“Okaay...”

You sat beside him twiddling your thumbs, wanting desperately to offer him any form of comfort. But the thought was not lost on you that this was Derek Hale, who was by no means an expert in affection or emotion. Nonetheless, looking sideways at him, you decided he needed it and leant your head on his shoulder. For the first time in Derek’s life, he didn’t grumble, complain or protest.

Shit, you thought. He must be more worn out than I expected.

He tilted his head so that it lay on top of yours. You took this as a good sign, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders; they were rigid. He was on edge and on high alert, but eventually his body relaxed and he folded himself into you, finally exhaling in relief. Still wrapped in his arms, you allowed yourself to fall back onto the cushions.

You felt Derek’s slender fingers scrunch up the back of your shirt, and when you looked at him his eyes were squeezed shut, like he was in pain. You started to stroke his hair, and still, he did not protest. This made you all the more anxious to ask him what had happened. You thought suddenly of Scott, Stiles, Allison and Lydia, if anything had happened to them.

“Derek...”

“Sshh...”

You bit your lip. He was clearly distressed, and you didn’t want to make it worse by pressing him for information. You kept telling yourself that if anything had happened to them he would have told you. Or one of the others would have called. He wouldn’t keep something this important from you. One of the others would have called... Yes... someone would have told you. Definitely.

The anxiety over your friends caused your heart to change rhythm, beating faster and faster. Derek must have sensed this, because he looked up and wrapped his arms tighter around you, snuggling his head into your shoulder. Despite yourself, you were comforted by this, and allowed yourself to relax for a moment. When he was ready to talk, he would.

Derek was uninterested in anything that was on TV, so he settled for watching you cook dinner instead. Facing the stove, your back turned to where Derek sat, you listened to his soft breathing as you stirred vegetables around in a pan.

“They killed a beta,” his voice emerged suddenly, taking you by surprise.

You stopped stirring, the news slowly sinking in. You knew he and Scott had been training betas for battle with some new monsters they had been facing. They had both grown close to some of them.

“They killed him right in front of me and I couldn’t stop it.”

Finally turning to look at him, you saw the helplessness in his eyes.

So this was worse than most days.  

“If you’d tried, they would’ve killed you, too.”

“Maybe that’s what they should’ve done,” he replied, his jaw clenching.

“Don’t say that. Scott needs you.”

“Scott can look after himself,” he nearly whispered.

You hated when he thought he wasn’t useful, that he wasn’t loved. It couldn’t have been further from the truth, yet it was so difficult to convince him otherwise.

“Hey,” you tried to be as sympathetic as you could without sounding patronising. “It wasn’t your fault.”

But you could tell he wasn’t convinced. You looked at him, wishing that you knew how to help. You didn’t really even notice that you were gazing so intently at him until you heard a hiss of sizzling coming from the pan. Looking towards it, you saw a thin line of smoke drifting up from your vegetables.

“Shit!”

Derek finally looked up, eyes widening. You flailed for the knobs on the stove and cut the flames.

“Ugh!” you frowned at the charred remnants of what was supposed to be your meal.

“What is that?” Derek leaned over in his seat to get a better look at the contents of the pan. “Or... was that?”

Aaaand there it was, the charming Derek Hale personality that everybody knew and loved.

“It’s supposed to be a stir fry,” you managed through gritted teeth.

“It smells funny.”

You snickered.

“Thank you.”

He wrinkled his nose.

“I’m not kidding.”

You tipped the blackened mass into the trash, rolling your eyes.

“I work in a jewellery shop, okay? I can’t exactly afford gourmet!”

Derek went silent, a guilty look flashing across his face.

“I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay. I was joking.”

Derek ran a hand over his face, looking even more exhausted than when he had first arrived.

You dumped the pan in the sink, sighing.

“Look, there’s a take out place across the road.” You reached for the phone. “It’s not the cleanest, but you’d probably trust it more than my cooking.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t.”

“Well, to be honest I didn’t really feel like cooking anyway. You’d actually be doing me a favour if you agreed.”

Derek didn’t smile, just looked at you.

“Um... why did you come here?”

The question had occurred to you as suddenly as if lightning had struck you. It would have been safer at Scott’s place, not to mention it would have taken Derek twice as long to get here.

“Because I wanted to,” was all he said.

There was a pause as you waited for him to continue, but then you realised he was done.

“I see.”

But you didn’t see. That didn’t clear up anything at all. Still, he looked exhausted and so you didn’t argue, instead, you dialed the number of the take out place and waited.

When your pizza had arrived, you sat yourself back on the couch, pretending to be engrossed in the TV. Derek was ignoring the TV and the food, as well as you. Glancing sideways at him every now and again, you decided to risk a conversation.

“You should eat.”

“I can’t.”

You put your slice of pizza down and put a hand on his shoulder.

“No one would want you to do this to yourself. Those betas are counting on you to train them. They won’t make it out alive without you.”

Derek reached up a hand to cover yours. Only then did he look you in the eye.

“You can’t bring anyone back now, so the least you can do is get your strength back up so you can hunt those bastards down and make sure your beta didn’t die in vain.”

“You’re right,” he said, reluctantly taking a bite of pizza, grimacing slightly at the taste.

In the short silence that followed, you noticed how Derek’s back seemed less tense, his eyes less weary.

“I’m sorry I burst in on your evening, but the truth is...” he closed his eyes and exhaled deeply before opening them again, trying his best not to look at you. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

You tried to swallow the slight disappointment that crept up your throat.

“I can’t face Scott after what I let happen,” he said. “He’ll hate me for it.”

“Hey, it’s Scott, remember? He’ll understand.”

Derek looked torn, like he wanted to believe it, but couldn’t quite bring himself to.

You thought about Scott. He probably would find out what had happened by tomorrow.

Tomorrow...

You grabbed your phone from your pocket and started typing.

“What are you doing?”

“Calling in sick to work tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“Less questions, Derek Hale. More snuggling.”

You wrapped him in a hug, causing him to emit a small exhale of breath, but still there was no protesting. Running a hand along his back, he winced softly.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s already almost healed.”

“Are you sure?”

“Less questions, (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N). More snuggling.”

You smiled as he once again melted into you, wrapping you tightly around his body.