[ there's a lot of fun nonsense in this chapter because we all know what's coming in the next one. we get derek interacting not only with malia (seriously, they're cousins. why were they never together?) but coach and derek as well. the fun times, of course, can't last forever ]

☽︎

you're a shit tutor, derek.

[ 4.11 ]

Willow was in the middle of probably the best night of sleep she'd gotten since the Deadpool business started. She was wrapped in Derek's arms, head on his chest, and safe because there were no more assassins out trying to kill them.

Derek, however, was awake, though he felt like he'd be drifting off soon, especially with the rain drowning out the noise outside. When Willow burrowed her head deeper into his neck in her sleep, he smiled softly, content just to have her in his arms. He was glad she was resting, knowing how she'd been practically sick with worry over the last month.

But finally, things were calm. They were safe. There was nothing to worry about.

Until Derek's alarm sounded, signaling that an intruder was approaching.

The noise was enough to wake up Willow, who sat up next to Derek. He glanced at her worriedly before rolling off the bed and grabbing the gun he'd been keeping on his nightstand. There was another one, and Willow looked at it for a moment before shaking her head, not wanting to pick the weapon up.

"Stay behind me," Derek whispered, eyes searching the loft for the intruder.

But the person that set off the alarm hadn't snuck in through another entrance. Willow spotted a person's shadow at the bottom of the door and pointed it out to Derek. He carefully crept forward, the gun drawn.

However, when Derek pulled the door open, they weren't met with an assassin.

It was Lydia. And all she did was scream.

☽︎

Neither Derek nor Willow said much when morning came, other than him convincing her to go to school and not stay home with him. Funny how he would always try to get her to blow off school to spend more time with him, and the one time she wants to because she's scared for his life, he insists that she go. Insists that she act like everything is normal.

Before the two could leave for Derek to drop her off, Scott came knocking. He had a guilty look on his face as he handed over a huge red duffle bag. Inside was stacks of cash. Peter's cash.

Derek didn't even take the time to count the money or get off his couch, simply pushing it away on the coffee table as he looked at Scott. "Okay."

"Don't you wanna know why it took so long to return it?" Scott asked him, grimacing.

"How much do you make at the animal clinic?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Minimum wage," he mumbled.

"That's why," he said, shrugging. "Everyone can be tempted, Scott — even a True Alpha."

Scott looked between the money and Derek, who took Willow's hand to hold as she relaxed into his side. He thought he'd be getting a much more extreme reaction than this, especially because he'd been hoarding the money for weeks. "You're not angry?"

"It's not even mine," Derek stated. "It belongs to Peter."

"Where's your money?" Scott asked, frowning.

"You're standing on it."

Scott looked down at the ground with wide eyes. "There's another vault?" he asked in an amazed whisper.

Derek couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. "No, I own the building." Though there were a few other Hale vaults scattered around the world. "And I have my own bank accounts. All the money from the vault was Peter's. I think we'd actually be better off if the rest never came back."

"I mean, Peter probably wouldn't be better off," Willow stated. He'd be glad to know they managed to recover some of it.

Scott didn't leave for school right away, and Derek looked at him expectantly, knowing he had more to say. "I know Lydia was here last night."

They both noticed Willow hide her face in Derek's shoulder, not wanting them to see how upset she really was.

"Deaton's still working on figuring out what Kate did to you," Scott told him. "If anyone can find an answer, it's him."

"I know but I'm also not counting on it," Derek said, sighing. "I've also come to terms with the fact that this could be permanent."

And well, if he was going to be dying soon, it wouldn't really matter. He was coming to terms with that as well.

"You should probably leave for school, Scott," Willow said softly. "You guys have an early morning practice for the game against Devenford Prep tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll make it," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. But then he smiled sheepishly at Derek. "Actually, there was one more thing. Could I kind of ask a big favor?"

"What kind of favor?" Derek asked.

Scott's cheeks heated up, almost embarrassed to ask him. "Well, um, I haven't actually taken Kira out on a real date, yet. I've got an idea and was wondering if maybe I could use this place for it. Tonight?"

Derek chuckled, finding it funny how worked up Scott got over something so simple. "Sure. We'll clear out, and I'll let Braeden know to not drop by. She has a way of killing the mood."

"Like a human Scribbles?" Scott joked.

"They do get along," Willow noted, grinning. "But you and Kira! That's so exciting. First dates are always so much fun."

"Have you two ever even been on a date before?" Scott asked skeptically.

Derek scoffed and rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Yes, as a matter of fact. In between the kanimas and assassins and evil fox spirits and you all constantly interrupting us during our free time, I do take her out on dates."

"Right. Duh. Sorry," he said, scratching the back of his neck. But it wasn't his fault — it wasn't exactly easy picturing Derek Hale out for dinner and a movie. "What'd you guys do for your first date?"

"I took her to dinner after spending the afternoon at a craft fair she'd been talking about for weeks," Derek told him, smiling at the memory.

They didn't get around to having a real date until they got back together after the whole kanima business. The day was spent walking hand in hand, finally able to not worry about Gerard trying to kill Derek for showing his face in public.

"It's where I bought Stiles that Ewok plushie that he sleeps with — well, Malia's kind of stolen it, but it's still in the family," Willow said, shrugging. "And no matter what you have planned, Kira will love it because she's spending time with you. Time not spent fighting for your lives."

"You're right. I don't know why I feel so nervous," he told her. "I'll see you at school, Will. And Derek, I'll come by after to set everything up for tonight."

Before Scott could walk out the door, Derek grabbed his shoulder and gave him a pointed look. "Don't have sex in my loft, Scott."

Willow couldn't help but giggle as she turned away from them, but Scott's next words silenced her. "Well, according to Lydia, way too much sex happens in this loft, to begin with."

Derek rolled his eyes, not nearly as embarrassed as Willow, whose cheeks were bright red. She hid her face in Derek's back, ready for the ground to swallow her whole.

"I'm never telling Lydia anything ever again."

☽︎

Willow did in fact lecture Lydia in the girls' locker room about oversharing details about her relationship with Derek. It had been going on for quite some time — Lydia letting inappropriate comments slip out while others were around — but Willow was putting her foot down. There would be no more Derek talk, a declaration that put a pout on Lydia's face.

"You'll fold," Lydia said, crossing her arms and pursing her lips. "I give until you discover your next kink — which, FYI, based off the ones I know about, I could easily compile a list of things to try that I think you'd—"

A few girls then entered the locker room, and Willow clamped a hand over Lydia's mouth, effectively ending the conversation.

Not much actually happened at school, but Willow would never complain about that. The most important thing was that Malia made her first C on the latest math test. The werecoyote was overjoyed and practically tackled Willow in the middle of class when the tests were handed back. Of course, her mood was brought back down when Coach gave back their econ tests, which Malia failed. It was just another subject Willow would be helping her with.

When school did let out, the Stilinski house was full to the brim. Stiles, Willow, and Malia were in his bedroom doing their school work, and Derek, with nothing better to do, was sitting on the bed across from Malia and helping her with her studying so that Willow could put the finishing touches on an English paper. Stiles made lots of sarcastic comments about not knowing Derek was educated past a fifth-grade level.

Things had started out well, but because the two cousins had the impatience and stubbornness of Hales, it shifted to a screaming match about twenty minutes in.

"Okay, but why don't they just print more money?" Malia asked loudly for the fourth time.

Derek slammed his finger on the textbook, pointing out the paragraph he had already read aloud twice to her, explaining the process. "Because they can't print more money! It causes inflation and then the money doesn't cost as much money as it did!"

"That's so dumb! It doesn't make any goddamn sense!"

"I'm not the one that put the financial systems into place, Malia!" Derek yelled. "Just write inflation on the notecard and move to the next vocabulary word."

"You're a shit tutor, Derek," Malia growled.

"I'm not a tutor," he said, scoffing. "I'm doing this so Willow can focus on her English paper."

"I haven't looked at this paper once in the ten minutes since they've started yelling," Willow whispered to Stiles. They had silently been watching the cousins bicker, getting quite a lot of enjoyment out of it.

"They're definitely related," Stiles muttered.

Eventually, the arguing peaked as the Hales both glared at each other while shouting, "Willow!"

Willow giggled and pushed her paper aside on Stiles' desk. She then got up and went over to the bed, making her way to the pouting Hale — the female one.

"Is Derek being a meanie?" Willow cooed, which made Derek scoff.

"I can't believe you're taking her side," he mumbled, crossing his arms.

"She lived in the woods as a coyote for eight years. Of course, inflation doesn't make any sense to her," Willow said, as if he needed reminding.

"I mean, as far as excuses go, I guess it's a pretty good one," Derek grumbled. "I'm never doing homework help again."

"Good," Malia chimed in, beginning to smile.

"You know, Derek, be careful or you'll start sounding like Stiles any time Isaac brought up his father," Willow said.

"Um, he milked that whole freezer thing, like, a ton," Stiles muttered, rolling his eyes. "Also, did Argent just leave him behind in France? Where is he?"

"No, he calls me like once a week. He's actually—"

Willow was cut off by Noah entering the room and knocking on the doorframe to get their attention. "Drop what you're doing—" Malia instantly dropped the economics textbook. "—I'm taking you all out to dinner."

"Dad, I don't think a man of your debts should be treating anyone to anything," Stiles told him, frowning.

"Especially a werewolf and werecoyote who have bottomless appetites," Willow added, not wanting Noah to feel like he had to feed them and their partners.

Derek cut his eyes to Willow playfully and mouthed the words, 'Are you calling me fat?' She had to bite her lip to stop from laughing, remembering how he joked about that after she called him heavy the night they kept him from dying after Kate shot him.

"Well, there's one debt we no longer have to worry about," Noah continued, holding up an envelope with a smile.

"What is that?" Stiles asked him.

"A letter of apology from Eichen House. Apparently, they've decided to forgive our debt due to... well, you and Lydia almost getting murdered."

"They can do that?" Malia asked, raising her eyebrows.

"They can do it, and they did it," he informed them happily.

"I've never been so happy to have almost been murdered!" Stiles exclaimed, jumping up from his chair. Willow snorted at his excitement over something so traumatizing.

"Well, we're not out of it yet, but we're going to be okay," Noah said, sighing. "And, at least for the moment, I can afford to take my two kids and their partners out to dinner. Malia, what's your favorite food?"

"Deer!" Malia replied, grinning enthusiastically.

Stiles cleared his throat awkwardly. "Pizza. She likes pizza," he told his father.

"Deer meat's pretty good actually," Derek told them, getting off the bed to grab his jacket. "My grandfather was a hunter—"

"Of deer, not werewolves, right?" Stiles couldn't help but ask.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Obviously, Stiles. He'd make killer burgers out of the meat."

"If I catch you a deer, can you make me one of these burgers?" Malia asked him.

"Five minutes ago, they were ready to rip each other's throats out over inflation," Stiles whispered, watching Derek and Malia walked ahead of them, talking about different animals to eat.

Noah chuckled and put a hand on both their shoulders. "I know you're both only children with no cousins your age in the area, but that's a pretty standard family dynamic. One minute, you're ready to kill then, the next, you're making dinner plans."

☽︎

When the next day came, Willow and Derek spent the Saturday morning in bed, taking the time to sleepily lay in each other's arms. They slept in Willow's room, deciding to just wait and return to the loft after the lacrosse game that night. That way Scott would have plenty of time to clean up and put away all the light bulbs he hung as decorations for Kira.

But when the time for the game came around, they headed to the school, getting there early so that Willow could change, since she left her uniform in the locker room. However, before she could make it there, she and Derek were intercepted by Stiles and Liam.

Liam was concerned because he hadn't heard from Scott all day. Despite the Deadpool being over, the beta was still on edge and constantly checking over his shoulder to make sure Kate and her Berserkers weren't there. So not having Scott near only made him more anxious.

Liam dragged Willow along to the boys' locker room, feeling a little less scared with her present. And because Willow was dragged along, Derek silently followed. He also, admittedly, wanted to be there to make sure she wasn't seeing anything she wasn't meant to while in the locker room with the lacrosse players.

"Everything's fine," Stiles told Liam. "I got a text from him this morning, and he said he might be a little late."

"Ugh," Derek scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I told them not to do it in my loft." Willow only dug her elbow into his side, knowing it wasn't the time for his commentary.

"Well, how late is late?" Liam asked Stiles. "Is he always late? We're playing Devenford Prep again, and this time it's an actual game. He shouldn't be late!"

"Who shouldn't be late?" Coach asked, overhearing their conversation. He walked over and looked at them all accusingly.

"Scott and Kira. They might be slightly late," Stiles answered, wincing as he did.

"Slightly late is still late. What are they doing?" Coach questioned.

Stiles hesitated for a moment. "They're doing something that's going to make them slightly late..."

"What could Scott and Kira be doing right now that's more important than playing in the first game?" he asked, scoffing.

Stiles, Liam, Willow, and Derek all shared knowing looks as Coach continued to not pick up on the hints that Stiles was trying to drop.

"Oh, Coach," Stiles murmured, shaking his head.

"Coach," Willow said softly. "You... you know they're dating, right?"

"No, I did not! The Captain shouldn't be dating a team member!" Coach snapped, clearly grumpy. "And what are you doing in the locker room, Worthington?"

"Uh, um, giving the boys a pep talk," Willow lied, wrapping her arms around Stiles and Liam's waists to hug them.

"That's a lie, but I don't care," he said, rolling his eyes. "Just get McCall and Yukimura here! They're our best players. I'm gonna have to resort to pulling strangers off the bench."

"Well, that worked pretty good with Boyd," she reminded him, smiling.

"And then he left! Just like all my players leave," he whined. Then Coach's eyes fell on Derek, taking in his height and muscles. "You play lacrosse?"

Willow giggled, and Stiles and Liam laughed as Derek looked at Coach in disbelief. "I graduated years ago. Derek Hale. You were my basketball coach."

"Oh, Hale!" he exclaimed in recognition. Then he frowned. "Weren't you wanted for murder that one time? Oh, whatever. The basketball team's shit now, by the way."

☽︎

When it came time for the game to start, Scott and Kira were still nowhere to be seen. Which of course made Liam worry even more. And admittedly, the others were beginning to worry too. But given that the youngest wolf didn't have a good grasp on control, they didn't voice their concerns.

"They're still not here," Liam muttered from the bench. Players were already getting in position on the field. Willow would need to go cheer soon, but was trying to calm Liam down.

"Okay, what's really going on? Are you nervous about the full moon? It's not for another twenty-four hours," Stiles told him. Liam looked nervously at the moon but didn't say anything. "Liam, you're gonna be fine. Okay? Just try not to rage out on anyone."

"You're not worried?" he asked.

"Okay, I'm mildly concerned," he admitted. "Mildly."

"We're gonna lose without him," Liam mumbled.

"No, we're not! We can be just as good without Scott, okay? I've been practicing," Stiles told him, smirking proudly. "Let me tell you something, I'm getting good — really good."

After Stiles pulled on his gloves, he rushed onto the field. Liam reluctantly stood to follow him, but Willow held him back for a second.

"Liam," she said, speaking softly, "I know that you're not ready to talk about what's really bothering you and I know that you're worried about Scott. But one thing you shouldn't worry about is this game."

"But it's Devenford Prep—"

"And you're one of the most talented lacrosse players probably in the country," Willow told him, earning a shy grin from Liam. "And that was before you got your werewolf awesomeness, okay. So just go out there and play your best, and know that all my cheers are for you."

"No cheers for Stiles?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We'll see. It depends on how much that practice has paid off."

The answer was that it didn't pay off. In fact, Willow was almost sure that Stiles got worse — if it was even possible. He might as well of been a member of the Devenford Prep team, as he practically handed them the ball on more than one account. He also got tackled a number of times.

By the time the first quarter ended, the opposing team was up by five points while Beacon Hills hadn't scored a single goal.

Willow couldn't really stay in the loop while she was cheering on the sidelines. But shortly after Stiles spoke with Noah, Malia, and Derek at the bleachers during a time out, Derek rushed over to the cheerleaders. A few girls started whispering about how handsome Derek was as he approached, and Willow had to refrain from glaring at Emma and Leslie when they started describing things they'd like to do to him. He quickly pulled her aside to explain what was going on.

"No one can get ahold of either of them," Derek told her quietly. "I'm gonna go with the Sheriff and Stiles to try and find them. We'll check their houses and the loft. You and Malia need to stay and make sure Liam keeps his head."

"Okay. Let me know what you find. And I'll come find you when the game's over," she said.

Derek stepped back to leave, but Willow quickly pulled him in and down for a kiss. He didn't complain, grabbing her by her hips to deepen it. When they pulled away, he smirked when he saw how she glanced at the girls out of the corner of her eye.

"You're jealous," he noted, finding it nice that the tables were turned for once.

"I am not," she muttered. But her actions spoke otherwise as her fingers danced along the collar of his t-shirt, brushing against his skin.

"Mhmm," Derek hummed, clearly unconvinced. He let his hands slide down her hips, fingers slipping underneath the panels of her cheer skirt to touch her thighs — why not give Emma and Leslie something good to watch? "Once we know Scott and Kira are alright, I'll be sure to put on quite a show in the school parking lot one afternoon so that everyone knows I'm yours. If I'm in a good enough mood, I might even let you try giving me a hickey again."

"M - maybe giving you one of those in public is a bit too far," she mumbled, suddenly shy.

"I sure as hell wouldn't mind giving you one," he said, smirking. "Call me when the game's over."

"I will. And please be safe," Willow told him. She stood on her toes to kiss him goodbye — a short and innocent one this time. "Don't even go off on your own."

"I promise," Derek assured her.

Then he was rushing off, the pack once again splitting up. Not long after the others left, Willow saw Peter take a seat next to Malia. His daughter didn't necessarily look comfortable next to him, seemingly troubled by whatever he was telling her. Willow couldn't go over and ask about it though.

So, she stayed on the sidelines and cheered as she was meant to. Unfortunately, she was not cheering for a winning team. Stiles' absence didn't really slow down Devenford Prep's scoring streak. And with everyone gone, Liam only got worse.

On many occasions, he stood in the middle of the field, frozen in fear. At one point, Brett barreled into him, earning a foul, just so he could take the chance to talk to the newer wolf.

"Come on, Liam!" Brett snapped. He had been on a team with Liam, so he knew this was out of character.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Liam asked angrily from the ground.

"Because you're afraid! I can smell it on you from across the field. Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No," he mumbled.

"Are you still alive?"

Liam rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Obviously."

"Then get up," Brett ordered.

Then a referee rushed over to them to check on Liam. "You good to play?" He simply nodded and got to his feet while the referee glared at Brett. "You planning on doing something like that again?"

Brett smirked down at Liam. "Only if I have to."

After Brett's reality check, Liam managed to play the rest of the game without freezing on the field. But he still wasn't playing like he normally did. When the final buzzer sounded, Devenford had demolished Beacon Hills by ten points.

Most everyone was in low spirits as this was a real game and not a scrimmage, so it counted toward the rankings for the championship tournament. After changing back out of her uniform and leaving it with the others in the girls' locker room to be dry cleaned over the weekend, Willow made her way to the boys' locker room to check on Liam.

Most all the players were gone, but Liam remained on a bench, wallowing in self-doubt and fear. It seemed that Willow wasn't the only one that felt a need to check on him. Brett arrived around the same time she did, leaning against the lockers as he looked at Liam.

"You okay?" Brett asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"We lost," Liam mumbled sadly. As Willow sat next to him on the bench, he leaned his head on her shoulder.

"But you're okay, right?" he asked him.

"Why'd you do that?" Liam questioned. "Why'd you help me?"

"Because of Scott," he admitted. "Willow too. She saved me at the scrimmage, and then he saved my whole pack — what's left of it anyway."

Liam nodded in understanding while Willow smiled softly at Brett in appreciation.

"Do you know how lucky you are?" Brett continued.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Scott's a True Alpha. That means he didn't get his power because he was born with it. He didn't get it by stealing or killing someone. He earned it," Brett explained. "You're not strong just because you can lift a lot of weight now — you're strong because you endure. Satomi calls it 'strength of character.' You're lucky to have him."

"Then why isn't he here?" Liam whispered under his breath.

"We'll find him, and I'll text you when we do," Willow said, squeezing Liam's hand. "But you should get home. It's late."

As the two of them stood, Brett walked out of the locker room and they followed. The taller boy glanced down at Willow with amusement in his eyes.

"So, I met that boyfriend," he told her. Derek fought alongside Brett and Satomi's pack to fight off those hunters. "My offer still stands — like, it stands more than it already did."

Willow shook her head as she giggled. From the side, Liam was gagging. "Again, I think we'll pass."

"Damn," Brett said, sighing dramatically as he placed a hand over his chest in mock pain. "Well, if you two ever end things, hit me up — either of you."

"Ugh. Can someone please cut my ears off?" Liam complained. The last thing he wanted to hear was Brett, who he hated, flirting with Willow, who he adored.

As the three got outside, Brett departed for the bus to take him back to Devenford Prep. Willow waved goodbye — as did Liam after she told him to stop being rude.

"So," Willow began softly when they were alone in the parking lot. "Wanna tell me what's been going on with you? You don't have to if you don't want."

Liam looked down at his shoes self-consciously. "I'm just - I'm so scared. All the time. And everyone else is so brave. I don't get how you all do it. Everywhere I go, I keep seeing those Berserkers — in my room, at school, out on the field. And then I get paralyzed by fear. I know that I should be better than that — be more like Scott."

"First of all, no one is like Scott," Willow told him. Like Brett said, he was a True Alpha, and there was a reason they were so rare. "Don't hold yourself to the same standards. And there is nothing wrong with being scared. After everything that you've been through and seen, no one has any right to judge you for being scared. But I don't want you to feel alone while also scared. Next time you see one of them, please call me or come find me. Then I'll make sure you know you're safe."

"Thanks, Willow," he whispered, hugging her tightly. "You just - how do you always know what to say? I always feel better around you."

"Well, a small part of it is probably the Incantator abilities," Willow admitted. Supernatural creatures would just always feel at ease around her, as Deucalion once explained. "But I understand how you feel — I quite literally used to break down sobbing any time we faced anything even remotely dangerous, and I still do sometimes. And there were lots of times I stayed away from everything because it scared me. There's no shame in that."

"I told Scott that I can't do all this, but I still feel guilty. Feel like I owe it to him to help out with all this pack stuff," Liam admitted.

"You should never feel guilty for putting your own safety first," she told him. Maybe if some of the others put their own safety first, they'd still be alive.

"I'll try to get better about it," he promised. "And, uh, please text me when you find out about Scott. Everyone was acting like it was nothing around me, but I know something's wrong."

"I promise to keep you in the loop. And don't—" Willow was cut off by her phone ringing. One look at the caller ID told her it was Derek. "Maybe they've found him."

"I hope," Liam mumbled, listening in as Willow picked up.

"Hey," Willow said as soon as she answered the phone. "Any news?"

"The loft is trashed," Derek stated, sounding very worried. Willow could only imagine the state it was in. "There was some kind of fight. Both Scott and Kira are gone."

"Gone where—"

Willow was cut off by the sound of another phone ringing over the line. "Hold on. Lydia is calling Stiles. It might be about them," Derek told her.

Stiles immediately put his phone on speaker so that everyone could hear. "Hey—"

"Scott's been taken," Lydia said immediately.

"Scott and Kira," Stiles informed her. "We just don't know where."

"Mexico," Deaton said. He must have been with Lydia. "And, if you want to save his life, that's where you're going, too."

Willow shared a concerned look with Liam, both terrified for their friends. It seemed things weren't quite as over as they'd hoped.

Willow sighed heavily, the thought of returning to Mexico exhausting. "Here we go again."