β derek hale | teen wolf

[epistemic]

	✔ Cʀᴏssᴏᴠᴇʀs/AU ✔ Aᴄᴛɪᴏɴsᴘᴀᴍ ✔ Pʀᴏsᴇ	✔ Pɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs ✔ Oᴛʜᴇʀᴡᴏʀᴅʟʏ ✔ Sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀs	♥ F/M ⏰ Uᴘ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ

Comments

it works perfectly :3

[splinted]

They are all congregated at the Hale manor.

The Chicago!Hale's manor, that is. It's likely not an ideal situation for Derek, but neither one of them could've foreseen Cora's rift change, and the Hales (Chicago!flavored) are the only ones in town with strong structures and facilities that help them with their wolf during the full moon - and in general. The safest place for Cora during those full moons is here, and he isn't about to turn her brother away in the process, even though he's pretty sure Derek would toss him through a proverbial shredder if he could. The fact he doesn't is very telling with regards to how much he loves Cora.

It's also telling Alek, someone known for his terrible temper and his inability to walk away from a fight, doesn't rise to any challenge while trying to ignore each and every glare. He isn't intimidated by Derek, and those tactics aren't going to really work on him, but he isn't looking to piss off Cora's older brother, either. For one, despite the lack of intimidation, Derek's clearly not someone you want to be on the wrong side of, and for another, Cora's feelings for Alek aren't one-sided in the least. That's possibly what makes it so worrisome for Derek to begin with.

In any case, Alek likes to think he has it all figured out. He likes to think he's helped Cora the way his brothers help him continuously. It's why he asked them so many questions and why he's put genuine effort into getting his own wolf issues under control. At the end of the day, though, he's an eighteen-year old kid that doesn't always know what he's doing, and still gets scared of what the full moon brings. It's hard, and at times terrifying, and if there's anyone that understands Cora's experience right now, it's Alek. They relate on that level and several others.

It just doesn't stop Derek from glaring any harder.

Alek should get a gold star for pretending not to notice them as blatantly as he does. While Cora is off in the shower, Alek is emerging from his and moving toward the front door, since the bell is ringing. It's a delivery boy.

"You want pizza?" he asks Derek. They ordered enough to feed a whole army.

[epistemic]

Derek absolutely would toss him through a proverbial shredder. It's that violent, over protective big brother instinct that's actually twice what it should be for werewolves, even though he knows Cora doesn't need it. She became her own protector a long time ago, and things like this, these melodramatic displays of brotherly affection are Derek's ways of making up for lost time, for the times he should have protected her, and for all the ways he failed her.

It's never going to make up for it. But if nothing else it gets them to a place where some part of them feels normal.

He glances over at the boxes of pizza and considers for all of half a second before nodding. He does need to eat, and while he doesn't doubt they could eat all of that on their own, he could at least help.

And he does love pizza.

"Sure," he nods, before moving to follow him to the table. "Thanks."

[splinted]

It may be why Alek is grateful Derek is a werewolf, and not a telepath.

If Derek knew the thoughts Alek had been having of his sister as of late, proverbial shredder might be a kind description.

Look, though, Derek. Pizza!

It may not seem like much, but Alek trying to initiate conversation and sharing his pizza is actually a huge thing. He doubts it will be appreciated, but he's going to try anyway. "No prob," he answers earnestly, nudging the pizza box toward the center so they can both grab the cheesy goodness. "I've never met anyone that doesn't like it, so I figured it was the safe choice."

[epistemic]

Derek smirks a bit at that, before reaching in and grabbing a slice. He will even refrain from making comments about Chicago pizza, the snob, but he'll make them in his mind, probably to make himself feel better on some level.

See?! He's trying. Sort of.

He takes a bite of the pizza, chewing it for a moment before finally sitting back and actually looking around. His first trip here had been so focused on Cora and what she was going through, he managed to miss the little things. "How long has your family been living here?"

[splinted]

Alek takes a deep breath before he answers.

"My whole life, really." It's not a lie. Alek doesn't remember much else. "We moved from England when I was too young to remember anything that happened before Chicago. We chose somewhere on the outskirts of town for ... obvious reasons."

[epistemic]

He nods a bit. "We lived on a nature preserve when I was a kid. Wolves like wide open spaces." He leaves it at that, because he doesn't really know how much Cora has told him regarding their family and what happened to them, but he could at least skirt around it with harmless details. "I'd rather live out in the woods than anywhere else."

[splinted]

"... Me too."

Could it be? Could Derek and Alek have something in common besides Cora? The world might be in for it now.

"It's not that I'm claustrophobic, but the more closed the space, the less... right I feel. With the woods out back, we can shift whenever we want and roam for hours." It helps clear his head. "You're free to use the space, too."

If he'd like.

[epistemic]

Derek's still getting used to his new wolf form, that he didn't get by way of the rift. As much as he likes to think that he's always been one to want to run in the woods, it's definitely increased since gained the ability to sport fur and a tail. Having some wide open space to run around in is definitely something he won't take for granted.

"Thank you."