triskehale | (no subject)

It's not the first time the detention center has erupted in noise. Over the days he's been held here, there have been many fights, planned or spontaneous in the hallways, shouts and screams from other prisoners, Barry's own voice among them when he spots one of the little ones dragged by, but it's nothing like this.

The silence that follows is almost as deafening, and Barry turns his body towards the door of his cell. One way or another, this feels like an end, and it's not until he sees Derek's anxious face through the bars that Barry lets himself believe it will be a good one.

"Hey," he tries to say, but his voice seems to have abandoned him with the last of his strength, and Barry only manages a wobbling smile. The bars to his cell give with a thunderous noise, and then Derek is there, not a dream or a hallucination but flesh and blood. Barry's cheek aches beneath Derek's hand, fractured in one of the fights so numerous that Barry's lost count, along with half his ribs and maybe his arm, but his smile holds. "Nice...to see you."

Barry looks terrible, bloodied and broken, and Derek's anger rips through him again. He wants to go back out there and eviscerate the people who did this, not just to Barry but to everyone here, but his attention is needed here. He isn't leaving Barry's side.

"Nice to see you too, hummingbird," Derek says, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to Barry's forehead. He pulls back and wraps his fingers around Barry's wrist. "I'm gonna get you out of here. Just hold on."

Derek focuses on Barry's pain, drawing it out and gritting his teeth. There's just so much of it, and Derek lets out a shuddering breath as it flows through him. Soon enough it dissipates and Derek slides his arm around Barry's back, just under his shoulders. "Can you stand?"

Edited 2016-03-21 05:17 (UTC)

Derek presses a kiss to his forehead, and Barry feels his eyes grow hot. There have been moments stolen here and there, small kindnesses exchanged between fellow prisoners, but nothing as tender as this. Barry chokes down a sudden sob, gasping when the pain suddenly begins to leave him. He's lived with it for so long that it's a shock to feel it gone, and Barry sags, almost as if that constant agony was the only thing keeping him upright against the wall.

"Don't think so," he admits, watching Derek anxiously for an echo of his own pain, but it seems to have faded. "They don't feed me much."

Barry lets out a sound that makes it feel as if Derek's heart is cracking right down the middle. He's there to catch him when he sags, growling quietly at Barry's words. It's one of the many, many things that he was worried about, and Barry was already skinny enough. It's obvious that he's lost weight since he's been in here, but Derek can fix that.

"It's okay, I've got you," Derek says again, bending his knees and sliding his other arm under Barry's knees to lift him up into a bridal carry. He carries him out of the cell, nuzzling slightly at Barry's temple. The place is still in chaos, but Derek just focuses on getting Barry out into the cool night air. "Do you think you need to go to the hospital? Or can I take you to my place and get you cleaned up and fed?"

He looks down at Barry and tries to keep his tone as light as he can, even though looking at him hurts. He feels like he's failed somehow, like he should have been able to prevent this.

There's a crinkle in his back pocket and he blinks once he remembers what it is, adjusting his grip on Barry so he can hold him with one arm while he reaches back to grab the protein bars. There are two, both with the highest calorie content that he could find. He rips one open with his teeth and holds it out to Barry. "I thought you might need these when I found you."

"Just you," is all Barry manages in answer, too disoriented by the sudden change in elevation to do more than drift in Derek's arms. He begins to perk up, however, when the first breath of fresh air he's breathed in days gusts over his cheeks.

Gaze focusing, he reaches for the bar Derek has with trembling fingers, managing to get it to his mouth for a bite he wishes were larger. If he had the strength for it, Barry would make a Julie of the Wolves crack about the very specific parameters he has for Derek feeding him, but it's all he can do to chew. "Wait," he says after that first swallow, attempting to sit straighter. "Are all the others out? There were kids, Derek."

It makes Derek feel the slightest bit better to see Barry eat, and he lets out a soothing noise when Barry tries to sit up. "Hey, it's okay. Everyone is going to be okay. As much as I'd like to say I stormed in there guns blazing, there was a whole group of us."

He turns around so Barry can see the people being led out of the warehouse, including a child clinging to Coulson. Derek growls again, swallowing hard as he holds Barry a bit tighter. "I put my claws in a few of them, though."

Derek leads him away again, moving at a quick pace towards Darrow. "Everyone's going to be okay, and I'll tell you all about it later, but I'm focused on you right now."

They get to Dimera quickly and Derek takes the stairs, not even straining under Barry's weight. Once they're in his apartment, Derek lays Barry down gently on the sofa and lowers himself onto his knees next to it, taking one of Barry's hands in both of his own. He opens his mouth and then closes it, because there are just too many things that he wants to say. "I-- I was looking for you the whole time."

Barry closes his eyes for the journey, choosing for the moment to believe that everyone is out, that all those desperate voices he heard echoing down the line of cells are somehow also on the other side of it. When he's strong enough, Barry plans to run to every one of their homes and check in on them, but now Derek is looking at him like he's been gutted, and Barry's stomach dips.

"Hey," he says, fighting the cushions for a moment to sit up, but in the end Barry settles for holding onto Derek's hand with both of his own. "I know. I mean, I hoped you were. I don't...actually know how long it's been," Barry admits. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt in the rescue?"

It's obvious that Barry is worried about the rest of the people that he was held with, and Derek wonders if maybe he should have done more. But Luke is in good hands with Reid, and Coulson and his team were swarming the place. Derek helped take down plenty of the guys that they were fighting against. He tries to tell himself that he has nothing to feel guilty about. Not in terms of the rescue, anyway.

"It's been two weeks," Derek tells him, frowning slightly both at the reality of that and the weakness in Barry's grip around his hand. He huffs out a humorless laugh at Barry's question, because of course he's worried about Derek too. "A few cuts and scratches. I'll be fine."

He's also pretty sure that a bullet grazed his bicep, but it's just a flesh wound. It'll heal. He's more concerned with Barry and he frowns as he looks him over. He's bruised and pale and so, so thin. He looks gaunt, and he knows from experience that his accelerated healing won't work without fuel. "How about this for a plan. I'll clean us up and get you in bed, and then make you something to eat. Whatever you want, I'll get it for you."

And then, just because he can, he leans in to press a soft, chaste kiss against Barry's pale lips. "I was ready to tear the city apart."

Barry nods, unable to speak for a moment under the weight of Derek's gaze. He knows he's loved at home, Joe and Iris and even Cisco and Caitlyn, but no one looks at him like this, certainly no one cares about him quite like Derek does. "I hate that I made you afraid," Barry whispers, feeling his eyes grow hot again. He's just so tired, and now that he's on the other side of it, Barry's lost the energy it takes to keep it from getting in - the pain, the fear and the creeping despair, the disgust at his own body, caked in sweat and dirt and blood as it is.

"I don't remember the last time they hosed me down," Barry admits, wondering how Derek's poor nose can handle it.

"It's not your fault," Derek says quickly, swallowing hard and feeling his chest constrict at the look on Barry's face. A noise escapes him at what Barry says next, something angry and horrified and sad, and he lets out a shaky breath. "I'll get you cleaned up."

He slides his arms under Barry once more, lifting him easily. He feels feather light, even to Derek's strength, and he carries him into the bathroom. What he smells most is the blood, and the fear, and he wants so badly to wash those away.

There's a bench seat in Derek's shower and he shoulders the door open before setting Barry down onto it. His clothes are ruined so Derek extends a claw and carefully cuts them away, tossing them aside before getting up and stripping out of his own clothes. He steps into the shower and turns it on, testing the temperature before taking the shower head off and turning to face Barry. There's no pity in his expression, not a single trace of revulsion. There's just care and concern as he cups Barry's cheek to gently tip his head back and let the spray wet his hair. "This okay?"

Barry knows Derek would never judge him, and there's not an ounce of pity on his face when he strips Barry down, but still Barry has to fight not to curl in on himself. He's always been thin, but now he feels truly pathetic, starved down and mottled in bruises. It doesn't stop him from moaning gratefully when the water starts, and he rests his head against the shower wall and lets Derek direct the spray as he wishes.

He's held himself together well, but in those long days, Barry hadn't been certain he'd ever have this again. "I'm okay," he promises, for he knows what kind of sight he makes when tears begin to slide down his cheeks with the water. "I'm just tired."

"I know," Derek says softly, swallowing hard and blinking against the sting in his own eyes. Seeing someone he cares about hurt is so much worse than being hurt himself, and he wishes that he could have been taken in Barry's place. Derek is a super. Why couldn't they have taken him?

Probably because they already had a werewolf, he thinks bitterly, and then vows to go check on Luke as soon as he can bring himself to leave Barry's side.

"You can stay here as long as you want," Derek offers, watching him as he lathers up a washcloth with soap and starts gently washing Barry up, wiping away all the sweat and dirt and blood and watching as it swirls down the drain. "I want you to stay."

After rinsing out the washcloth and giving himself a cursory wipe down, he pours some shampoo into his hand and works it through Barry's thick hair, using the press of his thumbs against Barry's temples to draw out any more pain he may be feeling.

Once they're both clean, he blinks and steps out of the shower to grab a toothbrush from under the sink. He steps back into the shower and hands it to Barry with a dollop of toothpaste on it so he can brush his teeth while Derek inspects his wounds. He's confident that they'll all heal once Barry gets some food and rest, and he hits the taps to turn them off.

He steps out to grab two towels and a small cup of water, handing it out to Barry so he can rinse his mouth out. "That has to feel a little better, right?

"It does," breathes Barry, scraping his tongue over his teeth in wonder. Derek's taken his pain, and he knows it's the only reason he's standing upright, so Barry is careful of his ribs, accepting the water with his good hand. He rinses his mouth and gets a little dizzy watching it swirl down the drain, so Barry looks back at Derek instead.

He very carefully doesn't look at himself in the mirror. "Bed now?" he asks, eager for the false protection of Derek's comforter. God, it feels good to be here. It's not Barry's place, but it's Derek's home, and in these short months Barry's come to think of him in much the same way. Barry smiles a little. "You know, this isn't exactly how my shower fantasy with you goes."

"Bed now," Derek agrees, keeping an arm wrapped around Barry's waist as he leads him slowly into the bedroom. "You have a shower fantasy about me, huh? As soon as you're up for it, we'll make it happen."

The stuffed wolf he gave Barry on their first date is sitting near his pillow and Derek lets out a breath as he sets Barry down on the bed, laying him back and putting the covers over him.

"I sort of stole him from your apartment," Derek says sheepishly. "Because he smelled like you."

Barry looks over at the wolf and makes a little sound, pulling it close with his good arm. He pushes his cheek against it and inhales, smiling sadly. "It smells like you now," he says. The sheets and the pillows do, too, and Barry nearly tears up again, so grateful to be somewhere so safe and warm after so many hard, white walls and cruel faces.

"You don't know how good it feels to be here," Barry breathes.

"Hopefully at least half as good as it feels to have you here," Derek replies in a thick voice, swallowing hard and leaning in to give Barry a soft kiss on the mouth. He puts his hand on Barry's cheek, letting the kiss linger, and wipes at the corner of his eye as he pulls back.

"You need to eat so you can heal," Derek says with a nod, and it takes great effort to let go of Barry and stand up. "I'll be right back."

He goes into the kitchen and eats up some soup and toasts some bread, trying to start off with something easy on the stomach. As soon as he can, he returns with a big bowl of chicken soup, a few pieces of dry toast, a sleeve of crackers, and a tall class of water on a tray. "Here, this is just to start. Let your stomach adjust."

Derek's not gone long, but Barry's half-dozing when he returns, his mouth still downturned for the heartbreaking sight of Derek's wet eyes. He groans for the smell of the soup though and sits up, eyeing the tray eagerly. Soup and toast and crackers? He's so famished that even the crackers smell amazing, and it's only the fracture in his arm that keeps him from lifting the bowl and pouring soup down his throat.

"Thank you," says Barry like Derek's just offered him life itself, and dunks a piece of toast into the soup, pushing as much as will fit into his mouth. "How'd you figure out where we are?" he asks as he chews.

Derek smiles a little at the sight of Barry eating so eagerly, and he sits down on the edge of the bed. He waits a moment before replying, trying to get his words together. "They had done something to the building. I couldn't track you by scent."

That had been the most frustrating thing. Barry was somewhere, and Derek kept running into dead ends. His nose was useless.

"There was this guy-- Coulson. He assembled sort of a team, I guess," Derek says with a shrug. "He figured out where everyone was, and we took it over."

He looks up at Barry with obvious shame in his eyes, and bites his lip before speaking. "I should have done more. I should have gotten you out sooner."

"Derek," says Barry, pausing his ravenous consumption of the toast to touch Derek's hand. "I can vibrate through solid walls. If it was just a question of wanting it, I could've gotten myself out. But these people were smart."

Barry's hand tightens around Derek's as a shudder passes through him. "They knew how to counter our abilities. Just like they knew how to work around someone like you. I know you did everything you could."

Derek looks down at Barry's hand and then up at his face, doing his best to believe what he's saying. Derek never stopped looking, never gave up. He did all that he could and in the end, Barry did get out.

He's distracted from his guilt when something Barry said finally registers, and his eyes widen just a bit. "You can vibrate through walls? Will you ever stop surprising me?"

"I didn't mention that?" asks Barry, glad to see Derek looking something other than guilty. "I can do a lot of things," he says with a grin, but it falters when he remembers just what he'd been made to do with them.

"Do you, um," he says, dropping his gaze. "Did you guys figure out what they were doing with us in there?" he asks, hoping he doesn't have to say it.

"No, you only showed me the one kind of vibrating," he replies, trying to lighten the mood. It doesn't last too long, though. Not with what Barry says next. Derek had heard a lot of things-- things that served to make him angry and scared.

"They wanted to try and replicate powers?" Derek guesses, frowning as he gently rests his fingers against Barry's injured arm, drawing out any pain that may be creeping back in. "But-- you're hurt, and you smell like other people. Other scared people."

He winces and shakes his head, swallowing hard and nudging Barry's food towards him again. "It doesn't matter. You're safe now, and you're never going to get any burgers if you don't finish your soup."

Barry pulls the soup closer to him, eating several bites with unfocused eyes. He knows Derek is giving him an out, and he wants to take it, but he can't. It feels like all those awful memories will swallow him if he does.

"They made us fight," he says, pushing a cracker into the soup until it's mush. "To test our limits. They made us fight each other, and sometimes people they'd given powers with some kind of..." Barry shrugs. "Tonic. It glowed, so you could be super sure that it was evil."

Derek doesn't want to hear this, but at the same time he feels like he needs to know. But really, it doesn't matter what he wants. Barry obviously needs to get this out, and Derek will listen to every single word. He winces slightly and reaches out to put his hand on Barry's thigh through the blankets, squeezing reassuringly. Derek has been tortured, more than once even, and he's had to fight when he didn't want to. But what Barry went through sounds so much worse.

"I'm sorry that happened," Derek says thickly, and it isn't enough. Nothing he could ever say will be enough. "It's over now, and you're safe now. You didn't let them break you."

He moves closer, touching Barry's cheek and kissing his forehead. "I wish I could promise never to let anything hurt you again, but I can't do that. But I do promise to do my best to keep you safe."

"I survived Zoom," says Barry with a tired smile. "It doesn't get much worse than that." He closes his eyes for the kiss to his forehead. Derek is always so gentle, even when Barry isn't battered or weak. It's just his way, and Barry's smile softens.

"I believe you," he says, squeezing Derek's wrist. His voice is nearly lost to a rumble from his stomach, and Barry groans, beyond grateful that this time, more food will actually come. "Can I do a sandwich now?"

"Good," Derek says quietly. Barry is being honest when he says that he believes him, and that means more to Derek than he can say. The rumble makes him smile a little and he nods, happy that he can at least provide him with the food he needs to heal.

"Sure. Be right back." He gets up and lifts the tray with one hand, using the other to set the stuffed wolf on Barry's chest. Once he's in the kitchen, he whips up a turkey sandwich piled high with meat and puts it on a plate along with some chips and a stack of chocolate chip cookies. He refills the water glass and puts it all on the tray before taking some steaks and burger patties out to defrost, since he's sure those will be next.

"Your second course," Derek says as he comes back into the room and sets the tray down in front of Barry. "You're already looking a little better. There's color in your cheeks."

He'll still need time, rest, and a hell of a lot more food, but just that small sign of healing is enough to have Derek breathing a sigh of relief. He carefully crawls onto the other side of the bed and swipes a cookie from the plate.

"Hey," Barry laughs for his lost cookie, but most of his protest is lost to the sandwich already in his mouth. "Double meat," he says, muffled. "Nice." He can't tell if it's seeing Derek, being somewhere clean and safe, or the food, but he does feel better. Barry rubs his fingertips together and is rewarded with a tiny spark.

"We're on the right track," he says, tucking into a chocolate chip cookie with a groan. "I'm sure I'll be back to normal in a day or two. But how is everything else?" Barry asks, turning towards Derek in the bed. "Nothing happened to Semele's?"

"Of course," Derek says in response to the comment about the sandwich. "Look who you're talking to."

His gaze drops to Barry's fingers and smiles at the sight of the spark, reaching out to slide his fingers across Barry's, tangling them together for a moment before letting go so he can return to his sandwich. "Looking good, hummingbird."

Derek finishes off his cookie and frowns slightly at the question about Semele's, shrugging one shoulder before rolling onto his side to look at Barry. "Uh, I'm not sure, actually. It's all good as far as I know, but I haven't been there in a few days."

The smile Barry had worn for the nickname slips from his face, and he reaches to squeeze Derek's hand. "I'm sorry," he says again. He knows it's not his fault, but Derek's already been through so much. He hates to be another reason for pain, but all he can do now is try to make it up to him.

"You should call," he says. "Or, I'll probably be mobile by tomorrow. We can go together, make sure it hasn't become Eric's new pie empire in your absence."

"Hey, don't be sorry," Derek assures him, bringing Barry's hand up to press a kiss to his knuckles. "I have good people working for me. The place is in good hands. I'm not worried about it."

He snags another cookie and breaks it in half, leaving one half on Barry's plate and taking a bite for himself while still hanging on to Barry's hand. "Even if you are mobile, I say we spend all day in bed. We both need to rest and I don't really plan on letting you out of my sight any time soon."

Barry is looking at him, so close and safe, and Derek lifts his head to press a soft kiss to his lips just because he can.

Barry smiles softly, closing his eyes as he accepts the kiss. Up close, Derek smells like the chocolate cookie, and Barry valiantly wishes he had the strength right now to forget his food and just burrow into him. But his stomach rumbles again, and Barry works his way through the rest of the sandwich, finishing it off with the cookie.

"All day in bed sounds pretty good," he admits, his gaze cutting sideways. Like anyone would turn down a day spent in bed with Derek Hale. Even if all they do is cuddle and watch television, it's still the best deal Barry's ever heard. "At home, I just watched movies all day when I felt rotten. I've never taken a sickday with a werewolf before."

Derek can't help but to smile when Barry seems torn between him and the food, and he slowly slides his hand up and down Barry's side while he finishes off his sandwich. He heaves himself off of the bed to take the tray and huffs out a laugh. "I imagine it'll be much the same, but with more kissing. And eating."

He's looking forward to spending the day with Barry, keeping him close and watching him heal. It's been a long two weeks and Derek has barely slept, but he thinks he will tonight. Now that Barry is safe.

"Okay, now it's time for steak. For both of us," Derek says, patting his own stomach when it growls. He had sort of forgotten about his own wounds in caring for Barry, and he's suddenly ravenous. "Big, thick, juicy steaks. And potatoes."

He nods and leans over to give Barry another kiss before leaving the bedroom. It's hard to be away from him at all right now, but fortunately Derek has gotten this particular meal down to a science. Before long, he has two plates ready to go, each with a big rare steak and piles of potato and vegetables, and he balances them along with two glasses of milk and some silverware on the tray as he heads back into the room and knocks on the open door in case Barry is asleep.

"Okay, this should satisfy even your appetite for a little while," Derek says with a smile, carefully walking across the bed on his knees and setting the tray down. "Because I don't really plan on leaving this bed again for a few hours."

"Yes," says Barry in a drawn out moan, "Steak time." He watches Derek go, leaning against the pillow at his back. He drifts a little - his bones are knitting, he can tell from the itch deep beneath his skin, all his new energy diverting to the process to leave him sleepy eyed and quiet. But Barry groans again as smells begin to drift into the bedroom, the scent of rendered fat and hot potatoes its own kind of torment until Derek returns with a tray.

"It looks amazing," says Barry with feeling when Derek lays the tray in his lap, wishing for a moment that he was the one with werewolf teeth so he could sink them directly into the meat. But Barry picks up his silverware and makes himself go slow, eyes rolling back for the taste of steak after so many days of crumbs.

Derek smiles at the compliment and then watches as Barry begins to eat. He feels something like pride unfurl inside of him, and it's like his wolf is finally starting to settle for the first time that this whole mess started. Barry is safe and warm and provided for, and Derek can finally relax.

He leans against the pillows and cuts off his own piece of steak, tempting as it is to just pick it up and gnaw on it. Conversation lulls due to the distraction of a hearty meal, and Derek licks juice from his fingers before letting out a satisfied sigh. "There's also a stack of pies that seems to have appeared in my kitchen. Don't eat the meat pie one. It's a special werewolf recipe."

The pie isn't harmful to humans, he's pretty sure, but why take the risk?

Barry grins around his mouthful, but Derek doesn't seem to be joking. "Wait, for real?" he asks, cutting himself another piece that can only very generously be called bite sized. "What does that mean? Is there meat only werewolves can eat?"

His brow furrows with vague worry, but Barry's thoughts keep turning back to the other pies. "What kind are they?"

"For real," Derek replies solemnly, smiling a little when he realizes that those were the first words he ever said to Barry. He stuffs his mouth full of potato and shakes his head as he chews, swallowing before answering. "Bitty found the recipe somewhere. I'm not sure what exactly is in it but it's sort of like--" He pauses to give him a sheepish look. "Wolf nip. It just makes me really relaxed."

Barry's gaze goes towards the wall and what Derek assumes is the kitchen on the other side, and he chuckles a little. "A few apple and chocolate cream, and I smelled pumpkin and pecan too."

He leans over to press his shoulder against Barry's, smiling warmly at him. "I suppose I could go get you one, if you want."

Derek is pretty sure that he'd do just about anything Barry asked right now.

Barry's eyes widen. "Wolf nip," he repeats, all thoughts of other pies for the moment forgotten. "Maybe you should have some now. You've had a hell of a day." Barry grins and eats more steak, his smile turning mischievous despite his exhaustion. "Doesn't catnip make cats kind of horny?" he asks. "Have you actually tried this stuff out before?"

"You're bouncing back quick," Derek teases, but he's absolutely pleased by it. He laughs softly and leans in to kiss Barry's cheek before returning to his own steak to finish it off. He sets the empty plate aside and leans more heavily against Barry, head resting on his shoulder. "I've had it, yeah. And I can imagine that it would get me pretty horny around you."

He smirks and leans in to give Barry's neck a soft little nip right between those two moles on the side of his neck, resisting the urge to leave a mark on him. Barry has enough marks on him already, but Derek wants to leave his own, one that's wanted. Instead he pulls back and nuzzles Barry's jaw a bit before resting his head against his shoulder again.

"What can I say, I'm fast," Barry replies, resting his cheek against Derek's hair until the siren call of his last bites of steak prove too much to resist. He eats them quickly and settles back, wishing he could do more right now than shiver pleasantly for Derek's kiss.

Stretching out his arm, he tests the bend of his fingers, pleased to find that the worst is already healed. The same seems to be true of the fractures he could feel in his cheekbone, but his ribs are still painful each time he breathes. "Maybe tomorrow," Barry says, his lids sliding to half mast. "Or the day after."

"There's no rush," Derek assures him, turning his head so that Barry can see the sincerity in his expression. "I'm not going anywhere."

What matters most is that Barry heals, both physically and mentally, and Derek is relieved to see that it might not be such a long road. Barry has been through so much, broken time and time again just like Derek has been, but he still smiles so easily. He doesn't seem surprised by the sound of his own laughter, not like Derek was for so long. He admires Barry so much for that.

Derek takes Barry's hand and kisses his palm, nuzzling into it and breathing in his scent. He curls his fingers around Barry's wrist and once again takes his pain, relieved that it seems to be lessening. He smirks against the inside of his wrist and gives him a dry look. "As long as I get to sniff you."

Barry can't help a gasp, leaning back against the headboard as Derek pulls the pain from his body, draining it as neatly as an opened tap. "Does that hurt you?" he asks, even sleepier now that he doesn't have the pain to distract him, but Barry turns his head to stare earnestly at Derek.

"If it does, you don't have to. I promise I can take it. I just look like you could snap me in two."

"Now you're just teasing me, making noises like that," Derek jokes in a low voice, lifting his arm to wrap it around Barry's shoulders and draw him in closer. "I told you when we met, remember? I only feel it for a second. It was worth it then, and it's definitely worth it now."

He looks down at Barry and smiles softly at the sight of his droopy eyes, leaning in to press his lips gently against his forehead. "Getting sleepy, hummingbird?"

"I've had a long week," says Barry, relaxing when he's reminded that Derek only feels it for a second. He'd still prefer Derek not hurt at all, but Barry's not about to complain about being able to draw a full breath.

"I'll probably sleep a lot," he warns, given that Derek isn't Caitlyn, who's been through this with him so many times before. Barry's mouth tugs in a sad smile. "Sleep and eat, actually. It's the price of accelerated healing."

"Did you forget who you're talking to?" Derek says with a tired smile of his own. He nearly mentions that he got knocked around pretty good too in the fight, but that pales in comparison to what Barry went through. Not to mention that every bruise and scratch are worth it to have Barry safe like this. "I'll be sleeping right next to you."

He notices the slight change in Barry's expression and leans down to kiss him, catching Barry's bottom lip between his own before he brushes their noses together. "I'm not going anywhere. Not until I get up and make waffles in the morning, at least."

"Good," says Barry softly, picking up the tray to set it on the bedside table. His mouth will be disgusting in the morning after all this food, but Barry can't bring himself to leave the bed now that he's full and content with Derek beside him. Barry shifts lower until he's horizontal on the sheets, pushing closer to Derek's warmth.

"Then let's sleep," he says. "The sooner we do, the sooner waffles happen." Barry brushes his nose against Derek's shoulder, his arms feeling oddly empty. "Can I be big spoon?"

"Sounds like a plan," Derek says easily, shifting down onto the bed when Barry does. He's ready to open his arms and pull Barry close, and the question surprises him. He blinks and pauses for a moment, unsure of how to react.

He doesn't think he's ever been the little spoon, not once in his life. He's never been held like that. But he suddenly realizes that he would really, really like to be.

"Sure," Derek says quietly, and it feels like he falls for Barry just a little bit more in that moment. "I, uh-- I've never been the little spoon, so bear with me."

He smiles and gives Barry a lingering kiss before rolling over onto his side and presenting his back to Barry. He feels oddly vulnerable in this position, but with Barry that doesn't seem so much like a bad thing.

"Nobody cuddled this?" asks Barry incredulously as he turns on his side, careful of his ribs. He shifts in close to Derek, curling his body around him and sighing for the warmth. "Everyone else in your life is insane," he murmurs as he rubs his nose against Derek's nape, tucking his face into the crook of his neck. He slides one arm around Derek's middle, indulging in a quick brush of fingertips against his ridiculous abdomen before his hand relaxes.

"Good luck getting away," Barry yawns.

"Not quite like this," Derek says, waiting for Barry to get settled before Derek rests his hand over Barry's on his stomach, threading their fingers together and relaxing comfortably into Barry's tight embrace.

Barry noses at the back of his neck and it makes him shiver, and he lets out a breath before deliberately turning his head to offer Barry the vulnerable stretch of his throat. He doesn't know if Barry will understand the offer for what it is, but it feels good just to have made it, to trust someone so completely that he can bare his throat and the wolf inside of him doesn't even fight it.

"I don't want to get away," Derek assures him, snuggling back and resting his ass against the cradle of Barry's hips just to get even closer.