triskehale | (no subject)

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Derek is sometimes slower to wake when Barry is next to him. It used to be that he went from asleep to alert in as much time as it took for his eyes to snap open, but things have changed. He no longer lives his life under attack, and he can afford such utter luxuries as drifting peacefully to wakefulness. Usually Barry's scent is strong and warm around him, coupled with the steady and comforting thrum of his heart. It makes Derek and his wolf feel safe, and sometimes he spends whole minutes just basking in the feel of it before even opening his eyes.

This morning, he wakes up and smells the faint linger of Barry's shampoo on the pillow. He doesn't wear cologne much, as a gift to Derek's sensitive nose, but his shampoo smells faintly of mint. It doesn't occur to Derek that he can't smell Barry's actual scent, the earthy sweetness of it, because his full bladder is demanding most of his attention. He glances over at Barry and gets the feeling that something is off, but he can't quite place his finger on what it is.

He gets out of bed with the intent to head straight for the bathroom, but when he takes a step he instead shoots forward in a blur of speed. He crashes directly into the wall next to the bathroom door, feeling an unexpected burst of pain as he slumps to the floor.

"What the--" He reaches up to rub at his face, but his eyes widen when he sees the tremors in his hand. It's practically a blur in front of his face, and familiar flicks of red electricity crackles around his fingertips almost faster than he can see. His eyes dart to the bed, and that's when he realizes what's so weird. He can't hear Barry's heartbeat. The steady hum that's been such a constant for so long has gone silent. "Barry!"

He gets up with the intent to run over to the bed but instead blurs right onto it, crashing into the headboard and groaning as he flops back onto the mattress.

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Barry is trapped in a nightmare, the likes of which he's not experienced since he discovered his father's grave. There are no foes or people to save, only endless red all around him, menacing, malevolent red that he can't escape no matter how he tries to get away. He reaches for his speed and nothing comes, only the wrathful red closing in. It creeps in through his ears, seeps in through his eyes and mouth and fills up his lungs, until all Barry can do is become one with it. He screams and it's a growl, a roar, and then he's wide awake and leaping out of bed because something just crashed into it.

"Wha-?" Barry stutters, wiping the sweat out of his bleary eyes to see Derek drop onto the mattress. His stomach turns, and Barry presses a hand to his mouth, wondering at the ache behind his gums. Is he ill? That never happens to him anymore.

"What's happening? Is this a fight?"

Carefully, Derek pulls himself into a sitting position. Very carefully. Barry is at the end of the bed, chest heaving as a note of panic winds its way through his voice. "I don't think so, but something's wrong."

He rubs a hand over his face, jerking back as it begins to shake again. No, not shake. Vibrate.

"Uh." He only tears his gaze away when a growl gets his attention. It's a sound that should have his hackles rising, but instead he just lifts his eyes to take in the source of the noise. His eyes widen and he scoots closer to the edge of the bed, raising his hands as if in surrender.

"Your eyes are red," he says in disbelief, blinking a few times and slowly pulling himself to his feet. "And you're growling. And I'm vibrating. If what it looks like happened actually happened, I need you to take a deep breath."

Barry's eyes widen. "Are you a speedster - " he starts, his voice deep and rumbling from the dream - has he been screaming aloud? - but Barry quiets as Derek starts to approach him like he's some kind of bomb.

Derek's a speedster! This should be exciting. Weird, but exciting, but as good as Derek looks and smells right now, he's treating Barry like some kind of idiot, and it's making him a little bit mad. Okay, Barry decides as he feels his fists ball, kind of a lot mad, which is also weird.

"My eyes are red sometimes," he says, "So what?"

"I'm a speedster," Derek says out loud, mostly to confirm it for himself. He puts his hand over his own heart, feeling the thrum of it below his fingertips since he can't hear it. All of his senses are muffled and it's strange, like being underwater.

Barry's eyes are glowing red and Derek can see a hint of fang when his lip curls back in irritation. The full moon is tonight and wow, what a time to suddenly become a werewolf. Kicker is, Barry doesn't even seem to realize it yet.

"No, red like mine." He reaches for Barry's hand, gently uncurling it from where it's clenched into a fist. His fingertips are red, and Derek presses his thumb to a fingernail to coax out a claw. "I'm a speedster, and you're a werewolf. Do you feel it?"

Barry is distracted as Derek comes forward, listening to a hum that grows louder and louder. It's something familiar, something like a hummingbird, and Barry's eyes widen. He's hearing Derek's heart! With his own two ears! And maybe also sort of Derek's ears.

"This is crazy," Barry exhales, watching in morbid fascination as a claw pops out of his index finger. "Kind of gross? Not on you, but it's weird on me! Eugh!" Barry jumps and clutches at his mouth. "It's sharp everywhere!"

Derek's brow quirks up at gross, but he huffs out an amused breath all the same. It's still so disorienting to be without his enhanced senses, but it calms him to focus on Barry instead. Hopefully, that will go both ways.

"Hey, I know it's weird," Derek says calmly, reaching out to take Barry's hands. He isn't scared that Barry will hurt him, even as a new wolf. If he happens to get a few accidental nicks from claws or teeth, he'll still heal them pretty fast.

"Just focus on me." He waits until Barry is watching him to tip his head back, baring the line of his neck. If it affects Barry half as much as him doing the same move affects Derek, it should at least capture his attention. "Concentrate on my heart. On my scent."

He draws Barry in closer, letting out a deep breath and resting a hand on Barry's hip. "It's all yours."

Barry tries, he really does, but as soon as Derek tilts his head all he can do is look at his throat. He drifts closer, nostrils flaring to pull in even more of that delicious scent. It makes his mouth water, and Barry presses his forehead to Derek's neck where the scent is spiciest, only to pull back at the alarming sensation of sharp teeth filling his mouth.

"Um, I kind of want to eat you," he says, covering his mouth, "I think. Also kiss you. But definitely bite you."

"You don't want to eat me," Derek replies, voice rumbling with a laugh, arms going loosely around Barry's waist. He misses his scent and the sound of his heart so bad he aches with it, but he still has Barry in his arms. "But the other stuff? Yeah. And that's okay. You definitely can."

Derek may not currently be a wolf, but he still likes the way it feels to have Barry's face buried in his throat. "I'm sure you're overwhelmed with the moon tonight, but I'm here. I'll be with you the whole time."

His fingers card through Barry's hair as he keeps his head tilted back, smiling as a thought occurs to him. "You can chase me through the woods. I'm faster than you now."

It's as if his emotions - every single one of them - have risen to the surface, right there in the open where Barry's mind has no say about it. "No fair," he whines, for he really does love his speed, but at least being like Derek for a while will be interesting. Educational, even.

Or it would be, if Barry didn't feel like his blood itself was itching. "For real?" he asks, looking at the ceiling as if the moon will somehow present itself through the roof. Actually...now that he tries, he can feel it. It's shining down on him from high above the chimney. "Is that why I feel so antsy?" he asks. "Like I want to kiss you and also punch a tree?"

"Probably," Derek replies, laughing a little. Knowing Darrow, this is most likely temporary so Derek tells himself not to panic over the loss of his powers. The wolf is so much a part of himself, and to have it quieted is disconcerting. But it's in Barry, and he's a part of Derek too.

"Do you want to go outside? The feeling is only going to get stronger as the day goes on," Derek tells him, turning to press a kiss to Barry's temple as his brow furrows. "I've never been through a moon without the wolf."

He shakes off the strange sensation and puts Barry's hand over his heart, hoping to anchor him with the sound and feel of it. "Outside you can kiss me and punch a tree."

"I guess," says Barry dubiously. As strong as the moon feels now, he can only imagine it without a wall between them. "What if I freak out?" he asks. "I don't feel like myself, I feel like - when I hit puberty times a thousand."

The thrum of Derek's heartbeat against his hand helps, and Barry tries to let it drown out the pounding in his blood. "What if I hurt you on accident?"

"If you hurt me, I'll heal," Derek assures him with an easy shrug. "But I don't think you will. Remember how I told you about anchors? About how you're mine? I can be yours too."

Barry looks nervous and Derek can't exactly blame him. Carefully, he cups Barry's cheeks and leans in to give him a soft kiss before pressing their foreheads together. "I'll be with you every second. I won't let you do anything that you would regret, hummingbird. I promise."

"You're the hummingbird now," Barry murmurs, feeling a flare of jealousy. For years, his speed has set him apart, and now it's gone. It will come back, he thinks, but just now it's hard to let it go. But, the scientist within him reminds him, this is a rare opportunity to see life through Derek's eyes, more so than even that polyjuice potion had provided.

Barry opens his eyes, appreciating just how sharp they are, how much his ears take in. There are birds in the trees outside, a few hardy insects in the cold grass, rabbits in the bushes. He can hear it all. Curious, Barry wraps his hands carefully around Derek's waist and lifts.

"Oh," he exhales in surprise as Derek rises three feet in the air.

"Temporarily," Derek replies softly. Barry seems uneasy with losing such a part of himself and Derek knows exactly how he feels. Not feeling the wolf inside of him is nearly devastating, and the only thing keeping him from freaking out is knowing that it's safe with Barry. "We'll-- oh."

A flare of panic goes through him when Barry first lifts him, because that only ever happens in a fight. It's a precursor to being flung or stabbed or torn apart. He takes a breath to remind himself that he's safe, always safe with Barry, and ends up laughing down at him fondly, fingers curling around his forearms. He seems surprised by the strength and Derek reaches out with his foot to toe at his thigh. "I knew you were into the manhandling."

"I like it when you manhandle me," Barry laughs, "I've just never been able to do it back." He laughs again as Derek's toe digs into the ticklish part of his thigh, then sets Derek carefully back onto his feet.

"I'm like the Hulk," he says. "Okay, this is pretty cool. Also, I can smell everything we had for dinner last night, and the trash needs to go out like woah</i."

"Pretty offended that you're sniffing the trash and not me," Derek teases, reaching forward to grab Barry by the hips as he falls back to sit on the edge of the bed. He misses the smell of them on the sheets, and runs his hand along the edge of it.

"I just realized that I've never had sex with a werewolf," he blurts out, looking up at Barry with wide eyes. "I'm not saying that's priority number one here, but that's definitely something I want to experience"

His gaze turns a bit speculative as he wonders just how much of the wolf Barry got. Is it really everything, all the same instinctual buttons? Derek slowly and deliberately tilts his head to the side, offering the line of his neck as one corner of his mouth quirks up in a smirk. "If you'll have me, alpha."

A high pitched sound fills Barry's ears, one that astonishes him with its mournfulness, all the moreso when he realizes it's coming from him. Between the moon, the woods, and Derek, Barry wants so much at once, it's completely overwhelming.

"I don't know what I want," he confesses, shifting closer to be by the thrum of Derek's heart. That hum has been Derek's anchor for so long, maybe it could be Barry's too. "I feel like I'm crawling out of my skin, god, is it like this every freaking month for you?"

Though he isn't currently a wolf, Derek recognizes the needy sound and it still makes something twist in his chest. He stands and puts an arm around Barry, kissing his cheek as he pulls him in close.

"Pretty much," he answers, nosing into the soft hair above Barry's ear. "But I've had my whole life to get used to it. Come on, let's go outside."

He lets go to pull on a pair of loose sweat pants and tosses another pair at Barry before heading for the door. It's cool and sunny outside, and Derek gestures at the grass. "Maybe you'll feel better if you shift. I always do."

Barry pulls the sweats on, but they make him feel even itchier. But he doubts they'll be on long - Derek's never are. And sure enough, as soon as he gets outside, all Barry wants to do is strip them off and roll in the grass. Even in winter, it's so tempting, and Barry vows never to tease Derek for his habits again.

He's got his hands on the hem of his pants when Derek mentions shifting. "Do you think I can?" he asks. "All the way to a wolf?"

"I mean, it's possible," Derek replies, valiantly doing his best to not get distracted by the way Barry's thumbs hook into the sweats. He looks a little obscene, bright eyed and wild, and Derek lets out a breath. He's vibrating again, hands shaking at his sides, and he takes a slow and deliberate step towards Barry so that he doesn't dart forward again. Sure, Derek has a whole new set of powers too, but at least his aren't affected by the moon. "If we truly swapped powers, you should be able to."

He stops in front of Barry and smiles encouragingly, reaching out to touch his shoulders. Scent should help, hopefully. "It feels sort of like an itch, right? Just stop fighting it, and let it happen. I'm right here."

"Yeah," says Barry, taking comfort in that, but it's impossible not to notice Derek's hands. "God, I'm being an asshole," he exhales, "Are you okay? Are you eating? I passed out, like, five times my first day as a speedster, you need to eat, Derek. And do you have questions?"

The moon is like a siren above him, not a beautiful, mythical temptress but a wailing air raid, but Barry can ignore it for Derek. "Mostly being a speedster is just awesome, but I don't want you to get hurt."

"You're not," Derek assures him, laughing softly even as he preens a little at the attention. Barry suddenly has the moon to contend with; it's understandable that he would be a little focused on that. "But yeah, now that you mention it-- I could eat."

He's starving, actually. Generally he's hungry at any given moment, and the shock of everything made it a little easier to ignore, but he should probably get some food in him soon. "I'll make us something in a bit. You won't be as hungry as you usually are, I imagine, but you should still eat too."

Now that he has Barry's full attention, he looks down at his vibrating hand and wills it to be still. "I just-- how do you contain it? I feel like if I move, I won't be able to stop."

"Sometimes you just have to run it out," says Barry, reaching down for Derek's wrist. It's so strange to see his own powers on someone else, and he stares at Derek's vibrating hand. "And don't put this through anyone on accident," he says, delicately placing Derek's hand back at his side.

"The good thing is, most Speedster powers can't really hurt you while you're getting the hang of them, and if they do, you'll heal. It's mostly property damage you'll need to worry about. Just stay full of calories and you'll be fine."

"I think we should just stick near each other," Derek says quietly, looking down at his now still hand. He may not be a wolf, but Barry still anchors him. "At least for tonight."

He lifts his hand and focuses on trying to make it vibrate like Barry does, touching his opposite arm and grinning when he feels the buzz against his skin. Slowly, he reaches up to rest his vibrating fingers lightly against Barry's cheek. He glides them down Barry's neck and lets his hand drop as his smile goes a bit smug. "Oh, how the tables have turned."

After giving Barry a quick wink, he races into the cabin to make a few sandwiches. He's back in front of Barry before he even has time to react, kicking up leaves and holding up his bounty. "Calories. Then do you want to try and shift? I wonder if you'll look the same as a wolf as you did when you took Magnus' potion."

Barry closes his eyes, transfixed by the pleasant buzz of Derek's fingertips against the most vulnerable swathes of his skin. "Yeah," he exhales, "I get why you like that."

Derek is gone in a burst that renders Barry breathless, and okay, as he plucks the leaves from his shoulders he also gets why that annoys people. All is forgiven when Derek raises a sandwich before him, and Barry is three bites in when he admits, "I'm kind of scared. Doesn't it hurt to totally transform like that?" He's always assumed it causes Derek at least a little pain, he's just so strong and stoic he doesn't let it show.

His own sandwich is nearly gone when Barry's words register, and at first Derek thinks he means all of it, the whole thing. But then he continues and Derek's shoulders relax even as his brows furrow thoughtfully. Lately he's been so anchored and so in control that fully shifting is as easy as stretching a muscle. He tries to remember how it was at the beginning, and how to convey that with words.

"It's not like you see in terrible werewolf movies," Derek begins, finishing his sandwich and sucking mustard from the pad of his thumb as he thinks. "It doesn't hurt, really. It felt strange at first. I mean, your bones are reshaping themselves. As long as you're anchored and you want the shift, I think you'll be okay."

The vulnerable look in Barry's eyes makes something in Derek's chest twist, and he reaches out to take Barry's hand and press a soft kiss to the palm of it. "You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do, hummingbird. If you don't want to shift, I'm sure I can think of other ways to distract you through the moon."

He lifts his eyebrows and vibrates his lips against Barry's palm in an attempt to lighten the mood, biting softly at the soft flesh before letting it go. "I mean, you've been nice enough to do that for me in the past, and all."

The air keeps changing around them, often in time with shifts in Derek's expression, and Barry's eyes widen. "Oh!" he says, "I can smell your feelings! You were worried for a minute, and now you just smell - " Barry pauses. "Kind of bright? Like biting into an orange. Happy, I think?"

He reflexively rubs the spot Derek has bitten, nearly missing his teeth, but the vibration has left a pleasant buzz behind. "It's just so much to take in," says Barry, reclaiming Derek's hand. "I want to try, though. If I can see and do everything through your eyes, I want to. Who knows if this chance will ever come again. You'll be there though, right?"

Barry's eyes flicker red. "For all of it?"

"I knew you would make a great wolf," Derek replies, beaming proudly and threading their fingers together. The explanation is one he understands very well and he nods, eyes widening when Barry's eyes flash. It's a good look on him, and Derek's own eyes crackle with electricity for a moment before he blinks and leans for a quick kiss.

"I want that too," he murmurs, squeezing Barry's hand. Derek is perfectly okay with focusing on Barry tonight while the moon is high overhead. He knows how strong the pull of the wolf is, and he wouldn't miss a second of it. "I'm all yours. I won't leave your side, whatever you want to do."

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