triskehale | closed; thomas

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thomas

closed; thomas

Truthfully, Derek doesn't how good of an idea it is to spend so much time with Thomas. It seems like sort of a dangerous, painful road to go down, but then again, Derek isn't known for his fantastic decision making skills.

Thomas is so different that Stiles in so many ways, and Derek likes him for the person that he is dependent of what he looks like, but sometimes Derek looks at him and forgets that he can't reach out and touch him, pull him in. It's confusing, and painful, but Derek pushes past it. Thomas deserves better than to be brushed aside because he looks like the person that Derek was in love with, and he can handle it.

Derek gets up early on Friday morning and puts on running pants and a white tank, and then feeds his cat before pulling on his sneakers. He grabs two protein bars and two bottles of water, throwing them in a plastic bag before heading out the door. He makes it to the Bramford building in no time flat, not even working up a sweat. Once inside, he takes the stairs and then lets out a breath before stepping up to Thomas' door and knocking on it.

This will be fine. Totally, completely fine.

Probably.

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There were questions rattling around in Thomas's brain about how someone could grow up in a nature preserve since, put together, Thomas could guess at the meaning of the word but didn't really see it as a place someone could live. He set the questions aside to ask Derek in awhile.

Thomas peered down at the berries for a second longer before picking one up and tossing them into his mouth. The flavor was unlike anything else he'd ever tasted. Thomas couldn't stop his eyes from going momentarily wide before he got a hold of himself.

He had to wonder if every new experience with something as simple as food was going to be like that. In the Scorch, there wasn't time to savor new things. Stopping to smell the proverbial roses was a waste of time there. Here, time was one of those things Thomas had in abundance.

"Wow," he mumbled, rubbing his berry juice covered fingers together before bringing them to his mouth and licking them clean.

Derek is, at first, pleased by Thomas' reaction to the fruit, but his lips flatten into a thin line when he starts to lick at his fingers. Derek bites back a sigh and watches for half a second before mentally kicking himself and turning to pick a few more berries.

"Don't just go eating any berry you find out here," Derek tells him, flicking a bad berry off into the bushes. "Some will make you sick."

Derek walks away from the bushes with a handful of perfect blackberries for them each, and he pops a few into his mouth. When he smiles over at Thomas, his lips are stained a dark purple until he licks them clean.

"Ready to keep going?" He asks, holding the rest of the berries out for Thomas to take.

Thomas's attention hadn't been so on his fingers that he hadn't seen Derek's change in expression. He tilted his head, a question on his lips before Derek turned away. Thomas dropped his hand to his side, debating whether to ask the question anyway.

Thomas padded after Derek, eyes on his shoulder until he turned and did that whole lip licking right in front of him. Thomas blinked and then, after realizing Derek had asked him a question, he nodded.

"Question is, are you ready?" he asked, trying to recover from that temporary bout of staring with some cockiness. "Thought I'd be lying in the dirt right now, declaring you the best or something."

Derek notices Thomas staring and nearly quirks a brow at him, wondering why, but Thomas distracts him enough to make him laugh. The comment makes Derek want to show Thomas how fast he can really run, and again he wonders how Thomas might react to finding out what he is.

"I could still put you in the dirt," Derek says with a laugh, popping the last of his berries into his mouth and squinting into the distance. "If we follow this trail for about half a mile, we'll hit the beach. It's a small cove, kind of hidden. Race you?"

If Derek would have gotten his question out, Thomas wouldn't have had an answer. It'd just been a moment where he'd been caught up with something before it dissipated, lost in the breeze that ruffled his hair.

Thomas wiped his hands on his pants and then crossed his arms. "Race?" He'd never raced with anyone before. Maybe races would have worked better than the stupid Gatherings the Gladers had held in the maze. "What's the winner get?"

He knew that much about races, that the winner always got something.

"Cocky and greedy, huh?" Derek huffs out a laugh and then tilts his head curiously, crossing his own arms over his chest and watching him. "What do you think you should get if you win?"

Thomas thought about it for a second before he shrugged one shoulder. Shaking his head, he said, "I don't have a clue."

The one thing he really wanted was the one thing that winning a race wouldn't get him. Bringing that up right now would skew the mood and Thomas didn't want to do that. Not right now. He could do that later when he was on his own and wouldn't wreck anyone else but himself.

"What's a good thing to ask for?" he asked quizzically. "What do you want if you win?"

Or when he won, that was.

"I don't know either. We're pretty bad at this, aren't we?" It's no secret that Derek isn't really all that great at taking care of himself, or being selfish. He looks over at Thomas and cocks his head to the side curiously. "If I win, I get to tell you a secret about me. And you have to really think about it before you react."

It's an odd request, he's sure, but he finds that he wants Thomas to know that part of him. Thomas might freak out or decide he doesn't want anything to do with Derek anymore, but still. He wants him to know.

Derek's proposal made Thomas pause for a moment. He'd expected something different, if he was honest. Maybe Derek would have wanted to be treated to dinner or for Thomas to sing and dance and make a fool of himself. Instead, Derek's offering to reveal something about himself even if he won. Thomas thought it was supposed to be the other way around but he isn't going to argue either.

"All right," he finally said, nodding. "Same for me. If I win -- " Which he'd only do if Derek let him. " -- I'll tell you a secret about me."

There were plenty of those to go around.

Derek is tempted to let Thomas win, just for that. There are all sorts of things that he's curious about when it comes to Thomas. but he supposes that can wait. "Deal."

He's a little nervous, just because he knows that he and Thomas have been forging a bond, and he doesn't want to ruin it. But it does feel important that he let Thomas know him, all of him, and the wolf is a very vital piece.

Derek nods and then slides one foot back, getting into position. "Ready?"

Thomas took a deep breath and nodded.

The only races he'd run in the past few months had been races against Walls. He and Minho, out in the Maze, running against time and trying to make it back to the Glade before they were trapped beyond the Walls with nothing but the Grievers for company.

"Ready," Thomas confirmed with a brief nod of his head. He mimicked Derek's position and rubbed his hands together. "I'm good to go."

His heart was already pumping and the adrenaline was surging. Win or lose, he already felt good.

Thomas' heart is speeding up next to him, and he smells excited and anticipatory. Derek smiles and then counts down from three, pushing through his heel once he says go. At first, he keeps pace with Thomas, who is exceptionally fast for a human, and he even lets him fall ahead a few times.

It's just a little over half a mile to the cove and Derek pulls ahead just before the break in the treeline, hopping gracefully between two pines to find himself on a small, rocky beach. It's blocked in by two tall cliff faces, creating a small, private bay where the ocean comes through. Derek slows once he reaches the smoother sand, tipping his head back and taking a deep breath of the salty ocean air.

For a fleeting moment, Thomas actually thought he was going to win. When Derek had fallen behind, Thomas had almost faltered and turned to stare at him like this was all crazy. He hadn't expected to be the one that would have to tell a secret. He hadn't prepared for that.

Then, it all changes. Derek breezed by him and Thomas tried to speed up, to keep pace but couldn't keep up. He managed to keep Derek's broad shoulders and dark hair in his sights but every single time he got closer, Derek pulled further away.

By the time the salt of the ocean hit him, he was panting and sucking in great gulps of air. He came to a stop, legs feeling wobbly and unstable. The last time he'd run that fast, he'd been drawing the Griever away from Alby in an insane attempt to save both their lives.

"You're fast," Thomas panted, hands on his hips. "Shuck, you're a fast shank. You barely look tired."

Thomas' odd slang makes Derek chuckle, and then he bites his lip as he looks at him thoughtfully. "Yeah, that's part of what I have to tell you."

There's a big flat rock near the water's edge and Derek wanders over to it, pulling himself up onto the sun-warmed surface and stretching his legs out, turning his gaze over to Thomas as he approaches. "Do you remember your first day here, when I told you that not everyone here was human?"

"I remember," Thomas said as he followed behind Derek. He kicked up sand idly as he went, watching it cling to the bottom of his pants before falling off when he took another step. "

"What about it?" he asked, moving until he was standing in front of Derek. His legs begged him to sit down but he didn't. He needed to cool down and he didn't want to be looking up at Derek while he talked.

"Well," Derek starts, brow furrowing slightly before he looks up to meet Thomas' gaze. It throws Derek for a moment and he swallows hard. He never got to show Stiles this spot, so seeing that face here is an entirely new experience. "I'm one of the not human ones. I'm a werewolf."

He lets out a breath and watches Thomas, waiting for his reaction. It's then that he realizes that Thomas wouldn't even know what that was. Everyone he's told has at least had some idea of what a werewolf is, or at least shapeshifter lore. He's never had to explain that part before. "It means that I'm part man, and part wolf, I guess. A shapeshifter."

Thomas said nothing for several seconds. His expression remained blank, stoic. Honestly, he wasn't sure how to react. Not yet. He can tell that Derek is absolutely serious and, even if he wasn't, Thomas would have been a little ticked if he'd joked around like that.

But, he knew Derek wasn't joking. Thomas swallowed and straightened up, moving his body because the right words were escaping him right now. He didn't run away though.

"H - how did that even happen?" he stammered, peering closely at Derek like he'd be able to see the wolf side just by that. "Did someone make you this way? Did WICKED?"

Suspicion. It reared up and grabbed Thomas by the back of the neck, shaking him like that might help him see what this was, what kind of Trial he was in.

"I was born a wolf," Derek explains calmly, glad that Thomas is at least staying to hear him out. "Wolves can be made, but I'm not sure what WICKED is. Not in that context, at least."

Thomas says it like it's a thing, an entity, rather than an adjective, and Derek isn't sure what to say. He swallows hard and waits patiently, letting Thomas try to process it. "I just wanted you to know. I can show you, if you want."

"Show me?" Thomas repeated, swallowing thickly. He wanted to believe Derek, wanted to think he had no idea who WICKED was but that suspicion had snaked its way around his spine, squeezing until Thomas bent over, hands on his knees.

"I -- " He didn't know what to say to that offer. He wanted to see. He did. But he didn't. There were so many questions rattling around his head. "You...all right."

He needed to see. Derek had trusted him with his secret so Thomas wasn't going to run. He'd listen, he'd see and then he'd decide. "Show me," he requested quietly.

When Thomas bends over, Derek wants to reach out but he knows that wouldn't be the best idea. Instead he just waits for Thomas to ready, and he looks at him earnestly. "Just remember, I'm not going to hurt you, okay?"

He waits a beat and then lets his irises go red, and then holds out his hands so Thomas can see as his nails grow into sharp claws. Then he slowly opens his mouth, letting his fangs extend. He lets the change stop there for now, one step at a time. He looks at Thomas calmly, watching him with glowing red eyes.

"I'm still me," Derek tells him, words slightly muffled by his fangs. "There's just more to me than you thought."

"Shuck me," Thomas whispered, sound both awed and shocked all at once. Seeing the change actually happening in front of him leaves him wide eyed and open mouthed, breath puffing out in short, stilted exhales.

Thomas wondered if it hurt, how Derek was changing. He wondered how someone could be born like this and not created. And he wondered if Derek was telling the truth when he'd told Thomas that he wasn't going to hurt him.

Thomas swallowed again and steadied himself, hands at his sides and eyes glued to Derek's transformation.

Derek can't help but to smile a little at the slang, and he watches Thomas curiously as he looks him over. "This is just the first phase. There are two more. Just remember, you're safe."

He takes a breath and then lets the beta shift come over him, feeling his brow rippling and hair sprouting along his jaw. He stays as calm as possible to reassure Thomas, blinking a few times and looking at him. "This is called beta shift, and it's all that most werewolves can do, where I'm from at least."

Derek hopes that by being calm and taking to Thomas while in this form, it'll help him realize that this is still him under the fangs and fur. "But I'm an alpha, so I can take it one step further. I can take the form of an actual wolf."

If it's at all possible, Thomas's eyes widened even further. He can't help but think of the Grievers and the disgusting arms that grew from their blubbery bodies. The difference is that he'd never seen the Grievers change. They'd just been grotesque masses of rippling flesh, hell bent on killing anyone they came into contact with.

Derek was talking to him, reassuring him and while the claws looked dangerous, Derek wasn't making any move to lunge towards him.

"Alpha?" he repeated, looking up at Derek in both wonder and trepidation. "Are you gonna do that too?"

Curiosity gnawed at him and he found he wanted to see it all.

For a moment, Derek swears that Thomas looks at him as if he were a monster. It cuts Derek deeply for some reason and he swallows hard, letting the shift fade away until he's back to looking like a human, eyes pale and hazel and fingertips blunt.

"I can," Derek says quietly, looking back at Thomas with a furrowed brow. He seems more curious than anything, which is better then him running away in fear. Still, he doesn't know how Thomas feels about it all, or if they'll still be friends after this.

He takes a breath and slides off of the rock, pulling his tank off and laying it down on the rock. After that, he toes off his shoes and puts his socks in them, setting them next to his shirt. All that's left now are his pants and underwear, and he hooks a thumb back towards a taller rock before looking at Thomas. "I'll come out from there."

Derek goes behind the rock and sheds the rest of his clothing before taking a deep breath and shifting completely. His paws dig into the sand and he steps out from behind the rock as a big black wolf, eyes glowing red as he shakes out his thick fur.

He pads over to Thomas and stops a few feet away, sitting down on his haunches and thumping his tail against the sand once, watching him curiously.

If Thomas hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that the wolf in front of him was actually Derek. Thomas hadn't laid eyes on many (or any) wolves that he could remember but he retained the knowledge of what they should look like and his mental image matched pretty closely to what Derek looked like right now.

"You're still shucking big," he noted, licking his dry lips and taking a few tentative steps closer. He had to trust Derek here and believe that he wouldn't get hurt. Derek wasn't a Griever. His sole aim in life wasn't to kill. If Derek had wanted to hurt him, Thomas knew he'd be dead by now. He couldn't fight Derek off in human form let alone as wolf. "Show off."

The light teasing slips out before he could stop it but Thomas didn't care. He was closer to Derek now, able to see the thick fur up close and how red his eyes were. "Wow, man. That's...that's intense."

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