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Ever since Stiles became a vegan his life changed, in a very good way. He felt better, with much more energy, a lighter stomach after eating and also his conscience felt cleaner because he didn’t add too much to the climate change and didn’t provide money to the industry that kills animals to make their asses rich. So yeah, life was fucking good, except… except lately Stiles has been feeling exactly the opposite. He’s been tired, has had a hard time concentrating in simple tasks, headaches have become a regular occurrence and he’s pretty sure he seems paler than usual (if that’s even possible) but the worst thing of all? Derek’s been noticing, of course, and Stiles is sure his doctor mode’s gonna kick in any moment and Stiles? Stiles hates doctors even though he’s been dating one for the past four years.Stiles is currently sitting on their sofa, trying to concentrate on the TV show that’s on when he feels Derek’s nose on his neck.“Dude, what the heck!” Stiles flails, dropping the remote in the process, after almost hitting his boyfriend in the face.“You smell weird” Derek grunts, always the bright ray of sunshine.“Excuse me? I showered two hours ago FYI” Stiles says indignantly.“It’s five PM” Derek deadpans.Stiles gapes a little before responding, “Not the point Derek!” Stiles glares at him.“You smell sick, are you feeling sick?” Derek frowns, ignoring Stile’s last sentence.
Yup, doctor mode is on.
“I’m fine Derek, just tired, okay?” Stiles doesn’t know why he’s acting so defensive but he feels weird when people mother him.Derek ignores him, once again, and quickly puts a hand on Stiles forehead looking for a fever and before Stiles has the chance to protest Derek declares “no fever”. His brows furrow even further.“See? Told you, I’m fine” Stiles tells Derek, crossing his arms against his chest petulantly (because he’s not four, at all).“You’re not fine, Stiles! Don’t think I haven’t noticed how tired and unfocused you’ve been lately, you’re paler than usual and your headaches have been coming more frequently than ever. You’re also very irritable” Derek tells him with a slight raised voice. He takes a deep breath before continuing. “I thought I was exaggerating but now you smell sick and I don’t like it” Derek says softly.Stiles can’t bear to see that kicked puppy look on Derek’s face so he avoids his eyes. “I’m not irritable” he mumbles.Derek lets out an exasperated sigh, “I’ll be right back. Stay put”. He gives Stiles a pointed look and leaves in the direction of their bedroom.Stiles rolls his eyes but does as he’s told, not wanting to get into a fight since his head has already began to throb.When Derek gets back into the living room, he’s carrying his medical bag so Stiles immediately knows what’s coming.“Oooh no, nonono. You don’t get to play doctor with me Derek” Stiles says, standing up from the couch, only to be stopped right away by Derek.“Stiles, I’m serious!” Derek says firmly, placing both hands on Stiles’ shoulders to prevent him from trying to escape again.“So am I!” Stiles says with a hard expression set on his face. “You know I hate this!”Derek holds Stiles’ face between his hands. “Stiles, if this is what I think it is we can solve it easily but if we don’t, it can get bad, okay? I just want you to be healthy so please, cooperate. We’ll finish this quickly and then I’ll be out of your way, I promise.” Derek says softly, looking at Stiles with his gorgeous -though full of concern- kaleidoscope eyes.Stiles has never been able to resist them so he knows this is a lost battle. He groans just to put up a show but says “Fine”, rolling, yet again, his eyes.Derek seems relieved, which just makes Stiles feel guilty, because he knows his boyfriend is worried and wants what’s best for him, and well, he has been feeling pretty shitty lately.Derek gets to action sitting next to Stiles and setting his supplies on the coffee table: stethoscope, thermometer, otoscope and other stuff. He first starts asking Stiles some questions. “Have you been feeling tired? Shaky?”“Yes, but you already knew that” Stiles says a bit exasperated.“Don’t be a dick and answer all the questions Stiles” Derek growls and Stiles holds ups his arms in front of him in a surrender manner.“Do you get tingles in your feet or hands?” Derek continues. Stiles nods. “Okay, how often are you getting headaches?”Stiles taps a finger on his chin, considering lying or not but decides he better not. “Nearly every day for a few weeks now”. Judging by Derek’s face, that’s pretty bad. “But don’t worry, they’re not so bad” Stiles quickly says shaking his hands in front of him, trying to make the matter lighter for Derek’s sake. Doesn’t really work though.Derek closes his eyes, as if trying to regain some composure and when he opens them again, his professional face is back on. “How about your bowel movement? Diarrhea, constipation?”Stiles opens his whiskey eyes widely. “Derek!” he says, scandalized.“Just answer the question, Stiles” Derek says patiently.
Stiles avoids his boyfriend’s gaze. Even though they’ve been together for four years, and lived in the same apartment for two, is never not embarrassing when someone asks you about your toilet problems. “I uhm, I’ve been pretty constipated lately” he says in a low voice, blood rushing to his pale cheeks.“When was the last time you evacuated?” Derek says, still wearing his professional face.“I- two, maybe three days ago?” Stiles mumbles, still blushing.“Okay. I’ll check you now” Derek says, getting to work. “Put this under your arm” he asks Stiles, picking the thermometer up and giving it to him. He starts touching around his neck after that, then checks his ears with the otoscope, listens to his heart and lungs, ordering him to take deep breaths.The thermometer beeps and Derek takes it from Stiles’ hands to read it. He then asks Stiles to lie down on the couch on his back and pulls his shirt up to expose his belly and starts palpating his stomach in different places. At this, Stiles winces a bit, since he hasn’t gone to the toilet in so long and his tummy is feeling rather heavy and puffy.“Sorry babe” Derek tells Stiles, slipping out of his doctor mode for a second, and reaches up to run his thumb across Stiles’ cheek. Stiles gives him a small smile in return.Once Derek is finished, his brows are still furrowed. Stiles sits up and waits patiently for Derek to speak.“Alright, I think my suspicion might be correct. I think you have vitamin B12 deficiency. I’ll have to take a blood sample, because I can’t prescribe you anything until we know for sure.” Derek says calmly.Stiles, upon hearing this, pales (even more, if that’s possible) and shakes his head. “No, no, no, no!” he knows his face must be pure panic because Derek immediately holds his face between his large hands and strokes his cheeks.“Baby, I’m sorry but we have to know for certain. Vitamin B12 deficiency is fairly easy to solve but if not, you can get anemic and even worse, have neurological damage. Please, I’ll try to be as quick and gentle as possible.” Derek pleaded, his eyes wide and imploring.Stiles inhales deeply and exhales shakily a couple of times trying not to panic. It seems to work but it doesn’t make the fact that a needle is going to poke his arm any better. He’ll probably cry and embarrass himself. Great Stiles.“Okay” Stiles finally says, though is definitely not okay.Derek smiles softly. “Okay. It’ll be fine babe” he tells Stiles and gives him two quick pecks on the lips. “We’ll have to do it tomorrow though, because you’ll need to fast for 8 hours before I can take the sample”.“Fuck, I thought it could be over now, I forgot about fasting. Now I’ll have to wait for the torture even more?!” Stiles flails for the last part.“Come on Stiles, don’t be dramatic, is not torture. Besides, is for your own good” Derek tells him rolling his eyes.“I know” Stiles replies, looking down.“Hey, how about we watch a movie, your choice, and then we have a nice bath before a late dinner?” Derek asks Stiles, brushing a few strands of hair off his face.“Okay, let’s do that” Stiles says leaning into the touch.
-o-
Stiles gets waken up obscenely early in the morning by a gentle hand on his hair. 6 AM is not an acceptable time to wake up on a Saturday, Derek, thank you very much.“Morning baby” Derek says placing soft kisses all over Stiles’ face and okay, Stiles can maybe forgive him this time.“Mmh, w’sup?” Stiles mumbles against Derek’s lips. Derek places a firm kiss on Stiles mouth before replying.“I have to take the sample before I go to work, so get up, wash your face and brush your teeth, I’ll wait for you in the living room” Derek tells Stiles, planting a kiss to his forehead and then to his nose before making his way out of the room.Stiles processes this information a tad too late and sits up abruptly, groaning and burying his face in his hands. He stands up and makes his way to the bathroom. He hopes the cool water helps him calm down a bit before the panic he knows is coming soon settles on his body.When Stiles gets to the living room he sees Derek drinking a steaming cup of coffee on the couch. When he sees Stiles, he places the cup on the table and stands up taking Stiles’ hand to lead him to the spot he was previously using on the couch.“We’ll use the couch’s arm as a table for you to put your arm on. I’ll just bring a chair and we’ll begin. Try to relax in the meanwhile”As if that’s possible Stiles doesn’t say, but is a near thing.Derek goes to the kitchen to get the chair and goes back to the living room. He places the chair in front of the couch’s arm and grabs his medical bag, placing it within reach. He then goes to the bathroom, and Stiles can hear the sound of the faucet as Derek, presumably, washes his hands.Stiles hears Derek return while sitting on the couch trying not to have a panic attack. His ears start ringing but he’s immediately grounded by two large hands on his shoulders.“Breathe, Stiles, I’ve got you” Derek says in a soothing voice. The effect is instantaneous. Stiles can feel himself calming down as soon as Derek starts talking. “Alright, let’s start so we can finish quickly, okay?” Derek continues in a low voice and Stiles nods, taking one last deep breath.Derek lets go of Stiles and begins to grab all of the needed supplies: purple rubber gloves, sterile pads, band aids, the sample tubes, a medical tourniquet and the much dreaded needle. After that Derek places one of the couch’s small cushions on top of the couch’s arm for Stiles to place his arm. He puts on the rubber gloves and takes Stiles’ arm gently, putting it over the cushion at a comfortable angle.“Okay babe, you have to breathe throughout the procedure, that’s really important. I’ll put the tourniquet on you now” Derek tells Stiles and takes said item from the table and secures it on Stiles arm. “Make a fist, please”. Stiles does as told and his veins pop up right away. Luckily he doesn’t have small veins or it’ll be even more of a nightmare.Derek proceeds to clean a small area on the crook of Stiles arm with the sterile pad. Stiles flinches a bit at the sudden coldness and takes a deep, shaky breath. Any time now.Derek takes the preassembled vacuum collector needle and disposable tube holder from the table. “Okay, bab, deep breath” Derek tells Stiles, who obeys, while aligning the needle with the selected vein, “and let it out” and pushes it in. Stiles whimpers and shuts his eyes tightly. “I know, I’m sorry” Derek says, loosening the tourniquet and attaching the sample tube to the tube holder and the blood starts to make its way to it, filling it up.Stiles inhales and exhales shallowly and quickly and a few tears make their way down his cheeks.Derek finishes up and quickly but gently takes the tube and the needle out, placing the safety device over it, drawing another whimper out of Stiles, and places another pad to the puncture, pressing it slightly. “Hold it there Stiles, without bending your arm” Derek requests and waits for Stiles to do as told. He then takes the gloves off. He takes Stiles’ arm with his glove free hand and starts to take some of the pain. “It’s okay, it’s over now. You can open your eyes” Derek tells Stiles while running a thumb up and down his arm.Stiles’ eyes flatter open, all red rimmed and wet lashes. Upon seeing Derek, he quickly looks down to avoid his eyes, suddenly feeling very embarrassed. Derek takes the pad from Stiles and places a small round band aid instead and takes Stiles’ face between his hands, running his thumbs under his eyes to brush away the tears. “Stiles, look at me, you don’t have to be embarrassed, I won’t laugh at you, you know that.” Derek says gently. Stiles lifts his gaze towards his boyfriends eyes.“I’m sorry”, Stiles whispers brokenly.“Hey, none of that. You did good, my love”, Derek says softly, yet firmly. “Now, would you like some breakfast or do you want to go sleep a bit more?”, Derek asks him.“I think I’ll just sleep some more, I’m a bit tired.”“Alright”, Derek says and places a smacking kiss to Stiles’ forehead, “off to bed then”. He helps Stiles stand up and wraps an arm around his waist to guide him towards the bedroom.Stiles takes his wolf slippers off (at which he added some angry eyebrows made out of black fabric specially to mock Derek) and climbs to bed pulling the comforter to his chin. Derek sits beside him and tucks him in and runs a hand through Stiles’ unruly hair.“I have to go to work now. I’ll take the sample to the lab right away and hopefully in a couple of days we’ll get the results. Don’t do any strength for at least 20 minutes with that arm, okay?” Derek says and Stiles nods, eyes drooping already. “Alright, I finish early today so I’ll see you soon”. Derek places a lingering peck to Stiles’ lips and nuzzles his cheek.“Thank you, Sourwolf” Stiles mumbles with half-open eyes and a small smile plastered on his face. “I love you”.A big grin forms on Derek’s face. “I love you, too”, he says and makes his way out of the room, leaving the door ajar.-o-
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
A couple of days later, Stiles is sitting on the kitchen table working on his laptop when he hears the front door.“Stiles?” Derek calls from the entryway and Stiles can hear him putting the keys on the bowl on table, taking his jacket off and hanging it in the rack and the thud his bag makes on the floor.“Kitchen, big guy” Stiles says at a normal tone, since, you know, werewolves.Derek enters the kitchen just as Stiles raises his eyes from his laptop. Derek is tilting his head to one side and is wearing a soft expression, one that, Stiles knows, reserves just for him.“Hi baby” Stiles says and makes his way to his boyfriend. Derek waits there with open arms so Stiles takes the last few steps and settles in the embrace. Stiles buries his nose in Derek’s neck and breathes. “I missed you” he mumbles.Derek holds Stiles tightly in his arms and nuzzles his temple. “It was only a couple of days, silly” Derek says, though his tone is fond.“I know. Missed you anyway”. Stiles replies and places a small kiss to Derek’s neck. “So, how was the congress?” he says, unburying himself from Derek’s neck to look at him, nosing his cheek in the process.Derek’s eyes immediately light up at the mention of the congress. “It was great! They presented this really interesting study about a possible therapy for a very crappy illness, the one I was talking to you about the other day…”Derek says, and starts rambling about medical stuff that Stiles can’t understand even half of, but he just listens because he’s just glad his boyfriend loves his career with a passion that you don’t get to see very often anymore.Derek has come a long way since he was in his early twenties and Stiles was a flailing teenager (not that the flailing has gotten that much better, but at least he has a bit more control over his limbs). Derek was broody and stoic and he gave away this sad aura that he tried to hide with angry eyebrows that spoke for themselves. He never talked about what he liked to eat or what his hobbies were. Actually, he never talked about anything unless it was related to some supernatural occurrence.Stiles and Derek started to get close without realizing, under very shitty circumstances, but it worked for them. They built a friendship (that they denied to everyone and their mothers at first) that developed into something more, feelings related, though they could never act on it because everything got in the way. They weren’t prepared emotionally at first, after all that happened since Scott was bitten, and then Derek had to leave town, to try and heal his wounds, both old and new. Stiles understood why Derek had to go, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. He remembered him every day for many years, he missed their odd friendship but most of all he just missed him.They talked about it before Derek left. He explained to Stiles, as best he could, how much damage this town did to him since that fucking fire took away his family and then when it took Laura, and it took Erica and Boyd, Allison, and Isaac left and how he just couldn’t lose any more people because of it.Stiles told him that it was alright, that it was good that he was thinking about himself for once, instead of worrying (in his own way) about everyone else. He also told him that it was better if he didn’t call because Stiles knew that would only mean telling him bad news, knowing for sure that what happened in Mexico wasn’t going to be the last crappy thing going on in their lives; though, he would find a way to let him know that he was safe.They hugged for a long time after that, the first and last hug they shared, at least in a long time. They might have shed one or two tears, maybe a hundred but didn’t comment on them, and Derek left the next morning. They didn’t see each other for nine years.One day, Stiles was running late to one of his classes in Stanford, his second to last year in psychology, when he saw him, mid laugh and looking more gorgeous than ever. Derek. He was sitting with a couple of people in a bench and his head was thrown back from laughing. Stiles had never seen Derek laughing before and he felt the silly urge to cry from happiness alone.A breeze surrounded him suddenly and Derek stopped smiling abruptly. Stiles saw him take a breath and that was when Derek became aware of his presence. He turned in Stiles’ direction with huge, hazel eyes one second and was right in front of him the next, hugging him so tightly it was almost painful.After that, everything was the same as before but at the same time so different. They interacted as if they weren’t apart for nine years, still bantering and teasing but their conversations were much more happy and relaxed. Derek told him that he was in his last year in Medical school and that he was doing great. His eyes sparkled the whole time. Stiles’ heart did too.They fell in love all over again, but this time they did it right. Four and a half years later they are standing in the kitchen of their own place, discussing every day-stuff and holding each other, more in love than ever.They move to the couch when Derek finishes telling Stiles about the congress and cuddle for a long time.After a while of comfortable silence, Derek breaks it.“I forgot to tell you” he says, and Stiles throws his head back a little to look at him better and raises an eyebrow in question. “I got the lab results back and my suspicions were correct. You have vitamin B12 deficiency”.“Okay, so… that means I just have to take some pills and I’m good as new?” Stiles asks, hopeful.“I’m afraid not, Stiles” Derek says running a hand trough Stiles’ hair. “How have you been feeling these past couple of days?” he asks.Stiles considers lying for a moment to stop worrying Derek, but knows he’ll hear the lie in his heart, so there’s no use. “I think the symptoms are getting worse” he tells Derek softly, dropping his gaze to avoid eye contact.“Okay babe. You’re not going to like this, but I will have to give you vitamin B12 shots to treat this. I know you hate shots but we have to, at least at first. Then, when you feel better, we’re going to buy some supplements to avoid this in the future” Derek says, holding Stiles’ chin to make him look at him.At that, Stiles feels the anger and panic coming. He stands up from the couch and looks at Derek accusingly.“I- why! Can’t I just take some pills and be done with it? Why do you like poking me with needles so much when you know I hate them Derek!” Stiles yells and Derek’s face is miserable, but Stiles can’t find it in him to feel guilty.“Do you think I enjoy doing this to you, Stiles?” Derek says and his voice is uncharacteristically quiet.“Well, it seems like it” Stiles replies, lifting his arms, his voice still loud, though not as loud as before.“That’s not fair Stiles!” Derek says loudly, suddenly angry too. “All I want is for you to be healthy and if this is the solution, well so be it. I’m sorry you think so little of me that you think I don’t know how much this affects you, how much you hate it. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t consider it absolutely necessary!” Derek is standing up now too, pacing the room, something he does when he needs to cool down a bit.“How would you know, if you’ve never had to get a shot in your entire fucking life, dude!” Stiles replies, his eyes prickling with unshed, angry tears.“Because I’m a doctor, Stiles! I deal with this every day, with kids and with adults too. It’s a common thing and is understandable to be afraid of a harm that is necessary but of which you can’t have control over” Derek says, more calmly now. “And no, I haven’t had to get a shot ever in my life but I know what it is not to be able to have control over something you don’t like and it happening anyway, so yes, I do get it”. Derek takes a deep breath before continuing. “I’ll be in our room. I need to cool off a bit, and so do you. Find me when you’re ready”. With this, Derek makes his way to said place leaving Stiles to his own thoughts.Stiles stands there, alone in the middle of the living room. All the anger leaves his body in an instant with Derek’s last words. God, I’m such a dick!. He knows is not fair to blame this on Derek and even less to take his anger and frustration on him.Stiles’ been afraid of needles since, well, forever and always gets like this about it, because people never understand what is like. He can’t control it. But so far, Derek’s the only one who’s tried to understand (not even his father does a 100%), and he was an asshole to him. He needs to fix it.Stiles makes his way to their bedroom and finds Derek sitting on the edge of the bed, in sweatpants and a soft-looking t-shirt. His hair is disheveled, probably from running his hands through it. He doesn’t look that upset anymore, only tired.“Derek?” Stiles says, only to receive a ‘mmh’ in response. “Der, I’m sorry” he continues, speaking softly, knowing Derek will be able to hear him. He walks tentatively towards his boyfriend and stands in front of him. “I’m really sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean it”.Derek lifts his head and looks at Stile, his gaze hard for a moment before turning soft. He opens his arms and Stiles takes that as a cue to straddle Derek’s lap. Derek immediately surrounds him with his strong arms and Stiles hides his face in the crook of his neck, sighing. He hates arguing with Derek, over all when he's the one that puts such a sad face on him.“I know you didn’t mean it baby, it’s okay” Derek says, running a big hand up and down Stiles’ back.“It’s not, Derek, it’s not okay!” Stiles says, untangling himself from the embrace for a moment to look at Derek in the eyes. “I know you don’t do this on purpose, I know you don’t enjoy doing this to me and I always say things I don’t mean when I’m in this situation and I’m sorry you had to be the target today” Stiles continues, cradling Derek’s face between his large hands and running his thumbs over the slightly dark bags under his eyes.Derek looks at him for a long moment before nodding and bringing Stiles close again, burying his nose in his hair. They stay like that for a bit, just enjoying the after-argument warmth before Derek brakes the silence.“We still need to do this, you know that, right?” he asks Stiles gently.Stiles only squeezes his arms tighter around Derek and nods, his heart quickening, but he knows there’s no other choice. He’s tired of feeling crappy and irritable.“It’ll be okay, I promise” Derek says against Stiles’ temple, placing a lingering kiss there. “I bought the shots before coming home, so what do you say we do this now to get it over with for today, and then we stay in bed all day, and order take out? Curly fries, maybe?” He continues speaking with his mouth pressed there.Stiles takes a shuddering breath and nods his head again.“I have a question first” Stiles says and doesn’t wait for Derek’s answer before continuing. “Do I have to quit being a vegan for this?” he asks.“No, of course not. You know I support you a 100% in this, but this time we’ll do it right. We’ll take all the precautions to avoid this in the future, alright?” Derek says.“Okay” Stiles says, smiling a little from relief.“Okay, I’ll go get the stuff we need. Stay here.” Derek says and stands up with Stiles still in his arms. He turns around and places Stiles on top of the covers before going to the living room to gather his bag.In the meanwhile, Stiles tries to take deep breaths to avoid a panic attack. That’s how Derek finds him, but he’s already wearing a somewhat professional face. Stiles knows he does this so that his panic doesn’t affect him as much.“You need to relax Stiles. Can you try to do that for me?” Derek says to Stiles, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Take deep breaths and let them out slowly” Derek repeats this until Stiles’ heart isn’t racing as much. He then goes to the bathroom and washes his hands before going back to the room again.“Alright, I have to administer this in a large muscle; it can be the thigh or the butt cheek. Where do you prefer?” Derek asks Stiles.“Neither?” Stiles says sheepishly, only to get a dose of the patented Sourwolf eyebrows. “Okay, sorry, just- wherever it hurts less, I guess”, he says resigned.“The butt cheek has more tissue so that’d be the best option for you”, Derek says, while getting the ampoules out of the box, and the syringe, needle and sterile pads. He gets the syringe out of its package, assembles the needle and breaks the vial. He uncaps the needle and starts to draw out the red liquid with it until the vial is empty. Derek taps the syringe with his fingernails to get rid of the air bubbles and caps the needle again, placing the syringe on the nightstand.“Stiles, can you lie down on your tummy for me and put your pants down a little? Enough to expose the upper part of your cheek, please” Derek instructs.Stiles puts a hand in his chest in an mocking scandalized manner and gasps. “What? You haven’t even bought me dinner yet and you’re asking me to drop my pants? I’m not that easy mister”, he says, trying to bring some humor to the nasty situation, makind Derek chuckle, and does as told. Once he’s settled he turns his head to look at his boyfriend, the side of his face buried in Derek’s pillow.Derek sits down next to Stiles’ hip and opens the sterile pad. He cleans a medium sized area on Stiles’ upper and outer, right butt cheek and Stiles’ hands are twitching to reach down and cover the area to avoid the needle that’s soon to come, but knowing it wouldn’t accomplish anything he makes an effort and stays as still as possible.“Remember, you need to breathe through it Stiles, or it will hurt much more than it should; these shots in particular tend to sting a lot so it’s very important that you breathe” Derek tells him, and he obeys, now realizing he was holding his breath.Derek places his thumb and fore and middle finger separated on top of Stiles’ cheek and pulls the skin a little and uncaps the needle one-handed. “Relax the muscle baby” he tells Stiles gently and waits until the muscle is no longer tense. With a confident move, Derek inserts the needle at a 90° angle and draws back the plunger a little to see if there’s any blood.Stiles yelps when the sharp needle bites his butt cheek and tries to concentrate on his breathing. Come on Stiles, you can do this, it’ll be over soon.That thought goes to hell the second Derek starts to press the plunger. The liquid stings so much that Stiles can’t help but tense all over again. “Derek!” he shouts desperately, tears already making their way down his cheeks. His knuckles are white from the iron grip he's got on the sheets.“I know, Stiles, I’m so sorry. It’ll be over soon, I promise, but you need to stay still and relax baby, please” Derek says and has to stop inserting the liquid, since Stiles’ cheek is hard from the tension. Continuing would only cause a huge bruise to form and he wouldn’t be able to sit for a while.Stiles is shaking, but he tries his best to relax. Once his ass cheek is no longer rock-hard Derek continues administering the shot until the syringe is finally empty. It felt like an eternity to Stiles, but Derek takes the needle out and quickly places another pad to the puncture, massaging the area a little in order to let the vitamin spread. Stiles whimpers at that and his breathing is way too hard. He has his face buried in the pillow and his hands are still clenching the sheets with all his will.Derek re-caps the needle and places it on the night stand. He replaces the pad with a little Band-Aid and places his hand next to it to draw some of the pain. “It’s over now baby. Can you look at me now, please?” Derek says in a very gentle tone. With his other hand he reaches to Stiles’ hair and runs his long fingers through it.Stiles slowly unburies himself from his safety nest and turns on his side carefully. He knows his face is a mess, full of tears and snot but he can’t feel it in him to feel embarrassed.“There you are” Derek says, smiling softly. He rearranges Stiles’ pants and helps him sit up a bit. Derek cleans the tears and snot with the palms of his hands, apparently not caring one bit how disgusting it is. “You did great, my love” Derek tells Stiles and the aforementioned sniffs and makes his way to Derek’s lap, looking for another safety nest for his face to burrow in.“Sorry”, Stiles mumbles on Derek’s neck.“What are you sorry for? There’s nothing to be sorry for, Stiles”, Derek replies, tightly embracing him.“For being a child about it”, Stiles mumbles again, still sniffing now and then.“You weren’t being a child, baby”, Derek whispers in Stiles’ ear. “Come on, let’s take a warm shower so we can order curly fries and be lazy for the rest of the day”.Since Stiles refuses to disentangle himself from Derek, Derek just stands up with him in his arms to carry him to the bathroom.He places Stiles on the toilet’s closed lid and starts getting rid of his clothes, while Stiles does the same. They get in the shower once the water’s warm and hug each other for a long time, letting the shower’s spray relax their muscles.Stiles, as always, tells Derek that they can’t keep wasting the water and turns the shower off, taking his towel, and passing Derek his. They both secure the towels around their hips and Stiles takes a smaller towel from the cabinet and starts drying Derek’s hair with it, ruffling and making a mess of it.Derek laughs, takes the towel from Stiles and does the same for him. When they are dry enough, Stiles steals the towel back and tosses it on top of the sink. He takes Derek’s cheeks between his large hands, squeezes a bit and places a lingering peck to his lips.Derek takes Stiles’ hands from his face and brings them back to his neck. He places his own hands on Stiles’ back and kisses him again, this time deeply.Stiles is the first to break the kiss, leaning his head back a little, but his eyes remain closed for a bit or two. He opens them, and finds Derek licking his lip, to chase the taste and Stiles can’t help but dive in again. “I love you so, so much” he mumbles against Derek’s mouth.Derek smiles, mouth still pressed against Stiles’. “I love you too, so much”, he says and then they're both grinning like the idiots in love they are.
-o-