✓ | BACK TO YOU , DAIGE AU ( 1 )

thirty seven. learning to bend

PAIGE'S EYES DREW OPEN SUDDENLY AS SHE LAID IN BED. After spending a few hours at the mall, the three went back home to the loft when they hung out a little bit more again. Derek had managed to hide the engagement ring in a place where Paige wouldn't find it with a little assistance of Selina.

The sky gradually got darker as it became later in the day and into night, Selina headed off back to her house since she had school related work to do and she didn't want them to go through the trouble of Selina staying another night at the loft. She thought it would be better if the couple spent the rest of the day alone.

The woman's eyes scanned around the area, her lower body was covered with the bed sheets where her phone was lying in easy arms reach. It seems she may've fell asleep while on her phone otherwise it would've been on the bedside like it normally was. But that wasn't the only thing that was strange.

Derek wasn't behind her holding Paige in his sleep like normal, instead he was fast asleep on the couch facing the back cushions. Confused, Paige quietly slipped out of bed and tiptoed over to the Hale to check on him after putting her phone aside. The werewolf knelt down beside him exhaling quietly before reaching for the seam of his white tank top.

Carefully, Paige pulled it back far enough to see the bullet wound that Paige noticed earlier that day, but it wasn't healing, maybe worse than it was when she last saw it which left her confused. Before she could do anything else, Derek's hands suddenly pushed Paige's off the wound, giving her a slight scare and making her sigh.

"What are you doing?"Derek asked curiously, holding the bottom of his tank top. "Protecting my boyfriend"Paige answered tilting her head to the side when Derek gave her a nod with a grin. "Why aren't you healing?". "Some wounds take longer"Derek informed his girlfriend breathly.

"And some leave scars, but not for werewolves"Paige added on, not convinced. "So, what's going on?". "Maybe I'm just tired..."Derek suggested while letting go of his top. "Then sleep in the bed where there's a nice comfy mattress and not on the couch..."Paige encouraged as Derek turned around, facing away from Paige. "Derek, show me your eyes..."

"You just saw them"Derek stated sassily and Paige exhaled deeply. "Don't be a pouty drama queen"She insisted. "Show me your real eyes"Annoyed in a way, Derek turned around to face his questioning girlfriend, but he tried shimmering his eyes how hard he could. There was absolutely no result and Paige gave him a subtle nod.

"Now, why don't you tell me what's really going on?"

~

Derek had to come clean whether he liked it or not. Since his wound from the bullet wasn't healing, Paige had to help protect it the normal human way; with first aid. It wasn't causing Derek much pain apparently, but Paige insisted she'd patch it up.

Derek stood by the table as Paige pressed down on the medical tape gently. "It's just a graze, but make sure it doesn't get infected..."Paige informed her boyfriend when he touched it lightly for a moment before grabbing his grey t-shirt from the table. "That's something you've never had to worry about before..."

Derek shook his head as the put his shirt over his head, pulling the bottom down to cover his chest as Paige now stood at the right hand side of the table. "So, it's everything then?"Paige concluded in a questional tone. "No glowing eyes, no healing...". "No hearing, speed, everything"Derek added on in defeat.

"Strength?"Paige asked. "I can still win a fight"Derek stated obviously. "I beg to differ"Paige said teasingly, looking around with a small grin growing on her face. "Selina has a lot of anger"Derek confessed shyly. However, Paige put a smirk on her face, leaving Derek confused until the woman put her elbow on the table which made the Hale chuckle to himself.

Regardless of that however, he put his elbow own as well, intertwining his fingers in between Paige's. "You ready?"Paige asked and Derek nodded with confidence, looking into her eyes. "One, two..."Before she could say three, Paige hit where Derek's wound was and pulled his arm down to the table.

"God, you cheated"Derek complained with a wince. "That's cheating-" "I won"Paige said proudly. "Sometimes you need to bend the rules a little bit"Derek exhaled quickly before aiming his eyes to Paige's face with an angry look still on his face that he had lost.

"I'm gonna teach you how to bend"

~

Guns. Paige was talking about guns and Derek wanted to die inside. He said to her on numerous occasions that he hated them, but Paige wasn't going to let his complaining get in the way of finding another way of protecting himself since he no longer had his powers.

In a secret compartment, Paige pulled out a gun or two and walked back over to the table where Derek stood frustrated. Braeden had taught her how to use a gun in case if something happened and needed another way to fight. Now she got to teach her boyfriend what she knew.

"This is a Sig Sauer P2269mm..."Paige lectured to the gun laying on top of an open book.

"I don't like guns"Derek stated with a heavy sigh and a hand on his hip.

"That's because you've never learned to use one"Paige informed the annoyed Hale. "Or because I've been shot"Derek said. "Repeatedly"

"You'll like this one"Paige assured and she took the gun in her hand whilst taking out the ammo at the bottom. "The legal clip size in California is ten, you always want to remember how many shots you fire. Running out of bullets can get you killed, it also makes you look stupid"

Paige put the ammo back into the gun, clicking it in place before taking out Derek's hand and passing the gun over. "But using a gun isn't just about learning how to point and shoot"Paige stated. "Why's that?"Derek asked curiously.

"Because an average person can move 21 ft in 1.5 seconds"Paige explained. "If they have a knife, they can gut you before you can pull and fire. So with a gun, you need distance"Derek continued to stare down at the gun in his hand as Paige moved her position to Derek's right, her back against the large window.

"Go for it"Paige tested and Derek gave her a curious look when she put her arms out. "Pull the gun on me"Derek let out a chuckle before standing eye to eye with his girlfriend, but when he put the gun up, Paige immediately twisted it out of Derek's grip which made him react awkwardly from how fast.

"Wanna try again?"Paige offered, holding out the gun and Derek took it again with a nod. Paige smirked as she stood, waiting for the second go while Derek shook his arms and legs, getting ready to go again. He exhaled deeply about to go, but even trying to be quick and surprising, Paige still managed to twist and pull it away without struggle.

Paige looked down, pressing her lips together as she took a few steps towards the determined Hale. "One more time"He decided. "I could do this all day"Paige said and Derek's hums, their faces inches away from each others and eyes stuck to each others. It wasn't even half a second before their lips crashed onto each other in a passionate kiss.

However, Paige was sure that Derek didn't expect the gun being pointed at his lower chest where his wound was, causing the Hale to pause from kissing every inch of Paige's lower face. They pulled apart, Derek's hands cupping his girlfriends face. "You cheated..."The woman whispered and Derek pulled his head away a little.

"I'm learning to bend"