Same Old Song and Dance(Sterek)

Loyal

Derek stared down at the trodden dirt path that Stiles had carved with his pacing. His attention, however, wasn't on the rambled words of the hunter in front of him but the brunette inside, pleading her case to a crowd of people who wanted him dead.

"-and she says the wrong thing, then they'll never help us. What if they don't help. What if they just call Gerard. What are we gonna do then?"

Stiles paused to see Derek's eyes unfocused on the ground.

"You're not even listening to me," Stiles threw his hands up. "Wait, you're listening...what's being said?"

He stepped towards Derek with an anxious spring in his step.

Derek held up a finger as if telling Stiles to wait.

Stiles' fingers rapped against his thigh as he waited, his eyes darting around them expecting hunters to emerge.

"It seems like it's going well," Derek lifted his eyes to Stiles'.

"That's it? What's being said? Who's there?" Stiles demanded, his arms flailing around him once again.

"She's explained the situation. Someone just asked about Corey," Derek stiffened as the sound of his name reached his ears.

"What? What is it?" Stiles noted the sudden discomfort in Derek's posture.

"She told them about me."

Stiles' fingers raked through his hair snagging at a few tangled strands as they went, "Oh god, how are they taking it?"

"There's a lot of...questioning...some doubt."

"What's being said? Like what exactly?" Stiles took another step towards Derek as if he could hear alongside him.

"It's all kind of jumbled questions but Allison is staying calm," Derek's eyes unfocused back onto the dirt path that Stiles had made as he listened closely.

"Are they demanding my head on a stake? Are they calling Gerard or Kate?"

"No. They're asking her if she has proof and asking why they should trust me. And-" Derek's eyes snapped to Stiles' then.

"What?" Stiles swore he could hear his own heartbeat as the blood pumped through his ears.

"She told them that we're nearby."

"What? That's not part of the plan," Stiles squeaked, whirling to face the building, half expecting an angry swarm of hunters to come flooding out.

"They want to know why you won't show yourself to them."

"That's it, I'm going in," Stiles turned to walk in, but Derek caught his arm.

"Don't. Let her handle this."

"She's not handling it, she's telling them that we're nearby," Stiles growled, attempting to pull from Derek's grasp, but Derek held strong.

"I refuse to let you march into a warehouse full of people who might still see you as the enemy," Derek's tone dripped with desperation as he pleaded with Stiles.

Stiles hesitated, his eyes dragging from Derek to the warehouse and back.

"She's begging them to do their own research subtly and to check the cemetery for..." Derek trailed off.

"Good, good. She's making them think for themselves. It's what works for us. Finding information and using it to our advantage."

"She's saying that if they find what she says to be true then she'll set up another meeting to discuss things further," Derek's hand still clasped Stiles' arm.