Leave Me In Ruins

Herb cabinet

Derek admired how Stiles was able to focus on his research. Acting as if nothing had happened between them.

"Okay, so I found something that should work. It's nearly undetectable to you guys so not only will it mask your scent, it won't be super obvious." Stiles read from his laptop.

"What is it?" Derek wasn't aware of anything that could do what Stiles was claiming.

"Calendula, Hyacinth, Feverfew, Vervain and Yarrow root. Steep it in hot water like a tea and boom. Scent is gone."

"I can smell all of those things." Derek frowned, leaning over to see what Stiles was reading.

"Yes, but when you mix them together and steep them in hot water, you won't be able to."

"You're taking this advice from ghostfacers.com?" Derek raised an amused brow.

"Yeah, well their lore page on werewolves was pretty spot on so I thought maybe they'd be right about this too."

"Okay," Derek said doubtfully. He leaned back with a shake of his head.

"It can't hurt to try. Besides I'm pretty sure you have all those things in your herb cabinet." Stiles made his way to the large double-doored armoire that took up the east wall of Derek's living room area.

"My herb cabinet? If I recall, you and Lydia insisted I keep a list of useful herbs on hand and proceeded to fill an entire bookcase with every herb known to man."

"How many times has it come in handy? Remember the Selkie that took up residency in the river and was hunting the local fishermen? The Skullcap came in handy then. Or the Cerastes that was picking people off in the park? We'd have been up a creek without the Sansevieria." Stiles spoke as he scanned the dozens of glass jars and vials that lined the shelves.

"Yeah, yeah." Derek rolled his eyes. "I'll put on some hot water."

"Thanks." Stiles flashed a smile over his shoulder at Derek.

Derek's eyes lingered on Stiles' back for a moment. How he was so natural about things he would never know. He had been sure Stiles would be the one to act strange. He was thankful for how well he kept it together but he was also somewhat envious. Derek couldn't think about anything but how he wanted to kiss his pouting lips as he read useless information from his laptop. Or how he wanted to trace the moles on his neck as he stretched his stiff muscles.

Pulling his eyes from Stiles, Derek turned to make the hot water, pushing down the disappointment that rose in his throat.

Stiles gathered the herbs and made his way to the kitchen where Derek stood in a soft t shirt and sweatpants. He couldn't help but pause and marvel at the muscles that moved under the soft fabric as Derek reached for a mug from the cabinet.

Derek looked so domestic. It made Stiles' chest ache. He couldn't help but imagine walking into the kitchen after a night together to find Derek making them breakfast.

Stiles shook his head. Those were thoughts he hadn't entertained for years. His feelings for Derek had been stamped down so far he almost forgot what it was like to yearn for the alpha. The ache in his chest was not a feeling he missed. He just had to keep pretending like the only thing between him and Derek was physical attraction and maybe he would make it through. High school Stiles would have fainted at the idea of sleeping with Derek. But all he could think about was how he wanted to hold him. Kiss away the stress he failed to hide. Bring a smile to his scowling face.

Their friendship had come a long way. Derek's smiles were much more frequent. And his shoulders less tense. He carried conversations with Stiles that weren't riddled with overt threats.

"You find what you needed?" Derek asked, turning to see Stiles' arms full of glass jars.

"See? Handy." Stiles set the jars down on the table.

Derek chuckled before reaching for the rolling pot of water.

Stiles noted the way Derek's eyes crinkled with the slightest smile. They really had come a long way.

Derek watched as Stiles expertly mixed and tied the herbs into a small tea cloth. He'd always thought Stiles would make a good emissary if he tried.

"Okay, so I have to let it steep for five minutes in four ounces of water."

"That's gonna be potent."

"That's the point."

When the five minutes were up, the water looked murky.

"Bottom's up." Stiles winked, before tossing the now warm water back like a shot of whiskey.

Derek couldn't help but laugh at the face that Stiles pulled. His eyes clenched and his nose scrunched.

"That good huh?"

"It tastes kind of like what I imagine puddle water to taste like if the puddle water was from a rotten garden." Stiles gagged.

"How long did they say it would take to work?"

"Oh, you know, they didn't say," Stiles spoke thoughtfully as he rinsed the mug in the sink.

Derek was about to make a quip about the lack of information when Stiles' scent began to fade.

"Whoa, what's that face?" Stiles asked, when he turned to see Derek sneering.

"Your scent. It was super obvious and then it's like...I could smell it fade away."

Derek took a step forward as if the close proximity would help him to smell what he was missing. But there was nothing.

He stepped closer.

And closer.

And closer, until he was crowded into Stiles' space.

"So it worked?"

"I can smell your clothes but not...you. If that makes sense. It's like it erased your scent and so the only thing that I'm picking up is what you're wearing."

"Great." Stiles threw his hands up in excitement.

Derek dodged Stiles' flailing appendages as he took a step back.

"Why do you looked so upset?" Stiles frowned at the displeased look on Derek's face.

"It's just...strange," Derek lied, shaking his head as he attempted to school his features.

"Well I'm glad it worked."

Derek pushed down the disappointment as he followed Stiles back to the awaiting books in his living room. He knew it was necessary, but it didn't change the fact that Derek hated it. His scent on Stiles was something he was learning to love.

That's all Derek needed, something else to love about Stiles.

*AN*
Ha! I finally got it up! I wanted this up a few days ago but my husband's uncle was given only a couple weeks at most so we're dealing with that. I'm sorry if I'm MIA. I hope you like the chapter.