Chapter 20

2K 53 31
                                    

Fionnuala placed the packs into the microwave, before returning to the doorway and looking at Derek. He had finally fully relaxed. She shook her head. As soon as the hot packs were done, they were replacing the ice packs. And she knew Derek would not be happy with that. He would just tense up again.

She stepped further into the room and walked over to the bed. He was fully relaxed, she noted. And also appeared to be asleep. His breathing was deep and even. Maybe she could switch the packs out one by one while he was asleep and he wouldn't notice.

"Worth a shot," she whispered, going back to the kitchen and grabbing the hot packs.

Upon returning to the bedroom, she pulled the covers back and the back of his shirt up. Then she removed one ice pack. She sighed and removed the rest.

"You are so deceitful," she told him. "If you had completely relaxed during the ice packs, it wouldn't hurt as much when I have to put the hot packs back on."

"I'm not relaxing," he mumbled in return, his eyes still closed.

"Baby," she began, making his eyes fly open and dart over to her. She combed her fingers through his hair. "If you relax now, you won't be in as much pain in a couple minutes."

"But my back will be burning like hellfire for those couple minutes."

"How would you know? You didn't try relaxing when you had the hot packs on."

"Oh, I did. When you left to get the ice packs, I relaxed just a tiny bit. If it burns that much when I relax as little as that, I'm not interested in how much it'll burn if I completely relax."

"You won't get the ice packs back until you relax completely with the hot packs on. And not just for the two minutes. For a longer period of time."

Derek huffed, making her cover her mouth to hold back a laugh at how childish he sounded.

"No."

"Do you want the ice packs back?"

There was silence before he broke it. "You've never called me that before."

"Called you what?" she asked, her fingers still moving through his hair. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling.

"Baby. You've never called me that before. It's always handsome, big bad wolf, and I don't know if this one is gonna stay, but the latest one you said."

"What, cute?"

"No. Intimidatingly hot werewolf boyfriend. But you've never called me baby before."

"Haven't really felt the need to. But, considering how you reacted, maybe it's your kryptonite. I can use it as my secret weapon. However, you haven't answered my question. Do you want the ice packs back?"

"I just want the pain to be gone."

"And it will be. If you relax with the hot packs for a bit, I'll put the ice packs back on and that'll be the end of that."

"I don't want to feel the burn though."

"I'll help you through it, okay? I'll distract you."

"Okay," he whispered.

"Remember, the longer you tense, the more painful it will be when you relax."

He nodded, taking a deep breath as she began placing the fresh hot packs on his back. She pulled the back of his shirt down and the covers back up.

"Relax, baby. The sooner you relax, the sooner the burn will be gone." She saw a little of the tension leave his back muscles, before he bit the back of his hand and she heard a small, just barely there, wolf-like whine. "You're doing so well. Keep going."

As he kept relaxing, the whine grew more noticeable.

"There we go. Good job. I know it hurts, but you're doing so well."

When Derek had finally completely relaxed, Fionnuala whispered, "Look at me."

He turned his head, his eyes shining blue and his fangs out. But there was something else. His eyes weren't just shining blue. They were shining with tears.

"It hurts," he said, voice almost inaudible.

"You're doing such a good job." She smiled at him. "I'm so proud of you. But I did promise you something."

"The ice packs."

"Alright. Make that two somethings. Yes, I did promise the ice packs. But that's in 20 minutes. I also promised to distract you." With that, she leaned forward and caught his lips in a kiss. "Don't cry, handsome."

"I can't help it. It hurts too much."

"You can do it, okay? You're strong."

"This hurts more than when you stuffed the gunpowder into my arm."

"You were tense for a while. But if you need to cry, go ahead. I won't judge."

"You're lucky," he said, burying his face in his arms. "You're the only one who's been allowed to see my vulnerable side since I was 16."

"When your family's house burned?"

He nodded. "Please keep going. It was distracting me."

"The kissing?"

"Well, yeah. But also your hand in my hair. That's another thing only you've been allowed to do."

Fionnuala smiled as she resumed running her hand through his hair. "How can I kiss you when you're turned away from me?"

He turned his head to look back at her. "Is this better?"

She leaned forward, capturing his lips in another gentle kiss. That, combined with her running her hand through his hair helped him relax completely. However, when he did, he let out a cry of pain as the fire grew worse.

"No, no, no, no. Don't tense up. Remember, it gets worse if you tense up. Relax. In a couple minutes, the fire won't be as bad."

"But it's really bad right now," he whimpered.

"16 minutes left, baby. 16 minutes of the hot packs, then it's cold packs for the rest of the night. I promise. You just need to stay relaxed. And remember what I said. If you need to cry, go ahead. I won't judge."

Tears filled his blue eyes again, as he looked at her. "You promise not to judge?"

"I promise."

I know that in the tv show, Derek is not this emotional. But he does not have a girlfriend like Fi in the tv show, so I need him to be a soft boi when she's around.

Some of you may or may not have noticed the kryptonite comment earlier that Fi made. If any of you have seen Supergirl, you will understand because Tyler Hoechlin was a guest star in a few of the episodes as Superman. I just thought it'd be kind of hilarious to include that in there.

Forbidden Hidden Love (Teen Wolf)(Book 1)Where stories live. Discover now