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He hadn’t thought even for a second, instincts roaring, and jumped in front of Derek, taking the blow.
And then he got lost in the darkness.
When Stiles came too, he found himself on the cold, dirty ground of the warehouse, blood still pooling around him from his injury. In the background, the fight went on, growls and snarls all he could hear, but he couldn’t focus on that. Not when Derek was cradling him in his arms, an expression on his face that Stiles hoped he would never have to see again. Black veins ran up through his arms.
Huh. That was why he didn’t feel any extreme discomfort, only a slight amount when he moved.
He brought his hand up, wincing at the sudden pain in his shoulder, pressing it against Derek’s cheek with whatever energy he did have remaining. His fingers brushed against something wet yet not quite as sticky as his own blood.
Tears.
Stiles took a sharp breath, regretting it almost a split second later, and began to rub his thumb against Derek’s cheek. Derek was sporting a fresh cut on the bridge of his nose and on his forehead. He ran his fingers across Derek’s face, tenderly brushing over his lips and down to his chin, and then towards his jaw, engraving it to memory.
He felt Derek’s jaw clench tight and then release over and over again, almost rhythmic. Stiles tried to mimic it with his breathing. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
Derek’s eyebrow furrowed and that caught Stiles’ eye. He traced those brows with the gentlest touch, moving to the forehead to smooth out the creases.
“What are you doing?” Derek asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Stiles could hardly hear him what with all the noise in the background.
He tried to force a smile, a comforting one—though it was probably more like a grimace—clearly not succeeding when he heard Derek’s whimper. “Memorizing you.”
“Why?” Derek’s voice broke. And in turn, it broke Stiles’ heart.
“Because,” he took one last good look at Derek, his voice trailing off, “I want to remember you forever.”
Derek’s face began to blur and Stiles squinted, trying to fix his vision. And then the thrum in his head began to become overwhelming, his vision swam, and Stiles could feel his entire body go limp with exhausted.
Stiles closed his eyes.
Worth It
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