The space filled with white light, and Derek felt like he was slowly spinning somehow.
Was he dying? No, he'd only been poisoned, and the poison had worked its way through his system. He couldn't be dying now.
Derek.
He knew that voice. He'd memorized that voice. He opened his eyes. (They were closed?) And she was there.
Paige. His Paige. His beautiful, sweet, Paige.
Derek felt a sob in his throat and tried to stifle it. She brushed her fingers over his face, studying him, as if searching for the Derek she'd known before, when they were young and foolish.
It's okay, Derek. She said, finally. It's okay to need someone.
"I need you," he whispered to the dream.
She shook her head, long black tresses gently swaying.
Remember how scared I was? She touched his face again, smiling up at him, her eyes so full of trust and love that his stomach clenched. You were so kind to me. Gentle. What I needed. She nodded, and Derek realized he wasn't alone in this dream, that Stiles was curled up next to him, his breath warm on his chest, his arms loosely around him.
Be what he needs. She leaned down and kissed him then, her lips so soft, ghosting against his own. I'll always love you, Derek. I forgive you.
He watched, eyes brimming with tears as she backed away, into the bright white light, and then everything was blurring, brighter and brighter.
*
Derek awoke, his eyes slitting open, the memory of the dream still upon him. Stiles was curled against him as he had been in the dream. Though they had gone to sleep side by side, at some point the boy had turned over, had wrapped one arm across Derek's stomach and pillowed his head on his chest. His own arm had tightened around the human's slim shoulders, keeping him close, and his cheek was snugged against the crown of his head.
But it wasn't just their upper bodies that were pressed together. At some point when Stiles had shifted, he had slid his thigh between Derek's own, and their legs had tangled, but more dangerous, their groins were nestled together. He could feel a half-hard arousal pressed against his own, and it felt...good. The only males he'd ever slept with before (actually slept) were Isaac and his other pack brothers when he was a child. This...this was something different.
He stayed still, not wanting to wake Stiles, and just...savoured the moment. The human was still in his sleep, content. His heartbeat steady, and slow with sleep. Derek reveled in this moment, knowing that when the boy awoke everything would change. But maybe things didn't have to change for the worse. Stiles had nursed him through the poisoning though he didn't have to. He could have contacted Heather or the guards or just yelled until someone showed up, but he hadn't. He'd been...confident. More confident than Derek ever remembered him being. It was probably the first time in a long time the boy had felt in control.
Was that the key to the human's happiness? Derek frowned and shifted subtly. He felt like he was on the key to understanding something big, something that would change his life forever. If only he could figure out what it was.