[ With wewerenothing & agedbackwards ] "Smells like teen spirit."

[likerightnow]

It was a complete mindfuck for Stiles to have Derek with them as a teenager. There hadn't been any time to get used to it either, because as soon as he was dug out of the pits of Mexican hell by Scott and Braeden, they knew they had to get him home to Beacon Hills - and to Deaton - to figure out how the fuck to fix him. That was, at least, after Derek finished puking his guts up at the side of Stiles' Jeep and promptly passing out when he was done, causing Stiles to have to catch him and shove him into the back of the Jeep.

Now he was stuck a teenager. Deaton had no idea how to fix him, and Stiles was pretty sure that, despite Kate resorting to these measures for her own gain, she probably had no idea how to fix him either. And if she did, she wouldn't play nice and just give them the solution because Derek was a lot more vulnerable and weak as a wolf in his teenage form. He didn't even know how to really control his transformations at this age. Everything was just one big mess.

None of it changed the fact that they couldn't put off any longer telling him what really happened, and what happened to his family. He was pissed off at them for lying to him, so keeping up that charade wouldn't work at all. They didn't know how long he would stay a teenager, if he could even go back to an adult, and they had to tell him. Derek was taking a shower when Scott came home and agreed the time had come. No more beating around the bush or Derek would be pushed over the edge. Melissa had left cookies and hot chocolate before she made herself scarce, and Stiles was sitting at the table, fidgeting and bouncing his leg anxiously. "This is not going to go well. How can it go well?"

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[wewerenothing]

Scott had been starting to wonder if Derek was going to be stuck like this. What if he couldn't get back to an adult? At least he seemed to trust Scott, which was something. Without that, all this would be so much more difficult. But in all honesty, the mess with Kate aside, he was just worried about Derek's wellbeing and state of mind. His mom hadn't hesitated at all in insisting Derek come stay with them. There were bunk beds in the room Isaac lived in these days, from the days when Scott and Stiles were kids and had sleepovers. He still had to break the news to Isaac that he was going to have a room mate, but everyone was doing what they could to make it easier on Derek.

"We still have to tell him, though. And you gotta admit, teenage Derek is a lot more pleasant to be around than adult Derek. I think this one actually has a sense of humour. Just for the record, Dad thought he was your boyfriend and you made the cousin story up to cover," he added, shooting his best friend a smirk across the table.

[agedbackwards]

Derek admittedly felt a little better after a shower. His clothes had been gross, he had felt all grimy. He was glad he had a place to shower and it turned out he hadn't even had to borrow a fresh change of clothes from anyone because Lydia and Kira had kindly gone to the mall and picked some things of his own up for him. Apparently Lydia really knew her fashion too. The Diesel jeans and FCUK t-shirt looked pretty damn good. He just wasn't looking forward to the next part at all. Whatever was going on was completely fucked up, and part of him really wanted to crawl into a bed with the covers over his head and not come out again for, well, ever.

He went back downstairs into the kitchen where he had sat with Stiles and Scott's dad not all that long ago. There were a few moments of awkward lingering by the door before he went in and sat down next to Stiles and across from Scott. "So, am I some sort of clone or something? Apparently you all know me, but I know sweet FA about any of you."

[likerightnow]

Stiles shared a glance with Scott... but only once he managed to drag his eyes away from Derek. For some reason, he found the younger Derek attractive. Maybe it was a lot to do with personality, because adult Derek was more like a big brother to him who had to put up with a pain in the ass younger sibling. Derek was wanting to cut to the chase, though. Who could blame him? "More like... aged regressed," he tried to explain.

He had been going over and over in his head workable ways of trying to explain this to Derek but there was none. "Kate kidnapped you, or had you kidnapped. She took you to Mexico and whatever she did there, it regressed you back to teenage years. To before a lot of really bad crap happened to you and made you, uh... very bitter. Long story short, to us, you're usually probably late twenties. Maybe more. You've never actually told us your age or your birthday."

[wewerenothing]

"She locked you away in this tomb in some ancient ruins of a church. We would tell you more, but honestly, we don't really know exactly what happened ourselves. We thought a family of Mexican hunters too you, but it turns out they were just looking for you to find Kate... or something," Scott added with a frown of confusion. He wished it all made a lot more sense, but if they couldn't even understand it, how could Derek as a teenager?

He also had no idea how much he should actually say yet. Should they throw it all at him at once, or just take baby steps. "You, um, you used to be an alpha but you gave it up to save Cora's life. Stiles is right, it's all a really long story and we don't really have any good news for you. To be honest, your life has been pretty shit, complicated by the Argents. Kate the biggest perpetrator. We think she wanted you aged backwards to a time you trusted her to get hold of the Triskelion because she believes that's how you learned how to control your transformations. She's been turned... into a werejaguar, and she can't control her transformations."

[agedbackwards]

Derek wanted to tell them both they were nuts and vehemently protest what they were saying. He wanted to get pissed off at them for lying to him. He wanted to lose his shit and get the hell out of this vortex of weird. Instead, he just remained silent and he looked between them both, trying to process what they were saying. Angry wasn't something he liked feeling... which was ironic considering Peter was telling him that's exactly how he needed to be to survive. "Aged backwards...?" he asked quietly, finally breaking the silence.

He gave a small shake of his head. It was information overload, but it wasn't like they hadn't warned him to be prepared. "W-What bad crap?" It was a question he didn't want the answer to, but he seemed to realise that to understand, he had to know. "Something happened to my family, didn't it? That's why my house has been knocked down. What happened to Cora? Where's my mom?" He hated that he was tearing up again, but if nothing else, it was out of feeling incredibly scared and lost. This must be what waking up from a coma felt like.

[likerightnow]

This was the part Stiles really didn't want to do. He didn't want to be the one to deliver the tough blow, but at the same time, there was just something inside him that wanted to give it a shot. He felt like he owed it to Derek, and he didn't even know why. He wasn't a wolf, he wasn't Derek's alpha. In fact, their prior interactions were almost completely based on Derek being a misery guts and Stiles constantly feeling like he was either getting on his nerves or getting in his way. But when he looked at Derek now, he just seemed to understand how scared and lonely he must be feeling.

"There was a fire. Started by Kate Argent... the Argents are hunters, Derek," he began to explain, lowering his gaze to the surface of his mug for a moment or two. "That's not something you're probably aware of, uh, at the age you are. But it's true. They're hunters, and she's one of the most vicious. She brought you back to this time because she knew you still trusted her and didn't know what she was. She basically played you, and used you for her bitch... again. She only ever used you to get information about your family, and then once she had, she burned your house down to kill them all. Your mother died, you were at school with Laura. Peter ended up in a coma. Laura was left the alpha, from what I have been told, and ultimately Peter, the power-whore, killed Laura to get that status. From there on, it just gets more messy, and more miserable. As did you. Miserable and vengeful. This you isn't the you we all know."

[wewerenothing]

Scott actually winced when Stiles dealt the blow to Derek. He found himself inwardly bracing himself, and without being able to stop it, he tried to think how he would feel if someone came to him and told him he was aged backwards and his mom was dead. Sick, horrified, crushed, terrified... and that was only the start of the list. He didn't know whether he should add more information or let Derek process as much as he could for now. "C-Cora survived," he added quietly, nervously. He even wanted to give Derek a hug. WTF? He wanted to give Derek Hale a hug. Adult Derek would probably punch him if he tried that. "You killed Peter and took his alpha status, but the bitch came back from the dead. You ended up taking Cora... somewhere well away from here to protect her."

Stiles was struggling. Scott knew Stiles so well, they were brothers in every way but blood. He was shaken. Stiles never wanted to hurt anyone and even though none of this was their fault, Stiles was shouldering the weight of it. Now all they could do was brace themselves to see how Derek reacted to all this.

[agedbackwards]

Derek just felt really cold. He was listening and he didn't want to lose his shit again. He asked them both to sit down with him and be straight about what was going on, and they were. But hearing your mom was dead, and your family in tatters, it was hard to swallow. He stayed quiet and listened even more, the unbelievable information being delivered that they knew him... just a very different him. An adult him who was miserable and vengeful. Who had been so angry after all this stuff, he changed. Derek wasn't an angry person. His mother never raised him to be like that. He was respectful and loyal, protective when he needed to be. But not vengeful.

When he blinked, it caused a couple of tears to escape, but he just brushed them away. "D-Don't worry," he stammered. "I mean, about telling me all this. I'm not angry at you guys. I've been a dick, I know, but I just didn't understand anything. And I... this all really hurts, but I'm glad you're being honest with me and not lying anymore. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do or say. My mom, she's dead..." he said out loud, words hitching when his voice broke and he just buried his face in his hands.

[likerightnow]

As soon as Derek was burying his face in his hands, Stiles found himself giving Derek's back a small rub. "I know how it feels." The words were so honest and nothing else would be enough. He did know what it felt like to lose his mom, so he knew the sick, lost, terrified feeling Derek would be feeling right now. Ironically, Derek as an adult, Stiles never really paused to think that they had been in the same boat once upon a time. Now Derek was the same age, and he had so much more empathy for him. Derek as an adult could barely stand his presence, but that didn't mean this Derek would feel the same.

"You take whatever time you need to deal with this. If you want company, we're here. The whole pack is here. If you need a hug, Scott's mom gives awesome ones. If you just want to go to bed and sleep for a week, that's okay too. You've got a warm bed, you've got clothes. There's food if you're hungry. If you want a change of scenery, you can come crash at my place. It's just Dad and me there, and he works mental hours so we can hang. I know right now it probably feels like you're alone, but you're not, okay? I promise. We've all got your back."

[wewerenothing]

Stiles' words were so gentle and kind. Scott was proud of him being able to respect that this was Derek, it wasn't some doppelgänger, but also that he could honour the fact it was a very different Derek. Where adult Derek wouldn't let anyone in, furiously worked to make sure he didn't really need to rely on anyone else emotionally, this one needed comfort and reassurance. He needed to know it was okay to be upset and to grieve, and that he wasn't alone. Stiles nailed it and Scott met his gaze briefly with a proud nod.

"If you have any questions, we'll answer them the best we can. Or even if the answer sucks, we'll still try. It might be hard to sleep, but mom always tells me that when things are tough, to try to rest as much as you can because stress and emotional upheaval takes more energy than people realise. But Stiles is right, man. You're not on your own by a long shot. We're not your family, we can't even come close to being a good substitute. But we're your pack, and we have got your back with this. If you want to cry, it's cool. Trust me, we've all done a lot of that lately," he said with a sigh.