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CHARACTERS: derek hale and scott mccall.
LOCATION: scott's room!!
WARNINGS: none!!
SUMMARY: post-plot breakdown.

[ derek will never get used to the aftermath of things like this, adjust to how it feels to have details of his life spilled out for anyone to see. this is contained, less damaging than the last round of it had been, but it's still hard to shake off. derek's instincts want him to curl in on himself, wait out the embarrassment and vulnerability, but derek's long past the days when he hid himself in the gardens.

this all needs to be...dealt with, is maybe what he means. it needs to be acknowledged at the least, and that's what has derek knocking on scott's door. he knows he called to cora and he knows he called scott. scott came after him. they'd met each other out in the halls, and they'd been separated again, and it's second nature to check up on him. scott's like a touchstone, and after derek's scraped himself together, checked in with cora, scott's the next logical stop. ]

I wanted to make sure you got back.

[ is the first thing derek says when scott opens the door, without bothering with a proper greeting. social niceties are never going to be something derek bothers with if he doesn't have to. ]

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Yeah, I was just gonna text you. [ scott's long past noticing or minding derek's abruptness, 90% of the time. he leans against the door frame, scratching at the back of his head with nails he's finally allowed to shrink back to human length again. he looks sleepy, because he is, but after all of that he's certainly counting his blessings that exhausted is as bad off as any of them are today. ] Everybody got back okay, at least of people I know. Cora made sure Stiles stayed here.

[ there's a moment of silent hesitation after that, as he tries to decide if he wants to ask about what drew derek out there, whether he found his mom. he's pretty sure it'd have derek clamming up and leaving as quickly as he arrived and he's not sure how much he feels like talking about finding his own mom out there either, just yet. but it happened and pretending it didn't isn't going to get them very far. ] Do people ever just show up? In the halls? Or everybody gets here in the pods in Medical? I mean I know that wasn't-- real. But I'm just wondering.

[ it's a relief to hear. everyone's safe. he hadn't managed to drag everyone into the halls with his weakness, his stupidity. stiles hadn't been tugged back into danger after everything. derek's shoulders relax a fraction, some of the tension leaving him. ]

You shouldn't have come after me.

[ but it meant something that he had, that scott had thought it was worth it to come after derek. the action carried weight. ]

The only people who come out of the halls are people who were here before us.

[ derek sounds angry, though it's all directed inwards at himself. he knew all of this, but he'd gone anyway, let himself be tricked. ]

People like us, from elsewhere, they all come out of the pods.

If I didn't, Cora would've. [ and whether cora wants to be pack or not she's someone from home and scott's not about to let her take on that sort of risk when he could do it himself. (especially when cora probably would've gone alone.) not that stopping her is the only reason he went; as complicated as derek's role has always been, he's one of them. scott was never going to just sit around and let this happen. but it doesn't occur to him that that might need articulating. ] She knows you're back, right?

[ he nods at the rest. he knew that. ] Yeah, that's what I thought. [ he just sort of... hoped would be the wrong word. ] Are those the only pods on the ship?

If it ever happens again, don't come after me.

[ like that's ever going to be possible. but derek has to say it, at least make the attempt. he doesn't know what else to do. all he can think is how not everyone is back yet, how great the risk had been. ]

She knows. We share a room. She wouldn't leave.

[ derek clearly has mixed feelings about it. it's good to have cora close, soothing to have her where he can see her, reassure himself of her safety. but derek and cora weren't exactly easy together. he's quiet for a moment, then shrugs. ]

As far as anyone knows, yes. No one's ever found any others. Why?

[ scott's frown says it all there, brow furrow and mouth crookedly opened. it's incredulous and a little indignant and definitely not agreeing to anything like that. ]

We have to stick together here, [ is what he says, not angrily, but like it's obvious - a thing he knows derek already knows. ] I'm not just going to sit and do nothing while you disappear.

[ but good, that cora knows. he nods a little at that, head bobbing, and then shrugs at the answer and counter-question. ] I don't know, just a thing I was wondering about. If the ship's really as big as a city how do we know there aren't other pods and whole other groups of passengers out there somewhere?

Stick together, yes. [ which is ironic, remembering the first time scott had arrived, wanted nothing to do with him. they'd both been so twisted up in anger then. derek sighs a little, resists the urge to rub his hands hard over his face. ] But I don't want you to risk yourself because I...

[ was stupid is what derek means to say. because that's what had happened, the only explanation. he'd been stupid. he'd done something stupid. if he'd gotten lost then he shouldn't take anyone with him. but convincing scott of that will take a near miracle. derek knows that. ]

We don't. [ though derek doesn't sound all that concerned. ] No one's ever found anyone else. Just the manticores. And rats, one time.