The first time Stiles came home was the second weekend after Stiles had moved away. Stiles came barging into the loft like he always does, already mid-sentence in what sounded like the beginning of a very long rant.
Derek wondered how long he had been talking to himself before this.
“How difficult is it to turn to someone when you’re talking to them? Is it that hard? Is it fucking rocket science? No! It’s easy! Just turn your fucking head a few degrees, and I’ll be able to see what you’re saying! But noooo, that’s too hard for like, 90% of my dorm to figure out. Which means I miss about 90% of what’s going on, like, say, the party they all went to tonight. Leaving me alone in an entire dorm!”
Derek stayed on his spot on the couch, watching as Stiles yelled and paced across his floor.
“You were the only one left in your whole dorm?” he asked, brow furrowed in concern.
Stiles doesn’t look at him, so he probably didn’t hear. Or he ignored him in favour of continuing his rant.
“And don’t even get me started on the professors. Have any of them heard of a microphone? Or writing something on a board, or powerpoint? How am I supposed to follow along when I can’t read lips and write at the same time! Which I can do, by the way, cause I’m awesome, but I can’t do it for three hours. I tried, and at some point my finger slipped and it was all random letters from there.”
Now Derek was really concerned. Were the teachers at Davis discriminating against Stiles because of his disability? He stood up when Stiles starting to change the subject to the cafeteria food, he needed to know more about these professors.
He stepped in front of the boy while Stiles was mid-pace, placing his hands on his shoulders so he didn’t tip over.
“What about these professors? Are they being unfair to you? Are you being discriminated against?” Derek asked. Or he tried to ask, it actually came out more like a growl.. Huh, he hadn’t known he was so angry about this.
Stiles blinked at him, before shaking his head and grabbing onto Derek’s shoulders, “calm down, sourwolf, this isn’t some civil rights issue.”
Derek felt his eyes flash, “it is if they are purposefully doing something against you just because of your hearing. That’s discrimination. There are many people with disabilities who go to university, they can all be successful with just a few adaptations!”
Stiles raised an eyebrow at him, “adaptations? Have you been researching again?”
Derek released Stiles shoulders, but he can’t step back without pushing Stiles hands off of him too. He was not willing to do that.
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“That’s not the point Stiles, you should be given a hard copy of their notes. Or be allowed to record the lectures.”
“I-” Stiles huffed, letting go and stepping away so he could fall onto the couch. “I hadn’t wanted to be.. Different. In high school I was always known as ‘that kid who can’t hear’. They all thought it was unfair that I didn’t have to take notes and stuff..”
Derek sat down beside him, “you wanted a fresh start, where no one knew you?”
Stiles glanced over at him, “is that stupid?”
Derek shook his head, “of course not, that’s what we got in New York after all. It’s pretty great.”
Stiles sighed, “but I can’t keep going to these classes and coming out with nothing. I’m going to fail, and we can’t afford that. We can barely afford to send me to university in the first place.”
Derek clapped him on the shoulder, “talk to your professors, maybe they can email you the notes? Then no one has to know.”
Stiles nodded, still looking glum.
Luckily, Derek had learned the best ways to lighten Stiles’ mood.
“Want to go get curly fries?”
Stiles looked over at him, before a giant grin split across his face, “you know it!”
Derek grinned back, pushing Stiles until they were climbing into the Camarao.
Stiles was in a good mood for the rest of the night. Derek decided to deal with the dorm mates problem later.
--
Stiles had come to back to the loft the weekend after that, and then again after that.. Now they were halfway through the first term and Stiles had only spent two weekends on campus.
In many ways, it’s kind of like Stiles never left. Actually, Derek is talking to the whole pack way more than he thought he would be, not just Stiles.
In hindsight, Derek does not know why he had been worried about his packmates moving away. He is pretty sure he talks to some of them more now than he had when they actually lived here.
His phone and computer are always buzzing with a text, or Whatsapp message, or Facebook message, or Skype, or hell, Words With Friends. Derek doesn't know how to use many of these aps, Stiles was the one who downloaded them onto his phone in the first place.
Sometimes he turns off his phone just to get some peace and quiet. Usually Isaac, Erica, or Boyd show up within the hour whenever he does that though, checking in on him and turning his phone back on. Traitors.
Stiles only laughs when Derek complains about it.
“I told you sourwolf, pack is pack, no matter how far. Don’t lie, you love it.”
They were all annoying brats. Although Derek grudgingly agree that he did love it… he would never tell Stiles that though.
But while he was talking to them all still... Actual day to day life in Beacon Hills without the pack was kind of boring. Isaac worked mornings and afternoons at a local diner, every day but Tuesday. Erica worked three days a week at a clothing store and three nights a week at one of the three bars in town. Boyd drove for 45 minutes every week day into the next town to take community college classes. They were all in early childhood education, he wanted to own his own preschool one day. Apparently he had spent most of his time growing up looking after his younger siblings, and he had known early on what his career path would be. Stiles, as mentioned before, lived two hours away most of the week. The rest even farther than that.
Derek was proud and impressed with them all. He was left with little to do though. Only a few supernatural incidents had come up since the pack had moved away, and he had been able to handle them all on his own.. In a day.
He was seriously considering getting a job. A weekday job though, because he wanted his weekends to be free still. The pack liked to visit on the weekends. And he needed to make sure he had days to deal any supernatural thing that popped up… and.. Stiles was coming home pretty much every weekend. Not that that would stop him if he had to go to work but… it was definitely becoming a factor.
Derek’s still not sure when Stiles had become a factor.