So Stiles still harbors a lot of guilt for his behavior towards Derek in the early days, especially as he gradually learns more about his past—why Derek reacted so badly to being touched, or being used for his body, why it was so cruel to try to blame him for Laura’s death.
Stiles mentioning this one day in passing and Scott saying, “Yeah, dude, me too.”
And Stiles thinks, ‘The first step is admitting there’s a problem,’ and then he thinks, ‘Oh.’
So he establishes an ‘I have wronged Derek Hale Support Group,’ which is a little long, so he just calls it ‘the Group,’ and the first meeting is just him and Scott, and he says shakily “Um, I guess… my name is Stiles Stilinski, and I have wronged Derek Hale. I once… I once used his body for my own personal gain. Without his consent. It was wrong and I’m very sorry. And… there’s more. Um. For next week.”
And Scott kind of squirms and says, “You already know my name is this really… okay, fine. My name is Scott McCall, and… I’ve wronged Derek Hale. I once accused him of murder. Okay, I twice accused him of murder, even when I knew he was innocent.”
And they both sit in silence for a while and then order a pizza, and the next week Allison comes along, and says, “My name is Allison Argent, and I’ve wronged Derek Hale. I blamed him for my mother’s death and threatened to kill him, and I’m very sorry. Especially because I know now it was not the truth.”
When Lydia comes, she apologizes for using Derek to resurrect Peter, “Though, of course,” she sniffs, “I was not in full possession of my mental faculties at the time.”
It takes Scott a couple weeks to work up to admitting to the Gerard thing.
A few times, Derek asks where they all go on Tuesday afternoon, tries (badly) to hide his hurt that Stiles won’t tell him, that he’s not invited. But besides the fact that the Group is supposed to be a safe space for its members, it would embarrass Derek if he knew.
Cora skypes in one week, says quietly, “My name is Cora Hale, and I’ve wronged my brother. I once told him that he disappointed me, and I didn’t mean it. I’m actually… I’m actually so proud of him.”
So it’s going really well. Everybody’s feeling… better.
Until, of course, Lydia points out the fatal flaw in Stiles’ otherwise brilliant plan.
“So when’s the part when we make amends? When we apologize to Derek so that we can actually get some closure?”
Which takes Stiles a minute, until he finally says, “We’re… going to write letters. Yeah, we’re going to write letters, and then if you want to send it, you can. Totally up to you.”
But even that backfires, when Derek shows up the next week, looking confused and a little angry, clutching a pile of letters in his hand. He looks around, at all of them sitting on their chairs in a circle, Erica looking uncomfortable, on her first visit, and then says, “What the hell is this?” all while shaking the letters.
“What’s… what?” Stiles says, hoping to keep things normal as long as possible, which goes right down the drain when Derek lifts the first letter on the pile and reads, “Dear Derek, I’m very sorry for accusing you of murder?” He flips it to the bottom of the pile, and reads from the new one, “Dear Derek, I’m very sorry I once told my father I wanted you dead and shot at your pack with arrows?” Allison shifts uncomfortably, and Derek starts on a new one, “Dear Derek, I don’t think you’re a disappointment at all.”
“Cora,” Stiles whispers, when Erica throws him a questioning glance.
“So, again,” Derek says, “What the hell is this?” This time, he gestures around their circle.
“Um…” Stiles says, when everybody looks in his direction, “It’s a… it’s an ‘I have wronged Derek Hale support group’?”
“A support group…” Derek repeats, “For people who have… wronged me?”
“Um, yes, that’s the general idea.”
“A group about me,” Derek says, still slowly, like Stiles is missing something big, “and yet I was the only one who wasn’t invited?”
“Um…” Stiles says, for like the millionth time, “Yes?”
“Okay, that is a little weird, now that I think about it,” Scott says.
“Well, you’re welcome to join us,” Stiles says, face burning.
And Derek pulls up a chair, and says, “My name is Derek Hale, and I’ve wronged Derek Hale.”
“Dude, I don’t think that’s what he…” Scott starts, and Allison elbows him in the side.
“I blamed—still blame—him, myself, I guess, for a lot of stuff that wasn’t actually my fault. So. I want to work on that.”
And Erica might be the first person to hug him.
But Stiles is the last to let go.
