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“What happened to you?” Stiles asks, gaping.
He can honestly say when Ethan had left Beacon Hills months ago to go god-knows-where, he hadn’t expected the guy to ever come back, and he certainly hadn’t expected him to come tumbling through Scott’s living room window, bruised and bloody, his clothes in tatters.
“Oh my god,” Scott says, dropping his Xbox controller and leaping off the couch. “Ethan?”
“McCall,” Ethan says, brushing himself off. His hair and skin are dark with grime, and he coughs a little into the crook of his elbow. “I need to borrow some clothes.”
“Dude,” Stiles says, eyes wide. “I think you need a little more than clothes. Maybe a bath, and like, twenty bandages.”
“I’m fine,” Ethan says, waving him off. “I just need a new shirt and I’ll get out of here.”
“No way,” Scott argues. “You need to go see Deaton. Where have you been? What happened to you?
“I really don’t have time for this,” Ethan says, starting for the door.
“Hey.” Scott grabs his arm, and Ethan winces. “Dude, c’mon. What’s going on?”
“McCall, it’s Valentine’s Day, I finally managed to get myself back here, and I need some new clothes. Are you gonna help me, or not?”
“Let’s go,” Stiles says, rolling his eyes and heading for the stairs. “Tell us what happened while you change.”
------
“You got in a fight with an alpha and you’re not going to go get checked out?” Scott demands.
“I’m going to go see Danny,” Ethan says, pulling one of Scott’s shirts over his head. “Deaton’s going to want to keep me there for hours, and I’m not going to miss seeing him today over a few little scratches that’ll heal in a few hours anyway.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Scott says, frowning. “You think Danny’s going to want to see you all ripped up like this?”
Ethan frowns but doesn’t answer, only thumps back down the stairs and to the front door.
“Thanks for the clothes,” he calls. “If I start dying I’ll let you know.”
------
“Ethan?”
Danny stands in the doorway, staring like he’s seen a ghost. Or, you know, a werewolf.
“Danny,” Ethan says, suddenly feeling awkward. He’s been wanting this for so long, and now that he’s standing here, he finds he has no clue what to do.
Danny solves that problem pretty quickly.
“Ethan,” he repeats, grabbing him and pulling him in for a hug. “What happened to you? Are you okay? What are you doing here?”
“It’s a long story,” Ethan says. “But I’m fine. And I- I wanted to see you.”
“Oh my god. Come inside and get cleaned up. Oh my…”
He leads the way to the bathroom, and pushes Ethan down onto the toilet seat.
“Stay there.”
He wets a washcloth and raises an eyebrow for permission.
Ethan nods, not really knowing what they are anymore or what this is, but not really caring, either. He lets Danny pull his shirt off, and shivers a little despite the warmth of the water as Danny runs the washcloth over his chest.
“I missed you,” Danny says quietly.
“I missed you too.”
“I can see that,” Danny says, smiling a little. “You dragged yourself all the way back here, and apparently didn’t even bother to heal first.”
“I stopped to borrow some new clothes from Scott.”
“And you bled on them,” Danny deadpans. He manages to keep a straight face for all of three seconds before he cracks a grin. He starts laughing, and Ethan does too, and a feeling of home crashes over him in a way it hasn’t in forever, and he finds himself missing Danny more than ever, even sitting right here in front of him.
“I really missed you,” Ethan finds himself saying again. “It’s been a long time.”
“I know. Don’t leave me like that again,” Danny says, bending down to hug him, despite getting his shirt a little wet. “And don’t go getting yourself beaten up and give me a heart attack like that again, either.”
“C’mon, it’s Valentine’s Day,” Ethan says, grinning for the first time in a long time. “I wanted to be with you.”
“I’m glad. Idiot.”
“Your idiot,” Ethan offers, giving him a lopsided smile.
“My idiot.”