I love it when Stiles gets herd-dogged into the pack. Especially if Derek doesn't necessarily want it to happen but his Betas are making it happen.
"Master Plan" is the trauma-bond cheat code to unlock the enemies-to-friends-to-pack speed run. Post torture basement, Erica and Boyd both decide this is their human now k thnx bye. Isaac still doesn't fully like him, but both of his friends are here so fuck it, guess he's here too.
Stiles thought one werewolf randomly showing up in his room was weird and now he's got three more of them doing it. Any given day, there's a 80% chance he will get home to someone else in his room. He gets up in the morning and Erica is doing her eyeliner in the mirror, Boyd is brushing his teeth with a spare toothbrush, and Isaac is a blanket burrito still 75% asleep in the bathtub. He gets used to going to sleep alone and waking up with anywhere from one to three people with him.
And what's Derek going to do about it, honestly? Him bossing them around has already proven to Very Much Not Work, and he's outnumbered three to one on this. He can't find a Beta? Odds are Stiles has them. They keep bringing him around because he's "the only one of us with a car, Derek" and since he won't let them drive the Camaro, it's unfortunately a valid argument. And since Stiles constantly smells like the Betas and vice versa, Derek gets fully Pavlov'd into associating Stiles with pack. He's in a box here.
When Derek buys the loft, all three Betas get a key, and he gives one to Stiles too. "Path of least resistance," is all he says about it.
(Erica already made him a copy.)
(Stiles keeps it anyway.)
