#stiles is dumb

[twpromptsillneverwrite]

Scott: Don't let your boyfriend Stiles distract you.

Derek: Stiles and I aren't dating.

Stiles: We aren't? Then what about the movie nights, the late night dinners, the amazing sex, the...

Derek: Wait, are we dating?

Isaac: Good thing you realized it cause you were about to miss your anniversary.

[subpar-celestial]

I NEED a formal apology for being weirded out by sterek because I just saw some shit with Tyler Hoachlen talking about how inconsistent his characters age is.

AND UPON REWATCH IT ISSSS!!! At the beginning Stiles openly States Derek is just a few years older than them (presumably 2-3 max), but as the show goes on I SWEAR they start treating this man like he's in his thirties!!

AND I KNOW y'all are gonna mention how Crystal Reed was older than Tyler Hoechlin and it's trueeee, but it's all about the perception. None of them were actually highschool age but we perceived them to be and then Derek just like kept getting older and older.

By the end he was pretty solidly roped in with the adults. In my mind there was the pack (Scott and the gang), the adult pack (parents+ Derek), and the puppy pack (you all know who all that refers to).

Basically my dumbass with short term memory forgot that Stiles literally says Derek is a few years older than him, and I got confused about the legitimacy of these fictional characters relationship.

[patolemus]

AU where Stiles and Derek are both in high school and they have this long standing rivalry that started years ago back when they were still in elementary school and they hate each other, absolutely despise each other. Do they remember why? Not really, but they do know they must beat the other at all costs.

Derek is captain of the basketball team and Stiles does track. They both have trophies and awards, Derek has won the state championship ever since he started playing, and Stiles gets gold or silver in all of his events during competitions. Their GPA is exactly the same, Stiles is a History genius and Derek always aces English. They both suck at Chemistry, and they hate Harris. It's the only thing they ever agree on.

The only other highlight of their high school career besides their epic and everlasting hate-hate relationship is the anonymous person they've been talking to through annotated books.

Stiles blames his impulsiveness, because one day in freshman year he picked up a book full of little notes in the margin of the pages in the library and decided to answer all of them with his own little insights. Somehow he ends up having entire conversations made in intervals of a few days, in the form of words written on paper.

Derek? Well, he likes to annotate books and have mini conversations with himself, and he uses a pencil to write them, it’s not like he’s permanently damaging school property or anything! He starts caring less and less about that, though, when someone starts leaving answers to his annotations, much more invested on the conversations than on the preservation of school property.

Now, years later, about eighty percent of the library's books contain little messages and full blown conversations between two complete strangers. Stiles and Derek are about to graduate, and neither of them knows who this other person is. Which is a tragedy because they're pretty sure this mysterious person is the love of their life.

Spoiler alert: they're right.

[feelsforsterek]

↳ TRUE ALPHA DEREK HALE SUPREMACY!!

[kvtnisseverdeen]

TEEN WOLF: 1.01 "Wolf Moon"

[dontcallpanic]

I was tagged by the unbelievably incredible @patolemus to do a not-wednesday WIP. And it's wednesday! So have a not-wednesday wednesday WIP!

Because you are the queen of breaking and filling my heart with your beautiful writing I wanted to share something deep and meaningful and profound. But I can only write goofy situational humour. So have this from the small strange town au WIP instead!

____________

Stiles only makes it about ten paces down the street before he hears the bang of a door and angry sounding footsteps. He’s not even sure how footsteps can sound angry but somehow they do. He doesn’t turn around because hey, not everything is about him and in this case, he really hopes it’s not about him. Besides he only knows Alison in this town and he may not know her well, but he knows her well enough to know she doesn’t stomp.

Then someone shouts his name.

Again? Seriously? How can this many people want to talk to him, he’s barely been here a day!

He turns around slowly, exercising a healthy amount of trepidation, wondering what the hell is going to happen now. His worries aren’t at all assuaged when he sees Cora of all people, stalking towards him with a perpetual scowl drawn across her face.

Stiles tries his hardest, he really does, but he can’t help taking a reflexive step back in the face of such unwarranted aggression. He does however, manage not to raise his hands in surrender as she walks right up to him and thrusts a paper bag into his chest.

“Here,” she says baring her teeth at him in what Stiles thinks is supposed to be a smile. Or an intimidation tactic.

It’s definitely an intimidation tactic.

“Wha – what the. What?” Stiles says eloquently, flinching bodily as if she has just handed him a live racoon. “What is it?”

Cora rolls her eyes.

“It’s food?” She says. The dumbass is implied.

Stiles blinks and stares suspiciously at the paper bundle. “Why is it?”

Cora rolls her eyes again and Stiles watches in awe as the corner of her mouth actually curves up in a sneer. He wishes his own sneer was that effective. This one could wither a man’s testicles at 50 paces. 10/10. Very effective. He swallows hard.

“Laura called,” Cora snaps. “She said you probably hadn’t eaten today and I had to give you food if you showed up – or whatever.”

She literally looks like she is too cool to be having this conversation with him and Stiles can’t help but feel like he’s the one who inconvenienced her, even when she was the one who chased him down. He quite literally, does not know how to feel about any of this.

“I uh. Wow. Um Thanks? That’s… nice?”

“Yeah, calm down. It’s just yesterday’s leftovers.” She turns to walk away before she abruptly spins back around and pokes a very threatening finger towards his chest.

“And stay out of the woods.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“Wh - why should I stay out of the woods? What's in the woods? What do you know about the woods?”

Cora literally growls in frustration and throws her hands up in the air.

“Or don’t – whatever. I don’t care. But don’t say I didn’t warn you, okay!”

And with that she spins around and stomps back into the coffee shop leaving Stiles gaping after her.

“Ohmygod, this town is weird,” Stiles mutters to himself, shaking his head and throwing an arm up in exasperation or despair – even he’s not sure at this point.

“Don’t worry dearie,” says a little old lady, awkwardly patting his elbow as she shuffles past. “She’s like that with everyone.”

“Oh. Great – thanks!” Stiles calls after the lady’s retreating back. “That makes me feel… so much better,” he trails off, the usual sarcasm falling a little flat but he supposes that’s only to be expected after receiving both threats and lunch in the same conversation.

Unfortunately, for Cora at least, she needn’t have bothered. All Stiles heard is ‘there’s definitely something going on in the woods. You really need to check this out.’ And let’s face it anyway, who really hears ‘don’t go into the woods’ and thinks ‘huh. That’s not suspicious at all. There’s definitely nothing there and I’d better not look.’

People just love to be dramatic.

______________

I always feel awkward tagging people in these because I'm extremly conscious of how incredibly well all the amazing people I could tag can write (and that they might have to read this if I tag them!) and I also don't want to bother anyone! But there's so many people I'd love to read snippets from sooo no pressure tags include:

@gege-wondering-around @hellameyers @oldefashioned (just if you want to share at any point when you're back <3) @patolemus (again if you wanna share anything else now or in the future!)

And anyone else who wants to - feel free to tag me too!

I have been obsessed with what everyone has been sharing recently! There have been SO MANY amazing words I can barely cope!!

[teenwolf-confessions]

[blackhholes]

-castles crumbling

[sterekyrround]

Sending a Message by SYR- A Sterek Prattle

TW: Violence, Death

Inspired by this:

Stiles looked down at his fingernails, his face impassive as he listened to Scott drone on about moral high ground. It was odd to him, at least in theory, that he considered this man his brother for so long. Technically, he is as their parents got married a while ago but still, this man who stands before him, he could no longer call his brother. This man, who went on his own merry adventures only to come to back to Beacon Hills and cause chaos. Reviving his lost love all the while forcing Stiles’ only love to eternal suffering. Forcing Derek’s son, Eli, to relive the Hale curse. So no, Stiles wouldn’t interrupt Scotts pathetic blathering, but he also wouldn’t listen, instead he looked down at his hands. Hands that have killed men and if there’s one thing, he’s trying to stop himself from doing at this very moment is wrapping his hands around Scott’s throat and watching the light vanish from his eyes.

                “Are you listening to me Stiles? You can’t do what I think you’re about to do, you can’t bring him back without also bringing back Void. You don’t- you can’t want that!” Scott screamed, the vein in his forehead pulsed.

Stiles pursed his lips as he lifted his head, regarding Scott with disdain. Looking behind Scott, he could see his merry little pack but what he saw to the side solidified his resolve. His father, the Sherriff, stood behind Eli, holding onto his shoulders as the kid cried silently.

                “You know Scott, being away from all of this and dealing with human criminals, I thought I’d seen it all. Their idiotic reasoning as to why they did what they did but, standing here and listening to you is making me realize I hadn’t.” Stiles eyes were hooded as he glared at Scott, “You have two options, either you help, or you get out of my way. There is a third, but I don’t think you’d like it.”

                “Stiles what do you mean? I came here to warn you, it’s why I brought him.” Stiles followed Scott’s finger that was pointing at a man about his own height, he looked like an average joe but there was something about him. Stiles raised both eyebrows and beaconed the man forward.

                The man bowed his head, smiling at Scott before looking back towards Stiles, a serious demeanor put back in place, this was the first red flag for Stiles, but he let them continue their charade.

 “My name is Henry. I am a druid like your Emissary Deaton. As soon as I heard that the Void had been defeated, I came to make sure he stayed that way. I have already spoken to your Alpha and explained how detrimental it was to make sure the portals that allowed the Void to be vanquished stayed closed. I understand you all lost a pack member, but we must make sure he did not die in vain, you understand, don’t you?”

Stiles watched the man as he spoke and it made him smile, but he kept that an internal one for now. What people don’t seem to understand is how much information they give when they are trying to be deceitful. And what people tend to never see is how much Stiles can see through their bullshit, call it his supernatural ability to read through lines and listen through the bullshit, to the heart of the matter, the heart of that person, and all Stiles can see with this man is the same bullshit he sees within Deaton. Men (and women), druids, all do the same thing, they try to garner as much power through their books and potions until someone notices and then they con their way into making themselves the ‘all-knowing’.

Another thing people tend to overlook is why Stiles never contacted or came back to Beacon Hills, barely speaking to his father and when he did, he spoke about nothing, but he knew all. They overlook how much different he carried himself, how his smile never came easily anymore. They overlook how much Eli looked like him and Derek or how Derek never mentioned he had son and then poof one day he walks into the Sheriff station with a 2-year-old. No one questions why Beacon Hills has been so quiet for 13 years and why only after Scott brought his merry band of nuisances did shit really hit the fans again.

So yes, while others don’t pay attention, Stiles does. And as he watches this man speak and spew his bullshit, he catches onto details that no druid would know about. Who told him of the Void, no one ever said anything about portal and the Void can not be vanquished but he continued to say it. From the information that Stiles gathered from speaking to his father before coming back to Derek’s home this evening, he personally didn’t believe it was the void that was terrorizing but, something that resembled and/or took on the Void’s persona.

                “You’ve said many things that I appreciate because it makes it easier for me with what I’m about to do to you.” Stiles smiled as she shed his leather jacket, revealing a tight fitted white short sleeved shirt, but more than that it revealed his forearms and half his biceps that were tattooed intricately with runes, his right forearm seemed to hold a wolf, in line art, one eye blue and one eye red with ears back and snarl perpetually on it’s face. He folded the jacket and placed it upon the table where the maps and books he had were laid out.

Turning back to his audience, “Now Henry, you don’t know me, but I can tell you one thing, I know you’re leaving something out and what I want to know is who is this message from.” Stiles smiled; one eyebrow raised as she held his hands behind his back. He could see out of the corner of his eye his father pulling Eli back into the hallway, towards the back of the house as the others stayed in the living room with him.

                “No one sent him Stiles; he came here to help. Deaton says we can trust him.” Sometimes Stiles felt bad for Scott, he never deserved the bite not because he was a bad person, but he didn’t have the spine for this life, his moral compass, skewed where he couldn’t see anything he needed to until it was too late. An Alpha needed to see things before they became deadly for his pack, and he didn’t have that.

                “Yes, I’ve worked with Deaton and his sister in the past and I am here to assist your pack.” Henry said, moving back a step to stand in tandem with Scott, keep his smile upon his face as if that would hide his intention.

                “You keep saying my pack, my Alpha but you’re wrong. My pack, is the Hale pack, Scott is not my Alpha.” Stiles could hear the shocked gasps from Scott and his merry band. “Oh, come on now, we haven’t spoken in 13 years, you really think I’m your pack, you all are barely a pack. You only come together when this idiot fucks up, that’s not a pack, that is what most would call a crisis team. And isn’t that ironic the crisis team arrives when they one of them causes a crisis.” Stiles lets out a sharp laugh, throwing his head back before letting the laugh die out. Dropping his head down, he leaves the smile on his face, “And to trust someone just because dear old Deaton said so? No, no I don’t think so. The same emissary that wasn’t there for his last pack, who let his last pack burn to death and then made it his mission to erase their memory by replacing their ancestry claim on this land with you, Scott? No, I think not.” Stiles had been walking towards them whilst he’d been talking and once he reached Henry with strength no one probably imagined he grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the nearest wall, using his other hand to hold out a pointed, clawed finger towards Scott, “Stay the fuck back Scott.”

                “Stiles..you’re..when?” Stiles rolled his eyes as he looked at Henry and ignored Scott.

                “Now, you’re going to tell me who sent you to give me this message so that I know what message to send back.” Stiles said this as passively as if he’d been sitting down and drinking tea. Tilting his head, he let his hand open enough for the man to talk.

                “D-Deat-Deaton.” Hearing the name, Stiles released Henry’s throat a bit, making a motion with his eyebrows that meant ‘continue’ “He called him and said to come at once to convince everyone that going after Hale and the mimic would be wrong. He isn’t wrong, going to that realm is dangerous. If anything, Hale is already dead, and it would be a fruitless journey.” Stiles had been ready to let the guy go but he had to go and say that. He could feel his eyes burning.

Squeezing Henry’s throat was easy and crushing through it easier. He never even looked at the man he was killing, he was staring at Scott, red eyes gleaming. Once he felt the body go limp, he let it go and fully turned towards his old pack. “You want to know why you can’t move? Magic.” He said simply, he could see Scott trying to move and the rest of them doing the same. “Now can you see why I never trusted Deaton?”

                “If what he said was right, then I agree with Deaton Stiles.” Scott said with a look of disgust that Stiles smile. “So, you left and became a murderer?”

                “I didn’t murder him.” Stiles said simply as he grabbed a kitchen towel that was close, wiping his hand.

                “He was only giving you a message! He was a messenger; you could have told him what you wanted him to say!” Scott was irate, his eyes were burning red, but his red wasn’t as vibrant as Stiles’. “You ever hear of ‘don’t kill the messenger?’”

                This made Stiles chuckle, walking close to Scott, he let the magic fall, watching Scott charge him. They really should have listened to Derek when he was training them years ago. Dodging to the right a smidge he grabbed Scott by the throat and lifted him up so that his legs dangled,

                “But I do believe in killing the messenger Scott, ‘wanna know why?” he tilted his head, watching his former brother claw at hand holding him by the throat. He brought Scott’s face closer to his before whispering, “Because it sends a message.”

[miss-meichu]

Character A: randomly losing control of their magic and instead of finding an outlet to release it on they just let it flow over themselves, use to the pain

Character B: Noticing one night, suddenly very mad at Character A

[stereknation]

Filter Out the Starlight by skoosiepants 

Summary: “Why are you not more curious about me?” Stiles says when Derek’s got the door half open, sun spilling over the dark wood, dust motes spinning about his legs. Stiles is wearing fabric that hasn’t been invented yet, he’s clutching a smart phone to his chest, and he appeared out of nowhere, like an angel. 

Softly, Derek says, “We all have our secrets,” and closes the door.

Or -

A heartbroken Stiles accidentally travels back in time to find his one true love. A harlequin-ish Christmas romance.

Rating: Teen +

Main Character(s): Stiles Stilinski

Additional Character(s): Derek Hale, Cora Hale, Vernon Boyd, Malia Tate, Scott McCall, Isaac Lahey, Erica Reyes. 

Pairing(s): Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Tags: Alternate Universe, Time Travel, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending

Words: 12,238

Chapters: 1/1

[grapecaseschoices]

/venting

[youareperfection]

I need teen wolf fic recs!!

The fic needs to include these things:

•sterek

•bad friend scott

•good peter

•hale pack can include derek, stiles, peter, jackson, isaac, erica, and boyd

•mccall pack can include scott, malia, kira, lydia, allison

•its fine if it's a little switched, doesn't matter but derek, stiles, peter, and issac NEEDS to be in the hale pack

•hale pack treats stiles like he's a child that needs to be protective, so definitely overprotective!pack

•hale pack absolutely HATES scott's guts

PLEASE RECOMMEND ME A STEREK FIC LIKE THIS WITH THOSE THING IN IT, IT'S A LITERAL NEED!!!!!

[delicatestm]

[✉;Stiles]: heeey. so… about the vacuum cleaner.. first, it was like weeeeeee then it was like woooaarhh

[✉;Stiles]: then there was smoke and it was like fuck u and we need a new one.

[oliver-the-kid]

This. This is my type

[purplepri]

I'm so thinking about a domestic, cozy Sterek between the time where Stiles breaks up with Lydia and goes away [it turned angsty really fast and I cried while writing this, but I'm also not used to write angst so maybe it's not that bad? Also don't be mad at Stiles?][this also might go onto ao3 with a few alterations and spelling/grammar/dialogue adjustments, I'm MayeTaisho there too]

Like, Stiles has just gotten broken up, he's a little lost, then in comes Derek with a shiny new kid in tow and he begs for Stiles help because he does not know how to raise a kid (not that Stiles does, but the kid does resembles Stiles himself and his dad is still alive, so...)

Stiles starts to visit Derek's house every day, cook for them, help change clothes, bathes, feeds, holds Derek when he's about to break from the pressure and let's Derek hold him when he thinks his life is going nowhere

They forge a routine, and somewhere in that time Stiles begun to spend more time at Derek's place than at home, and he now has a room all of his own, and then he starts sleeping in Derek's room because they talked and talked and it was so late and he just fell asleep

They wake up holding each other more often than not and it makes Stiles heart twist in a weird way

Then, one day, Eli starts calling him papa

And Derek kisses his cheek, and has the nerve to look bashful, eyeing Stiles from under his lashes, and Stiles...

Stiles panics.

He didn't ask for this, for this makeshift family. God, only months ago he was planning on proposing to Lydia, and now he's living the suburban life with Derek and Eli, and it's so fast and so sudden

Then comes the call

The FBI apparently hasn't forgotten about him, so they give him a mission. It's supposed to be a simple thing, but he'll be away for months, maybe more than a year. He accepts.

He was thinking about going away. He was thinking about leaving Beacon Hills behind, finding his place somewhere where the danger came from normal, boring humans. ( It's a lie, he knows full well he could never really leave this life, not when his whole family was still in the thick of it)

He leaves Derek's house when he and Eli go spend a day with Cora, who's visiting from abroad. He takes everything he owns, and by detaching the pieces of himself from the house, the home he came to call his own, he finally breaks something inside him that he doesn't know how to glue back together.

He any tells his father, and by the looks of it he can't hide the way it is destroying him. His dad asks again and again if he's sure, if he thinks that's what he really wants, and when the answer doesn't change, he gets a look of pure sadness mixed with disappoinment.

Stiles knows that what he's doing isn't right, but he leaves a number for his dad to call whenever something serious happens.

And he enters his rented non-descript car and drives.

He never looks back, even when his hearts is screaming to come back to not leave his people, to not throw away this life he's built. He just turns the radio up, grips the steering wheel harder and pretends he's not crying.

-------

Derek doesn't notice anything strange when he arrives at his house, Eli babbling to Cora behind him. But when he enters the living room, something is different.

They go to Eli's room, where Cora puts him down to play with the toys she's brought to him. His heart is beating fast and loud, and Cora is eyeing him weirdly. He just smiles, telling her he's just going to change and he'll be right back

He pauses on the door to his, their room. Stiles' scent is fresh, just as the scent of tears. He enters the room, eyes closed as if he knows what he's gonna find behind that door. And when he opens them, it's worse than every nightmare he had.

The room is half empty, and he starts to roam the dresser and the closet and the bathroom attached to the room. Everything that's Stiles', everything that hinted at their life together is gone.

His mind is trying to wrap around this, and it feels like a black hole just opened up and sucked half of his heart. In his revery, he lets a singles piece of paper fall to the floor.

It's a note, in Stiles' signature handwriting, messy and salty wet, a simple 'Sorry, I'm going away for an undetermined time, take care!'.

He feels like that black hole just sucked the air out of his lungs, too.

Derek takes his car keys in a hurry, half yelling at Cora to keep an eye on Eli, ignoring when she calls his name.

Driving up to the sheriff's house, he feels a brief sigh of relief escape his lips. He parks the car and hurries to the door, Stiles' fresh scent raising up his hopes.

It all crashes down when the sheriff opens the door, a haunted look on his eyes, tears streaming from his eyes. He looks hollow, like something precious was taken away from him, and Derek...

He collapses.

He only marginally feels the sheriff dropping to the floor with him, holding him fiercely, whispering sorrys and it's okays, sobs coming from the both of them.

It's hours later when he comes home, after a rare heart to heart with the man he has come to see as a father figure in his lonely life. Cora is fuming, but her anger deflates as soon as she sees Derek.

Derek shakes his head when she asks what happened, just asks if Eli is sleeping yet, and hearing the negative he goes see his son.

Hearing him ask for Stiles, for his papa to come read a story to him, and the tears he sheds when Derek explains he'll be away for a while, and no, they can't call him, breaks Derek heart all over again.

He still can't feel any anger towards Stiles, however. If anything, he's angry at himself. What had him expected? That the barely 20 years old would drop everything he's dreamed, his career he fought so hard to get, just for a makeshift family? Derek should be happy Stiles is finally out of this hellhole of a town, away from the danger and the pain. He knows he scared Stiles away, the sheriff himself told he looked terrified when he went to say goodbye.

That night, he calmed down Eli enough that he slept, avoided Cora's questions and went to take her to the airport as soon as the sun was rising.

For a long time, Derek couldn't look himself in the mirror without seeing the monster looking back, the thing that spooked everyone he's ever loved away. The worse part is that it didn't even look like the wolf, just his very normal face looking back at him, void and miserable, until he had to look away.

His insecurities won most nights he's spent awake retracing every single move from those happy, blissful months. He realized he was really fooling himself, Stiles always talking about his future, and Derek always thinking it was implied that future was theirs to share.

Eli kept asking abou Stiles, up until he was nine or ten, when his wolf senses started to regulate with the approaching puberty and he could smell the sheer misery when his dad had to explain again that Stiles wasn't coming back yet. He stopped asking and talking about him altogether until the teenage rebellion started to kick in and then, whenever Derek looked at Eli, all he saw was Stiles. The clothes, the mannerisms, the way of talking. Everything in his son reminded himself of the love he's lost.

The first time Eli took the jeep, Derek had a small moment of panic thinking he was seeing Stiles again, before his senses caught on and he lost it with Eli.

He's tried to be a good dad. He tried to remember how his own parents treated him, threw in a lot of advice from the sheriff and Melissa, and his most asked question on his minds was "what would Stiles do?".

That night, however, he became the young boy who lost his family way too soon and had a lot of anger issues with the world and, mainly, with himself. (To be honest, Derek never felt that he stopped being that boy, just that he got better at hiding that specific ugliness)

He screamed, roared, flashed his eyes. Eli was terrified of him and seeing his own son that way made everything even worse. So he sent Eli to the sheriff's home, where he'd spent the next two weeks before receiving a stern talk down and another heart to heart from the sheriff. He and Eli traded their asks of forgiveness, talked about Stiles openly after almost a decade.

Derek never thought too hard about the effect of Stiles' departure had on Eli. He saw the sadness, but when his son stopped asking, he thought it was all okay.

But he was wrong. Eli had very complicated feelings over those months he barely remembers safe from the sensations of safety and love and warmth. Sometimes, he hated Stiles for leaving.

For that day beyond, Derek and Eli still had their numbs, most of them still being about the jeep, but it felt a little more... Clean. Sincere. Honest.

Sometimes they cried together.

Then, the Nogitsune comes back. Then Derek's instinct of putting himself between any danger and the pack flared up. Then he felt the rush of power through his veins and the heat of fire surrounding him. He imagines he hears Stiles voice, one last time, together with his son's. A smile almost creep up his lips.

Then darkness.

-----

The call comes when Stiles is drinking his seventh glass of whiskey. He knows is a bad habit, one he himself criticized his dad for indulging.

Life has not became easy after leaving Beacon Hills. He's spent so much time worried about the mythical monsters he wasn't all that ready for the human ones.

Without claws and venom, humans got way too creative. He's seen the worst of the worst, apprehended drug lords, bursted human trafficking rings, saved thousands from having their organs harvested or being shipped away to become some creeps plaything.

Elders, grown men and women, barely legal people, teenagers, and the worst of all, the kids and babies.

Every single little kid he helped come back to a safe place was another memory he had of Eli.

God, Eli is an teenager now, and Stiles can't even imagine how much of a menace he is.

Sometimes he starts to think about those months and has to physically stop himself because that way lies madness, and he'd already been in an mental institution once.

He threw himself at the job to deal with the guilt and the sadness, slowly climbing the ranks until now he mostly deals with paperwork and planning the raids and guiding the investigations.

It's one of those nights where the memories just don't seem to stop, so he resorts to the fail proof remedy of high quality booze. So, he's well into his way to pass out drunk when the cellphone rings. He's half tempted to just ignore but years in the job makes him hesitant. It could be an urgent work thing. He's stopped to think his life could be anything else than that a long time ago.

He accepts the call without even looking at who is calling, throwing a simple garbled "Stilinski" at the speaker.

His dad's voice makes him jump from the sofa. His dad has been respecting his initial desire of distance since day one, so this call...

A chill goes down Stiles' spine. And it doesn't get better any time soon. His dad tells him everything, Allison alive again and the Nogitsune. It's like a nightmare, because Stiles has had more than a handful of them that begun that same way over the years.

He counts his fingers, once and twice, until his fast, shallow breath worries his dad enough that he talks again.

Before his dad worries too much (Stiles doesn't feel deserving of that worry in any way) he controls his panic, pulls down the mask he uses when the job gets a little too much. It's robotic, the way he turns from anxiety to numbness, but it's his way of surviving.

Before the call is over, Stiles has already thrown together a bag with clothes and the essentials, sent a voicemail to his secretary that a family emergency came up, and without sobering up enough he is on his way to Beacon Hills, California.

He drives like a madman, swerving dangerously and speeding way above the limit. He's not worried about his position or jailtime.

But he's still human, however, and after sleeping and almost driving straight into a eighteen wheeler, he decides to take a nap. Two hours of fitful sleep, then, he's back to the driveway.

He reaches California and then Beacon County and he's breaching the limits of Beacon Hills when he feels it.

So far away, on the East Coast, it was easier to ignore his link to this land and it's horrors. But here, he felt almost immediately the darkness that was the Nogitsune. It wasn't as overwhelming as it was when he was possessed, but it sent ringing alarms through his head.

He followed the feeling, fighting the growing despair and the need to just give up and run.

Stiles gets there just in time to see Derek engulfed in flames, the scream coming out of his throat involuntarily. He runs.

If the Nogitsune is surprised to see him, he doesn't show. Suddenly, the whole pack and the monster is looking at him, different reactions all through their faces.

Not that Stiles was aware, his eyes on the charred body at the Nogitsune feet. His throat is not working, eyes blurred with tears, he almost gives up on that moment. But when he looks up to the group of people, his eyes immediately go to the teen amongst them.

His hair is longer. He's tall but not as tall as Stiles is now, and his clothes look like they came off his own wardrobe at that age.

And then rage engulfs him. He's not gonna let this goddamn demon get away with destroying another family, he won't let it separate another child from their parent.

The rush of power he felt that one time, more than a decade and a half before this, curses through his veins again. This time, it's more mature, not exactly filled with urgency of a life and death situation but with a cold, dry anger he can't really hide.

He walks to the demon, desiring that he's not moving. He doesn't. Parrish releases the Nogitsune, barely even touched by the hellflames.

No. It was from fire that it was born, from fire that it fueled its vengeance against the world. Fire wouldn't kill it.

Stiles visualizes the demon freezing, turning to ice and shattering in a million pieces, its energy going back to the space and not returning in this lifetime.

He feels the resistance, the Nogitsune's voice taunting him, telling him it won't work, he's not strong enough, he never was and never will be. But Stiles can see the slight touch of desperation, the small pieces of frost covering some parts of its body.

He uses his hurt, his sadness, his protectiveness. His love. He pushes another wave of belief, of desire, pure and simple, for a life where the Nogitsune and its influence never touched Beacon Hills.

The demon then starts to show him his illusions. He shows Stiles a life Derek built, a loving partner that loved both him and Eli, family dinners with laughter, having more kids, sending them to college, going to adventures together, hosting Thanksgiving with their kids and in-laws and grandchildren. Making love to them, tender and sweet.

But Stiles love for Derek was never one of possessiveness. Stiles love for Derek was something he'd always seen just on TV, never thinking it'd be real. If anything, this future, this happiness for Derek, it's all Stiles wanted. Being him the person to share that or not.

The trick only fuels him. Stiles puts everything he has on that image of cracking ice, and if he has to give everything up for that future he will.

The Nogitsune grits its sharp teeth. Stiles feels the flight tentative before it is even formed and puts down a circle of mountain ash around him

The act makes the Nogitsune flare up in anger. He starts to scream, saying that trick doesn't work on him, that he's a thousand years old and he will not be defeated by children.

Stiles tries not to roll his eyes, mocking the lack of creativity.

Anger on the enemy is good. They are more unpredictable and a lot more subject to dumb mistakes.

That's what happens when the Nogitsune tries to step out of the circle. His hand, that he raised in front of his body, touches the invisible barrier and starts to freeze.

The demon scream, in pain or anger Stiles doesn't know. He uses the window of distraction and pushes the belief again, and slowly, the Nogitsune finally starts to freeze completely. He takes a blue hue over its bandages, a agonizing scream piercing the air.

Stiles collapses just as the ice cover the demon completely, just a few meters from it. He's on his knees, holding up by his arms, and he feels the Nogitsune testing its new icy prison.

If only Stiles had the forces to go and kick the thing until it was smaller than snow drops by his feet. But as it was, he was just strong enough to hold on, hoping the other would see the opportunity and take it.

He's almost losing conscience when it happens, but he swears the wolf is the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. Black, silky fur, and blood-red eyes glowing, a dangerous mouth that closes around the Nogitsune's neck, powerful teeth breaking the ice and the prisoner held within.

Relief makes Stiles lose his last strength, faceplanting on the ground. He's breathing harshly, but not yet in danger to losing conscience.

The spark is like a muscle, he thinks, and I just tried to pull a full circuit after spending a decade only sitting in front of the TV and munching on fries and burgers.

Strong hands turn his body so he's looking up, and a face, a beautiful, beautiful face is looking down at him, eyebrows just as expressive as always. He smiles.

"Hey, Derek."

"That's all you have to say for yourself? What the fuck, Stiles!"

"Language," a voice interrupts. Stiles almost loses the small amount of air on his lungs.

"Eli," he smiles. The boy is a grown up, looking at both his dad and Stiles with confusion and weariness.

"Hi, Stiles."

Something about that exchange makes Derek snort.

"You both are ridiculous."

"You love us, anyway," Stiles says before his mind catches up with his tongue.

"I do," Derek tugs his son to kneel by his side, tucking him under his arm, the other hand touching the side of Stiles' face. "I really, really do."

"Derek, I..."

"We will talk tomorrow," Derek shushes him with a finger on his lips. Stiles can't seem to turn away from the view in front of him, Derek and Eli like a dream, together and alive and safe.

They stay quiet, happily ignoring the rest of the pack around them, a bubble of pure bliss.

"Dad, you're naked."

Both Stiles and Derek snort, but Derek's turn into a sob and Stiles realizes he's crying.

"Derek... De..." He tries to raise his hand, clean the tears, pull him into a hug, anything, but his limbs felt like lead and the world spins in uneven circles. "I think I... I'm gonna pass out."

And he does.

Stiles wakes up in a hospital bed, and his dad is holding his hand. They talk and talk and talk until Melissa comes in to give his meds and then he sleeps a lot more. The rest of the pack comes too, talk to him, even Lydia. She looks like she sees a ghost everytime she looks at him, but at least she's looking at him, which is more than what she did on their last few days as couple.

When Scott is exiting the room, he and Derek cross paths. A strange stare contest happens, and Scott is the first to look away.

When the newest True Alpha of Beacon Hills sits down by Stiles side, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"What was that?"

"I'm an Alpha again, a True one at that, in the land my family ruled for centuries. Scott knows that in this situation, and since I'm older, he might feels the pull to defer to me. Not that that means anything, my pack consisting of just Eli and I."

"And me."

The look Derek sends him is extremely vulnerable, open in a way Stiles hasn't seen since the day of the pool during the kanima debacle.

"I didn't want assume..."

"Hey, I'm done running, okay? I'm not promising I'll be perfect, it's been more than a decade since I last been on a pack or in a relationship, but I'm done running from you, from this," Stiles takes the soft hand Derek has on top of the sheets in his hospital bed. "From us."

"That's so much more than I've ever dreamed."

"It's barely even what you deserve, Derek. We'll also talk about your self-sacrificing tendencies and my he ability to run. And Eli. And also my job. God, what a mess..."

Derek shushes him.

"Hey, we have time, ok?"

"Yes, we do."

They share a smile, and it feels so much like a dream Stiles sighs. That night, when Derek has gone home to Eli, he sleeps better than ever.