#yes this is inspired on the fact that no one can say stiles’ real name and he refuses to tell anyone what it is

[patolemus]

Here’s a little thing that’s been bugging me for a few weeks.

Summary: Stiles is a demon. This is common knowledge. At least, he was under the impression that this is common knowledge. He should have known better than to trust Derek Hale to figure it out.

————————————

Look, in his defense, Stiles was sure they knew. At least, he was sure Derek knew, and if Derek knew, then the rest of the pack knew. That’s just kind of how it works, when they aren’t hiding threats from each other.

(He’s not pointing fingers. It’s just that Stiles sometimes gets fucking tired when the pack does not tell him shit and then he ends up having to figure it all out by himself so they don’t get themselves killed. It wasn’t funny the first time Scott tried it back in sophomore year. It hasn’t gotten any funnier since.)

(Alright, so he is pointing fingers. Sue him.)

Stiles is a demon. And okay, before anyone gets mad and starts saying shit like ‘no he’s not, he’s just a bit chaotic’, he… well, Stiles will admit to being chaotic as a general rule, but that is more of a character choice. He’s being for real when he says he’s a demon.

His parents couldn’t have children. It’s just how it goes sometimes. But Claudia was a very powerful witch, and she knew a thing or two about making pacts with demons. So when the doctors told her she could not carry any children, she figured the next step was obviously to summon a creature from down below and make a deal with it in exchange for a child.

That’s where Stiles comes in.

Claudia probably wasn’t expecting a demon child to come to her when she did her summoning, but personally? Stiles thinks she lucked out. Stiles is a friendly demon, as far as those go, and his policy regarding humans is more ‘see what makes them tick’ rather than ‘make them burst into flames spontaneously’, so all in all, she could have done a lot worse.

So that’s kind of how he ends up as Stiles Stilinski, son of John and Claudia Stilinski. Claudia and John are the only ones that know Stiles’ true name, though only Claudia can say it right. John tries his best, but they all collectively decide that Mischief is a rather good alternative.

In exchange for being the best son anyone could have, Stiles gets to spend an unspecified amount time on the mortal realm. Claudia doesn’t put any restrictions on him, on the understanding that Stiles can’t go and kill people for kicks. Annoying them is fair game, though.

That’s fine. Stiles has never been particularly interested in needless violence. He’d much rather learn everything there is to know about humans. Such interesting creatures. Truly fascinating.

And that’s how he spends the next twelve years of his life. He makes one singular friend - humans tend to get this instinctual need to get away from demons, but Scott doesn’t have any survival instincts at all, so it works out fine - and spends most of his time enjoying the admittedly mundane life of a human child.

Stiles knows there’s a pack of werewolves living in town, but he never runs into them, and then they die in that terribly suspicious fire and the survivors leave. The town quiets down a lot after that, and Stiles tries not to mourn the loss too badly. The energy they gave off was very pleasant.

Then the werewolves come back to town.

Stiles doesn’t intent to get involved. He doesn’t. He’s a demon, he doesn’t care for mortal affairs no matter how amusing they are. So he doesn’t do anything when he feels the presence of an Alpha in Beacon Hills after seven years. A not his circus not his monkeys kinda situation. But then Scott gets turned into a werewolf, and Stiles doesn’t care for mortal affairs but he does care about Scott, so really, it was inevitable.

There’s also Derek Hale. Derek Hale with his lickable abs and his chiseled scowly face and that angryhurtsadmiserable aura of his. Stiles acuses him of murder, Derek shoves him into walls. How is Stiles supposed to not become completely obsessed?

Anyways.

Stiles isn’t sure how he ended up in a pack of werewolves of all things - demons are lonely creatures, they don’t get packs - but he can probably blame Scott for that. It’s pretty alright, even if he gets dragged into every possible supernatural matchup imaginable. At least no one is busting out the holy water. Not that it would work, that’s a myth. Stiles had that phase as a kid where he went to church every Sunday morning and received the sacrament of Eucharist just for kicks. His dad didn’t find it funny, but Stiles still thinks it’s fucking hilarious. Now he uses the name of Jesus Christ every time he can. It’s blasphemous and Stiles thinks it’s hilarious too.

Back to the point, Stiles never bothered to hide he’s a demon. He doesn’t advertise it, of course, but he doesn’t go out of his way to mask his scent or whatever. He’s powerful enough that he can take on mostly anything that comes find him. So he thought Derek knew, and was just being chill about it and not mentioning it.

Apparently not.

The bitten wolves, he could understand. They still mix up deer and rabbit after years of being bitten when they’re running in the preserve. But Derek’s a born wolf. He was trained since he was a kid, and it’s not like demons are hard to sniff out. Hell clings to Stiles like a second skin.

Well, it turns out Derek is the ultimate failwolf, because after four years, he still had no idea. It takes a run in with another demon - this one does like to set humans on fire, unfortunately, so Stiles has to banish it back to Hell - and even then Stiles has to practically spell it out for him. Stiles is only a bit disappointed in him. Mostly, he’s still a bit confused on how Derek even missed it in the first place.

“Dude, can’t you smell it?” he asks, and they’re alone in the loft because everyone else has gone out to buy celebratory donuts while they try to get the scorch marks off Derek’s wall. It’s not going as well as they hoped.

Instead of an answer, or a growl, which is his primary method of communication, Derek does something unexpected and fucking—blushes.

Huh. Okay.

Wait, no. Not okay. What?

“It’s not considered polite to act on the way people smell, Stiles,” and Derek’s voice is strangled, like it hurts him to get the words out. He’s always been bad at talking but Jesus Christ, this is excessive.

(Heh. Jesus Christ. It will never not be funny.)

“That’s bullshit and you know it. I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve sniffed out other supernatural creatures or people’s intentions. It’s what you do. Other than rip out throats and creep around my window, obviously,” Derek’s scowl makes an appearance - there it is, Stiles was getting worried for a second - looking back at the scorched wall like it’s going to magically clean itself with the power of his rage.

Stiles could probably do something like that. Maybe. His magic is chaotic on a good day, so he can’t really call it reliable. Destructive, definitely. Offensive, if he has to pick between that and defense. Stiles is terrible at that.

He’s really getting off track here.

“That’s different. You’re not a supernatural creature,” Derek says stubbornly and what?

“What?”

“What,” it’s impressive how he always manages to ask questions that don’t sound like questions.

“What do you mean, I’m not a supernatural creature? Are you—“ Stiles looks at his Alpha with narrowed eyes, mouth open mid sentence as it finally downs on him that they’re talking about very different things. “What did you think I meant when I asked you if you smelt it?”

Derek stubbornly refuses to say anything. That’s fine. Stiles is the king of stubborn, he can out-stubborn anyone at any given time.

“Tell me,” he presses. Derek doesn’t say anything. “Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell—“

“Jesus fuck, Stiles, fine!” heh. Stiles knew he’d break. “I was smelling that you’re horny. All the time.”

That— that’s not what Stiles was expecting. Um. Okay. So things got awkward very fucking quickly.

“Oh,” he says, and now he sounds strangled because he thought he’d kept that little tidbit of information hidden quite nicely. It turns out Derek was just being polite about it.

God, does it mean the betas can smell it too? Oh, no, no no no no.

(Heh. God. Stiles is so funny.)

(He really has to stop unfocusing like this.)

Stiles is officially mortified. Turns out even demons get prudish after spending so much time in the mortal realm. Who knew? It’s okay, Stiles will just find the nearest bridge to throw himself off from. If he has any luck he’ll die instantly and won’t get back to Hell so he doesn’t have to live with this knowledge forever.

“It’s okay. I know it’s not personal or anything,” Derek’s still not looking at him. He’s grabbed back his rag and is valiantly rubbing away at the wall. Stiles doesn’t have the heart to tell him that if the mark hasn’t come out already, it probably never will. He’d know, he’s burned plenty of walls before.

By accident, if his dad ever asks.

“That’s fine and all, only it’s very personal,” and Stiles is just making a bigger hole to bury himself in, but his mouth is faster than his brain. It’s an ongoing issue. “You don’t think I’m horny all the fucking time, right? I mean, demons do have that hyper hormonal stage at my age but assuming it’s all the time is a bit excessive. I’m not a succubus. This is completely a you thing.”

Derek’s face does that thing where it pinches in between his eyebrows and his eyes narrow a bit, lips pressed together tightly. It’s his Stiles Just Said Something Deeply Upsetting face. He uses it a lot.

Alright, time to backtrack.

“It’s really okay that you don’t feel the same. Really, I get it. I wouldn’t feel the same about me either. So let’s just ignore I ever said anything, and we can go back to trying to clean this up even if we both know it’s not going to come out,” he offers Derek his most winning smile. Derek’s face just gets even more pinched.

Stiles’ senses are pretty dulled here on the mortal realm, but he doesn’t need them to know his Alpha is probably very pissed. At him, specifically.

So it’s Tuesday, then.

Stiles takes a step back, just as a precaution. He doesn’t think Derek will throw him against a wall - he stopped doing that a couple of years ago. Stiles refuses to acknowledge he kinda misses it - but you can never be too cautious. And Stiles did kind of just confess his undying horniness for him.

Imagine if he’d also told the guy he’s utterly and helplessly in love with him. That would have gone fantastically. Not.

“You’re a demon?” Derek’s voice comes out more high pitch than Stiles has ever heard it. He’s surprised. Why is he surprised? This is what they were talking about, before Stiles stuck a foot in his mouth. “Since when?”

“Since always? Seriously dude, can’t you smell it?”

It’s like they’re back in square one.

So. Turns out Derek truly had no idea Stiles is a demon. No wonder he’d looked like Stiles had grown a second head when he banished that fiend back to Hell.

On the good side, Derek apparently also returns his feelings, after they go in circles a few more times and Stiles gets across that he’s not just horny, he’s in love. A happy ending, in Stiles’ opinion.

(“How did you end up as the son of the Sheriff anyway? Is he a demon, too?”

“Hmn? Oh, no. My mom just did this summoning ritual for a Prince of Hell to get them a child, and I showed up. It was kind of a two for one deal,” he waves his hand dismissively.

“You’re a what?”

Oh, boy. Stiles knew he was forgetting something.)

#patolemus writes #yes this is inspired on the fact that no one can say stiles’ real name and he refuses to tell anyone what it is #emotionally constipated derek is very funny when he’s not obstructing true love #sterek #stiles stilinksi #derek hale #derek x stiles #stiles x derek #teen wolf #teen wolf fanfiction #writing #fanfic #eternal sterek #sterek fanfic

[cakeleighh]

You ever just create an au crossover with two fandoms you’re currently in? Just cuz? No real plot or idea, just a concept? Like marmite and chocolate. “Idk how the fuck these two got in even 5 meters of each other, but it actually tastes nice????”

Well, I present to you;

Yeah, idk either, but I loved the design so I’m posting it. Fun fact; I drew this lying on my side, my drawing arm under my body, and using my finger on my small phone. Am I proud I made something like this in these conditions? Yes. Should I be? Not really. But oh well.

Also, the reason I’m posting this now is cuz I just created something so cute I had to post it.

If anyone wants to use these designs, go right ahead! I’m probably not gonna go further. And if someone wants to create an in-depth miraculous x teenwolf crossover, feel free. My only aim with this post was show cute fox stiles, and get people inspired.

I do have a small narrative if anyone wants to use it, but it’s not in-depth or even finished, so don’t feel obliged to. The story is like so;

-Trixx’s miraculous has been lost from the miracle box (instead of Nooroo & Duusuu’s), it gets into the hands of someone bad -like a boss- and when he’s defeated, another bad person gets the miraculous. The cycle passing from bad people to bad people continues for years.

-Because of the nature of the fox miraculous, most people who wield it use it very discreetly. So there’s no coverage of a “fox supervillain” in the media. However, if you were to ask someone involved within criminal activity; they’d tell you it was a legend to scare gangs into submission by the police.

-Eventually, a mercenary with the fox miraculous comes to California to lay low for a bit, however, he’s killed by a druid for a sacrifice. The miraculous is left behind on the scene, since the Druid is unaware of what it really is.

-Stiles, who had been looking for clues on the new killer, comes across the now vacant home. It’s obvious that there was a fight, so he starts to record things and collect evidence for himself. He luckily isn’t obliged to tell the police since technically, he shouldn’t even know there’s a killer. So technically to the police, it’s just robbery, not withholding information. In his endeavour, he finds the fox miraculous -thinking it’s a tad tacky, but he never underestimates the small things. Not after his friend was bitten by a werewolf and he got drawn into the weird supernatural world.

-once he gets home it takes him hours of filtering through evidence before he gets the the necklace. It’s at that point it activates and Trixx emerges. It’s not like “AAAAA WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU”, it’s more like “... I didn’t sign up for this, I should really consider just leaving this godforsaken town.”

-Trixx explains what a miraculous is how it can give him amazing powers. But the first thing Stiles asks is who was the guy who had it in the house he found the necklace in. They hesitantly explain he was a mercenary, but they can’t reveal his name.

-Stiles takes a while but he gets exited about having this unique insight on this case. Now they could possibly stop the killer before anyone else has to die. However, he doesn’t actually want to use the miraculous power since “I can’t waste time trying to play super hero! There’s a killer out there and if we needed an enhanced individual to get them, we’d have the werewolves out there. No, for this case we need a detective.”

-Trixx was very surprised when they heard Stiles explain he didn’t want to use the miraculous, but the more they listened, the more they understood the reasoning. Inwardly, they were immensely relieved. They could finally take a break from using their power for bad, and now could maybe even help this little kit out in doing some good.

~time skip as Trixx and Stiles become closer while on the case~

~there’s a point where Stiles is stuck in a the back of a truck with no way out. There was reason to believe the truck belonged to the killer, so Stiles invited himself in (closing the door so no one could see him snooping), and his hunch is right when he sees freezers full of body parts. What he didn’t anticipate though, was that the truck would start moving.

~With rising tensions, Stiles desperately-and yet fruitlessly- tries to find a way out, unless he wanted jump out the back of a moving vehicle at 60+ mph.

~Trixx advises him to use the miraculous, but he’s adamant against it, saying he can find a way out himself. Saying things like, “Scott would find a way.” And “Derek would be disappointed if I used such a cheap trick to get out of this.”

~Eventually, when the supposed killer starts to get to a stop, Stiles finally gives in and uses the miraculous.

~cue typical transformation scene~

~Stiles doesn’t have time to question the outfit before the killer parks, gets out of the car, and seemingly starts to go for the back door.

~Stiles tries to do what Trixx had told him before (regarding the fox miraculous power), and attempts to make himself invisible in the corner by making a mirage of an empty corner in front of him.

~It works and the killer doesn’t suspect a thing. Luckily Stiles was able to escape the truck when the killer went to put the first box in a warehouse. He makes sure to take many photos and notes about where he is, and what the warehouse is like. It’s not in the main town, but it isn’t far. Since it’s surrounded by forests, Stiles was able to slip away from the situation undetected.

~Stiles isn’t stupid, he isn’t going to face a serial killer he knows nothing about, and without his pack. Furthermore, he feels wrong for using Trixx, since they wanted to have a break from being used. So as soon as he was out of view of the warehouse, he powered down to begin a probably long walk back to town.

~Trixx was obviously a bit worn out, but all together happy that Stiles was ok. They found it weird when the kit started to apologise to Trixx, saying how it felt wrong to use someone like that. They found it soothing to have such a respectful miraculous holder, but they assured him it was perfectly fine and that that was the point of the miraculous anyway.

~hours of walking later and Stiles finally gets home, about just as exhausted as Trixx was. He asked if there was anyway to regain the kwami’s energy, which they replied that food would be good enough. So he let them look through all the food he had to see if they had a preference. They didn’t seem that picky, but when they saw a pack of blueberries, they instantly lit up and went for it. Stiles was going to ask if they wanted anything more, but the fox sped off cackling to themself.

~end~

And that’s all I got for more detailed scenes. I guess the general consensus from then on is that Stiles and Trixx go on with the case, and get the entire pack to ambush the killer to take him down. He only uses the fox miraculous if it’s the only way, or if using it would prevent possible casualties.

But as for more hc about it, I guess Stiles wouldn’t be able to tell the pack -secret identities n’ all that- and I’d assume he’d be hesitant to be Vulpy in front of the pack. But for embarrassment or just not wanting to open that can of worms, I have no clue.

I think Stiles would strike up the deal “If you agree to help me on this case, I’ll find and return you to your guardian”. Even though Trixx has no say in whether he can use them or not, it’s a deal they can’t pass up.

Also, just saying, if Stiles got akumatised he would call himself “Nogitsune” ;) which is a good next drawing idea, actually.

Like I said, if anyone wants redo any of this and completely change it, feel free! The idea of all the pack having a miraculous would be very interesting.

[I said I wouldn’t develop it more but I’m a sleep deprived idiot that was like “wouldn’t it be fun to make a animation/animatic of the transformation” and actually did it. I hate myself, but look out for it on my page, I only have a few last things to do.]

#teen wolf #stiles stilinski #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #ladybug #chat noir #derek hale #Trixx #miraculous au #teen wolf au #crossover

[nightlight9]

Sterek Week Day Five: Scene Stealer

Inspiration: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

—————

As Stiles turns and tugs his suitcase away, his eyes stinging with tears, all he can think about is how he should have known better. He should have seen this coming; all the signs were there, and they had been there since he signed his name on the dotted line. Gods, how stupid is he, really?

Somewhere behind him, Derek is calling for him to stop, to hold on, to let him explain. Maybe, one side of him argues, he should stop and listen. And even if everything that Derek has to say is utter shit, at least then Stiles would have something to direct his anger at. Instead of slowing down though, he uses that anger as a shield, raises his middle finger over his head without looking back, and prays to the Gods that no one can tell that his useless heart is breaking.

Getting mixed up with Derek Hale, regardless of how nice and genuine he had seemed at the beginning, was bound to end in tragedy. Hell, it was practically written in the high school guidebook that messing around with the captain of the lacrosse team was a stupid ass idea, especially when his ex was one of the most popular girls in school. But at the time, it had seemed like less of a gamble to fake date Derek than to have to confront Scott and eventually Allison about the letter. What he hadn’t accounted for though was how invested he would become in their charade. He hadn’t anticipated that he might actually grow to like the surprising sweet, soft-spoken jock. And now he’s lost in a game he hadn’t even realized that they had been playing.

“It’s so cool that it doesn’t bother you that your boyfriend came to my room last night,” Jennifer had said in a saccharine tone, pressing her hand against Stiles’ chest like she had had the right. “Really, it’s sweet that you trust him so much. I never would have allowed that when we were dating, but good for you Stiles. Good for you.”

Tears roll down his cheeks as he flees from the school, the last of his control breaking. Before he can escape entirely, a sleek red car pulls up in front of him. The window rolls down and Lydia peers at him from the driver seat. “Well come on then,” she says impatiently, tossing her hair over one shoulder. “Don’t just stand there, get in.”

He thanks the stars that he’s somehow become her friend as he tosses his suitcase in the backseat and climbs in the car. Derek is still calling for him, his voice insistent as he pushes through the crowds of people milling about. Before he has a chance to get too close though, Lydia pulls away from the curb, and they leave Derek in their dust.

——————

Siles is laying face down in his bed, trying to pretend that the rest of the world doesn’t exist, when Allison climbs up beside him, draping herself over his back without saying a word.

“Your elbow is digging into my spine,” he groans, trying not to smile.

“That’s what you get for keeping all of this from me,” she responds, digging her elbow in harder as if to prove her point. When all Stiles does is grumble at the action, she sighs and rolls over until she’s laying on her back beside him. “It’s that bad?”

He doesn’t want to talk about it, not really. But Allison has always been there for him, and he’s missed her so much since she left for school. Besides, as much as he hates to admit it, maybe talking to someone will make him feel better.

“I know that it was a stupid idea, and I know that it’s cliche that I got attached, but Derek wasn’t anything like I expected him to be, you know?” Turning onto her side, Allison tucks her head on her arm and nods for him to go on. “I didn’t think that I would actually like him, but he turned out to be funny and kind. He made talking about Mom easy. He made me want to talk about her. And he listened and opened up about his family, and before I even had a chance, he had broken through all of my barriers.”

Allison smiles at him, soft and fond. “There’s nothing wrong with liking him, Stiles. I mean, I don’t know him all that well, but from what I remember, he seems like a pretty good kid.”

Stiles laughs, self-deprecating and sad. “He is, which is probably the worst part. He agreed to fake date me in order to get back at Jennifer, and it worked. He didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t do anything other than what we had already planned in the beginning. I just-. I got attached and forgot that it was fake. That’s not his fault.”

There’s a long pause while Allison considers what he’s saying. “I don’t know, Stiles. I think-. I think that maybe you should have stopped to see what he had to say. Maybe it’s not what you thought.”

He looks at her in surprise. “You’re supposed to be on my side, Ally!”

With a laugh, she reaches out and pushes his shoulder. “I am on your side, Stiles. All I’m saying is that maybe he could have explained. From what you’ve told me, it seems like you guys really hit it off, and not in a fake way. And when he showed up here, wanting to talk to you, he seemed really upset that you wouldn’t listen to him. Maybe you’re not the only person hurting right now.”

He pouts at her. “When did you go and get so wise?”

She rolls back onto her back and smiles at the ceiling. “I’ve always been this smart, you’ve just never appreciated it before.”

They fall into an easy silence, and Stiles considers keeping his question to himself, but he can’t help but ask, “Ally, do you still love Scott?”

She blinks in surprise at the question, then sighs, responding without looking at him. “Yes. Scott is-. Scott was everything to me, you know that. And just because we broke up, that doesn’t mean that I stopped loving him. It’s different now though, more bittersweet.”

“He still loves you too.”

She smiles in a sad way. “I know. But breaking up with him was still the right thing to do. I needed to figure out how to be without him. This is a whole new chapter of my life, and in order to find myself I had to leave him behind.”

Even if it still seems absurd to Stiles, he can understand where she’s coming from. He might not agree with her, but he understands. Love, as it turns out, is nothing like it is in his romance novels. It is far more complicated than that.

—————

Forgetting about everything that had happened on the ski trip is easy when Allison is still at home. Instead of relieving every moment he had with Derek, Stiles spends the time with his sister and his dad. And it’s nice, just being able to hang out, being a complete family again.

But all too soon Allison is packing up her bags and heading back to college, and Stiles is alone again with his thoughts. The most absurd thing, in his opinion, is how lonely he is after she’s gone. Even though he had been fine on his own before, the loneliness settles over him in heavy waves. More than anything, he misses Derek. He misses being able to talk to him, and making him laugh. He misses feeling like someone actually understood him for once.

Two days before school starts up again, Scott shows up on the doorstep with a bag of Reese's Pieces and a huge smile. Stiles has never been happier about being friends with him.

“You are my hero, dude,” Stiles says while stuffing his mouth full of candy. Scott rolls his eyes and pauses the game they’re playing, right as Stiles is getting ready to fire on the enemy. “Dude! Not cool!”

Like a good friend, Scott ignores the three Reese’s that fall out of Stiles’ open mouth. “You know,” he starts, tone too conversational to be casual, “the lacrosse team still practices during break.”

Stiles blinks at him in surprise, then narrows his eyes. “That’s nice. Can we get back to killing things now?” He reaches for the controller, ready to steal it back and start the game himself, but Scott holds it out of reach.

“Not yet. Listen, I wasn’t going to say anything, but I think maybe I should.” His eyes are big and genuine, and Stiles hates him a little for it.

“I thought we had agreed to never talk about this,” he mutters, folding himself back against the couch when it becomes obvious that Scott isn’t going to let the conversation drop.

Sure enough, Scott crosses his arms across his chest and gives Stiles a look of defiance. “No, you agreed that we would never talk about it, and you spent half of this semester avoiding me so that we would never have a chance.”

Stiles drops his head at the reminder, guilt making his stomach roll. Despite the fact that Scott has been his best friend for years, Stiles had thought that avoiding him was a better option than being honest about the love letter. At the time, it had seemed like such a good idea. Now though he feels bad about leaving his best friend in the dark about what was going on. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about it.”

Like the friend that he is, Scott just smiles and shrugs. “It’s alright; I understand now. And I’m not mad. But we should still talk about Derek.”

That makes Stiles scowl. “Derek isn’t-. I can’t-.”

Scooting across the couch, Scott takes Stiles by the shoulders, shaking him slightly. “Dude, Derek is miserable without you. Isaac says that he’s been insufferable since the trip. Whatever happened, you should give him a chance to explain, not just because he feels bad about it, but also because you’re miserable too.”

“I’m fine, Scott.” The words taste like a lie, no matter how much Stiles wishes they were true.

And Scott sees right through them. “No, you’re really not. You’ve been moping since you’ve come back. Go, talk to him. He obviously has something that he wants to tell you even if you don’t want to hear it.” All Stiles can see is Jennifer, with her hand on his chest, telling him about how cute it is that Stiles trusts Derek so much. “And,” Scott continues, breaking through Stiles’ thoughts before he can spiral, “you need to tell Derek how you really feel.”

Stiles jerks back. “You want me to do what?”

Dropping his hands from Stiles’ shoulder, Scott sits back against the couch. “You need to tell him that you actually like him, for real.” Seeing that Stiles is gearing up for a protest, Scott continues. “Dude, life isn’t a story book. It’s real and it’s scary, but it’s also full of great things. Love is one of those things. No matter how terrifying it is, it’s also really great. And instead of lying to yourself and pretending that you don’t care, you have to talk to him. You have to tell people what you’re feeling when you’re feeling it, not sit back and write letters and let everyone pass you by.”

Deflating, Stiles admits what’s been bothering him about the whole thing. “But what if he doesn't feel the same? I’m only going to get hurt.”

Scott shrugs. “Sure that’s a risk, but at least then you’ll know for sure. And then you’ll be able to move on.” A slow grin pulls his lips up. “Besides, I don’t think that that’s going to be a problem. Go and talk to him. And if it doesn’t go well, I’ll still be here when you get back and we can shoot zombies and talk about how stupid lacrosse is.”

Despite his anxiety, the statement makes Stiles laugh. “You like lacrosse, remember?”

“Yeah, so? I like you more, and if it will make you feel better then we can bad mouth it all night.”

Stiles is grateful that, through everything, he hasn’t lost his best friend. Because no matter what, Stiles is always going to want Scott to be by his side. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Now, get outta here before I kick you out of the house myself.”

Laughing, Stiles squares his shoulder and does just that.

—————

Walking across the lacrosse field, Stiles feels like he might be sick before he even has a chance to reach Derek. The team watches his approach but no one steps forward to ask what he’s doing there. In fact, the only person who acknowledges him outside of openly staring is Danny, who smirks in a way that suggests that he knows exactly what Stiles is doing and is amused by it. But, like a good friend, he corrals the rest of the players to lead them off of the field.

All to soon, Derek and Stiles are the only people left. Derek watches Stiles with a closed off, weary expression, and for the first time since the ski trip, Stiles thinks that maybe everyone else was right. Maybe Derek was hurting too.

Without allowing himself a chance to chicken out, Stiles continues walking until he’s standing only a few feet from Derek. There, he pulls the letter he hastily wrote out from behind his back. He doesn’t hand it over though. Instead, he crosses his arms behind his back, takes a deep breath, and then looks Derek in the eye.

“Hi.”

Raising one eyebrow in a move that is altogether familiar and yet not, Derek says, “Hi.”

“I was, uh-, I was hoping that we could talk. I have something that I need to tell you.”

When Derek crosses his arms over his chest, Stiles reads his posture easily. He’s ready to defend himself if need be;. He’s ready to defend himself from Stiles. “Are you going to listen to what I have to say too?”

He nods, frantic. “Yes, I-. Yes. But first, please let me explain. If I don’t, I’ll probably run away before I get it out.”

With a nod of his head, Derek gives Stiles his full attention. It’s enough for Stiles, who closes his eyes, are blurts out everything that he had rehearsed on the drive over. “Derek, when I originally wrote those letters, I never intended on anyone ever finding out about them, least of all the people that they were about. Seeing you with that envelope, it felt like my entire life was coming to an end because it meant that someone else knew all of my secrets.

“And when we started going out, when we made that stupid contract, I was so sure that the worst of it was behind me. But then I got close to you. You opened up to me and talked about what it was like losing your dad. You made it easy for me to talk about my mom, and Allison, and everything that went on in my head. And you listened to me, and never thought that I was a loser because of it.” He opens his eyes, wanting to drive hom everything that he’s saying, before pulling the letter out and handing it to Derek.

Instead of opening it though, Derek makes sure that Stiles still has all of his attention. “Derek, getting close to you was the best and worst thing that could happen to me. I’ve never let anyone in, not the way that I did with you. And it scared me as much as it thrilled me, to have someone see me for once. I didn’t stop to listen to you after the ski trip because -. Well, for me, at some point, everything that we were faking became real. But if you never knew, if I cut you out and put up all my defenses again, that meant that I wasn’t really losing anyone. It wasn’t fair, and I’m sorry that I did that to you. I just-. Will you please read that now.”

Derek stares at him for a drawn out moment before opening the folded piece of paper. Stiles is pleased when Derek’s lips quirk up. ‘I like you, Derek Hale. Can you forgive me’ is followed by two boxes, both of which say ‘yes.’

Instead of responding to the message, Derek folds the letter back up and tucks it into his hoodie pocket. “Is it my turn now?” Stiles nods, even though he kind of wants to run away. “That night, when I went to Jennifer's room, it was to tell her that I’m done playing her games. I’m done with her messing with me. Because I know that I deserve better than that; you showed me that.” Reaching out tentatively, Derek takes one of Stiles’ hand. “Stiles, I understand why you ran away, and as much as it sucked, I’ve already forgiven you.” He smiles then, soft and sweet. “It would be pretty hard not to forgive you, seeing as I’m in love with you.”

Stiles freezes at those words, brain coming to a halt. Derek loves him? Him? “Does that mean you want to date me, for real this time?”

When Derek laughs, the sound hits Stiles right in the chest. “Yes, Stiles. I want to date you for real. Just-. Next time, talk to me before running away, okay.”

Nodding frantically, Stiles pulls Derek down, kissing him with everything that he has. Derek’s laughter is sweet on his lips, and Stiles is so damn happy that his love letters got sent out after all.

#sterekweek2018 #sterekscene4 #my writing #tatbilb #sterek #sterek fic

[fantasticworldoffanfics]

DEREK/STILES

                                            ——— (part 6) ——–

Fandom: TeenWolf

Even a longer list of fanfics :)….

top favourites, more top favourites, part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

Down in Flames Series

Author: standinginanicedress

Part 1: So, Hey, Let’s Be Friends

Summary: Stiles has been fucking obsessed with famous werewolf author Derek Hale since he was fifteen years old and the first book came out. Like, embarrassingly obsessed. Like, had a poster of the guy hanging up on the wall above his bed, obsessed. When Hale moved back to Beacon Hills, Stiles just figured he'd hole himself up in his rebuilt mansion, writing his fourth book, never to fulfill Stiles' endless daydreams about running into him and having the alpha fall madly in love with him.It's completely fucking improbable and nonsensical, would never happen in a million years, so of course Stiles somehow winds up in a no-strings-attached agreement with his literary idol, all while eating chicken McNuggets out of his pocket at random intervals and plotting the demise of the McFlurry mixer.

Part 2: How This One Ends

Summary: “And Stiles,” he's addressed directly for the first time since this whole thing started, and when all eyes land on him this time, he just squeezes Derek's hand and squares his shoulders. He can act like this doesn't bother him. Derek can do it, and Derek's here. He'll be okay. “...how does it feel to know that millions upon millions of people are going to read intimate, private details about your life with Derek?”“It doesn't bother me,” Stiles says with a shrug, going for nonchalant and feeling like he's doing it pretty well. “I knew what I was getting into. Besides – everyone wants Derek Hale to write about them, right?”

Part 3: If It’s Torture

Summary: “I’m – I’m working on my next book.”That, out of everything, anything on the face of the god damn planet, is not what Stiles had expected Derek to say. After everything that’s happened, after Spark and the mess that it was, and after Derek firing then rehiring Lydia, and after Derek pointedly avoiding his office study for months upon months, and after Stiles not hearing a word about any new projects, never seeing Derek writing anything down… Stiles would have thought that aliens invading was a more viable possibility than Derek writing a new book.He’s made his money, more than anyone else needs in a lifetime, and Stiles thought that meant that he would be done. Maybe Stiles forgot that money isn’t why Derek does what he does, after all, and that’s not fair to him. “Oh,” Stiles says, because he honestly can’t think of anything, not a single thing else, to say.

Red Velvet and Fur (A Hanky Code For Gay Werewolves)

Author: orphan_account

Summary: In which Stiles in unrepentant in his (somewhat accidental) quest to get Derek to knot him, Derek is oblivious and sexually frustrated, and Lydia is the incredibly attractive devil on Stiles' shoulder who has nothing but terrible, amazing ideas. Who knew there was a hanky code for werewolves?

Except What Has Been Forgotten

Author: suzvoy

Summary: In which Stiles wakes up with a shiny new case of amnesia and it's immediately obvious that his best friend is lying to him - which might have something to do with the (hot) guy who keeps appearing his room. What the hell has he been doing for the past 18 months?

Seaside Framed in Glass

Author: mrecookies

Summary: "I'm going to name you Derek," Stiles announces, still looking cross-eyed at the puppy in his hands. It's looking back with a confused and sad expression, probably asking Stiles in some baby dog language why it's being named after a brooding werewolf. "It's because you're always sulking, even though I got you a nice basket and biscuits and everything," he says sternly. The puppy whines and hangs its head.

Is That a Gun in Your Pocket, or are You Just Happy To See Me

Author: goodnight_tinyhumans

Summary: Stiles might be a little sick of unrequited feelings or lust or whatever. The situation with Derek- Deputy Hale, he has to keep reminding himself, because he’s never actually told Stiles his name and that’s getting into creeper territory pretty quickly- has gone past the merely-wanting-to-jump-his-bones stage and well into die-hard-crush, complete with inappropriate fantasies involving handcuffs and roleplaying. And the problem with that, of course, is that he tends to resolve situations like these one of two ways: going out and getting drunk, or staying home and getting drunk.

You Don't See Straight

Author: annber

Summary: Stiles finds himself in a secret werewolf community to participate in a mating run. Sterek happens. Side OC's.

Devoted

Author: Jerakeen

Summary: Stiles expected the incubus to be something ethereal, otherworldly, inhumanly beautiful. This guy looks like a lawyer.

**sidenote: you need an AO3 account to view this fanfic

Practice Makes Perfect Series

Author: blacktofade

Part 1: Practice Makes Perfect 

Summary: In his sophomore year, Stiles gets dragged to lacrosse tryouts by Scott and ends up practising alongside the senior captain, Derek Hale. Stiles just wants to live long enough to become a junior.

Part 2: Picture Perfect

Summary Two years later, Stiles and Derek are still together, but there's 200% more sex and too many miles between them.

**sidenote: you need an AO3 account to view this fanfic

Bodice Ripper ‘Verse Series

Author: Stoney

Part 1: The One With The Scottish Wolf Lord

Summary: The Hales are alive and a royal family in Scotland; Stiles is the waif sent to work in the kitchens, elevated to personal attendant/servant to the young Lord Hale. Who happens to be a wolf who can't shift back.

Part 2: The One Where Stiles Reads The Scottish Wolf Lord

Summary: This is about the actual book and how Stiles - canon-compliant universe set in the future - is reading it in Derek's loft. Derek is very curious as to why Stiles would be interested in such a thing.

Part 3: The One Where They're Forced To Marry in Ye Olden Times

Summary: Due to the destruction of House Hale and the debts incurred in their survival and search for justice, the King (blah blah, make believe world) arranges a marriage between Derek and Stiles, eliminating all debts the Hales may owe. Derek is very unhappy. Stiles is pretty shocked at who he's being matched with, but he's certainly not unhappy. It's pretty clear from the start Derek doesn't share that feeling.Stiles passes the time by hunting with his falcon, Derek broods. Until...

Part 4: The One With The Mail-Order Bride

Summary: Wolves aren't meant to be alone. Laura tells Derek this repeatedly. Which... is why Derek knows he's losing his mind, as Laura has been dead for more than six years. Wolves aren't meant to be alone.And so he sends away for a companion. JUST for a companion, not for a mate. The universe, however, has a different plan in store for him.

**these are more separate stories than a continuous fic

A Strong Heart and a Nerve of Steel

Author: lupinus, uraneia

Summary: Stiles and Derek wake up married in Vegas. Well, they would have if it was legal.In which Stiles is the president's son, Derek is his bodyguard, and Papa President orders them to pretend to be in love for the sake of gay rights. Or in which uraniea and lupinus combine meeting the Hales, President Papa, waking up married, fake/pretend relationship, First Boy Stiles, and bodyguard Derek into one fic.

**sidenote: you need an AO3 account to view this fanfic

The Importance Of Turning Around Three Times Before Lying Down

Author: otter

Summary: It’s like this dog has walked out of all of Stiles’ childhood dreams and into the real world just because Stiles wanted it hard enough. He is the most awesome dog ever, and he and Stiles have a bond. A deep, unbreakable bond because this animal is his soul mate, obviously. Now he just has to convince the dog of that.

Pack Up, Don't Stray

Author: the_deep_magic

Summary: AU – Werewolves are an enslaved underclass, collared and tagged by human masters. Detective Stilinski’s on duty the night they bring in an untagged stray.

(Sacred) In the Ordinary

Author: idyll

Summary: The Pack, after college, graduate school and the starting of careers, comes back to Beacon Hills. Nothing's gotten less complicated after all this time.Based on a kink meme prompt that grew legs and got serious.

We Are So Intimately Rearranged

Author: secondstar

Summary: A High School AU where there are no werewolves and no hunters. Stiles is getting ready for his senior year when he meets Derek at the coffee shop he works at.

The Sanctuary

Author: chase_acow

Summary: Stiles runs away during his first heat, right into the waiting and ambiguously scary arms of the Alpha's nephew, Derek Hale. He doesn't have any choice except to submit, but along the way, he digs up a mystery that threatens his family and even the town's safety.

The Hazards (and Benefits) of Channel-Surfing on Friday Nights

Author: herbeautifullie

Summary: He's watching TV over the edge of his laptop when Scott brings up the fact that he's still a lonely loser in his third year of college without a boyfriend which, while being completely true, is really fucking unappreciated. It sparks a desperate need to save what little manhood Stiles has and, before he knows it, he's blurting, "I totally have a boyfriend, dude. Shows how much you know."How was he supposed to know Scott would doubt him? It's not Stiles' fault that someone named Derek Hale really exists. It's also not his fault when his lie grows legs and runs so far he can't find it until it's too late – too late and standing right in front of him, gorgeous and annoyed and not at all the person Stiles made him up to be.Yeah, this could get bad.

Grounded on Living Skin

Author: otter

Summary: The tattoo parlor didn’t look like much. The apprentice who was supposed to be inking Derek's new magical tattoo wasn't immediately confidence-inspiring either.

Cocktails and Dreams

Author: popfly

Summary: Derek is a bartender who works in a dive bar but loves craft cocktails. Stiles just wants a drink.

Open the Door

Author: eternalbreath

Summary: Derek gives Stiles his jacket.

Every Step You Take

Author: Nokomis

Summary: Stiles accidentally ends up magically bound to Derek. It’s super.

Darling Its No Joke

Author: thehoyden

Summary: The first thing Stiles thinks when he opens the door is that it’s not his birthday, but someone has sent him some kind of cop stripper.

It's Been like Years Since it's Been Clear

Author: sirona

Summary: It's six-thirty in the morning, but there are warm lights behind the floor-to-ceiling, de-boarded windows, and the 'For Sale' sign on the door has disappeared along with Stiles' memory of where he'd been headed just moments before. The coffee shop is, apparently, open for business once more.

Love Comes in Spurts Series

Author: talktowater

Part 1: Love Comes in Spurts

Summary: Stiles has always had sort of a hero worship thing going on with Scott's step-brother Derek so moving into a house with him freshman year was basically fulfilling a childhood fantasy. Discovering how Derek was putting himself through college, well that was a whole other fantasy that Stiles didn't even know he had.

Part 2: Now Your Smile Comes Over in Your Voice

Summary: Part two of Love Comes in Spurts series.

Milk Vetch Series

Author: silverlining99

Part 1: A Little Less Sixteen Candles

Summary: In which Derek fails at wooing, and Stiles fails at catching a clue. Isaac & co. are there, but otherwise not season 2 compliant.

Part 2: For A Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic

Summary: n which Derek has a sweet tooth and a crush, Erica has a rom-com collection and all the win, and Stiles has some catching on to do.Season 2 compliance is willfully haphazard.

Part 3: A Slow Dive, A Fast Distraction

Summary: In which Derek opens up in more ways than one, and Stiles could really use a road map to this relationship business.

The Art of Dying Well

Author: kinneas

Summary: "You said we're friends.""Whoa, way to hold what a guy says in the heat of the moment against him," Stiles replies automatically, but... that's not what he wants to say, not at all, not to the quiet contemplation that is Derek Hale on his living room sofa. So he adds, "I guess, yeah."Derek doesn't speak for a long moment. "Then it's inevitable.""Wow," Stiles whistles, "you are the biggest downer."

A Flooring Romance

Author: rlnerdgirl

Summary: After being steamrolled by some rough and vindictive career competition, Derek is finally getting back on his feet when he and his sister purchase Hale's Hardwood, their very own hardwood flooring shop. To Derek's dismay, some eccentric guy, who goes by Stiles and has a buzz that makes him look ridiculous and far younger than he has to be, opens up a tile shop right across the way.

more fics: part 7

#teenwolf #fanfiction #fanfic #fanfics #fanfic rec #sterek #derek hale #stiles stilinski

[the-cookie-of-doom]

Once Upon A Dream

Ha! I bet you thought I was done with this. Well psych, have an unplanned part 2, thanks to @twothumbsandnostakeincanon‘s tags, which is inspired to write more. Like four hours ago Ask and you receive, babe, enjoy the gentle angst. (part 1)

There were hands on his bare skin, broad and warm—too warm to be human.

Jaws at his throat, the soft brush of a kiss and sharp bite of teeth against the tendon, marks reddening and soon to bruise.

Peter smelled faintly of expensive cologne, but beneath that, he smelled like the forest. Like moonlight. Like a wolf, feral and wild.

His hair was soft under his fingers, Stiles couldn't even feel the hair gel. Peter probably didn't use the same cheap stuff that he did, that left the strands brittle and sharp.

"Peter," he gasped as the wolf moved above him. "Peter, Peter, Peter."

But no—no, that wasn't him.

Wasn't Stiles? Wasn't Peter? Who wasn't themselves?

Stop. Stop, this—it isn't real. It couldn't be real. It was another dream, right?

"Good boy, Stiles, let me hear you. You have such a pretty voice," Peter cooed against his skin, hands moving up his hips. He could feel his breath, hot, soft, dampening his skin with condensation, followed by the hot sweep of Peter's tongue. It made him shiver and moan quietly, louder when Peter worried his teeth over a tender bruise. Stiles moaned his name again, unable to say anything else. Words like 'no' and 'stop' and 'wait, I need to think' not coming to him. He pulled Peter closer instead of pushing him away, even when he felt Peter's teeth lengthening, sharpening. His cry was of ecstasy, rather than fear or pain, when those teeth sank viciously into his throat, Stiles powerless to do anything. Come warmed his cooling skin, mixing with blood that flowed freely down his chest.

Somewhere, someone was laughing. It sounded painfully like him. Maybe it was, he didn't know anymore. He closed his eyes and screamed himself awake—or tried. All that came out was that laugh.

The nogitsune was defeated, with as little help from Peter as he could get away with. After the incident, he had taken to avoiding Stiles—as well as the rest of the pack, so that his avoidance wasn't noticed—as much as possible. He didn't want to be around him, not knowing when it was the teen in control, and not wanting to face him if it was.

When Lydia finally called him for help, now knowing what Stiles was, Peter couldn't get there fast enough. He tried to play it off, of course, letting Lydia offer up his child's identity in return for his help when really seeing Stiles saved—and being the one to do it, to make up for what he did with the creature wearing his skin—would have been enough. Looking into that things eyes, the way it had looked back at him—exactly the way it had looked at him then—was… disconcerting. Especially knowing that it could ruin everything for him, if not for the tape on its mouth. He silently thanked whoever it was that had thought to put it there

There was no trace of the boy he knew left in those cold, dark eyes. Stiles was far, far away, hopefully far enough that he didn't have to bear witness to the nogitsune's machinations.

After Stiles came back, Peter left. Didn't wait long enough to breathe a single breath of the same air, let Lydia explain away his sudden retreat as shock at the revelation of his daughter. He didn't want to be there to see Stiles' revulsion towards him, not with the entire pack there to bear witness to it.

Parsing through his memories of the nogitsune was hard. So much of it felt like a dream, to the point he could hardly tell dream from reality. He relied on his friends to tell him about what it had done with his body; the bomb, the track, the hospital. But there was something nagging at the back of his mind that Stiles didn't ask about. Couldn't.

It was a dream. He knew that. It had to be. It felt like a dream, but then, everything else had too, so how could he really tell? Except he knew Peter wouldn't have touched him. But then at the end, Peter had killed him, so he knew it was a dream, at least that part. Even if being with Peter had felt more real than anything else over the last few months.

Stiles needed answers, but Peter was nowhere to be found. That only confirmed his suspicions that it—at least some of it—was real. There was no other reason Peter would be actively avoiding him unless he was anticipating a confrontation.

Peter's absence wasn't actually that strange or out of character, Stiles knew. With how little time the wolf spent around the rest of the pack, Stiles probably wouldn't have noticed if he didn't need to talk to him so badly. Badly enough that, for the first time, Stiles made his way over to Peter's downtown apartment, a boundary he hadn't dared cross since he'd tracked down the wolf's den via some late-night sleuthing.

Peter refused to see him. "Open the damn door, zombiewolf!" Stiles shouted (even now careful to avoid the phrase let me in). Stiles didn't actually know if Peter was even there or not, but either way, there was a door and it was staying firmly closed and he was on the wrong side of it. Part of him wished he'd learned to pick locks along with cloning cards, because at least then he could wait inside for Peter to come home like a reject bond villain or something.

Stiles sighed when he got no response, as he'd been expecting. It had been almost an hour of him standing outside, demanding and begging Peter to open the door and talk to him. Finally, the fight just went out of him, exhaled on a long sigh. He slumped against the door, forehead pressed against the wood, hands braced on either side.

"Please, Peter," he said quietly, knowing the wolf would hear him if he was there. "I want… I need to know what happened to me. I don't know what was real; the last few months have all felt like a dream. But some things felt so real, and I need to know if you—if it—what we did." He couldn't take the not knowing, it was driving him insane. But the worst part? He didn't know if 'we' meant him and Peter, or him and the nogitsune. He heard a click.

Stiles breathed a sigh of relief, pushing the door open. Peter was waiting for him on the other side, arms crossed, eyes cold and steely. Unwelcoming. There was something else there, too, though. Stiles could see just how vulnerable the wolf was behind the walls he had up, hiding behind them. His heart sank, knowing by that alone that he had had done something to Peter; and it had to be something bad.

"What do you remember?" Peter asked, voice clipped, like his soul wasn't laid bare for Stiles to see.

"Um." God, there was so much. The nogitsune had had him for months, every day a new plague of maybe-not-dreams. Now, faced with that question, Stiles realized that there was no way to parse through it all. Not when he had no idea what was real or not; the only memories he could be sure were dreams were the ones where he was killed.

And how sad was it that the best dreams he's had lately were the ones where he was dying?

"A lot," Stiles admitted, trying to think of some criteria other than death to mark the fact from fiction. "Maybe I can show you? And you can tell me what was real?"

"No," Peter barked immediately, hands curling into fists, as if to hide them away. He didn't want to feel his claws sinking into Stiles' flesh ever again. Twice had been enough.

"Okay." Stiles held his hands up placatingly, eyes finding a place of focus on the floor. He really didn't want to ask, but, "can you at least tell me if we had sex?" He hoped the answer was no.

Peter must have read his thoughts, because that's exactly what he said, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Peter-"

"No, I didn't fuck you," the wolf clarified, trying not to flinch at Stiles' obvious relief.

"But…?" Stiles asked, knowing there had to be more. Peter wouldn't act this way if there wasn't. He would likely be acting the opposite, like they had done something, just to see him squirm.

"I kissed you. We were on the couch, at Derek's loft, and only got as far as taking out shirts off. I realized that it wasn't you before anything more could happen."

"Oh… yeah, we were researching, right?" Stiles rifled through his memories—there had been several repetitions of that night, none of them ending well—trying to find the right one. He could remember the nogitsune—him—laughing as they researched aimlessly, having no real idea about what the newest monster was. That it was him. "Thank you. For, you know, realizing. That it wasn't me." The details were hazy, especially as they'd kissed, and he couldn't remember their exact conversation. It was like watching a silent movie; he could see them moving together, but it was static whenever their mouths formed around words.

"Of course I realized. You wouldn't have behaved like that; it should have been my first clue, really, before you even took one step towards me." Stiles didn't want him. It should have been evident he was possessed the moment Stiles took his shirt off.

"What? No, that's not—that's not what I meant. I didn't mean I didn't want you—I mean, I didn't not mean that—" Stiles paused, mouthing through that sentence again, before shaking his head. "What I meant is that I didn't want you to have that guilt, man."

"Your concern is touching, truly, but believe me when I say that guilt is not something I feel. Derek's taking it all up, I'm afraid."

"Yes you do," Stiles said carelessly, cursing himself for his lack of filter immediately after seeing the way Peter tensed defensively. He knew he was right, though. He had felt just how much guilt clung to Peter, tasted it. The nogitsune was all too happy to greedily drink it up, reveling in Peter’s pain. "What I'm trying to say here is. I'm glad I wasn't one more thing for you to regret, I guess," Stiles said earnestly.

When Peter didn't say anything, Stiles turned to leave, having gotten the answers he wanted. Most of them, anyway.

As he walked out of the apartment and closed the door quietly behind himself, he thought about another memory. Of Peter taking him home, exhausted, and staying with him through the night. Holding him until he fell asleep, one hand carding through his hair, soothing away any nightmares that may trouble him. It wasn't a big thing. It happened on a pretty average—for them, at least—day, less than a month after the alpha pack. Back before Stiles had realized he was possessed, when he was just tired because he couldn't sleep from the nightmares his sacrifice had caused. The whole thing had that dreamlike quality to it, soft and hazy, but with a clarity that came only from reality, a memory. At least so he hoped.

Maybe it was for the best that he didn't ask Peter if it was real. That memory was the only comfort he'd had while possessed, the only thing that really comforted him now, the feeling of being safe in Peter's arms. He didn't know how he would feel if he found out that it, like everything else, was just another dream.

#steter #stiles stilinski #peter hale #cookie writes #post nogitsune #was the cuddling real? was it a dream? #tag what you think #or tag anything #clearly tags motivate me to write

[officialthiamlibrary]

Welcome to another profile on Behind the Screens, giving you personal insight on who your favorite creators are and what they do when they aren’t wowing you with their creative ability.

This week, I’m excited to bring to you our first artist, Dalyane, or Da-Smiley99. Although, in her case, a more appropriate title would be jack-of-all-trades. As our resident fic writer, song-inspired pic spam creator, and incorrect quote aficionado, she shares her inspiration behind incorrect quotes, her writing persona, her meta-author plans to dictate Thiam’s relationship, and much more! Take a look :)

So, Dalyane, let’s ease our way into things. Tell us about yourself. The catch: the word count should be equal to or less than the number of letters in your two favorite Teen Wolf characters’ name. 

Stiles Stilinski + Theodore Raeken = 25 : My name’s Dalyane, I’m a ray of sunshine in human form. What I want the most is to make people happy with what I do.

And, how did you find the Thiam pack? What about Theo x Liam drew you in?

To be honest, I don’t have the slightest idea. It just came smoothly to me. When I saw Theo and Liam interacting, I was just drawn into it. I was drawn by the silent conversations in their eyes, every word that came out of their mouths that sometimes meant something else or something they haven’t said, their mutual violence towards each other. (I absolutely hate violence, but I don’t know why I’m deeply hypnotized by their banter and their complicated Like/Hate relationship). 

I’m like the most oblivious person ever, I wouldn’t even know if somebody is hitting on me, but there’s something romance-worthy (Is that even a word?) about their complicated relationship that drew me in the Thiam fandom. 

Not mentioning Theo’s past, Liam eventually learned to trust him at some point even if he was still a little hostile towards Theo. A little part of himself learned to forgive him, so he could fight alongside him. In the entire sixth season, I felt like they developed a whole new relationship based on building trust. Apart, Liam and Theo are quite strong alone, but together they cooperate, fight and act like they were a “whole”. Liam may not trust Theo yet, but I felt like his body, his own being told the opposite. I was extremely glad to see their relationship grow with their characters. So long story short, I just basically just dived into it. And it’s without a damn shame that I can say that I don’t even regret liking them together. And it’s also not because of the amazing, beautiful and breathtaking gifsets on Tumblr...Not at all.

Yes!! That sums up their relationship perfectly and worded so well. Let’s keep that going for a moment. Say this was a ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ situation and you could alter their relationship, their lives with your writing. How would they live through the following scenarios:

a. Their First Date: 

Oh, they would know for sure they’re on a date, even if it’s not a date. Theo and Liam would hear my annoying voice every five minutes. Like Liam would ask Theo to hang out at his place, it’s just two dudes hanging out, nothing extraordinary really. But I would still break the nice atmosphere by saying random things that comes from their heads. Like -Wow, Theo’s ass looks great in those Jeans, Liam thought- or -Had Liam’s lips always been that pink?- and God, they would be as red as tomatoes. Awkward much.

b. Their child’s first boyfriend/girlfriend

Theo would absolutely refuse to admit or say out loud that he doesn’t like his child’s significant other. It would hurt his pride, but he doesn’t want to hurt his small bean and his husband, Liam. Of course it’s my job! Theo would be outraged, but it would be so worth it.

c. Their first conflict as an official couple

Because of me, their fight would last for 5 minutes maximum. They would be in a situation where Theo would get jealous because he thought some random guy was flirting with Liam, when in fact he was just being super friendly. So Theo was being an asshole out of jealousy. Liam would start getting angry at him, asking what was his problem but Theo wouldn’t respond. I would just whisper in the air: “Hey, he was jealous you dummy.“ Then they would apologize to each other, followed quickly by a make out session. Yeah, you’re welcome Thiam. 

Haha, honestly, they’d be lucky to have you running the show! Piggy-backing off the craziness you’d put them through, sometimes, characters  find themselves in situations they aren’t sure they can get out of. In your life, is there a time you found yourself in a situation like that and what did you do?

Oh god. Almost nothing happened to me in my life. But I will share this particularly embarrassing moment of me. So one day I was going to my high school, I was inside the school bus. But suddenly the bus stopped at my old middle school, then our chauffeur turned to us saying our high school was closed because of the snow. 

So we went inside the middle school to call our parents so they can pick us up. But that day my mom was working, so she wasn’t available. My grandma didn’t pick up the phone either. So I was like “I can’t stay here anyway, what should I do?” Then my stupid old self just got out of the school, walking all the way to my home. Yeah, I was pretty stupid back then.

 I was freezing and couldn’t see a damn thing in front of me because I was in the middle of a snowstorm. A random guy slowed his car close to me and asked me if I want to get in. Then I remembered what my mom said about getting in a car with a stranger, Oh hell no. I lied saying I was close to home, so he would leave me alone. It worked. 

30 minutes later I think, another car stopped close to me and a woman speaks to me, “Get in, I won’t let you freeze on the road.” I hesitated, obviously. Until I saw my friend in the passenger seat. Finally, I got home safely! I was incredibly embarrassed and horrified; I felt like an idiot. I never thought that I would get home. Holy molly, that was terrifying. When my mom asked why I was home early, I lied to her saying that the chauffeur brought all the students home in the morning. Well, I’ll never ever do that again.

Oh my goodness! Girl, I’m glad you got home ok and didn’t freeze to death! Before we jump into your work, who would be on your ultimate paintball/laser tag team. Any five characters from Teen Wolf. Also, Why?

I would have Stiles on my team, because he’s extremely smart and no doubt he would make up an excellent strategy on the field. I would have Theo, he’s also smart, but he’s a bit reckless and surely takes risks a lot so it can come in handy. I would have Malia, she’s a badass and would dominate the field with some girl power! (You go girl!) I would have Corey, he’s very subtle, doesn’t make a sound and he definitely would blend in the background and that is definitely handy for sure. What a great sneaky sniper. 

For the last member of my team, I would take Mason, he will probably use his charm and his charisma to lure the opposite team’s members. Or just make jokes and references to his favorite Tv shows. That kinda does the job too.

Perfect! And now your work! *Rubbing my hands together in anticipation*

You do a little bit of it all when it comes to creating for Thiam: fanfiction, fanart, edits, incorrect quotes. Which would you say is your favorite art form? And how do you balance creating them all? 

I guess my favorite form of art is writing. I had a talent for writing since I was a kid. I could express myself better on paper than with my voice. Many people had a hard time to believe that everything I wrote came from my mind, because I can’t express myself properly when I talk. For me, writing is an art and fanfics are masterpieces. Writing has been a way for me to escape the real world, my problems and my worries. Writing is a way for me to talk indirectly to readers and expressing my feelings to them through my writing. 

It’s kinda hard to balance my creativity in my posts, because I always do something different. If I see something I like on Tumblr, Instagram or Twitter, I tried to include it in them. I always try to get better. I’m trying to find my own style and keep it. I’m saying it again, I want to make people happy with what I do and when I get positive comments on my works, that makes me want to get  better. A part of me does all of this for my followers, to put a smile on their faces or make them laugh. Seeing them happy makes me happy too.

And, if your process was a person, describe them. What do they do? Wear? Listen to?

Well, she’s pretty thoughtful. She always paces back and forth in her room, trying to find a title to her work. She bases her work mostly on the title, that is most of the time based on a song. She’s always in PJ’s and some good old crocs. She just sit on her bed, listening to her favorite songs, TV shows, movies or her favorite YouTubers. She’s a little lazy girl, I guess. I can’t really blame her, it’s how she is. :)

What would you say is both your (and her) Writing Kryptonite, haha? How do you fight it?

It’s really strange, but I can’t write anything if I don’t listen to some music. Music always has been the source of my imagination, I just didn’t realize it until a few months ago. If I don’t have my phone and headphones on me, I can’t do anything. I need music to write. Depending to the meaning, the lyrics and the beat of the songs I listen to, my works change. If I write something sad, I listen to songs about heartbreak, death, breakups, etc. If I write something fluffy and happy, I will listen to songs about happy endings, falling in love, weddings,etc. 

When I know exactly what to write (theme, feeling expressed in it and other minimal things), I know instantly what song to listen to. Every time there’s music in my ears, I get in my own writing world and my hands just start tapping on my keyboard on their own. This is pretty unique, huh? Music gets me really emotional and I can’t do anything about it. It’s very strange. Since Music is the source of my creativity and imagination, it’s very rare that I have writer’s block.                  

To get rid of my writer’s block, I simply sit back on my couch and close my eyes, listening to some soft music. I take a break, because I can’t write something for a whole day, I would get a huge migraine. I would just relax and let everything come to me.

Your love for writing with music. Is that what inspires your song edits, like this one? What makes a song shout Thiam to you? How do you choose images that embody both the song, their relationship, and your writing for it?

I always choose a song that reflects their complicated relationship and what they’ve been through. I choose songs that are very specific for them, that express their banter, their problems and their backstories. Depending on the songs I choose for my edits, the colors, the pictures and themes are different with each one. For example, for a sad song, the colors and pictures of my edits will be darker, the theme of the edit will likely be sadness, sorrow, breakups,etc. For a more happy-go-lucky song, the colors and pictures will be clearer and brighter, and the theme of the edit will be happiness, calmness, comfort, etc. 

Everything I do in my edits will change with the song I choose. I chose pictures very carefully, they have to call to me (my creative style, I mean). When I find something perfect for my edits, I just know it. It’s hard to explain it, but I can feel it in my gut when I got something good. I’m a weird phenomenon.

And, incorrect quotes. How do those come to you too? Are they inspired by things you see of hear in everyday life? 

Most of them are inspired by my favorite YouTubers: Game Grumps. It’s a gaming channel, where two grown men play some video games while sassing each other, telling semi-bad jokes, swearing 95% of the time and saying perfect incorrect quotes material. Most of them came from the mouth of these awesome guys. Is it the time when I say you should check their channel out? Yeah, go check it, please. :)

Oh wow, one of my roommates watches their channel religiously!! I’ll have to join her sometimes, when I hear them blaring from her room haha. You’ve recently started a new multi-chapter fic, Catch & Release. Can you give us a quick summary, for anyone unfamiliar. 

The story happens one year after the events of season 6. A mysterious girl come knocking on Liam and Theo’s door, seeking their help. Her name is Skye Andrews.She’s a true Alpha who’s fighting against an hostile pack that plans to take Canada. When they saw that she wasn’t a threat and saying the truth, Liam and Theo accepted to help her, also accepting coming to Canada.

And did something inspire the concept?

I don’t even know. It just weirdly came to me just like that, while I was listening to the song “Catch & Release” by Matt Simons.The story made itself when I listened to the lyrics of the song. Now you know where the title came from.

Finally, you know I have to ask. Are there any spoilers you can slip us? 

Eventually you’ll get to know all of my original characters I included in the story. I can’t give any spoilers, because I still don’t know where this story is going. But here’s something I know for sure: Nolan/Alec and Thiam will be canon at some point in the story, I just don’t know when exactly. But if you want some precise informations, my ask box is always open.

Hahaha, fair enough. I guess we’ll have to read along and see. Ooh--perfect question segway. Bonus Question-if you could read only one author/fanfic writer for a whole year, who would you read? And what story of theirs would you horde?

Without hesitation, I say Captainmintyfresh (@Thiamfresh on Tumblr). I just adore her writing so much. It calls to me and her writing style absolutely hypnotized me. She’s incredibly talented and I just can’t stop reading her works. “Airplanes” is by far her best work. I think everyone should read it; it’s a piece of art, a masterpiece. I’m not even exaggerating. Her writing is truly amazing; it gives me the chills. I really wish I could write like that. She can capture the personality and the dynamic of the characters in the Teen Wolf universe. The way she writes their interactions is truly a treat. Seriously, If I could read her works forever, I would. She’s incredibly talented.

I share that sentiment, wholeheartedly. You’re not alone! Before we wrap, I want to ask about advice because I think it’s amazing when we’re given the opportunity to learn from one another. What’s the best writing/drawing/edit-creating advice you’ve ever gotten? Is there any wisdom you could gift us?

I didn’t get any advice in writing, but I would like to give some. If you are struggling with your writing, just take a breath and lean back to look at your work. If nothing comes out, it’s useless to work endlessly and working your brains out. Just take a break and work on it later. There’s no need to be rushed, take the time you need. Writing can be hard and demands a lot of concentration and creativity. Just take the time you need, take breaks and write everything you like. You are the creator of your story.

What’s next for you? Both in life and the creation world?

Well, I’m taking a year off of college. It was becoming too much for my brain to handle so much anxiety every day. In this year, I will eventually think about where I want to go and what I want to do. Maybe it will shorten my time for writing, but I want to do the most I can. I guess there’s nothing next in the creating segment, I’m just going to continue writing and drawing. But there’s nothing huge specifically.  

Any creating is always a perfect amount, so I’m sending you all the luck and inspiration juice in the world! Anything else you’d like to share, in general. The floor is all yours! :)

This concerns anybody reading this. I’m saying this for the third time now, but I’m writing fanfictions, doing edits, drawing fanarts and writing some incorrect quotes for you (all of you). I’m doing this to bring a smile on your faces, make you laugh and make you feel so many different emotions with my work. Seeing you guys happy, makes me incredibly happy. On everything that I do, don’t be shy and comment on my works. If you like my writing style, if you like how I make aesthetics, if you like my incorrect quotes or just quotes in general and if you like my fanarts, go ahead and tell me about those things. I probably won’t respond, because I have a social life outside of Tumblr and I’m actually pretty busy.I want to get better not just for myself, but for all of you. I don’t want to let anybody down and I don’t want to disappoint anybody. I really hope that I meet your expectations. I love each one of you (I’m definitely not crying right now).

Awww! And so with that, BTS presents Dalyane, Da-Smiley99! As always, you can keep the conversation going; respond to any of her thoughts, ask more questions, send a prompt, or simply swing by for a chat with Dalyane anytime. To quote her, she would be “absolutely thrilled” to receive your thoughts! If you’d like to dive into her works, check out both her AO3 and Tumblr.

Tumblr: Da-smiley99

AO3: Dasmiley99

Ask Box: Da-Smiley ask

A huge thank you to her for being so excited about our chat and sharing us piece of her life with us! 

Have a Thiam Creator you fan over, from any platform (AO3, Tumblr, Wattpad, Instagram, FFN, etc). Definitely drop us their names. Bonus points if you include any questions you’re dying to ask them. 

Likewise, if you as the creator, would like to be a part of the Behind the Screens series, give us a shout too! We’d love to get to know you, as well.

Mic drop!

#thiam #behind the screens #teen wolf #da-smiley99 #officialthiamlibrary

[formerprincess]

A tale written with fangs and claws || Chapter 21

Chapters: 21/? Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken Characters: Liam Dunbar, Theo Raeken Additional Tags: Alpha Liam Dunbar, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, Dunbar Pack, Bisexual Liam Dunbar, Werewolf Theo Raeken, Alpha Theo Raeken, Canon-Typical Violence, Smut, Mates, Liam and Theo are mates Series: Part 1 of Morning Dew Pack

Liam confesses why he's really afraid to tell Scott about his new status, the pack talks about the possibilities their lives could take, there's mythology involved, Ever is messing around with her magic, the usual stuff for the core pack.

The core pack had gathered in the garden of the pack house, around the fire pit on the patio and they just talked. They all appreciated times like that and even if it was Winter, the fire gave enough warmth and they were wrapped in warm blankets, so it was quite cozy. In addition to the blankets, they all had hot chocolate as a drink which gave the whole thing an additional tasty note.  “Liam, how did you feel when you got asked to become an Alpha. It’s a big step but how did you experience it?” Tim asked and the other Betas made questioning sounds, indicating they were also interested in hearing this. 

Liam swallowed the sip he had taken from his chocolate and made a humming sound. “I was shocked, no lie. I didn’t see that coming. We just wanted to spend a weekend at the lake, relax, have a good time. And then we meet a werewolf couple and their pack and Byron taught me the philosophy of the Morning Dew pack of working with your wolf instead of against him and yes, they mentioned that Byron didn’t have a successor but never would I have thought about Byron asking me.” He then admitted.

Theo chuckled. “Liam was completely overwhelmed and even refused at first.”  He told the Betas, while he played with the hair in the back of Liam’s neck. Liam purred at the soft contact but sighed and nodded. “I did.” “Because you were scared?” Ever asked in her usual empathic way. Liam nodded and leaned into Theo’s touch. “I didn’t plan on becoming an Alpha around that time, I didn’t see myself as an Alpha and I didn’t think I was good enough to actually be an Alpha.” “But you are awesome as Alpha!” Tim said and the others agreed. Liam blushed softly. “I didn’t know that back then, Timmy. I was scared I would fuck up and people would die because of me. Don’t forget, I was just a Beta and okay with it. And then Byron comes and asks if I want to take over such a large pack. That was way too much for the moment. I really was sure I would be a bad Alpha.”

“What made you change your mind?” Maya asked.  Liam looked over at Theo, smiled, and kissed his boyfriend’s cheek. “My chimera here for one and then my own inner wolf as well.” He said. “Your inner wolf?” Sadie asked.  “Yeah, I had this weird dream where I woke up to a movement in the bedroom and when I followed it, it led me to the meeting point on top of the hill. When I finally got there, my wolf stood in front of me and even if he didn’t talk, I got what he tried to tell me.” “So our inner wolves can contact us in our dreams?” Mike asked and raised an eyebrow.  “I had no idea they could do it until it happened to me, Mikey.”   “Huh. Okay.” Mike made a thoughtful face. 

“The wolf on your tattoo, is that your inner wolf?” Nolan inquired and Liam looked down at his arms even though the tattoo was currently hidden by his sleeve.  “You have to ask Theo that, he drew it. I always thought of it as my wolf, yeah.” “I...Yeah. Your dream about your wolf actually inspired me to draw this.” Theo confirmed and Liam beamed at him. Theo smiled back and they kissed again. Liam snuggled closer to Theo and into the blanket and grinned.

“Fun fact, I didn’t even think about adding more wolves to my pack or even establish a core pack but suddenly Maya showed up and asked for help. That’s basically what set it into motion.” “I came because even though you were a stranger, you cared about me when I almost fainted. And when I knew who you were, I thought you could really help me. I was right. As usual.” Maya said and chuckled at the end.  “Why did you almost faint?” Sadie asked. Maya ducked her head.  “I had certain ways to make sure my wolf would not break through during full moons. That included starving myself and just drinking kale juice. Only that way my wolf was weak enough and I could keep it in check.” “She also broke every possible bone in her body to make sure she didn’t shift. Until Liam forced her wolf out.” Theo added and they all stared at Maya in shock.  Maya shrugged.  “I was afraid of my wolf. Who knew what it could do if I allowed it again. I broke my aunt’s arm once, I didn’t want it to hurt more people.”

“She.” Tim said softly. Maya cocked an eyebrow. “Huh?” “It’s something I noticed for a while now. When Liam talks about his wolf, he either says his wolf or he. When we talk about them, it’s either it or our wolf. Like it is some sort of undefined thing. I didn’t want to insult you or your wolf, Maya, course not. If you feel like you wolf is male or genderfluid, I’m sorry for assuming. But I just noticed those pronouns.” “Are you seriously gendering our werewolf side right now?” Mike asked flabbergasted and Tim turned beet red. He awkwardly scratched his cheek. “Yeah?” “Tim isn’t that wrong. It’s stated in the Alpha journal that it was common for a while to give your wolf a name in order to see them as a friend and work with them. The tradition mostly died down after a while, but some werewolves still do it to this day.” Liam shared his knowledge with his pack. 

“Yeah, speaking off working with the wolf, how exactly does this work?” Sadie asked. Her logical side was very curious about that one. “Because I finally got control over the wolf and I am determined to keep it under control.” “I thought so too until Byron showed me how the pack does it. It’s simply by focusing on nature around you, paying some kind of tribute to your animalistic side, and in return, the wolf doesn’t overpower you but actually works with you. It’s mutual respect.  I followed his instructions and I can tell you, I became faster, I smelt better, I heard better.” “You sound like the wolf from Red Riding Hood.” Ever teased and Liam grinned.  “It really worked!” “It even worked for me and I’m just a chimera.” Theo chimed in. “It is an experience different than anything else I ever had. Overwhelming but also pretty impressive.” 

“Since I got turned I had been afraid of my wolf and saw him as a monster, something I needed to lock away and keep on a leash, but since Byron showed me their technique I feel like I have a better grip on my wolf. I can stay better in control because I am an Alpha now and this is needed. Doesn’t mean the wolf stays under control all the time, but it’s easier with mutual respect. He can actually help me and this is probably the greatest discovery I made this year.” Liam spoke. 

He sipped his hot chocolate and considered it. “This year is one of those years were the most happened to me. If you don’t count the constant threats in Beacon Hills, the last time my life changed so drastically was when we graduated and moved to Seattle. And even that was not as radical as this year.” “But you’re happy, right? This year ends on a good note for you?!” Maya asked her Alpha and Liam nodded. “Yeah, I am happy. Though I can’t lie I would feel even better when I finally talked to Scott but for now, I am happy.” “You don’t think you will have time to talk to him this year and end it on a really good note?” Theo inquired and stroke through Liam’s hair. Liam shook his head. “No. December will be stressful with preparations for Christmas and since I invited mom and dad here, I don’t think Scott and I will meet before next year. It’s okay. Have to work with it.”

Liam continued drinking his hot chocolate and for a little while they group fell silent, everybody lost in their thoughts.

“Liam, why are you so afraid to tell Scott you became an Alpha? Do you really think he would not understand? When he left Beacon Hills, you basically took over and became the Alpha of the puppy pack and he was cool with it.” Nolan suddenly asked and everybody looked up again and stared at Liam.

The young Alpha finished his hot chocolate and swallowed slowly before he set his cup on the table next to his chair. “That’s different, I didn’t really take over, I just represented Scott and he always came back.” Liam tilted his head softly and looked into the flames. “Scott is a great person and he has always been like an older brother to me so a part of me knows there is a chance he will be proud of me for becoming an Alpha, finding and founding my own pack, and will help with words and deeds. But another part of me remembers when it was the first lacrosse game against Devenford Prep after my transfer and I walked over to Brett and my other former teammates and I really tried to apologize and be a good sportsman but Brett shot me down, claiming they didn’t forget what I did to my coach’s car and they would destroy me on the field. I was already stressed enough, I just had been bitten shortly before, and I got angry. My claws dug into my palm and I felt the blood drip and then Scott and Stiles pulled me away, right into the shower. It was when I came clean about my IED and I sat there, clothes completely drenched, and I will always remember Stiles’ words. He told Scott: You gave powers to a walking time bomb. When Theo met me and Stiles properly for the first time, he said ‘Why do I get the feeling this kid’s tougher than he looks?’ to which Stiles replied with ‘Only if we let him off his leash.’. The whole time the pack protected me and treated me like their little brother, their Baby Beta. And I loved them for caring about me but at the same time, it also felt trammeling, restraining. It was one of the reasons I decided for Seattle because it meant I could get away and finally be my own person. Just Liam and not Liam, the Baby Beta.” Liam blinked and then he continued with a shaky breath. “It’s not really Scott’s reaction or the pack’s reaction I’m afraid of but what this reaction would proof. That they only see me as a time bomb, somebody who needs to be restained. A time bomb who now has Alpha powers. And I’m not sure I could handle that.”

This had been one of the most real things he ever said and the pack stayed silent after he finished. Nobody really knew how to answer to this at first but then Ever tried. “I don’t know Scott or your old pack personally, but if they really still only see you as the Baby Beta, they are dumb. From what I heard about them, they don’t seem dumb, so I think everything will turn out fine.” She smiled optimistically.  “And if they do we kick their asses. Nobody is mean to our Alpha!” Sadie explained and Maya nodded along with that while Liam laughed. “Thank you, guys.” “No, thank you for being so honest with us. That takes a lot of bravery to be so open. One of the things that make you a good Alpha.” Nolan praised. Liam blushed. “Guys, I’m not as great as you always make it sound.” “No, but you’re working on yourself and you admit when you’re wrong or struggling. Exactly what a good Alpha should do.” Maya said. “Especially given you didn’t plan on becoming an Alpha, you’re really good at this stuff. I couldn’t do that.” Tim backed Maya up.

 Liam smiled to himself. “I’m pretty sure all of you could be great Alphas one day.” He told his Betas. “Really?” Tim looked doubtful and Liam nodded. “Really. It may take some time but you have good hearts and you care about your pack. Two very perfect requirements for being a good Alpha.” “But wouldn’t that mean we have to leave the pack?” Tim frowned. “Not necessarily. There was once an Alpha pack, a pack just consisting of Alphas, lead by the strongest of them, Deucalion. So, a pack can hold several Alphas if the Alpha allows it and the other Alphas submit.” Theo put in his own two cents. 

Mike leaned back in his chair and watched the night sky. “Imagine all of us being Alphas. The new Alpha pack. Wouldn’t that be nifty?” “You did not say nifty.” Sadie mocked him and he rolled his eyes. Maya grabbed her neck and softly shook her. “Stop that, blondie!” She jokingly scolded Sadie. “Yeah, Athena, listen to Artemis.” Liam said with a chuckle.  Ever and Nolan raised her heads. “What was that?” They asked at the same time and now everybody stared at Liam again. Liam had not expected this reaction and looked like a deer caught in the headlights for a moment before he frowned. “Why are you looking at me like that?” “You just called them Athena and Artemis, didn’t you notice?” Theo asked with a soft laugh. “Where did that came from?”

“Oh.” Liam shrugged. “Well, you know I love history and mythology, especially the Greek one, and sometimes I tend to assign nicknames to people when they show a strong resemblance to some characters from the myths. Over the time I got names for anybody. Sadie is clearly Athena. She is beautiful and graceful but she also is the goddess of wisdom, intelligence, courage, mathematics, and strength; and at the same time, she’s the goddess of military strategy. She’s a fighter and a brilliant woman, just like Sadie who’s the strongest Beta and at the same time has an IQ from...how many was it?” “169.” Sadie said with a shrug as if it was nothing. It probably was to her. 

“And Maya is obviously Artemis, the wild, untamed goddess who does as she pleases even if people tell her she’s dressing not ladylike enough or should not voice her opinion so loudly. Who doesn’t see any use in jumping through hoops for anybody and that’s what makes her so authentical. Artemis is also the goddess of the hunt, and you, Maya, you’re a predator, wolf or not. Sharp reflexes and nobody should mess with you.”

“That is so incredibly sweet and so fitting.” Ever stated. Her eyes gleamed with excitement. “Do you have one for all of us?” Liam nodded. “Uhm, yeah, actually.” When he saw his Betas curious looks, he was pretty sure they would not let him go without hearing their nicknames and so he stretched his legs. “Tim’s nickname is Minos. Minos was a king of Crete and is said to be famous for his laws and the success of said laws. All citizens were treated the same way and he was so fair, he later became one of the three judges of the dead in the underworld. I actually read this story lately and he immediately reminded me of you, Tim, because you are goofy and shy but you’re also the fairest person I ever met.” Tim smiled shyly. “Thanks, Lee.” “Just the truth, Timmy.” Liam said with a laugh. 

“What’s mine?” Mike wanted to know and Liam didn’t even need to stop and think. “Kratos. There are several stories about his heritage so depending on which you rather want to believe he’s either the god of strength and power or he’s one of Zeus’ primary enforcers. You’re the strongest Beta after Sadie and you would always protect your pack.” He explained and Mike obviously was immensely proud of how his Alpha saw him because he smiled happily.

“Mason’ is Coeus because Coeus is the Titan of inquisitive minds and intellect- Mason knows about that nickname, by the way. So does Corey who shares quite some traits with Hermes. Both can cross borders and move swiftly between the worlds, are cunning and quick acting. I’m pretty sure Corey cried when I called him that the first time.” Liam hummed. “Anyway, maybe it’s strange but it brings two things I love together. History/mythology and my family.”

“Mine! Tell me mine!” Nolan excitedly called out, going so far to jump in his chair. His pack laughed but Nolan didn’t care. “This is so cool. What’s mine?” “Simple. Ever heard of Lelantos?”  Nolan shook his head. “Lelantos was one of the younger titans and is said to be the god of air. He could move unseen and they assign him hunter’s skill at stalking prey. After you learned how to use the crossbow your aim is always accurate and you may be human but it is impressive how quiet you can move. I only hear you because of my enhanced hearing most of the time.” “God, yes!” Sadie said. “You gave me almost a heart attack yesterday when you suddenly stood next to me in the kitchen. You need a bell around your neck or whatever to alert someone to your presence.” Nolan snickered. “I like that I can surprise you.” “Surprising and giving people heart attacks are two very different things.” Sadie scolded softly and he just gave her a shit-eating grin. She flipped him off and laughed. 

“Can I guess mine?” Ever asked and when Liam nodded, she scrunched her nose in deep thought. “Persephone? Because I like nature?” Liam shook his head. “Hecate. And not because she was the goddess of witchcraft. She was also the goddess of the night, magic, the moon. She appears in quite some myths and always had a leading part or helped the leading hero or heroin. What I like the most about her is that she is sometimes featured in hunting boots and a short skirt, just like Artemis, showing she is not only beautiful, but she has power on her own and is not afraid to go for a hunt herself. Cause you, my favorite witch, are exactly that. A fierce huntress with magic powers.”

“Isn’t he the sweetest?” Ever cooed and Liam blushed. “Those were just my thoughts.” “They are awesome, Liam, really. I never had a nickname like that before and I love it.” Maya said happily.  The other Betas agreed and then latched in yet another topic to discuss. They sat there for a while longer until they finally called it a night and ventured into their bedrooms. 

“That was a nice evening, don’t you agree?” Liam asked while he changed into his pajama pants and his plain dark blue longsleeve shirt. It was cold, freezing, especially during the night, and even a werewolf could not sleep in a t-shirt anymore. Not even one who had the pleasure of sharing a bed with Theo Raeken.  “Hm.” Theo said while he changed into his own pajama pants and white longsleeve. He didn’t add anything else and Liam frowned slightly and decided to try again.  “I think evenings like these are important for the pack bond. Having nice times together.” Theo only made a vague sound this time, back still facing Liam, and Liam stepped closer. “Hey, you okay?” He inquired and put a hand on Theo’s waist while pressing against his mate’s back. Theo stiffened and then he suddenly turned around and looked at Liam. 

“Why didn’t I get a nickname?” He asked and even though his voice was quiet he sounded pissed and irritated. His eyes had this stormy look inside them, a dead giveaway he was hurt and angry. Liam’s heart clenched painfully. “You said you had one for anybody but you didn’t tell me mine. I’m your Beta too, just because we’re mated doesn’t mean you can forget me.” 

Theo pushed himself away from Liam and walked in the middle of the room, right in front of the bed. “Or do you simply don’t care enough to assign one to me?” He asked and now he sounded less angry but more hurt. It broke Liam’s heart.  “Hey, no!” He stepped to Theo and gripped the front of his shirt. “I have one for you too, of course. You just didn’t ask and I assumed you didn’t want to know in front of the others.”  “Oh really? What is it?” Theo seemed to not buy Liam’s words which stung a bit but Liam decided to swallow his hurt pride and feelings this time.  He smiled softly instead. “Yours was the first one I thought of. It’s Hades.”

But if Liam had thought this would mollify Theo, he had been sorely mistaken. The chimera’s lips pursed and he nodded slowly. “Hades.” He repeated flatly. “Because I crawled back from the underground or because I’m evil?” In hindsight, Liam should have thought about that. He should have thought about the possibilities that Theo made those kinds of association but truth is, Liam didn’t even think about said associations. It had been so clear to him that Theo was Hades for the reasons Liam had in his mind, he didn’t even think about the negative connotations. 

His grip on Theo’s shirt fell and he grabbed Theo’s elbows instead. “No! Not because of those things!” He yelped and his grip tightened. Theo raised an eyebrow and got an impatient look on his face. Liam internally insulted himself for being such an inconsiderate asshole!

“The myth of Hades and Persephone has always been my favorite myth. Because it is so much more than you think it is at first sight and the older I get the more I can appreciate it. Persephone was a beautiful wood nymph but Hades fell in love with her because he saw so much more than just the pretty little nymph. He saw a woman who would not accept anything thrown her way when it wasn’t what she wanted and Persephone went with him to the underworld because she knew there was more to Hades than the evil god of the underworld. She went willingly with him and she became the queen of the underworld, just like Hades imagined her to be. And while all the other gods fucked up, he stayed faithful to his wife and she assigned the punishments for the souls. You are my Hades because you always saw more of me than just the Beta with anger issues. And I know there was something more and something entirely else than the image everyone has of you. None of the reasons you mentioned were crucial for my choice but I should have thought how wrong you could understand it. I am sorry.”

He had talked without taking a breath and when he ended Liam actually gasped for air. His heart was thundering in his chest while he looked at Theo and hoped his mate would forgive him. Theo looked completely shocked by the revelation but then he closed his eyes and groaned.  “I’m an idiot.” He muttered while scrubbing both hands over his face.  Liam chuckled. “But you’re my idiot.” Theo opened his eyes again and leaned his forehead against Liam’s. “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be. I wasn’t as innocent either.” Liam replied with a smile and Theo kissed him, slow and loving. Liam wrapped both arms around Theo’s waist and just kissed him back. He was happy they sorted it out and Theo was happy again. 

Liam tugged at Theo’s sleeve. “Come on, bed, baby.” He said softly and Theo kissed him one last time before he let go of Liam in favor of climbing into bed. Liam did the same and when he pulled Theo into his arms, Theo followed willingly. They curled under the blankets and Theo stretched to press a soft kiss on Liam’s jaw. “I love you. Good night, Lee. And thank you.”

Liam smiled and cuddled closer to Theo. “I love you too. I just told you what I felt.” He closed his eyes and hid his face against Theo’s neck, inhaled his boyfriend’s rich scent. Theo stroke over his arm and then kept his hand there.Thus they fell asleep.

******  Liam walked down the stairs to the kitchen the next morning and yawned softly. In the kitchen, Ever and Maya were already at the table, preparing everything for breakfast. “We thought a pack breakfast would be nice.” Maya explained when she spotted Liam and he smiled. “I planned on surprising Theo with breakfast in bed but that’s also a great idea. Is anybody else still asleep?”  “Mike is awake or rather he’s walking around, out of bed. He didn’t have coffee yet.”

“Who didn’t have coffee yet?” Theo asked when he walked into the kitchen. He yawned and went straight to the coffee maker. Only when he had filled a mug with coffee and sipped on it, he was able to kiss Liam lovingly. Liam chuckled. Theo without coffee was simply not possible.  “Good Morning to you too, Hades.” He greeted cheerfully and Theo smirked.  “Hades?” Ever and Maya asked at the same time and Theo took one more sip before he explained why Liam decided on that name for him. Just when he did the rest of the pack stepped into the kitchen and at the end, everyone cooed which caused Liam to snort into the orange juice he had poured himself.

“You know, this would make you Persephone, Liam, which is actually pretty fitting, now that I think about it.” Sadie said while they all sat down at the table.  “Liam? As Persephone?” Nolan asked and looked at the young Alpha. “I don’t see that. Ares, yes, but Persephone? Nah!” “Yes. Persephone was beautiful and Liam is beautiful too. Just look at the icy blue eyes and the cute smile he has. Don’t blush, honey, we’re just observing! And if you see Liam you immediately think of puppy but then bam! he gets totally into fighting mode and kicks your ass and takes names, just like Persephone did. And their mates just smile and watch proudly before joining the fight as well.” The blonde Beta explained her theory and if Liam had blushed before he was now beet red. Theo looked at his mate, then he threw his head back and laughed loudly. “She is not wrong.” He said after he finally got a grip on himself after a while. Liam only blushed harder. He really was out of his comfort zone when people complimented him like that and he had no idea what to answer or how to react.

In desperate need of a distraction, he drank his orange juice and then spotted the mail next to Mike. “Oh, anything interesting in there?” Mike shrugged and put his toast on the plate before he grabbed the mail and sorted through it. “Flyers, ads, I’m pretty sure this is a very early Christmas card but I’m not sure, and...” He groaned.  “What?” Sadie asked and Mike held out a white square envelope with a red frame and his name and address in golden letters printed on it. “My parents and I have this deal that I go to one stupid gala to show the society I’m not in prison yet or whatever. The annual Christmas Gala held by Mrs. Edwards in New York City. A night full of disgusting food, people I don’t like - including my parents - and boring music. But my parents insist I participate.” He groaned again and stuffed his face with his toast. “When is it?” “December 18th.” Mike mumbled through his mouth full of food. “Can’t you take someone with you?” Theo suggested and Mike looked at him like Theo just solved all mysteries in the world. He wanted to say something but Tim stopped him. “Swallow first, talk then!”

 Mike followed his best friend’s command and chewed his food before swallowing. “That’s a great idea. Who wants to come with me?” “Tim!” Ever, Liam, Nolan, Sadie, and Maya said at the same time which made Theo laugh again and Tim squeak. “No! I’m not made for galas. I don’t know how to behave or which cutlery to use when it comes to dinner! Take Sadie, she loves ball gowns!” “But I don’t like Mike’s parents or their opinions. You should go with him because you’re calmer and you can keep him from doing something he will regret.” Mike twisted the invitation between his fingers. “I’m only allowed to take one person with me, so Tim, please.” “Can’t you take Theo?” Tim whined. “Hah, not a chance!” The second Alpha called out. “That’s a best friend’s duty, Tim-Tim.” Tim groaned. “Okay, fine. But you have to tell me if I’m acting stupid or do something silly, okay?”

Mike smiled. “Deal.” The best friends high-fived and Mike put the envelope aside. “But seriously, though, I’m only allowed to take one person with me to the gala but all of you are coming with us to New York, right?” “I always wanted to go to New York!” Maya all but screamed and she tugged at Liam’s sleeve. “Say yes! Please, say yes!” Theo joined her from the other side. “New York, I have never been to New York before. Let us go!” “You’re scaring me!” Liam muttered and gently freed himself from her. “Why do I always have to decide such things?” “You’re the Alpha!” The whole pack chorused and laughed. Liam jumped in his seat. “Okay, fine. A weekend in New York? Count me in.” “YES!” Maya cheered and spread both arms in victory. She knocked over Liam’s juice but right now she was too happy to care. Liam watched his juice drip to the floor, watched her, and then he started laughing. 

****** Liam, Maya, and Tim were in the living room, playing video games, or rather Maya commented on what Liam and Tim played when the door opened and Sadie sashayed in. She stepped next to the couch, crossed the arms in front of her chest and the look on her face waved between gleeful and amused. The Alpha glanced at her. “Do I want to know why you’re smiling like that?” “Timmy!” She said in a honeyed voice. “The gala is very elegant. Do you have a suit to wear?” Tim stopped dead in his tracks and Liam was afraid he even stopped breathing for a second. Then he slowly looked at Sadie. “I have a suit my mom once brought me for my graduation. That should fit.” “Oh no! You’re not attending this gala in a crappy suit! No pack mate of mine will go into public like that. But that's what I thought. So come on, we’re going shopping.” She grabbed Tim by his arm and dragged him out of the room. Maya took his place. “Guess I’ll play with you then, Liam.” “Oh no, you two are coming with us. It’s always good to have other opinions!" Sadie called out and Liam and Maya shared a look. Both sighed but arguing with Sadie was a losing battle, they both were aware of that, and so they got up and followed.

The drive to the store Sadie had picked out was filled with Sadie talking about the newest trends. She was in her element and already in full shopping mode. Liam himself wasn’t the biggest shopper so he felt out of place, especially when they entered the first boutique. The interior was completely white, with crystal chandeliers on the ceiling, and suits and dresses neatly on hangers all around the clothes racks. Maya next to him tensed just like Liam, especially when a saleswoman strode towards them and Liam wondered if there was a size lower than size zero, because this woman way skinnier than a size zero. Sadie and her launched into a talk and Sadie explained what they were looking for. “I can pretend to suffer from a ruptured appendix to get us out here.” Maya whispered and Liam chuckled.  “Let’”s stay for a while. See how happy Sadie looks. She really enjoys that.” Liam didn’t know at this point, he would soon regret those words. 

Because Liam had severely underestimated Sadie’s persistence when it came to shopping. Liam and Maya sat on two white chairs and watched Tim try on suit after suit after suit. Tim himself had completely given up arguing with Sadie and just let her bring suits to him. Sadie herself was darting through the whole store, chatting with the saleswoman and picking all kinds of suits from the racks.

“Two and a half hours! We’re already here for two and a half hours.” Maya muttered after she checked her watch. “And no end in sight. Poor Timmy.” “Don’t say this too loudly, otherwise she decides to get you some new dresses.” Liam joked. “I’m not wearing dresses, especially not those dresses. Look how big they are, I would look like a fluffy pompom. I’m not a woman for this.” Liam looked at his first female Beta, how Maya looked around and had this lost look on her face. “You know you are beautiful, right? Even if you rarely wear makeup and never dresses. You are one of the most beautiful women I know.” “Not as beautiful as Ever or Sadie.” “Bullshit. All three of you have your own unique style but you all are beautiful. They are not more beautiful than you, you are not less beautiful than them.” She tugged a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled weakly. “Thank you, Liam.” “Anytime.” The nineteen-year-old told her with a smile of his own. 

Tim emerged from the dressing room once more, this time in a navy blue suit and Sadie squealed with delight. “You look amazing!” She said happily and clapped her hands. This time, Liam had to agree. Tim looked good, not disguised.  “How do you feel, Tim?” He asked and the Beta looked at his reflection. “Good.” He finally set. “This feels better than the others. I’d like that one.” “I knew I was that good.” Sadie was immensely proud of herself. Maya grinned but rolled her eyes.  “Don’t let it go to your head.”

“I could pick out a dress for you too.” The blonde Beta offered the black haired one and Maya grimaced. The saleswoman gave Maya a once-over. “I don’t think we have dresses for somebody like her.” She said disparagingly. Maya wasn’t their usual client.

Sadie raised both eyebrows and glanced at the saleswoman, gave her a judging once over.  “You mean for one of the most beautiful women ever?” Her glance wandered through the boutique. “You’re right, those dresses really don’t do her justice. We should go somewhere else. But we take the suit for Timothy. Unless you feel too aloof to ring our purchase.” She made a dismissive gesture with her hand and the saleswoman clicked her tongue but marched towards the cash register. followed by Sadie, and Tim left to dress in his clothes again and emerge the dressing room for good a few minutes later. Maya blinked.  

“What just happened?”

“The saleswoman insulted you and Sadie called you beautiful and insulted her right back for you.” Liam summed it up while he and his two Betas followed Sadie to the cash register. Maya blinked again. 

“Uhm. I’m not used to people defending me like this. I’m used to defending myself.”

“In this pack, we defend each other.” Sadie had been in hearing range and now answered instead of Liam. She looked over her shoulder. “And I just told the truth.” She grabbed the shopping bag holding Tim’s new suit and spun around on her heel. She marched out of the boutique like the queen she was and the others followed. Liam grinned. Having his Betas defend each other made him as Alpha incredibly proud. 

****** "Wake up, wake up, wake up! Everybody wake up!” Ever was pounding on every single bedroom door and woke up the whole pack. Slowly everyone left their rooms and gathered in the hallway to see what this ruckus was about. “When I went to bed it was November, did I sleep that long that it’s already Christmas morning?” Maya asked and stifled her yawn.  “It’s December 1st!” Ever exclaimed. “What are you? The automatical announcement of time?” Mike asked.  “Guys, we can finally open the first doors to the Advent calendars Liam made us!” Ever didn’t let her pack mates grumpiness stop her excitement. “It is seven o’clock on a Saturday.” Theo stated. “We can open them the whole day, no need to wake us!” “You don’t have to open the calendars all together.” Liam said. It was touching Ever felt the need to wake everyone up but they all deserved sleep as well. “You made all this for us, this is the least we can do!” Ever said and then stormed down the stairs. “I’m going to kill her.” Mike said. “Who is with me?” “I’ll hold her.” Sadie offered. “And I’ll help you hide the body.” Theo joined before turning around and padding back into his bedroom to crawl back into bed. The others did the same and Liam intended to go back to bed too but then he decided against it and followed Ever into the kitchen. 

Ever hovered in front of her calendar and had already searched out the first “door”. “Go ahead, open it.” Liam said and stepped closer. He had tried to fill every box or sack with something related to the Beta the calendar belonged to and he hoped they all would like what they got in their doors every day. Ever opened the little sack slowly and fished out the little golden charm of a howling wolf.  “I know you’re having this charm bracelet but you were missing a wolf.” Liam explained and Ever hugged him tightly. “This is beautiful, thank you so much. I’ll put it on my bracelet right now.” And she stormed up the stairs to get her bracelet.

When she returned, she sat at the kitchen island and added the wolf to her bracelet before slipping the bracelet on. “It is truly beautiful.Thank you again.” She happily played with the little wolf and Liam sat next to her. He was happy she loved her first gift so much.He looked at the general Advent calendar on the wall. “We’ll open that when everyone’s awake.” “I can wake them.” Ever offered with a laugh. “Nah, no need to. I like having you in my pack and don’t want the rest of the Betas to murder you. You got pretty excited about those calendars, huh?”

“The last time I had a calendar was when I was a kid and I love the idea. You put so much thought into everything pack related.” “I’m just trying to make sure you all feel loved and welcome. Sometimes I worry I focus too much on one of you and neglect the others.” “You don’t neglect anybody, but even if you do we are all young adults, Liam, we all can say: Hey, Alpha, you could pay a little more attention to me or I need your help with something.” Liam knew she was right but he would probably always worry about things like this. It was how he was. He cared.

Her sleeve had ridden up and when Liam glanced at it, he saw a bruise on her arm. With a frown, he gently took hold of her arm. “Hey, what happened?” The bruise was already fading, colors being yellow and light green, but he was still worried. Ever rubbed her arm. “I tried a new potion and it blew up in my face. I fell back and hit my arm on the table, nothing bad.” “You need to be careful.” Liam knew she had a tendency to blow things up when she was mixing herbs. More than once they had heard explosions coming from Ever’s room and Nolan had even gone so far to leave a small fire extinguisher next to her desk for particularly bad cases. “I know but I really thought I had it down this time. Then I got frustrated and tried something else than potions. That didn’t work either but hey, I’m trying.”

“What were you trying to do?” Liam inquired. He had no idea about magic but maybe he could help a bit, even if it was just bringing her the ingredients she needed. “I’m working with mountain ash.” Ever explained. “Theo and Corey actually brought me onto this. They can pass a mountain ash barrier and since mountain ash is a magical loaded material, I’m using it for a way to discharge and recharge it how I want it. Basically, make it a barrier we all can cross but others can’t or completely unloading it so you can pass it too without having to break the barrier. That would be useful in a fight when the enemy thinks they have this barrier none of you can cross.”

“Okay, wait a moment and let me repeat that. You’re trying to change the attribute of mountain ash in a way that when a mountain ash barrier is there, you either completely discharge it and just make it some ash on the ground so we can walk over it without a problem.” Ever nodded. “And in the next step, you want to recharge the mountain ash to protect the pack but not let other supernaturals pass it.” Ever nodded again. Liam whistled. “That is a lot, Ever. I’m sure you will succeed if it is possible, but it’s still a big ass project.” “I know but I’m making some progress I think. Want to help me? I need a supernatural to test if you can cross the barrier.”  Liam nodded. He had said he wanted to help her so he would stand by his word. And so Ever went to grab her mountain ash while Liam waited for her in the living room. 

Ever walked back in, the jar with the ash cradled in her arm. “Okay, just stand there, okay? I will put a circle of mountain ash around you and then try to enchant the ash. I’ll make the circle big enough so you don’t feel too caged.” Liam nodded, even though his wolf grew anxious. Mountain ash wasn’t fun to be around but he trusted Ever. Now she grabbed the ash and threw it in the air. It formed a perfect circle around Liam and he immediately felt caged. The circle was big enough for him to move but he still knew he couldn’t go anywhere. “You okay?” Ever inquired and Liam smiled weakly. “Can’t say being surrounded by mountain ash is my favorite past time but I trust you.”

The young witch nodded and raised both hands. Narrowing her eyes on the mountain ash surrounding Liam, she concentrated and waved her hands slowly. Liam held his breath and watched the ash close. Nothing happened for several minutes and he smelled her frustration but then a dim blue light made the ash glow for a second. Ever looked at him. “Think it worked?” “Only one way to find out.” Liam said and reached out to try and pass the barrier. Ever did the same but right before they almost touched, something like a flash went off and both were pushed away by the force, flying to the ground. Liam hissed when his back painfully collided with the floor and then he raised his head to check on Ever. 

Nolan stood in the doorframe and sipped tea. “That looked funny. What are you doing?” He asked and Ever glanced at him from where she landed on the floor as well.  “I tried to discharge the mountain ash. It obviously didn’t work.” She complained and bobbed up.  “Something happened, we both saw the glim and something also pushed ou away so there was energy there. You’re just starting this, if you continue to work on it you will manage it in the future.” Liam gave her a pep talk and she smiled softly. “Uhm, could you break the barrier? I’d like to go out.” The young Alpha then asked and she hurried to break the barrier. Liam had to admit, this felt better.

“You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” He asked Ever and she shook her head. “I’m fine, Alpha. Thanks for helping.” “Good. And now I need a coffee.” Liam squeezed her shoulder in a supportive manner and then brushed past her to walk into the kitchen. He grabbed his favorite mug and filled it with the freshly brewed liquid (thanks to Nolan). While he sipped on it, he checked the fridge, only to realize they needed grocery shopping. A pack full of wolves ate a lot! He made a list which things he needed.

After a while, h wandered back into the living room. “You need to come grocery shopping with me.” He stated but got no reply. Ever was curled in one of the settles, Nolan on the couch, and both were asleep again. Liam chuckled. It was still early and he decided to let them sleep, just like the rest of the pack. He could do the shopping alone. So he sneaked upstairs and into his and Theo’s bedroom. The twenty-two-year-old was on his side of the bed but facing Liam’s side and one arm outstretched as if he wanted to wrap his arm around Liam. It was the same arm he wore his bracelet on and the early morning sun was casting shadows on the leather. The blanket was barely covering Theo’ hips and Liam pulled it higher so Theo would not run cold. Theo didn’t even move and Liam knew it testified how safe Theo felt. He usually was very cautious and reacted to the slightest movement, but here in the pack house, he felt so safe he could sleep without a hitch. Liam let him sleep and quickly got dressed before leaving the room again. He took the car keys and then he got into Theo’s truck and drove towards the store.

Liam had always liked early morning shopping. The stores weren’t crowded and you could take your time without feeling rushed. He grabbed a shopping cart and pushed it through the aisles, loading them with various items. Which suddenly reminded him, he needed to do his Christmas shopping as well. With a whole pack, he really pondered how they should go the whole gift thing. Maybe a Secret Santa? Otherwise, it would be quite massive to buy gifts for everyone. He needed to discuss this with his pack.

Liam yawned a bit while he pushed his cart further through the store. It was quiet in the store, something Liam enjoyed immensely and he was able to get everything quite fast. He had just gathered some milk cartons and pushed his cart further down the aisles of fridges when he caught a movement in his reflection of the fridge glass doors. It almost had looked as if a large dog walked right next to Liam and he stopped abruptly. No, not a large dog, a wolf. His brain automatically corrected. Liam took a few steps back and turned towards the glass but now it was only him, his normal human reflection. His heart was still thrumming wildly in his chest from the shock he had gotten. “I’m getting paranoid.” Liam muttered and ran a hand through his hair before he turned around and pushed his cart further. He resolutely ignored his reflection even though he didn’t saw the wolf or whatever the hell that had been again. Maybe it had been just bad lightning or he was too tired but he wasn’t keen on finding out what exactly that had been. No, now he just paid for his groceries and then loaded the truck before he drove home again.

When he came back the house was silent and Liam tried not to make too much noise while he carried the bags inside and stowed the groceries away. When he was done, he made his way upstairs and into their bedroom. Theo was still asleep and Liam grabbed the Alpha journal and sat down in one of the window seats. The early Winter sun was slowly warming up the place and Liam liked sitting and reading there, so he flipped the journal open and started reading.

“Scott will never trust me again...I ruined everything....” Liam heard the murmurs and spun around. He stood in a dark and empty room. Nothing was there except him and he heard those voices. The first one had been his and he knew he had uttered those words after he tried to kill Scott in the library, “I can’t be a monster...” Liam spun around again when his broken voice came from another corner but nobody was there.  “Hello?” He called out, trying to make sense of all this.  “Scott will think I’m a monster...” Sounded up again and Liam looked around. It was his voice but it sounded distorted and like an echo.  “You’re a werewolf. Like me.“ “He doesn’t have to pretend. Unlike us who everyone hates.”  The voices were coming faster and from various directions now. “We never give up, especially if it’s someone innocent.” “Scott, I’m sorry...” Liam spun around again and again, trying to make sense of anything. But he still stayed alone with the voices around him. “But it still hurts, though.” “We lost everything.”

Liam gasped when she woke up, awoken by a soft shake of his shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay.” Theo stood in front of Liam and worriedly looked at his boyfriend. Seemed like Liam had fallen asleep in the window seat andTheo had slowly woken up from this very strange dream of his. “What’s wrong, Liam? Did you had a nightmare?” Liam frowned and rubbed his eyes. “No. More like a very strange dream.” Theo kneeled down. “Want to talk about it?” Liam shook his head. “No. It didn’t make sense at all. Don’t worry.” He looked around. The room was a bit brighter than before. “How long have I been out?” “Don’t know. When I woke up, you were already sleeping. Could have come to bed, you know? I missed cuddling with you.” Theo smiled softly and Liam smiled back and kissed him. “Breakfast?” He mumbled then. “The Betas are already preparing it.” Theo replied and pulled Liam to his feet. “You’re really okay? You know, you can talk to me if you’re not.” Liam took Theo’s face in his hands and smiled. “Hey, look at me. I am fine. If that changes, you will be the first to know. We’re bonded, Theo, you will feel it and I will tell you. Okay?”  Theo nodded. “Okay.” He said and pulled Liam into yet another kiss. Liam wrapped his arms around his mate. he was really lucky to have such an awesome and caring mate. And he had an amazing pack, so the thing this morning was probably just an optical illusion and his dream meant simply that he was anxious about his talk with Scott or whatever. Liam simply decided on this interpretation now and followed Theo downstairs.

Their Betas were mingling in the kitchen and Sadie was currently praising the nail polish she had been received in her first box of her Advent calendar. Tim, who Liam had learned sometimes helped at the retirement home and had this very sweet elderly man who loved to play pairs, enjoyed the new game of Pelmanism. Nolan was happily munching the Belgian chocolate Liam had filled his first sack with. Maya smelled the tea Liam had given her. “Smells delicious.” She praised when Liam walked past her. The Alpha smiled, happy that his Betas enjoyed their gifts so much. 

Mike had laughed loudly when he received a USB flash drive in form of a hamburger. “This is great. And looks yummy. Thank you, Liam.”

A chorus of thanks yous echoed through the room and Theo kissed Liam’s cheek and then stepped to his advent calendar to look for the first door to open. When he found it he slowly untied the little black sack and fished inside. He pulled out a travel-sized cologne. “It’s the one you saw in the store the other day but you weren’t so sure if you really liked the scent for a long time so I thought you could try this.” Liam explained and Theo beamed at him. “Great, thank you, Lee.” And to underline his gratitude, he kissed Liam lovingly.

“And who opens the first door of the general Advent Calendar now?” Nolan inquired behind them. Liam leaned against Theo. “Ever. She was so excited, so why not her.” “Me, really?” Ever looked surprised but happy and when everyone nodded, she got up and walked over to grab the first sack. Upon opening it, she brought a bag of filled chocolates to light. “Those are my favorites!” She explained. “Thanks, big brother!” “Anytime.” Liam said with a soft smile and leaned against Theo.  

I still can't believe this story already has 21 chapters. I know I already said this but I am beyond thrilled. This is so great :D <3 Liam has nicknames for his Betas, yes. It's one of the strongest headcanons I have and I really did some research to find the ones I found the perfect fit. Christmas is coming closer but before that, we have New York which will great for the pack and for us to watch^^

#thiam #A tale written with fangs and claws #alpha!liam #My writing #Morning Dew Pack series

[stydiasecretsanta]

Midnights

Feliz Natal lydiastxles :) I hope you like this fic!

AU: No supernatural.

This was inspired by a short story by Rainbow Rowell.

December 31, 2011.  

It feels foreign to be in Scott McCall’s basement when she is only friends with two people in this party. Allison, her new friend, the one who texted her forty-five minutes ago I can’t believe you didn’t tell me had no plans and Lydia, I’m serious, you can’t be alone tonight, if you don’t come I’ll pick you up.  It’s fascinating how things change, Lydia always has plans, especially for New Year’s Eve because her parents were never at home when they were together and now, after the divorce, her mother travels two days after Christmas, leaving Lydia home alone for majority of winter break.  

In fact, she had plans. Plans that involved her boyfriend but he was acting so stupid lately that it was easier to eliminate whatever they had agreed on doing.  Jackson would not listen to her and they would end up doing something super boring for her. She’d rather stay at home with Prada, drinking her mom’s expensive wine and watching old episode of The Hills than being with someone who didn’t value her. She’s Lydia Martin and she deserves better.  

There’s also Danny. She never though he and Scott were friends but considering that they both are in the lacrosse team so it makes sense.  

Well, kinda.  

This is different from the parties she usually goes, it’s modest. And it is a lot different from the massive parties she usually throws. Scott is not popular at school, people know him and people seen to respect him but it’s not like they gossip about him in the girl’s bathroom and he only hangs out with his best friend while they’re at school. It seems like everyone is friends here – it’s not like half of the school was invited. The basement isn’t that big, the walls are yellow and there’s a grey couch where Allison and Scott are sited, whispering things in each other’s ears. There’s a big digital watch on the wall near the staircase, it shows the seconds too, and it’s going to be really helpful soon but right now those tiny numbers changing so fast are giving Lydia a headache. Maybe there’s only fifteen people at this party and she doesn’t remember the last time she threw a party so small. It’s nice, though. Friendlier.  

She can see more familiar faces. Mandy, a girl who’s in her history class is there, they never talked but they smiled when they saw each other. Scott’s best friend is sited on the floor, computer on the coffee table adjusting the playlist, “Scott, you seriously ignored the list of songs I sent you?” he said looking at this friend who yes, still was in the couch with Allison. She can see Isaac Lahey across the room, drinking a beer with a guy she doesn’t remember the name.  

She grabs a drink and goes to a corner of the room, back on the cold wall, and thinks how rude it would be to leave a little early. She didn’t know they were friends and she feels lousy for never paying attention. It’s nice watching those people who seen so comfortable with each other but it’s kinda awkward to stay there without talking to anyone. She truly doesn’t remember the last time she felt awkward.  It’s not like they care about how popular she is and it’s not like she can be her true self around everyone, especially since Danny is there too. He would notice and it would ruin her reputation. It would be easier if no one knew her.  

She decides to look at her phone so it wouldn’t look like she’s staring. There’s a few messages from her mom and she replies immediately. There’s also a message from her dad and two from Jackson, saying that she was being childish for not going with him. She ignores both. She scrolls though her Instagram feed and then cheek some of Neil Gaiman’s recent tweets.  

As she puts her phone on the pockets of her purple dress she sees a guy with buzzcut hair coming in her direction.  

“Hi, I’m Stiles.” He seems nervous, she doesn’t know why.

Oh.

It would be nice to hang out, you know, the four of us, Allison said once when they were about to go to the cinema, besides, I think Stiles has a crush on you.  

“I know.”

“How?”

“We’ve studied together since kinder garden?” There’s a mean tone in her voice but she didn’t mean to but sometimes it’s just so effortless.  

“Yeah, yeah, I just never realized that you might actually remember. Anyways, do you want something to drink?”

She lifts her drink so he could see it. “I’m fine, thanks.”  

“Ok,” he takes a moment to think, “I’m gonna tell you a secret.” His eyes moved away from her for the first time since they started talking. “See Isaac over there?”

“Yeah.” Across the room, Isaac was standing really close to a girl, he seemed pleased.  

“He’s talking to that new girl, Malia.”

“Uhum,” She’s not really sure where this is going but she is too smart, she knows what Stiles is doing. He is distracting her. He knows her best friend is with is best friend and she is isn’t close to anybody else at this party. It should make her offended but it doesn’t look like he’s doing this for pity, it seems like he’s interested in talking to her, so she appreciates the gesture.  

“They been flirting since she transferred here, November, I think. And now he’s going to kiss her. Well, not now now. Now as at midnight.”  

She pays attention to then for a second. Malia’s been talking nonstop and it seems like they are getting along. “That’s awful.”

“What?”

“Using New Year’s Eve as an excuse to kiss her.” She explains.  

“Well, it’s not because of New Year’s.” He replies, like this is obvious.  

“Yet he’s using it because he’s probably not brave enough to do it in other situation.”

“You just gave me another reason to annoy Isaac” she notices that he gives a real laugh for the first time, “thank you. I mean it Lydia, thank you.”

She laughs at how serious he’s pretending to be.

“Does she want to kiss him?”

This is good. This conversation is extremely appealing. She has to admit, talking to Stiles is a good way of passing time. Soon is midnight and then she can give a good excuse to Allison and leave the party without being unpolite.  

“Yeah. At least that’s what I got from Cora. Otherwise it would be really awkward.”

“Yeah, like it already isn’t.”  

“Elaborate.”

“There’s many ways this could go,” they are in the corner of the room, observing their friends, she points to them, “but notice how she’s looking at him.”

“How?”

“Are you dumb?”

“Not a genius like you but definitely not dumb.”

She chooses to ignore it. There’s no way he knows how smart she really is. She tries to hide pretty well so it’s unlike someone she doesn’t even have conversations while they’re at school could know. Lydia is smart enough to know that people don’t really care about what she thinks, what she really thinks, so it’s simpler to impersonate someone who doesn’t care about grades, science or even the world.  

“Ok,” Lydia says in a way that it’s so analytical, as if she’s saying all the facts she’s like Kiss me and if she wants to she should just do it already but my point is, she might think it’s cheesy if he waits until midnight.“

He considers what she said for a minute, "Do you think it’s cheesy?”

“I’m not giving the Kiss me look to anyone.”

“Of course.”

“But yeah, I think it’s cheesy.”  

“We could bet.”

“Are you going to bet on your friends’ love life?” This could be fun, she thought but didn’t mention it.  

“Ok, Isaac is definitely not my friend and I’m still getting to know Malia. My point is, we’re not going to interfere. We’re just going to analyze.”

“You also want to take notes? She says with .  

"Nah, they’re not interesting enough for a psychologic research. But, you know, there’s always plan B.”

“What’s plan B?”

“We could go talk to Allison and Scott.”

She looks for her friends, who still are in the couch, but now making out.

No, thank you. “Plan A is way better.”

“Same. So, what you think it’s gonna happen?”

“What are we betting?”  

“I don’t know, if you win what do you want?”

“When.”

“Probably not but ok.”

“Stiles,” she gives him a look and laughs, “probably yes.”

“I hate to admit but knowing you it’s probably yeah but if some crazy thing happens and you’re wrong I want to read your work on riemann hypothesis.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She lied and hated how she could see the brightness on his eyes.  

“It’s okay if you don’t wanna talk about it but you shouldn’t pretend you’re not this crazy genius who’s probably gonna win a Nobel Prize someday and this is probably way out of line but I hate seeing you doing that to yourself.”

“Nobel doesn’t have a prize for mathematicians. Fields Metal is the one I will be winning.”

“I’m sure you will.”  

It’s the first time she tells anyone and the person doesn’t question her, or asks if its too difficult.  

“Just don’t tell anyone.”

“I’m good with keeping secrets, but don’t expect me to shut up on our ten-year reunion about how you just won the most amazing prize ever.”

“Well, there’s a disagreement about that.”

“About what?”

“Fields Medal being the most amazing.”

“Of course, it is, otherwise it wouldn’t deserve you.”

“I never said what I want when I win.”

“Shoot.”

“I’m gonna explain riemann hypothesis to you.”

“That’s what you want?”

“You know my secret, if I remember anything about us while we were kids is that you won’t shut up when you want something so if eventually you’re gonna read what I wrote you better understand it.”

“Okay,” he says and drinks his beer, he thinks about making a comment about Lydia remembering him when they were kids but if she remembers that far she probably also remembers that he has the biggest crush on her.“I bet Isaac will kiss Malia on midnight.”

“I bet that won’t happen.”

“Be more specific.”

“What? No.”

“I’m betting on one thing, yours could go in a million ways.”

“Well, you said yourself that I’m smart.”

They both laugh shyly and drink their drinks and wait until everyone starts counting down the seconds.

Turns out, Malia kisses Isaac five seconds before midnight and Lydia wins the bet.

“Happy New Year, Lydia.”

“Happy New Year, Stiles.”  

December 31, 2012.  

There’s fifteen minutes left of this year and it’s way too hot for a December night. There’s a few clouds in the sky and the drive from her house to Scott’s was stellar.

“I think this is going to turn into a tradition.” Stiles says, they are in Scott’s basement there’s many fairy lights in the room (Lydia’s idea).

“What?” Asks Lydia, turning her head to look at her friend. Hiding the fact that she was looking at his cupids bow.  

“Us here, instead of there.” He points across the room, where most people are.

They’ve got extremely close this year. It started after winter break, Scott and Allison invited them to brunch because “you two are our best friends so it makes sense that you’re best friends too – or at least friends.” So they went out with Allison and Scott and it was quite fun. And the countless hours on a coffee shop where Lydia explained Riemann Hypothesis to him helped too. He didn’t believe at first that she would do it but three days later he received a text from her. I think it’s time for my price. He jumped out of bed and his heart never beaten so fast. Stiles knew it would be easy for him to understand so this whole thing would be over quickly, for one second he though maybe he could play dumb but he saw the smile on her face every time he made an interesting question. He had one opportunity to make a good impression on Lydia Martin and he kinda feels like it worked out.  It did.

They’re on a small couch, sharing a beer. Lydia’s legs are on Stiles’ lap and his hand is on her knee. It’s easy to be this comfortable at Scott’s house.  

It’s crazy to think that this time last year the only memories she had of him were the ones they made when they were in kindergarden. It’s complicated to think about a time when they weren’t best friends. Now they have a thousand of shared memories, late study dates, weekends at Lydia’s lake house, road trips with Scott and Allison. It feels like a lifetime but it’s only been a year.  

“It’s warmer here,” she lies and places her head on his shoulders, he holds her closer, “and besides, you’d rather talk to me about interesting topics instead of make small talk with everyone else.”

“True but Scott is asking us to be with more alive I guess.”

"How?”

“In case you didn’t realize, we didn’t actually talk to anyone besides each other since we arrived.”  

Wow. Sometime was genuinely easier to be in their own world. “Really?”  

“Didn’t you notice?”  He asks, voice soft as ever. He grabs his phone, unlocks it and shows her the texts.  

From: Scott. 11:50pm.

It’s almost midnight.

From: Scott. 11:55pm.

Dude, it’s a party.  I only saw you two leave that couch to grab drinks.  

From: Scott. 11:55pm.

Stiles.

Are you and Lydia gonna be judging people all night?

From: Stiles. 11:55pm.  

We’re not judging people. You probably just heard a random comment about Isaac. And besides, why are we texting? We’re at the same party.

From: Scott. 11:56pm.

It doesn’t look like we are.

I was texting and you were ignoring me.  

From: Stiles. 11:57pm.

Details.

From: Scott. 11:57pm.  

Just come here when it’s midnight. you and lydia.  

“Good thing is that he can’t blackmail us.”

“Actually, he knows too much about me, it might even be dangerous.”

“It’s Scott.”

“So, you don’t believe my best friend could blackmail us?”

“Nope.”  

“But we should go,” he leaves the couch and gives her his hand, she misses him as soon as his body isn’t next to hers so she rolls her eyes so he doesn’t notice her disappointment, “I can make you hot chocolate later.”

“I was waiting for this.”

“I know, now get your cute little ass from there.”

They walk towards their friends, the group is a little different this year. Scott and Allison broke up but they’re being mature about it. There’s a new girl – Kira – from their history class who hangs with them now. She have been flirting with Scott lately, Lydia noticed. She seems nice.  

Erica and Boyd are back. Cora is strangely more social with them.  

This past year she also became closer to Isaac. At first, just to piss Stiles off because it was funny but she actually found a great friendship.  

They all decide to go outside to watch the fireworks – Scott’s annoying neighbor has the best ones in Beacon Hills. The group stand in a circle, waiting for midnight, it’s kinda funny actually. It’s like waiting for something new but Lydia is quite happy with her life at the moment. She doesn’t need changes.

She’s standing near Allison, with her arms crossed with her best friend’s. Across from them is Scott and Stiles and she thinks how good it is to have them in her life.  

The countdown starts. Suddenly everyone is hugging and shit.  

She doesn’t know how it happened but Stiles and Malia are kissing.  

She feels something on her stomach, she doesn’t know why but she doesn’t wanna see the two kissing. It doesn’t make sense, they barely talk outside the group.  

Yeah, this year probably is going to be different- and not in the way she wanted to.  

“Happy New Year, guys” Scott shouts.  

She has a feeling it isn’t going to be that good.

December 31, 2013.  

Lydia is mad – no, no. She’s furious. There’s only two people in the entire world who have already seem Lydia in the level of furiousness she’s in right now: her mom and dad. Her mom when she was little and mad about something stupid she doesn’t even remember; her dad, a few days before he left. But what’s making her more vehement is that she’s frustrated. Every little thing is annoying her because she has to go to this stupid party with her marvelous friends and pretend that the entire universe is working on her side. For the first time in two years they’re not going to Scott’s house and Lydia considers this a disaster because a) it’s warm and familiar and Christmassy and his mom buys her favorite wine and pretends nothing happened. Bless Melissa McCall. And b) She’s never been inside Derek’s loft before, probably no one have besides Scott and Isaac. If she knew his place – or even any apartment in his building it would be easy to create a safe space – somewhere no one would notice her.  Her safe space in Scott’s house is the upstairs bathroom but she never needed to use it. Two years ago she decided this would be the place she would run to if things got too complicated at the party but few seconds before deciding that she would go upstairs Stiles started a conversation with her and changed everything.  

Her safe space in her house used to be the pool. When she was a kid she would dive and pretend she was a mermaid and nothing else mattered. It was only her and her imagination. She used to pretend she was Ariel and had a whole kingdom to explore. When she grew up her safe space became her dad’s library, she used to spend countless hours there reading books and listening to music, especially in the summer. But then her dad left and every time she enters the room she feels like throwing up.  

Now she thinks her safe space in her house is her room, there’s no specific reason behind it, she just loves the purple walls and the fact that it feels like it’s her own universe.  She can read her books in peace.  

Her safe space in Stiles’ house is the only one someone can easily find her.

It’s the only one she’s glad someone can find her because it’s not just her safe place – it’s his too.  

It’s his mystery board and bizarre old cases they try to solve without his dad finding out.  

It’s the way he untangled the red string from her finger when she didn’t believe in herself.  

It’s his soft bed and the countless nights they’ve spent on it.  

Studying. Talking. Sleeping.

Not kissing.

That’s what is annoying her. She should not feel this way about her best friend. She likes to think that she’s mad at herself for feeling what she’s feeling but in reality, she’s mad at Stiles for always being there for her, for whispering in her ear when they’re about to fall asleep. She’s mad because sometimes he gives her that look, with his hazelnut eyes, that makes her believe she’s the only girl in the world for him and she doesn’t know what to do with that information.  

She’s upset because sometimes it feels like they’re not that close anymore. She feels like can’t just go to his house and have dinner with him and his dad and just stay there watching movies until they fall asleep. Everything they used to do feels foreign. Long drives on the jeep feels longer because it’s not just the two of them anymore. So, no jokes, no music, no Lydia in the passenger seat.  

It’s so out of character for them, they used to be best friends but know she feels like she’s holding on a memory.  

A good memory, at least.

Suddenly, Stiles started to spend more time with Malia and she felt alone, especially during summer, when Allison went again to France. She spent a lot of time watching movies with Kira, having dinner with Scott and Isaac but the person she wanted the most wasn’t available.  She actually went to the lake house and stayed there alone for an entire week.  

Stiles and Malia broke up on Halloween night before the party on Allison’s house, she never asked the reason or if it was mutual. There is a part of hers that it is still curious but she’s also afraid of getting hurt again. What if he didn’t want to break up? What if he still liked Malia?  

She fakes a smile because she’s Lydia Martin, no one can know that she’s hurt. Well, of course Allison knows but every time she mentions anything about it Lydia changes the subject.  

It’s easier this way.  

If she doesn’t talk about it she probably will stop thinking about it.  

Hopefully.  

She’s so mad that she left the party.  

Well, she didn’t actually leave it, Allison would kill her. Lydia just said she needed fresh air. Scott, Kira and Malia were talking, so they probably didn’t even notice. Stiles did, though, but she’s been avoiding him all night.  

She arrived at Derek’s house with Allison and Isaac and made small talk with almost everyone – Cora, Boyd, Erica, etc. His loft is bigger than what she expected but it does not look like someone actually lives there, there’s minimal furniture and no pictures. It’s a great place to throw a party, though. He’s going to leave once Cora goes to college – or is it a gap year? She doesn’t remember – but still, this place needed a decoration as soon as possible, it doesn’t look like a home.

Then she spent nearly an hour playing “who has the worst love life”. Isaac thinks he is in love with Allison but she’s dating Scott on and off since sophomore year and Scott is like a brother to him.  Lydia knows she’s in love with her best friend, who was dating someone until like two months ago. She also knows he doesn’t feel anything about her. Maybe he did when they were younger but now it’s she’s not sure. In her mind, he was no longer the boy who would do anything and everything for her. They call it a tie and drink two shots of pure vodka.  

So, yeah, she’s outside Derek’s apartment and thank god for California’s weather. There’s a small park nearby and she walks toward it. It’s kinda abandoned even though the neighborhood is very nice. It’s a good place to think when it’s not full of kids.  

But the truth is, she doesn’t want to be alone with her thoughts.  

She doesn’t want to feel alone anymore.  

She hears someone walking and honestly, she’s tired and she doesn’t need to turn around to know it’s Stiles.

“Lyds.”

It’s been a while since he used this nickname but it’s so familiar that makes her heart aches in a good way.  

“Hi.” Her voice was still and she faked a smile before saying anything and according to the look on his face he knows it. Of course, he knows it. He knows her better than anyone in the world.  

Stiles seems quiet, he’s not talking non-spot as usual. He sits on the yellow swing next to her. The atmosphere is nice and the view is even better.  

“I figured you may want some hot chocolate since it’s cold here.”

She nodded. “Not cold enough, though.”

“Here,” he hands her a white mug with hot chocolate, “I remembered your mini marshmallows.”  

She has no idea how he made hot chocolate on Derek’s kitchen. To be honest, she didn’t even imagine he had things there. She didn’t see anything but alcohol. She accepts the drink because it’s the best in the world. It’s an old recipe from his mom, he told her once when they were watching the stars on his back yard and there was no one else in the world except the two of them.  

“Thanks.” This time she gives a real smile because it’s the little things that he does that make her love him more and more every single day. Things may have gotten different in the last year but deep down she knows she can tell him anything and he will always be there to listen, to pay attention.  

“So, what are you doing here?”

“Turns out two hours of Michael Bublé is enough for me.”

“Really?”  

“Yep.” She answers but she knows that he knows that she’s lying. Stiles is familiar with her in a way no one else ever was. In fact, probably in a way no one else will ever be.  

“Well, I saw you humming White Christmas.”

She takes a drink of her hot chocolate. “It’s not my fault it’s so catchy and besides, why are we even listening to Christmas songs?”

“I may have forgotten to make a playlist,” he says looking at her eyes.

“That’s literally your only responsibility since I started coming to those parties.”

He chuckes, “I guess I was busy.”

“Oh.”

Oh.  

“No busy busy, not like that, I guess I just had a lot on my mind.”

She thought of making a comment but let it go.  

“Wanna share?”

He laughs and seems anxious.  

“I don’t actually know how to say this.”

“You can try,“ she places her hand on his because it doesn’t matter if she’s mad at him or herself. Lydia loves Stiles. Period. Simple as that.  

He takes a deep breath and stares at her gaze, "I’ve been trying to figure out a way of kissing this girl I really really like – honestly, like doesn’t even come close to what I feel about her - but she absolutely hates midnight kisses and I also don’t want her to think I’m only kissing her because of this fucking date and the truth is that I want to kiss her every hour and every day and did I mention that I really like her?”

She bites her lips, it’s an old habit that happens a lot when she’s around him, it’s like she’s speechless.  

“You’re the first girl I’ve ever danced with, remember how I had a crush on you freshman year, sophomore year, junior year. I love you, Lydia.”

She kisses him.  

Finally.

“I love you too, Stiles.”  

They continue to kiss and he’s so delicate, he places his hand on her neck, then her cheek and when they finally break the kiss he places a kiss on her eyelids and brings her closer to him.  

It feels so right.

They don’t need to say anything right now – they can talk about this and everything else later.  

There’s a billion fireworks on the sky – and inside of her too.  

December 31, 2014.

It feels good to be in Beacon Hills for winter break. There’s something nostalgic about waking up and meeting Stiles, Scott and Allison for brunch like they did every Saturday when they were in high school. It feels good to be in the passenger seat of the jeep, hearing Stiles talk about the most random things and holding her hand every time the lights turn red. She still feels goosebumps every time he touches her.  

Not to mention that the weather is way better.

Their first semester was good, sometimes long-distance relationships are hard but as that’s part of life. They facetime everyday but still miss each other.  

“I didn’t get the chance of give you your Christmas present yet,” he says, hugging her while they walk to Scott’s house.

Lydia spent her Christmas in Boston because of a research of one of her classes. It was such an honor to be invited to Mrs. Evans research group, the only problem was that they had to work until December 29. Stiles offered to spend Christmas with her and she really wanted to say yes but she knew how much he missed his dad, it wasn’t fair.  It snowed a lot on Christmas day but she didn’t get the chance to enjoy her first white Christmas, Lydia stayed in the lab with the other students, they ordered Chinese food and talked about what they would do if they were with their families.

She likes to think she would celebrate with her family and then she would meet Stiles, Allison and Scott and they would watch Christmas movies all day.  

He grabs his phone and handles it to her.  

“What is it?”

“Unlock it and you will see,” he says, “well, your gift is your apartment, there were some problems with the deliver and it only arrived yesterday but since you’re going to Boston one day before I get there I wanted to show you this so I could see your face.”

She puts his password (her birthday) and unlocks his phone. There’s a star map with the title “When we said I love you for the first time” and she keeps staring at the phone.

“The real one is in your apartment, this is just the print,” he repeats because he’s nervous, “do you like it?”

She looks away from the phone for the first time and puts her arms around his neck. There’s a few tears in her eyes, “Stiles, this is… It’s so special. I love this so much. I love you so much.”

He kisses her and brings her closer to him, “I love you Lyds.”

“We can use this as our first decoration when we move in together,” Stiles says.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

They hold hands and continue to walk to Scott’s house, where their friends will be waiting for them to celebrate a new year.  

December 31, 2032.

“Stiles.” Lydia speaks softly, her hair is up in a bun and she feels like she’s not fully wake yet.  

There’s no sunlight coming from the window and she’s so tired it takes her a solid two minutes to understand the situation.

It’s already dark. She looks at the phone on her and sees a picture of her and stiles on Italy last year as her lock screen and sees the time. “Shit.”  

Next to her, Stiles is sleeping peacefully. His sleeping habits changed a lot since high school – nowadays he’s able to sleep for six hours straight. Lydia hates to wake him up but now she has to. “Hey. Stiles. Stiles.”

“Lyds.” He mumbles with his face facing the pillow.

“We’re late.”

“It’s so comfy,” he places his hand on her belly and starts to draw small circles with his fingers.  

“I know but it’s 11pm.”

“WHAT” he jumps out of bed and goes in their closet and comes back two minutes later wearing the same clothes. He lays on bed next to her, this time facing her.

“Lyds, do the math with me. it would take at least 30 minutes to get ready,” she gives him a look, “ok, forty-five. Plus twenty minutes to get to Malia and Kira’s, but only if we’re lucky, it could be even more since they block some road this time of the year. Do you really wanna spend New Year in the car?”

“Depends, mine or yours?”

“Ha. Very funny. But if you want to go just say it and I will get ready.”

“Or we could stay.” She leans in and kisses him.  

Sometimes Lydia can’t believe she’s lucky enough to be married to her best friend. They have been together since they were seventeen, they are soulmates, emotional threaders.

“I totally agree.”

“We could watch a movie or something.”

“God. Are we that old already?” Stiles asks.  

“We have to come up with a good excuse, though.”

“Sorry guys, we’re terrible friends and we lost track of the time and end up sleeping till late but see you next year.”

“I think ‘Sorry guys, we’re terrible friends and we lost track of the time and end up sleeping till late because it’s our 3-year-old daughter doesn’t know the word ‘sleep.”  

"That’s better.”

“Agreed.”

“We should have let Anya stay with my mother today because we wanted to have fun and not be responsible for one night and instead of doing that we slept all day.“

“Our plan was good.”  

“Until Anya decided she wanted to go with us.”  

“Until Anya cried because she wasn’t going to stay with us.” Stiles kisses her collarbone and she feels him smiling.  

“And whose fault is that?” Lydia asks

“What?”

“Stiles, she’s our daughter, she’s already smart enough to know that if she cries you will do anything she wants.”

“She wasn’t actually crying,” he realizes.  

“Nope.”

“Oh god. We have another genius in the house. And we’re getting old. Maybe we should move to a house with no backyard. She made me run for an entire hour yesterday.“

"Or give her some video games, I’m sure she’s old enough.” Stiles opened his mouth to say something, probably give her a list of the games, “Stiles, I’m joking, don’t even think about it.”

“So, what’s our plan?”

“We stay in.”

“Come up with a better text, thought.”

“I can make something for us to eat,” he offers and gets out of bed.

She meets him for a hug, It’s warm and safe just like it was when they were teenagers.  

“And I can choose the movie. Perfect,” she says and kisses him, “don’t forget the hot chocolate.”

“You know I won’t,“ he kisses her again.  "I’ll see if Anya is awake.”  

They count down the seconds to the new year with their daughter and watch their favorite movies. It’s another year they spent together and the fact that they will spend every day, every week, every month, every year together for the rest of their lives warms Lydia’s heart.

#lydiastxles #stydia #stydia secret santa #stydiaedit #stydia fanfiction #fic #fics #fanfic #fanfics #fanfiction #gifts #presents 2017

[pale-silver-comb]

Stiles as a professional cuddler who takes Derek on as a client? (With a side of mutual pining, Laura being a good older sister, and Noah being a good dad.)

*coughs* John…..John. (I AM SORRY, NONNIE. I CAN’T ABIDE BY CANON. I CANT.) 

I have to say, I really wish there were more fics out there that had this trope because I really, really love it. I think what I love most about it is because it’s all about Derek and his issues with trust and touch. I am very interested in the notion that Derek isn’t comfortable with people touching him after the fire because of what he went through with Kate but he is comfortable with paying someone to touch him because that leaves him in control. 

Laura is the one who suggests a professional cuddler because she knows her brother and Derek is either going to find himself very badly touch starved for years to come or he’s going to fall into another bad-touch sexual relationship out of some guilt ridden punishment trip. There is no in between with Derek. And so, she researches and finds Stiles. She likes him immediately because the people who leave reviews on his website all have one thing in common: that he loves to talk. Laura knows Derek isn’t much of a talker, especially these days, but she thinks it couldn’t hurt to have someone who isn’t afraid of communication, and possibly someone who might actually get Derek to talk back. Lord knows she’s tried to get Derek to talk; to her, to a therapist. Nothing has worked. But maybe this will. 

Derek is hesitant about Stiles - “what kind of name is Stiles anyway?” - but he has to admit, the idea of being held is….kind of nice. No sex. No complications. Just someone he pays to cuddle with him for an hour every week; a simple and smooth transaction that couldn’t possibly lead to anything bad. 

The problem first starts when he sees Stiles because, in one word, he’s gorgeous. Derek is kind of annoyed he doesn’t stop being gorgeous even when he half trips in the hallway and makes a lame cuddling joke, fishing a spoon out of his back pocket and with a truly impressive eyebrow waggle says, “wanna spoon?” Derek privately wonders if Stiles brought the spoon from home, if he opens with that joke with all his new clients, or if he stole the spoon from some coffee shop on the way over, struck by sudden inspiration. Derek is kind of frustrated when he finds himself hoping it’s the second one. 

Stiles is strangely anal about his job. He treats “cuddling procedures” like it’s BDSM, or something. He asks Derek at least thirty questions, only half of which Derek is able to answer without his cheeks colouring:

“Have you ever hired a professional cuddler before?” No.

“Being a werewolf - yes, I can tell you’re a werewolf, don’t look so surprised - would you prefer I didn’t wear any odours? Body spray, cologne, that sort of thing?” Clean. Just, uh, clean is good. 

“Would you like me to make a playlist for us to cuddle to? Those are very popular.” No, that’s really not necessary.

“How do you feel about versatile spooning options?” Oh. I, um….could you….I mean…..would you do the…..I just want….. “No problem, big guy.”

Their first session is a little awkward and he feels downright silly handing Stiles the money after, but he has to admit, he didn’t….dislike it. In fact, three hours later, he texts Stiles to book another session. By session four, Derek has gotten over his initial embarrassment and just learns to enjoy being held. Stiles talks about a lot of things, tracing his fingers over Derek’s arms, his face, his hands: he talks about why people need contact and why it’s not stupid or something to be made fun of; he talks about Star Wars and his dad; when he finds out Derek likes history, he spends their entire eighth session talking about the Trojan War - “I know it’s not real history. I was going to try and learn about an actual war for you but I got side tracked when I found out, like, half of The Iliad is about two dudes in love. How cool is that???” He then spends an extra forty minutes talking to Derek about queer censorship in history textbooks (somehow managing to work the history of the male circumcision in there). Derek wants to tell him the session is technically over, but for some reason (he’d really rather not confront) he stays quiet and lets Stiles’ voice wash over him, before falling asleep. (He later learns when Laura tried to pay him for the over-time, Stiles had blushed furiously and told her it was on him, before running out of the apartment and muttering something about “rules”.)

Session fifteen is when Derek realises Stiles is the most important person in his life, aside from Laura and Cora. And not only that, but it’s happening again: his heart is racing and his palms are sweating, and what’s worse? He’s daydreaming. Not many people know Derek is a daydreamer. Most people think he probably just sits and broods or occupies every waking hour either working out or reading. Even Laura teases him about it. Derek, however, is a big day dreamer. His romantic day dreams have changed over the years: when he first met Paige, he imagined her at his basket ball games and what prom night might be like; with Kate, he had silly fantasies of introducing her to his family, of teaching her about the full moon and opening up about his history. Derek knows day dreaming is dangerous. At least, for him. It’s always led to bad things. But he can’t help it, even now. 

Because with Stiles it’s different. 

When he day dreams about Stiles, he imagines holding his hand and what it might be like to bury his face in his neck, knowing Stiles would already know what that means because Stiles always knows. And not in some calculating, malicious way, like Kate. It’s a though Stiles files aspects of Derek’s life away like they are facts that might come in handy for a game of trivial pursuit. He plays out silly domestic fantasies in his head where he is trying to make them pancakes and Stiles starts a food war, covering them both in flour and jam. He imagines what it might be like to have Stiles hold him after sex and tell him he’s good, that he did good; imagines hearing Stiles say, “I’ll see you at home” and texting Derek lame jokes throughout the day until he does.   

When Stiles comes over for their 15th session, he’s a mess. He’s obviously been crying and Derek can’t tell why, but he smells strongly of roses. Stiles, like Derek, is pretty skilled at hiding his feelings but the moment he goes to lie down on the bed, he breaks. Derek doesn’t think he could stop crying, even if he wanted to, and even though he knows Stiles probably doesn’t want a client - because that’s what Derek is, a client - seeing him like this, he can’t help but lie down beside him and hold out his arms. Stiles shuffles towards him without even considering it, and Derek doesn’t  care he’s getting tears and snot all over his favourite Henley because the moment he brings a hand up and soothes it up and down Stiles’ back, Stiles melts into him. Utterly trusting. He says something about his mom. 

It’s the best and most painful feeling in the world and Derek is beyond grateful that Stiles isn’t a werewolf, can’t hear how hard his heart is beating or smell the jumble of emotions coursing through him. 

They lie like that for an hour, maybe, before Stiles starts to get restless. He tries apologising, offers Derek a session on the house, but Derek barely hears him, lost. Lost in a confusing bag of mixed emotions and instead of answering Stiles, says, “let’s order pizza”. 

The pizza comes within thirty minutes, and two hours later - half way through the third Harry Potter movie - Stiles leans in and kisses him. It lasts for twelve seconds - Derek doesn’t know why he counts - and when it’s over, Stiles pulls back, eyes wide, and yells something about Derek having the last slice of pizza, before running. Derek listens to him run all the way out of the apartment block and to his Jeep, lips tingling, heart sinking. 

They don’t see each other for four months. Stiles ignores all his phone calls and after a while, Derek gives up. He doesn’t stop day dreaming, though. He takes an almost masochistic pleasure in it - maybe it’s a form of self punishment, who knows. He doesn’t care if it doesn’t count as “growth”. He day dreams to the point that he isn’t sure if Stiles is a figment of his imagination when he shows up at his door soaking wet, like the ending of some cheesy romantic comedy. Derek would laugh at the bitter-sweetness of it; that is, until Stiles’ hands are on his face and he’s talking….and talking…..and talking. Talking about rules and professionalism and “never happened to me before”. He talks until Derek finds himself smiling. He talks until Derek finds his hands shaking, and finally, finally, until he can find it in him to put a finger to Stiles’ lips. 

“Shut up.”

Stiles does.

“If I asked you to kiss me again, would you want to?” 

Stiles swallows, takes a breath. “Depends, are you going to pay me for it?”

Derek raises an eyebrow for appearance sake, says, “only in more kisses”, and then blushes furiously because cheesy flirting is not a thing he does outside of his own head. Except, apparently now it is. And he plans to do much more of it, especially if it makes Stiles laugh like that again. Just….maybe not in public. God though, he loves hearing Stiles laugh. He wants to hear it all the time. Maybe he would risk the PDA. 

“Make a deal with me?” Stiles asks, closing the space between them, mapping out both of Derek’s eyebrows with a curious finger. He smiles, like he’s figured something out about him, just from that. “Buy me a milkshake every Saturday and let me hold your stupid hand during movies and you can have all the cuddling sessions you want for free.”

Derek pretends to consider this, takes Stiles’ free hand and playfully bites down. “Sounds like a good deal,” he whispers. 

Stiles grins. “Oh, I assure you, it is.” 

#sterek #eternalsterek #talk sterek to me #fluff and pining #professional cuddler!stiles

[freeyourheartandsoul]

Smoke

Prompt: Hi love!! I don't know if you're taking requests or even have the inspiration to write at the moment, but I was wondering if you could write a Theo imagine? About him coming back from hell and meeting the reader for the first time? And she sort of takes him in because she doesn't truly know what he's done or what he was like and he starts to fall for her but he has all these trust issues??Very fluffy too please!!! – Anon

Author’s Note: So, I had this idea to write this to Maddie & Tae’s song “Smoke.” I think it really fits, and I hope you do too. Hope you like what I came up with! Thanks for requesting!

Smoke.

(Y/N) rushed out of the classroom as she shouldered her bag and typed a quick response to a friend, making plans for the weekend. She was so engrossed in her phone that she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and ran smackdab into someone, sending the other person’s books to the floor and her phone flying. “Dammit. I’m sorry. That was totally my fault.” She apologized as she knelt down to help gather the books.

“Nah, it was my fault. I shouldn’t have been trying to read last night’s homework while walking.” The other person responded with chuckle.

Her head snapped up when she heard the somewhat husky voice, and just as she did she was met with the most gorgeous blue-green eyes she’d ever seen on a boy that she had never seen around before. She definitely would have remembered him if she had. His gorgeous eyes, his perfectly styled hair, his muscular build, and a grin that made her weak in the knees. He looked like he walked right off a movie set… a far cry from the rest of the guys at her school. That’s not to say they weren’t attractive, they just weren’t her type.

She managed to laugh a little, “I was the one texting and walking.”

“You can get a ticket for that, you know.” The stranger joked and it caused (Y/N) to laugh again.

“I’ll remember that next time.” She smiled. They gathered the books and her phone and stood up straight. “Are you new here?” She asked.

“Um… not really. I was here last semester, but had to leave for a while for… personal stuff. I think you’re the new one.” He answered and pointed at her with his last statement.

(Y/N) blushed a little, “of course. I guess that’s what I get for pretending not to be new.”

The boy shook his head. “It’s okay. I was in your shoes earlier this year.” She smiled a little and nodded her head. They stood there awkwardly for a minute until the boy broke it. “I’m Theo, by the way.”

She smiled, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m (Y/N).” She noticed the covers of the books in his hands. “Are you going to English Lit next?” She asked, pointing over her shoulder to the classroom behind her.

Theo was confused for a minute, but then remembered the books in his hands. “Oh. Yeah. You just came from there?”

(Y/N) nodded her head, “Yeah, and don’t worry about the reading for last night. He didn’t do anything with it today.”

Theo sighed in relief, “Great. Thanks.” The warning bell rang, “I guess we should get going.” He suggested with a small smile.

(Y/N) nodded a little, “Yeah…” She started walking backwards slowly, “I’ll see you around, Theo.”

“See you around, (Y/N).” He responded and they both smiled sweetly at one another before heading to their respective classes.

Wanna know who burned you so bad Left your heart in ashes on the ground Made you promises, took 'em right back Left you cold and alone, now all you know is the sound Of goodbye You won't let anyone inside Baby, you're just like smoke, blowing on the wind One minute, you're by my side and then you're gone again You might be bad for me, but I just wanna breathe you in Every time I reach out, I find there ain't nothing to hold Boy, you're just like smoke

Theo and (Y/N) spent the following weeks getting to know each other a little better. They didn’t go out on dates or hangout outside of school. They just ate lunch together, spent study hall out on the quad, and texted each other without missing a beat. They just clicked with one another, like they’d known each other their whole lives.

(Y/N) could tell that he was holding something back, though. No matter how much she opened up to him about her own life, he couldn’t seem to do the same about his. He was distant without completely checking himself out of the conversations. He was fine when it came to talking about her, but as soon as she changed the subject to ask about him, (Y/N) could actually see him closing himself off.

A brick wall was between them and she wanted to bulldoze it down. She wanted to know the reason for the pain reflecting in his eyes. She wanted to know what left him so broken. She wanted to know his story on why her other friends warned her to be cautious of him. She couldn’t explain why, but she felt undeniably drawn to him and the need – rather, want – to take him in and prove to him that it was okay to let her in and let go of whatever painful past that was haunting him.

It was a nice day out so they decided to eat their lunch out on quad at a picnic table. The first twenty or so minutes were full of laughter and joking comments as she told him a story about how she slid down the stairs in the hallway on her first day at Beacon Hills High one rainy day. He even joked about how she needed to pay more attention when she’s walking, reminding her of their first encounter.

Then the chatter and laughter died down and they were met with silence. Theo seemingly got lost in a daze as he fiddled with the lid to his water bottle. (Y/N) watched him with knitted eyebrows for a minute, wondering what was on his mind, but she knew he would change the subject if she asked. So, she decided to go a different direction.

“Can I ask you something?” She questioned casually before taking a bite of her fries.

Theo snapped out of it at the sound of her voice breaking through the silence, but he still didn’t look her way. “Sure.” He responded somewhat dryly.

(Y/N) took a sip of her water then looked at him intently, “Some of my friends have advised me to be wary of you… why?” She knew it was a longshot that he would actually give her a decent answer, but she had to try.

“Which friends?” Was all he questioned back as he continued to play with the water bottle lid.

She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, “does it really matter?”

He finally looked back at her, “yes.”

“Why do I have a feeling you already know who?” She questioned, furrowing her eyebrows again. Theo sighed and went back to spinning the lid around. “You know, if I were going to heed their warning, I would have already done it. I just want to know your side of the story.” She tried to sympathize by reaching out for his hand, but he quickly stood up.

“Their side of the story is all you need because it’s the truth.” He stated before grabbing his trash and walking away, disappearing behind the double doors of the school.

We can start out slow like an ember Get the fire burning back behind your eyes I wanna feel you when we're together So, whatever you do, baby, don't disappear This time Don't fade into the grey tonight

 (Y/N) was tired of this back and forth with Theo. It’d been months now and they still hadn’t made any real progress. She still knew very little about him, while he knew quite a bit about her. He was still quick to put up a brick wall when it came to her asking anything about his personal life. Strangely enough, the more he pushed her away, the more she was drawn to him. She’d had enough though, she was bound and determined to get him out of this weird funk.

So, as soon as the final bell for school rang, she rushed straight to his truck and leaned against the front bumper as she waited on him. She wasn’t going to let him disappear again. When she spotted him walking up, she stood up straight and put on her best intimidating stance, hands on her hips and everything.

“Hey, (Y/N)…” Theo started to greet her with a smile until he saw that she was clearly upset. “What’s going on? Everything okay?”

(Y/N) shook her head, “no. We need to talk.”

“Okay…” He exhaled slowly as he gripped the shoulder straps to his backpack.

Her shoulders relaxed a little and she took her hands off her hips, “I like you, Theo. A lot. Probably more than I should.” She noticed how his shoulders visibly slumped. “But there’s this big gaping hole between us that’s keeping us from being able to move forward. That hole is you and your inability to let me in and trust me. I’ve tried and tried and tried since we met to get you to open up, but you won’t, and it’s… infuriating.” She said with a deep sigh in frustration.

“(Y/N), I’m…”

She held up her hand, “I’m perfectly fine with taking things slow, Theo, but there’s generally some sort of progress while taking it slow and we haven’t made any progress whatsoever. I mean, I don’t know anything about you besides your last name, the fact that you hate math, and the bad stories about your past that my friends have told me. I don’t know what you were like as a child, your parents’ names, what you want to do when you graduate… hell, I don’t even know your favorite color!” She exclaimed in frustration, causing a few stares from fellow students as they made their way to their cars.

Theo looked down and (Y/N) sighed in exasperation. “I can’t keep being the only one who puts forth any effort to this…” she gestured between the two of them, “whatever this is. So, if you ever feel like you’re ready to move forward, give me a call, but until then… I can’t do this anymore.” She looked at him with solemn eyes for a minute before turning and walking away towards her own car, not giving Theo a chance to say anything.

***

(Y/N) and Theo didn’t talk for the rest of the week. She avoided him like the plague; choosing different paths to her classes, eating lunch with Stiles and everyone out on the quad, parking as far away from his truck as possible, and even arriving to their shared classes at the last minute so she could avoid conversation since she had to sit beside him. It wasn’t the easiest task, but it was necessary because she knew that if she didn’t, she’d end up right back where she was. He had to be the one to make a move this time. The ball was in his court now.

As sad as it sounds, she wasn’t expecting him to actually make one. She’d waited this long for him to show some sort of reciprocating feelings, why would he change now? Did it bum her out? Of course, but she’d already tried everything that she could think of, but he kept pushing her away and putting up walls. That’s no way to build a friendship, much less a relationship that she wanted to explore. She had to know when to give up the battle when he wasn’t even fighting.

So, when she saw a bouquet of her favorite blue daisies sitting against her windshield as she approached her car the following Friday after school, she was shocked to say the least. She picked up the flowers and found the note tucked inside:

Meet me at our spot after school. Please. – Theo

Since the note seemed to be an indication that he finally decided to make an effort, (Y/N) decided to give Theo the benefit of the doubt. She tossed her backpack in the backseat of her car and the daisies in the passenger seat before pulling out of the school parking lot and heading in the direction of their spot. Twenty minutes later, she put the car in park at the main entrance of the reserve and walked the trail until she saw him sitting on a rock by the river.

It wasn’t like this was their secret spot or anything, but they’d started coming to it about a month ago when she was having a bad day and he convinced her to skip school with him. He brought her here and they sat in silence for the most part until she started babbling about how her parents were going out of town once again and how they’re never around because of work. He listened as she complained, and that was all she needed. Ever since, they’d come here sometimes just to escape reality for a while. But of course, he never had anything to say about his own issues. (Y/N) was hoping that maybe this time would be different.

“This spot taken?” She asked softly as she gestured to the empty space next to him.

Theo shook his head and patted the spot next to him. “I’m glad you didn’t throw my note in the trash.” He offered her a soft smile.

“You got my favorite flowers. I couldn’t ignore that.” She responded with a simple shrug as she looked out at the creek. She was tempted to start the conversation, but this was his deal… he had to be the one to initiate it when he was ready.

So, they sat in silence for a few minutes as Theo gathered his thoughts and his courage. It wasn’t an awkward or uncomfortable silence, but it also wasn’t exactly comfortable either. It was just a torturing silence that (Y/N) was desperate to fill, but she knew he was probably just gathering himself.

Finally, he spoke up. “I know your friends have told you some pretty bad things about me and what I’ve done,” this caused her to turn and face him so that he’d know she was really listening even though he was still looking out at the water. “And you should know that it’s all true.”

“But…”

Theo held up his hand, “I know you haven’t told me what they’ve said exactly, but it is. All of it. I know it’s horrible, and you have every right to hate me for it. I’d understand because they aren’t things I’m proud of, and sometimes I hate myself for doing them too.”

“Theo…” She tried to place her hand on his shoulder, but he turned to face her instead.

“I’ve never met anyone like you, (Y/N).” He said as he looked deep into her eyes. “You’re kind and understanding. You’re sweet and funny and beautiful, and I don’t deserve you as a friend. You’ve been trying to bust down these brick walls of mine for months, and I just keep building them higher because I’m afraid that once you see the real me, this… evil monster, you won’t want anything to do with me. It’s what I deserve, honestly, but the selfish part of me needs you in my life more than I need anything else.” His eyes hadn’t left hers, and she knew he could see the tears welling up. “You came into my life at just the right time. You were this breath of fresh air after suffocating in my own darkness. But then you started getting curious and I got scared. So the darkness eased its way back in.”

“So, I tried to keep you in my life, but at a safe distance. The way I acted was selfish, I know, but it’s the only thing I knew to do. Then you basically told me to get my head out of my ass and walked away.” He paused for a minute as she noticed him getting a little choked up. “This past week without you has been like hell all over again, (Y/N). You have every right to walk away, but this is me begging you not to and promising to try harder to be someone you deserve. I’m not saying it’s going to happen overnight or that it’s going to be easy. I just…” he grabbed her hand as he searched her eyes. “I don’t want to be that monster, and I’m afraid that if I lose you, that darkness will consume me again.”

Theo lowered his head as if he were ashamed of that confession. (Y/N) placed her hand under his chin and lifted his head so that he was looking back into her eyes. “I won’t let that happen.” She stated firmly and honestly so that he knew how much she meant it. She caressed his cheek, “you’re not going to lose me.”

He looked back at her in awe, sure that she was going to walk away from him again after his confession. Their eyes danced together a little as they each slowly leaned in, and as their lips met for the first time, it was like a spark ignited in both of their bodies. It was then that they knew there was no going back now.

The End.

#teen wolf #theo raeken #theo raeken imagine #theo raeken prompt #theo raeken fanfic #theo raeken fanfiction #theo raeken x reader #teen wolf imagine #teen wolf imagines #teen wolf prompt #teen wolf prompts #teen wolf fanfic #teen wolf fanfics #teen wolf fan fic #teen wolf fan fics #teen wolf fanfiction #teen wolf fanfictions #teen wolf fan fiction #teen wolf fan fictions #teen wolf songfic #teen wolf song fic #teen wolf songfics #theo raeken imagines #theo raeken prompts #theo raeken fanfics #theo raeken fanfictions #theo raeken fan fic #theo raeken fan fictions #theo raeken fan fics #theo raeken fan fiction

[dragon-temeraire]

Former Employment

Summary: Professor Stilinski is definitely not expecting to see his favorite porn star among the students of his Human Sexuality class.

Notes: Inspired by this ask. I don’t do power imbalance, so nothing happens until Derek is out of Stiles’ class. Also, while there are mentions of porn, there is no actual smut in this. Sorry. (On AO3)

@nogitsunelichen and @cobrilee -- this is probably not what you had in mind, but I wrote it!

When Stiles pushes open the doors to the lecture hall, it’s completely empty. He blinks down at his watch in surprise, and realizes he made the walk across campus faster than he realized. There’s always an adjustment period at the beginning of every semester, where he figures out where his classrooms are and how long it’ll take to get there.

Well, he might as well utilize this time, then. He sits at the desk at the front of the room, and gets back to writing his proposal for a class on the influence of society on gender.

He gradually hears students come in as he works, but he keeps focused, because he knows he has at least another ten minutes before class starts.

But when he hears a student ask, “Hey, are you the professor?” he has to look up, and he begins to wish he’d done it a lot sooner.

Because sitting a few rows away, staring at the guy who’d asked with a look of confusion, is none other than—well, Stiles doesn’t know his real name, but. It’s definitely D.H. Wolfe, Stiles’ absolute favorite porn star.

Hell, he’d just watched Wolfe’s four-way farewell video just last night. (It’d been posted up on Guy On Guy for more than a month, but he’d been saving it for when he needed it the most.)

But even though his brain is still frozen in shock, his mouth manages to work. “No, he’s not. I know I look young, but I’m your professor,” he manages to say coolly, but his eyes are still caught on the edge of Wolfe’s perfect jaw.

His stubble looks even better in person, and Stiles just manages to keep himself from licking his lips.

Professional.

He has to be professional, he reminds himself, and drags his gaze back down to his watch. The lecture hall is still only half full, so he’s surprised to see that there’s only three minutes left.

But this is a freshman-level class, so it’s likely that a lot of them are lost, and will be straggling in late. It’s the downside of teaching electives with no pre-requisites, but he doesn’t really mind.

He takes a deep breath, lets it out again. Only two more minutes, and he can start talking, and stop thinking about Wolfe. Who looks every bit the prepared student, sitting attentively with his notebook and pens already out in front of him.

He looks up and catches the eye of the student he corrected, giving him a reassuring smile. He’s never tried to be one of those intimidating professors, and he’s certainly not going to start now.

He grabs up the stack of syllabi and starts handing them out as the stragglers come sneaking in. Being late is its own punishment, because it means they’re stuck sitting right up front. Stiles just smirks and keeps handing out papers.

“Okay, everybody. This is Intro to Human Sexuality. Check your schedule, make sure you’re in the right place,” he says, leaning back against his desk. “As I’m sure you’ve realized, today is syllabus day, so we’ll be discussing class policies, and my best recommendations for how you’re going to make an A this semester.”

He’s glad he’s taught this class often enough that he can do most of the intro on autopilot, because the rest of his mind is still churning over the whole porn star thing.

He answers a few questions about tests and extra credit, recommends that they start reading the first chapter of their textbook, then dismisses them and jets out of there.

He definitely needs a breather.

 *

 Stiles is at least prepared for the sight of Wolfe this time, so he does fare a little better.

Though in his effort to not stare, he ends up avoiding even looking at the area of the class Wolfe’s sitting in. He only glances over if he sees someone raise their hand, and even then, he tries not to linger.

He goes off tangent a couple times, gets a little more tongue-tied than usual, but he makes it through the lecture okay. And he’s managing not to be a creepy weirdo, so that’s always a plus.

When class is over, he sits down at the desk, jotting down where they left off, and making notes of some other topics he wants to discuss. He’s distantly aware of the silence of the empty lecture hall, so he’s a little startled when someone starts talking to him.

“Excuse me, Professor,” Wolfe says, and Stiles lets his gaze flit over the rest of the room before giving him his attention.

Sure enough, there aren’t any other students left. Well, at least the door is still open.

“Is it going to be a problem?” Wolfe asks, and the question throws Stiles for a loop, because it’s not accusatory at all. Just curious, maybe a little concerned.

“Is what going to be a problem?” he asks, eyes fixed on Wolfe’s serious face.

“I just—it seemed like you recognized me, on the first day,” he says. “I didn’t know if it would be a problem, you knowing who I am.”

“Oh. I did recognize you, yes. But here’s the thing,” Stiles says, smiling a little in spite of himself. “I don’t actually know who you are. All I know is what you used to do. In fact, I don’t even know your real name.”

“It’s Derek,” he says. “Derek Hale.”

“Well, Derek,” Stiles says. “It’s not going to be a problem for me. But is it going to bother you that I know? I can transfer you to Professor Reyes’ class, if you want.”

“No, it’s fine,” Derek says with a small smile of his own. “I like your class.”

It’s only been two days, Stiles almost says, but it’s not like he’s trying to drive Derek out of his class. He figures if he just gives it another week or two, he’ll get desensitized to Derek’s incredible good looks, and he’ll be just fine. Hopefully.

“I assume you’ve read the syllabus,” Stiles says, eyebrow raised. “You know we’re doing a section on the influence of pornography on sexual norms and behaviors, right?”

“I’m looking forward to that part the most,” Derek says with a bright grin, and Stiles abruptly thinks he might not make it through this semester after all.

 *

 Stiles doesn’t jerk off every night, not usually. And he definitely can’t when the semester is in full swing, and he’s got hundreds of essays to grade.

But his subscription to Guy On Guy is not exactly cheap, so he likes to log on every day anyway, just so he can feel like he gets his money’s worth. The site is always posting up new material, and he’ll sometimes just watch performer interviews, or flip through the photo galleries.

But feels weird to watch any of Wolfe’s videos, now that Stiles knows his real name, and now that he’s a student in his class. He just can’t do it.

This is early in the semester, though. It’s his prime jerking off time, and he’s gotta take advantage of it. His mouse hovers over one of Wolfe’s shower scenes, and he deliberates for a long moment.

But one of the best parts of Guy On Guy is their wide range of performers, and he instead clicks over to one of his other favorites, Boy-D. (“He’s got the D, and you want it.”) He opens up one of his new videos, and watches Boy-D lift another guy up and pin him against the wall, dragging his cock teasingly against his ass.

Yeah, Stiles thinks, already unbuttoning his pants. This’ll do.

 *

 “All right, everybody,” Stiles says cheerfully. “Get out a piece of paper, we’re doing a quiz.” He lets the dramatic groans die down, then says, “I’m just grading on participation, so make sure you write something down, even if you’re not sure it’s right.”

He looks around the room, catches a few nods of acknowledgement, then waits for the rustling of spirals and notepads to die down.

“Okay, I want you to define these three things: sexual attraction, romantic attraction, and aesthetic attraction. Remember, this is just participation, so make sure to put down what you think.” He watches pens and pencils scribble across the paper, expressions of concentration or confusion on a lot of the faces he sees.

“Everyone done?” he asks, when it’s been a few minutes. “Well, since I’m going to read through all of these anyway, I might as well make it worth my while. At the bottom of the paper, write down a few questions you’d like to have answered in this class. Put at least one, okay? It can just be something you were hoping to learn by taking this class.”

He’d gotten a ton of questions last semester, and though several of them hadn’t been relevant (Are you single? What’s your real first name? How old are you?), he’d answered them all anyway. It had been pretty fun, honestly.

“Okay, pass them in,” he says, when everyone starts to look around restlessly. He gathers all the papers into a big pile, sets them on the corner of his desk. “So, I asked you about those types of attraction, because a person’s experience with one or more of them helps them determine their own orientation,” he says, and tries not to think about the fact that he experiences all three every time he looks at Derek.

 *

 “Before I forget,” Stiles says the next class period. “Isaac, your TA, is running a study session in the library tomorrow night. So if you’re having some trouble with any of the concepts we’ve been covering, you should definitely go.”

Isaac is a great assistant, and Stiles likes him because he has a similar brand of sharp wit and sarcasm. He also thinks Isaac is perfect for this course, because his incredible cheekbones and beautiful blue eyes tend to make a lot of people question their sexualities.

Sometimes Stiles shows up to that first session, just so he can watch a good portion of the class try not to stare. Sometimes Isaac will feel like playing it up, and he’ll slowly, sensually unwind the scarf from around his neck as he talks, and several people will abruptly gulp down water and refuse to look up from their textbooks for a while.

It’s honestly one of Stiles’ favorite things.

 *

 “Here, this is a good informational source,” Stiles says, quickly scribbling down a website and handing it to Marie. “It should help you understand some of the terms involved in gender identity.”

Marie thanks him and hurries out the door, and Stiles looks over to see who’s next. He smiles when he sees that it’s Derek, who stays after class to ask questions pretty regularly. He’s the last one in line, so Stiles gestures to the chair by the desk.

“What’s up?” he asks, watching Derek set his bag down and take a seat.

“I just wanted to ask you more about the lecture you covered today,” Derek says. “You mentioned that both gender and sexuality could be fluid, but that the fluidity of sexuality was based partially in gender. But I’m not really sure what you meant by that,” he says, sounding apologetic.

“Well, that’s due mainly to how sexuality is defined,” Stiles says. “Because it’s not just who you’re into, but also who you are. So how you view your gender can change your sexuality, because it’s from your perspective.”

Derek still looks confused, so Stiles taps the desk for a moment, thinking.

“Let me give you an example,” he says. “Say that you’re a guy, and you’re exclusively into other guys. What would you consider yourself?”

“Gay,” Derek says promptly.

“Probably,” Stiles agrees, nodding. “But what if you began to identify as a woman, and you were still only into guys. What would you consider yourself then?”

“Uh, straight?” Derek says, clearly uncertain.

“Maybe,” Stiles says. “Depends on how they want to define themselves. And what if someone identified as non-binary or agender?”

“I’m not sur—” Derek begins.

“I don’t actually need an answer,” Stiles says, smiling. “I just want you to consider it. Consider how societal perception of your gender can change how favorably people view your sexuality.”

Derek nods, asks another question, and then another. They talk for more than twenty minutes, until Stiles remembers that he has another class to get to.

 *

 Derek gets an excellent score on his midterm, one of the best in the class.

His personal essay on his own view of sexuality is also wonderful. And Stiles knows that’s really his objective opinion, because he always covers up the name before he grades any papers.

And he’s very tempted to go back and just read Derek’s essay again, when he gets to one that was obviously written by one of the frat boys in his class. It’s so heavily laden with heterosexual affirmation that it makes Stiles want to hit his head against the desk. It’s only a one-page paper, but Frat Boy still manages to mention his love of having sex with women twenty-six times.

He really, really wants to give him an F, but reviews his rubric and realizes that his required outline was…somewhat followed. With a dejected sigh, he writes a large C at the top.

He’s hesitant to grab the next essay, because his brain hurts now. But then he remembers how fun it is to personally hand these back and witness everyone’s expressions of fear, and he starts to smile.

 *

 “We’ve reached the lecture everyone’s been waiting for,” Stiles says with a smirk, looking up at the rows of students. “But no, I’m not going to give you any kind of porn-watching homework.”

He waits for the dramatically disappointed sighs to subside, trying not to laugh. Inevitably, someone ends up asking if they need to watch some porn, you know, for science, so he figured he’d just end that line of questioning ahead of time.

“Yeah, you’re not going to get an excuse to watch pornography from me, sorry,” he says, grinning. “Now. Who can tell me an influence that porn has had on our society in general?”

There’s a long, drawn-out silence, then somebody says, “Um, body hair standards?”

“Yes, that’s a big one!” Stiles says, nodding. “Porn has definitely altered the overall view of body hair, especially on women. It makes the implication that sexual, attractive women have no hair on their bodies at all, and that being hairless is actually desirable.” He watches as everyone hurriedly writes notes. “Okay, another one?”

Someone blurts, “Body types?” as someone else yells, “Dick size!”

“Okay,” Stiles says, amused. “Yes, mainstream porn typically only features a couple of body types, and they are rarely representative of the body types of the average person. And yes,” he says with a little sigh. “Penis size in porn is also rarely representative, as it tends to feature people of above-average endowment. Which, especially combined with the body-type issue, can lead to some insecurity. Though there has been a trend lately to use performers with more typical penises, which is probably better for everyone,” he says, trying to play it cool, and not think about the fact that he knows what Derek’s cock looks like. Oh god.

He’s been doing well all semester, regularly looking over at Derek’s part of the lecture hall, but he can’t manage to do it today. He really doesn’t need to know what his reaction to any of this is.

“Next?” he says quickly.

“Like, sexual roles or dynamics, or something?” a girl in the front row says, and Stiles breathes out a sigh of relief.

“Yes,” he says. “In straight porn, women are typically portrayed as passive sexual objects for men to stick their dicks in. And in gay porn, the big muscular guy is inevitably going to be fucking the smaller, leaner guy. And it sort of sets up these false expectations for the viewers, and if seen enough times, can be normalized. Some people go into their first sexual experience expecting it to be like porn. I’m sure you can see why this might be harmful,” he says, looking around the room. If they learn nothing else in this class, he wants them to at least know that porn is incredibly unrealistic. “Okay, another one?”

There’s some shuffling of papers, and Stiles thinks maybe everyone’s too embarrassed now, but then someone way in the back says, “Professor Stilinski, do you watch porn?”

Normally he wouldn’t answer that, but it was one of the questions he got back from the quiz, and since he hasn’t gotten them all answered yet…

“I do,” he says, leaning back casually against the desk. “I like porn, but that doesn’t mean I like all porn. I do have standards. Now, I’m not going to give you any recommendations, but I will give you a little advice. With porn, you definitely get what you pay for. If you want to find something you’re really into, with performers who actually like what they’re doing, you’re going to have to pay for it. Okay? Everybody got that?” He grins, looking around the room at all the surprised faces. “Also, it should be clear to everyone that most of the people in this room have watched porn. It’s not that wild of a thing. Now, anybody feeling brave enough to give me another example of an influence?”

He laughs when a bunch of hands shoot up.

 *

 Stiles sets the stack of final exams on the desk, watching as the students quietly file into the lecture hall. Isaac comes in a few minutes later, smiling a little, and Stiles knows he’s relieved the semester is almost over. Erica’s TA has been sick for the past few weeks, so Isaac has been busy helping her out, too.

Stiles is a little more ambivalent about it. While he’s happy he’s going to get a break soon, he’s always a little sad when one of his classes is over. Especially because he had so many good students this time around.

He gives Isaac half the stack of tests, and they start handing them out, though Stiles has to stop and remind a few students to take off their baseball caps. He comes around with the scantrons next, and then takes a couple of slow laps around the room. No one looks too freaked out, so he’s hoping he won’t have any failures this semester.

Isaac’s stationed himself in the back of the lecture hall. He’s supposed to be here to help Stiles proctor, but Stiles is going to let him leave soon. He knows Isaac has his own exams to study for.

Derek is, unsurprisingly, one of the first people to finish. Stiles gives him a little smile when he hands in his test, but in the dead silence of the classroom, he doesn’t feel like he can say anything to him. Derek gives him a nod and a smile in return, and then he’s out the door.

Stiles watches him go, then sighs and takes another lap around the room, silently shooing Isaac out with a wink. The lecture hall suddenly seems a lot more boring, and Stiles heads back to the front of the room, hopping up to sit on top of the desk. He scans the room, and tries not to think about missed opportunities.

It’s a relief when the last person finally turns in their test.

He shuffles all the stacks into a neat pile and puts them in his rolling bag. He glances at his watch as he wheels out the door, and grins to himself, because he still has time to drop the scantrons off at the testing center.

But he’s shocked when he looks up and finds Derek waiting in the hallway, leaning casually against the wall. It’s certainly not a bad surprise, though.

“Hey, Derek,” he says cheerfully, and smiles when Derek falls into step with him. “The final grades should be posted by tomorrow afternoon, at the latest,” he adds reassuringly.

“I know,” Derek says quickly. “I actually just wanted to ask you, um. I know you’re not holding your usual office hours during finals week, but I was wondering if there was a time I could come talk to you? After the grades are posted?”

“Sure,” Stiles says, wondering if Derek wants to apply for the TA position. He’d be an excellent candidate. “I’m not having office hours, but I will be in my office when I’m not giving exams,” he says wryly. “My door will be closed, though, so just knock.”

“Okay,” Derek says seriously, nodding. “I’ll see you soon, then.”

Stiles sort of hopes Derek will keep walking with him all the way to the testing center, but instead he just gives a little wave and heads off through the quad.

Stiles very resolutely does not watch him go.

 *

 There’s a tentative knock on his door late in the morning, and Stiles is more than happy to look up from the research proposal he’s reviewing. As he expected, it’s Derek waiting out in the hall, looking just a little bit nervous.

“I’m guessing you’re not here to talk about your exam grade,” Stiles says, smirking, because Derek’s score was near-perfect. And he doesn’t see an application in Derek’s hand, either.

“Um, no,” Derek says, stepping inside and hovering near one of the chairs.

He seems to be at a loss after that though, so Stiles asks, “Are you in any of my classes next semester?”

“No,” Derek says.

“Not even my Sociology class?” Stiles asks curioulsy as he walks back around his desk. That class is strangely popular, but he’s pretty sure it has less to do with his teaching, and more to do with the fact that he doesn’t require any essays.

Derek shakes his head, and he looks kind of…flustered?

“Well, this might be the last time you see me, then,” Stiles jokes. It’s a big campus, his likelihood of running into Derek is pretty low.

“I hope not,” Derek blurts. “I actually came here because I wanted to ask you out,” he says in a nervous rush.

Stiles blinks at him for a moment, startled, then mutters, “If you’re not in any of my classes…” to himself.

Derek must obviously catch it though, because he flushes. “I, um. I read the university’s code of conduct for professors. I purposely didn’t register for your classes, so I could ask you on a date.” He clears his throat. “Would you like to go to lunch with me?”

Stiles grins. “That’s good, because as much as I like you, I really like my job, too.” Derek just stares at him expectantly, and it takes him a moment to figure out why. “Oh! The answer is yes, by the way.”

Derek actually beams at him. “Are you free this afternoon?”

“Um, yeah,” Stiles says, because he’s got nothing urgent going on today. “Can’t wait.”

“I have to warn you,” Derek says, still smiling, “that I’m probably not as interesting as my former employment might imply.”

Stiles is not deterred in the slightest. “Looks like I’ll get to find out,” he says, grinning.

 *

 They end up going for coffee, and Stiles is unsurprised at finding that Derek is just as interesting as he thought he’d be. It’s nice, being able to get to know him as a person, rather than a student. It’s a relief to let that professional distance go.

It goes great. Stiles learns a lot of things about Derek, including his love of pastries and very creamy coffee. But the most important thing he learns is that he really, really wants to have a second date.

It seems like Derek does, too.

He takes Stiles’ hand as they walk out to the parking lot, gives him a bright smile. “I’m sorry if this disappoints you, but I don’t have sex on the first date,” he says, but then he pushes Stiles up against his jeep and kisses him hard and fierce, and Stiles isn’t disappointed at all.  

#sterek #eternalsterek #pornstar!Derek #Professor!Stiles #getting together #discussions of sexuality #I'm sorry if this is boring

[dylanowhy]

Only Human - Stiles Stilinski Imagine

Author: dylanowhy (me)

Summary: Stiles Stilinski. Surrounded by a world of supernatural and strange, it’s hard to keep a hold of things, especially ones mind and with something new terrorizing the streets of Beacon Hills the unexpected happens, causing Stiles to react in the only way possible. He is only human after all.

Warnings: Language. Dark. Talk of death. Death of main characters. AU!Stiles

Word Count: 5,004

A/N: Okay, this is deep and dark. I needed a little break form the fluff and got inspired to write this. It’s a little different than what I am use to posting and I hope you enjoy it! Feedback is always welcomed. 

They had made fun of him before. Knuckles turning white as he gripped the metal bat with such anger. How could Stiles carry around a bat as all his friends around him were filled with supernatural energy? What could a strong swing do compare to fangs and sharp nails of a werewolf, or the screeching scream of a banshee? Enough. It could do enough. Beads of sweat collected on his forehead, confused eyes were staring at him as if she didn’t know. “Stiles.” Her voice was breathless, shallow and he could hear the hope. Lydia Martin. The girl he had been so in love with since before the two understood what love was. He never thought he would be stalking towards her, only one idea in mind. He use to have happy thoughts, images on them kissing dancing in his head, ideas of holding her hand and telling her how much she really meant to him, how amazing she was and how she had such a beautiful mind even if she didn’t like to show it that often. But now, now he just wanted to see that beautiful mind painting one of the school walls. One by one, they were going to pay, and he was going to be okay with it.

“Scotty! Scott-o! Movie night, just us bros!” Stiles was excited. Although he enjoyed the idea of being needed around Beacon Hills, there hadn’t been any supernatural sightings for a while and he was liking the idea of having his normal life back. Him and Scott were spending a lot more time together like they did before, stuffing their faces with countless junk foods and lounging in their pajamas, just being comfortable with each other. However, when he looked at his best friend, his smile on his face immediately dropped. Scott was all uneven jaw and apologetic eyes, his lips pursed together. Stiles was starting to think he was gaining some weird wolf powers by association, like he could hear Scott’s heart beat through his chest. “Oh damn.” He sighed. “I’ll go put some real pants on.” Stiles hiked his way up his stairs so he could get ready for whatever was to come. He knew it was a little too good to be true. There was never a true break in this town. He was starting to wonder why he wasn’t being paid for this yet. Grabbing the keys to Roscoe before heading out, Scott patted him on the back as they exited the house and made their way to the clinic.

“Bless you.” Stiles said after Deaton, receiving narrowing eyes from nearly the whole group. He looked around at this moment, realizing how much their pack had minimized. Standing around a slab of steel was Scott, Malia, and Lydia. It caused a small tug at his heart and a falter in his smile, but he was Stiles so he did his best to hid that, like he always did. “I know it’s a little hard to pronounce, but it’s a very serious matter. These – creatures, they don’t care about common balance. They live off pain. And I’m not talking just a stub of the toe. Guilt, grief, loss, sorrow, you name it. They are admin on bringing one’s worse nightmare to a reality. And Beacon Hills is their new target.” Deaton went into detail, leading everyone in the room to share looks between terrified and lost. It felt like they had dealt with this before and yet it was entirely different. “How do we stop it?” Scott was always so quick to be a leader, he was the true alpha after all, but his voice was unsure and the sound of it drew Stiles eyebrows together. “It’s not as easy as it seems.” Deaton began, “I need a series of herbs. Some more valuable than others. Could take a week or more to gather it all, that’s why I brought you all here. Some of the ingredients wolves can’t get, but we know someone who can.” His eyes rose to meet Stiles and he practically choked on his own spit. “Me?!” He questioned, confusion all over his face.

“Yes, Stiles. We need a highly deadly wolfs bane by the name of Aconitum Lycoctonum. It is very rare, not too hard to find if you look in the right places. I’m not even sure if it’s okay for a Banshee to touch, which is why I need you to do it Stiles. Couldn’t complete this without you.” Deaton made it very hard to argue and Stiles couldn’t disagree that he liked the feeling of being needed for something that didn’t involve just driving his jeep. It got to the point where he was the arrival car and the getaway car, especially since no one ever listened to his plans or ideas. Or at least they didn’t until it was last resort or too late. Stiles had felt like he had been put on the back burner and it was now his time to shine, maybe bring some light that he most certainly deserved. “Got it.” He said with a nod and Scott gave him worried eyed, which he scoffed at. “What?! I can do it.” He protested, it brought a smile to Scott’s face. “I know you can.”

Scott said those words but Stiles felt like he didn’t exactly mean them, his smile mimicking fake hope, but Stiles didn’t save a word, just gave Deaton thumbs up and pretended like the strong feel of awkward was not lingering in the room around them. Deaton went on to explain what he needed and how the plan was going to go down. Horehound and Gentiana were on Malia and Lydia’s list, easier for them to handle due to their female qualities, warning the two boys not to go near the herbs. He didn’t give much detail than that, but the two have learned when Deaton heeds a warning, you listen. Scott had Devil’s Claw, which made Stiles eyes widen, the name allowing his ears to perk up, and Black Cohosh. Apparently the last one was easy because it was the root of the plant said, sometimes Stile wondered if Deaton remember that they were teenagers who had only been a part of the supernatural life for three years, also, they didn’t have the interest to look at plants all the time. He then realized that his task was left out. Everyone got details behind what they needed to get and more importantly where they could find the stuff but somehow Stiles stood there without any details of his own.

“What about me?” He asked, watching as everyone around he started to gather their things to leave, as if they had al forgotten. “Ah, yes, stiles. You’ll know it when you see it.” Deaton simply said with a nod. “Know it when I see it? Is that a joke? I don’t have magic vision, guys!” Stiles voice got louder with each word, watching as the people who once surrounded him left the room one by one. His hand he didn’t realize he lifted fell to his side, a sigh escaping him as he looked around the empty room. Something was off, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what. It looked like it was going to be another late night of googling, printing, and tying two together. Sometimes he smiled at the fact he was the sheriff’s son. He got all of his mischief ways from him, learning from the source how to solve a crime or go after the clues, even the smallest ones. He learned from his dad not to give up, not even if it seems like the ends, because there is always something. If you keep looking, maybe in a way you didn’t before, there is always something.

“Skausmas Ieškotojas.” Stiles said proudly, bright smile on his face as he joined the others at the all too familiar lunch table at school. “You must be very proud of yourself.” Lydia mused, holding back a laugh that was aching to be let out. Stiles rolled his eyes, he could feel the redness creep up on his face and turned quickly to deny the fact. “Find anything?” Scott asked, at least he cared. “It literally translates to ‘pain seeker’ which if you ask me is the most unoriginal thing I have ever heard in my entire life.” – “They cause disaster, now this can be in many forms. Were talking natural, unnatural, personal. Doesn’t matter, like the Nogitsune fed off strife, they do the same with pain and will do whatever that can to do it. It dates to the early 1800s. Apparently, it started with physical pain but they soon learned that emotional pain fueled them more. It was so much more powerful, last longer. However, they are smart about it, always causing their little disasters in the perfect timing. Most believe they were the cause of the Peshtigo Fire.” Stiles finished his rambling as the pack blinked at him. “What time did you go to sleep?” Malia had an underlying tone to her voice and Stiles couldn’t quite put his finger on it. “Don’t really know what that is at the moment.” So yes – Stiles had stayed up all night doing research about what they were dealing with. He didn’t see anything wrong with that. He did however see something wrong with how fascinating he had found the subject. Link after link, myth after myth. It was like finding out Scott was a werewolf for the first time all over again. He couldn’t stop himself.

“I say we start our hunt after school, try to find these things so whatever it is – We can stop it.” Scott was always the one with a plan. Well, that was not true. It was usually Stiles, but for him to be listened to, they had to go through Scotts failed plan first. It was a never-ending cycle, you’d think they would have learned by now. “Agreed.” Everyone said in unison. It was becoming kind of gimmicky, the way these things worked out. Stiles was stating to notice, starting to see a pattern that just didn’t add up like it used to. But he bit his lip, holding his comment back as he stuck a chicken finger in his mouth to keep him from saying anything.

It was that night the first disaster happened. The upsetting part was that Stiles could feel it. Like he knew it was going to happen, he just didn’t know when or where. “It’s just a feeling Scott.” For the first time in a while, Stiles not driving, and part of him was glad. He was shaking for some unknown reason and didn’t think he could drive straight. ”Like a Lydia feeling? An instinct? A what, Stiles? I don’t understand!” Scott was frustrated and Stile couldn’t blame him. They had been driving for thirty minutes, no idea where they were going, only Stiles knew and that was funny because he didn’t actually know. His nose scrunched up at the thought of being supernatural in some way. Of course, being the human of his friends he had imagined what it would be like if he had some superpower, something different though, maybe flying. He was knocked out of his thoughts when the jeep came to a roaring halt, his body jerking forward as his immediate reaction was to worry about his jeep. “Scott what the hell was—“ His words trailed and his eyes wondered, gleaming red before them. “That.” The rest of his words were a whisper as he heard the driver’s door open and slam.

In front of them was a fire, or maybe that was an understatement. It was nothing like the two boys have ever seen in their lives, and that was saying a lot knowing where they were coming from. It could have been just down the hill, or it could have been going for miles and the two wouldn’t have known, the flames being so unnaturally high that you wouldn’t be able to tell if you really tried. Scott neared the fire, causing Stiles to scream out. “I don’t think werewolves are fire resistant, Scott!” That got his attention, his body turning to face Stiles, a look of disbelief on his face. He couldn’t tell if it was at the fire, or at him, he did after all lead them there. Stiles face filled with confusion as he saw a flash of something on Scotts’, was it a bit of distrust? Stiles didn’t know how to react to that, didn’t know how to piece it all together. “I didn’t know.” He tried to reassure, because he didn’t know, he just knew that he felt a pang of guilt inside; a little bit of pain.

Deaton didn’t know what was going on either, and that’s what causes Scott to keep a close eye on Stiles. “I’m fine.” Stiles repeated for the seventh time today. “I am not saying you’re not fine, I am saying that something a little more Is going on here. You’re my best friend and I don’t want a repeat of last time.” The reminder brought flash backs to Stiles. He remembered it all, hell, it kept him up some nights. He remembered killing people, he remembered liking it. He remembered Allison and Aiden and all of the bad things and none of the good things. He nodded in response. “Nothing from Deaton?” Stiles pressed, closing his locker with a slightly louder bang than usual. “No. But I heard from Lydia earlier, they’ve got their things. Malia is going to come over to your place tonight and study so I can try to get the things I need.” Stiles sighed at Scott’s words. “Keeping an eye on me, you mean.” He corrected him about Malia, knowing good and well that she would not be there to study. Even when they did have study nights together they never really studied. “It’s only until we can really figure out what’s going on. Stiles, we just care.” Scott gave an award-winning smile, it only made Stiles frown even more.

It was two days later when Stiles came across it. He had escaped his grasp from his other three friends, he wasn’t sure on how he did it. It was like a mask had been put over them and he slipped away. He was walking in the park, it wasn’t his idea to come here, something just led him to it. Like a tiny voice in the back of his mind controlling him. He was passing a bench when he saw it out of the corner of his eye. There was a small bush with lily white hanging flowers, something too beautiful and precious to be growing at this time of the year. He felt like he was drawn to it, stalking towards the flower, scared it might fly away if he didn’t take it at once. It was enough to put him in a trance. The ever so small, delignate, sweet smell of it hit him like a truck, his mind becoming fuzzy. Only three flowers laid in his hand, and he yet he knew he had the answer to it all. It was time for another meeting, hopefully they will have all they need to do whatever they had to do to make this stop. To make things go back to normal.

“It’s done!” Deaton sat down a concoction of the most gross looking thing Stiles had ever seen. Don’t even get him started about the smell, something foul mixed with bitter, he had to stop himself from gagging. “What do we do with it?” Malia asked, hers and Scotts noses were turned up, their sense of smell being stronger then Stiles and Lydia’s. “You have to find them at work, use your eyes and you’ll be able to see them.” The last part of that sentence was directed towards the two wolves in the room. “Or possibly sound waves.” This time Deaton narrowed his eyes to Lydia and the whole group showed signs that they understood what he was saying. “The previous attack was not as successful as it seemed.” Deaton started to do that thing, were he paces around the pack, sharing stories. “What? 8 Killed. 12 Injured. Around 5 house lost in the fire. That’s not enough for them?” Lydia crossed her arms and Deaton and Stiles answered her at the same time. “No.” Everyone exchanged looks but Stiles kept his eyes on the steel slab, not wanting to make eye contact. Deaton continued, “The numbers are too small, the emotions not true to what they want. They will try again, with something bigger this time. But this time we have a plan.” – “We do?” Malia interrupted. “Yes. We do. We have a special insight, kind of like a weapon. We have someone who knows before they know.” His voice stopped behind Stiles and he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

“I don’t know how to work it.” Stile felt like he had said that several times. Now he knew what Lydia felt like, whenever they were trying to figure out what she was. All of the questions, confusion, and probing. “You don’t have to know, Stiles. You just have to feel. It will come to you, and when it does we need to act, and fast.” Deaton’s voice was distance again and it made Stiles relax, his shoulder slumped, he hadn’t even realized that he was so tense. “But the fire had already started before we got there.” Scott chimed in. “Correct, Scott. But didn’t you say it was quite a drive? It is a risk. I am not saying it’s not, but it’s all we’ve got. We just have to wait for Stiles to get a feeling, then we’ll act.” Deaton finally finished, stopped at his usually spot at the head of the slab, hands placed firmly on the top. “So more of the waiting game? Fun.” Malia’s sarcasm was the last thing to rang through the room and just like every time, the pack grabbed their things and headed out.

Two weeks. It took two weeks for Stiles to feel anything at all, but when he did. It hit him very hard. He shot up in his bed, breathing ragged as he clutched at his chest. It was like a panic attack but three times worse. He could breath, his mind was numb, and he was pretty sure his eyes were open but he couldn’t see. “Dad!” He called out, or so he thought, he could hear himself, nothing but a strong ringing in his ears. He tried again, “Dad!” He knew his dad would be able to call Scott and get him there as soon as possible, but there was no response. A sting in his chest caused his vision to come back and he stood up so sudden he thought he was going to fall. He felt his way around, his feet were guiding him, like he had no control. He made it to him dads door and opened it. Untouched sheets were before him, and another sting brought his hearing back. He could hear his phone faintly in the distance, and he tripped over his feet as he ran to it. “Scott.” Stiles spoke as he answered, his voice didn’t sound the same, almost distorted. Could this be a dream? Night terror? He had already been through this before, and yet it felt so different. “Get downtown, get there now.” There was a growl in Scotts voice that sent chills down Stiles spine in all of the completely wrong places.

He drove fast, he was sure his foot was completely on the floor. The amount of pain he was feeling was excruciating, he couldn’t describe it. Every move, every breath was agonizing, but he couldn’t think about that, couldn’t worry about himself when something bigger was happening. When he arrived, things have already escalated. Something was off and he knew it, because he could see everything. They were slender and ghostly, like something you find on a horror dedicated internet forum. His eyes widened as he brought the jeep to a screeching halt, scrambling to get out. “Stiles!” He heard, but it wasn’t coming from one of his three friends. It was coming from his dad. “What the hell is going on?!” Noah was frantic, not really scared but so confused. He was now beside Stiles, gun in hand as the battle continued in front of them. Stiles licked his lips, blinking back the thoughts roaming in his mind. “Can you see them?” His voice was low, but he knew his dad could hear him. “See what Stiles?” His father pressed closer and there was that sting again. “Go. Dad, leave. Get home. Now.” Stiles was all too calm for a situation like this, and he found it odd himself. But he had learned for the best, and panic was not a way to handle this.

“Stiles!” This time he heard his name coming from Scott. His voice was angry, he was all claws and fangs as he fought something that couldn’t be fought. Stiles got the hit, his hands reaching for something in his pocket. For some reason, they trusted Stiles with the jar filled with deadly things for these creatures, he was just lucky he had remembered it, although he didn’t remember picking it up. Once he had a firm grip on the jar he yelled after Scott, his legs quickly moving to run towards him, trying to get to him before something bad happened. And he knew something bad was going to happen, he could feel it running through his veins like some sick drug. He had to stop it, but before he could get to Scott, he found himself on the ground in a pool of fear. Standing or should he say, hoovering, above him was one of the deathly looking creatures. He could practically feel what they were feeling, hear what they were thinking. Their eyes were red like an alpha, but they didn’t hold the same meaning. Stiles kept a strong face, because he was good at that, so good he almost didn’t hear his friends yelling at him.

“Stiles, throw the jar. Throw it towards the middle, it’s the only way.” Lydia’s voice was the first to breakthrough as Stiles eyes snapped away from the creature and to his group of friends. They were no longer fighting, no longer needing to. That’s when Stiles realized they were all surrounding him, drawn to him like a magnet. He knew what he had to do, but part of him couldn’t bring himself to do it. “Get out of here!” Stiles voice was strong, powerful, something he wasn’t use to. “It’s wolfs bane, remember? Pretty powerful. I’ve got this. Just go and make sure everyone is okay, keep everyone safe.” And Scott understood this was something Stiles had to do. Scott wasn’t the type to leave his pack, to leave his friends, but this has been Stiles battle from the beginning and he knew that.

Once his friends were out of sight, his eyes narrowed at what was in front of him, darkening from his light golden orbs to a dark brown, something close to black. “You think you can come here, create all of these disasters, start things between my friends and I and get away with it?” He had somehow managed to get up on his feet by now, hand gripping the jar a little too tight, torn between throwing it and egged them on. The only thing that was stopping him was that they haven’t killed him yet. Hadn’t made a single advance towards him in the slightest, maybe it was because of the hidden connection, their eyes boring into him as he held his arm up high. “I drop this? You’re gone.” It was then he notices the eyes changing, becoming more demanding with need. Something shiny caught Stiles eye and he realized what it was, knives or something like daggers. He didn’t fear for him life though, he feared for someone else, someone in the distance. “Do it Stiles!” He heard the voice of Scott and his heart stopped.

He threw the jar down, an array of smoke floating around him. He heard a scream, but part of him blocked that out. The pain had returned, falling to his knees as he clutched at his heart. This time the pain brought tears to his eyes, although the ghostly figured around him were fading, his feeling were not leaving. He knew something was wrong, but couldn’t piece it together. He was coughing, wheezing even at how thick the smoke filled his lungs. His vision went burry again as he listened to the people talking behind him.

“Stiles! Stiles!” Malia yelled repeatedly, louder each time. He could hear the tears in her voice, could practically feel her shaking from where he was. “Call an ambulance, we need an ambulance! Stiles!” That was Scott, his voice echoing into the now empty surrounding them. The smoke was clearing and Stile brought himself to his feet, his body turned, eyes widen, the sight before him causing whatever moisture hiding behind his eyes to fall. “Dad.” It was a whisper, a broken whisper. His feet were dragging, he couldn’t even bare to run, his whole body still covering in pain. “Dad!” It was louder this time, and even though it hurt, he began to run.

Stiles sat in the sheriff’s office, eyes on the ground, hands covered in blood. How did this happen? He couldn’t figure it out, couldn’t understand what was going on. Flashbacks filled his mind, causing the dull ache to turn into pure agony. He wanted them to stop, he was crying in hopes of drowning out all of the voices in his head, all of the repeating of things said to him within the last hour. They all acted like nothing happen, like everything was okay. As if Stiles world wasn’t crashing around him at the speed of light. They treated it just like any other time someone dies. Come up with a lie to tell the police, stick with it, make it believable. Don’t give a damn about the people it happened to. Let it all blow over in a couple of days, act like nothing happened. It was disgusting.

“What happened?! What. Happened?!” Stiles screamed to Scott, his hands pressing on his dad’s body. Sticking out of where his heart should be being the exact object he saw in the creature’s hand, his eyes were cold, lifeless and Stiles was not allowing that to be the answer to things. It couldn’t be. His dad was more than his life, he was all he had, he refused to believe he was gone. Refused to think he didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. His dad always warned him that his job wasn’t easy. That he could be put in situations with outcomes neither of them would like, but it wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was not supposed to be put in the hands of something supernatural. “I don’t know Stiles.” Those words that came from Scott were enough to light a fire inside of him, his eyes ripping away from his father and straight to the person who was supposed to be his best friend. “You don’t know?” Stiles voice was loud, there wasn’t a hint of anger in his voice just hatred, and that was scary. “I told you to leave. I told you to keep everyone safe! Is this your idea of keeping everyone safe?! You don’t listen Scott, you never, ever listen!” And he could tell those words hurt, everyone around them was crying but none of them understood the true pain. None of them understood what Stiles was really feeling.

Their fault. It was all their fault. If they would have listened, would have left like he said, his dad would still be here. He wouldn’t be covered in his blood, he wouldn’t have to go through this. But they didn’t listen and now here he was, sitting, hurting. He should be used to it, them not listening. They never listened to Stiles, whenever they did it was always too late, things just never changed. He guessed the Skausmas Ieškotojas got what they wanted after all. The ultimate emotion of pain, the feeling of loss and betrayal. “Werewolves.” It was something he never wanted to bring his dad into, something he never wanted him to know about. He remembers arguing with Scott about it, because he knew his dad wouldn’t grasp it right away, but he also knew of the danger it would put him in. “Banshees.” It helped with a few things, sure, but the risk was too great and now his body filled with regret, he should have went with his first instinct. “What else is there?” He felt himself laugh, but it wasn’t a normal laugh, it was much darker than that. “Doesn’t matter anymore.” He sighed. He thought about all of the things they have been through, all of the time someone could have died, all of the times someone did die. They had it easy, Scott could heal, Lydia was immune to most things. But from people like Stiles and his dad who put their lives on the line for this stuff didn’t have some special power to bring them back to life. “My dad is gone, and it’s all their fault.” It was then when he got the idea, the idea of revenge. What did he have to lose? He had no one anymore. Things with him and Scott will obviously never be the same, his mom was gone. His dad was gone. Who cared about the rules anymore? “He would still be alive if it weren’t for them.” And it was true. “They’re going to pay. All of them.”

A/N: I know this was pretty dark. I want to give credit to who made/posted the gifs for my inspiration for this story. Part of me would like to make this into a series, but of course it would be rather dark and I would like your guys feedback first! I hope you enjoyed.

#stiles stilinski #stiles stilinksi imagine #dylan o'brien #dylan o'brien imagine #teen wolf imagine #scott mccall #lydia martin #malia tate #dylanowhy #Only Human

[notadog]

@demisexualhale sorry you had a rough time today. have this au that i saw you talking about after i creeped on your blog. it’s... uh. probably not what anyone involved thought it would be. but i hope you like it? 

anyway. 

sterek. 2k. spy au. warnings: i know nothing about spies, secret criminal organizations, or technology in general. just roll with it.

“I’ll pay you twenty bucks to hum the Mission Impossible theme while I do this,” Stiles muttered, fishing an exacto knife out of his tool belt. He fit it under the very edge of the ID scanner and, with a flick of his wrist, popped it off like a dream.

“You could pay me twenty thousand and I still wouldn’t do it.”

“Spoilsport.” Gently pulling all the wires out into the open was the easy part; it was identifying the right one to snip that was going to be the tricky part. Would it kill all organized crime syndicates to stick to one universal standard?

“Try the yellow wire. Third from the left.”

“Try?” Stiles repeated under his breath. “We’ve been planning this job for weeks and you want me to go in with ‘try’?”

He could practically hear the eye roll on the other end of the earbud. “Cut the wire, agent.”

“Manners,” Stiles snarked, guiding the exacto to the wire in question. It slid through with a gentle snick and the red light on the ID reader went out.

“You’re welcome.”

Stiles gently fit the card reader back into the wall and got to work prying open the door. “I don’t recall saying thank you,” he grunted, heaving the heavy metal back inch by inch.

“I’m sure it was implied.”

“I might be inclined if you—” Another grunt as he wedged his shoulder in the space he’d made, trying to use it to get some leverage against the protesting metal. “—helped me with this door.” Not for the first time Stiles lamented the fact that he was chosen for the field, instead of the literal werewolf. Instead, he was embarrassing himself and his very human muscles while Derek got his nerd on from the comfort of the unmarked van parked a few streets away. Life just wasn’t fair.

Stiles gave one last shove, and the door gave way with an angry screech that he was pretty sure was audible in China.

“Derek?” he hissed.

“Hold on.” Polite as always, his partner.

Stiles waited, every muscle in his body coiled tight and ready to spring. Whether that meant to fight or flee was yet to be determined. At least three times he imagined some noise that would precede his discovery, but he forced down the instinct to panic with a violent mental shove. The government hadn’t spent billions of dollars in training his ass to trust his partner with his life for nothing.

After an excruciating eternity, Derek’s voice filtered in through the earpiece. “You’re clear. Not for lack of effort.”

Stiles couldn’t help grinning. “You say the sweetest things.” False confidence was easy again now that his heart wasn’t jammed halfway up his throat. He rummaged through his toolkit for one of his most versatile gadgets: a retractable rod made of a polymer material developed by Derek himself. It was three hundred times stronger than steel but lighter than any other material of its kind on (or off) the market. It was a beautiful piece of some of the most sophisticated technology to come out of R&D, and it gave Stiles a thrill of childish joy to jam it inelegantly between door and wall to keep his escape route free.

“Speaking of which…” Derek’s voice was that special brand of pained that signaled to Stiles that his trick had hit its mark. “Let’s try to keep to aliases while we’re on the comms, all right?”

Stiles winced. He had called out Derek’s real name in a moment of panic, hadn’t he? “It’s not my fault you rejected my code name suggestions.”

The sound quality was considerably different behind the door than in the hallway. Though he couldn’t see into the space, it swallowed up Stiles’ voice in a way that suggested space… a lot of it. Stiles fumbled for the flashlight at his belt and stepped cautiously inside.

“You’re not calling me Eagle Two.”

“Well I’m not giving you Eagle One, dude. I called dibs.” He clicked on the flashlight and did a slow sweep of the room. Well. Cavern was probably a better word for it. It was big enough to swallow the weak beam of his government-issued flashlight, leaving the ceiling and far walls shrouded in shadows. “Are you seeing this?”

Derek hummed, but gave no further comment.

“Gotta admire their style, though,” Stiles continued conversationally. The whole affair was an ode to vaulted ceilings broken up by stone columns and sloping walls covered in expensive-looking tile. Whoever built it certainly had a flair for the dramatic. To his left was a small bank monitors hooked up to a lowly humming box. Stiles made his way over to it. “I mean, you gotta respect the whole batcave vibe.”

Derek snorted. It was a shock, completely at odds with his usual implacable stiffness. In his entire time working with him, Stiles had never once seen the man so much as crack a smile. And here he was, almost laughing in Stiles’ ear. “It’s an evil lair, agent. Much more Luthor’s speed than Wayne’s.”

Stiles considered the space again. It did bear an uncomfortably close resemblance to Lex Luthor’s underground lair in Superman. Much more so than any adaptation of the Batcave. Point to Derek. “I didn’t know you were a fan of the classics.”

“I’m multifaceted.”  

How someone can sound so unbearably smug with only two words, Stiles would never know. “Nerd.”

“Center console. There should be a panel under the monitors.”Definitely smug.

Stiles fumbled around until he found a hidden switch. A previously unseen panel slid forward, revealing three USB slots. Stiles thumbed open the smallest pocket in his tool belt that housed the USB sticks Derek gave him specifically for this point in the job. Just to be sure, he asked, “This the one?”

“Mhm,” Derek confirmed. “You know which one’s first?”

Stiles rolled his eyes. Even if Derek hadn’t labeled them 1 and 2 in obnoxious silver sharpie, the four consecutive run-throughs Derek had forced him to listen to before letting him out of the van would have been enough to hammer the point home.

“Yes, dad,” he muttered, fishing out the first stick. “Just let me know when I need to switch them out.”

“You’ll know,” Derek replied cryptically, which didn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence, but Stiles would be damned if he admitted that out loud.

Stiles watched in interest as the script contained within the flash drive did its thing. It was another of Derek’s projects, something he’d been developing for months with the rest of his little nerd squad back at headquarters. Derek had explained a little of it back in the van. If pressed by a superior, Stiles could explain that the code was meant to create a channel between this server and one controlled by their agency, one that Derek’s team could use to read through and copy every file stored on this server. Anything else had gone over Stiles’ head.

Stiles’ skills were more hands-on and intuition based. Identifying suspicious characters? Convincing them to divulge all of their deepest secrets to him? Finding the fastest way out of any resulting shootouts or capture attempts? That was where he shined the brightest. Developing extremely complicated code to infiltrate evil corporations’ systems, do… stuff while inside them, then exit without a trace? That was Derek’s thing. Stiles was just the sneaky middleman needed to insert peg A into slot B.

The screens flickered constantly between different windows. Lines of code would appear and disappear again too fast for him to read, but based on Derek’s intermittent hums of approval in his ear, Stiles guessed they were doing their job. As the script worked, he kept an ear out for any sign of discovery.

They passed the time together in silence, both of them tense at the thought of the most important part of their mission falling through at the last second. It left Stiles alone with his senses, feeling wrong-footed for the first time since infiltrating the compound earlier in the evening. After a too-long stretch of time, activity on the screens slowed down, then stopped. All the screens were black except for one, which held a single line of green text and a blinking cursor. Stiles leaned forward to read it. When he did, he made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat.

Insert 2nd USB stick, agent. (It has the number 2 on it.)

“Told you you’ll know,” Derek’s voice was a gentle tease in his ear.

“You were so cryptic about it,” Stiles muttered, complying. “I thought it was gonna be something cool.”

“Computers are cool,” Derek replied, then lapsed back into silence.

The second stick took much less time than the first, or maybe it was just the end in sight that made it seem like it was going faster than it actually was. Whichever was true, it felt like no time until a single green line of text was displaying Installation Complete before all the screens went blank.

Derek’s voice was like silk. “Don’t forget to take the USBs with you.”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Thanks,” he snarked, tucking the USBs back into their pocket and securing it. “What would I do without you?”

“You would be dead seven times over if it weren’t for me.” 

“Fair,” Stiles conceded. It was gratifying to return the door and find it hadn’t budged an inch since he’d left it. It was rare in Stiles’ line of work that the things he set down stuck around and waited patiently for him to collect them. Granted, at this point in his career most of the “things” Stiles set aside for later were informants and enemies of the government, so a little bit of disobedience was probably to be expected. But whatever. Details.

Easing the door closed was trickier than forcing it open, Stiles soon realized. Not only was he worried about loudly protesting metal, he wasn’t sure how he was going to stop the whole thing from slamming closed the second he pulled out Derek’s rod.

Heh.

As always, Derek chimed in with the solution at Stiles’ precise moment of need.

“Retract it gradually,” Derek commanded, and Stiles complied. “Good. Now fold your jacket in half and stick it in so it doesn’t slam… Good. Now just pull the jacket out.”

Under Derek’s direction, Stiles eased the nightmare door closed. The jacket muffled the metal-on-metal impact, and when he yanked it out, the door settled back into place with hardly a complaint. Stiles made a mental note to make the whole experience sound a lot cooler in his retelling the next day.

“You’re welcome,” Derek whispered in his ear, voice dripping with self-satisfaction.

“I don’t recall saying thank you,” Stiles replied as he popped the card reader out of the wall again, grinning at the echo of their conversation from earlier. There was a prolonged pause as he bit off a length of electrical tape and carefully brought the snipped ends of the yellow wire together.

“It was implied.”

“Whatever you say, big guy.”

Stiles secured both raw edges of the wire with the tape, then confirmed that the ID reader was once again operational. He carefully tucked the bundle of wires back into their space in the wall, then returned the box to its home for the last time, good as new.

“Ready to get me out of here?”

“Always,” was the curt reply, sounding almost fond to Stiles’ delusional ears. “You’re alone on your floor, but there are two guards stationed outside the elevators to the west, same as when you came in. Your best bet is to go south to avoid them, then take the service stair up to ground level.”

“Got it,” Stiles said, already moving towards his exit. “See you soon, dude.”

“You better.”

Stiles made good on his promise, and was rewarded with a nod of acknowledgement from Derek when he threw open the van door. It was the closest Stiles had ever come to getting an honest-to-god smile from the guy, and it made something warm and gentle unfurl in his chest.

He couldn’t stop grinning the entire drive back to headquarters.

#demisexualhale #sterek #eternalsterek #eternal sterek #stereksupportnetwork #i feel like i need to apologize to everyone for posting this lmao #it's been a while since i've posted anything of my writing anywhere so pls be kind

[huntsthemoon]

1. Your first OC ever?

It was a vampire in the Beyblade universe, her name was Tru Darling and I was 14, don’t judge me lol

2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OCs?

I have a personal soft spot for Eleanora ‘Nora’ Argent obviously. She’s the first fully fleshed out character I’ve created and I thought about her for a year before I started writing. I’m just super proud of her.

3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from someone else?

The same beyblade fic I had made friends with some folks on ff.net and basically added them as characters. By the time I was down there was like 20 OC’s in the story and it wasn’t finished. It was a mess lol.

4. A character you rarely talk about?

Mika Parker, she’s a poly-sterek fic I started to work on but she never got very far. I might still write her some day. She helps spark!Stiles control his magic and come to grips with his attraction to one Derek Hale

5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be?

Ooooo it’s hard to pick, but I think I’d have to go with Nora. Just because I’m like 18 chapters in and I just really want to see people love my little broken bird.  

6. Two OCs of yours that look alike despite not being related?

The only ones who aren’t related that look somewhat alike would be Gabriel and Valentina and only because they’re blonde and blue eyed. Not really anything other than that.

7. Are your OCs part of any story or stories?

Eleanora and Gabriel are part of The Moon Huntress (latest chapter here)

Frankie and Ben Connelly are part of Above All Else which is in the process of being written. (learn more about them here and here)

8. Do you RP as any of your OCs? If you do, introduce one of your RP OCs here!

I don’t RP sorry

9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OCs to someone else?

I’m willing to allow crossovers or fan works but I would like to be asked first although those who’ve already made me stuff no they have full permission ;)

10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design? 

All of them lol I love writing complicated characters what can I say? 

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”? 

Not sure what’s meant here, but Frankie is all smiles and sweetness on the surface...

12. Name an OC that isn’t yours but who you like a lot

I can’t pick just one lol.... a few OC’s that I’ve read so far are and they’re all great. If I miss someone I’m sorry.... Ellie Connor, Piper Dean & Merikh Amor by @lady-baratheon Fred Ackerman by @susiesamurai Emery Duran, Diana Chang & Bianca Larson by @dubonet Maddie Hayes by @anarchxst Arianna Patrakis by @fraysquake and there’s so many more my brain is just not functioning right now.

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs? 

My biggest troublemaker would be Gabriel from TMH, he’s not even fully introduced into the fic as a real person and he’s causing all kinds of problems ;)

14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory 

Eleanora Argent thought she was tough as nails, but being back in Beacon Hills hunting a rogue alpha werewolf throws her world for a loop. And the addition of Derek Hale in her life only helps to complicate things. Her family has a code, but what's her code?

15. Do you like to talk about your OCs with other people?

Like it? I love it! And I love hearing about others OCs as well. Anything you wanna know ask away and I’ll try my best to answer.

16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)? 

Probably Frankie, she’s super smart and not afraid to go after finding something out she doesn’t know about. Unfortunately she doesn’t have much time to study.

17. Any OC OTPs? 

Obviously Eleanora x Derek for sure..... my OTP ride and die.

18. Any OC crackships?

A few Eleanora paired with @lydamartin‘s Oliver always has amazing things. And I have a feeling her with @dubonet‘s Will Martin would be interesting as well. And I also love her with @susiesamurai‘s Kevin ;)

I’ve always thought Gabriel and @papermoon262‘s Alex would be really interesting if they could survive each other lol.

Frank with @dubonet‘s Dylan Larson has been interesting lately as well. And Ben could be interesting with either @catgrant‘s Gwen Lodge or @lady-baratheon‘s Piper Dean  

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)?

The one that would probably sing would be Valentina and it’d be a soft sweet voice singing something in Russian

21. Your most artistic OC

Nora for sure, if she was in AU she’d be finishing art school and have a thriving career illustrating graphic novels or something similar. She draws allot to try to sort her mess of a head out.

22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how? 

Nora again, I sometimes get the feeling people think of her allot like Kate but I hope that the more you read the more people realize they couldn’t be more different.

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?

Frankie has changed allot but it has to do with development as she doesn’t have a story fully yet. Also watching the first episode of Riverdale changed some things in my head.

24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why?

Probably Nora so I could give a hug she wouldn’t take ;)

25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?)

There’s allot of myself in Nora, hard to write some of the traits without including myself or having personal experience but I feel each of my characters has a small part of me in them. Yes even Gabriel... :D

26. Have you ever had to change your OC’s design or something else about them against your will? 

I changed Nora FC after joining tumblr and realizing that I wanted to learn to edit and it was just to hard to find good stuff to makes edits with her original FC. 

27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song? 

I’m one of those people who writes with my entire music library on shuffle so there’s probably some crossovers from my favourite songs but not inspired exactly no.

28. Your most dangerous OC? 

Definitely Gabriel, there’s nothing more dangerous than a man with no morals, he’s the true definition of beast when it comes to werewolves.

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going?

Pretty much all of them... they’re all pretty much lone birds if you know what I mean.

30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection? 

I wanna say Gabriel because it’s just too funny but probably more like Frankie, she wants to be mature but she’s just a small child inside.

31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really)

Frankie’s would be lots of pink, sayings reblogged and lots of fashion and hipster blogs reblogged.

32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why? 

Nora.... girls got skills!!!!

33. Your shyest OC?

Probably Frankie, she’s shy to go after what she truly wants.

34. Do you have any twin characters?

No I don’t

35. Any sibling characters? 

Well Eleanora is Allison Argent’s sister

Ben & Frankie are siblings.

36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)? 

Eleanora is paired with Derek Hale and Gabriel and is siblings with Allison Argent and daughter to Chris and Victoria, Niece to Kate, Granddaughter to Gerard and Friends with Stiles, Isaac, Erica and Boyd.

Gabriel is paired with Eleanora.

Valentina is paired with Oliver Queen.

Frankie is paired with Jughead Jones and becomes friends with the gang. Sister to Ben.

Ben is paired with Ms. Grundy and is friends with FP. Brother to Frankie.

Mika is paired with Stiles and Derek and Friends with Jackson.

37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human 

Mika is a talented spark and emissary from England that is a member of the pack Jackson ends up in. She meets Stiles through Jackson and then Derek through Stiles. She’s a fun loving but no nonsense when it comes to magic kind of girl.

38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer? 

Valentina is very good on her feet and could whisk you away ballroom style.

39. Introduce any character you want 

Valentina has climbed the ranks of the Bratva for the past five years. All without a care about what Oliver Queen had been doing since their last meeting. The last time they spoke one of them was laying on the ground bloody and beaten and the other stared coldly down. 

She had been 20 at the time and full of rage and a need for revenge. Now when Church is busy destroying Star City the Bratva bring in their best enforcer and assassin to take him down. Her mission is to strengthen their holdings in the city and it’s not long before she runs into it’s new Mayor.

Seeing her again brings up questions for Oliver and gives his new team more reasons to question his methods. But can he stop her from adding another name to her ever growing list of regrets? Or is she too well trained by the Bratva for even Oliver to stop her when she gets her target.

40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share!

The fact that Nora is basically the reason I’ve gotten to meet all you amazing people, love ya.

41. Has anyone drawn fanart of your OCs? If yes, maybe show a picture or two here (remember sources & permissions!)

No I haven’t had any drawn I’ve had many awesome other edits made for my characters and I love them all.

42. Which one of your OCs would be the most interested in Greek gods? 

Probably Gabriel ;)

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confess

I don’t think I do.... 

44. Something you like about your OCs in general

I love that they’re all fun to write for in different ways...

45. A character you no longer use?

That original OC lol.

46. Has anyone ever told you that you treat your OCs badly?

A few times teehee....

47. Has anyone ever (friendly) claimed any of your OCs as their child? 

A few times teehee....

48. OC who is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure

None of my characters are pure......

49. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memes

Probably Frankie or maybe Gabriel in a weird way....

50. Give me the good ol’ OC talk here. Talk about anything you want

I just want to thank everyone who continues to support me and my OCs I love you all. Even if it’s just reading these and not comment or liking or anything I still love that you take that time. I just want everyone to love my children like I do :D

Wow this is a beast, sorry some of my answers aren’t longer... 

@papermoon262

#heather answers #eleanora argent #gabriel #the moon huntress #ben connelly #frankie connelly #fic: above all else #Mika Parker #valentina sokolov #my OCs

[hey-i-wrote-a-story]

Chapter 18 The Slavic Convict and the Little Old Lady

           The sun had set, and two vehicles drove down the darkened highway in silence. No one inside them felt much like talking. The four would-be heroes were being ejected from their first real adventure (or more accurately, misadventure) by the very idols who inspired them. Those said idols were now brooding over the fact that what they had hoped would be a moment’s respite from their hectic lives of fear and attack would now have to be spent rushing headlong into precisely what they had so looked forward to avoiding. So as such, topics for conversations were a bit lacking. Stiles was the first one to speak, and even that was out of necessity.

           “So where is it we’re going exactly?”, he asked from behind the wheel.

           “Home, more or less”, Erin answered from the backseat.  She was cramped against the door on the left with Freddie squished again the right. Malia sat between them. She had insisted on that position, in case either of the two passengers should “try anything.”

           Lydia turned around in her seat on the front passenger side. “You’re going to have to be more specific that that”, she prompted.

           “It’s where we’ve been staying since we left the group home”, Freddie said.

           “Living, not just staying”, Erin corrected him. “It’s where we live now.” She shot a look at Freddie. Zip it, kid.

           “Yeah”, he amended. “That’s what I meant.”

           Stiles glanced at the rearview mirror, scrutinizing their expressions. They were nervous, their eyes evasive. They were hiding something. He decided to dig deeper. “So which is it, you living there or just staying temporarily?”

           Freddie began to speak but Erin interrupted before he could. “Living there. We all live together, the four of us.”

           Lydia raised an eyebrow. “How can four minors out of a group home afford their own place?  Is it a house or an apartment?”

           The two answered simultaneously.

           “House”, said Erin. “Apartment”, Freddie said.

           The two froze when they realized their slip-up. Malia began to flex and unflex her fingers, aching to pop her claws.

           “You’re going to have to pick one”, Lydia said, smiling with a completely lack of sincerity.

           “It’s a house”, Kaitlyn told them. She sat stoically in her seat behind Kira, who was behind the wheel. Scott sat beside her, but like Lydia in the jeep, he was turned around to face their backseat passengers. Aadesh sat directly behind Scott, his hands placed awkwardly at his sides. His expression was one of a frightened owl, with his eyes wide and looking around him intermittently.

           “That’s somewhat surprising”, Kira said. “Given your background and all. Didn’t you have trouble getting a place with your criminal records?”

           “And with you being underage”, Scott added.

           “Oh, I’m 18”, Kaitlyn said quickly. Aadesh looked at her suddenly, with an expression that declared that this was news to him. Kaitlyn just nodded at him and Aadesh went back to staring straight ahead. “And juvenile records aren’t available to the public like adult records are.”

           Kira glanced at Scott. Was that true? Scott shrugged and wished Stiles was there to scrutinize the legal question. “Where’d you get funds enough to buy a house?”, Scott asked.

           “Oh, we didn’t buy anything”, Kaitlyn clarified. “The place is old, and not in the best condition. So we clean it up and do repairs in exchange for the rooms.”

           “That’s a handy arrangement”, Kira observed. “Who’s the generous landlord?”

           “Somebody we got to know while we were…more or less wards of the state, you could say.”

           “Ah”, Kira grinned. “Somebody you met in stir.”

           “Yeah”, Kaitlyn said, the snark clear in her voice. “He got to know us and liked us. He knew we wouldn’t screw him over.”

           “What’s the name of this helpful friend of yours?”, Kira asked. “I look forward to meeting him when we drop you off.”

           Freddie swallowed hard.

           “It’s not really a house in the strictest sense”, Erin said. “It’s an old duplex. The top and bottom floors are rented out as apartments. So you might say it was both, but we tend to think of it as an apartment.”

           “I see”, Lydia said, sounded thoroughly unconvinced.

           “So what do you guys do for rent money?”, Stiles asked.

           “I think they should both answer at the same time”, Malia said.

           Freddie looked at her as if she’d just suggested that she take a bite out of both of them to see which one tasted better. Erin shot Freddie a freezing stare to keep him from talking and answered first.

           “A lady we know took pity on us. Older woman, a bit on the religious side”, Erin explained. “She’s all about second chances and redemption and stuff. So she’s letting us stay in this house on her property, provided we get jobs soon and start paying rent.”

           “And to repay her kindness, you went out and summoned a demon instead. That’s sweet”, Stiles remarked. “Guess they don’t have flower shops in your town then, huh?”

           “Pretty fortunate you knowing this old gal”, Lydia said. “How do you know her?”

           “From the group home”, Erin said quickly.

           “An old lady was serving time in a group home?”, Stiles questioned.

           “No, she ran the place. She was pretty nice, if you could get past her doling out little bibles to everyone and verses posted everywhere.” Freddie started rocking back and forth in his seat nervously. Erin went on, “Saying grace before meals got a little excessive, I always thought, but her cooking made up for it—“

           “Didn’t your dad’s file on these four say that their group home was run by a man?”, Lydia asked Stiles.

           “I was just thinking the same thing”, the young detective said back. “What was that guy’s name again?”

           “Coleman Quincy Klassenberg”, Kaitlyn said.

           “That’s a mouthful”, Kira commented.

           “We just call him Cole”, Kaitlyn shrugged. Aadesh smiled and nodded.

           “Klassenberg”, Scott said, rolling the name around on his tongue. “Is that Jewish?”

           “Slavic, actually”, Aadesh said. It was the first he had spoken since they’d left the sheriff’s station. Scott and Kira shared a knowing look. How long should they let this go on?

           The ride went on more or less like that for the next several minutes.

           The conversation in Stiles’ jeep: “Well, yeah, of course a guy officially was in charge of the group home”, Erin backpedaled, “but it was the old lady who did all the work. Mostly.”

           “What was her name?”, Lydia inquired. “I don’t think you just called her ‘Old Lady’ all the time, did you?”

           The conversation in Kira’s car: “He’s a pretty cool guy”, Aadesh piped in. “When you get to know him. He’s gonna really help us get the place spruced up once he gets out.”

           “So he’s still in prison, this Mr. Quincy guy?”, Scott asked.

           “Yeah, that’s right”, Aadesh agreed.

           “I thought you said his name was Klassenberg and his middle name was Quincy”, Kira remarked.

           “It is”, Kaitlyn interjected. “We just…we call him all sorts of things. Cole, Quincy, Klass, like that.”

           “The Klass-man”, Aadesh said, forcing a smile.

           Stiles’ jeep: “Prudence-Marilynn Beaucamp is her actual name”, Erin said. “Of course we don’t call her ‘Old Lady’—“

        ��  “Not to her face”, Freddie said.

           “She likes us to call her Pru”, Erin smiled.

           “Charming”, Lydia said. “So who lives on the top floor?”

           “The top floor of what?”, Freddie asked before he could stop himself.

           “You just said it was a duplex, and the top and bottom floors are rented out. Who lives above you?”

           Car: “How is it that people in prison end up mixing with kids in a group home?”, Kira asked.

           “It was one of those scared straight things!”, Aadesh said too quickly. Kaitlyn looked at him as if to say Dude, what the hell?, but he nodded for her to pitch in.

           “Yeah, um, they did that whole thing where we go and meet actual convicts and they tell us their scary stories about being locked up.”, Kaitlyn said. “We met him there.”

           “And after trying to scare you for like fifteen minutes, he felt confident enough to hand you the keys to his house?”, Scott asked pointedly.

           Jeep: “Uh…no one lives up there yet”, Erin stumbled, “But there are people coming over and looking at it. From time to time.”

           “I think the previous renter like only just moved out”, Freddie said.

           “We don’t know who they are. Or were”, Erin chimed in.

           “Never met ‘em”, Freddie added.

           Malia had had enough. “If I can’t kill them, can I at least throw them out of the window or something?”  The two passengers looked at her askance. “Oh please! Your hearts sound like broken metronomes and I am about to puke from the stink of nervous sweat. Especially from this one”, and she poked a finger at Freddie.

           “Hey!”, Freddie protested.

           In Kira’s car, Scott fixed the two in the backseat with a steady gaze and said, “You do realize you’re trying to lie to a werewolf, right?”  Kaitlyn’s and Aadesh’s eyes widened. “I can hear your heartbeats”, Scott clarified. “Loudly. Werewolves can do that.”

           “And your incredibly lame trickery is becoming physically painful for the trickster who’s driving”, Kira said. “You want to call Stiles?”, she asked Scott.

           “Already dialing”, he said.

           “Time to check in with Scott, don’t ya think?”, Stiles asked Lydia.

           “I do believe it is…oh, here he is calling now. Hell-lo! Whattaya got?”

           “I’ve got a fixer-upper from an overly-trusting Slavic convict”, Scott told her. “How about you?”

           “Well, I’ll see your Slavic convict and raise you a little old lady with a half-empty duplex and a stockpile of bibles”, Lydia countered.

           “Nice”, Scott said. “You ready to pull over?”

           “Oh, most definitely”, Lydia agreed.

           Aadesh moved forward, gripping the seat in front of him. “Scott, please. If you could just—“

           Scott held up his index finger and popped a single claw. Stfkk! “Sit back.”

           Aadesh did not need to be told twice. “Sitting back. Yes.”

           Kaitlyn rested her head against the window and let out a strained sigh.

Lydia put away her phone and looked to Stiles. “We’ll be pulling over now to get our stories straight.” Freddie’s face looked ashen and Erin was rubbing her forehead in an attempt to stave off a headache. “Maybe we can vote on who came up with most embarrassing backstory”, Lydia smiled.

           As the two vehicles began to slow from highway speeds, Stiles glanced over his shoulder, saying, “Guys, the key to good deception is vagueness. ‘This is my cousin, Miguel.’ Then shut up. You don’t have to spit out an encylcopedi—“

           Freddie’s face went pale and his eyes bulged. Erin sat up. Malia’s eyes turned crystal blue. Lydia screamed. “STILES!”

           The monster had appeared out of nowhere. Stiles jerked his head back around to see the jeep’s windshield engulfed by the massive figure of the descending creature, mouth agape, wings spread wide, glowing a terrifying unnatural orange. Stiles screamed at the sight of it. “YAAAAAUGGHH!!”

           The monster shrieked. Whether its hellish voice was in answer to Stiles’ cry of panic or a threatening announcement of its arrival was unclear, but the sound hit the jeep like a solid wall. Everyone inside the jeep screamed in pain and covered their ears. Malia howled in pain; her enhanced senses getting the worst of it. Stiles’ eyes were watering from the intensity, but he would not take his hands off the wheel or his eyes off the road. The road was now obscured by the giant creature, who continued to shriek at a volume the teenagers could feel in their marrow. Stiles yanked the wheel hard and turned the jeep hard to the right. The jeep nearly went up on two wheels, but growing up around so much forested area and uneven ground had given Stiles’ enough experience at driving under the worst conditions. His reflexes took over and he brought the car nearly to a dropoff just beyond the shoulder, barely missing the monster by a few feet. He then pulled the wheel to the left, harder than before, bringing the front around and keeping them from tumbling over the edge of the pavement and down into a shallow ravine. The monster let out another cry at them and then took flight again, a mere ten or so feet from the ground, in a posture the indicated it was going to ram Kira’s car.

           Lydia cried out in panic, “Kira!”

           Simultaneously, Stiles shouted, “SCOTT!!”

           From their helpless perspective inside the jeep, the five teens saw Kira swerve her vehicle to the left, but not in time to avoid the monster. Its leg caught the roof of the car amid a shower of sparks and orange lightning bolts surging off the monster’s body. Kira was shaken, but not so much that she lost control. The monster righted itself to land on the road, its wings spread wide above its head. Its size and posture were terrifying. It shrieked at the sky, its head thrown back, revealing a gaping maw littered unevenly with jagged teeth and what could have been thorns, loose sinew, or torn muscles. It was impossible to tell. Kira collected herself quickly.

           “Ohmigodohmigodohmigod--!”, she muttered rapidly as she gripped the wheel with white knuckles and slammed her foot on the gas. The car lurched forward and rocketed past the monster with tires screeching. The creature watched Kira’s vehicle shoot past it with a look that could have been mild amusement. They had driven no more than twenty feet beyond the monster when one of its wings crashed down onto the roadway blocking their path, cracking the pavement, and spitting up chunks of asphalt and gravel. The car smashed into the translucent orange wing, which exploded a shower of sparks and angry lances of orange electricity. Everyone on board Kira’s car screamed as lightning shot past the windows and over top of the vehicle. The monster then swept its wing forward, like a large hand sweeping a table clear of its settings, and sent the car rolling quickly backwards. Kira had to slam on the breaks to halt their momentum. Even at that, it was several seconds and a lot of burnt rubber before they were able to stop. As soon as they did, Scott whirled around and hollered at Kaitlyn and Aadesh.

           “Out of the car! NOW!”

           His instincts were correct. Even as the four of them fled the car, the monster landed on the roof, shrieking, its talons ready to tear the car open to get at those inside. It gripped the top of the car, three claws forward and one back, in a posture that implied it was accustomed to tearing its prey to shreds. When he saw his prey in this instance had already abandoned the vehicle, the creature puffed itself up and continued to wail, but this time unnatural electricity and energy arced across its chest and down the length of its wings. Scott stared at the spectacle and could not determine whether the monster was powering up to release a surge of deadly energy on its victims or assuming a threatening posture before engaging in a savage, more hands-on attack. Neither option seemed any less terrifying.

           Malia was at Scott’s side before he knew it, claws out and at the ready. She appeared quite ferocious, but truth be told, she was no less terrified than anyone else. Scott spoke to her quickly, without taking his eyes off the creature. “When you were in the wild, what would you do against an opponent who was bigger than you?”

           “Run.”  She didn’t even have to think about it.

           “Good plan”, Scott agreed. He shouted at the others, “RUN!”

           Lydia and Stiles had ushered the quartet of newcomers off the road and down towards the ravine. The slope was not too steep to navigate on foot, and once at the bottom, they could lose themselves in the forest. At least they could try. Lydia gestured wildly for the four teens to get the hell down the hill and out of sight. “Go, go, go!”

           “Look after them”, Stiles told her, and then raced back toward his jeep.

           “Stiles, what the hell are you doing?” But he could no longer hear her, as his mind focused on a singular goal. Lydia turned her attention back to the foursome who were unfamiliar with running down hills, much less those thick with dead leaves, wild plants, and tangled branches. “Follow me”, Lydia told them, moving to take the lead.

           Back up top, the creature let out a cry of anger as it surveyed the scene before it. Two were-monsters, a kitsune, and a human. These were not who it was looking for. Where had they gone?? Stiles found what he was looking for in the backseat of his jeep and raced to the front. He leapt onto the hood of the jeep (blasphemy under normal circumstances) and stood tall, now brandishing his baseball bat in what he hoped was a threatening gesture. He shouted at the creature.

           “Okay, you! You have crashed the wrong dimension, pal! You don’t know who you’re messing with!”

           Scott was incredulous. “Stiles! What the hell, man?”

           Stiles looked back at his best friend, his jaw slack. “I’m the distraction, you idiot. I distract, you attack!” He pointed to the others and then to himself.  “Powers. No powers. Distract, attack. Do I have to draw you a picture?!”

           The monster threw its head back and shrieked again, taking to the skies. Sparks and static discharge remained in its wake. Stiles looked up, genuinely surprised. “Wow. I didn’t actually think that was gonna work.”  With a satisfied expression, Stiles hopped down from his jeep. He gestured at the sky with his bat. “Yeah, you’d better run!”

           In the sky, the monster turned, making a wide, slow arc, and then sped back toward the ground twice as fast as it had before. “Or not!’, Scott said. “Everybody down!”  The pack took to the ground for protection, but found they didn’t need any. The creature swooped by high overhead. It seemed to have no interest in them. Instead, it moved toward Lydia. Scott realized where the creature was going and cried out a warning. “Lydia, look out!”

           Lydia whirled around just in time to see the creature’s eyes come alive with orange fire and lightning. Without thinking of herself, she shoved the kids in front of her to hurry them down the slope. “Go! GO!”

           But her urgings came too late. Fiery bolts shot from the monster’s eyes to scorch the earth in front of the fleeing teenagers, cutting off their path. They all screamed as they either ducked to the side or threw themselves backwards, out of the way of the searing heat and flying debris. Kaitlyn was crying out something to her friends that could not be heard over the deafening concussion as another bolt from the creature exploded the ground before them, searing a fallen tree in half and filling the air with a flurry of dead leaves and brown smoke. When Freddie hit the ground, he was crying.

           The sheer fury of the monster’s attack caught the others off guard. Stiles stumbled backwards into his jeep as the heat from the searing blasts swept toward him. Eyes wide with fright, Stiles said to himself, “Definitely not a creamsicle.”

           The creature flapped its wings to hover above the frightened cluster of teens and focused its eyes on them. It sniffed the air and twitched oddly, as it tracked something very close by. Unseen by anyone on the ground, the monster’s eyes changed color from blazing orange to a muted purple as it scanned the panicking children on the shallow slope. It was looking for something in particular. And in another second…it had found it. There. There it was.

Lydia knew that they may not get another moment’s respite before the creature swooped down again to finish them off, so they had to make use of it while they could. She grabbed the two closest to her, Aadesh and Freddie, and grabbed their sleeves at the shoulder. “Move! Move—fast as you can!” She looked to Kaitlyn, who was helping Erin to her feet. “Are you two alright? Can you help her?”  Kaitlyn nodded. That was all she needed to know. Lydia pointed towards the thick of the woods. “Hurry!”

As the four moved to reach the bottom of the slope and what they hoped was safety in the woods, the monster gazed at them. Its vision had shifted from what it was before. Instead of looking down with the sharp vision of an airborne predator, now it viewed the scene as if through a thermal imaging device. It blinked its purple eyes to see a soft but persistent glow in each of the four fleeing teens. The glow resonated in three areas; in the heads, in their hands, and in their hearts. Yes. These were the ones. These were the ones that needed to be destroyed. It let out another shriek, louder and more piercing than it had before, its wings now raising it higher into the air. It sounded like a cry of victory.

“It doesn’t care about us”, Scott realized. “It’s after the four of them. Lydia, run! Hurry!” Scott scrambled to his feet, Malia at his heels. They had no idea what kind of defense they could put up against the creature, but they knew they were going to try. The monster swooped down again, moving like a bullet towards the four teenagers, whipping past Scott and Malia as if they weren’t there. Scott lunged forward with his claws bared, but it was much faster than him, so he missed by a wide margin. “It’s ignoring us”, he declared.

“Big mistake”, he heard Kira say. She was already at the edge of the road by the top of the ravine. How had she gotten there so quickly? Her sword at the ready, she thrust it upward with all her might as the monster dove toward Lydia’s charges. The ebony blade caught the monster right in the neck. Its own momentum caused the blade to dig deep as it carved a gash from the center of its neck nearly to its sternum. Its cry of pain and rage was horrifying. The monster pulled back, one of its claws grabbing the blade and tearing it from its throat, ripping it from Kira’s hands. A glowing ooze like orange napalm spewed from the wound and hit the pavement, hissing as it struck the cold ground, sending up clouds of steam upon impact. The tarmac turned soft and began to melt under the gushing deluge, and the inhuman blood itself bubbled and roiled as it ate up the road’s surface, filling the air with a godawful stench.

The monster’s wound was already beginning to heal, although slowly. Its pain began to subside but its rage did not. Its shriek became a roar as it threw the sword aside and struck at Kira with one of its wings. Caught by the full impact of the wing, Kira was sent flying amid a burst of light and electricity.

Scott was furious. “Kira!” The monster began to pad towards the dazed Kira, now some thirty feet away where she’d landed. Scott leapt between the two of them and roared at the creature. Malia was right behind him, eliciting her howl of warning as well. The monster clutched at its throat, still leaking large amounts of glowing blood, and paused. It was not prepared for a battle against multiple opponents, especially not while wounded, but it desperately wanted the four. It snarled in frustration, its body sparking with electricity, and shrieked again in warning not to come closer. Neither Scott nor Malia moved toward the creature, but they held their ground. As long as their friends were in danger, they weren’t going anywhere. The monster met their eyes and recognized their resolve. It titled its head slightly, appearing to consider its options. It moved slowly to one side, as if preparing to slip around his new opponents, but Scott and Malia shifted their stances to compensate. The monster growled, a low rattle in its throat, and its shoulders tensed, ready to act.

Scott’s keen eyes focused on the gash left by Kira’s blade. It was nearly healed. He also noted the rising tension in the monster’s body, but this was an enemy unlike any he’d ever faced. He could not predict what it was going to do. It was too raw, too primal. He wasn’t even sure that it could think in the way he understood the process. As it turns out, it could, after a fashion.

The monster roared again, louder this time, and the force of it struck the two were-teens like a physical thing. Disoriented for a moment, Scott and Malia were vulnerable to the creature’s next strike. It lashed out with its wing, aiming low, and digging up the road in one long swipe with the force of a bulldozer. Tarmac, dust, and stones flew forward in a title wave of debris. The blackened mass the creature had driven up descended onto the young people before it as an angry avalanche. Malia did her best to protect herself, spinning so that her back was to the falling rubble, her clawed hands over her face. Scott threw himself over Kira to keep her safe from the onslaught. Stiles screamed from his hiding spot beneath his jeep, crying out his girlfriend’s name, desperate to run to her aid, knowing at the same time there was nothing he could do.

The monster shrieked again, this time sounding satisfied with itself for subduing his young attackers, and took to the sky. It did not ascend very far, however, and was quick to dive right back toward the four he had focused on previously. Lydia was the only one of the young heroes still left standing. Although she had no idea what kind of protection she might offer against the oncoming monster, she instinctively put herself between it and the four teens behind her. But they did not stay there.

Aadesh and Freddie shouted to the girls. “Do it now! Go!” “Come ON!”

Erin leapt out around Lydia, throwing herself out like a ball player trying to catch a pop fly that was just out of her reach. But instead of catching something, she threw it. From the interior of her voluminous top coat, Erin pulled a small cloth bag tied with a thin strip of leather. She called out to Kaitlyn. “Poultice!”

Knowing what that meant, Kaitlyn caught the bag in mid-run as she raced directly toward the creature. It howled at her, its eyes hungry and mouth gaping. At the last moment, Kaitlyn went down into a slide and hurled the small bag with all her might, catching the monster directly in the eye. Whatever was in the bag, it exploded in a shower of sparkling dust and powder. It encircled the monster’s eye and sent streaks of energy across it’s skull in brilliant arcs of color. The monster pulled back, screaming and roaring in anger and pain, its wings flapping wildly, raising more dust and dirt from the devastated highway. The monster leapt into the sky, but went no further than twenty or thirty feet before it bucked and convulsed, orange lances of lightning arcing across its chest and down its wings. Its eyes flared with sudden light, and the monster spread its wings wide, letting some of the excess electricity jolt off the end of its wingspan. Then immediately, it drew its wings close, curling itself into a ball of raging, deadly energy. With a final, blinding flash and an ear-splitting roar, it vanished into thin air.

For a moment, there was silence. Nothing could be heard but the labored breathing of nine teenagers. A few of them started at what seemed a strange crackling sound, only to find that it was only a few dead leaves blowing across the ravaged roadway. In the deathly silence, they sounded quite loud. After another heartbeat or two, the teens began to collect themselves.

Stiles crawled out from under his jeep, where he had taken refuge, and called out to Scott. “Kira—is she alright?”

Scott was already at his girlfriend’s side, holding her in his arms and saying her name. Kira’s world was spinning around her and phasing in and out of double images, but she was coming around. She held up a hand to Scott in a gesture she hoped would convey that he needn’t worry, that she was waving away his concerns.

“…m’alright…”, she mumbled. “…m’alright…jus’ gimme a minute…I’ll be fine…”

Scott helped her sit up, and when he saw that she had no visible injuries, he held her close and refused to let go.

Lydia had gathered the four newcomers together onto the open road. With the monster chased away—or evaporated, or whatever had happened to it—it seemed safe to do so. “Kira?”, she asked of Stiles.

“I think she’s okay”, he said, letting out a sigh of relief. “I think we all are.”

Lydia glanced back at the four teenagers who were in varying states of panic and shock, some leaning on others, but all standing together. Freddie and Aadesh, supporting one another, looked terrified. Erin, bent over with her hands on her knees, panted with a mixture of anxiety and relief. Kaitlyn alone stood tall, her breathing quickly returning to normal as she scanned the sky for any sign of the monster. “Some of us are worse off than others”, Lydia observed, “but yeah, I’d say we’re basically okay.”

“What the hell is up with that thing?!”, Scott demanded. “Guys?” This to the four teens the monster had targeted.

Kaitlyn looked at him with calm resolve. “That was what we came here for. To get your help to stop it.”

Their hero shook his head. Scott was the trusting sort, but even he knew when to follow his baser instincts. “This is for more than just protection!”, he accused them. “That thing went after you four—you four especially! It didn’t even care about the rest of us. Even when we fought to protect you, even when Kira stabbed it and nearly got herself killed--!”

“Scott, I’m alright”, Kira assured him.

“Well I’m not!”, he shouted back, his eyes still on the four newcomers. “I want to know exactly what’s going on here and I want to know right NOW! What was that thing really? How did it get here?? And what does it want?!”

The foursome exchanged quick, nervous glances. It was clear that the wheels were already turning to formulate some plausible excuse. Scott saw through it immediately. “The TRUTH!”

Kaitlyn sighed. “We summoned it. That’s how it got here.”

The five young heroes of Beacon Hills stared at her, incredulous. “You did what?”, Lydia finally said.

“What for?”, Kira asked.

“Because if this is one of those ‘Ooh, let’s catch us an Alpha and show everyone how cool we are’ thing”, Stiles said, his usual sarcasm tinged with venom, “then you need to know it’s been tried before. Plenty of times. It doesn’t work.” Then with fire in his eyes, “And it never ends well for whoever tries it.”

“No!”, Aadesh said, horrified at the idea of hurting Scott. “It’s not that at all! We would never—!”

“What was it?”, Malia demanded. “What were we just fighting?”

“We don’t know what it is”, Erin admitted.

“Whaatt?!”, Scott exploded.

“Then how did you even summon it?”, Kira asked. It was a fair question.

“It wasn’t the one we were trying to summon, okay?”, Erin said, crossing her arms defensively.

“So you just cast some kind of general demon monster summons”, Stiles said, “and you didn’t even know which one you were gonna get? What was this, demon chat roulette?” He mimicked moving a computer mouse. “Cla-click. Howdy! Can I tell you all about our lord and savior Rothzar the Flesh Monger? Well sure, come on in!”

“So was this a blind summoning, then?”, Kira asked. “Who does that?”

“Well, apparently…”, Stiles offered, pointing at the four increasingly nervous teens before them.

           “It wasn’t done blind!”, Kaitlyn said angrily. “We’re not stupid!”

           “All evidence to the contrary”, Stiles countered.

           “We knew exactly who it was we were inviting into this realm”, Kaitlyn said, interjecting before Erin could counter Stiles’ snarky comeback with one of her own.

           “And yet you don’t know what it is”, Malia said pointedly.

           “That’s not the one we were supposed to get!”, Aadesh cried. “That’s not the one we called! We have no more clue than you do how it ended up being the one to come through, but it is NOT the one we wanted!”

           “Well, maybe this guy ate your guy”, Stiles suggested. “You ever think of that? Hmm?”

           “Alright”, Scott said, his voice taking on the tone of the man in charge. “We can find out what this thing is later. Right now I want to know the why. Why summon it, or whatever it was you were after? Why summon anything at all??”

           “It’s complicated…”, Erin said, looking at the ground.

           “Uncomplicate it”, Scott said back.

           “And it’s a long story”, Kaitlyn said, looking sincere for once.

           “Shorten it!”, Scott snapped.

           “You don’t understand”, Aadesh began.

           “You’re right. I don’t!”, Scott countered.

           “That’s the whole point of explaining”, Stiles said, backing up his best friend. “To help us understand why you did this humungously stupid thing.”

           “Did you do it without any plan in mind?”, Kira asked, the anger now rising in her voice as well.

           “Was this some kind of challenge that got out of hand?”, Malia asked. Her voice was more controlled, but her eyes showed the same tension as her friends.

           Scott’s expression darkened when he realized what Malia was asking. He turned on the four teens with renewed anger. “Is that it? You learned about Scott McCall and the big true alpha’s pack and you decided to see if you could take him down? Set him up against a threat he couldn’t face—just to see if you could do it?”

           “God, no!” Aadesh blanched at the idea.

           “What, then?”, Lydia demanded.

           “That’s it, isn’t it?”, Stiles said, taking the idea from Scott and running with it. “You had these visions, learned about Scott—about all of us—and this became some kind of game to you. And not just the telling stories or RPG kind. You got it into your head to challenge the True Alpha. To go after his pack. To go after all of us.”

           Erin groaned in frustration. “Aggghh, no!”

           Stiles wasn’t listening anymore. “So you decided to dabble in the unknown and conjure up some big monster to pit us against. Only it gets out of hand—you find out way too late that you can’t even control it. So you come running to Beacon Hills, lying through your teeth about who you really are, and what you’re doing here, because now you need us to haul your sorry asses out of the fix that you created.”

           “Look, you’ve got it wrong”, Kaitlyn began. But Stiles had a full head of steam now and he wasn’t about to stop his momentum.

           “Because you finally figured out that Scott, that we’re, the only ones who can save you now”, Stiles declared. “This is some big game for you that got totally out of control.”

           “Wait”, Lydia said, the light dawning in her eyes. “That list of archetypes…like the kind used as game pieces. That’s what we are to you, just pawns on a chess board.”

           Aadesh looked like he was actually going to cry. “…no…no!...”

           “That is it”, Stiles decided. “That’s exactly it. And now you’re caught, and you can’t face the reality of what you did. People are probably going to die because you wanted to play a game.” Stiles was convinced he’d nailed it, and his detective’s mind was now extending the threads, tying things together. “You mentioned another person knew about this. Were you making bets? Challenging one another as to who could do what to us first? Are there even more of you out there, waiting to attack? Waiting to send God only knows what after us?”

           “Shut up!”, Erin shouted.

           “No, you’re sounding pretty guilty to me”, Stiles observed. “You just can’t handle the fact that we figured you out.”

           “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about”, Kaitlyn said, her own voice rising in anger to match Stiles’. “Are you that paranoid? To think that everybody’s out to get you?”

           “That paranoia has served us pretty well in the past”, Stiles answered back, sounding almost proud of his ongoing anxiety.

           “Well, you’re way off this time”, Kaitlyn said.

           Scott tilted his head, listening. Beyond the raised voices, deeper than the hearts beating faster, the adrenaline pumping through everyone’s system, he strained to hear. Where were the irregular heartbeats?

           “I don’t think I am”, Stiles said, standing firm.

           “Stiles”, Scott said, “wait a minute.”

           “You are”, Erin said, her voice very controlled.

           “Why did you do it, then?!”, Stiles shouted.

           “WE DID IT TO BE LIKE YOU!”

           It was Freddie who had spoken. His eyes were welling up with tears and his already ruddy complexion was beet red. He was breathing hard and his face bore the expression of a prize pupil who had failed his favorite teacher. A new and strained silence hung in the air. After several seconds, the pregnant pause was broken by one word from Scott.

           “What?”

[itstheobservationalist-blog]

Teen Wolf Season 1 Episode 11

Thoughts as I watch the eleventh episode. Note that I already know some of the things that happen. Obviously spoilers, not just for this episode, but later ones as well. It’s best not to read unless you’re caught up, because I know things all the way up to the most recent season. Anything in italics is either sarcasm or a really, really dumb joke. This is super long, by the way, and not just because of tumblr’s automatic double spacing. This makes the most sense if you watch the episode as you read, or read it after you just watched the episode.

All episode reviews for Teen Wolf can be found here.

Queue integrated recap. My comments on the previous episode can be found here, so enough about that.

“What is he?” His name is Unicorn Wolfman. A werewolf that contains as many sparkles as a unicorn.

“To me, he’s just another dumb animal.” So she supports animal cruelty too? Well, I mean, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. She’s evil, so of course she needs to have an impulse to destroy all living creatures. It’s not like this is totally a villain characterization cop-out. I really hope they give her a motivation as why why she’s like this other than, “She’s an evil bitch. So, she does evil things and stuff so... Yeah.”

Do you honestly think it’s a good idea to stick your fingers that close to his mouth? Even if he was just electrocuted, he still has those pointy wolfy teeth.

“Is this a joke to you?” “Werewolves are real. Life itself is a fucking joke.” - Totally Kate

“How do you think I stay sane?” I don’t think that torturing another living being is what literally anyone would call sane.

“...Those are the real ugly ones.” Arguably, all werewolves that are about half transformed look ugly, not just the Alphas. I don’t know, maybe that’s just me. (I know that’s not exactly what she meant by “ugly” in this circumstance but I don’t care.)

Is she going to get pulled over for speeding?

“Me? What I see is natural talent.” Well, what I see is someone who’s ready to manipulate the fuck out of an incredibly talented young girl that does not understand all of the implications behind the werewolf vs. hunters fight. But yeah, the natural talent in Allison is apparent, too.

Yet another scene where Kate’s face is obscured in darkness. We get it she’s evil. How many times are you going to pull the same lighting trick to demonstrate the exact same thing? Do you honestly believe that won’t get boring? I can tell you right now, it already is.

“You wanted to feel powerful? This is your chance.” You can be powerful without abusing that power.

“Go to school,  do your homework...” What was that quote? Oh, yeah, “Study hard, be evil.”

“I’m not crying to get out of the ticket I just-” That sounds exactly like something someone trying to get out of a ticket would say...

“Just write me a ticket. Just fucking do it.” - Totally Allison

“Why tho?” - Totally Sheriff Stilinski

“This isn’t me!” Then who are you? Also, who are you talking to? Are you even talking to the Sheriff anymore?

Ye boye! Training session let’s go!

Why are you shooting an artist’s rendition of the face of Derek Hale when you already have him locked in your basement and you’re trying to find the other beta, not Derek?

He lives! (Of course he does.)

Just slap him right in the titty and tell him to sit down. That’ll do it.

He’s here to pick up Scott. Because he really likes younger men.

“You can make an exception for just this one time, can’t you?” “Not for you, bitch.” - Totally Deaton

Scott does not belong to you.

Oh, how dare he touch the ledge!

Hoo that mountain ash. What a classic.

If you were really a werewolf, you wouldn’t have missed Deaton with the chair.

Another thing to add is that are you honestly going to tell me that no one saw what Peter just did through the glass door and windows? No one at all? Really? Not a single person outside? No? Okay.

Why would Peter enlist the help of Allison? Not everything is about Allison, Scott. He’s probably talking about Jackson here, seeing that he really wants to be a werewolf.

One thing I almost forgot: you think that Allison is your definition of innocent and vulnerable? Really?

“I can’t afford a new one!” A new, life, girlfriend, new phone, or all three?

“Didn’t you say that Derek walked straight into the gunfire? It sounds like he’s pretty dead.” Well, if he were a human, probably. But he’s a werewolf, so probably not. Judging by the lack of wolfsbane reaction from Scott, it’s highly unlikely that those were wolfsbane bullets, just regular ones.

“He wasn’t going to kill anyone.” Source???

Okay, but if the ball hit him on the side of the head and bounced off him, then how did he pull that same ball out from his flannel and toss it to the floor? Furthermore, where was he hiding that?

“Can you at least consider letting him die? For me?” Stiles...

I bet she’s calling Peter, unknowing that he was totally going to bite her, and not in a good way.

Everyone talks about dad jokes but everyone forgets awkward mom jokes.

You know you fucked up when you did something so bad that you made your mom cry.

“...you can’t protect everyone.” “I have to.” Where did this sudden hero outlook come from? You really didn’t care at the start of this season.

“Come on Derek, you killed your sister.” Actually, Peter did. But ookay Derek, just sit there and let her think that you did and not the Alpha.

What kind of laugh even was that?

“Don’t you just want to kick those people in the face?” That’s the face of someone who is thinking, “Yeah. But I think I’d like to kick you in the face more than them.”

“Are you going to torture me, or are you going to talk me to death?” That was 10/10 sass, but during an incredibly inopportune time. I know that, by sassing someone who clearly has an advantage over you, it makes you seem like you’re not afraid of them and thus look brave. However, I also believe that sassing people when you are at a clear disadvantage is a really bad idea. I mean, do you want to get hurt even more than you already have been? If she really wanted to, she could kill you, Derek.

“I was thinking about the sex we had.” Oookay that’s way more than I needed to know.

“But the fire thing, that was fun too.” Honestly, what the fuck is wrong with this lady? Will we ever get a proper explanation for her behavior? No? I’m the only one who cares? Okay...

Yeah you roar at her. Unfortunately, there really isn’t anything you can do to make her fuck off, but you can always try.

“Oh sweetheart, I really don’t want to torture you.” If that’s true, then Derek being a lady is also true.

Who dis?

He’s probably one of the Argent family goons or something.

Why the hell is Scott sitting on top of Allison’s roof right next to her bedroom window? Dude, she broke up with you and has shown almost no signs of wanting to take you back.

He′s going to fall. What a dumbass.

Wait, if they’re just going to transition to the next scene, why did they even show that? To demonstrate how he’s still hung up over Allison? To nail home that Scott is just really fucking dumb? I mean, I guess that works, but there are other ways to show it than incredibly mild cringe comedy.

"They told me that I should cut you off the team. I told them that I should cut off my last remaining testicle.” Ugh. I understand what he’s trying to say, but that metaphor is a little bit too graphic for my tastes.

“You want me to take her to the formal.” “I don’t want you to, I need you to.” “Screw you. Screw you too. In fact, screw each other.” Yeah, that summarizes how Scott and Jackson interact during... however long Jackson is on the show. In fact, that’s how most of the characters interact with each other during Season 1.

“Do it 4 me, bb.” “Fk u.” Is the shorthand summary for this scene.

I like how Stiles is just staring at this exchange with his mouth open, looking slightly stupid. You do you, Stiles. You do you.

“What if I get hurt?” “Then it’s worth it.” “Bitch please...” - Totally Jackson

May I just say that Stiles looks really good in the blue undershirt and blue and grey plaid combination? Because it looks really good.

“I’m not done yet.”I think this summarizes Scott. Just in general, nothing specific.

"TFSkjhsgdkjdugkuguyslkhxkjl dance tomorrow? Yeah I’m great, I’m just skjshefkjahshaskjg formal. You. Asfriendsa. Justfriends.” - Basically Jackson.

“Should you even go? Do you have a date?” I mean, you can always go with Stiles...

“Do you have a suit, a ticket, a ride there?” Translation: Do you have anything for the Formal at all? “No.” Other than werewolf powers and “morals”, Scott doesn’t really have much going for him. I’m just saying.

Of course he agrees. I don’t think Stiles really does it for Scott, he just wants to try and beat the odds where ever odds are present.

“Ever heard of the phrase, ‘Don’t frown. Someone may be falling in love with your smile’.” If Lydia had Pintrest, I feel like it would be filled with these superficial inspiwational quotes and clothes. But the clothes are irrelevant to my main point.

Honestly, that just seems to support the general idea that you’re not allowed to be sad ever, which is pretty terrible, but it seems that general society seems to emphasize. Pretend to be fine, and everything will get better. Except it doesn’t.

Sorry, irrelevant tangent.

I hate how, every time that Lydia and Stiles are within the same frame so far, Stiles does or says something that inspires a lot of second hand embarrassment. It’s the worst. It’s like they purposefully make him look like a dumbass every time Lydia is near by. This changes as the series progresses, but I’m going to sit and be angry in a corner until that stops.

“Aww, don’t frown. Someone could be falling in love with you smile.” I love Lydia’s look of “Bitch. How dare you use my own words against me.”

Although, I’m left wondering why Lydia actually asks Stiles to the formal, despite the fact that she could very well just go out with some irrelevant jock guy anyway, despite what Allison says. Is there something I’m missing here? Or is this just forced Stydia fanserivce?

“Is this a 24-hour Macy’s?” It looks like she only picked two dresses so far. Calm down. Unless it’s less than a half an hour until closing, this should not be an issue.

How did Peter even know that Allison would be here? There are two ways he could have tracked down Allison, all of which are incredibly creepy:

1. He used his werewolf hearing to her voice and track her down, hearing her talking to Lydia.

2. He recognized her scent, and followed a scent trail to Macy’s.

He was already stalking Allison from the shadows from an indeterminate amount of time using either of the methods above, waiting until Lydia left Allison alone.

Yikies.

Who is he to walk up all doe eyed and gently critiquing her choice in dress, as if he hadn’t been stalking her for who knows how long and had just ‘happened to pass by’.

But Uncle Creeper is right; that dress really would look unflattering.

“It’s because I’m pale.” Why does Peter have the look on his face of “No sweatie. :) The proper term is ‘fair’. :)”

Honestly,m I think you could put any of those Sweatie memes onto this and I don’t think anyone would even realize it wasn’t a part of the original meme.

As a random aside, let’s give that a try!

Oh no.

Shit,,, what have I done.

FUCK.

Anyway, this needs to stop. Back to the actual review of the episode.

Ew now he’s being even more creepy. What’s his obsession with objectively “nice” skin? Was it because he was burned alive? Is it just another thing that’s just doesn’t make any sense and is never going to be explained because he’s supposed to be evil and therefore as creepy and irrational as possible? Judjing by the writing so far, I’m going to guess it’s the last option and not the first. Villains don’t need a real reason to be creepy and evil that’s just who they are. Just accept it okay?

Allison keeps looking around as if she’s trying to “subtly” find a way to escape. I don’t blame her. I’d be doing the same.

“See?” *staring intensifies*

“You’re not here alone, are you?” Literally she starts backing away from him. Just run away! Call the cops! Something!

Saved by the lady announcing over the store’s speakers that something is wrong with her car. An interesting mouthful of an alternative from being saved by the bell.

Wow, Peter is a huge fan of just standing around and quietly monologuing instead of looking at Scott and talking directly to him. Why? He’s a villain! Nothing he says or does has to actually make sense whatsoever.

Why is it that instead of just Killing Derek™ like she claims she wants to do, she decides to beat him up with more words instead of actually murdering him? Hasn’t she basically talked him to death at this point anyway? What’s the purpose?

God, speaking of the sweetie meme...

Kate doesn’t just reference the sweetie meme, she IS the sweetie meme, embodied.

Derek looks on the edge of tears. He may be grouchy, growly, and sometimes an asshole, but he does not deserve this!

History repeating. Isn’t that the theme of Season Five, kind of?

How is it that from this bullshit assumption of history repeating that not only does Kate get it right, but she gets it right? That’s actually what’s happening. She pulled that right out of her ass and she’s right.

God I hate that.

Fixing things with duct tape? Isn’t that the Stiles thing to do?

Season 1 Scott, stop pretending to be Season 2 Stiles.

“Pants off now.” Domme Melissa is in the house.   ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

“Stag. There’s a difference. Sort of.” If you can’t say what that difference is, then is there really a difference?

“...It’s the worst feeling I’ve ever had.” “...It does go away.” “I don’t want it to.” He wants that pain? Scott is a very subby masochist. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) #SMMCCALLCONFIRMED

Thank you for bringing in some realism for this moment. There’s no way she actually knows how Scott feels.

“Listen, dumbass-” God I now know why everyone loves Melissa McCall. That’s what I want to say to Scott all the time.

“Just. Tell her the truth.” Honestly, this is the best relationship advice you can give someone. It doesn’t even have to be for a romantic relationship, it can be for any kind. Just tell them the truth. It can be difficult, yes, but you’re always going to be better telling them the truth.

Anyways, enough with serious talk. More of me being an asshole and memes.

“But when you do, keep that buttoned.” Ladies are a lot more likely to take guys seriously if they keep their clothes on. Especially when it’s in a public setting. There’s a lot less screaming an running away in fear. Trust me I know.

Already Allison looks like she’s regretting the decision of saying yes to Jackson. Probably because they haven’t even entered the party and he’s aiming to get shitfaced drunk. This is going to be quite the night.

“Scott’s not coming? Damn, my entire night is ruined.” - Totally Allison

Why the fuck does she think it’s funny/cute that Scott is somehow on the top of the school’s roof? Instead of asking questions like, oh I don’t know, how did he get up there? Especially when considering the fact that there are no other buildings near by in sight of the high school. Why is he up there?  Furthermore, it’s pretty dark out, right? How the fuck would she even be able to see him in this lighting that far away? Just because there’s a person on the roof does not automatically mean it’s Scott.

Just because it does turn out to be Scott is not the point, okay. The point is that she sees a person on the roof, assumes that it’s Scott, and is somehow correct, despite the logical impossibility of the situation.

Aw yis. My favourite part of the show. Stiles.

I love how it’s been less than a minute and Stiles has already nearly fallen over two times. That guy. I love that guy.

“I will not fall prey to society’s desire to turn girls into emotionally insecure neurotics who pull up their dresses at the first flattering remark.” Hey could you say that any faster?

Ah yes. Say that and then immediately fall prey to it. Graet job. You’re the good role model that every teenage girl needs.

Who’s the vocalist with the Bieber haircut? I mean, I know this is 2011 where almost every guy had a Biber haircut (I do indeed remember, 11 year old me in Grade 6. Oh how things have changed.)

Peter #SPOTTED

Now you see me, now you don’t. But seriously though, how did Coach miss the 40 year old man in the middle of the room? I understand that he missed Scott because Scott is tucked behind the bleachers in a corner. Unless this is a joke on just how oblivious teachers supervise school dances. Or maybe just to show how inobservant teachers can be when talking. But I don’t know. It still seems kind of unrealistic to me.

I feel bad for Allison. Jackson is probably going to ignore her the whole night.

Well, at least he didn’t ignore you completely, right? Right? (There has to be some silver lining somewhere.)

“Get off your cute little ass and dance with me now.” Oh shit! He’s pulling out the big guns!

“Interesting tactic, but I’m going to stick with no.” But why not? Don’t you go to school dances to um... DANCE?

“I know that beneath your cold, lifeless exterior there is an actual human being.” I love how Lydia’s all “Me? A human being? Bitch when?”

It’s funny because she’s a Banshee and has therefore never actually been a human.

Oh. So someone just has to say “i nuw yesmrt” for them to get you to dance. I see. Maybe I should try that some time.

“I see you McCall!” Run boy run. This world is not meant for you. Run boy run. They’re trying to catch you.

I like how he says it as MCCAOL.

“Danny!” “What?” “Dance with me!” “No.” “PLEAS!”

“mCAOL! What the- what the hell are you doing?”

Why is everyone staring? Can’t Scott just be bi? Why is that not allowed?

Oh they’re staring because they think Coach is being homophobic. You know what? That’s kind of progressive for 2011. Good job.

Wait why did that work? Coach was yelling at Scott waaaay before he started “dancing” with Danny. Surely someone noticed, right?

Of course he beelines straight to Allison right after instead of wondering where Peter went or what he’s doing.

Okay. So. Maybe that look Scott gave Allison was cute. Maybe. Don’t quote me on that, though. I’m not sure.

Speaking of the dance, goddamn that’s quite the opulent decor for a high school dance. I keep forgetting just how well-off the people of Beacon Hills are.

Jackson looks like he’s minutes away from keeling over and passing the fuck out.

You know what? This is starting to look a lot like how a realistic teen horror movie would start. Guy drunk as fuck nearly stumbles out of the high school during the dance and enters a forest area. Dumbass dude bumps into a murderer or something. Horror movie begins.

I bet you the “glowing red eyes” is just that asshole guy with the glowing earbuds. No wait, it’s too close to the season finale for that. I guess that’s where Peter went, then.

She looks like she’s trying to find Jackson. And some people are still convinced that Stydia is actually going to happen. (I know I said that I shipped it unironically, but that doesn’t mean I expect it to be canon.)

So he sees those glowing eyes in the woods that are making him scared, and he just goes into the woods instead of running back into the school where it’s safe(r) and pretending that nothing happened? I mean, if I saw creepy glowing eyes I would hide in a building or vehicle, even if I knew it would end up being ultimately useless in the end. At least there was an attempt to buy some time. Not this idiot. Glowing eyes? It’s time to go straight into the woods.

“I wanna be like you.” This guy knows almost nothing about being a werewolf. I mean, I’m not a werewolf, but I’ve seen many TV shows. Being a werewolf is not all it’s cracked up to be.

The fuck? Okay, there’s no way those clearly glowing eyes (which CLEARLY blinked) were from the Argent hunters here. No sir. No fucking way. I could at least pretend to buy the weird ass glowing earbuds Lasers look WAY different from eyes, even in the dark. Unless Peter was in the woods and being tracked down by the Argents and then did the bullshit disappearing werewolf act I could accept that. But there’s no way in hell those red laser things could look like eyes. Fuck you Teen Wolf. F u c k y o u .

“I don’t think I can give you what you want. But I think you can help me.” This is the part where Jackson should run for his life from this creepy man. Come on. I’m waiting.

They never officially made up. So Scott doesn’t have to apologize for making Allison upset or anything? No? Okay. Sorry, I was just wondering where the realism is, but I guess it’s nowhere.

“It was about everything you wanted to talk about.” “Shut up Scott. My feelings aren’t relevant to the plot and have nothing to do with fanservice, so we need to skip over that because this is a Teen Show™.” - Totally Allison.

“Do you promise that you won’t hurt him.” Wait, does Jackson actually care enough about Scott not so see him hurt? Is Jackson secretly... a tsundere?

“I’m going to take care of him.” You do realize that’s another way of saying that you’ll kill someone, right? That’s basic villain slang.

You just missed him. By a hair’s breadth you just missed him.

They still haven’t properly made up and he’s kissing her? What? Why?

“Why’d you do that?” “Because I love you.” *sigh*

Aren’t teachers who supervise dances supposed to make sure that the kids don’t make out on the dance floor? Am I the only one who would find Coach yelling at them to break it up funny?

“Jackson? What did you do.” “Oh not much. Just revealed the fact that your best friend is a werewolf to a guy who hunts werewolves. You know. Nothing big. Everyday things.” - Totally Jackson

Although, with the way he says that... It’s like Mr. Argent did some... other things to convince him to say who’s the werewolf... Like... whatever happened out there... traumatized him...

I knew Mr. Argent was an incredibly shady character. I just didn’t think he was that bad.

This must be the part where Peter corners Lydia in the field. He bites her in this part too, right?

Lights turn on for ~dramatic effect~.

Then again, it is Peter. He seems to have a huge affinity for unnecessary tension and drama.

Stiles doesn’t need to say it twice.

I thought that Peter just bit her. But it seems he also clawed her.

“I will let her live. If you tell me where Derek Hale is.” “Why would I know that.” “You’re the smart one.” Oh shit.

“If he still has it. If it’s still on. You’ll be able to find him.” Well. RIP Derek. Even though he basically already almost died. He’s going to almost die again soon.

“Are you okay?” He’s looking at the bus as though it’s evil. Maybe it is.

“We should really get back to the dance.” Yeah really. Who wants to have sex in a school bus? Be classy. Go to a love hotel instead.

Vroom vroom motherfucker. It’s time for some werewolves (AKA Scott) to die.

Why did you even make that clip slow motion? If you have just made the actors move slower, it would have worked the same way, except making it slightly less stupid, because the obvious slow motion edit wouldn’t be noticable.

Music: dun DUn DUN BUM BUM BUUM!

Well that’s the end of this episode. I’ll stop the end message here so that I can actually get started on the next episode.

#Teen Wolf #Teen Wolf Season 1 #TW #TW 1x11 #1x11 #Formailty