Work Text:
“... and so, you see, Dad, that’s why we tried to frame Derek... No, this is terrible,” Stiles mumbled. He shook his head and stared at the boy on the other side of the mirror.
“Hey Dad. You know Derek? Yeah, the guy we tried to set up for the murder of his sister and for terrorizing the school and all that? Yeah, we’re kind of dating. And fucking. Wait no, that’s a terrible idea, there’s no way I should tell him that. Especially since that's a lie. Why am I lying?”
Stiles sighed and shook his limbs, trying to loosen up.
“Hey Dad. I like guys. And I’m dating Derek. Even though he’s a big broody werewolf who could rip me... What am I doing? I can’t do this,” groaned Stiles. Derek got off the bed and walked up behind Stiles and rested his hands on Stiles’ shoulders. He looked at Stiles’ reflection and said, “It’ll be fine, Stiles.”
“Yeah, easy for you to say. You’re not the one who has to tell Dad.”
“I could if you want me to.”
“No, God, that would be a disaster. No, he needs to hear it from me. I just don’t know how to say it.”
“How about ‘Hey Dad, I like Derek, and we’re dating’ -- keep it short and sweet,” Derek suggested as he squeezed Stiles’ shoulders.
Stiles groaned and laid his head against Derek’s chest and sighed. As Derek laughed, a deep rumble vibrated in his chest and Stiles melted into Derek. “I just don’t know how we’re supposed to tell him that his son is gay and he’s fucking a werewolf. Too much at once, maybe? Hell, that’s too much in a lifetime for some people.”
Derek wrapped Stiles in his arms and said, “Too much for some people, but your dad’s a Stilinski. Stilinskis can handle it. And, we're not fucking.”
Stiles detached himself from Derek and turned to face him. “And how would you know that?”
“You’re a Stilinski. You seem to be handling it just fine. A whole lot better than most people,” Derek smiled. “It’s not a coincidence you’re my mate, you know?”
Stiles nodded and the corners of his lips lifted. “Thanks,” he said as he pulled Derek closer for a bear hug, resting his cheek on Derek’s shoulder. Another rumble in Derek’s chest had Stiles hugging harder. Derek just smiled and buried his nose into Stiles’ neck, planting small kisses.
“Stiles! I’m home! Where’s dinner?”
Derek didn’t even need his werewolf hearing to hear Stiles’ heartbeat skyrocket.
“Oh shit, shit shit shit. I don’t think I can do this.”
“Stiles! Why are there three plates on the table? Is Scott here?”
Derek cupped Stiles’ cheeks with his hands and looked into his eyes and said, “Stiles. Everything will be fine. Just trust me. You can do this.”
“Okay, okay. Yeah, I can. Let’s do this.”
Derek smiled and planted a soft kiss on his lips then opened the door.
Stiles inhaled and exhaled then shouted, “Coming, Dad!”
The steps Stiles had to descend were the longest of his life. With every step, Stiles imagined a possible reaction his father would have. They ranged from an overly adorable Sheriff Stilinski going all “Oh my god, my son is in love!” to him just pulling his gun and emptying the clip into Derek’s head.
“Hey Dad. No it’s not Scott, it’s uhh... Derek’s here.”
Sheriff Stilinski looked up from the table and his eyes narrowed as Derek followed Stiles down the stairs. “Derek Hale? I see.”
Not off to a good start, thought Stiles.
“Yeah, Dad. He’s gonna eat dinner with us, if that’s okay with you?”
“Sure,” Sheriff Stilinski replied. Turning to Derek, he continued, “I can’t say I expected the guest to be you, however, considering the history between you and my son. I don’t want to be rude, but is there a reason you’re here?”
“Yes, Sheriff. There is. I’ll let Stiles explain, though.”
The Sheriff nodded. He looked over to Stiles, who only shrugged and said, “In a minute. Let me just get the dinner out.”
Stiles had cooked up his father’s favorite dinner, chicken parmesan with a side of curly fries. No, the Sheriff wasn’t supposed to have the fries, but Stiles figured it might score him some points.
“Curly fries? Really? This smells really good, but it also smells of bribery.”
Stiles winced, but Derek chuckled. Stiles shot him a look that said, Not helping, sourwolf but Derek just shrugged.
“Hmm. So it is bribery,” mused the Sheriff. “Out with it. What’s going on?”
“Okay, Dad. Here’s the thing,” Stiles groaned. He closed his eyes and started rambling, “You know I’ve had a crush on Lydia since forever, but she’s the only girl I’ve ever felt anything for. I’ve always been attracted to guys. I don’t know if I’m gay or if I’m bisexual or what the fuck I am, but I just know that I’m in love with Derek and I just can’t not be with him and I --”
“Stiles,” Derek piped in. “Shut up.”
“What?”
“You’re rambling.”
Stiles groaned and looked at his dad. His expression remained unchanged. After a few awkward seconds the Sheriff said, “Stiles. You’re a little young to be in love, you know?”
“Ugh, please don’t give me the age lecture, Dad. Derek already did that. Besides, how old were you when you fell in love with Mom, anyway?”
“That’s not the point,” the Sheriff dismissed. “Not only are you young, but Derek’s also definitely not 18.”
“Don’t worry, Sheriff, I already told Stiles we won’t be having sex until he turns 18.”
“Derek,” Stiles practically screeched, his face reddening. “Jesus, just kill me now,” he whimpered as he buried his face into his arms.
“Thank you for that, Derek. Stiles, look at me. If you’re sure you’re in love, then I’m happy for you. Granted, I’m still a little unsure about who it is,” he glanced over at Derek, “but that might be just because I’ve had to arrest him twice. Obviously, I don’t know the real Derek Hale.”
“Oh yeah, about that,” Stiles whispered. “Sorry, we shouldn’t have tried to frame Derek. We were just stupid and we didn’t know what was going on, but we do now... and I -- I just realized I never apologized for that, Derek. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. It’s not a big deal.”
“What do you mean it’s not a big deal? I tried to have you thrown into jail.”
“Yeah, but you failed. I’m here, aren’t I?”
The Sheriff laughed. “You guys going to tell me why all that happened, anyway?”
“Yeah, about that... Umm. You’re not going to believe us. But just listen, I have proof. Just don’t say anything until I finish talking, please?”
“Okay.”
"I mean it, Dad. This is going to sound like bullshit, but I promise, it's not. Just don't say anything."
Derek reached out, rubbed and squeezed Stiles’ shoulder, and smiled. Stiles exhaled and began.
“I’m not really sure where to start, but here we go... I know what happened to Lydia. I was there when it happened. I couldn’t stay with her, though, because of Peter Hale. He’s the one who did that to Lydia. Kate Argent had kidnapped Derek, and Peter needed me to find him. Peter killed Kate, and Derek killed Peter, but we all helped. Me, Scott, Jackson, Allison, and her father. The Argents are a family of hunters. Werewolf hunters.
“Kate was the one who burnt down the Hale house and killed Derek’s family, but you already knew that one. She did it because she’s a fucking psycho, but also because the Hales are... or were a family of werewolves. But they’re not bad people, I know that. I mean, I got to know Derek and while he can be this angry broody werewolf who likes to slam people against walls, that’s not who he is. He’s a much much better person than Kate ever was, than most of the Argents.
“I never realized it, but all this time, Derek was just trying to protect me. That night you found me in the woods when you were looking for Laura’s body? Scott came with me. I’m sorry I lied about that, but I thought I was protecting him. Peter bit him that night. Scott’s a werewolf too now, and I’ve been helping him deal with that. Now I’m helping Jackson deal with being a werewolf.
“Peter bit Lydia too, but she didn’t heal. You either die or become a werewolf, and neither of that is happening to Lydia, so we don’t know what she is now. So now... Derek’s the Alpha, and we’re his pack. Derek, me, Scott, Allison, Jackson, Lydia, and Danny.
“We had to kill Peter, because he was the one who killed Laura, he was the one who bit Scott, nearly killed Lydia, killed the janitor and the bus driver, and that guy from the video store. They were all people who helped Kate burn the Hale house, so they kind of deserved it, but Peter wasn’t going to stop there. He offered me the bite that night we killed him --”
“He what,” Derek interrupted.
“Uhh, I thought I already told you that. Yeah, when we were tracking scott’s cell phone GPS, he offered to give me the bite, but I turned him down. I mean, I did kind of want it, but not from him.”
“You should have told me that before,” Derek growled. Stiles pondered about it for a minute and said, “Would it have made a difference either way?”
“Yes, it would have. When I visited Peter, I told him about you. He knew you were my mate. He had no right to offer you that bite.”
The Sheriff cleared his voice. “You told me to not interrupt you because you had proof. That is one wild story, so I would really like to see that proof.”
A nervous laugh escaped Stiles. “Don’t freak out, Dad, please. Derek? Not all the way please. I don’t want you to strip in front of my Dad, thanks.”
Derek rolled his eyes and smirked. “Okay, Sheriff. I’m going to transform into my Beta form now.”
The first change was his eyes. They glowed red and Stiles saw his Dad’s eyes widen. Derek’s claws came next, then the hair. The fangs came last. After the transformation was done, Derek pulled it back and was once again human.
The Sheriff glared at both of them, saying nothing for a while. Then, he said, “Derek, you said something about Stiles being your mate?”
“Really, Dad? Out of all that, that’s what you go with first?”
“Yes, Sheriff. Stiles is my mate.”
“I know a little something about wolves. I don’t know if it’s same for you guys, but aren’t mates... permanent?”
“Yeah, Dad. I know that if I become his mate, I can’t go back. I don’t want to. I’m not even a werewolf, but I can feel a connection with Derek. Like, sometimes I can tell how Derek’s feeling. Sometimes, I even think I can talk to him even though he’s miles away.”
“Become? You aren’t mates yet?”
“No,” Derek explained. “To become mates, we’d have to have a ritual of sorts. Involving sex and a specific type of a bite. Like I said, I have no plans to do that until Stiles is at least eighteen.”
“Well, that’s good,” the Sheriff nodded. After a few seconds, he added, “I always thought you’d end up with Scott.”
“Scott? Eww. Seriously, Dad. Ew. No. Just no. Scott and I will never happen. He’s my best friend, but that’s it, I can’t do more than that, I just can’t. Wait, you always thought I was gay?”
“Well, no, I didn’t, but your mom was so sure you were attracted to men. I guess she was right. I should know better than doubt her,” the Sheriff laughed.
“You know, you’re taking this really well, Dad. I half expected you to pull out your gun and start firing. Thank you so much for not doing that.”
“I haven’t dismissed that idea entirely yet. I still have a lot more questions, but it isn’t fair to neglect our dinner. I need my curly fries. And they’re cold. Give me your plates, boys, I’ll reheat them.”
Derek and Stiles handed their plates over and the Sheriff walked into the kitchen, putting a plate in the microwave.
“That went much better than I thought it would,” Stiles whispered. Derek just smiled and said, “I told you. He’s a Stilinski.”
Stiles rolled his eyes then laughed. Derek reached out and pulled Stiles’ head closer and kissed him.
“I love you, Stiles.”
“I love you too, Derek,” he replied, adding another kiss.
From the kitchen, Sheriff Stilinski smiled as he felt the weight of the world leave his shoulders. Ever since his wife died, he struggled with raising Stiles. He encouraged him to try out for lacrosse, he encouraged him to find friends, he tried everything he could to make Stiles happy. Sure, Stiles had a best friend, but he was alone.
Not anymore. He has Derek now. He could see the happiness in his son’s eyes, and that was all he ever wanted.