Work Text:
Teen Wolf || Sterek || Teen Wolf || Sterek || Castle of Glass || Sterek || Teen Wolf || Sterek || Teen Wolf
Title: Castle of Glass – Stiles Summer Stories 2024
TW Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Jeff Davis and MTV. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/m, episode tag: s02e04 Abomination, Pack Feels, hurt/comfort
Main Pairing: Derek/Stiles
Teen Wolf Characters: Mieczysław 'Stiles' Stilinski, Derek Hale
Writer's Month Prompts: dawn + castle
Summary: After Stiles had kept Derek afloat in the pool for two hours, Stiles comes home to find Derek waiting for him.
Castle of Glass
Stiles Summer Stories 2024
On his drive back home, Stiles' thoughts kept swirling around the day's events.
The plan of stealing the bestiary from Gerard Argent had been a good one, if only they'd put one and one together sooner. How had Stiles not figured out that they'd keep it on a thumb drive? The concept of a bestiary seemed so linked to old tomes and physical books, he hadn't even considered that the hunters would be more up to date. Glaring, Stiles hit the steering wheel hard, just to wince and apologize to Roscoe. It wasn't her fault that he hadn't figured it out.
Being confronted by Erica and Derek at the pool and the three of them being attacked by the kanima. Erica, knocked out on the floor, and Derek… Derek, trying to protect him. Even though moments before, he'd still been threatening Stiles himself. But as soon as the kanima went after them, Derek pushed Stiles out of the way, tried to protect him. Not that it helped, they still both got attacked, Derek paralyzed by the kanima's venom and both thrown into the pool.
Two hours. Stiles had threaded water for two hours, keeping not just himself but also Derek – big, hunky, pure-mass-of-werewolf-muscles Derek - afloat. Stiles still wasn't sure how he'd managed to do that. He was just… Stiles. Flailing limbs, not very athletic, not supernaturally strong Stiles.
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel as a sneer formed on his face. He loved Scott to death, that was his brother by anything but blood, but damn it all to hell he could strangle the guy for hanging up on him. Stiles had dropped Derek, let Derek sink down onto the bottom of the pool, so he could get to his phone and call for help. He'd needed Scott. And when he needed Scott, Scott just… hung up on him without letting him say anything. Oh, sure, in the very end, Scott had come running, he always did that, he always came in the nick of time to save their asses, but… Stiles was slowly growing tired of it. He didn't like being saved at the very last second, he preferred being saved before that point. Stiles swallowed the bitterness that rose up in his throat.
He parked the Jeep and noted the lack of police car. So dad was at work. Still? Already? Honestly, Stiles couldn't tell. With a tired sigh did he head into the empty, dark house, shivering slightly. He was still soaked with pool water. Shower. Hot shower sounded good.
After the shower, he felt a little better. Warm from the core, clean. With that relaxed feeling, all the adrenaline of the night ebbed fully away and he felt his knees buckle. His muscles burned from the excessive and unusual use. With wobbly legs did he make his way to his room. The window was open, cold air drafted in. Furrowing his brows, Stiles turned toward the moving shape on his bed.
"At least scoot over, that's my bed," Stiles grunted unimpressed.
He did not have the energy to scold Derek about breaking and entering, or about being in Stiles' bed. Today had been weird and exhausting enough. Derek grunted back and complied, making enough room for Stiles to collapse on the bed too. He was also too tired to care about the fact that he was half laying on top of Derek right now. This wasn't even the closest they'd been today.
"Why are you here," Stiles asked, his voice muffled by Derek's unfairly comfortable chest.
"You saved my life today," Derek whispered, slowly wrapping one arm around Stiles' waist to pull him closer. "You didn't have to, but you saved my life today. Why did you save my life today. You hate me. You have, repeatedly, suggested to let me die in the past."
"Yeah, and you have, repeatedly, threatened to tear out my throat and kill me yourself, but still you came running the second you knew I was alone with Peter in the hospital," Stiles argued with a half-shrug, nose buried in Derek's collarbone. "Maybe saving each other and threatening each other is just our thing, Derek. I know I can count on you when it matters."
He swallowed hard at that. Scott should be the one he could count on when it mattered, but he'd, by now, repeatedly not been reachable because he was with Allison. While, for some reason, Derek always picked up and always came running right away when Stiles needed him. So, it only seemed fair to return the favor. To be the one Derek could count on. Maybe that really was their thing.
"Join my pack," Derek growled, arm tightening around Stiles. "You know I'm right about the kanima. You know you're not safe on your own. I know you're… an asset to my pack."
Stiles froze in Derek's arms, startled. Derek had just asked him to join the pack. Not Scott. Him.
"But… Scott," Stiles argued softly, half-hearted at best.
Because he didn't have personal arguments against it. He'd liked Erica and Boyd, before they became werewolves, and maybe the whole threatening-the-Stiles would stop if he was pack. And Derek, well, Derek was Derek. Half the time, Stiles hated the guy, the other half, it felt dangerously close like he was falling in love with the guy. Every time Derek saved him, every time he saved Derek, every time they worked together so well. He was fully aware that laying snuggled up to a guy in his bed like that was not normal. Was something… He didn't know what, but something.
"Convince him to join my pack too," Derek shrugged, uncaring. "Or he can become an omega, if he keeps insisting on being alone. That's his choice. I'm not asking him, I'm asking you."
Stiles' heart hammered in his chest and he didn't look up at Derek. Two hours. He'd kept Derek and himself afloat for two hours. He couldn't let go of Derek. Wouldn't let go of Derek. Didn't want to let go of Derek. His fingers curled into Derek's shirt.
"It's ass o'clock, after like the most physically exhausting day in my life, and you're asking me to make life-altering decisions while we're cuddling in my bed. I don't even know where to start."
"It's not cuddling," Derek huffed, sounding nearly offended. "I'm scent-marking you. Making you smell like me. Like pack. And I'm in your bed to… make sure you're safe. Because after what you just did, you are… in no physical condition to fight off an attacker."
Huh. Stiles tilted his head a little to look up at Derek's face. Dawn was slowly creeping in, a soft orange glow painting Derek's face in warm colors. He was beautiful like that. And he was here to protect Stiles and to make sure Stiles was okay. Blinking, Stiles licked his lips slowly. He startled when he noticed the way Derek's eyes followed his tongue's movement with an overwhelming intensity. A blush crept up his neck. Okay. So maybe he wasn't the only one who was feeling this weird something between them. His heartbeat picked up some more as both of them leaned in at the same time, without conscious decision, until their lips met in a brief kiss. Nothing big or passionate, but rather short and gentle, reassuring. Like a promise to be there for each other.
With a heavy sigh did Stiles lay back down on Derek's chest and close his eyes. His mom used to talk about building something, in a relationship. That her and his dad had built a home together and that he would find someone he could build with too. They were both cracked and broken and damaged, in their own ways, but he thought maybe they could build something fragile and breakable and beautiful. Build their own castle of glass.
"Good night, Alpha," Stiles whispered, feeling Derek tense. "Sleep now. Pack-stuff tomorrow."
~*~ The End ~*~