Work Text:
It took close to six months for the tattoo shop to complete the move to Beacon Hills.
The renovations of the abandoned warehouse space started a small flurry of renovations in the area.
"That's how a lot of urban development happens," Peter explained. "Once there's a viable business, or housing, or something in an area like this, others will look at it and it becomes a revitalized area."
"It just seems odd that a town like Beacon Hills has abandoned warehouses at all," Stiles pointed out. "What were people thinking, to even build something like this in the first place?"
"Who knows?" Peter shrugged. "The only good thing is that the buildings we chose, on purpose, were built just long enough ago to be well built and sturdy. No cheap construction. Otherwise, it would have been better to raze the building and start over."
Stiles nodded. "And it came out well," he admitted. "It's welcoming without being too frilly."
And a tattoo shop, being open into the night, made for a safer area in general. There was lighting, decent parking, and people coming and going regularly. That the tattoo shop was run by werewolves, and happened to be an undercover home to an FBI unit, went a long way to keeping the area safe.
"It's interesting that the FBI opened a field office in town," Stiles said with a small grin.
"That's mostly to take the attention away from us," Peter admitted. "Agents can come and go in the area without immediately raising suspicion. LA has enough traffic to make agents invisible. Beacon Hills is just smaller enough that the field office is useful in deflecting attention." A grin. "And it puts a few more people to work. A win all around."
"I know dad appreciated the increased law enforcement presence," Stiles admitted. "It doesn't stop things from happening but the entire town feels safer." He poked Peter gently. "And the Pack had helped with that, too."
"Well, it's been fascinating to see how many supernaturals there are in the area," Peter nodded.
It was like the Pack, and Esmerelda, moving into town made it safer for other supernaturals to come out into the open.
When Stiles had gone to the library, Miss Mabel had patted his shoulder. "You are doing well, young man. Keep up the good work."
That kind of freaked Stiles out a bit. He already knew, from Esmerelda, that Miss Mabel was fae.
"Having the approval of a fae is a good thing? Isn't it?" Stiles had asked Esmerelda.
"Meh," Esmerelda shrugged. "It can be. She likely has identified you as a Spark and I will make an educated guess that she knows your connection to the Nemeton. So her approval may be to get on your good side."
"Umm, really?" Stiles was stunned.
"Sparks are kind of at the top of the supernatural hierarchy," Esmerelda said. "We're more magic than anything and you having a fire affinity adds to that."
"Oh," Stiles replied thoughtfully.
"But if she's willing to talk with you, do that," Esmerelda advised. "Part of learning about the area."
"Maybe she knows something about why the Hales left?" Stiles mused.
"Maybe," Esmerelda nodded.
Stiles asked Peter first.
"Hey, umm... I may have a faint lead on why the Hales left Beacon Hills," Stiles said. "The question is, do you want to know?"
Peter put down the book he had been reading and hesitated for a moment. "Maybe? I mean, there's nothing I can do about it. And the Nemeton seemed to be pleased that there are Hales in the area. So it would be more academic than anything. What do you have?"
"You know Miss Mabel at the library?" Stiles asked. "Esmerelda says she's fae and likely older than she looks."
"Ah!" Peter nodded. "Fae tend to do that."
"Well, she's been here long enough that she might know something?" Stiles said. "There's no guarantee, but she's the most likely source of information."
"Being a librarian helps," Peter grinned.
"True," Stiles replied. "But, well, I didn't want to ask if maybe you didn't want to know. If that makes sense."
"I'm interested in an academic way," Peter said. "No one seems to be overtly offended at the Hales leaving, so that's a good thing. Knowing would be interesting but I can live without it. If Miss Mabel knows something that she's willing to share, I'd be happy to know it. If she doesn't know anything, well, then we don't know."
"I can work with that," Stiles replied.
Stiles did some research first. It turned out there was no one way to deal with the fae and even Esmerelda had no firm suggestions on how to approach Miss Mabel for information.
Stiles went back to his roots and baked his mother's honey-bread. It was a quick bread with candied fruits and honey. He didn't make it that often but it felt right.
The library was quiet when Stiles went.
"Stiles! What can I do for you?" Miss Mabel asked.
Stiles gave a small bow. "I was hoping to share a small break with you." He held out the loaf.
She took it and opened the wrap. "Oh! Honey! Nicely done," she said. "Your mother used to make this for me."
"Oh!" Stiles replied. "I didn't realize you might know her."
"She was a friend," Miss Mabel said. "She brought you when you were a babe. I knew then that you would come into your magic when you grew older."
Stiles held in the sigh. He could have used her help but then realized he might not have met up with Esmerelda and Peter if he had latched on to her.
"Yes, you needed time before we were ready to talk," Miss Mabel said, as if reading his mind. "Come, we can have tea."
There was an electric kettle in the back where she heated water and there was a selection of teas. She cut the bread and put a slice on a napkin for each of them.
"You're here about the Hales," she said.
"I am," Stiles admitted.
"There should be a set of journals somewhere," she said. "The Hales left for pragmatic reasons. The Hale family had always been small but at the time they left there was only a family of three. The parents and a little girl. They knew that they needed more Pack members as well as to expose their daughter to more 'wolves. They tried to recruit 'wolves to come to Beacon Hills, but had little luck with that. The town was really just getting started and the cities along the coast promised better living."
"So they moved away to find more 'wolves," Stiles said with a nod. "That makes sense."
"They likely said farewell to those they knew, but they had always been... insular," Miss Mabel went on. "So they had few friends and anyone that knew why they left eventually died off. There was no one to remember a small family simply moving away."
"I never would have thought of something simple like that," Stiles grinned.
"No one does," Miss Mabel nodded. "It was my mother who knew them and told me that Hales would return some day. And, now they have."
"As Emissary of the Hale Pack, I would offer an alliance of friendship with Miss Mabel," Stiles said formally. He held out a hand.
She touched his hand and said, "I accept your offer of friendship and make my own offer of an alliance of friendship."
A white light flowed between them.
"Very nice!" she beamed.
Stiles reported the story to Peter, who nodded. "Journals? Hmm... I'll have to think about where they might be."
"There's a historical society, as well as the library," Stiles reminded him. "Either or both might have some suggestions."
Peter shook his head. "Unlikely that they would be entrusted to someone who is not a 'wolf."
"We can check out the old Hale property at some point," Stiles suggested.
"That may be interesting," Peter said. "But a lower priority. We have enough to do around here."
"True," Stiles agreed.
Stiles had transferred to a college that would let him continue the programs he wanted but would also allow him to be fully online.
Stiles and Peter had gone to LA for a short overnight trip and it had been... uncomfortable for Stiles.
"I have this feeling of... forgetting something at home? Needing to do something?" He shook his head. "It's not painful, just... persistent."
"That's actually good to know," Peter said.
Stiles rubbed his chest. "Definitely not ready to go further or for longer," he decided.
"It's only been a few months," Peter said. "You and the Nemeton both need time to adjust. But it's probably a good idea to make short trips like this and go back, mostly so it knows you will come back."
Stiles nodded. "Just glad not to be alone. If I were on my own, I'd be heading back. But you make it easier to... soothe the pull."
Peter smiled.
Brian and Jeremy had gone back to school LA. Even though they had shared the apartment with Theo the previous year, it turned out that Theo hadn't paid any rent, letting the two teens pay the entire cost. Peter had subsidized their rent for the semester, telling them 'it's what Pack does' when they tried to protest.
"Having some extra money will let you eat better," Stiles pointed out. "You'll have more money for food and can afford take-out if you need to."
Brian had nodded thoughtfully. "It will be good not to scrape through," he admitted.
"There are no strings on that, either," Stiles said firmly. "It's a relatively small cost to make your lives that much more comfortable. Just do your best and you'll be fine."
"Okay, then," Jeremy said. "Thanks."
Scott had left Beacon Hills and gone back to LA, although not to school. He had indeed failed all of his courses in the Spring semester and Melissa had refused to help him until he helped himself. The last anyone knew, Scott had found a job at a small animal shelter, but that's all they knew.
Information on Theo came through the FBI. Theo had indeed approached other Packs for the Bite and most turned him away. He had found one Alpha that would try and had been incensed to the point of violence when the Bite did not take. The Pack had to resort to violence to subdue him. They had reported the situation to the authorities, since they did not want to get into trouble for harming a human. Peter and Derek had flown out to take Theo into custody. What happened after that, Stiles did not learn but Peter assured him that Theo would not be a problem in the future.
It was early December when Stiles went into the new tattoo shop. He had finished his exams and had turned in his thesis. He cleaned his room, which had turned into a disaster at the end of the semester, and had time for himself for a few weeks.
"I think I'm ready for another tattoo," Stiles said to Peter.
"You are, are you?" Peter grinned. "What were you thinking of this time? A friend for Shadow?"
The fox on Stiles' arm sat up, showing interest.
"Not sure I'm ready for that," Stiles admitted. "Esmerelda thinks I need to wait a couple of years for anything that will be that magical."
Shadow seemed to shrug and settled back down on Stiles' shoulder.
"What then?" Peter asked.
Stiles held out his left hand. "Maybe... something like a promise ring? Something you can add to in the future? I mean, I don't need a diamond or anything fancy but, well, I'd like to have something..." He smiled softly. "Something for us."
"Sweetheart!" Peter breathed. "That would be amazing." He brought Stiles close, for a soft kiss.
Stiles wrapped his arms about Peter's neck and returned the kiss.
"Although, umm, the Nemeton wants our first time to be there," Stiles added with a small blush. "Something about firming up our bond to the land."
Peter laughed. "I think we can do that."