Note: This is the seventh part of the “Home Is Where the Spark Is” series. To understand better what’s going on, we recommend reading the previous entries. Enjoy!

Fandoms: Teen Wolf, Sterek

Characters/relationships: Stiles Stilinski/Derek Hale, Alan Deaton

Rating/category: R (explicit), supernatural, post-Teen Wolf, canon and non-canon elements, slash, M/M, Sterek, hurt/comfort, dark, angst, PTSD, aged up characters, Spark Stiles, Magic Stiles, Emissary Stiles, Emissary in training Stiles, detective Stiles, matured Stiles, Alpha Derek, switch Derek, switch Stiles, drama, epic romance, love, magic, fluff, soulmates, Mate bond, Emissary bond, werewolves, humor, wit, sarcasm, Derek is Derek, Stiles is Stiles, werewolf lore, druid lore, mysteries, training, hangover Derek, knotting, top Derek, bottom Stiles, argument

Summary: The Mates finally have a serious discussion about Derek’s upcoming rut, which puts some tension into their relationship because of their opposing opinions.

Disclaimer: This is a product of our imagination and was written only for entertainment and fun. We don’t profit from this fanfiction and we mean no harm or disrespect against any real person, culture or custom that might appear in the story. All original pictures and fictional characters used in the story belong to their respective owners and credit goes to them.

Just Jim edit

Home Is Where the Spark Is
By Just Jim & Useless-girl

7: Into the Night – Part 1

This was the second time he was waking up after a high of magic, and it hadn’t gotten easier. If anything, the larger dose made the hangover a reality. Probably also because there were no curtains in the loft, so the light of the day streamed in at full blast, making him squint his eyes when he had blinked them open. A groan left his too dry mouth and he rolled onto his side to grab for his pillow, placing it on his face to block the light out. His head was throbbing without mercy and it felt and tasted like something fuzzy had died in his mouth and decomposed there for days. It had an aftertaste of sperm, old sperm, in fact the whole bed smelled of it, including his own body. Smacking his mouth, he wanted to get up to eat a whole tube of toothpaste, but he was probably better off waiting for a bit to let his body recover from the magic whammy.

Memories of last night were hazy, but he knew they had sex, lots of sex, endless amounts of sex? It felt like they had decided on a marathon but that was probably because of the intensity the magic had caused. Images of Stiles riding him floated by, sinfully moving hips, a thick erection in his face. Yeah, definitely a sex marathon. His body didn’t feel like it was covered in flaky dried cum though, when he moved it experimentally, despite reeking of it. There’s no memory of a shower or any kind of cleaning, in fact, he didn’t even remember how it ended. Oh god, with some feeling of mortification, he wondered if he had fallen asleep on Stiles halfway through. It was a very possible scenario. Alpha wolf falling asleep, yeah, that wasn’t something to be proud of and he’d have some serious making up to do.

Slowly he felt around for the body next to him, the beating heart letting him know Stiles was right there with him. The sheets were covered in dried proof of their nightly activities so they were going to need to be cleaned, if he could feel the spots with his digits. The breathing of the human wasn’t deep enough for him to be asleep, he might even have watched Derek’s attempts at waking up with amusement but he wasn’t going to move the pillow to check. Instead he groaned some more.

“Did I eat rats?”

It would explain the taste. Ugh, his eyelids were a little crusty and he remembered feeling like he’d drown in the facial he had been getting. The wolf was fine with pain, he was used to pain but this? This was an annoying kind of weird sickness and he wasn’t used to intense hangovers unless waking up poisoned counted. This wasn’t pain, this was a nagging annoyance which his body normally would have dealt with but apparently magic overkill had some longer lasting effects. The rune itched, a bright hot kind of feeling as a reminder that he was doing this to help Stiles. It was for a good cause but right now, there was nothing good about this morning besides his mate in bed beside him.

“How are you feeling?” the older man croaked out from under the pillow, curling up on his side without moving more.

"What if I said you did? You probably wouldn't remember anyway..." Stiles chuckled softly, running a hand up on Derek's arm and down to his side, rubbing it in a comforting manner. He remembered the first time Derek was hangover on his magic. This one seemed to be worse. The balance was still tipped towards the wolf. He had time to watch him sleep, the magic visible in the sunlight around his sleeping mate. It was slowly swirling and floating lazily, aimlessly there. But apparently it was making the usually grumpy Hale even grumpier. For the umpteenth time Stiles was wondering what was wrong with him, because he found it very cute.

With a sigh he took mercy on the wolf and rubbed his thumb against the warm side. "Nah, you just ate my ass and cum," he provided while adjusting the pillow under his head, the hand on Derek's side never stopping with the touching and caresses. "I'm perfectly fine. A little bit sore and delightfully bruised here and there. Also very happy about these," he chuckled. The young emissary was a bit tired too, but more from the physical exertion than the magic. "My skin doesn't feel too tight for the magic either," he smiled at the pillow, even if Derek didn't see it. "But you're obviously in a... not so stellar shape. It's worse than last time, right?" he asked, feeling a pang of guilt for a moment, his hand pausing on the warm skin. "I'm sorry. I'll set the balance right in a few minutes. Last night I had to give you a bigger dose to give my own body time to adjust to the expansion in me," he explained.

"How much do you remember?" Stiles asked, the hand moving again. He wondered about that ever since Stiles woke up a bit more than half an hour ago. He had the time to shamelessly feast his eyes on the gorgeous man he could call his mate and whom he loved. He was most curious if Derek would remember fainting on him during his climax. That was a bomb he was going to drop on him wisely, though...

"How about coffee? Do you have any food around? If not, we'll have to do with energy bars and chocolate for now..." Stiles mused and rolled out of the bed, his body protesting against the cooler air with goose bumps, but he wasn't going to dress before a shower. So he marched towards the kitchen area butt naked, the bruises on his thighs in sharp contrast with his pale skin.

Derek just ate his ass and cum, sure, that explained the horrible morning breath happening if there hadn't been some teeth brushing or mouth water gurgling before falling asleep. His tongue felt weirdly swollen as he ran it along his fuzzy teeth, longing for a sip of water to feel less like he had swallowed a desert. With hair. The hand on his side offered comfort, but didn't ease much of his grumpiness because he wasn't a morning person to begin with.

"It's fine, it needed to be done." It was part of the greater good, because they both had to get used to it and they both had gotten high on the increase last night. And where there was a high, there would also be a low. This time he was the one mostly feeling it when last time it had been Stiles. It was a balance of the sort, and one they both had agreed to so he didn't want apologies from his mate. Even when he felt like his entire mouth had died and was rotting from wolfsbane poison. "I don't remember much, bits and pieces, but it felt great." Obviously it had been great or the scent of sex wouldn't be that heavy in the air and Stiles wouldn't have been sure and bruised, nor happy about it.

Derek didn't move from the safety of his pillow at first, it kept it nicely shaded away from the light. But at some point he decided he had to brave the day so with his eyes closed, he stuffed the pillow under his head, hearing the human putter about. "There should be some protein bars." Breakfast of the champions, and his usual food choice in the morning if there hadn't been time to eat much of the breakfast he'd cook. Right now though, the thought of food made his stomach do this uncomfortable roll so he'd be happy with coffee for now. It would also make him be in a more agreeable mood because who even started their day without coffee and didn't bite heads off? Even Beth knew that daddy was a grumpy-pants when he didn't have that first cup of coffee to slowly wake up with.

He tried to peek at Stiles but the bright lights made him rethink it. They were going to move the bedroom to a room attached to this one anyways, currently hidden behind another rusty metal slide door behind the couch because it was not much of a room. They were going to have to add curtains there, for those times they didn't like morning light. Like right now.

Stiles was pretty amused by the "suffering" of his mate while he took matters in his hands and began making coffee. "It was great. More than great, actually..." he grinned under his nose as he was searching the cupboards for the energy bars. "Aha!" he exclaimed triumphant and put everything on a tray then just waited for the coffee to drip down.

"We'll need some curtains too..." he murmured more to himself, leaning against the counter as he faced the bed and the grumpy naked wolf on it. At least he wasn't pissed at Stiles for sporting a magical hangover. Not that they could avoid it as it was beyond them, part of the process. But Stiles was determined to help on his lover with coffee and transferring some magic back into him.

"No curtains here," Derek continued his grumping because the large loft window was what he loved about the place and besides, there were no curtains for a sky light. "Bed won't stay here." Of course he could hear Stiles clearly with the way he was muttering in the empty kitchen area. There wasn't exactly a door, only a hole in the wall which he had secured with wooden beams to keep the industrial look. The old elevator that had been there he had gotten rid of already since it hadn't been functional and there was a door in the wall there leading to the balcony. He had installed the door himself years ago. The kitchen was functional but the room wasn't finished, but the kitchen work space was large and plenty of room for a big table. The wiring there had been replaced at least but there was so much work to make it kid friendly. It made him twitchy just thinking about all the work they had to get done before they could move and he groaned, not wanting to open his eyes and actually see all the work.

Stiles’ own thoughts were interrupted by the coffee machine, the wonderful scent of the dark liquid filling his nose. Pouring a big mug for Derek, he added sugar and milk powder to his own before playing waiter and taking the tray to the bed.

"Coffee and breakfast in bed. You can live, Mr. Hale..." he smirked and put the tray between them, taking a sip from his own mug with some obscene pleasure noises, because yes, coffee is life!

When the scent of coffee hit Derek’s nose, he rolled away from the windows to blink his eyes open, head protesting because yeah, movement and light at the same time. He was still busy deciding if he should make a run for the toilet when Stiles came over with a tray of coffee and some bars so the coffee won out over the toilet. Eyes squeezed to slits to minimize exposure to anything, he reached for the mug, blowing into it before he sipped from the much needed brew. "I feel like I half-died, you live."

"You know... fucking an alpha into unconsciousness must be some special superpower. Certainly a personal record and achievement for me," Stiles grinned over his mug, curious if that revelation would finally make Derek wake up somewhat.

Derek was propped up on his elbow to drink, a frown on his face because of the throbbing in his head, content to sip coffee and pretend the day hadn't started yet. However his mate was far too gleeful to let him, happily informing him of something which made him pause mid-sip. No lie detected, just a very smug human grinning over the rim of his mug so the Hale decided on narrowing his eyes even more.

"Your magic must have knocked me out," the wolf decided because there was no way he'd pass out from very good sex, right? Was that even a thing that happened outside movies? However it would explain the fact he had no memory of them finishing it.

Stiles raised a brow at that suggestion, looking mildly offended. "Seriously? You think I can't make you faint from the sheer joy this ass can give you?" he asked and to emphasize his point, he slapped his own pale and very naked butt. "I hear a challenge there..." he mumbled, huffing and puffing, but there was no real heat behind it.

Because yes, there was magic involved but earlier at the clinic. It was more about Derek dealing with the after effects, like being high. During the actual sex part Stiles was more or less in control of his magic. So yes, it was the non-magical magic of his tight ass that did the trick – no matter what Derek would say about it. It was a question of pride for Stiles at that point and it reflected in his brown eyes.

"Don't take this away from me," Stiles grumbled, nearly pouting before he took another sip and put the mug down to reach for a protein bar.

In answer to Stiles' statement, the wolf raised two eyebrows because no, he didn't believe in a magical ass unless the entire human counted. It had been a combination of the high of magic, the physical exhaustion and bodily exertion and the pleasure, which all could be linked to Stiles in a way. He was going to be impossibly smug though if Derek would let him have this so he decided not to protest to it anymore but also not to agree either, eagerly taking the topic change he could feel coming to get out of it. Needless to say, Stiles knew Derek enough to see what he was doing with ignoring the answer to his request, but he rolled with it. It was something he will take pride in no matter what.

"Where do you want to put the bed?" Stiles asked, munching on the energy bar. It was better than nothing and contained everything his body would need for energy. Each time he ate such energy bars, he felt a little bit like he was an astronaut in space or part of a sci-fi movie, eating future food.

"Room behind the couch." Derek had nearly nodded towards it but no, that wouldn't be smart so he only glanced sideways to the rusted metal side door behind the one single couch the loft had. "Beth can sleep upstairs, having a room here will be easier." For one it would mean she wouldn't hear them as much since her room would be above them a little but there was concrete in-between and they could put her in the room on the other side which was more above the kitchen and corridor outside the loft. Besides, with how often he got injured, the circular stairs would only be in the way. They could install a TV against the wall by which the bed now was if he made an extra wall to hide the needed pipes there. For heating he was going to get some people here because all the apartments were going to need an upgrade, most already had heaters. Except for the loft.

"Good thinking about the bedroom. Very practical. The placement of Beth's room too. It would give us some privacy even with her wolf hearing," Stiles echoed Derek's thought with his own without knowing it. He would probably freak a bit if he knew just how many times he was spot on with that thanks to being so much in tune with his mate already and because of his strong intuitions as an emissary.

"You know... I can't wait to start working on this place. I have so many ideas. Some I've already shared over the blue prints, but I have new ones since then. And right now I'm so itching to start cleaning all the dirt out, but I won't because my body would give out as I'm physically tired too, but not my mind. Or mouth as you can hear. And I know you're not a morning person and you'd probably prefer if I shut my mouth right about now, but I'm not sure I can, because whoa, the coffee and the sugar hit hard! This is quality stuff lying around here unused. We should come here more often," he babbled and rather stuffed the other half of the energy bar in his mouth, looking a bit apologetic at the staring wolf.

Stiles was rambling on while he drank his coffee and mused over the work, even though his mate was thinking along the same lines. Derek wasn't that great with cleaning, never saw the need for it with the buildings he had been living in.

"Don't bother, it needs to be cleaned with high pressure to get all the dirt off the stone walls." He had done that in the kitchen area and the upgraded bathroom, even had gone as far as treat the rough stones with a special coating, at least the walls he hadn't tiled. "And they have to replace the wiring in a lot of the rooms which will create a lot of dirt too." Might as well clean it right when all the adjustments had been done.

The coffee was finished but he didn't feel even remotely like himself yet, it might need another full mug. "I only buy the best protein bars, with all the things you need to replace a meal." So it wasn't as sugary but the coffee probably was. It amused him at least, as he watched Stiles 'turn' on like that battery bunny from commercials while he himself was barely even awake. "I have a big bathroom, I installed it two years ago,"

"Hey, I'm not that stupid to start cleaning anything here before all the work is done. It'll be a pain in the ass then too. By the way, we should at some point figure out where to put my emissary workroom. Because I'll need one soon by the looks of all the shit Deaton gave me to read. I'd also want to have my own herb garden perhaps on the balcony or a portion of the roof. You know, for healing potions and wolsfbane antidotes and such. I'll have to dive deep into that part of my magic too to be able to help you and the pack. I have a feeling, we can't be prepared enough and that we'll need that in the future," Stiles mused on a slightly sarcastic tone because yeah, he knew how Beacon Hills operated and how little luck they usually had when it came to supernatural problems.

There was plenty of room in the building for Stiles to have his own apartment for magic but maybe that wouldn't be too safe for the building? Maybe they could ward it to keep it from destroying the building what is going to be their home. The plan was to have a large pack here. Having an emissary with a work space in the building would be perfect. A room for the herbs to store, a room with beds to recover and a work room. It would be ideal, but maybe too dangerous. That was for later worries, for now they had other things to think about, enough to keep the brain active even at night. "Hmm," Derek agreed to the idea though. "We can make an herb garden out back." Or on the roof. There would be plenty of space to grow the various strains of wolfsbane and it was out of reach for hunters there too.

"Also, I didn't expect less from your protein bars and coffee, but it's painfully clear that you are still not better. Come on, I'll make it better," Stiles winked at Derek and quickly finished his coffee, placing the mug down on the tray just to scoot closer to the other man. He wanted to kiss it better too, but for now he held himself back and rather clasped his hand on Derek's forearm in that by then familiar way.

The second the runes touched, they began their usual slight burning and as Stiles' irises started glowing, he saw the magic around them come to life too. He found it a bit easier to do the transfer with each time so maybe Deaton was right and with practice they would be able to do this only by touch with time. For now, though, he had to quietly chant the words that have ingrained themselves in his mind already. His skin started prickling as the connection opened between them, his focus zeroing down on reaching out to gently pull on an invisible amber string to coax some of the magic back into him. It was still a weird feeling, but not unpleasant and his own body seemed to accept it a bit easier too. It was his task to sense and monitor when the balance would be reached. It took some concentration but luckily he had a talent for it from the beginning. (Deaton's words, not his!)

It took a few minutes less than last time and it made him feel a bit proud of himself while he finished the chant and closed the connection. The long fingers brushed along Derek's rune at the end, a small fond smile playing on his lips before he slowly exhaled and focused on pulling all the magic back inside him. "Feeling better? Ready for me to draw a bath for us?"

They had to perform the ritual to get the levels evened out because Derek’s body had enough time to get used to the increase of magic. It would heal the hangover eventually if the magic remained but since this was all about balance and learning, he didn't protest against the offer of taking some of the magic away. The transfer wasn't as overwhelming as the taking of magic, he mostly listened to the monotone chanting while he felt that warmth trickle away. It made him feel less sick, his stomach had stopped its rolling and the headache receded to a dull throb. At least they'd know when the balance was off because one of them would get sick so there was less chance of this being lethal. Derek heaved a relieved sigh as the pressure let up, it had been bothering him more than he had let on, of course. Because complaining about something they had to do seemed pretty useless, especially since he wanted to do this for them both. Derek’s breathing had eased and when the hand released his forearm, he nodded with a soft smile.

Satisfied with the result of the transfer and the fact that Derek was open to making room for his herb garden and work room, Stiles grinned from the smile he got. Of course, it resulted in a coffee tasting small kiss on Derek's lips. This was maybe too idyllic, but he thought they could finally afford having such plans and small gentle moments after the years of chaos and yearning for each other. Maybe... just maybe the Universe would finally tip the balance in their favor. At least for a while.

A bath was needed, badly. Stiles had cleaned them up, Derek had seen the small pile of wet wipes next to the bed but it wouldn't clean everything. "So you already saw the bathroom." Since he knew there was an actual bath there, another thing Derek had wanted because of his tendency to get hurt, showering when recovering from injuries or poison was too exhausting. And now he was glad he had done it because a bath was easier to put a toddler in as well. "There's a jar with white colored oil, it's herbal remedy for aching muscles so you might want to pour some in." The bruises on those pale thighs were spectacular, telling the story of their frantic lovemaking and he could imagine how the human felt. Only imagine, he healed too fast to know the aches of a passionate session of sex.

He glanced at the phone for the time, late morning so they weren't needed at Deaton's for a while, giving them the time to explore the loft fully so Stiles could see where he was going to live and Derek could show the rest of the building and the wilderness of the communal garden in the back.

"Of course I saw the bathroom. I took a leak during the night while you were still K.O.," Stiles chuckled. "It looks really great. Just like the kitchen. I can't wait to see the whole loft transform like that," the younger man said with an enthusiastic expression before stretching his back with a purr. "I feel much better now too. Less sore as well, but you're very considerate about that white oil. Sounds like you talk from experience..." he wiggled his brows, even if he knew his pair mostly meant helping his muscles to heal from injuries, not sex.

Rolling his eyes at the suggestive eyebrow waggle at the mention of the oil, Derek didn't deem it with an answer because the human knew well enough that Derek had experience with the oil when injuries had been less than quick to heal. It wasn't often but it happened.

"Now... eat some energy bars while I play house fairy... again..." Stiles started while sliding off the bed once more. He didn't lie, his muscles weren't protesting that much anymore and he felt more energized too. Maybe the both of them getting stronger was going to help on his usually fluctuating energy levels (being hyperactive didn't mean he was energized all the time) and mood swings too. For a brief moment – not for the first time – he wondered how things would be if his mate had a full soul. How that would affect them both and the magic as well? How much magic that would unlock in them? How much stronger they could get? But that was another problem for another day. Now it was bath time! So he waltzed into the bathroom unashamed by his nakedness and the marks on his pale body. It was a good thing that he was going to live with a wolf, because they weren't bothered by lots of nudity either.

Humming a melody to himself, it didn't take long to start the bath and find the white oil in question. He added a nice amount of it to the water then decided to hunt down a spare toothbrush for himself. He found one under the sink and quickly washed away the stale taste of coffee. As he looked into the mirror, he noticed that his irises were still glowing a bit. A feat he'll have to pay more attention to keeping it hidden. Nowadays it wasn't as easy to set him off, but Stiles knew he was going to have to keep himself more in check. Even if his magic might not be visible for human eyes, his color-changing irises might. Just like for wolves.

As Stiles skipped off to the bathroom naked and in a good mood, the Hale watched him go with a shake of the head, eyeing the nutritional bars to gauge his body's reaction to the suggestion of food. It didn't roll with nausea, there were no complaints so he reached for one of them, unwrapping the plastic.

It smelled of almonds and coconut, tasted like them too. The brand had many flavors but he had picked them because they were the best to replace a meal with. He had researched the nutritional facts since he always worked out a lot and werewolves burned through their food fast. Energy bars weren't the tastiest, a few bites and the meal was done so it wasn't very satisfying either, but it was food. As he was chewing, he took the tray of empty mugs to the kitchen, hearing his mate humming in the bathroom while the sound of running water guided the echoing voice.

Stiles’ observing gaze mapped out the familiar scars and the fresher bruises. Like the fading signs of some groping and hickeys here and there. Obviously the most prominent were the finger-shaped bruises on his thighs. He slid a hand on them on one thigh and lightly pressed down on them. The dull throbbing pain made his breath hitch and his heart stutter for a moment as he bit down on his bottom lip, tasting more mint. That's when he suddenly felt Derek's heavy gaze on him from the door, but Stiles moved only his eyes towards him through the mirror, keeping his hand on the bruises. He wasn't going to try to hide what he was doing or how much he loved them. The marks of his mate and alpha.

Since Derek wanted to brush his teeth to get rid of the lingering taste, he strolled to the bathroom as well, feeling much better. The sight of the human standing there, naked, admiring himself in the mirror and antagonizing his bruises made him pause. He was beautiful, lean, aged from the teen he used to know. Fully a man and that was something he wasn't going to stop appreciating. The bruises were dark, clearly showing finger indents where Derek had been gripping the flesh. But since Stiles was admiring them, he didn't feel guilty at all, he knew how it felt to be marked, and although he didn't know how it felt to have the marks last, he completely understood his mate's fascination with them. So he smiled and leaned in to kiss the back of his neck.

Next part

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