Note: This is the fifth 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, m hurt/comfort, dark, angst, PTSD, aged up characters, established friendship, Spark Stiles, Magic Stiles, Emissary Stiles, Emissary in training Stiles, detective Stiles, matured Stiles, Alpha Derek, switch Derek, switch Stiles, hand jobs, drama, epic romance, love, magic, fluff, soulmates, Mate bond, Emissary bond, werewolves, humor, wit, sarcasm, Derek is Derek, Stiles is Stiles, miscommunication, actual communication, werewolf lore, druid lore, mysteries

Summary: In which Stiles and Derek actually get to visit Deaton for help and some explanations regarding their bonds and the Spark magic.

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

5: Bonds for Life – part 1

Ugh.

Waking up was unpleasant, sunlight streaming in, caressing over his face, which made him want to turn around and hide under his pillow. His head was throbbing the moment he started to be dragged to full consciousness, his eyes felt gritty and dry and his mouth was like a desert, tongue stuck as he attempted to swallow. Testily he moved his limbs because that was what he usually did when waking up like this. It meant either he had been injured or kidnapped or at least there would be a reason to make sure he was still functional. His body however moved fine, no aches or breaks, no sharp pain from cuts being torn open because of the stretching. Underwear was still on, shirt wasn’t, he noted with the moving of his limbs, but that was also not anything new. However, a warm body next to his was.

Cautiously he peeked through slits to discover Stiles there, making it all rush back to him. The overflow of magic, a ritual to settle bonds and said magic, Derek taking the ember flood because it was killing his mate. The weird rush of being consumed by lava and then what he imagined being under the influence of heroin or coke felt like. He had no idea how long it had lasted, how much he had babbled to the younger man, what he had acted like. His memories of that were hazy, because his mind had been too fuzzy to take it all in. Well, Stiles was still there so he couldn’t have been too much of an asshole or he would have been on the couch.

As he reached out to touch his mate, he noticed the bandage wrapped around his lower arm, matching with the one Stiles had. The runes carved in by the knife, to make a connection for the magic to physically enter him. Maybe that’s why it had felt different, why it had been such a big thing to be slammed with, it had been spiritual the last times.

Ow. His head so didn’t agree with him rolling over to his side to be able to actually touch Stiles. He wasn’t dying anymore but he certainly didn’t look much better. The dark circles haven’t disappeared from under his eyes, his skin hasn’t lost its pallor and he still looked like he had lost too much weight. When the wolf’s fingers touched the skin, it was warm but not too much so. However there was still pain lingering.

Fingers found the human’s wrist so he could wrap the digits around it, pulling some of it to make it discomfort and not actual pain. His own body was thrumming with energy, the magic within had settled and it made him feel better. Honestly, if it kept up, he was probably going to look too young and people are going to notice. It was like the magic fed him, making him the glowing picture of health, and hopefully now with the bonds settled, it was going to do the same for the human, soon. Funny how he could pull the pain from his mate but his own head didn’t let up, which was a small price to pay for saving the life of one of the two people in his life who mattered the most. He closed his eyes and kept a hold of Stiles, waiting for him to wake up. It felt late in the day but Derek couldn’t be bothered to check on his phone. His stomach however, was really empty so maybe it was already late in the afternoon and they had slept at least twelve hours, most likely even more. Magic was exhausting.

An unconscious relived sigh escaped the pale man's slightly parted lips as the pain eased up on his body and his wrist moved a bit under the warm hand's hold. There was only darkness around Stiles and the touch of that hand now. The nightmares had their turn on tearing into him during the night, leaving him mentally and the magic physically tired. He fell into a coma-like deep sleep, barely moving during the night.

He wanted to stay there indefinitely. It was so much easier to just drift in the darkness. But of course it didn't work that way and he became more aware of that touch on his wrist, the by then familiar tugging feeling on it making his consciousness slowly drift towards the surface. His breathing hitched for a moment as his eyes fluttered half-way open then he took a deep breath once he realized it was Derek holding his wrist and siphoning some of his pain.

His body waited only for that to remind each and every muscle in it to go on and ache. Thank you very much, brain! It resulted in the same kind of "Ugh" comment like Derek's when he woke up.

"Feels like a truck hit me then backed up and hit me three more times..." he grumbled and although he rarely let anyone take and carry his pain, this time he wasn't ready to free his hand. Mostly because he wasn't ready to test just how bad off his body was.

"Can't we just lay here all day without moving?" Stiles grunted. "So not ready to move just yet," he said but despite that, as he was lying on his stomach, he moved his head enough to be able to look at Derek. "Not fair... Why do you look so... glow-y and rested? Traitor magic..." he grumbled and damn, he 𝑤𝑎𝑠 grumpy. Way more than he usually was after waking up. Maybe some from Derek's personality has bled through into him too and it wasn't just because of the ritual?

"Sorry your magic likes me more than you," Derek deadpanned, not even bothering to open his eyes because he could feel the intense look on him and he knew there were all kinds of betrayal flickering over the human's face. He suspected it had something to do with his own healing and magic, it somehow got a positive effect on him. But he knew, if Stiles would take too much back, he'd look like Stiles did right now. It was all about balance, something they had lost along the way – the short way they had just started on together.

The grumpiness of Stiles was understandable, he felt the same way when he had to start the morning without coffee. Sleeping this long was probably also not a good thing for a human, made him all stiff. A warm bath would be good for that, though he doubted an apartment like this had more than just a shower, he hadn't even seen the place. Stiles had fallen into his arms the moment the door had opened and after that, the apartment hadn't mattered all that much. It had a couch and a bed, that he did know.

"I think we already slept the day away." With a groan of protest he put effort into opening his eyes but he had no idea what happened to their clothes and his phone was in his jeans. Wait, there was an old-fashioned alarm clock, Star Wars edition of course, so he peered at the time. Yeah, they had skipped out on breakfast and lunch, it was four in the afternoon.

"I should get up to make us some food and coffee." Should was the active word in there because he didn't want to but he also didn't want his mate to move a muscle, since he was the one in pain. "Order in or do you have actual food in this place?" It was said with a healthy dose of doubt, since he didn't look like there was food here at all.

"Sleep is good. Staying in bed even better. Why's the bathroom so far?" Stiles whined softly then sighed, trying to pull himself together to stop being a whiny child. Though Stiles did make a loud approving noise to Derek's thought on coffee and food. "I have coffee in the kitchen. Some donuts and eggs and bread and bacon and milk. Apple juice? Not sure about anything else," he murmured half-way in the pillow as food wasn't his top priority in the last couple of days. "But if you want to order in, there are a few numbers and menus on the fridge," he added, not really hungry or motivated to eat.

It sounded like there was enough to make a meal out of, it might be more appealing to start with breakfast food instead of all the greasy stuff all the take out places were offering. They could always order some more food in a couple of hours because he felt like whatever food this place had, it wasn't going to be enough to tie them over until tomorrow. Derek knew his way around the kitchen well enough to scrounge up something edible. Not that it had his attention anymore, it was on the bandage on his skin.

Derek wanted them to go to Deaton as soon as possible, try to get some answers out of the man who talked like a walking fortune cookie. They were going to have to be in a better condition though, some more sleep, some more food. Maybe tomorrow since the actual emergency had been dealt with. The wolf glanced at his arm again, not used to being bandaged up so he peeled at the white synthetic cloth to unwrap his arm, expecting to find unblemished skin. As usual. Only... it wasn't as usual. The rune was still there, healed up completely, looking like it had been branded into his skin instead of carved. Surprised, he traced the scarred tissue, to make sure it was really there.

Scars were something fascinating to him, something he never had because it would all heal over. No matter how often he had been ripped apart, his body was whole and healthy, like none of it had happened at all. It should make it easier to forget, it certainly made it easier for others to forget that the Hale was a scarred wolf without having something to show for it. Sure, it was a good thing he healed or he'd be dead by now, dead and more scar tissue than he had skin. But there had been times where he had wanted a wound to scar over as a reminder of why it had been there. Now that reminder was burned into his skin, like a tattoo.

The second Derek let his wrist go, Stiles felt the pains in his muscles get a bit sharper, but he didn't react aside from a slightly more shuddering breath. He was good at ignoring pain, so he rather focused on what Derek was doing. Frankly, he was curious too if the mark stayed on the wolf. He knew it was going to stay on his human skin and eventually scar over, but he couldn't be sure about Derek. It seemed, though, that it was going to be a permanent mark for him too.

"I'm sorry... It stayed probably because it's magic-related," he mumbled, feeling like shit again – like before he fell asleep. "It's the mark of the Alpha-Emissary bond. According to Deaton, it was unavoidable in order to give an outlet to the magic. How... how are you feeling about it? And the mark? I didn't mean to brand you against your will, you know..." Stiles said quieter, his chest constricting painfully from the thought of forcing anything on Derek. "And we are mates too, aren't we?" he swallowed hard, his eyes slightly welling up. "I... I'm sorry for not giving you a choice about that either... I had read how important that bond is for wolves. It's for life. Did you even want 𝑚𝑒 for life? The annoying scrawny human of all? Please, don't hate me for all this... It's my fault because I should've learned more and should've had better control over my Spark..."

Stiles was clearly not handling things so well in that moment and saw everything darker than they were. Maybe all that have happened were coming out on him now, his aching body a constant reminder that he screwed things up for Derek again without wanting to. Plus because of the bonds and magic, they moved so fucking fast that it also tugged on Stiles' insecurities. Their 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 relationship didn't have much time to get a solid foundation onto which they could build brick by brick. There were still so many things they haven't talked about yet and the idea of Derek being angry at him or even hating him for taking away his freedom of choice made him want to curl in on himself again, even if he didn't actually move.

"Nothing what happened was against my will." Derek had consented when asked to take the magic, even though he hadn't known the consequences. All he had known was that Stiles dying wasn't an option for him, couldn't bear the thought of losing him so soon. "You asked me to say yes to the ritual. You wouldn't have done it if I had said no." That was a firm belief. Stiles would have accepted his own death in favor of taking from Derek what he thought he had no right to. He wanted to say more about the mark but Stiles was on a roll and soldiered on about them being mates and took blame for that as well. It made the Hale blink because he thought blaming himself for everything was his job.

The subject was too serious for him to want to have it lying down so he slowly sat up, taking the few seconds to run through all that had been said. They were both not awake enough for this, but maybe that's why Stiles had to ask, because Derek wouldn't be able to avoid it with a sleepy brain.

"I knew what you were to me years ago, Stiles. I wasn't ready for it then, neither were you." Wolves had a choice, there was no such thing as having to accept a potential mate, many were one and Derek had thought by moving away he would move on. Probably would have if their paths hadn't crossed again this year. "We both didn't consciously pick this bond. If anything, I should have said no to us having sex because I should have known what would happen."

This wasn't what the real issue was though, the issue was if they wanted to continue it or not. Licking his dry lips, he shrugged. "You were always it for me. For life doesn't sound long enough." A human life was short, it wasn't going to be enough for them. For him. Because he had noticed the way Stiles avoided to say how he felt about being Derek's mate, he blamed himself for it happening, he didn't sound too happy from it all. "If it's not what you want, if it's not for you anytime down the road for us, you don't have to stay. You're not stuck with me if you don't want to." Because he'd love Stiles enough to set him free. Always.

The air of relief rushed into Stiles’ lungs, making him a bit dizzy. Derek said nothing happened against his will... Stiles tried very hard to believe that, but the light-green eyes were dead serious and honest and he eventually did accept that. He could also feel it that it was no lie. It made breathing a bit easier for a few seconds. Derek was right again. Stiles would've stopped the ritual to face his own madness or death before he would ever force himself on Derek like this – or anyone else, for that matter. It just wasn't in his nature to be so selfish and evil. He cared about others and their feelings too much for that. Especially when those people were the ones he felt close to him and loved.

Then that relief turned into utter shock. "You knew...?" he whispered a little broken as he forced himself to sit up too, the cover falling into his lap. The loss of its warmth made him shiver, goose bumps breaking out all over his pale mole-dotted skin. Or perhaps it was also because of this huge revelation. "I think you're right. We weren't ready... Is that why you... tried to close me out and push me away... to intimidate me?" he asked, brown eyes drifting to Derek's naked collarbone as flashes of memories came back to him. Derek slamming him into hard surfaces, threatening his life on multiply occasions but never really hurting him (aside from slamming his head into the jeep's wheel for the Miguel thing). Because there’s been a... spark between them even back then, but nothing ever came out of it aside from some loaded looks and stolen, shortly lingering touches on safe body parts.

'You were always it for me. For life doesn't sound long enough.' That right there blew Stiles' mind away, making his heart beat erratically, and a couple of teardrops finally slid down on his pale face, which struggled with an attempt to blush properly. He blinked rapidly a few times and sniffed, reaching out to slide his hand in the warmer one. He just... needed the comfort of physical touch and the warmth that radiated from Derek to stop feeling so insecure and push down the doubt that's been plaguing his mind since last night.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Stiles wheezed with wide eyes. "I want you. I always wanted you and being your Mate and Emissary is like... seriously the biggest honor to me! I want it more than I ever wanted anything. To be with you. To be yours. To help you and your pack. To be to whom you turn to for whatever reason. Do you have any idea...?" he started then cut himself off to take a few deep breaths. "Besides... I'll probably age slower and live longer than an average human," he shrugged with a small smile, which turned into a flinch from his flaring up muscles and joints. But his fingers did squeeze Derek's hand, the tips then gently sliding up to trace the scarred over rune. He could feel the magic pulsing just under the skin, ready to be called upon.

"And you carrying this mark of us... it's... I don't know... such a huge relief to me, not because of you saving me, but because you want it. You want me... You really want me just as much..." he let the tears of relief flow freely by then as he sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his other hand. It was far from sexy, but Stiles didn't care.

Derek wanted him back. With the whole baggage and magic and annoying habits. He didn't want to change him. He just wanted what all of Stiles was. The good and the bad. No one ever wanted him like that. No one.

Stiles was pushy and stubborn, he'd needle and yammer on about something and would do it no matter what others said if he thought it was the right thing. In his need for answers, in his need he'd barrel over emotions and sensitive topics without realizing he was trampling right over a person. But when it came down to it, when it was about consent in a deeper meaning, he wouldn't do it, he might start on it in his quest for answers but he'd realize at a quick point he shouldn't. Stiles could kill, for those he loved, if it came down to it, but yeah, Derek firmly believed there was a line to what the human would do.

But that pushiness wouldn't have been good when Stiles had been seventeen years old and Derek an adult, it would have turned him into another Kate Argent. As much as Derek knew what he didn't like, back then, if he had admitted how he felt, Stiles would have pushed about losing his virginity. He would have tried to get Derek to go further than he wanted it to go and the Hale hadn't been ready for it.

"You were too young, I had other things to worry about." Stiles hadn't even realized what kind of boundaries he had been constantly crossing, besides the few on purpose, which Derek had punished him for by slamming his head against the steering wheel, gently. By the time they had gone from hating to sorta liking, the wolf had been fully invested in keeping it a friendship. "It doesn't have to be a thing. I knew of the potential, I opted to ignore it." A choice he never had regretted, despite constantly smelling arousal on Stiles when around him. "It didn't matter to me if you were ready or not, I wasn't." Part of him maybe never was going to be ready to accept people in his life whom he could lose, to let them matter enough to be family. Ready or not though, that's what happened.

Their hands entwined but Derek didn't mention the tears wetting the pale cheeks, ignoring them because he wouldn't want it to be pointed out if the situation would have been reversed. He also didn't mention that it was unlikely Stiles would turn older than a regular human being, with his tendency to be part of danger, they'd be lucky to make it past fifty. Maybe the human was glorifying it a little too much, maybe too caught up on the amazing sex they had to look beyond what it was going to mean. Sure, the idea of an alpha with a daughter building a pack in the hometown where his father also lived, that had its appeal. But Derek had even more of a problematic past than before and he felt like maybe the other didn't realize what he was signing up for.

"It's not going to be easy. I won't start opening up to you more because of the bonds, I won't be magically healed of everything. Some days I'll want to have sex all day, other days a touch might be too much. I suck at communicating still, and you'll be in danger all the time. I will always protect you, but I can't keep you in a bubble." Of course he knew Stiles wasn't easy either. His ADD mind was hard to keep track of, he was a master in getting under the skin with remarks, he'd connect things so fast he'd forget the emotions involved to finish his puzzle. He had PTSD as well and panic attacks and was annoyingly into bossing everybody around. But yeah, Derek accepted it all, he didn't want it to change.

Stiles stayed quiet for a couple of heartbeats to quickly think Derek's words through. Meanwhile he wiped at his face with his free hand, the other in the wolf's bigger one. "Fair enough," he sniffed. "Looking back, I can see how it wasn't a coincidence that it took us so long to get here. We had to live through certain things beforehand. I am also very much aware that it won't be easy for many reasons. Internal and external," he looked seriously into the green eyes. Despite his aching muscles, he sat a bit straighter and looked more mature and collected. He certainly wasn't his teen self from the past. Life had hardened him too.

"But know this, Derek... I have no doubt in my mind and heart about wanting to be your Mate and Emissary. I know it entails danger and many life-threatening situations. I'm not stupid and frankly, I'm used to it. I'm also aware that us being bonded isn't the remedy to everything that had happened to you or me. We carry those wounds and scars, probably for the rest of our lives. Which is fine. On some we can work, others will stay forever as part of us. We already talked about the communication part and we both gonna need some space at times," he shrugged, rubbing Derek's fingers absentmindedly. "I don't mind. I dare to think that by now I can read your expressions quite well," he chuckled softly.

"I will always try to protect you too, but I don't expect you to keep me in a bubble. On one hand that's impossible, on the other I don't want that. I want to get stronger, to learn to protect you, the pack and myself better. I have most of the physical training already, but I will need the magical one too. That's why I asked Deaton to see him if I survived last night. I texted him once you fell asleep, so he knows. I didn't know who else to call. I knew my witch friend wasn't going to be able to help with this, so I reached out to Deaton. After explaining the situation to him, for once he wasn't cryptic and told me what we will have to do once you got here. I know I would've died if you didn't accept and helped me so thank you for that," he whispered by the end, lightly squeezing the other man's hand.

"And thank you for accepting me the way I am. I accept you like that too, Derek. And I think from here we can build on that. It's gonna take some time until we figure out everything and I'm sure we're gonna fight a lot too," he smiled a bit amused from the thought. It was inevitable because they usually bickered anyway and often had different opinions. "But looking back at our past, I also believe we can get past everything together. There's a reason why I was drawn to you and you saw the potential Mate in me. Not to mention the Emissary thing. I'll have to learn a lot about my magic, my new tasks... about 𝑦𝑜𝑢 and what we have, because I don't want to fuck up any of it. I believe, now I'm ready for all this," he finished, knowing that Derek would be able to tell that he was saying the truth and he meant every word.

𝑇𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝘩𝑖𝑚 𝑖𝑓 𝐼 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑔𝘩𝑡. Those words stuck out to Derek, realized how close a call it had been and nobody had bothered to call him to make sure he knew time was important. Not Stiles, not Deaton. He could have been there soon for the ritual to make it less painful, he should have been there before it got painful at all! And yeah, he had felt Stiles had been bad off, he had felt that there wasn't much time once he had his mate in his arms but it would have been nice to know.

"Next time you're dying, lead with that." Sure, he understood why not, why it hadn't been mentioned, because Stiles hadn't wanted Derek to make the choice only to save his life. Which was bullshit. He would do anything to keep him alive, everything.

They had both fucked up, they didn't know enough and should have made informed decisions after the bonds, should have known it wasn't done. This was on Derek as much as it was on Stiles and it scared him. Sitting here, talking, when last night could have gone completely different. They both could have died.

"I'm not ready," he admitted. They weren't ready at all, and they had to be ready. Before they'd mess it up again. If he needed to be high on magic from time to time until Stiles had gotten it under control, well, that wasn't the worst of it. However, a life in danger because of them being idiots wasn't acceptable. "I'm ready for you, for us. We're not ready for what we created. We're going to Deaton, today, and make sure we know what we need to learn, what we need to know so this..." he motioned to the rune on his arm "doesn't become life or death again."

Death became part of their lives, he had stopped freaking out over himself dying a long time ago because he had accepted that it was going to happen. Most likely sooner than he'd like. Dying so many times made it sort of a weary acceptance; he didn't get cocky because he came back so often. He wasn't taking it for granted. Luck was going to run out at some point, that's what it had been all this time, pure dumb luck to not die from things he should have died of. Others who had healed him, helped him. But the death of Stiles, his mate, a human who was too young to die, that freaked him out.

Derek didn't want to be responsible for yet another death, he couldn't have another one on his conscience. There wasn't going to be a we if they kept half-assing it, if he... He should have known better. And it wasn't going to be his mistake again. "If you had died..."

"But I didn't. And I’m not going to! I... we gonna make sure of it," Stiles said, sliding closer to Derek so he could put his free hand on a muscular thigh, slightly leaning on it for support and to be able to get a bit closer too. The warmth and closeness of his mate's body seemed to ease some of the coldness settled in Stiles' bones and he breathed a bit easier. "Yes, we fucked up for not researching this before we parted ways. I guess it was because we both got overwhelmed and maybe even a bit scared of the intensity of this. I didn't realize with certainty until last night that we have a Mate bond too, so that's on you. The not talking to Deaton sooner about the new Emissary bond and my slipping control on my Spark and letting this drag out this long, that's purely on me. Also for not asking you to come sooner or saying how serious it was getting. But I can feel that you know why I didn't pressure you like that..." Stiles sent a knowing look at him. Yes, he didn't want to make Derek do this just to survive, leaving him with no other choice. He wanted to leave Derek with a choice – which has been robbed from him so many times in his life. "But fair enough, next time I won't hold such things back from you."

The instinctual pang of hurt caused by Derek saying he was not ready quickly faded and some warmth filled him as the wolf continued. Stiles decided to think his reply through again instead of letting the words tumble out unfiltered like so many times in the past.

"You also might be right, we are not ready for what these bonds unlocked and keeps unlocking in us. I can feel that too, that it's far from done yet," he nodded in agreement. "We do have to learn as much about the bonds as possible to stay balanced and then we discover the rest on our own as I believe each bond must be unique too because there are no two similar bonds and pairs. I know virtually nothing about these things, though, because I only dabbled in magic training so far and this is highly advanced magic. I'm sure I'll struggle with it for a while until I master my part of it, but I'll do everything in my might not to be half-assed about it and to succeed. I usually don't do things half-assed anyway. I want us and everyone around us safe. Not just from external threats, but from us too as I know enough how dangerous unstable magic can be and that it could affect you too. And if you died, I would literally go out of my freaking mind, so let's not do either version, okay?" he reached up to caress Derek's stubbly face.

"Yes, we should go to Deaton today. That's a good idea considering what just went down and not knowing yet how to keep the magic stable. Although being near you definitely helps in many ways," he smiled reassuringly at Derek. "Bathroom and shower and food before that, though, if you don't want me to pee in your car and faint on you too," he teased, a spark of his normal self showing again.

Sure, he was all for them not dying at all, would prefer it even but it wasn't a promise either one of them could make. Taking Stiles' hand, he nuzzled into it before he pulled away. They had lounged in bed long enough, much to be done before they could be in the car.

"Bathroom and packing a bag for you. I'll make food, you eat then you shower. I don't feel like a trip to the ER." Knowing Stiles, he'd slip and fall and crack his skull open or open up his arm, something bloody and not good at least. Derek hadn't even unpacked anything, his bag was near the door, dropped when he had to catch the human last night.

Smiling from the way Derek nuzzled his hand, one of Stiles' brows shot up, the smile turning into a grin. "Okay, I see you kicked into alpha mode now. I'm too tired to protest, though, so I'll give this to you," the human quirked and leaned in to steal a peck from Derek's lips before he collected his strength to move off the bed too.

Not even bothering with clothes, Derek searched for his phone to make sure there were no missed updates about Elizabeth before he pushed it back in the jeans he was going to wear soon enough. He could use a shower himself, update on the freshness of his body. Trotting to the small kitchen in his underwear, he did a quick inventory of what was all there. Not much. No way to make pancakes but there was enough for a meal. Soon enough the smells of cooked food was filling the apartment while the alpha grumbled about the distinct lack of so much.

Once Stiles was alone in the room and he forced his body to move towards the bathroom, he was thinking about how much better this heart-to-heart talk went than he expected. He wanted this. Being able to talk openly about things, even if the catalyst for this "session" was another near death experience. Hopefully they can be more subtle than that in the future...

That made him chuckle a bit to himself along with the grumbling and rattling from the kitchen. He could totally get used to this... And maybe in the near future he'll get the opportunity, because yes, the bonds complicated things considerably and would require from them to find a solution to their... life situation faster than planned. Stiles was already thinking about calling in sick for the next week as he finally relieved his bladder and then washed his teeth. Both added to his comfort significantly. The packing went slower than he would've liked, but ignoring the pain in his body didn't mean he would be able to move normally.

Half an hour later the table was set with a plate of bacon, a plate of scrambled eggs, French toast still hot and simple normal toasted bread. There had been old stale regular donuts which he had put in the oven to make them edible again and most importantly, coffee. Good strong coffee. Derek didn't agree with the coffee brand, but since Stiles was the kind of guy to like Starbucks, he couldn't blame him for the bad taste.

"Sit and eat," he called out to the human still in the bedroom to pack belongings. Probably packing more than for the weekend, which wasn't a bad plan. This might take longer than the day they would have, they might even reconsider the plan of taking time to have the younger man move to Beacon Hills. Of course they couldn't do anything normal, they had to be outside of the norm completely.

Stiles just finished with his bag and put fresh clothes on the bed for after the shower when he heard Derek's command. "Alright, alright, chill, you big bad wolf, I'm coming!" he yelled back quite amused and feeling in a bit better mood. Okay, the coming was more like shuffling out into the kitchen and carefully sitting down. "Wow! Smells amazing. I could get used to this," he echoed his previous thought and put a bit from everything on his plate before digging in.

"Thanks," he mumbled, washing down a bite with some coffee, eyes darting up to Derek's form. "I texted my boss that I'm sick, so I'm free for the next week as I don't know how long I'll have to be back in Beacon Hills," he informed Derek, munching on a beacon. Frankly, his stomach couldn't decide after the first few bites of food if it hated the idea or not, but Stiles kept eating, knowing that he would need the energy.

The food was carefully selected, because eggs and meat had protein, the French toast had carbs and sugar, all things needed to help a body heal from nearly dying. If Satomi had been still alive, he might have gotten in touch with her to discuss the use of herbs to maintain a body dealing with magic. She had been so wise in that kind of knowledge. Deaton knew a lot about it too so he made a mental note to ask him. Stiles maybe was an expert at hovering over his father's healthy food intake but he certainly didn't apply that to himself. If anything, he deemed fries a good kind of dinner for many times a week. That was going to change. Derek didn't mind cooking, but never had found it important enough, never had the time for it. Never had a real kitchen for it. But then he had a kid now and food became a daily happening he had to deal with. Though he still ate protein bars since there was never much time to eat with a toddler.

He didn't like the shuffling happening, Stiles was still in pain, which was apparent with the way he was sitting down stiffly. Waiting for the human to load up his plate, he followed swiftly, he was hungry.

"Eat some toast first, it helps settle the empty stomach before the rest of the food." The rest was greasy besides the eggs, and Stiles didn't look all that happy with having to eat. He remembered that food had been the most difficult for him when he had been losing his powers. His stomach was upset a lot and had been picky about what foods it tolerated. Now it wasn't something he had to worry about, he could eat everything or nothing and still have no stomach problems. Werewolves ate a lot, especially after having to heal.

"We'll see what Deaton has to say about a time frame." A week seemed like a lot of time but to master control over magic and bonds? That was more like months of training and Stiles couldn't even be a traditional emissary, he was way too involved with Derek and possible pack to be impartial. It was however something very similar, more like a druid with strong magic. "We'll do whatever is needed to keep you alive. Maybe you can get unpaid leave for a while if that's going to be a problem."

Money wasn't an issue, although he hated flaunting it. Barely used it because he didn't need more than having his basic needs met. It was a good thing though, finding work with a criminal record was near impossible, didn't matter that most of the accusations had been dismissed. Derek never had much of a normal job so if it came down to having to find one, it would be interesting. He'd do it, of course he'd do it, but he was glad he didn't need to.

For a change Stiles actually listened to Derek and dropping the half-eaten bacon back on his plate, he reached for the toast to munch on that instead. It showed how tired he really was. Watching the other man while drinking some apple juice too, he hummed.

"To keep us both alive, Derek. I don't want to accidentally hurt you with my magic. Elizabeth needs you even more than I do. I have to think of her too now," he frowned to himself, dropping his gaze to the table, forcing himself to eat more from the toast. He had to get back on his feet fast and learn as much as possible. Quickly. He had to get used to the fact that it wasn't just Derek who became a big part of his life but by default Elizabeth too since he was Derek's daughter. They weren't just simply dating. They literally leaped over many steps with the double bond and it carried more changes for both of them than Stiles first thought. Not that he minded having the little girl in his life too now. She was adorable and he already loved her. It was just another big change he had to wrap his mind around. He was ‘Daddy Sty’ now.

That made him pause with the half-eaten toast hanging from his mouth. Not the way he thought he would 'become a dad', but he didn't oppose the idea. Of course, for now it was just a title she liked to call him, it would take more time for both him and Derek to think of him as her other father (or of them as a family) since they were at the very beginning of their relationship. But yes, he was going to be a dad too, not just a mate and emissary... A small silly smile curled around the bread in his mouth then he continued eating, trying some egg too. Neither could have known at the beginning that the 'grandpa Noah' title was going to become a real one as well...

"I'm not stupid, I know it will take longer than a week to learn everything I have to as magic is complicated and a lot of work. I've got a taste of that before too. But hopefully Deaton will be able to teach me the basics about how to keep it balanced and under control without hurting you or myself or anyone around us," Stiles talked around a bite before swallowing it and drinking some more juice. "Otherwise yeah, an unpaid leave is in the cards too. During the week I've already started mapping out my options regarding my work here. But I'm ready to give it up in favor of being with and helping you and the future pack. If that's what it takes," he said seriously. "And please don't see this option like sacrificing my life for you and my future duties back at Beacon Hills. It is my choice. And my home will be where you and Elizabeth are, Derek. It's my choice," he repeated. "Now eat too. You've got whammied by my magic pretty hard last night too. Huh! Are you hangover? At least a bit?" he raised a brow curiously.

The fact that Stiles was willing to count Elizabeth as somebody he needed to think about put Derek more at ease. They hadn't even talked about her and Stiles' willingness to be part of her life. She was part of Derek, she came with him when there was a relationship but that didn't mean the new partner was willing to make an effort for a child. It would be an automatic assumption the Hale hadn't been willing to make, more along the lines of we'll see. He wouldn't even have introduced them so early on if Derek hadn't been living with Noah, if they hadn't bonded, if they weren't making commitments for life a week into dating. Beth took it all in stride, though. First came grandpa Noah, then Stiles who she had dubbed daddy Sty very quickly since the human smelled of daddy so to her that was clear.

Next part

Súgó Még nincs hozzászólás.

Új hozzászólás Frissítés