So I had this thought this morning and I donât THINK Iâve read this premise (but there are four and a half billionty Sterek fics in AO3 so probably it has been written lol)âŠ
Sheriff gets shot on duty.
(Are you still here? Good. Like Iâd ever kill John, please, not happening. Sheriff Hotass lives forever!)
But itâs bad enough that heâs in hospital for a good while and then requires physical therapy.
His physical therapist? Derek.
So Stiles, who is An Adult, basically lives at the hospital for the time that Sheriff is an in-patient, and due to Lack Of Sleep and Stress and Worry/Severe Anxiety, he sees Derek the first time and proposes marriage and/or life partnership.
Derek sees this guy with the dark circles and pale skin and shaky hands and KNOWS how Stiles is feeling (he knows Sheriffâs wife died many years ago) but he also thinks, due to the backpack spilling papers and books all over the floor, that Stiles is in high school (and also Stiles has resting baby face, so).
So Derek laughs it off, says heâll take a ring pop as an engagement ring, but not just ANY ring pop, it has to be⊠Watermelon flavored or whatever.
Stilesâ brain goes offline for a minute or an hour, and resorts to random factoids about the candy industry while watching Derek put the Sheriff through a round of PT that doesnât look like much more than gentle manipulation but has Sheriff gritting his teeth and sweating bullets (haha, Stilesâ brain, too soon!) and swearing under his breath.
And then Derek keeps coming back at the same time every day, and every day Stiles has a different flavor ring pop, and itâs cute and a âjokeâ but itâs never watermelon flavored, and also Derek continues to think Stiles is A Kid.
The day comes for Sheriff to be released and Stiles and Sheriff are arguing about something when Derek comes in for Sheriffâs final in-hospital PT session.
Sheriff: Would you tell my kid he needs to stop using up all his vacation time on me? Even my DOCTOR (significant glare at Stiles) agrees Iâm capable of surviving on my own now.
Stiles: Itâs MY vacation time, and Derek understands that our honeymoon will have to wait until Iâve built up more. Heâs understanding like that.
(Stiles hands Derek another Ring Pop that Derek puts in his pocket to give to the kid with the severely shattered femur in Room 14 without even looking at it because the package was purple, so probably grape flavored. Itâs like Stiles isnât even trying, but Derek feels a bit bad that this kid is spending all his allowance on candy for Derek that he ends up giving away to other kidsâŠ)
Sheriff: I know you FBI agents mostly just stand around with your thumbs up your asses, but even THAT requires you being present to do so.
Stiles: *significant eye roll* Hey, at least we donât volunteer to be the target for two-bit gas station robbers to shoot at.
Derek: Arenât you a student? *a bit panicky, because suddenly Stiles is An Adult and Derekâs brain is having problems redefining him and his place in the world*
Stiles: *eye roll* Really? Did Melissa pay you to say that shit? I go undercover at a high school ONE TIMEâŠ
Derek: Oh. I gave all the ring pops to kids in pediatrics.
Sheriff: *starts laughing, which fucking hurts, oww*
Stiles: I am Offended. You must take me out to dinner to make up for it.
Derek: *actually taking a moment to look at Stiles, who is cute and has been there for his dad every minute of the day for weeks* I only have enough time for coffee for a FBI agent, sorry. *is actually flirting now, which is vastly different from humoring an underage boy*
Stiles: Oh, is it gang up on the FBI agent day?
Derek: Well, all those investigating skills and you still havenât found me a watermelon ring pop.
Sheriff: *fist bumps Derek*
Stiles: *narrows eyes* Fine. But if I bring you a watermelon one, youâre legally obligated to go to dinner with me.
Derek is waiting in the coffee shop on his day off when Stiles enters. Heâs well-rested, cleaned up, and wearing a suit jacket because heâs going back to FBI office after this.
Derek is the one nearly tripping over his tongue now, which is made worse when Stiles pulls a watermelon ring pop out of his pocket and drops to one knee.
Derekâs not sure whether his immediate âYesâ is to dinner⊠or the rest of his life.
(Spoiler: It starts with dinner but ends up being The Rest of His Life barely a year later.)
(Sheriff makes a full recovery but retires three years later when Stiles and Derek adopt their first child.)
(Yes, Derek is a werewolf. He leeches little bits of pain from patients when it wonât interfere with recovery.)