One of the most visible shifts from Season 1 to Season 4 fics was the idea that Stiles - not Derek - was the one you’d fear the most in a dark alley. While Derek projected fierce antagonism, this protective layer stripped away over time to reveal an intensely tender, guarded heart. Derek was the Hufflepuff, the nerdy highschooler with the crush on a jock, the deputy pursuing an infuriating vigilante, a werewolf who didn’t understand that he didn’t have to give anything to receive love and affectionate attention.
Try a Little Tenderness (That's All You Gotta Do) | @crossroadswrites | 1,618 | Teen | Sterek
03 May 2015
“C’me here,” Stiles tugs on him, reaching behind him for the shampoo and pouring some of it in his palm and starting to scrub it through Derek’s hair and Derek is confused.
He doesn’t- why would Stiles- It doesn’t feel like sex. Stiles is doing this just for the sake of doing it. He’s gentling Derek, focusing on him like he only reserves for research and video games.
(Or: How Derek figured out Stiles liked liked him after a particularly scary encounter with a supernatural creature.)
As the Lights Go Down | standinginanicedress ( standinginanicedressbabe ) | 62,890 | Explicit | Sterek
04 May 2015
Stiles is standing there looking bizarre – which maybe isn't a very nice thing or even a convincing thing to say about a person that Derek's basically invited over to hook up with (whatever that even fucking means to kids these days) – but he...does. He's wearing dark jeans, a black hoodie with the hood pulled up so Derek can't even really see his face aside from his mouth and jawline, and he's got that metal baseball bat in his fingers again.
He looks like he's come here to literally beat Derek to death.
Then, he grins, lifts one shoulder up in a half shrug, and says, “I can't come in until you invite me.”
Derek is mystified enough that all he can say is, “really?” He thought that was a vampire thing.
All Stirred Up | jsea, marguerite_26 ( @marguerite26 ) | 49,430 | Explicit | Sterek
08 May 2015 - 19 June 2015
Derek's first duty as a new deputy is the early morning coffee run to The Leaky Carafe, and it's not long before he discovers that the quirky barista has a knack for making the perfect drink. Every time. Even before you order.
But is it intuition, luck or magic that has all Stiles' customers leaving happy?
The Guard and Red | andavs | 74,200 | Teen | Sterek
16 May 2015
Derek moves back to Beacon Hills after twelve years in New York and finds that the city has a superhero problem, his sister has a co-op problem, he has a neighbor problem, and he and Stiles spend a lot of time hanging from a fake rock and yelling at each other at seven in the morning.
Wolf in the House | JoeLawson | 33,481 | Teen | Sterek
23 May 2015
“What? It’s totally an improvement. He’s not scowling, or dating bad guys, or slinking around in unsanitary places. Still a bit paranoid, but what can you do. At least he’s a lot easier to get along with when you can buy his affections with ear rubs.”
“And you always wanted a dog,” Sheriff added wryly.
“And I always wanted a dog.”
Cross a Canyon (with a broken limb) | theroguesgambit ( halekingsourwolf ) | 17,967 | Teen | Sterek
26 May 2015
“You never graduated,” Stiles says, just to say it. To test it out in the open air. That's... huh.
Stiles spends his senior year battling troll-gremlins, taking on an unexpected tutoring job, and definitely not falling for a certain sourwolf (even though everyone else seems to think he is).
The Lawn Ranger | Snowjob | 33,496 | Mature | Sterek
20 July 2014 - 27 May 2015
In which Derek is an adolescent werewolf with a penchant for chocolate bunnies, and instead of the dream summer of lazing around the house playing video games and nibbling on his hoarded supply of easter candy his mother makes him get a job.
In which Stiles is a showoff jock with a broken arm and an embarrassing crush who can no longer push the lawn mower around the yard.
Untamed | rosepetals42 ( petals42 ) | 28,282 | Teen | Sterek
27 May 2015
Of course, the transfer kid gets mentioned because transfers are rare, but the news isn’t that exciting. In fact, according to Laura, no one even seems to know his first name. The only thing anyone has really figured out about him is that he’s American. And that’s not exactly hard because he obviously has an accent.
The only thing Derek really knows is that, despite other reports, he seems quiet enough, prefers to work alone, and has the most amazing shade of amber eyes that Derek has ever seen.
OR: A Harry Potter AU where Stiles is a Slytherin transfer student and Derek is the grumpy Gryffindor who falls in love with him.
There are also potions, elves, and falcons involved. Oh, and illegal use of magic. Obviously.
Wild Horses | thepsychicclam | 78,917 | Explicit | Sterek
17 June 2015
Derek's a drifter with no home, no destination, and no will to live. Stiles works on his family's failing cattle and horse ranch while all his friends are going off to college. When Derek falls asleep in a random barn, exhausted and half-starved, he doesn't expect to wake up on the other end of the sheriff's shotgun. And Stiles sure as hell doesn't expect his dad to invite the drifter in for breakfast.
Hufflepuffs Are Awesome | Thealmostrhetoricalquestion | 10,511 | Teen | Sterek
18 June 2015
"My fierce firecracker,” Stiles gasps out, between laughs, “My precious little shortfuse.”
“Shut up, Stiles,” Derek says, his voice muffled as he hides his face in his hands.
“Captain Aggro, defending my honour,” Stiles chokes out, heaving himself upright. “My champion of love.”
“If you don’t shut up,” Derek warns him, “This bed is going to be your only companion for the next month.”
Or the one where Derek and Stiles are in Hogwarts, and there are shenanigans.
When Rome's in Ruins (We are the Lions) | kedreeva | 209,092 | Explicit | Sterek
22 September 2013 - 18 June 2015
Humankind has turned arena battles between supernatural creatures into its largest form of entertainment. Stiles Stilinski is a well-known warden who comes to arena-fighter Derek Hale to make him an offer.