Bless This Mess
Derek goes to the Sheriff to ask for his blessing.
For @imagine-sterek‘s 10k 10 Day Celebration
November 10th: Proposal and Engagement
Derek sat on the plastic chairs out the front of the Sheriff’s office. It wasn’t too long ago that he’d been handcuffed to the rail that held up the chairs. Luckily for him, he wasn’t in cuffs this time, but he wasn’t exactly comfortable either: his stomach twisted in knots, his chest fluttering with anxiety and his heart hammering against his ribs. His pulse drummed in his ears as he tried to slow his breathing and calm himself.
His mind was racing with thoughts, trying to rehearse what he was going to say.
“Derek.”
The voice shook him from his thoughts.
Derek looked up to see John leaning out of the doorway to his office, a kind smile on his weary face. The man nodded towards his office, inviting Derek in.
Derek rose to his feet and made his way into the Sheriff’s office.
John shut the door behind him and crossed over to his desk, sighing as he sat down.
“What can I do for you, son?”
“I want to ask for your blessing,” Derek said.
“My blessing?” John repeated, his brow furrowed in confusion.
“To marry Stiles,” Derek clarified before rather hastily adding, “Not because I need it, but because I know how much you mean to Stiles and I’m kind of traditional.”
The Sheriff let out a deep sigh, a hint of a smile playing across his lips.
“I know you love Stiles, and he loves you,” Sheriff Stilinski started. “When I married Claudia, I promised to be by her side in sickness and in health. I had no idea what lay ahead of me.”
He paused for a moment, his hazel eyes darkening with pain as her dropped his gaze.
“And if I’m being honest, I failed her: I wasn’t there when she needed me the most. But Stiles was.”
John looked back up at Derek.
“Just like Stiles was there for you when you needed him the most, and you’ve always been there for him when he needed you. You’ve been by his side through the good and the bad, when he was sick or injury – hell, even possessed. No matter how bad it was, you were always there.”
Derek thought back to the times he needed help. The first one that came to mind was at high school’s pool, when the kanima paralysed him and he fell into the water. Stiles jumped in and saved him from drowning. No matter how much he struggled to keep their heads above water, he didn’t let go of Derek. Then there was the time in the hospital when they were fighting off the Alpha pack and the Darach; he came to when Stiles came back for him. Or when he had to leave Cora in the ambulance after she was poisoned by mistletoe—Stiles knew how much his heart was breaking and the softest touch was all it took to comfort him. Stiles fought for him when no one would, believed him when no one did.
There wasn’t a moment where he needed help that Stiles wasn’t there for him.
Stiles was always there.
“You’ve never broken a promise you’ve made,” John continued, “and I know your vows won’t be any different.”
“For better or worse,” Derek said quietly—a promise
“I can’t think of anyone better to marry my son.”
Derek looked up at him, stunned. His heart beat faster as the weight in his chest lifted and he let out a sigh of relief.
“So, for better or for worse,” the Sheriff said teasingly, “you have my blessing.”
A small smile turned up the corner of Derek’s mouth as tears welled in his eyes, blurring his vision into streaks of light and colour.
John returned the smile, rising from behind his desk and stepping over to Derek’s side, pulling him into his arms.
Derek hugged him back, feeling the Sheriff hold him tighter.
“Do you have a ring?” John asked as he pulled back.
“Not yet,” Derek answered.
“Here.” The Sheriff worked his old wedding band off his finger, holding it out for Derek to take. “Take it.”
“Are you sure?” Derek asked, looking from the Sheriff to the ring.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
[AO3]











