41. Atheist. Widow. Bisexual. Feminist. Friend. Jack Drinker. Coffee fiend. Cook. Bookworm. Gamer. Super nerd. Hardcore Sterek Shipper. ALL STEREK ALL THE TIME.
@beautyoftheships once said Imagine the Hales leaving Beacon Hills for their various reasons and because of this stiles stays in BH even though the town is killing him so that the Hales will always be able to find him if they need him.
So I wrote that
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Beacon Hills had always been a wound, but without the Hales, it became an infection.
They left slowly, like dying embers giving up their glow. Cora had been the first, Peter eventually disappeared into the wind with his silence and his scars, and Derekā¦Derek had held on the longest, clinging to the ruins of his family and the nightmare of what Beacon Hills had taken from him.
Then one morning he was simply gone, the loft empty except for dust and an old jacket left draped over the couch like a ghost.
No note.
No goodbye.
Just absence.
The Sheriff asked Stiles if heād heard something. Scott shrugged and said Derek had always been dramatic anyway. The rest of the pack assumed heād return when he wanted to.
Stiles didnāt assume anything.
Because he had seen the look on Derekās face the last time they spoke - this hollow, final sort of stillness, like someone staring at the last doorway out of a burning building.
And Stiles knew. Derek hadnāt left to start over. Heād left so he could finally breathe.
So Stiles stayed.
Not for Beacon Hills. God no. Beacon Hills took from him every day. It drained him - his sleep, his sanity, his health. It gnawed at the edges of his soul with every missing person report, every bump in the night that turned out to be something with teeth.
But Stiles stayed anyway.
Because someone had to be here.
Someone who could be found.
Someone the Hales, Derek, could come back to if they ever needed something, anything.
Beacon Hills was an anchor point. And Stiles became the chain.
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The years chewed the life out of him.
He stopped sleeping. The nightmares got worse. Panic attacks became a part of his routine, something he managed like brushing his teeth. He started losing weight without trying, first a few pounds, then ten, then twenty, until his clothes hung off him like he was fading out of them.
His eyes hollowed. The spark he used to have became a flicker.
Scott drifted in and out of his life, more out than in. Lydia moved away. His father worked long shifts, and Stiles kept telling him he was fine, even as he shook pouring cereal.
And still, he didnāt leave.
Couldnāt leave.
Because what if Derek came back and found nobody?
What if the Hales returned and the town felt like a tomb because even Stiles wasnāt here to hold a light for them?
He waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Until one night the loft door, which Stiles had started living in, scraped open, metal groaning like it was waking up after years of sleep. Footsteps echoed - heavy, familiar, sharp intake of breath - and Stiles, curled on the couch because he couldnāt make himself go upstairs anymore, lifted his head.
Derek stood framed in the doorway.
Older. Broader. Eyes as wild and bright as the forest heād run into and never came back from.
He froze.
āStiles?"
Stiles tried to sit up, but his body trembled with the effort. Derek crossed the room in three long strides and caught him before he slid off the couch.
āJesus Stiles, youāre-ā Derek choked on the last word, because thin didnāt cover it. Stiles felt delicate in his hands, bones sharp beneath his palms, warmth too faint.
Derekās heartbeat went violent.
āWhy are you still here?ā he demanded. āWhy would you stay in this fucking town? Why - why would you do this to yourself?ā
Stiles blinked slowly, like his eyelids weighed more than the rest of him.
āSo youād know where I was.ā
Derek froze, fingers tightening reflexively.
āSo the Hales would know. In case you ever neededā¦ā Stiles took a trembling breath. āI didnāt want you coming back to nothing.ā
Derek stared at him like the words physically struck him.
Stiles offered a weak smile. āI figuredā¦ if I left too, then Beacon Hills would just be another dead place for you. And I didnāt want that. I didnāt want you to feel like everything here abandoned you."
Derek shook his head, jaw shaking, eyes burning with something deep and cracked open.
āStiles,ā he whispered, voice breaking, āyou stayed for me?ā
āFor all of you,ā Stiles murmured. āButā¦ yeah. Mostly you.ā
Derekās breath shuddered out. He sat down heavily beside Stiles, pulling him into his chest like he couldnāt think, couldnāt breathe, couldnāt exist without holding him.
āYou idiot,ā Derek whispered into his hair. āYou selfless, reckless, stupid idiot. I donāt deserve that. I donāt deserve any of this.ā
Stiles let his forehead rest against Derekās shoulder. āI never asked you to stay.ā
āThatās the problem,ā Derek said, voice shaking enough to splinter. āYou stayed while everything was killing you, and I wasnāt here. I didnāt know. I didnāt-ā His voice cracked. āI left you.ā
Stiles didnāt argue. He didnāt have the strength.
And Derek hated himself for that too.
āWhy donāt you hate me?ā Derek asked, a whisper barely more than breath.
Stiles blinked up at him with exhausted, gentle eyes. āBecause you were hurting, Derek. And people who are hurting run.ā
That undid Derek.
He pulled Stiles in tighter, arms trembling around him, forehead pressed to Stilesā temple as if hoping his warmth could spill into him.
āIām here now,ā Derek whispered fiercely. āIām not leaving again. Iām notā¦Stiles, Iām not losing you."
Stiles let out a tiny exhale, like relief and resignation blended together.
āOkay,ā he whispered.
Derek held him long into the night, feeling every fragile breath, every tremor, every proof that Stiles had stayed alive for a reason Derek hadnāt deserved, and swearing silently, desperately, that he would spend every day from now on becoming someone who did.
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Derek didnāt trust the loft.
Too much echo of old ghosts.
Too many memories soaked into the concrete.
So he took Stiles to his dad's, carefully, like carrying something precious and breakable. Stiles tried to joke that Derek could just throw him over his shoulder like old times, but the words slurred, the grin cracked, and Derek felt something inside him tear clean in half.
āEasy,ā Derek murmured, adjusting his hold. āIāve got you.ā
Stiles blinked up at him, dazed and exhausted. āI know.ā
It was the āI knowā that killed Derek. Not trust. Not relief. Just weary acceptance, like heād expected this moment eventually - being picked up because he couldnāt stand on his own anymore.
When Derek laid him on his bed at the Stilinski house, Stiles sank into the mattress like someone who hadnāt felt softness in years. Derekās hand hovered over his cheek.
Too pale. Too hollow. Too much gone.
The Sheriff came in then - still in uniform, eyes red. He stopped in the doorway like heād been punched.
āDad,ā Stiles whispered.
Noah Stilinski crossed the room in three shuddering steps and sat on the bed, brushing Stilesā hair back like he had when Stiles was little. āHey, kiddo.ā
Stiles smiled, small and tired.
Derek looked away, throat tight.
He stayed at the foot of the bed until Stiles fell asleep, his breathing soft and uneven.
And only when Noah looked up at him - eyes wet, voice raw - did the truth crash between them.
āI knew,ā Noah whispered hoarsely. āI knew he was slipping. I knew he wasnāt eating, wasnāt sleeping, wasnātā¦ himself. I took him to doctors. I tried to get him help. But he wouldnāt leave. He wouldnāt leave this damn town.ā His voice cracked. āHe said he had to stay in case you came back.ā
Derek shut his eyes. Pain sliced through him like claws.
āAnd I couldnāt make him go,ā Noah whispered. āHeās an adult. And I didnāt know how to save him without dragging him somewhere in chains. And I-ā His voice broke entirely. āI failed him.ā
Derekās own voice came out wrecked. āNo. You didnāt.ā
Noah gave a bitter, heartbroken laugh. āThen why does he look like this?ā
Derek didnāt answer.
Because there was only one real answer. Because Derek left. And Stiles had stayed.
After the Sheriff went to his room, Derek justā¦ sat.
At the edge of Stilesā bed, listening to every breath. Counting them, like he could keep Stiles alive by sheer force of will. His hands shook. His chest clamped tight. His wolf paced frantically beneath his skin, howling that their human was wrong-wrong-wrong.
Stiles stirred once, whispering Derekās name so softly that Derek wasnāt sure heād truly heard it.
He folded in on himself.
A quiet sob broke from him that was sharp, painful, unexpected. Then another.
And then they wouldnāt stop.
He pressed both hands over his face, bowing his head as silent, violent sobs shook his shoulders.
I left him. I didnāt know. I didnāt look back. He stayed for me. He stayed for me.
He cried until the guilt felt like drowning.
Until he hated himself so thoroughly he could hardly breathe.
Stiles slept on, unaware.
And Derek hated that too.
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Peter Hale always had impeccable timing, meaning he arrived exactly when Derek least wanted him to.
He walked right into the Stilinski house, ignoring the Sheriffās āWhere the hell do you think youāre going" and made a beeline for Stilesā room.
He found Derek sitting in the dark, elbows on his knees, eyes red and wild.
Peter exhaled, slow and sharp. āWell,ā he said dryly, āyou look like youāve been hit by a truck made of consequences.ā
āGet out,ā Derek rasped.
Peter didnāt. He stepped closer, looking down at his nephew, then at the sleeping boy on the bed.
āYou didnāt know he was this bad,ā Peter said quietly, not mocking, not cruel. Just stating fact. āYou couldnāt have known.ā
Derekās laugh was hollow. āI shouldāve.ā
Peter tilted his head. āYou left for very good reasons. Reasons involving your sanity.ā
āThat doesnāt matter,ā Derek snapped. āHe stayed for us. For me.ā
Peterās expression softened, something rare and unsettling. āYes. And it was foolish. Noble, but foolish.ā
Derekās breath snarled out of him. āYou donāt get to judge him.ā
āIām not judging him,ā Peter said calmly. āIām judging you.ā
Something in Derek snapped.
āYOU LEFT TOO!ā Derek roared, surging to his feet. āYOU LEFT JUST LIKE I DID! YOU RAN FROM THIS TOWN AND FROM THE PACK AND FROM ME, SO DONāT YOU FUCKING DARE PRETEND YOUāRE BLAMELESS!ā
Peter didnāt flinch.
For a moment, the two of them just stood there, Derek shaking with fury and self loathing, Peter watching him with something carved out of regret.
āYouāre right,ā Peter said finally, voice low. āI left too. I abandoned him too. I abandoned you. And Iām not blameless.ā
He stepped closer until they were almost chest to chest.
āBut Derekā¦ if you keep tearing yourself apart like this, you wonāt be able to help him. And that boy needs you. Right now. More than either of us want to admit."
Derekās throat closed.
āDonāt,ā he whispered. āDonāt talk like you care.ā
Peter looked at Stiles, sleeping and brittle as paper.
āDerek,ā he murmured, āI care more than youāll ever give me credit for.ā
For once, Derek had no retort.
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It took two days before Stiles woke fully, blinking up at Derek, dazed and dry lipped.
āHey,ā Stiles rasped.
Derek leaned forward. āHey. How do you feel?ā
āLike I lost a fight with a lawnmower.ā A small, wobbly smile. āDidnāt even get a cool scar out of it.ā
Derek huffed a laugh that sounded dangerously close to a sob.
Stilesā eyes softened. āHey, no. None of that.ā
āYou almost died,ā Derek whispered. āBecause you stayed in a town that was killing you.ā
Stiles swallowed. āI stayed so you wouldnāt be alone if you came back.ā
Derek closed his eyes. āI donāt deserve that.ā
Stiles reached out, a weak, shaking hand brushing Derekās knee. āI didnāt stay just because you deserved it. I stayed because I wanted to.ā
āAnd I hate that,ā Derek whispered.
Stiles blinked at him. āWhy?ā
āBecause you don't hate me,ā Derek said. āAnd maybe you should.ā
Stilesā voice was barely more than breath. āIāve never hated you.ā
The words hit Derek like a blow.
He leaned his head down, pressing his forehead gently to Stilesā hand. āIām here now. I swear Iām not leaving you again.ā
Stiles let out a long, trembling sigh. āOkay.ā
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Recovery isn't pretty.
Stiles couldnāt climb stairs for weeks. Derek carried him.
Stiles couldnāt eat full meals. Derek made soup and coaxed him through spoonful after spoonful.
Stiles woke from nightmares shaking and crying, and Derek held him until the worst passed.
Whenever Derek tried to leave the room - just to shower, to step outside, to breathe - Stilesā heart rate spiked in panic.
So Derek stayed.
Sat in the chair beside his bed. Slept on the floor. Held Stilesā hand when he thought Stiles wouldnāt notice.
Peter visited often, pretending annoyance but bringing books and snacks and sarcastic commentary that made Stiles smile faintly.
The Sheriff thanked Derek one night, voice tight with held back grief. āHe listens to you. He heals with you here. Iā¦ couldnāt give him that.ā
Derek shook his head. āYou gave him everything. I took it.ā
Noah gripped Derekās shoulder. āThen give it back.ā
Derek did.
Piece by piece.
Until Stiles could stand without shaking.
Until he gained weight.
Until the spark returned to his eyes - dim, but present.
Until the shadows under his skin began to recede.
And one evening, as they sat on the porch watching the sunset bleed over Beacon Hills, Stiles leaned gently against Derekās shoulder.
āThank you,ā he whispered.
āFor what?ā
āFor coming back.ā
Derek closed his eyes.
āI shouldāve stayed.ā
Stiles nudged him weakly. āYouāre here now. Thatās enough.ā
I found my drafts! This was for an account that no longer exists. I think itās cute so thought Iād post! Hope you like it.
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Stiles does up the last button on his shirt, then smooths the fabric down with shaking hands. Derek comes up from behind and wraps his arms around his husband.
āYouāll be ok babe. No need to be nervous.ā
Stiles turns towards Derek who has perched his bearded face on Stilesā shoulder.Ā
āI know Der, but this is my first day as a detective in our hometown. The first detective in Beacon Hills in years. I know dadās the Sheriff and all, but still. I want to do good.ā
Derek nuzzles under Stilesā ear.Ā āYouāll do great. I know you will. But I have something that will help you today.ā
Stiles turns around in Derekās arms to face him.Ā āYou do?ā
Derek nods.Ā āBe right back.ā
Derek pulls away from Stiles and leaves the bathroom. Stiles can hear Derek taking off his clothes.Ā
āDer, I donāt have time for sexy shenanigans! Put your clothes back on!ā
Thereās no response from Derek, so Stiles walks into the bedroom. Derek is sitting on the bed in his full shift.
āPuppy modeĀ engaged huh. Why the fluff?ā
Wolf Derek rolls his eyes and jumps off the bed. He gently takes Stilesā hand in his mouth and drags Stiles out toward the front door.
āYouāre coming to work with me today?ā
Derek ruffs and headbutts Stiles in the knee. Stiles laughs, reaching over to grab his wallet and keys before opening the door, locking up and walking to the car.
Silence reigns until they are about two minutes away from the station.
āI know what youāre doing Der, and I love you for it.ā
Derek tilts his head to the side.
āYou know that Iām always calm when youāre fully shifted. Youāre really prepared to spend all day as Floofy Wolf?ā
Derek chuffs at Stiles.
āBest husband ever.ā
Once they arrive at the Beacon Hills Sheriffās Department, Stiles looks at Derek one more time before reaching behind him and grabbing theĀ āService Dogā harness that he puts on Derek if heās in wolf mode in public.Ā
āReady?ā
Derek barks in answer.
āOk Der, Iām going to put your harness on when we get out of the car and remember to answer when I call you Wolfie, ok?ā
Derek growls.
āI know you hate being called Wolfie, but I canāt exactly call you Derek can I?ā
Derek turns to look out the window, effectively turning his back on Stiles.
āRude puppy! Now stop pouting, I need to get to work. Remember I need to put on your harness.ā
Flailing out of the car, Stiles shuts his door and makes his way to the passenger side. He lets Derek out of the car, who patiently waits for his husband to put the harness on him. Once itās on, and the car is locked, Stiles and Derek walk side by side into the Sheriffās department.
Stiles greets Tara at the front desk, and then each of the deputies as he makes his way to the Sheriffās office. Derek resolutely ignores everyone and walks into Johnās office, headbutting him on the knee.
John chuckles.Ā āGood to see you, Wolfie. Stiles anxious today?ā
Derek wuffs at the Sheriff, walking around to sit on one of the chairs in front of the Sheriffās desk. John chuckles and goes back his paperwork until Stiles is finished socialising with the deputies.
Stiles finally makes his way into his dadās office, shutting the door behind him and making sitting in the chair next to Derek. The Sheriff puts down the file and takes off his glasses.
āHow are you today son?ā
Stiles quirks a brow.Ā āAre you asking as my dad or as my boss?ā
āYour dad. You have your husband in service dog form, so Iām guessing youāre a bit anxious?ā
āYeah, you could say that. Itās just .... I mean, this is the first time everyone out there sees me as a colleague. And a detective no less. Itās kinda intimidating.ā
Stiles' leg is bouncing up and down, and his hands are clenching on the arms of the chair. Derek places a paw on Stilesā knee, and the bouncing stops. John looks at Derek gratefully.
āStiles, they all know your work history. Every time you closed a case or did something noteworthy, I told everyone about it. The best thing you could have done was start your career off in San Francisco. It meant that I could poach you once you made detective. Thereās no need to be nervous son.ā
Stiles smiles at the Sheriff.Ā āThanks, dad. So what have you got for me?ā
John puts his glasses on, and picks up three files and hands them to Stiles.
āThe first file is the most urgent, so if you can have a look at that straight away that would be preferable. The other can be done once the first one is complete, or knowing you, all three at once.ā
Derek huffs, and Stiles flicks his ear.Ā āOk sure. Got a desk for me?ā
Stiles: I'm going to stop you right there. If I'm his mate, and you've just kidnapped me, then are you what the young people call "royally fucked."
Gerard: You think that Hale boy can take me? I helped take down his entire family.
Stiles: Not his entire family. His uncle is still around, you know, the former left-hand to Talia Hale with an enormous ego and just as massive anger issues? He may be a giant asshole, but he is strict when it comes to wolfliness, and taking the mate of the alpha? That's just unforgiveable.
my favorite concept is if stiles were to be sick and goes to Scott to get the bite but Scott has some self righteous reason to say no, so stiles turns to Derek. Could you write something like that?
You can find the story HERE.
I cheated a little and it's a story I wrote last year and just tweaked it up a bit
Hopefully you enjoy!
'Room 318' - 9,269 words
Derek pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat down, eyes scanning every detail like he couldnāt decide what to focus on. āWhatās going on?ā
Stiles didnāt answer right away. He looked out the window for a second, his expression tightening, and when he turned back, his voice was quiet.
āBone cancer,ā he said. āOsteosarcoma, to be specific. Iām on my first round of chemo. They started it last week.ā
~~~~
Derek returns from Mexico and realizes things have gotten much worse since he left.
Slut for jealous!Derek whoās pining for Stiles, who has no idea.Ā
I just want them becoming best friends. Going on friend dates which mostly consists of Derek cooking and baking for Stiles. Maybe that is how their beautifulĀ āfriendshipā begins. Stiles does something for Derek so he makes him dinner one night as a thank you/ I no longer owe you one.Ā
And itās amazing of course, because Derek loves cooking he just never does because it doesnāt seem worth it for one. Stiles can pack it away so itās pretty gratifying for Derek.Ā
That pivotal moment comes when one night Derek hands Stiles a tupperware container of the lasagna he made and says,Ā āyou said your dad was getting home late?ā
Then suddenly theyāre hanging out all the time. Until Stiles starts dating, and sleeping with people. Because Derekās already come to the conclusion that he has feelings for Stiles so he feels possessive when Stiles isnāt around as much (and smells of other people).
Stiles is oblivious to this. After Stiles accidentally stands Derek up, Derek has a hard time hiding it and he probably a little bit doesnāt care. He probably cock blocks Stiles a few times.Ā
Stiles wonders about it with the dude heās seeing, Milo, who laughs at him and says,Ā ābecause heās into you?ā And Stiles is likeĀ ānawwwwā.Ā
Then, of course, Stiles actually confronts Derek about it.Ā
āSo, was he right?ā Stiles asks,Ā āyou have feelings for me?ā itās hard for Derek to discern Stilesā exact tone. Heās guarded but not harsh.Ā
āYes, I do,ā Derek says. Stiles looks momentarily surprised by Derekās blunt reply.
āSo, you were jealous, then?ā Stiles confirms, tries to keep his voice steady but his heart beats faster.
āYes,ā Derek says, after a slight disgruntled pause.Ā āAnd I know I should feel bad about it but I donāt,ā Derek admits.Ā Ā
āItās okay,ā Stiles sighs. Derek catches his eye and some of the tension in Stilesā shoulders seem to ease.
Derek shakes his head,Ā āitās not. Youāre with MiloāāĀ
āBut Iām not,ā Stiles interrupts.
āāWhat?ā Derek stops.Ā
āIām not with Milo, weā¦ā Stiles shrugs. Derek stares at him, thereās this feeling settling his chest.
āWhy?ā Derek asks.
āBecauseā¦ā Stiles takes a step forward almost cautiously. āHe thought I knew? You know, that youāā Stiles gesturesā āand when he asked if I had, would that have changed things, couldnāt really say no.ā
That feeling builds in waves as Stilesā face heats.Ā
āIām not saying I think you wantā¦I mean I guess I sort of assumed youād want to be together if you were, you know, into me and stuff.ā
āI do,ā Derek confirms.Ā
Stiles nods,Ā āthatās good.āĀ
They meet somewhere in the middle. Stiles settles his hands against Derekās chest.Ā āI sorta didnāt know this was an option,ā he says softly.Ā
āI should have told you,ā Derek admits.
āProbably,ā Stiles nods, but his gaze is caught at Derekās lips and his hands have found themselves cupping Derekās jaw.Ā āI really want to kiss you right now but I feel like i have a moral obligation to wait at least like a dayĀ after breaking up with someone.ā
āSince when do you have morals?ā Derek asks, tilting his head towards Stilesā.
āIām trying it out.āĀ
Derek rests their foreheads together instead before pulling away, reluctantly.Ā Ā
"Knock knock! You boys up-"
"NO! You can't come in, he's not DECENT!"
Stiles stilinski makes goo eyes at and jealously hoards soft derek hale send tweet
Part two of the brainworm @nerdherderette's request gave me (:
Derek in stiles' clothing - the pajama bottoms are my own though (10+ years old target purchase, sadly not available anymore or i would've purchased a backup pair)
In my heart of hearts soft derek in comfy clothes makes stiles go HEART EYES MOTHERFUCKER in a markedly different way from nudity (ā”āæā”āæ)
Iām pretty sure that Australians donāt have more then maybe 30-50k MAX people on tumblr. Like American had some 30 million users in 2020 (aka basically probably peak over the last 7 2018-2025) while Australia only has 26-28million people depending on who you ask (27 to be safe) so Iām just genuinely curious how many of us there must be on here.
If you Currently live in OR were born / raised in Australia and ID as (born/raised + ID, as I know a lot of born/raised here donāt ID as Aussie) you are Australian in this poll!
gummygunk
kaledo-art
janainaart
ellievsbear
prguitarman
