Chapter Text
Going back to Beacon Hills is easy. Way easier than he had thought it would be. It almost feels as if he had never left for Quantico. As he steps out of the uber, Stiles breathes in through the nose. It’s not like the paveway leading to his father’s house has any particular smell that he can recognize, but somehow the air just feels right . He takes his suitcases from the trunk of the car and waves the driver goodbye.
He contemplates the house for a minute, taking it all in. It isn't as if a lot of time has passed since he had decided to leave for the FBI, but still. Nostalgia builds up inside of him, tugging at his heartstrings and settling heavy in his belly. He has to blink twice to get rid of the tears that start to pool in his eyes. He had missed this. Even after all the werewolves, the darachs, the hunters… He had missed Beacon Hills. Somehow life seems simpler here, even if the day-to-day struggles of the sleepy town include fighting for one’s own life, the world feels smaller, easier to understand. And hell, he had proven time and again that he was more than capable of handling a supernatural threat or two.
He sighs, clearing his head, and pulls his suitcases along towards the house. He hasn’t even reached the front door when he hears his father pull over. The man climbs out of his patrol car, still clad in his sheriff uniform, frowning.
“Stiles!” his dad jogs to him, light on his feet, and a wave of relief washes over him. He had internalized that Noah Stilinski couldn't survive without his son. Stiles used to take care of the cooking, the cleaning, and even of making sure his father took his meds. Seeing the sheriff in good health is all he could ask for. For now, at least. He hugs his dad tightly, taking him by surprise and almost making him trip. “Woah there, son. I didn't expect you until tomorrow.” The sheriff grabs Stiles by the shoulders and makes him take a step back, breaking the hug. Stiles shrugs; his dad isn't a big hugger.
“I wanted to surprise you! I had hoped I could get home before you and cook you dinner for old times sake.”
“Come on, Stiles, you haven't been gone that long, you came to visit a couple months ago.” The sheriff unlocks the door and helps him carry his suitcases upstairs to his old room. It's exactly as Stiles had left it last time.
“Dad, I came back for the 4th of July break. That was four months ago.” His dad rolls his eyes. “Glad to see you missed me.”
“I did miss your cooking.” Stiles’ eyes light up.
“Oh, no worries, dad, I bought groceries along the way!”
Stiles wakes up and stretches his limbs as he jumps out of bed, looking around his old room. Settling into a routine after coming back had been easier than he expected. It had only taken about a week before he felt comfortable with his new life in Beacon Hills. He has reconnected with the old pack, if they could be called that, taking into account that Scott, their Alpha, is away studying to become a veterinarian. Stiles can't help but chuckle to himself at the thought. It's as if all of them felt a pull that calls them back to town (or keeps them there) somehow.
Of course, Malia never left. Neither did Parrish. Stiles kind of expected that. Theo and Liam had opened a café after deciding that neither of them felt like going to college. That did take him by surprise, almost as much as finding out that they were dating. Mason became a deputy under his dad, another surprise. Even Lydia, who is currently in college, had decided to switch to an online degree in order to stay in town. As for Jackson and Ethan, last he knew they were in Paris, enjoying their life together. Jackson had always liked to march to the beat of his own drum, so of course he would be the exception to the pattern.
And then there's the Hale pack. He knows Isaac, Erica, Boyd and Cora had started working under Derek in his new auto shop. That wasn’t much of a surprise, if he was being completely honest. The five of them had always been thick as thieves. He doesn't even want to know whatever happened to Peter. He is probably out there tormenting some unsuspecting victim for his own amusement.
Stiles climbs down the stairs and went to the kitchen to find his dad already geared up, sipping on his coffee while checking the news on his phone. “Heading out already?”
“Morning son.” The sheriff sets his phone down as he walks in. “Yeah, I’ll be leaving in… 5 minutes.” he says, pausing to check his watch.
“Ugh, I was hoping you’d give me a ride to Lydia’s. She’s helping me figure out how to set up the store, but I really need to get some coffee in me first.” He sits down on a chair, grunting in frustration. After he basically got kicked out of the FBI training program in Quantico (helping Derek elude the authorities when they thought he was a serial killer and a couple other supernatural shenanigans hadn’t exactly helped him stay on the bureau’s good side), Lydia had been magnanimous enough to accept helping him when he said he wanted to open a small bookstore.
“Sorry, Stiles, I really need to go.” Noah gets up, leaving his mug in the sink before turning back to Stiles “I told you that Derek had your jeep fixed after you left. You should go and pick it up. It’s yours after all.”
“Huh. Sure, dad. I’ll get to it eventually.” He averts his eyes from his father. He doesn't have it in him to see Derek at that moment. His father makes a sound in his throat, frowning, obviously wanting to press the matter, but his phone ringing prevents him from doing so. He glances at Stiles, a glance that overtly says we’ll talk about this later , before picking up the phone.
“What is it, Hewitt? Yes I’m on my way already.” Stiles waves as his dad walks out and leans back in his chair, happy to have avoided that conversation for now.
Thinking about Derek hurt, he can feel the tears prickling his eyes just thinking about it, but at least his father has already left. He had had him, if only for a little while. God, he felt so stupid. He had been with Derek. Romantically. And it had been the best time of his life.
Two years earlier, Derek had magically been reverted to his 15 year old self. He stayed like that for a couple of months before they managed to get him back to his adult body. The only issue was that the man forgot everything that happened during those two months. Including his relationship with Stiles. It had been the worst experience ever. One minute he had his cute boyfriend in his arms, and the next, he had a grumpy adult werewolf pushing him away with a confused look on his face. The memory was vivid in his mind even now.
The whole pack had gathered in Derek’s loft. They had just defeated Kate and her berserkers and the gang was in a festive mood. They had managed to get their hands on some beer (and some wolfsbane) and they were just hanging out, lounging around on the couch and chatting about their latest victory. Stiles was sitting on the couch, his head resting on top of Derek’s head, who was sitting on the floor between his open legs. Stiles' arms wrapped around his boyfriend’s broad shoulders, hands roaming his chest absent-mindly. He was humming distractedly to the background music that was coming out of the bluetooth speaker they had set on the table.
“Look at you two lovebirds!” Lydia smacked Stiles on the shoulder. “You look so cute together.”
“Honestly, I never thought I would live to see Derek cuddle with someone in public.” Cora chimed in, mocking his older (younger now?) brother.
Stiles could feel the heat rising through his boyfriend’s body and couldn’t help but smile, pleased. He could see the rubor setting in Derek’s ears. “They’re just teasing you, don’t let it get to you, Sourwolf.” He kissed the top of the boy’s head lovingly.
“I know, I know.” The other grunted in reply. It was funny seeing how this version of Derek reacted to people. So different yet so similar to his older self. He was not as guarded, as closed off as adult Derek, but he still was somehow reluctant to completely bare his emotions for everyone to see. “But this is nice, you know? Having all of you around. Having you around.” He twisted in place so he was facing Stiles, darting in to steal a quick kiss from him. “This feels like home. I feel like I have everything and everyone I need here with me in this room. Like I’ll be safe no matter what.”
Stiles felt it in his gut before he understood what was happening. He felt the hairs in his arms stay on end, and he could smell ozone. It felt like that whenever he used his spark, but he was not doing anything. He opened his mouth to warn the rest of the pack, but suddenly, Derek was shimmering, and he couldn’t find his words. Stiles hugged him tightly, as if he could shield him from whatever was happening. A flash of light enveloped them and filled the room. When the light disappeared, Stiles was hugging the adult version of Derek. A Derek that looked positively confused.
“Stiles?” Derek asked as the pack crowded around them, startled by the sudden burst of magic in the room “Where… Where am I? And why are you hugging me?” Derek pushed him away, and Stiles gasped. If it wasn’t impossible, he could have sworn that he had just heard his heart crack.
“You- you are back! Der do you-” He winced as Derek frowned at the nickname.
“Back? Back from where?” The werewolf stood up looking around the loft and eyeing everyone cautiously. He focused on Cora for a minute. “What are you doing here? Peter and I just dropped you off and we were coming back when… KATE! Kate is back! We need to-”
“Easy Derek, calm down! Everything is fine” Stiles also got up, putting a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder to try to ground him and calm him down. Derek just swats his hand away, eyes flashing red.
“How am I supposed to calm down! Fucking Kate is back and…” He stops when he sees the hurt look on Stiles’ face, who is holding his hand in front of him in disbelief. Cora steps in to break the tension.
“Kate is dead, Derek. We killed her. Again, I guess. Don’t you remember? She… She performed a ritual on you and you turned 15 again. You were a teenager again for, like, two months”
“What?!”
“Honestly, that’s not even the most interesting part, wait to hear about how you and Stiles-” Erica started, but Stiles stepped on her foot and she yelped “Stilinski!”
“Me and Stiles what?”
“We fought. All the time. You know, you were pretty bratty as a teenager, Sourwolf. Honestly I don’t even know how Cora used to put up with you, you were really the worst. At least now we have regular broody you back, so at least we can get some peace of mind and you can go back to stalking around town or whatever.” He blurted rapidly. He was shaking on his feet, fists clenched at his sides. Everyone stood frozen. They all knew. They all knew how much Stiles had loved 15 year old Derek. Lydia stepped beside him and took his hand, shooting a warning glance to the pack, silently telling them to stay quiet. She dragged the boy out of the room. “Lydia- Lyds… I can’t- I can’t breathe.” Stiles said once they were outside and far enough so the werewolves couldn’t hear them. “I think I’m- I’m having…”
“A panic attack, I know, that’s why I got you out of there.” She made him sit on the ground and started guiding Stiles through breathing techniques.
“He’s gone, Lyds, gone. Derek is gone!” The tears were rolling before he knew it. “And this Derek, he- he doesn’t love me anymore. He doesn’t even remember loving me!”
Stiles blinks, peeling himself away from the memory, and wipes his cheeks dry with his hand. He had tried his hardest to forget, but it was difficult. He had had a crush on Derek ever since he first had shooed him and Scott out of his property, and it had only gotten worse with time. So, when young Derek showed up and reciprocated his feelings, he had been over the moon. Even after adult Derek came back, Stiles had still loved him. In the end, they were the same person, even if the werewolf didn’t remember their relationship.
At first, Stiles had tried to win Derek back, but it was just impossible. The man seemed oblivious to his advances, and just took everything as their usual banter. So, after almost two years of trying, Stiles had tried to get over him. He had thought that going away to Quantico was for the best. A chance to put some distance between them. But fate had a weird sense of humor, so he had to drop everything to help Derek avoid being arrested. And now here he was, back to Beacon Hills. Back to the town where the man that didn’t love him back lived.
Stiles finishes the coffee he had prepared while reminiscing about that fateful night and gets up from his chair. He would have enough time to wallow in the past now that he is back in Beacon Hills. For the moment, might as well get his life back on track. After all, he can't expect to live the rest of his life in his dad’s house. First step: meet Lydia (he would for sure be late) and get started on his bookstore. Yeah, that’ll have to do for now.