#Stilinski Family Feels

[casually-eat-my-soul]

I’m sorry but that fact that stiles rewrites his entire identity when his mother dies is something deeply tragic to me.

He was mischief a nickname that was given to him by his mother. Then he was stiles, a nickname that belonged to his father family.

He literally erases the part of him that was created by his mother and becomes his father image. I’m screaming.

I dont want to point any fingers but it literally stated that sheriff became an alcoholic after his wife died. Who couldn’t think of his wife without pain. And who had a son who was exactly like his wife

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Hi, I'm looking for a Sterek fic, but it's mainly Stiles leaving Beacon Hills and, I think he was trying to find himself, he'd contact his dad through leaving answer machine messages. His dad would never listen to them, until the pack were around.

I've tried for 3 days to find this fic and I am losing the will to live. I swear to God, if I've imagined this up

Please help meeee 😭😭

Hi @pa-nd-em-on-iu-mp-an-da! @nerdherderette says it sounds like this one.

Those Are The Days That Bind Us by s_a_m

(5/5 I 52,171 I Mature I Sterek)

His father wasn’t stupid. He was an officer of the law, trained to look for patterns. He confronted Stiles about werewolves and they shouted and Stiles tried to explain but his father was so, so, so mad, more mad than Stiles had ever seen him, ever in all his life and then his father looked at him and said,

“It’s like you’re not my son anymore.”

And Stiles broke.

[sterekmpreg]

The Stilinski-Hale siblings:

1.) Elias (Eli) Claude Stilinski-Hale

-The oldest

-Werewolf

-Acts like Derek AND Stiles

2.) Natalia Lauren Stilinski-Hale

-oldest twin

-Werewolf

-Acts like her father, Derek

3.) Eric Vernon Stilinski-Hale

-youngest twin and just the youngest in general

-Spark

-Acts like his Mama, Stiles

[invisible-storyteller]

Happy Birthday, Mieczyslaw

Stiles & Claudia (~850 words, gen) Written for @teenwolfrarepairevents April Character of the Month: Stiles Stilinski

“Hey, Mieczyslaw.”

Claudia's smile was worn out and nervous on the TV screen, her messy ponytail and sleep-thirsty eyes depicting a woman who had just returned from a strenuous battle. The excited tapping of her fingers was almost disharmonious with her weary complexion, but the slight accent with which she spoke revealed her exhaustion-mixed anticipation. She looked absolutely beautiful, and so tragically young. 

She had been around Stiles’s age when this message was recorded. It was on the night his parents had taken him home from the hospital 30 years ago, but no one had remembered until they had found the tape among her old stuff while the sheriff was preparing to sell the house. 

Stiles had forgotten how her voice had sounded without the burden of fear and sickness. 

“You must be wondering: Damn, who the fuck is this woman? And okay, I might not have so many wrinkles now - although you did give me a few already -, but I'm not that old, young man, so don't get fresh with me!”

Stiles scoffed, almost not remembering how his mother used to be. Before.

“Anyway, Natalie gave me this sort of idea to create a time capsule, so here I am! Talking to you! Well, actually, talking to myself, 'cause there's no one else here.” Stiles couldn't help but laugh at that. “Hopefully, we’re watching this together.” His smile dimmed instantly. “I like to think that we’ll always have a good relationship, and that in twenty or thirty or whatever years, we’ll be laughing over how awkward and ugly I am on this video, and that I can scold you for calling me ‘ugly’ and say that you’re one to talk, you took after me.”

The image his mother had painted was bittersweet, and Stiles wasn’t sure he had been right in requesting he watched the video alone. But he wanted to cherish everything about her, just the way the camera had captured her, on the day she had become his mother.

“I guess I should talk about how I imagine you as a grown man, but I'll be honest, lisek, I don’t have a single clue.” Claudia laughed a bit self-consciously. “I’m just as young as you are, and I know that I can’t expect you to have it all figured out by the time you turn 20 or even 30. You can be so many things still, and the last thing I want for this message to be is some kind of a manual about what I want you to be. I want you to be nothing but what you already are, Mieczyslaw! Funny and stubborn - because you must have inherited those traits from me - and loyal and smart like your dad. I even bet you're braver than you think, and don’t argue with me, lisek, I’m your mother. I know better than you.”

A chuckle bubbled up from Stiles as he wiped at the salty traces of tears with his sleeve. He had missed out on his mother’s discipline as a teenager, and it was comforting if alien to experience it in 30 years' distance.

“I probably tell you this all the time, but I’m proud of you.” Here Stiles’s heart twisted painfully in his chest. “I hope that you’re happy. That there are people that you love with all your heart and that there are people who love you back just as much. I hope that you see the good in yourself, and I hope that you know that things can always change. And keep this in mind, lisek: no matter where you are in life, I'll be there with you. Always.”

Stiles gave a small nod that his mother could no longer see, and ached a little more for her to be here. To see him now. To know that Stiles was better than he used to be. That he wasn't that loud, unruly, annoying kid that drove his parents mad. That he wasn't that kid anymore who his mother ran from into certain death.

He wished she was here.

"Oh, somebody's up," He heard his mother sigh heavily on the screen as the raucous sound of crying pierced through the silence. "You're a lot to handle, you know, lisek?"

Stiles cast his eyes downwards.

“But I wouldn't change a thing about you. I love you, my little Mieczyslaw,” His mother said, and Stiles looked up in time to catch her blowing a kiss to the camera, “Kocham cię. Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

The video ended with a man's desperate shout for her wife in the distance and Claudia Stilinski rolled her eyes fondly as she went to turn the recording off. That was it.

Stiles sat there for a while, swallowing his sobs, before restarting the video. Halfway through the second watch, a hand landed gently on his shoulder and soft lips planted a kiss on the top of his head - a helpful reminder that he wasn't alone.

“Are you okay?”

Stiles silently sniffled for a bit, and then, with a tentative smile on his lips, nodded. “Yeah. I’m okay.”

And he meant it.

[christinesficrecs]

Hi, Christine! Thanks for all your help, you're wonderful ! I recently read Jurisdiction by elisera and i liked how Derek and Sheriff was bonding there. Can you suggest me more like that if possible? Thanks again!

Of course!! I love a good Sheriff fic. ❤️

Jurisdiction by elisera | 7K | Mature | Angst

John is a pretty level-headed guy. He wasn’t always, back during his own Sturm und Drang period, but he married a firecracker of a woman and got a kid with an affinity for trouble like he got payed for ending up in it, so someone had to level out or they would’ve ended up living in a treehouse or Lapland doing god knows what. Anyway, getting a hold of his temper is one of John’s better life achievements. It makes him a good sheriff and it kept him from blowing his lid too badly those last two years when Stiles started acting out in a way that John had never seen before.

But the temper is still there.

He’s reminded of it when he comes home on a random Saturday in March after spilling his milkshake all over his uniform shirt only to notice he didn’t have a spare in the station and finds Stiles bend over the kitchen sink with hunched shoulders.

Cincinnati, or Anywhere With You by yodasyoyo | 7.1K

After Stiles joins the FBI, and the pack leave for college, Derek develops a close friendship with John Stilinski. But when he gets shot one night in the line of duty, Stiles comes rushing back to Beacon Hills, and his return reignites feelings Derek's spent a long time trying to ignore.

Emergency Contact by Leslie_Knope | 8.1K

He feels decently well-equipped to handle rogue werewolves, kanimas, fucking faeries, or whatever other supernatural-monster-of-the-week that the universe decides to throw at them. A plain old car accident is a completely different story.

Hotter Than Coffee by Dexterous_Sinistrous | 3K

“So, is there a reason my son’s phone number is on my coffee, and he wants me to call him?” The Sheriff questioned as he looked up over his glasses at Derek.

Derek’s eyes widened as he looked at the Sheriff. “What?”

The Sheriff slowly spun his coffee cup around on the desk, the coffee shop’s logo coming into view very slowly.

Derek’s eyes were glued onto the coffee cup, terrified at seeing what the Sheriff was asking. His heart stuttered when he saw the beginning of the words written in Sharpie.

Wolf in the House by JoeLawson | 33.4K

“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.”

All Stirred Up by jsea, marguerite_26 | 49.4K | Explicit

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?

Matchmaker, Please by LadyMerlin | 4.8K | Mature

When the Sheriff said that he wanted to set Stiles up with one of his deputies, Stiles thought he'd be meeting some chubby, doughnut-loving desk sergeant. He definitely wasn't expecting Officer Hale.

After significant efforts on the Sheriff's part, Stiles takes Officer Hale on their first date.

Use the Front Door for a Change by stileskolpath | 4K

“Hale, good. I thought I’d thought you’d be here.”

Derek nearly brained himself on the window sash as the elder Stilinski opened the door into Stiles’ bedroom, which was, Derek could tell, oddly bereft of Stiles.

He caught the faltered move before he could embarrass himself further, and for a brief, hesitant second debated making a run for it.

“You’re already almost there, son, just come on in.”

Big Days by crazyassmurdererwall (smartalli) | 9.6K

It’s an impulse really, inviting Derek to spend Thanksgiving with him and his dad. The Sheriff. Who once arrested him. It’ll be fine. Stiles is sure it’ll be fine.

Hale Construction by Mynuet | 8.3K

Derek gets a business and a home. Stiles gets his own Batman. The sheriff gets hash browns. The Stilinski household is expanded without anyone quite talking about it.

Shop Talk by aussiebee | 12.6K | Explicit

Deputy Derek meets Shopkeeper Stiles. Derek likes Stiles and Stiles likes Derek. There are puppies and flowers and an awesome Sheriff and an awesome Hale grandmother.

The Morning After by mikkimouse | 3.6K

After the night he'd had, John just wanted a quiet cup of coffee and some toast before his son woke up. This, he felt, was not too much to ask from the universe.

Apparently the universe disagreed, because John came downstairs at 7:30 in the goddamn morning to see a man he'd previously arrested for murder grinding coffee beans in his kitchen.

[werewolfnatural]

also if anyone wants to join me in angst hell please picture big eyed gritted teeth little Stiles staring at the contents of the refrigerator trying to figure out what he’s going to eat, because his moms asleep and he’s scared to wake her up in case she isn’t lucid and his dad isn’t going to be home for hours, and he’s scared and alone and already so, so tired

[bigfootsboytoy]

Listening to the song "What Tim Wants" from the musical Black Friday (shoutout to all my fellow starkid fans) and all I can think about is how fitting it would be for Sheriff Stilinski. A song about doing whatever it takes to keep your son happy, even though you lost your wife and feel like you're constantly letting him down.

He still lights up a room...it's just less frequently that you see him in bloom

That line is perfectly fitting for how Noah would feel about Stiles after Claudia's death. Idk man, I'm just feeling a lot of things about the Stilinski boys today.

[starstrucksaladwizard]

Just imagining some kind of accident and the sheriff being held back and crying out like Cedrics father in goblet of fire.

Sheriff-THATS MY SON! THATS MY BOY!

And now I'm sobbing.

[nrnyx]

How... what even is this sorcery. I'm never getting over this video.

[casually-eat-my-soul]

I’ve said it once I’ll say it again:

Stiles always being haunted by a love meant for someone else

His fathers love for his mother

Derek’s love for Paige

Please I’m going insane

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Hiiyaa! I’m looking for a kind of old sterek fic (it may have been pre slash?) where the alpha twins kidnapped Derek and the sheriff and dangled then over a pool with poison in it, and told stiles to choose one to save. Stiles didn’t pick and when the twins dropped them both, stiles jumped into the pool and saved them both. (I also remember he woke up in the hospital and Derek told him he wouldn’t have blamed him if he had chose or something like that).

Hi anon! @scorbunnysblog says it's this one.

13. The Tide by brokenes

(1/1 I 7,598 I Teen I Sterek)

The twins had the sheriff and Derek dangling over their certain deaths, giving Stiles the choice to only save one. And he'll be damned if he didn't kill himself trying to save them both.

[sapphireginger]

Sheristopheter

Stiles finds out his dad is dating again.

[celestialvoid-fanfiction]

The Jeep

Eli’s sixteen and Stiles wants to give him the Jeep, Derek might need some persuading.

[AO3]

 “I’m just saying—” Stiles said, sitting back against the velvet covered bedhead. “He’s sixteen now, he’s got his licence, he’s going to need a car.”

“Then we’ll get him a car,” Derek replied from the ensuite.

“Why not just give him the Jeep?” Stiles pressed.

Derek peered his head around the corner of the doorframe. “Because that thing is held together by duct tape and prayers.”

“Then we’ll get it fixed up,” Stiles suggested.

“Or we just get him a new car,” Derek countered, stepping out of the ensuite. He turned the light off behind him and climbed into bed beside Stiles. “One with better safety ratings, GPS, Bluetooth, and all that. A car that’s not going to break down or fall to pieces every time he reverses out of the driveway.”

“A car that crumples like a paper ball at the smallest dent? I mean, I hit Jackson with that Jeep and it barely made a dent.”

Derek huffed out a breath, struggling to smother his laughter and trying to keep a serious face.

“We’ve been through a lot, and – for better or worse – that Jeep has survived everything we have,” Stiles continued. “It may not have Bluetooth or GPS, but it still works after all these years.”

Derek sighed.

He had to admit: Stiles had a point. That Jeep, despite all the damage and duct tape, had held together over decades.

But there was something else; something Stiles wasn’t saying.

Derek leant back against the pillows, turning his head to look at Stiles.

“And…?” he prompted.

“It’s going to sound stupid,” Stiles started slowly, “but it was my mum’s car. My dad gave it to me as a way of holding onto her. I always felt like… it felt like she was watching over me. And as silly as it sounds, the thought that she’d be watching over Eli gives me some comfort.”

Derek reached over and took Stiles’ hand in his. He laced their fingers together and gave Stiles’ hand a gentle squeeze.

Stiles blinked back the glistening tears that welled in his eyes.

Derek brushed the ball of his thumb over the back of Stiles’ hand.

“Okay,” he relented. “You can give him the Jeep.”

Stiles straightened, looking at Derek with a mix of shock and joy.

“On one condition,” Derek added quickly. “We get a complete refit: new engine, brakes, airbags, full service—all of it. And we’re taking the police scanner out.”

“You can replace it with one of those fancy radios with Bluetooth and GPS,” Stiles offered, leaning his head against Derek’s shoulder.

A small smile turned up the corners of Derek’s lips.

“Deal,” he whispered, turning his head and pressing a soft kiss to the crown of Stiles’ head.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 “Eli?” Derek called out from where he stood by the front door.

He heard the footsteps on the wooden floorboards as Eli emerged from his room. “Yeah?”

“You got a minute?” Derek asked.

“Am I in trouble?” he asked as he made his way down the stairs and over to his dad’s side.

“Should you be?” Derek asked as he held the front door open, letting his son step out onto the front porch where Stiles stood waiting for them.

He paused for a moment, his eyes darting about as he searched his memories for anything he might have done that would get him in trouble.

“No,” he answered, but there was an upward infliction at the end of the word that made it sound like a question rather than a statement.

“You’re not in trouble,” Stiles reassured him.

“So, what’s up?” Eli asked.

“Well,” Stiles started. “You’re sixteen now and you have your license, and since your dad and I need the cars all the time—”

“And since you’ve proven you can be responsible and trustworthy,” Derek added.

“—we’re giving you a car.”

Eli’s eyes opened wide, his jaw hanging open. “Seriously?”

Derek nodded.

Stiles dug into his pocket and pulled out the key, holding it out in front of him for Eli to take.

Eli recognised the key.

He stared at it in stunned silence.

When he found his voice again, his words were barely a whisper.

“The Jeep?” His voice broke around the word, his eyes glistening with tears of joy as he looked from the key to his dads’ faces. “You’re giving me the Jeep?”

“It’s all yours,” Stiles told him.

Eli reached out and look the key from his dad.

“It’s been fully serviced,” Derek told him. “It has a new engine and everything.”

Eli glanced over his shoulder at the dusty-blue Jeep. “Can I…?”

Stiles nodded.

He leapt off the porch and bounded over to the Jeep, pulling open the driver’s side door and sliding into the seat. He didn’t turn it on; he just sat in the driver’s seat, bouncing up and down slightly with uncontainable happiness. He couldn’t help but laugh with excitement as he let his hands grip the soft, worn leather of the steering wheel.  

Stiles and Derek stepped over to the car.

Eli bolted upright, his eyes widening as he remembered something.

“Does it still have the—?” His words died off as he answered his own question: he pulled down the sun visor to see the photo of Stiles wrapped in Claudia’s arms. He was four – maybe five – years old in the photo, the sun shining on their faces as they both looked at the camera, caught half way between smiling and laughing. He carefully pulled the photo out from where it was held in place by elastic, holding it in his hands as he looked at it fondly.

He sniffed and blinked back tears, trying to hide his face from his parents as he turned to hand the photo to Stiles.

Stiles shook his head, gently pushing Eli’s hand back. “That’s for you.”

Eli looked at him, his brow furrowed slightly with confusion.

“She’s always watching over you,” Stiles said quietly.

Eli didn’t say anything. Tears fell from Eli’s eyes, trailing down his cheeks as he looked down at the photo again. He offered his dad a shaky smile as he slotted the photo back into its place. He looked at his grandmother’s face one more time before carefully and lovingly putting the sun visor back up.

He wiped away his tears with the sleeve of his jacket. “Thanks, Dad.”

Stiles offered him a kind smile.

“There’s an emergency kit in the back,” Derek told him. “First aid kit, blanket, bottled water, snacks, a change of clothes, and a few other things. And, most importantly…” He stepped around the hood of the Jeep and opened the passenger side door. He reached into the glove box, pulled something out, and held it up.

The moment Eli and Stiles saw it, they both burst into laughter.

A brand new roll of duct tape.

[lady-charinette]

I cannot believe the Teen Wolf Movie forced me into my old Sterek phase

I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE AN OLD STEREK PHASE

[takaraphoenix]

Camping & Bonding (Part 3)

Tags: m/m, Erica Lives, Boyd Lives, Jackson Doesn't Leave, Pack Mom Stiles, Pack Feels, True Mates, fluff, hurt/comfort, camping, mutual pining, m/f

Main Pairing: Derek/Stiles

Side Pairings: Scott/Allison, Boyd/Erica, Jackson/Lydia

Teen Wolf Characters: Mieczysław 'Stiles' Stilinski, Derek Hale, Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd III, Isaac Lahey, Jackson Whittemore, Lydia Martin, Cora Hale, Scott McCall, Allison Argent

@writersmonth Prompts Part 3: flame + forest

Summary: Stiles thinks the pack should go camping, as a bonding exercise. Much to his surprise, Derek agrees with his plan. So the pack goes off into the mountains to camp together.

This Fic on AO3 | This Fic on FFNet

Stiles Summer Stories 2024

--

Part 3: The Bonfire

Dinner was a huge success. Everyone huddled around the bonfire, the flame throwing that soft glow that set the mood. Laughter and conversation filled the space between them, shoulders bumping, arms wrapped around each other. And after food, there had to be dessert, of course. Who would Stiles be if he hadn't brought marshmallows, crackers and chocolate, after all?

"Here," Derek offered Stiles a smore.

He'd been making multiple ones at the same time, handing them out to the entire pack. Stiles found himself happy to accept the treat. The bonfire painted beautiful shadows on Derek, the shadows of his lashes dancing over his cheeks. It made his Sourwolf look unusually soft.

There was laughter and there were stories. Surprisingly, Boyd told the best ghost stories, he really knew how to deliver them. And if Stiles ducked just a little closer to Derek, the Alpha at least didn't seem to mind, or notice. Stiles munched on another smore and enjoyed the closeness and warmth from his Alpha. He may not have werewolf senses but he still relished in Derek's scent.

"We should do this more often," Allison smiled. "Though I'll come hunting with you tomorrow."

Derek hummed softly. "We used to do this, when I was young."

"I remember," Cora whispered. "Faintly. But… it was nice. I remember dad's barbecue. Mom and the other older wolves would go and hunt, and dad would prepare dinner."

"Yeah?" Stiles kept his voice gentle, trying to get the Hales to talk more.

They so rarely brought up their family, their old pack. Especially not in a positive context. Filled with pain and grief, maybe. But they rarely shared good memories. Stiles wanted to hear every good story they had, he wanted to know everything that made Derek happy.

"Why didn't your dad go hunting with the rest of the pack?" Scott asked confused.

"Our dad was human," Derek replied, his eyes on the bonfire but the look very far away. "There were multiple humans in the pack, mates to the wolves and children who took after their human parent. Dad took care of them, made sure they'd feel bonded with the pack too."

Stiles blinked in awe. He hadn't known that Derek and Cora's father was human. The Alpha Mate had been human? Was that a thing? Sure, he knew the pack valued him, but at times, he still felt a distance. There were things he just couldn't do, or feel, because he was human. But if someone who had the second highest rank in the pack – higher than the right or right hand – could be human? Then maybe the difference between werewolf and human didn't matter all that much.

"Going out to hunt together was actually an exercise in coordinated attack too, on top of being a bonding experience," Derek whispered, the far-away look turning more sad. "Mom… always knew how to make the work and training aspects fun. I just…"

Without thinking on it, Stiles reached out a hand to rest on Derek's arm in comfort. He knew where the Alpha was going with this. He thought he wasn't as good an Alpha as Talia, couldn't live up to the Hale legacy. And maybe he wasn't, but he was on his way. He was working on himself. Becoming a better Alpha, the longer he was one. With Stiles' help, he'd started teaching the betas how to control themselves without pain, by finding their own anchors – the way Stiles had helped Scott channel his love for Allison as his anchor. Derek wasn't a bad Alpha, he was just someone born to be a beta, who had never been taught to be an Alpha, and he had been raised in a pack of born wolves, so he struggled to relate to the ones who'd been turned through the bite. Derek turned to look at Stiles with soft, warm eyes and the smallest hint of a smile.

"We could make this like a once a month thing," Isaac leaned back, looking up into the starry sky. "Going away for a weekend to go camping together."

"That sounds like a good idea," Lydia agreed.

Lydia, who'd argued against camping and sleeping on the ground with insects all around. But she too could see that this meant something to Derek. They all could see it. The closer their pack grew, the more in tune with each other did they get. Jackson, with his arm around Lydia, hummed his agreement, Boyd and Scott voicing their enthusiasm for the idea, everyone else smiling in encouragement and confirmation at their Alpha.

"It's getting late," Derek cleared his throat and got up. "Let's clean up and head to bed. I want to go on a morning run with you at sunrise."

They all worked together cleaning up and putting all the left over food away so it won't attract any wild animals to their camp ground before each duo headed into their tent. Which was when the challenging part started for Stiles. He tried not to look at Derek while the Alpha got changed because werewolves could smell arousal, and instead focused on getting changed.

Once in his shirt and sweatpants, he settled in, burrowing deep in his sleeping bag. His eyes were on Derek though, the older man laying so close. There was something near domestic to getting ready for bed and turning in together like this and Stiles' heart was thumping like a rabbit. He shuddered at the cold of the night. Right. Because sleeping in a tent in the forest during autumn might not be the greatest idea ever. He pulled his sleeping bag closer around himself.

"You're cold," Derek noted, eyebrows furrowed.

"Amazing observation skills, Sourwolf," Stiles gave him a deadpan. "What gave it away? The way I am burritoing myself into my sleeping bag, or the shivering?"

A soft, annoyed growl and an eye-roll was all Stiles' hard-worked sarcasm got him though. It said a lot about how far they'd come that all Stiles got for being obnoxious was mild annoyance and that Stiles fully stopped feeling threatened by any kind of growling happening.

"C'mere," Derek huffed and lifted his own sleeping bag.

It took Stiles embarrassingly long to piece together what Derek was suggesting because his brain fully refused to believe that was actually happening. "Do you want to cuddle with me?"

The look Derek gave him at that should actually physically hurt, it was quite impressive. "You're cold. I'm not. Wolves run hotter. You can also stay over there, freezing your ass off, if you prefer."

"Oh, hell no," Stiles huffed and dove straight for the Alpha.

He gave a content little sigh as he snuggled up to the living radiator known as Derek Hale. Wolves really did run hot. Squishing his cheek against Derek's chest, he did his best to press up against Derek for maximum heat exposure. Derek made a small noise that Stiles couldn't really tell what it meant before he wrapped his own sleeping bag around them both.

And this totally wasn't weird. It wasn't. Not at all. Pack cuddled all the time. They had puppy piles during pack nights, when the wolves returned from their run they'd all huddle together in the den in an entanglement of limbs. Just because this was only Derek and Stiles, all alone, did not make it weird, it was just like pack cuddles. Nothing weird going on at all. No, sir.

"This was a good idea, Stiles," Derek's voice was… warm. "Thank you."

"Thank you, huh," Stiles grinned a little. "Gotta mark that down in my calendar."

Derek heaved a sigh at that. "Shut up, Stiles."

"See, now that's more like the Sourwolf I know," Stiles snuggled a little closer. "Night, Der."

Derek tucked Stiles under his chin, arms around him. "Good night, Stiles."

/break\

Running wild in the forest had felt so good. He loved doing it at the preserve, but here, in the mountains, mapping a territory he wasn't familiar with yet, and with his pack at his side, it felt different. Hunting down their dinner himself. They needed to do that again. And bringing the game to his mate, if Derek was able to turn into a full wolf he would have wagged his tail in excitement when Stiles praised him for bringing him the deer. Human Derek simply grunted.

It hadn't even hurt to talk about his family, like it usually did. There was just… warmth, in sharing this with his pack. Happiness. It nearly felt like healing. Like he was finally reclaiming what had been taken from him – his land, his home, his pack. He was on the right path. A big part of him still wished he wouldn't have to, but the other part knew he couldn't change the past and that clinging onto it and onto the pain wasn't going to do him any good. His betas had shown him that. By trying to cling to how things used to be, he had alienated them and nearly lost them.

He did come to regret Stiles' sleeping arrangement choices though, because when they headed into their tent, Derek found himself all alone in a small, enclosed space with Stiles. Sleepy, cute Stiles, shivering, cold Stiles. And being unable to watch his mate shiver close by, Derek had offered Stiles to sneak into his sleeping bag. Just to keep Stiles warm, because he didn't want the human to catch a cold. Because Derek was being a good Alpha these days. Good Alphas didn't let their pack members freeze. If his inner wolf was purring happily and if Derek slept better that night than he had since the fire, then that was between him and his inner wolf.

Waking up surrounded by Stiles' scent, with his mate safely tucked against his chest, was the best feeling Derek could imagine and he wished every day could start like this. He wished Stiles could be his. But Stiles deserved so much better than what Derek had to offer. Though he was working on himself, he still struggled with communication, he still growled more than he talked, snapped when people didn't understand the things that were natural and obvious to him. He was still plagued by his past, by his survivor's guilt twice over, by all the trauma he'd been through. That was too much to burden anyone with. Why would Stiles want to be stuck with all of that. With him.

"Mornin', Sourwolf," Stiles' voice was rough with sleep.

His nose rubbed against Derek's collarbone, making Derek shudder at the skin-contact and at how cold it was. He instinctively pulled Stiles closer to warm him up more. Derek wanted to stay in this moment forever, the soft noises of the forest waking up outside, the morning chill in the air but the warmth of his mate on his chest as they slowly woke up.

The moment was destroyed by Scott opening the tent. "He—ey, Derek, what about the ru-"

The beta abruptly stopped talking and stared at them in mild bewilderment. Because they were cuddling. Because that wasn't something Derek and Stiles did. Should do. Reluctantly, Derek let go of his mate, allowing Stiles to sit up and stretch. His shirt riled up just a little, revealing a sliver of pale skin doted with moles that Derek had not yet gotten to see.

"Less chipper this early in the morning, Scotty boy," Stiles yawned. "Go and put that energy into hunting down breakfast. No, not hunt. Don't bring me raw meat for breakfast. How about you round up the other puppies and make sure they're all awake and ready because the way I know you guys, Erica is probably still asleep and Jackson is still doing his hair, so no point in bothering Derek yet. Make sure everyone is ready by the time Derek joins you. Shoo, now."

Scott gave them one last doubtful look but then he simply obeyed. Something that was affecting Derek more and more the longer it went on. Stiles commanding the betas. It was marvelous now naturally Stiles took over his role as Alpha Mate without even knowing. Derek's inner wolf was whining happily and practically begging for belly-rubs from Stiles. And that, Derek was never going to admit. Instead, he turned to get changed.

"Speaking of hunt. I didn't know you could take apart a deer."

"C'mo—on. Sheriff's son!" Stiles motioned vaguely. "In a small town! With a forest!"

"Flailing disaster who keeps falling flat on his face," Derek argued dryly. "Would not trust with a gun or a knife. Much less both of them."

Stiles narrowed his eyes in indignation but he knew Derek was right so he didn't argue, making Derek smirk. Beyond the way Stiles complimented him as a leader, Derek loved their banter the most. He loved how Stiles had never, at no point in their relationship, backed down from him. Even when Derek had still been a stranger and a danger, Stiles had been filled with snark. Derek loved it. Derek loved Stiles.

[emo-nova]

I'm back at it again with more Teen Wolf rambling, and the Stilinski family (s1, ep10) has my heart in shambles. The lighting, the subtly of the costumes and the acting!

Stiles' dad sitting down, doing work, Stiles pouring the drink to get more information because alcohol loosen the mouth. He is there, helping and talking with his father, the main light being cast over both of them in this moment.

Right now, as they sat next to eachother, same level, under the light they give what ideas or theories or information out. Stiles' dad slightly slurring out information, Stiles realising something about Werewolves and the Hale house and the murders.

The intimate truth slips out after trying to excuse himself, getting out of the light, missing Stiles talking to him and missing his kid, about missing Stiles' mother. All painfully noticed to the audience as we see Stiles stepping out of the light, possibly to hide himself now and what he knows is a truly painful expression for his father yet he leans back in to help his father. His father thanking him for stopping him drinking, it feels like this tiny painful victory for Stiles' father but a stinging loss for Stiles as he regrets ever opening this.

This, in my opinion, is a defining moment for both of them.

It shows the similarities between them as family, finding both Stiles and Stiles' father are light weights, finding both of them smart and competent even with the little information that they have at their disposal, they both are leaning on the other as supports. Yet, the dynamic feels off still. Stiles hiding now. Stiles' father still in the open.

The dynamic, since the beginning, while comedic, has this tone of "I will always look after you" on both ends. Stiles wants to be there, knowing where danger is and going to it because he *knows* his father is there. Stiles father getting mad and scolding him but never at the utter relief he sees when Stiles looks terrified at a body thinking its *him*, his father.

This family dynamic is painfully real to me and I commend the writers in this