#beerwolves

[thatdogmagic]

Anyway, hi, there's a lot of new people here!

And speaking of AI, here's what it's *actually* good for: sketching over all your hideous results.

[isthatbloodonhisshirt]

Had the chance to work with the amazing @brwlvs on the Sterek Reverse Bang and literally had such a fun time writing for their phenomenal prompt! Make sure you guys show Beer tons of love for all their awesome artwork!!! 

“It was an accident!” Stiles continued, trying desperately to explain that this was all a huge misunderstanding and that the Demon clearly had to cut him some slack here.

It didn’t seem like he would be getting his wish, because the Demon’s annoyance melted into frustrated incredulity and he said dryly, “You summoned me by accident.”

“Yes!” Stiles insisted.

“How is that even possible? How do you accidentally summon a Demon?”

“You know, by accident!” Stiles argued.

“So you accidentally drew the summoning sigil into the floor, and you accidentally had an offering available, and you accidentally stood in the circle while accidentally reading the summoning spell?” the Demon asked dryly.

Okay, well when it was said like that, Stiles could understand the skepticism.

[fuckyeahfanfictions]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski Characters: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski, Erica Reyes Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Human, Writer Derek Hale, Fan Stiles Stilinski, Conventions, Sterek Reverse Bang Summary:

Derek felt flustered. “I’m sure Derek Hale would be interested still, despite his reclusiveness,” he added.

Stiles looked at Derek like there was something funny about him. “You’re pretty adamant about that,” he commented.

Derek sighed some, “I just think someone like you would be a refreshing face and perspective for someone like Derek Hale to meet.”

Stiles softly smiled at that. “Thanks,” he uttered. “But enough about me, what about you?”

Derek felt flustered—again. He wasn’t sure if he should reveal it all there or wait it out. He liked the time he was spending with Stiles, but he was terrified of what would happen once Stiles knew the truth about him. ~*~ Or, the one where Derek meets one of his biggest fans, but Stiles doesn't know who he is.

[brwlvs]

Someone’s Typing (10142 words) by Beerwolves, changez Chapters: 8/8 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Summary: While Stiles is snapping pictures in Central Park, holding his phone up and waiting for a couple to pass out of frame, he sees him. Derek has been gone for almost a year, but there’s no mistaking him. But when Stiles moves his phone to look, Derek’s not there.

[christinesficrecs]

Hi! I am really thankful for everything you have been doing with this blog and i am hoping you can help me.

Can you give me some rec with some sterek where derek works in garage and stiles come in or something au preferably with werewolves and Derek as alpha and a happy ending? Thank you and have a good day <3

Sure!

Wolf Pack: Beacon Original by Beerwolves, fearfrost1211 | 33.1K

When his father landed the Deputy Chief of police position in Beacon Hills, Stiles moved to his new town gladly, embracing the chance of a fresh start. What he didn’t expect was to find himself hopelessly drawn to the gruff Vice President of the local motorcycle gang, the Wolf Pack. Derek Hale, resident bad boy of Beacon Hills, spent his time helping his sister lead the Wolf Pack and working on motorcycles at his family’s automotive garage. Then, one hot summer afternoon a bright-eyed boy walked into his life and turned his world upside down.

The Dealership by Kikileduc | 7.8K

Derek is a mechanic in Beacon Hills and also the local werewolf alpha.

Stiles is returning home after 15 years overseas. He just wants to get his mother's old Jeep running again.

And, Peter owns a bar, and some dept.

The mating rituals of the American werewolf by thedaughterofkings | 12.9K

When Stiles moves to Beacon Hills for his new job, he expects many things, but not to ask a wild wolf for directions. And that's just the first day.

Broken Car, Lemon Bar by inhystereks | 27.8K | Mature

Stiles got out of his car so whoever was coming wouldn't think he was just being an asshole and stopped in the middle of the road on purpose. He almost laughed when he caught sight of the approaching car. A black Camaro. Which meant Derek Hale was the one slowing down to pull up behind him. The town mechanic and also the scariest fucker around.

Oh, sweet irony.

He was exactly the person Stiles desperately needed and was also terrified of.

Perfect.

Stolen | 21.2K | Mature

When Roscoe starts making funny noises, Stiles take him to the garage to get fixed. But when he gets there he gets far more than he bargained for, like a brand new mechanic who looks like he just stepped out of Stiles' most intimate daydreams and might actually maybe be flirting with him.

Break Down, Build Up by moretomhardy | 6.3K | Explicit

Stiles has been in his new home of Beacon Hills for a grand total of one week when his Jeep breaks down on the side of the road after business hours. Lucky for him, Hale's Garage keeps long hours, and the owner is willing to give Stiles a hand, and then a whole lot more.

Fade and Then Return by paintedrecs | 15K

When Stiles reluctantly called for emergency roadside assistance to help with his beloved Jeep's dead battery, the last thing he expected was to form a connection with the Hot Battery Dude, who showed up in fluorescent yellow pants with heartbreaking news for his wallet and a surprising connection to his past.

It was only logical, then, for Stiles to invite him home for Christmas...right?

[justanothersterekficgirl]

Not So Boring by Beerwolves, isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella)

Explicit | 69k | 2/2

“It was an accident!” Stiles continued, trying desperately to explain that this was all a huge misunderstanding and that the Demon clearly had to cut him some slack here.

It didn’t seem like he would be getting his wish, because the Demon’s annoyance melted into frustrated incredulity and he said dryly, “You summoned me by accident.”

“Yes!” Stiles insisted.

“How is that even possible? How do you accidentally summon a Demon?”

“You know, by accident!” Stiles argued.

“So you accidentally drew the summoning sigil into the floor, and you accidentally had an offering available, and you accidentally stood in the circle while accidentally reading the summoning spell?” the Demon asked dryly.

Okay, well when it was said like that, Stiles could understand the skepticism.

[evanesdust]

Ao3 Wrapped ♥

thanks for the tag @raisesomehale 💗 (i'm only counting works i've written or cowritten, though i am listed as co-creator for a couple of events where i created art for the story)

Works Published: 9

Word Count: 70,283

Hits: 34,892

Bookmarks: 1,105

Most Popular by Kudos: if tomorrow never comes

Most Hits: this love (came back to me)

Longest: this love (came back to me)

Shortest: With One Touch, Everything Illuminates

Most Comments: this love (came back to me)

Fic that made me cry: this love (came back to me)

Fic that made me smile: if i'm not made for you, then why does my heart tell me that i am?

Gifts:

it was always you (can't believe I could not see it all this time) was a gift for seanchaidh7 for FTH in silent screams, in wildest dreams (i never dreamed of this) was my secret santa gift for mechformers nobody but us, bodies together was my secret santa gift for multiE

Collaborations: i did a lot of collaborations this year, but mostly for art and since i've left all those off so far, i'll leave them off this too. so these are the collaborations where i wrote or cowrote the fic

peachicicle created an amazing piece of art and a title card for this love (came back to me) which we collab'd on for the twsterekbigbang seanchaidh7 and i decided to work together since we won each others bids for FTH. she created a beautiful piece, and i wrote it was always you (can't believe I could not see it all this time) based off it novkat21 and i brainstormed and cowrote Then There Was You for the tropevember event on twitter

Events: i live for events! again, i'll only list the fics that i wrote or cowrote (though i did create art for a couple of the sterekreversechallenges events)

besides the art i did for the twsterekbigbang, i also wrote this love (came back to me) for FTH and the tropevember event on twitter, i wrote it was always you (can't believe I could not see it all this time) for the tropevember event on twitter, i cowrote Then There Was You with novkat21 for the decempreg event on twitter, i wrote two fics: let’s see where this thing goes and if i'm not made for you, then why does my heart tell me that i am? and then i did two separate sterek secret events. one was for the original stereksecretsanta event here on tumblr, and the other was for multiE's sterek secret santa event on twitter: in silent screams, in wildest dreams (i never dreamed of this) and nobody but us, bodies together, respectively

Coming in 2023:

i wrote two stories for a zine that beerwolves and multiE have in production i have two fics written for the what happens at midnight event in january and am working on one for the my sweet bloody valentine event for february i'll also be participating in the sterek valentine's exchange and i've signed up as an artist for the sterek big bang (there's also a project i'm not sure i can speak on yet so i'll won't say anything on that 😁)

[kitchenisking]

January Fic Rec

It's been one full year since I've started doing recs😱 Ive got so many new followers which blows my mind and everyone seems to love the recs! I can't believe that's its been a full year! All this started because I was reading so many fics and my friend told me that I should share all the amazing fics that I was reading. I never thought that it would kinda explode like it did. I truly enjoy doing these recs and I promise that I will continue doing recs, I have so many fics to read - Im not going anywhere😘

I would like to apologize if there any repeat fics on the list. If it happens I guess just enjoy the reread like it did😉

I hope that everyone has a good new years and that this year bring only good things for everyone!❤️

Please remember to show love to our writers🥰

Feeling You by secretfanboy - (Rating: T, Words: 6158, sterek)

When Derek loses his sight and hearing saving Scott from an attack, the Stilinski's take him in. As nurse and patient Stiles and Derek grow closer, but what will happen when Derek gets better? Will Stiles be left with a broken heart?

Where to Search for Snow by suburbanmotel - (Rating: Mature, Words: 8954, sterek)

Stiles and his Gigantic Repressed Feelings accidentally affect the weather. A lot. Like. A lot.

//

  “It’s snowing, Stiles,” says Derek.

Stiles looks up. He nods. “Yeah. Yeah it is.”

Derek looks at him. “It’s snowing, Stiles. In your bedroom.”

This Burn We Feel by HappyJuicyfruit - (Rating: G, Words: 3614, sterek)

“It hurts here?” His mother asked, running a hand over his knee. 

Derek nodded. 

“You didn’t fall down? Or hit it on anything?” 

Derek shook his head, his lip wobbling. 

“Oh sweetheart, this is a good thing,” his mother cooed. Derek bit his lip and stared at her. He did not see how this could be a good thing. “It’s your soulmate.” 

Soulmate? Derek blinked, looking down at his knee. He knew about soulmates. He knew his parents were soulmates, and that they always knew what the other was doing. Mommy felt what Daddy felt, and Daddy felt what Mommy felt. 

He didn’t think it was supposed to last this long though. 

— From the prompt: Soulmates can feel when their other half is in pain; emotional and physical.

Even Greenberg has a Soulmate by Beerwolves, Deancebra - (Rating: T, Words: 22628, sterek)

Stiles was of the firm belief that he didn't have soulmate. Not even as a kid had he had unexplained damage to his skin, showing where his soulmate had hit themselves. Sometimes he felt as if he saw the ghost of a bruise, but it was always gone faster than he could take a picture to prove it. So yeah. Probably just his damned imagination. And if Derek and his gang would stop pointing that out... well, it would be really fucking great now, wouldn't it?

Fly a Little Faster by mirrorkill - (Rating: T, Words: 32052, sterek)

Everyone knows when you go back in time, you shouldn't step on an ant, just in case you accidentally kill your own grandparent or something. But what happens when you go back in time and, uh, accidentally interrupt the one event that apparently made the Grumpiest Alpha in Town into a ball of mindless manpain? 

Well, if Marty McFly can do it, so can Stiles Stilinski. All he has to do is get Derek and Paige to fall in love before he gets pulled back to his own time. And before he makes anything worse. That's easy as pie, right? Right?

my heart's been offline by thepsychicclam - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 58893, sterek)

31/M/New York. Rich, lays in bed all day, likes to read (aka Derek Hale, son of an Oscar winning actress, brother of one obnoxious reality star and one rebellious fashion designer, hates the paparazzi so much he's a recluse)

26/M/California. Boring office job, likes to read (aka Stiles Stilinski, co-owner of a 100 acre organic farm with his dad and two best friends, writer of obits for a newspaper, has absolutely no life)

Or, where Derek and Stiles meet online, and Stiles has no clue Derek's part of a famous family.

The Music (Howls) Of The Night by tumtatumtum - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 5326, sterek)

The Phantom of the Opera AU where Omega!Stiles plays Christine to Alpha!Derek's Phantom.

Except in this version, people hit high notes for completely different reasons.

The hurry's gonna bring you to your knees. by Alysaria_Jones - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 6640, sterek)

Stiles is experiencing an odd side effect of the witches curse. Strangely enough, he finds that Derek is the only one who can dull the ache between his thighs.

The New Teacher by everchanginginks, TwistedAmusement13 - (Rating: Mature, Words: 9562, sterek)

Derek, a world-weary English teacher pushing 40, is roped into a wet night out by his best friends. He finds himself charmed by a flirty college student who introduces himself as Stiles. They share an incredible night, but Stiles leaves before Derek wakes up. Thinking that he'll never see Stiles again, Derek bitterly gets ready for work at Beacon Hills High School. He's in for a bit of shock when he's introduced to the newly hired science teacher...

appetite (until your hunger is satisfied) by orphan_account - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 2803, sterek)

In a surprising twist of events, he hadn't come home covered in blood (or monster slime, or other gross bodily fluids that are supposed to stay insidethe body and not smeared on his clothes), he wasn't bleeding and neither were his friends when he left them. For the first time in, well, ever, it seemed like they finally managed to find the one supernatural creature with a bit of sense of preservation who, miracle of miracles, didn't think killing everything that moved was a perfectly good way to pass the time. Stiles had been suitably impressed.

Or: Derek walks in on Stiles' alone time and decides to join in.

[naomimonalpha]

After having a couple of truly bogus weeks I was stoked to get my Sterek plushies from @beerwolves 💙💛💙💛

I am so stoked with all the extra bits and bobs and the plushies are SO SOFT!!! I love so very very much! 🥰

[fandomcares]

CLOSED

Thanks for all the bids! Please await an email from contact.fandomcares@gmail.com for payment info!

Thursday 12pm PST - Saturday, 12am PST

www.32auctions.com/fandomcaresblm

https://www.32auctions.com/fandomcaresblm

I’m using 32auctions which means you will need to register for an account. 

You can completely delete your account after the auction is over and no payments will be made through the site. I will contact you once the auction is over with payment details. 

Thanks for all of your diligence! I hope some of you get a chance to win! We have some awesome creators waiting to help!

I will have an update post along with grand totals available over the weekend!

Some instructions for 32Auctions:

The auction will start Thursday at noon. Feel free to pre-register now by clicking the link above. 

When you log in, click on “View All Items” and you’ll see four selections. Two winners will be chosen from each listing. 

When you click a listing you’ll see the bid information. If you scroll down you’ll see info about the creators likes and dislikes and more about what they’re offering. 

Here’s what you have to look forward to:

Please ask if you have any questions! Also, signal boost! 

https://www.32auctions.com/fandomcaresblm

[thebestbooksaround]

Fics I Love

Wolf Pack: Beacon Original by Beerwolves, fearfrost1211

Sterek | 33k | Teen

When his father landed the Deputy Chief of police position in Beacon Hills, Stiles moved to his new town gladly, embracing the chance of a fresh start. What he didn’t expect was to find himself hopelessly drawn to the gruff Vice President of the local motorcycle gang, the Wolf Pack. Derek Hale, resident bad boy of Beacon Hills, spent his time helping his sister lead the Wolf Pack and working on motorcycles at his family’s automotive garage. Then, one hot summer afternoon a bright-eyed boy walked into his life and turned his world upside down.

[fuckyeahfanfictions]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski Characters: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski, Ensemble Additional Tags: Biker AU, Canon-Typical Violence, mild panic attack, Stalking, Werewolves, First Kiss, Getting Together, Motorcycles, biker culture/knowledge courtesy of SOA Summary:

When his father landed the Deputy Chief of police position in Beacon Hills, Stiles moved to his new town gladly, embracing the chance of a fresh start. What he didn’t expect was to find himself hopelessly drawn to the gruff Vice President of the local motorcycle gang, the Wolf Pack. Derek Hale, resident bad boy of Beacon Hills, spent his time helping his sister lead the Wolf Pack and working on motorcycles at his family’s automotive garage. Then, one hot summer afternoon a bright-eyed boy walked into his life and turned his world upside down.

[ricresin]

Artist: Beerwolves

Author: Ricresin

Title of Art: HP!AU

Rating of Art: General

Title of Fic: Propelling Forward

Rating of Fic: T

Warnings: None.

Pairings: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Characters: Derek, Stiles, Scott

Tags: Misunderstandings, Enemies to Lover, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter, Hogwarts, High School.

Word Count: 9283

Summary: Stiles finds love in a clear closet under a lake. Too bad he’s supposed to hate the guy.

Links:

Fic — https://archiveofourown.org/works/27434875/chapters/67064896#workskin

Art — https://beerwolves.tumblr.com/post/634154223516401664/propelling-forward-rating-t-up-stiles-finds

Art prompt:

[brwlvs]

(Explicit, 69K words, Accidental Demon Summoning!AU) It has been an absolute dream to work with @isthatbloodonhisshirt for this year’s @sterekreversechallenges Reverse Bang :D  Thank you so much for making such an engaging story based on my art and I’m so happy to make more illustrations for it, I truly enjoyed working with you on this story <3 Everyone please give this fic a read! Enjoy!

[christinesficrecs]

Hello Christine hope youre doing well! I was wondering if you would kindly rec fics where Stiles is a new kid in town who doesnt know any of the supernatural stuff. Kinda like Bella - Ive read isthatbloodonhisshirt fic and the one where the Betas befriend him and hes all??? but i couldnt find any more. Thanks in advance I love love love what you do for this fandom! ✨💕🌈

Hey! You can try this tag and also this one. I confess, I'm not 100% sure which fic you're referring to but here are a few.

What Fresh Twilight Bullshit Is This? by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella) | 196.1K | Explicit

“I am notBella!” he insisted, shaking his fist angrily at Jackson, as if he’d been the one to suggest he was. “I amnotBella! I am, like, aJacob, at least!”

Lydia made a noise of debate from his right and he whipped around to look at her.

“What?! What was that sound?!”

“You’re more of a Mike,” she insisted, shrugging neatly and flipping some curls over her shoulder.

“Wha—” Stiles had never beensooffended in hislife! “I am not! No way! I am asolidJacob!”

There Are No Wolves in California (Werewolves on the Other Hand...) by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella), KioFox | 49K | Mature

“I’m not calming down until you call animal control! I fuckingsawit! There were fuckingwolves!”

“There are no wolves in California, Mr. Daehler,” the principal said, sounding exasperated, like this was the third time she’d said it to him.

“Well clearly thereare!” he shouted back, showing such a lack of respect for the woman, Stiles had to applaud her for her fortitude not to smack him in the face.

“Perhaps you were mistaken,” she said calmly.

“No I wasn’t fuckingmistaken,” Matt insisted, sounding incensed. “No way these were dogs, they weremassive!”

For a second, Stiles felt like the world had slowed considerably as those words wormed their way into his brain. Because—he knew a dog that was massive. Honestly, he’d also brushed away the idea of the dog being a wolfbecausethere were no wolves in California.

But... what if there were?

Holy shit, had Stiles literally spent his lunch break with a fuckingwolfcuddled into his side while hepetit?! Good God, he was lucky to still have all his limbs!

in this twilight (i can't see shit) by Anniely | 39.7K | Mature

About three things Stiles is sure:

First, the people in Beacon Hills are supernaturally gorgeous and he has no idea why he was allowed in. Second, if he hears 'mountain lion' one more time, he's going to do some serious maiming. And third, Derek Hale looks at him like he wants to eat him. And Stiles might just let him.

Wolf Pack: Beacon Original by Beerwolves, fearfrost1211 | 33.1K

When his father landed the Deputy Chief of police position in Beacon Hills, Stiles moved to his new town gladly, embracing the chance of a fresh start. What he didn’t expect was to find himself hopelessly drawn to the gruff Vice President of the local motorcycle gang, the Wolf Pack. Derek Hale, resident bad boy of Beacon Hills, spent his time helping his sister lead the Wolf Pack and working on motorcycles at his family’s automotive garage. Then, one hot summer afternoon a bright-eyed boy walked into his life and turned his world upside down.

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @beerwolves!

Read on AO3

*****

The Prisoner

Beacon Hills, capital city of the Kingdom of Beacon, 2004

Stiles stuck close to his dad, barely looking up from his feet as they toured the Beacon Hills Sheriff's Hall. He wasn’t really sure what his dad’s new job was. Maybe he was in charge of all the other deputies in the kingdom of Beacon now? There had been a letter from the King, but Stiles hadn’t really been paying attention to anything since his mom-

“What’s down here? Storage?” his dad asked.

“It’s mostly unused cells,” their guide, one of his dad’s new deputies, said. “For long-term prisoners. But yes, there’s also some storage down here. Outdated equipment, old files, anything we don’t need on a regular basis.”

His dad hmm’ed thoughtfully. Not too long ago, Stiles would have laughed at that and maybe tried to warn this deputy what that thoughtful hmm meant, but now he just looked up and finally paid attention to the hallway they were in. They were standing next to a door with a sliding panel set in the middle and a slit of a window so narrow that Stiles’s dad would have had to lift him up and hold him right next to it if he wanted to look through it. He might be a kid, but he recognized a solitary confinement cell door when he saw one. He sidled closer to his dad and leaned against his leg.

“Is there anything else I need to see today?” his dad said. He put his hand on Stiles’s shoulder and squeezed.

The deputy looked between them and visibly changed his answer. “No, I’d say we’re all done for now.”

His dad nodded, and they headed for the stairs. Stiles thought he saw a gleam of light in the cell door window, but there was nothing when he looked again.

~

Beacon Hills, capital city of the Kingdom of Beacon, 2006

His dad had a dungeon.

Not a dark and damp stone one lit with torches - which would have been way cooler - but there were prison cells in the basement of the Sheriff’s Hall and that counted as a dungeon and there was someone in one of them . Probably a murderer.

His dad had the best job.

Stiles approached the door of the occupied cell and slowly slid the panel open. He darted back, out of arm’s reach; he wasn’t stupid. He tried to look inside, but it was too dark to see anything without getting closer. He squinted; was that movement? He took a step forward.

“Stiles,” his dad said from the top of the stairs. “I told you not to go down there.”

That was his dad’s ‘I mean business’ voice, so Stiles ran back upstairs.

Next time he was going to talk to the murderer in the dungeon.

~

Beacon Hills, capital city of the Kingdom of Beacon, 2007

Stiles waited until the nearby deputies were distracted, then slipped downstairs. If his dad was really serious about keeping him away from the basement cells, the door would be locked, right?

He didn’t bother to turn on the lights - there was just enough sunlight coming through the tiny window set high on the wall at the end of the hallway for him to see by. He could probably find his way to the Prisoner’s cell blindfolded anyway.

He slid open the panel and peeked through the opening. The room was dim; the Prisoner was to be kept in darkness, no matter how much his dad didn’t like it.  “Hi,” he whispered. “Got you something.” He placed an apple on the ledge that jutted out from the opening.

There was a deep sigh from one corner of the room. “Why?”

“Prison food sucks. Dad says so.”

“Why do you keep coming back? Talking to me?”

Stiles shrugged. He didn’t know why himself. “Because.”

There was a pause.“...thank you.”

Stiles moved away and after a moment the apple disappeared from the ledge. The Prisoner didn’t like for Stiles to get too close or try to see him.

When Stiles had first started bringing outside food for the Prisoner, he had worried about things like apple cores and orange peels. Apparently the orange peels could be flushed if they were broken up into tiny pieces, but the Prisoner ate the apple core, seeds and all. Ew. Stiles didn’t like to think about it, so he started doing what he did best: chatter.

“So my buddy Scott has a crush on the Little Princess and Lydia is all ‘Don’t be stupid, you don’t have a chance’ and it’s not like Scott actually thinks he does, but he can still like her, right? It’s like having a crush on a movie star. I mean, I have a better shot with Lydia than Scott does with a freakin’ princess, and Lydia is like, unattainable. Plus she’s going steady with Jackson, just because his dad is Lord Mayor. She has a genius brain, but I guess even smart people do stupid things.

“Anyway, Scott’s got her picture in his wallet and he looks at it and sighs a lot, which is kinda lame. I don’t do that with Lydia, and I’m an expert at having a crush. I-”

“Someone’s coming,” the Prisoner said suddenly. “Close the panel and hide.”

“What?”

“Stiles, hurry,” the Prisoner hissed, and Stiles did as he was told.

Just as he finished sliding the panel shut, the overhead lights came on. Stiles whirled and ran for the storage closet, which was always unlocked despite his dad’s efforts. He dashed inside and shut the door as quietly as he could. There was less than half an inch of space at the bottom of the door; Stiles lay down and pressed his face as close to the crack as he could. He wouldn’t be able to see anything, but he could probably hear enough to learn something interesting.

A clatter of footsteps marched down the hallway, echoing off the bare cement walls. Stiles had learned early on to be quiet while visiting the Prisoner, who had really sensitive hearing - these people either didn’t know or didn’t care.

“Open the door and leave us.” A woman’s voice, very commanding. Nobility for sure.

“My lady-” A man, probably a personal guard. The nobility always had personal guards.

“He wouldn’t dare try to harm me. He knows what will happen if he does. Open the door and wait by the stairs.”

“Yes, my lady.” There was a metallic groan - the cell door opening? - and then a bunch of footsteps clomping away.

“Der-ek,” the woman sing-songed. “Come out, come out wherever you are.”

Stiles didn’t like her.

“Then I’ll have to come to you.”

A muted step and then all he could hear was the muffled sound of her voice, no matter how he adjusted his position. He waited an eternity, with only her unintelligible words and the occasional sound of her mocking laughter audible from the Prisoner’s cell.

She finally emerged. “I’m finished,” she called. The guards came back and as the door was groaning shut, she said mockingly, “Until next year, sweetie.”

Stiles really didn’t like her.

Their footsteps marched away and then up the stairs. Then the lights went out and there was a faint sound of a door closing. Stiles waited.

After another eternity, Stiles got up and opened the door. He stepped out into the darkened hallway - the sun had set at some point - and quietly closed it again. He made his way to the Prisoner’s cell - hey, he really could find his way blind - and slid the panel open.

“Hello?” he whispered.

No answer.

“Derek?”

“Forget you heard that name.” Derek’s voice was low and sad.

“I’m sorry she was mean to you.”

“Just go away.”

“Oh. Okay. Um, I’ll talk to you later?”

No answer.

Reluctantly, Stiles slid the panel closed and left him alone, creeping down the hallway toward the stairs, not only because it was dark.

At the top of the stairs, he opened the door a crack and peeked out. It didn’t look like anyone was around, so he opened it a little more and squeezed out. Then he closed it again and heaved a sigh of relief.

A heavy hand came down on his shoulder. Stiles yelped.

“How long were you down there?” his dad whispered, furious.

“Um-”

“Were you down there when Princess Katherine arrived?”

Stiles’s eyes went wide. “Princess Katherine?”

“Do you know what she would have done if she’d found you down there? We would both be spending the rest of our lives in one of those cells.”

“Dad-”

“Don’t, Stiles. You can’t talk your way out of this one. We’re going home. I’ll figure out your punishment for this once I’ve calmed down.”

His dad let go of his shoulder. “We’re leaving.” He strode away and Stiles hurried after him. He’d never seen his dad so angry, not at him.

The drive home was silent. Stiles felt bad, but he couldn’t think of anything he might have done differently. Not get caught?

When they got home, his dad sent him to his room. Neither of them mentioned supper.

“Dad?” Stiles asked hesitantly from the staircase. “Who is he?”

“Stiles-” His dad sighed and rubbed his forehead. “His name is Adrian Harris. He plotted against the royal family and now he’ll be in prison for the rest of his life. Stay away from him.”

Why would Princess Katherine call the Prisoner Derek if his name was Adrian Harris? Something wasn’t right. Something that might be dangerous for his dad to know. “Okay.”

Stiles trudged up to his room. He had some research to do.

~

Beacon Hills, capital city of the Kingdom of Beacon, 2011

Stiles burst into the kitchen of the Sheriff’s Hall, carrying a small bag of apples. “I’m here! I brought them! It’s not too late, is it?”

Stiles had been helping out in the kitchen since he was eleven, although at first it had been part of his punishment for going places he wasn’t supposed to go. Prison food really did suck. Stiles wasn’t sure if the bad food was part of the criminals paying their debt to society, but he did know that prisoners were supposed to be fed nutritious meals. His dad had agreed and at Stiles’s suggestion, they had added fresh fruit to the prisoner’s meals to go with their otherwise nutritionally adequate slop. For years, Stiles had been allowed to place said fresh fruit on the lunch trays before they were served (because he definitely was not allowed to cook anything or handle sharp objects) and today he had been sent to buy more apples because the ones in the kitchen had gone bad.

“I’d swear you were still eleven years old,” Brenda, the kitchen manager, said fondly. “You aren’t too late. Go on, we’re about to load everything on the carts.”

Stiles rinsed the apples and started putting them on the trays, moving as fast as he could without dropping anything or knocking anything over.

“Sooo, Brenda,” Stiles said as soon as the kitchen workers started loading the trays on carts. “Do you think I could…” He gestured vaguely with hands and smiled, his eyes wide and innocent.

“No,” Brenda scolded with a laugh. “You can’t help deliver the meals. I don’t know why you keep asking.”

“Because one day you might say yes,” Stiles said with a charming smile.

Brenda shooed him away and Stiles went.

As soon as he was out of sight, he hurried down the hallway toward a place he was definitely not supposed to be. He ducked into an unused office and hurried over to the vent, mentally thanking the fates that the Sheriff’s Hall was new enough to have central heating and old enough to have a ventilation system that required repair people to actually enter the vents to fix shit when it broke.

He pulled the grate away and crawled inside. He carefully replaced the grate behind him and began to make his way along the route he’d mapped out from building schematics. Hopefully they had been accurate. He moved as quickly as he could, cursing every thump and scrape he caused. If his luck held, the noise would be dismissed as the random sounds of an old HVAC system.

There were a few heart-stopping moments when he had to climb down to the basement level vents - the maintenance ladder needed maintenance - but soon he was letting himself down into the supply closet where he had hidden from Princess Katherine all those years ago. The door was still being kept unlocked - another uncontrollable variable working out in his favor - and he crept out into the hallway.

The sliding panel on Derek’s cell door barely made a scraping sound as he pulled it aside. “Derek?” he whispered. “It’s me, Stiles.”

“Stiles?” Suddenly a face loomed in front of him in the darkness. Derek was pale, and his dark, unkempt hair and beard were shot through with silver, but he still looked like the pictures Stiles had found on the internet. “What are you doing here?”

“I snuck in. Listen, there’s no time. I need you to promise to eat your apple today, okay?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“It’s going to taste funny. Maybe smell funny. Just eat it, all of it, okay?”

Derek’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”

Stiles pulled a chain out from under his shirt. The attached pendant was etched with a swirling symbol. “The sun, the moon, the truth. Your mother sent me, Prince Derek. Please, just trust me.”

Derek stared at him, then nodded. Stiles placed his hand in the opening, palm up, and waited to see if Derek would take it. After a moment, Derek did.

When Stiles started to pull away, Derek tightened his grip. “Stiles,” he whispered. “Thank you.”

Stiles nodded. “Good luck.” Then he closed the panel and hurried away. Getting back out would be just as tricky as getting in had been.

He was almost back to the unused office when his phone buzzed with an incoming text. Shit, he was behind schedule. He sped up, muttering ‘Don’t notice me, don’t notice me’ under his breath as his progress made more noise than could be explained by it being old. He almost crashed through the vent grate, still muttering, and quickly got out and replaced it. He stopped at the door, closed his eyes and placed one hand on the knob and the other on the wall. “Don’t notice me,” he said one more time, and opened the door.

There was a deputy in the hall when he stepped out of the office, but she only looked at Stiles with uninterested eyes and continued on her way.

“Holy shit, it worked,” he whispered, then he started running. No one tried to stop him. When he reached his dad’s office, he stopped, let out a slow, deliberate breath, and said, “All done.”

He was panting with exertion when he burst into his dad’s office.

“Stiles, what’s wrong?” his dad asked, halfway out of his seat.

“Dad,” he gasped. “Can I… stay… with Scott… tonight?”

His dad sat back down. “And you rushed in here to ask because…?”

“Scott’s waiting,” Stiles answered, still catching his breath.

“And you couldn’t have called? Texted?” His dad raised a ‘my son is an idiot’ brow at him.

“I… could have done that, yes. But then I wouldn’t have seen you at all today, dad-dad-daddy-o.” Stiles shuffled his feet. “Sooo, can I?”

“How does Melissa feel about this?”

“She’s working the night shift all weekend. She told us not to set anything on fire and not to eat all of the Oreos.”

His dad gave him a piercing look, then nodded. “Fine, you can stay at Scott’s. But if I find out you didn’t clear this with Melissa…”

“Yeah, yeah, grounded for life, no driving until I’m thirty-five, bread and water diet, all that good stuff.”

The phone rang and his dad waved him out. “Don’t cause any mayhem,” he said and answered the phone.

Stiles hurried outside, where Scott was waiting for him in Stiles’s jeep. “Did you do it?” Scott asked while Stiles was buckling his seatbelt.

“All done. Now we live normal teenage boy lives for a while.”

“Awesome. Call of Duty tonight?”

“Scotty, you are going down,” Stiles said as he started the jeep.

The next morning, his dad told him the Prisoner had died in his sleep. The day after that, the news stations reported that the Prisoner’s body had disappeared from the morgue. His name was not given. Princess Katherine was seen storming in and out of the Sheriff’s Hall every day for a week. Stiles stayed far away.

~

Beacon Preserve, neutral territory between the kingdoms of Beacon and Triskele, 2016

Princess Allison Argent, formerly known as the Little Princess, now heir-apparent to the throne of Beacon, waited at the edge of Wolf’s Glade with her honor guard, which counted her secret fiance Scott McCall among its number. On the other side, Princess Laura Hale, heir-apparent to the throne of Triskele, waited with several of her brothers and sisters, including Prince Derek, formerly a prisoner of Princess Allison’s aunt, Princess Katherine. His escape had led to a brutal war, and now, five years later, both sides agreed that the cost of the war was too high. Stiles privately thought Princess Katherine’s death in battle, followed by King Gerard’s fatal heart attack upon hearing the news, had helped the end of the war along.

Stiles, as someone with ties to both sides, stood in the middle of the Glade with Emissary Deaton. Nobody was leaving until they hammered out a treaty, not if he had anything to say about it. He wanted to date his new boyfriend in peace. He looked over at Derek and winked.