To Catch 'Em All, a teen wolf fanfic

I wrote this at like 3AM in the morning after a night of catching Pokemon and training. That game is too addicting! (Also, please leave a fav and/or a comment if you liked this story!) :)

When Stiles first met Derek, it was at a coffee shop across the street from his university. It was a meeting of pure chance, really, under what Stiles would call unusual circumstances. Or as unusual as it could get at Beacon Hills. It went something like this:

Stiles is the only person in the coffee shop cash at 10 PM at night, waiting for his iced coffee. He knows that he shouldn't drink it at night, but it's summer and it hot and he's just come from an intense training session in a gym. Like, a real gym. Okay. Maybe also from a Pokemon gym that's a few blocks away from the shop, but still.

Case in point: Stiles is waiting for his drink, peering into his phone to figure out where in the world is Eevee when the door opens, shuts, and in strides a man who looks a few years older than him. He's tall and well-built, while his short facial hair gives has this rugged look. Totally Han Solo-like, but totally not at the same time. Stiles thinks he's a model or something before he catches himself staring, looks up into the man's eyes, and notices that they are a brilliant gold.

Stiles' breath hitches, and his heart feels like it's beating faster than his limit during cardio workouts.

Eevee isn't the only thing he wants to catch.

The man simply nods at Stilles, now that he has his 'eyes up here,' and proceeds to walk towards him. No, scratch that. Stiles is hoping a bit too much. The man is walking towards the cash to order a drink, and it's pure black coffee. How people could drink coffee that strong - especially at night - is beyond Stiles' understanding. But he then realizes that he's drinking coffee, too, albeit way more mild that the man's order. Stiles figures that if he needs something to keep himself awake tonight, then it should at least be sweet and delicious.

He knows it's strange to drink coffee with sugar and cream, as it kind of negates the calories lost during his training session. But Stiles is just beginning and certainly there is some leeway there? To give oneself into temptation is normal. Probably. He's also read somewhere that drinking coffee would refuel muscles and help him recover quickly from rigorous exercising. His worries are forgotten when the employee at the cash hands him his drink, he takes a sip, and Stiles feels how cold it is. It's awesome.

Stiles looks at the man waiting at the cash once more before glancing back down at his phone. Eevee should be in here somewhere, and it's frustrating when the GPS system doesn't catch up with the rest of the map. So Stiles walks towards the tables, sits himself down, and just waits in pure agony, tapping the area around his circle as if that would make the GPS update faster.

It's been a few minutes of frustration before the man he saw earlier pulls up a seat next to him, coughs, and almost embarrassingly asks, "Is Eevee here?"

Stiles tries his best to calm his heartbeat. Simply put, the man is hot. Totally his type in terms of appearances, anyway. He utters his reply, hoping he didn't sound like a nerve wreck. "Should be. I'm waiting for my GPS to update so it would appear." Wanting to seize the chance of striking a conversation with the man, because it's now totally established that they're at 'common interest' level, Stiles also asks, "How many have you caught so far? Do you have favourite Eeveelution?"

The man is silent for an awkward few seconds before replying with, "Ten. And I don't know what an 'Eeveelution' is."

It's a statement that makes Stiles smile. A new fan! And Stiles himself is a total Pokemon expert. He considers it something to 100% be proud of, it reaching this point required dedication and research. Stiles is good at researching, and when it comes to Pokemon and its goal of battle and catching 'em all, Stiles considers himself the number one new-fan guide. Or so he just gives himself this title right now for the sake of the man before him.

"Eevee is a Normal Type," he hears himself say almost automatically. The information comes so naturally to him, he has caught all 721 something of them as of Generation 6, after all. "We only have the Kanto region out, so there's like 150 Pokemon out. Well, 151 if you count Mewtwo. And 3 Eeveelutions are available. They're Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon. If this is like the games, then I would totally get Vaporeon for the amount of HP it has, and Jolteon for its speed base stats. Flareon is not very competitive, it might have good STAB, but its Speed is tragic. Even perfect EVs and IVs can't help it there. That's why you rarely see it in competitive battle."

Stiles realizes he's rambling, but the man in front of him listens eagerly. The look Stiles is receiving is intense, and oh my God, did he just accidentally declare himself a total Pokemon nerd in front of someone who's probably just in it for the casual and addictive fun? Stiles hopes he doesn't come off as either stuck up or creepy. "Sorry. Rambling," he says, hoping it fixes something.

"No, don't be," the man replies. "This is great information, thanks." The man then looks down at his phone, and smiles.

"So. Um. I'm Stiles."

The man looks up from his phone, and this times takes a look at Stiles. Really takes a look, like as if checking him out, and Stiles struggles to remain still.

"Derek."

"So, Derek, which team are you on?"

Derek cocks his head, giving Stiles an amused look. "I bat for the same one, if that's what you mean."

Stiles could just about die right now. Like melt into the tiled floor and make his way into the sewer system.

"Well," Stile raises his eyebrows instead. "Me, too. But I meant which Pokemon team? Valor? Instinct? Mystic?"

"Valor."

This is just too awesome. "Wanna go catch Pokemon sometime? And take over gyms for our team?" Stiles couldn't help himself. He reasons that since he's got nothing to lose, he wins. Kind of. If Derek agrees to his impromptu plan.

Derek considers for a moment before giving a him firm nod. He then takes a sip of his coffee, swipes his phone screen, and captures Eevee.

Stiles thinks that Eevee isn't the only thing he captures.

Before Stiles can drag out the conversation and get more non-Pokemon related information out of Derek, the latter says, "I'll see you tomorrow. What time?"

"I'm good for 6PM!"

"Sounds like a plan."

And just like that, Derek is out the door, leaving Stiles as the only customer in the coffee shop, all nervous and excited that he ends up using 5 Pokeballs and eventually a Great Ball to catch Eevee.

"I'm telling you Scott," Stiles tells his best friend over the phone. "He's gorgeous. And he plays Pokemon! I think I'm in love."

Scott scoffs, smiling. "Stiles, you've just met him! Get to know someone better before declaring your undying love, okay?"

Stiles nods, even though Scott couldn't see him. "You're right." He remembers when he was dating Lydia back in high school. Their honeymoon-like phase was fantastic, but somewhere along the way, after Stiles makes a wild declaration of love, and between the lessons in archery club, Lydia discovered that she was more and more interested in Allison. Lydia and Stiles broke up soon afterwards, but remain as good friends.

"What's his name again?" Scott asks.

"It's Derek. Even his name sounds good." Stiles grins.

There is a long pause over at Scott's end of the phone.

"Scott?"

"Derek? As in Derek Hale?"

"Probably? I didn't ask for his last name."

Stiles could practically feel Scott's eyebrows crease. "Open up Facebook. Double check."

Stiles does what Scott tells him to do, curious about what this is leading up to. Surely, when he searches for "Derek Hale" on Facebook, the face man he just met pops up. "He looks even better in person," Stiles says. He couldn't help it.

Scott sighs. "Stiles. Be careful, alright? That's the Derek Hale. You weren't here before starting university… but his entire house got burned down by his ex one night and no one else but his sister and himself escaped.

"What are you saying?" Stiles feels offended for Derek, despite not knowing much about him at all. Yet.

"I'm saying that he might be kind of on the anti-social front. Less than trusting because that's a lot of tragedy to experience... Everyone in town already knows about Derek, Stiles. It's only right that I also tell you. Don't be too caught up if he doesn't return your feelings."

"Right." Stiles swallows. It's a lot of information to suddenly take in. He feels as if he's invaded a private part of Derek's life, even if the information is already public knowledge.

He and Scott move on to different subjects, then, about how Stiles' classes are going, and how his fitness regime is going. Stiles couldn't really tell if he's improving on the latter front, but if sore muscles are any indication, then he's good. Going to the gym wasn't his idea to start, however with what happened to his mother, and the increased worry that about Stiles' health that his father had afterwards, made Stiles decide to take better care of himself. Training is, in its own way, therapeutic as well. The steady sounds of weights coupled with a rapid yet also steady heart beat while he's doing cardio helps him cope with everything. It helps him breathe better. There's also something about endorphins, but Stiles didn't really look into it.

The phone call ends at around midnight with Stiles yawning and Scott telling him about an essay he has to finish up.

Body sore, heart lodged in his throat, and filled with conflicted feelings, Stiles falls asleep.

The next morning, Stiles finds himself relaxing instead of hitting the gym. He knows that his body needs rest, especially for a beginner. He does take a walk around his neighbourhood, though, catching any Pokemon that happens to be along the way and collecting items at Pokestops.

By the afternoon, he's caught a bunch of Rattata, Pidgey, Drowzee, and one Haunter. He decides to transfer the Drowzee to Professor Willow to get more candy items, and eventually evolve his strongest Drowzee into Hypno. While he liked the idea of keeping the 'Top Percentage Rattata,' in reality he knows that it just doesn't have enough CP despite being the best of its bunch. Pidgey are kind of adorable. He decides to collect a few more before evolving one into Pidgeotto, and eventually Pidgeot. As for Haunter, he doesn't know what to do. He was never a big fan of Ghost and Poison Types, but he knows that in the games, Haunter's evolution, Gengar, is literally a beast in battle. It has a versatile moveset, fast, and has great base stats in Special Attack. Plus, it has a Mega Evolution, which further increases its Speed and Special Attack stats.

Maybe he and Derek will find more Gastly and Haunter later tonight? They are supposed to meet each other at the coffee shop around 6PM. If they stay longer into the evening, then Ghost Type Pokemon are more likely to appear. Even though Stiles is not the biggest fan of Ghost Types, he nonetheless hopes that he and Derek will spend more time together.

For the rest of the afternoon, Stiles makes it to the local mall and hangs out with Scott there. The GPS system doesn't work inside the mall at first, but after some troubleshooting that involves him and Scott going outside for a few seconds, it's fixed.

Stiles feels like it's kind of a funny betrayal, as his best friend is on Team Mystic, but forgives Scott a bit when he tells him that Kira is also on Team Mystic. They both duke it out in a gym inside the mall and a few other ones outside the surrounding area before Scott has to leave on a date with Kira. When Stiles asks him what they're planning to do, Scott's blush is visible on his face as he averts his eyes. "We're dining out, then playing Pokemon Go afterwards… she's a big fan."

"Hey!" Stiles exclaims good-naturally. "That's my date idea!"

Scott only shakes his head in response. "If it goes well, actually ask him out on one, alright?"

Stiles grins. With these years of Pokemon-related knowledge accumulated, he's sure that Derek will be impressed by his expertise. It's not just sharing what he likes with Derek that he's excited for, but probably being able to share his other interests, too. And getting to know Derek and his interests besides drinking black coffee at 10PM at night and fondness for Eevee.

Stiles is all nerves when he enters the coffee shop. He's 15 minutes early, and thumbs his Pokemon Go app to see if there are any Pokemon at the shop today. There is one, and it's a Vulpix; a Fire Type that evolves into Ninetails. He recalls the anime, back when it was full of puns and meaningful content - according to him, anyway. The episode he recalls is the one where Ninetails develop Psychic-like powers in order to live in a time long past. It waits for it's owner to return home… for over 200 years. If Stiles recalls correctly, its owner had an uncanny resemblance to Brock.

Before Stiles could continue to appreciate Pokemon lore, the door of the coffee shop opens, shuts, and in steps Derek. Stiles' couldn't help but think that Derek is hotter than any Fire Type, and oh my God, he's such a nerd to be thinking of this pun.

"Hey," Stiles says by way of greeting, hoping his voice doesn't indicate his nervousness.

Derek nods and greets him before gesturing towards the door. They go outside and begin walking down the street. The plan is to cover the central area of Beacon Hills first, and then return to the nearby park where they could collect items again at the Pokestations.

"So how did you get into this game?" Stiles starts. It's a fair question to start with, he thinks. Nothing too personal, and on the grounds of a common interest.

"One of my sisters," Derek replies, giving his phone a small smile. It had a hint of sadness to it.

Stiles suddenly feels as if his question was actually invasive after all. "Oh," he says, feeling a bit down. "Hey Derek? If anything, I kind of get it."

Derek raises an eyebrow at Stiles before saying, "So you've heard. It's all true, and I don't deny anything."

Stiles shakes his head. "No, no wait! I meant." It's hard to find the right words. "A friend told me about what happened when I told him about you. And I just - I don't know? I won't judge and would like to get to know you you? Not the you from newspapers and stuff."

Derek looks up at the sky, breathing in deeply before replying. "Let's just catch some Pokemon, alright? That's what I'm interested in. You?"

Oh. Stiles realizes that of course Derek wouldn't be interested in going beyond… beyond what? Mere strangers with a similar interest? All Stiles to Derek is an expert who knows his stuff, and could help win gym battles for Team Valor, really. Stiles has always known that he's good at research, and if that research could at least make Derek feel a little better despite of everything, then that's okay. It's okay. Stiles is totally okay with that.

"Yeah. Me, too," Stiles says. "Sorry about that." Stiles then points across the street, trying to distract himself and clear the air of awkwardness between Derek and himself. "There's some more Vulpix this way, I think. And more Drowzee! What have you caught so far? I've noticed that a lot of gyms around here are taken over by Poison Types. Since Psychic attacks are super effective against Poison, eventually getting a Hypno is a good idea."

Derek allows Stiles to see his phone screen, pressing the Pokeball in the lower middle to bring up the Pokedex. Derek has caught a lot of Haunter, in addition to highlights such as a Nidoqueen and Tentacruel. So. Poison Types. Derek definitely needs a strategy against Psychic Types, interestingly enough.

For the rest of their walk throughout Beacon Hills central, Stiles overloads Derek with more and more information about type advantages, and compares the app to the 3DS games. Eventually, their conversation ends up being about hilarious nicknames and meaningful ones given to Pokemon. When Derek laughs, grin reaching his eyes and he clutching his stomach because of some ridiculous nicknames for Shiny Pokemon, Stiles couldn't help but memorize the expression.

It's almost midnight by the time they travel back to their meeting place at the coffee shop. Instead of the regular Eevee, an Arcanine appears, and Derek jokingly suggests to name it after Stiles' father, Beacon Hill's Chief of Police, "Mr. Stilinski". Stiles does just that. Laughter is a good way to end the night.

It is then that Derek offers to buy Stiles a drink. "Iced Coffee, right?" he asks while already purchasing the drink.

"You know me so well," Stiles says, genuinely surprised that Derek paid attention yesterday night.

"I have to pay you back somehow."

Ah. Right. Stiles almost forgets that Derek is just seeing in him for his Pokemon expertise and knowledge. Nothing more, nothing less.

When they sit at an empty table, it's silent, but not super uncomfortable. Stiles busies himself with the text messages that Scott sends him, while Derek sips his black coffee and looks out the window.

Scott: So? How did it go with Derek?

Stiles: Awesome! Only I just can't believe he's never seen Star Wars? :o

Scott: I haven't seen it, either

Stiles: But you're my brother, Scott!

Scott: Stop. No references

Stiles: Oh my God fine!

Stiles: Anyway, he's really great. Like really, really great. But Idk? I want to do this again with him and it feels wrong since he's not interested in me at all? :/

Scott: Oh… Sorry, Stiles

Stiles: Aw, don't be. I'm okay with this.

Scott: Look. Ask him again. He might warm up to you?

Stiles: What's this?! Scott Don't-Where-Your-Heart-On-Your-Sleeve McCaul is advising me to give it a shot? ;)))

Scott: Thought about it… If neither Kira or myself took that initial step, then we wouldn't be together at all

Stiles: Ah, so it's Kira's idea. I knew it!

Scott: Anyways, G2G. Paper due next week

Stiles: Sure…. :p

That's the last of Scott's text messages to Stiles, and when Stiles looks up from his phone, he finds that Derek is looking right at him.

"You make expressions when you text," Derek says.

Stiles' face heats up and his hand goes to the back of his neck.

"It's... amusing," Derek tries again, and then scoffs at himself, as if he caught himself saying something he shouldn't.

Stiles doesn't notice the embarrassment as he basks in Derek's kind-of-smile. "Wanna do this again?" he blurts out automatically instead.

"Sure," Derek replies. He gives Stiles that smile-reaching-his-eyes type of smile this time, and Stiles swears that whether or not he and Derek will ever go out, he'll keep bringing that smile on his face.

For the next several weeks, they meet, Derek buys Stiles coffee, and they travel around Beacon Hills hunting for Pokemon. By now, Stiles' character is Level 15, and Derek is steadily catching up to him. They battled in a few gyms, too. Both of them being very competitive for the sake of Team Valor. Derek snorts every time Stiles makes a joke about Team Valor being the 'alpha' of all teams.

Beacon Hills is a small town, really. When word somehow gets out - Stiles blames Scott and then blames Kira and then blames Lydia. And also someone named Laura - that Stiles has been seen with a rugged, handsome young man, his father becomes curious. And as Sheriff, it's within his nature to question Stiles about it. He couldn't help it.

"Son," Stiles' father says one evening, as Stiles is getting ready to go out on another Pokemon Go hunt. "How is he? He is treating you well?"

Stiles gives his father a confused look for a good 10 seconds before the realization dawned upon him. "Dad, oh my God… No!"

His father only raises his eyebrow. "You can tell me."

"Er… No, dad. Derek and I aren't going out at all. We're just two fans trying to catch 'em all. You know - like the slogan? There's 150 so far, and the town is small so it takes time to find them all -"

"So it's the Hale boy."

"Wait…" Stiles couldn't help it. He needed to know the details. "You know Derek Hale? Scott's told me a bit about his past. Do you… you know?"

His father gives him a stern look. "Son, I don't care about his past so long as he treats you well. You have my blessing."

"But! But we're not dating! I swear!"

"I've known you long enough that if you're not dating the Hale boy now, you'll be dating him soon. Now go, or you'll be late."

Stiles looked at the time on his phone. He turns a bit red before his hand reaches the front door. "Got it. Thanks, dad."

Stiles: Scott WHY

Scott: ? :)

Stiles: Don't smiley-face me! You told Kira, didn't you? And then Kira probably told Lydia, and now my dad knows about me and Derek!

Scott: So it's official now? You and Derek? ;)

Stiles: asdfghjkl;

Stiles: My dad even gave me his BLESSING.

Scott: Wouldn't hurt to make it real. You both deserve to be happy.

Stiles: Oh my God Scott stop teasing me.

Scott: Only Kira can say that to me!

Stiles: BYE.

"Texting someone again?" Derek's amused voice breaks Stiles' train of thought. Stiles looks up from his phone and see Derek taking a seat across from him and placing and iced coffee in front of him.

"Yep," Stiles admits. "Dating troubles. Kinda."

Derek takes a sip of his own dark coffee. "I didn't know you're dating someone."

"It's not that," Stiles quickly corrects him. "My friends - heck, even my dad - thinks I'm dating someone. When I'm not. Yep. totally not dating them."

"Why would they think that?" Derek asks. He has an amused expression on now, and Stiles wants to melt onto the floor and into the drain pipes. He knows that Derek knows. God. Was he always so obvious? Was Derek also so perceptive? Derek's senses are like that of a wolf.

"Because I've been going out with him? Not 'going out' going out, but just going out like as friends. He's really cool. He listens to me ramble about Star Wars and stuff. Even though he's never seen Star Wars himself."

"What's preventing you from dating him?" Derek has the gall to look innocent.

"Everyone keeps telling me that he's got a past to be reckoned with. But at the same time, they're saying that they don't care about his past so long as I'm happy. But... like I do care? Because I'm not even sure if the person in question even wants to date. I mean, they did say that they're just interested in my expertise in Pokemon."

Derek is silent for a few moments. He takes another sip of his coffee while Stiles tries prevent himself from bolting right out of the coffee shop.

Derek runs his hand through his own hair. "Laura was right," he says to himself and shaking his head.

"I want to," Derek then says to Stiles.

Stiles stares at him, speechless.

"If I wanted to know all about Pokemon, I could've just used the internet, Stiles. But I wanted to spend more time with you." Derek says. When Stiles doesn't reply, he continues.

"I'd date you. If you'd like me to. I know that I'm not perfect, given my past. And it's not quite fair to you because of what happened. I - "

Stiles reaches across the table, tugs Derek by the collar of his shirt, and kisses him.

"Don't ever blame yourself for what happened," Stiles says firmly after they part. He stammers, then. "I… I'd like for us to go out."

"Aren't we already doing that," Derek smiles.

"Oh my God, you're the worst!"

"And you wanna be the very best like no one ever was," Derek replies.

Stiles grins. "To catch 'em all is our real test… To train them is our cause." Oh God. It's embarrassing. But he couldn't help it. Not with Derek in on it, too.

Derek gets up from his seat and gives Stiles that smile-reaching-his-eyes type of smile. "Let's travel across the lands, then."

Case in point: Stiles is waiting for his drink, peering into his phone to figure out where in the world is Eevee when the door opens, shuts, and in strides a man who looks a few years older than him. He's tall and well-built, while his short facial hair gives has this rugged look. Totally Han Solo-like, but totally not at the same time. Stiles still thinks Derek's a model or something. He looks up into the Derek's eyes, and admires how they are always a brilliant gold.

Stiles' breath hitches, and his heart feels like it's beating faster than his limit during cardio workouts.

Eevee isn't the only thing he's caught.