Derek sighed as he eyed the young man in front of him, he really didn't want to do this, didn't want to deal with the paper work that came with the arrest, knowing he'd otherwise be able to go home in another ten minutes. But he also couldn't just let the guy go off, after he and his partner caught him trying to steal a blue jeep. He had stayed in the squad car, calling the crime in, while his partner Boyd had gone up to the thief. The guy had grimaced when he saw Boyd coming up to him, and had started talking a mile a minute, while gesturing wildly.
Derek didn't really understand why the thief would go and try to steal the jeep, which looked as if it would break down not even five minutes after starting it, when there was a more expensive BMW standing a few feet down the road. But then again, trying to steal a car wasn't very smart either. Especially when there was a police car just turning down the street.
Exchanging a look with his partner, he got his handcuffs out of his belt and pushed the guy around against the jeep, drawing his arms back. "You have the right to remain silent..." The guy interrupted him.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, just call Lydia Martin for me, will you." The guy dropped his head onto the hood off the car as he said those words. Derek almost dropped the cuffs if it weren't for the fact that the guy already had them dangling from one wrist. Those had been the words written in a chicken scratch on the underside of his left arm. His soul-words. Derek cursed, loudly and vehemently.
Off course it had to be a guy he was arresting when he would hear the words. He should have known really, having researched Lydia Martin often, as soon as the internet became a thing when he was about twelve years old. At first he didn't find any mention of her anywhere. He had decided to become a cop at sixteen, knowing that he'd better be able to research the girl whose name he had printed on his arms. He became a cop, not for that reason, but because a woman he had accidentally told her Words to, had refused to believe her words weren't his and had burned his home down, with his family in it, when he rejected her. The only survivors had been him, and his two sisters Laura and Cora, because they had been at school.
Around the age of 19, he had first stumbled upon a fourteen-year old Lydia's Facebook page. He had then decided that he refused to be a creeper and did not send a friendship request like he wanted to. Laura, his sister, hadn't had such reservations. Lydia had denied it.
It became a thing for Derek, he didn't research her often, but when he was feeling depressed or lonely, he'd look her up and remind himself that one day he'd actually hear those words spoken to him. When he was 25, Lydia had graduated as an attorney. 2 years later, he ran into her at court, where she was defending one of the criminals Derek had to witness against. She had been a formidable force and Derek had been impressed by the young woman. Hoping that she was a friend of his soulmate, he had introduced himself to her, and explained the situation.
"You're a cop." She had said and Derek had nodded.
"And you have my name, written on your arm." She had said again, emphasizing my name and your arm. Derek had looked at her strangely before nodding again.
"Huh." She had just said, looked him up and down and left without another word. Derek had confusedly stared after her.
He had run into her again, a few times actually, but she always refused to explain why she had just left.
Now he knew why. Or, well, suspected why.
The guy, whose arms he was still keeping to his back, the cuffs dangling from his wrists, turned his head curiously, watching Derek.
He had to admit, the guy was cute, with his button nose, his big hazel eyes and the small smattering of moles across his face, that made Derek want to trace them with his tongue. He started wondering if they were spread all over the guy's body, before stopping that thought from going any further. The man was a thief, and Derek was a cop, Derek wouldn't allow this to go anywhere. He would not get into a relationship with a criminal. Shaking his head a little to stop all those thoughts he grabbed the handcuffs and finished cuffing the guy. He frisked him for any potential weapons, but only found a phone and a wallet, handing them off to Boyd.
Boyd was looking at Derek strangely. Derek just rolled his eyes at him and pushed the thief toward the patrol car. Making sure that the guy didn't hit his head on the hood off the car, he got in the front and waited for Boyd to get before driving toward their precinct.
Lydia Martin was waiting for them at the precinct, having been called by Boyd on their way over. "What did you do this time, Stiles?" She asked, tapping her foot and glaring at the guy Boyd was pushing forwards. Derek was confused before he realised this had to be the guys name. Weird.
"I lost my keys again, and these guys thought I was stealing my own car." Lydia rolled her eyes at Stiles, before they fell on Derek, who had been behind Boyd and was now stepping out to book the guy at the registration desk.
A soft "Oh." left her lips, and Derek realised that Lydia had to have known they were Soulmates before today. He glared at her, but she just shrugged at him before turning to Boyd and rambling of the license plate of the jeep Stiles had been trying to steal.
After confirming that that was in fact the plate numbers, Boyd got the cuffs off off Stiles who rubbed his wrists. Derek's heart couldn't help but skip a beat at the hope that was now flooding his body, that Stiles was in fact not a criminal.
"Honestly Stiles. If your head wasn't attached to your body, you'd lose that as well." Stiles just scowled at her.
Lydia looked at Derek again and raised an eyebrow at him. Derek just avoided her gaze, which fell on Stiles who had turned and was now leaving the building. Derek frowned a little, had he not recognized his own Soulwords? How used did you have to get hearing them, to not react to your own Soulwords? Maybe Stiles was in fact a criminal. Lydia, who was still watching him, darted out and grabbed Stiles' arm.
"You're both idiots." She said before turning to Boyd. "Where's the nearest office or interrogation room that I can throw these two into?" Boyd just shrugged and didn't answer her.
Lydia huffed and grabbed Derek's arm with her free hand, before power-walking down the hall to the interrogation rooms. Derek stumbled a little, surprised at the strength that he hadn't expected from that little body.
"Lydia!" Stiles whined next to him, and Derek scowled at how it made him sound like a toddler on the verge of a tantrum.
"Lydia, let go of me NOW!" Lydia just glared at Stiles, before shoving them both into the only free interrogation room, shooting a look to Derek that said, tell him, or I'll hurt you, before slamming the door in their faces.
Derek sighed and sat down on one of the chairs usually reserved for the criminals or their attorneys. He watched Stiles fumbling with the doorknob, which he knew for a fact only opened from the outside.
"Lydia!" Stiles pounded on the door. "Let me out, right this instant Lydia!"
Derek scowled at Stiles' back, and was still doing so, when the guy turned.
"What?" Stiles grumbled, before pacing in front of the two-way mirror.
How many times have you been arrested before today?" Derek asked, still scowling.
"OH MY GOD, you ass-hole!" Stiles flailed, turning around to glare at Derek. "Why does that even matter?"
The intercom crackled before Lydia's voice drifted into the room, the amusement clear for everyone to hear. "Answer his question, Stiles."
Stiles turned to glare at the two-way mirror again.
"Shouldn't you be telling me not to answer his questions, Lydia? Seeing as how you're my attorney and all?"
"Stiles!" Lydia said this time without amusement colouring her voice.
"Why?" Stiles just jelled, turning around to glare at Derek again.
"Well." Derek started. "You have to be pretty used to hearing them, since you don't even recognize your own Soulwords. And I'm a 100% certain I didn't say anything before reading you your Miranda rights."
Stiles stumbled a bit, before catching himself on the back of the chair on the other side of the table from Derek.
"My... My what?" he stammered. "Are you absolutely sure?"
Derek just raised an eyebrow at him, not even deigning to answer the question.
"Oh my god." Stiles said softly before sitting down. He sighed. "I'm a sheriff's son, I grew up hearing those Words, and I'm a cop now, so yeah, I'm pretty used to hearing them all the time." Derek sighed in relief and Stiles grinned before scowling at him.
"Just my luck though, that my soulmate is such an ass-hole." Derek bristled.
"You were trying to break into your own car, what was I supposed to think!"
"You could have given me the benefit of the doubt." Stiles glared at him and Derek rolled his eyes.
"Just my luck though, that my soulmate is such an idiot." Derek snarked, throwing Stiles' words back into his face. Stiles scowled at him and flailed, barely catching himself on the edge of the table before falling of his chair.
"I'm not an idiot!" he glared and Derek was afraid that his eyes would get stuck if he rolled them one more time, so he settled for raising an eyebrow.
"I'm really not! I graduated with the best scores of the academy since Derek Hale!" Derek preened before frowning confusedly. Wait, didn't he tell him his name yet?
"Wait. You're Stiles, as in Stiles Stilinski? Outranking Derek Hale as a shooter?" Derek had heard all about Stiles from his old mentors back at the academy. He raised his eyebrows, impressed.
"Yup, that's me, eyebrows." Stiles preened a little at being recognized. "So since you're my soulmate and all, can I please have your name now?"
"Eyebrows?" Derek just asked.
"Well, yeah, dude. You've got this whole bushy eyebrow-thing going on with your face, don't get me wrong, I like it, but dude, you've got some serious brows, man!" Derek smirked, he had been told that before.
"So what's your name?" Stiles asked again, making Derek's smirk even more pronounced.
"Derek Hale." This time it was Stiles' eyebrows that almost disappeared into his hairline.
"No way, dude." Derek was infatuated by the smile that overtook Stiles' face, and that he also preened a little at how pleased his soulmate was with him, nobody but Stiles had to know.
"Oh! I got to tell Scott about how my soulmate is Derek Fucking Hale, man!"
"Actually, my middle name is Thomas." Derek said with a smirk, and was delighted to find that when Stiles laughed, he laughed with his whole body, flailing limbs everywhere, even falling off his chair from laughing so hard. Derek vowed then and there he'd do everything in his powers to make Stiles laugh like this as often as he could.
Seeing the soft little smile that overtook Stiles' face as he gazed up at him, from where he was lying on the floor, made him realise he had to have been a saint in a past life, to deserve having this man by his side for the rest of his life. He sure as hell hadn't deserved it in this life.