Summary: Tumblr Prompt; Frozen AU (kind of). The only way to thaw the darkness around Stiles' heart is to find his true love. He doesn't know how close his true love actually is until it's almost too late.

I cannot find the link or author of the tumblr prompt unfortunately. I know that I saw this prompt up there so I take no credit for the idea just the story I wrote.


Unthawing

Stiles felt a panic attack coming on and tried to stop it. He used to have them after his mother died and had been given medication but this time is different. His father had been kidnapped and he sacrificed himself to save his father. Deaton had warned him that there would be darkness around his heart he just never said it would be this bad. It needed to stop; he couldn't keep waking up screaming only able to fall asleep in the arms of his father. So here he was standing in front of Deaton and trying to process the solution to his problem.

"You're saying that the only way to thaw the darkness around my heart is to find my true love and mate with him?" Stiles asked clarifying.

"Yes that is exactly what I'm saying," Deaton answered leaning against the wall.

"How the hell am I supposed to find my true love?" Stiles exclaimed waving his arms around.

"True love is closer than you think Stiles," Deaton said mysteriously.

Stiles huffed and stomped out of the office without another word. He wasn't the guy that got the girl or guy he wanted. He was bisexual and anyone who didn't realize either didn't know him or just didn't pay attention. The problem was that he had to deal with werewolves and other supernatural drama leaving little time to be with someone that wasn't somehow involved in said drama already. The one he did feel something for had left town with his sister without a word and returned months later not telling anyone until he was needed. Stiles groaned because there was no way it was Derek Hale no matter how hard he wished it was. This meant that Stiles had to find his true love, if he even had one or he was screwed.

~Unthawing~

Derek knew that something was wrong with Stiles the moment he saw him again after three months. Cora had decided that she couldn't handle having Derek as her brother and stayed in Mexico. Derek wanted to be hurt but he knew that he deserved whatever happened because he killed his family which meant he didn't deserve a chance at any kind of happiness. Derek had been helping Scott with a local pack that stayed in the woods when he saw Stiles and knew that there was something going on with him. Scott had explained to him what he, Allison and Stiles had to do to save their parents. Knowing this Derek knew he needed to find a way to save Stiles only he didn't know how. He had asked Peter but all he had gotten was his usual cryptic and sassy messages.

"How do I save him?" Derek asked.

"He's your mate I know that you're not that broken that you can't figure it out," Peter said with a smirk.

Derek hadn't said anything more to Peter after that because he knew all he would get from his uncle would be cryptic answers that didn't help anybody. He had known that Stiles was his mate since he had asked him to cut off his arm but he hadn't done anything about it. Kate had screwed him up and he knew that Stiles deserved better than him. Now though Stiles was in danger and he didn't know how but he needed to find a solution before it was too late.

~Unthawing~

Derek should have known that going to Deaton would end up bringing trouble. The man was more cryptic than Peter and that was saying something. He had also allowed the three teenagers to sacrifice themselves not knowing what would happen and only told them about the darkness not the fact that the Nemeton would be woken up and call out to other supernatural creatures. This fact was why Derek had never really gone to Deaton for advice when he was an alpha. Right now though, it was unavoidable because he needed to find a way to save Stiles.

"What's wrong with Stiles?" Derek asked looking at Deaton with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"Hello Derek," Deaton greeted.

"I asked a question," Derek stated.

"The sacrifice he made to save his father not only woke the Nemeton up but the consequence was darkness around his heart," Deaton explained.

"Which you knew about and still did it. It's funny how my mother trusted you but yet there are times when you can help stop shit from happening and you don't," Derek growled out.

"The only thing that can save Stiles is true love," Deaton said mysteriously.

Derek nearly growled at that but didn't think that was smart. He knew that Deaton didn't mean it necessarily how it sounded. True love came in many forms whether it be the love between a parent and child, the love between siblings, or the love between mates. Derek didn't want to force Stiles into anything he wasn't Kate and he refused to be like her but if the only way to save Stiles was by being with him then he would just have to do it.

~Unthawing~

Stiles was engrossed in his homework and so lost in thought about his situation that he didn't hear someone come through his window until a hand was placed on his shoulder. Stiles yelped and jumped out of the chair turning to find Derek standing there with a scowl on his face. He wanted to take away that look and make the wolf smile but he also knew that Derek didn't feel the same way.

"Sourwolf you need a bell," Stiles said waving his arms around.

"Something's wrong with you," Derek said instead frowning.

"Umm, no nothing is wrong," Stiles rambled trying to cover up his anxiety.

"Deaton told me," Derek stated stepping closer to Stiles.

"I don't need a pity fuck it's bad enough I have to live with the fact that I find you insanely hot and want you don't come here and tease me. It's bad enough you don't feel the same way," Stiles grumbled.

Stiles heard a growl and he looked up in surprise. Derek's eyes were blue and held an air of something that at first he couldn't identify but then it clicked. Deaton had said that his mate was closer than he thought, Derek was angry because he said that the wolf didn't feel the same way, Derek still wasn't acting but the way his fists clenched gave him away and suddenly it all made sense. Derek wouldn't act on anything he felt for Stiles not after everything that he had gone through. Kate was older than him, close to Derek's age now when they first met and Derek had been sixteen. The hunter had then used Derek to kill his family seducing him. Jennifer had also used him to cover up the fact that she was the Darach. Stiles was Derek's mate but Derek wasn't going to act because he thought that it would make him like Kate.

"Your not Kate," Stiles stated shocked.

"Your underage," Derek said eyes still glowing.

"You are not Kate!" Stiles yelled.

Stiles yanked Derek towards him into a kiss but it didn't go the way he wanted. It was sloppy and just didn't go right. He pulled away to apologize to Derek only to have the wolf pull him back in and take control of the kiss. Stiles didn't generally believe in the whole fairy tale shit but he slowly felt his heart lighten. It wasn't there yet but he could almost breathe a little easier. Stiles pulled back and looked down before finally looking up at him.

"I know Deaton told me that we have to actually mate but I mean we don't have to if you don't want to," Stiles mumbled.

Derek frowned and felt his wolf almost break free but he held him back for now. Stiles were proving just how much not like Kate or Jennifer he was. The teen was asking if he wanted this like he didn't care what happened to him and he wasn't trying to force Derek's hand. His wolf howled in relief while Derek sighed. It was hard for him not to believe that he might be like Kate but seeing Stiles so ready to let himself die so as not to force him he knew that the situation was different. Instead of saying anything, especially since he was bad with words he picked Stiles up and slammed him against the wall letting his instincts take over.

"Mating isn't having sex Stiles," Derek said holding him place and getting his attention.

"It isn't?" Stiles asked.

"No it requires us biting each other at the same time," Derek stated frowning wondering what exactly Deaton had told the teenager.

"Deaton made it seem like we had to have sex not that I don't want to," Stiles started to ramble only to have Derek put a hand over his mouth.

"We are not having sex not yet but biting will still tie us together forever at least for me," Derek explained.

"Dude I'm so down with that," Stiles said through the hand.

Derek rolled his eyes and Sties wanted to make a comment but was soon left breathless as he was pulled into a kiss. He groaned gripping Derek's hair and jacket in his fists. Derek soon moved from his mouth to his neck making Stiles groaned and arch into it. The feeling of Derek kissing and his beard rubbing aroused him and he whimpered. The werewolf in Derek was proud of that fact and wanted to come out to play but Derek held him back because this was only the mating bite, everything else was waiting because Stiles deserved better. Fine the wolf muttered in his mind going back into the crevice of his mind.

"So umm, I'm not a wolf so do I do this the same way you do?" Stiles asked holding back a whimper.

"Yes Stiles but you have to break skin," Derek said rolling his eyes exasperated.

Stiles wanted to make a sarcastic comment but Derek stopped him by pulling his head down to his neck. He knew that it was time to finish the mate bite thing and he wanted it but was slightly worried. Derek must have been able to tell because he rubbed his thumb along the skin below his ear calming him down. The wolf in him couldn't hold back anymore and took the plunge biting Stiles neck breaking skin. Soon Derek felt his own neck being bitten and skin breaking. Derek could feel the bond form and licked the wound clean before pulling back and seeing Stiles with a glazed look in his eyes. Derek set Stiles down on the bed so that he was lying down. He smiled when Stiles curled up in a ball on the left side of the bed and sighed. Derek listened to Stiles heart and felt relieved when he didn't smell or hear anything wrong which meant the darkness was gone.

"Stay," Stiles mumbled.

Derek didn't say anything but he took of his leather jacket and set it on Stiles' desk chair. He then took of his shoes and then lay on the right side of the bed curling around Stiles so that the teens back was to his chest. The two of them still had much to figure out and being mates or each other's true loves didn't make everything okay but together they would figure it out.