All Hale breaks loose
'Not one of your best plans man.' Scott commented while dutifully following Stiles, who shot him an annoyed glance.
'Come on Scott! It is Halloween. You know what people do on Halloween?'
'They go trick or treating?' His best friend tried but Sheriff Stilinski's hyperactive son just rolled his eyes.
'They play pranks, okay. Pranks.' He adjusted the straps of the backpack on his shoulders while casually jumping down the stairs in the McCall house. 'That is what normal teenagers do. They play pranks, have fun and get into trouble, alright?'
'I think we got the 'getting into trouble part' covered most of the time.' The alpha sighed. 'But pranking Derek, do you really think this is a good idea? You know how he reacted when Aiden volunteered his loft for the rave.'
Stiles grinned at the memory. For once it hadn't been his plans that messed up the grumpy Hale's life so he hadn't been on the receiving end of his wrath. Ethan had been nursing his brother's broken ribs for… well minutes, granted… but the lesson had been learned. Not that anything could ever teach Stiles that particular lesson.
The two boys got into Stiles' jeep and he started the engine.
'Don't worry.' He said while turning downtown. 'It isn't going to be anything of that scale. We're just messing with his head a bit.' He tapped on the steering wheel 'And with his loft.' He shot Scott a conspiratorial glance and noted with satisfaction that his best friend couldn't suppress a grin.
'Fine. But if all this blows up in our face later, I'll blame it all on you.' He said.
'Fine by me.' Stiles snorted before taking another turn. He smiled inwardly, going over his plan one more time.
He had been trying for weeks figure out how to drug Derek on this particular day but thankfully he could always count on trouble to steer the lone wolf towards Deaton's animal clinic, in dire need of rest or even medication. He almost shouted in joy when on the 31st of Halloween, Peter dragged a severely wounded Derek to the vet, claiming that yet another wolf pack had wanted to have a go at the seemingly defenseless omega. They had learned differently but it hadn't left Derek intact either. While Deaton and Peter were busy discussing the impact of another wolf pack attacking Beacon Hill, Stiles had effectively managed to shove a few pills down Derek's drowsy throat, the werewolf being too disoriented to know exactly who giving him something or why.
Stiles checked his watch again. The effect of the drugs should last around five hours, meaning they still had about two before Derek would start coming to.
'Operation All Hale Breaks Loose is a go.' He grinned towards Scott who simply shook his head and got out of the car.
'You see because it's Hale and hell and… Oh, nevermind.' Stiles climbed out of the jeep and shut the door.
'Let's go!' He said and they both sprinted up the stairs.
'Good thing Derek never locks the door.' Scott said and Stiles nodded in agreement. For a paranoid loner the guy sure went easy on safety.
'Alright, remember. You do the cups upstairs, I'll spray foam everywhere.' The mastermind gave the instructions. 'Oh and don't forget the color pads!'
'I know.' Scott whispered back. 'Why are we even whispering if he's out cold?' He asked and Stiles' mouth opened and closed before he waved the problem off with both hands.
'Nevermind that! Go!' They both turned around before Stiles whirled back again.
'And don't forget the flour…'
'Stiles! You told me the plan a gazillion times!' Scott said. 'I know what to do.'
'Okay, okay. Just checking.' The boys got to work.
An hour later Stiles was almost done on his end, holding the last can of foam in his hand. He was quite proud of his achievement and let his gaze wander around the mess he had created in the Hale loft, shaking the can in one hand, scratching his head with the other.
'Not bad, not bad.' He grinned from ear to ear, taking a few steps back before turning around abruptly only to find he was inches away from Derek's couch where the latter was sleeping.
'Whoah!'Stiles exclaimed while trying to regain the balance he had almost lost, flailing his arms around in frantic circles. 'Too close.' He murmured and stepped back, ready to leave the room, when an idea formed in his mind. He eyed the can in his hand before slowly letting his gaze glide over to the sleeping wolf.
'Oh yeah.' His face brightened and he ran into the bathroom, almost bumping into the doorframe.
'Alright.' Scott came down the stairs. 'I'm done.' He said and stopped when he saw Stiles' creation unfold in front of him. 'Nice.' He smiled.
'Hey, let's go!' He shouted when he didn't see Stiles.
'Scott! You gotta come see this!' He heard his best friend's voice and he followed it into a side room, where he knew Derek would be sleeping. He stepped through a massive gaping hole in the wall that served as a door –probably courtesy of one of the multiple monster attacks- to the adjacent room and saw Stiles hovering over the sleeping Hale.
'What are you doing?' Scott hissed. 'What if he wakes up?'
Stiles could visibly barely contain himself and simply gestured towards Derek's still form.
'What?' Scott stepped closer.
'Look.' His friend said but by that time he had noticed it.
Scott's first reaction wasn't what Stiles had hoped for but he decided he would be satisfied with it. The mixture of horror, amusement and a sense of acknowledgement of the idea danced on Scott's face, one sentiment fading into the other before reappearing. He couldn't quite settle on what to feel. Understandably so, Stiles felt as he looked upon his creation again. He couldn't help but burst out laughing out loud. This time Scott couldn't help but at least grin and let out an overwhelmed laugh.
'Let's scram before he wakes up though.' He advised his friend who nodded. Their work here was done. The teens ran out of the building, talking excitedly and drove off into the night with Stiles' old and battered jeep.
Meanwhile, Derek was lying still, breathing gently and oblivious to the fact that while his loft had been turned inside out, Stiles had also left his mark on him. A peculiar mark. Derek's immaculate beard was intact, except for a patch that had been shaved away in the crooked form of a big heart.
If anyone had been near the loft the next morning they would have heard countless avalanches of noise, intermixed with swears and curses by one very livid Derek Hale. But nothing spoke louder than the instantaneous dead silence that followed when he had finally made it to the bathroom.
The enraged growl he let out wasn't quite animal and didn't carry all the way to the rest of the town but Stiles still woke with a smile on his face.
Later that day, the pack was meeting up to discuss what to do with the new rival wolves. Stiles and Scott exchanged knowing glances when Derek walked into the room, clean shaven.
'What happened to your beard Derek?' Stiles asked him with the most innocent face humanity had ever witnessed.
The former alpha ground his teeth and shot both him and Scott a murderous glance before replying.
'I felt like shaving it.' He got out between clenched teeth.
At this point Stiles and Scott burst out laughing, neither of them able to contain their hilarity, much to the confusion of everyone else.
'Let's start the meeting.' Scott got out nearly fifteen minutes later when he was sure he wouldn't start laughing again. While he still thought it had been a hilarious idea to shave a heart-formed patch into Derek's beard, he wasn't so sure anymore that they wouldn't have to face consequences. Once again Stiles' harmless prank had escalated into something uncontrollable. He could feel Derek's burning gaze even without looking at him and knew they had crossed a line. Suddenly things weren't so funny anymore. He sighed and thought:
We should have just gone trick or treating.