Prologue
Part One: Meet Stiles

"When are you coming back?"

Stiles' sighed into his cell phone's receiver, held up there by his shoulder while he balanced a tray of coffee and his Student ID card.

"Next week dad. Finals aren't over until Thursday and I should be back home Friday with Scott and Allison." He'd said all of that before though, he'd actually said it multiple times but still his dad asked the same question every time his son called from College.

"That's good to hear. So how have you been doing? Getting some actual studying in I hope."

The 23 year-old rolled his hazel eyes in a bit of irritation. "No dad. I've been getting mindlessly drunk and flirting with every piece of manly meat on campus. What do you think I've been doing?"

"I'm just asking son, you don't need the sarcasm with me."

Stiles' sighed again at the tone his dad was using. It was that border-line hurt and confused that just made Stiles' really guilty for taking out his stress on his father.

"I'm sorry. I've just…It's been harder than usual to keep my cool. These Finals are really important and with Allison constantly in my room with Scott, I just haven't been able to concentrate the way I'd want to."

"You've never been able to concentrate the way we all want you to." Stiles' actually manages a weak laugh as he slides his ID card into the scanner on his dorm room door. "Are you sure it isn't just jealously?"

The statement was so random it surprised Stiles' enough that his head popped up, the phone slipping from its perch between his cheek and shoulder and clattering to the ground before Stiles' could even make a mad scramble for it. He cursed colorfully as he hurried to put his ID in his back pocket and his tray of coffee on his desk before bending to scoop the phone up.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Well kid, you haven't exactly had a relationship since that girl Lydia right? What was that? Two years ago?"

He couldn't hold it back. The third sigh left his mouth before he could stop it and it sounded more tired and run down than the first two. "Three actually." He answered not really meaning to but unable to help himself when correcting his dad. Three years, five months, fifteen days, and seven hours exactly since Lydia Martin broke up with him on their freshman year at separate colleges.

"You see. Three years and you haven't so much as mentioned a new start. Kid, you aren't getting any younger you know? You are graduating college in about a month, is it really so hard to connect with someone?"

Stiles bit his lip as his dad talked. Walking a bit to flop down face first into his bed. "It's not that easy dad. I've just been really focused on-"

"Stiles', the word 'focused' should never actually be used when the sentence has anything to do with you. I'm serious boy, I don't want you alone in life, and everyone deserves love." Stiles' snorted humorlessly, a little more than angry about that comment.

"Why don't you take your own advice dad? Mrs. McCall is more than just any nice lady and she cares an awful lot about both of us. Why do you hesitate with her?"

"Stiles' that's not the same. Your mom-"

"Is dead dad." It was harsh, that was certain, but it was something his dad needed to come to terms with. Even now, so many long years later the man still held onto someone who wasn't there, and while Stiles' could admit to struggling through it himself he knew that his mother wouldn't want either of her men holding back on life just because of her. She had loved them more than the world, more than life and he was never going to forget that, but he was also not going to put his life on hold just because of grief. That is how happiness passes you by. "Look, I'm not saying anyone could replace her. She is my mom, and I love her just as much as you do, but she isn't here dad. Even if she was, she would be angry and hurt at how her death has stopped you from living."

There was a long pause at the other end of the line and Stiles' held firm to the silence, even if it was never his thing.

"I…I know son." Was all his father said.

"Well…good. Are you going to do anything about it?"

"Are you going to do anything about your loneliness?"

Stiles couldn't help but smile, because even though his dad was being pushy, the man meant the world to him. He cared and strangely enough, this was his way of showing it.

"Yes dad. Maybe when I come back home. I don't want to meet someone for a week and then have to leave them behind." Plus he didn't think he would care enough about a person he's only known for a week to actually attempt to keep in contact after college so looking for it now was just ridiculous.

"Alright…okay. If that's the case, maybe you would consider letting me introduce you to someone."

Stiles' had to hold back the laugh that wanted to bubble up in his chest. His dad was trying to set him up? On a blind date? What the hell?

"Dad are you trying out for or something?"

His dad chuckled on the other end of the line, catching onto the joke easily. "No boy, I wouldn't dream of it. I just mean…our department got a new Deputy a year or so ago. He works with me you know, I've gotten to know him pretty well. He's young, a few years older than you. I just know that-"

"Oh wait, hang on dad!" Stiles' cut his dad off as the door to his dorm room was opened and the voices of his best friend and his girlfriend flooded into the room. "Look, Scott just came back and I need his help on the final paper. I'll call you when I'm on my way back home alright dad?"

His dad didn't answer for a couple of heartbeats, but it didn't take very long for the tentative 'Alright' to escape the phone's speakers.

"Great. Love ya, bye bye, see you soon." He waited only long enough for the words to be repeated back at him before he ended the call and rose to yell at his friends that Scott could only have coffee after they'd finished their first paper.

Part Two: Coming Home

The day had finally come. He was done with it, done with school, with papers and lectures, done with college. The relief was palpable in the air as students filled cars with suitcases and bed spreads and quite a bit of furniture. Stiles was no exception.

"Dude can you just…Dude!" Stiles' holds the door to his jeep open as he watches his best friend and his best friend's girl suck face in the middle of the parking lot. He's bore witness to this more than anyone, and while he would usually suffer it silently, he just wasn't in the mood today.

Home was just around the corner now, so close but so far away. The need to put rubber to asphalt was almost overwhelming. He wanted to see his dad, he wanted to see Scott's mom, and most of all he wanted good old Beacon Hill's curly fries.

"Dude, she is going to the exact same place we are. Can you just…Scott get in the car!" It got his friends to stop. A small smile sent his way from Allison and a scowl from Scott. "Yeah yeah, cockblock, I know. Get in the car."

Scott snorted as he gave Allison a final hug, whispering his goodbye in her ear before allowing her to go back to her own car. He watched her go until she was inside, all of her stuff and a lot of Scott's stuffed inside with her.

When he got in the car he smiled at Stiles'.

"You ready to go back home?"

He really couldn't help himself. When the question was stupid it just called for a sarcastic answer. "No buddy, I'm ready to get down to Texas for that rodeo I heard about in History. Something about one person dying every year." Scott didn't take offence. Nodding and laughing so much it got a chuckle out of Stiles too. "Yeah yeah, now give me the keys."

Scott's laugh cut off and his eyes shot to Stiles. "Dude, I thought you had the key."

Stiles' smile dropped and his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, I didn't even touch the key, you unlocked the car for me."

Scott looked around wildly as if trying to remember when he'd done this. "Well, yeah, from the window." He pointed up to their dorm building, right up to the third floor where their room was located.

Stiles instantly realized where the key was.

"You left the key in the room didn't you?" His tone was deadpan and not really a question, but the look on Scott's face was a guilty one. With a deep and mournful sigh that turned into a pitiful moan of wasted energy, he pushed his door open and grumbled as he left the car and headed back into the dorm building, not bothering to say a word to Scott.

As he made his way to the building, his phone vibrated in his pocket. The song that usually accompanied a call was absent, but that didn't mean anything. Stiles had turned it off for his last final and never got around to raising the volume back up.

"Yello, speak for Stiles." He said into the receiver, more pep in his voice than he felt in his steps.

"Hi kid. When will you be back?"

Just like clockwork the same question fell from his father's lips instead of a proper greeting.

"In a couple hours dad. I was in the car ready to go but Scott forgot the keys." He replied as he pushed the building doors open and faced the security guard who scanned his ID and let him through.

"So, you remember that person I was telling you about the last time we spoke?"

Honestly, no he didn't. He actually had to take a moment to pause and think while the elevator took him to the third floor. That is when things began to click together.

"Oh, you mean that guy? The deputy person you wanted me to meet?" He really wasn't interested. No offence to his dad who accepted who he was with open arms, but trying to introduce him to a blind date was just too much.

"Yeah him. Deputy Hale. I really think you'd like him."

He groaned lowly, pulling the phone from his ear so that his dad wouldn't hear. He was being such a good father, trying everything just to make his boy happy. Still.

"Dad, I don't-"

"No, no. Wait. Before you say anything, I want to tell you a bit about him."

Again Stiles' groaned as he grabbed his keys and booked it out of his room. "Dad you can't really-"

"Stiles. Listen to me. The Hale kid, he's been like my second son since he moved back into Beacon Hills. He's been through a lot of terrible things in his life. You two are so different, but I know you-"

"Dad…I can find my own dates." By this time, Stiles was already down the elevator, his long strides taking him directly to his car. God he really needed some curly fries.

"I really have yet to see any evidence of that."

Stiles stumbled a bit at his dad's words, feeling the hit like a punch in the gut. "Wow, harsh." He breathed disbelieving as he neared his car. Scott's face pressed against the passenger's side window and Stiles snorted at him. "Listen dad. The thought of you setting me up with someone is kind of frightening."

"Stiles, just give this guy a chance, I think you will really like Deputy Hale."

His phone suddenly buzzed in his ear but he ignored it in favor of setting his dad straight. But before he could get anything out, his father spoke again.

"I sent you a picture."

More than a little confused and just a tiny bit curious, he took the phone away from his ear, unlocking it and typing in the passcode before he minimized the call screen and brought up the message board. The second his finger tapped on the small photo icon that his dad had sent him, his mouth dropped open and his eyebrows shot up to his hair-line.

His mouth started to water as he stared at the man on his phone. The photo was flawless, clear and showed off the man's best sides. Tall, handsome, slightly scruffy with his unshaven face and his dark hair styled up. His eyes were this weird but attractive mix of green, brown, and yellow that it almost looked unreal. Deputy Hale was fit. More than fit, the man was jacked and rock hard as he leaned against a police cruiser his arms crossed over his chest and only the slightest of smiles on his face. Instantly, Stiles knew he was wrong. He wanted to meet this man, he NEEDED to meet this man.

Putting the phone back to his ear, Stiles swallowed down the moisture that had collected in his mouth and spoke almost breathlessly into the phone.

"Dad, I'm going to need his number. Right now."

Part Three: Deputy Hale

Sitting in the Sheriff's office waiting for calls was never really uncomfortable for Derek. He liked the man, like the silence they could share, as well as the talks they could have, but one of his favorite things about the office, was the amount of pictures the Sheriff kept within.

Hands down, he was the most family oriented man that Derek had ever had the pleasure to meet, and it shows clearly in the way he keeps every frame relatively clean and the way he looks at every photo with lingering eyes and a small smile, even if some of them were of his wife, a deceased but none the less important part of his life.

Now the reasons Derek likes the pictures so much aren't strictly innocent ones. Yes, it spoke volumes about the man's love to his family as well at his character as a person, but Derek already knew all that about the Sheriff. No, the reason he liked the pictures so much was because of a constant face that always appeared in the frames. The face of a smiling boy with pale skin, lean but skinny build and a couple of little brown moles on the left side of his face.

Stiles Stilinski is hands down, one of Derek's top obsessions. Though, for the life of him, he couldn't exactly pin point why. He had never in his life met the boy, and though he has heard more than a few tall tales his father spins about his son, he could never really read about who the boy really was from any kind of stories.

Still, his smile, his eyes, the slight mischief in his expressions in almost every single shot. His easy posture in front of the camera and most of all, his love for his family that just radiates off every photo, all of these things had Derek completely captured. Yet he never asked about him.

Every time a tale was spun, it was of the Sheriff's own volition, every time an event was shared it was because a case triggered a memory the man held dear, every time an inquiry was made, it was because of the older man's gut feelings. Which Derek could admit, if only inside his head, were completely right.

"You're staring again."

Derek didn't jump at the voice, mostly because he wasn't really that lost in thought, but he did avert his eyes from the picture of Stiles on the Sheriff's desk.

"His face just captures people's attention." Derek chuckled with an easy he really didn't feel. He was sitting face to face with the boy's father, why couldn't he just stop these stupid building feelings.

"Yeah." The Sheriff smiled a bit, a thoughtful one like he was remembering a moment in time that Derek couldn't intrude on, even if he wanted to. "How are you Hale?" The sudden change of topic was a welcome distraction from the Stillinski smile that beamed back at him from the frame on the desk.

"I'm good sir. The old house if finally finished." That was something he honestly hadn't wanted to say, but the ease in which the man put him was limitless. He found it was easy to speak honestly with the Sheriff, even when he didn't really want to.

"That's good to hear. Are you moving back into it or are you selling it?" The Sheriff knew what had transpired in that house years ago. He also knew the scars that Derek had to bare and Derek didn't know if he was grateful for having someone to speak to, or angry that someone knew at all.

"I don't know. I was thinking I would just sell it. That place…every memory…even if the house was destroyed, the new one still carries the weight of the one before it." Derek sighed. He wasn't the type to actually speak his emotions out loud, but he really couldn't help it. This man who had essentially picked him up when he was down, was really one of the only people Derek had allowed himself to trust.

The Sheriff furrowed his brows but didn't say anything more about it, only switching the topic again.

"Stiles' is coming back tonight." He said almost as if it was an afterthought or something, but just that little comment send Derek's heart rate into the skies.

"Seriously? He's back from College?" Derek knew a lot about to boy, knew he went to a four year college with no real idea of what he wanted to do in the future, knew he was graduating that same college this year with still no real clue about where he was going from there, and knew that Stiles' inability to pick a future had the Sheriff on edge most of the time.

"Yeah. Should be coming home in a couple hours." Again it was a casual comment, but it made Derek restless. He rose from his seat in front of the Sheriff's desk and began walking around the office. Some would call it pacing, but not Derek.

"That's nice. I know how much you've missed him." Derek spots the most recent picture of the Sheriff's son. A shot of the boy with his Jeep, and his best friend, the one taken just before they left for senior year.

"That I have." He paused for a second, watching how Derek dissected the picture by his door. "What are you going to do now?"

Derek turned quickly, the confusion he felt clearly mirrored on his face. "What do you mean?"

"You're only excuse is gone. He'll be home in a couple of hours and you won't have any reason to keep your distance now. So what are you going to do?"

Derek let his eyes slowly float back to the picture of Stiles. That wide and excited smile.

"I don't know Sheriff." He spoke, but inside his mind he already knew his answer. He wanted to get to know this kid. He really did, the kid practically pulled him in like a magnet, and that was only with a couple of pictures.

The Sheriff didn't know this though, so he gave it one last attempt.

"You know what I think Derek. You two would be perfect for each other."

And how could Derek say no to that?

"Alright." The younger man smiled. "Give him my number."

The Sheriff smirked before he opened his mouth. "Gave it to him yesterday."

Derek couldn't help himself, he started to laugh.

A/N: Reviews make me write faster you know :) Shot me one, even if its a quick two word one, its nice to hear from readers.