A/N:

Yea!

Update!

Sorry if this is OOC.


Derek Hale never gets letters.

He likes not getting letters, since he doesn't typically like having any sort of obligation towards other people (such as answering letters.) It's not a new thing, he's always been a bit gruff when it comes to other people, but it's strengthened since his last girlfriend Kate Argent.

If he ever does get letters, they're from his sister Laura, though she generally just comes to visit.

Derek Hale never gets letters, which is why he almost doesn't except the one currently being shoved at him by one of the guards. His fingers close around the crumpled envelope automatically when the guard shoves it directly in his face, and he fights the urge to scowl at the man, since that will only get him in trouble.

The letter's not from Laura; the handwriting is too messy and she already visited a week ago. Derek inspects the envelope for a second before ripping it open and pulling out the equally wrinkled and worn sheet of paper. The same messy scrawl lines the paper, and Derek learns that he's got a new pen pal named Stiles. The letter is pretty standard, except the kid is quick to admit he has a big mouth on him. Derek can see that, since his letter fills up the whole sheet of paper and doesn't really seem to go anywhere.

He shoves the letter in his pocket and decides to forget about it.

Of course, when he's lying in his bunk to avoid socializing, he can't help but pull the letter out again. He reads it several times over before throwing it on his bed and getting to his feet, deciding it might be worth it just to find out a little bit more about the kid. If not for him than for Laura, who's convinced he's going to become some sort of mute or recluse if he doesn't find someone else to talk to. She likes to blame his lack of friends for his pining and what she calls his "attitude," which is just the way his face naturally looks.

Sort of.

He hunts down some paper and a blunt pencil which he isn't allowed to take back into his bunk in case he decides to kill somebody with it, so his letter writing is put on view for the whole of the prison. A lot of the guards stand around just to tease him about his new found skills, joking amongst themselves about the rumor that he was nearly illiterate. Derek chooses to ignore them, scribbling out a quick letter and shoving it in the plain white envelope angrily.

Dear Stiles,

Yes, I got your letter.

Derek is fine.

Your friend sounds like an asshole.

Derek is quite proud of the letter, despite its cursory feel. He can't wait to get Laura off his back, since he now has a sort of friend, even though Derek is never going to allow himself to be called that.

It's not that he's completely opposed to having friends, just that the friends he's had are all sullen and cynical like him. Stiles sounds suspiciously like an optimist, though Derek can already tell he's got a sarcastic side to him. Derek happens to enjoy sarcasm and, as long as Stiles uses it liberally, they should get along just fine.

It's not going to turn into anything personal or anything wordy on Derek's part. In fact, it's not very likely to last. Stiles will soon stop writing or, more likely, Derek will soon stop writing once Laura is appeased.

If Laura ever manages to be appeased. She spends half her time worrying about Derek and the other half teasing him, which he's grateful for and really, really annoyed by.

The letter is mailed off with the rest of the letters that night and Derek tries to ignore the goading of the other inmates who don't write letters, and find it entertaining to make jokes about the letter writers needing constant reassurance from their mothers. It's immature and stupid and Derek would very much like to strangle them all except he knows that that would just get him in trouble.

So he remains quiet and ignores the snide remarks about him mother being a whore and tries to channel his energy into something more useful, like killing them all in his head. It's bloody and quite calming, once he really gets into it, and maybe the looks on his face scares them a little, because they stop targeting him soon after.

That night, he lies awake and thinks about Stiles and Scott and why exactly he's supposed to care about Stiles and his problems. Sure, Stiles is sarcastic and has the potential to be funny, but he also has the potential to be just as whiny as every other teenager out there. He could be writing just to complain about his life, while Derek sits in a prison cell.

If that happens, Derek's going to stop writing.

If that doesn't happen, Derek's still probably going to stop writing.

It's not like he knows the kid and, more importantly, he doesn't owe him anything. In fact, he almost regrets sending a letter back, since now Stiles is just going to expect him to send another one.

And another one, and another one, and another one.

Derek doesn't think of himself as someone who acts on expectations, but he also doesn't consider himself a complete dick. And ignoring expectations is slightly dick-y, in a way.

Besides, he's just kidding himself if he thinks Laura's going to let him skulk out of Stiles' reach that easily.

All of this is troubling and keeps Derek up half the night because, honestly, he really wishes he had never gotten the damn letter in the first place.

Like he wishes he never met Kate.

Or, fell in love with her.

Or, believed her.

Laura's going to have a field day about the goddamn letter, he just knows it.