So sex was a thing that Stiles wanted to do before he died. Was it the first thing he wanted to cross off of his bucket list? Of course! Was it the most meaningful thing he could think of so that he could honor his mom? Nope. And he was 120% sure that he was never going to ask his dad for help in that area.
Besides, it wasn't as if there was a line of people who wanted to volunteer to take his v-card. Stiles had been trying unsuccessfully to get Lydia to notice him since third grade. He was sure if he played the "I'm dying and need to have one amazing moment in time with you" card, she'd probably still reject him. Oddly enough, Stiles was okay with that. It wasn't Lydia that seemed to pop into his mind when he thought about losing his virginity. Although, he wasn't exactly sure where the image of the soaking wet werewolf came from, especially whose shirt clung to him so well.
He threw his pen across the room and spun his chair to face the window. A lot had happened this week from learning about his expiration date to his dad finding out about werewolves. Two weeks ago he was worried he wouldn't pass Chemistry, and today he was trying to think of things to do before he dies.
A year ago he was regularly hit with objects and thrown into walls by a werewolf whereas the last several hours had that same werewolf holding him and comforting him. This was the same werewolf that seemed to pop up into Stiles thoughts and dreams a lot over this last year. Stiles didn't need to think about that right now. He needed to focus. He needed to come up with one thing that would honor his mom and be a daily reminder of living his life as best as possible with the time he has left.
What could be something meaningful? Stiles ran his hand through his hair and tried to imagine what his mom would say to him. After all of these years, it was still hard to imagine her voice. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on his mom. She probably would have told him to find inspiration in something he had overlooked. He had read her list almost fifty times since his dad left the room and Stiles was still at a loss of what to do.
His mom's list had centered on giving Stiles the best childhood she could before she died. Almost every item had something to do with Stiles. From teaching him how to bat all the way to teaching him how to swim. There were a couple for just her and his dad, but Stiles didn't have that special someone to have a romantic picnic with in the preserve or to leave notes for each other in random books in the public library.
He did have his dad. The only thing he would ever want from his dad is to get him to stop eating unhealthy so he'll live a long life. That was a monumental task that he would never succeed in. Stiles couldn't eat healthy for the rest of his life either, even if it was for a few months. Curly fries were meant to be eaten.
Stiles turned back to his mom's list and traced the wolf he drew. If only his mom knew how important wolves would become for him. He knew his crude drawing of a wolf was nothing fancy compared to the sketches she used to draw. Every day after school until she got sick, Stiles and his mom would sit at the dining table and draw together.
Of course Stiles was terrible at drawing, but his mom was always there to encourage him. She always helped him come up with ideas and even hung the sketches up in his dad's office at work. His dad was very proud the drawing of his dad shaking Batman's hand. Well, it was more of two stick figures that had the words "Daddy" and "Batman" above their heads with their weirdly long arms touching. Whatever, Stiles was a prodigy when it came to drawing stick figures.
He smiled at the memory. He hadn't thought about drawing in so long. Maybe his mom's sketch book was still around? Stiles carefully folded his mom's list and put it in his wallet. As he stood, he slipped his wallet in his back pocket. Maybe his mom's sketches could give him some kind of inspiration for what he should do.
Stiles slipped out of his room and headed for the garage. It had taken his dad almost a year to pack all of his mom's art supplies up. Even after the stuff was packed up and moved to the garage, Stiles would find himself opening up each box to find his favorite of her sketchbooks. He would sit there staring at the drawings for hours and wishing his mom would be able to draw him again. But she was gone. When he reached junior high, he stopped going into the garage. His dad had stopped talking about his mom, so Stiles tried to stop bringing her up or thinking about her. He didn't want to upset his dad by getting caught with her old art supplies.
It took Stiles a while, but he finally found the right box hidden away at the back of the garage. He had to take a moment to catch his breath when he opened the box. There it was; the sketch book just sitting on top of everything just how he had left it. Stiles ran his hand across the cover to remove some of the dust that had gathered. He smiled at his mom's handwriting.
Claudia and Stiles' Adventures
Stiles took some time to look over every picture. His mom was an artist, an amazing artist. She had drawn so many pictures of Stiles when he was young and playing and laughing. There were some pictures of his dad with a broad smile on his face. Stiles hadn't seen that smile in a long, long time. He caught himself tracing his finger over some of her drawings of flowers and animals.
Then he saw it. The beautiful grey wolf standing across a meadow from a young Stiles. The wolf didn't seem angry, just curious. The wolf looked like it was seeing straight into Stiles' soul. This was what he wanted. This is what he needed to do to honor his mom.
He wanted this wolf as a tattoo.
Stiles put the box back and carried the sketchbook into the house. His dad, Scott, and Derek were all sitting in the living room watching a football game. Stiles would have said it looked like a normal night, if his dad didn't have his eyes tracking any movement either werewolf made.
Stiles cleared his throat to get their attention. His dad immediately muted the television. Stiles smirked because he couldn't remember his dad ever muting a sports game in his entire life.
His dad's eyes darted to the sketchbook before looking Stiles in the eye.
"I know that I have to have several things on my bucket list," Stiles began.
"Bucket list?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, you know, a list of things to do before you kick the bucket," Stiles stated.
"You mean your list of Extraordinary Deeds, Stiles," his dad corrected him.
Stiles kept himself from rolling his eyes. "Yes that. Well, I have been having trouble thinking of things to do before I either get the bite or we do the medical options. So I dug around the garage for Mom's old sketchbook of our adventures."
The sheriff glanced back at the sketchbook and nodded for Stiles to continue.
"I don't have a complete list, but there is something really important to me that I need to do," Stiles started. He sat down next to Derek and set the sketchbook on the coffee table. His dad leaned forward. "I would like to get a tattoo of one of mom's drawings."
Stiles waited for anger or sadness from his dad, but all he got was laughter.
Stiles almost pouted as he waited for his dad, Derek, and Scott to stop laughing at him. "What?" he demanded.
"Stiles, a tattoo? Couldn't you have chosen to pass Chemistry? You know, something you can do?" Scott choked out in between bursts of laughter.
"It's a good idea, and it honors Mom."
"You fainted when I got my tattoo," Scott replied. He shoved Stiles' shoulder with his own. "Do you think you could stay conscious when getting a tattoo on your own body?"
Stiles rolled his eyes. "It was different. There was a needle, and it was happening to you." He opened the sketchbook to the wolf drawing. He took a deep breath before continuing, "This is something my mom drew and it connects me to her, I think."
He could feel a comforting hand on his back. He looked over to see Derek give him a half smile. "I think it sounds pretty cool."
"It's not like you'd need a blow torch afterwards," Scott added. His tone of voice was supportive, but it only seemed to freak Stiles' dad out a bit.
"You do not need a blow torch for a tattoo, Scott. Whoever told you that was messing with you. It's a dangerous tool and should not be used on someone's body, son," the sheriff stated seriously. Scott and Derek exchanged looks. "Stiles, if you want a tattoo, we'll have to research which places are the best in this area. It needs to be a clean facility and I need to make sure the artist can actually replicate this sketch," the sheriff said as he picked up the sketch book. "Do you want just the wolf or the whole scene?"
"Just the wolf," Stiles said. As the sheriff turned to leave, Stiles asked, "You aren't going to say no or question this?"
"Stiles, I've known you your entire life," the sheriff began. "The way I see it, you get the tattoo and it'll be a good reminder of your mom. Or you don't get the tattoo because you faint at the sight of the needle, in which you will have a great story to share with everyone. It's your choice, and I meant it when I said I would support you and help you cross everything off of your list."
Stiles smiled fondly at his dad. The sheriff left the room, and Stiles leaned back against the couch.
"So, can I post the video on YouTube?"
"Scott!"
"What? If you faint, won't you want to relive that moment?" Scott teased. Stiles punched his best friend in the arm.
"Thanks for the support."
"Hey, you told me you hated my tattoo minutes after I got it. You held me down when Derek used the blow torch on me. And you wanted me to get a tattoo of Jackson!"
"Of Jackson?!" Derek asked. He smirked at Scott. "Well, he would be flattered."
Stiles and Scott jumped into telling the story to Derek. It felt good for Stiles to laugh and joke around with them. After everything this year, it felt good to just tease one another and relax. Halfway through the story, he realized that he had never heard Derek laugh before, but he had to agree that Scott would look good with a kanima tramp stamp.
Stiles had to stop himself from staring so much at Derek's mouth. Did he always have bunny teeth? No, bad thought stay away. Since when did Derek's eyes crinkle a bit when he talked? Stiles shook his head and closed his eyes. His dad would be back soon and he still needed to decide where to put the tattoo. Stiles reached over and unmuted the game. He needed something to stare at other than the smiling werewolf next to him.
The sheriff was still in the other room, and Stiles caught some of the phone conversation. He was really giving the tattoo parlors the third degree. As the game on the television dragged on, Stiles found his eyes drifting closed. He felt safe and warm on the couch. A little nap couldn't hurt.
Stiles awoke a little while later. It was still dark outside, and he was safely snuggled against something warm. He turned his head slightly and nuzzled in closer to the warmth.
"Go back to sleep," his pillow ordered.
Stiles lifted his head to look at Derek. "We have to stop meeting like this," he whispered. Stiles smiled softly as Derek's chest shook with silent laughter. He looked around and saw that the game was still on.
"Your dad is still on the phone, and Scott is talking to Allison on his phone," Derek stated. "He hasn't told her what happened, but it sounds like everyone is really worried."
Stiles could read between the lines. Derek was letting him choose to tell them or leave them worrying. Stiles didn't want to think about the pack right now. He just wanted to focus on the tattoo. He sighed and curled back up against the werewolf. Who knew that muscles make a good pillow?
"Okay, so I have one place that we can go to," the sheriff said as he entered the living room. His eyes tracked every place that Stiles and Derek were connected and he simply raised an eyebrow. "Unless you would rather cuddle with a former murder suspect slash current werewolf."
Stiles pulled away slowly from Derek and felt his face flush. "We just fell asleep, Dad." He took the sketchbook from his dad's outstretched hand. "Tell me about the tattoo parlor."
The sheriff glanced at Derek before he took his usual spot across from Stiles. "It's nearby and they do have an opening tonight. We could also wait for the weekend."
Stiles took a deep breath. "And they can recreate the sketch completely, one hundred percent?"
"I even had the guy email me his portfolio. He's been tattooing for over fifteen years," the sheriff stated. "The background on the business was clear."
Stiles shook his head. Of course his dad would dot all the I's and cross all the T's. He turned slightly to Derek. Derek gave him a passive look and nudged him with his knee.
"If we do it tonight, you won't spend all week fretting over the needles and getting yourself overly worked up," Derek stated. "If we do it tonight though, it's permanent."
Stiles nodded. "So tonight?"
Scott reentered the living room and gave Stiles a worried look. "Did we decide on the tattoo thing?"
Stiles bit his lower lip to keep the smile off of his face. Of course Scott wouldn't use his super wolf hearing to listen in on the conversation. That would be the first thing Stiles would master. How to Listen to Distant Conversations 101. If he chose to become a werewolf, that is.
"Dad found a place. I guess it is now or never," Stiles said.
"You can always change your mind," Derek whispered.
"No, I think I need to do this now," Stiles replied.