This story takes place after season 2 and goes AU from there. You may notice some similarities with the plotline since it's heavily inspired by the show's events (duh). But also expect major changes since there is a Sterek endgame.
Also, I'll probably stick with PG-13 with most of the romantic stuff since I've never written smut. Not really confident about that (I've read some amazing ones though). But never say never.
Also, the story title is from a song named Bloom by Arch Leaves. I heard it for the first time in Superman & Lois and immediately fell in love with it. Great song and great show (with our very own Hoechlin rocking the Superman role!) Check them both out if you haven't already.
Happy reading 3
Chapter 1: To mark something
Stiles Stilinski hates needles. Yes, he thought they would just make him squeamish, but after seeing his best friend get poked with it, it was official.
Stiles hates needles. As he stared at Scott's biceps and the disappearing black ink, another image flashed in his head. A triskele.
"Hey, you could ask Derek for help you know?" Stiles said as he started his beloved jeep. She came to life without much hassle, thank God.
"About what?" Scott asked with his confused puppy face.
"The tattoo. If it's something you really want, you can ask him to help. 'Cause he does, you know, have a tattoo?" Stiles waved his right hand around as he spoke while his other hand gripped the wheel.
"Yeah, but I don't know.. I kinda feel awkward. After everything that's happened, I don't think I can go and just ask for his help. I'm not sure he even wants to see me at the moment. The whole thing with Gerard…"
The jeep screeched to a halt as Stiles pressed the brakes. He wasn't being dramatic, it was a red light.
"You still haven't talked to him?!" Stiles almost yelled as he looked at his best friend with a disappointed frown on his face. "Scott, I told you a hundred times to just clear the air. Yes, you were right in your plan to outsmart Gerard, but you still betrayed Derek. He has every right to be mad at you. You guys need to talk it out. With the things that we deal with, we need each other. We need to be able to work together. Com-mu-ni-ca-tion." He enunciated the last word and poked Scott in the bicep with every syllable.
Scott flinched away with a frown and sighed.
"Alright, alright! I know! I'll talk to him, okay?"
"Hey, how do you feel about seeing Allison again?" Stiles asked out of the blue.
"I'm not thrilled about it, obviously." Scott stared at his best friend as tried to think of the reason behind this sudden change it subject. Stiles was looking at something over Scott's shoulder.
"Well, that's too bad." Scott followed Stiles's line of vision and saw Allison and Lydia on the other side in a car. He kept staring at her until she noticed him too and her smile vanished. He turned toward Stiles and almost yelled.
"Stiles, go! Drive!" Stiles spluttered at his outburst.
"I'm not gonna run a red light!" Scott huffed and almost groaned in frustration.
"Just do it! If you drive right now, I promise I'll talk to Derek tomorrow." Stiles hit the accelerator and started to drive his car despite the glaring red light.
"That is so not fair, Scotty." Scott just gave him a sheepish grin.
The light must have turned green because Stiles noticed the girls' car moving in the mirror. He felt Scott tense beside him. He looked at him with a little pity.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm sure it's been enough time for the awkward-ex-maybe-friends phase to start. You guys will-"
"Stiles! Watch out!"
Stiles jumped in his seat and frantically turned the wheel as he saw a deer running straight at them. He swiveled to the right and almost hit a lamppost. But the jeep skidded to a stop before it could crash. They heard screams and looked back to see the deer crash into Lydia and Allison's car.
Scott and Stiles looked at each other before scrambling out of the jeep and running towards the girls.
They checked up on Allison and Lydia to make sure both of them were alright. They were just shaken up, no injuries. Then Scott walked cautiously to the deer and put a hand on its lifeless body. He could feel some lingering fear coming off from the dead animal. Like it was running away from something before crashing into them.
"How many more times do you have to kick my ass before we can call it a day?" Jackson grunted as he stood up, brushing dust off his blue t-shirt. His arms and back hurt like hell. They would definitely bruise if he didn't have werewolf healing.
Derek was looking at him with a blank expression. He wasn't even out of breath, his light grey tank top just had a few specks of dirt smeared over his chest. They were from Jackson's hands from when he tried to push Derek before.
"Until I feel it's enough." Jackson huffed at his Alpha's response before getting ready into a fighting stance again.
After the whole kanima debacle, Jackson finally became what he was meant to be. A werewolf. He thought he could finally start doing cool stuff like beat Scott's ass at lacrosse. But Derek tracked him down before the full moon after he first shifted. And Jackson could not be more grateful for that even though he did try to brush off Derek's warnings at the time.
He didn't realize the consequences that came with being a newborn werewolf. Derek had to chain him with three shackles on each of his limbs. Even that would've been hard to hold him down if Derek hadn't been there the whole time, trying to calm him down.
He even called Lydia and put her on speaker to make sure Jackson heard her voice and try to get his wolf under control.
When the whole thing passed, they both had a long conversation anchors and how it can help a wolf in times like this.
Apparently, Derek's was anger but Jackson could swear he detected a little bit of hesitation in Derek's voice when he told him that.
Was he not sure about his own anchor?
Jackson's anchor, obviously, was Lydia. It felt good to know he had someone to focus on, someone who could bring him back from the edge of darkness.
He never felt like he belonged. Even though his parents chose him, it still never felt like a real family. He was searching for that. Maybe being a werewolf, being in a pack would change something. He was determined to not let Derek down.
Derek told him how important it was for a werewolf to have good combat skills. Relying on the werewolf abilities at all times was not smart, especially if you were up against another wolf. That's why Jackson spent all summer training with Derek on the old Hale house. He was starting to like his mentor's grumpy, reluctant but determined teaching ways.
"Alright. Let's call it a day." Derek finally declared after three more matches. Jackson landed a total of four punches on Derek during the last three rounds.
Derek was a little more tense than usual lately. They had no idea where Erica and Boyd were. Jackson, Isaac and Derek searched for them every day and night. Derek didn't think he could handle losing another pack like that.
"Have you heard anything from Isaac?" Jackson asked as he wiped his face with a towel. Derek shook head.
"No, he was following a lead last Saturday. Texted me yesterday, said he would send a potential location after doing some reckon. Haven't heard anything yet."
Jackson couldn't help voice out what was no doubt already on Derek's mind.
"Do you think we'll ever find them?" Derek sighed as he sat down on a fallen log.
"I don't know."
The deer, the birds, Lydia's dog and Stiles heard his dad say something about unusual animal behavior at the vet clinic.
It was definitely looking like a pattern now. When Scott called him back, he told him to go over to Derek's. Something happened to Isaac.
As Stiles drove there, he couldn't help but think about a certain Alpha sourwolf.
It was a tough year for all of them, but Derek was probably the one who had gone through the most. Not just last year, his whole life actually. He wasn't right all the time, he could be stubborn and a downright asshole as well.
But he was trying, and that much was evident.
Stiles was asked Derek to trust him, but he didn't. It was kind of understandable considering what happened the last time he trusted someone.
But that didn't mean it hadn't stung.
Stiles could feel his heart rate pick up as he pulled up to the burned house. Too many memories in that place, and not good ones.
Does Derek still live here? God, I hope not. No air conditioning in the summer, must've sucked.
Stiles haven't really seen Derek since the whole Gerard and Kanima debacle. How would the Alpha react on seeing him again? Did he hold him responsible for Scott's betrayal?
He was about to find out.
"Derek, I'm sorry." Scott stared at his feet for a second before looking back up at the older man. Derek had a blank expression, not giving away his feelings. Scott couldn't pick up a smell or anything, but he was sure his own essence was stinking up with anxiety.
"It was wrong of me to make you think I was betraying you. I should've trusted you, especially after you saved my life. And I also should've talked to Allison and her father about the night you saved me from her mom. You didn't any of that shit."
Derek still stayed silent. They were standing a bit away from where Isaac was lying unconscious. Derek had given him something to help him heal. Wounds from an Alpha can be lethal, even for werewolves.
"I hope you can forgive me and we can start to trust each other. Properly, this time." Scott finished with a nervous but hopeful gleam in his eyes. The silence didn't stretch for much long as they both heard the familiar sound of a jeep belonging to their resident pack human. Derek nodded his head before they heard footsteps approaching the house.
"Yeah, I'd like that too."
"Like what? Help us figure out the latest mystery?" Stiles asked as he scrambled inside the room in all his glory.
"What mystery?" Scott frowned at him.
"Of the animals losing their shit like there's a zombie apocalypse." Stiles flailed his hand around as he spoke. "It already happened three times, maybe more. It wasn't just the deer, apparently all the animals in Beacon Hills are going cuckoo over something."
They both turned to look at Derek who shrugged.
"I don't know anything about that." Stiles huffed in mild annoyance.
"Great. I can already see hours of research, Adderall and mugloads of coffee in my future." Derek felt a little bad at that. Yes, Stiles was hyperactive and annoying, but he was also the most dedicated. Not to mention fiercely loyal. Derek was both worried and awed by the number of times the human boy threw himself in danger headfirst.
Maybe Peter should've bit Stiles instead of Scott.
"Derek, I have a personal favor to ask." Scott suddenly said, breaking Derek's train of thought regarding a certain mole-dotted teenager. He just raised his eyebrows in question.
Stiles hid a smile as he looked at Derek's face. The guy could write an essay without speaking a word just via his eyebrows.
Scott was passed out while Derek put away the blowtorch. He lost conscious around halfway through the tattoo, making Stiles take a breath of relief since his arms were killing him from holding down his supernatural best friend.
As Stiles looked at the ever-brooding Alpha, he couldn't help himself anymore.
"Hey, did Scott talk to you about-"
"About how he was an inconsiderate jerk when he betrayed me? Yes." Derek said deadpanned without even looking at him. Stiles pursed his lips.
"And? Did you forgive him?" Derek sighed before standing up right in front of the younger boy. Stiles gained a few pounds over the summer, his shoulders looked a little more filled out. He stood a little taller as well, just over an inch below Derek. His hair was longer, the buzzcut long gone.
Derek had to admit he looked better with longer hair.
"Yes, I forgave him." He could feel the teen relaxing somewhat at his words. But he was still nervous about something.
"Do you forgive me?" Stiles asked as his fingers fidgeted with the edges of his plaid shirt. Derek frowned a little at that.
"Why would I have to forgive you? You did nothing wrong." Stiles stilled at that.
"I just- I thought you would blame both of us, for what happened with Gerard. Scott and I, we're kind of a package deal. Thought you'd hold a grudge against the sidekick too."
"Stiles, it wasn't your fault. Scott is his own person. I know his heart was in the right place, but maybe he could've done things a little differently. Did it hurt when I thought he betrayed me? Yes. Do I understand why he did it? Also yes. Look, Stiles, we all make mistakes. I've made my fair share of them over the years. The least we can do is learn from them and move on."
Stiles didn't say anything for a few seconds, he just stared at the man in front of him. Derek looked different, his stance, attitude, everything was different. He wasn't at peace, not yet. But maybe he was getting there.
"Wow, who knew you could be such a wise-wolf?" Stiles couldn't help but quip as he smirked. Derek just rolled his eyes.
"Shut up." Stiles's grin grew a little wider as he detected no heat behind the wolf's words. They stayed in comfortable silence for a little more time.
"So, does this mean you can trust me now?" Stiles asked with hesitation lacing his voice. His mind flashed with memories from the pool, when he held Derek up in the water for two hours. He asked the Alpha to trust him then, but he hadn't. Will it change now?
"Yes, Stiles. In fact, you're probably the only one I can completely trust." Stiles felt his heartrate pick up at that. He didn't have to be a werewolf to know Derek's heart didn't skip and that he was telling the truth. His blue-green eyes said it all.
He smiled at the older man as he let himself soak in the happiness. Someone put their complete trust in him, trusted him to have their back.
Suddenly Scott gasped as he regained conscious and Stiles's attention was back on his friend.
He missed the ghost of a smile on a certain Alpha's lips.
Like it? Hate it? Do let me know your thoughts. I'll try uploading soon.
'Till next time.