Stiles stays in bed for an hour. After his Dad has left for work and Stiles has reassured him that he's fine and he doesn't need any company, he lies back in his bed and waits for about five minutes before he's leaning over to his bedside cabinet and grabbing tissues and lube. He'd be lying if he said that he didn't jack off to the thought of Derek, to the thought of the werewolf's weight pressing into him and his stubble grazing Stiles' cheek. He's not going to mention it to anyone anyway because he doesn't think he's going to tell anyone about Derek seeing as there is supposed to be no such thing as ghosts or werewolves and to have a soulmate who is both is not really something Stiles wants to have to explain right now. He'll tell people eventually, of course, but he wants to figure things out with Derek before he sets anything in stone by telling anyone.
Of course, there is always the possibility that Stiles has gone mad and is hallucinating the whole thing. With Derek gone, it actually seems more probable than Stiles' soulmate being a dead werewolf. The Fates are supposed to get everything right, to find your perfect match and make sure that you're both alive at the same time. They never make anyone suffer like that. Except, apparently, Stiles Stilinski.
After Stiles has done jerking off and thinking about Derek and thinking about the failure of his life as a whole, he gets up. Deciding a shower will clear his mind, he jumps in and washes his hair, realising too late that it's only in movies that showers make people realise how to sort out their problems. All the shower makes Stiles is clean. Also, naked, which is kind of awkward when he gets out and Derek is leaning up against the sink.
"Woah, dude!" Stiles yells as he gets out of the shower, slipping on the floor and almost landing on his ass. He grabs his towel and wraps it around his hips, glaring at Derek. "Have you heard that it's rude to wait in someone's bathroom while they shower?"
"Haven't heard that one, no." Derek says. "I'll keep that in mind next time."
"What are you doing here?" Stiles asks, exasperated.
Derek frowns. "I'm your soulmate."
"Yeah, you're beginning to become my soulhate." Stiles says.
All his words get him are a raised eyebrow and a lifetime's worth of regret.
"Okay, okay." Stiles raises his hands in mock-surrender. "That was awful. But being my soulmate does not give you an excuse to spy on me in the shower!"
"I didn't look, if that's what you're worried about." Derek says, lips twitching slightly.
Stiles looks impatient, "Can you wait in here while I get dressed?" he asks. "I have a feeling that this conversation is better held not in a towel."
Derek nods and Stiles heads through to his bedroom, throwing on clothes as quickly as possible. Derek is his soulmate but all that he does is make him feel aggravated and want to punch the guy in the face which he can't even do because Derek doesn't have the luxury of being a solid entity. Just as he's about to call Derek through, the ghost appears on his bed, legs stretched out across the carpet.
"I could've been naked!" Stiles reprimands the man.
"You weren't, though." Derek says.
"Yeah, not this time." Stiles says dryly.
After a pause in the conversation, Stiles decides to let the matter go but makes a mental note to decide on some boundaries for the two of them later. He sits next to Derek on the bed, avoiding sitting too close because the whole 'going through Derek' thing still freaks him out, even if it stopped him from having a panic attack last night.
"So, are you here for the sole reason that you're my soulmate?" Stiles asks. "Because that's a fact, not a reason."
"I'm here to talk about my Uncle Peter." Derek tells him.
"The evil one?" Stiles asks. "The one who is a werewolf and could probably kill me?"
"He's an Alpha werewolf," Derek corrects him, "And he could definitely kill you."
Stiles stares incredulously at the man. "Wow, way to make me think this plan is awesome."
"It's the only one I have." Derek tells Stiles. "You don't have to bring me back to life, you know. But I am your soulmate."
"To be honest, you're not making me like you very much." Stiles say. "You're basically a Greek God looks wise but other than that I really don't see what makes us so compatible."
"We haven't killed each other yet." Derek puts forward.
"We can't touch each other." Stiles says, mocking Derek's factual tone of voice. "That kind of stops the whole killing thing."
"I need you to visit Peter." Derek says.
Stiles sighs. "Fine. Where does he live?"
Turns out, Peter lives in a creepy house in the middle of the woods. Stiles' life is turning out to be the most cliché non-cliché ever. After thinking that through in his head Stiles can't quite decide if it would make sense to anyone but him. He writes down the directions Derek gives him and tries to think of a way he can relate Derek's message to Peter without sounding like an escaped patient from a mental asylum.
"So, you can't come with me?" Stiles asks. "Like, for protection?"
"No. I'm tied to your house." Derek says. "You're the only one that can see me anyway, I'd be no help."
"If he kills me, I will murder you." Stiles says before leaving his bedroom and slamming the door on Derek.
Grabbing the keys from his kitchen counter, he feels a presence behind him. Spinning around fast, he sees Derek right behind him.
"Don't forget to be polite to him." Derek says. "That way you're less likely to get your throat ripped out."
"Really making me excited for this trip, Derek." Stiles says, his voice an octave higher than usual. "Really looking forwards to my possible imminent death."
Without looking back at Derek, Stiles walks out the door and pretends that his hands aren't shaking as he starts up his jeep. He won't die. Hopefully.
.
The Hale house is even creepier than described. It doesn't help that it is pretty obvious that it burnt down years ago and not much has been done to fix it since. Stiles clutches his car keys tightly in his hand. He wants to turn back, but he promised Derek he'd at least try and get some information from Peter. As much as he tells the ghost that he hates him, Stiles really doesn't fancy living the rest of his life alone. Then again, he doesn't exactly fancy dying, but you can't always get what you want. As he steps closer to the house, his phone vibrates. Willing to do anything to delay going into the house, he picks it up.
"Hey, Scott." he says.
"Dude!" Scott's voice comes from the other end. "Where are you?"
"Long story." Stiles says. "Where are you?"
"Outside your house." Scott says. "Actually, I'm kind of in your house."
Stiles groans. "I really regret giving you that spare key."
"Whatever, anyway, Stiles, I came to cheer you up!" Scott says. "I have food."
Stiles is really tempted to say 'Yeah, and I have a soulmate to resurrect' but he doesn't think that right now is the best time to break the news to Scott that he's not actually soulmate-less. Or, maybe not. Maybe Stiles is hallucinating the whole thing and Derek was just a figment of his imagination. Peter Hale will not be real or will realise he's crazy and kill him on sight. Stiles tries to stop thinking about it because he kind of really doesn't want to die today.
"I'm kind of busy right now, Scott." Stiles says.
"Busy? You're never busy." Scott says.
That's kind of true, but it still stings. But Stiles does tend to do everything with Scott. On occasion, he hangs out with people when Scott is off with Allison but most of the time he's home waiting for Scott to be available or with Scott. It's kind of sad, really, if you think about it.
"I am now. It's important." Stiles says. "If I'm not dead I'll be home in, like, an hour?"
"This sounds dangerous." Scott says. "Do you need me to come along?"
"No offence, Scott, but I'm the Batman in this relationship." Stiles says.
Scott seems to consider that for a second. "No, you're Robin." he says. "Just, don't do anything stupid."
"No promises." Stiles says before hanging up on his best friend. He loves him to death, but sometimes you've just got to ignore your best friend in order to talk to a creepy werewolf in an abandoned house. It's just one of those things.
Tucking his phone into his pocket, Stiles walks forwards and tries to ignore the eerie sounding creak as he eases open the door and makes his way into the Hale house.
.
From the moment he walks in, Stiles can tell that the house is not uninhabited. He can feel a presence lurking in the corners. Someone is watching him. He can feel it like he feels Derek when he's around him, but this feeling is darker, something that sends a shiver down his spine and wants him to back away from the house, go and find Scott and pretend he was never at the house. But Stiles won't let himself back down.
"Hello?" he calls out into the darkened house, regretting it the moment his voice echoes back at him. He doesn't back down. "I've got a message from Derek Hale."
The feeling in the house seems to change and Stiles can feel anger almost vibrating from the walls. He squints slightly and then realises that what he can see in front of him is two eyes glowing red. He stumbles back, hand flying out to stop him from falling over completely and he find himself backed up against a wall. He becomes aware of the fact that he's almost petrified with fear and he tries to breathe, tries to remind himself that it's okay. If he panics, it's all over. He reminds himself what he's doing this for, the reason that he's in a house with an Alpha werewolf who could kill him. He certainly doesn't love Derek, but he's drawn to him in a way he cannot describe. It's funny that he's only seen Derek twice, arguing with him both times, but he's already risking his life for the ghost.
"Who are you?" Peter Hale booms from the top of the stairs.
Stiles pretends that he's not absolutely terrified. "Stiles." he says, ignoring the quiver in his voice. "I need to talk to you about Derek Hale."
"He's dead, you moron."
"The ghost of a fucking werewolf appears in my house and tells me he's my soulmate and that I have to bring him back to life and you're telling me?" Stiles says dryly. "I've kind of had a crazy two days, man. Help me out a little here?"
It's only after Stiles stops talking that he remembers Derek's warning to be polite to Uncle but it's kind of too late then so Stiles braces himself for the inevitable werewolf attack. To his surprise, Peter laughs.
"You and I are going to need to have a chat." Peter says, jumping down the stairs and making Stiles quiver against the wall. He steps closer to Stiles, eyeing him up and down as best as anyone could in the darkness.
"I can't wait." Stiles replies.
.
"What took you so long?" Scott asks as Stiles walks into his kitchen. He's still jumpy from his meeting with Peter and so he yelps a little bit as Scott takes him by surprise.
"Jesus, Scott." he says, pulling off his jacket and tossing it onto a chair. "You scared the shit out of me."
Scott is sitting at the table, slumped back on a wooden-backed chair and surrounded by food. Stiles moves towards his friend and grabs some of it, knowing that it probably took a great deal of self-restraint for Scott not to eat everything before Stiles arrived.
"Seriously, man." Scott begins. "Where were you?"
Stiles takes a seat. For a moment, he considers telling Scott everything. He could tell Scott about Derek and the fact that he's a dead werewolf and he could explain his conversation with Peter that pretty much led him absolutely nowhere and they could somehow turn Stiles' awful life into something vaguely resembling humour. Scott could make it seem better. He's just about to open his mouth and confess everything when Derek appears about an inch in front of him, causing Stiles to choke on the chips he's just put in his mouth.
"Don't tell him." Derek says. He doesn't sound angry, but concerned. It stirs something up in Stiles that he'd rather not think about because he doesn't want to be fantasising about a dead werewolf whilst his friend is literally sitting across from him.
Stiles manages to swallow the chips and ignores Scott's confused look. "I'll tell you later, man." Stiles says. He doesn't know when what Derek said started to actually affect him but he thinks that Derek's probably right.
The ghost is still standing in front of him, arms folded, eyebrows raised. Stiles rolls his eyes at the werewolf and tries to ignore him whilst shooting him looks that scream at the man to go away.
"Allison wanted to invite you to a party next week." Scott breaks the silence. Stiles doesn't really care but he dives into the conversation, constantly shooting looks back at Derek as the werewolf's eyes are glued on Stiles. It's creepy and disturbing but Stiles can't say anything without freaking Scott out.
"We need to talk, Stiles." Derek says suddenly when Stiles is in the middle of discussing the pros and cons of inviting Jackson to parties.
Stiles keeps his focus on Scott and pretends that Derek isn't there, hoping that the man will get the message that he isn't wanted at the current time. A few minutes go by in which Derek keeps sullenly glaring at Stiles and Stiles pretends that he doesn't want to stare at his possible soulmate before Derek speaks again.
"Seriously." Derek says, "Kick the kid out and talk to me about Peter."
Stiles stands up suddenly, scraping his chair back against the floor. "I'm gonna use the bathroom." he says to Scott before quickly leaving the room, not having to turn around to know that Derek is following him. He tries not to make it obvious that he's angry at something because all that will accomplish is making Scott confused.
When he gets into the bathroom, he locks the door and slams himself against it. When Derek floats through him to enter the bathroom a shiver goes down his spine. It's not an unpleasant feeling, actually. It does take a little getting used to, though, and Stiles is in a place where he doesn't really know if he wants to get used to it.
"Dude, you can't just show up whenever and expect me to talk to you!" Stiles groans. "I have a life, you know."
"Really tactful to say that to the dead guy." Derek retorts.
"Whatever, man." Stiles sighs. "Look, you can't do this to me. I have to keep up appearances otherwise everyone is going to think I'm mental. I like you, Derek, and I've already risked my life for you today but you have got to start making me believe that you're worth it!"
"I'm not doing this for me, Stiles." Derek growls. "You really think that this is an ideal situation for me? I was fucking fine being dead. Then you turn eighteen and the universe, or the Fates, or whatever decide that I need to come back to make sure you get your happy ever after." The werewolf pauses, eyes burning into Stiles. "Why should I give a shit about your happy ever after? Maybe I don't want to be alive again. Did you ever think about that? I'm doing this for you. Don't treat me like some disposable toy that you can throw into your closet when you're busy with something else."
"Oh, man." Stiles says. "I get that, I really get that. But I need time away from you, too. Scott's my best friend, I need to talk to him sometimes and get away from this whole dead werewolf soulmate bullshit."
"You haven't even known me for a full day, Stiles." Derek snarls. "If you can't handle that then I really can't see us being together for the rest of our lives."
"No, Derek, neither can I." Stiles snaps. "So why don't you fuck off back to the Underworld or wherever you came from? Because I am so not in the mood for talking to you right now."
Derek turns away from Stiles and for a moment the boy feels a sharp pang in his chest, like his soul is being ripped away from him. Stiles stares at Derek's back and realises that he barely knows the man that is standing right in front of him, that they have only known each other for about sixteen hours, but he wants him. He wouldn't use the word love, but there's something there that he wants to reach towards, something locked inside of Derek that Stiles thinks he has the key to. It's cheesy as fuck and it's exactly the kind of thing Stiles would fake-vomit at if Scott said it about Allison but he thinks he's beginning to understand.
"Look." Stiles says, trying to calm down his voice. "Peter says it's possible. You can come back to life. Because we're soulmates, there's something in me that you're tied to and somehow that's gonna do some creepy shit that brings you back to life." Stiles pauses, his body still pressed against the door. "Look, I know I've been shitty but I'm not the only one. We need to work out some things, man."
Derek is still facing away from Stiles but the boy thinks he can see the tension in Derek's muscles disappear as he begins to relax.
"I need to figure some things out." Derek says. He turns around and manages a slight smile in Stiles' direction. "See you tomorrow, Stiles."
Before Stiles can utter another word, Derek is gone.
.
Stiles isn't quite sure what the appropriate reaction to your soulmate who happens to be a dead werewolf saying 'I need to figure some things out." is, but he's pretty sure that it calls for panic, desperation and general re-evaluation of life. He's freaked out by Derek's existence and everything the werewolf says just confuses Stiles even m
Every time Derek leaves, Stiles feels like a part of him has been torn away. Stiles feels exasperated and screwed with and he hates it. Derek shouldn't be able to have such an effect on him, but he does. After his third encounter with Derek, Stiles feels unsettled, off-balance. He spends the rest of the day with Scott and falls back easily into conversation with him but he keeps hearing Derek's words over and over in his mind, torturing him endlessly as he tries to focus on other things.
Being around Derek fills Stiles with elation and anger simultaneously. It lifts him up and then throws him back down and the problem is that Stiles doesn't know if he can cope with being jolted around so much for the rest of his life. Stiles knew that life with your soulmate isn't supposed to be easy, he'd always been told that, but the problems he was expecting were stupid fights over who finished off the milk and put the carton back on the fridge, or forgetting an anniversary. His problems seem huge and insurmountable and he knows that maybe he needs to stop worrying and just get on with things, but he can't. What he didn't tell Derek in the bathroom is that seeing Peter Hale really shook him. Stiles was shaking throughout the whole conversation and he can still feel the chill that spread throughout the house as the Alpha werewolf spoke. Stiles wants to bring Derek back to life, but he's not happy about Peter Hale having to help them do it. His life was never supposed to be that dangerous.
That night, Stiles lies awake for hours. He doesn't pretend that Derek is lying beside him and he definitely doesn't wish that he was, because that would be dumb and cliché and Stiles is neither of those things. He thinks of what a strange position he's in. A few days ago, he was just another guy who hadn't reached eighteen yet. Now, he's the guy who everyone thinks has no soulmate but in fact does have one and is trying to bring him back from the dead.
He tosses and turns in bed all night, worrying about going back to school the next day. His life is so royally fucked up and he hates himself for thinking it, but as he drifts off in the early hours of the morning, he's thinking to himself that everything that is going on will make a good story for the grandkids.
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