Chapter Text
Scott bumped into Derek at the grocery store, it seemed Scott had been doing the shopping since his mom started taking double shifts and he’d run out of coffee. They swapped pleasantries until Scott asked if Derek had seen Stiles recently.
Derek looked slightly worried, “Last time I saw him he said he’d been spending time with you.”
Scott frowned, “He told me he’d been researching stuff for you. When did you actually see him last?”
“The beginning of the week, what about you?”
“He left school early on Friday saying he wasn’t well and I haven’t seen him since. So..err.. two days I guess but he’s been ducking out so much lately I’m getting kinda worried.”
Derek went quiet for a few moments before obviously coming to a conclusion. “I think I may know where he’s going, but check if the sheriff’s seen him first. Then I think we may need Lydia’s help.”
Speaking to the sheriff only confirmed Scott’s fears. Beacon Hills finest had been busy with a spate of car thefts and although the sheriff had spoken to Stiles, he hadn’t actually been seen in days. On hearing this Derek’s eyebrows dipped sharply towards the centre of his forehead. “Call Lydia, we need to meet up with her now.”
When they reached Lydia’s house she was standing on the doorstep waiting for them. “Do you want to come in or shall I just come with you?”
“We should come in for a few minutes, I think,” Scott suggested, “Derek’s got some news for us.”
They sat at the kitchen table and Derek started to tell them about Stiles.
He told them about the box he’d found in the vault and how he’d delivered it to Stiles. “It was obviously from Claudia Stilinski and been left in my mother’s safekeeping. I’d hoped that Stiles would talk to me about it but when he didn’t I just assumed it was some keepsakes, only of interest to him and his dad. But I kept coming across his scent in the preserve and one day I followed him.”
“Really!” Lydia interrupted, eyebrows raised.
“I know… it seems kinda weird but I was curious, there was something odd about his scent… and…”
“Don’t worry Derek. We get it, keep going.” Scott encouraged him.
“I saw him turn into a wolf!” Derek blurted out, “He’s not a werewolf, I’m sure of that but he is some kind of shapeshifter.”
Lydia looked perplexed. “Are you serious? How did I not realise?”
“I saw him take another form as well,” Derek continued, “something like a cross between a satyr and a Celtic green man. Then it hit me today that the box is the key to the whole thing. Anyway, not the point, the point is he’s been disappearing - possibly crossing over to a different plane. Until now he’s been coming back but I think we may need your help to get him back this time Lydia.”
Derek stopped and looked at Lydia, pleading silently for her to help.
“You need him back, don’t you?” she asked.
He nodded, “There’s something that I need to say… should have said.”
********************
They drove up into the preserve, stopping not far from the clearing where Derek had first seen Stiles shift. They walked from there, Scott’s and Derek’s abilities making tracking easy. But it was Lydia who first exclaimed, pointing ahead of then.
“There’s no scent,” Scott looked up at her.
“Duh… fairy portal thingee.”
“You can see it?” Derek asked.
“You can’t?” she replied huffing, “Ah, banshee thing. I should be able to go through and find him... and hopefully get back”.
“Wait for me, if I’m not back in two hours you’ll need to talk to Meredith.” And with that she disappeared.
Scott and Derek stared at each other for a moment then sat down on the grass to wait.
************************
“Stiles, are you here?”
“Lyds, what the…”
Lydia shrugged and gave him a small smile. “Banshee”, she said by way of explanation.
“Leszi”, Stiles replied.
“Leshee. Oh, Polish thing, right?”
“Yeah, my mom, she left me a box.”
“So why are you holed up in here, other than it’s a pretty nice place?” she asked looking around.
Stiles blushed and looked, down. “We… err… Leszi, don’t react well to being rejected… in love. The pain is lessened here, almost vanishes… and it is a pretty cool place.”
Smiling at him, Lydia grabbed Stiles’ arm and then stopped. “Wow, your soft,” she said stroking his fur, “and you're rockin’ the green!”
Stiles tried glaring at her but he couldn’t quite make it stick.
“Come on idiot,” she said pulling him back towards the entrance, “we’ve got some unrequitedness to cure and I’ve got just the man.”
“What? Who?”
And then they were back.
Stiles took one look at Derek, grabbed his backpack and ran off into the trees, shouting “Be right back… clothes…”
He reappeared looking normal, if a bit sheepish.
“I need to tell you something.” Derek began.
“But friends… Braeden…” Stiles interrupted.
“It’s finished. She’s gone, I don’t know when or if she’ll be back.”
“But you said…”
“I just meant it was ok… she wasn’t a psychopath or a…”
“Just a straightforward mercenary!” Stiles laughed and Derek joined in.
“Weird,” Lydia mumbled, pretty much to herself, turned around and said, ”Time to say goodbye I think. Come on Scott.”
Left by themselves, they stared a little, then Derek started moving towards Stiles, nearly crashing into him, pulling him close. But when their lips met it was anything but violent. Ardent, passionate, heartfelt, it was - but sweet and gentle with it.
They wandered back towards the town, arm in arm, stopping occasionally to kiss.
“So, Polish fairy,” Derek asked smirking and dancing away from Stiles, “do you have wings?”
Stiles swatted at his head and stuck out his tongue. “Can if I want to,”
he sing-songed in a childish voice.
A little later Derek said quietly, “I saw your wolf, you are beautiful, Stiles and I love you.”
Stiles smiled a massive smile, hugged Derek to him and whispered in his ear, “You too Sourwolf, always.”