Chapter Text
“Son, when’s the last time you looked at your back in the mirror?”
“Uhm, that would be around… never?”
“I think you should have, because you have your Words between your shoulder blades.”
_______
“What?!”
“Yeah, right there between your shoulder blades! It’s a tricky place to get your Words, because you don’t notice it as quickly as with other pla-”
“DAD!” Stiles exclaimed, his voice booming in the kitchen. John was taken aback, but let Stiles speak.
“What do they say?”
His father twirled his index finger, and Stiles turned, so his back was to the other man.
Stiles’ heart hammered in his chest, and the kitchen felt way hotter than it had a moment ago. This was it. The moment he’d been waiting for.
“It-” The Sheriff started reading, and Stiles held his breath. “Looks like it’s been on your back for a while. If it had been new, it would have been more blurry, so this must be almost two weeks old…”
“What- is that my Words?” He asked, confusion making him dizzy – or maybe he was dizzy because he’d been holding his breath…
“Wow, those would be unfortunate Words to have!” The man at his back laughed, and Stiles bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying something incredibly rude.
“Okay, Stiles, your Words are:” The Sheriff spoke, “What are you reading?”
Stiles gasped. Derek’s words when they’d first met.
“What?” He whispered, not really believing it yet.
“Yeah, right here, What are you reading?” John repeated.
“YES!” Stiles jumped eagerly, and pumped his fists into the air. He turned and grasped his dad’s shoulders. “Wait, you’re sure – one hundred percent sure – that’s what it says, right?”
John gave him a disgruntled look. “Son, I may not be young anymore, but I can still comprehend a simple sentence, dammit.”
Could it be that… Derek was his Soul Mate? Why hadn’t he said something? Stiles thought back to their date at the coffee shop, when Stiles had asked him about his Words, and Derek had answered It’s complicated. Stiles didn’t know what that meant, but he did know one thing:
He needed to talk to Derek.
_______
“He-ey Scott!” Stiles drawled when he answered the ringing phone. “What’s up? Kinda busy here.”
“Busy? Too busy for your best friend?” Scott laughed, and Stiles rolled his eyes.
“Nah, just…” He paused. Was it too soon to tell him? He hadn’t even talked to Derek yet… He pushed away the uncertain thought that maybe Derek wouldn’t want him, when he told him they were Soul Mates, and took a deep breath. “I got my Words.” Stiles breathed out in a hurry.
“Sorry? You got your Words?!” If a kicked dog could talk, it would sound like Scott at that moment. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I kinda found out not ten minutes ago.”
“What does it say?”
“What are you reading?”
“So now you’re just waiting for someone to say it, huh?”
“Uhh- yeah, no, someone already did…”
“Wha-” Scott exclaimed. “Jeez, Stiles, I’m gone for a week and I miss all the important stuff?”
“Yeah, basically.” Stiles laughed. “But Scott I gotta go, dude! I have to see my Mate. I’m not sure he knows we’re Soul Mates, and I don’t know how his reaction’s gonna be, but yeah…” Will he even want me? “He deserves to know.”
“You got his number?” Scott asked, and suddenly Stiles got the blaringly obvious thought, that he didn’t even know how to contact Derek. The other man hadn’t given him his phone number, address, or anything of the like. But he had given him his last name! Stiles sprinted up the stairs to his room. He opened the door to find the room empty. Shit, that’s right, he’d moved out, so his computer was back at his own apartment.
“Stiles? You there?” Scott asked over the phone.
“Uh-huh. Yep, still here.” Stiles mumbled. “Juuuust gotta… find something…- HEY DAD, WHERE’S YOUR COMPUTER?”
“I TOLD YOU LAST WEEK, IT’S BEING REPAIRED, BECAUSE-”
“OH! NO, I REMEMBER NOW.” Stiles yelled back. Scott huffed over the phone, annoyed at not knowing what was going on.
“Why do you need a computer?” He asked.
“If I’m to find Derek’s address, stupid.”
“Dude, you don’t exactly need a computer for that. Do it the old-fashioned way.”
“Wha- oh,” Stiles just got it. “And I’d always thought I was the smart one, Scotty.”
“Don’t call me Sco-”
“DAD, WHERE’S THE PHONEBOOK?” Stiles bellowed to the man downstairs, not bothering to hold a hand over the phone’s transmitter, and he grinned when he heard the sound of Scott’s surprised groan. “Dude… not cool.”
“IT’S DOWN HERE, NOW STOP WITH THE YELLING, STILES.”
Stiles bounced back down the steps, and when he entered the kitchen, his dad had already gotten the phonebook in his hands.
“Who are we looking up?”
“Derek Hale.”
The Sheriff nodded, and swiftly opened the heavy book.
“What’s happening?” Scott asked.
“We’re looking up my Mate’s address the old-fashioned way.” Stiles answered. When the Sheriff looked up, Stiles gestured to the phone, and mouthed ‘Scott’.
“Hale, Hale, Hale…” John Stilinski murmured as he flipped through the pages, and after a moment he suddenly exclaimed with great enthusiasm: “Hale! Derek Hale. His address is 17th Morrison Street!”
Stiles was out of the door before his dad had finished saying ‘street’. He said a quick goodbye to Scott, and hung up.
His jeep was back at the apartment, so Stiles went by foot. Luckily Morrison Street wasn’t too far away. Back in High School, he’d used to drive past the street every day, so he knew exactly where it was. It was a side street to the main road. In the mornings many runners chose that street to run down, because it led to a small park, but when Stiles went down the street, looking for house number 17, it was around 10 PM, and the street was deserted.
Stiles counted the house numbers as he ran past them. 11, 13, 15, – 17!
As far as he could see in the darkness, it was a two-story house that had been painted red. An open garage adorned the space next to the house, and Stiles only just warded off his desire to sneak a peek at Derek’s car. A porch led to the front door, and the fact that his Soul Mate was behind that door was the only thing on Stiles’ mind.
The house’s windows were mostly dark except for two that still shone brightly.
His hands felt clammy, and his stomach fluttered more and more with each passing second, so Stiles made the decision to get this over with before he lost his nerve. A couple of seconds later, Stiles was knocking on Derek’s door.
He heard the sound of feet lightly hitting wooden stairs, and then light flooded the two slim windows on either side of the front door.
When the door finally opened, Stiles almost fell over from laughter. There, in the doorway, was Derek, his mighty Soul Mate, wearing dark blue pajamas with small yellow ducks all over it.
“No, this is way to good!” Stiles giggled, pointing at the smiling ducks on Derek’s clothes. “Are you serious? Did you spend money on that?”
“It was a Christmas present from Laura…” Derek grunted but he had a pleased glint in his green eyes. “Well, this is certainly a surprise visit, Stiles. As you can see from my impressive outfit, I wasn’t expecting you.”
The younger man sobered as he remembered why he was currently standing on the Hale’s porch.
“Can I come in?” He asked. Stiles was trying to come across as nonchalant, but he guessed any chance of that had flown out the window as soon as he’d walked all the way from his father’s house to Derek’s at 10 o’clock at night.
Derek stepped aside, so he could walk in. The older man led Stiles into the house’s living room. A non-lit fireplace, bookcases that lined the walls, a dark green couch that was not getting any younger, and a hardwood living room table gave the place a rustic feel. Images of cold winter nights in front of the flickering fire popped into Stiles’ mind, and made him smile. He realized that this was exactly the kind of place he’d imagined Derek would live in.
“No television?” The question willed itself out of his mouth partly because of his never-ending curiosity, but mostly because he was postponing the conversation they would soon have. Stiles still didn’t know exactly how he would phrase his new discovery, and he needed more time.
“Bedroom.” Derek explained, his eyes never leaving Stiles, as if he were analyzing each and every one of his movements, and storing the information.
“Is that an invitation?” Stiles drawled, and wiggled his eyebrows. Derek rolled his eyes so hard it was a wonder the eyeballs didn’t just pop right out of his head.
“As much as I enjoy your company, I wish you would get to the reason why you’re here, Stiles.”
Stiles fake-pouted dramatically, but then let out a sigh. Okay, here it goes.
“I got my Words.” He let out promptly, and Derek sucked in a breath sharply.
“Dammit,” Derek growled. Stiles flinched at the harshness of the word. “I had thought- well, hoped – that we could be together. Even though we aren’t Soul Mates, I wanted to be with you. But this changes everything now.” The older man spoke quietly, not even looking at Stiles. But Stiles was definitely looking at Derek, because that man looked devastated. As if a light bulb lightened in his head, he suddenly knew what Derek was talking about – what he thought was happening right now. Derek thought that when Stiles said he had gotten his Words, it meant he had gotten them after he’d met Derek. But that wasn’t it at all!
“No, Derek!” Stiles exclaimed, surprising the Hale enough to get his gaze back on him. Without warning, Stiles stood up, turned around, and pulled his shirt over his head.
“What are y-”
Silence filled the room. Stiles swallowed nervously. The sound of Derek standing from the couch, and moving toward his uncovered back, reached his ears. He shivered a bit in the room that had been warmer when he’d had his shirt on. He wondered when he could take his shirt back on, because he was feeling vulnerable. All Stiles’ discomfort disappeared as fast as they’d appeared, when warm fingers touched his back in a smooth glide. Derek. He was caressing Stiles where the Words stood out black as ink against his pale skin.
Derek then took hold of his shoulder, and turned him around, so they were looking into each other’s eyes. Without a word, the older man pulled his shirt up a bit. On the smooth expanse of his stomach, just to the right of his navel was Hello written. An inky black Word. The first thing Stiles had ever said to Derek.
“I got this three weeks before we met at the coffee place,” Derek’s voice was both soft and rough at the same time, heavy with emotion. “It frustrated me, because every time someone said that word to me, I thought this is it, this person is my Soul Mate. Each time I was wrong. And when you said the word, I didn’t know you were… that we were- I just knew that it didn’t matter if you weren’t my Soul Mate, because all I just wanted – want – is to be with you.”
Derek exhaled a long breath, and repeated: “I want to be with you.”
Before Stiles could say anything, Derek frowned and spoke: “Stiles, why didn’t you tell me about your Words?”
“I didn’t know – because they are on my back I only just found out tonight.”
The older man nodded understandingly, and stroked Stiles’ jaw with his hand, smiling at him.
“Stiles, you can’t imagine how happy I am that we’re Soul Mates,” He whispered.
Yes, I can imagine actually, Stiles thought, but Derek was already continuing.
“And I will try my best to give you everything you deserve.”
“I only want you, Derek, and you’ve already given me more than enough, you know.” He whispered hoarsely, and averted his gaze; because never had he been on the receiving end of the kind of look that Derek was giving him. And the feelings Stiles was subject to around Derek – happiness, trust, love – both overjoyed and scared him. It felt like his whole life had led up to that moment with Derek, and all his worries and the pain of the past slipped away. It was only Stiles and Derek. And now Derek was looking at him like Stiles was mesmerizing, fascinating, and beautiful. Stiles was so lucky to have him as his Soul Mate.
“I am so lucky.” He whispered, only realizing he’d said it out loud, when Derek tilted his head up with the tender hand on his jaw, so Stiles had to meet his gaze.
They didn’t notice who moved first, but when their lips met, it didn’t matter anyway.
That night they slept in Derek’s bed. Their legs entangled, and Stiles lying partly on Derek, partly on the mattress, they slept peacefully, and when Derek woke Stiles up in the morning by pressing light, loving kisses to his neck, the first thing Stiles did what send a text to the coffee shop’s manager:
Not coming to work. Found my Mate. See you in a week.