“Are, are you serious?” Helen asked, while coughing a bit.

“Yep,” Derek replied

“Well shit,” was her response

“Pretty much,” Derek said, taking a sip of his own coffee.

“Wha, how, whe,” Derek watched her as she started saying a word before cutting herself off. He watched as she started piece things together, filling in the blanks on her own. She was always good at that.

“Ok. So what do you need my help for? Unless…”She trailed off again, giving him a calculating and inquisitive look. It didn’t take long for Derek to cave and tell her everything.

“So, to prove I’m serious, I want to go talk to him. On his turf.” Derek finished.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up lover boy. Are you saying you want me to run you into a merman?” Helen asked, looking surprised. That was twice in one night that Derek got her, that’s probably a new record.

“Or something to that effect...” Derek said.

“Are you serious? Der, even if I could, and I’m not sure I could, I don’t have any base ideas or spells for that, not taking…”

“I do,” Derek said, cutting her off.

“You do...” She repeat, disbelief heavy in her voice.

“Here,” Derek said before reaching down and pulling a book out of his bag and giving it to her. He watched her eyes grow wide as she read the cover and, really, he was on a roll today.

“Oh wow” She whispered before gently picking up the book. After a few minutes of her caressing and whispering sweet nothings to the book, and, really, that was a little creepy to watch... it was a book, she finally refocused on him.

“Ok, say I do this, and I am still not saying that yet, I am not convinced yet, and it works. How are you going to find him? It’s not like you’re searching a pond or something” She pointed out, but Derek was prepared for that.

“I’m going to follow this,” Derek said before revealing the scale Stiles had given him all those years ago.

“Is that...?” Helen started to ask with something close to awe in her voice and, really, Derek was starting to worry that he was dealing with a pod person or something.

“A scale from his tail. He uses it to find me when I call. I figure I can use it to find him,” Derek told her. When he looked up, she was giving him an odd look he couldn’t describe.

“Is that all he told you the scale was for?” she asked

“Yes” Derek answered hesitantly, a bit confused by her question. She just nodded before gently tapping the scale.

“Ok. First, you need to put that away. Freely given mermaid scales hold very powerful magic. I would warn you to always be careful, but I feel you already are. Second, you need to finish your coffee, it’s time we go” she said with a smirk before downing her own coffee and getting up.

“Where are we going?” Derek asked and her followed her example.

“Back to my place. We need to figure out how to transform you and I feel we have very little time” she told him with a smirk. Derek couldn’t fight the smile spreading across his face, even as he rolled his eyes. Why she always felt the need to be so dramatic was beyond him.

“I changed my mind. I’m turning you in to gain the favor of your family so I can have access to their library” Helen’s yell greeted him as he walk in her front door after running around the entire town getting supplies. Derek had told her how his family didn’t know. She hadn’t been very supportive of his choice, but she had seemed to understand.

“Oh no, whatever will I do?” Derek asked in complete deadpan and with a roll of his eyes.

“Here, will this bribe you back to my side?” He asked as he placed a carryout bag in front of her.

“I accept your bribery” She informed him with a nod after looking through the bag. Derek just rolled his eyes and took out his own meal. They ate in silence with Helen flipping through the book he brought her and sometimes writing something down and Derek, glaring at Helen, demanding she talk.

“You, are unbelievably lucky” she started, after putting her container down and closing the book.

“Turns out, I can transform you into a merman. But only on a full moon that hangs full on a Friday that falls on the 13th day of a month” she finished, a raised eyebrow daring him to not take her seriously.

“Well then, it’s a good thing that today is Friday the 13 and the full moon is tonight” Derek replied and took great satisfaction in how she deflated a bit and pouted.

“Aren’t you going to ask me why?” She almost whined.

“Nope, don’t care. All I care about is that you can do it,” Derek informed her.

“You are no fun...” she huffed with a pout. Derek just shrugged.

“I mean, they have a reason. Same reason the werewolves have, but it’s already too late. He already knows I’m a merman. He knows and doesn’t care because, guess what, he is a werewolf! Therefore, their whole ‘warn and scare everyone caution stories’ aren’t really going to work anymore. Not for me. So, are you going to help me find a way to figure out how Ariel did it or not?” Stiles asked, whirling on Scott.

“Stiles, buddy. Have you actually thought this through?” Scott asked. However, as soon as Stiles opened his mouth, Scott cut him off.

“I mean really thought this through. Not just the whole ‘oh do I actually love him part’ but everything else. You are the crown prince! You have your Dad and me and Lydia, Allison, Danny…”

“Yes, yes. I get your point.” Stiles said. “But Scott, man. I” Stiles paused, letting out a sigh before biting his lip.

“I gave him a scale from my tail” Stiles confused softly.

“You... WHAT!” Scott basically screeched.

“I gave him a scale” Stiles repeated with more confidence before rushing on and saying, “Look I know I never said anything, but, uh, that was actually why I was up there to begin with…”

“To find your true love in a fashion that is even more of a myth than Ariel?” Scott all but cried out in disbelief, eyes wide.

“What? No. Would you just let me tell the story?” Stiles said, giving Scott a look. Scott just closed his mouth and mimed, zipping it close before nodding his head.

“As I was saying...” Stiles started,  giving Scott a small glare before going on.

“I was up there because, well, I hadn’t lost any scales yet. Everyone else was already shed and growing in the first new set and mine refused to come off. So I decided to try and, you know, help them along. But I didn’t want to do it here. If my Dad walked in and found out I would just get the whole ‘everyone grows at their own pace’ lecture or ‘it’s ok that you’re not doing what everyone else is’ speech. So, I went up to the surface to try and help the scales along” Stiles admitted with a flush.

“But, I lost track of time. Before I realized, I had lost the tide and was kind trapped. At least till high tide came in but then I would never make it back in time before Dad noticed I wasn’t just swimming around with you. That’s when Derek found me. And after he moved me back into the ocean I felt it. A slight itching. When I reached back, one of my scales slipped right off. So…”

“But Stiles, you had been working at them all day!” Scott interrupted

“I know! Trust me, I thought about that which is why I didn’t give it to him that day. But Scott, it was perfectly intact. It didn’t chip or shatter. Didn’t have any cracks or dents in it. And I didn’t lose any more scales until almost a year later when I finally shed them all, never mind that weekend. But Scott, it worked” Stiles whispered, looking Scott right in the eye. Neither moved for a moment and Stiles went on.

“So, after spending the weekend with him, I found out that he doesn’t really live there. Just visits and there would have been no way to get in contact after, so I thought ‘what the hell it’s worth a shot,’ and gave him the scale”

“And he just took it?” Scott asked in bewilderment.

“Yep. I mean, it’s not like he knew what that meant. I told him it was so he could let me know when he was at the shore and we could talk. Last I saw, it was still perfectly intact and it definitely works” Stiles finished before flopping down on his oyster bed next to Scott.

“Dude”

“I know”

“You have to tell him” Scott finally said after several minutes of them just laying there. Stiles sighed.

“I know. But, he hasn’t come back to talk about it and, well, you are right…”

“Do you love him?” Scott asked cutting him off.

“More than I thought was possible, dude” Stiles answered sincerely

“Then, we will figure something  out” Scott said with a small grin.

“What, do you mean?” Stiles asked, a huge grin starting to form across his face.

“Yep. I’m going to help you! I will not stand by and watch you lose your true love!” Scott proclaimed just before Stiles tackled him.

“Dude you are the best bro ever!” Stiles declared.

“I know, I know. So where do we start looking for this ‘miracle’ spell that turns you human?” Scott asked.

“Where else? Lydia” Stiles answered with a cheery grin. Scott groaned.

“Really man? Do we have to?” Scott asked

“Of course we do! She is the leading expert on all magic and has the best library” Stiles replied

“I thought you were the leading expert…” Scott started before Stiles cut in.

“We’re tied. Or were. Besides, different fields of magic. I’m more experimental and creation while she’s more rarity and perfection. Plus, we both know I had to give that up to start studying under Dad.”

“You probably never noticed because of how big our family is and how everyone else’s partners brought their family with them. But not your father. His parents didn’t like me to begin with. They definitely didn’t like me after they found out I was a ‘monster.’ There was a huge fight. They dragged the entire family into it, even started to threat about bringing hunters into it. Finally, your father decided that enough was enough. He packed his things and ran away with me. He had a job, sisters of his own, family that loved him. He gave it all up for me. And, you know? If the pack hadn’t liked him, just because he was human? I would have packed right up and left with him and started my own pack somewhere else,” she told him with a fond grin on her face.

“But, sweetie. It doesn’t always have to be one or the other. And we would never stop loving you. You know that, right?  Even if you moved to another continent or took off into the mountains. There are always ways of keeping in touch. And even if we no longer see you all the time, you would still be part of the pack. You could still come to the gatherings, or call, or write. Just because you move away doesn’t mean you stop being family. Sometimes, more often than not, it’s just a part of life, of growing up and becoming your own person” she told him gently, before leaning over to give him a reassuring squeeze.

“Mom…” Derek started brokenly before she silenced him with a kiss on top of his head.

“Think about what I said. And, when you’re ready, bring that boy of yours around to meet the family” she said as she got up, giving him a wink and knowing smirk before walking away.

Derek spent the rest of the night thinking over what his mom had said. He thought about the first time he meet Stiles. How fast they had become friends even though Derek had always had problems talking to people. How much Derek enjoyed Stiles company, his chatter. How, when Derek had told Stiles he was leaving to go home, Stiles had given him a scale from his tale. How Derek still carried that scale with him like a good luck charm.

Derek thought about the fact that one of the first things he did once he got his license was drive up and spend the weekend with Stiles. He thought about all the birthdays they had spent together, even if they were a few days late. He thought about his secret collection of gifts from Stiles’ world. He thought about how he actually took the time to learn Stiles native and formal language, even though Stiles told him that most mer-beings from his kingdom spoke English.

Derek remembered the look on Stiles’ face the first time he tried ‘above water’ food. He remembered his first taste of ‘below water’ food. Most of all, Derek remembered all the things that Stiles made him feel. Whether it be loved, annoyed, excited, sad, happy, or confused. It didn’t matter because Stiles always made him feel alive. That was worth giving up this world for.

Decision made, Derek rolled out of bed and made his way towards the library. Why his family had such a huge library in their vacation house was beyond him, but, for once, he was grateful. He started with the old spell books and made his way over to the mythical section. Hopefully, one or both sections would have something to help him.

It was nearing five am before Derek found what he was looking for. Now, all he needed was someone willing to help. The family was out and, no matter what his mom said, he highly doubted she would be ok with him leaving them to spend the rest of his life at the bottom of the ocean. Which, meant Deaton was out because, as cryptic as that man was, he really couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Meaning he would fumbled around and give Derek judging starts until his mother arrived to drag him home and ‘talk some sense’ into him. Which only left one person Derek could think of and he really hoped she was close enough to help. He sent her a text asking if she would mind helping. Not too surprisingly she was still up, she never did sleep, and told him she could meet him whenever he wanted. He made plans with her to meet up the next day. He wanted to do this as quickly as possible. He had a lot of shit to make up to Stiles.

“One of these days, you’re going to kill me” Derek huffed out as he shifted his weight to one hand reaching the other up to pull a bit of seaweed off the top of his head.

“Please... You big baby. It would take more than a little tumble to hurt you. Or is the big bad wolf scared of getting a little wet?” Stiles teased from ontop of him.

“Yes. I am terrified of the water. Which is way I am always in it with you.” Derek deadpanned.

“Oh, stuff it!” Stiles laughed, splashing Derek with his tail.

“Would you stop trying to drown me?” Derek asked in fond resignation.

“I would never! That would be,” Stiles started innocently before dissolving into giggles.

“What?” Derek asked.

“There’s a little hitchhiker in your hair.” Stiles said between laughs, pointing at Derek’s hairline.

“Wha...? What are you talking about?” Derek asked, annoyed and a little embarrassed before shifting to reach up and get whatever Stiles was laughing at.

“No, I got it. I got it,” Stiles said, calming himself before leaning even closer and plucking a fucking sand crab from Derek’s hair.

“There we go. Come here, cutie. You can’t burrow there. Here try that” Stiles cooed as he leaned over Derek’s shoulder to place the tiny crab back in the sand.

“There we go. Crab free now!” Stiles beamed right in Derek’s face, eyes full of amusement.

“Thanks...” Derek mumbled, trying to keep his blush down and thanking anyone listening that he was currently sitting in cold sea water.

”You ok? Your face seems kinda red. Oh no! Did it pinch you? Are you allergic?” Stiles asked in such a rapid fire stream that Derek couldn’t answer. Not that he would have if he could. Stiles had cupped his face again and was looking him over with concern in his eyes.

“Stiles I’m fine,” Derek quietly assured.

“That what you always say! I’m not taking your word for it,” Stiles informed him as he moved his one hand up to press against his forehead.

“Stiles, I am fine. I promise” Derek whispered as he reached up and took hold of Stiles’ hand on his forehead.  Derek gently pulled it down to his cheek again before freezing at the way Stiles was looking at him.

“Always so brave and trying to protect me” Stiles whispered back in what sounded like awe as he lifted his free hand to brush some of Derek’s dripping hair out of his face.

”Stiles…” Derek breathed out, eyes dropping from Stiles’ eyes to his mouth and then darting back. Derek licked his lips, gathered himself to push Stiles off when Stiles leaned in closer and kissed him gently. Just a shy little press of lips on lips but Derek couldn’t stop himself from groaning out Stiles name. And just like that, any hesitation Stiles had was broken. The next kiss was heated, a hard insistent pressure that had Derek opening his mouth on a groan allowing Stiles in.

“Derek…” Stiles groaned, pressing himself closer to Derek, chest to chest and moving his tail…  

“We can’t!” Derek yelled as he pulled back as far as he could. Which wasn’t very far considering how Stiles was clinging to him.

“What?” Stiles asked eyebrows furrowed.

“Stiles, we can’t” Derek said again, softly, as he gently pulled Stiles off him and stood to leave.

“Derek. Wait! What are you doing?” Stiles asked.

“Stiles, I really like you. I’ve liked you for a long time, years. Hell, I might even love you,” Derek said with a humorless chuckle before he turned to face Stiles again.

“So I can’t do this. I can’t be your dangerous experiment. I, I can’t do this just for fun” Derek said arms crossed and all emotion wiped from his face.

“Well that’s good!” Stiles exclaimed with a smile “ Because you see, you blind, ignorant wolf I also happen,”

“Don’t” Derek actually snarled out.

“Derek” Stiles asked softly, voice filled with confusion.

“Don’t say that. Don’t say you, you like me too” Derek whispered, clutching himself. He looked so vulnerable that Stiles just wanted to pull him into a hug.

“And why not? Why can’t I say…” Stiles started defiantly before Derek, once again, cut him off.

“Because I want to keep you!” Derek yelled. “I want to hold you late into the night. I want you to meet my family. I want to build a house for you. I want to make a family with you. I want to grow old with you. I want to have everything with you, but I can’t”

“Why can’t we? Why can’t we have that, Derek?” Stiles asked defiant to the end. Derek just laughed.

“Because, Stiles, a fish might love a bird but where would they live? That’s what we are Stiles. It’s impossible for us to ever be together” Derek informed him.

“But, Derek! There... There are story tales of transformation! We could…”

“Myths, legends, old wives’ tales. You know they’re not true. And even if they were, I would never ask that of you. You have a life down there Stiles. You have a family, friends... I could never ask you to leave them all just to be with me. And I, I can’t leave Stiles. Not my pack, my family, my job. To never see any of them again I… So we can’t. We just can’t. It’s impossible. Just a dream, a fantasy that will never, can never happen!” Derek finished with a yell before briskly storming off.

“Personally, I think the more important questions are: what do you want and why did you attack us?” Beta Derek asked with a terrifying, raised eyebrow. Well, if they thought that was all it took to make her talk, they were dead wrong.

“Look, I really hate to do this but, if you don’t want to talk, well, there are other ways to get your information” Alpha Scott said as he cut a look to the man in the shadows. For the first time, she felt real fear. The kind of fear legends were supposed to instill. Before anything could happen though, they all look towards a loud bang from above, followed by yelling, followed by more crashing that sound like it was getting closer.

“Dad! Dad! I need help, like, right now! My girlfriend Sophie has disappeared she’s not answering her phone and…”

“Kyle?” Sophie yelled in confusion.

“Sophie?” Kyle yelled in just as much confusion.

“Wait, Dad?” Sophie cried out again look at Alpha Scott.

“Kyle” Alpha Scott sighed in resignation.

“Dad?” Kyle questioned, still clearly confused.

“Sophie?” Alpha Scott asked her, as he turned to look back and forth between his, fuck, his, son and her.

“Stiles!” The guy in the corner exclaimed.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist” He said with a grin.

“There clearly seems to be some confusion, so why don’t you unlock poor Sophie here and go upstairs for a chat. Unless you all want to stay down here in chains which, hey, I don’t judge, in fact…” Stiles was cut off by Derek cuffing him upside the head and growling “Not another word,”

Sophie sat perfectly still as she took in the sight before her. Here was the most powerful, the most feared pack, sitting around a table drinking coffee and hot chocolate. It was bizarre.

“So, who wants to start explaining?” Alpha Scott asked, looking at her and Kyle.

“Dad it’s…”

“I will, sir, if that’s ok with you” Sophie said, cutting Kyle off. She now had everyone’s attention as Alpha Scott nodded for her to talk.

“Well, uh, you see. Kyle invited me to meet his family and I agreed before I knew he lived in Beacon Hills or who his family was. You guys have a certain reputation of not letting supernatural beings leave once they enter your territory. My, uh, plan was to sneak in and hypnotize you all to sleep for 24 hours with my, uh, gaze because I’m a, uh, Yuxa. That would give me enough time to come, say hi, and then leave due to illness. I, uh, wasn’t expecting there to be anyone unaffected to my, uh, charms and I definitely didn’t think that sweet, human Kyle came from the Alpha family of Beacon Hills. I am very sorry for my rudeness and I promise I wasn’t planning on actually hurting anyone and…”Sophie trailed off as she noticed a few of the members shaking. Oh, God, now she’d done it. They were going to kill her.

Sophie closed her eyes and, waited for it, when suddenly the room erupted into…laughter?

“Omg, do we really have such a scary reputation? Do people really find this fuzz puppy scary?” Stiles asked, giving Alpha Scott a nuggie.

“Well, if they heard anything about the girls, it’s no wonder they run scared” the man named Isaac teased.

“The rumors probably got started because of how scary your face looks, Der” the woman named Erica teased Beta Derek.

“Wha, Wait” Sophie was so lost...

“Don’t worry about it. Crazy stuff happens here all the time. Your intentions were good. They like you,” Kyle leaned over to whisper in her ear.

“Bu…What?” Sophie hissed.

Sheriff and Melissa

John and Melissa’s wedding was a simple, understated event. They only wanted to be surrounded by their family, friends, and love. Everything was decorated with white and silver ribbon and Melissa’s bouquet consisted of pink and white roses. Stiles was John’s best man, Allison was the maid of honor, and Scott gave Melissa away.

After the ceremony, which was only attended by the pack and the priest, they held a reception. The reception, held in the John’s backyard, was the event of the year. Every person from the sheriff’s office, the entire hospital staff, and every person whose lives had ever been touched by John or Melissa was crowded into John’s tiny backyard. And Melissa and John couldn’t have been more pleased by the turnout.

Allison/Isaac/Scott

For Allison, Isaac, and Scott, the loss of Melody opened their eyes to all the life that they were letting slip by and how short life was. This strengthened their bonds together and they wanted someway to cement that bond between them. But a simple wedding just wouldn’t suffice. They needed something that would bind all three of them together as a whole. Working with Lydia, they were able to find an old handfasting ritual that could be adapted to apply to the three of them.

For their ceremony, they stood in a triangle with Allison as the point, Scott to her left, and Isaac to her right, under an alter wrapped with lavender flowers and soft green ribbon, outlined in blue. Using the same kind of ribbon as was wrapped around their alter, Lydia started tying knots. She began with one around Allison’s left wrist. Then she moved on to Scott’s left wrist, followed by: Isaac’s left wrist, Allison’s right wrist, Isaac’s right wrist and, finally Scott’s right wrist. To complete the knot, She wrapped the ribbon in all three directions around the ribbons between them, and tied a bow, cementing the bond. Each knot represented the bonds between each of them as pairs, and as a whole. Each member of the pack was then instructed to test one knot per person to show that no bond was more powerful than the others and that, as a whole, they were indestructible.

Nessy/Persephone

Talk about an overstatement. Where the Sheriff and Melissa’s wedding was quiet and intimate, Nessy and Persephone’s was loud and communal. Everyone was there, and, during planning, there was a new over the top decoration added every week. The party filled the entire rebuilt Hale mansion and there was even an ice sculpture in the parking circle.

Now, generally, if there is a wedding this over the top, you would think that it was all the bridezilla doing the orders and calling the shots. But in this case, you would be wrong. In this wedding, the bride didn’t care about anything as long as she was able to marry the man of her life. No, in this wedding it was the relatives calling all of the shots as claiming that nothing would be big or perfect enough for their precious treasure. Between Lydia, who had no kids, Allison, who only had boys, and Stiles, who wanted his only child’s wedding to be perfect, the wedding planner never stood a chance.

The ceremony was beautiful, Derek and Stiles walked on either side of Seph as she walked down the aisle, the Sheriff was the man to officiate the marriage, and the entire pack, including Cora, was in attendance. Everyone cried at the ceremony and the party that ensued went on until sunrise the next morning.

Stiles/Derek

“Stiles, no. Everything is perfect. It is exactly to your specifications. There is not a single flower petal out of place. It is not too over the top, nor is it too understated. It is exactly what you and Derek wanted and you do not need to go see anyone! You need to stand right there, where you are, and let me pin this Goddamn Forget-me-not to your lapel. If you do not stop fidgeting, I will tell your father that you changed your mind and you will allow him to walk you down the aisle like a fucking princess,” Lydia scolded, about to strangle Stiles.

To put it simply, until the very moment that Lydia started to officiate the marriage, Stiles was a nervous wreck. But then, as everyone took their seats and it was only him, Derek, and Lydia left under the altar, he began to relax. He took in a deep breath and he saw only the man in front of him. The same man that held him as he sobbed for mothers lost. The same man that helped him to raise a beautiful daughter. The same man that told him he loved him by first telling him that he loved pens. As Stiles thought back through all of their memories together, he remembered exactly why he was standing here to legalize this bond between them and he spoke his vows straight from his heart.