Sour Wolf Cub

he shrunk further into himself as he heard the door to the classroom swing open. Derek had expected Ms Martin to peer over and maybe give him a scolding for not staying with the class and hiding away. instead, it was Stiles, the goofy boy in his class who's always so loud, always first to raise his hand enthusiastically, who gets sent to the nurse's office almost everyday for tripping over his own feet. Derek had only ever played with Stiles a few times since joining this class. he likes Stiles, but Stiles also sometimes scared him.

"why are you hiding behind the books," Stiles had asked with a confused look on his face and an upturned lip.

Derek’s tears began to flow again as he held out his hand, opening it up to reveal his bloody baby tooth. he'd been clutching it so tightly, he hadn't realized it left an imprint in the center of his palm.

Stiles stared down at it in wonder, nudging it lightly in the palm of Derek’s hand, before looking back at Derek’s sad face.

"its okay," Stiles said softly, "you can give it to the tooth-fairy and she'll give you a dollar for it! then you can buy a superman sticker; I know you like superman." Stiles nodded matter of factly.

despite Stiles’ excitement and attempts at making Derek feel better, Derek still sniffled as tears fell from his cheeks.

Stiles hummed, his face twisting in thought before he told Derek to look at him. he opened his mouth close enough to Derek’s face, presenting his own wiggling bottom tooth.

"see? mine's going to come out soon too and then i'll leave it under my pillow for the tooth-fairy. my dad says whatever money she gives me I can use to buy what I want!" Stiles tried

"I don't want money," Derek cried, "I wanna keep my teeth!"

the familiar 5-minute warning whistle blew loud and clear from Ms Martin, even from where they sat hidden in the classroom. Stiles sat quietly with Derek for a few seconds more, watching Derek wipe away his tears with the sleeve of his sweater. Derek didn't know why Stiles was choosing to stay beside him instead of outside to play with all his friends, but it did bring Derek some kind of comfort, even if it wasn't much.

soon enough, however, Derek’s eyes followed Stiles’ movement. he watched as Stiles stuck his fingers into his own mouth, gently pushing at his loose tooth. "what are you doing," Derek thought to himself as he watched Stiles wince and his eyes water the more he wiggled at his own tooth. Derek’s eyes widened as he continued to witness Stiles’ fingers find grip and yank out the tooth completely.

his own mouth is left agape as Stiles holds out his tooth to Derek, grinning as a trickle of blood dribbles past Stiles’ lips. Derek is stunned for a moment, his eyes jumping between Stiles and Stiles’ tooth. for whatever reason, they both begin to giggle with mouths full of blood and baby teeth in hand.

the next day, Stiles walks up to Derek, handing him a holographic superman sticker.

‧˚₊‧ ┈┈┈ ⟡ ┈┈┈ ‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊‧ ┈┈┈ ⟡ ┈┈┈ ‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊‧ ┈┈┈ ⟡ ┈┈┈ ‧₊˚⊹

7th grade:

"I just don't see why I need braces. like, yeah, my bottom teeth are a little crooked but they're not that bad, right?" Stiles asks, baring his teeth repeatedly to himself in the bathroom mirror.

Stiles and Derek had skipped out on their 4th period class, hiding out in the bathroom on the floor hall monitors rarely check through. it was a regular occurrence for them, to skip a period and meet somewhere just to hang out for the heck of it.. or more because they had become inseparable since they were six years old.. since that day behind Ms Martin's bookshelf.

Derek shrugged, eyes glued to the music magazine he had snatched from the record store they'd visited the day before. it wasn't that Derek wasn't listening, more than anything, he loved when Stiles got to rambling about damn near everything. he had learned to multitask by now and knew Stiles didn't mind his one-worded answers or hums of acknowledgment.

"I'm not ready for braces, bro. if I get braces, I can't have red vines anymore — you know those are my favorite! or, oh, those yogurt covered pretzels your mom buys when I come over for movie nights?" Stiles continues to rant.

Derek doesn't keep count, but it must be a solid ten minutes of Stiles going on about why he doesn't need braces and how he can potentially convince his dad to cancel the appointment altogether.

"what if everyone laughs?" Stiles asks, turning from the sink to face Derek.

"they're not," Derek swears, "and if they do, i'll just punch them in the mouth."

Stiles grins, walking towards Derek and leaning against his shoulder, "you'd punch someone in the mouth for me?"

Derek snorts, shoving Stiles’ head from his shoulder jokingly, rolling his eyes as he tells Stiles, "don't ask stupid questions."

.⟡.

the day of Stiles’ appointment, Derek had spent all of his time at school thinking of Stiles and anticipating seeing him immediately after. he hated the days where he had to be on campus without Stiles at least somewhere nearby in his own classes or trying to sneak Derek out of a boring period.

as soon as the last bell rang for dismissal, Derek bolted for his bike waiting for him, peddling like hell to the Stilinski house. he doesn't bother propping his bike up once he reaches the Stilinski lawn, letting it crash into the grass as he speeds up the porch, foregoing the doorbell entirely and just running inside. Derek chuckles up the stairs as he hears Mr Stilinski sarcastically greet him, "oh, hi, Derek! how was school today, great? that's good, I had a pretty good day at the station myself, thanks for asking — yes, Stiles is upstairs."

"hi, Mr Stilinski," Derek shouts back just as he gets to the top step.

Stiles has an agonizing look on his face when Derek bursts through the door, finding his friend hunched over his desk, reading some webcomic off his MacBook. Derek throws his own backpack against Stiles’ bed, perching himself near Stiles’ desk as he asks, "did it hurt?"

Stiles gives a lazy shrug, answering, "kinda.. I got to pick what colors I wanted for them, though."

"cool, lemme see," Derek says and Stiles grins wide enough to flash his new braces, showing off the red and blue colors he chose. "for superman?" Derek smirks.

"maybe," Stiles tries to smile back, "maybe I just think the colors are pretty."

Derek nods, even though he knows Stiles is teasing. his smile ends up dropping when he notices the discomfort in Stiles’ face. he tells Derek how his mouth still kind of hurts and he overall just doesn't feel good. Derek tries comforting words, something he's hardly ever been good at, by telling Stiles that it's only the first day and he'll get used to it.

"the colors are really cool too," Derek says honestly, "wish I needed braces; i'd match with you."

that at least gets a smile out of Stiles as he jokingly calls Derek, "gay" before throwing a paper ball at his head.

Derek lightly teases him back before suggesting they go downstairs and convince the sheriff to let them eat ice cream before dinner. "when Erica got braces, she ate a whole tub of ice cream. she got a really bad brain freeze but at least her mouth stopped hurting," he tells Stiles.

"you don't have to pitch to me," Stiles says, already leading the way back down to the kitchen.

they'd end up sitting side by side, giggling and staring at each other as they shared a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Stiles hated that he had to eat around the sprinkles, but didn't mind watching Derek eat them up for him.

.⟡.

when Stiles returns to school the following day, as expected, he's teased lightly about his braces.

and as promised, Derek punches Greenberg straight in the mouth, delighted that he made the dweeb's gums bleed with a single hit. he's of course suspended for the offense, additionally grounded by his mom, but Derek deems it worth it when Stiles sneaks over to the Hale house with ice cream.

‧˚₊‧ ┈┈┈ ⟡ ┈┈┈ ‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊‧ ┈┈┈ ⟡ ┈┈┈ ‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊‧ ┈┈┈ ⟡ ┈┈┈ ‧₊˚⊹

10th grade:

Derek knew by this point that him and Stiles were practically soulmates. so it only made sense for him to sit Stiles down and tell him that not only did werewolves exist but that Derek and his family were ones.

Stiles had taken it (unsurprisingly) well, promising to keep it secret. of course, he had a million and one questions, a fascination that no one truly expected. Mrs Hale and Derek’s uncle, Peter, answered Stiles’ plethora of questions with just as much enthusiasm. Derek was just as excited to finally share this world with Stiles.

there was one problem, however… Derek had yet to gain any of the werewolf traits he thought would've passed down by now. sure, he had the glowing eyes down but even with strenuous effort, he couldn't sprout claws nor extend his teeth into fangs. Derek didn't have the speed, strength, stamina that his sisters and cousins had already gained well before him. not only was he growing jealous but frustrated.

"I don't know why my teeth are still.. normal, even when I try, I should have fangs by now," Derek had complained as he paced Stiles’ bedroom.

"I mean, I wouldn't call your teeth normal.. you have those cute little bunny teeth. Maybe you're meant to be a werebunny — a harewolf!" Stiles quipped.

Derek could only glare back, but since they'd known each other for so long, it fell flat against Stiles’ teasing smile, causing Derek to break and snicker with him. all of Derek’s intimidating tactics or attempts didn't work on Stiles the same way it worked on others at school or anywhere else.. but Derek kind of liked it that way, anyways.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Stiles reassures, "it'll come soon. remember, I didn't reach 5'10 until, like, last summer and then, poof, I grew overnight! you're just a late bloomer."

Derek’s heard that term countless times from his own family members and it's never as comforting as the last time he's heard it.

"what if i'm human like my dad?" Derek wonders out loud.

"hey! its not such a bad thing being human, y'know" Stiles declared.

"there's pros and cons, I guess," Derek says jokingly, chuckling at Stiles flipping him the middle finger.

Derek feels better by the end of the conversation, sharing a laugh and a few more jokes with Stiles until he's interrupted by a text from his mom telling him to be home for dinner.

.⟡.

Stiles wakes some nights later, hearing taps at his window. he's startled to find Derek somehow perched against the window sill, waving excitedly at him behind the glass.

"how the hell did you get up here?" Stiles barely whispers once he gets the window open.

"I jumped! I fucking jumped," Derek damn near shouts, causing Stiles to frantically shush him.

"you're going to wake my dad!" Stiles says, pulling Derek into the room, his eyebrows furrowing in shock as he actually has to look up at Derek. only a few nights ago, they were practically the same height but now, all of the sudden, yes, Stiles is having to look up at Derek. it seems Derek had finally hit his second, werewolfy, puberty as he almost hovers over Stiles, looking bigger in places he used to be scrawny. Stiles also can't help but notice how different Derek’s jaw looks.

"dude.." Stiles stammers out, staring Derek up and down, noticing the pure joy on the other teen's face.

"check this out," Derek says, flicking his wrist to expose claws instantly grown from his nail beds. Stiles flinches back, his eyes zeroing in on the long, sharp tips in his face. his shock soon turns to excitement, bouncing on his toes, preening along with Derek. but that's not what ends up getting Derek most excited.

he steps closer into Stiles’ space, his voice low as he instructs Stiles to look, slowly opening his mouth as his teeth begin to extend.

"oh.. my god.." Stiles says, only slightly terrified yet still thinking it's the coolest thing ever. "you're a werewolf!" Stiles quietly cheers, giving a proud smack against Derek’s chest.

for the entire night, Derek lets Stiles poke and prod at his claws and teeth, test his reflexes and strength, look up more lycanthropy lore which somehow leads them to watching Michael J Fox's teen wolf in bed until they both fall asleep.

.⟡.

John's not at all surprised to find Derek sitting at his kitchen table early morning, eating a bowl of Raisin Bran.

‧˚₊‧ ┈┈┈ ⟡ ┈┈┈ ‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊‧ ┈┈┈ ⟡ ┈┈┈ ‧₊˚⊹‧˚₊‧ ┈┈┈ ⟡ ┈┈┈ ‧₊˚⊹

A Few Summers Later:

Stiles had grown used to running with the Hale pack, always staying close to Derek whenever they patrolled the preserve or if danger was in town. even if Talia and John were apprehensive about Stiles tagging along, they both knew nothing would stop him from joining anyways. with that, Talia had always made sure the younger betas hung back, only helping on "missions" that she deemed not too dangerous to handle.

although Stiles often wished he and Derek could ride along for the more exciting fights Talia and the older betas engaged in, he knew it was better to stay behind and deal with the easy stuff when it occurred. even if Stiles wasn't a werewolf himself, he listened to Talia, not just as his alpha but sort of as a second mother.. and he preferred to stay in her good graces and maintain her trust.

.⟡.

despite Stiles following Talia’s strict instructions of only staying with the younger betas and not following head first into danger, he'd somehow end up as the bait for a gang of rogue hunters targeting the Hale pack. Stiles thrashed about and used whatever skills he learned to at least fight back but he was unfortunately unarmed and outnumbered. he was, however, smart enough to leave clues as a trail for him to be found.

it was smart thinking as it was so incredibly easy for the pack to end up finding the hunters that had been terrorizing the pack. these hunters were messy, moronic, and uncoordinated. Stiles really struggled to keep these thoughts to himself, as every time he did make a snarky comment towards them, it left him with another bruise or bloodied lip.

any other person in Stiles’ position would be scared but Stiles knew the wolves were just outside, knocking hunters out or possibly worse just to get to him. there's a breath of relief when the basement door is kicked down by Derek. the hunters jump back, one of them staying close to Stiles, holding him in a tight grip in one hand and a stun baton pointed at his neck.

the eldest looking hunter teases and hurls slurs at Derek, threatening harm towards Stiles before promising to kill Derek. his words all seem to go through one ear and out the other as Derek snarls, lunging at them with quickness none of the hunters expected. while still a teen, Derek’s not yet the best fighter amongst the pack, but he manages to hold his own. with very little effort, Derek flings one hunter against a cement pillar hard enough to break every rib in the man's body. the other hunter receives a quick slash against his abdomen, deep enough to puncture whatever vital organs.

the last standing hunter laughs nervously, still trying to act macho as he continues to spew bullshit and fling insults. the grip he has on Stiles’ shoulder transfers to covering Stiles’ mouth, threatening to snap Stiles’ neck if Derek stepped closer. neither of them believed the hunter's word but Derek stayed still where he was, eyes flashing gold as he waited for his moment to strike. it wouldn't be long as Stiles bit down hard on the hunter's fingers, not letting go until he felt blood entering his mouth.

the hunter pulled back with a loud scream, dropping the baton as he fell to the floor which gave an easy open for Derek to pounce. Stiles dropped to the floor himself, covering his head as he suddenly heard gunshots echoing over Derek’s growls. Stiles only looks over briefly, watching as the hunter scream and shoot wildly while Derek slashed and clawed wherever he could. although there were clearly shots being fired, Stiles could not tell if Derek was getting hit by the bullets or if the hunter had bad aim as Derek did not seem to let up in the moment.

soon enough, the sound of gunfire ends and Derek gives a final blow before sinking his teeth into the hunters neck, pulling the flesh from the man's throat. Stiles almost wants to throw up from the sight but his own adrenaline overhauls everything.

it takes a few minutes for Stiles to calm Derek down, using his best soothing voice to anchor Derek, telling him that they're okay, that Derek saved him. Derek eventually comes to, crawling closer to Stiles and anxiously going over his body for deeper, more serious injuries. Stiles assures him that he's fine aside from a few bruises and a missing tooth.

"see? i'm okay," Stiles says again, giving Derek that same toothy grin Derek remembers from kindergarten.