#fcfr

Summary: Stiles and Derek meet a strangely familiar teen in the preserve.

Derek invites him to spend the night, not for any sexy times of course, just to sleep after Stiles is practically drooling on top of him. For someone who is all wolfy muscles, he makes a surprisingly comfortable pillow. Stiles is tempted, but ends up promising to come back tomorrow instead. Maybe it’s from being an only child, but he thinks best when he’s alone, and he has a lot to think about.

His dad’s already asleep when he finally gets home. Grabbing a drink from the fridge, Stiles goes upstairs to his room. He studies the mystery board for a bit, before taking “changeling” down, and adding more cards to “magic pendant” and “rancor” with the new details they have on both.

He takes a swallow of water, and then writes ‘My Son’ on a note card, pinning it next to Eli’s on the board. Stiles is 18, and he has a 13 year old son. Granted, the five year age difference is only temporary. Eli will be a baby next year, and he’ll be a 19 year old father responsible for another life. He tries to let that sink in.

Stiles had dreamed about going to college for years – an entire place dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, with the added benefit of killer parties? Hell, yeah! And that wasn’t going to happen now, at least not the way he’d expected.

+Bonus: Little Headcanons for FocaFuri’s designs, thank you to @that-boleyn-boy for sharing this Doomed Yuri with me (Remind me to NEVER draw their full designs this took legit the entire day)

Headcanons/Designs explained under the cut (Not beta-read lol)

Summary: Stiles and Derek meet a strangely familiar teen in the preserve.

This takes place the summer before Stiles, (18), starts college, and Eli, (almost 14), starts high school. There are some canon changes, which are explained in the story.

This is dedicated to my incredible beta reader, Chalkdustmemory! It literally would not exist without her advice and encouragement. :)

I do not give permission for this to be posted anywhere else other than a link on tumblr. That includes Goodreads.

Sorry for the delay, but it was absolutely necessary for the story. It's completely done now, and I'll be posting a new chapter every four days. I'm back with a bang at least! This is a pivotal chapter. :)

I put the trigger warnings for this chapter in the end notes on AO3 since they contain spoilers.

I’ve added new parts to the beginning and end of chapter one that returning readers really need to read. I’ve also changed some vocabulary – fae now refers to all the different beings in that realm, and the Sidhe are the particular type of fae that Derek and Stiles were waiting for at the fairy ring.

* * *

Derek steps out of the shower and towels off. After the sheriff had picked up Eli earlier, Derek had gone to check the fairy ring. The message and gifts he’d left yesterday were gone, but the fact they haven’t contacted him yet, along with the increased scent of fae he’d found in the preserve, worries him. He finishes in the bathroom, and starts getting dressed.

While he was in the preserve he’d also looked for the monster, but found nothing. What he had found were scent trails for the betas and Stiles, which was of course the opposite of what Derek had wanted him to do. At least he hadn’t gone out alone. Derek still has nightmares that leave him sweaty and shaking about the last time Stiles had been hurt.

He hears Stiles outside his door, and pulls his shirt on he as goes to open it for him, wondering why Stiles is here so early.

“He was interested in using the magic in a fairy ring to increase a warding spell, and that’s his last entry,” Stiles says, speaking quickly before he’s even fully inside. “Then there’s a new emissary after that, and the idea isn’t mentioned again. Who knows, the Sidhe may not have wanted him to use them as a battery and killed him, which is shoddy record keeping if that’s the case, but it got me thinking, and I really need to ask Eli some questions, especially since our other option to send him back seems to be a crucifixion.” He puts his backpack on the floor, and flops down on the sofa.

“A what?” That was scattered even for Stiles. He looks exhausted, with deep circles under his eyes. “When’s the last time you slept?”

“Sleep? What’s that?”

“Eli and your dad won’t be back for hours. Why don’t you lie down and rest on the sofa.”

“Oh. I kind of forgot the time.” Stiles looks around like he’s just realized Eli isn’t there. “Better to wait till they get back, and I can tell everyone at once anyway.” He runs his hands over his face, and rubs his eyes.

“I’ll get you a pillow.” Derek goes to the closet, and brings that and a blanket back, and hands the items to Stiles. “You believe Eli now?” he asks.

“I’m having an X-Files moment.”

Derek looks at him.

“I want to believe.”

“Meaning you still don’t?” They seemed to get along well yesterday. “I thought you’d be thrilled at evidence of time travel. I don’t understand why you don’t believe him.”

“I can’t believe you’re fucking asking me that after everything.” Stiles sits forward, narrowing his eyes at him. “You really want to twist that knife, huh, Derek?”

Thank you so much for the warm response to what I've posted so far! That gave me the confidence to try writing more than a ficlet for the first time in decades. :)

ETA: This takes place the summer before Stiles, (18), starts college, and Eli, (almost 14), starts high school. Derek has been back in town for awhile.

On AO3 Chapter Two

This is dedicated to my incredible beta reader, Chalkdustmemory! It literally would not exist without her advice and encouragement. :)

I don't give permission for this to be posted elsewhere.

Preview:

Flux Capacitor Fairy Ring by Meret, Chapter One

Once upon a time, a boy became lost in the woods...

“Derrrrek,” Stiles whines. “We’ve obviously been stood up. Let’s go.”

He should have known Stiles would be bad at waiting. “You’re the one who insisted on coming.” It’s a nice day for it at least, the sun shining in the glade.

Technically Scott should be the one meeting with them as the alpha, but Derek hasn’t ever mentioned it to him. The Sidhe are powerful and touchy, and he doesn’t trust Scott enough to take care of it. Besides, they’ve always dealt with Derek’s family anyway. It’s better that Derek handles it. Stiles is only here because he happened to show up as Derek was leaving. He shouldn’t have agreed to his tagging along, but Stiles had talked him into it. As usual.

“I wasn’t going to miss the chance to meet a real life Galadriel. Hey, do you think she would give me a strand of her hair? Of course she actually has to show up for that to happen.”

“Under no circumstances ask the queen for anything. I told you they aren’t like the movies. In fact just don’t say anything.” Derek glares at him, trying to impress the importance of this on Stiles. Not that it ever does any good.

The meeting is more a formality than anything else, but it’s still important. Peter always speculated the anchor helped the Sidhe rulers somehow. Having it in Hale territory was certainly seen as a sign of respect and strength for the pack.

They ask permission to anchor the ring, Derek says yes, and it’s done. His mother had explained it as a emergency brake. If the Sidhe cause problems, they can eventually refuse permission, and get rid of the portal. It’s never been a problem though. Stiles should be fine. “They don’t wear watches. We’ll give it till sunset.”

“Sunset? Rude! That’s hours from now. Fairy rings don’t even get cell phone service. We can leave a note, and—"

White light explodes in front of Derek, agony sizzling through his skull as he’s knocked off his feet, a piercing sound through his skeleton like a tuning fork. He fights for breath, desperately forcing his lungs to work and gulping down air.

Stiles. He has to protect Stiles.

Derek lurches upright, trying to clear the tears from his eyes. The overwhelming smell of ozone, flowers and rosemary surrounds him. “Stiles!” He gropes along the ground, and his hand clamps onto Stiles’ shoulder just as the purple afterimage and ringing in his ears begin to dissipate.

Stiles groans and struggles to get up, leaning heavily as Derek helps him. “Did we get hit by lightning?” he coughs.

“Are you hurt?”

“I don’t think so?” Stiles squints at him. “It’s getting better anyway. What happened? And why do I smell Christmas trees?”

“I don’t know what that was.” Had the Sidhe attacked them somehow, Derek wonders.

“Dad? Pop?”

Derek growls loudly as he beta shifts. Stupid. He’d been so desperate to check on Stiles. He should have checked for threats instead.

A pale, dark haired werewolf stumbles out of the fairy ring towards them. He’s wearing jeans, sneakers, and a T-shirt that looks like it could have come out of Stiles’ closet. He’s several years younger though, and covered in a snow of small, white petals. But…that scent. Derek shifts back in shock.

“Derek wasn’t kidding when he said the movies were wrong.” Stiles says. “Are you Sidhe?”

“Am I what? Wait,” the teen looks around frantically. “Why are you both here? I thought the pendant took me to you?” He runs the rest of the way to them. “We have to get out of here. There’s a monster!”

Derek ignores Stiles’ ensuing rush of questions, ignores everything but the boy in front of him, eyes flicking from feature to feature. What his senses are telling him isn’t possible. He fights the words out, whispering from the ash-filled corners of his soul, barely audible over the sound of his wildly beating heart. “Wh-why do you smell like us?”

“Why did you dye your beard?” he says, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

-------

Chapter one is here

AO3

Summary: Derek and Stiles discover a strangely familiar looking teen in the forest.

Tags: Stiles Stilinski/Derek Hale, Eli Stilinski-Hale, Time Travel, Scott is a bad friend

This takes place the summer before Stiles, (18), starts college, and Eli, (almost 14), starts high school. There are some canon changes, which are explained in the story.

This is dedicated to my incredible beta reader, Chalkdustmemory! It literally would not exist without her advice and encouragement. :)

I don't give permission for this to be posted elsewhere.

Since he can’t go to the Hale vault under the school until it gets dark, Stiles drops the petals and necklace off at Deaton’s. He tells him about a monster near a fairy ring and possible time travel, but leaves out anything about magical, male pregnancy. Whatever. As long as he does the analysis.

Stiles doesn’t want Deaton poking around in his business, and he sure as hell doesn’t want him telling Scott. Because he would want to meet Eli, would want them to all sit down and talk about their feelings, and that is not gonna happen.

After going home and eating lunch he starts to calm down, and sets up a new mystery board. A card with 'Eli Stilinski-Hale' written on it is placed in the center, and then he puts cards up for himself, and his dad around that one, before adding Derek’s card and stabbing the push pin in. He connects their names to Eli’s with string, using a different color for his dad.

Stiles can’t believe Derek roared at him. He hasn’t done that since at least before the pool. Why are he and his dad acting like this? Trusting this person they’ve just met?

Okay, he knows why Derek is. With his history, of course he’s going to latch on to Eli like a life preserver in the middle of the ocean. Which is all the more reason to be suspicious, because he can’t think of a better trap to lure Derek in. And if Derek isn’t going to protect himself then Stiles will absolutely do it for him. No matter what.

He adds ‘fairy ring,’ ‘fae attack’ and ‘changeling’ to the board as well, though the last one doesn’t fit from what Stiles has read. He slaps up ‘rancor’ with a huff. If that’s real, forget being a spark. He wants to be a jedi.

His dad doesn’t know why Eli’s story can’t be true, but Derek sure as hell does. Derek is the one who’d told him exactly why that scenario is impossible. No. Not going there. Stiles has only recently started feeling semi-normal around Derek again. He’s not picking at that wound. Of course he doesn’t have to with the kid jumping up and down on it just by existing, he thinks.

Stiles is up before the werewolves for once. He starts the coffee maker, idly scratching his belly as he waits in his pajamas for the caffeine. Eli’s excitement about Stiles’ solution last night had been infectious after the axe hanging over their heads, and they’d all stayed up too late.

He knows Eli is only 13, and biased when it comes to his parents. His complete faith that future Stiles will have it all figured out still makes him feel better though. He’d told his dad, and he supports the plan 100%, but he’s biased too of course. Stiles won’t completely relax until it works. He’s going to sleep for a week then. Well, he considers as he fills his mug, sleep and sex with Derek. That will be perfect.

He wanders over to the windows, and sips his coffee.

Huh. That’s new.

There’s a carpet of purple flowers outside leading off into the preserve. Somehow he doesn’t think the Brownies Derek still claims don’t live in the building have done this. If it’s a trap, it’s the prettiest one he’s ever seen.

Stiles goes over what Derek told them about the Sidhe yet again as they walk to the fairy ring. Anything to keep his mind off the fact Eli will be gone soon if this all goes well, leaving a gaping hole behind.

The Sidhe have very low reproduction rates. They are extremely protective of their children.

Stiles isn’t sure how someone he’s known for a week has become as as vital to him as breathing. He knows Eli needs and wants to go home, knows he can’t stay, but Stiles still wants the three of them to run away and hide.

Refer to them by their correct titles. Majesty is only used for the high rulers in Ireland. Don’t speak unless spoken to.

Stiles tried to make conversation earlier, but it had been too awkward even for him, and now they move along in silence. He feels like they’re walking to the electric chair instead of a fairy ring, the ultimate green mile, each step closer saying gone, gone, gone.

Every word counts. Say exactly what you mean. If possible.

They’d each said their goodbyes to Eli separately, no one commenting on their wet faces. Eli had given the two of them a sealed envelope, and made them swear to wait until he was back home to read it. Stiles rubs his hand against it in his pocket, the crinkle sounding like a promise. He can’t afford to fall apart now, but it’s definitely on his calendar. In pen. Now they have to concentrate on the plan.

He and Derek had stayed up for hours last night after Eli went to bed discussing all of it - everything that had happened since Eli arrived, all the way to what Selena told them last night. They’d figured out why future them hadn’t helped Eli return home as quickly as possible. The two of them had tried to account for any eventuality, but there was no way to know if they’d missed something. He just knows it has to work, because it all comes down to this. They have to follow the plan, and hope like hell they’re right. About everything.