#king!scott

“You got us carriages? Have I told you lately how much I love you, your Highness?”

“Not lately, but I know you do, anyway.” is the King’s playful answer, making it hard for Derek to determine if what was said was a jest or something that Stiles meant in all seriousness simply made to seem like a joke. However, before he can make himself ask the question, the King is continuing with, “I, however, did not ask for these. They were sent by my mother and she asks that we stop surprising her like this, as she only has so much smelling salts on hand.”

“Well, this really isn’t my fault.” Stiles retorts, climbing easily into what looks like a rather large rock-hollowed out and covered in what looks like the same kind of cloth that Derek is wearing-being pulled by a pair of the beasts King Scott is riding. “I had thought that Derek would wait until downing a potion that sent him halfway across my home, but he was determined to make me lose nearly ten years off my life! Blame him!”

“It really wasn’t his fault.” Derek agrees, standing as tall as his unsteady legs will allow and making sure that he meets the King’s eyes as he continues, “Stiles is correct in saying that it would have been wiser if I waited to try the potion he made for me, I don’t know what came over me that made me drink it after the first… attempt.”

Alright, so that last part is a lie, but he’s not going to admit to a man that Stiles might be involved with that he downed an unknown and slightly volatile potion because he couldn’t bear the look of disappointment on Stiles’ face. Even if King Scott could understand wanting Stiles to be happy, Derek was pretty sure that he would have an issue with someone else having designs on his Consort.

Pulling himself into the ‘carriages’, Derek nonetheless is surprised by the laughter that King Scott lets out at his words, as well as what sounds like the phrase, ‘Well, at least that hasn’t changed…’ before the King is mounting his horse and leading the way through the strange ‘gate’ with a click of his tongue.

What was that supposed to mean…?

Settling himself in his seat, Derek happens to catch Stiles looking at him with a… strange expression. It looks to be a mixture of fondness and sadness, like what Derek said or did made some sort of memory come up, and not a very happy one at that.

“Stiles?”

The Aquid shakes his head and quirks his lips into a smile that only makes Derek feel even worse as Stiles says, “It’s nothing. I… just don’t usually have someone that takes the blame for things. Most people know me better than that, and know that whenever someone says something goes wrong, it is usually my fault!”

The last bit is said with a chuckle that doesn’t really sell the playfulness that Stiles is trying to portray, but Derek decides not to mention it if Stiles is trying so hard to convince him that he’s fine. Instead he waves his hand in a dismissive action and states, “It was my fault, though.”

Stiles quickly shakes his head in the negative and argues, “If I had been paying attention, I would have immediately dispelled the potion and waited until I had done a few tests before letting you drink it. That is on me.”

“Stiles, you couldn’t have known that I was going to drink a potion that sent me across your cave after simply touching it.” Derek grins a little at the rolled eyes Stiles gives him. “That is my fault and I should be the one apologizing to you for that.”

“You should apologize.” Stiles’ gaze is suddenly more intense than it was before, and Derek can’t seem to be able to look away. “You… you really scared me, especially after how my magic reacted to you the first time. I would hate myself for all the seasons if anything happened to you because of me.”

“Because I’m your Prince?” Derek doesn’t know why he asks that in a whisper, but he feels like any louder will break the fragile moment that they’re in.

Stiles doesn’t answer right away, his eyes darting over Derek’s face like he’s looking for something, but then he takes a quick breath before blurting out, “No. It’s not because you’re my Prince.”

“Then why…?”

Stiles eyes are wide and searching, seemingly able to pull Derek in quicker than any whirlpool, and he doesn’t know when they started moving toward each other, but it seems like the small space in the carriage has been cut in two when Derek reaches up to cup Stiles’ face in his hand.

“Why does it matter to you if I get hurt?”

“Derek…” Stiles’ tongue comes out to wet his lips and Derek is struck with the sudden urge to follow that tongue’s path with his own, claim Stiles’ mouth in a kiss that binds them both and keep this intriguing, confusing Aquid with him forever.

“Derek…”

He is just moving to give into this strange desire when the carriage suddenly halts with a jarring motion that jerks Derek forward too fast to stop, causing his forehead to meet with Stiles’ in an aching thump even as King Scott’s voice rings out with a cheery, “We’re here!”

Once more, Derek is forced to watch as Stiles pulls away from him with an expression that says he regrets letting himself get close to Derek and once more, Derek must watch as Stiles immediately puts distance between the two of them, nearly tripping as he clamors out of the carriage as fast as he possibly can.

Derek takes a moment to rub at his sore forehead and try to get his breathing under control before following him, exiting just in time to cut off the conversation that the King and Stiles are having and causing the King to send him an unreadable look that nevertheless says Stiles told him exactly what happened in the carriage.

That look causes Derek to pause with one foot still on the small steps leading up to the carriage, certain that the King is only a moment away from banishing Derek from his kingdom, banishing him from Stiles, for all the waves of the Ocean’s tides.

Stiles nudges King Scott after only a moment and says something in a low tone that has the King sighing before motioning Derek forward with a stilted, “The castle is just ahead.” before placing a hand on the curve of Stiles’ back to lead him on.

Derek sighs heavily and follows, unsure if he should be grateful that Stiles’ potion is just for the one day, if all he seems capable of doing is making one mistake after the next…

“Are you the merman?”

Jumping slightly and nearly falling over himself due to his still rather shaky grasp on how his legs worked, Derek snaps his gaze to a young woman on his left that is staring at him like she half expects him to flip around like a dolphin.

“What?”

A light blush dances across her cheeks as she nervously tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Apologies, it is just that talk travels quickly, more so when the King decides to take his steed out to the ocean’s edge with nary a word to anyone and the only time he seems to is when he has visitors from the Land Below.”

“Visitors? Stiles has brought other Aquids Above before?” Derek doesn’t know why he feels so off balance at finding this out; he is not the first Mer to have dreams of the Land Above before, surely, and it is not as if he has the right to tell Stiles what he should or should not do with his magics.

Yet, Stiles had seemed so lonely and had acted like there had been several tides since he had seen another Aquid before; if he was bringing one Aquid after another Above to meet this King and his people, why act like Derek’s presence was some sort of rare gift…?

There is another nervous tuck of the hair before the woman quickly states, “I do not know, it was before I journeyed here, and I have only heard a few rumors of it. Some say that the king knows of a sea witch that can pull an army from the very seafoam, while others say that it is a merman that grew lonely wandering the waves Below and asked for legs to travel the world above him, only to fall in love with the King and swear to be by his side for all time.”

Derek tenses at the reminder of his own thoughts concerning the nature of the relationship between Stiles and the King, but cannot wander far down that current in his mind, as the woman continues to speak and seems to be warming up to her excitement at finding out the secret.

“I don’t know what is truth and what is fanciful tales, so I thought to wait by the roadside and see for myself when the King returned from his ride.” The blush from earlier comes back again as she gives Derek a quick once over before pointedly looking away. “I have to say, if the rumors of it being a merman that fell in love with the King hold any fact to them, then the man is a simpleton to spurn the merman simply because he is foolishly devoted to that Argent woman.”

“Considering that neither you nor I know of how deeply the King loves his Queen, or if their joining does not include the merman in your tales, I don’t believe it is our place to guess at whether or not the man is a simpleton or not.”

Ignoring the woman stammering out her apologies, Derek instead wonders why his first reaction was to defend the King so fiercely; he can’t say it is only because Stiles is fond of the man, but more that the King has welcomed him into his kingdom and treated him fairly, this misunderstanding concerning Stiles notwithstanding.

“Derek!”

Startling for the second time in as many waves, Derek jerks his head around to see Stiles staring down at him from the hill he had been about to crest, the King showing up behind him only a moment later. The pair wear matching frowns as Stiles asks, “What are you doing?”

“I was just talking to-”

But when Derek turns to introduce them, the woman is gone, with no upturned sand or retreating figure to say where she might have disappeared to. Derek is a little thrown at the abruptness of her departure, as well as the knowledge that he does not even know her name to look for her.

“Derek?”

Shaking his head, Derek simply states, “Nothing. It was nothing.” before hurrying to catch up to Stiles and King Scott. His reassurance does not seem to placate Stiles, who is still looking down into the valley even as Derek stands beside him.

“You said something about a castle?”

That seems to get Stiles’ attention and he is all too happy to explain about King’s Scott’s grand ‘building’ describing it as beautiful as their own coral reefs and twice as tall. The King demurs and states that it is not nearly as impressive, leading to a friendly debate between the two on whether Stiles has a tendency to over-exaggerate.

Derek jerks awake with a gasp, drawing in greedy breaths of air as if he is half afraid it will disappear if he waits too long, a sharp pain once more settling in his chest as blinks the water out of his eyes.

He’s pushing himself upright despite the sudden flash of nausea, his body feels like one giant bruise again, and the headache that had only just faded is making its home behind his right temple, so he can be excused for taking a few waves to realize that he’s breathing in air instead of water…

It’s also around that time that he realizes that he’s spread out on a sandy beach, part of the reason that his body feels so sore, and that he’s completely naked, two legs in the place of where his tail used to be attached.

Now, Derek knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep his tail on his journey to the Land Above, that Stiles’ potion would give him the legs that Humans needed to make their way around, but it was a whole lot different between thinking about it and actually seeing it come to be.

It also explains why the panic that had gripped him the first time he had been hit with Stiles’ magic is gone; he had an idea of what would happen, so it wasn’t as much of a shock this time around, although there is a sense of unease at the fact that he cannot see Stiles anywhere along this beach…

Hoping that Stiles has not abandoned him to the cold and wind, instead has simply gone looking for some help, Derek decides to distract himself by examining his new limbs.

Reaching out to run a hand along one of his legs, Derek chuckles a little at the feeling, the small amount of hair covering it an interesting texture against his fingers. His hand travels further up and he gets another surprise when he widens his legs to see if the hair covers the entire extremity:

He has a strange tentacle between his limbs, slightly smoother and warmer than his normal genitals, its sensitivity making him wonder why Humans did not have protective pouches to keep them in as the barest brush seems to send an interesting, but not unpleasant, spark throughout his entire body…

So intrigued by his new appendage and the sensations that he’s experiencing, Derek doesn’t realize that he has company until he hears someone coming over the sands right in front of him, their voice muttering along ahead of their feet.

“I really hope that you’re awake now and not just lying splayed out on the sands like some sort of cor- Holy Mother of all the Oceans and Seas!”

Derek’s head jerks up at Stiles’ voice and his mouth drops open at the sight of a long, lean body and leagues of pale skin that is still decorated with the speckled coloration that Stiles carried as an Aquid before he is turning on his heel, showing Derek his back.

His new genitals seem to like what he sees as well, because it gives a little twitch in his hand, making Derek let out a soft gasp that has Stiles turning toward him in concern before pulling his gaze away again with a muttered curse.

His legs are slightly smaller than Derek’s own, muscled and lean as the rest of him, and his shoulders look broad and strong; Derek can’t see if Stiles has the same kind of tentacle as he does, because the sea witch is determinedly facing away from him, but that does show off a rather nice backside to Derek’s gaze…

It makes his genitals twitch again and stiffen in his grasp, Derek’s gasp is slightly louder-as well as longer-this time, which in turn makes the muscles in Stiles’ back tense.

“While I did say that you could explore your new body when I first talked about all of this, I would really appreciate it if you didn’t do it now, where anyone could walk up on you and I need to be more worried about the fact that you were knocked unconscious again instead of-”

Stiles cuts himself off and runs a hand over his face in a move that seems to drain all the tension in his body, his shoulders dropping as if there is a weight on it that is too heavy for him to carry.

Derek removes his hand guiltily, feeling slightly sick that what he was doing was making Stiles so uncomfortable, so much that he seemed unable to even look Derek in the eye.

“I’m not… I’m sorry, I was just…” It was just that the sensations were so new and nice, Derek wasn’t trying to make Stiles feel uncomfortable and with the way that he seemed to be falling for the sea witch despite only spending a few tides with him…

It does not bode well that everything he has done has either upset or made Stiles uncomfortable and Derek cannot help but think it might have been easier if he simply listened when others told him to stay away from the sea witch.

Stiles mutters something before finally turning around, revealing a pile of cloth in his hands that cover his front and his eyes pointed looking at a spot just over Derek’s shoulder, which just makes that hole in Derek’s stomach stretch all that much farther.

“It’s alright, I get that it was a lot of new sensations all at once and you got…uh, distracted.” A red flush travels across Stiles’ cheeks and chest, something that Derek finds extremely endearing before he remembers that Stiles is uncomfortable and he drags his gaze away. “Anyway, I got some clothes and figured we could try seeing if we can get you on your feet.”

Derek nods, head still turned away and hands as far away from the tentacle that started all of this trouble, and listens to the rustling sounds of the clothing as a pair of feet walk up to him, pleasantly surprised by a hand on his chin, gently guiding his face up so that he can meet Stiles’ eyes.

He was half afraid that Stiles would just dump the clothing in his lap and leave him to figure out everything on his own, so he is more than willing to listen when his fellow Aquid speaks.

“I’m not mad at you, Derek, far from it.” Stiles’ voice is as soft and soothing as the waves that flow through his home, making muscles that Derek didn’t realize were tense relax, his body leaning even more into Stiles’ grip. “I just wasn’t expecting to come around the bend and see you… well, exploring your new body like that… after everything that happened.”

The flush is back again, but this time it spreads even further than before, Stiles eyes wide and darting downward like something is drawing them there, making Derek struck with a sudden realization that makes him smile at the Aquid above him:

Stiles wasn’t embarrassed by what he saw, he liked it.

But if he liked it so much, why did he turn away?

Maybe he thought Derek wouldn’t appreciate him ogling his body?

But why would Derek take pleasure from his perusal of Stiles’ body and not allow Stiles the same courtesy?

Perhaps Stiles has had an unpleasant interaction with a different Aquid-a thought that makes Derek bite back a growl and something pinch tight against his chest-and that made him think that Derek would react the same? They do not know each other all that well, after all…

“I didn’t mind.”

“Hm?” Stiles is now looking at the clothing in his hands, separating them into piles that he either places on Derek’s lap, effectively covering up the strange tentacle between his legs, or across his own arm.

“That you were looking at me. That you want to look at me… or, at least, wanted to look at me.” Derek can feel his own face heating at the end of that confession and he once more dips his head so that he does not meet Stiles’ gaze.

There is a sharp intake of breath beside him, a sudden shifting of sand, and then there is a line of warmth all along his side as Stiles leans close enough for his breath to drift across Derek’s face when he gets close enough to whisper Derek’s name…

“Stiles!”

The Aquid pulls away from Derek with a yelp, leaving Derek to feel wrongfooted and slightly lightheaded, a clamoring of some sort coming from the same direction the call had come from.

Derek feels another growl building in his throat and he starts to shakily try to make it to his feet before he sees the look on Stiles’ face:

He looks absolutely remorseful, eyes darting away as soon as he realizes that Derek is looking at him, even as he lets out his own gleeful cry of “Scott!” echo across the clearing to where a man is dismounting some sort of creature to run to Stiles and wrap him up in a hug that is uncaring of the bareness of the other man.

Derek is glad that is already laid flat, because the stabbing sensation he feels would have surely dropped him; it doesn’t matter if Stiles liked what he saw or not, he was right to turn away. Going by the way the two of them were embracing and talking in tones too low for Derek to hear, it was obvious that the pair in front of him were intimate in the way that Derek had been hoping he and Stiles could be.

Derek lets out a deprecating huff as he remembers Erica’s tease of him finding a nice Human to bring back home. Well, it looks like Stiles is way ahead of him in that regard…

“Greetings.” So wrapped up in his thoughts, Derek didn’t even realize that the other male had walked up to him; looking over the boy, Derek can see why Stiles would be enamored with the Human:

He had soft brown hair, wide eyes, and a crooked jaw that bent into an expression of innocence when he smiled; where Derek rarely ever smiled when it wasn’t around his family or his friends, he had hair the color of squid ink, and there were thousands of corals the exact same shade of his eyes.

Yes, it was very clear why Stiles had chosen this one.

“Stiles has told me that you are a friend of his from the Land Below,” The boy says with a smile that, strangely enough, doesn’t reach his eyes as he holds out a hand in greeting. “I am King Scott of the Delgado Kingdom and I have been friends with Stiles for many a year, so any one he claims as friend can say the same of me.”

Derek so badly wants to refuse the hand being held out to him, wants to get to his feet under his own power, but he can’t for two very important reasons; the first and foremost is that he’s not sure he can get up on his own, and the second…

The second is that Stiles is looking between the two of them with such an expression of hope and nerves that Derek would feel like a right kelp brain if he refused something that was obviously so important to his fellow Aquid.

So, setting aside both his pride and his feelings, Derek accepts the hand that King Delgado offers him, holding the clothing in front of himself so that there is no unwanted baring of skin. He only sways a little before his legs seem to seamlessly understand what they need to do and he steadies himself enough to stand without leaning too much on Scott.

Who, apparently, is also a King.

Is there nothing that Derek is better than this boy at? He is merely a Prince, albeit a Crown Prince, but this child has already made himself a ruler!

Mentally shaking his head, Derek chides himself for acting so uncouth when he has barely known Stiles for a twofold of the tides changing, and he has not made any declaration of his intentions.

Not that it would have done him any good…

Giving his head a real shake this time, Derek bows as well as he’s able to in his current situation and responds with, “Greetings, King Scott. I am Derek of the Hale pod, son of Talia, and Crown Prince of the Waters of Pacifica. Thank you for welcoming me to your kingdom and I return your well wishes with all the strength of the Summer Tide.”

He grew up with manners, alright? You gave a fellow royal the proper greeting no matter how you felt about them in the moment, for there are those that would take a minor insult and turn it into a call for war.

The King, for his part, does not take offense as he stares opened mouthed at Derek the entire time through his customary greeting, and still stares for a few moments afterward. Derek turns his gaze to Stiles, who is staring at him as well, but he’s wearing that same fond look he wore in his cave before blushing and getting to work on some sort of fastening at the front of his clothes.

Which just serves to remind Derek that he is, in fact, still nude and that there seems to be some sort of Human custom that is touchy about the nakedness of a person.

He pulls his hand back from King Scott so that he can get to work on his own clothing, which seems to shake the man out of his stupor, and the King finally gets around to how he managed to be on the shoreline the same time that Stiles and Derek surfaced from the Lands Below.

“I had just been filled with an urge to go riding, which you know is something that I don’t really like to do more than I really have to, seeing as the horses don’t really like me all that much-here, that goes the other way ‘round-”

Derek corrects his garment while Stiles chimes in from where he is petting said ride, already fully clothed. “It’s because Roscoe can smell that you’re afraid of him, Scotty! You just need to relax around him and you’ll be fine!”

“It’s a bit hard to relax around an animal that nearly bit my fingers off!”

Stiles just laughs at this and Derek clears his throat in an attempt to get the story back on track, which causes King Scott to start guiltily as he gives Derek an abashed grin.

“Anyway, I had managed to saddle Roscoe without the beast biting off any important parts, probably because he knew that I was heading over here in the hopes of seeing you-”

“Aw, is that true, big guy? Where you so happy to see your favorite Aquid that you held off nibbling at the King’s toes?”

Derek chuffs out a snort, he can’t really help it; the sight of Stiles nuzzling at some large beast that looks like it could crush him easily like it was a threefin was too adorable not to coo at.

King Scott gives him a knowing look before putting his hands on his hips and exclaiming, “You know, he’s supposed to be my horse!”

“You have thousands of horses, Scotty! This one is mine, he likes me better!”

Derek can’t help it, he lets out an honest to Poseidon laugh at hearing that; the pout on Stiles’ face just made the whole thing too ridiculous, and when he settles down enough to meet the pairs’ eyes again, it’s to find both staring at him in matching astonishment.

“What?” Self-conscious at the attention, Derek runs a hand down the clothing he was given, worried that he had somehow managed to scuff them up in some way despite just finishing putting them on.

“Nothing!” Stiles interjects just as King Scott is opening his mouth, giving his friend a look that Derek can’t read and that the King huffs at, his head shaking like this is something he has to deal with on a constant basis. “It’s just that… you look different when you smile. Not a bad different! Just… you know, different.”

Stiles is blushing again and Derek is pretty sure that he is as well, but thankfully Scott saves them both by clapping his hands together and announcing, “Alright, now that everyone is dressed and upright, why don’t we make our way back to my castle? There is much that you and I need to discuss, Stiles, and so much that I want to ask of you, Derek! What do you say?”

After a quick glance Stiles’ way, Derek nods at the question and makes his stumbling way to where the animal King Scott rode in on is waiting, where Stiles takes one look at the beast and then turns to his King with a disbelieving snort that immediately draws attention.

“How are we going to get back to the castle? I know Roscoe is a hell beast when he wants to be, but I sincerely doubt he could carry all three of us…”

“Well, it seems like Derek is still getting used to his legs, so I thought that he could ride and we could walk back-”

“If you are walking, then I am walking.” Derek directs his statement to Stiles, pleased at the surprised blush that he can see forming, ignoring the way that King Scott raises a brow at his claim.

He may be having a bit of a problem walking, despite his legs seeming to know how to balance without much input from him, but he is not going to ride on some beast while he makes Stiles walk however long it is to this ‘castle’ place.

Derek’s feelings must show plainly on his face, because Stiles is quick to suggest that King Scott simply ride back as he rode in while Stiles and Derek walk beside him.

“What if his legs give out and he falls?” The King’s face is twisted in an expression of worry, and Derek would be touched if his tone did not make the former Mer feel like he was merely a summer old.

“Then I’ll catch him.” Stiles response makes Derek feel a little better, as well as the way that he sends his fellow Aquid a smile before continuing, “And he also happens to be right there, so if you have any other concerns, why don’t you just ask him?”

With that last comment, Stiles crosses his arms and turns so that his complete attention is on Derek, a tilt to his brow that dares anyone to make a comment on what he just said.

“Well, Derek? Do you feel up to walking to the castle? I know the transformation was a bit jarring, and it would be perfectly understandable if you wanted to take a break before doing anything else, so if you want to rest for a few-”

“I can walk.” Derek insists, half to cut off the stream of words that he is starting to realize is Stiles’ way of showing that he was nervous, and half because he knew that if they did not get moving soon, that he would certainly fall flat on his face.

Scott still looks like he wants to argue, but resigns himself to their verdict with a heavy sigh as he swings himself up to the beast he rode in on, giving Stiles a look that has a deeper meaning than Derek can decipher, because Stiles is almost immediately glaring back at him and mouthing something like suspiciously looks like ‘Later’ before turning back to Derek with a grin.

“I’m glad that your legs aren’t giving you any trouble, I was a little worried with what had happened before…”

“I’m sure that was my own fault, after all…” Derek insists, explaining to Stiles his thoughts that his fellow Aquid’s theory of his magic trying to protect him seemed much more plausible after feeling the gentler effects of the potions transformation of his Human form.

His quip about the sensation still being one that he’d rather not repeat any time soon has Stiles throwing back his head in laughter, the sound seeming to travel the entire length of his frame before making it to his mouth.

“It takes a bit to get used to, trust me on that.” Stiles’ expression seems to suddenly get serious with his next question, even drawing King Scott’s attention from the terrain around them, “Did you… was there anything different when you woke up this time?”

Derek debates with himself for only a moment before nodding and telling them of the memory of wanting to protect someone, a faint shadow of movement to go along with the memory, which leads to another one of those strange looks; only, this time it’s Stiles that glances at King Scott, and the younger man rolls his eyes back at him.

The exchange lasts for maybe a few moments, but Derek is once more reminded of the fact that these two seem to be a lot closer than mere friends. While it would make sense, that Stiles would find company in the Land Above when the rest of the inhabitants of their home simply fear him on a good day, it sours Derek’s mood to see the easy way Stiles and King Scott interact when he still has a hard time speaking to Stiles the way he would like to.

Sighing, Derek simply keeps quiet for the rest of the journey, allowing the conversation between the pair beside him to flow over his head like a soft current, instead focusing on his feet and keeping them under him on the uneven path.