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The bar was busy tonight, full of supes and humans alike, so everyone was on their best behaviour; no one was going to risk outing the entire supernatural world over something stupid like a fight over whose round it is. Grady sat wedged in a booth that had about four people too many in it, including a group of giggling human women who were wearing enough perfume to overwhelm his sensitive sense of smell. Casting his eyes around the bar, he spotted a nearly empty table in the far corner, a solitary man sitting with his back to the wall and his eyes on the bar's entrance. There was a reason everyone was giving that particular table and its occupant a wide berth; the Hale kid was well known for his less than welcoming nature, and the permanent glare on his face was enough to keep the humans at bay. Grady and the other supes steered clear for a different reason.
Everyone in here, at least those in the know, were all well aware of Derek Hale. This guy had faced kanimas and beserkers; hunters had burned his family to the ground and then he'd torn out the throat of his own uncle after the crazed alpha had killed his sister. Then, or so they'd all heard, he gave up his alpha spark to save the life of another sister that everyone had thought was dead. Grady had never heard of anyone giving up their alpha powers like that, and he wouldn't have believed it possible if he hadn't seen the guy's eyes that one time, when Stephan accidentally tripped and nearly landed in Hale's lap, that proved he wasn't an alpha. Blue eyes. It was enough to keep the curious away. And as if all that wasn't enough, there were rumours going around that the guy could shift into a full wolf; that he'd actually died and come back to life with the ability to do the full shift. If there was anyone Grady could believe was able to die and then come back with that ability, it was Derek Hale; the dude just had a certain... presence.
Hale caught his eyes, and Grady realised he was staring intently at him. At the raising of one unimpressed eyebrow, Grady lowered his eyes and subtly tilted his head to the side; not a full submission, but an acknowledgement from one shifter to another more powerful. It was a sign of respect, and he hoped Hale took it as such. Grady turned his attention back to the room at large just in time to see the door burst open, a tall, brown-haired young man tripping through.
"Derek fucking Hale!"
The shout rang through the bar and for a long moment nobody moved. It was like something out of a movie. Everything just stopped; the music cut off; one of the servers had frozen mid-pour. Grady would have laughed if he weren't holding his breath. The kid straightened his shirt, a glimpse of stomach showing the curling edges of a tattoo on his hip, and strode toward where Hale was sitting in the dark corner. As one, every supe in the place turned to see Hale's reaction; the last person to try to confront Hale in here had left with a broken hand and a whispered threat that the next time Hale would rip their throat out. With his teeth. Unsurprisingly, Hale's face was set in its usual glower, although it seemed a bit softer around the eyes. It took Grady a second to realise Hale knew the kid.
The kid came to a stop in front of Hale's table, and Grady realised he wasn't as young as he'd first thought. The dude was maybe mid twenties, and he could see the edges of a few scars on his jaw and face. One on the side of his neck looked like a lightning strike, and it disappeared under his shirt collar. The guy crossed his arms and leaned back, fixing Hale with a look that quite clearly screamed 'and what do you have to say for yourself?' Hale looked at the guy for a minute, an inscrutable expression on his face, before he sighed heavily and stood up, taking a step forward as he did to bring him right up into the guy's space. Grady caught the eye of the owner, and with a subtle nod, communicated the need to keep this quiet.
"Alright, everybody out! Bar's closed!"
It was testament to how tense the situation was, and to Hale's reputation, that every human in the place stood up and shuffled out the door, not even questioning why a handful of people were staying behind. Once the last human had left, the owner walked over and locked the door before turning back around and watching the pair in the corner. Grady just stood against a wall and tried not to breathe.
"Hey, kid, why don't you find a different bar today?" One of the other 'wolves that worked in the bar spoke up, sounding condescending.
The guy's shoulders tensed and a muscle twitched in his jaw as he slowly and deliberately turned his back on Hale and levelled the 'wolf who'd spoken with a steely gaze. Grady stiffened at the blatant disrespect this guy was showing to Hale, and judging by the expression on the faces of a few others, they felt the same way. Hale, for his part, looked unconcerned with the guy's attitude; his eyes were fixed on the guy, but there was nothing even remotely pissed off about the way he was looking at him. Well... at least Grady thought so... it was hard to tell with Hale. Most of his expressions looked the same.
"Excuse me?"
Wow. That was a lot of derision coming from two words.
"I don't reckon we've got anything for you here."
The guy raised an eyebrow at the 'wolf and the corner of his mouth slid up into a cocky smirk.
"Now what could you possibly mean by that?" Grady didn't think he was going to like where this was headed. "I suppose you could be trying to avoid trouble, but I know trouble, and trust me, you want me around if trouble happens, I'm quite handy with a bat, actually. Or maybe you're trying to scare me out with your little 'members only' routine. Which, fair... not exactly your typical customer, am I?" The guy shifted suddenly, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Or maybe you're trying to tell me you don't serve lowly humans in here, except we all know that's bullshit, because there were at least twenty of them in here not two minutes ago. I'm sure a few are still hanging around outside if we want to bring them in to check."
A few low growls echoed around the room and for the first time since the guy had turned to face the room, Hale moved. It wasn't really more than a twitch of his fingers, but it was enough to have everyone, excluding the guy, turning their eyes to him. The guy just rolled his eyes and let a lazy grin stretch across his face, seemingly unconcerned at having a glaring werewolf at his unprotected back.
"I mean, we can do a roll call if you want?" The guy swept his eyes around the room, landing briefly on Grady before fixing back on the 'wolf in front of him. "I count four werewolves, two vampires, a banshee, and a succubus of all things. Not to mention ol' Derek behind me and the 'coyote over by the wall there."
Grady blinked, shocked when the guy had correctly identified everyone in the room. How on earth had he known Grady was a 'coyote? And the succubus had a shielding charm on so she could go out in public without overwhelming everyone around her; it made her nearly impossible to detect. Just who the hell was this guy?
"Stiles."
Hale's voice was quiet and a little rough, and Grady just stared at him. So he did know the guy. Stiles apparently. Whatever that meant. The guy - Stiles - closed his eyes, fists clenching as he took a shaky breath. He released the tension in his hands and opened his eyes on the exhale, an impassive mask falling over his face just before he turned around to face Hale again. His voice, when he spoke was cold.
"Derek." Hale's face made an uncomfortable looking twitch.
"What are you doing here?"
"You know, I was gonna ask you the same thing. Fancy us meeting here, of all places." There was a forced grin on Stiles' face. "New York! The big apple! The city of lights-"
"The city of lights is Paris." The corner of Hale's mouth twitched up, and there was a hint of a smile around his eyes. Holy hell, that was the most expression Grady had ever seen on his face.
"Well, I mean... this city has lights, does it not?"
"Stiles." Hale said the name quietly, like it was a word he'd long ago given up being able to say. Stile's shoulders drooped and the fake grin slid off his face.
"You really wanna do this here, Derek?"
"You're the one who burst into a crowded bar shouting my name." Hale raised an eyebrow at Stiles.
"I can shout it out again in a room with just you in it, if you like."
Grady choked back a laugh and Stiles pulled a face.
"Yeah, I'm not proud of that one. Moving on! What were we talking about?"
"I don't know Stiles, we never got further than you coming in here looking like you want to pick a fight."
"Huh."
"Why are you here now? I haven't seen you in... I don't even know how long. Not since-"
"Mexico." Stiles said, his voice a whisper. "We haven't seen each other since you walked away in Mexico. After you died."
Well. Apparently that rumour was true.
"You know why I left. Why I had to leave."
"And you didn't think about what you were leaving behind!"
The words exploded out of Stiles, an accusation so cutting it made Grady flinch at the force behind it. There was a tense growl coming from the bar's owner, and the vampires were doing their weird hissing thing. Jerry, a 'wolf, was flashing his eyes, and the pretty female 'wolf beside him had loosed her claws. Hale seemed stunned, going so far as to take a half step back from Stiles who carried on, unconcerned with the tense atmosphere.
"Do you have any idea what we went through while you were gone? While you were off 'finding yourself'? You ever hear of the dread doctors?" The succubus hissed in a breath at the mention of the dread doctors, whatever those were. "We dealt with their little experiments while you were off gallivanting around South America with Braeden. You know what a chimera is? Imagine a 'wolf crossed with a kanima. Or how about a werewolf and a fucking scorpion? Oh, and my personal favourite, a wendigo crossed with a god-damned lamprey. That one left a nifty little scar!" He pulled the collar of his shirt down and showed off a gruesome scar on his shoulder that looked like a ring of puncture marks.
Hale looked absolutely gutted at this point, but Stiles just took a deep, rattling breath and kept going.
"Oh, and did you know I killed a guy? Yeah. I mean, he was threatening to kill my dad and eat me, but you know, Scott still believed the word of a stranger over me." The banshee had a hand over her mouth, and Grady could only imagine what kind of vibes this kid was giving off to someone that could sense the dead. As it was, he was nearly overwhelmed by the torrent of grief and anger pouring out of him. "Oh, and Jordan - you remember Jordan, right? My dad's deputy? - Well Jordan, get this, is a hell hound! Cool or what?"
There's a bitter tone to Stiles voice now.
"And then, after that shitstorm passed, I thought I could finally breathe, you know? But then, people started going missing, except no one could remember them, right? there were just empty desks at school and... and..." Stiles broke off to run a trembling hand through his hair. Hale looked about ready to bolt, and Grady was nearly choking on the misery coming from them both, a memory tugging at the back of his mind. "They took me and everyone forgot me, Derek. Everyone. They forgot me."
"Who took you?" Hale's voice was raw, and a few of the people watching winced in sympathy with him.
"The Wild Hunt." Grady spoke through his fangs, apparently he had shifted without realising it. The entire room turned to stare at him, a few of the 'wolves shifting in response.
"Got it one, twinkletoes."
"Twinkletoes?" Jerry scrunched up his face. "What the hell?"
"Coyotes tiptoe." Grady sighed. He turned back to Stiles. "How in blue blazes did'ya get outta there, kid? Once the Hunt takes ya, you're gone. Erased."
"I had help." Stiles smiled a little and looked back at Hale. "Actually, Peter was there."
This whole time, Hale hadn't so much as flashed his eyes or let out a hint of fang, but the second that name slipped from Stiles' mouth, his eyes blazed and his face shifted, a rumbling growl ripping from his throat. Everyone took a hasty step back. Everyone except Stiles. No Stiles took a step forward, and lifted a hand up to Hale's face, running his fingertips lightly across where his eyebrows used to be. Hale looked so shocked at the move that he dropped his shift completely. Stiles snorted.
"I will never get used to your eyebrows disappearing. It's just too weird. Anyway, relax sourwolf, Peter actually helped. He saved my life more than once."
Stiles left his hand on Hale's face for a moment, then he shook himself a little and pulled it away. Grady cleared his throat.
"Ya still shouldn't ha'been able to 'scape the Hunt. Not once they picked ya."
"Well," Stiles spoke softly, "I guess I'm a little more memorable than most. And it helps to have a banshee on your side."
"Lydia." Hale spoke, his voice guarded. "Did you- are you two-?"
"No. Not anymore. Not for a while." Stiles was silent for a long moment. "You missed out on a lot, Der."
Oh and didn't Grady's heart just break for the kid at that. Jesus, no one that young should have that much pain in them. Apparently Hale agreed, because he let slip a little sub-vocal whine that had Stiles reaching his hand out again. He placed his hand on Hale's cheek and swiped a thumb across his cheekbone. Hale leaned into the touch just a bit and Stiles smiled before dragging his hand down past Hale's jaw to rest lightly on his neck. The other shifters, Grady included, all tensed at the thought of someone having their hands so close to such a vulnerable area, but Hale seemed almost to melt into it; the tension in his shoulders flowing away. Stiles brought his head forward and rested his forehead against Hale's. They stood like that for a while, oblivious to their captive audience; Grady felt like he was intruding on a moment that should have been private. Suddenly, Hale moved, wrapping his arms tight around Stiles and burying his face in his neck. Stiles seemed unsurprised and hugged Hale back just as fiercely; Grady could see his muscles straining in the confines of his shirt, that's how tight he was holding on.
"I'm sorry." Hale said, voice muffled by Stiles' skin. "I'm sorry I left you behind. I thought I was doing the right thing. I had to figure out who I was after Kate. I wasn't good for anybody. Not after Erica. Boyd." The last name was barely a whisper, and Stiles' hands clenched in the material of Hale's shirt.
"I know... I know, I just-" Stiles cut himself off to take a deep breath, "-that was only one year, Derek. You've been gone for six."
"Holy shit." The female 'wolf muttered under her breath, her eyebrows were rapidly approaching her hairline and her eyes were wide. At a warning growl from Hale she held up her hands in a placating gesture. "Sorry Hale, but how your boy here survived so long is a mystery to me."
"Oh you know," Stiles twisted around in Hale's arms so he was facing the room again, "I technically didn't survive at one point. Yeah I was pretty dead for like, sixteen hours."
"I'm sorry, what?" One of the vampires stepped forward, Grad couldn't remember his name. Clive? Clint? Klaus? Whoever. "Wolfboy I can believe, it's not unheard of for supernatural beings to return from the dead, but a human?"
"Hey I sacrificed myself fair and square, dude!" Stiles disentangled an arm long enough to point at the vamp, "I didn't get possessed just for shits and giggles!"
"Possessed?"
"Ohhhh yeah buddy boy-"
"Buddy boy? I'm three hundred years old."
"-that nogitsune picked on the wrong 'human'."
"You were possessed by a nogitsune?! And you lived?" The succubus cried out, incredulous.
"I got better?" Stiles shrugged. Grady could tell that though he was playing it off, the thought of it clearly still haunted him.
The place was now in an uproar, people were flashing eyes and fangs all over the place. Grady was keeping an eye on Hale, who had tensed as soon as Stiles had mentioned the nogitsune, so he was the only one that noticed when Hale made to pull Stiles behind him. Grady lunged forward at the same time as the 'wolf that had tried to kick Stiles out earlier. He got a hand round the guy's arm and yanked him back just before his claws could break Stiles' skin. Hale roared and shifted, his tall form morphing into a sleek black wolf with glowing blue eyes, the tattered remnants of his shirt on the ground around him, and his jeans pooled in a pile by his hind legs. Stiles, now with his arms free, made a flowing motion with his hands and a fine black powder rose into the air before swirling around the 'wolf Grady had a hold of; he dropped the 'wolf's arm and instantly the powder - mountain ash - settled in a circle around the wolf.
"Derek! Calm down. Christ." Stiles rolled his eyes and stepped in front of the snarling wolf to crouch down in front of the ash circle. He eyed the man inside it calmly, head tilted to one side as he studied him. "I think I startled him, is all."
"Uhh kid?" Grady cleared his throat. "Ya startled everyone... didn't none o' the rest of us try to jump ya though."
Stiles regarded Grady for a long moment before he flicked his gaze back to the trapped man.
"You weren't really gonna hurt me, were you?" Stiles sounded so sure, his question was almost a statement. "You lost someone to the fox demon?"
The man swallowed, eyeing Hale briefly, and nodded. Stiles made a noise of acknowledgement in the back of his throat and stood up, turning to send a disappointed look in Hale's direction.
"Can I trust you to behave yourself?" Hale growled and in the next instant, he was standing in his human form again. Naked. He opened his mouth but Stiles cut him off. "Derek. Can. I. Trust. You?"
"Stiles."
"Derek." Hale sighed.
"You can always trust me, Stiles."
"Good boy." Everyone groaned at the implied dog joke, Stiles just grinned, "Now go put your pants back on, how can I be expected to work with you distracting me?"
Stiles shooed Hale away from him and turned back to the ash circle, holding a hand out and waving it around in a complicated little flourish that had the ash filtering back into a pendant that Grady hadn't noticed until then. Seriously, who the hell was this kid? Stiles pointedly turned his back on the 'wolf on the ground and stretched, the fabric of his shirt riding up to show another glimpse of the tattoo Grady had seen earlier. Stiles spotted him looking and dropped his arms, blushing lightly.
"Ah. You uh... you saw that?"
Grady nodded as Derek came back up to Stiles, sans shirt and shooting a glare at the 'wolf.
"Saw what?"
"Uhh nothing dude... nothing at all."
"Stiles."
"Ugh, fine!"
Stiles sighed and lifted his shirt with one hand and pulled the waistband of his jeans down with the other. The tattoo was a set of spirals that looked vaguely familiar to Grady, but he couldn't place why. Apparently Hale recognised it though, if the way his breath hitched and his fingers twitched toward it were any indication; he dropped to his knees and reached a hand out, but he stopped before he could touch the tattoo and looked up at Stiles who nodded and smiled. Hale traced the swirls with trembling fingers, his eyes wide and his expression open and raw. Grady once again felt like he was intruding on something private.
"Don't tell me you're surprised." Stiles was a little breathless.
"You hate needles."
"Yeah well, not as much as I-" Stiles stopped and bit his lip. "-nevermind."
"Not as much as you... what?" Hale was still on his knees in front of Stiles, his hands gripping Stiles' waist. Stiles sighed and ran a hand through Hale's hair.
"You know what." He spoke so softly, Grady nearly didn't hear it.
He tried instead to focus on the bar and its occupants. Jerry and the owner had dragged the idiotic 'wolf into a booth and were sitting on either side of him, keeping him from leaving; the female 'wolf was standing with the banshee and they were looking at Hale and Stiles with suspiciously shiny eyes; the succubus had her eyes closed and a hand on her chest, a small smile gracing her face; the vampires were talking in hushed tones and throwing the occasional awed look Stiles' way. Grady couldn't blame them. So much for a quiet evening at the bar.
Grady closed his eyes and relaxed back against the wall. He didn't really know who this Stiles kid was, and he was pretty sure nobody but Stiles knew who Hale really was, but for all the turmoil that clearly followed them both around, they had a surprisingly calming presence together. Grady had always felt mildly perturbed whenever he had to be around Hale, but somehow, with Stiles there, it was like everything was grounded... stable... anch- oh. That explained a lot. The guy was Hale's anchor. Jesus. No wonder Hale had such an off-putting vibe about him. He hadn't been around his anchor for six years. Their connection must have been intensely strong for Hale to have lasted so long without going rogue; Grady had heard tales of 'wolves - and other shifters - being separated from their anchors and going mad within a matter of months. For Hale to have lasted six years. It was amazing.
The sound of a throat being cleared startled him, and he opened his eyes to see Stiles standing in front of him, grinning. The kid could move silently.
"So. Thanks for stopping me from getting mauled, dude. I don't need any more scars to add to the collection."
"Oh uh... no problem." Grady knew his eyes were wide, but he just couldn't help it. "Glad you're okay?"
"You're sweet." Stiles raised an eyebrow, "Got a name?"
"Grady." Stiles just kept looking at him. "Uhh... Beaufort. Grady Beaufort."
"Nice to meet you, Grady Beaufort." Stiles stuck his hand out, which Grady automatically accepted, "I'm Stiles Stilinski."
"Pleased to meet ya."
Hale walked up to them, a leather jacket covering his bare torso. He stopped beside Stiles and laid a hand on his lower back.
"You wanna get out of here?"
"Sure thing, Der." Stiles went to turn away, but he stopped with an exclamation, "Oh! How rude. Grady, Derek. Derek, Grady Beaufort. He's a 'coyote. Just like Malia!"
Derek nodded at Grady and offered him a small smile. Grady was a bit dazzled by it, to say the least. My, when he wasn't glaring, Hale - Derek - was incredibly attractive. Wait, Stiles was saying something.
"-you should give her a call! She can help you with your full shift."
"Huh?" Grady blinked at Stiles.
"Yeah he has that effect on people." Stiles shook his head and grinned. "Derek's cousin, Malia. She's a 'coyote too. Spent most of her childhood as a coyote. I reckon with her help, you could achieve the full shift. I've put her number in your phone. Give her a call."
Grady just nodded at Stiles, a little overwhelmed. Stiles and Derek turned to leave and he could hear them muttering to each other as the headed for the door.
"How did you find me?"
"Well, I called Jax, who talked to Isaac, who got a hold of Argent, who apparently has an old friend out here. Recognised your description."
"Who on earth could hav-" Derek sighed, "Mrs. Kowalczyk."
"Mrs Kowalczyk. Lovely lady. She likes me. Apparently my Polish pronunciation is impeccable."
Derek snorted and Stiles tripped as he laughed, grabbing onto Derek's jacket as he stumbled, pulling it down enough for Grady to see a tattoo on his upper back. A tattoo that matched the one on Stiles' hip. Oh. Derek hauled Stiles upright and slipped an arm around his waist; Stiles immediately snuggled into his side. Just before they stepped outside, Grady called out to them.
"Hey Stiles!"
"Yeah?" Stiles looked over his shoulder at Grady.
"You're not just a regular human, are you?"
"I guess you could say I've got a little extra... spark."
Stiles grinned and let Derek pull him out of the bar. The door closed behind them and Grady felt like he'd just been part of something momentous. One look at the others in the room told him they all felt the same way. So much for a quiet night at the bar.