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In a matter of minutes, Noah's life had drastically changed. Werewolves, werecoyotes and kitsune are real and all his sons friends are one of them, and his very much human son is hanging out with them. And his very much human son is dealing with supernatural murders and has been kidnapped and tortured and hid all of this. For two years. Shit, how did he not notice any of this for two years? Was he that absent? Noah's hand tightens against the kitchen counter as he takes a deep breathe. Yes, he may have been absent but he can change that. He now knows about it all so that means he can help, he can protect his son now. His son was tortured. The thought brings back a bout of nausea - he doesn't understand how anyone could take his son, anyone's son, and torture an innocent kid for information and not want to kill themselves out of guilt after. Stiles didn't do anything to deserve that and Noah hadn't even noticed. Hoe shit does that make him?
With a final breath, he walks back into Stiles' bedroom and offers a smile to him and Derek. Derek Hale, who is an alpha werewolf and who's pack Stiles is in, who is friends with his son despite being thrown in prison multiple times because of said son. Stiles looks at him nervously, then throws his gaze to Derek.
"Right" Noah says, drawing both of their attention "I can't tell you to stop this can I?"
Stiles shook his head as he grimaced.
He sighed, laughing to himself silently. Stiles was always his mother's son "I thought so, but if this is to continue then you'll be taking self-defense lessons weekly"
God, Claudia would kill him for enabling this "Really" Stiles aksed, surprise slowly turning into a grin "Yeah, I can work with that."
He turns to Derek and levels him with a glare, a skill he developed during his years as Sheriff "And you- if Stiles comes home injured and I find out you didn't lose an arm trying to protect him, no one will ever find your body" He does take satisfaction in how Derek hunches away form his slightly, and pales though both of these are neer unspotable. It means he's got his point across, so he's happy "And if I find out that you let him hide injuries or run into danger without help or you hurt him, the offer still stands"
"I would never hurt him" Derek growls, his eyes flashing red. To his slight shame, his hand tightens around the gun on his waist but nothing further happens as Stiles crosses the room and hits Derek across the back of the head.
His heart stops slightly. He wants to scream at Stiles to not do something so stupid, especially if Derek is more wolfy than not, but he can't. And nothing happens, no bloodshed or claws or fangs. Derek returns to normal and if anything he looks slightly ashamed.
"Sorry" Derek mutters to no one in particular.
"It's okay sourwolf, just don't do it again" Stiles tells him.
While Stiles has always been a touchy kid, and has near to no understanding about person space, he's surprised at how much Derek allows his son to touch him. The head hit, a hand on a shoulder then through the hair, a push to the chest. It's all playful but still. He looks younger somehow as Stiles fusses with him and less like the accused murderer Noah has always thought of his as - more hunan. But if Derek was the alpha then Stiles countering his choice to threaten him would be a disobidience, so Derek shouldn't have listened. Or is it different with human pack?
"Stop it" Derek grumbles, drawing Noah out of his thoughts. Stiles is now sitting at his desk, grinning and Derek is staring. At fist it just looks like the man is scowling, but when Noah looks deeper theres something softer exposed, gentle. Something...affectionate. He looks between them both, now noticing more slight, softer more affectionate differences. Is his son and Derek- no, the both look at the other in loves but neither thinks the ther wants it, maybe? He's not the expert on werewolves here. Would a wolf documentary be any help?
When the two are about to mate, they bond, sleeping close and touching each other more. The two may even sleep side by side.
Annyoingly, his work as Sheriff only became harder now he knew about Beacon Hill's furry secret. It was addictive, obsessive and furiating to pour over cold cases -any case, solved or unsolved- and wonder whether the killer was supernatural, was the kidnapper a hunter? It opened up a whole new world of possibilities for him, but at the same time ansered nothing. How would you even begin to file evidence against a werewolf? To make things more comlicated he found out that Parrish was a supernatural.
Stiles still came in as normal and demanded he eat healthy lunches and he kept pulling over speeding kids and the world still turned as normal. Another new normal in his life was the appearance of Derek Hale. It seemed that everytime Stiles was home, so was Derek. He didn't mind but it was weird to watch their dynamic and he still wasn't completely comfortable with Derek around his son. But, what can you do?
When he pulled up to the house he spotted Derek standing outside to his joy. After a week of having the werewolf sneak in through windows he had demanded that Derek uses the front door, and he hadn't left much room for arguament. If Stiles was wrapped up in the supernatural he wanted to know.
"Derek" he greeted "Nice to see you using the door for once"
Derek nods, his lips pressing into a thin line. Another thing he notices was that Derek seemed conflicted when ever he interacted with Noah, constantly flicking between being standoff-ish and flinchy to over-welcoming, as though he couldn't understand Noah's place in the pack. Hell, even he didn't understand his place in the pack but he has time to deal with that. And so long as Stiles is involved he'll force himself into the pack.
"Yes, Sheriff"
He smiled, rolling his eyes softly to Derek "Noah, I'm off duty at home".
Since the wolf has been hanging around Stiles more often, Noah has started to see him as younger. Sometimes he'll look at Derek and see the same 16 year old kid who's family had died but he useually forces that form his mind as quick as possible, then he'll see the 22 year old Derek who was forced to grow up far too quickly and just needed a hug.
Derek nods "Thanks Noah"
He points ot the stairs "No need to hold you up" even as Derek runs up the stairs, he looks less like an adult and more like a 17 year old boy going to see his boyfriend. It does amuse him and as much as he doesn't want Stiles to date and older man, much less a werewolf, saying no to Stiles will make him sneak around and potentially get hurt. So, he's willing to relax the rules slightly. However, Noah is confident that nothing is happing between them at this moment, both of them still dancing around the other.
As expected, Derek shows up the next day. He hovers outside the door looking scared to ring the doorbell before Noah walks up and relieves him each day. Stiles is waiting infront of the tv when they both enter and immediatly reaches out for Derek. The two were touchy, very touchy and it went both ways. It was like there was an invisible force pulling them together, an itch that could only be relieved by touching the other person. Stiles always had the be touching Derek, on the arm, holding his hand, running his hands through hair, pushing his chest or kicking his leg. And Derek seemed to drink up the contect, never pushing Stiles away.
At first, he thought it may have been a pack thing but then he saw Derek with his betas, and Derek was closed off. So it's a Stiles thing, which backs up the theory of attraction. If Stiles left for the toilet, Derek would follow (thankfully not going into the bathroom, Noah doesn't want to handle that sort of thing in his house yet) letting Stiles drag him by the hand. Or if they got up to get snacks, Stiles would be hanging onto Derek's arm. When they watched a movie together, Derek would rest his head on top of Stiles' head, or Stiles would rest on Derek's shoulder.
They were always touching.
That night is the first night that Noah is aware that Derek is staying over without the wolf sneaking in. Noah isn't sure how it happened, it just sort of did. One minute they were watching a movie, the next Stiles was leading Derek up the stairs - they were so gentle with each other, that, if Noah didn't know better he may have felt the need to look away as though not to intrude on such an intimate moment- and half an hour later, when he looked into Stiles' room his son was curled up asleep next to Derek (who was in his wolf form)
The documentry on wolves mentioned this, the touching and sleeping together, as part of mating. The realisation was anticlimatic and he found he doesn't reallly mind. Besides, he's pretty sure neither of them realsie what they are doing to each other and he owns a gun if things turn sour. Derek lets out gentle huffs as Stiles unconsciously runs his fingers through the wolf's coat, and leans in closer. It's sweet. Sickenly so.
They will approach each other making quiet whining sounds, mouth each others muzzles, touch noses, and bump there bodies together.
Whiles Noah briefly wondered if seperating Stiles and Derek during their unknowing courtship period would be stressful, he wan't too concerned. At best, Stiles would complain about being away from Derek and the pack but he could deal with a love-sick teenager - he hadn't survived nearly a decade of Stiles pinning over Lydia Martin to fold so easily. Stiles seemed excited when he bought up his idea to visit family in Poland, his brother in law, so they packed and went. He'd been watching more documentaries about wolves and reading up on behaviour, so yes, he was sure that Derek was courting Stiles and for some reason, Stiles was doing the same wolf behaviours back - Noah's current theory was that Stiles had spent so long around the wolves he developed all the habits Scott would have developed, despite being fully human.
Claudia's brother was always close to both him and Stiles and was a major help when Claudia passed, so it was nice going to see him. But by the end of the week he could tell Stiles was more than glad to be back, and he was as well.
He sighs, rolling his eyes to himself when he spots Derek sitting by their front door when they arrive home "Go on Stiles" he grumbles, no real annoyance behind his words.
Stiles nods, practically throwing himself out the car. Stiles speeds off but what catches his breath is the look his son has on his face. Stiles is looking at Derek how Claudia used to look at him, in a manner he can describe as truly and utterly in love and tension releases from Stiles' muscles as Derek meets him half way in a hug. He didn't notice how tense Stiles was until it wasn't there .
"Oh" he mutters, watching from behind the wheel. His son is in love. Stiles is in love with Derek. He didn't really understand before and maybe it's fully human and maybe it's the influence of wolves but his son is in love. Somehting heavy sits in his gut at that, something uneasy. His son is growing up and falling in love and developing a life that isn't revolving around him. Claudia would love to be here, he thinks, she would love to meet Derek and he could imagine her scaring the shit out of him.
Derek and Stiles haven't let go of eachother. They both stand, arms wrapped arounf the other like a lifeline not speaking. Derek makes a small whinning sound -a wolf trait- as he pushing his nose into Stiles' own.
Stiles laughs "Hey, personal space sourwolf" but when Derek pulls back, Stiles leans in close knocking his nose into Derek's.
"Missed you" Derek mutters.
"I missed you too" Stiles whispers back, pressing his nose into derek one final time before they break apart. Claudia would have loved to see their son growing up and finding Derek.
When he wakes up to the smell of bacon, real bacon and not the fake stuff Stiles forces him to eat, he's more than ready to keep Dereka round. Noah's sure that Derek slept over again and he should probably give the man his own ket for the house but he can deal with that later.
"Morning" He calls out before taking a seat. He was hopeless in the kitchen so there was no point trying to help out, and he's rather not anger Stiles before he gets to eat actual bacon.
Stiles smiles at him form the cooker "Morning dad". Stiles looks happy, much happier and relaxed than he was when they were away. He's not sure when Derek become a normality in his kitchen, but this isn't the first morning he's seen Derek here. So really, he shouldnt' be surprised when Derek easily navigates the kitchen - probably better than Noah could, to his shame.
Derek offers a quick smile and a plate before hovering around the kitchen. Stiles tells Derek what he needs and Derek gets it, in the process the two find every spare second to bumb into each other. Derek bumps into Stiles' arm as he bring Noah a drink. Stiles bumps into Derek's hip as he brings the food to the table.
"What plans do you have today?" he asks Stiles, taking the bacon before his son can protest. Derek pushes the food towards Stiles afterwards and doesn't touch it until Stiles has taken food. Huh, he looks betwen them but neither of them notice how Derek is prviding food for his mate, or the best that Stiles qualifies for.
Stiles grumbles at him slightly, but Noah is choosing to ignore that "I was going to go see Scott and then Lydia wanted to meet up but I'm scared that's a trick to get me to carry her shopping bags" He wonders whether Scott would be like this? Derek was born a wolf, does that change how he acts?
Derek snorts, bumping into Stiles' arm "Have fun with Lydia then" he turns to Noah "I needed to go see Peter and Chris about a border problem, a pack has moves here and are getting to the edge of the territory, do you want to come?"
Noah wasn't expecting that. Despite this whole situation, he hasn't spent much time alone with Derek...ever. Also, it was a clear invite for a pack-related problem which he wouldn't refuse "Yes"
Derek relaxes at that, offering a soft smile before leaving to put his plate away "Stiles, where is the washing up liquid?"
Stiles gets up and reaches under the sink, brushing against Derek's shoulder as he bumps against him again beofre handing the green liquid over "Thanks" he mutters. This time though, Noah notices that Stiles lets out a quiet whine at Derek. Derek however, either doesn't notice or is too dense to realise what is happening and he isn't in the mood to correct either of them.
There may be mutual grooming and nibbling of each other's coats and the two may walk pressed close together.
Peter hale is creepy, Noah decides. The man was hard to read, always drifting between rooms in the shadows and acting on impulse worse than Stiles did. But he was clever and dangerous and that put him on edge, but he couldn't do much other than keep an eye on him. Unfortunatly, Peter is part of Derek's pack - despite the fact he tried to kill them all multiple times and bretrayed them all- and Noah could understand the need to keep your remaining family close. Unfortunatly, this also ment his son interacted with Peter Hale, which did disturb him. He noticed Peter had a favorism for Stiles out of all the pack, a sort of respect that Noah doesn't want to try to understand. However, when the wolves got a bit too much at pack night he did find it easier to hide out with Peter until they settled and the man was teaching him more about pack dynamics.
It was fun to watch Derek and Stiles act differently with each other over members of the pack, how intimatly they were with eachother compared to normal wolf connections. Derek was unofficially living with Stiles at this point and had become such a constant in Noah's own life that he wasn't surprised to see them act the same at pack ngiht. Nor was anyone else as it seemed. If anything, the pack gave them space when they got all mushy.
Usually the alpha male has dominance over the entire pack including the alpha female. But this is not always true. During the mating season, the alpha female takes total dominance. Though Stiles and Derek weren't wolves, and both male Noah is assuming the same dynamics are occuring. The pack clearly knows that they are courting and their instincts are acting out. But hey, he isn't the werewolf here so he doesn't know for sure.
"It's annoying how dense they both are" Peter says, appearing by his side suddenly. He doesn't try to hide his shock, having grown used to the wolves knowing how he feels even if he tries to hide it "Right?
Noah nods, which brings a small smile to Peter's face -once again, it's disturbing even though it's not meant to be "I wasn't aware everyone else knew"
Peter snorts "It's hard not to notice"
Noah has to agree there. Stiles and Derek were currently curled up together on the sofa. Stiles was leaning into Derek's chest, the other running his hand through Stiles hair. As the courting progressed, so did the level of grooming between the two -and Noah doesn't know how neither of them are aware of what's happening yet. More often than not Derek could be seen brushing through Stiles' hair, or Stiles would brush through Derek's wolf coat when he was transformed (to his annoyance. that always left wold hair all over the room) and the two were sleeping together almost every night. Most mornings he would peek into Stiles room to see Derek's wolf form curled up next to Stiles.
Derek leaned in close to Stiles, joining their noses to which Stiles nudged him back. Small quiet whispers passed between the two as derek continued to run his hands through Stiles' hair, and Stiles doing the same. Noah smiles softly, before choosing to leave -dragging out Peter with him- them both alone. A year ago, he wouldn't have felt he was intruding on something intimate. But now, he'll just have to wait for them both to understand.