Fic: Tangled in knots
Author: froggydarren
Title: Tangled in knots
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: pre-Derek/Stiles
Character/s: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski
Summary: He's right under the nose of the FBI, even though he knows he's on their target list. But it's not the first time he hid right under the law enforcement's noses. Last time, it was Stiles who harboured Derek's fugitive ass. He's really not expecting it to be the case here, no matter how close to Quantico he is. He also has other issues to worry about, and that's when he spots a flyer that promises information on the problem he's had ever since the time he saved his own life by shifting into a wolf.
Derek really should rethink his position on coincidences.
Warnings: n/a
Content Notes: canon-compliant (ish), full shift werewolves, knotting mentions
Submission Type: fic
Word Count: 1966
Prompt: #249 - tenuous
Author's Notes: Right, so, my brain refused to come up with anything for this prompt, until yesterday when a completely random one suddenly seemed fitting. And then I didn't finish on time, so *hides* hi, sorry I'm late. Anyway, this is the start of something, and I'm gonna try to have an addition to it (that'll up the rating a bit) for when it's due to be on AO3 ;) Unbetaed, so apologies for typos and everything.
Derek knows that his control has been, well, questionable at best lately. Even since he gained the ability to shift fully, he’s been struggling with keeping his instincts suppressed. It wasn’t hard after he just left Beacon Hills, but it’s been getting worse the longer he was on his own.
It’s not something that he had a chance to talk about with his parents before the fire, most definitely not something he’d have asked Laura, even if he’d known that it was going to become an issue. He also doubts that it was a problem for either his mother or his sister, despite the ability to shift into a wolf fully. But it is for him, and he has no idea what in the world he’s supposed to be doing about it.
So when he sees the sign, he’s immediately interested. Sure, it’s odd that something like that would be on a random flyer in a random town, but he stopped questioning those things quite some time ago. He wonders if this is one of the towns where werewolves are just a regular part of it - he knows there’s a pack in the area and he did make a brief visit to the Alpha to let them know about his presence. He didn’t linger though, nor did he have any plans on becoming too close to the pack, since he knew he’d be moving on soon.
The flyer is simple, looking like it was typed on an old-fashioned typewriter, with little tearaway strips with an address on the bottom. He tugs one away and slips it into his pocket after he glances around, just in case it’s not something that’s acknowledged by townsfolk.
Everything you needed to know about KNOTTING!! Beginners, newbies welcome.
Because the ability to shift into a full wolf has brought an issue that he knows he cannot possibly discuss with anyone he knows. Because no one he knows does have the same ability, which likely means they don’t have the same problem.
The meeting time listed on the back of the small strip he tore away is for the next evening, and for the whole day before it, Derek considers and reconsiders whether he should go. He’s too close to Quantico to feel completely okay walking around, but it seemed like a good idea to hide in plain sight when he got wind of the FBI being on his trail. Or that they thought they were - Derek very deliberately chose a place where they wouldn’t think to look, right under their noses.
He does go, in the end, but he decides to scope out the place at first, to get a sense of what kind of people are going to be there, and whether the meeting is in any way legitimate and safe. When he finds the address, it’s a bed and breakfast, with big bay windows in the front that allow him to look inside from across the road. What he sees startles him a little - there are baskets with yarn and needles set out on small tables around the bright room, each next to a comfortable chair. It’s then that his gaze slides to the poster in the corner of the side panel of the window, and he almost slaps his face as embarrassment washes over him.
Everything you ever needed to know about KNOITTING!!
“Derek, hey! Wow, you’re the last person I expected to show up here.”
The voice is familiar, friendly, despite the shocked tone behind the words. Derek wants to slap his face again for a different reason, because of course it’s Stiles. Of all the people in the world to witness his embarrassment, it had to be Stiles. He’s standing across the road, and the smile on his face is blindingly bright. Derek wants to say that he’s just passing by, that he had no intention of joining in, and the very last thing he wants to explain is his mistake about the poster. Which, now that he thinks about it, had a scribble on it that was probably the same correction as the one in the window behind Stiles.
He realizes that he can’t make up an excuse though, because the ripped away strip with the address is in his hand, and Stiles has clearly seen it. So instead, he crosses the road and stops a few steps away from Stiles.
“Wouldn’t have pegged you for someone interested in crafts,” Stiles says the moment Derek is on his side of the road. “Then again, I’m guessing you wouldn’t have expected me to run something like this either.”
Derek raises an eyebrow, knowing that he doesn’t have to say anything.
“It was part of my training in Quantico, a method to keep myself calm and focused,” Stiles explains without waiting to be prompted. “And since I have a knack for it apparently, I figured I could use my time off wisely and share the knowledge.”
Derek nods wordlessly, unsure what he could possibly say.
“So, you want to join us?” Stiles asks.
“Us?” Derek finally manages to open his mouth and speak.
“There are a few ladies who usually show up, and well, me.” Stiles grins. “I’m sure they’d appreciate someone new to break up the monotony.”
Derek hesitates. There’s no way he can tell Stiles that it’s been a mistake, that he didn’t look at the poster properly, or that he expected it to be a meeting about something else. So he shrugs and then nods, a little taken aback when Stiles smiles brightly again, like Derek’s presence is something amazing.
The ladies that Stiles mentioned show up just as Derek settles in one of the comfortable chairs that is backed against a bookshelf, and Stiles takes his place at the window. The basket there is filled with projects that have already been started before, and he spots a few others that seem to have been claimed previously. When the rest of the group comes in, Derek feels suddenly out of place - he’s by far the youngest with the exception of Stiles. The ladies remind him of his grandmother, as they’re all older and sweet, immediately clasping hands as they let out various sounds of surprise and joy when they spot him. Stiles runs through quick introductions, tells them that Derek’s an old friend he hasn’t seen in a long time, and the ladies nod as they settle into their chairs.
An hour later, Derek has figured out how to not get his hands tangled in yarn and how to not make an unholy mess of it on the all too fragile needles. Stiles, to his credit, doesn’t laugh more than maybe twice through the hour, and he’s not the only one helping Derek out. When the ladies realize that Derek’s a complete newbie to knitting, they take turns helping him out, patiently explaining the steps of casting on and the basics of everything else.
“So, I’m sorry I pushed you,” Stiles says when the ladies leave and they’re left alone.
“You didn’t,” Derek tells him, and he walks around the room to help Stiles tidy up. “I… this was nice,” he admits. “It’s been a while since I relaxed this much.”
“I believe that,” Stiles says. “The last time I saw your face was on the list of targets at Quantico.”
Derek stops in his tracks and whips his head around. “What?”
“Oh, shit, sorry,” Stiles immediately replies, sounding panicked. “I should’ve mentioned that before. I just… man, it was a bit of a shock to see you on the list, and to see a video on the screen of you running through the woods. Shirtless. What is it with you and losing clothes anyway?”
“Still have mine now,” Derek points out, unable to stop the smirk that’s tugging on his lips. It fades a beat later though. “Why were you shown active missions? Aren’t you still in training only?”
“I am,” Stiles says, nodding. “Part of it is getting a look at active cases, to prepare us for what’s coming. Not that we get to participate,” he adds with a disappointed tone.
“Yeah, such a shame that they don’t send you on dangerous missions before you’re fully trained, really,” Derek says, voice perfectly flat.
“Anyway. I’m not telling them I’ve seen you, so don’t worry. I didn’t even mention that I know you, and what they’re trying to pin on you is insane,” Stiles says.
“What is it?” Derek asks.
He can guess, but he’s curious about how much the FBI does know.
“Mass murder, apparently,” Stiles says, rolling his eyes. “I mean, years ago, I would have believed murder…”
“You did,” Derek tells him, a little amused by the memory.
Stiles levels him with a glare. “I didn’t know you then, though. And I’m not busting you for something I know you didn’t do.”
Derek shrugs. It wasn’t his fault, but he’s the only one who walked away from that particular hunter meeting alive, so he gets how it may have looked to the agents who arrived at the scene just as he was getting out. At least there weren’t any questionable injuries, only gunshot wounds from and on the hunters themselves. Apparently when a group of hunters gathers, emotions run wild and they’re all a little too trigger-happy. This time, it resulted in them attacking each other, and Derek only walked in to try and question the one who wasn’t already dead. He even offered to call for an Alpha to turn the hunter so he’d survive, but he knew before he said it that the answer would be no.
Stiles looks at him like he’s trying to read his mind for a few beats, then shakes his head and sighs.
“So, are you in the area long?”
“I’ve been here a few weeks,” Derek says. “Wasn’t planning on staying, but there was research to do, and it’s safe.”
“You’re like, around the corner from the FBI headquarters,” Stiles says, incredulous.
“Exactly.” Derek grins. “Hiding in plain sight.”
“Right. So…” Stiles starts, but he hesitates, looking like he wants to ask something, but is afraid of the answer.
“Do you do this every week?” Derek asks, breaking the silence, and he glances down at the collection of baskets with knitting supplies.
“Yeah. Most of them. Unless there’s training at the same time, but then I usually just reschedule. The ladies are flexible with their time, what with being retired.”
“Right. Mind if I come along next week?” Derek asks.
He wants to pretend that it’s because he enjoys knitting, or the company of the ladies who make him feel the way his grandmother used to. The truth is that he missed Stiles. Of all the people back in Beacon Hills, Stiles is the one who’s been on Derek’s mind most often since he left.
“Yeah,” Stiles says. “Yeah, that would be great. I mean, I’m sure Ethel will bring cookies next week too, you wouldn’t want to miss those.”
He’s nervous, Derek can see that, and somehow that’s oddly reassuring. Because Derek isn’t as relaxed about being around Stiles as he’s pretending to be.
“Okay. I’ll see you next week then,” Stiles says. “Same time, same place. And you’ve got your own basket now,” he adds with a smile.
Derek nods, then excuses himself, and leaves. It’s only when he’s back in the room he’s renting from the local pack that he’s reminded of his tenuous control over parts of his shift. He groans in frustration, because the reminder comes at the same time as his mind summons an image of Stiles from earlier that day. Only, the image comes when Derek is in the shower, and the Stiles in his mind is in there with him.
Title: Tangled in knots
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: pre-Derek/Stiles
Character/s: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski
Summary: He's right under the nose of the FBI, even though he knows he's on their target list. But it's not the first time he hid right under the law enforcement's noses. Last time, it was Stiles who harboured Derek's fugitive ass. He's really not expecting it to be the case here, no matter how close to Quantico he is. He also has other issues to worry about, and that's when he spots a flyer that promises information on the problem he's had ever since the time he saved his own life by shifting into a wolf.
Derek really should rethink his position on coincidences.
Warnings: n/a
Content Notes: canon-compliant (ish), full shift werewolves, knotting mentions
Submission Type: fic
Word Count: 1966
Prompt: #249 - tenuous
Author's Notes: Right, so, my brain refused to come up with anything for this prompt, until yesterday when a completely random one suddenly seemed fitting. And then I didn't finish on time, so *hides* hi, sorry I'm late. Anyway, this is the start of something, and I'm gonna try to have an addition to it (that'll up the rating a bit) for when it's due to be on AO3 ;) Unbetaed, so apologies for typos and everything.
Derek knows that his control has been, well, questionable at best lately. Even since he gained the ability to shift fully, he’s been struggling with keeping his instincts suppressed. It wasn’t hard after he just left Beacon Hills, but it’s been getting worse the longer he was on his own.
It’s not something that he had a chance to talk about with his parents before the fire, most definitely not something he’d have asked Laura, even if he’d known that it was going to become an issue. He also doubts that it was a problem for either his mother or his sister, despite the ability to shift into a wolf fully. But it is for him, and he has no idea what in the world he’s supposed to be doing about it.
So when he sees the sign, he’s immediately interested. Sure, it’s odd that something like that would be on a random flyer in a random town, but he stopped questioning those things quite some time ago. He wonders if this is one of the towns where werewolves are just a regular part of it - he knows there’s a pack in the area and he did make a brief visit to the Alpha to let them know about his presence. He didn’t linger though, nor did he have any plans on becoming too close to the pack, since he knew he’d be moving on soon.
The flyer is simple, looking like it was typed on an old-fashioned typewriter, with little tearaway strips with an address on the bottom. He tugs one away and slips it into his pocket after he glances around, just in case it’s not something that’s acknowledged by townsfolk.
Everything you needed to know about KNOTTING!! Beginners, newbies welcome.
Because the ability to shift into a full wolf has brought an issue that he knows he cannot possibly discuss with anyone he knows. Because no one he knows does have the same ability, which likely means they don’t have the same problem.
The meeting time listed on the back of the small strip he tore away is for the next evening, and for the whole day before it, Derek considers and reconsiders whether he should go. He’s too close to Quantico to feel completely okay walking around, but it seemed like a good idea to hide in plain sight when he got wind of the FBI being on his trail. Or that they thought they were - Derek very deliberately chose a place where they wouldn’t think to look, right under their noses.
He does go, in the end, but he decides to scope out the place at first, to get a sense of what kind of people are going to be there, and whether the meeting is in any way legitimate and safe. When he finds the address, it’s a bed and breakfast, with big bay windows in the front that allow him to look inside from across the road. What he sees startles him a little - there are baskets with yarn and needles set out on small tables around the bright room, each next to a comfortable chair. It’s then that his gaze slides to the poster in the corner of the side panel of the window, and he almost slaps his face as embarrassment washes over him.
Everything you ever needed to know about KNOITTING!!
“Derek, hey! Wow, you’re the last person I expected to show up here.”
The voice is familiar, friendly, despite the shocked tone behind the words. Derek wants to slap his face again for a different reason, because of course it’s Stiles. Of all the people in the world to witness his embarrassment, it had to be Stiles. He’s standing across the road, and the smile on his face is blindingly bright. Derek wants to say that he’s just passing by, that he had no intention of joining in, and the very last thing he wants to explain is his mistake about the poster. Which, now that he thinks about it, had a scribble on it that was probably the same correction as the one in the window behind Stiles.
He realizes that he can’t make up an excuse though, because the ripped away strip with the address is in his hand, and Stiles has clearly seen it. So instead, he crosses the road and stops a few steps away from Stiles.
“Wouldn’t have pegged you for someone interested in crafts,” Stiles says the moment Derek is on his side of the road. “Then again, I’m guessing you wouldn’t have expected me to run something like this either.”
Derek raises an eyebrow, knowing that he doesn’t have to say anything.
“It was part of my training in Quantico, a method to keep myself calm and focused,” Stiles explains without waiting to be prompted. “And since I have a knack for it apparently, I figured I could use my time off wisely and share the knowledge.”
Derek nods wordlessly, unsure what he could possibly say.
“So, you want to join us?” Stiles asks.
“Us?” Derek finally manages to open his mouth and speak.
“There are a few ladies who usually show up, and well, me.” Stiles grins. “I’m sure they’d appreciate someone new to break up the monotony.”
Derek hesitates. There’s no way he can tell Stiles that it’s been a mistake, that he didn’t look at the poster properly, or that he expected it to be a meeting about something else. So he shrugs and then nods, a little taken aback when Stiles smiles brightly again, like Derek’s presence is something amazing.
The ladies that Stiles mentioned show up just as Derek settles in one of the comfortable chairs that is backed against a bookshelf, and Stiles takes his place at the window. The basket there is filled with projects that have already been started before, and he spots a few others that seem to have been claimed previously. When the rest of the group comes in, Derek feels suddenly out of place - he’s by far the youngest with the exception of Stiles. The ladies remind him of his grandmother, as they’re all older and sweet, immediately clasping hands as they let out various sounds of surprise and joy when they spot him. Stiles runs through quick introductions, tells them that Derek’s an old friend he hasn’t seen in a long time, and the ladies nod as they settle into their chairs.
An hour later, Derek has figured out how to not get his hands tangled in yarn and how to not make an unholy mess of it on the all too fragile needles. Stiles, to his credit, doesn’t laugh more than maybe twice through the hour, and he’s not the only one helping Derek out. When the ladies realize that Derek’s a complete newbie to knitting, they take turns helping him out, patiently explaining the steps of casting on and the basics of everything else.
“So, I’m sorry I pushed you,” Stiles says when the ladies leave and they’re left alone.
“You didn’t,” Derek tells him, and he walks around the room to help Stiles tidy up. “I… this was nice,” he admits. “It’s been a while since I relaxed this much.”
“I believe that,” Stiles says. “The last time I saw your face was on the list of targets at Quantico.”
Derek stops in his tracks and whips his head around. “What?”
“Oh, shit, sorry,” Stiles immediately replies, sounding panicked. “I should’ve mentioned that before. I just… man, it was a bit of a shock to see you on the list, and to see a video on the screen of you running through the woods. Shirtless. What is it with you and losing clothes anyway?”
“Still have mine now,” Derek points out, unable to stop the smirk that’s tugging on his lips. It fades a beat later though. “Why were you shown active missions? Aren’t you still in training only?”
“I am,” Stiles says, nodding. “Part of it is getting a look at active cases, to prepare us for what’s coming. Not that we get to participate,” he adds with a disappointed tone.
“Yeah, such a shame that they don’t send you on dangerous missions before you’re fully trained, really,” Derek says, voice perfectly flat.
“Anyway. I’m not telling them I’ve seen you, so don’t worry. I didn’t even mention that I know you, and what they’re trying to pin on you is insane,” Stiles says.
“What is it?” Derek asks.
He can guess, but he’s curious about how much the FBI does know.
“Mass murder, apparently,” Stiles says, rolling his eyes. “I mean, years ago, I would have believed murder…”
“You did,” Derek tells him, a little amused by the memory.
Stiles levels him with a glare. “I didn’t know you then, though. And I’m not busting you for something I know you didn’t do.”
Derek shrugs. It wasn’t his fault, but he’s the only one who walked away from that particular hunter meeting alive, so he gets how it may have looked to the agents who arrived at the scene just as he was getting out. At least there weren’t any questionable injuries, only gunshot wounds from and on the hunters themselves. Apparently when a group of hunters gathers, emotions run wild and they’re all a little too trigger-happy. This time, it resulted in them attacking each other, and Derek only walked in to try and question the one who wasn’t already dead. He even offered to call for an Alpha to turn the hunter so he’d survive, but he knew before he said it that the answer would be no.
Stiles looks at him like he’s trying to read his mind for a few beats, then shakes his head and sighs.
“So, are you in the area long?”
“I’ve been here a few weeks,” Derek says. “Wasn’t planning on staying, but there was research to do, and it’s safe.”
“You’re like, around the corner from the FBI headquarters,” Stiles says, incredulous.
“Exactly.” Derek grins. “Hiding in plain sight.”
“Right. So…” Stiles starts, but he hesitates, looking like he wants to ask something, but is afraid of the answer.
“Do you do this every week?” Derek asks, breaking the silence, and he glances down at the collection of baskets with knitting supplies.
“Yeah. Most of them. Unless there’s training at the same time, but then I usually just reschedule. The ladies are flexible with their time, what with being retired.”
“Right. Mind if I come along next week?” Derek asks.
He wants to pretend that it’s because he enjoys knitting, or the company of the ladies who make him feel the way his grandmother used to. The truth is that he missed Stiles. Of all the people back in Beacon Hills, Stiles is the one who’s been on Derek’s mind most often since he left.
“Yeah,” Stiles says. “Yeah, that would be great. I mean, I’m sure Ethel will bring cookies next week too, you wouldn’t want to miss those.”
He’s nervous, Derek can see that, and somehow that’s oddly reassuring. Because Derek isn’t as relaxed about being around Stiles as he’s pretending to be.
“Okay. I’ll see you next week then,” Stiles says. “Same time, same place. And you’ve got your own basket now,” he adds with a smile.
Derek nods, then excuses himself, and leaves. It’s only when he’s back in the room he’s renting from the local pack that he’s reminded of his tenuous control over parts of his shift. He groans in frustration, because the reminder comes at the same time as his mind summons an image of Stiles from earlier that day. Only, the image comes when Derek is in the shower, and the Stiles in his mind is in there with him.