The Der-Bear-Est of Them All

The Truest Mates of All

Deboarding from a plane has never been so good. Stiles takes a deep breath in and grins. Julia nudges him as they make their way to the waiting SUV with Aylward by their sides. "You ready?" Julia asks.

Stiles fiddles with his tongue piercing, then his lip piercing and nods. "Yes. I've missed him."

Julia smiles and links their arms as they make their way to the SUV. Her brother has grown so much and well thanks to his petition for a spell to the Druid Elders he's the same age as her now but more importantly he's the same age as Derek.

Aylward huffs a laugh as they all climb into the vehicle. "Another piercing and another tattoo."

Stiles sticks out his tongue and smirks. "Yep," he says popping the p.

"How many does that make now?" Aylward asks amused.

Stiles smirks. "Six piercings and twenty-ish tattoos."

Aylward gives him a look. "Twenty-ish? I definitely didn't learn that number in school."

Julia giggles and snorts.

"Oh, hush you," he says with a shoulder bump to his sister.

"I just love how you two are. Kindred spirits and all that."

"Ah yes, because nothing brings people closer together than needles, ink and pain," Stiles teases but he smiles at his sister and then at Aylward.

Aylward scoffs mock offended as he rolls his eyes, but Stiles totally sees him biting back a fond grin. Stiles is extremely grateful for him. He's been a mentor to Stiles and is someone has grown to not only respect greatly but has grown to trust.

Stiles simply grins and continues with a teasing tone. "Hey. Don't hate. Unless you're jealous then I can totally hook you up."

That gets him and eye roll because of course Aylward was the one to connect Stiles with his tattoo artist and piercer as part of his duties as a Guardian.

Stiles huffs and nods. "Point taken. Anyways...They are conduits for my spark, which makes them very important and also, they look dope."

Julia laughs and ruffles his hair as they pull away from the airport.

Stiles takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. "Let's go home."

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Derek has never felt so settled and so at peace. His wolf rumbles happily as they breathe in the fresh air. Aunt Sylvia smiles and kisses his cheek scenting him. "Coming home has pleased your wolf."

"On the contrary Aunt Sylvia. It has pleased me as my wolf and I are not separate entities but one whole."

His aunt smiles at him and ushers him to the jeep. "Let's go then shall we. We have a mate to reunite you with."

Derek's stomach swoops as he clutches the last letter he received before coming home. "Yes. Let's go home."

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Stiles exits the SUV and wistfully sighs at the sight of the Hale House. A home where he spent hours of his life. Talia, Peter, Laura and Nate have graciously allowed Stiles and Derek to have this moment to themselves. Claudia and Noah have also agreed. Julia pulls Stiles into a tight hug. "I love you little brother."

"Not so little anymore."

"Indeed, you're not."

Stiles chews his lip. "Do you think he'll still..." he trails off.

Julia nods. "I know he will. Remember what you told me when you revealed what you spoke to the Druid Elders about?" Stiles nods. "Okay. Tell me again."

"I said that I wished to be the age of my mate because we were robbed of time we should've had together because of evil magic, and I no longer wanted to miss out on anything."

She grins. "Exactly. Plus, I know you're hoping for a little bitty kissy," she teases and ducks when Stiles swipes at her before yelping as he lightly shocks her.

"Shut up," Stiles mumbles and then he perks up hearing a vehicle nearing the house. "Oh god. Oh hell. He's coming."

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Derek is on the edge of his seat as much as he can be with his seat belt fastened. They're pulling up as the SUV pulls away and Derek gets out as soon as his aunt parks. She then pulls away leaving the two of them alone. He stops frozen at the bottom of the porch steps. The guy sitting on the porch does not look like a fourteen-year-old Stiles. His brow knits in confusion as he flashes his eyes and when he receives a flashing of deep amethyst purple eyes back, he knows. Mate. He has no idea how his mate is now eighteen, but they have time to talk about it. For now...Derek steps forward. "I'm Derek Hale."

Stiles smiles amused. "Nice to meet you. I'm Stiles Stilinski."

They shake hands and Derek steps closer. "Come get coffee with me?"

"I'll have tea, but yes."

They intertwine their fingers and walk downtown to the coffee shop each ordering their drinks but instead of sitting at one of the tables they walk towards the preserve in comfortable silence.

At the edge of the preserve, they toss their now empty cups and Derek slowly backs Stiles up to a tree. He brackets him in and noses at his mate's temple. "I missed you. So damn much."

Stiles purrs and smiles. "I missed you too."

Derek hums and places kisses to Stiles's forehead, cheeks, eyelids and nose before brushing his lips against his mate's lips. "Can I kiss you Little Fox?"

"Yes. Please?" Stiles whispers.

And Derek does. It's soft and barely there but one kiss becomes two which becomes many. They feel centered and can't help smiling at each other.

Stiles lets out a soft growl and steps away. "Come catch me my mate?" he goads before shifting and darting into the trees. Derek quickly shifts and starts after him. Ready for the chase.

The Nemeton is so very pleased at the play fighting that starts between the mates as they tumble in her clearing. The happiness radiating from them is infectious and she feels such peace and contentment at the sight.

Time has no meaning and what could be minutes or hours later the fox and wolf settle at the base of the Nemeton in a tangle of paws. They bask in the warmth of the sun as the Nemeton smiles down on them pleased that she could help bring such a bond to fruition. True mates are the rarest form of mates and well these two are the truest mates of all.