Like Photosynthesis

Stiles got his first tattoo after the nogitsune, after he was possessed, on his eighteenth birthday. It was just a simple demon trap, over his heart, but it did the job. It made him feel safe, a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He no longer was afraid to walk outside to simply get the mail, he walked with confidence after he got it. Of course there were still other things he knew he needed to fear, but the ink helped him cross a couple of those off the list.

He got his second tattoo almost half a year later, in honor of his mother. It was a collage of her favorite flower, a sunrise with clouds, and a colorful bird. He didn't think he could mix the things together at first, but it pulled together nicely. It went from under his shoulder, to right above his elbow. It's also the only colored ink he has on his body, he wanted to keep it bright & special, like her. He also got a lip piercing, a skinny double hoop around his lip, & he loved it.

The next he got right after his arm healed, which also was a couple weeks before he turned nineteen. He's pretty sure no one even knows he has it, & he'd like to keep it that way for a while. It's a triskele, a little smaller than Derek's, on his hip. You couldn't really see it unless his pants were riding low, which he made sure to wear a belt to prevent. He's not sure why he got it, (that's a lie) but he tells himself it means pack. His way of being connected without being bitten. (Such a lie, he's surprised he's been able to fool himself for this long) He got gages this time, too. He loves how they look, but he probably won't go any bigger.

After that he didn't really stop. Through out the rest of his college career, he got his arms almost completely done, along with some of his chest & back. It was all in black ink, but he loved how the swirls of the different images swirled together to create an almost finished canvas. He also lied to himself, he went up two gage sizes, but oh well.

He was completely covered in ink by the time his secret got out. They travelled up his neck, a pocket watch over his Adam's apple, with roses surrounding it, along with a scroll over it. It wasn't the same design completely down, but the writing on the back of his hands looked almost like the same caligraphy as the scroll. He had beard scruff & wasn't the scrawny, terrified, seventeen year old boy who trailed after wolves. He was twenty-four, he was one of the strongest pack members depending on who you asked (and how big said persons ego was), he owned a house, & a business. He ran beside wolves now, right in the front of the pack.

Derek eyed Stiles through the slightly cracked library door, as the man paced back & forth across the library floor, in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the back yard. He would occasionally mumble to himself, but mostly he just looked out the window as he paced. Derek allowed this to continue for a couple more minutes, before pushing the door completely opened & stepping into the study. Stiles stopped for a second to look at him, before continuing with his pacing. "If you continue like this, you'll ware a hole into the floor." Stiles rolled his eyes, flopping into the desk chair. "Har har, you're so funny." Derek smirked, leaning back against the desk. Stiles was still looking out the window, the sun shining off of his black framed glasses. "What's on your mind?" Stiles brought his hand up to run his fingers through his almost auburn brown hair. The motion stretched his muscles out, the tattoos on his bicepts moving with it. Derek licked his lips, looking out the window too, to give himself something else to look at. "Have you ever noticed how pretty it is out there?" Derek raised an eyebrow in confusion. With the way Stiles was behaving, he was expecting the topic of the conversation to be more life & death. "I have, the forest is a gorgeous & mystical place." Stiles smirked. "Exactly. We have this amazing view of it, not only that, but we could walk out the back door & run through it. We could experience it up close, live in harmony with it. We can pull magic from it, give some back. Almost like photosynthesis & respiration, it's a cycle. We give & take. There's a certain beauty to it, the way we can have mutualism with such a majestic force." Derek smiled. Stiles' train of thought never ceased to amaze him. He was talking about a group of trees like they were gods. Almost as if reading his mind, Stiles turned from the window long enough to glare at him. "Don't internally laugh at me." "I'm not." "You were, I can feel it, don't lie to me. What I'm saying is... watch." Stiles stood & moved to the window, Derek following. Stiles pressed his hand to the glass, taking a deep breath. Derek loved watching Stiles do this, he was always so gorgeous as he used his magic. The tattoos on the back of his hands swirled, the watch on his neck ticked, & the flowers all over his body blossomed. The one he always loved to watch though, was the sunset one. The clouds roared, the bird soared, the colors of each swirled together. Stiles' breath hitched, making Derek follow his line of sight. The tree closest to the Hale house, the one Isaac likes to climb, started to extend towards them. The limbs of the old tree outstretched, reaching out for the beautiful man. As it got closer to the house, Derek could see blossoms forming on the tree, giving the (never-quite-alive) tree color. The always dead vines that wrapped around its trunk, turned green, leaves growing from them. The vines grew stronger, climbing higher onto the tree & outwards on the limbs. When the vines just barely touched the house, Stiles pulled his hand away from the glass, and the magnificent sight in front of him stopped moving. Derek just stared at the more alive & well tree for a moment, before looking over to Stiles. There was a smile on the man's face & he reached his hand out for Derek, wrapping his fingers around Derek's wrist. Derek gasped at the energy that pulsed through him as soon as Stiles' skin touched his. It was a fresh breath of air, times a thousand, that's the only way he could describe it. He reached out & wrapped his arms around Stiles' waist, pulling him closer. Stiles looked a little shocked, but willingly came. "How'd you do that?" Stiles smiled again, pointing to the tree. "The cycle, the beauty of it all, the give & take. It was on its last leg, it would've continued to stand, but it was rotting on the inside. So I helped it, & in return they gave me some of their magic, which I shared with you." Derek let his hands fall onto Stiles' hips, trying to keep the man close. "Is that how you always do it? You would think after years of using magic, I'd know how you do it. But is that it, you feed off nature?" Stiles shrugged, his hands moving to Derek's shoulders. Derek really wanted to press their lips together, he was so close, but he wanted to know the answer. "Well yes & no, there's more to it than that. I pull from many different things, you have to keep things balanced. Although I suppose I do favor one source more than the others often tines." "What is it?" Stiles' face turned a light pink, intriguing Derek even more. "What?" "Um well, it's one of my tattoos." Derek ran his finger over the only colored tattoo on Stiles' body, the one on his arm. "This one?" Stiles shook his head. With a shaky hand he grabbed Derek's, & slowly moved it back down to his right hip. Derek grabbed the hymn of Stiles' shirt, giving him a questioning look. Stiles nodded, & that was all the permission he needed to lift the shirt up, revealing Stiles' torso. He had to move Stiles' jeans down a little in order to see the full tattoo & when he did, he froze. In bold, black ink, was a smaller version of the tattoo on Derek's back. Derek ran the pad of his thumb over the top swirl, leaving goose bumps when he moved his thumb away. "When did you get this?" "A couple weeks before I turned nineteen." "You've had this for almost six years?" Stiles nodded, not meeting Derek's eyes. "Why?" Stiles blushed again- Correction, he hasn't stopped blushing since he mentioned the tattoo, it just got worse in that moment. "I.." Stiles sighed, moving his hands from Derek's shoulders, to his head, tangling his fingers through Derek's hair. "I can't lie any more, Derek. I got it because I've been in love with you since I was seventeen. I'm able to pull magic from it because it represents something bigger & magical, something more pure & good. I got it to make sure I always remembered what it feels like to feel for someone, the way I feel for you." Derek was quiet for a moment, but he never lost eye contact with Stiles. "Feel, as in present tense?" Stiles scoffed. "Of course that's what you caught. But yes, present tense." Derek did move forward this time, catching Stiles' lips with his. Stiles gasped, but kissed him back. It was tentative at first, shy, but as they kissed Stiles grew more confident. He started kissing Derek in earnest, Derek doing the same. They pulled away minutes, maybe hours, later, gasping for air. Stiles smiled, running the pad of his thumb over Derek's bottom lip. Said lip was swollen & red, from the kiss. It was the most beautiful thing Stiles has ever seen. "I love you." Derek smiled too, leaning again to press a peck to Stiles' lips. "I love you too."