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sickle_stories) wrote2012-09-02 10:44 pm
Link by Link
Summary: Peter gives Derek his two cents.
Sequel to: Live With Wolves, and You Learn to Howl
Link By Link
Derek stood staring at the door as it swung shut behind Stiles. He heard the boy’s steps fall sure and steady as he went down the front steps, then muffle as he reached packed earth. They paused. The barest wisp of air rushing in past clenched teeth reached Derek’s ears, then silence. A few seconds later, there was a forceful sigh tinged with an emotion Derek couldn’t read.
Was that one no enough? Was this the end of it? Knowing Stiles it probably wasn’t, but then it really didn’t matter what Stiles thought, Derek’s teeth were the only ones that could-
“The bite might kill you, really?” Peter stepped into the foyer and gave Derek a disparaging look. “Hasn’t stopped you before.” Peter walked closer to his nephew and leaned against the stair railing. “You know,” he said conversationally, “every time I think you’ve reached worst alpha records, you dig yourself a little deeper.”
Derek clenched a fist, knuckles cracking loud in the empty house, and turned his back to the front door. “Like you’re one to talk,” he snapped.
“Oh, sure,” admitted Peter, “my tenure as alpha was record-breaking, but this is one mistake I never made.”
“What do you mean?”
Peter studied his nails, flicking out the claws one by one like he was opening up a Swiss army knife. “I mean the boy.”
Derek crossed his arms over his chest. “You really tried to bite him.”
“Not tried.” Peter rolled his eyes. “Offered.”
“Why? You couldn’t keep a pack together -“
“Please, if you mean Scott, I’d like to see you do better.”
“Why offer him the bite?”
“You really have to ask?”
Derek squared his shoulders, reminding himself that alpha trumped uncle in the power scale. “Why Stiles?” he repeated.
Peter leaned his head back against the railing - throat exposed, Derek couldn’t help but register - and gave a slow smile, like he was savouring a secret. “You have no imagination. That’s your problem: you can’t see potential. Sure, part of that is your being raised beta - Laura was a natural alpha - but that only cuts you so much slack. You’re handing out the bite like it’s some kind of one-size-fits-all when you should know better. You’ve seen better.” He paused abruptly, as if derailed by memories his words drew up.
Peter shook his head clear and fixed Derek with a stare. “You want to build a pack? You want to be stronger? Start by looking for candidates who will make strong wolves. You’ve heard about chains and weak links? News flash, kiddo, it’s the same thing with alphas, and your raggedy pack of children is copper links when it should be steel.”
Derek thought about Stiles, his jittery legs and thin wrists, bravado and oh my God breaking past his lips with every breath. The image of Stiles standing in his foyer rose in his mind, the boy’s scuffed sneakers on the burnt wood, the cuffs of his jeans frayed and muddy. Long fingers pulling on cheap cotton, thin skin over thin hips, ribs shifting with each breath. “He’s just a boy.”
“Yes, he is a boy.” said Peter, pushing off from the railing and stepping closer to Derek. “But he could be a werewolf, and even with you as his alpha, or hell even as an omega - and honestly I’m not sure which would be worse - he would be magnificent. Solid steel.”
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Your attention to giving little details, such as "Peter leaned his head back against the railing - throat exposed", "the boy’s scuffed sneakers on the burnt wood" work wonders for me. I'm a visual person and this really builds up the context and scene for me. I'm loving your universe here, especially the Peter/Stiles interraction ahah but mostly just because I ship it strongest. Thank you for sharing these ficclets!
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PS: Thanks for the correction on the title-quote. I'll fix it.
PPS: While I haven't written any more Stiles fics, I do have some Derek and Kate fics to post (which I should do soon)