Not long after Scott got bitten, fell in love, became a lacrosse superstar, and gained popularity, Stiles called him the ‘hot girl’.
It had been a joke.
It isn’t funny anymore.
See…
Everyone likes to think of themselves as the protagonists of their own story.
If your life is a book then you’re the main character, right?
Right?
Stiles thinks that this should be true. Even if your life is mundane and boring, you’re still the main character. Your story is about you. No one else might be interested in reading your story but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re the main character.
Not everyone can live a remarkable life, right?
More importantly, not everyone wants to live an exceptional life.
Stiles always thought Beacon Hills was boring. He craved adventure. Wanted something more.
It’s why he’d dragged Scott out on an ill-advised search for half a body.
Well… It was curiosity, a thirst for adventure, and poor impulse control.
(The latter being a somewhat unfortunate symptom of his ADHD. People had been trying to get him to work on that but he didn’t see the point. Didn’t matter if the outcome was good or bad, following his impulses was rarely boring.)
Stiles had wanted excitement.
It had turned his best friend into a mythological monster.
But, more importantly: the hot chick.
Stiles was loyal. He would always stick by Scott’s side and support him.
It’s just that…
He doesn’t really feel like he and Scott are a team anymore.
No…
He’s starting to feel loyal in the way that sidekicks are in comics.
They support the hero but are often hapless and require saving.
Looked from a certain perspective, they help the hero look more heroic by being weaker and incompetent. By being unfailingly loyal.
Because only truly good people garner the devoted loyalty of a sidekick.
It’s a thing.
Events are just happening so fast.
One moment you’re telling your best friend that he was bitten by a werewolf, only to have that friend angrily deny it and nearly claw you.
The next moment you’re agreeing with your best friend that the dark, mysterious guy with a tragic backstory is bad and helping him dig up a body.
All so Scott can play in a lacrosse game. When he was barely able to keep his shit together and nearly clawed you again.
Then Stiles finds out that the dead girl is Derek ‘I’m probably the dark and mysterious anti-hero’ Hale’s sister. Well, okay, Derek can’t be the anti-hero because it’s looking like he isn’t the main character either.
He might be the hottest person Stiles has ever seen in real life, but he’s not the hot chick.
No, that’s Scott.
Stiles is panicking and since his brain can’t stop thinking about certain things, he can’t stop thinking about why he’s in the clinic with Derek.
Sure. On the surface it’s because Derek’s been shot and he’s helping.
Or something.
Except that what they’re left to do is wait for Scott to accomplish whatever he needs to in the main plotline so he can come in for a last-minute, heroic save.
“You know, Derek, I want to be wrong. I don’t want to be the sidekick. To be the supporting character used to push the plot along and, god, provide comic relief,” Stiles says.
Derek just glares at him. He’s pale and sweaty and still very intimidating.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re very scary. But I’ve realized that you aren’t the villain in this narrative arc, so you won’t hurt me,” Stiles says.
A few hours later Derek is trying to convince him to cut off his arm and all Stiles can say is, “Dude, it isn’t happening. Scott’s going to come in looking all heroic for a last minute save. But I’ll hold the saw and pretend like I’ll do it. It’ll help move the plot along.”
So Stiles holds the saw and purposefully moves in slow motion. Just as the saw is scant millimetres from Derek’s skin, Scott bursts into the clinic.
Yeah.
Just like Stiles predicted.
The problem, Stiles thinks, with seeing the bigger picture is that it doesn’t really change anything.
He isn’t going to stop being loyal and supporting Scott. Being bitter about his lot in life isn’t a good enough reason.
So Stiles goes along with Scott’s story about Derek being at the school.
He also isn’t even remotely surprised when Derek shows up in his room to hideout.
Stiles engages in some fun banter and…
There’s a moment when he’s looking at Derek’s lips and he can feel Derek doing the same.
He isn’t sure if this is foreshadowing or just queer baiting for the fandom.
The angry striptease doesn’t make it clearer.
Still…
Stiles decides to go off script since it probably won’t matter anyway.
He and Derek have their roles to play.
“So, Derek… Tell me about yourself. There has to be more to you than a tragic backstory and anger,” Stiles starts.
“What.”
“Ugh. Come on, dude–”
“Don’t call me ‘dude’,” Derek says with a growl.
“Alright! Fine!” Stiles throws his hands up in the air, “Seriously, though, I know the narrative isn’t at the point where we can be friends or even allies, but there’s no reason why we can’t be buddies off-screen.”
“What are you talking about?” Derek actually looks confused.
“Look. I’m observant. And smart. It’s why I’m Scott’s sidekick. I’m smart enough to have realized that we’re just supporting characters in Scott’s story. It sucks but it is what it is. Right now, though, we have time until we’re needed to drive the plot forward. So why not put that stuff aside and just chill?” Stiles is still hopeful Derek will go along with him.
Derek just looks at him for a long moment. He sighs, “Yeah, fine. Being angry all the time is exhausting. While I don’t normally read the dictionary, I do like reading…”
And they proceed to have a really great conversation about books.
Until they need to go to the hospital to discover that Peter, Derek’s uncle, is the alpha. Since it is about time for the villain’s dramatic reveal.
As Derek tells Stiles to run and starts fighting his uncle, Stiles thinks that maybe Derek is the anti-hero after all.
That he’ll serve as a foil for Scott.
It makes Stiles kind of sad. Because it means that regardless of how hard Derek tries, Scott will always surpass him. That even though Derek was born a wolf, Scott will end up being a special snowflake wolf and it’ll make Derek look bad.
That Derek has to fail so that Scott’s success looks all the better.
Stiles will honestly say that the plot twist of Derek killing the alpha was only… half surprising.
He wasn’t sure he believed the whole ‘killing the alpha who turned you will turn you human’ thing. But he was sure that Scott, as the hero of the story, can’t go around killing people.
He might get away with it in the heat of battle, depending on how grimdark this story is but not in cold blood.
Not while Peter is injured and lying helpless.
Heroes don’t kill. And if they do, it isn’t like this.
Stiles thinks he’s more surprised that Derek is going to level up as an antagonist.
Because Scott still thinks he’s a dick.
He sighs because he’d really enjoyed that conversation with Derek. He hopes that this plot twist doesn’t hamper their developing bro-ship too much.
“Ugh, Derek, why did you bite Jackson?” Stiles wails.
“I need a pack. He also threatened to expose me,” Derek says.
“Who’d even believe him!? Whatever. Like, sure, I don’t like Jackson because he’s a bully and giving bullies power is generally not a good idea. But do you understand what’s going to happen now?” Stiles demands.
“What.”
“Stories with heroes often have morality lessons. Jackson getting the bite because he wants more power guarantees that something will go wrong there. He’ll need to be punished for hubris. You realize that all of this is a setup to make him a villain? Or, at least, an antagonist? And you’re totally going to get blamed for it too,” Stiles feels the worst about that last point.
“You’re ridiculous. This isn’t a TV show or comic,” Derek insists.
“Okay… but tell me this: you said you need a pack but do you actually think the guy who got the bite because he can’t stand not being the sole captain of the lacrosse team is going to be a happy beta in your pack?” Stiles asks because it doesn’t make sense.
Derek pauses, “Fuck. Whatever. Did you read that book I recommended? Because I read yours and I have a bone to pick.”
Stiles snorts, “Omg, bone!”
Derek just rolls his eyes.
“Okay, I have to say that this is our worst side adventure yet,” Stiles says as he struggles for breath.
“Stiles. Can you focus on not letting us drown and stop talking for once?” Derek growls.
“Oh, calm down, sourwolf. We both know that Scott will save us at the last minute. I’m his best friend, I’ll only die if it’s needed to add drama and angst. We aren’t there yet and they’re more likely to kill off Allison. Sidekicks rarely become fodder for the hero’s tragic backstory. Although I have to say, I’m not liking the implications of him hanging up on me. It suggests that we’ll have some kind of dramatic falling out in the future,” Stiles pants out.
“Stiles!” Derek is growling more.
“Oh, bah. Talking a lot will just exhaust me faster and speed up our inevitable rescue. As lovely as your muscular body is to hold, I’m getting rather bored of this scene,” Stiles grouses.
“You like holding my muscular body?” Derek asks with something sly in his voice.
“Shut up! You can’t be surprised about that. Not when we keep getting thrown together in suspiciously homoerotic ways designed to fuel derek/stiles shippers. I’m only human! Plus, the UST is more believable because I actually think you’re hot. And kind of awesome,” Stiles tries to defend himself.
“Yes, well,” Derek coughs, “It’s actually nice to be held for once. I always have to look so butch and be so masc4masc. It gets to be a bit much.”
Stiles just smiles into Derek’s hair.
Look, Stiles tried to resist the needs and pull of the narrative, okay?
He tried.
But Derek’s insistence that Lydia was the kanima was absurd and the dude knows it. He and Stiles had discussed it enough.
Stiles gets, though, that Derek is hoping to dodge responsibility for the kanima. Doesn’t want to believe that Stiles has been right all along about plot devices and morality lessons.
Because there’s no way that the young, beautiful girl who was victimized by last season’s villain is this season’s monster. And, no, it isn’t Stiles’ long-dead crush influencing his opinion.
It just didn’t make narrative sense. It’s a red herring.
In fact… the entire Jackson/kanima thing is starting to look like a red herring.
Because the real villain of this season has to be the old hunter guy who chopped someone in half. With a sword!
There’s something not right there, beyond the flashing ‘I’m evil’ signs. Because the amount of strength it takes to chop a body in half shouldn’t be possible for an octogenarian. Stiles doesn’t care how sharp that sword was.
It’s Ominous.
“So… how’s it going?” Stiles asks.
“Stiles. We’re paralyzed. And you’re on top of me,” Derek says. He’s obviously given up trying to stay in character and be tough in these moments.
Stiles is totally winning.
“So we are. And I am. This is so gay. The tragedy here is that you feel very warm and surprisingly snuggly. But I can’t move around to find the optimal snuggle position,” Stiles says.
“No, the tragedy is that you’re on top of me and it’s making me hard. But I can’t grind into your rather fine ass,” Derek flatly says.
“Wow. Okay. You won’t hear me say this often, so relish the moment, but you are so right. That is the real tragedy,” Stiles groans.
Stiles has to say that a small part of him had hoped he was wrong. That he wasn’t the sidekick.
But… no.
Being kidnapped and tortured by the villain to send a message to the hero?
That’s a classic sidekick scenario. How many times does Robin get kidnapped?
For the first time Stiles truly rebels against it, though. He doesn’t tell Scott about Gerard. Refuses to be a message.
He might not be the hero or main character but he’s still worth more than being reduced to a message.
What really sucks is finding out that Scott was working with Gerard. That he’d joined up with Derek to betray him. That he hadn’t included Stiles in any of that. It’s like a demotion.
It means that Scott is on the cusp of a level up.
He’s acting and working independently now, shedding his need for a sidekick.
The narrative is building steam towards a breakthrough for Scott’s character.
Derek looks more… broken and exhausted than Stiles can remember. Worse, even, than after Laura was murdered.
“What happened?” Stiles asks. He’s afraid of the answer.
“Scott betrayed me, rejected me as alpha, and forced me to bite Gerard,” Derek says with a bleakness in his tone that makes Stiles want to scream.
“I–” Stiles really doesn’t know what to say, “Fuck. That’s horrible. I don’t understand why this story requires you to be this endless receptacle for tragedy and body horror. You don’t deserve this.”
Stiles wraps his arms around Derek. Holding him.
“Why does this happen whenever I trust someone? Why is my life nothing but betrayal and death?” Derek sounds defeated and Stiles hates it.
“It hasn’t been all bad, has it? Even since coming back, there must’ve been some good moments,” Stiles says.
“The only good moments I’ve had involve you,” Derek’s voice is soft. Gentle. A show of vulnerability impossible when others are around.
“My best moments since all this began have been with you. It makes me afraid,” Stiles confesses.
“Why?”
“Because if we get too much chemistry. If people start to notice, the narrative will pull us apart. We can’t take attention away from Scott. I’m worried about you. Scott’s story is clearly building to something. You’re his foil. The higher Scott rises the harder you’ll fall. More tragedy and shit is coming your way and nothing I do will stop it. I want to protect you. You deserve it,” Stiles says.
They’re both crying.
Derek’s lost sister is apparently alive.
Erica is dead.
Stiles sees another pattern. He knows that Boyd will be the next beta to die.
It won’t be Isaac. He’s white, blonde, and a man. He’ll survive while the Latina and Black man become statistics in Derek’s tragic backstory.
It’s also clear to Stiles that they’ve been stacking the decks against Derek to make him look like the worst and most incompetent alpha.
So he isn’t surprised when Derek is forced to kill Boyd with his own hands.
They’ve been building to this moment. When strong, stoic Derek Hale breaks down and finally shows that he has a heart. That he cares enough to cry.
It irritates Stiles to no end, though, that Boyd’s dying words are foreshadowing for the plot. The eclipse, indeed.
He knows it’s a mistake. That it’ll probably mean the end of their private moments.
Stiles can’t stop himself, though. Can’t leave Derek to break down on his own, not when his sister goes to Boyd’s body.
So he puts a hand on Derek’s shoulder. Offers what comfort he can in a moment like this.
It’s more comfort and care than he should be showing at all. Not when there’s no real narrative reason for him to care about Derek.
He makes a choice in that moment.
He just hopes the punishment isn’t too terrible.
What makes him furious, though, is this shit with Ms. Blake.
Derek doesn’t trust anyone.
(Not even Stiles and he’s okay with that. The demands of the narrative are such that Stiles has to go along with Scott, even if it’s at Derek’s expense. So, no, Derek should not trust him. Not yet…)
Derek doesn’t trust anyone but somehow lets Ms. Blake take care of him when he’s vulnerable and injured?
Yeah. Right.
It’s why he takes his first logical opportunity to break the literal spell Derek is under.
He cares too much about Derek to let it go on longer than he has to.
(He might’ve said something earlier but he’s already noticed that he isn’t getting as many scenes with Derek.)
It’s a testament to the relationship they’ve built that Derek snaps out of the spell so easily. That he believes Stiles and turns against Ms. Blake.
Something in Stiles breaks in that moment, though.
Because Derek’s body has been used again.
First Kate. Then Scott. Then the alphas. Now Jennifer?
Stiles is suddenly feeling 1000% done with all of this.
Everything happens so fast after that.
And they reach the moment they’ve been building up to for the past few seasons.
Scott is a special werewolf snowflake and becomes the True Alpha.
Rising to power on the strength of his goodness and convictions.
Derek, his foil, loses his power. Although, Stiles is happy to see that anti-hero or not, he’s still a hero. So his power is lost through an act of sacrifice and love.
Stiles hates, though, how much they had to tear down Derek just to make Scott look great.
He doesn’t resent Scott, though. Scott is a good person. Truly good. He’s also a hero.
Scott’s only the protagonist, not the author of this story. He isn’t to blame.
Stiles knows what comes next.
“I’m leaving with you,” Stiles tells Derek as he watches him pack.
Derek stops and just watches. Waits.
“Yeah, I know. You can leave because you’ve served your narrative purpose as Scott’s foil. Maybe you’ll come back to fulfill a different narrative function. But you can exit the story now. I can’t. Or, at least, I shouldn’t.
“But I don’t care, Derek. I’ve spent that past year or so watching you get hurt. Sometimes helping. I did nothing because I’m supposed to be the loyal sidekick. We both had our roles to play.
“Those roles have changed. Deaton said something about the replacement sacrifice leaving a darkness around our hearts. You know what that is? It’s fucking foreshadowing. Three of us participated in that ritual. Me, Scott, and Allison. Whatever fucked up shit is going to happen won’t happen to Scott. So it’s me or Allison. Allison’s already had her time on the dark side. That leaves me. Either something bad will happen to me or I’ll do something terrible. Or both.
“Scott’s the true alpha! He doesn’t need a sidekick anymore. So if I stay, I’ll have to serve a different narrative function. As the sidekick, I was insulated from the worst of it. I saw what happened to you. I’m not as strong. I don’t want to find out what they have in store for me.
“So, yeah. I’m leaving with you. Because regardless of what was planned for either of us, I’ve fallen in love with you. I’m not needed here anymore. Whatever hole I leave will be filled and I’ll barely be remembered.
“I don’t want to be a supporting character anymore. Don’t want to be at the mercy of someone else’s narrative and choices. I’m making my own choices from now on and I’m choosing you,” Stiles is gasping for air because he’s trying to get it all out.
Derek smiles. It’s the first genuine smile Stiles has ever seen him make. It’s wide and breathtaking.
Beautiful.
He walks up to Stiles and pulls him into a hug. Nuzzling his neck and dropping gentle kisses. Working his way up until those kisses are pressed onto his mouth.
It’s sweet and soft in a way not possible in Scott’s story.
They leave.
In the years to come, Scott will sometimes mention his childhood best friend. How they were like brothers until his dad found out about werewolves and sent him to live with relatives.
Derek’s name will come up in conversation and Isaac will sneer about how he was the worst alpha ever.
Somewhere else in the world, a grumpy werewolf and hyperactive human will endear themselves as an Odd Couple who have unpredictable moments of tender, sweetness that never stop drawing people in.