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Derek sat at the kitchen table and slowly turned the page in the photo album.
He smiled as he traced his finger over the page. Stiles’ smiling face looked back at him, and Derek remembered how happy he felt inside on their first date. They had gone to a movie, and afterwards they sat on a bench by a lake and watched kids throw bread at the ducks. Stiles’ smile was blinding, and Derek just had to take a picture of it.
He turned the page, and his heart thumped hard in his chest. He and Stiles stood next to each other wearing twin tuxes and easy smiles. John stood next to Stiles and Peter stood next to Derek, and they had their arms draped across his and Stiles’ shoulders, while the two of them held hands. It was hard to tell in the picture, but, it had just started to drizzle. Stiles loved it, claimed it made their wedding all the more exciting as they rushed to get everything inside where it would stay dry. The rest of the evening was spent dancing, laughing, eating and just being happy with all their friends and family.
Derek twisted the ring on his finger, then turned to the next page.
Derek huffed at the picture of Stiles propped up on the hospital bed. He sported a black and blue eye and cuts littered his face. Bruises were peeking out above his hospital gown, and his arm and leg both had casts. Derek held his good hand, and you could see the black lines going up his hand and under his shirt, and Stiles had a loopy grin on his face as he stared at the camera. Derek remembered John wanting to record Stiles as he was high on both pain meds and Derek’s pain drain, but he had been called in for an emergency. Once Stiles was released, he had spent the next week oddly proud of his injuries from running his bicycle into a parked car.
Derek had just turned to the next page when the sound of his phone vibrating startled him. He quickly snatched it up when he recognized the name.
“Stiles,” he breathed out, and he could feel the smile form on his face.
“Hey, Der,” Stiles said, voice soft. He sounded very tired, but Derek swore he could hear the smile on his face, too. “What are you up to?”
Derek glanced at the album, then looked away. “Nothing,” he said.
“Liar.” This time there was no mistaking the smile in his voice, and Derek snorted. “You are looking at it again, aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” Derek said, then pulled the album closer to him. “I miss you.”
“I miss you, too,” Stiles sighed.
Derek hummed as he traced his finger along the edge of the album. Stiles didn’t travel often, but once in a while he was required to attend a seminar out of state. They never lasted more than a couple of days, and during the day while Derek worked, he was okay. It was always the evenings that he struggled. He should be used to the quiet, to being alone, considering he spent many years like that before Stiles. But, well, being married for ten years easily changed that.
“So,” Stiles began, pulling Derek from his thoughts. “Which one are you looking at now?”
Derek looked at the picture and laughed quietly. “The one where the pen exploded all over your face.” Stiles groaned and Derek laughed harder.
“Dude, I can’t believe you are still laughing about that! No, actually, I can’t believe that you would have rather laughed back then than help me clean it off. That shit was everywhere.”
“I couldn’t help it! Your face, Stiles, it was just so good! You looked like an angry kitten with ink all over you.” Derek looked back down at the picture and started laughing again. Stiles looked at the camera with a mixture of disbelief and anger, but it was hard to take him too seriously when he had bright purple ink all over his chin and down his neck. One hand held a broken pen, and the other was flipping him off, because yeah, of course he stopped to take a picture before helping Stiles clean up.
“Whatever, asshole,” Stiles huffed. “It’s still not as bad as the time you decided to make homemade cupcakes. I’m still finding flour in the kitchen!”
“You have no proof,” Derek said. Stiles mumbled under his breath and Derek laughed quietly.
Stiles went quiet, and Derek sat at the table tracing his finger along the edge of the picture. It was a comfortable silence, but it still made Derek lonely. He missed being able to sit in the quiet with Stiles next to him on the couch, feet propped up in his lap, as they both read.
Stiles’ yawn broke the silence, and Derek glanced at the clock.
“You should get to bed, Stiles. It’s late there.”
Stiles whined over the phone. “I know, I know. And I have to be up early.”
Stiles yawned again, and Derek smiled.
“Okay, I’m going. I love you, Der.” Stiles’ voice had gotten deeper with his sleepiness, and while most nights it would fill Derek with heat, tonight it just made him ache to hold Stiles.
“I love you, too, Stiles. I’ll see you tomorrow evening?”
“Yep. I’ll hopefully be home before you know it.” Derek doubted it. Chances were he’d be spending the whole day constantly staring at the clock, waiting for the message from Stiles saying he landed, and that he’d be home soon.
They said their goodbyes, then Derek sat at the table another minute just staring at his phone, then at the album. Finally, with a sigh, he closed the photo album and took it back to the shelf where it belonged. He brushed his teeth and tried not to stare at the toothbrush holder where Stiles’ spot was empty, then changed into his pajamas and got into bed.
He pulled Stiles’ pillow close against his chest and clutched it hard, then bent his face to it and breathed in deeply. It still smelled of Stiles, and Derek allowed the soothing scent of him to lull him to sleep.
Derek dreamt of fingers running through his hair, and a warm, familiar body snuggling in close. As he was pulled from sleep, Derek whined and struggled to hold on. He wasn’t ready to let Dream Stiles go.
His eyes snapped open when he heard a huff of laughter at his whine, and then he sat straight up. Next to him in the bed was Stiles, who looked all rumpled and tired and absolutely perfect.
“Surprise?” Stiles said, then laughed again when Derek launched himself into his arms.
“I thought you weren’t coming home until tonight,” Derek said, nuzzling into Stiles’ neck and refusing to leave. Hopefully Stiles was prepared to spend the rest of the day in bed, because Derek had no plans of getting out of it now.
“We had a change of plans last night, and I thought I’d surprise you,” Stiles said as he carded his fingers through Derek’s hair. Derek sighed and pressed in closer.
“Perfect way to wake up.” Derek mumbled against Stiles’ neck.
“Yeah,” Stiles said, voice quiet and soft. He continued to run his fingers through Derek’s hair, and Derek stayed where he was, breathing him in. Stiles’ fingers began to slow until they eventually stopped, and Derek realized he had fallen asleep. Derek gave a small kiss to Stiles’ neck, then he followed him in sleep, finally happy that all was right in his world again.