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They’d been jumping through time for – he didn’t even know how long. All he knew was that they’d been fighting some witches, and one of them had been sucking the soul out of Derek, had come so close to ending him, then there had been an explosion. A light so bright, burning so hot, it had felt more like the world was catching fire, was getting burned down. Again. When Derek came to, he was in a motel room, and Stiles was touching the screen of a small TV that could have been a toy, if it hadn’t been blaring the news in black and white. There were no channels to flip through, no way to improve the displayed image. Stiles went to look for his dad or Scott or anyone that would be able to tell them what happened, bring them home, but he came back looking like he’d seen something unthinkable, shaking like he was coming apart, as he told Derek that they were in the 40s, that World War II was happening and – there were so many people dying. Everyone was dying.
They spent 2 years there, fighting when the US sent everyone young enough into war after Pearl Harbor. Stiles was shot, twice, and as Derek pressed his hands over the holes pierced through him, that same light appeared again, throwing Derek away from Stiles. This time, they were in a movie theater, with the first Star Wars movie playing. It was the 70s. Derek wrapped around Stiles so tight for so long after. The sheriff was maybe 10 years old by then, and Stiles couldn’t not go to where he was raised, see what he had been like as a child, if maybe he’d been more like Stiles than he remembered himself to be. He was happy, excitable, kicking the football around with his friends, looking like nothing could ever go wrong for him. Like he would never lose at all.
By their third jump into the future this time, after Derek had been involved in a mugging that left him with a nearly fatal stab wound, Derek was telling Stiles that he loved him, that he was quite literally all he had now and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing him. Didn’t think he would have taken another step without him. He probably would have curled up somewhere and waited for the world to end all together or just end him. After years of reading through books and libraries and research papers, they figured it out. It was Stiles’ spark moving them through time, whenever it felt threatened. So, any time Stiles or Derek were in any sort of danger, his magic would go haywire and would try to get them out of that situation. When and where and how they landed, couldn’t be controlled or estimated, really.
The future wasn’t much better than the past, and Stiles spent most of his time there on fight-or-flight mode; anxious and weary, always anticipating the next bad thing. He still tried to build a life for himself and for Derek, despite all the fear he had of having to leave it behind too. But then, he had to see his dad die in a hospital room, and he went into a panic attack so severe, they jumped through time again.
This was their fifth jump. They found themselves in a sunflower field. Once Derek made sure him and Stiles were in one piece, he decided to just stay like that a while. The Spice Girls were playing somewhere far away, the sky was clear and so incredibly blue, the sun was warm without being too stripping. It was the first time in – years probably that Stiles allowed himself a moment. Just one moment when he could just – be. Derek tugged until Stiles’ head was against his chest, Derek’s arms wrapped around him, grounding and comforting and familiar.
“ Is that a Spice Girls song?”
“ Yup. We’re definitely in the 90s. But what year exactly, we’ll have to figure that out later.”
“ Maybe we should just find Deaton. Or like – this timeline’s version of him.”
“ And do what?”
“ Tell him what’s going to happen, ask him if he has a way to get us back home, to our time.”
“ We don’t know if he is in Beacon Hills. And if he is, we aren’t. We’re nowhere near there. And we don’t know what happens if we expose what we know about the timeline, Stiles. This could force the timeline into a more aggressive change and we would have nothing then. At least, now we have a rough idea of what happens. And maybe, us jumping into the 90s is a good thing. Maybe we’re slowly getting closer to our time.”
“ We were thrown into the future, Derek. 2040. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern to it. It just happens.”
“ I know you’re right, but – we’ve been at this for years now, Stiles. You know that – this is all we get. You and me. The rest of it is so far out of our control.”
“ We can’t just – this can’t be how it is for the rest of time, Derek. It can’t be this never-ending loop of jumping from one place to another, one time to another, every time leaving something or someone behind. Finding new ways to – to die and lose and then we just lose some more. No matter what we do, we end up losing. Even if – you and I are still alive which is – fucking incredible, the rest of it still sucks. It sucks that we leave friends and neighbors and jobs and homes. It sucks that we can’t go back to our home, our families.”
“ I don’t.. is it bad that I don’t hate it as much?” Stiles lifted his head, his eyes questioning but not judgmental.
“ You don’t miss it back home?”
“ I mean, I do, sort of, but – I am not sure there is anyone left to miss me.” Stiles’ head immediately started shaking, everything about him conveying his rejection of Derek’s assumptions.
“ Of course there is. You have an entire pack home. There is my dad, Cora, Isaac, Malia, Scott probably misses you more than either of you will ever be prepared to admit. I mean – I would miss you. Every day, if I weren’t with you.” That pulled a smile out of Derek, having to lean down a little to leave a kiss on Stiles’ nose.
“ I know that. Now, I know that you would miss me. Maybe Cora too, but Cora went years without needing me, so she would adjust. I guess – you left more behind that first time than I did. So you have more reason to go back.”
“ We both do. Derek, you don’t – you just have no clue how important you are to people. Like, when we were in the 40s, there was this lady who worked the reception of the motel we stayed at, and you saved her from those drunk assholes who wanted to take her money and – you didn’t see it, but when we went to check out and actually go to war, she wouldn’t stop crying. She kept telling me how good of a man you are and that you didn’t deserve to have to fight for the rest of your life. And she knew you for maybe a couple of weeks. And when we were in 2040, the kid that you saved from getting run over on his way to school, I saw him many times after and he would always look both ways at least 3 times before crossing the road, and then he would smile to himself like he wished you were there so that he could show you how good he was being. And there were these hippies you took in on that stormy night, who would have died if you hadn’t given them a place to stay and some warm food. There are – you did so much for so many people, and those are all passing situations, they didn’t spend years with you like Scott did and they weren’t protected and cared for like Isaac was and – if we ever make it back, you’ll see. You’ll see how many people have actually been looking for you, have been going mad over losing you.”
“ Yeah, okay, we’ll see.” Derek nodded with a smirk. Stiles let his lips fall against Derek’s neck, before resting his head back onto his chest.
“ Do you think they would have been the same though? If we never left Beacon Hills.”
“ By this, you mean..?”
“ I mean, us. You and me. Do you think we would be how we are now?”
“ I couldn’t tell you. Feelings-wise, they have always been there, at least on my end and – “
“ Mine too.” Derek admitted, no hesitation or doubt in sight. Stiles smiled a little before carrying on.
“ Okay, cool, so that wouldn’t have been the issue. But, man, in Beacon Hills, there was so much going on, all the fucking time. We wouldn’t have had the time to fall in love like we did. I would have been pulled in one direction and you, the other, and I – it was a different life. We were different people. But here, it is just you and me. We have no one else to focus on. No one else to pour ourselves into. You get all I have to offer, and I get the same from you. But – I could see us making it work. Somehow. I guess, now that we are in this stage of our relationship, it’s hard to picture it not being there. I can’t just think of you as a friend or an alpha or whatever anymore.”
“ Then, what do you think of me as?”
“ Dude, are you seriously asking me that right now? After all of this?” Stiles pointed a haphazard hand around their surroundings, trying to highlight the sunflower field and the 90s and the fact that they were so far away from anything familiar, all because the thought of something bad happening to Derek, sent his magic into a panicked frenzy.
“ I just like hearing it. I like hearing how you feel, learning about what you’re thinking.”
“ I am thinking that I would go anywhere, do anything, as long as it keeps you safe. That I’ve been in love with you for – God, ages, and for that love, I gave everything up. And I would do it again. I am thinking that as terrifying as it is to know that at any minute we could be thrown into a new version of the world and we would have to adapt, it is comforting and assuring to know that I am doing it with you. That I know at least that for sure, even if I don’t know anything else. Derek, I am thinking that I have built – 4 different lives now with you and I have lost all 4 of them but you’ve made every one of them worthwhile, you’ve given me something that is unfathomable, unbelievable, I mean, you squeeze so much life into however months or years we get and - and with every new life we get to live out, I find something else in you to love, I fall harder and deeper and – and that’s it. Is that enough of an insight into how my brain works? Do you need any more assurance that I choose you and that I love you?”
Derek sighed, shook his head, lifted his upper body until his weight rested against his elbows, and Stiles threw his legs around Derek, sat on his lap, with their chests hitting against one another.
“ No, that’s enough. For now.”
“ For now?!” Stiles exclaimed. Derek chuckled, only had to lean in a little, before Stiles was meeting him halfway, their lips touching, then kissing.
“ I am always going to need to hear it to know it’s still true.”
“ I am always going to say it then. Derek Hale, I couldn’t want you more.”
“ Stiles Stilinski, I couldn’t love you any more than I do right now. I couldn’t love anyone more than I do you.” Stiles’ lips lifted into a smile against Derek’s, and he went for one more kiss, before standing up, dusting himself off.
“ Let’s see who we are going to be for this life.” Derek nodded, followed after him.
****************************
They were parents in that life. They found an apartment for themselves and Derek worked as a mailman while Stiles worked as a guitar player in a karaoke place. He had some experience from the time he and Scott were in a band in middle school. 6 months into their time in the 90s, Stiles was locking the café when he found a child in one of the bathroom stalls. It was a boy and he didn’t look any older than 2 years old. Stiles took a picture of him, printed out flyers and put them all around the café, but no one ever showed for him. No one ever came. So, Stiles took him to his apartment, told Derek that maybe in this life, they were foster parents. One look at the kid and Derek was asking what they were going to call him. They went for Christopher. A safe, 90s name.
“ One more story, daddy!”
“ It’s getting late, kiddo, you need to close your eyes and sleep. Come on, now.”
“ But dad – “
“ No, young sir, no more stories for the night. I need to get dinner ready before your pops gets home.”
“ Fine. Will you wake me up when he is here so that I can get my goodnight kiss from him?”
“ You got it, but only for a kiss. We won’t go through this hour-long process of putting you to sleep again.” Derek stood, turned the lights off. The kid grinned, pleased with himself, before he laid down, closed his eyes and snuggled with his other pillow.
“ Love you, dad.” The kid called, without reopening his eyes.
“ I love you too, kid.”
Derek closed the door, went into the kitchen to start on heating dinner up, knowing that Stiles should be home in a few minutes. It was a year and a half later, and Christopher just turned 4 years old. They had been in the 90s for 2 whole years, and Derek loved this little life. Loved their little life. He was jamming out to the Backstreet Boys’ songs marathon on the radio, when he felt arms around his waist, a kiss planted between his shoulder blades. He turned away from the stove, took Stiles’ face into his hands and went in for a proper kiss, that he was willingly given.
“ Hey, babe.”
“ Hey. How was your day with the kid?”
“ Good, yeah. He’s a great kid. Stubborn as hell but I love spending time with him.” Stiles cracked something like a smile, sighing, letting his head drop against Derek’s firm chest.
“ What’s up? Did you have a bad day at work?” Derek asked, moving his hands across Stiles’ back comfortably.
“ A fight broke out between the owner and one of the artists. I got in the middle, and they pushed me off the stage. I was unconscious for a few minutes but – “ And Derek was immediately searching, pulling away from Stiles, taking him in now, with his disheveled clothes and the cut by his bottom lips.
“ It was no big deal, but – I thought I would wake up and I would be thrown into a different time and – you’d be left here. With Christopher.”
“ Oh honey. That must have been scary.”
“ It was. I don’t – we don’t know if this thing works with us separated. We don’t know if it can get only one of us out of a bad situation. We don’t know anything, Derek. And because somebody has to take care of Christopher, we have to be separated, most of the time. And it just – it just sucks. Today just sucked.” Stiles melted into Derek again, left all his weight for him to carry. And he did.
“ Okay, you look tired, let’s get you into the shower, you will feel better after. I promise.”
“ How can you be so sure?”
“ Because we’re going to wake Christopher up and if anyone can turn a shitty day around, it’s him.” This time, Stiles’ smile was less forced, as Derek made sure to turn off the stove, turning Stiles away from the kitchen and towards the bathroom. Derek left Stiles to take off his clothes in the bathroom, running back to the dining table to give him his sunflower of the day. Ever since the day they were thrown into that sunflower field, Derek had made it a habit to give him a single flower per day. Regardless if it was a good day or not, if they spent the whole day together, or if they were fighting and so pissed, they didn’t think they’d want to see the other’s face, he still made sure to find one for him. And every time, it made everything a bit better. Reminded them that they had no way out of this, no way to do any of it without the other. Gave them a new reason to fall into one another instead of falling away.
And that day, when Derek gave Stiles his sunflower, his eyes filled up with tears, but he threw his arms around Derek before he could address it, make it go away. They stood there, holding each other, until Stiles was willing to detach himself, leaving Derek with a kiss before getting into the shower. Derek went back to preparing dinner. They ate, woke Christopher up, and everything in Stiles started to slowly soften, the stressed wrinkles easing away, his tensed muscles uncoiling. Christopher weaseled his way into making his dad tell him another bedtime story, but Derek let it happen more for Stiles’ sake than Christopher’s. Stiles came out of the kid’s bedroom looking like a reborn man.
Stiles started on the dishes while Derek went to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. Then, I will always love you was on the radio, the sound carrying through the house, until Stiles was pulling Derek by the arm, taking him back to the kitchen area, where he circled his arms around his waist, began to sway like he was silently asking him to dance without saying the words out loud. Derek’s tooth brush was held between his teeth, mouth filled up with toothpaste and saliva, but he rested his head against Stiles’ shoulder, followed the movement of his body, closing his eyes around the feelings filling him up to the brim. Then, Derek started choking, and Stiles started laughing, letting him spit out into the kitchen sink, before twirling back into his arms.
“ Do you still find new things to love about me?”
“ I think I fell a little bit harder just now.”
“ Were you – earlier today, were you scared that you would wake up in a new place all alone, or that you would leave me and Christopher here?”
“ I was scared of leaving you behind. Of not knowing what happened to you, not being able to protect you, or – just be with you.”
“ So you still want that? To be with me?”
“ Oh my God, Derek, what do I have to do? Tell me, how can I make you believe that I am more in love with you than anything? That I am not staying with you because I have to but because I want to?”
“ I’m sorry. I love you.”
“ And I love you. Now that you have successfully ruined the moment and stressed me out, you owe me some sexy time. So, bedroom. Now.”
“ But, what about – “
“ Tomorrow.”
“ Stiles, I will get toothpaste all over you.”
“ That’s somebody’s idea of a sexy time.”
“ No, but I could get poisoned by this stuff! I could – “
“ Okay, fucking hell, go finish up in the bathroom, but you better be in the bedroom in less than a minute, or – I don’t know, I might stab myself in the eye and see where it lands us this time.”
“ Please don’t do that, oh my God, I will be there before you know it.”
And he was. Stiles was taking off his underwear, throwing himself onto the bed, with his arms crossed behind his head, and Derek jumped in without a second thought. Always just feeling with Stiles. Just wanting.
********************************
One more year, and they’d taken Christopher to school together, grabbed some breakfast. Derek had to deliver some mail to the World Trade Center, and Stiles decided to tag along, since he had a night shift that day. They’d made it into the early 2000s, finding a routine for themselves now, that involved each of their jobs, and all of Christopher’s needs. They even started involving him in sports, like basketball and swimming. Stiles took him to training 2 days out of the 3, and Derek handled his homework on the nights that Stiles had to work.
It was winter but the day was sunny, bright. It felt like it would be a good day, one where they wouldn’t be shivering from the cold or brought down by the gloomy weather. Stiles gave Derek a kiss, let him walk into the building to ask for the mail-room, where he’d deliver the envelopes he had. The building was massive, and that was only one of them, so Stiles figured Derek would take his time with it. He wandered among the crowds, getting lost between all those people running in and out of the building. Derek promised him that they would go looking for a sunflower once he was done with this drop-off.
But then, the world seemed to end once more. The sky was in flames, screams echoing long after the throats releasing them were crushed to death. Stiles didn’t have time to think before running in, in search of Derek.
He tripped, felt feet stomping all over him like he wasn’t there at all. He couldn’t blame them, they probably couldn’t see him. So many bodies had fallen before him. So many lives lost, so suddenly. He pushed against the tide of people running for their lives, taking the stairs until he heard Derek’s voice, screaming through one of the elevators. The window was broken, no glass in sight, the metal frame melting away, but Stiles grabbed one of the looser sides, pulled until it broke off, and Stiles’ skin was almost peeling off, from all the heat. He put the metal rod between the two doors of the elevator, pushed with an ear-splitting yell, and then the doors were opened, and out came another crowd of desperate, panicked people, trying to make it home. He almost took another tumble, but Derek caught him, and they both fell together, a heap on the floor, two bodies holding on with all they had left. To all they had left.
“ You’re alive, oh my God, you’re alive.”
“ We have to – Stiles, we need to get out of here. Come on, we have to move.”
“ No, Derek, there is no time. We – we won’t make it.” Derek looked at Stiles, open blame in his eyes.
“ Wh – what do you mean? We have to get to Christopher, make sure he is okay.”
“ It’s 9/11, Derek. The upper floors of this building have already come down and – we have seconds, maybe minutes, before we’re buried under.”
“ No, but – your magic. You’ll get us out of here.” Stiles shook his head, tears filling his eyes, spilling over. He lifted his shirt to show Derek his stomach, covered in all shades of purple. He then laid his burnt hands onto Derek’s, not trying to hurt him, but wanting to convince him, to apologize for not doing better, for not thinking of the fucking date before leaving the house that day.
“ I – it’s an internal bleed. I would have – if the magic was going to work, it would have then. It would have gotten us out as soon as it happened, but – I’m sorry, Derek, I wish I – “ Stiles choked on something. Derek shook his head, put Stiles on his lap and held him so close, it looked like they’d morph together, become something other than what they were.
“ It’s not your fault. You’re okay. You did everything you could. You got us this far. We did everything we could have dreamed of, Stiles. We had a kid together. We lived life several times over. It’s okay. At least we’re together, right? I love you.” Derek was crying too, but he willed something like a broken smile when Stiles started looking at him. Stiles breathed out another cry, took Derek’s face and started kissing him, until they both had to cough out, the air around them suffocated with so much smoke.
“ I love you, Derek. I don’t know what happens next but – God. I just wish we’d told that kid goodbye. I wish he knew how loved he is. I wonder if he will remember us. I wonder what they’ll tell him happened to us.” Stiles looked at Derek, tried to receive his input on this, but Derek’s eyes were rolling to the back of his head, and his hands were loosening around Stiles, letting go. Stiles went to touch, to hold, but the ceiling opened up above them, and the fire swallowed them whole.
*************************
Whatever came after, was abrupt. Sudden and uncaring and unprepared. Stiles found himself surrounded by water, his body instinctively trying to break surface, to get to some breathable air. As soon as the night sky appeared over his head, and the layers of water were more beneath him than above them, he heard a distant breathing sound. He came up with a gasp, inhaling hungrily, selfishly, turning around himself until he saw Derek, on the other side of the lake. He swam and Derek did too, their hands latching on as soon as they were in close proximity, and neither of them could breathe just right but they kissed, taking air and giving it all at the same time.
“ What the hell happened? I thought – “
“ I don’t know. I mean – we need to get to shore, then try to figure this shit out. Are you okay to swim or do you need me to hold you up?”
“ No, I – I think I’m fine.”
“ Are you sure? Because I don’t really trust your judgment when it comes to bodies of water. I distinctively remember having to hold you up for hours in a pool before.”
“ I was paralyzed. Let it go.” Derek rolled his eyes, swimming ahead of Stiles. Stiles followed, his movement still kind of heavy, drained by everything that had happened. When they got to land, Stiles put all his weight onto his knees and hands, coughed out like he was still inhaling smoke. Derek fell on his back, facing the starless night sky. He didn’t even want to know where they ended up this time.
“ Derek, what is your old house doing here?” Derek turned to his side abruptly, his eyes wide and searching, as they took in his burnt down family home. He lifted, his weight rested on his elbow, his eyebrows furrowed.
“ What – does that mean we’re in Beacon Hills?”
“ I mean, we must be. But – what year?” Derek pushed himself up, held his hands out for Stiles to take. They walked together towards the old house, Derek taking his time, staring and absorbing and missing. He was trying to see if anything had changed about it. If the hurt had subsided. It didn’t feel like it had.
“ Come on, let’s get to the road, see if we can find a newspaper or a computer or something.” Derek nodded, tried to look past Laura’s grave, let Stiles take his hand and pull him away. They got to the road, didn’t find any cars or any nearby buildings. The Hale’s residence had always been right in the middle of the forest, miles and miles away from anything else. Secluded. Safe. Or so they’d thought.
Stiles and Derek started walking down the road leading away from the forest and towards where Stiles’ house used to be. He couldn’t help but shake a little, in anticipation or fear. He just didn’t know what to expect, didn’t know what would be easier to find. Could he bear the thought of something bad happening to his dad with him being lifetimes away and unable to be there? Or would he prefer to find him content and healthy, despite losing Stiles? He didn’t know. He didn’t even know he wanted to be back, now that they seemed to be.
The Stilinski home was lit up, but only in the living room. His bedroom window was closed, dusty, like no one had bothered to clean it for a while. Like no one had cared to come through it. Something plummeted in Stiles’ stomach, but he looked back at Derek, saw the ghosts of the past haunting him all at once, so he slowed his steps, brushed his shoulder against Derek, and waited for him to come back to him. Eventually, Derek blinked, looked to his side like he’d only just noticed Stiles staring at him with something comforting and reassuring in his eyes. Derek rested his head against Stiles’, detangled their fingers but circled both arms around Stiles, pulling him into his side.
“ I love you.” Derek sighed.
“ And I love you. No matter what happens here, we’re going to be okay, right? We’ve got this.”
“ Yeah. You’re probably right. I just – I am a little scared.” Derek admitted, his eyes closing before any more of his fear seeped through. Came to life.
“ Why are you scared?”
“ Because I don’t know if – if we will still be us here. I don’t know if we can have what we have. I – I love you, and I am not sure it is going to matter for long.”
“ Of course it will. It’s still you and me, Derek. Nothing about us will change, even when everything else does.” Stiles promised, waited for Derek to open his eyes, before he stole a quick kiss. Derek went for another one, before he let Stiles walk beside him again.
“ Are you ready for this?” Derek questioned, when they were standing in front of the door of the Stilinski home. Stiles shakily exhaled.
“ I don’t think I will ever be ready for this. But we can’t not do it.” Derek squeezed down on Stiles’ hand, a silent force of support. Stiles lifted his hand, knocked twice, and let it drop beside him.
It felt like a lifetime had passed before the sheriff was opening the door, distracted by whoever he was talking to, but then he turned his head towards Stiles, and everything about him slowed down. His words, the widening of his eyes, the crumble of all his features, as he wrapped around his son, crashed against him and clung on.
“ Oh my God. Stiles, you – you’re here. You’re back. Oh my God.” The sheriff was wailing, coming undone. Stiles held on, buried his own face into his father’s shoulder, and cried himself raw. Derek stood by, watched the coming apart of two of the strongest men he had ever seen. Loss was an odd thing. It altered people’s realities, took more than just the person.
“ Scott, look, Scott, they’re back. Stiles and Derek. Hurry the hell up.” The sheriff yelled out, pulling away from Stiles, but leaving a hand on his shoulder. The other arm pulled Derek in, so unexpectedly, it knocked the air out of Derek’s lungs, but then he circled his own arms around the sheriff, taking in the imprint of his body against his.
“ What – holy shit, no way, oh my God, no way.” Scott threw himself on Stiles, who caught him with a chuckle, swaying with the enlivened motion of Scott’s body. Scott pulled his arms out over Stiles’ shoulder, pulled Derek in too. Derek couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this.. homey.
Everyone was pushed into the house, and Stiles started to take notice of all the things that had changed. Like the color of the walls, the dining table, the pictures in the frames hung over the stairs. There was more grey to his dad’s hair now, a little downwards curve to his back. Scott looked like he’d grown too, with more facial hair, and a leaner, firmer body. Melissa and Cora were in the kitchen, and they took turns hugging – and crying – over Stiles and Derek. They all ended up on the couch, everyone trying to squeeze in as close as possible to Stiles and Derek, putting more distance between them than they’d been comfortable with. Derek looked overwhelmed by all the appreciation and the love, but Stiles gave him a smile over Cora’s head, and Derek nodded, like he understood.
“ What year is it?” Stiles asked.
“ It’s 2021, dude. You’ve been gone – “
“ A year? That’s it?” Scott nodded, confused.
“ Why? How long did you think it’s been?”
“ Almost 10 years.” Derek whispered, thinking of all the lives they’ve lived, all the ways they’ve lost, all the people they had to be, that their families knew nothing of.
“ What? You were – wherever the hell you were for 10 years?” Cora spoke out, but Derek looked past her, right at Stiles, knowing that he was the only one who would understand. The only one he knew.
“ We weren’t in just one place. Or one timeline. We – we jumped through time 5 times, before getting here.”
“ What do you mean? Deaton told us it had something to do with your spark, Stiles. He tried to locate either of you for a long time, using every trick in the books. He even reached out to some witches he knew from way back, but they couldn’t pinpoint where exactly you were. I called Chris for help but – we had nothing. We couldn’t figure any of it out.” Stiles nodded, laid himself further back, before telling the story, of the war, then the hippies, the first Star Wars. He told them about the future, then Christopher. At the mention of his name, Derek released a sound of pure distress. Cora leaned further into his side, and Melissa put her arm across his shoulder and just – left it. Stiles told them of all the deaths they died, all the losses they had come so close to having to live with. By the time he was done talking, he was all the way done. Hollowed out. Tired like all the lifetimes he lived were catching up with him.
“ Oh Stiles,” Scott’s voice was filled with regret, misery, as he wrapped around Stiles and tried to squeeze all the grief out of him.
“ You were – a dad? I was a grandfather?” The sheriff spoke his thoughts like he didn’t mean to vocalize them.
“ You would have loved him. God. He would have loved you.” Stiles wanted to cry, came so close, as Derek moved around Cora, sat on his knees in front of Stiles, and took his hand, not wanting to disturb Scott’s hug, but kind of wishing he was hugging him too.
“ Maybe we can search for him. See where he is now.” Cora suggested. Stiles pulled away from Scott, gripped Derek’s other hand urgently.
“ Do you think we should?” Stiles asked, knowing that he had no right to make the call on his own. That kid was as much Derek’s as he was his.
“ If there’s a chance he is out there, okay and – happy, then, it will put our minds at ease. But if he isn’t..”
“ Then it will fuck us up royally.” Stiles groaned, rubbing his eyes in frustration.
“ I still think it will do us good to know for sure. It’s better than wondering for the rest of our lives with no proper closure.” Stiles let his hands fall away from his face, his eyes trying to see past Derek’s obvious worry. He nodded, planted a kiss on Derek’s lips.
“ You’re right.” Stiles agreed, offering a smile in case Derek needed it. And he did.
“ Wow, we really must have missed out on a lot of things during those 10 years.” Scott cleared his throat. Stiles chuckled, kissed Derek again, before leaning back into the couch.
“ Oh you have no idea, man.”
They called the rest of the pack over, informing them that Stiles and Derek were back. Lydia was out of town for some banshee business, but she insisted on video calling them to see for herself. She didn’t cry but she came really close, looking between Derek and Stiles like she never thought this would happen, like she gave up hope. Malia and Isaac both headed to Derek first, and he still looked a little stunned every time someone acknowledged the gap he left behind when he disappeared. Liam and Mason went to Stiles, then moved to Derek when Kira took over their spot with Stiles.
When everyone was satisfied with the welcoming and the greeting, they all decided to go to Deaton’s clinic, give him the updates and see if maybe he could help Stiles manage his powers a bit better, so that the next time they got into a fight, he didn’t throw them into another time vortex. Deaton was the most shocked to see them back, since he was the one who exerted the most effort, had the most resources, and still – he couldn’t find a way to get to them and bring them back. He wasn’t even sure they had made it past that blinding explosion. He listened to Stiles detail the exact feeling of his spark flaring up at the sign of danger closing in on him or Derek, then asked Derek for his point of view since his safety seemed to be the trigger for Stiles’ magic. He told them that he would have to do more research now that he had some information to build upon, for the meantime though, Derek and Stiles had to remain in a stress-free environment, away from any possible threats or triggers. Stiles didn’t know if that was an attainable thing, especially in Beacon Hills, but he would do what he had to do to stay with his friends and family, but also, to keep Derek grounded and safe.
On their way back to the Stilinskis, Derek stopped Stiles, holding his hand until the crowd had walked past them, leaving only the two of them behind. Derek rummaged through his pocket, got out a single dried sunflower, and put it into Stiles’ palm.
“ How the hell did you get that?” Stiles exclaimed, looking at the flower in wonderment, like it was too good to be true.
“ I found it by a tree in the forest. Sorry it took me that long to give you the sunflower of the day.” Stiles shook his head, circled his arms around Derek’s neck and pulled him in.
“ You’re unbelievable. God, I love you.”
“ More than you did yesterday?” Derek smiled against Stiles’ lips.
“ Yesterday was 20 years ago for us. And I love you more than all the days in that put together.”
“ I love you too. Let’s go home.”
(They searched for Christopher until they found him, with a daughter, happily married, now living in Wisconsin and working as a restaurant owner. They contemplated calling him but felt like that would freak him out too much, so they opted to a good, old-fashioned, email, where they told him everything about where they were and how it had all happened. They gave him an address just in case he decided to visit, someday. Two months later, he was parked in front of the Stilinski house, telling them that it only took him so long because his wife just gave birth to their second child and he had to wait until she was healthy enough and able to take care of the babies on her own. Derek and Stiles were exactly how they were in his memory, but he was unrecognizable to them. They were only a few years older than him. They could have been his friends. And although, they couldn’t be his parents anymore – because that just wouldn’t work and he’d been adopted by another family who also live in Wisconsin – they wanted to be in his life somehow. And surprisingly, he wanted that too. He’d always wondered about them, knowing that they were just too good to abandon him like that. Now, he had the answers, and they did too. And it wasn’t nearly as scary as they thought it would be.)
(Christopher had a whole bouquet of sunflowers to give to them, the memory still fresh in his mind, of his dad giving his father a sunflower each day no matter the circumstances. Derek thanked him almost as many times as there were flowers, knowing that Stiles wouldn’t stop smiling about it for a long, long time. And he didn’t.)