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Stiles snuggled close to Derek, lying his head on his shoulder and absentmindedly ran his fingers over Derek’s chest. They had been together for two years now and the sex was still amazing, still took his breath away. He always needed to come down after, preferably cuddled close to Derek. Surprisingly Derek was a cuddler, or at least he had never complained when Stiles seeked that closeness.
“I always wondered,” Stiles said, trailed off, still running his fingers in circles and waves over Derek’s chest.
“What did you wonder?” Derek whispered back, his gaze directed to the ceiling. He had wrapped his arm tightly around Stiles, holding him close like that.
“You can heal from almost every wound.”
Stiles fell silent again and Derek moved his head to look at him. “There was no question in that sentence. You ok?”
“Mmmh? Sorry, still a little slow after that amazing fuck.”
Derek laughed softly. “Did I blow your mind away?”
“Yeah, yeah, you did. You always do.”
Derek pressed a soft kiss to Stiles’ head. “So take a minute, gather your thoughts and then you can try again to tell me what you were wondering about.”
Stiles did exactly that. He closed his eyes, pressed even closer to Derek and just breathed his scent in. It was nice. It was peace and quiet. It was home.
After several minutes Stiles tried again. “You can heal from wounds. Your body heals itself faster than any human body could. What about aging? Do you age slower as humans?”
“Yes,” Derek just answered. “But only born wolves. I’m not sure about bitten werewolves. I don’t think they have that ability.”
Stiles moved his head to look at Derek. “So at one point I will be an old man and you will look like what? Thirty?”
Derek shrugged. “I don’t even know how it’s working exactly. For example, Peter, he looked a lot younger before the fire. It felt like he was almost stuck in his teenage years and now, after the fire, he aged up. I think it was partly because he had been hurt so badly and his body concentrated on healing the burns instead of keeping him young. And me? I don’t think I stopped aging yet.”
“So you can control it if you want to?”
“I never thought about it actually. Maybe it’s something that happens without even thinking about it. I didn’t want to stay a kid. After the fire I needed to grow up and maybe that’s why I did. I never thought about staying young.”
Stiles laughed softly. “I can imagine Peter wanting to stay young.”
“Yeah, he was like that. He hung around with me a lot and there was an age difference but it didn’t show too much because he still looked so young.”
“How old is he anyway?” Stiles asked. That was one of the biggest mysteries Stiles had never been able to solve.
“He would kill me if I told you. And I’m not even sure I know his real age. He could be sixty for all I know.”
“He doesn’t look one year older than twenty-nine,” Stiles said, laughing softly.
Derek laughed too and ran his hand through Stiles’ short hair. They laid like this for a few moments, completely quiet between them again. “So why did you ask in the first place?” Derek asked after a while.
Stiles sighed. “Doesn’t matter.”
“I think it does matter, otherwise you wouldn’t have asked, but if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.”
Stiles looked up. “You are way hotter than me. That’s just - that’s a law apparently. I would never even get close to that. But if you don’t age, well, I will be this old wrinkly man someday and you are still this hot god.”
“You know, I don’t care about that. I don’t care how you look.” Derek pressed a soft kiss to Stiles’ forehead.
Stiles closed his eyes for a second. “I know, and I don’t either - not really, but - but I always loved the thought of us growing old together and now I’m not even sure if this will happen. Will you grow old with me? Or will I be the only one who grows old and you just watch me getting older and die?”
“If you really want to grow old with me, I will do my best to tell my body to age normally.”
Stiles laughed softly. “Thanks.”
“And just for the record, I like this image, too.”
“You do?” Stiles asked, surprised, and sat up. “You really do?”
Derek straightened up, too. “I love you, Stiles. And I can’t think of anyone else I want to spend my life with.”
A small smile appeared on Stiles’ lips. “Even if my life should be shorter than yours? A lot shorter?”
“Yes,” Derek said firmly and took Stiles’ hand. “Losing you will hurt like hell, but if I have the choice of losing you now or losing you after so many long and beautiful years together, it will always be the latter.”
“Sometimes I just feel like I’m not good enough for you. I’m just human.”
Derek moved his hand and cupped Stiles’ jaw. “But such an extraordinary human. And human or werewolf, it doesn’t matter anyway. We all have hearts. We’re the same. And I chose you, Stiles. Among all human, and all werewolves, and every other being, I chose you. And I’d choose you again.”
Stiles moved forward and kissed Derek softly. “Thank you. I’d choose you too, over and over.”
“Even if I will always be a little bit hotter than you are?” Derek joked.
“Especially because you are so much hotter than me. God, look at you! I really love looking at you.”
Derek laughed softly but then turned serious again. “Feeling a little better?”
Stiles nodded. “A little, yes.”
“Come here, back to cuddling.” Derek wrapped his arms around Stiles and pulled him back into a lying position, holding him close. “I will grow old with you. I promise.”
Stiles relaxed into Derek’ arms. “That sounds really nice.”
“Yeah, it does,” Derek whispered and pulled the covers up around them. “Now sleep and dream about us. Old man, sitting on our porch and watching the sunset or some cheesy stuff.”
“I like cheesy stuff,” Stiles murmured, already half asleep.
“Me too. But that’s a secret. Don’t tell anyone.”
Stiles hummed agreement. “Won’t tell.”
Derek held Stiles close until he fell asleep before he closed his eyes, too, following Stiles into the land of dreams.