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If you had asked Derek at five years old how he saw his future, he would’ve told you living in the same house he was growing up in with his mother, the Alpha, and the rest of his family. Not much changed in his plans for the future at that age, other than he would be bigger and stronger. He loved being close to his family, knowing there was always someone to play with or talk to whenever he wanted. It was a perfect life. Why should it change?
If you’d asked the same question when Derek was fifteen, he would’ve added Paige to the mix. She would be by his side as his best friend, partner, mate, and everything would be perfect. They would eventually have children and raise them how he’d been raised, happy, and surrounded by Pack. The addition of Paige would only improve what was already perfect.
The same question at sixteen, after the fire, after Kate and Derek would’ve told you that he saw no future. He barely noticed the current moments and just followed where Laura led. New York was where they lived, but it wasn’t home. His home had burned to the ground. Someone he’d loved and trusted had destroyed his family and his future in one fell swoop.
He lived with that mindset for years, falling deeper and deeper into his acceptance of his life, never becoming anything he’d ever imagined. The loss of his sister at his uncle’s hand, his uncle’s death at his hand, his uncle’s resurrection, the building and destruction of his own pack. Every single twist and turn in his life beat him down more and more into a place that he was sure from which he would never return.
Finally, at the ripe old age of twenty-six, his life was everything like he’d wanted but never thought he would have. Every morning he woke up next to someone he’d never thought for one minute when they’d first met would be anything more than an absolute annoyance. The sun was still low in the sky when his alarm went off. Rolling over, he silenced it and then rolled back over to snuggle into Stiles’ back for another minute.
It was too early for Stiles to be up. He set his own hours working from home, and some of them, like the previous night, went into the early morning hours. Derek needed to get moving if he wanted to get a run in before he had to leave. Stretching, he glanced out the window and saw the snow falling lightly from the sky. Smiling, he decided it would be a good day to run in his fur. Making his way downstairs, stretching out his arm muscles as he went, he stripped out of the jogging pants he’d slept in and stepped out the door.
Grinning as the cold went through him, he leaped off the porch, shifting in mid-air and landing on four paws. Letting out a quiet woof, he started towards the edge of the trees and headed deeper, following the sound of a small animal running in the branches over his head. He ran until he heard cars on the road and then turned to the left to run parallel to it until he reached the driveway.
Slowing down, he padded along the driveway, head held up and sniffing the air, checking for any unwanted guests in the territory. He was almost to the house when he took a detour to the greenhouses that he’d constructed for Stiles even before he’d finished construction on the rebuilt house. Nosing open the door, he went inside, heading for the very back where the vegetables were growing. He made a wide path around the walled-off section containing various wolfsbane strains and other dangerous items Stiles used for his Emissary duties.
Putting his paws up on the table, Derek snuffed at the planters until he found what he wanted. Using his teeth, he gently tugged up a couple of onions and moved onto the peppers, pulling down a couple of bell peppers and one jalapeno, being careful not to bite into it. He’d made that mistake only one time and had spent the rest of his time as a wolf with his snout dunked in a glass of milk while Stiles laughed at him.
Derek placed the vegetables into one of the canvas bags hanging by the door. He set a slower pace for the trip back to the house, careful not to bruise any of the vegetables he carried. Jumping onto the porch, he shifted back and headed inside the house. Leaving the vegetables in the kitchen, he hurried up the stairs to take a shower. He nudged Stiles as he passed to the bathroom, satisfied when a middle finger came out from under the blankets. Derek knew he would be awake by the time he’d finished showering.
Coming downstairs, dressed for work, and running a hand through his hair, he headed into the kitchen and grabbed the mug of coffee that Stiles had prepared for him. Moving to the stove, he smiled at the bowls full of chopped vegetables while crossing to the refrigerator to grab the eggs. He listened to Stiles read off the headlines from his phone, discussing those that interested them both, while he worked on cooking two omelets.
Just before plating the omelets, Stiles rose to his feet and stuck four pieces of multi-grain bread into the toaster before pulling butter and jam out of the fridge and setting them on the counter in front of the barstools. Within a few moments, they settled next to each other and dug into breakfast. Derek hooked his ankle around the bottom of Stiles’ stool and slid him closer so they could bump elbows while they ate and shared small smiles.
Once Derek finished eating, he rose to his feet while Stiles gathered the dishes to load into the dishwasher. He offered his cheek for a kiss goodbye, and Derek obliged before heading out the door and to his car. Derek loved watching first the woods, and then the streets of Beacon Hills rush by as he made his way to the high school. He’d never imagined when Laura had forced him to get a degree in something, and he’d chosen history that he’d end up as a teacher, but that’s precisely what had happened.
Exiting his car, he heard several of his students calling out greetings, and he nodded in response. He hurried up the steps and down the hall to his classroom, laughing when he found his friend Erica Reyes, health teacher, sitting at his desk with her feet on top. “Morning, sunshine,” she greeted when he grunted and knocked her feet off.
They bantered until the warning bell rang, and Erica headed off to her class shouting out something embarrassing as she disappeared through the door. A few of Derek’s students giggled as they entered, used to the teasing between the two teachers. For a long time, several students thought they were secretly dating until they’d met Stiles and Erica’s husband, Boyd, when the couples had chaperoned a school dance.
The school day passed quickly. Most of the classes worked on study guides for the upcoming mid-term exam. Derek made himself available to answer questions while working on future lesson plans. At lunch, he Facetimed with Stiles while they both ate while making plans for the upcoming school break. They were flying out to New York immediately after school on the last day and needed to figure out which vehicle they would be taking to the airport.
Derek stayed after school to supervise the Model U.N. It was just after four o’clock when he climbed into his car and headed towards home, stopping at the grocery store to pick up everything on the list Stiles had emailed him earlier. He ran into Sheriff Stilinski near the frozen foods, frowning at the frozen dinners in his basket. Derek invited him to dinner, knowing Stiles would kill him if he let his dad go home and eat what he was attempting to buy.
When he reached the house, Stiles was locked in the library, the sounds of computer keys floating through the house, and Derek wondered if he’d finally broken through his writer’s block. His next deadline wasn’t for a couple of months, but the latest book was giving him a hard time. Derek spent many nights in bed, listening to Stiles go on and on about the difficulties his characters caused that day.
Leaving Stiles to work, he sent off a text to let him know about his father coming to dinner while he headed upstairs to get changed. He passed Isaac in the hallway, smiling. The beta didn’t live in the house anymore, but he spent most weekends there, so it wasn’t a surprise to see him. Derek asked him to get some vegetables from the greenhouse, and Isaac nodded, heading downstairs and out the door.
Changing into jeans and a blue shirt, Derek stood outside the door to the library. Stiles typed quickly, muttering under his breath while music played from the speakers hidden in the corners of the room. Derek had fought against the addition of speakers in a library, but Stiles worked better with music playing. It didn’t take long for Derek to discover that he enjoyed using them to play classical music while working on lesson plans.
He left Stiles to his work and headed into the kitchen. Isaac came in with the vegetables, laying them on the counter and heading into the living room. The television came to a life a few minutes later, the opening theme to one of the crime shows Isaac was obsessed with filling the air. Derek told him to turn it down before he started working on chopping vegetables.
Stiles joined him in the kitchen just as Derek turned the heat down under the pot of chili. Derek set down the ingredients for cornbread on the island. Smiling, Stiles grabbed the box of cornmeal, dancing away from Derek’s grasping arms. The two chased each other around the kitchen for a few minutes before Derek grew tired of the game and pulled Stiles into his arms, pressing a kiss to his lips. The kiss started quick and chaste, but Stiles chased him as he pulled away and it soon grew heated, dinner forgotten.
Isaac interrupted with gagging noises and reminders that he was eating the food they were getting their sex pheromones all over. Shaking his head, Stiles turned over the cornmeal and moved to the refrigerator to throw together a small salad to serve with dinner. He left to greet his dad when the Sheriff let himself in through the front door and called out his greetings. Derek followed Stiles’ surprised shouts and found him wrapped around Scott, who was laughing just as loudly. The foyer filled with the scent of happiness, and Derek reached to shake the Sheriff’s hand.
An unexpected guest, especially a werewolf, would generally be a problem, but Derek had already been making enough chili to freeze, and it was simple to throw together another pan of cornbread. The Sheriff worked on expanding the salad with some more vegetables. At the same time, Stiles and Scott played catchup, the latter having been away at a year-long training experience at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Scott had big plans to expand the vet’s clinic to include large animals to help out the small farms located just outside Beacon Hills.
Derek called everyone to the table when the cornbread was done, and they descended upon the table, everyone talking at once. He waited while everyone served themselves, brushing off the compliments on the chili before filling his own bowl. Stiles squeezed his knee and winked at him before he started to eat.
Isaac went out with Scott when the Sheriff left, and Stiles headed back up to the library to continue working; he’d announced over dinner that he was on a roll and would probably finish the first draft that night. Derek settled at his desk in the library, set behind a set of shelves to discourage distraction. He had a few papers left to grade and a letter of recommendation for a senior that applied for a history scholarship.
When the grandfather clock at the foot of the stairs chimed midnight, Derek rose to his feet, shutting down his computer and turning off the small desk lamp. Coming around the corner of the shelves, he found Stiles asleep over his keyboard. Shaking his head, Derek made sure to save the document Stiles had been working on before shutting down the computer. Derek lifted Stiles in a bridal hold and carried him to their bedroom.
Laying Stiles on the bed, Derek quickly undressed him down to his boxers and pulled the covers over him. Finally, he undressed himself double-checking that the alarms were turned off, Derek climbed into bed and pulled Stiles over until he laid on his chest. Stiles rubbed his nose against Derek’s chest hair, and he pressed a kiss to the crown of Stiles’ head.
If you’d asked Derek how he pictured his life, this was nothing and everything he’d ever dreamed. As crazy as it could become, his life with Stiles and the Pack in Beacon Hills really was the perfect life.