Work Text:
Two birds on a wire
One tries to fly away
And the other watches him close from that wire
He says he wants to as well
But he is a liar
BREAK
Leaves fall around them as Stiles and Derek walk through the woods hand in hand, the cabin they call home not to far behind them.
Derek tries to pay attention to the trees around them, to where they’re going but he can't take his gaze away from his husband. Stiles, though, was entranced by the woods around them; the trees, the color of the leaves brought about by fall, the way the leaves danced and weaved through the air as they detached from their branches almost as if they were trying to mimic snowflakes.
“You know what this reminds me of?” Stiles says, turning away from their surroundings to look at his husband with a small smile. A twinkle of nostalgia residing in his eyes.
“What?” Derek asks.
“The preserve back in Beacon Hills. Don't you remember the autumns we had before everything happened, before it became too much to be there. They were always quite lovely don't you think?” Derek finally looked away from Stiles, only now putting his focus truly on the trees surrounding them.
Stiles was right, the woods here did look like the preserve back in Beacon Hills, but they lacked something, something Derek was glad they lacked. Even before everything went to shit back in their old home, their old life, the Beacon Hills Preserve always had a dark feeling to it, a sense of dread that lurked around every bend. It only got worse after the nemeton was activated.
Even with all of that though, Derek still kind of missed it, and he knew Stiles did too. He also knew that no matter how much they missed their old home they would likely never go back. At least not with where they were now. There were too many ghosts, too many things to remind them of what they had lost.
“Yeah,” Derek agreed, “they were, weren't they.”
“You think... You think that maybe one day we could go back. Just for a day, see how everything has changed. How everyone has changed.”
“Maybe one day,” Derek said as he looked back towards his husband, giving the younger man's hand a squeeze of reassurance.
BREAK
Two birds on a wire
One says c'mon and the other says "I'm tired"
The sky is overcast and I'm sorry
One more or one less
Nobody's worried
I'll believe it all
There's nothing I won't understand
I'll believe it all
I won't let go of your hand
BREAK
Derek sat in bed with Stiles as the younger man sat curled in Derek's arms; one hand was intertwined with Derek's and the other gripping lightly at Derek's forearm from where it rested around Stiles’ neck like a warm scarf. They had the TV queued up to a cop show that Stiles father used to enjoy greatly. Occasionally Stiles would let out a sniff or move the hand on Derek's forearm to wipe at his teary eyes.
Today was the anniversary of the death of Stiles father, the Sheriff. Surprisingly it hadn't been a creature of the night, or a witch, or hunter or anything related to the supernatural; no, life was what got to Noah Stilinski in the end.
Three years ago, on April 18 -ten days after Stiles’ 23 birthday- Noah Stilinski had a heart attack when he stopped for some food on a routine patrol. It was only after he hadn't checked in for a while with the station that anyone had noticed anything was wrong. By the time Noah was taken to the hospital it had been to late.
Stiles and Derek had left Beacon hills a few years prior. And, sadly, Noah’s death is one of the many reasons Stiles can't go back, even if he wants to.
“Maybe, if you're willing, we can visit him next year,” Derek suggested, speaking into the top of Stiles head. “We could visit Liam and Theo, Lydia and Parrish while we're there, Melissa too, maybe.”
Derek knew Stiles had a rough relationship with the McCalls, mainly because of Scott and his true alpha douche-ness. But the younger man had a soft spot for Melissa. And while Stiles didn't fully trust Theo -probably never would- he had forgiven him, especially considering his relationship with Liam.
“Yeah, that would be nice. We could make a whole thing out of it,” Stiles said with a watery smile.
Despite what he said Derek knew it wasn't likely to happen. Stiles, like himself, was still healing from the traumas given to them by their old home. And while Derek felt he was ready, Stiles wasn't. And that was okay.
When he was ready Derek would be there for him, holding his hand through all of it.
BREAK
Two birds of a feather
Say that they're always gonna stay together
BREAK
Stiles and Derek sit closely together on a park bench, their hands intertwined while Stiles rests his head on Derek's shoulder. Not to far away from the couple was their two twin children running around the jungle gym chasing each other.
Madeline and Jason had only been in their lives a couple months since Derek and Stiles adopted them, but the two were already deeply in love with the six-year-olds. Maddie was a beautiful little girl with deep green eyes, dark hair, and pale skin. Jace looked the opposite of his sister with bright blonde hair and blue eyes and naturally tanned skin. It was hard to believe the two were twins by looking at them but with the way they acted it was easier to tell.
Another thing about the two was that they were supernaturals. Maddie a werewolf and Jace a werecoyote. Another reason it was hard to tell the two children were twins. But Derek and Stiles saw them as their children; and Derek's wolf did too, which was good considering the alpha's natural urge for a family.
“I spoke to Lydia yesterday” Derek said, breaking the comfortable and companionable silence they previously had.
“Oh,” Stiles responded. “And what did she say?”
“She said that she would love to meet her new god children. She said that it could be be her birthday present for next month,” he told him. “She also said that she'd be willing to make the trip down here if she has to.”
Making Lydia Maddie and Jason's god mother had been an easy decision, even if it was a little tough to choose between her and Cora towards the end. Lydia was someone that Stiles and Derek both trusted completely; and the fact that her and Jordan had thier own children as well -a two-year-old named Allison and a four-year-old named Aiden- was an added bonus. A harder decision was who the kid's god father would be.
It took a while to come to make a choice but, eventually, they landed on Peter. The man had grown a lot since the disasters in Beacon Hills, and they had grown to trust him. Peter had proven to have their backs on numerous occasions, so when Scott turned him away Derek easily accepted his uncle into their pack. Plus, the twins absolutely adored him; often trying to climb on him and playfully attack the man when ever he would visit (which was often considering he only lived two or three miles away from them).
“I think it's a great idea. Going to see everyone in Beacon Hills I mean,” Stiles said, catching the surprise of his husband.
“Are you sure?” Derek asked. “We don't have to. Lydia and Parrish are willing to make the trip here. And I'm sure anyone else would be too.”
“I’m sure, Derek,” Stiles told him. “I’ve been putting off going back long enough. I'm ready now. And the kids deserve the right to go visit your family and my parents. It's time we go back.”
“Okay,” Derek said now looking at his husband, nothing but love and adoration in his eyes.
BREAK
Two birds on a wire
One tries to fly away and the other
BREAK
”Okay,” Stiles said as he turned in the driver's seat of the car to the back where Maddie and Jace were both sitting in their booster seats. “We got everything munchkins?”
“Yes,” the twins yelled in unison, each holding their respective favorite stuffed animal that they brought with themselves nearly everywhere, as if a sign of proof. Maddie's a coyote and Jason's a wolf, which Stiles found endlessly adorable.
Derek opened the passenger side door and sat down as he asked, “Do we have everything?”
“The verdict was yes,” Stiles told him.
“Okay,” Derek said before grabbing his husband's hand and gently turning his head to face him. “Are you sure you're ready for this?”
“Yeah, Der, I'm ready,” Stiles reassured him, punctuating his sentence with a loving kiss and smile directed towards the older man.
The couple chuckled when they heard a large exclamation of ‘EW’ from the back seats before starting the long journey to Beacon Hills.