Chapter Text
Stiles came home from grocery shopping to a silent house. He was just about to take the bags out of the back, when he realized there were two people inside. He left the bags and stepped into the hall, where he found Peter.
The teen tilted his head and stepped around the werewolf. “Why are you sitting on…“ He took a closer look. “…Agent McCall?“
“He was lurking around inside.”
“What did I tell you to do when that happens?”
“To call the sheriff.” Obediently he started to retrieve his phone from his pocket, when he froze. “Wait, did you just say McCall?” The older man craned his neck to look at the man he was sitting on.
“Will you tell him to get off of me, Stiles?” Rafael McCall tried to look up, to no avail.
“Why would I do that? You were trespassing. Just because the door isn’t locked, doesn’t mean you can come in and snoop around other people’s houses.”
Meanwhile Peter had pulled out his phone and was waiting for the sheriff to answer. “Hey, we need you to pick up a trespasser.”
John sighed in response. “Is it Rafael McCall?”
“Stiles said Agent.”
“Yeah. Can you just tell him where Scott is and send him on his way?”
“Can do. Bye.”
“Why are you here?” The alpha mate asked the man, still lying on his stomach.
“To see Scott.”
“No, here. This place.”
“Melissa said Scott was at your place and when nobody was there I went to your father and he gave me this address.”
“So you thought you could do some breaking and entering?”
“Nobody was answering and when I tried the door it was open.”
“How do you still have your job?” Stiles shook his head and went back outside to get the groceries. He made two trips and vanished into the kitchen, leaving Peter where he was sitting on the FBI agent’s back playing on his phone.
After a while he yelled for Stiles.
“What? I’m making dinner here.”
“Will you tell him to let me up?”
“You think I will let you snoop around some more, after you broke into my house?”
“Your house?”
“My house. Now shut up, until they come back from their run.”
Not even ten minutes later the wolves came crashing into the house, only to stop short at the sight in the entrance hall. At their arrival Peter got up smoothly and went into the kitchen to help Stiles. Just as the agent got up himself Stiles had come to the doorway to the kitchen and kissed his mate briefly, before turning back around.
“What are you doing here, dad?”
“I was in the area and wanted to see you.”
“Great, you’ve seen me, so you can go.”
“Can we please talk?”
“Outside.”
The others had all headed upstairs to shower and change for dinner. Scott’s father followed him to the porch. They talked for about ten minutes, in which the teen agreed to meet him for lunch the next day and he left.
Inside Derek was clean again and hugged Stiles from behind while he was stirring in the pan.
“Is he gonna be a problem?”
“I hope not, because I’ll get really pissed if he ruins my wedding.”
“Ours.”
“Yeah.” He rubbed their cheeks together. “Well, he comes from my side.”
“Last I checked Scott was pack, which means he would be equal parts your problem and mine as well.”
“I will not be held accountable for my actions, if he in any way interferes with our wedding. You hear me, Scott?”
“Yes, I hear you.” Came the mumbled response from one of the upstairs bathrooms.
Scott met his father at a diner and was fully prepared for the interrogation that would surely come. It started as soon as they had ordered.
“How is that Stiles’ house?”
The young werewolf sighed. “Well, he is marrying Derek, so it’s his house now.”
“Hale? Derek Hale?”
“You might have noticed that it is on Hale land and in the same location the old Hale house was. Yes, Derek Hale.”
“And his father is okay with him getting married right out of high school?”
“We’re eighteen, we can do whatever we want. And what does it matter what Stiles does? I thought you came to see me?”
“Yes, I did.”
They talked. About Scott’s plans for college and the rest of his free time before it started. When they had finished and were outside, Rafael stopped. “So Stiles is getting married?”
“In two days.” The werewolf sighed. “Listen, it was good to see you dad.”
“So, would you mind, if I stayed for a couple of days?” His father asked hopeful.
“Me personally, no. But I’m busy and if you interfere in any way with Stiles’ wedding or the planning thereof he won’t be happy.”
The FBI agent frowned. “What are you saying?”
“Leave as planned and come back another time. Like I said, I won’t have time. My best friend is getting married.“
“Okay.”
“And don’t come to the house again. Derek really doesn’t like strangers.”
“Does he have something to hide?”
“Really? You break into his home and you wonder why you’re not welcome? If you want to see me, call. We can meet somewhere.”
“You just said strangers, not me specifically.”
“Seriously, you are surprised that he doesn’t take kindly to strangers on his land, after what happened to his family?”
“I guess not.”
“You sure about not sleeping here tonight?”
“First of all, you rented out my room to Aaron and Alex and this is the 21st century, dad. I’ve moved in with Derek weeks ago.”
“Just asking. Apparently some people still do that.”
“Well, not us.”
“Okay. We’ll meet half an hour before the ceremony, right? Why didn’t you want anybody there?”
“It’s easier. The witnesses there and everyone else at the mansion for the party. City Hall is a formality anyway. It makes us official, but it doesn’t change anything else. Just bureaucracy. Technically we’ve been married.”
“Werewolf married.”
“That’s the one that counts, dad.” He got a text from Lydia and sighed with a small smile. “Gotta go.” He hugged his father tightly and stopped at the supermarket to get the ordered chocolate flakes for the cupcakes. Stiles only just avoided Scott’s father when he saw him come into the building and paid and ducked out in a hurry. He kissed his friend’s cheek and handed her the chocolate. The kitchen had been taken over by cupcakes since noon. Now they were almost finished and the whole house smelled like rich dark chocolate and vanilla.
“Thank you.”
“Always.” She turned her face toward him and smiled.
“Where’s my lovely husband to be?”
“He left a while ago. Didn’t say anything.” She turned back to the cupcakes.
“Are you okay here?”
“Yeah, just finishing up here.”
“Again, thank you.”
He was gone before the young woman could say anything else. Stiles was still able to pick up Derek’s scent and follow his trail. When the familiar scent became strong he stopped and only then payed attention to his surroundings. He looked around and saw only headstones scattered down the slope of the hillside. Stiles picked up on the sadness in the air and moved to where it got stronger along with his mate’s scent. His steps became slow and careful, unsure if Derek wanted him there or not. The werewolf sat leaning against an old tree facing several stones. Stiles knelt beside his legs and touched his knee.
“Is it okay that I came?”
Derek finally lifted his eyes from the engraving on the granite stone directly in front of him.
“Yeah. I just wanted to be here for a little bit.” The wolf grabbed his fingers gently and squeezed.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Stiles diverted his gaze from his mate’s face and looked at the headstones, reading the names of Derek’s family members who had died in the fire. The one directly in front of them was his mother’s. He lowered his face and closed his eyes. His own mother’s grave wasn’t far from their current spot.
“Okay.” Stiles leant down to place a kiss on the back of the werewolf’s hand. “We can stay a little while longer.”
Derek’s eyes widened a little, than he furrowed his brows.
“Connor, Katharine and Jason will be here soon and I think we should be at the house to welcome them?”
“Yeah.” His mate said distractedly. “I didn’t realize how long I’ve been here.”
Stiles gave him a small smile.
Derek picked himself up and pulled his mate up with him by his hand. He started to move and Stiles only noticed where, when they stopped in front of another grave. His eyes immediately welled up with tears when he recognized the stone bearing his mother’s name. He released an unsteady breath.
“Sorry.” Derek said quietly. “I shouldn’t have…”
“No.” Stiles looked over into his eyes. “Thank you.” A few tears slipped from his eyes and ran down his cheeks, before they dripped down from his jaw. Derek let go of his hand and wiped the moisture away with his thumbs from underneath his eyes.
“I didn’t want to upset you.”
“You didn’t.” Stiles wound his arms around the older man’s neck. “It’s just hard, not having her here. All of them.”
“Yeah.” Derek sighed heavily. “Let’s go home.”
Just as they arrived back at the house the Fletcher’s got out of their car. As soon as Jason was free of his seat and on the ground he ran the short distance to Stiles, who knelt down and hugged the little boy.
“Hi, little wolf.” Jason giggled and the alpha mate picked him up. Derek smiled and stroked gently over his head once, before turning to the other alpha pair and greeted them. Stiles lowered the child back to the ground and greeted their friends as well.
“Come on. I’ll show you to your room. You hungry? I’m starting the cooking in a bit.”
“Sure. Need any help?” Katharine offered.
“That’d be great. It’s just us and Lydia tonight.”
“So, you nervous about tomorrow?” The female alpha mate asked as they were preparing the ingredients.
“Not really. We show up, sign some papers and it’s done. Then we come back here and have a nice party.”
Lydia came back downstairs just as Stiles put the casserole on the table. She greeted their guests and sat down to eat with them.
“I’ll be back in an hour or so. You okay here?” Stiles asked his mate.
“Yeah, sure.” Derek kissed him briefly.
His aunt Cynthia and his cousins were already there, when he made it to his father’s house. The greeting was slightly awkward, since he hadn’t seen them in quite a while. It only took the boys a few minutes to reacquaint themselves with each other, Aaron being two years older and Alex a year younger. John usually talked with his sister about once a month or so, but Stiles had very little contact to them. As promised to his mate Stiles stayed a good hour, before he left for the mansion.
He crawled into bed behind Derek. Usually the wolf would be the big spoon, but every once in a while Stiles would hold him, plastering his body along Derek’s. The older man leant back into the touch and the boy held him tighter. Sometimes he still couldn’t believe that he had all this and he got to keep it.
Stiles woke on his back with the wolf sprawled half on top of him. He sighed quietly.