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Their first kiss was simple. It was after a battle, and Stiles remembers it tasting faintly of blood and rainwater. Honestly, it should have been gross, but it was the sweetest moment Stiles can recall. His heart filled with something akin to honey, and loneliness and fear couldn’t find a place there anymore. Since that moment, Stiles has had a home.
They only grew closer from that hesitant first kiss. They’d gone on an awkward and silly first date to a boardwalk. They’d pointed at what they would buy if they were rich, eaten popcorn, and laughed through the strange pauses in their conversation. They’d known each other for years, but Stiles remembers how self-conscious they’d both been that day. In an old scrapbook, somewhere in his closet, Stiles has a picture someone took of them that day. In it, Stiles has a sombrero on and is trying to shove bunny ears onto Derek’s head.
The first time they’d had sex it was because Stiles made a joke about a condom. He couldn’t remember what it had been, because, later, he and Derek had made a game of coming up with the lamest condom jokes they could whenever they were horny. That night, though, was anything but a joke. It was slow and easy, and Stiles wasn’t nervous or scared, he couldn’t be- not with the way Derek was looking at him like he was a precious, fragile gift. Stiles would never forget the loving and easy atmosphere that hung over that night. It was first time he understood exactly how much Derek meant to him.
Their first fight flared up over a disagreement about Scott and died down when the real issues surfaced. Stiles was scared. This was his first relationship, and it was a whirlwind of passion and love. It didn’t feel like a regular high school romance doomed to fizzle out in a month. Stiles had realized that he wanted a LIFETIME with Derek, and it terrified him. He didn’t know if Derek wanted it too, or if they could even plan something like that when they were still so young. It was all he desired and he didn’t have the courage to ask for it. Derek was afraid too. He didn’t want to hurt Stiles. He knew there was an age difference, and he worried that Stiles maybe should be with someone his own age who wasn’t scarred from past lovers and so angry at the world. Their first fight was caused by insecurity and fixed with them each admitting in small voices, “I love you, and I don’t know what to do.”
Three and a half years later found the couple in the woods as two bodies running in tandem from a large and lethal threat. Derek had glanced over at Stiles and yelled, “I love you!” which only caused Stiles to glare and yell back, “We’re not dying! Don’t go all melodramatic on me!” Minutes later, when they ducked behind a tree, panting Derek said, “No, really. I love you. Why aren’t we married?” Stiles had blinked slowly up at him, “No idea actually. We’ll fix that soon though, okay?” Their eyes met and, for a moment, everything narrowed down to the two of them. Stiles reached up and wiped some of the dirt off of Derek’s face, grinning brightly. They were alive, together, and content. Too soon, the monster roared again, disturbing their peace, and they ran through the woods again, now a couple engaged.
The wedding was…eclectic to say the least. Stiles has not only the invitation saved, but the various RSVPs that were sent back. They ranged from polite responses that family sent to Boyd and Erica’s profanity filled retort about “stealing our thunder by getting married before us, you fucktards” and, finally, the response Scott sent about how happy he was that had an obvious tear stain on it. The ceremony was held in a big foyer and half the guests were werewolves. Stiles spent the day either in a cloud of delirious joy or shooing some of their less subtle werewolf friends away from his family members. When they drove away from the reception in their familiar black Camaro, Stiles couldn’t help reaching over to tangle his hand with Derek and smiling at the way his wedding band shined in the sun.
Adoption is always a minefield, add in that you are looking for a werewolf cub, and it becomes a near impossibility. They both knew they wanted a child and started looking two years after they got married. It took another two years for them to get a beautiful baby girl, though the way they actually got Emma was…unexpected. A werewolf had heard about Stiles and Derek and she wasn’t able to raise little Emma on her own. She was left in a cradle on their doorstep with signed adoption papers folded neatly up next to her. Emma would never meet her mother but, despite of this, never once felt like she lacked a family. Stiles and Derek did everything they could for her. Derek Hale was Beacon Hills’ fierce alpha with a mate that could destroy your pack from a hundred miles away, but in front of a little girl with chubby cheeks and a crooked walk? They were just a couple of goofy dads who adored their little peach. Not to mention the pack who all spoiled her rotten. They had a happy life together surrounded by love and easy acceptance.
Stiles will admit freely that he cried like a baby the day Emma left for college. She was all grown up and had lost the crooked walk, though not the dimples in her cheeks. She was ready for the big, wide world, but Derek and Stiles just wanted her to stay in theirs. They drove her up to school and she gave them each a tight hug before they left. Derek pulled over only a few miles down the road and pulled Stiles into his lap. Stiles put his head in Derek’s chest and cried. He’s not sure how long it took for him to calm down, but Derek held him tight until his shaking stopped. Derek kept him there a little longer before gently helping him back into his seat. Stiles was exhausted in a way only sobbing can make you and his head rested on Derek’s shoulder for the rest of the ride home.
After the first month of randomly tearing up, Stiles began to get used to having Emma out of the house. Their lives with Emma were full and enriching, but focused primarily on, well, Emma. She was the center of their world, and, now, they had to find something else to occupy their time. They started having sex whenever and wherever they wanted again, which was nice- really nice. They started to go out more too, going on trips to every place they’d always wanted to visit. Derek took Stiles to Canada to see the Northern Lights, and Stiles made Derek take a plane to Hawaii. They turned into that adorable middle-aged couple that go out on dates like teenagers. Derek even started to train his favorite beta, so he’d be able to retire as alpha.
Six years later, Emma got engaged to a boy named Michael. Now, both Derek and Stiles liked Michael, but they did have a chat with him that mentioned what would happen to certain body parts if he hurt their little girl. Michael’s eyes widened, and he swallowed heavily and nodded a lot during their conversation. The wedding was beautiful, and Emma looked stunning. Derek walked her down the aisle, because he and Stiles both agreed that Stiles inevitable watery vision would just trip him and Emma if he tried to. The couple kissed and, after a large, rowdy reception, left in a limousine. That night, Stiles had pulled out their wedding scrapbook. He brought it down to Derek, who smiled gently at him and made coffee. They spent an hour laughing and pointing at pictures, reminiscing over their lives so far. It was a bright, colorful life they’d lived filled with a pack that was closer than family, the joy of raising a child, and, most important, the warmth of finding that one perfect person.
A gawky teen looked at a gruff, imposing man in the woods. He’d stared with his mouth open, his brain sidetracked. He’d covered his response to the man saying it was shock at someone notorious like Derek Hale, but that wasn’t the real reason. There had been an instinctual knowing on Stiles part that Derek was right. That he was someone who was going to complete Stiles like a puzzle piece sliding into place. Stiles had acknowledged since he was sixteen that his life belongs entwined with Derek’s, and, curled up next to his snoring husband, he’s so glad he was right.