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January 28, 2021
It’s a crisp January afternoon. The sun hangs lazily in the clouds and later that night would be the first full moon of the new year. There was something about this time that had just jumped out to Stiles. He stood staring out of the window onto the forest as he waited for everyone to start to arrive for the festivities. Watching the stillness in the air, his mind wandered to the moment they decided to do this, to be those kind of people.
“I love you,” Derek said smiling down at Stiles. It was more of an exhale, a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in that came out in those three words. It wasn’t the first time he’d said them, but it was the first time he had said them first, the first time he’d felt completely comfortable in the declaration, not just content, but blissfully fulfilled. It was no longer a question, or a smiling reassurance. It was a sweet exhale of breath.
Stiles smiled and buried his head in Derek’s chest. The air was starting to grow cooler, and the still of fall was settling in. It was their first fall back in Beacon Hills full-time after Stiles’s graduate study up at Berkeley. He lay there for a moment, before pulling his arms from around Derek’s waist to cross under his where his head lay on Derek’s chest. He pulled himself up to look directly in the Alpha’s eyes.
“I think you should marry me,” Stiles said simply, clearly holding back the large smile that danced in his eyes. Derek chuckled a bit at the phrasing. “So hear me out,” he continued. “I love you, obviously. And I want to marry you, I want us to get married. I want to be with you forever and I want to start that forever right now. But I’ve been giving this some thought, and I’m really quite the catch. I’m smart, and fierce, and funny as hell. I am a sexy piece of ass who puts up with your Sourwolf nonsense and I’ll be a great dad,” he added biting down on his lip at the last bit. “So, I think you should marry me, and I’m humble enough to give you the opportunity to ask. Right now.”
The room was silent for a moment, the smile from Derek’s face fading slightly, his eyes returning to their natural worried positions. He tried to give Stiles a reassuring smile, but it came out just a bit sad and didn’t meet his eyes.
“Oh come on,” Stiles said pushing up off the bed. Starting to stand before Derek grabbed his arm to hold him back. Derek remained silent, taking in the situation, carefully choosing his words.
“I just want you to be sure,” Derek said. To which Stiles gave him his wide are you an idiot eyes. Stiles stood there with his arms crossed kneeling on the bed, refusing to respond. “I know you think you’re sure, Stiles. But this is it for me, I can see my life, the pack growing and Beacon Hills and this house and what my life will look like until I die. This doesn’t have --,”
“No, no. This is it for me Derek, right here next to you,” Stiles responded unable to remain quiet. Derek gave him a small smile for the outburst. Derek took in a deep breath never breaking eye contact with Stiles.
“Will you marry me?” Derek asked, moving closer to Stiles in the bed and resting his hands on the sides of Stiles’s arms.
“Oh of course, make a guy work for it then swoop in with those eyes and those arms and just expect swooning,” Stiles teased as he leaned in to capture Derek in a kiss. “Yes,” he mumbled between kisses as Derek pulled them both down onto the bed. “Yes!”
Lydia and Allison had been given full reign of the whole wedding situation. If Derek had any choice they would’ve murmured vows to each other from bed that night, and called it done. If Stiles had given it much thought, which he hadn’t, he’d realized that some part of him had always expected a chapel wedding, with a smiling bride in a white dress, like the pictures of his parents’ wedding. So he was much easier to convince into something bigger. Lydia suggested they had to be legally married (Derek) for the protections, and the girls cornered Stiles to get him on their side with regards to decorations. In the end they’d agreed on three rules. The first being that it had to be soon, they didn’t want to wait any longer. The second that it would be small, only pack. The third that it would be at night. Other than that, they would go along with whatever. Which is why their home had been inundated by boxes and ribbon and weird smells that Derek wasn’t allowed to explore.
“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be getting your hair done or something?” Derek said coming down the stairs to interrupt Stiles’s daydreaming and wrap his arms around Stiles’s waist.
“Mmmm, and you’re supposed be having your tail fluffed, right?” Stiles replied twisting around and patting Derek’s ass. “The girls should be here soon, and then it starts.”
“They just turned on to the road,” Derek said leaning in for another kiss. And so it starts he thought to himself heading up the stairs.
Allison and Lydia pulled up to the house and climbed out of the car with their hands full of bags to add to the collection in the middle of the living room. Lydia smiled at Stiles then headed up the stairs with her most determined face on. Stiles and Allison both turned their heads up at the sound of Derek’s feet moving across the ceiling and the aggressive click of Lydia’s heels.
“You’re with me,” Allison said with her quintessential princess smile twinkling in her eyes.
“Should I be afraid?” Stiles asked uneasily.
“Of me?” Allison asked all innocence and shrugging shoulders as she started to walk towards the door.
“So then yes,” Stiles responded.
“Grab that box, and come on,” she said opening the door. They walked deep into the woods, where Scott had installed a small wooden platform for Stiles and Derek to stand on. He noticed there were now eleven candle holders behind the stage. They were gorgeous, standing as tall as Stiles’s chest when he stood on the stage, made out of a bronze colored twisting iron, with small leaflets coming off the stem. From the right angle, it looked like they had sprouted out of the ground. Allison motioned for him to sit the box down. When she opened it the overwhelming scent of vanilla filled Stiles’s lungs as he looked down curiously. Allison pulled out a few candles, handing one to him. When he noticed the names on them, he took in a sharp breath, his eyes glossing over.
“It was Lydia’s idea,” she started. “That you know, the whole pack should be incorporated somehow,” Allison added placing the candles in the holders. She pointed to where his should go, indicating some order that he didn’t quite understand but that he’s sure Lydia had created, so it must be important. He paused, tracing the gold calligraphy over the cream candle that read “Laura.” Stiles had never met her, but she’d played a pretty large role in getting him to this day, to being with Derek to being a part of this pack, and on days like today he felt that familiar tug in his gut, he missed her, missed what she should’ve been for Derek, what she could’ve been for him, for them. When the last candle, a thin, decorative starter was in place Allison took a look at the whole picture and nodded slightly. “So, it was supposed to be a surprise for both of you, but you need to light them, so you can’t be all choked up and such,” she said smiling. “If we get off of Lydia’s schedule she’ll be pissed. Oh and don’t tell her I showed you,” she finished.
“Tha --,” Stiles started running his hand over his face and swallowing back the tears that threatened to spill. “Thank you,” he said grabbing her in a hug. They walked back through the woods silently and arrived at the house to find Lydia sitting on the couch in the living room flipping through a magazine.
“And where have you two been?” she asked pointedly.
“Out for a walk,” Allison answered easily. “I was giving Stiles here some sage advice. How did things go with Derek?”
“Oh you know,” She says making a wave of her hand. “Thinks he’s still the big bad wolf, but he’s showering and SHAVING, HALE,” she says making a point to shout the last bit up the stairs. “Stiles should probably hop to it, and make sure you cut that tuft down a bit,” she said to Allison as if Stiles wasn’t standing there. Stiles made a small whine and threw his hand up to his hair.
Allison shoved Stiles in the direction of the basement to shower and started moving plates and decorations. As the others arrived they put them to work finishing decorations, heating food, and pulling a table out to the forest. Erica and Boyd are the first to arrive, seperately, of course, because they’re on break up number three. It’s the longest time they’ve been “broken up” since they started fooling around as teenagers and although no one really knows what happened between them, it must be bad, potentially insurmountable, as they give each other sidelong glances and try to avoid being anywhere near each other for too long. They had clearly both had the idea of getting there early to busy themselves with the preparations. It wasn’t working.
Isaac and Scott arrived together both a little disheveled. Allison gave Isaac a reassuring smile and a chuckle as he moved to tuck in his shirt after crossing the threshold. She walked over to rearrange Scott who wrapped his arms around her as she tightened his tie and pulled her hands through his hair, leaning in to kiss him him softly. Even after all this time, they still fit together disgustingly perfectly. It was as if their puppy love had come to full bloom, they were more right together than alone, happier, more calm, Allison forced Scott to stand up straighter and Scott made Allison breathe easier, to forget herself and being a staunch warrior princess.
“You tell them that I’ve looked over these contracts and that’s gouging,” Jackson rages into his cell phone as he makes his way into the house, paying no attention to the setup moving around him.
“Jackson,” Lydia says walking out of the kitchen, giving him a stern look. He matches her gaze, continuing his conversation.
“Look just get it done. I want this closed by sun up, or it’s your ass,” he says glancing back up at Lydia and sighing. “Alright look, I have a family thing,” he says rolling his eyes. “I’m hanging up. Don’t call me unless, just don’t call me.” he finishes shutting the phone and shoving it into his pocket throwing his hands up. Lydia walks over to him, her smile threatening to escape.
“Shut up,” she says before capturing him in a kiss. “I told you to wear the other one,” she adds when they break apart, running her hand over the shoulder of his Hugo Boss wool and cashmere demie trench coat.
“Yeah, well, I wore this one,” he said intertwining her hand with his as they walked over to inspect the others progress on decorations. They stood tall giving directions, ever the power couple. The sun was long set when the group started to pile out of the house carrying food and other things out to the forest.
Derek and Stiles watched the procession from the stairs where they had both been given a time out after Lydia caught them trying to intervene one too many times. This is your day. Don’t touch anything. She’d said. They smiled at each other and Derek sat a little stiffer than had become his norm, and Stiles’s heart beat a little faster than it had in recent years, they were both nervous, nervous to make definitive what they had only thought, only imagined before, but as Stiles laid his head on Derek’s knee from the step below and Derek ran a hand through Stiles’s hair, tugging just lightly at the tip, they were at peace. Once everyone and everything had been cleared out they both headed down the stairs and towards the door but were stopped by Allison.
“Stiles first,” she said offering her arm. Derek rolled his eyes at the dramatics, but gave them a small smile and a nod.
“Alright, don’t forget this,” Lydia said handing Derek a rose with a silk ribbon around it which read Eleanor Stilinski. He let out a deep breath before taking it and walking with Lydia out of the door.
Stiles made his way with Allison into the woods, down their makeshift aisle between the smattering of chairs and up onto the stage. He glanced up to the lights they’d hung in the trees and the size of the moon sitting above, no longer the ruler of his friends, each sitting there with their anchor, fully in control. He smiled widely at his father sitting up front before turning to the candles behind him. His hands trembled as he began lighting the candles slowly, looking for Derek behind them. He stopped momentarily, locking eyes with Derek as Lydia whispered something to him and directed him towards the stage. Derek paused placing the rose on the empty chair next to the Sheriff and shaking his hand. Stiles’s eyes glistened as he remembered his mother telling him I know it’s cliche, but you should always buy a girl roses he chuckled a bit at how off that specific advice was. Derek was not the type for roses.
Derek quickly joined Stiles looking questioningly at the candles as he realized their purpose. He grabbed Stiles’s wrist, moving to wrap his hand around his and the candle helping to light the final two bearing the names of Derek’s parents. Lydia turned to give Allison a quick wink, and nudge Isaac up onto the platform.
“Handfasting,” Isaac started when positioned behind the two of them. “Is an ancient method of bonding two lovers,” he said coughing and taking a look off to the side at a glaring Lydia. “Together for all eternity,” he continued motioning for them to take each others hands. He pulled a red satin ribbon out of his pocket and began to drape it over Stiles’s wrist, wrapping it around and down, over his hands and on to Derek’s carefully. “The ribbon represents life, love, and all that is or will ever be, the journey starts with one and ends with the other, united fully forever,” Derek and Stiles both looked down at their hands then back up at each other smiling deeply and fully. Stiles shifted a bit on his feet and Derek held in a chuckle. “It is customary at this time, for the families of the betrothed to each give consent for the marriage,” Stiles gave Isaac a curious look at the word betrothed to which he shrugged. “But, I think we’ve all been family for so long that, maybe just one time? Repeat after me,” he said. “I consent and gladly give.”
“I consent and gladly give,” they all echoed. Allison and Lydia snuggled into their partners and Erica and Boyd took a quick glance at eachother before shifting uncomfortably.
“And with the family’s consent, all that’s left is for you two to declare. Do you, Derek take this man to be yours?” Isaac asked. Derek laughed and rolled his eyes, before smiling.
“Mine,” he responded easily and Stiles chuckled.
“And do you, Stiles, take this man to be yours?” Isaac said turning towards him.
“Yep,” Stiles said smiling brightly.
“Alrighty here comes the gross part,” Isaac started to which Stiles stepped on his toe. “I mean,” he started again, clearing his throat. “You may now celebrate your union with a kiss.” They each pulled their hands out of the ribbon and wrapped them around each other, taking each other in a kiss that consumed them. It was hot and wet, passionate and firm, racing towards something and yet just at the edges it was calm and ready for forever.
When they broke away from the kiss, Stiles found Scott amongst the others and winked. The werewolf reacted quickly breaking away from Allison and jumping up to stand in his chair. Lydia looked horrified and glared at Allison who shrugged as the other wolves took to their chairs standing up.
“Oh Alpha, my Alpha,” Scott cried.
“Oh Alpha, my Alpha,” Jackson repeated, then Isaac and Boyd and Erica. Derek gave Stiles an accusatory glare.
“I had nothing to do with this,” he said shrugging and holding on tighter as he nodded happily at Scott.
“Yeah sure,” Derek said suspiciously calm. Stiles moved off the platform to pick up the rose sitting next to his father as the wolves all jumped down. Lydia shoved Jackson for the spectacle before dismissing everyone to the food. She also started the prepared playlist which echoed through the forest.
Stiles’s father was, of course, the first person to head out after hugging his son and son-in-law and telling them what a beautiful service it was. Stiles had held on to the rose for most of the night, but insisted that his father take it with him.
They all ate and laughed, and ran around under the moon until the sun itself threatened to break through the clouds and split up the party. They hugged and held each other like it was a much longer good-bye. The pack had learned to hold on to the things they loved, and the memories that made life worth fighting for, and they held on to this one, until at the very last moment they each stumbled sleepily to their cars and drove off down the road.