Only more chapter than the epilogue. Don't worry, though. All questions will be answered.
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Stiles looks at Julia for a second before bursting into slightly hysterical laughter, and he shakes his head at her. "You're insane." He tells her, and she frowns at him before moving to look for some to use for her potion.
"You want to go back to your time? You have to sever the bond between you and he." She snaps, and Stiles shakes his head. He wants to go home, or does he, but not like that. He could never kill or even harm Derek after everything he done to for him, not mention his feeling for the other man that he hasn't been able to put into words, and he moves to stand to leave. "You'll get tired of living here, and he'll get tired of you." She tells him, and Stiles looks at her with anger.
"You know nothing of what you speak of, witch." Stiles tells her, and she hums but doesn't say anything else. Stiles looks at her in question before he moves to leave, and he turns towards her before he leaves. "The Hale Pack and all it's members are under my protection." Stiles tells her, and she looks at him almost bored before nodding.
"We shall see how that goes, won't we?" She hums,and Stiles narrows his eyes at her before leaving to go back to the village. He needs to talk to Derek, needs to get everything off his chest, and he hums as he leaves. He doesn't trust Julia, he doesn't really trust anyone here besides Derek, and he walks slowly as he plans out his words.
Stiles walks the trail, the path familiar, and he nods to the wolves on watch, he's sure by now that it's Erica and Boyd. His cabin comes into view, and he doesn't even get to the door before Derek is ripping open the door to stare at him. "You cannot keep doing that, mo ghrá." Derek tells him, and Stiles looks at him while he feels ashamed of himself.
"I need to tell you something, okay?" Stiles pleads with him, and Derek looks at him before nodding and he pulls him into the house. Derek doesn't look at him while he moves to stand away from him before giving Stiles a pointed look to speak. "I'm not from here." Stiles tells him, and Derek nods his head.
"I can tell by the strange way you talk that you are not." Derek tells him, and Stiles fights the urge to slap himself in the face because of course this was going to be odd for him to explain. "Just tell me, Stiles. I want to know why you're so distant." Derek says, and Stiles sighs as he wipes his face with his hands.
"I'm from the future. In two thousand fifteen, I touched a monument, the same monument that is not that far from here and it sent me here." Stiles tells him, and Derek looks at him in confusion. "I think. I think that I was meant to come here because I think that the powers that be want us together." Stiles tells him, and he cannot tell by Derek's face if he believes him or not. "Listen to my heartbeat and you will hear no lies." Stiles tells him, and Derek watches him without speaking for what seems like forever. "Say something." Stiles hisses at him.
"I believe you, Stiles." Derek tells him, and Stiles exhales in relief before he laughs softly to himself. He should have known that Derek would have believed him, and he nods his head. "Are you looking for a way back?" Derek asks, and Stiles stops laughing as he looks at Derek.
"It doesn't matter. When you bit me, marked me, you trapped me to you. I can't go anywhere." Stiles tells him, and Derek looks at him. His face goes from cool neutrality to anger before Stiles can catch it.
"It that what I did? I trapped you to me?" Derek seethes, and Stiles looks at him for a second before sighing. He doesn't know how to word what he is feeling, and he really doesn't want Derek to be mad at him. "Answer me!" Derek yells at him, and Stiles takes a step back. Derek has never raised his voice at him, ever, and Stiles didn't think he ever would but obviously he was wrong.
"Watch who you're talking to, Alpha." Stiles snaps at him, and Derek's eyes glow red in anger. Stiles doesn't back down, and he's ashamed to admit that he backed away from Derek in that moment. "You did trap me here. With your stupid mating rituals and your magic and your love. You trapped me here." Stiles yells at him, and Derek backs away as if struck. "And you know what, Derek? I don't care that you trapped me here. I don't because I don't think I want to leave you." Stiles snaps at him, and Derek's eyes go back to their calming green.
"Do you love me?" Derek asks, and Stiles wipes some tears that have fallen off of his face before he looks at Derek. He doesn't say anything at first, he cannot find the words to say anything, so he just nods his head. "Tell me." Derek begs, his voice soft and low like Stiles has never heard before.
"I love you." Stiles tells him, looking up at him. Derek rushes forward to kiss him, and Stiles holds onto him tightly. He misses Scott and the girls, but Derek is his. Derek's his world and no matter what happens he needs to be with him throughout it all. Stiles kisses him like he means it, like he needs Derek to know that he loves him, and Derek pushes him against the wall as he kisses him. "I love you, okay? I'm not going anywhere, even if I could." Stiles assures him, and Derek nods as he kiss him again.
Stiles pulls Derek closer, there's too many emotions going through him at once, and he thinks he's still crying but he's not sure. "I love you." Derek whispers against his mouth, and Stiles smiles as he says it back.
****
Derek's mind is racing around, he has been able to sit still or even think a coherent thought since Stiles came back to him. It's almost too much for him to think about, but he trusts his husband. He listened to his heart, not that he needed to, and he knows that Stiles is telling the truth. It's not that hard to understand, he knows, but he's still somewhat shocked by it all the same.
Stiles is sleeping now, curled up in the bed surrounded by the blankets like he's in a nest, and Derek watches him while he sleeps. He runs his finger over Stiles' jaw, making his husband and mate shift some in sleep, and he leans down to kiss his cheek. He wants so many things with Stiles, but he doesn't feel like he's going to get them. Derek feels as though Stiles is going to disappear away from him too soon for him to realize it.
Derek cannot sleep, he's too on edge with everything happening, and he walks around the cabin. His footsteps are silent despite his large size, and he stares out the window to look out at his land. Derek tries to be a protector, to keep everyone in his pack safe, but he hasn't been able too. He was never meant to be an Alpha, it should have been Laura, but his parents left it to him.
The village is quiet now, the air is still in the mid morning, and Derek can feel his hackles rising as if he can sense danger coming towards them. Stiles groans in his sleep before turning over, and Derek watches him fondly before going back to keep watch. He can see and hear his pack moving around as they begin their day, and he turns to walk over towards Stiles.
Derek leans down to give him a kiss on the cheek,and Stiles sighs in his sleep. Stiles' tattoos look dull on his arms, and Derek traces his arms over them making them brighten up some. "I love you." Derek whispers to him, and Stiles smiles some in sleep as if he heard him. Derek turns to walk out of the cabin, breathing in the cool air while he moves towards the center of the village.
"Derek." Laura calls, and Derek turns to look at his sister who's walking over towards him with a basket in her hands. "Have you found anything else about Mary's son?" She asks, her eyes darting towards where her children play. She's worried about them, about all the children in the pack, and Derek knows it.
"No. We couldn't trace his scent and Stiles doesn't know what it could be." Derek tells her, and she huffs in annoyance. "He told me that he's from the future. I've heard about strong wizards and witches that could send themselves back in time, but only days or hours at a time." Derek confides, and she looks at him curiously. "It explains the way he talks and his odd attire that he came in." Derek says, and Laura nods.
"What year is he from?" She asks, and Derek looks at her before sighing again. He doesn't know if she'll believe him or not, or if she's just humoring him, and he looks at her.
"Two thousand fifteen." He mutters, and Laura's eyes widen at that. Derek sighs as he runs his hand through his hair, and she doesn't say anything after that. Derek didn't really expect her to.
****
Stiles is cleaning up his herbs when he hears the sound of laughter outside of his home, and he opens the door to see Derek's niece and nephew rough housing around in the yard. He smiles fondly at them through the window before he opens the door. "Shouldn't you two be with your mother?" He says, smiling. Deirdre runs up to him for a hug while Conner watches him while he shakes his head, and he moves to run towards the forest.
"No fair! I wasn't ready!" Deirdre complains, and she squirms away from Stiles to chase after him. Stiles smiles at him before he moves to go after them, he figures he's an adult so he should be near him, and he moves to go after them.
"Dee? Conner?" Stiles calls, when he walks after them. The air is thick in the forest, humid and mist, and Stiles turns his head as he looks for them. Stiles sighs in annoyance when they don't answer, they probably think that this is a game, and he walks deeper into the woods to chase them. "Kids? Answer me!" Stiles calls, suddenly getting worried. He shouldn't have let them go into the woods without a wolf.
Stiles takes a breath of relief when he sees them hopping on a wolf that Stiles knows to Peter, and he smiles when Peter pretends to nip at them. "Hello, Peter." Stiles says, softly. Peter turns his head to nod at him, and he moves to look around the woods. Something is off in air, Peter doesn't seem to notice but it makes Stiles' tattoos almost burn his skin. "Children, I think it's time to head back to the cabin. Why don't show you how to make bread or something?" Stiles says, lamely. "Something is out here." He whispers to the wolf, and Peter nudges the children to follow Stiles.
Peter doesn't say anything as he sniffs at the air, and Stiles gives him a pointed look before he drags the children away with him. Stiles pushes the children in front of him, and he is on high alert now because something is wrong. Peter takes off in the other direction without a word, and Stiles watches him before turning back to the kitchen. "Whoever makes it to the Alpha's house first is the winner!" Stiles says, and the children take off running.
Stiles sighs when they get more into the clearing. He stiffens when he feels something hit him on the back of the head, and he doesn't get a chance to scream before he passes out.