Wide Open Spaces
Author: verucasalt123
Title: Wide Open Spaces
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: Derek/Stiles
Character/s: Derek, Stiles, Sheriff Stilinski
Summary: Stiles has been putting off an important conversation.
Warnings: mention of sex, a little angst
Word Count: 997
Prompt: Acceptance
Stiles stayed in bed, breathless and exhausted, while Derek got up to grab them a washcloth. Another round (two, actually) of mind-blowing sex, and he could barely muster up the energy to move. His dad would be home soon, though, and just because he knew the two of them were together, he certainly wouldn’t appreciate walking into the house with either of them half-dressed. When Derek switched on the overhead light, Stiles covered his eyes with his forearm and made a noise that clearly registered his complaint, but he started reaching for his discarded clothing and re-dressing. He was just pulling his t-shirt over his head when he heard Derek’s sharp intake of breath from behind him.
The tone of Derek’s voice was serious, laced with concern and wonder. “Stiles?”
He didn’t have to turn around to know what had happened, but he did anyway. No point in not facing it now. Derek was staring down at the stack of mail he’d received from almost a dozen universities. Not a single one was a thin envelope. He’d just been throwing them onto his desk for later. You know, just…not now. Next week, or the week after, when things had calmed down, when he had more time, when he could focus on a future that would undoubtedly take him away from Beacon Hills.
Away from his father.
Away from Derek.
“Have you even looked at any of these?” Derek asked, clearly trying to keep his voice sounding even and calm. “Any chance you were going to maybe open them? Tell me about them?”
“It’s not like I was hiding anything, Derek, Jesus, I just - everything’s been so…”
“What? Hectic? Crazy? Busy? Dangerous? What’s it been?”
“Happy! Everything’s been happy, okay? You and me, we’ve been happy, things are going so well and I didn’t-”, Stiles paused for a minute, unsure how to finish, “I didn’t want to think about…that.”
“Stiles, that is your future! Has your father seen any of these? They’re not rejection letters, I know that much. You can’t put this off forever. Did you think I expected you to stay here instead of leaving for college because of - because of us?”
“No, I guess I didn’t expect it, but maybe I thought you might not want me to leave”, Stiles replied, sitting back down on his bed and burying his face in his hands.
In a moment, Derek was on his knees in front of Stiles. “Of course I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want Isaac to leave, either. And I’ll bet you anything your dad doesn’t want you to leave. But more than wanting you here with me, I want you to go out into the world and learn. Take advantage of what’s available. How many of those packets do you think have scholarship offers in them? Stiles, you could go anywhere. I would never forgive myself if you gave up these kinds of opportunities to stay in Beacon Hills.”
Looking up, Stiles just stared into Derek’s eyes. He couldn’t see anything there but the truth, which is exactly what he expected. But still…”I can’t lose you now, Derek. I can’t just leave…”
“Going to college doesn’t mean you have to lose me. You’re on my case all the time about technology. There’s the thing where you use your laptop and talk to people and you can see them on the screen, I’ve seen you do that. And these other things you didn’t even have to teach me about, like planes and cars and highways and vacations. There’s nowhere on the planet you could go and not still be right here with me, anyway, you have to know that.”
“You’re talking a whole lot”, Stiles said, just because he didn’t really know how to respond. Derek had been pretty slow to show his sentimental side, and this was a lot to take in all at once.
Derek laughed, kissed his forehead and said, “Your dad’s car is less than two blocks away. Let’s go downstairs. Take these with you. And don’t argue”, he finished, giving Stiles the I’m serious eyebrows.
Scooping all the packets into his arms, Stiles got up and followed Derek down to the kitchen. “I need to get dinner started anyway”, he told Derek as his father walked through the front door.
“Hey Stiles”, he greeted his son, then slid his eyes toward the table. “Derek.”
“Evening, Sheriff”, Derek replied, Stiles rolling his eyes because seriously, Derek really wasn’t ever going to call the man by his first name, though he had been invited to do so on many occasions. “I was just going to head home. Stiles wanted to talk to you about that pile of college acceptance packets there on the counter.”
Stiles banged his head against the refrigerator. Intentionally.
“That’s an awfully big stack there, Stiles”, said the Sheriff. “You been savin’ them up?”
“Um, kind of? I guess. Anyway, I figured we might as well look over them now that they’re all sitting here and Derek’s drawn your attention to them.”
“So, ah, Sheriff, you two have a good evening, and Stiles…” Derek was surely going to get better at this one day, right? He still acted like he was going to get shot if he kissed Stiles goodbye when his father was in the same room.
Stiles was more than a little surprised when his dad cleared his throat and asked if Derek might want to stay for dinner. “Maybe we can all look at these together?”
Derek didn’t waste a second accepting that offer, and the Sheriff picked up the first envelope. “What the hell is Sarah Lawrence College? I’ve never heard of it.”
“Oh, I just wanted to see if I’d get accepted. They have the highest tuition rate in the whole country! Almost fifty grand a year!”, Stiles responded with a laugh, finally ready to sit down and discuss this whole thing with the two most important men in his life.
Title: Wide Open Spaces
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: Derek/Stiles
Character/s: Derek, Stiles, Sheriff Stilinski
Summary: Stiles has been putting off an important conversation.
Warnings: mention of sex, a little angst
Word Count: 997
Prompt: Acceptance
Stiles stayed in bed, breathless and exhausted, while Derek got up to grab them a washcloth. Another round (two, actually) of mind-blowing sex, and he could barely muster up the energy to move. His dad would be home soon, though, and just because he knew the two of them were together, he certainly wouldn’t appreciate walking into the house with either of them half-dressed. When Derek switched on the overhead light, Stiles covered his eyes with his forearm and made a noise that clearly registered his complaint, but he started reaching for his discarded clothing and re-dressing. He was just pulling his t-shirt over his head when he heard Derek’s sharp intake of breath from behind him.
The tone of Derek’s voice was serious, laced with concern and wonder. “Stiles?”
He didn’t have to turn around to know what had happened, but he did anyway. No point in not facing it now. Derek was staring down at the stack of mail he’d received from almost a dozen universities. Not a single one was a thin envelope. He’d just been throwing them onto his desk for later. You know, just…not now. Next week, or the week after, when things had calmed down, when he had more time, when he could focus on a future that would undoubtedly take him away from Beacon Hills.
Away from his father.
Away from Derek.
“Have you even looked at any of these?” Derek asked, clearly trying to keep his voice sounding even and calm. “Any chance you were going to maybe open them? Tell me about them?”
“It’s not like I was hiding anything, Derek, Jesus, I just - everything’s been so…”
“What? Hectic? Crazy? Busy? Dangerous? What’s it been?”
“Happy! Everything’s been happy, okay? You and me, we’ve been happy, things are going so well and I didn’t-”, Stiles paused for a minute, unsure how to finish, “I didn’t want to think about…that.”
“Stiles, that is your future! Has your father seen any of these? They’re not rejection letters, I know that much. You can’t put this off forever. Did you think I expected you to stay here instead of leaving for college because of - because of us?”
“No, I guess I didn’t expect it, but maybe I thought you might not want me to leave”, Stiles replied, sitting back down on his bed and burying his face in his hands.
In a moment, Derek was on his knees in front of Stiles. “Of course I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want Isaac to leave, either. And I’ll bet you anything your dad doesn’t want you to leave. But more than wanting you here with me, I want you to go out into the world and learn. Take advantage of what’s available. How many of those packets do you think have scholarship offers in them? Stiles, you could go anywhere. I would never forgive myself if you gave up these kinds of opportunities to stay in Beacon Hills.”
Looking up, Stiles just stared into Derek’s eyes. He couldn’t see anything there but the truth, which is exactly what he expected. But still…”I can’t lose you now, Derek. I can’t just leave…”
“Going to college doesn’t mean you have to lose me. You’re on my case all the time about technology. There’s the thing where you use your laptop and talk to people and you can see them on the screen, I’ve seen you do that. And these other things you didn’t even have to teach me about, like planes and cars and highways and vacations. There’s nowhere on the planet you could go and not still be right here with me, anyway, you have to know that.”
“You’re talking a whole lot”, Stiles said, just because he didn’t really know how to respond. Derek had been pretty slow to show his sentimental side, and this was a lot to take in all at once.
Derek laughed, kissed his forehead and said, “Your dad’s car is less than two blocks away. Let’s go downstairs. Take these with you. And don’t argue”, he finished, giving Stiles the I’m serious eyebrows.
Scooping all the packets into his arms, Stiles got up and followed Derek down to the kitchen. “I need to get dinner started anyway”, he told Derek as his father walked through the front door.
“Hey Stiles”, he greeted his son, then slid his eyes toward the table. “Derek.”
“Evening, Sheriff”, Derek replied, Stiles rolling his eyes because seriously, Derek really wasn’t ever going to call the man by his first name, though he had been invited to do so on many occasions. “I was just going to head home. Stiles wanted to talk to you about that pile of college acceptance packets there on the counter.”
Stiles banged his head against the refrigerator. Intentionally.
“That’s an awfully big stack there, Stiles”, said the Sheriff. “You been savin’ them up?”
“Um, kind of? I guess. Anyway, I figured we might as well look over them now that they’re all sitting here and Derek’s drawn your attention to them.”
“So, ah, Sheriff, you two have a good evening, and Stiles…” Derek was surely going to get better at this one day, right? He still acted like he was going to get shot if he kissed Stiles goodbye when his father was in the same room.
Stiles was more than a little surprised when his dad cleared his throat and asked if Derek might want to stay for dinner. “Maybe we can all look at these together?”
Derek didn’t waste a second accepting that offer, and the Sheriff picked up the first envelope. “What the hell is Sarah Lawrence College? I’ve never heard of it.”
“Oh, I just wanted to see if I’d get accepted. They have the highest tuition rate in the whole country! Almost fifty grand a year!”, Stiles responded with a laugh, finally ready to sit down and discuss this whole thing with the two most important men in his life.