Archive of Our Own

Stiles had always liked Halloween, ever since he'd been a child. He'd loved dressing up as Batman or Robin or Superman. After his mom died, it became his favorite day of the year, because according to various sources Halloween, or Samhain as the Celts called it, was when the barriers between this world and the next were at their thinnest.

It was the one day where portals opened up between our world and the world beyond and the souls of people long gone could slip through to visit their former homes and the loved ones left behind.

That was why Stiles had kept the trick-or-treating to a minimum after his mom had died, even though he'd been barely nine years old. Stiles started his tradition in the first year of his mom's death. He always lit a few candles in his room as soon as it got dark and sat down with all the candy he'd gathered earlier to wait for his mother to pay him a visit.

He would always bake his mother's favorite cookies. Halloween was always a busy day for his Dad so, he was never home to ask, why Stiles was baking those cookies on that particular day.

Even though his mom never made an appearance, Stiles always felt like she was near. So he would spend the whole evening right up until midnight talking to her as if she were sitting right next to him on his bed.

Between munching candy corn, chocolate and other sweets and slurping apple cider, he'd tell her about his adventures with Scott (which turned into real adventures once Scott became a werewolf), about how much he loved lacrosse, and about this girl named Lydia, that he'd marry one day  (according to his 15 year plan). It changed over the years of course and the last few years he'd told her, about how much he hated Harris, his chemistry teacher, and about how he might not marry Lydia after all, because he might be more into guys, and especially one particular handsome, grumpy, werewolfy Alpha guy (so, screw his 15 year plan).

Stiles had continued his tradition even when he got too big to actually go out trick-or-treating and today would be the first time that he would break it, after nearly fifteen years.

He was standing in his room, now empty, except for his old bed and a box, filled with old photographs and other memories of his mother.

It was getting dark and Stiles knew, that the time had come to say goodbye to his childhood home. He was leaving for good.

He was thankful that his Dad wasn't home, because even at the age of twenty-three  Stiles was sure he wouldn't have been able to hold back his tears when his father hugged him goodbye.

Stiles finally grabbed the box from his bed and went down to the kitchen to get the cookies he had baked this afternoon. Just because he was moving out, didn't mean he'd break his tradition completely, he was just kind of relocating it. He was sure his mom would find him, even in the middle of the woods in the newly renovated Hale House that Stiles would be calling home from now on.

Stiles also planned to add something or rather someone new to his yearly ritual, because he wanted Derek to be part of his conversation with his mother. He had told her so much about him over the years, it only made sense that she finally got to meet his boyfriend.                    

When Stiles finally arrived at the Hale House, the last glimmers of daylight were just vanishing.  A chilly breeze welcomed him as he got out of his Jeep.

He quickly grabbed the box and the plate with the cookies from the backseat and started to walk up to the house, when he saw a dark figure standing a few feet away from the porch.  It was looking up towards the window of the living room where warm light was spilling out into the dark cold night.

"Excuse me, but this is private property!" He told the intruder, trying to sound as pissed off as Derek had, the first time they had met.

The figure turned around to face him.  Stiles could see that it was a woman, who had long dark hair and was wearing a black leather coat.

A frown was decorating her face, "Private property?" she asked, mimicking Stiles tone and she did a better imitation of Derek, than Stiles ever could. That and the frown were so utterly familiar that a cold chill ran down his spine and he felt goose bumps forming on his arms, making his hair stand up.

He swallowed, his grip tightening around the box he was still holding in his hands, "Who are you?"

She walked a few steps closer and inhaled some air through her nose as if to sniff Stiles from afar and suddenly the frown was replaced by a smile.

"You smell like him," She stated simply and walked back to the house to sit down on the porch.

Stiles decided to play dumb and asked, "Like who?"

He knew, that running wasn't an option, because with the smelling thing the woman just did, he was pretty sure she was a werewolf. So stalling seemed like a good idea and his heart was galloping in his chest, so it was probably just a matter of seconds before Derek came running out to see if something was wrong.

For a hot second he wondered why Derek hadn't come out here already, because usually he could hear someone approaching the house even before they were on actual Hale territory.  He couldn't think about that any longer though because the woman was interrupting his thoughts. "You don't need to be afraid. I am not here to harm you...or him."

"Uhm, okay." Stiles managed to say, still not really believing her 'I come in peace' attitude.

Her gaze shifted to the house, and then back to Stiles again, "You make him happy. I haven't seen him like this in a long time, not since the...," her voice suddenly got quieter and Stiles had to walk closer to hear her, "...everything that happened here," she continued.

Stiles stared at her, saw the sad smile she wore on her face. He knew, that he should probably keep his distance, but his curiosity won out. "You knew the Hales?" he asked as he put the box down on the first step of the porch, between himself and the mysterious woman.

She was staring out into the darkness with a faraway look in her eyes and suddenly Stiles knew, that whatever her intentions might be, she wouldn't hurt him, that's why he even dared to sit down. It also helped his courage that Derek was only a cry away, literally.

"Yes, I knew them well...a long time ago," she finally said and made an attempt to reach out for Stiles' right forearm where it was resting on his knees, but before she touched him, she changed her mind and slowly stroked over the smooth surface of the wooden stair instead. "Thank you for helping make this house a home again and for bringing the happiness back into his life..."

"You mean Derek?" Stiles interrupted her.  There were just too many questions running through his head and he had the urge (like usual) to get them out at once, no matter what and so he went into full on babble mode. "Who are you? Why are you here? Is this a short visit? Or do you plan to stay in the area? It seems as if you've been here before? Are you related to the Hales in any way? I mean, you totally could be, because the frown thing you did earlier is something I've had to deal with every single day for the past seven years and so far I only know one person who does it, in fact, who's kind of made an art form out of it, so who..."

"Whoa, hold your horses, Hoss! Seven and a half questions in under thirty seconds, that's quite a talent you have there." She laughed, a high clear laugh that was quite contagious and Stiles found himself joining in.

"Well, I am a man of many talents!" He said, giving her his best cheeky grin.

"Oh, I have no doubt about that, I guess that's the reason why you've wrapped him around your finger." The woman gave him a knowing look.

Stiles felt a faint blush color his cheeks, "Uhm, I think it's the other way round."

"That too." She nodded and shifted slightly, so she could get a better look at Stiles, "He has chosen well." Her voice held a note of pride and approval, that caused Stiles' face to feel even warmer.  

He cleared his throat. "Compliments are awesome, I totally love them!" He beamed at her, while he shook his head, "I gotta say though, you've got great avoidance tactics, but the thing is, they might work on most people, but unfortunately for you, I am not one of them. You know, years of experience with you know who. Who's kind of the master of avoidance, or at least he was. But you, you are a close second. So...who are you?"

The woman chuckled, "You are quite persistent! But it was worth a try, right?" She raised one eyebrow questioningly, trying hard to hide a grin. "So let's see, who am I? Hm, gonna have to keep that a secret for, but I'm sure you'll figure it out, probably sooner rather than later. As for your questions, why I'm here and what I want? I just wanted to check on him, to see how he's doing and no, it won't be a long visit, in fact, I'll have to go soon."

Stiles tried to say something, but the woman held up her hand and scowled at him (scowled! at Stiles like a pro or like an Alpha or like a particular Alpha), "I thought you wanted answers, so no more questions, just listen."

Stiles wanted to protest badly, because "just" listening so wasn't his forte. However, there was something about the look in her eyes that told him if he wanted to find out more about her and her motives, he didn't have much of a choice. He bit his lower lip as if to keep the words that were already lingering on his tongue in his mouth and the woman took this as a sign to continue.

"I remember the summers best, they were magical. The woods were filled with kids of the pack and their friends, there were bonfires and barbecues, endless water pistol battles and the hide-and-seek games were legendary, of course the Hale kids would always win!" Stiles could see, that a warm smile began to spread on the woman's face, as she dipped into those precious bittersweet memories of days long gone.

"The summers seemed endless and glorious. You know, they were just perfect. He...Derek," it was the first time that she actually said the name out loud and Stiles saw that it cost her quite an effort to do so, her eyes were glistening with tears.
She sniffled, obviously not ashamed of getting all teary-eyed in front of a stranger, and went on. "Derek was an adorable kid and I remember the phase, when he wished so badly he was a werecat instead of a werewolf..."

Stiles burst into laughter. "A werecat...A WERECAT?!" He laughed so hard tears were streaming down his face. The woman smiled and the last hints of sadness vanished.

"Oh, yes. A werecat!" She affirmed, flipping her hair smoothly over her shoulder. "It was after he had his first  real-life encounter with a cat at a friend's house, I think he was around six. As you can imagine, cats avoided the Hale territory like a plague."

Stiles snorted and mumbled, "Still the case." Then he glanced at the woman, who did the scowl again, but he could also see the hint of amusement reflecting in her eyes, nevertheless he raised his hands in defeat. "Shutting up now. Please do continue."

"Well, the cat turned tail and fled up the highest tree in the garden as soon as she recognized the wolf in Derek and Derek was in awe. He had seen a cat climbing a tree on TV before, but not in real life and he swore he had never seen anything cooler in his whole life and from that day on he was flouncing around telling everybody, no matter if they wanted to hear it or not, that he totally wanted to become a werecat once he was all grown-up. This continued until one fateful day, I think it was a late day in August, when he decided to start tree-climb-training." She sniggered at the memory. "And he did climb that tree over there," She motioned toward the huge oak tree that stood at the beginning of the clearing and was about thirty feet taller than the surrounding trees. "I guess it was about 40 feet high back then and he had managed to climb up almost right to the top, that stupid boy."

Stiles could clearly hear that she didn't mean it, because her voice sounded fond and he also detected a hint of pride.

"Of course he found out soon enough that climbing up was way easier than getting back down. So there he was, sitting in a tree, scared shitless and half wolfed out because of that and so he did the only thing he could do in that moment, he howled for help and yes, before you ask, he literally did howl."

If Stiles could, he would have rolled with laughter on the cold forest floor. So he was just sitting there, trying to get some air into his lungs, while his whole body was  shaking with laughter.

The woman just ignored him and continued, a huge smile dancing on her face, "His howl for help brought the whole pack to gather around under the oak tree. His Dad and a few others tried to tell him that he should just let go, that they would catch him, but the stubborn little brat was clinging to the tree and didn't let go until his Dad fetched a ladder and carried him down."

"So his trust issues go way back it seems," Stiles blurted out, quickly clapping his hand over his mouth.

"Yes, he was never one to give his trust easily; one had always to earn it, even when he was a kid." She was quiet for a moment, then she made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Anyway...he held quite a grudge against that oak tree, he was so mad that he peed on it every morning for quite some time, still don't know if he thought his piss would kill the tree or if he was marking his territory, his way of showing that damn oak tree who the boss was. As you can see, it didn't have the desired effect, as the oak had a real growth spurt after that." She waggled her eyebrows in amusement.

"Oh my God...I can't...I seriously can't," Stiles gasped, cracking up, his body swaying back and forth. He was aware that the woman was watching him, but her gaze was warm and he felt strangely connected to her. She must have felt it too because she smiled at him affectionately.

When Stiles finally calmed down, she told him, "After that he never mentioned becoming a werecat ever again." Then she turned to him and said, "If you ever want to see him all flustered and flailing, then just bring up the werecat, it's priceless, believe me." She noticed Stiles' flabbergasted look, "Yes, I made shameless use of my knowledge during Derek's teenage years and don't tell me, you don't enjoy teasing him and watching the tips of his ears turn adorably red."

Stiles didn't say anything, but he filed the information away in his memory, because a flustered and flailing Derek was a sight Stiles had yet to see. The woman grinned at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking and Stiles' didn't even feel a hint of shame.

"That reminds of the one time Derek was wolfed out and chased a skunk, he was thirteen and..." She began but Stiles couldn't hold back and laughed, "A skunk, oh I so need to hear..."

"Stiles?"

Stiles gasped and let out a tiny scream. Derek was standing in the doorway, wearing nothing but a towel, slung low on his hips and his hair was wet and ruffled (in other words he looked like a Greek God who was just begging to be ravished). He'd obviously just taken a shower, which was probably why he hadn't heard Stiles talking with the woman.

"Jeez, I really thought I'd have gotten used to your creep-attacks by now, but clearly I haven't." Stiles put his hand over his heart in a dramatic gesture as if to prevent it from jumping out of his chest.

Derek crouched down next to Stiles, placing a hand soothingly on his neck, "I'm sorry." He kissed him quickly on the mouth and then the famous frown Stiles had just been talking about made an appearance. "Who were you talking to?"

Stiles leaned into Derek's touch and mumbled, "That's what I was trying to find out, before you tried to give me a heart-attack. But she hasn't told me yet. Maybe you'll have more luck."

"She?" Derek gave him a curious look.

"Yes, she!" Stiles said and turned around to...empty air. He jumped up, scanning the area with his eyes, but it was already completely dark and he could only make out the shapes of the trees in the close-by wood and the outlines of their cars.  The woman he'd just been talking to for the past ten minutes was nowhere to be seen.

"Derek, she was here, sitting right next to me, just a minute ago. She couldn't have gotten far, you must still hear her...smell her!" Stiles drove his fingers anxiously through his hair, feeling his breath quicken in his suddenly too tight chest.

"Stiles," Derek was grabbing him gently by his arms, pulling him closer. "Stiles," he said again, "there's no one here. There hasn't been anyone here for hours!"

"But, no," Stiles shook his head, "that's impossible! Derek, she knew you and your family. She sniffed me from a distance, she could smell you...on me..."

Derek's grip tightened. "A werewolf? Stiles, there's no trace of anyone except for you and me out here, especially not the scent of another werewolf."

Stiles took a few more deep breaths. The cold air filled his lungs and he was finally able to focus again and after patting Derek's shoulder gently, he did what he always does when he's nervous, he started to babble...again, "Are you sure your werewolfy abilities are working properly today? I mean it's Halloween after all, so I guess stranger things have happened. Maybe it affects you and your powers that the veil between this world and the next is almost transparent tonight.  Maybe it's making you somehow...impotent."

He at least had the decency to flinch when he had said the last word out loud and suddenly his back was pressed against the banister of the porch, while his werewolf boyfriend was looming over him. Even after all these years Stiles had no idea how Derek did this looming thing, because it should be impossible, as they were nearly the same height.  He forced himself to refocus on Derek, who was staring down at him, his eyes holding a tinge of red.

"Stiles," he growled, "What did I tell you about provoking the wolf?"

Stiles gulped and when Derek suddenly ground teasingly against his crotch, a moan escaped Stiles' mouth. Derek bent forward and captured Stiles' earlobe between his teeth and nibbled it gently. Stiles was just about to lose control when Derek's mouth traveled further down, planting small kisses on its way down to the sensitive patch of skin right above his clavicle. Derek licked it first, as if he was tasting Stiles and then he began to suck oh so slowly, leaving a mark and making Stiles groan with desire.

"Answer me," Derek whispered, as he rolled his hips against Stiles' again.

Stiles slowly opened his eyes and managed to say, "I must not do it."

"Exactly!" Derek nodded and planted a quick kiss on Stiles' lips. Then he let him go and picked up the box including the cookie plate and went into the house. "You coming?" He asked over his shoulder, a sly grin plastered all over his face.

Stiles let out a frustrated sigh and readjusted his jeans, which had grown painfully tight. "Obviously not!"

He heard Derek's laugh ringing out from inside the house and couldn't help but join in.

A few years ago, Stiles wouldn't have thought that Derek was able to smile, let alone laugh, but over time Derek had loosened up a lot, thanks to his pack and to Stiles especially. It had been a rough start for them, but when Derek had finally started trusting Stiles and vice versa, things had changed. They'd started to hang out, just the two of them, and had become friends.  After a little while they had become more, and that was when Derek Hale had learned to laugh again.

After taking a few deep breaths and thinking about gory things like penis-eating zombies, Stiles finally managed to stumble inside and the mysterious woman was forgotten.  For now.             

After dinner, they finally settled on the couch and Stiles began his yearly Halloween tradition, telling his mom about all the things that had happened in the past year.

It had been a good year. The Hale pack was strong and their bond with the Argent family, had grown even tighter after Allison's and Scott's wedding a year ago.  It was well known in various circles, so the supernatural creatures mostly gave Beacon Hills a wide berth.

His Dad had been re-elected as Sheriff and he and Scott's mom had finally stopped dancing around each other and were now officially dancing with each other (even in public), as they had started dating. Stiles thought that now that he had moved in with Derek, his Dad and Mrs. McCall might change their living arrangements soon too.

He didn't feel bad telling his mom about this, because he knew that she would have wanted his Dad to be happy.

Stiles also told her about Jackson and Lydia's failed attempt to elope, which had caused the whole pack to end up in Vegas.  The pack had watched Jackson and Lydia get married by an Elvis impersonator, who had sung Love Me Tender so out of tune that it had nearly caused Jackson to shift. But apart from that, it had been a wonderful wedding.  Even Derek had gotten a little teary eyed, which he was still denying vehemently, like now when he hissed, "Stiles!"

Stiles just laced their fingers together and planted a small kiss on the back of Derek's hand and grinned, "Oh stop it, I was standing next to you and you totally had tears in your eyes! Don't be such a sour wolf! Remember, you're trying to make a good first impression here!"

Derek harrumphed, but knowing how important this night was to Stiles, he let it go (for now).

Stiles kept on telling his mother about the rest of the pack, about Erica's and Boyd's booming coffee shop in Beacon Hills and how they were planning to open up another one in the next town over.

He babbled on about Isaac, who had finally, in a weak moment, agreed to go on a date with Danny.  He told her how Isaac was not only the best chemistry teacher Beacon Hills High ever had, but also the most awesome lacrosse Co-Trainer, who more than once had managed to persuade Coach Finstock into letting the second line guys play from time to time.

He also let her know that Chris and Peter had adopted a baby girl named Emily. Her mother had been killed by a rogue hunter and Chris and Peter had taken care of the little pup and then they had finally decided to make her part of their family. Both of them were already anxious to start training her.

Stiles snuggled closer to Derek. "As you might have already noticed, things have changed a lot in the past year not only for the pack and Dad, but also for me. I know, I've talked to you about Derek," he paused and Derek raised his brows questioningly, “like a lot,” Stiles continued with a lopsided grin. “He has come a long way from being all sourwolfy and grumpy, well...not such a long way, as he still tends to be all broody...and tall...and dark...and handsome!” He planted quick kisses on Derek's lips after saying each of the three last words.

Stiles started to play with Derek’s fingers as he went on. “I moved in with him today and yes, we are still fighting from time to time, but there’s always awesome make-up sex afterwards...uhm...which you probably don’t want to know anymore about...anyway, the thing is, I am happy.  He makes me happy. He’s my man...my growly, werewolfy man and I think you would have liked him. No, I am sure you would have liked him! I wish...” Stiles’ voice got hoarse and heavy with unshed tears.

Derek pulled him into his lap and hugged him tightly, while mumbling into Stiles’ hair, “Me too...me too.”

They sat like that for a while, comfortable in each other's arms, each of them a bit lost in their own memories, until Derek finally broke the silence, “I need to show you something.” With that he gently put Stiles back on the couch and left the room, only to return a moment later with two old picture frames, slightly charred at the corners.

He sat down next to Stiles. “These are the only pictures of my family and the pack that weren't destroyed by the fire. I found them when we were renovating the study.”

The first picture was the pack in front of the Hale house, Stiles recognized Peter, who was standing next to a blonde man, his hand was draped loosely on his shoulders. He wasn’t looking at the camera, instead he was whispering something in the man’s ear and it made him smile radiantly.
Derek, who couldn’t have been older than four or five at the time the picture was taken, was sitting on the ground cross-legged, giving the photographer a toothy grin.

“Aw, look at you!” Stiles smirked, while his thumb was gently stroking the picture,  “You were adorable!”

"Don't call me that!" Derek said in a warning tone, but Stiles just grinned at him and replied teasingly, "But you are, I mean, you were!"

He let out a laugh as Derek tried to grab the picture out of his hands.  

"No no no!" Stiles scooted a little further away and hid it behind his back. "You so will not take this adorable picture and hide it away, we'll put it somewhere where I can see and worship it every single day!"

Derek was not impressed, but when Stiles threatened to not participate in any sexy- times for an indeterminate amount of time, he finally gave in and agreed to hang it up in their bedroom, so at least the pack wouldn't be able to see it. Because who would take an adorable Alpha serious anymore?!

After that was finally sorted, Stiles took a closer look at the second picture, it showed four people.  Derek told him it was a photograph of his family, taken just days before the fire.

Derek's parents were sitting on the steps of the porch, while Derek was standing behind them, giving a young woman a piggyback ride. He was smiling, but the smile didn't reach his eyes anymore.  He'd already lost the care free nature that younger children carried with them until their childhood began to slip away along with their innocence.

Then Stiles' gaze was drawn to the young woman, clinging to Derek, her smile was open and she looked happy and...Stiles blinked...once...twice, then he gasped.

"Derek, who's that?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Derek lips curved into a tiny smile, "That's Laura."

"But...this...no it can't...this is im...impossible!" Stiles stuttered, while his heart hammered loudly against his ribcage and his breaths came a tad too quick. A familiar feeling of panic rose in his chest for the second time that evening.

"Stiles, what's wrong?" Derek gave him a worried look, while he stroked Stiles' back soothingly, trying to calm him down. "Stiles?"

"It's her, the mystery woman that I saw earlier. It was Laura."

Derek's hand stilled immediately and Stiles felt his whole body tense like the string of a violin.

He just stared at Stiles.  Stiles could tell from the look on Derek's face that his own must look pretty bad and he rubbed his hands nervously up and down his thighs. Derek slowly shook his head in denial, but before he could say anything, Stiles began to speak. "I should have known, from the moment she opened her mouth and did the perfect imitation of your 'I am majorly pissed off' voice. And then the frown, seriously, is it genetic? I know that this sounds so fucking unbelievable, but I swear it, Derek, it was her! Oh my, God of course...," Stiles covered his eyes with his hands, then he moved them away again and started massaging his temples, when he continued, "...that's why you couldn't smell her or hear her moving in the woods, when she vanished."

Derek was still just sitting there, staring at Laura in the picture, his eyebrows knitted together in a deep frown.

"Just think about it. I mean, we have seen so many supernatural creatures over the years and we hardly ever doubted their existence, well except for the leprechauns , I totally thought that was just a joke...uhm...anyway...so...why shouldn't ghosts exist too?"

He heard Derek inhale sharply, when he mentioned ghosts. Stiles gently grabbed his chin and turned his face toward him, "It's Halloween after all, everything is possible today.  You of all people should know that!"

"And why's that?" Derek gave Stiles an expectant look, while his frown looked permanently etched in place.

"Dude!" It had been years, since Stiles had called Derek that. "You kissed me on Halloween five years ago. Our first kiss!!! Seriously?! How could you forget that epic moment when you and I became an us?"

"Of course I remember, Stiles, but that's hardly the issue right now!" Derek growled but Stiles wasn't really impressed by that anymore.

"So, you think that a hyperactive teenager and an emotionally constipated werewolf becoming an item on Halloween is more credible than ghosts walking the earth on the same day? Even though, according to the Celts, Samhain is the one day of the year, when the portal or door or whatever of the Otherworld is open for the souls of the dead to come into our world." Stiles could see he was scoring at least one point so he continued.

"Look, I don't want to fight. Not today. I just want you to look at the facts and think about the possibility that it was really Laura I talked to earlier." He leaned back against the couch, brushing shoulders with Derek. He could feel some of the tension leaving Derek's body, when they touched.

"What did she say?" Derek's voice sounded small and vulnerable.

Stiles put his head on Derek's shoulder. "She said, that I smelled like you and that she hadn't seen you this happy since before the fire. She also kind of thanked me for helping to make this house a home again and she implied that I might be one of the reasons that you were happy." Stiles told him and a slight smile appeared on his lips, then he added, "Maybe even the reason!"

Derek's frown was finally replaced by a tiny grin, "She did not say that!"

"Well, she totally would have, if you hadn't stomped out trying to scare me to death!" Stiles replied and slightly pushed his elbow into Derek's side.

When Derek didn't even twitch, Stiles thought, that it was now or never. "You know, she also told me about you wanting to become a werecat and I must say, now, that the mystery of why the old oak at the beginning of the clearing is so much bigger than the others, is finally solved. It seems werewolf piss is like some sort of magical fertilizer!"

Derek's look was priceless and Stiles wished he had a camera. Derek's mouth hung wide open, his eyes were huge like saucers and the tips of his ears were an adorable shade of red just like Laura had said.  Also, Stiles could see a faint blush staining Derek's cheeks (and yet his boyfriend still managed to look sexy as hell and not at all like a complete doofus like Stiles himself would).

"I...what...how," Derek stuttered, then the flailing began and that was when a loud laughter erupted from Stiles and his whole body trembled violently.

Derek let out a frustrated, "Stiles!" Rubbing his face with his hands, he let out an annoyed sounding groan.

Stiles was still laughing, because of Derek's face, which had been so precious and he totally cast his eyes heavenwards, sending Laura a silent "Thank you!"
Then he turned to Derek, who was avoiding his gaze, looking massively uncomfortable and definitely sour. Stiles couldn't resist, "Oh come on, don't be such a Sourwolf!" while playfully jabbing one pointy finger into Derek's ribs again.

This time Derek did react and captured both of his boyfriend's wrists with his hands and before Stiles could say another word, Derek pulled him into a heated kiss, because that was, after all, the best and most successful way to shut Stiles up. Derek had discovered that early on and had learned to use it to his advantage.  

Stiles let out a little moan, when Derek dipped his tongue into Stiles' mouth. Derek pulled back to suck on Stiles' lower lip which made Stiles squirm closer.  cupped Stiles face in his hands, thrusting his tongue further into Stiles' mouth.

When Derek finally let go of Stiles he said, "Happy Anniversary, I guess."

This time he was really grinning, showing Stiles his blinding white teeth. Then he bent forward and whispered into Stiles' ear, "If you ever bring the werecat up again, I swear, I am going to..."

"...aw, you are such a romantic!" Stiles interrupted him, looking not the least bit intimidated when he saw Derek giving him his 'I am the Alpha, hear me roar'  scowl.

"Oh stop it, you know that doesn't work on me anymore!"

Derek sighed, he obviously knew when a battle was lost. "This...thing, it will stay between us!"

Stiles' head jerked up in surprise. "Do we have to discuss your trust issues...again?"

Derek stayed silent and just shrugged, which Stiles took as his cue to continue. "Of course I won't tell anyone, especially not the pack." Then he squeezed Derek's hand reassuringly. "We wouldn't want them to think of you as an adorable werekitten that likes to climb and piss against oak trees!"  

Derek let out a loud groan and his eyes flashed red, the wolf obviously a bit riled up by all the talk about werecats and werekittens, so Stiles (the werewolfwhisperer he was) scooted even closer to Derek and stretched his neck, bent it slightly and bared his throat to him.  It was a sign of submission, despite the wink he gave Derek, who bowed down nevertheless and sniffed Stiles. Then he licked Stiles' skin, starting at the sensitive spot right behind the earlobe, down the sternocleidomastoid muscle, that ran from his neck to his collarbone.

When the wolf had calmed down again, Derek planted a quick kiss at the corner of Stiles' mouth and Stiles put a hand around his waist, pulling Derek closer. They both sighed and a content smile appeared on both of their faces.

"She was right you know. Laura, I mean," Derek said after a while, looking more serious again. "You make me happy."

 "I love you too, you know." Stiles said, sealing his statement with another long, passionate kiss.

When they both finally broke away, gasping for much needed air, Stiles started to fidget around on the couch a bit and began rearranging the remotes and the books that were lying on the coffee table. He was avoiding Derek's gaze when he finally asked, "So, you believe me now...that I saw Laura's...ghost?"

Derek was silent for a minute, staring down at the photograph of his family again, then he nodded. "As you said, everything is possible on Halloween and also I have no other explanation for how you could have found out about the werecat stuff." He looked pained at even having to mention that again.

After he composed himself, the tips of his ears weren't quite as red as they had been and he told Stiles what he so desperately wanted to hear. "Yes, I believe you."

Derek paused again, as if he wasn't sure what to say next, but he continued in a calm, quiet tone, "It's also nice, you know, that she's kind of watching over me...over us."

Stiles sighed, "Yes, it is. I like to think my mom is too."

"I am sure she is." Derek reassured him and got up. "It's been a long day. Wanna go to bed?" He wiggled his eyebrows in a funny way and Stiles be damned, thought it looked sexy as hell and he totally knew an invitation when he heard one, so he quickly jumped up and made an attempt to run upstairs to their bedroom. But he had forgotten about the box with his mother's pictures and memorabilia that was standing near the couch.  So of course Stiles would have stumbled over it and face planted in the middle of the living room floor if it weren't for Derek's super-fast werewolfy reflexes.

The contents of the box spilled out onto the hard-wood floor and Derek knelt down to help Stiles gather all his precious memories and put them back in the box again.  A picture must have caught his eye because he held it longer than the rest so he could get a closer look at it.

Stiles, who looked about six years old, was hanging up-side down from the branch of a tree, the wide smile decorating his face showed that both of his front teeth were missing. Next to him stood a woman with long curly blonde hair and eyes that were the same shade as Stiles' dark amber ones.  She was holding his feet tightly so he wouldn't fall down.

Derek stood up and held the picture closer to the light, which earned him a weird look from Stiles.

Derek's gaze slowly wandered from the photograph to Stiles. "This is your mother." It was more of a statement than a question. When Stiles nodded slowly, it was Derek's turn to pale. "I think I need to tell you about Halloween five years ago."          

A while later they were lying in their bed, basking in the afterglow of their own private celebration of their anniversary, when Derek nuzzled his head into Stiles neck and whispered, "Laura would have liked you."

Stiles grabbed Derek's hand that was resting lazily on his waist and pulled him closer, so that his back touched Derek's chest. "She totally would have loved to have me as her brother-in-law." Stiles laughed.

Derek shifted a bit and gently pushed one of his legs between Stiles'.  His lips were touching Stiles' ear and he could feel Derek's hot breath brushing over his soft skin, when Derek asked him, "Is that a proposal?"

"Whaa..." Stiles turned around abruptly and nearly elbowed Derek in the face during the process. Derek's lips were on his as soon as he could get a hold of them and he was kissing Stiles as if there was no tomorrow and somewhere in the distance the high, clear laugh of Laura Hale could be heard, but the two of them were too lost in each other to catch it.