Deafening Silence

Ch. 34

TWO YEARS LATER

"Derek stop, Scott's gonna be here soon" Stiles laughed aloud as Derek kissed down his neck. He had let his beard grow out over the past couple months and sometimes Stiles couldn't stop himself from giggling whenever they kissed. He honestly couldn't help that it tickled.

"Oh please when is he ever here on time?" Stiles knew he was right and let Derek continue to manhandle him under the sea of sheets. Two years and sometimes the boy wonders how he'd gotten to this point in his life. Successful, in love, grossly happy. As Stiles lay in their bed he thinks about how he was so close to letting this all go, he was going to let Derek slip away without giving this a chance. And for a second he thought "Maybe I am the worst person in the world"

Derek sucked his earlobe into his mouth and rutted against his hip pulling him back to the present "You're thinking too much" he managed in a husky whisper.

"You always say that" he smiled back, before Derek was back on his mouth.

His lips left Stiles' as he licked across his jaw. Then sucked down his neck and over his adams apple. From there Derek placed kisses all the way down Stiles' torso until he came to a stop at the words etched down the side of his boyfriends ribcage. His lips hovered over the sentence before he was kissing it gently, a peck for each work. "I'm sorry" he whispered between the last two kisses. Two years later and Derek could never really bring himself to look at those words and not apologize after seeing them. It drives Stiles crazy.

At that Stiles hauled him up with a hand on Derek's chin forcing the man to look him in the eyes "Stop it" was all he said with the shake of his head right before they were kissing again.

"I love you so much" Derek got out breathlessly, feeling like he was floating.

Stiles smiled into the kiss, wrapping his legs around Derek almost as if he were keeping him down "I love you more"

Then, the baker was hopping up, his eyes scanning around the room for the first pair of jeans he could find. The place was in disarray since Stiles had ransacked the home packing for his business trip and Derek's own luggage was open and in the middle of his room ready to be unpacked from his last trip. He had retuned that morning, leaving them with only hours to get reacquainted.

The sheets pooled around Derek's naked body as he rolled over and watched Stiles throw on clothes, a pout growing deeper on his face as more and more of his boyfriends skin disappeared. Derek spoke, a hint of annoyance in his question "So how long will you be in Arizona again?"

Stiles jumped, pulling his jeans up and around his waist. He'd put on a couple pounds in their time together, though his boyfriend loved it, Stiles hated having to switch out his jeans every  few months "Uhh, a week? I think. Isaac has the itinerary. The location is already built. I'm really just heading out to pick out the final design options and menu layout"

"Well, I'm really going to miss you"

"What are you talking about? You go on business trips all the time"

"Yeah, and? I miss you then too. With you opening more locations it's like we're always both gone back to back"

"This is the last trip either of us will be taking for a while. So push through this one last time then you won't be able to get rid of me" he braced his hands on the mattress as he leaned down to envelope Derek in another heated kiss. The two stayed there for a while falling deeper into each other until they were parted by the sound of the door bell. Stiles pulled back with the smack of their lips, only inches from Derek's face  "That's Scott and Isaac"

One more peck then Stiles was wheeling his bag to the front door. He welcomed his friend in, and the two greeted one another with a brief hug "Hey man"

"Sup, Isaac is waiting in the car. Are you packed and ready to go?"

"Yep, all packed. Let me just go say goodbye to- Oh, honey hi" Derek was there, already dressed in his pajamas, his hair askew "I was just coming to say bye"

"Bye" Derek whispered, using all restraint to keep their goodbye short with one last peck and a hug. Then he was walking him out the door "Take care of him Scotty"

"Will do my man" Scott answered with a salute.

"Hey! Call me when you land" Derek shouted from the porch.

"Of course!" Stiles tossed his luggage in the back along with Isaac's things before making his way around the car. Buckling up, he waived goodbye to Derek one last time before the was started up
and they drove off.

"So?" Isaac sang from the backseat before Stiles' home was even out of view. Looking back he could catch one last glimpse of Derek before he disappeared inside their home.

"He doesn't suspect a thing"

Though he started with a scoff, there was a fond smile on Scott's face as he spoke "You know he's gonna kill you for lying to him"

"I didn't lie...I exaggerated"

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"Iz and I really do need to be in Arizona. Just in three days, Derek thinks I need to be there today"  Scott continued to poke fun, shaking his head in playful disapproval only making Stiles chuckle out loud "C'mon it's for a good cause"

"Of course it is. It's not everyday you ask someone to marry you" Isaac all but shouted with enthusiasm that rivaled Stiles' own.

When he really thinks about it Stiles had begun to entertain the idea of marrying Derek at his best friends wedding just two years prior. He didn't honestly commit to the idea until six months ago. He'd like to say there was some big grand realization that made him finally get off his ass and do something, but no.

It was a typical night as they went through a typical demure routine. Derek sat on the sofa nursing a beer and going on about the baseball game on tv. Stiles had his head in his lap scrolling on his phone trying hard to pay attention, though he had heard the man make a lot of the same points before.

He looked up at him from his place below and it was like an alarm going off inside of him. And he just knew.

The next day he was out of the house early with the promise to return. But not before he'd snuck off to visit Derek's parents and very nervously ask for their permission. Talia had said yes the moment she realized what was going on, throwing herself across the coffee table and around Stiles with tears already in her eyes.

The six months that followed were filled with meticulous planning and a couple ulcers on Stiles' part. Secret keeping really ate him up inside, which he finds ironic seeing how long he kept from Derek.

"So what's left to do?" Scott was speeding down the freeway, anxiously trying to get Stiles to the jewelry store in time. This would be the fifth alteration he's made to the ring, despite everyone around him telling him to leave it the hell alone, that it'd be perfect no matter what.

"Not much. Laura is responsible for getting Derek to the pier. Most of his family drove into town yesterday, dad is bringing my suit to the bakery so I can get changed there. I had the decorations all set up this morning before Derek got in, but Lydia insisted on double checking which only means she's changed everything I did but it also means it's going to look a million times better"

"What about you?" Isaac chimed in from the back where he clutched his seatbelt, from excitement, or fear of Scott's driving Stiles wasn't sure.

Stiles went down the list he had typed up on his phone checking and double checking, not giving too much thought to the question at first "What about me?"

"Nervous? Excited? Second thoughts?"

And for the first time since he started this proposal he realized how weird it was that he in fact wasn't nervous at all. Sure, Derek could say no, and that thought shook him to his core. But the decision? The decision to dedicate himself to the one person who makes him feel on top of the world. It was one of the easiest one he'd make in his life. He wanted it to be him and Derek taking on the world forever "You know what? No, I'm not. This is the happiest I've ever been, and I don't think I've ever been more sure about anything else in my life"