20th December 2097 – New York City
Scott McCall stood near the window, looking down on streets below him, pulsing with life and he felt melancholic. It was happening more and more often, than he was willing to admit. Scott raised his hands before him to look at them. They were steady as surgeon's hands should have been. Too steady for someone so inexperienced and young as he appeared to be. The face mirroring his own, in window glass belonged to a boy – he was nineteen years, ten days and three hours old, when he froze in a time. He didn't age a day since then. None of them did.
"Hey," Scott felt Malia's closeness, warm hands slipped around his waist from behind. "Are you ok? You look a bit... stressed out."
Scott turned around, without a word, to face her chocolate eyes. Malia stuck too, she will be eighteen years, fifty-six days forever. Although she cut her hair shorter, they were to her shoulders now, with desperate need to look older. Scott cupped her cheeks, pressed his lips on hers in tender kiss.
"Do you remember who... what we were back then?" he asked when they broke the kiss. Malia sighed and fell backwards on the couch behind her. She recognized his pre-Christmas moodiness and he wasn't trying to hide it before her. They knew each other too well and too long for that.
"I'm trying not to," sounded her quiet answer.
It was supposed to be simple protection spell. After the nogitsune disaster and Allison's death, Stiles started practicing his magic skills. To make sure that nothing like this will ever happen again, he said. Eventually the Pack graduated, Isaac and Cora came back and they all went to college but there was always some kind of danger lurking behind the corner.
The decision was made to protect them and their loved ones – a spell that prevent them to die from supernatural causes. It worked magic, literally. When vampires attacked his mother and Derek, Scott couldn't be happier that Stiles' powers worked. They haven't realised that something went wrong until years later.
When people see each other every day, they don't notice that something has changed, or in this case, not changed. It hit them when Jackson came back from London for Lydia's leaving diploma ceremony. He grew up, matured and Pack noticed that they didn't. Scott with the others confronted Deaton and his answers were more terrifying then any monster they've faced before.
No one could ever predict it, because those who invented the spell never thought, that it will be used on werewolves, banshee, kitsune and druid. Stiles used their life forces to keep the protection spell going. Werewolves have super-speed healing, kitsune has naturally slower aging process and banshee is in direct contact with the other side, able to pull them from death. All of that combined means immortality. The worst part was of course, that their mortal parents were unaffected by it. They were protected and they grew old as they should have been.
When they reached their thirties it became obvious to people around them. Bosses, neighbours, friends... they had to move and it was just for the first time. Ten years on one place and then disappear.
Two brunettes were just about to continue their conversation, when Stiles and Lydia burst into apartment with wide smiles, snow in their hair, holding ridiculous amount of shopping bags.
"Why the sour faces? Someone died?" Stiles asked, ignored Lydia who rolled eyes on him and laughed his own joke.
"Scotty has dark cloud over his head... again," Malia said and stood up to help them with the grocery. Scott was still lying in the same pose like before and listened, how Malia squeaked when Stiles tried to pull her close, on his wet coat.
"Hi," strawberry blond hair appeared over Scott's face like a curtain and red lips brushed on his. "Come on, cheer up. We missed you."
"I missed you too," Scott smiled to her and slowly got up, just to see that Stiles finally caught Malia into tight hug and now they were passionately kissing. His smile turned into grin over that image.
In private, they stopped call each other girlfriends and boyfriends a long time ago. There was just no point in that. Because they didn't grow old and everyone else did, it brought them together in ways none of them could imagine.
In the beginning, Scott thought that he and Kira are inseparable and the same went for Stiles and Lydia. In twenty years he found himself in one bed with Isaac and Cora. After another ten years it was the same place but with Derek and Lydia. Another twenty passed, it was just he and Isaac, then Kira came back. Twelve years ago, Scott was with Derek in New Orleans looking for Peter, when Stiles showed up with 'Forever is a long time to pretend like this is not happening, so fuck it' and then he kissed him. Five years ago, Malia stood on their doorsteps, Lydia behind her, screaming to the phone, calling Cora names, Scott never heard before.
There were times when they bought a house, lived all together as a Pack in a woods, aside of people. It worked surprisingly well, but when it was time to move on, they always separated into smaller groups. Scott let them go. He was still their Alpha, and he always knew where they are and with who they are with.
"Thanks Stiles! I'm all wet!" Malia laughed and escaped Stiles' grabby hands.
"Well, you know we can help you with that," Stiles grinned, patted Scott on shoulder and both followed her into kitchen. "Don't be shy to ask."
Scott was just about to offer help with grocery, when kitchen towel landed on Stiles' head. He quickly jumped aside, expecting what else could be thrown on them but Malia no longer paid them attention.
"How was at work?" she asked Lydia who was stuffing fridge with food.
"Boring hell as usual," Lydia snorted and slapped Scott's hand which was trying to reach for yesterday Chinese take-away. "Forget it! We are not eating this junk tonight..."
Lydia, with her red diploma from MIT and dozen other Ivy League schools, worked as assistant editor of last printed fashion magazine in America. She always complained that is a job for monkey but the truth to be told, Lydia enjoyed to be paid for something, that doesn't required using her full brain capacity.
"My day was great. Thanks for asking, Malia," Stiles landed on barstool behind the kitchen island, trying to pretend that he was offended. "Oh, right... you didn't. No one cares about Stiles."
Malia winked at Scott in amusement and continued unpacking bags. Stiles' job required exactly one thing and that was taking care of software, that he and Lydia invented, six years ago when they finished their second round on MIT. In another words, he was just being the nicest boss ever.
"I do," Scott kissed the other boy on the temple and Stiles beamed at him victoriously.
No one asked about Malia's and Scott's day though. They were in third year of residency in New York Memorial and both just finished their 12 hours shift. Even though they were supernatural creatures, they still had limits and they could have been tired. And they were tired, exhausted even.
"Red or white?" Lydia asked with two bottles in her hands.
Red was the answer from Scott and Malia, white came from Stiles. Lydia opened the red and Stiles dramatically sighed. Grocery was on the right places, so they took glasses and moved themselves back into living room.
"Derek called," Lydia announced and pour everyone red liquid into their glasses.
"What could sourwolf possibly want?" Stiles snorted and tugged himself between Scott and Lydia. Malia made herself comfortable on Scott's lap, stretching her legs over all of them.
"Well," Lydia continued. "Apparently, Cora had finally enough of their crap, so she packed a few things, plus Kira and they both left to France."
"What happened?" Scott asked and refilled Malia's glass.
"I don't know," red-head took a sip of wine to take a dramatic pause. "They will tell us when they arrive. Derek is coming over and taking Peter and Isaac with him."
"You invited them?!" Scott exclaimed in horror, because if there was something he really didn't want for Christmas, it was this - apartment full of wolves with short temper and long memory.
"I hate you," that was Malia, who five years ago, before she knocked on their door, ended up things with Peter in a same way as Cora did now.
"I'm leaving," and that was Stiles, who had past and unresolved issues with all of them.
"You are not leaving," Lydia pointed on Stiles. "You love me," she said and stretched over two men to kiss Malia, then looked at Scott.
"And you..." she cupped his cheeks, giving him her best reassuring smile. "I thought that it will be good for all of us. Good for you, to find something else to think about, then things which happened a long time ago."
And she was right, of course, because Lydia was always right. Scott kissed her, then Stiles and then Malia. They finished the bottle and get into bed, which was too small for all of them, but somehow they found the way, how to fit in.
XXX
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Thank you so much for all your comments, they mean a lot to me, and I really appreciate every nice word from you guys!