Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot.
Ok so here's a little something that is probably over kill on sweet fluffy but I had this idea in my mind since two nigths ago.
It takes place on Christmas eve.
I hope I was able to explain the feelings of missing a loved one and still celebrating the ones with us correctly, if I didn't please forgive me as I'm not very good at this kind of stuff.
Have more in my head to this, like Janny and Allott but don't know if I'll add or not.
Up to you I supposed if you want more or not.
Hope you enjoy it.
A Home For The Holidays:To Memories New & Old
Stiles flung the door open shouting out loud to his father "Dad, we're here." He entered the house and rubbed his hands together hoping to warm the tips from the cold nip in the air.
The Sheriff leant against the kitchen door frame "I'm in here; I said that on the phone so why are you shouting?" He had forgotten what his excitable; ADHD son could be like at Christmas, it had been a while since his son had been really excited since the passing of his mother.
"Don't know." He smiled widely and stepped towards his dad giving him a hug "Just excited I guess." He had a lot to be thankful for and this year he could see that clearly, each year when the holidays would roll around he would miss his mother and it hurt. It was a struggle to be happy and celebrate when you knew one member wasn't there, wouldn't be there anymore, it was a sense of loss that became stronger with the holidays and on birthdays. After his mother passed they struggled to find themselves again and regain what they used to do but Stiles had come to realise you wouldn't regain it completely but that was ok.
You could still enjoy the comfort of your living loved ones and be happy about that while remembering your loved ones no longer with you and this year he planned to do just that, only this year it would be different.
This year he could celebrate with Derek, his mate and that was exciting for the first time in a long time.
Stiles loved spending it with his father and would never spend it anywhere else because to him it was about being with family or loved ones, weather that was made or given, and the fact his father invited Derek to spend it with them made him so happy. Excited to be sharing their first Christmas together as mates, maybe it was for the fact that he could create memories with Derek, along with his father that would be the first of many more to come for them.
He knew for Derek it was a time of difficulty as well so he wanted to show his mate what it could come to be for them, after he asked him what he did for Christmas last year the answer nearly killed him. Derek spent in the abandon train station not bothering with anyone or anything, he didn't bother with all the fuss since he had no one and why would he when his family wasn't here.
Stiles wanted to show him that it was ok to still celebrate even though they weren't there, that it was perfectly fine to be happy and enjoy the time with your remaining loved ones, that you could do it while remembering those passed. He and his father had found a way to do it, remember his mother in a way that made them smile fondly and he wanted to show Derek it, give it to him so he had something to smile about.
The Sheriff patted his son's back before nodding at the look in his eyes "Upstairs." When Stiles stepped back he just moved to greet Derek "Hello."
"Hi." He accepted the hug and returned it half-heartedly before stepping back "Where do you want me to put the presents?" This felt weird, uncomfortable slightly because Derek couldn't remember the last time he was really happy when this holiday came around. After losing his family he thought he could make it through he had Laura but then she had passed on too leaving him alone and Derek just closed off after that.
Why bother when there was no one.
Yet this year his mate seemed so excited when he said the Sheriff asked him to join them for Christmas, at first he wasn't sure what to make of it because he just assumed Stiles would spend it at his fathers and maybe see him for a few hours during it if he was lucky yet when his mate invited him he said no. He bought a hotel room to stay in during the festive period so Stiles could have his time with his father but Stiles insisted the Sheriff had invited him while he thought it was down to Stiles asking or pushing for it, so he said no however his mate wouldn't take no for an answer.
He explained the logic behind it and that his father invited him of his own free will, to turn it down would be incredibly rude when the Sheriff didn't invite just anyone into his home to spend the holidays with them. When Derek thought about it, it did kind of make sense his father knew they were 'dating' but not that they were mated or Derek lived in his house without his knowledge and they had been together for the batter part of a year.
So Derek agreed much to the delight of his mate…who wouldn't have took no for an answer anyway and that by saying yes he picked the easy option because like his mate would let him sleep anywhere else but in the house with him.
"You can put them under the tree in the front room." He pointed to the doorway "You want a beer?"
Derek just nodded as he picked the bag up moving into the front room and just stood it near the tree, not bothering to unpack it before joining the Sheriff in the kitchen for that beer.
Stiles came down the stairs carrying the box with his mates' surprise in and entered the living room resting it on the coffee table "Derek, come here I got you something."
"You always got me something." The man thought it was fun to give him something small since the first of December, whether it be a chocolate, a kiss or a small trinket and Derek found he strangely liked it. Moving into the room he frowned at the box on the coffee table "What is it a small animal?" if it was then this was going to be awkward, him and animals never got on, even if at one point in the month he had something in common with them, fur.
"No, just open it and find out." This was going to be good, shuffling a bit back on the couch he watched Derek as he sat down taking a long pull on his beer…a really long pull "It's not that bad really." It was a nice kind of surprise or at least he hoped it was.
Placing his beer down he just glanced at his mate before lifting the lid on the box to frown as he saw three glass…vases or something, but each one had a different pattern etched in the glass, one was snowmen, the other little Santa's, while the last one was of Rudolph. Just small drawings, printed all over the glass and he just frowned "I don't get it." He didn't like flowers nor did he want them in his house in a vase only to wilt and die.
Leaning forward he carefully pulled one out and turned it to face Derek; he didn't say anything as he just let his mate look before fingers curved around the glass taking it from him.
"What?" His voice went tight so Derek coughed to clear it "Why?" He looked at the name inscribe on the glass;
Laura Hale Beloved Big Sister
Then they year she was born to the year she passed.
"I want you to have something to remember them by, something that won't make you too sad when you look at it but bring a small smile to your face when this time of year comes around." Stiles looked at the candle holder with a smile "I have one for my mom."
Derek looked up at his mate "But why would I need a vase." It was nice, sweet and heart tugging, something he wouldn't get rid of but probably never use.
Stiles just smiled "There candle holders." They were big and round for you to place a candle in the inside, with a slightly flare on the outter rim and the bottom shaped out like a light bulb "I'll show you." He moved around the table just as his dad turned off the lights and moved towards him with a candle. The Christmas tree lights giving the room a soft glow, taking the candle Stiles placed it in the candle holder before running his fingers down the inscription "We take turns, it's my turn to light it this year."
He rubbed his thumb back and forth over the glass feeling the etchings under his thumb pad watching Stiles light the candle, when the Sheriff smile and moved it slightly he saw what his mate was talking about. The design on the glass was shadows on the wall, all the etchings and little designed shadowed on the wall behind it, as the flame flicker and danced it almost seemed like the designs move and on Stiles mother's glass was snowflakes.
The Sheriff smiled at the snowflakes on the wall before moving to sit in his arm chair watching them dance almost before looking at Derek "You should light them."
He just swallowed before shaking his head "Don't have candles." And he wasn't sure if he should; yes the gesture was nice but why light them in the Sheriff's house when they were his loved ones.
Stiles leaned passed Derek to the side table beside the couch and grabbed one candle placing it on the coffee table before grabbing the other two with his hand "We bought candles for them." He smiled resting the last two on the table and sat next to his mate "But you don't have to light them." There was no pressure.
The Sheriff just climbed to his feet "Light the fire, I'll get the games." And give the younger man a moment of privacy.
He swallowed again before coughing "Would it be weird?" A small part of him wanted to see the etching move as shadows on the walls when his mate spoke Derek lifted his eyes to look at Stiles.
"No." He didn't think it would be and his father had no problem with them, resting on the balls of his feet he twisted the leaver for the fire "This is our way of remembering and me and dad wanted you to be a part of it because it's our first Christmas together." Stiles liked the idea of building new memories.
He looked down at the candle glass holder "Where would I put them?" Somehow he didn't think it was right to put them on the mantel next to Stiles mothers.
Smiling Stiles pointed to the side of the fire, where there was two small ledges to rest ornaments on "Well you could put them on there and one would go by the window, they all cast shadows because I like to move my mums around the room." He liked to see her candle vase every year in a different place; it was to him like she was there.
Derek placed Laura's vase down and picked up another one, reading his mother's name on it with the words Beloved Mother & Wife inscribed below it "How did you know she liked Rudolph?" His mother had loved the character of the reindeer. Would always made little cookies or hang little handmade versions the pack made around the house, even wore a set of pj's with the character on while he preferred snowman with his father.
He liked to build them in the back garden with his father and Uncle, first one then two, then another one but each one they would decorate differently or give different colour hats to them, yet the thing he loved the most was creating faces. One angry, the other laughing and maybe one smiling or looking surprised depending on how he, his dad and Uncle styled them.
Stiles rested on his knees and hands as he crawled towards the coffee table before moving around the edge to rest his back to the couch and look up at his mate "You told me it was her favourite character of Christmas, snowmen you built with your dad and Laura believed Santa was real."
Derek started laughing lightly; his sister was crazy "Yeah you think she was right?"
"Yeah, if Werewolves exist then why wouldn't Santa." Stiles knew the story and her logical was something he could agree with, she told Derek that if they existed when others thought they didn't then who knew if Santa was real or not. She would always put a cookie on a plate by the fire with some milk…that as she got older may or may not have been an alcoholic beverage with the excuse that even Santa needed a bud wiser or something stronger every now or then.
He looked at his mate who had that thoughtfully look on his face; he really did think Laura's argument for Santa could be true "You got a lighter?" Derek was amused as he held one hand out.
Stiles felt surprised at those words but leaned forward grabbing the lighter off the table and held it out towards him, neither spoke as he placed his sister and mother one the ledges by the fire and Stiles agreed with the placing "Santa and Rudolph do work together."
Shaking his head at his mate words he placed his fathers by the window on the small side table and placed the candle inside before lighting it, the etchings cast shadows of snowman and Derek felt his smile grow as he watched them for a moment. Stepping back he moved toward Stiles and dropped to the floor beside him, resting one leg under the other as he bent it "Thanks Stiles, I love them." He looked into brown eyes and leant forward brushing their lips "I love you."
He returned the soft kiss and skimmed his fingers down his jaw "Your welcome Sour wolf, wanted it to be special since it's our first Christmas together, I love you aswell." Stiles brushed their lips in another kiss hearing his father coming back into the room and shuffled closer to the table…and his mate at the same time.
The Sheriff entered the room with games under his arm and in his hand while carrying a plate of food in the other "Ok scrabble, no cheating this time." He looked towards his son "No using words I have never heard off or that take me forever to find them in the dictionary."
"No other languages either." Stiles looked at his dad raising his eyebrows "Or words from Laws." He knew his tricks aswell; turning his face to his mate he just lifted his chin "We play hard in this house, so if you can't handle just sit it out and look pretty,"
Look pretty, he just leaned forward grabbing his beer and a little sarnie of the plate "I'm game, prepared to be schooled." Derek gave his mate a devious grin before biting into his food.
Stiles grinned answering the grin with one of his own, in scrabble no one could beat him "Prepare to lose, I'm that good."
The Sheriff snorted in amusement but disagreeing with his son "To me, the winner of the last three years."
He looked at his dad snorting himself "No, I won last year so that makes you the winner the previous two years."
Derek chewed his food watching the two of them jibing back and forth as they set the game up, before lifting his eyes to the candle vases and felt his lips curving up in a genuine smile for the first time in a long time where this holiday was concerned. Turning his head he looked back toward his mate, who made it happen and felt a warmth in his chest along with maybe a little bit of excitement at getting to do this every year with him.
He felt like he had found a home for the holidays again without forgetting the one he had and Derek found he was ok with that.
Hope it wasn't too bad and you at least found it ok.
If you would like to leave a review then please feel free to and i would be most greatful. If you would like to leave one to say this isn't your cup of tea then please feel free to do so but don't be rude or harsh about it otherwise...
...Merry Christmas and have a happy new year. :)
C.I.G.21xxx