Heeey everyone! I'm so sorry about this fic. I got the idea from a prompt on .com but it spiraled out of control and I was left with this pile of angst.
Warnings: This fic is not a happy one. There is no happy ending. Major Character Death. Please read at your own discretion.
"It's okay, you're going to be okay."
Derek had been lying there, covered in blood and dirt, gasping for breath when the pack found him. They'd been chasing a rouge omega for the better part of two days and Derek had let his guard down for one minute. As soon as he had, the wolf had materialized in front of him and grasped his throat, throwing him backwards.
He had struggled to get up and fight but the omega was faster. She'd straddled him and gripped his throat again, pressing down hard on his air supply. He clawed at her hand, trying to get the upper hand long enough to throw her off him. He looked into her eyes, trying to find some semblance of the human in her and pleaded with the universe to let him go. But his prayers went unanswered and as he looked into the wild, desperate gaze of the wolf on top of him, he let go.
He closed his eyes and relaxed. He was ready. He wanted to see his family again. The only thing tying him to this world was his pack and he knew they'd be fine without him. Scott would take over as Alpha and in a few years, they'd forget he even existed.
Derek felt the omega pause, clearly, she hadn't been expecting him to give up. As he waited for her to deliver the fatal blow, he could almost feel the warmth of his family. He'd missed them so much. All he needed was to be able to see them, to touch them, hug them, again. Apologize for letting them down and getting them killed.
"Derek!"
He startled when he heard the familiar voice scream his name. Turning his head, he saw the pack approaching, Stiles in the lead.
Stiles.
How could he have forgotten about the man he loved? Stiles was in danger. Derek needed to protect him. As long as Stiles lived, there was something worth staying on this earth for.
He snapped his head back to the omega and with renewed strength, struggled against her grip. But his movements startled her and instinctively she thrust her claws down, right into Derek's chest.
He gasped for breath, white hot pain rippling through his chest. Blood spurted from the wound, running in rivers down his chest and coating the omega's claws.
"NO!" Stiles roared, charging at the omega. He slammed into her, sending her sprawling. He snarled at her, doing a great impression of a wolf even though he wasn't one. How dare this wolf hurt Derek.
"S-Stiles," A weak voice croaked out, distracting Stiles from his murderous thoughts. He took his eyes off the whimpering omega and caught Scott's eyes. Scott nodded and went over to the omega to make sure she didn't escape.
"Derek!" Stiles whispered, scrambling over to the older man. His eyes widened when he saw the severity of the wound and a sob caught in his throat. They were in the middle of the woods with no cell reception. Even if they could get help, it would never be here in time.
With that realization, Stiles' heart started beating out of control. He wasn't ready to lose Derek. He didn't think he would ever be ready to lose him. But especially not like this. Not in such a violent way.
"It's okay, you're going to be okay." Stiles babbled, desperate to believe the obvious lie. He heard the pack crying behind him but he couldn't look at them right now. He couldn't look at anything but Derek. The bloodied, broken form of the love of his life.
"Stiles," Derek repeated, with as much firmness as he could manage. Stiles' mouth snapped shut and he looked at Derek. His eyes wide and pleading for this to all be some sort of sick joke.
"Yes?" Stiles whispered, cradling Derek's head in his lap and carding his fingers through Derek's hair.
"I love you," Derek admitted. He could feel his body getting weaker and weaker, and he needed to tell Stiles. He couldn't die without the younger man knowing how he felt.
Stiles let out a broken sob, he could literally feel his heart shattering.
Behind him, Scott cried as he watched his best friend break beyond repair. Not only was he going to lose his alpha but he was going to lose his best friend, his brother.
"I love you too. So fucking much." Stiles whispered back, a broken smile lighting up his face. Tears ran down his face and dripped onto Derek's cheeks, mixing with Derek's tears.
"This wasn't supposed to happen," Stiles sobbed, "We were supposed to get married and have little Hale's running around."
"Little Stilinski-Hale's," Derek croaked, eyes closing at the crushing ache in his heart. He swallowed against the lump in his throat as hot tears filled his eyes. He would give anything to have that with Stiles. A family.
Stiles leaned his head down and touched his forehead to Derek's. His eyes slipped closed as ever so gently he pressed a kiss to Derek's lips.
Their first and last kiss.
"I'll never forget you," Stiles vowed, voice breaking. He couldn't believe this was actually happening.
"I love you," Derek whispered again, breathing deeply, memorizing Stiles' scent.
"I love you guys too," Derek spoke to the pack, turning his head as much as could so he could look at them. "You guys gave me back a family. I can never thank you enough for that."
Everyone was crying as Derek's eyes started to droop, his breathing getting slower. Stiles was covered in Derek's blood but he didn't care. He just continued carding his fingers through Derek's hair and softly started to sing an old Polish lullaby his mum would sing to him whenever he was scared.
The silence was deafening as Derek's heartbeat got weaker and weaker until it just…stopped.
One thing was for sure, the Hale pack would never be the same.
It wasn't just Derek who died that night in the forest. A little piece of all of them died. Their connection to their alpha stronger than he had ever realized.
And Stiles…well, Stiles was broken beyond repair.
Thank you to everyone who read this! Once again, I'm so sorry.
Please, let me know what you thought!