Summary: He liked to take pictures.
He liked to take pitures, mostly of them and their shinnanaganes. It was ridiculous, at least to Derek, but he allowed it because it made Stiles smile when he caught a moment on camara.
Stiles had found the old Polaroid camara in the basement of the burned out Hale Home when Derek had finally consented to consider rebuilding, which, of course, Stiles had taken as an agreement that the home would be rebuilt and had convinced the pack to help clean up the remains so they could start the planning. Stiles had found the camara in a box that was half burnt and had 'Photos' written upon it in Derek's mother's handwriting. He had pulled it out and had begged Peter to give him the old camara.
Stiles had brought it along to the next pack meeting, new film in it, and head begun taking pictures of them. Stiles had captured Erica and Boyd's first kiss, one of Scott and Allison's many kisses, and an awkward kiss featureing Peter and Chris in the kitchen that Stiles had insisted was accidental but that Peter had asked to keep.
Stiles had started to compile photoalbums of them, he'd place them in order of date, the little numbers penned in the corner of each new page.
Sometimes Stiles would spin the camara around and take a picture of himself with the others, most of the time catching Derek off-guard as he threw himself against the other and smiled. There were even a few times that Stiles caught Derek smiling, mainly when he was looking over at one of the other pack members.
The entire pack was astonished at the gentle and pleased smile that Derek had when he had been presented with Allison and Scott's first child and asked to be co-godfather with Stiles or the pictures that Stiles took where Derek was rocking a screaming were-baby that was half changed while Allison and Scott and the rest of the pack was passed out on the living room floor after another creature attacked Beacon Hills.
There were photographs of the baby passed around to each of the pack members, even Stiles and Peter.
When Erica announced her own pregnancy there were pictures of her being lifted up by Boyd and laughing as Lydia bounced Allison's child.
There was only one where Stiles had managed to get them all to stand still for a group photo, taken by Deaton, happily.
Stiles had somehow ended up in the center with Baby McCall in his arms, between Derek and Scott and the rest of the pack surrounding them as Stiles grinned, Melissa McCall help loosely in his father's arms as Stiles demanded everyone say Full-Moon to the annoyance of the Werewolves, newly born Baby Boyd in his mother's arms as she was leaning into Boyd.
There were of course dozens of photos that never made it to the albums, packed into cardboard boxes and placed into the basement.
Stiles made sure to always be smiling when he took his own picture and made sure only the photos where the others were smiling or it was obvious that they were happy made it into the albums.
There were times when Derek managed to sneak photos of Stiles without Stiles being the one to take the picture. A couple where Stiles was interacting with Erica or Scott. The best ones though were the ones with Stiles napping with the pack babies, the only time when Stiles was ever still.
"Come on, Evie." Jaden said as he dragged the slightly younger girl down the stairs, "No one will think to look for us down here."
The two stepped off of the stairs into the basement of the house.
"Wow, it looks like no one has been down here in years." Evie said softly, fingers swiping through some cobwebs.
"Yeah." Jaden said, "Let's look around."
"I don't know, maybe Uncle Derek told us to stay out of the basement for a reason." Evie said.
"Eveline." Jaden drawled, "You're not scared, are you?"
"No, but Mom and Dad..." Eveline began.
"Uncle Derek wouldn't keep anything dangerous near us." Jaden reminded her, "He loves us."
"Yeah." Eveline said uncertainly as she let Jaden pull her further into the room.
They began looking through the basement laughing at some of the things they found, things they remembered.
"Hey, Jay, come look at this." Eveline said as she dragged a large, heavy box from under a smaller version of their family dinner table.
"What is it?" Jaden asked as he came over and helped the girl pull out the box.
"Let's open it." Eveline said, excitedly.
"I don't know." Jaden said, "It's all taped up, Uncle Derek obviously didn't want it to be opened."
"Where's your sense of adventure?" Eveline asked.
"I think I used it all coming down here." Jaden replied.
Eveline rolled her eyes and popped her claws out and cut open the tape, opening the box.
"It's full of pictures." Jaden said in surprise.
"Most of these are of our parents or grandparents and of the pack." Eveline said as she dug through the box.
"Look there are photoalbums, Mom keeps some around." Jaden said as he pulled one out, "They look so happy."
"Yeah, they do." Eveline agreed, "Who is that?"
She pointed at a young boy who held a blue wrapped bundle close, in the process of handing it over to a smiling Derek.
"Is Uncle Derek smiling?" Jaden asked, "It's nice."
"Yeah, he looks handsome with a smile." Eveline grinned, "Look, there's writing here, 'Jaden terrifies Sourwolf, and endures Uncle Stiles.'"
"What the heck is a Stiles?" Jaden asked.
"You two should not be down here." A low voice came from the stairs.
"Uncle Derek..." Eveline began.
"Don't start, Evie." Uncle Derek sighed, "Come on."
Uncle Derek came over to them and lifted the box up and began to leave, "You two sleeping down here?"
"No." Jaden said quickly, "What's a Stiles, Uncle Derek?"
"Yeah, and who is the guy handing Jaden to you in the hospital photo?" Evie asked as they headed to the living room.
"Stiles is- was my mate." Uncle Derek said softly as he settled the children and the box on the living room rug.
"But you don't have a mate, Pack mom has been empty since we were younger." Jaden said.
"Yes." Uncle Derek said simply, "Stiles left-"
Uncle Derek took a deep breath, "Stiles died when Jaden was two."
"But werewolves are nearly impossible to kill." Evie said, "Grandpa Chris and Petpa made sure we knew how to avoid those situations."
"And Grandma and Papa taught us how to fake being injured." Jaden continued.
Uncle Derek nodded, "I know they did. Stiles wasn't a werewolf, he didn't want the bite, by the time I found out it was too late anyway."
"Too late?" Evie asked.
Uncle Derek nodded, "Your parents couldn't bring themselves to finish the albums after he died so I just packed them away."
Uncle Derek lifted up a picture of Stiles laughing as he cooed at a baby Jaden, smiling at the photo softly.
"What happened, Uncle Derek?" Evie asked softly.
"Cancer, he just wanted to make as many happy memories as he could, it was caught too late to treat and he didn't want to lose his hair." Uncle Derek laughed a bit, "It seems a little trivial now but we had a huge fight about him just giving up."
Uncle Derek's eyes softened as he lifted a different picture out of the box, "He told me he wasn't giving up just giving us something better to remember than him crying and getting weaker. He love the two of you insisted on holding you both even when he had to use the wheelchair, refused to let little Evie go, for a while that was the only way you'd go to sleep, if Stiles was holding you."
Uncle Derek chuckled a little, "It was hell with you right afterhe died, you wouldn't sleep, your mom couldn't stop crying and everyone else was a right mess too."
"How'd you get me to stop?" Evie wondered softly.
"I picked you up for the first time after when we were heading to the funeral service and you just stopped and looked up at me with your red-rimmed tearful brown eyes and snuggled closer to me and fell right to sleep, it's how we knew you were a werewolf, I knew you could smell Stiles on me. You slept with me from then on until you were three and we got you your own room."
"You cried for a week." Jaden added, remembering Evie's move to her new room.
"Yeah, I camped outside your door." Uncle Derek admitted.
"Yeah." Evie pulled another picture from the box, "Can...can you tell us some more stories about Uncle Stiles?"
"Please?" Jaden asked.
Uncle Derek's heart stuttered a couple of beats before he let out his breath and nodded, "Yeah, I may throw in a couple about your parents' misspent youth."
The two children giggled and settled down for their stories.
When the adults arrived back at the Hale House, from Date Night for once rather than a threat to the well-being of the town, they found all of the pack's pups curled up next to or around Derek, the Alpha and the children all sleeping, Polaroid Photos spread out around them and across the rug and floor.
Images of Stiles and Derek were closest to the cuddle pile while the other pack member photos were further away.
The scent of salt lingered in the air, a bitterness clinging around the room as well a deep sweetness and chocolaty smell that they'd all come to associate with love.
They could all see the tear tracks that were streaked on Derek's cheeks and a wave of sorrow swept through the group because while they had lost a friend, a son, a brother, Derek had lost yet another family member, a mate, his other half. Derek would never mate again, never love another the way he had loved Stiles and they had asked him to hide away the photos that Stiles had lovingly, laughingly took. They had pushed away the memories the other had left for them because it hurt too much.
But maybe they could ease the hurt and sorrow and remember the person who had given them so much to remember and love in the short amount of time that he'd been given.