Disclaimer: teen wolf does not belong to me in any way shape or form - sooo... Here's another teaser to the ending of ashes to ashes/possible intro of the next one but it's a really cute moment and it's kinda spoilery to the next level of stayla relationship but not majorly so I thought, BC I've been so evil lately, y'all deserved some loving cute stayla ha
"It's so um... So..."
She hated when this happened. When she couldn't get the word from her brain to her mouth and she ended up speechless. She was still healing, still recovering, and she had a long way to go but it became frustrating at times. When her brain just wouldn't cooperate with her and began buffering like some 90's computer, or a laptop with a nasty virus infecting it. She had always been so quick, so 'on the ball' but lately she was slow and sluggish, stopping and starting her sentences as her train of thought dwindled and her attention and memory got lost to the void.
Perks of a lobotomy, she guessed.
She frowned in frustration, taking a deep breath to start again, to regain what she was originally going to say but she didn't know. That word was gone, fading away to nothing. Okay, maybe she just had to retrace her steps, go back to what made her think that in the first place.
She bit her bottom lip, gazing out at the wonderful sight in front of her - a burning hot sunset, with towering rocks on either side. So magical. So awe inspiring. So-
"B... B... B... - So b... Be..."
She was trying. She really was. Sometimes that made it worse - when she kept pushing herself past her limits but she couldn't help it, her annoyance and frustration was enough to tip her over the edge sometimes.
She felt a gentle hand curl around her own, pulling her from her het up trance as she met those honey glazed eyes sparkling in the receding bright light, a reassuring glint twinkling there.
"It's okay" Stiles reassured, his warm fingers intertwining with hers on her lap, "take your time"
She swallowed thickly, gazing out at the magnificent view in front of her.
"So um... It's uh..." She took a steady breath, concentrating in focusing as she managed a very small smile, watching the sun sink lower and lower in the sky, "it's b-beautiful"
He smiled proudly, squeezing her hand, "yeah, it is" before reaching forward with his free hand, tucking some loose hair behind her ear and stroking her cheek with his knuckles, his gaze unwavering from her face.
"You're staring again" she reminded gently, her lips quirking in amusement.
"I know. I can't help it" he whispered, his touch grazing down to run along her jawline, looking like he was about to say something else but seemed to realise something as he suddenly looked a little panicked, dropping his hand so they were both curled around hers, smothering them in his tight warm grip.
"You're cold" he observed, "do you need a blanket?"
"No, I'm okay" she whispered, "honestly"
He quirked a single brow, "I'm going to get you another blanket"
She chuckled faintly at his concern, watching him quickly stand as he loped over to their picnic basket, grabbing a thick woolly navy blanket underneath it only to wrap it loosely around her shoulders as he sat down next to her, even making sure her hair was pulled out from under it.
"Is that better?"
Anything was better when he was next to her.
But she never said that, just nodded as he smiled boyishly, eyes flicking back to the sunset.
"I always promised I would take you back here" he murmured, "for a while, I didn't think that would ever become a reality. I'm so happy it is"
The Grand Caynon. The place he always vowed he would take her back to - but that was before she died. Before everything that happened. Now, this weekend, was just about them. About her healing. Nothing, or no one, would interrupt this.
"Me too" she whispered, feeling him settle down next to her, his arm brushing hers through the blanket, "Stiles I'm uh... I just wanted to say... I need to say that I... I..."
Dammit. Not again.
Why couldn't her brain just work. She hated this. Hated feeling so lost inside her own body.
He stroked her back, quietly reassuring her that it was okay, that she was doing really well and he would have as much patience as possible with her, that he wasn't going anywhere. And she really needed that reassurance, especially when she constantly felt on the brink of breaking down into floods of tears.
She steadied her breathing, trying to remain calm as she peaked up at him.
"I uh... I forgot what I was going to um... To say"
His heart broke at her crestfallen expression, like she thought she was failing him somehow.
"It's alright" he whispered soothingly, stroking each bump in her spine, "don't worry about it"
She rubbed at her temple in distress, "my s-stupid head won't work right. Idiot" she cursed under her breath and he just shushed her gently, taking ahold of her hand to pull it away from her head.
"Hey, don't. You're not an idiot. You're still recovering" he murmured, "I know it's frustrating but you're doing so so well Kaylz. The speech therapist has seen a massive improvement in you. So does the doc, says it's a miracle how far you've come - and I couldn't be prouder"
She twisted her lips, giving her brain a few seconds to catch up, "what if I d-don't ever get better?"
He exhaled shakily, trying not to let his expression waver, "you will" he declared, "but uh... If you don't fully then uh... Then we'll deal with it. Together" he promised, "I love every version of you Kayla, no matter what"
She sighed, her gaze focusing back on the setting sun, "I uh... I miss me. The old me I mean. She was um... She was quick. Sharp" she explained as best she could, "now I'm... I'm..." What exactly? She wasn't sure. Couldn't think of the word despite it being on the tip of her tongue.
"You're still Kayla" Stiles reassured, "you still have the same heart"
She glanced down to her lap, tears filling her eyes, "you have the patience of uh... Of a um..."
He knew when to help her fill in the blanks and when to leave her to figure it out for herself and just now was a 'fill in the blank' moment.
"Saint" he supplied gently, "patience of a Saint"
She nodded, "that's the one"
"Kaylz... I know it must feel like you're going no where, that you're stuck in a rut and unable to get out but I promise, if you could see what I've seen of you, how hard you're trying, how far you've come, you would realise that you're doing amazingly. These things take time. Your brain is still healing from um..."
"From the ice pick they pushed through my eye socket into it?"
He flinched at the reminder, briefly closing his eyes to push those memories away, "the point is... I see a difference in you. From when I first got you out of Eichen house, to here. Now. And yeah, the doc and the speech therapist and all those medications played a part, sure, but you wouldn't be here with me now, at the Grand Canyon, if you still weren't the most hard headed, stubbornest, nothing can beat me Hale" his lips quirked as he finally managed to get a smile from her, "you're going to get better. And I'm going to be with you all the way"
Her heart swelled and felt like bursting with love, a thankful look crossing her face, "I don't d-d-deserve you"
He smiled faintly, "that's where you're wrong Kaylz. It's me that doesn't deserve you" he reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out something small and twirling it between his fingers, "because after everything, everything I put you through, everything that happened because of me, you still look at me like you did before. When we were both just Kayla and Stiles, two stupid teenagers falling in love. You've seen my dark side, you've seen the parts of me that I want to hide, but you accept them. And you love me anyway" he said, "you feel safe with me... When sometimes I don't even feel that with myself"
She glanced down, seeing something sparkle and gleam in the dimming light but he drew her back in with his words, his stare never leaving her face, "and for a brief moment I did try to stop loving you, but it didn't work. It won't ever work because what I feel for you Kaylz... What I feel is forever and absolute. It's always. Because I can see us, sixty years from now, sitting in our rocking chairs holding hands. You'll be complaining that I'm a grouch because I broke my hip, and I'll be chewing you out for 'pretending' to forget to record my Mets game, but that love is still going to be there. It'll never go away"
Her eyes stung with tears, listening to his words which were so flawless, so honest, she didn't know what to say even if she could.
"I think that we could be pretty damn special Kaylz. Because what we have... It feels right. And I will never, ever turn my back on you again. I promise you" he vowed, holding open his hand when a small silver band ring was, a simple gleaming clear Jewel in the middle, "I promise on our future"
She nearly dissolved into tears, totally at a loss for words.
"It's a promise ring" he continued, "it um... It's me promising to you, right here and now, that I will love you forever and always, through every high and low, through every bump in the road. No matter what happens, you will always have my love and support Kayla. Always" he repeated, smiling lopsidedly as he pulled a matching silver chain from his pocket, threading it through the band, "I know you're finding it hard with your hands and everything-" referring to the effects of the medications causing her fingers to curl and seize up painfully at times, "-so I figured uh... This way you could have it close to your heart. A reminder" he explained, carefully unlocking the clasp to loop the chain around her neck, smiling waterly as he did so, "that when times get tough, when you feel like giving up you can look down and remember just how much I love you, and how I can't wait for our future..."
The ring settled above her breast bone and despite her aching fingers she reached up, twirling the beautiful dainty piece of jewellery between her fingers as she noticed, engraved on the inside was one simple word.
'Always'.
She burst out crying, her immediate response to not knowing what she wanted to say or was unable to say, the emotion pouring out of her.
"Hey, hey no, it's okay, I didn't mean to make you cry" he rushed out, cupping her cheeks, "Kaylz, baby, I'm sorry, shhhh, it's alright. Am I moving too fast? It's okay if I am, just tell me and it won't happen again, I promise-"
She shook her head, sniffing back the next wave of tears before they could fall.
"... Do you uh... Do you like it?" He whispered, thumbs swiping under her eyes to dry her cheeks.
She nodded in response, still thumbing the ring with one hand, circling it to calm her down.
"It's uh... Sort of like a um, a pre-engagement thing y'know... I just wanted you to know that I don't see us as just a high school romance... I see us getting married, starting a family... One day" he added with a quirk of his lips, "no rushing things. Not until we're both ready"
"I uh... I... I-"
He pressed his forehead against hers until he was enveloped in green, a gentle smile working its way to his lips in reassurance.
"I love you Kayla Hale"
Her jaw worked, swallowing the lump in her throat as she tried to give her brain time to catch up to her, to process everything that had happened but it wasn't working properly, her speech sticking. So she did the only thing she could.
She glanced down, holding up her hand between their bodies, still circling the ring between her fingers on her other hand as she held her fingers down, holding out her pinky then lowered that to hold up her index finger and thumb before, finally, extending her pinky and thumb to the side, giving him a teary smile.
They knew basic sign language, just enough to get them by when her speech wasn't happening and although they didn't know a lot, they both knew exactly what that meant.
... 'I love you'...
And she remembered now. That's what she wanted to tell him before - before she forgot and her words were lost.
He wiped at his own eyes that had become misty, dropping a hand from her cheek to place it next to hers between their bodies, holding his arm up straight so only his index finger was sticking out, Palm back, and traced two semi large circles, a single tear dropping from his eyelashes.
Always. He was signing always.
And she wanted that. She wanted always and forever. She wanted him.
He smiled, bringing her in slowly to a gentle hug, wrapping his arms around her blanket covered shoulders as she buried her face into his chest, still clinging to the ring for dear life.
Stiles was her saving grace. And this was the start of her redemption.
A/N) AM I TERRIBLE SATAN OR GIVING JESUS lmao guys OMG be still my heart THESE TWO BABIES OF MINE I CRY like I know it seems like such a change from how they are now in the story but OMG STAYLA IS ENDGAME THEY WILL BE CUTE AGAIN AND OH MY LORD
PROMISE RING
ALWAYS AND FOREVER
POOR BB KAYLA STILL HAVING TROUBLES
STILES PRE-ENGAGAMENT RING
ALWAYSSSSS
UGLY SOBBING
SIGNING I LOVE YOU
KILL ME
haha so please please let me know what you thought pretty please haha I need a boost and I appreciate every single one of you for reading see ya soon :)
Also tumblr : fanficanatic-tw lots of edits and stuff and ask me questions my inbox is lonely lol