It was sometime later, after their activities, that Derek had told him what he had wanted to before they got caught up in the excitement. Stiles still couldn't wrap his head around it because really, how far could coincidences go?

"You're a personal trainer?" He asked again.

Derek snorted and continued running his hand through his hair. "Yes, Stiles."

"But you're a translator!"

"I worked as a personal trainer for a couple years but then the gym closed and I decided to try giving linguistics a try. But yeah, I'm fully capable of working as a trainer. That's where I met the people Laura was talking about, too."

Stiles took a minute to calm his heart from beating out of his chest. "Derek," He said softly. "This could work. We could really run a business together, me, you, and Lyds. If you want to, that is, I don't want to force you to do something when-"

Derek shut him up with a kiss and shook his head with a laugh. "I want to. I love translating, but you can get burnt out easily from it. Working hands on with people, helping them better themselves, that's just… it's different. Better, even."

"Yeah, I get it."

"So?"

Stiles grinned and tilted his head back to look into the eyes he'd fallen in love with. "So, welcome to the business, partner."

Derek beamed down at him and planted another kiss on his forehead before tightening his arms around him and snuggling into the blankets that smelled like him and Stiles and home.

He made sure to get up earlier than Stiles that morning. His mom was always the first one up and he had some things he wanted to talk to her about, things that Stiles was, under any circumstances, not allowed to know until his surprise was ready. Luckily, his boyfriend was a heavy sleeper and so he was able to sneak out from under him without any problems.

His mom turned to smile at him the minute he walked into the kitchen and he nodded back as he leaned against the counter next to her.

"I take it you want to tell me something?"

"I'm probably, no, I am going to leave with them. When they go back to their hometown."

Her hand faltered on the waffle mix she was making and she pushed the bowl aside to face him properly. "Are you sure?"

Derek nodded firmly. "I love him."

She sighed softly and then grinned, her eyes lighting up and softening as she regarded him. "I'm happy for you, Derek." She brought him in for a tight hug and murmured into his shoulder "You caught yourself a good one, make sure not to let him get away."

"I'm not planning on it." He smirked. "But wait, what about the pack? Is it okay for me to just leave when-"

"Derek, you're my son and your own person first and foremost. Everybody will understand and just because we're pack doesn't mean we have to hold each other's hand for our entire lives. Besides, don't you remember Laura? That girl had her foot out the door since she was born and had each finger and toe in a different part of the world by the time she was eight."

"Yeah."

His mom gave him a final pat on the back and nodded to the bowl for him to help mix it. "So, what's this about the surprise I've been hearing?"

Derek's ears reddened and he cleared his throat before looking at her from the side of his eye. "You wouldn't happen to know any realtors, would you?"

"Calm down," Peter told him as he crashed around the corner, frantic eyes looking for his boyfriend. "He's talking to his friends right now. Lydia took him out so they'd have more privacy."

"Oh…" Derek blinked and staggered to the couch, falling into it with a sigh. He rubbed his face with his hands and groaned, the sound broken by a yawn forcing its way through.

"You can go back to bed, you know. I doubt they'll be back any time soon." His uncle suggested helpfully.

"Nah, I'm wide awake now." He looked through his hand and frowned when he saw the concentration on him. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"Talia told me you were looking for a real estate agent and I happen to know somebody who lives in Cali. That is where Stiles said he was from, right?"

"...Yeah, but. Are you sure they'll be able to help? Time is going fast and in just a couple more months he'll be graduating."

Peter raised an eyebrow over the screen. "When have I ever failed you, dear nephew of mine?"

"Too many times to count."

"Hmph. Don't worry about it, you have your own projects to be concerned about."

"Huh?"

Peter blinked and then smirked. "Lydia didn't get around to you yet, huh?"

Derek shifted uncomfortably and sat up to look at him properly. "No...should I be worried?"

"It depends. How good are you at construction?"

"Construction? What are you-"

"It seems our adorable little human has some stubborn friends. It shouldn't be as jarring as it was, but Lydia is especially determined when she sets her mind on something. Anyway, she wants our help in building a stage."

"A stage." He repeated flatly.

Peter chuckled and closed his laptop, pushing it to the side as he stretched with his other arm. "That's right. She's planning a big party with a bunch of other moms that they both know. Talia and Valerie are helping out, too."

Derek bit his lip. "Do you think he'd be okay with that many people?"

"If they were all strangers I'd say no, but he grew up with them and knows them all personally. I think he'll be fine."

"Yeah, I hope so."

Peter sat beside him with two glasses of water and rolled his eyes when he didn't take it, setting it on the coffee table in front of them instead. "Anyway, we should stop talking about it for now. They pulled into the driveway a couple minutes ago."

Derek was up in an instant and reached the door just as they walked in. Lydia made a face at his eagerness but didn't say anything as she passed him. That was alright though, he only had eyes for Stiles. Stiles, who looked dazed as he stumbled his way inside.

"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

Stiles blinked and then nodded, stepping forward to lean against his chest. He wrapped his arms around him without a second thought and sighed happily as he nuzzled his head. Stiles pressed his lips to his collarbone and took his hand, dragging him to their room and yes, Derek was allowed to call it their room, thank you.

"Are you sure everything's alright?"

Stiles flopped stomach first onto the bed and groaned loudly into the pillow as a response. He wasn't sure if that was supposed to be good or not, but decided to wait it out. As it always was with him, it didn't take long for Stiles to start talking.

"They're coming over here. This weekend. To see me."

"Who?"

"Scott and Melissa. Basically my brother and mom. Did I tell you that already? I don't remember. But they're coming this weekend."

Derek sat on the edge of the bed and pulled his legs into his lap, running his hands along the tense hamstrings and relieving some of their straining. "How're you feeling about it?"

Stiles snorted into the pillow but still relaxed into his hands. "Nervous. Scared. Excited. I don't know dude, my emotions have emotions."

He held back the 'don't call me that' that was sitting on the tip of his tongue and hummed instead, a little deeper than he intended which made it sound more like a grunt. "You'll be fine."

"Very reassuring."

"Why wouldn't you be? They're your family, aren't they?"

Stiles stilled and then flipped over, moving so his head was in his lap instead. He wrapped his arms around his torso and sighed into his shirt, relaxing when Derek ran his fingers through his hair.

"What if they don't think that anymore? In their eyes, I just ditched them after a tragedy happened and fell off the map only to call back years later. I wouldn't blame them if-"

"Idiot," Derek told him fondly. "Why would they book a flight to see you this weekend if they don't still think of you as family? If anything, we're the ones who'll have to watch our backs."

Stiles looked up at him curiously. "Why's that?"

"Because we knew you were alive and didn't tell anybody?"

"Oh. Yeah, that… that's a reasonable cause."

Derek laughed at the contorted expression his boyfriend made, kissing him softly before reaching over to turn off the lamp. Stiles followed his cue and slid down the bed, opening his arms with an expectant eyebrow and small smile.

He let himself indulge in the warmth offered to him and sighed happily as the blanket was pulled over them. Stiles still had faint tendrils of worry and anxiety laced throughout his scent and Derek nuzzled his clavicle, whispering a soft "Try to get some sleep."

Stiles made a small indignant noise, a low "make me" that lacked the usual oomph, and shifted so he could hug him closer. He closed his eyes as soon as Stiles' breathing evened out, following him into a dreamless sleep.

He had his suspicions, but nothing came close to what he was feeling when the real thing was in front of him. He tightened his hold on the hand he was holding, the one that was supporting the other thrown into the air when the car pulled up, and took a deep breath to calm his frazzled nerves.

"Derek, dude," Stiles started. "I'm supposed to be the one falling apart, not you."

"I'm aware of that, Stiles. Thank you for your much appreciated input."

"Nuh uh, you don't get to act all prickly when you're strangling my hand." Stiles poked his sternum harshly, nodding in satisfaction when he winced and loosened his hold.

"Thank you. Now, care to tell me why you're the one freaking out?"

"...this feels like I'm meeting your parents or something. I'm nervous."

Stiles hummed. "Well, it kinda is, I guess. But I don't think you can do any worse than me. Remember what my first impression to Mama Talia was? I basically told her to fuck off. While I was bleeding out on her brother's back. And so far, you're looking pretty snazzy, no blood at all. I doubt you'll tell Melissa to leave you alone so you're good on that end, too."

Derek released the breath he was holding and shook his other arm as subtle as he could. "Yeah, you're right. Also, you might wanna prepare yourself. They're about to knock on the door."

The sequence of knocks drowned out his curse and he mirrored Derek's earlier deep breath before he opened it. His family had left the two of them alone to give them a sense of privacy, and he was ready to tag along with them but Stiles had grabbed his wrist and mumbled how he wanted him to meet his family. So there he was, a couple feet behind his boyfriend's stiff frame.

His boyfriend, who was now being pulled into a bear hug by a woman two feet shorter than him. She buried her face in his shoulder, small sobs shook her body and Derek shifted awkwardly, looking away from them to give them more privacy.

Stiles hugged her tighter and after a few long moments gave her a squeeze before pulling back. He grinned at her, a weak, wobbly tilt of his lips. "Hey, Mel. You look good."

She stood back and, keeping one hand on his arm, slapped the backside of his head. "You idiot! Do you know how worried we all were?"

"I'll explain it all to you, I promise." He gave her shoulders a squeeze and then hesitantly took a step behind her, to where a man with floppy curls and quivering lips was standing, arms at his sides and his hands clenched in tight fists.

"Hey, Scotty. You grew out your hair, I see- Oomph!"

The man tackled him to the floor, wailing loudly and unhinged as he alternated between punching his arm and hugging him. "You asshole!" He yelled. "You absolute, complete jackass! Why'd you do that to us? To me? I came back outside and you were gone Stiles! Nobody knew where you were and then the paramedics and cops came and we couldn't look for you because Parish wouldn't let us before we got our wounds treated and then-"

"Scott," Stiles told him soothingly, his own tears streaking his cheeks. "I know. I'm sorry. Take a deep breath, okay? I'll still be here after and you can rage all you want, but I don't want you to fall into an asthma attack."

"I'll go get water." Derek said, lighting up at the thankful glance Stiles sent him. He moved to the kitchen silently, too lost in his thoughts to realize Melissa was following him until he heard her polite cough. He spun around, staring wide eyed at the woman before him.

"Derek, right?" She asked with a smile. "Stiles talked about you when we mentioned coming up."

Swallowing down the anxiety, he managed what he hoped was a smile but in all actuality probably came out as an awkward grimace. "Did he?"

"He did. I was skeptical at first, but now that I see the two of you together, well…" She shook her head with a chuckle and looked back at him, her eyes filled with warm gratitude. "I can see why he's so fond of you."

"That is, uh… thanks?"

Melissa laughed and nodded her head to the cups he had lined up by the sink. "I think you'll only need two of those for now. Knowing those boys, they'll be talking for a while."

"Oh."

"Why don't we sit at the table?" Derek heard the same tone in his mother's voice enough to know that it wasn't a suggestion. He nodded once and waited until she began to move before following, two cups of water in hand. She sat down with a tired sigh and stared at him for a while before speaking again.

"You're not what I expected."

"Excuse me?"

She grinned at him and waved a hand flippantly. "Don't take it the wrong way, it's just that I never would've thought that Stiles would've fallen for somebody so mature."

He snorted and relaxed into the chair, keeping an ear out in case Stiles needed something. "I'd hardly call myself mature."

"Compared to the people he liked before? They're children compared to you. Not to mention how you guys look at each other. Are you sure you met a few months ago? You weren't internet friends or anything like that beforehand?"

Derek blinked at her. "No. We didn't really… get along, at first."

To his surprise, the woman began to laugh loudly. "Sorry, sorry. It's just, you wouldn't believe how many times I've heard that." She looked over to the two boys fondly, rolling her eyes when her son punched a grinning Stiles in the arm. "When we first moved here," she started. "Scott came home talking all about this one kid in his class. Nobody liked him because of how blunt and loud he was, but when he helped him out with the typical school bully they were inseparable. I'm sure you know this already, but Stiles isn't good with people."

She stood up, taking her glass with her, and patted his shoulder as she passed him. "I'm glad he found you."

Derek found himself at a loss for words and stared after her with wide eyes. He wasn't a master at socializing, far from it, but that sounded suspiciously close to acceptance to his ears.

The rest of his family had come home just in time for dinner. His mom and Peter had picked up some fancy food to celebrate Stiles' reunion, however small it was. The introductions had gone well enough, although he could still feel Scott's distrustful stare boring into him every now and then. Melissa and Valerie hit if off right away, a passing comment from his aunt about work catching Melissa's attention in a second.

Lydia had smacked Scott out of his sulking more than once and even though Derek was sure that he'd heard Stiles to be open minded, his friend was a lot more stubborn than he looked. Still, he wouldn't have changed anything. There were still the usual awkward silences that came with meeting new people and he'd lost count of how many times more than one person spoke at the same time trying to start up a new conversation, but Stiles was content and by his side, and that was all he wanted, really.

Stiles submitted his essay with a sigh. Scott had been shocked when he learned that he hadn't gone to college, and then a little smug as he realized that, technically speaking, he was smarter than him.

Which wasn't true.

At all.

But Stiles couldn't just come out and say that he'd been trained in coding and hacking and all sorts of other things without explaining his job, could he? So he let his friend boast in the pride he had over being smarter than the salutatorian, however fake the foundation for those feelings were. But Stiles really didn't care at the moment.

Scott was here with him, eating junk food and watching awful reality tv with the Hales while Derek and Lydia helped him out with his immense load of homework. It was almost jarring, how quickly his life had changed. It seemed like just yesterday he was all alone and traveling the world to kill people like those who had killed his father.

Now there he was, in a warm home with people who cared about him just as much as he did for them. He closed his laptop and set it on the coffee table in front of them, leaning against Derek and tangling his legs with Lydia's. She made a face but didn't make any smartass remark, so he figured she'd let it slide.

"Don't think I forgot about your finals, Stiles. You wanted to graduate early and by God am I going to make sure you do that."

Derek chuckled and looked down at him lovingly, moving a piece of hair off of his forehead. "I'd like to get our plans started, too."

Stiles grinned through his blush. "Our plans, huh?"

"Yeah. Our plans."

The months passed and soon February turned into May and he was starting the last final he'd ever have to do. The whole week had been hell, the whole month, actually. Stiles wasn't good with stress. Lydia and his friends knew this, had gone through enough of his whining and existential crisis' over Skype and in person.

She wasn't phased when he groaned loudly in the middle of nowhere and ranted to himself for a good five minutes before he sighed and forced himself to complete what he was working on without any further noise. Derek, however, was not and nearly wolfed out on them all when he did exactly that.

Lydia and Stiles jumped when he launched himself up from the chair and he and Peter exchanged frantic glances. Luckily, his boyfriend seemed to catch himself on time and saved himself and everyone else from explaining their secret to Lydia.

"Are you going into the kitchen? Can you get me my wine, please?" Peter asked as he scrolled through his phone. Derek blinked and Stiles saw Peter's mouth moving but couldn't hear anything. He assumed it was a command to calm down or something along those lines, from the deep breath the man took and the curt nod before moving to the kitchen.

Lydia wasn't stupid though, and he did his best to ignore the suspicious look she sent his way.

"So," he started as calmly as he could. "I'm graduating in… what is it? A couple days now?"

She rolled her eyes. "As if you don't have every date for your graduation memorized. But yes, Stiles, you're graduating next Thursday."

Her lips quirked up and he held back his laughter at how hard she was trying to hide it. "Oh? Is there anything else you want to say? I know you- Oomf!" He grabbed the pillow that was stuffed into his face and gave her a betrayed look.

"Whatever I have to say, if I say anything," she started haughtily, "will be saved for the day you graduate. Clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good. I'm going to call my mom and check in on how my kids are doing."

Stiles frowned. "Isn't Jackson watching them?"

Lydia threw a smirk over her shoulder. "Which is why I said my kids. Honestly, I think hanging around toddlers is messing up with his maturity. Not like he had much of that to begin with." She grumbled as she walked away.

He snickered and mentally agreed with her before swinging his legs up onto the couch. He stretched them out and groaned as his back popped, turning his head to Peter when he chuckled.

"Having a nice time there?"

"The best." He agreed with a grin. Derek came back and set the bottle in front of his uncle, smiling at the grabby hands Stiles waved at him. He was clearly holding himself back from running to him and Stiles laughed at how his boyfriend could be such a sourpuss one day and this cute and childish the next. He was truly a gift to him and once this whole graduation thing was over, Stiles promised himself he would prove it to the man.

"I missed you," Derek mumbled, his lips pressed softly to his forehead. "It feels like forever since you looked at me."

"Forever must not be so long then, since I'm sure I looked at you last night."

Derek huffed. "You just answered my questions but you were focused on your stupid test." Stiles raised his eyebrow and Derek sighed, moving to sit on the other side of him so they could cuddle more comfortably. "I know, I know, it's a very important test that you studied your ass off for and I'm very proud of you."

"I'm glad you understand." Stiles grinned. "So now that I'm all done with school, for good, may I add, what did you have in mind for celebrating?"

Derek looked up at him and Stiles broke out in pleasant goosebumps as he recognized the look.

"And that's my cue," Peter chuckled.

Stiles waved him off with a snicker and looked at his boyfriend curiously when he coughed. "Yes?"

"You like, uh, superhero movies, right?"

He nodded.

"I may have rented an entire shelf of them from a video store."

"Why didn't we just go see them in the theater? Isn't that what normal couples do?"

Derek rolled his eyes and squeezed him lightly. "Normal couples don't consist of a socially awkward werewolf and a paranoid ex-assassin."

Stiles laughed and got up from the couch, dragging Derek behind him. "We are quite the pair, huh?"

"I'll say."

He frowned when he got to their bedroom and glanced around again, but still didn't see the movies. Derek was watching him with an amused smirk from where he was leaning on the doorway and Stiles really needed to break him out of that habit before they were caught doing something less than appropriate for the public eye.

"Where are they?"

"In the forest."

"In the- why are they there?" Stiles asked incredulously.

"Because," Derek walked towards him and cupped his cheek tenderly, smiling at the way it made his heart beat faster. "I realized that we never had an actual date so I decided to change that."

"And this date is in the forest? With a bunch of movies? What are we going to do, read the back of the cases to each other?"

Derek chuckled and pinched the skin lightly, laughing when Stiles yelped and punched his shoulder. "While that sounds interesting, I set up our old projector and hung up a white sheet on some trees. You don't mind getting a little dirty, do you?"

Stiles opened and closed his mouth, a blush decorating his face as he gaped at him.

Derek didn't give him the chance to respond, instead letting go of him and collecting spare blankets from their closet. "I meant the grass stains, of course. I can bring extra blankets but I don't know if they'll be enough to protect our clothes and-"

A pillow hit him on his back, and then another and soon he was left crouching on the floor, fending off the pillows with one hand while he held onto the dresser to support himself from how much he was laughing.

Stiles clicked his tongue and snagged the blankets from him, walking out of the door with a scowl.

"Where are you going?" Derek asked through his cackles.

"I'm going on a date with me, myself, and I. Leave me alone, go to sleep or something! Don't disturb my me time!"

Laura and Lydia raised an eyebrow at Stiles when he stomped passed them, a scowl on his flushed cheeks and his hands clenching the blankets he was carrying tightly. Derek could barely walk straight as he laughed behind him, reaching out towards him only to put it on the wall the next second to support himself while he caught his breath.

"Does this happen a lot?" Lydia asked her after they disappeared through the back door.

Laura sighed and shrugged a shoulder, pushing resume on the show they had paused. "I don't even know anymore. As long as they're both happy though I don't see a reason to be concerned."

"Hm."

The day of his graduation was more chaotic than it had any right to be. Stiles was expecting to get his diploma through the mail and maybe he'd wear his cap and gown to take a picture with it and his friends and family.

Of course, he should've known that nothing like that would've happened with Lydia there.

The morning was nothing short of a disaster. The redheaded woman all but yanked him from his comfortable bed and Derek's warm arms and didn't do so much as blink when she saw the limp he had and bruises scattered on his body. No, she just threw a towel and clothes at him and barked for him to hurry up and meet them all downstairs in an hour.

So there he was, in the most uncomfortably stylish clothes he'd ever worn in his entire life and seated on one of the recliners while everybody stood across from him with large grins.

"What's going on? And if it's nothing important can I go back to bed? Please?"

"Absolutely not. If I find you even looking in the direction of your bed I'm going to show the Hales your high school days."

Stiles scoffed and relaxed against the chair. "I was hot in high school, thanks."

"I'm talking about freshman year. The buzz cut days." She smirked at the way his face paled and waved over her shoulder, following Devin, Scott, and Peter outside to the back.

"You had a buzz cut?" Derek asked with a delighted smile.

Stiles groaned and held himself back from burying his head in his hands. "Don't you all have something you should be doing right now?"

Lydia sighed and looked skyward and Stiles had the perfect remark sitting on his tongue but then the doorbell rang and the room was, once again, thrown into chaos. He was pulled out of the chair by Derek and right after a blanket was thrown on top of him. Muscle memory kicked in and he must have shown signs of it because both his hands were grabbed as he was led somewhere else.

"What the fuck is going on." He asked through clenched teeth.

"It's just a surprise for you, don't worry about it."

"Yeah, cause you know, I'd just not worry when this is suspiciously close to a kidnapping."

Peter snorted to his left. "Don't be ridiculous. As if we'd let something like that happen to you. You're going to feel so stupid after you see what's going on and I'm going to live for it."

"Hmph. What a good friend you are."

"I try."

Derek guided him up some stairs and he heard some low mumbles before he was tugged away again, this time without the blanket thankfully. He looked around, his eyebrows coming together when he saw that they were just in the backyard.

The three of them were standing on a wooden stage, clearly handmade as some nails were out of place and others were further into the wood than others. There were four large pillars, each one on every corner with a clothing line that held long, thick black and gold curtains, blocking his view to the rest of the backyard. The stairs wobbled when Peter shifted his weight and a surge of warmth almost overwhelmed him with how powerful it was.

He heard heels coming up behind them and turned his head to see Lydia walking towards them, holding his cap and gown that had come in the mail a couple days ago. She was dressed in a white and gold romper, her hair thrown into a high ponytail with a few strands hanging out to frame her face.

She stopped in front of him and held out the clothes with a soft smile. "Well? What do you think?"

"What do I- I don't even know what's going on, how am I supposed to have an opinion for it?" Still, he took the cap and gown with shaky hands.

"You guys can go join the others," She told Peter and Derek, both of them squeezing his shoulder and Derek kissing his head before they left. "Anyway, let's put that on so we can get started."

Stiles leveled his wide eyes at her. "Lyds, I don't know if…"

"Don't worry, we all know that you're still… recuperating from everything and that you won't be wanting to socialize with a bunch of people. It's smaller than what you think it is, I promise."

"That's not what I was going to say," he mumbled, wincing when she stuck a bobby pin to hold the cap in place before moving on to the gown.

"What do you mean then? Here, put your arms through here."

He waited until the gown was zipped up and she was done smoothing out the wrinkles, the stole placed gently over it. Lydia stepped back and nodded at it before cocking an eyebrow at him.

"I just, isn't this… too much? I mean, I abandoned you all without a second thought so I would understand if, you know… if they didn't want to come."

"Is that all?"

"...Yes."

Lydia shook her head with a scoff. "If I didn't just make sure you look perfect I would hit you." Her phone vibrated and she scanned what it said before placing it in a hidden pocket. She grabbed the curtain but paused before going through it, talking without turning to look at him.

"You're an idiot if you think something like that would make anybody love you any less. We're just grateful that you're alive and with us, the past and all the things that weighed us down don't matter. They don't compare to all the laughs and memories we're going to share now that we're together again. You better come out there when I call you."

Stiles watched her go through the curtains, his eyes stinging and nose burning, a large lump in his throat that he had trouble swallowing. Playful catcalls were heard as she walked out and he could picture the glare she sent them, making a smile settle on his face.

"I know I look gorgeous but we're not here for me. Today, anyway. Save it for my birthday next month, yes?" The crowd laughed, and yes, Stiles did call it a crowd because there were definitely more than the McCalls and Hales there. "I'm not going to beat around the bush and drag this out longer than it needs to. We're all here for one person, after all."

He met her eyes from across the stage and wow, he was really going to do this wasn't he? He was going to graduate from college, onto a new life with new goals and an amazing group of people ready to catch him when he falls. He was going to walk across the stage for the second time in his life and this time there wouldn't be a sad ending or the anticipation for the second shoe to drop.

"Get your ass out here, Stilinski." He took a deep breath and shook his cold hands before rolling back his shoulders and stepping into the sunlight. He grounded himself with Lydia's proud grin and kind eyes before looking out towards the backyard.

It was less than he was expecting and more than he could've ever hoped for. There were lawn chairs laid out in rows, all different colors and sizes and he spotted a couple from the kitchen from what he was guessing was a shortage.

He caught Scott's eye first, shining with tears that hadn't fallen and that same, wonderful crooked smile that got him through so many hardships in their school days. Melissa was next to him, her son's arm around her shoulder as her own shook with quiet sobs, all of which didn't dampen the smile she wore. And then he really started looking, joy lighting him up inside and out at all the familiar faces he saw. Jackson with a chubby little boy in front of him, looking around with the innocence all children had.

Next to him was Danny, and then Kira. He almost stumbled at the next people he saw, holding back tears at the familiar sheriff's badge that was being held up by the current sheriff of Beacon Hills, Parish beaming at him as he hugged a smiling Terra close to him, both of them wearing matching rings that he was so going to get answers about later.

Lydia coughed lightly, smirking when he shook his head and went to stand next to her, shifting from foot to foot as he tried to figure out who to look at.

"I'm going to keep this short because seeing as how he is now, I don't think he'll last ten minutes before he jumps off the stage and interrogates you all." Laughter rang out at that and Stiles glared at her before aiming it at the audience, but he couldn't keep it up for long before he sighed and grinned as well.

"In all seriousness, though, I don't know how to put my happiness into words that we can all be here together again. Some of us have been here through his God awful plaid phase while others were fortunate enough to miss that small, but very impactful and irritating period of his life."

"It wasn't that bad." He grumbled.

She gave him a look that all but screamed that yes, it was that bad, before carrying on. "The point is that we got to know two different sides of the same Stiles and that every one of us never gave up on him. A lot of us were too scared to hope that we would hear from him again and thanks to the Hales and everything they've done to help Stiles, that was able to happen. I wanted to thank you for that, from the bottom of my heart."

Talia smiled and nodded her head in acceptance and leaned into her husband who was rubbing her shoulder.

"But the past is in the past now, and I'm so thankful that we can all share whatever the future brings, with each other and with Stiles. He really worked his ass off to get to where he was and I'm so proud to be handing this to you."

She stood in front of him and held out his diploma with one hand, the other brushing the hair out of her face. "You really deserved this, and I know that you're dad is so proud of you and how far you've managed to come by yourself."

Stiles snagged it from her hand and pulled her into a bone crushing hug, letting his tears soak into her shoulder as he cried silently, oblivious to the thunderous applause and yells his friends and family made. Lydia hugged him back just as tight, her hand gripping the back of his gown in a tight fist as she whispered shaky threats about staining her outfit between her own sniffles.

Finally, he let her go and wiped his eyes, laughing when Jackson called him a wuss when he was wearing sunglasses that did nothing to hide his own tears. Lydia rolled her eyes and got down from the wooden stage with the help of Devin, picking up Cameron as he ran towards her and slapping Jackson's shoulder.

Movement caught his eye from across the street, and his smile turned bittersweet.

Angelo and Macie were leaning against a car, a bottle of champagne opened between them and three glasses on the hood. Macie beamed when she knew he saw him and blew him a kiss while Angelo nodded with a rare genuine smile. He pulled a string for a small party popper and raised his glass with Macie, toasting to him before they drank in unison. Angelo put the filled glass on the ground while Macie set the champagne next to it and with one last look and smile at him, they got in the car and drove in the opposite direction.

"Stiles, come here! I have something to give you, you brat!" Parish shouted.

"I'll be down in a minute, let me take this off first!" He was able to leave with minimal protest and as soon as he took off the cap and gown, he made a beeline for the glass that was left for him. He slowed as he got closer, staring down at the glass as a new sadness filled him.

"Hey," Derek whispered from behind him, small pants coming from him. "You made me sprint after you. Is everything alright?"

Peter came next, setting his elbow on his nephew's shoulder as he wheezed. "Honestly, Stiles. We may be werewolves but we still get out of shape, you know."

Stiles picked up the glass and twirled it before chugging it one go and turning to them, pulling them into the tightest hug he could manage with so many emotions going through him.

"Hey, what's-"

"Thank you." he interrupted, burying his face into both of their shoulders. He didn't know where he would be right now if it weren't for them, if he hadn't took the job to kill Kate and had stayed back instead. If he didn't-

"For what?" Derek asked softly, nosing his suspiciously wet cheek softly.

Stiles pulled back and gave them a smile, the softest either of them had seen. The sun was behind him and it gave him an ethereal look, as if they were looking through one of Peter's bestiaries they had translated and he was pulled from a picture.

"For giving me a reason to stay."

Author's note: And that's that! I hope you all enjoyed this story as it's one of my favorites that I've written. Reviews are always appreciated!