Though the trial had ended mid-winter, there was no spring announcement of Derek Hale's engagement. Stiles had come to visit the Hale House before the frost had left, and they'd had a meeting between the lovebirds and Derek's parents. After a lengthy discussion, it was decided that the two should hold off on their nuptials because of the rumor mill that was currently obsessed with Stiles.

It was Stiles' idea, actually. After the trial, a rumor began that Derek Hale's intended was Baron Goodwater because of his intimacy with the case. This then spread gossip of Derek being just an extension of the Argent abuse, someone swooping in to take advantage of the fledgling baron.

Not the best time to announce an engagement.

So Stiles returned to Posey and helped oversee the construction of the new Stilinski Estate in Goodwater. He and Derek ran their own counties – or helped, in Derek's case, though they made frequent visits to each other's homes.

Lady Talia Hale, Derek's mother, was very fond of Stiles and made frequent remarks on how like his father he was, "in every good way," she assured. She and Stiles played chess in the afternoon when business didn't get in the way. Earl Beacon was shrewd, but he also reminded Stiles, scarily, of himself. He took it upon himself to teach Stiles everything there was to know about business, since Stiles' only current education was coming from "no one of great experience". The lessons built on everything Stiles had known from his father and really made more sense of the things people had been trying to teach him since his return.

Learning from the Earl was sometimes delayed, however, as Earl Beacon often decided mid-lessons to take distraction in the yards or kitchens. Stiles loved those moments, but he could understand how others may find it cumbersome. Derek's explanation was that his father and Stiles were of the same temperament and had the same wandering attention. That's why they got on so well.

The spring may not have announced the marriage of Derek Hale or Mieczyslaw Stilinski, but it did have an announcement. The Argent Estate was down to a single Argent as the papers declared the engagement of Lady Allison Argent and Lord Scott McCall, Baron of Posey. This had Stiles cheering for two different reasons. One, his best friend was marrying his other best friend. That was phenomenal! Two, it meant Allison would move in to the McCall Manor and Stiles would never be required to enter the Argent Estate to see her. He'd be happy never to enter the house again, but business might one day tempt him inside.

The wedding was as small as it could be, considering it was the marriage of a baron. They both looked so happy throughout the ceremony, and Stiles couldn't help being a little jealous. He and Derek had attended, but they had not arrived together. Derek's parents stood between them during the ceremony. But this didn't stop Stiles' eyes from wandering over to Derek as the couple said their vows, and his heart beat a little too fast and a little too hard when he saw Derek glancing back at him.

God, he wanted to marry that man so much.

On the day the new Stilinski Estate was completed, Tara was there to welcome him home. Derek accompanied Stiles, but of course he allowed Stiles to be the first to cross the threshold. Standing in the large entry hall, Tara presented Stiles with an ornate box.

"After the fire, workers concluded that the only one to die was your father. They found what they suspected were his remains, and they collected them into that box." She smiled a little sadly. "I've been keeping him safe, but I think it's time he was returned home."

Stiles almost broke down completely. He still cried, but he kept his feet under him and his wits about him, so he was definitely improving. There was a lot of hugging, a lot of thank yous. Afterward, Stiles and Derek toured the house at a leisurely pace. The servants officially began work in the morning, so they had the place to themselves. Stiles found a place of honor for his father in the study, where Stiles could get inspiration from him whenever a county problem left him stumped.

Stiles and Derek had some fun playing with the slight echo in the stairwell, but they got distracted when they entered the bedroom. It was so different than Stiles' room at the Argent house, but not so different from his previous life. He still had no antechamber, so the first thing they both saw after laughing their way into the room was the large, four post bed.

As though they'd both been waiting for it, they promptly broke the bed in with a few rounds of sinful ecstasy. When they stopped for breath, both sweaty and satiated, Stiles rolled himself on top of Derek and sat on the man's stomach.

"You know what I can't believe?" he asked. Derek hummed in response. Stiles could feel it in his penis. "We've been naked together three times. I've dreamt about you more times than I can count. I want you so bad, I sometimes can't stand it."

"And yet?" Derek asked, because none of that was hard to believe.

"And yet I still haven't felt you inside me." Stiles closed his eyes and hummed. "God, we're never prepared, and I just want-" Derek's dick poked at his back and he grinned. "Well at least I'm not the only one who's been thinking about it."

Derek groaned and sat up, arms around Stiles' waist. "Trust me. As soon as we're married, it's the first thing I plan on doing. Until then, I don't think we'll ever be alone and prepared." He kissed Stiles' collarbone. "But I will. I want to be inside you." He mouthed up Stiles' neck and Stiles felt himself getting hard all over again. "And I want you inside me too."

Fuck. Stiles moaned.

They didn't leave the bedroom for a long, long time.

It turned out that Stiles was not the only member of the court to be fluent in Ancient Latin. His odd little childhood hobby was shared by someone else. The Duchess of Roden herself was fluent, and she looked downright devious when she discovered they had this in common. It became regular for Stiles to receive letters that no one else could even attempt to understand. The Duchess wrote them personally, as her scribe had no knowledge of basic Latin, much less ancient Latin. The same went for Stiles.

The letters began formal and brief, but quickly became long and personal. Knowledge that Stiles was loyal made Lydia take a chance on him, and she told him all manner of things he probably shouldn't know. Mostly Lydia spoke about her relationships with Jordan Parrish and Cora Hale, though she swore Stiles to secrecy about Cora even more considering Stiles was engaged to Cora's brother.

Lydia often worried about how long she would be allowed to keep both of them before either someone discovered them, one or both were harmed because of her, or they tired of being shadows. Stiles always tried to be realistic but hopeful for her sake, though even he wasn't sure how long such a relationship could last.

According to Derek, his usually very pragmatic sister had written home several times about how happy she was in her current position. He was surprised but also very pleased for her. Stiles did his best to convey that emotion to Lydia without completely breaking Cora's trust about what she should or should not tell her brother.

In turn, the Duchess had to listen to Stiles talk about all sorts of things. For example, between running his county, visiting Posey, visiting Beacon, and hosting people at home, Stiles was visiting a woman for counseling. She listened and counseled people through trauma professionally – something Stiles had never really heard of before, but something he knew he needed. Someone who could help him move beyond the nightmares and the panic attacks was someone he was willing to pay a lot of money. Luckily, she didn't even charge much, but she had great insight into how Stiles could calm down whenever he began to get twitchy about something bad that might not even happen.

He also started drinking tea that Allison swore would help calm his nerves. For two months he refused to tell her it was working. He was proud that way, apparently. But the best relief of his symptoms came whenever he visited the Hale House. Romantics would say his heart was calm around the person he loved, and in a way they weren't wrong, but it had nothing to do with romance.

While Stiles was recovering in the hospital from the poison, Derek had written several notes home. Upon Stiles' first visit to Beacon, he discovered what the notes had said. A good portion of the gardens and bushes around the Hale House had been recently redone, switching from whatever looked grandest and most eye-catching into several bushes that apothecaries and doctors alike swore had a medicinal effect on the nerves simply by smelling them.

Rows of jasmine and lavender swirled together into gorgeous designs. Rosemary grew in small window boxes. Chrysanthemums bloomed in bold colors, pulling the attentions of anyone coming to judge the grounds. The yard smelled fantastic, and simply opening the window could clear Stiles' mind of any fog. The rosemary seemed to clean the air, and even with the window shut it felt like he was able to breathe easier.

Derek had refashioned his entire landscape to ensure Stiles would feel less stress whenever he visited, and would continue to feel it whenever he moved in. So maybe romance had something to do with it, but it was probably a placebo effect.

Stiles brought up the new garden in his letters as often as he visited Beacon, but he wasn't always there. Mostly he wrote to Lydia about his own county of Goodwater. The county was doing rather well, with profitability rising every month and surveys of the people coming back mostly positive. Gévaudan was no longer a massive monster across the lake now that it had a new Earl, and trade between the two counties had improved the quality of life for everyone involved.

It turned out that Christopher Argent had never disliked Stiles at all. Right? Color Stiles surprised. It was a suspicious admittance if ever Stiles had heard one. But according to the new Earl, it was guilt, not disgust that kept him away.

"I knew my father and sister had done something, but I had no proof." Chris stood in Stiles' study, facing out the window with a look of shame. "First I saw you and felt pity. You'd just lost everything. Then, as my suspicions of my family grew worse, so did my guilt. Every time I spotted you, I felt guilt for my family's actions and guilt for myself in not doing anything to stop them. I put very little effort into any kind of defense for you or even discovering what their true plans were. And every time they struck you, I pretended not to notice because it was easier than admitting my family had grown so wicked."

He turned back to Stiles, sitting behind the desk. "But when Lord Hale arrived, I saw how strong Allison had become, and I knew I had to be the man I claimed I was. I had to step in. I tried to temper my father during conversations. I dissuaded any doubts he had about your intentions at the time. I thought I was doing well… until I came in from the yard and found you broken on the stairs, my father standing over you. I rushed you out as fast as I could. But I know… One good deed does not erase the years I spent trying to pretend you didn't exist."

"On the contrary," Stiles said, standing. He rolled his shoulders back. "Saving someone's life most definitely makes up for, well, most of the times you spent pretending I didn't exist. I mean, if you hadn't stepped up, I'd be dead. That's got to count for something."

Chris frowned but nodded. He dropped his eyes to the floorboards. "I do not deserve your forgiveness, but I am grateful for it all the same." He bowed slightly, which was crazy because he held the higher rank. "I look forward to our business together."

And business had been blooming. When he wasn't ignoring you, Christopher Argent was a pretty nice guy. Even if he did look like he could kill a mountain lion just by looking at it. How did a middle aged man look so handsome and yet have such a deadly stare? It must be genetic.

Lydia also had to listen to Stiles talk about Derek, which seemed to actually interest her more than any of his other topics. He wrote about how Derek now had all of Stiles' letters in his possession, including the ones from the trial that Monroe had kept hidden. He'd seen Stiles' first confession of love and all of his requests for Derek to stop ignoring him and come visit. Though they'd already discussed the miscommunication and put it behind them, the arrival of the letters sent Derek into a new wave of apologetic expressions and kisses.

Not that Stiles was complaining about the kisses.

His engagement to Derek was not announced until almost a year after the trial had ended – a lifetime of waiting in Stiles' mind. The ceremony itself took another two months to come to fruition.

"God, I feel like I've been waiting for this day for ten years," Stiles complained. He was antsy with nerves. He was standing in a side room at a church in Beacon, Scott and Allison both there to make sure he didn't have a heart attack before the I Dos.

There were more people in the church for Stiles' wedding than there had been for Allison's, but Derek's family was also much larger. Aunt, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents, Grandchildren, and everyone in between had gathered for the marriage of the eldest son, the next head of the family.

Though Stiles had a title, he now felt like he wasn't bringing anything to the table simply because he had no family. He would pass on his title by way of a law, but his family name was finished. Stiles had come to terms with it mostly. He had to, or it would make him miserable for the rest of his life. Besides, he'd had an inkling of that future long before his father had died. He was the only son of a man not looking to remarry. It was inevitable.

Still, it was imposing to join such a large family.

"Everything is running smoothly," Scott announced. "In a minute, you'll walk out and meet Derek. Then you'll be the Count of Beacon."

"Not so fast," Stiles interrupted. "Derek won't be an Earl until his father dies. All that happens today is I go from being Mieczyslaw Stilinski to Mieczyslaw Hale."

Scott covered his eyes with his hand, as though he'd gotten a sudden headache. "I… still can't pronounce that. I don't know how you do it."

"A lifetime of practice." Stiles tapped his own chest and winked. "Now stop sounding so in charge. I need you to freak out for me so I don't freak out. How long until the ceremony starts?"

Scott opened his mouth to answer, but the door opened and interrupted him. Allison beamed in on the two men and promptly stole all of Scott's attention. He scurried to his wife and gave her a big kiss.

Laughing, she pulled back and said, "Everyone is seated. It's time to start."

Scott gasped and covered his mouth in an almost comical manner. "Oh my gosh! It's happening now! Stiles, it's starting! Oh my gosh!"

Perfection. Stiles laughed as he came over and gently punched Scott in the shoulder. "Be more obvious that you're faking, why don't you?" But he appreciated the effort. His heart was still ramming anxiously against his chest, but the laughter had definitely helped him not to sweat too much.

Allison led them down the short hall and to the door into the main chamber. She looked gorgeous, and Stiles told her so. "You look rather scrumptious yourself," she said back. Then she put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so happy for you."

Scott left them to join the other attendees, and at the sight of him sitting, the organist began to play. That was the cue. Allison took up Stiles' arm and the pair strolled into the chapel.

There was another door directly across the room, and Derek emerged from it with his mother on his arm. She was regal and elegant and old fashioned. Stiles loved her.

And Derek. Derek was in his full regalia, the Hale family crest emblazoned on his chest, and all he needed was a sword to look fully gallant. He was tall and clean shaven, with a strong jaw and the most beautiful, intense, green eyes Stiles had ever seen. He was everything Kate Argent had ever described him as being, but he was also so much better. Because Kate never described Derek smiling, and she could never have dreamed of the expression on his face in that moment. He was looking at Stiles as though this might be the happiest dream, like he also couldn't quite believe they'd finally made it here, to the altar.

Stiles nearly melted.

Allison stopped just shy of the steps that led to the main platform, kissed Stiles on both cheeks, and then left him to go sit with Scott. Talia Hale kissed her son on the nose and then the knuckles, and Stiles suddenly knew where Derek picked up the gesture. Then she moved gracefully to sit with her husband in the front row.

In the center of the platform, Stiles met Derek and couldn't take his eyes off the man. Derek reached out and took his hands, and Stiles almost forgot they were being watched. Almost. The Duchess was going to hear about this moment for days. Weeks. Forever. It was perfect.

"Are you ready for this?" Derek whispered.

Stiles stifled a chuckle. "Are you?"

The music trailed off, the officiant began to talk, and Stiles did his best to pay attention. In a few short minutes, he would be officially married to Lord Derek Hale. He couldn't believe his luck, honestly. And to think, they'd gotten here because conniving Kate Argent had made Stiles write a stupid, flirty letter. They'd fallen in love through the power of writing and lovely penmanship. Now they were here, saying their vows and binding their lives together forever.

Stiles' heart beat hard and fast as the officiant announced them officially wed. Then Derek leaned in on him, and they kissed in front of several dozen pairs of eyes. There was cheering and flowers thrown, whistles and clapping. Stiles wrapped his arm around Derek as they kissed one more time.

When he was young, Stiles had been a fool and held onto nothing. When he was a scribe, he'd had a weak grasp on things. Now he held firm, and he wasn't going to let go. This was the path he'd fought for. Stiles was finally better than fine. He was really and truly… Happy.

The End.

An epilogue will come on Sunday night. Several people expressed an interest in seeing Derek's response to some events in this story when he wasn't around, so I wrote two scenes for you. :) Look forward to that! But either way, thank you so so much for your time and comments. You've all been wonderful. Thank you!