Chapter Eight: Mates' First Christmas
Author's Note: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I am so glad I was able to get this out today, I pushed back the drama specifically so we could just have some pack feels and mate fluff, we shall see where the rest of the vacation is going, they still have about a week and a half before they should head back to campus, so what sort of trouble can they get into. I am so grateful to every COMMENT and follow AND favorite. Please please comment if you can because they are like crack and I hate withdrawals. ;)
Ricky awoke to the sound of quiet singing of Christmas songs and wondered where the music was coming from as he stretched, bumping into Stiles on one side and Derek on the other. The past few days had been an amazing adventure of learning each other and spending time together. Talia had truly gone the extra mile, planning games and foot races, as well as a secret Santa gift exchange which happened the night before, Ricky ended up with some sort of ancient bound journal from Peter and the beta couldn't help but be surprised that these people had learned enough about him to know the smell of old paper and the texture was one of those things that made him stupid happy, besides Stiles and Derek anyway. It seemed that his mother and father had finally thawed when it came to the extended family they just became a part of. After that happened, Ricky had been able to release the tension in his shoulders and everything else just fell into place. Ricky found himself reading and chatting with Talia in the evening about any manner of subject, he also loved spending time with John Stilinski because the father of his beloved omega was sarcastic and intelligent. John was a good listener and all he cared about was Stiles' happiness so he didn't care who Ricky and Derek were as long as the two guys were keeping his son happy. Ricky sat through card games, varying kinds as well as board games and movies in the evening but today was going to be different. There were presents under the massive tree to be unwrapped then there was going to be a brunch before they just spent some time together. Ricky smiled at the thought.
Ricky shifted again and Stiles grumbled as he shifted closer, pressing his wiry body into the beta's side. Ricky wrapped a hand around Stiles waist and pulled him even closer just as Derek's arm draped over both of them and pulled both mates closer to the alpha. Ricky looked over to see Derek's dark green gaze on him and watched as the color shifted to the deep alpha red for a second before shifting back. Ricky couldn't help the hitch in his breathing at the sight of the alpha red because it meant Derek wanted them like he always did. Ricky could also scent the lust and love in the air, which always surrounded him when he was with his mates and it was a scent he would never get sick of.
"Merry Christmas Gari," Derek whispered and as if he was struck by lightning Stiles snapped upright jarring both of his mates and he bounced where he was sitting before he struggled to shove the blanket off of him, all the while kicking it off Derek and Ricky as well.
"Christmas!" he shouted with childlike excitement.
"Good morning Stiles. Merry Christmas." Derek and Ricky both said at the same time, which garnered another giggle from their omega. Stiles flipped over and leaned down to smack a wet and loud kiss on Derek's lips them Ricky before he jumped up from the bed. Ricky leaned over and pressed his lips to the alpha's open mouth for a deep kiss that could have lasted far longer but there were suddenly the pounding of happy feet outside the room and Ricky got out of bed as Derek yawned and got up as well. There was nothing that was going to stop them from this crazy amazing day and there was no way Stiles was going to miss any part of the festivities despite the fact that the omega could be sitting on their bed making out with the two men who loved him impossibly much.
"Come on slow pokes!" Stiles said with a laugh as he pulled on a t-shirt with some superhero emblazoned across the front, though it wasn't one of Ricky's areas of nerddom. Ricky slipped on a shirt as well while Derek did the same just as Stiles threw open their bedroom door and raced down the hall. Ricky held out his hand and Derek happily linked his fingers with the beta before they followed Stiles at a much more sedate pace and walked into the living room where the large tree had been decorated by everyone a couple days before. There were tons of brightly wrapped presents overflowing from the space beneath and Ricky smiled at the prospect of opening presents but honestly getting to see Stiles in this circumstance, after such a long semester at school it was here that he got to see Stiles truly calm and happy. He was always happy with Derek and Ricky but the drama of being around other people had always left the omega with an overlaying sense of tension. Then there was all the fear about other omegas out there that he was trying to keep from getting hurt even worse so this moment, here watching Stiles' face get lit by the multi-colored lights of the tree and the joy he could barely contain soaked into Ricky's memory banks as one of those moments that would stay with him forever.
Stiles had taken up residence on the big couch and Derek and Ricky moved to join him there, smiling at Cora who was relaxing in a nearby armchair with a book in her hand, clearly excited but contained but then it was a Hale thing to be intensely contained with their emotions. Laura was sitting in one of the other couches and Ravyn was sitting next to her, Ricky smiled at his little sister who smiled in return. His parents were sitting at the dining table, drinking coffee and reading some papers. Ricky smiled and waved to them as well. The rest of the Hales could be heard in the kitchen, Peter and Talia arguing about something silly in the kitchen as well as Carmen. Stiles was looking around, obviously looking for someone when Ricky heard John and Melissa join the conversation in the kitchen and the omega resettles happily especially when Scott and Alison walk in from the other room.
Ricky watched as Stiles got up and walked over to Scott and the best friends hugged tightly, Stiles shoving his nose into Scott's neck for a moment and Ricky knew he was getting that pack smell into his nose, Scott was always going to be Stiles' best friend and Ricky was glad to see that the other alpha had learned enough to let go of the judgment about Stiles and his mates. This school break had done something to Scott, given him clarity he hadn't had before.
"Merry Christmas Stiles," Scott whispered before he separated from the omega and gripped Alison close to his side before they all resettled on the floor or in the various chairs and couches around the room.
All the missing adults rejoined the younger generation in the living room and then Talia was settling herself in front of the tree with deliberation. "I would imagine that you want to do presents first then eat a brunch later," it wasn't even a question.
Talia started handing presents out, piling small and large boxes on each persons lap till everyone had a small pile. Talia clapped her hands as the last gift was allocated then everyone immediately started ripping into their presents, sending gift-wrappings flying around like fur flying after a hunt. Ricky ripped into his presents as well, finding a fantasy book he was hoping to get from Talia leaving him curious as to how she knew. There was also a set of pens that would make writing a dream from his father and mother. There was a book bag from his sister but it wasn't until he opened the package from Stiles that he felt his heart stall in his chest for a split second, Stiles had found him a magazine, a reader's digest sort of thing, that used a lot of werewolf writers and he had a year long blank offer to turn in submissions in. He sighed happily and leaned over to press his lips to the omega in a deep and wet kiss, only pulling back when other people started giving catcalls over their PDA. Ricky pulled back, "Thank you Stiles."
The omega gave a sappy smile before he turned back to his gifts as well. He was about to open the package from the beta so he watched. Stiles ripped through the packaging to find a small rectangular box, which Stiles opened to find a card giving him an all access pass to the best virtual archive databases in the state and Stiles squealed happily and Ricky snickered at the response. Stiles did love a good search engine and really loved having access to as much information as possible. Stiles threw his arms over Ricky's shoulders for a quick hug then the beta turned back to the last present in his lap, the one from Derek. He opened the packaging and found an old leather bound book and frowned as he tilted it to the side only to find his great grandfather's name. He turned to Derek who was just smiling at Ricky. The beta got up from his spot and climbed into Derek's lap and hugged the alpha, "Thank you," he whispered with feeling. "You don't know how important this kind of thing is to my family." Derek smiled and nodded, wiping away at the moisture clinging to the underside of Ricky's eyes.
He leaned down and pressed his lips to Derek's mouth in a gentle kiss before he turned to see the necklace Derek found for Stiles and how pleased the omega was by it. Derek was holding the paint job kit that Ricky found for him and there was also it looked like an offer to use a nearby mechanic's shop to work on the Camaro. Ricky smiled over at Stiles and then they turned and watched as the last presents were opened and the thrashing sounds of the room quieted down and they were left with showing their goods to everyone else.
Talia rose and looked around the room, smiling though her contentment was tinged with sadness as well, "I would have you know that after the loss of the Hale family, from losing Cordelia after Cora was born, then losing Arthur as well. There is nothing to describe the loss of loved ones but I know that they would both be happy knowing that we have come home to Beacon Hills, even if it is only for a visit. They would be happy to know that their children were alive and happy, loved and good. There is another strength now though, Derek has taken his mates and we have invited their families into the Hale pack, also bringing Scott, Alison and Melissa. I am pleased to see my pack happy and my house so full of happy laughter. But as my eldest son and the first to take a mate, I would give this house to Derek, Garrick and Stiles as a gift to start their lives together."
Ricky gasped and looked back at Derek, since he was still sitting on the alpha's lap. There were tears in Derek's eyes, happy and bittersweet ones. He nudged Ricky off his lap and he happily went so he moved to pull Stiles into his arms as Derek walked across the room and hugged his mother, whispering against her throat, "Thank you Mama, it is a great honor to call this place our home."
Stiles and Ricky both nodded enthusiastically when Talia looked over at them. Ricky hugged Stiles again, then pressed his lips into the side of the omega's head. Derek rejoined them on the couch after a short quiet conversation that everyone pretended they couldn't hear about getting the chance to not start over but truly move on.
Ricky picked up the book written by his kin one more time, knowing that his excitement was leaking off in his scent. He couldn't wait to see what the book had in store for him, wondered what kind of opinions his great grandfather might have about everything. He couldn't wait. After presents, everyone started cleaning up the massive tornado of wrapping paper around the room while Melissa, Ravyn and Cora walked into the kitchen to start cooking. Laura had done most of the work already, being the Hale Den Mother but she was still sitting in the armchair looking through a cookbook she received from someone and Ricky could scent her happiness in the gift. Ricky shoved his handfuls of garbage into the large bag that Derek was holding when the scent of warming meat permeated into the room. Pretty soon they were all sitting around the table, passing bowls and platters of ham, eggs and fresh fruit. There was enough to feed an army, or a Pack and Ricky sat back and enjoyed the happy quiet in the room. There was definitely sounds of eating, snarling and munching that was a lot like an actual pack of wolves but they all used their utensils and kept the stealing to a minimum. Derek was sitting in between Stiles and Ricky for this meal so Ricky reached over and fed a little melon to his alpha who hummed in appreciation and Ricky sighed happily at the sound.
Feeding mates was just another instinct that came without mental thought, he wanted to be sure his mate would have what he needed. He wanted to feed Stiles too and he'd gotten to the point because Stiles and Derek had shown him what answering his instincts without thinking less of himself. Before the instincts overwhelming his human mind had bothered Ricky for a lot of reasons, one being the instinct to kill for his loved ones but now, he trusted Derek and Stiles to respect his mind as much as his instincts. He reached down and twisted the ring on his finger for a minute pleased with the warmth of his body had seeped into the metal along with their scent.
"Okay, now that we have some new toys and have fed our bellies, maybe we should consider what we are going to do with the rest of the day. We could watch some classic Christmas movies, such as The Christmas Story or something."
Suddenly Stiles was bouncing in his chair at Talia's words, "Oooh I love that movie!"
Talia grinned, "That's one for Story, anyone else have an opinion?"
Everyone quickly agreed to some classic Christmas with the tale of the Red Rider BB gun and so on. Derek, Ricky and Stiles reclaimed their seat on the big couch with Derek and Ricky tucked into the corner and Stiles draped across their laps. There was enough room for Cora and Ravyn to take up residence on the couch as well. The rest of the gang took up positions around the room and the 'adults' settled at the table across the room and pulled out a deck of cards, probably to play something simple like canasta or something, poker didn't really work with Weres because they couldn't lie to each other. Ricky enjoyed the settled and happy feeling inside but it matched the contentment that floated around the room in the air. He leaned his head down onto Derek's shoulder as the opening scene began and he reached out to take one of Stiles' hands in between his before he smoothed a fingertip over the top of Stiles' hand. They sat like that for so long, Ricky could feel his side getting tingly from disuse. He knew the moment Laura and a few others went to start dinner. He looked over to Stiles who was curled into Derek's side and wondered if he had the know how to go in and help but then he really wanted to stay here with his mates then he realized something and tilted his head to the side, "Is this what its like? To have a pack?" he whispered but realized what a silly endeavor it was. Someone turned the sound down and the people in the kitchen stilled enough to listen.
"What do you mean?" Derek asked, Stiles tilting his head in curiosity.
"We have a pack per se but betas are so self sufficient that we all have to know everything to make a household run effectively but no one has asked us to do anything or do more than we are able. Is this what its like to like with a pack, to be close? Everyone taking care of each other."
Derek turned enough to pull Ricky in close to his side and spoke with a little smile, "Well I can't guarantee anything about any other Pack but this is what the Hale pack is like. Many of us choose later in life, even with mates and children to live with siblings like my mom and Uncle Peter, we would have a support system, its important for family and pack dynamics but also because we have an omega to protect, because of the stupid Caste misunderstandings and the hunters out to get them. Its different for us right now because of college but we have each other and Scott and our mini pack but this is my home, your home if you would have it?"
Ricky looked over the edge of the couch to see his mother and father watching him, a mixture of love and just a touch of embarrassment possibly. It was tough to scent out the specific emotions with so many bodies in the room. Shelby gave him an almost imperceptible nod. He leaned up into Derek's face and pressed his lips to the alphas for a gentle kiss, pulling back with surprise at the tingle of tears in his eyes. He didn't have anything to cry about but he could feel the sensation just beneath the surface.
"We are going to have such a strong pack Der," Ricky whispered in answer and with that the spell was broken and everyone went back to watching the movie. They watched to the end, laughing about the iconic lines and Stiles giggling in a ridiculous display of humor when the boy on the screen dressed in the bunny pajamas. Ricky sat back and enjoyed the show that Stiles was putting on whenever he couldn't help but whisper the lines under his breath or motioned around spastically as was his habit in life. After the credits rolled on one movie, Stiles jumped up and grabbed another movie and slipped it inside and when the screen lit up to show the beginning scene of How the Grinch Stole Christmas making everyone either groan happily or just laugh. Ricky tugged Stiles back down on top of him and Derek, resettling everyone then reached over and pulled Ravyn and Cora in close for a quick side hug because suddenly it felt so important that they be there, be present with not only his mates but his sister and parents as well as Stiles' family and Derek's family. This wasn't just about letting all three of the new mates be with their family for the holidays, it was about making a stronger pack for Talia and making strong pack ties for Derek, Ricky and Stiles which would continue to help them through tough times and good times for the rest of their lives.
Ricky smiled as he tucked his head against Derek's shoulder once more, content to stay like that until dinner was served. Later there was a dinner, a table laden with so much food it should have bowed beneath the pressure and there was laughter and happiness and genuine care for each between all the families. It turned out to be such a beautiful day for the beta and his mates; he couldn't imagine anything going wrong on such a day.
He really should have known better.