Permanent Marks (Full Moon Ficlet #509 - Cup)
Written for @fullmoonficlet
Derek sat with a book on his lap. He kept his eyes on the page but ears and mind on the commotion behind him. He knew Stiles was up to something when he saw the door to the storage closet on the second floor open and a trail of glitter leading into the - as he discovered - locked library. Derek had knocked on the door, and Stiles told him to go away.
Shrugging, he’d sat on the floor outside the room with the book he’d already finished reading the night before, hence why he’d been heading into the library. He’d heard a couple of crashes and curses, and the smell of spray adhesive snuck under the door, and Derek’s interest was definitely peaked, but he was not going to give in to his curiosity. He would wait until Stiles came out that door and told him what he was doing.
Derek snorted. Who was he kidding? Rolling over onto his stomach, he pressed his cheek to the floor and tried to see under the door, but all he could make out were shadows that told him nothing. Frowning, he pushed himself to stand, leaving the book on the floor. He walked down the stairs and out the front door.
Walking around the house, he looked at the library window, using a hand to shade his eyes. The curtains were drawn on all the windows. His lips twisted into a grin. Stiles knew him too well. He decided distraction would be better than sitting around waiting, so he stripped down, shifted, and ran off into the woods.
The sun was setting when Derek reached the stream along the property's edge. He lapped at the cool water before turning around to head back toward the house, stopping when he saw Stiles coming through the woods, a bright smile on his face.
“There you are!” Stiles said when he reached him, sitting down on the ground and cupping Derek’s furry face in his hands. “When I found your book on the floor, I had a moment of panic. I thought maybe you’d been spelled and were running around 18th-century London or revolutionary Paris.”
Derek snorted and licked the tip of Stiles’ nose. “Then, as I was opening the curtains in the library, I spotted your clothes and figured you’d come to the stream for a drink.” Stiles moved and cupped his hands, bringing some of the water to his mouth. Derek bumped his hands, making the water spill before he could take a sip. “Yeah, I know, bugs and stuff, but you drink it.”
Derek snarled, showing his teeth. “Yeah, I know, the big bad wolf can’t get sick,” Stiles muttered. “Speaking of the big bad wolf,” he said, pulling out a bag Derek hadn’t noticed before. “Happy birthday!”
Derek’s birthday wasn’t until December, six months away. As he thought about it, exactly six months away. “Well, half-birthday, but you never get to celebrate much, sharing with Christmas and everything.”
Shaking his head, Derek shifted back and took the bag from Stiles. Glitter floated to the ground from where Stiles had covered the sides of the bag in gold glitter hearts. A bunch of it came off on Derek’s fingers, and he knew he’d find glitter in places it shouldn’t be for months to come. If Stiles didn’t look so proud of himself, he’d slap him with the bag.
Digging through the tissue paper, Derek’s hand hit plastic. Derek wrapped his hand around the strange object, and his senses were overwhelmed by spray paint and glue. Sneezing, he pulled out the gift and gaped at the golden…Derek wasn’t sure what he was holding.
“What?” His eyes spotted black block writing on the base that read, World’s Best. Trailing his eyes up, he took in the golden wolf sitting on what appeared to be stacked plastic plates and goblets. Squinting, he recognized the wolf as one Stiles had picked up at the flea market the previous week, but it had been an ungodly orange color then and was now shining gold like the rest of the - “It’s a trophy?” Stiles beamed. “You made this.”
“I sure did. I found some stuff online and thought it would at least make you laugh,” Stiles said. “I know you didn’t want any gifts, but I figured one that made you laugh would be alright.”
“You didn’t finish it,” Derek said, pointing to the writing.
“Well, you are the world’s best.” Derek made a face. “I couldn’t finish it until you answered one question for me."
Derek tilted his head, seeing Stiles’ lips quirk up into a smile, and he could hear the dog joke coming but didn’t try to stop him. Instead, Stiles moved to kneel in front of Derek, bringing their faces level and using one hand to cup his cheek while the other held up a silver and black ring with a howling wolf engraved into it.
“I wasn’t planning to do this while you were naked, but Derek Sebastian Hale, will you agree to put up with me for the rest of our lives and be my husband?”
“You’re an idiot,” Derek said, holding his hand out for the ring.
“So that’s a yes?” Stiles asked, laughing as he slid the ring onto Derek’s finger.
“That’s a write ‘fiancé’ on that cup, and let's go back to the house and celebrate,” Derek said, howling playfully, pulling Stiles to his feet.Stiles pulled a sharpie out of his back pocket, sticking the cap in his teeth and pulling to open it. Derek held the trophy while Stiles wrote fiancé next to the other words. Derek yanked the cap out of Stiles’ mouth and threw it over his shoulder before pulling Stiles into a kiss. He could feel the pen against his skin and didn’t even care. A lifetime with the man he loved was worth a few permanent marks.
