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stereksecretsanta · 9 years ago

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Merry Christmas, halewithstilinski!

Derek loves road trips. Loves them. Road trips used to be family affairs. Everyone climbing into two vehicles, playing rock paper scissors to see who had to drive with Uncle Peter versus getting to be in the car with their parents. At the end of it all they always spent nearly equal time with each but it was that sense of who gets stuck with him first in the trip that was most important.

But Derek has always loved it all. Getting smooshed between his siblings in the back seat, the car smelling like pack and family until they’d stop for food the first time. Picking out snacks at the grocery store and having picnics at the rest stops along the interstate as they drove. Exploring new places and cities with his siblings, having adventures with his parents.

Road trips make up most of Derek’s childhood family memories.

Stiles knows this.

After all the shit with evil druids, homicidal alphas and Japanese fox demons, Stiles spent his few weeks of recovery looking for a way to eliminate the Nematon once and for all. Deaton had time to spare to help and between the two of them, the tree stump, its roots and everything that could ever be used to draw power from the telluric current’s intersection was utterly and completely destroyed and removed.

Of course, the process nearly killed Stiles again but they don’t really talk about that part. At the very least, having Stiles narrowly escape death no less than three times in less than six months right under his nose had Derek admitting his feelings for the seventeen year old.

It was all very sweet in reality. Stiles woke up from his mini coma after performing the ritual and his dad, Scott and Derek were all there to tell him in no uncertain terms that he was not allowed to perform magic without telling one of them first ever again. Then his dad kissed his forehead and pulled Scott from the room. The ensuing conversation with Derek went something like…

“You need to stop, Stiles.”

“Stop what, Derek?”

“Stop treating your life with such…flippancy.”

“Flippancy?”

“Yeah, look. You’re not a kid. I know you’re still seventeen, but you’re not a kid. Your dad even agreed with me on that.”

“You talked to my dad?!”

“Yeah I talked to your dad, I wanted his opinion on if I could date you.”

“…You want to date me? Like, a real relationship?”

“Why would I have a fake relationship with you?”

“I don’t know! To get the pack off our backs or something!”

“No, Stiles I’d like to date you, for real, if that’s something you’d like to do. I mean, you don’t have to.”

“You’re crazy. Of course I want to. Get up here and at least be comfortable while you watch me sleep and make sure I don’t die.”

“Is this the kind of charm I have to look forward to?”

“You knew what you were getting into, pal.”

From there it was relatively normal how their relationship grew into exactly what they needed it to be. Stiles learned to listen when Derek wanted to talk about his family. Derek learned to hear what Stiles wasn’t saying with his many, many words. They took their first road trip together the summer after Stiles and the rest graduated high school. Stiles had been eighteen for a couple months and they were itching to just get out of Beacon Hills.

The first few trips were never very far from home or the pack. Derek just drove them into the mountains not even two hours from home. But from then on, every trip they made has been a little further away. A weekend in Hollywood then a break from school in Portland. A four day weekend in San Diego and then a week in Seattle. After Derek got more and more comfortable with his place in the pack and the pack itself not being in immediate danger because he left the area they started going even further. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Estes Park, Colorado and Yellowstone National Park in Montana were the furthest they’ve ever gone.

But they just left Yellowstone instead of going through the park and Stiles officially has no idea where they’re going. It’s still Christmas break, which now that Stiles is a teacher, it’s the longest break he gets that isn’t the summer. So Derek had told him around Thanksgiving not to plan anything for Christmas vacation because he wanted to take Stiles away somewhere. Stiles had expected an explanation to come with his gifts at the holiday but Derek only told him they’re going away for over a week and not to worry about anything but getting snacks for the drive.

Stiles peers in the back of the Toyota and sees the mountain of things Derek packed. He packed both their bags of clothes, a stack of quilts and blankets and his own pile of groceries. Stiles had gotten all the necessary driving snack foods: Oreos, Ruffles potato chips, three kinds of Twizzlers and a giant bag of berry flavored Skittles. He even packed a cooler with water, Gatorade and a few of those Starbucks Frappuccino drinks that Derek loves.

They left yesterday and Stiles drove all the way to Yellowstone before they stopped for the evening to sleep. So now it’s two days after Christmas and Stiles is being driven to some unknown location and he’s frustrated. And the more frustrated he becomes the more Derek smirks at him. Which just pisses him off more. He wants to <em>know</em>, dammit. But Derek just smiles and reaches over to put his hand on Stiles’ bouncing knee.

“I’m not going to tell you where we’re going.”

“But Derek,” Stiles whines, “How am I supposed to keep myself occupied? I can’t get all excited for what we’re going to do because I don’t know what to be anticipating.”

“You cannot honestly tell me you didn’t bring a book. Stiles, I saw you pack six of them. They’re right behind your seat, in fact.”

Stiles huffs petulantly and crosses his arms across his chest.

“I’d much rather blow you.”

‘Stiles-“ Derek squeaks and swerves a little making Stiles grin meanly.

“You are not going to blow me in the car.”

“Whhyyy?”

“Because I’m not going to drive for the next two days smelling our sex in here. I refuse. Sleep, write, read, hell, sing, for all I care. But I’m not telling you where we’re going.”

“Fine.”

Stiles unbuckles his seatbelt and crawls into the backseat ignoring Derek’s protests. He reaches back and grabs a blanket and a book and curls up in the back seat, ready to try and distract himself from unknown hours in the car. Derek grumbles about him not wearing his seatbelt lying down but Stiles ignores him again. There’s no snow on the road and there aren’t any other cars either. He trusts Derek’s wolfy superpowers to keep him safe.

He gets a little lost in the book as he’s prone to do and isn’t completely aware of his surroundings. When he finally gets to a chapter break and starts hearing what’s going on around him, he hears Derek singing along to the radio. Stiles sits up, pushing the blanket off his legs and looks around.

“We’re still in Montana. Almost to the border.”

“Which border?” Stiles asks skeptically but Derek just shakes his head and smiles.

Stiles huffs and resigns himself to the not knowing. He messily folds the blanket and puts it back in the back before climbing back into his seat, pointedly putting his seatbelt back on once he’s settled. Derek hands him the phone to pick the music and Stiles gets a chance to exact a little revenge.

Twenty minutes and five different playlists later Derek snatches the phone back from a cackling Stiles and puts his own playlist back on. Stiles settles down after a while and realizes they’re driving for North Dakota. They stop for gas in Medora and Stiles gets kind of excited because the town looks like a really cool place to explore. But Derek just drives around the city for five minutes before getting back on the highway and continuing their journey.

Stiles is officially baffled because he has no idea what is out here in this part of the country. They switch halfway across the state so Stiles can drive for a little bit and Derek can rest. Derek just says, ‘keep driving straight,’ before he tilts his seat back and falls asleep.

Annoying secret keeping aside, Stiles can’t help but smile at the warm feeling that gives him. He loves that he and Derek are at a place where Derek trusts him so much. Trusts him enough to fall asleep with Stiles driving to places unknown even.

The more Stiles drives the more snow he sees. That fact in and of itself has Stiles getting excited for wherever they end up. Stiles is just driving along, going through an actual city instead of just passing an exit when Derek wakes up grumbling.

“I thought this state was supposed to be flat. Why am I waking up to my ears popping?”

Derek yawns and Stiles grins at him.

“It is a pretty significant valley we just drove into.”

Derek rolls his eyes and tells Stiles to keep driving. Eventually he tells Stiles they’re stopping in Fargo for the night.

“Fargo?? Are you kidding me? I have seen that movie AND the TV show. Awesome performance by Martin Freeman aside, we cannot stay in Fargo, we’ll get murdered.”

Derek just laughs at him again.

“I think we’re more likely to encounter ‘North Dakota nice’ than be murdered. Besides we’re not leaving our hotel room.”

Stiles grumbles a little more but reminds himself that he trusts Derek is taking him someplace great.

The next morning they check out of the hotel, stop by the grocery store for a few things and a quick donut and coffee. Derek gets behind the wheel and Stiles just hopes they get to wherever they’re going before supper. He’s really sick of eating in the car. They’ve been driving on the interstate basically since they left Beacon Hills but now they’re taking two lane highways through snow covered landscapes.

Stiles kind of loves it.

He always wanted a white Christmas with more snow than the dusting Beacon Hills gets. Here though the snow is in drifts, mounds, <em>piles</em>.

It’s beautiful.

Then they’re driving away from the flat open spaces and it all changes to a forest of snow covered pine trees. It’s like a never ending Christmas postcard and Stiles is completely distracted by it all. After lunch Derek tells him they’re almost there. Another hour and they’re pulling off the main highway to a small private road. Now as they go along, Stiles gets peeks of a frozen over lake through the trees. They pass by a few cabins but they’re few and far between. Derek checks something on his phone and then they’re pulling onto a long drive, a snow covered log cabin waiting at the end.

“Surprise!” Derek says smiling shyly, probably a little nervous at Stiles’ silence.

Thing is, Stiles has never thought of traveling to what he assumes is northern Minnesota. But now that he’s here, he’s just as excited to explore this place as he had been in Colorado. Maybe more so because, really, snow. Up to his knees, clean white fluffy snow.

“It’s beautiful, Derek,” Stiles finally admits, unable to tear his eyes away from looking at the snow, the cabin and the lake down below. The cabin looks small initially but as they approach the front door, suitcases and groceries in hand, Stiles can see how big it really is. It isn’t huge by any means but what he thought was a tiny cottage is really a normal sized house. The house sits on the edge of the hill leading down to the lake. So the front door is actually on the second floor of the house, the main floor sprawling out down below.

Derek goes back and gets the rest of their stuff out of the Toyota and Stiles starts exploring. There’s two bedrooms on the top floor joined by a shared bathroom. There’s not much to see there though and soon enough Stiles is down on the main floor poking and prodding in the kitchen and the living room. It’s all fully furnished just waiting for someone to come along and spend some time there.

The kitchen has everything but the food; the living room, everything but the blankets. Derek comes back in with the rest of their things and Stiles goes to help him put things away suddenly fully ready to just wait for Derek to tell him what’s next now that they’re here.

The next few days go by just like their normal trips do. They explore the small town the cabin is by. They find an ice rink and go ice skating. They stop at the mom and pop diner for a cup of coffee to warm up after. Derek rents them snowshoes from the resort they’re technically staying in and they snowshoe around the lake. One day they stoke up the fireplace, grab all the blankets and curl up on the couch with Netflix. Derek makes the chili recipe Stiles drools over and Stiles makes the grilled cheese. One night they make both brownies and hot cocoa which they eat all night while watching Disney movies. One day they never leave the bed except for brief food breaks and even briefer shower breaks. On the night of the 31st, Derek drags Stiles out onto the lake in the middle of the night to show him the stars. With absolutely no light pollution it’s easily one of the most beautiful night skies Stiles has ever seen. At midnight the resort lights off a bunch of fireworks that burst brightly against the clear dark sky.

The morning of their last day Stiles wakes up slowly, rolls over and settles in to wait for Derek to wake up. It takes a few minutes. But after the multiple rounds they went the night before he can’t really blame Derek for needing some sleep.

"Morning," Stiles whispers when Derek's eyes flutter open.

Derek just smiles softly before leaning over and pressing a closed mouthed kiss to Stiles' lips.

"Morning," he rasps back, voice still rough with sleep.

Stiles knows he can't start a conversation just yet and contents himself with scooching up the bed so Derek's face is curled into his chest and Stiles can run his fingers through Derek's soft hair. After a while Derek tugs Stiles back down so they're face to face.

"I’m really glad we're getting married," Derek says with the same adoring look on his face as when Stiles had gotten down on one knee and proposed almost eight months ago.

"Me too," Stiles replies honestly, suddenly not wanting to possibly ruin this moment by asking questions.

"What?" Derek asks, not exasperated or irritated just sounding curious at the way Stiles' heart has been beating a little funny with anxiety.

"What what?" Stiles asks just to be contrary.

Derek raises an unimpressed brow and Stiles rolls his eyes.

"Fine. Now, I'm not complaining mind you. Aside from no Toyota blowjobs this has been one of our best road trips yet I would have to say. But…you still haven't told me why we are here in particular, Derek."

"Well," Derek hedges, "You’ve wanted to go on another trip for a while now. And the wedding is only a couple months away and I thought it might be nice if we both got away from Lydia's micro managing of that."

"Okay, that's fair. But we could have escaped Lydia in Texas or Colorado again. But we came here. I mean, why north woods Minnesota? What does this place mean to you?" Stiles asks softly.

"I couldn't very well rescue you from hypothermia if we didn't experience any blizzards," Derek says cheekily and Stiles smacks him lightly on the arm.

"Hey! No making fun of my fan fiction and I don't make fun of you when you run off chasing rabbits. Come on, Derek. The truth, please?"

Derek sighs and drops his eyes to stare at the bed between them.

"My grandma was from here. We used to spend every Christmas break up here with our whole extended family. We'd alternate between California and here for the family reunions but Christmas was always up here; she lived in the next town over. Laura and I, well, we came and stayed in her house right after the fire until the insurance companies got everything straight and we had the money to go to New York. Even when it was just me and Laura we'd always come up here for Christmas. These last few years have been really weird not coming here at all.”

“So, I thought I’d bring you,” he shrugs, failing at appearing nonchalant. “Maybe see if this could be our new family tradition."

Derek’s still hiding his face and Stiles kind of hates it. Derek hasn’t felt the need to hide when talking about his family for ages. Stiles reaches up and with a finger under Derek’s chin makes him look at him. Stiles is relieved at finding only resigned sadness and not the guilt that used to infuse Derek’s expressions every time he talked about Laura and the rest. He gets a weak, sad little smile and Stiles returns it with one filled with all the love he feels for Derek.

"Do two people make a family?"

Stiles figures his attempt at lightening the mood again was successful given the raised eyebrow and the smirk Derek gives him.

"Do not quote Bones at me, but ‘isn’t that how every family starts?’” Stiles snorts and Derek tugs on his ear lightly, getting his attention. “Really though, what do you think?"

Stiles just smiles and pulls Derek into a gentle kiss.

"I think that unlike road trips, I'm not going to need to grow to like it. I already love it.”

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