#superwhumper06

“Son, why don’t you cut the boy a break, huh,” John Stilinski joked, yanking Stiles out of his silent stupor.

And with that, Stiles was able to compose himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, before letting out an eloquent shriek and gracelessly jumping on top of Derek, sending them both crashing into the dirt.

“Yes! Fuck yes!” He could finally say, kissing Derek eagerly and laughing against his mouth. “Did you honestly think I’d say no?”

“You had me worried for a minute there,” Derek admitted, letting out a sigh of relief.

Derek sat them up and held out the ring box. Stiles gasped, it was so beautiful and sparkly; a white gold band with two rows of diamonds. Stiles loved it, like beyond loved. And he’d totally show Derek later just how much he appreciated it once his parents weren’t in the near vicinity.

Stiles could barely sit still as Derek slipped the ring on his finger. Once it was on, he turned to his parents and pointed at his mother accusingly.

“Did you know!?”

His mom was his best friend and they told each other absolutely everything. Nothing was ever “too personal.” So, if Claudia Stilinski actually managed to keep this to herself, then who knew what else she could be holding back from him.

“Of course I didn’t, sweetie,” Claudia scoffed, easing Stiles’ concerns of his mother being a potential sociopath. “If I knew, I certainly would’ve spilled the beans. Your father knew though. I guess Derek thinks he’s the better secret keeper.”

“Sorry!” Derek winced when Claudia crossed her arms over her chest with a sour expression.

“Oh, don’t be like that, honey,” John said, wrapping his arms around her from behind. “Just because you’re god awful at keeping secrets doesn’t mean we love you any less.”

Claudia harrumphed and pinched him.

John just laughed, nodding at Derek to say, “Welcome to the family, son.”

“Yes, welcome,” Claudia said warmly but scowled and rolled her eyes when John kissed her on the cheek.

Stiles grinned, well used to his parents' silly bickering by now. It was pretty gross how they were still so in love after all these years. Stiles looked back to Derek who was laughing as well watching Claudia tell John to talk to the hand. He smiled to himself, thinking about him and Derek being like that in the future.

“Now moving onto decorative napkins…”

Planning a wedding was a breeze when your best friend was a wedding planner. As soon as Stiles broke the news to Lydia that he and Derek were engaged, she immediately hijacked the operation, citing that Stiles’ taste was trash and he would just mess everything up. Stiles indeed had trash taste and, on his own, would definitely have messed everything up. So, while her harsh delivery needed work, he was grateful to have her on board.

“You do know the wedding is in a year and a half, right?”

Stiles knew that most couples couldn't wait to get married, but he and Derek had only been dating for a year. Not that Stiles had any doubts that Derek was the one for him, but they had always moved kind of fast in their relationship…

They first met at the hospital Derek worked at when Stiles was asked to paint a Christmas-themed mural in the nursery. Of course, Stiles saw a hot doctor and just had to make a move, but he hadn’t expected his shameless flirting to work. He also hadn’t expected for them to go on their first date that very night or for them to fall so in love with each other by their second date. By their third date, they were already living together and adopting a cat.

It was quite the whirlwind romance, to say the least. And they were still in the infatuation stage, fully wrapped up in each other as they swung their laced hands back and forth while following Lydia through the store. This wedding was going to be the best day of their lives and, with such a quick beginning, they didn’t want to rush it.

Lydia stopped and swung around, placing her hands on her hips and donning a menacing power pose that had both Stiles and Derek shrinking back a little bit. “I will not let you guys procrastinate in the planning of this wedding,” she lectured, glaring hotly at them. “A year and a half is barely any time to throw together a wedding. And every detail matters, no matter how small!”

With another scorching glare, she turned and flounced off, her voluminous red hair bouncing fiercely with each step. Stiles looked over at Derek and lifted his finger to his temple, twirling it and mouthing that she was cuckoo before rushing to follow her so they wouldn’t get in trouble again.

“I’m confused,” Derek said as they watched Lydia deliberate between two different table runners for twenty-five minutes. “Are we paying her? Did we ask her to do this?”

“Nope,” Stiles said, popping the p. “She most definitely took this upon herself and we’ll almost certainly be getting a bill in the mail.”

Derek groaned, looking miserably up at the ceiling as if the boredom of picking out cloth napkins and napkin rings was actually painful for him. Stiles knew just how to lift his spirits, singing along loudly to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Nothing was more healing to Derek than Stiles’ beautiful singing voice, and sure enough, Stiles’ shrill crooning and pitchy high notes managed to get a laugh out of Derek.

Stiles loved when Derek laughed, especially when his eyes got all crinkly and he wrinkled his nose. He couldn’t resist kissing his adorable dimples, then just had to taste his lips, then absolutely needed to slip in a little tongue. Then they were lost in it and it was just the two of them making out in the middle of a department store as cheesy Christmas music played over the speaker.

A throat cleared and they jumped apart, finding Lydia standing there tapping her foot testily. “Seriously,” she condemned, “Would you two keep it PG and stop dilly-dallying when we’re supposed to be working.”

“Sorry,” they both said in unison; Derek blushing a bright red while Stiles shrugged unabashed.

“She’s scary,” Derek whispered after Lydia walked away again.

“Eh, her bark is bigger than her bite.”

If you asked him years ago, Stiles actually would have thought he’d be doing this with Lydia: getting married, that is. He’d had a crush on her since grade school, and in high school, they’d dated for a while before Lydia realized she kind of liked girls and Stiles realized he kind of liked boys. Luckily, they were still able to remain close friends.

“Hey, Lyds, can we get an In-N-Out truck at the wedding?” Stiles called.

“Absolutely not!” Lydia cried from a distance.

Stiles snickered and elbowed Derek, looking over at him and expecting to see him laughing as well. But Derek wasn’t laughing or smiling; in fact, he looked deeply unhappy. Stiles was about to ask him about it when out of the corner of his eye he saw why.

Even though they lived in San Francisco, the gay capital of the world, there were still asshole bigots out there whose strived to ruin other people’s happiness even though they were doing nothing wrong and hurting nobody. Homophobia didn’t bother Stiles as much as it bothered Derek, probably because Stiles had always been out and proud. Stiles was Derek’s first boyfriend; his first everything when it came to that. And it always made Stiles sad to see Derek get so upset over the fact that some old geezer had a problem with them being in there affectionate in public. Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek and kissed him again in spite, which made Derek smile again and had asshole grandpa over there huffing and puffing and going on his way with the rest of his Christmas shopping.

Derek’s phone rang in his pocket, and he pulled away from Stiles reluctantly to fish it out. “I have to take this. It’s probably work.”

“‘Kay,” Stiles nodded, well-used to Derek’s work interrupting their private time by now. Being with a doctor that brought new life into the world each day, Stiles had discovered that babies were major cock blocks. Cute ones, though.

Stiles located Lydia in the dinnerware aisle perusing charger plates. “Want to know what I think?” he asked.

“Not in the least,” Lydia shot down.

Though his singing talents were somewhat questionable and his wedding designing left a lot to be desired, Stiles wasn’t without some capabilities. He was still an artist, a well-known one at that, with artwork displayed in famous galleries all over the world. He knew colors and which ones went well together. After annoying her enough, Lydia begrudgingly let him help, which made things go so much faster. Lydia was actually impressed with his choices and they managed to get the place settings all sorted out by the time Derek got back.

“Looks like I’m going to have to cut out early,” Derek said, tucking his phone back in his pocket.

“Nooooo!!” Stiles whined, latching onto him so he couldn’t leave.

“I’m sorry, but a patient at the hospital needs me.”

“Let her die!”

“Stiles,” Derek said sternly then rolled his eyes.

“You can’t leave me here with Lydia! I’ll die. So pick, your patient or your fiancé.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Derek snorted, kissing Stiles’ pout. “I’ll see you at home.”

“I’ll remember this!”

“Love you.”

“Traitor!”

“Have fun!”

“Fuck you!”

Stiles slumped his shoulders, life bleak now that he was off to war on his own. Cheerfully, Lydia linked their arms together and dragged a spiritless Stiles off to more stores for stupid wedding stuff.

“We must talk seating arrangements,” Lydia informed him. “Has Derek made a list of everyone he’s inviting?”

“No, because the wedding is a year and a half away and we’re not thinking that far ahead,” Stiles said, using his favorite excuse for when Lydia asked him why they hadn’t done anything for the wedding yet.

“The both of you are slackers,” Lydia complained. “I mean, you, I understand. I’ve known you almost your whole life and you’re only getting worse, but Derek is a doctor. He should be a lot more organized.”

Stiles shrugged. “Derek doesn’t have that many friends, so it won’t be that long of a list.”

“What about his family?”

“Hmm?” Stiles cocked his head to the side.

“His family, Stiles,” Lydia said slowly, “Does Derek have a lot of relatives…”

“Oh,” Stiles frowned. “I don’t know. I’ve never met them.”

Lydia’s eyes bulged out of her head. “What?!” Her jaw dropped. “You haven’t met Derek’s family? Like his immediate family? Oh my god! Why are wemarrying him then!”

“Because I love him loads and want to spend the rest of my life with him,” Stiles responded, not sure why Lydia was making such a big deal about this. Or why she always used we when talking about his and Derek’s relationship.

“Don’t you think it’s a little weird that you haven’t met the family of your fiancé?” Lydia asked. “He’s met your parents, right?”

“Of course,” Stiles said. “Plenty of times.”

“Has he even talked about them to you? Are they close?” Lydia’s questions were coming too fast for Stiles to respond. “Do they send Christmas cards or birthday wishes? What about Facebook? Have you tried stalking them though Derek’s Facebook?”

“Derek doesn’t have a Facebook.”

Lydia gasped, “What if you finally meet them and they hate you? That’ll make this wedding so awkward. You’re a very hate-able person, Stiles!”

“Relax, Lydia.” Stiles places his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t think it’s that weird. I think he said his family lives in New York or somewhere far. And we don’t get to travel much with him working all the time.”

“Whatever,” Lydia huffed. “Just get me that list.”

“Fine.” Stiles surrendered. “Will do.”

The more Stiles thought about it, the more he realized that Lydia was right. It was weird that Stiles knew nothing about Derek’s family. And now that he was paying attention, he noticed that Derek never talked about having a mom or a dad or siblings.

Stiles had the good fortune of being extremely close with both his parents and his Babcia. They were all so important to him and were the reason he was the person he was today. He talked about them constantly and shared many stories from his childhood, but was wondering now why Derek had never shared anything back. Had something terrible happened when he was a kid, and if so, wasn’t it still something that Stiles should know?

“Stiles, would you please sit down. I think we have enough snacks to watch this movie.”

“Hold on,” Stiles yelled from the kitchen, “I forgot the raisinets!”

Derek didn’t get nights off from work very often, and it was kind of chilly out, so they were staying in to watch cheesy Christmas movies. Derek already had the Netflix queue up and ready to go, starting with A Christmas Prince: Royal Wedding. Stiles, on the other hand, was running behind with the snacks, but only because he completely disagreed with Derek. One could never have enough snacks while watching a movie.

“Okay, I’m ready now,” Stiles said and dropped down onto the couch next to Derek, placing the box of raisinets on the coffee table with all the other junk food. Derek shook his head disapprovingly and picked up the remote to press play when Stiles stopped him again, “Wait, we need marshmallows!”

“Stiles!” Derek groaned.

“And hot chocolate!”

Stiles ran back into the kitchen to grab the hot cocoa mix and the marshmallows, ignoring Derek’s bitching and moaning. He was positive it was moments like these that had inspired Derek to propose in the first place. He came back out with two cups of steaming hot chocolate and grimaced when he saw Derek cuddling with their evil, ugly, fat cat, Mojo Jojo in his place.

“Get you gone, demon!” Stiles shouted, sending the vicious fiend scurrying off.

Ever since the first day they brought her home, “Bubbles” as she once was called, had been nothing but nice to Derek and vicious to Stiles. So, Stiles renamed her Mojo Jojo so she had a name that better suited her mean personality.

“That wasn’t very nice,” Derek reprimanded and picked up the remote to press play again.

Stiles intercepted him once more to say, “Before we start, Lydia wants a list of all the people you want to invite to the wedding.”

“Oh,” Derek frowned. “I thought we were keeping things small.”

“Yeah, we are,” Stiles told him, “but we still need a list.”

“Alright then,” Derek said, scratching his brow, “I guess some of my close colleagues at work like Erica, Isaac, and Boyd.”

Stiles picked up his cup of hot chocolate and took a sip then asked, “What about your family? Don’t you want them to come?”

Derek winced and averted his eyes, a sign he used often when he wanted Stiles to drop a subject. But Stiles couldn’t let this go now. Not after that reaction.

“Why don’t you ever talk about them?” Stiles continued. “Did something bad happen?”

Derek didn’t say a single word. A queasy feeling ran through Stiles’ gut as an overwhelming sense of dread came over him. Had something horribly tragic happen to Derek’s entire family? Had he been keeping it inside this whole time and dealing with it all on his own? If that was the case, then all Stiles could do was cry.

“No, Stiles, it’s not that,” Derek said quickly when he noticed Stiles getting emotional. “Nothing bad happened. My family is alive and well. They just don’t…” He stopped, making a face as he fought with his words, “They don’t know that I’m... bisexual.”

“What?!” Stiles screamed so loud that even Mojo Jojo came up from her nest in hell to check out what was going on.

“They don’t know about us.”

“Why the hell not?!” Stiles demanded, shooting up from the couch.

“It’s complicated,” Derek explained and stood too. “My mom and sisters aren’t like your parents. You grew up in San Francisco around all sorts of LGBT+ representation. I grew up on a ranch deep in rural California and the only reason I knew our community even existed is because my family hates it so much.”

“Ohh my god!” Stiles paced, rubbing his temples. “We’re about to be married, Derek! Shouldn’t you have told me sooner that you’re on the DL!”

“I didn’t think it was that important,” Derek mumbled, looked down at the floor as he shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t communicate with them a lot.”

“Did you use to?”

“Yeah.” Derek squirmed. “We were all pretty close before…”

“...Me,” Stiles whispered, his stomach dropping to the floor.

“Don’t do that,” Derek snapped. “I love you and I’m not ashamed of the life we have together. Of course, I want them to know the person I’m madly in love with, but I don’t think they’ll change.”

Stiles couldn’t feel anything but deeply saddened. Because of him, Derek now had an uncomfortable relationship with his family. How could he live with himself knowing that he and his dick were at fault for this?

“Fuck it.” Derek dug into his pocket and yanked out his phone. “I’ll call my mom right fucking now and tell her about us.”

“No!” Stiles yelled before Derek could do anything drastic. “That is not how you’re supposed to come out, Derek!”

Derek’s forehead puckered. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you should be doing this for yourself,” Stiles argued then muttered bitterly, “Not for me.”

“This is for me, though,” Derek stressed. “I want to marry you and I don’t want this to become a thing between us where you start having crazy thoughts—”

“I think we should call off the engagement.”

“—Kind of like that. Stiles, you are not breaking up with me over this.”

“It wouldn’t be a breakup,” Stiles said weakly.

“It sure as hell feels like one!”

“I don’t want you to have to choose me over your family, Derek.” Stiles twisted the engagement ring on his finger. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Stiles, come here,” Derek prompted, beckoning him forward. “Come on, you’re standing too far away. I can barely hear you.”

He stepped forward, upset and unsure, then laughed despite himself when Derek pulled him close and smothered him in kisses.

“Listen, I will call my mom tonight and tell her I’m coming home for the holidays and that I’m bringing a friend. She’s been begging me to visit for a while now so I’m sure she’ll be fine with me bringing whoever I want.”

Stiles opened his mouth to protest but Derek thoroughly kissed him silent.

“Please come with me. If I’m going to do this, I need you with me. If you’re there, I know I’ll have the courage to face them.”

“Okay,” Stiles nodded, cupping Derek’s cheek.

“Okay,” Derek grinned back, the corner of his eyes crinkling as he smiled and kissed Stiles again fiercely.

Stiles honestly hadn’t believed Derek when he said his family lived in the middle of nowhere. After all, Derek had lied to him for months when he told Stiles that his family resided on the other side of the country, which was why they could never meet. He assumed Derek was lying to him once more or exaggerating, especially after finding out that the Hales not only lived in California but were just a few hours away from San Francisco.

However, the closer they got to Beacon Hills, the town Derek had grown up in, the more Stiles was starting to believe that Derek’s description might actually be true. As they drove through acres and acres of pastors and plains on the open road, Stiles hounded Derek with questions about his upbringing, wanting to know every detail.

He thought it was so cool that Derek got to grow up on a farm with lots of animals, like cows and chickens and ponies. Derek told him that the farm had been in the family for generations, but not many Hales ventured off into the big city. Only his Uncle Peter had done it before him, going off to L.A and marrying another man, which wasn’t exactly well-received by the rest of the family.

Stiles questioned Derek on how he thought his family might react to his coming out, but Derek seemed conflicted. Apparently, he’d had a bunch of girlfriends growing up (which Stiles wasn’t jealous about at all, nope, he was totally fine with finding out his fiancé was a former manwhore) and they would have trouble understanding that he was bisexual and that it wasn’t by choice.

“There are two very important things that I need you to remember,” Derek said seriously as they turned onto a narrow dirt road. “One; the things my family say and do and the ideologies they hold dear have never been a reflection of me and what I think. And two; I’m really, really, really sorry. We’re here!”

Derek pulled into the driveway and put the car in park, turning off the ignition. He jerked his head forward, directing Stiles’ attention towards the house, though Stiles wouldn’t have missed it on his own. When Derek had talked about his life on the farm, he’d made it sound a lot like Little House on the Prairie, and from that description, Stiles had imagined that Derek’s family lived in a cute tiny farm house with no heat, electricity or modern technology. Which was why he was obviously surprised when he saw that Derek’s childhood home was neither cute nor tiny, but a massive extravagant mansion.

“Wait a minute, I thought you said you lived on a farm.”

“A ranch, yes,” Derek concurred, unbuckling his seatbelt.

“Dude...are you rich?!”

Derek flinched. “Kind of,” he downplayed then gave in when he saw Stiles wasn’t buying it. “Yes, okay. My family is rich, extremely so. This place makes a shit ton of money and I do have a sizable inheritance, but don’t freak out.”

Stiles gaped, mouth opening and closing like a fish. “Don’t freak out?” he echoed. “How can I not freak out, Derek! You’re farm boy royalty! How can I even compete with that! Do I even know you at all?”

Derek huffed, “Stiles, are you ready?”

“No,” Stiles said truthfully.

“Great!” Derek opened his car door. “Let’s go.”

After seeing the house, Stiles was scared of how Derek’s family might look and act. He was worried that they’d be too sophisticated for him and was annoyed that he now had two strikes against him, instead of one. How could he make a good first impression on Derek’s family if he was both gay and lower class.

His fears were put to rest though when he caught his first glimpse of Derek’s mom as she ran out to greet them, dressed in a pair of cowboy boots and jean short-shorts, which weren’t exactly the luxurious ball gown he’d been imagining her in.

“My goodness,” she squealed as she raced over and jumped into Derek’s arms. “Is that my baby finally home? Glad to see, Mr. Doctor-Man, that you’re remembering you have a momma!”

Derek laughed and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. “Sorry, it’s been so long, Momma.”

“I guess I can’t be too mad at you,” she said and put a hand on Derek’s cheek as she beamed with pride. “You’re out there saving the world and such.”

“I just deliver babies, Momma.” Derek ducked his head, his ears turning pink. “Something I learned from helping with calving right here on this very ranch.”

Her eyes moved onto Stiles next, smiling graciously as she regarded him. “And just who is this?”

“This is the friend that I telling you about,” Derek said as he placed her back down on the ground. “Momma, this is Stiles.”

“Ooo, he a Doctor-Man too?”

“Nope, just merely an artist,” Stiles answered for himself with a nervous laugh.

“A very talented one, though,” Derek interjected in his defense.

“An artist, huh,” Derek’s mom hummed, sizing him up and down. “Well, alright then. Great to meet you, Stiles. I’m Talia Hale.”

“It’s great to meet you too, Miss,” Stiles smiled, shaking her hand as she held it out to him.

“Gee, you artists sure got dainty fingers and wrists,” Talia commented, squinting down at Stiles’ hand in displeasure. She turned Stiles’ palm up and tssked at it, shaking her head. “We’ll have to toughen you up in the next four days. Get you some calluses on these palms and teach you how to give a firm manly handshake. No matter the profession, there’s never an excuse to be a sissy. Now come on in, Stiles, I’m sure everyone will be ecstatic to meet you!”

Inside the Hale mansion was just as lavish and luxurious as the outside. And, like Talia, Derek’s two sisters, Laura and Cora, weren’t dressed up in expensive designer brands or silk princess dresses. Stiles was sure glad that he wasn’t underdressed, because for once in his life it wasn’t his sense of style that was being critiqued; just everything else about himself that he’d ever taken pride in.

Hit after hit after hit, it was like a firing squad of finding every fault in Stiles for why he wasn't man enough. His name was too weird; real men didn’t use nicknames. He slouched too much and needed to carry himself better so he wouldn’t get beat up. He was too scrawny; his bird chest and long limbs made him much too effeminate. He needed to grow facial hair; he looked like a teenage girl.

He did get one nice compliment from Derek’s older sister Laura, though. She told him he was hot and was thankful that he wasn’t gay because all the hot ones were nowadays. Oh, the irony! It’d be funny if it didn’t stab so much.

“You were right,” Stiles said when they managed to escape to get their luggage out of the car. “You were right and I was wrong. This is bad, Derek. This is horrible, actually. Let’s leave now. I’m cool with us living in sin forever and never telling anyone about us.”

“Stiles,” Derek called, catching his arm before he could pull open the passenger side door, “We can’t leave. I came prepared to tell my family about us.”

“Yeah, I know!” Stiles cringed, looking over his shoulder anxiously, lest anyone catch them touching for too long. “But that was before I knew the circumstances! And I understand it now, Derek. I get it loud and clear!”

He realized Derek’s dilemma now after having experienced it for himself because Derek’s mom and sisters weren’t necessarily bad people. They were actually nice! Like super nice and welcoming and friendly, well except for Cora but Derek had already told him that it took her time to warm up to new people. They all truly thought they were helping Stiles in their berating of him, like a charity case without the tax breaks.

Things would have been so much simpler if Derek’s mom and sisters had been genuine assholes. In fact, Stiles would have preferred it, because then he wouldn’t have to give a shit about hurting their feelings and could hate them outright. But here, he sensed how deeply they cared for Derek and how excited they were to have him back home and just didn’t think he could mess that up. Damn those pesky microaggressions!

“What do you want me to do then, Stiles?” Derek requested, “How do you expect us to survive the next four days?”

“I have no idea!” Stiles raked his fingers through his hair, “But you told them that I’m your friend, so let’s just be that for now, okay. I’m just your good friend Stiles with the dainty wrists and sissy fingers.”

“Hey, I love these fingers.” Derek reached out and took Stiles’ hand in his, dropping a light kiss to Stiles’ fingertips. “I’ve come with them inside numerous times.”

“That is so gay, Derek!” Stiles snatched his hand back. “We’re just buds now.”

“Buds.”

“Bros.”

“Alright then,” Derek nodded.

“Alright then,” Stiles echoed back.

Being a guest at the Hale Ranch kind of felt a lot staying at a five-star hotel. Stiles had been put up in a ginormous guest suite with what had to be the world’s most perfect bed. It was like laying on a heavenly cloud. Too bad Stiles hadn’t gotten much sleep in it last night.

Stiles never really liked going to sleep without Derek and Derek’s bedroom was all the way on the other side of the house. So, in the middle of the night, he decided that he was going to sneak over there, but the operation was a total fail. Stiles got so lost that he couldn’t even find his way back to his own room and ended up having to be saved by Cora like some pathetic damsel in distress. He made up some lame excuse about not being able to find the bathroom, even though he had two of them in his suite alone. He promised himself that he wouldn’t venture anywhere too far to get lost; so not needing Cora emasculating him to happen again anytime soon.

Other amenities of the Hale Ranch included a gourmet breakfast cooked by the ever so charming Laura Hale. Her flapjacks had honestly been what brought Stiles back to life after a restless night of tossing and turning. Her flirting was also pretty hilarious, and if things didn’t work out with Derek, Stiles knew he had a backup Hale to fall onto.

There were quite a few facilities on the grounds as well, Stiles’ favorite being the horse stable. Watching Derek muck out messy horse stalls and fork manure all afternoon, in theory, hadn’t sounded like a very pleasant experience. But Stiles found himself changing tunes the second he saw Derek in his sexy cowboy gear.

He also got to feed and pet all the pretty horses, and even sat on one for three whole minutes before freaking out and begging Derek to help him get down. Thank god, Cora was nowhere to be found for that scene; he didn’t think her opinion of him would improve much by seeing him whine like a little bitch.

Stiles still really liked the horses though and wished he could take one home as a replacement for Mojo Jojo. Derek promised to teach him how to ride someday but seemed to be forgetting that Stiles already knew how to ride. He rode Derek all the time, didn’t he?

It was so captivating to see how well Derek thrived out here. He could tell that Derek had missed it. He was so nurturing with all the animals and worked his butt off all day while still being patient with Stiles whose clumsiness wasn’t always conducive to most ranch tasks. Stiles would definitely be encouraging Derek to come back more often. It seemed like things were looking up and that the trip wasn’t as doomed as they’d originally thought. Or at least, those were Stiles’ sentiments before supper later that night.

“It’s frightening how much control the LGBT community has over the government. I mean, you can’t say anything without offending someone today. It’s all part of their agenda. Our lawmakers have allowed them to worm their way into our judicial system and corrupt all of our core values. I tell you, I have no idea what direction this country is heading in, but I know it isn’t a good one.”

After a long day in the field, Stiles was famished and, up until this point, had been dying to eat. Sadly, he couldn’t eat a morsel off his plate, too sick to his stomach to even pick up his fork.

Thinking back to Derek’s preemptive apology in the car yesterday only made Stiles feel even more ill, because Derek had to have known with absolute certainty that this was going to happen. And Derek could only know that because he’d been forced to endure this kind of vitriol in the past. And that made Stiles see red. He was absolutely furious for him.

What made it worse was that this tirade began completely unprompted. As soon as they sat down at the table, Talia unleashed her narrow-minded ideologies as if these were things that were totally okay to say. At one point she blamed pregnant women and their choice to consume foods with GMOs for the reason why the number of transgender youths in the world was growing.

As for the reactions around the table? Well, Cora nodded her head along with everything her mother said, fully endorsing all of the sheer ignorance spilling from Talia’s mouth. Laura appeared indifferent, choosing to examine her split ends instead of taking a stance. Derek hadn’t looked up from his lap the entire time, expertly hiding his hurt after years of practice. And Stiles, well, he’d just about heard enough.

“Say, wasn’t America one of the last few modern countries to legalize gay marriage? Which means the LGBT community and their nefarious agenda couldn’t have sunk their claws in that deep. If they had, I’m sure it would’ve happened sooner, so I think we’re all safe.”

All eyes were on Stiles now that he’d abruptly cut into Talia’s rant. Laura and Cora looked astonished as if they’d never seen anybody challenge their mother’s opinions before. Derek was silently pleading with him to fall back and retreat. But Talia’s eyes gleamed now as she regarded Stiles and he knew he was in for it now.

“I know that was sarcasm, young man,” Talia laughed merrily, “But I don’t fault you for it. You grew up in a place full of propaganda that makes you think my unpopular opinion makes me a bigot.”

“Oh, I don’t think anything like that,” Stiles waved, keeping his tone serene and sweet. “Trust me, you’re not the first homophobic person I’ve met.”

“Homophobic?” Talia looked appalled. “Oh no, honey, I’m not anything like that! I have nothing against those kinds of people. My own brother is one of them.”

Stiles was a little thrown off by that. “Then what exactly is your problem with them?”

“My problem is that men in this country aren’t acting like men anymore and families are breaking up all over this country. Look at the divorce rate, it’s sky high!”

Stiles gasped loudly and covered his mouth. “The gays had a hand in that too?”

Talia grinned, “Is sarcasm always a rebuttal for you?”

Stiles pursed his lips. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Talia noticed the uncomfortable tension at the table then and smiled, picking up her fork and knife. “Let’s just agree to disagree,” she said courteously, “Who am I to tell you how you should view the world. I just know my Derek always agrees with me. Right, baby?”

Stiles didn’t think he’d ever known such a rage until he watched Talia reach out and take Derek’s hand, forcing him to pick a side. For a moment, Derek looked torn, eyes flitting over to Stiles but ultimately going back to his mom as he smiled and gave her a small nod.

Talia winked over at Stiles, her smile smug as she sat back in her chair.

It took a lot of self-control for Stiles not to slam the fucking door when he got back to his suite. His hands were clenched into fists and he was shaking all over, his heart galloping at a fast pace due to all the adrenaline. It was usually best for him to go for a walk when he got this angry, but he couldn’t exactly leave the ranch house. What if he got lost again and Cora wasn’t there to rescue him this time?

Good thing his suite was fucking massive and he could pace all over it like the maniac that he was. Stiles went from room to room, burning a hole in the carpet as he fumed and talked angrily to himself. He didn't even notice that Derek had slipped into his room, too busy muttering under his breath about Talia’s audacity.

“I’m sorry.”

Stiles froze mid-pace, whipping his head around and finding Derek there, leaned up against the door and looking distraught and in need of comfort. He cursed, feeling selfish then, well almost selfish as that narcissist Talia. He should have checked on Derek first thing after supper was over. It had to have been a difficult dinner for him to sit through, what with his fiancé going up against his mom like that.

“It’s not you.” The pacing started back up again. “You have nothing to be sorry for. But phony people like her that are the worst kinds of people in this world!”

Derek looked away, sticking his hands in his jean pockets. “I would say she’s the worst. More like misguided, misinformed, ignorant…”

“Oh, shit!”

Stiles may not appreciate Talia’s toxic gender restrictions, or her harmful political views, or the fact that she truly thought she wasn’t being a hateful person when she spouted her bigotry, but she was still his future mother-in-law. She was still Derek’s mom.

He softened and abandoned his pacing to rush over to Derek and throw his arms around him. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, “I didn’t mean that.”

“No, don’t apologize.” Derek brushed his thumb against Stiles’ cheek. “I’ve dealt with this for a lot of my life and I know her opinions can cut pretty deep.”

Stiles leaned into his caress. “Has she always been like that?”

“It’s a generational thing,” Derek told him. “My grandfather was just as bad.”

Stiles hugged Derek again, burying his face into his neck. He felt for Derek and for so many others who experienced rejection for who they were by their own flesh and blood on a daily basis. It was almost 2019 and families were still inflicting this kind of pain on queer folk. Who knew how many people were suffering through this type of awkwardness this holiday season.

“I will say, I’ve never seen anyone hold their own so well against my momma. It kind of made me hot.”

Stiles snorted. “The weirdest things make you hot... and you took her side.”

Derek lowered his head. “You know I had to.”

“Yeah, I know,” Stiles said, even though he didn’t completely agree.

Derek could’ve spoken up, he could’ve done something to challenge her, hell he could have come out. But Stiles knew these things couldn’t be rushed and Stiles had his own fears about Derek’s family finding out about them, which was why he’d suggested they pretend to be friends in the first place.

Though, they didn’t have to pretend to be friends behind this closed door. Stiles released a harsh breath as Derek’s mouth seized his; it felt like ages since they’d last kiss. They traded spots, Derek kissing him hungrily as he pressed Stiles up against the door. In the haze of tongue and lips and teeth, Stiles heard the sound of the lock click shut on the door and pulled away, panting as he struggled to catch his breath.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his chest rising and falling.

“What’s it look like?” Derek rumbled and nibbled along Stiles’ neck.

“Here? Now?” Stiles hissed, jolting off the door as if someone was already on the other side listening in. “We are supposed to be bros, Derek!”

“It’s a big house, Stiles!”

“Yes, I am aware!”

Of course, he knew that after having gotten lost in it.

“No one’s going to hear us, Stiles, and if they do,” his expression hardened, “then tough shit! I fucking miss you and dinner was awful and I just don’t give a shit anymore! So fuck everybody today, okay? Fuck the world! I just need to be with you right now. Just you and me.”

Stiles’ eyes rounded at the intensity in Derek’s voice and the weight of his words. He’d never seen Derek like this, like he was ready to jump off an edge. Stiles was ready to go with him though, for better or worse.

“Okay,” Stiles swallowed and stepped forward, approaching Derek cautiously like he would a wounded animal. He kept his voice gentle as he consented again, “Okay.”

He allowed himself to fall easily into Derek’s brutal embrace. The want was something feral. There was nothing tame about the way they kissed now and it both thrilled and scared him. It was almost spiteful the way he let Derek use him, put him wherever he wanted, take whatever he needed. It was just the two of them as they lost control. And the world was loudly and thoroughly fucked.

After last night’s tumultuous supper dispute, Stiles was rather nervous to be back at the same dining room table for a festive Christmas Eve meal. He didn’t feel much like getting into another altercation with Derek’s mom or wasting more of Laura’s delicious food due to a lack of appetite. However, none of that was really up to him and depended mostly on how Talia would act.

Thankfully, Talia was in a jolly good mood and hadn’t said a single rude thing to Stiles all day. He thought she’d have something to say about his dinner attire at least since his tight burgundy suit wasn’t exactly traditional or masculine. He’d also styled his hair when she’d told him on the first day that real men didn’t use hair gel, just spit.

The talk at dinner wasn’t exclusively limited to gay bashing either. Talia touched on lighter topics and even shared some stories with Stiles about what Derek was like as a kid. His favorite one so far being about the year Derek spent only wearing roller skates as shoes when he was nine. Stiles couldn’t stop laughing now that it was confirmed that Derek had been a dork his whole life. Stiles was just about to beg Talia to tell him more when the doorbell rang, interrupting their meal.

“I’ll get it!” Laura hopped up from her seat and headed towards the front door.

“She’s exaggerating, you know,” Derek told him, rolling his eyes while Stiles continued to snicker. “It wasn’t a year. It was just a couple of months and I wasn’t allowed to wear them to school. Why’d you let me do it anyway, Momma?”

Talia grinned. “I’ve always believed you kids should express yourselves any way you see fit. And you did pose a good argument when you brought it up to me. You did get your chores done a lot faster on roller skates.”

The hypocrisy of the statement instantly jumped out to Stiles and he was flabbergasted that Talia couldn’t see it for herself. How could she possibly think that she’d encouraged her children to express themselves when she constantly restricted them to heteronormative gender roles. Stiles had even heard her telling Cora earlier that she needed to be more ladylike so she could find herself a husband. But Stiles didn’t understand why that was necessary when Cora was badass just the way she was.

Laura had been gone for some time, which made Stiles start to wonder who it could be at the door. Talia hadn’t said anything about expecting other guests and they lived in the middle of nowhere, so it wasn’t likely that it was some friendly neighbor deciding to pop in on Christmas Eve with sugar cookies.

“Oh, Momma, you won’t believe who’s here,” Laura exclaimed, smiling brightly as she re-entered the room with three new dinner guests.

Talia stiffened and sat up straight in her chair, the comfortable smile she’d worn all evening falling from her face. Cora’s dinner utensils dropped from her hands, the fork and knife scraping loudly against her plate. Derek didn’t fare any better with the surprise, choking on his water and sputtering everywhere. And judging from all their different reactions, Stiles had a strong hunch of who this mystery visitor could be.

Talia was the first to recover from the shock and Stiles watched as she awkwardly stood and greeted her brother and his family. Derek was able to recuperate as well, introducing Stiles to everyone as a work colleague which was just weird. How had Stiles gone from being his fiancé to his friend and now demoted to a work colleague? Meanwhile, Cora resumed eating without saying anything in what was so obviously a snub.

Only Laura was most genuinely excited to see her uncle Peter, jumping to get more plates of food for him, his husband Chris, and stepdaughter Allison. Stiles looked over at Derek, curious to know what his opinion was of his black sheep uncle, but Derek left his face completely blank and purposely so. Stiles was very intrigued as to why as well.

“It’s been years since we’ve seen you, nephew,” Peter said, taking a large bite out of his steak and chewing noisily. “Allison is starting to grow boobs now.”

Allison snorted, her dimples deep as she cracked a smile. “I’m twenty-five, Dad. I think this is as big as they’ll get.”

Peter took another bite of steak, his interest still zeroed in on Derek. “Where’d you say you’re living again?”

“San Francisco,” Derek said evenly.

“Oh!” Peter’s eyes lit up. “Have you tried the cock?”

“Peter!” Talia scolded. “We are at the dinner table.”

“Since when did you start bringing home male friends?” Peter asked, eyes moving over to Stiles next.

And Stiles understood now why Derek was being weird and emotionless. His uncle Peter was kind of a creep. He had a very keen and invasive gaze that made Stiles squirm as his eyes scanned over him. Stiles wondered what profession he must be in to have that kind of superpower; it was like he was downloading information about Stiles without even talking to him first.

Peter began smiling then, slow and sly, like a cat that got the cream. His eyes darted between Stiles and Derek then down to the band on Stiles’ left ring finger then once more between Stiles and Derek. He simpered, practically bouncing up and down in his seat, “Well isn’t he a cutie.”

“Don’t, Peter,” Chris cautioned sternly.

Peter pouted, “But you don’t even know what I’m thinking.”

“Still. Don’t,” Chris smirked, dropping a fond peck onto Peter’s mouth.

It was barely a kiss. Hell, Stiles had seen people do more with their dogs. But from Talia’s extremely repulsed reaction, you would think Christ and Peter had been fucking right there in the middle of the table.

“I see you still hate Anderson Cooper, sister,” Peter remarked.

That was all it took to get Talia started in on a rant about how CNN had this big conspiracy to force people to accept gays by shoving Anderson Cooper into their homes every New Year. It was just as ridiculous and outlandish as her claims during last night's dinner. Only now her words were a bit more vicious as she started attacking Peter directly, which then caused Chris and Allison to get involved, which then brought Cora into the mix as she came to her mother’s defense, then Laura naturally swooped in an effort to keep the peace...and yeah, weren’t holidays with the whole family just amazing?

“I just don’t agree with you marrying, Chris,” Talia yelled. “It was obviously just rebellious attention seeking behavior to tear a rift into this family!”

“Alright, that’s enough!” Derek slammed his fist onto the table and jumped to his feet, his chair flying out from behind him with a loud screech. “That’s enough, Momma.”

Talia frowned, looking around and behind her as if Derek was talking to his other mom that he didn't have because that went against Talia's beliefs. She furrowed her brows when she saw no one and pointed at herself, “Wait, you mean me?”

“Yes, you! I can't listen to you anymore!" Derek shouted, then took a deep breath and came clean, "Everyone, Stiles isn’t my friend. He’s my fiancé.”

“Hi,” Stiles addressed everyone, displaying his engagement ring helpfully to the room.

“I love him," Derek informed Talia, "And I know it’s disgusting to you and goes against your beliefs but I refuse to let you and your opinions ruin my relationship. I understand if you never want to speak to me again, but I’m not going to apologize for who I am.”

"Never speak to you again?" Talia's mouth opened and closed several times as she stared at Derek in disbelief, "I don't want that. I don't care if you're gay, Derek."

"Bisexual," Derek corrected. "And I don't want to hear that you don't care because I want you to care about me and about Stiles. I want you to be more tolerant of people that are different from you and I want you to know more about my community. I want you to come to my wedding and I want you to be a part of my life. I want Stiles and I to be able to come home for more holidays. I want you to do better. I want you to accept me."

“Derek," Talia stepped closer and pressed a hand to his cheek. She smiled softly, "I want a lot of that too. Stiles seems like a really nice boy and I want to learn and better for you, but it might take me some time. Still, I think you and I should have a really long talk."

Derek nodded, tearing up as he took her hand off of his cheek and kissed it. "I'd like that."

They left the room together to go somewhere private to talk, leaving everyone else in the dining room who'd been a witness a little touched. Stiles was shocked at how receptive Talia had been to Derek wanting to talk things out. He was so happy for him and hopeful for the future. Even Cora surprised him. He thought it would take her much longer to come around because of how tough she was, but she softened pretty easily, giving Stiles a hug as she welcomed him to the family. Laura hugged him as well and asked him tons of questions about the wedding plans. He ended up Facetiming Lydia so that she could give Laura all the details herself, but didn't miss the way Cora's eyes locked on Lydia through the screen.

Stiles left them with his phone and moved over to Peter, needing to ask, “You were a bloodhound in a previous life, right?”