{TW} Such Great Heights

Summary:

Stiles and Derek are mates (though unaware), but at a sudden twist of events Derek breaks up with Stiles and leaves him heartbroken. Stiles believes he has moved on and is helping Lydia plan her wedding to Aiden. What he doesn't know is that he's in for a very special surprise.
Notes:

Okay, so Stiles reaction to Derek leaving is not at all a Bella-doesn't-want-to-live-moment. Derek and Stiles are mates, it's in their blood to be together and Stiles is confused and hurt by not being around what he feels he belongs to.

The title belongs to Iron & Wine.

I don't own any of the characters and I make no money from writing this fanficition.
(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

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Stiles drew a heavy breath when he opened his eyes and flung himself seated up in his bed, his legs over the edge and his naked feet meeting the carpet on which his bed was standing.
He was panting hard, his heart pounding away in his chest and he closed his eyes hard to have to them right after.
Stiles did not enjoy to have his eyes closed anymore. He didn't enjoy sleeping anymore. He'd always felt safe in his own bed. No matter what happened he'd lay down in his bed, pull the covers over his head and just hide until he felt better. He'd done that when he'd found out his mother had died and it had been his escape ever since. Something about it felt nurturing and safe, it felt like home.

Stiles didn't know where he'd feel safe anymore, but he knew it wasn't his bed. It held so many memories and those were memories he wanted repressed. He didn't want to be constantly haunted by what once had been. He had been naive, but he genuinely had believed that he had found his home, found where he was supposed to be. He had felt safe. Every time he had felt his arms wrapped around him and every time he'd awoken upon his chest he'd felt like it was where he belonged.

His feelings hadn't been returned. He would have sworn they were if he would have been asked then, but from nowhere his love turned up in his doorway in the middle of the night. He'd walked up to Stiles, kissed his forehead before he had told him that things had changed, that they couldn't be together. That they weren't supposed to be together. There were others out there for the both of them.

Stiles had thought he knew what heartbreak felt like. Every time he offered it to Lydia and she rejected it he'd thought it was heartbreak, but the pain from seeing the love of his life watch you with pity before he turned his back to you to leave without even turning around was true heartbreak. He could have sworn Derek had heard it, his heart falling to so small pieces it'd be impossible to mend it completely again.

Derek had disappeared after that. Stiles had been worried at first, but he'd heard from Malia that he'd been spotted in Mexico with a woman. That's when it hit him. Derek had met someone else and therefore left Stiles. The love Stiles thought they shared had been made up, it had been an illusion and Stiles had been so easily fooled.

Everyone kept telling him that it was his first love, there were a lot more to come and that they understood that he hurt, how he felt, but Stiles honestly doubted they did.
He hated feeling so attached to someone, but he had genuinely felt like he was home when he was in Derek's arms. He had felt like every word they'd shared was true and he had felt like Derek felt the same way, that he couldn't imagine a life without the over medicated, thin and awkward boy that Stiles was.

He drew another heavy breath, placing his hands over his face to rub it some, trying to get himself to wake up. To be tired would be useless considering he wouldn't be able to get a moment of sleep without seeing Derek's face underneath his eyelids.

Stiles preferred to stay busy. He preferred to keep his mind occupied. Whenever he was just standing somewhere he could almost feel Derek's breath on his neck or his arms just about to wrap around him and that was driving him insane.

He stood up, the normally loose t-shirt he slept in fit even less now. His clothes had become a lot looser generally. He figured that was what happened when food had lost it's flavor.
He snatched his phone from the bedside table and unlocked it while walking out from the room. He had a couple of messages, and that little icon always had his heart making a little jump in his chest before he realized it wasn't from Derek. Of course it wasn't.
In fact, it was from Lydia. Lydia had fallen madly in love with Aiden and they were getting married. It was so absurd that while Stiles acted like Bella Swan Lydia was flying around on a couple of pink clouds. He was happy for her though. He had been obsessing over her for more years than he could remember, but he had always known that they would never happen and then he had met Derek and she had met Aiden and everything had fallen into place for both of them. At least it felt like that at the time.

He opened the text and read 'Stiles! Are you up? I'm so eager I can't sleep. Please call me! Can I come over?'

Stiles smiled weakly. Lydia was like Lydia always had been and she knew how poorly he slept. He'd rather be planning a wedding than being alone in the middle of the night with his thoughts as only company.

He answered to her text, telling her that he was awake and that he'd make them tea. That was Lydia's latest obsession and she had been so up and about this wedding that everyone agreed to anything she wanted as long as it wasn't caffeine. Derek had been that way about Stiles. He had said that he loved every part of him, yet he tried to keep him low on the caffeine. It got obvious why to him when he spent time with Lydia when she was so eager about her wedding and so obsessed with planning in. She had constantly asked him for advice though.
“What's your favorite band?”
“Which is the song you'd want to get married to if you were to get married?”
“Which song would you want to have your first dance to?”
“What's your favorite dish?”
“What do you think about purple flowers?”

Stiles had been hurt at first. To him it had felt like she was rubbing it into his face, the fact that he wasn't going to get married and the fact that she was. He got over it, he realized that Lydia never would want to see him in pain and to talk about it made it easier to think about it.
Today he could think about Derek without having his breath knocked out of him and that was a big improvement.

“Would you be okay with if I asked Peter to come?” Lydia asked when they were seated on each side of the small Stilinsky family kitchen table.
“Peter?” Stiles asked, surprised. Since when were Lydia and Peter buddies?
“Yes, I... I know it makes no sense but he's important. I want him to be there” she answered, having her eyes on Stiles and a supportive smile over her lips.
Stiles had not met Peter since Derek had broken up with him, but if Lydia wanted him there of course he should be there. Stiles was happy she even considered asking him before she invited him.
“Of course I'd be okay with it” Stiles lied. He wasn't sure he would be, but it was Lydia's day, not his. He'd be occupied with thinking about her instead of Derek anyway.

Lydia smiled at him. “I can't believe it's just a week left” She said with a happy sigh and Stiles smiled. It was genuine, and that was rare these days.
“I haven't seen your dress yet” he stated and watched as her smile grew wider.
“It's a surprise, Stiles. Do you have your suit though? I need my best-man to look amazing.”
Lydia was a girl who wanted it all. Normally the bride didn't have a best-man but Lydia was anything but normal.

Stiles nodded. “Upstairs” he guaranteed as if that would have been enough for her. She didn't look impressed and she gave him a meaning look which had him sighing. He knew her better than that anyway he figured as he walked upstairs to get his suit.

He walked downstairs, showing her the suit and she nodded in agreement. “As long as it fits it's great” she said and Stiles was glad he had her blessing, so to speak. He wouldn't afford a new one.

The conversation went over into school and friends as Stiles put the suit aside and had a seat once again.



The wedding was going to take place in this beautiful garden. There were flowers everywhere, and in the middle there was a vault set up with flowers going around it interlaced with small lamps. In front of it there were plenty of chairs set up with a temporary aisle lined with the most beautiful, purple flowers.

It was a wedding on which he'd like to get married himself. It was beautiful, but of course it was. Lydia did everything perfectly, why would her own wedding be any less?

Stiles looked around. He stood by the vault, waiting for the bride and groom. Ethan and Aiden were getting ready and Lydia was waiting for her turn to enter. She couldn't do that without her groom.

The guests were waiting and Stiles was surprised to see so many familiar faces, but on the other hand he and Lydia basically knew the same people. He didn't realize what his father nor Scott's mother was doing there, but maybe Lydia just wanted a big wedding.

Danny was sitting front row with an empty chair behind him. Stiles guessed Ethan would take a seat there later during the ceremony if the best-men also were to be seated.
Next to him sat Kira and Scott and next to Scott sat the Sheriff and Melissa and next to them sat Peter. Stiles couldn't recall if he had even seen Peter in a suit before, but the thing he wore that stood out was that grin. Why was he so pleased with Lydia getting married?

Stiles glanced around, wondering what was taking the time before he spotted someone come waking down the aisle in a suit. Stiles squinted as he realized it wasn't Aiden or Ethan and when he saw who it actually was he felt like he'd been punched in the face and the stomach, having every single breath of air just leaving his body.

“Derek?” He breathed out as Derek approached him with a weak smile.
“Hey Stiles...”
“What are you doing here?” What was he even daring to do there? He had broken up with him, leaving Stiles a total wreck. How dared he come back and force Stiles back to square one?
“It's an important day. I couldn't miss it” He said carefully and Stiles snorted. Did Lydia really invite Derek?! Derek out of all people?!
“Stiles, I... I have to talk to you” Derek tried but Stiles cut him off. He didn't want to be fooled again.
“I can't talk. I'm the best-man”
“Stiles, listen to me” Stiles sighed as he turned his attention to Derek who continued.
“Stiles, I never meant to hurt you.” Stiles opened his mouth to reply, but Derek held his hand up. This time he'd have to stay quiet.
“I loved you so much. I really did. Then Deucalion sent after me. They wanted me to join their pack and if I refused they'd come after you. I had to keep you safe, Stiles. I went to Mexico and I tracked down my sister, Cora. She's here and she's dying to meet you. Stiles, I love you. I love you with every single piece of my heart. I wanted to give you a chance to move on after me in case I couldn't come back. He won't be a problem though, we've seen to that.
Now there only is... one thing standing in the way of us, and that's you. If you don't want me anymore I'll walk away from here and I won't bother you again, but... I can't stop thinking about you. I can't stop thinking about your beautiful, pale skin, those... whiskey eyes. I've missed you to death, Stiles. I want to be with you. I want to have you in my arms every night I go to sleep and I want to have you in them when I wake up. I want to keep you safe from everything out there and I want to give you everything you've ever wanted. That's a new feeling for me, but it feels like I'm going insane without you. So, Stiles Stilinski...”

Stiles stared at the vision in front of him, completely in disbelief as the man sat down on his knee, taking a little box out from the pocket and showing him what to Stiles was the most beautiful ring of all time.

“Will you be mine and marry me?”

The guests held their breath, or so it seemed to Stiles. He didn't hear anything but the blood rushing through his body as he stared at Derek, just taking it in, the vision of him sitting there.

“I... Yes. Hell yes!” He breathed out and Derek grinned as he got up, placed the ring upon his fiance’s finger and covered his lips with his own lips.

“So, I guess you've figured it out?”
There was a voice behind Stiles and he turned around to see Lydia standing there in a beautiful baby blue dress. “I'm not getting married at all” She grinned and Stiles raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Yeah, not yet. Come on, we've only been dating a couple of months” she grinned as she took the ring off and placed it between her lips. “What a classy man I would have had, proposing to me with candy, huh?” A wide grin was playing across her lips as Stiles confusion increased.

“Stiles, if you want to, then this is our wedding” Derek said carefully behind him. “They're all here for us. If you want to. You don't have to and no one would blame you, but...”
Stiles had never heard Derek sound so insecure before. Somehow that made him even more beautiful and Stiles grinned at him. “Well, it'd be a shame wasting the cake. I've already tried it and it's incredible” he stated and Derek's worry seemed to run off and he smiled in relief.

Not even an hour later they were standing before each other, saying their vows.

“Derek. Obviously I haven't had the time to prepare a speech, since, well, I didn't know I had to hold one. I have one about all the embarrassing things a drunken Lydia has done, but none about how much I love you. The one about Lydia I'm totally saving for later though. Uh, anyway.
I have this weird feeling inside when I watch you. It's like... no matter how long I stare at you I just can't seem to get enough. I just... want to be with you. I see myself in you. It's weird, we are nothing alike really and perhaps that's why I love you so much, but I really see so much of me in you and... I love you for it. I love you for always being there and listening to me even though I'm rambling about Star Wars half the amount of time we're even speaking. I love how you can sit through the entire movies with me just because I love them. And don't kid me, I know you're not a fan, trust me. You'd be crying when I was if you were. I love how you... appreciate me for me. I've always felt the need to be less... Stiles and be more everyone else to be enough for everyone, but with you I feel like... You want me to be Stiles. The more Stiles the better. Without the coffee, of course. The more Stiles without the coffee the better. I love you for you as well. I love you for being so protective and I love you for making me wanting to rip your head off at times. I love you for being you. I love you. You are my first everything, not my first crush but apart from that you're my first everything, and I want you to be my last everything. I love you“

“Stiles. My beautiful, rambling Stiles. My past is so far from clean. I have done so many horrible things and I've seen so much pain that I doubted I'd ever feel pure happiness again. I have been happy, but never without that pain and never without those demons. With you they disappear. It feels like I've been blind until the moment I met you, as if I just woke up. I'm seeing clear and I have so much hope for the future, as long as you are there with me. Thank you for letting me stand here in front of you, thank you for letting me love you, not that I'd stop if you told me to, but still. I love you, Stiles. People might not get it though.
They will see us waving from such great heights and tell us to come down, but I want to stay here with you forever. I love you”








Notes:

So, goofy weddings aren't quite my thing. I just had this story in my head and I really wanted to get it out there, especially for my soulsister.

I'd love to hear from you, but please be kind. It's the first thing I write and I'm not a native English speaker.