smiling in my sleep

They stayed the whole afternoon at the diner. Lydia and Stiles had a lot of questions for Derek and Derek had a lot of questions for them. It felt like there was a lot of catching up to do. He learned that Stiles and Lydia had been at Beacon Hills High at the same time and that Lydia’s best friend Allison was Soulbonded to Scott, Stiles’ best friend and third soulmate, so they had been around each other socially the last two years of high school.

For a moment, it made Derek feel like an outsider, like he was intruding in a well established relationship, but those thoughts quickly dissipated when he learned that even when Stiles crushed on her for most of high school, she never showed any interest in him.

Derek knew Stiles from the shop. He always knew when Stiles was in town because his jeep ended up in the shop at least once.

“Well, that’s partly because I’d wait to get it serviced here in Beacon Hills to get a chance to see you,” Stiles admitted.

“You’re kidding,” Derek deadpanned.

“I’m not. I had to talk to you somehow. To be honest, I got to my fair share of whacky plots to talk to Lydia as well.

“There I was, doing my damn best to get noticed and Lydia didn’t even look at me,” Stiles said with a sad smile. “I don’t think she would’ve spoken to me if it weren’t for Allison.”

Lydia seemed embarrassed at that. “I would. I saw you play lacrosse.”

“You saw me benchwarming,” he countered.

“You played! Sometimes you even scored!”

Derek lowered his chin, hiding a smile. It was funny to see Stiles and Lydia interact. They shared enough history to tease each other but they were clearly discovering where they stood now that they knew what they were to each other.

“Do you play any sports, Derek?” Stiles asked.

“Not anymore. I used to play basketball in high school,” after a moment, he added. “I like to go on runs through the preserve though.”

“Maybe we could go together some time,” suggested Lydia.

“Oh no. I was done with running when I finished college.”

“You ran in college?” Derek asked.

“Not the point, guys,” he said, pausing to take a sip of his beer. “All I’m saying is I have no reason to do it.”

Derek leaned back on the booth where he was sitting next to Stiles, putting on his best convincing smile. “I could give you a reason to do it.”

Stiles gaped at him for a moment, then he drank two big gulps of his beer. “Unfair.”

Derek turned to Lydia and saw her biting her lip as she stared at them. She shook her head and drank from her own beer mumbling “unfair, indeed.”

Satisfied, Derek went back to his drink. They didn’t say anything for a while, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable at all. 

The waitress came to stand next to their booth, clearing her throat. “Guys, we’re closing in half an hour.”

Derek looked around and noticed they were the only ones in the diner. Outside, the orange and violet hues in the sky that told him more time had passed than he thought.

He gave the waitress what he hoped was an apologetic smile. “Sure. Sorry. Can we settle the bill?”

Derek made sure to leave a good tip for all the trouble. As they went out, he heard the waitress say “the universe is so fucked. She’s so lucky.”

Lydia’s smile softened when she heard it.

They stood in a loose circle outside. Derek had driven Lydia to the diner since her car was in the shop, but Stiles drove his jeep. He looked between both of them and said, “see you around, I guess.”

They stood awkwardly deciding what the best goodbye would be, but then Stiles turned around and started walking. He stopped a few steps away. “Wait. Guys, I don’t have your numbers. Well, I could get Lydia’s from Allison.” He turned to Derek then. “And I guess I have the shop’s phone number already saved in my phone. I should go, I guess.”

As he turned around again, Derek called for him. “Stiles.”

Stiles stopped, facing them with a question on his face.

“We could go for a drive?” Derek wanted to stretch the moment further, knowing how rare and precious it was.

Stiles didn’t need much convincing.

“Alright. Let’s.”

Cool Name Pending

Stiles created Cool Name Pending

[Lydia 01:35]
I had fun today guys

I can’t wait to do it again

[Derek 01:37]
Laura won’t stop asking questions

I had fun too

[Stiles 01:37]
Tell her I say hi

[Derek 01:38]
She will ask more questions

Wait do you know her?

Stiles?

[Stiles 01:40]
I’ve seen her around the shop

[Derek 01:41]
You’ve talked?

[Stiles 01:41]
I didn’t always know when you’d be there

[Derek 01:43]
Whatever she said it’s not true

[Lydia 01:45]
She sounds fun

[Stiles 01:46]
She is

[Derek 01:46]
She’s not

[Stiles 08:23]
Derek

What’s your favorite song

?

[Derek 09:02]
I don’t have one

[Stiles 09:05]
Oh my god

You are not serious

Derek

Derek

[Derek 09:15]
What’s the big deal?

[Stiles 09:17]
I’m telling Lydia

Cool Name Pending

[Stiles 09:17]
Lydia this is an emergency

Derek doesn’t have a favorite song

[Derek 09:20]
I don’t see what the big deal is

[Lydia 09:31]
Derek you cannot be serious

Everyone has a favorite song

[Derek 09:40]
Not me

[Stiles 09:41]
See?

An emergency

[Derek 09:42]
What’s your favorite song, Stiles?

[Stiles 09:43]
Play crack the sky

[Lydia 09:45]
Hold on I’m looking this up

[Stiles 09:46]
That whole album is a masterpiece

We should have a listening party

At the beach

[Lydia 09:53]
Why the beach?

[Stiles 09:54]
Trust me

[Derek 10:01]
What about you, Lydia?

[Lydia 10:03]
Persephone. Cocteau Twins

It’s not my usual stuff

I don’t know why I like it so much

[Stiles 10:04]
That’s the beauty of a favorite song

[Derek 10:08]
I’ll think about mine then

[Stiles 13:23]
We should go on a date

What about friday?

[Lydia 13:32]
Derek beat you to it

[Stiles 13:33]
Damn it

Saturday?

[Lydia 13:34]
Saturday then

Where are we going

[Stiles 13:40]
It’s a surprise

[Lydia 13:45]
What if you choose the same place Derek chose

[Stiles 13:48]
I know he didn’t

[Stiles 18:21]
Derek that band you mentioned at the diner is playing in SF on sunday

[Derek 18:23]
They usually do

I think they’re based there

[Stiles 18:25]
Do you wanna go?

[Derek 18:33]
To see them live?

[Stiles 18:34]
Well yeah

[Derek 18:35]
Okay

I’ve never been to a concert

[Stiles 18:37]
Derek I’m about to show you a whole new world

Beach Day 🏖️

Lydia changed this group’s name to Beach Day 🏖️

[Lydia 22:15]
So as I was saying

We need to do this before Stiles goes back to Seattle

[Stiles 22:17]
For reference

I go back to Seattle next sunday

[Derek 22:20]
And when can you drive down again?

[Stiles 22:21]
Probably next month

[Lydia 22:22]
It doesn’t matter

We’re finding a way to go

[Derek 22:23]
We do have all the time in the world

[Lydia 22:25]
Not the point

I want us to go

We need to have that listening party

[Stiles 22:28]
We don’t have to go to the beach for that

[Lydia 22:30]
You said the beach

I trust you

It was a little past 2 am when she finally hung up their call. Stiles was yawning every other word and Derek seemed to be falling asleep mid sentence. Lydia, on the other hand, still felt wired.

When she was younger, she saw her parents slowly grow apart as the years went by. That’s how Lydia realized that Soulbonds were not foolproof. The universe might throw two or three people together, but nothing ensured they stayed that way. During her years researching Soulbonds, she found out that Soulbonds are less like chains and more like seeds that need to be watered and nourished in order to flower. People who cared for their links strengthened them, while letting miscommunication and resentment grow would weaken them, sometimes decaying said bonds beyond the point of return.

Her parents were living proof that Soulbonds weren’t the end all and be all solution they seemed. The knowledge that even the strongest ties could be worn down by neglecting to care for them made her slightly anxious that she was doing the right thing with Derek and Stiles. Since she could not see the future, all she could do was put her faith in them figuring it out.

Three brains think better than two, right?

They would figure it out. As Derek said, they had all the time in the world.

[Stiles 12:40]
What are you guys doing?

[Lydia 12:50]
I’m meeting my mom for lunch

Hi

[Derek 12:50]
You look really good

[Stiles 12:51]
Really really good

Can I say what I’m thinking?

[Lydia 12:52]
Sure

[Stiles 12:52]
You look hot as fuck

[Lydia 12:52]
😘

[Derek 12:53]
Do I get a kiss as well?

[Lydia 12:54]
😘

[Lydia 12:57]
What are you doing, Derek?

[Derek 13:00]
I’m at work

Peter’s here

[Stiles 13:01]
I might be the luckiest man in the world

[Derek 19:32]
Favorite dessert?

[Lydia 19:33]
Strawberry shortcake

Yours? 

[Derek 19:35]
Tiramisu

[Lydia 19:36]
That’s a good choice

[Stiles 19:52]
So original trilogy, prequels or sequels?

[Derek 19:55]
OG

[Stiles 19:58]
Thank god you knew I meant Star Wars

It took Scott 10 years of friendship to even watch the og trilogy

I didn’t know if I could do it again

[Derek 19:59]
What did Lydia say?

[Stiles 20:00]
You think Lydia has seen SW?

[Derek 20:01]
Why not?

[Stiles 20:01]
Fair enough

[Stiles 20:02]
Original trilogy, prequels or sequels?

[Lydia 20:03]
Revenge of the Sith is so good

But does anything beat Empire?

[Stiles 20:04]
That is the single hottest thing you’ve ever said to me

[Lydia 10:12]

Good morning sleepyhead

Stiles smiled at his phone long enough that his cheeks started to hurt. His phone pinged with a notification from Scott, but he swiped it away to look at Derek and Lydia longer. For Stiles, this was like winning the lottery twice: if one of his crushes being a Soulmate was insane, two was pretty much impossible. But it was real and it was Stiles’ life and nothing could make him happier now.

“You don’t answer your phone, you don’t answer your texts. I was starting to think you died, man.” Scott’s voice drifted from the hallways into his room until the man was there, standing at his open door with a frown on his face. “Okay, so not dead. You will be if you don’t tell me what’s up with you.”

Stiles put his phone on his bedside table and lied down again with a happy sigh.

“Stiles?”

He didn’t tell Scott about his Soulmates because he wanted it to be his own secret for a bit, his own bubble of happiness. If his father noticed he was unusually happy the last couple of days, he didn’t say anything.

“God is real and it’s apologizing for making my high school experience miserable,” he said.

“High school was not miserable,” Scott countered. “You were first line at lacrosse. You had two different girlfriends. You made the State Track Invitational.”

“I was a mid-level bench warmer. Both of my relationships lasted a month at best. I didn’t even want to do Track, it was a requirement to be on the lacrosse team.”

Scott shook his head and came into the room, leaning on Stiles’ desk. “What I’m saying is you had a regular high school experience.”

“Maybe so,” he admits. “I suppose it pales next to your version of high school, co-captain.”

“Stiles, who even cares about that stuff?”

Stiles conceded that no one seemed to care about his high school accomplishments —or the lack thereof. Hell, most people didn’t even care about his college achievements either. Everyone around him seemed to be infinitely curious about his life in Seattle and what does even a librarian do besides check out books?

None of that mattered to Lydia or Derek though. They both seemed fascinated by his very existence and he couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life discovering things about them.

“I met someone,” Stiles began. “Two someones actually.”

“Dude.” Scott’s serious tone made him look at his best friend. “Wait, is one of them—?”

“Both of them actually.”

“Dude,” he remarked, impressed. “Tell me about it.”

“You gotta promise me you’re not gonna freak, Scotty.” Stiles sat up, watching his best friend carefully.

“Whatever you say, I’m not gonna judge.”

“I know. You might honestly not believe me though.”

“Stiles,” his friend warned.

Stiles grabbed his phone and unlocked it, passing it to Scott. It showed the picture Lydia sent him a few minutes earlier.

“Lydia and Derek? Why do you have a picture of… oh my god, Stiles?” Scott’s eyes widened.

“I told you.”

“Lydia and Derek? Lydia? And Derek Hale?”

“Hmm, I told you.”

“And you?”

“Yep.”

“All three of you—?”

“Yes, Scott. All three of us. For real.”

After a moment of silence, he said “I have to tell Ally. She’s never gonna believe this.”

“Lydia might’ve told her already,” Stiles admitted. “I don’t remember. We’ve been texting pretty much non-stop since Tuesday night.”

Scott smiled at him. “I’m happy for you man.”

“You still want to tell Ally, don’t you?” He said when Scott didn’t say anything for a whole minute.

“I just need to know how much she knows.”

“Go,” Stiles said, shooing him out of his room. “I’ll take a shower and we can go grab breakfast?”

“You bet.”

[Stiles 10:37]
You guys are so beautiful

Stiles changed this group’s name to 2 Beautiful People and a Stiles

Lydia changed this group’s name to Beautiful People. Period.

Derek changed this group’s name to MY beautiful people

[Stiles 10:40]
You sap

[Lydia 10:40]
❤️