Sterek One Shots (boyxboy)

Like The Sun After Ten Years Of Rain

Like The Sun After Ten Years Of Rain by eeyore9990
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"Has he ever told you about his mom?"

There's a catch on the last word, which makes Derek pay more attention than he would normally, makes him drag his eyes away from where Stiles and Scott are rough housing on the tiny patch of front lawn, the mower silent and forgotten in favor of their antics. The sheriff has come up to stand beside him on the porch, eyes narrowed against the bright glare of the California sun. The way he leans against the railing is seemingly casual, but Derek can see how tight his throat is, how emotion has constricted it almost shut.

Turning his eyes back to the two boys - one nut-brown and shirtless, the other growing worryingly pink along his face, arms, and the back of his neck and sweating through a plain brown tee shirt - Derek shakes his head. He keeps his eyes trained away, though every other sense is tuned in to the man at his side. And for all that the sheriff is also looking out, lips curved with a sort of pained fondness, Derek can sense that his attention is all for Derek.

"Yeah, he wouldn't, I suppose. It's... well, you know."

And he does. Derek knows how the mere memory of the dead can stall the breath in one's lungs, can lock a person's tongue tight inside their mouth. He doesn't say anything, because he doesn't have to, because the sheriff knows too.

"I joined the Army when I was eighteen. Straight out of high school, because it was either that or wither away in small town Indiana-"

That gets a reaction out of Derek, because... well, because he'd just assumed the Stilinskis were from Beacon Hills. He has vague memories of seeing the sheriff around town when he was a deputy, when Derek still held his mom's hand to cross the street. The little, startled noise he makes has the sheriff laughing and shaking his head, the crinkles around his eyes deepening with his smile.

The sheriff doesn't comment on Derek's surprise, though, just continues with whatever story he's decided Derek needs to hear that day. "Anyway, it was either bury myself in a backward-ass, narrow-minded small town or join the Army. I wasn't... like Stiles. School, books, were never my thing. So I joined up, did a tour. Went to Iraq under Bush Senior. Decided I liked the structure and order of Army life and reenlisted for another tour, but that was about the time Clinton was downsizing troop strength. A buddy of mine had discharged the year prior and gone home to California where all he needed was a high school diploma and an honorable discharge to become a deputy. One thing led to another, and I left the Army with a nice little chunk of terminal leave and forty days until I had to show up in San Francisco for police academy training."

Derek finally turns a puzzled look on the sheriff, because for all that he appreciates the story, he's not sure what this has to do with Stiles' mom.

"There's sort of an unwritten rule of Army life, son," the sheriff says, lips quirking up on one side, like he could hear the thoughts Derek doesn't dare give voice to. "And that is, when you get out, you go home and hug your mama. And there's an unwritten rule of small town America. That one is, when soldier boys come home, the whole town turns out to welcome them back. The day I flew in, the streets were lined with people holding posters and it was... bizarre. The town held a welcome home party at the community center that night. I barely graduated high school, but there my old principal was, tears in her eyes, to welcome me back and tell me what a good boy I was. Anyway," the sheriff shrugs, and something in his voice changes, cracks a little, lets Derek know that they've come to the point. "I turned around and there was a girl standing there, all long legs and big brown eyes, and she was smiling like the sun had finally come out after ten years of rain. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen and she shocked the shit out of me when she threw her arms around me like we were old friends. I had no idea who she was, but I was twenty five and single and she was beautiful." The sheriff pauses for a moment, like he's seeing her standing there again, and Derek...