Neighboring (a Stydia story)[complete]

33. Last chapter

Turns out Stiles didn't have as long as he thought he did. Halfway through Junior year he ended back in the hospital for reasons he won't tell Lydia. They decided it'd be best for him to live out the rest of his days in Eichen. That didn't stop them though.

Lydia would come do her homework with him after school everyday and she soon got acquainted with all of the employees. Stiles had become more twitchy, occasionally seeing things while she was there and the first couple of times it happened, it scared her. But she adjusted.

Junior year had ended and as summer came, Lydia practically lived at Eichen, showing up as soon as visiting hours started and not leaving until someone asked her politely. Stiles still wanted to know things, still wanted and thrived to be normal. So sometimes Lydia would bring in school work and teach him a couple of things. And he loved every second of his time spent with her.

Senior year was a little more complicated. Of course he understood that his girlfriend would be busy. But sometimes he just missed it. Missed following her around to class or carrying her books. Missed having late night conversations on opposite roofs. Missed not having to wait until eleven o'clock to see her.

She'd applied to plenty of colleges and had been accepted by most of them but decided on one right here in Beacon Hills. Stiles had argued of course and Lydia had argued back, saying how she wanted somewhere local anyway.

Skipping ahead a couple of years and Stiles was aloud to attend Lydia's college graduation with his usual care taker at Eichen. She claimed it was the best surprise she could ever have been given. Because it was true. Lydia enjoyed watching the way he breathed in the night air deeply, taking in every detail of the small town.

With a nervous smile, he grabbed onto her tiny hand, his body immediately shutting down as she turns to him with the largest grin he'd ever seen on her face in a while. And she was beautiful. Strawberry blonde locks falling out from under a red graduation cap and falling across her matching shoulders. All he could think about was how he never wanted to lose her.

"Marry me." He whispers and Lydia furrows her brows, taking his other hand.
"What?" She mumbles.
Stiles takes a deep breath, shakily getting on one knee and he lets out a small laugh.

"God, this is so cheesy." He grins, digging the small diamond ring from his pocket as Lydia watches with an open mouth. "Marry me?"
The strawberry blonde immediately attacks him, other graduates staring as they fall to the floor in kisses and excited "yes"s. He slips this ring onto her finger and Lydia takes her own deep breath.
"I'm pregnant."

*six years later*
"Hi baby." Lydia greets, walking over to their usual table in the visiting center at Eichen. Stiles smiles, kissing her on the lips quickly while pulling out a deck of cards for their usual game.
"What have you been reading?" She asks, his hands shaking a little as he starts to shuffle the cards. Of course she'd noticed that he would get worse, there were always little things. But that was him and she was still madly in love with the boy as always.

His head twitches to the side a little and he scans the people in the room before returning to the cards.
"M-mostly Steven King." He stutters slightly and she smiles as he starts to deal. It was a regular thing, the stuttering coming back, the awkward twitching or fumbling and by now she used to the way her husband would act. And sure she'd have to raise their little baby girl alone but she couldn't picture living without Stiles. It was almost instinct.

"Is he good?" Lydia asks. Stiles plays his hand, shrugging.
"Decent." He answers with a single word, bringing a hand up to his mouth to chew on his nails while looking around the room. But then his knee stops bouncing under the table, his movements stilling and the air is tense.
"Stiles." Lydia automatically knows what's happening and she had predicted it would too.