Things We Never Saw Coming

Epilogue-Metallic

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Really sorry about the delay, guys. I've been going through brutal medical treatment for the past couple of months, and I just haven't felt up to finishing this piece until now. Thank you so much for supporting me and enduring all the delays with this piece, and I hope you enjoy the final chapter, "Metallic". Lots of love, and happy holidays. XX**

Two months later,

Saturday, 11:30pm

         “So this is the famous apartment,” Stiles murmured, looking around Derek’s loft slowly. Derek had done his best to transport Stiles as gently as possible up the two flights of stairs to his apartment. Even though Stiles’ bones had healed, he was still in a fragile state physically. Derek, gentleman that he was, had interpreted this advice of Melissa’s as an instruction to carry Stiles whenever possible, ignoring all protests from Stiles and insisting that it was “for his health and wellbeing”. Stiles accepted these terms only grudgingly, though he didn’t mind it as much as he pretended to.

         “This is it,” Derek agreed, leaving Stiles to stand on his own for a moment as he shut the door behind them.

         “It’s nice,” Stiles said shortly, shrugging his thin shoulders. “Very cozy.”

         “Cozy?” Derek looked a little alarmed by the description of his aparment, and hastily peered at Stiles’ face to see if he was joking or not. Sure, his apartment was nice enough, but he kept it to minimal furniture and neutral shades of grey. It was pleasant, perhaps, but Derek didn’t think it had ever been described to him as ‘cozy’.

         The corner of Stiles’ mouth twitched in a smile. “I just mean it’s a good looking apartment,” he amended, shaking his head at Derek’s confusion. “It could be cozy, if maybe you added some furniture. A couch, maybe, or some non-titanium chairs. Even just a coffee table would spruce the place up.”

         “I’ll keep that in mind,” Derek replied dryly, though a smile curled his thin lips. “I don’t usually have company around, so I never had much need to make the place livable for anyone but myself.”

         Stiles continued to explore the loft, peering into the kitchen and the bathroom with mild curiosity. “It’s just so bare in here,” he said, finally slinking his way into Derek’s room. Derek followed behind him, brushing a hand across Stiles’ shoulderblades as he came to stand behind him. Stiles turned his head to brush his lips along Derek’s jaw. “You should really get something to decorate the place,” he said. “Make it less depressing, y’know? Woah, what are you doing?!”

         Derek scooped Stiles easily into his arms and carried him to the bed, dropping him gently onto the dark grey sheets. He backed up a bit, moving to stand by the foot of the bed. He grinned. “I think that’s enough decoration,” he said. “Don’t you think?”

         Stiles shrugged again, a wicked gleam in his eye. “I think it’d look better if you were here with me.” He smiled as Derek slid onto the bed, pressing Stiles into the mattress gently with his body. Derek’s kisses were numbing, and all they had faced together seemed like background noise in the orchestra in his mind. “You know what might also improve the place?” Stiles murmured. Derek paused, raising his thick eyebrows in the way that Stiles loved.

         “What?”

         Stiles grinned and reached for Derek’s waist. “You completely naked.”

         Derek couldn’t help but grin back. “I couldn’t agree more.”