Dear Stiles (Stiles AU)

[ thirty two ]

a/n: only one more chapter after this one :'( 

For the last time, the chapter song is Good Times by All Time Low. This is definitely Parker and Stiles' song. 

* * * 

Parker woke to the sound of children's laughter, and the distant smell of campfires and toast. She stretched slightly, rubbing at her eyes.

"Morning," 

She turned her head, coming face to face with Stiles next to her on the bed. He sent her a sleepy smile, opening his arms to her. Parker shuffled over, resting herself against his chest.

"Morning," She replied, before burying her head into his neck in effort to warm her nose up. He chuckled lightly when her breath tickled his skin, squirming away from her touch. Parker pouted, snuggling closer to him in an effort to get back into the same position playfully. 

Stiles laughed gently, pushing her away until she fell back into the other side of the blow up mattress. He threw himself on top of her, purposefully resting all of his weight on her as she pushed at him in an attempt to get him off. 

"You're heavy," She grumbled. 

Stiles gasped playfully, "You're mean."  

"I only speak the truth in this tent," She stated, playing along.

Stiles lifted his head so he could look at her, "Wanna hear a real truth?" 

"Hm?" 

"I love you." 

Parker couldn't stop the grin from tugging at her lips. She was never going to get used to hearing him say those words. It was like he was saying it for the first time every time the words pass his lips. 

While still smiling, she whispered, "I love you, too." 

Now they were both grinning like fools, and they continued to lie there looking at each other until Parker unexpectedly pushed Stiles back onto his side of the bed. 

"Last one to the lake is a rotten egg!" 

Parker was already up, leaving Stiles still processing her words. 

"Really?" He gasped, scurrying up quickly so he could catch up to her. She may have had a head start, but Stiles was ultimately faster and caught up to her in no time. They must have looked like idiots, running past other campers in their pyjamas. 

Stiles reached the water first, diving in once he got deep enough. When he came back up again, he noticed Parker hadn't even gotten into the water. She was crouched down by the shore, eyes locked on something. 

Stiles swam back in and walked over to her, crouching down. 

"Your mother's name was Claudia, wasn't it?"

Stiles was confused for a moment, not knowing how she could have remembered something like that until he looked down at what she was looking at. At the bottom of an old tree, there were words carved into it. 

We were golden. 

Claudia + Stiles Stilinski, 2003.

His mother had carved that the last time they visited the lake together with his father. He didn't understand the words at the time, but now they were sad to him. That was a year before his mother had gotten sick. 

That was a time when she was golden. 

When a tear slipped from Stiles' eyes, Parker was quick to wipe it away. She brought him into an embrace, holding him tightly to her chest. 

"It's okay," Stiles mumbled with a shaky sigh. He smiled sadly, "We're still golden." 

"You're still golden," Parker confirmed. "This marking just proves that you always will be."

Stiles nodded, then pulled out of her embrace, "Remember what we do when things get sad?" 

She smiled at him, and stood up while offering him her hand. Stiles took it, allowing her to help him to his feet. With interlaced hands, they gave each other a glance before running towards the lake and into the water until they fell over.  

When they resurfaced, Parker took Stiles' face into her hands and brought their lips together for a brief but longing kiss. Stiles pressed his forehead to hers, sighing in content. 

"We're golden." He whispered.