Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Shark diving!”

Derek raised his eyebrows.

“I love you. Up until two seconds ago I would have said unconditionally, but I draw the line at being eaten by the best man within seconds after my wedding.”

Stiles shook his head, grinning.

“First of all, sharks don’t even like to eat people, that’s a lie that’s been perpetuated by popular culture. Secondly, that shark would be one kick-ass best man, you can’t argue that!”

“True as that may be,” Derek conceded, turning back to browning the meat for today’s dinner, “I’m still not getting married in a cage in the ocean. Think of something else.”

Stiles made a thoughtful sound, idly twirling the sharp knife he’d been using to chop the vegetables between his fingers.

Derek liberated the knife before his Alpha could accidentally chop off his fingertip.

Again.

He was a good Omega that way.

“How about … a rollercoaster?!”

===============

Derek loved Stiles very much.

Enough so that he had said yes when Stiles had suggested them getting married in a way that Stiles still considered a proper proposal and that Derek affectionately referred to as “That one time in the supermarket when my Alpha got so excited about the new Reeses chocolate spread that he dropped to his knees and asked me to lick peanut butter off of him for the rest of our lives, right there in the condiment aisle.”

Unlike most of the Omegas he had gone to school with Derek had never given his future nuptials too much thought – not like Jackson, for example, who had single-handedly charmed Coach Finstock into foregoing the actual Home Ed curriculum in favor of watching Say Yes to the Dress for two years in a row.

Therefore, when Stiles had declared, “I don’t want to get married the traditional way, because fuck the Alphatriarchy! Seriously, fuck them with a big, over-inflated knot!” over a family-dinner one day he hadn’t voiced any complaints, being quite on board with his Alpha’s reasoning.

He had, however, chewed out his mate for startling Nana Greta so much that she’d accidentally inhaled a chunk of mashed potatoes and almost keeled over face-first into Peter’s priced pumpkin-pecan-cheesecake pie.

As Stiles had pointed out to Derek’s unimpressed Alpha grandmother, traditional weddings up until the 1960s had meant that the Omega had been required to be on the verge of heat, barely making them coherent during the ceremony and making it almost impossible for them to say no to anything, essentially allowing their families to marry them off to anyone they chose.

“Consent. It’s a thing now. All the cool kids do it. Google it!” Stiles had declared firmly, wincing apologetically when Derek had kicked his shin.

“The thing is, it wasn’t all bad. I mean, being on the verge of heat does make that first sexual experience that much easier on the Omega, even if the Alpha royally sucks at what they’re doing,” Peter had offered, yelping when Greta had pinched his earlobe.

“It wasn’t all bad is what racist people say about past fascist regimes and hopeless optimists try telling themselves when they’re facing the choice between a bottle of wine or reading the latest presidential twitter feed! Also, I do know what consent means, young man, it means not grabbing anyone by their privates unless they want it, no matter how much money you have!”

“Word!” Cora had agreed, joining the rest of the Hale family in leveling Stiles with a glare that suggested he better go buy an edible arrangement as an apology for suggesting that Nana Greta was against Omega rights.

At his earliest convenience.

Stiles had in fact bought the edible arrangement online the moment he and Derek had gotten home that evening and ever since that particular future in-laws crisis had been successfully averted, Derek had been bombarded with increasingly ludicrous suggestions about how to make their wedding as untraditional as possible.

Leading him to his current predicament of trying to talk Stiles out of getting married on a rollercoaster.

“Well, can you think of anything that’s equally thrilling, then? Not that you’re not thrilling all on your own, don’t get me wrong, in fact, I’m about to thrill you all the way to Sunday in like a second or two, but first …”

Stiles wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Derek sighed, wondering for the umpteenth time why they hadn’t just eloped instead.

“Oh, I don’t know … bungee jumping?” he huffed, the question more rhetorical than anything, but when Stiles’ eyes lit up like he’d just been informed Christmas, his birthday, and the anniversary of their first knotting had come early this year Derek realized his horrible mistake.

His very, very horrible mistake.

==================

“You hate heights,” Cora said flatly, looking at Derek like she was judging every single one of his life choices.

“I don’t hate them. I just … I just don’t particularly love them. It’ll be fine,” Derek replied defensively.

He rubbed his hand across his face and stared morosely at the coffee table, his untouched champagne glass slowly losing all of its bubbles.

It was a pathetic sight that was symbolizing his mood perfectly, given that he was less than 24 hours away from his wedding and in fact regretting every single one of his life choices.

“You’re not going to go through with it. Mark my words, you’ll find a way to get out of this. Seriously, you once had to be rescued from a ladder and then cried so much for the rest of the day that Mom went and bought you a stuffed toy to reward you for being a spoiled little Omega brat! There’s just no way that very same little boo boo bear is going to get married on anything higher than a footstool! And I’m not even talking about the bungee jumping-part, because that’s just all kinds of crazy! Are you really, really sure you want to marry that lunatic?” Laura asked, her judgmental eyebrows terrifyingly on point as she stared at her younger brother.

Derek snorted.

“Thank you for the support. No, really, thank you, I’m not at all regretting to spend my last night as an unmarried Omega in my childhood home with my family, I knew I could count on you guys to feel the love! And for the record, I did not get stuck on that ladder because I was gunning for more toys, despite what you like to tell people. Still. 22 years after the fact!” he snapped, feeling bad for losing his temper immediately when both of his Alpha sisters winced.

One of the ‘perks’ of being an Omega was the ability to both soothe a room with calming Omega pheromones … and freak out every Alpha in a two mile radius at even the barest hint of distress and Derek had been feeling particularly moody, lately, not sure whether it was the stress of sending out wedding invitations, trying to find a caterer willing to serve a buffet on a bridge, or the fact that, somehow, the topic of his mildly severe acrophobia had never once come up in his three year relationship with Stiles.

In hindsight, it seemed like the kind of personal information that one would share with one’s mate, but as Derek had grown older – and taller – his phobia had become a barely-there background noise in his daily life, one that he barely ever thought about.

Sure, he had to avert his eyes whenever Stiles got too close to a railing and sure, he’d always refused Stiles’ fantasy of doing it in the old tree house in the Hale backyard – “Splinters, Stiles, do you really want to go to the ER with a knot full of splinters?” – but he was totally okay with stepping on ladders now, thank you very much, so he’d mostly just … forgotten about it.

Bungee jumping, however, was something that both Derek and his phobia were totally not okay with.

He hadn’t even realized Stiles didn’t have the slightest clue until his Alpha had started gushing about how he’d always dreamed of bungee jumping, how Derek was the most awesome of all awesome Omegas to want to make their wedding day just as special for Stiles as Stiles was planning to make it for Derek, and how he was going to make good on his promise to thrill him all the way to Sunday on their kitchen table.

Granted, Stiles had rather thoroughly and successfully distracted him from freaking out right that second, but it had been almost ten weeks since and even though there had been more than enough carnal repeat performances to successfully distract a whole army of nervous Omegas, Derek was … anxious.

Concerned.

Exceedingly panicking, in fact, and when Laura and Cora both climbed onto the couch with him and wrapped him up in a cocoon of strong limbs and over-protective Alpha pheromones the likes of which he hadn’t smelled since Stiles had picked him up for their very first date, Derek finally had to admit to himself that he was absolutely terrified.

“You should tell him, Derek,” Laura said gently, all teasing gone from her voice as she ruffled his hair, and Cora nodded, rubbing his arm comfortingly.

“Laura’s right, you genuinely look like you’re about to faint every time someone brings up your wedding. Are you sure you want to start your happily ever after by being completely traumatized? Stiles would understand, you know that, right?”

“I agree. I’m pretty sure he’d be very upset if he knew how upset you are right now! I’m actually quite impressed you’ve managed to keep this from him, you really do look like you’re about to barf any second.”

“Keep talking about vomiting and I just might. Wouldn’t be the first time, today,” Derek replied tiredly, rubbing his hands across his face once more.

“Tell him, Derek,” Cora repeated, snuggling closer to him and offering comfort.

Derek grimaced, swallowing down another wave of panic-induced nausea.

On any normal day, cuddling with his family would have been enough to get him to relax, but not this time, not with the horror of his own insanity looming over him like the sword of Damocles.

It really was a testament to the sheer terror of his situation that not even his sisters’ calming Alpha pheromones could soothe the churning in his stomach at even the thought of standing on the edge of that bridge.

Not to mention having to face the disappointment of his Alpha, his Stiles, who had barely slept in the past week out of sheer excitement and who, Derek was sure, would resent him for ruining his dream wedding for the rest of their lives.

Derek would have felt mortified at the little whine that escaped him at the thought, had he not been too busy contemplating and heavily judging all of his life choices, and it was no surprise to anyone when his Alpha mother and Alpha grandmother barged into the room only seconds later.

‘Perks’ of being an Omega in distress, indeed, Derek thought darkly.

“Oh little bear,” Talia sighed, unceremoniously squeezing in between him and Cora, while grandma Greta wedged herself in between Derek and Laura on the other side.

“You really have to tell him. I’m sure it’s not too late to adapt your plans a little. It’s your wedding, not your funeral and you should be excited right now, not horrified. Well … I’m sure you’re not the first Omega to be horrified on the night before his wedding, historically speaking, but seeing how your Alpha has defiled you on every surface in every room of your apartment it really … oh hush, Talia dear, I’m just trying to cheer him up!” Derek’s grandma declared, shaking her head at the grimace on her daughter’s face.

“Never should have let you and Stiles get drunk together that one Thanksgiving,” Derek muttered, head hidden against his mother’s shoulder as he contemplated his utter failure at being a responsible adult who actually communicated with his partner and could have probably avoided the entire situation.

Talia stroked his head, her voice gentle but firm when she spoke again.

“Listen Derek. I know you’re stubborn enough that you’d rather faint on that bridge than tell Stiles that his dream wedding is bound to give you nightmares for all eternity. You get it from me, I’m afraid, so I know we won’t be able to talk you out of this. Still, as your mother it is my duty to tell you that this is getting ridiculous. For heaven’s sake, you actually threw up with nerves this morning. This isn’t healthy. If Stiles knew how freaked out you are right now, he’d …”

“Wait! He threw up this morning?” Derek’s grandma interrupted, her scent going sharp with intrigue and worry, and Derek let out a surprised umph-sound when she hooked her fingers under his chin and turned his head towards her, much in the same manner as she had inspected him for dirt behind his ears when he’d been little.

“Mother, what are you doing?” Talia chastised her, but Greta ignored her, her eyes sharp and calculating when she looked at Derek.

“Nana?” Derek asked, sharing a confused glance with Laura, who was peeking out from behind their grandmother’s shoulder in bewilderment.

“Hmm. Interesting,” Derek’s grandmother said in response, her tone very flat in a way that usually indicated she was about to vibrate out of her seat in excitement and not soothing Derek’s anxieties one tiny bit.

The Omega’s confusion only grew when there was suddenly a second set of fingers on his face, yanking him back towards his mother, who inhaled deeply, going wide-eyed.

“Uh … Mom? Nana? Can you let go of my face?” Derek asked, his voice a bit muffled due to the hands pinching his cheeks on both sides, and Talia and Greta let go immediately, both of them staring at him intently.

“Derek … honey … you … uh …”

“Bun! In the oven! Mother, I think there are still some buns in the oven for breakfast tomorrow! Let’s go! Now!”

Talia’s tone left no room for argument and Derek could only stare when the older Alpha jumped up immediately, not even commenting on being ordered around by the younger Alpha as she followed her daughter out of the living room.

“What was that about? That was weird, right? Even for old people?” Cora asked, breaking the stunned silence and Derek could only nod, not sure what the Hale matriarchs’ problem was, either.

Laura opened her mouth to respond then stopped, staring at the couch table with wide eyes.

“Wait … where did the booze go? Did they just swipe our booze? Seriously? Seriously? Mom!”

Cora snorted when Laura jumped up in indignation and left the room in search of the booze, her confusion about their grandmother and mother’s weird behavior obviously shrugged off as she turned towards Derek with a concerned expression.

“I think it’s safe to say the entire family is a bit on edge right now. Listen, brother dearest, I realize that Mom is right and we won’t be able to talk you out of this. Just promise you won’t do anything stupid, okay? Like, if you think you’re going to faint please do it while you’re still on the bridge and not while you’re flying through the air - promise?”

Derek grimaced, the momentary reprieve of his family’s distraction evaporating in an instant as he once more imagined Stiles’ disappointed face.

“Sure. I promise.”

================

Two hours later, Derek had just gotten into bed to spend the night tossing and turning with no sleep whatsoever when there was a soft knock at the door to his childhood bedroom.

“Come in, Mom,” he said, smiling at his mother’s sheepish expression when she stepped into his room and then closed the door behind her.

“How are you feeling, Derek?” Talia asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed and Derek sighed, not sure how to answer.

“I don’t know, Mom. Excited. Nervous. Terrified as hell. And really, really exhausted, I feel like I haven’t slept in a week. Is this normal? Am I losing it? Is this what going insane feels like?”

“Well, the entire family thinks you’re being an idiot for agreeing to a wedding based on your biggest phobia in the first place, so you might be losing it just a little,” Talia replied thoughtfully, smiling when Derek huffed.

“I know … you love him. You want to make him happy. I was the same way when I first met your father, I would have jumped through fire if he’d asked me to. I’m going to let you in on a little secret about marriage, though. It has to go both ways and that means that you have to compromise. For example by getting married on that beautiful bridge and then, when the rings have been exchanged, letting your groom bungee jump to his heart’s content with the best man and possibly Cora, while you’ll take pictures, happy, healthy, and content.”

Derek shook his head, grimacing.

“I can’t, Mom. It’s not even about the bungee jumping, really. I mean, Stiles is super excited about it, sure, but he’s even more passionate about making a statement, too. He’s in law enforcement, Mom. He sees so much sexist bullshit at his job everyday, both in the field and in the locker room, and with all that talk about Alpha superiority on the rise and laws about Omegas being forced to get rape insurance and all kinds of other bullshit Stiles just … he wants to let the world know we’re different. That we’re going to defy all traditions and be free. I know it’s kind of a weird way to do it, probably, but I love him and I don’t want to take this away from him.”

Talia sighed, ruffling his hair.

“It’s not that I don’t get where he’s coming from. Traditional wedding ceremonies are sexist as hell and make it very clear that the Alpha’s the one who’s in charge. It’s why your father and I eloped, actually, back when we got married it was really tough to find ministers who were willing to forego all that Alpha superiority crap. So I get it, I really do, but I also don’t think that traumatizing yourself just to make him happy is the way to go. Especially not now, not when you’re …”

She broke off, clearing her throat, and Derek sat up in confusion, startled when he noticed the Alpha red bleeding into his mother’s eyes.

“What? Not when I’m … what? You guys are being weird. You were weird earlier, too, is there something I should know?”

Talia smiled, her expression gentle when she placed her palm on the comforter, right above Derek’s stomach.

“For the record, this is not how I imagined this revelation happening, eventually, and I just know I’m going to break Stiles’ heart when he can’t cook up an elaborate scheme to break the news to the families … but I also really, really cannot let you jump off that bridge tomorrow. Little bear … Derek … do you remember what I said when your father and I told you guys we were expecting Cora?”

Her eyes went soft, as they usually did when someone brought up Derek’s late father, and Derek automatically grasped her hand in comfort, even though he still had no idea what she was talking about.

“Uhm … no? I was, what, five? Also, Laura and I thought we were getting a puppy, so the whole surprise was a bit of a letdown. I remember that much, at least.”

Talia chuckled, sadness dissipating as she remembered.

“Ah yes, there were lots of tears and whining that day, made us really question our sanity in adding a third little whiner to the brood. That’s not what I meant though. I’m referring to when I first realized your sister was on her way. It’s subtle, in the beginning, barely there, actually, but if you’re really paying attention you can detect the scent of an unborn baby when it’s barely four weeks old. Also, your Nana firmly believes that you can see it in an Omega’s eyes, a tiny little sparkle that’s just … there. I can’t really explain it. All I know is that I looked at your father one day and I just knew. After that, the test was just a formality.”

She frowned, considering.

“Now that I’m thinking about it, that’s probably not something I would have actually told you guys at that age. Huh. Anyway, the point is that sometimes you look at an Omega and you just … know. And that, my precious darling son, is why I cannot let you jump off that bridge tomorrow.”

For a moment, Derek just stared at his mother, trying to make sense of her words as his world came to screeching stop.

His eyes dropped down to where her hand was still hovering over his stomach, then back up at her sparkling eyes, Alpha red and full of pride.

“I … Mom? I … it can’t … I … I … but my last heat was … I … Mom?”

“Stress, little bear. You wouldn’t be the first Omega whose system has been thrown out of whack because of stress,” Talia explained, her voice suspiciously watery.

When she pulled him in for a hug Derek drew in a gasping breath, shocked, elated … and terrified for an altogether different reason.

“Shit! If I’m really … shit, I can’t jump off that fucking bridge!”

“Language, little bear. I’m not having my first grandbaby come into this world cursing like a sailor because its daddy can’t mind his manners.”

“Shit!” Derek repeated, wide-eyed and with feeling.

“Shit! Mom, I have … Stiles … he’ll … oh my god, he’ll …”

“He’ll be absolutely excited, trust me. If it didn’t go against his political views he would have knocked you up and kept you barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen forever ago. That boy’s been looking forward to sexing you up all big and pregnant for years now, he told me so last year when we got smashed on Thanksgiving. In detail. I don’t remember all of it, honestly, but you’re definitely in for a treat, little bear. Although if I were you I’d check back with your doctor on some of the more adventurous poses Stiles was describing, because I remember trying to romance your grandpa when he was nine months pregnant with Talia and that required some technical maneuvering that really killed the buzz in all the …”

“Yes, Mom, thank you!” Talia interrupted quickly, throwing a wounded glare at her mother, who’d snuck into the room without either of them noticing.

Nana Greta ignored her, her eyes sparkling when she dumped a brown bag into Derek’s lap.

“Here, I went by the all night pharmacy across town and got this for you. Well, of course I didn’t tell that old grump Harris that I got it for you, but for some reason he didn’t buy my subtle hints that I might have gotten a young Omega in trouble. He’s got some nerve, really, I’m at the prime of my old age and he looks thirty years older than he is with that perpetual sour face! If I wanted to I could have … not the point, also, your mom’s about to have an aneurism. Anyways, Derek, I figured you’d want to make sure. You young people are so reluctant to accept the wisdom of your elders these days. Must be a millennial thing. Probably has something to do with avocado toast, too, I think I read that somewhere.”

She shrugged, her eyes sparkling in excitement, and Derek stared at her blankly, his brain still not a hundred percent caught up yet.

“Go on, take it – we can’t have you jump off bridges while you’re carrying my great-grandbaby, so we better make sure it’s actually in there. Come on, go, go, go, we don’t have all night! Oh, here, I brought you some Gatorade, too!”

Derek stared at the bag, then at his mother, then at his grandmother, then back at the bag, and when he grabbed the Gatorade out of his grandmother’s hands and made his way to the bathroom he felt as if he was on autopilot, mind going a mile a minute as he tried to grasp what was happening.

After he’d set the timer on his phone ten minutes later he stared into the bathroom mirror, taking in the paleness of his skin, the unkempt state of his hair, his shell-shocked expression … and the soft, barely-there glow of Omega gold in his eyes, almost hidden beneath their normal hazel.

His hands moved automatically, gently covering his belly as the happiness bubbled up inside of him, replacing all his worries about the bungee jumping with a sheer plethora of new and exciting worries.

He didn’t even need to look at the test result to know.

================

The problem with being an unexpectedly pregnant and still shell-shocked Omega about to bungee jump into holy matrimony with his Alpha was, Derek realized, that one had to actually tell one’s Alpha.

Preferably in private and not in front of the entire wedding party, consisting of not only his future father-in-law, the still oblivious aunties to be, and the judgmental delight that was Uncle Peter, but also what looked like the entirety of the Beacon Hills police department.

“Deep breaths, little bear,” Talia whispered when Derek got out of the car, patting his shoulder comfortingly before steering Cora and Laura away to give him some privacy.

Derek took a deep breath as instructed, placing his hand on his belly and gently stroking his thumb up and down, the gesture already calming to him even though he’d learned of the baby less than 24 hours ago.

Sure, it hadn’t one hundred percent registered with him quite yet and even though they had talked about having kids eventually, they had never quite discussed when to actually start trying.

However, they had never done things the traditional or expected way, so Derek couldn’t well expect the combined product of their genes to follow any socially acceptable rules, either.

He smiled, looking up to search for Stiles and noticing with a mixture of dread and fond amusement that his Alpha was already dressed in full bungee jumping gear, parading around in front of his colleagues and – based on his animated hand gestures and his colleagues’ deeply pained expressions – lecturing them on the Alphatriarcy.

There was a slight possibility that Derek loved that ridiculous man more than his own life, but he was going to disregard those feelings for a second.

He’d always dismissed tales of hormonal upheaval as old Omegas’ tales, but he had also already cried five times ever since he’d learned he was carrying his and Stiles’ little baby, so he wasn’t going to further emotionally compromise the pregnancy reveal with all-encompassing love declarations or any such nonsense.

He was a pragmatic Omega that way.

“Derek!” Stiles exclaimed, whirling towards him with a beaming smile and Derek smiled back, determined.

It would be fine.

Sure, Stiles would be disappointed that they wouldn’t bungee jump into matrimony together, at first, but once the realization had truly sunken in Derek hoped Stiles would be as happy as he was, the news of his impending fatherhood a small consolation for Derek messing up the intricately crafted plans his Alpha had been getting excited over for the past ten weeks.

Stiles grinned, heading towards him with purpose, only to come to a full stop when he got a good look at Derek’s face.

“Derek? Oh my god, Derek!”

Stiles’ expression morphed from beaming joy into anxious fear in two seconds flat as he practically flew to close the distance between them Derek once more cursed the perks of his Omega-existence, suddenly realizing that the combination of his undoubtedly milky-green complexion – morning sickness was a dick and he was over it already, thank you very much – and his anxiety hormones pumping all over the place – and probably freaking out every Alpha from here to across the state line –probably didn’t provide the ideal circumstances under which to have this life-altering conversation.

“Derek! What’s wrong, you look terrible, what’s going on? Talk to me, are you getting cold feet, is this all a big mistake, are you leaving me at the altar, why are you smiling, what is …”

Derek drew his Alpha towards him and kissed him, couldn’t help it, and Stiles wrapped his arms around him the best he could with all that bungee jumping gear in the way, his scent still sharp with anxiety even as he relaxed into Derek’s arms.

When Stiles drew back his eyes were narrowed, just the tiniest hint of Alpha red bleeding into them in a way that let Derek know the younger man wasn’t even aware he was doing it.

“Derek … are you ok? You smell really anxious, what’s going on?”

Derek smiled, the effort wobbly at best, grateful that his mother and grandmother had herded the curious crowd away from them, despite Laura’s loud demands to know why everyone was being so weird.

“I’m ok, it’s just … we have to talk.”

He winced, regretting his choice of words immediately when Stiles let out a startled squawk.

“Shit! Not like that, never like that, you know that, stop looking at me like that! I’m not going to break up with you minutes before our wedding, jeesh!”

“For the record, you owe me so many blowjobs for that heart stopping moment just now! All the blowjobs, really, ‘we have to talk’ are not the kind of words an Alpha wants to hear on his wedding day!”

He took another deep breath, visibly willing his instincts back into submission, the red receding from his eyes and leaving them wide, whiskey-brown, and full of concern.

“Seriously though, what’s going on? Something’s wrong, I can tell, you look … you smell … Derek?”

Derek smiled again, surer this time, even as his stomach started doing little somersaults.

“Everything’s fine. Really, I promise. I just … I can’t make that jump with you. I’m sorry.”

Stiles stared at him in confusion, mouth opening and closing a couple of times before he was able to speak.

“Wait … you are saying you don’t want to get married? Why are you …”

“No! No, Stiles, of course I’m going to marry you! I love you, you dumbass! I just can’t make that jump with you.”

“But why? It was your suggestion, wasn’t it? Are you … wait, are you ill? You’re really pale, what’s …”

“I know it was my suggestion. It was a really, really dumb suggestion, by the way, given that I’m kind of severely acrophobic, but that’s not the point. The point is that …”

“Wait! Acrophobic? As in, fear of heights, acrophobic? Why is this the first time I’m hearing about this and why didn’t you … oh my god, Derek! You crazy, insufferable, martyring love of my life, why didn’t you stop me? I wanted to give you the kick-ass wedding you deserve, not the Nightmare-Wedding on Elm Street! What were you thinking?”

Stiles went from panicked to looking absolutely outraged in two seconds flat and Derek nodded sheepishly.

“I know. As I said, it was a dumb idea, I should have told you earlier. But you were so happy when I suggested it and of course I want to fuck the Alphatriarchy with you, no question, so I didn’t … Stiles, you barely slept at all last week because you were so excited! I didn’t want to disappoint you. I’m sorry.”

“Of course I barely slept, you idiot! I’m getting married to my person, who wouldn’t be excited at the prospect of getting to spend forever with the most amazing, kind-hearted, witty, stunningly attractive, and infuriatingly self-sacrificing Omega the world has ever seen! Disappointment, ha, who in their right mind would be disappointed about that?”

Stiles shook his head, as if he’d never heard something so stupid in his entire life.

“Seriously Derek, I … wait. What is the point? If your phobia isn’t what changed your mind then why can’t you jump?”

His eyes widened once more, scent going so sharp and panicky Derek almost took a step back in alarm.

“Oh my god, you are ill, aren’t you? Are you dying, is this what …”

“I’m pregnant!”

It wasn’t his subtlest moment, Derek had to admit, but he knew his Alpha well and Stiles, already keyed up from over a week of restless nights and wedding excitement, had clearly reached the edge of what his pre-wedding jittered body could take before going into a full-fledged panic attack.

Stiles’ entire body went stock-still, his eyes widening to saucer proportions as he stared at Derek’s face, then at his stomach, then back at Derek’s face and Derek held his breath, genuinely worried his Alpha would succumb to the panic attack after all.

“Pregnant?” Stiles finally whispered, looking almost exactly as shell-shocked as Derek had the night before, and Derek nodded, biting his lip nervously.

“Yeah. I … yeah. I’m pregnant. I just found out a couple of hours ago and I … umph!”

Stiles was kissing him, the kind of hungry, desperate kiss that, under normal circumstances, Derek would have never allowed with their parents in the vicinity, but he figured he’d put his Alpha through enough emotional turmoil in the past five minutes, allowing himself to be swept up in the younger man’s excitement and clinging to him just as desperately.

“Thought you’d smelled different … didn’t think … your heat wasn’t … can’t believe … my god Derek, this is … I love you … so much … so damn much!”

Stiles gasped out words between kisses, Derek was sure of it, but he wasn’t really listening, his Alpha’s joy sweeping over him and soothing something inside him that had been frazzled ever since he’d first resigned himself to either pissing his pants or dying of shock during his own wedding.

“If you two are done making a spectacle out of yourselves, could we maybe get my son’s lunatic idea over with … sorry Stiles, I meant, could we possibly get on with attacking the Alphatriarchy and conquering oppressive traditions with free love and utterly idiotic bungee jumping?”

Sheriff Stilinski cleared his throat behind them, staring at them with both judgment and confusion and Stiles froze against Derek, looking up at him with sparkling eyes.

“Mom and Nana already know, it would only be fair,” Derek answered the unspoken question.

Stiles beamed, whirling towards his dad and pulling him into a full-blown bear hug, ignoring the older Alpha’s startled squawk.

“Nope! Bungee jumping is officially canceled! Seriously, what kind of sane Alpha would let his pregnant Omega jump off a bridge, not this one, no Sir! Hey Dad, guess what, I’m going to be a daddy! Shit, wait, am I going to be Daddy? Derek, do you want to be Daddy? Should I be Papa? Should we talk about this? We should, shouldn’t we? Or should we just go and get diapers? Should we talk about this while we’re getting diapers? Wait, before we do anything we need to fill out an application for pre-school, right? Is there Wi-Fi on this bridge? Shit, there isn’t, is there? Oh my god, I’m already failing as a father, aren’t I? I think I need to sit down! Derek, do you need to sit down? You should sit down, you’re pregnant, you need to … oooooooh boy, I should probably breathe, shouldn’t I? I …”

“Stiles!” John interrupted him, eyes flickering back and forth between Derek and Stiles rapidly and Derek laughed, couldn’t help it, even as he pulled Stiles closer to rub his back comfortingly.

“He didn’t sleep all night and drank a lot of coffee this morning. I’m sorry Derek. I should have put a stop to it. You’re pregnant then, huh? Are you sure procreating with this goofball was a good idea?”

Derek would have taken offense, probably, if he hadn’t seen the tears shimmering his father-in-law’s eyes.

He nodded, smiling at his frazzled mate.

“Yeah. Unlike wanting to get married while bungee jumping, it’s probably the best idea I’ve ever had.”

“Best idea we’ve ever had! We’re totally in this together, this is not a one-Omega’s job, because fuck the Alphatriarchy, seriously! Dad, we’re having a baby!”

John smiled, pulling his son in for another bear hug.

“So I’ve heard, son. So did everyone in the vicinity, probably. You weren’t planning on keeping this a secret, right?”

“Baby?”

“Did he just say baby?”

Laura and Cora were screeching when they barreled into the group, enveloping Derek in an almost bone-crushing hug, and he laughed again, relief washing over him at the genuine happiness and excitement he could sense from his entire family.

“I must say, nephew, I admire your dedication to get out of this insanity. Of course getting pregnant out of wedlock is another fun way to fuck the Alphatriarchy so really, well done, I’m proud of you both!”

Peter grinned from behind Talia’s shoulder but Derek ignored him, once more focusing on Stiles, who was currently half-caught in a bro-hug from Scott and half-pinned under Laura’s entire weight.

Throughout it all, Stiles’ eyes never left Derek, warmth, love, shock, and excitement pouring out of him in waves.

“So … you’re really ok with canceling the bungee jumping? No regrets? No disappointment?” Derek whispered a while later, when Stiles had finally calmed down, the vows had been said, rings had been exchanged, and the wedding guests had descended upon the buffet like a hungry horde of hippos.

Stiles grasped his hand, thumb tapping the shining ring on Derek’s finger.

“Who needs bungee jumping when I get to have you? Both of you?” he replied softly.

Derek chuckled, lifting their joined hands to his lips and kissing his mate’s knuckles.

“You still can, if you want to. Cora would be up for it, and I’m sure Scott would do it, too.”

“You sure you’re ok with that? I mean, in hindsight I guess I did notice you’d always snap at me when I got too close to an edge or peered over a railing, but I thought you were just being overprotective. You really want to watch me jump off a bridge?”

“Well, I still think it’s insane, but I love you and we’re both kind of insane, so that works out, I guess? I’m not going to watch, obviously, but I’ll go and park my pregnant ass in front of the cake buffet. Our kid’s insane, too, by the way, I puked two times this morning but all I can think of right now is scraping off all the nutella cream cheese frosting from the cake and going to hide with it in my den. Anyway, we both get to do something that’ll make us happy and that’s what the entire day is about, right? Being happy and celebrating us by doing what makes both of us happy?”

“You and your pregnant ass can do whatever you both desire. I’m not judging,” Stiles promised fervently, his eyes glazing over just a little as he squeezed the body-part in question.

“Hey, Derek, think your ass is actually going to get bigger?” he whispered, his tone indicating just how pleased he was at even the possibility, and Derek groaned playfully, swatting at his mate and gently pushing him towards the sports equipment.

“We had a moment. It’s gone now. Go, before you embarrass both of us!”

“I’d never!” Stiles gasped, mock-wounded, and Derek raised an eyebrow, fully aware of the effect that move usually had on Stiles.

“Oh really? Never? Not even when you’re drinking with Nana and telling her all about your sordid plans to … how did she put it … sex me up all big and pregnant?”

Stiles shrugged, completely unashamed.

“Especially not then! And I’m not just going to ‘sex you up’, I’m going to shower you with love, bring you the moon and stars, worship at your feet, and write poems about the softness of your embrace! In fact, the bungee jumping can wait, because I’m going to get on top of the worshipping right now!”

Stiles’ tone was playful but when he pulled Derek closer his touch was infinitely gentle, his kisses not hungry but soft, full of promise and wonder.

Derek smiled against his lips, his arms wrapping around the Alpha and pulling him in tight.

The bungee jumping could definitely wait.