“You’re sure about this?” Stephan asked him as they eyed the now no longer empty walls of Derek’s room in the factory.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” Derek assured him, smiling.

His mother and sister had been kind enough to save his things from the house in the sept and send them to him before his father had managed to get hold of them. He’d never realized how little he had considered his own until they had arrived in a few small boxes by delivery service. There was the small collection of odd rocks that some of the sept children had given him over the years, wood carvings from his younger siblings when all of them had tried the hobby for a few months. The most treasured item he had was the book he had been building over the years, with a scant number of pictures of his family, but it was mainly drawings he had done, sketches mostly, as well as pressed and dried plants from the area around the sept that came with written labels and information.

It was that same book that Stephan had noticed and was opening carefully, as if he might break it. Stephan, like so many werewolves, was a large and incredibly strong man, but unlike most werewolves, seemed hyper-aware of that fact and took great pains to be as gentle as he could. There was an ache in Derek’s body from the night before that reminded him that Stephan wasn’t always that gentle. The dichotomy of gentility and aggression that existed in Stephan only served to make Derek’s heart beat faster as he watched the werewolf flip through the pages of the book carefully.

“I didn’t know you could draw,” Stephan said as he shifted another page aside.

Derek shook his head. “Only objects, I can’t do landscapes or people. It was something I liked to do when I got a moment of peace every now and again.”

“I feel like I’m always learning something new about you,” Stephan said as he read the words on the page describing the traits of the lavender plant.

Derek smiled fondly at that. “Isn’t that half the fun?”

Stephan glanced up, noticing Derek’s expression. “What is it?”

“I’m just realizing how good a decision I’ve made,” Derek answered.

Stephan stood up straight, forgetting the book. “That sounds good, but I guess I can’t help but worry that you might just change your mind after a couple of months.”

Derek glanced around the room, slowly shaking his head. “I won’t lie, I’ll miss parts of being in the sept. I’ll miss my sister, and I’ll miss my mother. I’ll miss the children that I spent time with, but I have parts of them here to remind myself of them. I know I’ll miss the quiet of the mountains, and the sounds of the birds and rivers among the trees. But, I know my place isn’t there, under my father’s expectations and my brother’s rivalry. I’m not made to be a leader, or a politician, and I’ve known that my whole life. Here? I don’t have to be that person, I can be whoever I want to be.”

Stephan’s expression warmed, reaching out to take Derek’s hand within his own. “And who do you want to be?”

“You know, if you’d asked me that a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have known how to answer. I still don’t, not totally, but I know the thought doesn’t fill me with fear anymore. I spent so much of my life being what other people told me I needed to be, without any thought to what I truly wanted, so much I don’t even know what I want half the time. But I know I want to find out, and I can do that here. I can figure out who I am and what I want to do with my life without fear of failing dozens of people, and without having to live up to any expectations. I can be whatever I decide and rather than having to live under the shadow of fear and doubt because of it, I’m feeling real hope and wonder at the thought,” Derek rambled on happily, feeling the tension in his chest release as he said the words.

Stephan pulled him closer, kissing Derek’s forehead. “I’m glad you’re finally understanding that. I know it wasn’t an easy decision, to stay here I mean.”

Derek let himself fall into the fold of Stephan’s arms. “I heard somewhere that nothing good ever comes free. I don’t know if that’s always true, but it feels true in this case. I struggled my whole life to live up to my father’s expectations, never realizing that I was never going to meet them because that’s not who I am. Let Aron take my father’s place, he was always the heir my father wanted anyway. He should have picked him, but tradition dictated he had to choose his eldest. I might not be as modern as you guys here, but I know traditions can hold people back sometimes. I don’t want to be held back anymore and I don’t have to be now.”

Never would he have believed he would utter the very words he was speaking now. There was still a moment of panic as habit tried to force him to retract them, to apologize for his rudeness and accept his place. It was only a moment though, and he pushed it away without too much effort. He knew those thoughts would plague him for awhile, perhaps the rest of his life. Yet, he didn’t have to live his life by obeying those thoughts anymore. He was free, free because he chose to, because that was what he wanted.

He’d never once tried to make a decision for himself that had been based solely on what he wanted. Yet, the moment when he stood there, facing his father and brother, and had only the two choices of obey or rebel, it had come so easily to him. Yes, he had felt himself curling up inwardly in shame and fear of his father’s reaction when he had balked him. The years of training toward obedience weren’t forgotten, but they were ignored. His habits taught him to try to back down from his stand, but his heart had spoken too loudly, and wouldn’t give in to his father’s demands.

“You’re doing your quiet thing again. Good thoughts?” Stephan asked, his breath warm against Derek’s skin.

Derek shivered, memories of the night before rising up. “They’re exceptionally good thoughts, though I’ll admit that my thoughts are going to a different kind of good at the moment.”

“Do they involve us with less clothing on?” Stephan asked knowingly.

“They don’t have to, I believe two people can manage to have sex without having to remove all articles of clothing,” Derek reminded him.

Stephan growled. “Don’t tease me right now.”

The threatening sound sent an erotic shiver down Derek’s spine. “But when I tease you, you sound like you’re about ready to pull my clothes off. If I stopped doing it…”

Stephan buried his face in the crook of Derek’s neck. “Didn’t you get enough of that side of me last night?”

Derek laughed. “Should I have?”

“For someone who’s supposed to be proper and polite, you’re really dirty sometimes,” Stephan commented, though it didn’t sound like a criticism to Derek’s ears.

Derek not so privately delighted in the sound of tension in Stephan’s voice as the man obviously fought for some self-control. Their first bout of sex together had been heated, passionate, but it hadn’t been the grapple and strength that the night before had been. He imagined their shared sex lives would be a mix of moments that were passionate, even romantic, and others that would be like they were the night before, deeply satisfying and leaving Derek feeling as if he had been used hard and put back wet, in the best way possible.

“I’ll do my utmost to behave myself from now on then,” Derek told him in a mock serious tone.

“You better not,” Stephan growled again, stealing a deep kiss from Derek in a sudden moment of desire.

Derek had only just begun to enjoy the kiss when he heard Rico’s small, disgusted voice. “Ew, Dad, Derek!”

Stephan broke the kiss with a sigh, looking down at his son who was now standing beside them with a twisted expression. “I know I taught you to knock before entering someone else’s room Rico.”

Rico, his nose still wrinkled, snorted. “Yeah, but the door wasn’t totally closed. I thought the rule was supposed to be to knock and wait to be let in if the door was closed, but even a little open meant anyone could come in?”

Stephan eyed Derek. “I blame you for this, he wasn’t this smart before you came around.”

Derek snickered. “There’s nothing wrong with him being a little more perceptive, it should serve him well.”

“Yeah, well now he’s starting to outsmart me,” Stephan complained.

“Well, I haven’t been in charge of the rest of his ‘training,’ you’re the one who taught him how to sneak up on people in a private moment,” Derek reminded him.

“I don’t see what the big deal about kissing is, or why you guys are always doing it,” Rico said, looking grossed out once more.

“Give it a couple of years,” Derek told him dryly.

“Or longer,” Stephan added hastily.

Derek smiled at the protective and slightly panicked quality in Stephan’s voice. There was something charming about Stephan being unwilling to mentally deal with the idea of Rico one day being interested in something like kissing. He hoped he was around to see just how the man would deal with the day when Rico started dating. Derek had a good idea it would involve a lot of hand wringing and unnecessary worrying on Stephan’s part. For all his sense of inner calm and steadiness, Derek had begun to detect hints of a potent underlying anxiety when it came to Rico.

“I don’t know if I really want to find out,” Rico said as he looked between the two adults.

“Good, but you could do me a favor and think that without giving us a hard time,” Stephan told him with a slight frown.

“That doesn’t sound like very much fun,” Rico pouted.

Derek shook his head. “Does it really bother you Rico?”

Rico sighed. “No, it actually makes me happy, because my dad is happy. It’s just fun to pretend I don’t because he gets this funny look on his face when I tease him about it.”

Derek eyed Stephan. “He’s teased you about this before?”

“More than once,” Stephan replied dryly.

“So, you’ve known about this for longer than a couple of days then?” Derek asked, addressing Rico.

Rico seemed to instinctively know that “this” meant his father and Derek’s rapidly growing relationship. “Yeah, he told me days ago. Asked me if I was okay with it.”

Derek smiled at Stephan, because of course he had checked with his son first. “Am I allowed to know what you said?”

Rico beamed at that. “I don’t mind at all. He’s been more happy than ever, and if it makes him happy, I want it to happen. Well, and I really like having you around, and if you’re dating my dad, that meant you were gonna be staying. You are staying, right?”

Derek bent so he was at eye level with Rico. “I absolutely am.”

The boy looked delighted before a pang of worry crossed his small features. “I’m sorry about your family.”

So was Derek, but he kept his smile up. “Don’t you worry about that. In time, everyone here will be my new family. At least, that’s what I hope.”

Rico perked up immediately at that. “Yeah! You can stay with us sometimes if you want, and you can play with Annie and me.”

“Annie and I,” Stephan corrected abruptly, as if it were an instinct.

Derek glanced at him in amusement. “We’re correcting his grammar now?”

“Yeah, and I’m leaving it up to you from now on, because I’m awful at it,” Stephan explained with a grimace.

“Dad, can I go play with Annie now?” Rico asked suddenly.

“If it gets you out of my hair, then please, go cause some trouble,” Stephan said, though he was smiling as he said it.

Rico shook his head. “You just wanna kiss some more.”

If Stephan’s behavior before they’d been interrupted was any indication, the werewolf was looking for more than a few kisses. Stephan however, only shooed Rico out of the room before the boy could tease him anymore. The more Derek saw the relationship between father and son, the happier it made him. Rico was allowed more freedom in expressing his true self than Derek ever had, and it always felt as if Stephan adored whatever new thing he could discover about his son.

Stephan turned around with a sigh, pausing when he caught sight of Derek’s expression. “What now?”

Derek beamed. “I just love watching you with him. You’re an amazing father.”

Stephan blushed slightly. “You up for helping me with that?”

“Compared to what my future held for me before, I think I can handle it. I always knew that one day I would have to start a family, one way or another. Even if it meant just getting a sept woman pregnant and involving a partner I had in the raising. Now, I don’t even have to do that, I can maybe one day be a part of you guys,” Derek said happily.

Stephan drew him in close, pressing their foreheads together. “You are a part of us. Rico adores you, even if he sometimes can’t slow down enough to show it. You’re a part of our family, and a part of the pack.”

Derek breathed deep, soothing himself on the smell of Stephan’s cologne. “It just doesn’t feel real for me right now. Everything has happened so soon, and gone in a direction I would have never dreamed my life would go. I couldn’t be happier, but I think it’s still settling in.”

Stephan chuckled, nuzzling the side of Derek’s face. “You’ve got all the time in the world to get used to it now. You’re here with me, with us, and that’s all that matters.”

Derek sighed contentedly at that, nodding his head in agreement. He really did have all the time he needed to get used to this. So far, it had been the happiest adjustment he’d ever had to go through. Every time he found something new, he found some measure of delight in trying to incorporate it into his changing world view. It would probably be years until he was totally comfortable in his own skin, but he wouldn’t be alone when he did it.

Despite everything that had happened, he still had more support than he knew what to do with. His uncle would always be there to support him, probably privately more pleased than he would let on about Derek’s choices. The pack itself seemed to range from neutral to happy that they had a new addition to the pack. He could even count on Sean, surprisingly enough, after his little display during Derek’s confrontation with his father and Aron. He knew for a fact he would have Stephan as well, always watching, always willing to catch him if he were to stumble.

“It’s perfect,” Derek said aloud, gripping tightly onto Stephan’s back.