mad-madam-m:

(Written for the @sterekwriters Summer Bingo for the prompts “beach vacation” and “ice cream.” Thank you to @bleep0bleep and @spellwovennight for the beta! Word count: 995)

Derek tossed the duffel bags into the bedroom and flicked on
the fans. He’d had someone come out and clean up the beach house and air it out,
but it still smelled a little too much like cleaning supplies and stale air for
his tastes.

He went back out to the main room, where Stiles stood between
the living room and the kitchen, surveying the house with his hands shoved in
his back pockets. “I can’t believe you have a beach house sitting out here
that no one knows about.”

Derek shrugged. “Mom and Dad had a lot of property, and
Laura and I didn’t exactly go through everything before we left for New York. I
just knew about this one because we took family vacations here.”

Stiles nodded. “So, what, you’re saying you could have
a Hale house in every state and you probably don’t know about it?”

Derek snorted a laugh. “Yeah, probably.”

Stiles shook his head, but he was grinning. The sight
loosened something in Derek’s chest.

“Maybe next time Dad tells you to take me out of town,
you can drag me to a ski resort or something,” Stiles said.

“I’ll see what I can dig up.”

***

The sheriff had come to Derek three weeks ago,
tense-shouldered and grim-mouthed.

“He hasn’t gotten a decent night’s sleep in
months,” he’d said without any preamble. “He needs to get out of
here, and I can’t take him. Can you?”

Derek hadn’t hesitated. “Of course.”

It looked as though a weight had dropped off the sheriff’s
shoulders. He wiped a shaking hand over his face. “Thank God. I can’t take
off more than three days right now, and he needs…”

Derek understood, without Sheriff Stilinski having to say
anymore. Stiles would need longer than that.

“I’ll take care of him,” he’d said.

The sheriff had clapped him on the shoulder. “Thank
you, son.”

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