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Derek hates the mall.
Frankly, it’s his worst nightmare. Thousands of smells and sounds cobbled together in a cramped space, so overwhelming that Kate could be in the building and he wouldn’t even know it. If this wasn’t for Stiles, he wouldn’t even be here.
He had to get some nicer dress clothes for an interview with colleges. Meaning they had to go to the mall fifty minutes away. Derek’s less than cheerful, but at least Stiles has some nice new clothes.
He glances over at Stiles to see him equally tired. Stiles has been in a weird space all day. Too tired and grumpy to be big but too stubborn to be little. Derek wants to get him home and napping as soon as possible, especially with the way the crowd seemed to thicken around dinnertime.
He and Stiles take a seat at a group of chairs, and while Derek is trying to block out a million different noises, it seems Stiles found something that’s caught his attention.
Derek follows his gaze through the crowd of people to find a stuffed animal store. Despite the number of people, not many are stopping. In fact, most parents are actively trying to get their children away from that store before they see anything that catches their eye.
Derek looks back to Stiles, taking in the tenseness of his shoulders. Perhaps Stiles is feeling smaller than he thought, and what harm would it be to engage his pup?
Derek leans over, lightly tapping Stiles’ knee to get his attention. “You wanna look inside, Stiles?”
Stiles’ face goes completely red, but after sneaking another glance at the store, he nods.
“Let’s go, then.” Derek takes Stiles’ hand, knowing he’s feeling small enough that he won’t kick up a fuss, and leads him inside.
Stuffed animals line the walls, and while some are small enough to fit in his hand, others are massive enough to use as pillows. And of course, they all look impossibly soft.
By the time Derek is done adjusting to the overly fluorescent lights, Stiles has already wandered to one of the shelves. From the way he’s holding himself, how he has his arms crossed in front of him, he’s getting smaller by the second.
“It’s a Husky.” Stiles says. His voice is so quiet that even Derek struggles to hear him.
A huge fifteen inch round plush sits on the shelf in front of them, a smile stitched on its face. Even Derek has to admit, it’s cute.
Derek picks it up, holding it out to Stiles to hold. He knows Stiles would never act first, not when he’s this tired and small. “You like the Husky, pup?”
Stiles gives a tiny, almost imperceptible nod. He and Derek both know that “liking” Huskies is an understatement for Stiles. Huskies are Stiles’ favorite type of dog in the whole wide world. Stiles follows Husky Instagrams. Hell, he’s one of those people that shares video after video on Facebook, all of Huskies.
Derek remembered the last time he was really stressed about school, something about graduation or testing or something. The point is, Stiles got into Derek’s car, started crying, and didn’t stop the entire way home. The only way to get him to even remotely calm down was by calling Deacon and begging him to let Stiles see the Husky he had staying the night.
And that was just when he was big. When he was small? It was a whole different ballpark.
Sometimes Derek had half a mind to bribe some big studio like Disney to make a Husky movie, just so he wouldn’t have to watch the same handful of movies about Huskies. Sure, they probably wouldn’t see his last hundred dollars worth making a million dollar picture over, but Derek could hope.
Derek tries not to balk at the price tag. Maybe it’s reasonable on some planet, but to Derek, nearly fifty dollars for a single toy is ridiculous.
Stiles sets the toy down and checks his wallet. Derek doesn’t have to peek to know that he doesn’t have enough. At the most, he has fifteen dollars left.
Derek shushes him, placing a calloused hand over Stiles’. “It’s okay, pup. We’ll split the cost.”
“Derek, you don’t have to.”
“Good, because I want to.” Derek leans in. “I was actually planning on buying you ice cream, but I think I’ll get in less trouble if we buy a Husky instead.”
Stiles carries it closely to his chest on their way out of the mall. It’s big enough that Stiles has to wrap his arms all the way around it, and even then he has to squish it. Derek has never seen Stiles so happy. He practically skips to the car.
Derek buckles his seatbelt for him, watching as Stiles carefully takes his new toy from the bag and holds it to his chest.
As he starts the car, Derek cranks the heat, just like Stiles like. Stiles instinctively slips his thumb into his mouth.
Derek shifts gears, sure the rumble of the car will put Stiles out before they even hit the highway, but he’s greeted with a surprise as Stiles rests his head on Derek’s shoulder.
He can’t keep himself from smiling.
“Glad you like it, pup.”