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Stiles was persistent, that was for sure. For six months now he had been begging Derek for a pet, apparently he didn't care which one as long as it was “cute and cuddly”. Derek had looked at buying a bunny, then saw their life span and was against it, he could not handle seeing Stiles so upset. Then he thought about buying a kitten, but when he looked at one it hissed at him loudly, despite being told that it was the friendliest kitten they had at the shop. He had looked at all different kinds of dogs after that, and there was no connection there at all. Some of them were too distant and some were just.....unexcited. It was now three days until Christmas and Derek had yet to find the one thing that Stiles wanted. Surprisingly, it was John Stilinski who suggested that Derek go to the pound and find a dog who needed a home. Derek couldn't say no to that.
He went to the pound two days before Christmas with anxiety coursing through his veins. The pound was a sad sight indeed. Animals in small cages looking sad and hopeful as they watched Derek walk by and his heart broke. If he could, he would have brought all of them. Finally, he reached the last of the cages and looked inside to see a small Norfolk Terrier. Its light brown fur was matted with dirt and the poor thing looked as though it needed a big wash, but it was adorable. Once it saw Derek, it jumped up on thin legs and yapped loudly, its tail wagging profusely and Derek knew that this was the dog he was going to get. He loved it so much and he knew Stiles would love it as well.
Turning to the owner, Derek nodded his head and said, “I'll take it”
“It” turned out to be a girl and Derek was in love with her.
She was cute and cuddly, and it turned out she liked her baths, although she didn't like being brushed. Derek washed her at John Stilinski's house, where he planned to keep her until Christmas day and while he was washing her, John was laughing from the sidelines. Apparently it was funny to him that Derek kept getting wet every time the dog shook of the excess water off its fur. Still, Derek was happy he brought this dog. Stiles would love it.
/
The day before Christmas saw Derek and Stiles putting even more decorations up in and out of their house. Stiles was persistent in putting up lights in the front yard and Derek obliged, knowing full well that when the pack came over with their children tomorrow, it would bring a smile to their faces. Erica and Boyd's little boy was obsessed with lights and Lydia and Jackson's twin girls absolutely loved anything that sparkled. It was exciting seeing the kids faces light up and Derek was happy to make their day.
“I finally found you a present”, Stiles said to Derek as they put a fake Santa next to the chimney with the Reindeer waiting on the roof.
Derek looked at Stiles and raised an eyebrow, “yea?”
“Yea”. Stiles smiled brightly and Derek's stomach did a somersault. Eight years they had been together and he still hadn't got used to Stiles' huge smile that lit up his whole face. “Help me down?”, Stiles asked as he tried to climb down from the roof and Derek helped him willingly. Stiles was still an uncoordinated person no matter what he did.
The rest of the day was spent playing Mariah Carey's Christmas album on repeat per Stiles request, though Derek didn't mind if it meant seeing Stiles sway side to side, or hearing him try and sing the high note in “All I Want For Christmas”. Stiles was preparing food for the next day while adamantly singing and this was exactly the reason why Derek was in love with the man.
“Derek, can you bring me some more flour”.
Stiles looked invested in what he was doing, so invested in fact that he didn't notice the patch of flour on his cheek. Stiles getting a certificate in hospitality was one of the worst and best things to happen. Best because Derek got to eat delicious foods and sweets, worst because even though he was a werewolf and had a fast metabolism, he constantly had to work out.
Stiles smiled, “what are you looking at?”
“You”, was all that Derek said before kissing his long-time partner. He was so glad that he had Stiles.
/
Christmas morning was met with excitement....from Stiles, of course. Derek had been roughly woken up at six in the morning as Stiles jumped up and down. Stiles was twenty-seven years old and he still acted like a kid on Christmas morning.
“Stiles, sleep for a little longer”, Derek grumbled from where he lay curled up in the blankets. It was freezing cold and he was not prepared to be up this early.
“I've got to give you your presents, wake up!”
“later”
“Now, I've got to start cooking”. It was silent for a moment before Stiles lay next to Derek and curled up next to him and Derek instinctively put his arm around his mate. “Pleeasseeeee”, Stiles whined.
As usual, Stiles won and Derek soon found himself sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes pulling the covers around his body. It was cold and snowing outside, so he deserved to be a little out of it this morning. Stiles was rummaging around downstairs, presumably looking under the Christmas tree and Derek felt a moment of panic. He should have brought Stiles something small so he didn't look suspicious. Now he felt horrible. All of his feelings disappeared as Stiles walked back in; wearing his Christmas sweater with Father Christmas on the front and holding a small box in each hand.
“It's only something really small, but I hope you like it”
Opening it up Derek could only smile. Two Christmas Baubles; one was a gold with red decorations going around it, while Derek's name was spelt in green, the other was a white one with silver decorations and Stiles name spelt in blue. It was perfect and Derek found himself eagerly rushing out of bed to hang them on the tree with pride. When Derek had last went to the shops he had seen people making personalized baubles, so for Stiles to make them a personalized one meant a lot to him.
“I love you”, Derek said to Stiles before pulling him for a deep and longing kiss. The cold weather was long forgotten as he and his long-time partner kissed passionately, only pulling away when they both ran out of breath.
“I love you too, but I need to cook now”.
“Alright, well, I'm gonna shower and then pick up your dad”
/
The dog looked happy to see Derek and it wagged its tail excitedly as Derek let himself in and waited for the Sheriff to finish getting ready. The dog and its wagging tail continued to run around in circles as it yapped happily and Derek couldn't help but think how much Stiles was going to love her. They were both as energetic as each other!
It was eight thirty when they finally got back and Derek was holding the dog – who now had a bow in her fur as per John's request – as Stiles was still in the kitchen, though he was moving on to making pudding.
“Stiles!”, John exclaimed as he went to hand his son his present as Derek quickly went to their bedroom and got the box that he was going to put the dog in.
As small as the dog was, the box was still too big for her and Derek could feel her tail thumping the box as she constantly moved. Derek couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as Stiles looked at him suspiciously, pointing the wooden spoon that was covered in chocolate at him.
“What is that and why the hell is the box moving? I swear if that is rats I'm going to vomit”
“Its much better, I can assure”.
Almost as if it was planned, the dog yapped and stood on her hinds legs as she poked her small head out the box. She yapped happily once more and it was followed by Stiles dropping the wooden spoon and grabbing her out of the box and holding her to his chest as if she was a baby. She licked at Stiles' face and Derek felt a surge of pride. He chose a pretty awesome present.
“Oh my God, this is the best present ever”. Stiles placed the dog on the floor as he jumped into Derek's arms and hugged him so tight that Derek had the fleeting thought that his ribs were going to break.
“You like it?”
“YES! Although it makes my present seem pretty shit in comparison”
“I love your present. I love it even more because it came from you”
“Is that a way of saying the only reason you like my present is because I gave it to you?”
Derek laughed. “No, I love it, I just love it even more because you gave it to me”
Stiles laid his head on Derek's chest. “I am so lucky I have you”.
Derek opened his mouth to say something but the door bell rang. It was Scott and Kira, but as he went to open the door Stiles pulled him into a swift kiss. “I love you”.
It was meant with so much sincerity and love and emotion that Derek felt momentarily paralyzed. With Stiles he was the happiest man alive. Stiles made him whole after he was only half a man and for that he would always love Stiles.
Voices and a dog barking snapped him out of his reverie and he soon found himself emerged in a conversation with Scott. One by one, the pack made their way over and the kids squealed in delight when they saw the decorations. They squealed even louder when they got handed presents by Stiles and yes, it was a pretty good day. Looking at Stiles handling the kids, Derek thought it wouldn't be too bad to start a family of their own. But first, they needed to get through a very hectic Christmas day.