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Here’s the thing: being a single father during Christmas is hard.
It’s a fact, really.
You have to do everything on your own and think about your kid’s gift and get it and you know, work.
So, Stiles is pretty sure he’s going to pass out any moment because hasn’t been sleeping properly for at least two weeks now.
Sucks.
He’s wrecked. His hair is all messed up, going in every possible direction and his eyes are screaming for help.
His son is gleefully singing along to Jingle Bell Rock in the car, while he stares at the road and contemplates how much it would hurt if he’d jump out of the car.
“Hey, dad!”, his adorable (yeah, right) kid calls him.
Stiles makes a noise, guaranteeing that he’s listening. Even though his brain is on stand by and he probably won’t even understand what Joey is saying.
The kid turns on his side to look at him, “Do you remember about the Christmas thing at school?”
Stiles looks at him sideways. Christmas thing at school… It rings a bell, but he can’t really remember what he had to do.
“Yeah, kind of. What is it about specifically?”, he asks him.
Joey sighs, “All the parents have to cook or bake something to bring it to the party we’ll have on our last day before winter break. Natalie and I wanted to bake cupcakes, don’t you remember?”
Oh. Now he does remember.
Natalie Hale is Joey’s best friend. They were placed in the same class in kindergarten and they never parted ways ever since. They’re basically attached at the hip, their relationship kind of reminds him of his and Scott’s.
They had talked about baking cupcakes together for at least two weeks, non-stop.
His ears were about to fall off, when they had finally decided it was enough. Then, they had started talking about Christmas movies and, because their suave tones weren’t enough, they had dedicated themselves entirely to the entertainment of the neighborhood by singing the entire soundtrack from Frozen.
It was pure hell.
The Winchesters would have been jealous he got to have such an amazing experience.
He nods at Joey, “Yeah, got it. So, when do we have to do this? Is Natalie coming over?”
Well, she spends most of her time at their house anyway, it’s like he has two kids, really.
“I don’t know, you should probably talk to her father. He has to bake them with us, you know.”
Great.
That was just plain awesome.
He had to bake Christmas cupcakes with the one and only Derek Hale.
Stiles groans, “Do I really have to? Can’t we just buy them so I don’t have to spend more time than what’s strictly necessary with that guy?”
His -evil- son laughs at him and relaxes on the seat.
How dare him.
He had spent the last eight years of his life giving him his everything and that’s how he thanks him, the ungrateful little shit.
He laughs at his despair.
“You’re evil.”, he states.
The little shit laughs some more.
****
When Stiles parks outside Scott's house, he immediately regrets going.
For some reason everyone always gathers there and chaos reigns 24/7.
Joey is already at the door as soon as he turns off the engine. He loves playing with his “cousins”, even though he's older than all of them.
They grew up together anyway, so they're more like brothers than cousins.
Even though they weren't related by blood, their bond was as deep as it would have been if they were and even more.
Like him and Scott.
Being brothers means a lot more than sharing the same DNA.
He had learned that at a young age.
Stiles walks up the door and rings the bell Joey had been trying to reach.
He's still a dwarf.
He ruffles his hair, "Stilinskis grow up slowly but they do it well. Don't worry, buddy."
Joey huffs and Kira opens the door to greet them with a big smile and a small blue bundle in her arms.
"Hey guys! Come in!", she kisses Stiles' cheek and winks at Joey, who blushes and runs up to Emma, Lydia's 6-year-old.
Stiles smiles at Kira, "I think he has a crush on you."
She laughs and walks toward the kitchen. "Tell that to Scott, he gets pretty jealous."
"Oh, I will. Just to see the terrified look on my son's face. I'll charge the phone."
"Why do you live to torture your only child?"
Stiles turns and glares at Lydia, who just entered the kitchen and is carrying a bag.
"Because I gotta get my entertainment somewhere."
"You're a video game developer, Stiles", she deadpans.
He sits on the island's stool and pouts, "Yeah, but when I get home he's the only one there."
"Awww, baby! You'll find someone, I promise."
Kira goes to hug him, but the baby, Adam, decides he's got enough attention so it's his turn.
As soon as he starts crying, Kira runs out the door to get him to the rib and get the little stuffed wolf that he loves so much.
Stiles' gift. You're welcome.
Stiles and Lydia look at each other and he notices the contemplative look on her face.
Oh, shit.
"Lydia, no."
He stares at her, unblinking.
He needs to show his dominant role, here.
Too bad she's able to do it while still blinking.
That woman is freaking terrifying.
Especially when she's obviously thinking about something that has to do with him.
She's been trying to hook him up with guys and girls for years now and apparently she's not given up yet.
No matter how many times he tell her, she's adamant that he finds love again.
It's pretty sweet actually, but nope.
Joey and Emma run into the room, yelling about a princess and an army of orcs.
Okay.
"Hey, look out for the dragon!", he shouts at them.
"OH MY GOD WE NEED THE SWORD."
They race out the kitchen and promptly run into Scott, who starts making dragon noises.
Jackson walks past them with his judgmental eyebrow, two kids in tow.
For some reason, unknown to the universe, Allison's and Danny's kids love Jackson.
They follow him everywhere and talk about him every second of the day.
Like. Why? Jackson is still an asshole, years later.
He'll never understand their unconditional devotion to that human being.
He still doubts Jackson is a human being.
He kind of looks like a lizard, sometimes.
"Why is McCall imitating a cat dying?"
Lydia elbows him in the rib.
"What? It's true."
Stiles laughs, he has to give that to him.
Scott kinds of sucks at imitating animals.
He once tried to imitate a wolf's roar, playing with the kids, but what came out sounded more like a pterodactyl crashing through a window.
It was awful.
"Maybe you could do the dragon, Jackass. It's not like you have anything else to do."
He may be right, but he's still respecting the bro code.
He'll always defend Scott.
Jackson glares at him, but it's not as effective as Lydia's.
"Better do nothing than waste my time playing video games for a living."
Stiles gasps, "Excuse you. My job is awesome, I'll have you know. I don't just play video games all day, dumbass. I create them."
Lydia puts a hand on Jackson's shoulder to stop him from replying.
They've had this argument so many times before they basically follow the script now.
"Guys, shut up. We need to set the table and prepare the salad and the appetizers. Get your cute butts to work, now!"
They groan and start working, while bickering all the way through it.
Allison's husband, Isaac, walks past the kitchen eating an apple and smirks at them like the dick he is.
Stiles gives him the finger while innocently smiling.
He still has doubts about that guy. He’s got too many scarves, he can’t trust him.
****
When the table is ready and the food is mostly done, Stiles is finally relaxing on the couch, drinking a beer with his friends and talking about how awesome the high school years were.
Of course, that’s when Scott decides it’s good to let him know that they have other guests.
“What.”
Allison shrugs, “You know, they weren’t doing anything today and I think they don’t usually hang out like us, but it seems like they want to. Also, we know them through Isaac but we’re all friends so we should get to know each other better, right?”
Stiles stares at her. “Allison Argent, I’ve never hated your husband more than today”, he turns to Scott, “and you! How could you and Kira agree to this?!”
“Look, dude, I know you don’t really like him but your kids are best friends, you should at least try getting along for the sake of your children!”
“I feel betrayed.”
He’s not pouting.
He’s not.
Lydia sighs, “You like Erica and Boyd just fine, Derek is the only problem here. So, shut up and act nice because he hasn’t actually done anything to you. I really don’t understand why you hate him so much. He’s a nice guy.”
He turns to her and narrows his eyes, “Nice guy? Do you remember when we were in high school, Lydia? Do you? Because it seems like you don’t. Derek Hale is the devil. He hates me, hence I hate him. His friends always…”, he trails off.
Scott gets up and sits beside him, rubbing a hand on his back, “Hey, it’s okay. We’re not in high school anymore. Derek has grown up and he’s not friends with those dic-”, he looks at the kids playing on the ground and clears his throat, “idiots. He’s not friends with them anymore and he’s become a pretty decent person, you know. You have to admit it, Stiles.”
“It’s just… Everytime I look at him I can’t help but remember those first years and how I hated going to school because I knew they were going to make fun of me for one reason or another. It was hell, Scott. The only reason I got through it was because of you and Allison. I really can’t stand looking at him and I’m not-”, he groans, “I’m not able to notice how he’s changed because all I see is the kid who walked around school with the basketball team, making fun of everyone and having a special spot for me. So, I’m sorry. Really, I am, but I just can’t. Also, to be honest he’s not changed his attitude that much, you know? When we talk he doesn’t even look at me and he treats me like I’m nothing. We don’t need to be best friends or anything, we’re still in touch just because our children are, but he could at least try to be friendly. Instead, he’s cold as heck to me and sometimes I wonder if he even speaks English because to me it seems like he only knows how to say “Yes” or “No” and it’s frustrating, because after everything I still try to be mature and civilized but I can’t if he’s not even going to look at me in the eyes when we talk about Joey and Natalie going to the movies, I mean. What’s wrong with you. He hung up on me once! That guy is hopeless.”
“Why don’t you just talk to him, moron?”
Everyone turns to look at Jackson, who’s sitting on the chaise-long, sipping a glass of wine.
What a douche.
“Did you even hear what I just said?!”, he looks at Jackson with his eyes as big as bowling balls, “Talk to him. To tell him what? Hey, Derek, can you please explain to me why you ruined my first years of high school and why you seem to hate that I even exist?”
“Yes”, they all answer.
Stiles glares at them, “You’re all very useful, thank you. So, how long ‘till the devil knocks on the door?”
Scott smirks, “You’re so dramatic. They’ll be here in twenty minutes, more or less.”
“Great. Looking forward to it.”
He gets up and goes to the kitchen to get another drink, flicking Joey on the nose on the way.
“Daddy, get me an apple juice!”
“Magic word?”
“…Batman?”
He shrugs “Good enough, kid.”
Joey grins, showing his missing tooth, and goes back to playing with the Harry Potter legos with Emma. Chris and Ashlee joined them a while back, Allison and Isaac’s kid and Danny and Ethan’s daughter respectively.
He would have never thought they’d find themselves like this with kids and married -well, except for him.
He likes to think that he’s okay with his life at its current state, but to be honest he thinks about it sometimes, how it would be to have someone you can share everything with.
Stiles loved his wife and they were quite happy, but then life happened and apparently Stilinskis have bad luck because everything had to go to shit and car accidents had to happen.
He doesn’t think he’ll ever really be okay, but he’s getting better and he’s doing the best that he can for Joey.
That kid is amazing and he deserves a dad who can take care of him and who can give him everything he’s able to give.
He just hopes he will keep doing fine and won’t screw up, because he’s quite talented at that.
He gets to the kitchen and finds Danny and Ethan, baking something.
"Yo, what are you doing?"
Danny looks up from the bowl he was mixing something in, "Cheesecake!"
Stiles sees Ethan smile a little at his husband's enthusiasm.
He laughs, "Thank God for you two then, because we all know what would have happened if Kira or Scott had tried to bake."
All three of them shudder at the thought.
"Anyway", he starts, "do you guys already know what to do for the school thing?"
They move together effortlessly among ingredients and utensils.
"Uh, yeah actually," Danny shrugs, "Ashlee loves Oreo cupcakes so we figured we'll be doing those. Also, everyone loves Oreos so it's a safe choice."
He certainly loves Oreos.
Who doesn't.
"I have no idea what to do and worst of all, I'll have to work with that asshole."
"Derek?"
He sits at the kitchen island, watching the two work.
"Yeah. I think I'm gonna drown myself in the mixture."
Danny shakes his head laughing and Ethan arches an eyebrow, "He's not that bad, you know. Remember how you thought I was a dick when you first met me?"
"Yeah but it's different, you were dating Danny! I wasn't actually forced to hang out with you or something. But with him being the father of Joey's best friend it's kind of hard to ignore his existence."
Danny and Ethan both freeze, looking right past him.
Stiles stares at them and suddenly has a very bad feeling.
"Guys?"
Someone clears their throat and Stiles wants the floor to swallow him alive.
He slowly gets up and turns around, looking right at the man who just came in.
"Stiles."
Cold as ice.
Nice.
Stiles sighs, "Derek, I'm sor-"
"No. No, you're not. We both know you can't stand seeing my face, so let's ignore excuses and apologies, okay?"
He places a little bag on the counter and walks out, barely nodding to the couple working there.
Stiles feels awful.
Of course he hates the guy, but it's not like he was going to tell him or anything.
Not this way, that's for sure.
"Wait!"
He doesn't even know what he's doing, but for some reason his feet are moving and he's following Derek out the front door, ignoring the confused and worried looks of his friends and the puzzled expressions of Joey and Natalie.
"Where are you going?!", he yells when he reaches him outside.
Derek stops in his tracks and turns around, "I'm going home. That way you'll have a nice day and won't have to see my face while you eat. Have a great day. I'll be back to get Natalie, hope you won't have to acknowledge my existence then."
Stiles groans and walks closer to him, noticing how Derek's body stiffens at the movement.
He stops a few meters away.
"I'm sorry. I truly am. It's... I'm starting to think that you don't even remember."
"Remember what?", same cold tone as always.
Stiles looks at him. He looks confused and wary and he's suddenly feeling like a predator who's about to eat his prey.
He's actually confused because it seems like Derek thinks that Stiles is the one being rude and awful to him.
Also, it's pretty unfair that the guy he can't stand is also the most gorgeous man in the world.
Totally unfair.
The bullying continues.
"School", he says.
Derek cocks his head to the side and Stiles wants to punch him in the face because he's not allowed to be cute, dammit!
He was always attractive, even in high school. He hated him even more for that.
"School? I have no idea what you're talking about."
He groans and passes a hand through his already messed up hair.
"Look, I know you probably don't remember or maybe don't even care, but the first few years of high school were hell because of the entire basketball team making fun of me every single day," he sighs and shrugs, "you were the captain, Derek."
There’s a moment of silence before Derek looks downward, “I remember you.”
What.
“I know who you are, Stiles. I’ve always known.”
What does that even mean?
He’s starting to feel the headache kicking in.
This makes no freaking sense. Why would he play dumb if he knew all along?
Stiles had thought that Derek forgot about him, or maybe never even knew who he was when they were in high school, but now it seems pretty much the opposite.
“Derek…”, he starts but doesn’t really know what to say, because he’s kind of confused right now.
Derek huffs, “Look, I gotta go. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to be here anyway and I’m not really in the mood to be around people, so. Bye, Stiles.”
He turns around and flees.
What the actual fuck.
****
“Scott, can you pass me the salad?”
“Man, this is freaking delicious.”
“Who made these cupcakes? These should be in a museum.”
“Ew, I hate spinach.”
“DAMMIT THE WATER!”
Stiles startles when cold water hits his chest and thighs.
He looks down at himself, looking at the water dribbling down his red shirt and soaking up his dark jeans.
“Oh, my! I’m so sorry, Stiles! Wait, I’ll get a towel, don’t move!”, Kira runs out the dining room like a flash.
Scott laughs at his face and Lydia smacks him in the head, much to Jackson’s delight.
The others just look at him.
Joey, who’s sitting next to him, nudges him with his elbow, “You okay dad?”
He nods dumbly.
He’s not actually sure that he’s okay. He feels kind of weird and the warmth of Christmas is suddenly gone.
“I’m just tired, I’m okay”, he lies.
“Mr. Stilinski, you seem pale, are you sure you’re okay?”
He turns to look at Natalie, sitting to Joey’s right. She stares at him worriedly, biting on her lip.
She’s such a cute and sweet girl. He’s glad Joey found a friend like Natalie.
They have a great relationship.
He doesn’t want to ruin it.
He smiles, even though he’s sure it comes out more like the face you do when you eat a lemon.
“I’m okay, Nat. Don’t worry about it. I’m just gonna got and get some rest.”
He gets up when Kira comes back and helps him dry a little bit.
“I’m gonna lie on the couch for a bit, okay?”
Everyone nods, including Boyd and Erica who are looking kind of perplexed by everything.
He huffs out a shaky breath and goes to the couch, sitting down and slowly lying.
He’s not sure why he’s feeling like this all of a sudden. He feels like something just changed and he doesn’t know how or why or what will happen next. It’s a weird feeling and he doesn’t like it at all.
****
“Mr. Stilinski?”
A small and shy voice is calling him.
Stiles turns around on the couch and rubs at his eyes, looking at Natalie.
She’s wearing a black hoodie that looks too big for her and he recognizes it as Joey’s.
They’re gonna kill him with their cuteness.
“Hey, Nat. What’s up?”
She looks torn.
Stiles sits up and pats the empty space beside him. Natalie smiles shyly and sits next to him, shuffling to get comfortable. He waits patiently for her to talk.
She looks so much like her father, but there are many features that don’t belong to the Hales and he starts thinking about her mother and what did she look like.
He wonders if she ever thinks about her and if she’s fine with just her dad.
If she’d rather have a mom.
If Joey feels the same.
She takes a deep breath and looks at him.
“Are you mad at my dad?”
Natalie looks so sad that he wants to crawl on the floor and die.
He was an asshole when he was 16 and he’s an asshole now that he’s 30.
Glad to know some things don’t change.
He clears his throat and leans on the back of the couch, “No, I’m not. I’m just confused because I don’t understand him.”
“He’s not that hard to read if you pay attention, you know”, she says as a matter of fact.
“Yeah?”
“He’s just insecure. He’s been hurt a lot when he was young and he doesn’t know how to deal with people and his feelings. Especially when people and feelings are connected.”
Stiles looks at her and can’t help but admire how smart her blue eyes are.
It’s like she knows things that no one else does and maybe it’s true.
She smiles a little at him and he can’t help but smile back.
He opens his arms and she jumps right into them giggling.
Well, even if he doesn’t understand her dad he’s always seen her as if she were another child of his.
She shuffles closer, “Don’t be too hard on him. If he acts like he doesn’t care or like he doesn’t like you, it’s the exact opposite. Trust me.”
Uh.
“So, he basically loves me,” he laughs.
She looks up at him and arches an eyebrow, looking too much like Derek.
“I’m gonna go watch Frozen with the others. You think about it.”
She pats him on the head and walks away.
What the actual frickle-frackle.
****
Hours later most of them have gone home and Stiles is thinking that he should, too.
It’s getting darker by the minute and it’s pretty cold.
He’s sitting next to the fireplace with Scott and Kira, while Lydia and Jackson have taken up the couch in front of it.
They’re talking about nothing while the kids are watching Home Alone.
The glint in Joey’s eyes is worrying.
“Hey, dude, how’s it going at work?”, Scott asks while chewing on his cookie.
“Scott, how many times do I have to tell you not to speak while you’re eating?”
His friend looks guiltily at his wife and makes a show of gulping before he turns to Stiles again.
He laughs, “You’ll never change. I don’t know if it’s a good or a bad thing,” they all chuckle.
“It’s going pretty great, actually. We just finished another game but I can’t tell you anything about it as you all know. All I can tell is that it’s gonna be freaking awesome.”
“What is it about? Can you tell that at least?”, Jackson asks.
“Not really. I can say that it has to do with a recent movie, but nothing more than that, sorry.”
He’s been working really hard on their last project at work. He still can’t believe that he got that job at all.
Getting to work with something you love and are passionate about is the best thing in the world and he’s glad he had the opportunity to do that.
Lydia snuggles closer to her husband, “So, you haven't met anyone interesting?"
Stiles glares.
"Lydia, beautiful Queen of everything, I lost count of how many times I told you that I'm perfectly okay with being single."
She pouts, "But I hate seeing you alone. You can say you're fine all you want but I know the truth. Everyone does. You need someone who takes care of you, Stiles. Someone to hold when you go to bed. Someone to love, other than your son and your job."
Scott is looking at him with intensity. He's always the one who gets him better than anyone else, even better than himself.
He knows that Stiles is not okay, not entirely.
Stiles rubs his eyes, "Look, I appreciate you all worrying about me and wanting me to be happy, but I don't think it's a good idea to date someone right now."
"But why not?"
"Because I have Joey! I can't bring people in his life that will only keep leaving. He needs stability and I can't give that to him if I start dating."
Kira nods, “I get that, Stiles. I think we all do, but maybe even Joey needs someone else in his life. He’s a very mature kid, you should talk about it with him.”
Speak of the devil.
Joey enters the room, holding hands with Natalie.
They both get to Stiles and smile up at him.
Creepy.
“Hey,” he draws out the vowel. “Is everything alright, guys?”
They nod too quickly.
“My dad is coming to get me home and we were wondering if you talked about tomorrow, because we really have to bake those cupcakes.”
Stiles narrows his eyes at Natalie, “What’s so important about these cupcakes?”
“Nothing!” they basically shout.
He sees Lydia smirking on the corner of his eyes.
All of this is giving him a very bad feeling.
“Nothing, huh? Okay, then. I’ll ask Derek when he get-”, he gets interrupted by the doorbell.
Speak of the devil: the sequel.
Kira gets up and opens the door, welcoming Derek in with a small hug.
Tsk.
Everyone greets him and Derek nods and waves, while crouching down to hug Natalie who ran up to him.
“Hey, princess, did you have fun?”
She nods happily, “It was very nice, but I wish you would have stayed too. It would have been even nicer.”
Derek smiles and Stiles feels like he’s seeing him for the first time.
He never saw Derek smile, like actually smile.
His whole face lights up and his eyes have crinkles and… dimples. He has dimples.
What.
“I promise I’ll try to stay next time, okay?”
She nods and hugs him tight.
Stiles gets up and walks to them, followed by Joey who’s looking back and forth to Stiles and Derek.
“So, how are we doing this?”
Derek gets up looking alarmed. “How are we doing what?”
“The cupcakes.”
“Oh,” he sighs, “Yeah, the cupcakes.”
“Right.”
“My place is free if you want.”
Stiles nods, slowly.
“Fine by me. What time should we come, then?”
Derek shrugs, “You tell me, I’m home all day. It’s fine whenever.”
Stiles nods.
Derek nods back.
Awkward silence ensues.
Natalie groans, “You two are awful.”
They both gape at her. She goes to take her coat and then gets back to take Derek’s hand.
“Let’s go before any of you two break their brain trying to come up with something to say. You’ll think about it for tomorrow. Also, Joey and I decided that we’re making peanut butter cupcakes, so get the ingredients right.”
She turns to the rest of them, “It was very nice spending the day with you, thank you for inviting me.”
Joey chuckles under his breath and kisses her cheek, “See you tomorrow, Nat.”
She winks at him and tugs at his father hand, “Bye people!”
Derek has the time to wave and then he’s gone.
These kids, seriously.
“I love her,” Lydia states.
****
Waking up at the crack of dawn was the last thing Stiles had intended to do the night before.
But, when your kid has sugar instead of blood in his veins, there’s nothing you can do about it.
He groans and takes a breath before yelling his son’s name.
There’s a moment of silence, then little feet are running toward his bedroom.
He gets a heavy weight on his chest, “Daddy-o!”
Why him.
“Joseph Andrew Stilinski, what the hell are you doing awake at,” he looks at the alarm clock on his bedside table, “freaking half past five?!”
Joey smiles innocently, “We have to get ready and go grocery shopping, daddy.”
Would he get arrested by his own father -who’s actually on vacation with his girlfriend, the fucker- if he kills his own child?
He could accidentally throw him out of the window….
“You know you’re evil, right?”
“It keeps me awake at night,” he sighs.
Great, now he’s even stealing his father’s jokes.
Stiles pokes him on the nose, “Maybe that’s why you’re awake at dawn and disturbing my beauty sleep.”
“Ha ha, you think you’re so funny.”
“I’m hilarious. You’re just an amateur, kid.”
Stiles yawns, “Get up, come on, I gotta pee.”
He throws Joey on the bed, covering him in blankets and runs to the bathroom.
When he gets back to his room, Joey is gone. He’s probably getting dressed or plotting world domination.
He picks out a pair of jeans and a black tshirt, with a black jacket to put on it, and goes back to the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed.
He’s really not looking forward to spending the entire morning, or even more, with Derek, but the kids are so happy and he’s sure Derek doesn’t want to disappoint them either.
So, they have to spend time together and try to behave.
The last time they were together, before the little talk of the previous day, Stiles had been about to commit murder.
They had bumped into each other at the grocery store and Derek had basically ignored him.
He had looked at him and then had turned around and walked away.
Who the hell does that.
So, of course Stiles had to be a little shit and run around the store to get to him face to face, again.
He had yelled a very loud “Hi, Derek!”, making the other man glare so hard he had been scared he was turning into stone.
Derek had gritted a “Stiles”, then promptly walked away again.
The anger he fueled in Stiles was endless.
Now, he has to bake cupcakes with him.
Someone out there hates him.
Maybe it’s Derek.
He probably has a Stiles voodoo doll to torture him when he’s bored or feeling particularly evil.
Oh.
Maybe, he’s the reason why he gets so many bruises and doesn’t remember how he got them!
The bastard.
****
They get to the grocery store at a quarter to eight, because thanks to whoever decided to help him today, Joey had agreed to have breakfast first.
Derek Hale and no breakfast in the same day? Not a good combination.
He needed food to function.
They run around -well, Joey is running, Stiles is calmly following him while pushing the cart- the store and get everything they need, plus some other snacks to eat while baking.
Stiles pays and then they have to go Derek’s house.
Oh, the joy.
His son is shaking with excitement and he’s starting to doubt the entire situation, because he can’t be this happy for cupcakes.
Yeah, he likes them and he enjoys baking every once in a while, but not like this.
Never like this.
Also, the evil smirk is back.
This kid already has Stilinski genes, which means he’s a certified asshole, but he also spends time with Jackson and Isaac and that is not good.
The combination of all three, plus a bit of Lydia Martin, is definitely disastrous.
He’s going to rule the world and kill the entire human race just because he can.
Stiles wants to be a proud dad, but he wants to be it while still alive, thank you.
“Hey, dad, do you think we could go the beach all together in the summer?”
Stiles glares at the Christmas decorations framing the street.
“Who do you mean?”, he asks even though he has an idea.
Joey looks at him sideways and fiddles with the straps of his hoodie.
“You know, everyone.”
“Everyone.”
“Yep.”
They look at each other through the review mirror and after a while Joey finally sighs.
“Fine!”, he huffs, “I mean everyone plus… DerekandNatalie.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch the last part, can you repeat it?”
Joey growls, “Derek and Natalie”, he repeats slower.
“Of course, honey boo,” Stiles grins at him.
He enjoys torturing him too much.
The kid arches an eyebrow.
He picked that up from Derek. Ugh.
“Are you serious?”, doubt clear in his voice.
Stiles keeps grinning like a mad man, “Sure, why not. I mean, Natalie is your best friend, of course you want to spend more time with her, right? Plus, everyone will be there, it’s not like I have to spend the entire day with Derek.”
He glances at Joey, who’s biting at his lip and looking out of the window.
“Right” he says.
Stiles nods to himself and keeps driving, trying to come up with a counterattack to the obvious plan his son has come up with.
The little shit doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into.
****
Derek greets them with a small smile and a plate of cookies.
Stiles is even more doubtful of the entire thing, now.
Joey runs upstairs to call Natalie so they can start baking.
Awkward silence returns once more.
He looks around at the place. He’s never been here and it’s kind of nice. Cozy.
“You’ve got a very nice place, Derek. It’s pretty warm even though it’s big, I like it.”
Derek looks surprised, “Uh, I- thank you, Stiles.”
“No problem,” he shows him the bag, “hey, I brought the ingredients, here.”
He takes them and gestures for Stiles to follow him to the kitchen.
They place everything on the counter and get the bowls.
“You know, I think this is the teacher being lazy and wanting us to do all the job for the Christmas party. I mean, decorations? Parents. Food? Parents. Money? Parents. Hell, it’s already enough I’ll bring the kid.”
“Go on, make a petition. I’ll be the first to sign it.”
He turns around to look at Derek and freezes.
He’s smiling.
Derek has a small and sweet smile and he’s looking at him.
“Why would you sign it?”, he rasps out.
Why is his throat suddenly dry?
Stiles, get a grip. What is going on with yo? You hate him.
Derek shrugs, “I don’t really approve of all the sugar the children will have at the party, you know. Also, they have fund raising events basically every other week and now they don’t have the money? I doubt that.”
Something must have happened during the night.
First, he opens the door with a smile and cookies. Then, he smiles at him and talks to him?!
Is this a parallel universe?
“Can I ask you something?”
Derek looks wary but he nods anyway.
“Why did you always make fun of me in high school?”
They look at each other for a bit, no talking. Stiles can see in his eyes that he’s trying to find the right words to answer that. He’s willing to wait if he’s finally getting an explanation.
Derek sits on the stool and folds his hands.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but I was never the one making fun of you, Stiles.”
Stiles gasps. He never actually thought about it, but now that Derek reminded him, he takes notice of all the time they bullied him and how Derek was always a few steps behind his friends, but not talking.
He had forgotten about it, because he never really noticed.
“I was kind of busy being bullied, you know.”
His voice comes out harder than he had intended it to.
Derek visibly winces at that. “I’m sorry, Stiles. I should have said something to them, I should have stopped them.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Derek looks up at him and it seems like he’s trying to make himself invisible.
“Because I was scared of what they might have said if I did.”
Now he’s even more confused than before.
He opens his mouth to reply but Natalie and Joey come rushing in the kitchen with cheery yells.
They both turn to them. “Are you guys ready?”, Derek asks and they nod with enthusiasm.
The kids get up on stools to reach the counter and they start mixing the ingredients.
Derek and Stiles instruct both of them to avoid the mixture flying all around the kitchen and get to work themselves.
Baking is actually something that Stiles enjoys doing. He remembers when he was a kid and his mother used to bake almost everyday and everything was so delicious. The house always smelled amazing and sweet. He misses that smell everyday.
There are so many things he wishes he could have done with his mother, but he never got the chance to.
He really hopes he’s doing okay with Joey and that even though their life is not perfect, he’s happy.
That’s the only thing that matters to him.
Derek nudges him with his elbow.
“You alright?”
His gruff tone is almost endearing when his nose is covered in flour.
Stiles’ lips quirk up against his own will. “I’m okay. But your nose is not.”
“My nose?”, he scrunches up his face and. Fuck.
Stiles reaches out and brushes a finger on his nose, wiping off the flour.
He shows him the finger and Derek sighs, “I always do that, dammit.”
Joey and Natalie are vibrating with excitement and when Stiles looks over at them, he notices that they’re not mixing ingredients. They’re watching them.
He narrows his eyes, “Is there something you want to tell us, kids?”
“Nope!”
Derek arches an eyebrow and crosses his arms.
Hello there, muscles.
Focus, Stiles.
This is war.
“Are you sure you don’t want to say anything?”
Natalie and Joey gulp and shake their heads, quickly going back to the bowl and mixing the ingredients.
Stiles chuckles under his breath and leans toward Derek to whisper in his ear, “Maybe we should eat all the cupcakes as punishment. I think they’re conspiring against us.”
Derek’s jaw is working while he seems to freeze.
Then, he takes a breath and relaxes.
“You’re right. I don’t think they need so many cupcakes, anyway,” he says out loud, getting the attention of the children who look at them in horror.
“Daddy!”, they both scream.
Stiles laughs while Derek smirks mischievously.
“Get to work, dwarves.”
They both glare at him and reluctantly go back to their work.
Stiles glances at him, “You seem more relaxed today. I’m glad.”
Derek nods and passes him the bowl to finish the frosting.
They work in silence for a bit and miraculously avoid a disaster when the kids decide to see if their parents will look good with white hair.
Derek is covered in flour and picks both Joey and Natalie up, who are shrieking and laughing at the same time.
Stiles watches amused as Derek runs up the stairs and apparently throws them in the shower, because the he hears the water running and even more shrieking.
He shakes his head and cleans up a bit.
It’s apparently impossible to understand Derek Hale and maybe he never will.
One day he’s cold as ice, the other he’s friendly and relaxed.
Stiles has no idea what to do.
So, he texts Scott.
“Dude, I’m at Derek’s and my head is about to explode.”
“Wut happnd?”
“Nothing. I’m confused. He’s friendly and nice, today. It’s like he has an evil twin, or something. Is that a thing in real life, Scotty? Because if it is, I’m out.”
“Relax. He’s always been nice.”
“No, dude. Remember that time I fell on my face in the hallways and my books scattered all around the floor and he was literally in front of me and didn’t help me?????”
“Stiles.”
“What.”
Suddenly his phone is ringing.
“Scott?”
“Do you have selective memory or something?”
Huh?
“What the freaking fuck are you talking about, Scott McCall?!”
He hears a sigh, “He didn’t just go away instead of helping you. His girlfriend got to him while he was about to pick up one of your books and pulled him away.”
Stiles leans on the counter. He’s trying to remember but he can’t.
“His girlfriend?”
“Yeah, the cheerleader? She was pretty scary, actually. Blonde, tall. You really don’t remember?”
“Not really, no. Wait. Didn’t he marry his high school girlfriend?”
“Exactly. They got married and when Natalie was like five months old, Derek found out she had been cheating on him through their entire relationship and she just up and left.”
Oh, my god.
“Scott, this is awful. Why didn’t I know that?”
“Because you never bothered asking, Stiles. Now, go and talk to him.”
Scott hangs up and Stiles is left with a phone in his hand and coldness washing over him.
He doesn't know what to do with that information. He never really thought about Derek's life and now he feels bad about it.
But, it's not like Derek asked him about his, so.
Derek walks into the room with a clean shirt and running a hand through his hair, which are still covered in flour.
He looks around and smiles at Stiles “Thank you for cleaning up, you didn’t have to.”
Stiles shrugs, “It’s the least I could do.”
Derek sits on a stool and leans on the island, “The kids are getting dressed. Joey had some clothes her so he’s wearing those.”
“Thank you.”
There goes the awkward silence again.
This time, though, it’s Derek who breaks it.
“I’m sorry, Stiles.”
Stiles looks at him quizzically.
“For everything. I’m sorry I didn’t stand up for you when we were in high school. I’m sorry I never told my friends to stop and I’m sorry that after all these years you still think I’m an asshole because I never gave you a reason to think otherwise.”
“Dere-”
“No, really. I’m serious. I truly am sorry, Stiles. I wish I could go back in time and change everything I did… or didn’t do. But I can’t. The only thing I can do now is apologize and don’t act like I want to eat you for dinner.”
“Well, maybe for dessert.”
They look at each other.
“That was the worst joke ever,” Derek deadpans.
They burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry, too, you know. I thought that I was trying, but I realized I never really did. I mean, I don’t even know what your job is. I’m ten times the asshole I thought you were.”
Derek smiles a little, “I’m an English literature professor.”
“Are you serious?”
“Hey, just because you’re a nerd doesn’t mean I can’t be, too.”
“I’m not a nerd!”
“Oh, you are. You were talking about Batman and The Legend of Korra while you were napping, once.”
Stiles gapes and flails.
It’s something he’ll never get rid of, even at 30.
He huffs and sits on the stool in front of Derek. “You have a point.”
“Thank you,” Derek chuckles.
They’re smiling at each other when Joey and Natalie come back down.
“Let’s get the frosting started!” Joey yells.
****
When the cupcakes are finally over, they put it in a box Derek had brought a few days earlier and clean up the rest of the mess in the kitchen.
“This was a very nice day!”
They all turn to Joey, who’s chewing on his Snickers.
“Of course it was, you’ve been torturing me the entire time.”
“Dad…”, he shakes his head, “It was just payback for all the times you did it.”
Stiles gasps, outraged. “How dare you think that I torture you?”
A beat.
“I do not torture you. I create art with the pain of little boys.”
Derek laughs out loud and turns to him, “What did he do to you to deserve such suffering?”
“He threw up on my favorite shirt when he was one. I never forgave him for it.”
Natalie giggles, “I peed on daddy’s shoes when I was three.”
Stiles bursts out laughing, “Oh, I would have wanted to see your face!”
“It was very unimpressed, trust me.”
Stiles looks at him and smiles, “Like it is now?”
“Exactly” he deadpans.
“Hey, Nat, can we go play?”
Natalie nods and then looks at both of them “Is it okay?”
Derek and Stiles nod and the kids go running out the door, shouting that the last one will have to play The Sims without using any cheats.
The gasp of outrage is hilarious.
Stiles chuckles and turns to Derek, “Our kids are pretty weird, huh?”
“You said it,” he shrugs.
It’s weird being like this with him.
The previous day had been so confusing and now he feels comfortable and relaxed.
He really doesn’t know what to do with Derek Hale.
He realized that he’s said that out loud at Derek’s surprised expression.
“That’s okay. I don’t know what to do with you either.”
He smiles at him, “I get that a lot, though.”
“I figured. You’re pretty unique, Stilinski.”
Well.
“Is that a nice way to tell me I’m weird as fuck or?”
Derek smiles softly, “No, it was a compliment. I’ve always thought you were special. I just never told you.”
Now he really doesn’t know what to do with Derek Hale.
So, he changes the subject.
“You’re an English lit professor, then!”
“Apparently.”
“Who’s your favorite author?”
“Edgar Allan Poe. I’m pretty much obsessed with him at the moment.”
Stiles can’t really remember but he read some of his works while in college.
He cocks his head to the side, “Favorite quote?”
Derek looks down, scratches at the wood. He seems to be thinking it over in his head.
The soft light coming from the window hits his face, casting a kind of ethereal gleam on his profile.
His expression is intense and Stiles almost reaches out to smooth out his features.
Thank God he doesn’t.
He hates how even when he couldn’t stand him, he couldn’t help but notice how attractive Derek was. How entrancing and fascinating.
Scott always joked with him that he had a crush on Derek because he could sense when he was about to pass by.
Maybe that wasn’t just a joke.
Derek finally looks up at him, eyes honest and vulnerable.
“That pleasure which is at once the most pure, the most elevating and the most intense, is derived, I maintain, from the contemplation of the beautiful.”
Stiles stares at him and takes a shaky breath.
“It’s a nice quote.”
Derek nods, “Yeah, pretty talented guy, you know.”
They laugh, breathlessly.
Ah, fuck it.
“Derek?”
He hums.
“Can we start over?”
The slow smile that spreads on Derek’s face is worth the headache that’s been killing his head for almost two days, now.
And if he hears a cheer and a thud from upstairs, he just ignores it and stores it away for future reference.
He’s pretty sure he can hear Lydia’s voice, too, but Derek is smiling at him and for once he’s not forced to smile back.
Also, Derek’s decorations are pretty adorable so he still has to embarrass him for that,, he doesn’t have time to run up the stairs and throw the two little shits out of the window.
He’ll let them win this once.
****
10 years later.
“If you really think that I’ll wear this monstrosity just because it’s your birthday party, let me tell you buddy, you are so wrong they put up a picture of your sorry face on the dictionary as a definition of the word.”
Joey glares at his half-sister and crosses his arms.
“But it was all okay when I had to dress up as a freaking penguin for your party. I looked like Skipper!”
“The penguin of Madagascar?”
“Exactly.”
“Oh, shut up you looked great. Thank Beyoncé you finally grew up and got tall.”
Stiles knocks on Natalie’s bedroom door and pokes his head in, “If you two don’t hurry the fuck up I’ll hide all of your clothes and let you walk around with grandma’s Christmas sweaters.”
They both gasp, “You wouldn’t.”
He smirks. “You know I would. You know it. Come on, up and out. Dad’s waiting in the car and I’m afraid that if we don’t get in it he’ll just leave without us to get to Vegas and marry it.”
“Her. She’s called Rosita.”
Natalie says with an amused smile.
They’ve been making fun of Derek for years for his obsession with that freaking car.
It was hilarious.
He had almost cried when a bird had pooped on it.
Stiles has it on video.
He claps his hands, “Come on!”
Natalie grimaces at the dress she’s holding, “Daddy, do I have to wear this?”
Stiles glares, “Yes, you do and you’ll look beautiful as always. Now, grab the coats and get out or I’ll tell Talia and Laura how much you two love going door to door to sing Christmas songs.”
Joey runs out of the room in a flash and Natalie jumps off the bed and follows him, shouting behind her back how evil he is.
He grins to himself, “I love compliments.”
Derek is waiting patiently in the car when they all get in.
“Oh, you’re here? Are you sure you’re ready? If you need some more time it’s fine.”
“Sarcasm does not suit you, babe.”
Derek arches an eyebrow, “Please, I invented sarcasm.”
Stiles snorts, “Right.”
He takes a little plant out of the jacket’s pocket and holds it over his head, smiling innocently at his husband.
Derek sighs, “Seriously?”
“Yep.”
He leans in and kisses him softly, deepening it when he hears their kids’ groans.
“Oh, come on! Can you at least stop being all lovey-dovey on Christmas? I love grandma’s lasagna, I don’t wanna throw it up!”
They both laugh against their mouths and Derek leans back, starting the car.
“Joe, if you keep changing the names in my contacts on the phone I’ll eat all the lasagna she’ll ever cook for the rest of her life.”
“That’s awful even for you, dad.”
Stiles nods proudly, “I taught him that!”
They take off, ready for another amazing day with their huge family, surrounded by love and warmth and finally feeling like everything has fallen into place, for once.
****
Stiles narrows his eyes at the teenagers behind him, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your mischievous plan with aunt Lydia.”
They blink up at him and smile innocently.
Yeah, innocent his (fine) ass.