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Derek is fairly certain that he should never plan anything for the rest of his life.
It’s not even overdramatics; every time he’s tried to do so, it has either ended terribly or blown up in his face, one memorable occasion had both of those things happening at the same time.
He had thought that this time was different, that the universe was finally on his side because this wasn’t just ‘a plan’, but A Plan.
Stiles would appreciate the capitals, considering he was the one that made Derek start using them in the first place when he explained the difference between ‘going out’ and Going Out.
His boyfriend apparently made him inherit his ability to go off on tangents as well, right when he needs to be paying attention to the matter at hand.
Because one person by the name of Dinah Stilinski has gone and blown his Plan out of the water by being her perfectly inquisitive self and ‘helping’ Derek make sure that he didn’t 'forget' any of his presents.
"I found it in the bottom drawer of his desk," Dinah is saying, pulling a small holiday bag out from under the tree and heading toward her father with a look of glee on her face that Derek is sure that she learned from spending too much time with Erica. "Daddy had hid one of my presents like that once and didn’t remember until my birthday, so I made sure to get this so Derek wouldn’t forget it.”
Unswayed by the fact that Dinah has started calling him by his first name instead of ‘Mista’ ‘Ale’ all the time, Derek almost wants to inform the girl of the panic she put him through when he realized that the gift was missing, and the headache that came with not being able to ask Stiles to help him look for it.
Stiles takes the gift from his daughter with a matching expression, making Derek rethink on where Dinah got that particular grin, but he must see the panic thats making a comeback from earlier on Derek’s face because his fingers still on the wrapping and he mutters, “I don’t have to open it now, I've got a feeling that tells me it’s something I don’t want to open in front of Dinah, anyway-“
"Oh, please, like Derek is that daring!” Erica huffs and Derek just has to appreciate the fact that Stiles wanted to try one more time for a ‘family’ dinner-mostly because Lydia and Jackson are in one of their ‘off’ stages-with the other children distracted with ‘Grandpa Stilinski’.
Thank god for small miracles.
Stiles still hesitates, looking over to where Derek is standing in the hallway to the inconspicuous bag sitting in his lap, Dinah bouncing in front of him as she insists that Stiles opens Derek’s gift.
Derek swallows hard when Stiles tips the bag sideways so that he can see inside and he’s having a hard time breathing as Stiles’ eyes widen in a way that doesn’t bode well for his future happiness as the younger man begins to babble, “I- I really don’t think that-“
"Oh, come on, Stiles!” Erica seems to be getting impatient with Stiles’ indecision and she starts reaching for the little bag as if she’s about to open it herself. “It’s not like the present is going to bite yo-“
“Don’t!" Derek barks, moving across the room so fast that Erica jumps back with a little yelp, both of the Stilinskis still in the living room flinching at his sudden appearance.
Dropping to one knee in front of Stiles, Derek takes the bag from him and reaches in to pull out the small box that had been resting at the bottom, tossing the wrapping bits and extra tissue away as he pulls an even smaller velvet box out of it.
"I had A Plan. There was going to be music, less people, and I had been practicing the speech for weeks to get it right. I can’t believe-“
"Derek?"
Stiles looks like he’s expecting this all to be some dream, that someone is going to crack and yell ‘gotcha!' at him, that someone is going to come in and say they caught it all on film like those T.V. shows he seems to love so much…
Derek swallows again, ignoring the fact that everyone has gone silent-even Dinah is gazing at the pair of them with wide eyes and her hands over her mouth-and trys to pretend that it’s just the two of them like he originally wanted.
"You were suppose to be standing for this part."
Stiles simply blinks at him, eyes losing a bit of their shock, which has Derek hoping that he won’t get outright rejected for this.
"Stiles Stilinski, these last few years of my life have been the most chaotic ones that I have ever had, including the ones that followed my mother stepping down from CEO of Hale, Inc and the frenzy that followed trying to figure out who should be her successor. Anybody who knows me knows how much I hate chaos, especially when I go to such great lengths to avoid it.”
"That doesn’t sound very roman-"
“SHHH!"
Derek would growl at them for interrupting, but Stiles is looking even more relaxed and even smiling a bit, so he'll allow it.
For now.
"Yet, your brand of chaos has brighten my life and made me look forward to every single day that you stumbled into the office. Ever since I saw you, I knew there was something there; sure, the first time might have just fizzed out as attraction, but when I saw you that day, with your daughter all bundled up like the pair of you were braving a blizzard to get to work-"
"They had said that there was a cold virus going around and that morning was going to be especially chilly! I couldn’t let Dinah just wander outside-“
The laughter that cuts Stiles off has an edge of hysteria to it, but Derek can’t help it; he knew that Stiles wouldn’t let him get through this speech without interrupting him at least once, but it’s perfect because it lets him say this next part.
“That, right there, is the reason I want to marry you; the way you love people so fully, so protectively. I never thought that I would meet someone who could love like that, thinking that it was just something that existed in fairy tales or only for the very lucky, like my parents… I never believed in luck, Stiles, until I met you.”
Turning, he takes Dinah’s hand, gently moving her so that she’s standing in between where he and Stiles are kneeling, letting go when Stiles pulls her close with his eyes on Derek the entire time.
"I know that this is a two-for-one deal, that Dinah is your whole world and that anything you decide is always going to be with her happiness first. I want to be part of what makes her happy, what makes you happy, so I’m asking both of you this. Can I marry you, Stiles Stilinski, and can I be part of your family, Dinah Stilinski?”
The box is finally opened and inside is a simple golden band with a diamond embedded into the top; it’s the perfect size for Stiles to fiddle with, but tight enough that he won’t have to worry about losing it, and made of a metal that will last through him banging it on things whenever he gets so excited he starts waving his hands around.
He thought of everything, even has a little ring for Dinah hidden away so she wouldn’t feel left out and so she knows that he means it when he says that he’ll be there for her as well as Stiles.
All of that flashes through his mind as Stiles stares at him for the longest minute of his life before the man swallows and whispers, “What do you think, munchkin? Should we keep him around?”
Dinah looks far too serious for a seven year old as she says, “He makes you happy, Daddy, and he knows how to braid my hair!”
Stiles coughs out a laugh as he grins at Derek through a mist of tears. “I think that means our answer is yes. Yes, Derek Hale, you’ll marry me and be part of this family. Yes!”
Derek sweeps them up into his arms, no doubt losing the ring somewhere around their knees, but he can’t hear past the rushing in his ears that might be the congratulations from their friends, Dinah’s laughter and Stiles’ cries that he still needs to put on the damn ring, or just the overwhelming feeling of joy that spreads and spreads and spreads.
Scott is the one that picks up Stiles’ ring for him, but Derek is the one that puts it on after darting upstairs to grab Dinah’s as well, the look of joy on their faces echoing the one still growing in his chest until he feel like he can’t barely breathe from it.
"I love you. I love you both so much…”
This time it’s them that tackle him and he lets their weight bring him to floor, laughing at their ‘I love you too!’s and the way everyone is yelling, crying-yelling and crying, in Erica’s case-wash over him as he holds the two people he loves most in the world, content in the knowledge that they love him too.