Work Text:
Stiles plopped down on the couch next to Erica. She shifted so she could rest her head in his lap. Jackson busted into the living room and came running over to the couch. He pushed his way next to Stiles and the armrest on the couch. He leaned his head against his shoulder.
“Jerk,” Boyd hissed as he sprawled on top of Erica.
“Dude, seriously?” Erica groaned as she shifted so Boyd rolled into the crack of the couch.
“I wanna join the doggy pile!” Isaac shouted as he abandoned his homework to crawl into Stiles’ lap. Erica sighed as she shifted so her head didn’t get trapped underneath the youngest Beta.
“Brat,” Boyd scoffed before laying back on the floor. Isaac dove off the couch and on top of Boyd, which only caused all of the betas to break out into a wrestling match.
Content with the outcome, Stiles grabbed his book and curled back up on the couch to enjoy his book in peace while there was chaos in the background and Shadow in his lap. The puppy had jumped there after the rest of the puppies had ended up on the floor, having been roughhousing with Boyd before he joined the puppy pile. He knew that Derek would eventually come home and put a stop to the fun, but he was fine letting the betas have their fun for a while.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clammy hands and cold feet, the rapid thumping of his heart, all of which were signs of an upcoming attack. Stiles blinked away the tears threatening to spill from his eyes and took a deep yet difficult breath in, his chest constricting as if someone punched all the air out of his lungs.
And then a hand landed on his waist, its warmth quickly pulling him back to the surface.
“You’re okay, baby.”
Derek’s hands wrapped around Stiles, bringing him to lay back down, completely on top of him, fitting like two puzzle pieces. Derek's gentleness never ceased to surprise him. His skin was warm and soft beneath his shirt, and his arms held him like something precious, cradling his body to his.
"D'you wanna talk about it?" He whispers, tightening his hold on his mate, voice thick with sleep. Stiles sighed, nuzzling further into the crook of his neck, and running circles with his fingers on the expanse of his chest.
"Tomorrow," Stiles mumbled, his eyes already shutting closed. Derek's warmth and steady breathing rapidly lulled him to sleep.
"Okay." He hummed in agreement. "I'll be here when you wake up."
Stiles knew he would be. He always is - but hearing him say it made his heart swell before Stiles surrendered to a dreamless sleep.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stiles was alone in the apartment with Shadow, reading up on his Spark, when Shadow jumped off the couch. He ran over to the door and immediately started barking. Stiles knew something was wrong, so he immediately threw a bit more magic into his wards and waited for the door to open. The fun part of the wards was, they didn’t activate until you tried to step over the door frame. Stiles shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was to see Deaton standing in front of the door, unable to cross the threshold.
“Hello, Deaton. I’m should say I’m surprised to see you here, but I’m really not,” Stiles said, clinking Derek’s contact in his phone and laying it flat on his chest.
“Stiles, why are you keeping me out? I just want to help you,” Deaton said, a condescending tone in his voice.
“You want to bind my Spark, which isn’t possible. Peter is teaching me just fine, thank you. What he doesn’t know from years of being a wolf, he finds me books or information from his connections. I highly doubt that there is anything you can teach me that I can’t learn on my own. I think you should leave, Shadow thinks you are a threat.”
The puppy was still in the same spot, his hackles raised and still growling. Stiles knew that all he would have to is say one word and the puppy would attack him. He also knew that Derek and the rest of the pack were on their way.
“I didn’t want to do this…”
Deaton started to say something, only to let out a scream as Shadow bit down on his ankle. A moment later, Derek came roaring into the hall. He saw Deaton go to kick Shadow, only to get blasted into a wall.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Derek was used to having Shadow in his bed when he came to cuddle with his mate, especially after the day that they had just had. However, he hadn’t expected to come into the bedroom to find a bed full of Betas, all in wolf form. He was a little sad to not see Scott among them, even in his human form. He was happy to see Peter, pressed against Stiles' back, protecting him even in his sleep.
“Stop glaring at my puppies. I’m sad and puppy piles make me happy. They saved you the best spot since you love it when I bury my face in your fur,” Stiles said, peeking out at him from where Shadow was laying on his neck.
“Well, I suppose I can deal with it for one night. I wonder how Peter feels, being called one of your puppies,” Derek replied, smiling as he shed off his clothes and shifted into a wolf.
He climbed into the bed and settled in front of his mate. He huffed when Stiles immediately buried his face in his fur, grabbing a hold of his fur with one hand. He knew the moment that Stiles fell asleep, his grip never loosening on his handful of fur. Derek knew that Stiles was not happy, he was still scared of Deaton, even though the pack had threatened him. However, at that moment, lost in a puppy pile that made the entire bed and loft smell like the pack, he knew that he and Stiles would sleep better than they usually did.