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With one hand on his belly, Stiles bends over and picks out an ornament from the box nearby before handing it to Derek to hang low on the tree. He would do it himself, but at almost eight months pregnant, getting off the floor is more complicated than it used to be.
"Oh hey. This is the one we picked out for the baby," Stiles says, holding up the next ornament. "I want to put it up high so we can both easily see it."
It's a blue glass snowflake with a hole in the middle where they fit the smallest copy of the sonogram they could find inside.
As soon as Stiles reaches toward the tree, he feels a hand on his belly. When he glances down, Derek’s smiling up at him. It’s Stiles’s favorite kind of smile. The kind where Derek’s eyes sparkle as they crinkle in the corner. The kind that makes his dimples pop.
"Can you believe we're going to see our pup soon?" Derek asks as he stands, pressing a kiss to the back of Stiles’s neck
Stiles smiles back and ensures the ornament is secure on the branch he chose before turning to face Derek. "No. It still feels so surreal."
"And it was only an accident." Derek settles his hands on Stiles's hips.
"A happy accident." Something almost worthy of a Hallmark movie.
Stiles chuckles as he remembers the day he parked outside the Beacon County Fertility Clinic. He’d been so nervous. Too much bad shit had happened, and he thought it was over the day he found out he was pregnant. Finally pregnant.
He’d always wanted kids, ever since he was younger. When he started dating, he always made sure his partner knew because it was so important to him. So he was devastated when he got married and nothing happened. He and his husband had tried and tried and tried, but no matter how many tests he took, the answer was the same.
Not pregnant.
So then, they decided to try artificial insemination.
Months went by, but nothing took. And then, his husband was killed in a bicycle accident.
Stiles was devastated. His whole world was shaken.
Still, after a few months passed and his grief weighed a little less, he decided to try for a baby again.
Two weeks after the procedure, he took an at-home pregnancy test and cried happy tears as two faded pink lines appeared.
He was finally pregnant.
The first trimester went by surprisingly quickly and easily, considering how much was at stake. Stiles wasn’t sure he could go through another procedure, more waiting and hoping.
In fact, it wasn’t until the clinic called unexpectedly that he really worried. He was a few weeks into his second trimester, and his care had already been transferred to an OB-GYN at a different clinic.
He sat in his car, wondering about the what-ifs until he realized that would only make him more anxious. So he let out a deep breath and headed inside.
Stiles’s anxiousness turned to confusion turned to anger as the doctor explained the reason for his visit. His mind shorted out, white noise filling it after discovering that there had been an error and the sperm used hadn’t been his husband’s.
Instead, he was pregnant with another man’s baby.
Derek Hale.
"Stiles?" Derek's voice brings him out of the memory, and he finds that they're still standing in front of the Christmas tree, Derek's arms wrapped around him. "You okay?"
"Yeah, sorry," Stiles says, smiling sadly. "I was just thinking about when we met."
"Oh yeah?" Derek guides Stiles to the couch, sitting down beside him.
"Yeah. I remember that I ran out of the clinic, so…pissed. But then you were there. You were so apologetic and understanding. I was mad at the clinic, but I also wanted to be mad at you.” Stiles huffs a laugh. “And it’s like you wouldn’t let me.”
“I couldn’t help it. I’d seen you before you went in and thought you were adorable. I didn’t know why you were there, but you had your hand on your stomach like you were protecting it. Like you were protecting your baby. And all I could think was that you’d be an amazing parent.”
Stiles ducks his head and blushes at Derek’s words. “Maybe my stomach hurt and it was gas.”
“You’re an idiot,” Derek says without malice. “I love you.”
“And I love you. Now c’mon.” Stiles claps his hands. “Let’s finish decorating.”
Derek kneels back down in front of the box of ornaments and ruffles through them, adding the unbroken ones to the tree. Then he pulls out two tiny mittens tied together by a string, one blue and one green. Each mitten had words embroidered on them. The green one had *1st Xmas* while the blue had *As A Pair*.
Stiles remembers Trevor's goofy grin as he'd held the ornament out at the store. He was always such a dork.
"Where do you want this one?" Derek asks, looking up at the tree.
Stiles looks over it for a moment. "Can we put it under the star?"
"Definitely." Derek stands and puts it on a branch precisely where Stiles had in mind.
It happens to be right next to an ornament they'd had custom-made a month ago. It's a wooden wolf and a man with the wolf curled around him and the man's hand on the wolf's back. An ornament just for them.
Stiles smiles as he leans back against the couch, hand back on his belly. He feels a few little kicks and gestures Derek over.
As Derek sits down beside him, splaying his hand next to Stiles's, Stiles's smile widens.
How did he get so lucky to have met not just one but two amazing men? As much as he'll always love and miss Trevor, he's so happy he found Derek. And, somehow, he's sure Trevor would be happy for him, too.
Stiles cuddles with Derek as they look at their Christmas tree, excitement filling him as he imagines his future with Derek.
"I love you," he says quietly, kissing Derek's cheek.
Derek smiles that perfect smile that melts his heart. "I love you, too."