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Stiles hummed to himself as he walked down the aisle, a small smile on his face as he picked up a bag of chips and tossed them in the cart.
“Shloopy poo!”
Stiles raised an eyebrow as he turned his head to look at his son who was sitting securely in the cart’s front seat.
“Shloopy poo? Really, I had no idea,” Stiles said conversationally as he moved down the aisle.
“Badoo bapooy slimp."
"How fascinating,” Stiles said with wide eyes as he looked into his son’s sparkly hazel green ones. “Tell me more, my man.”
More gibberish spilled out of his almost two-year-old son’s mouth as Stiles moved onto the next aisle. They were out toilet paper, and Derek was out of deodorant. Now that Stiles thought about it, they were kind of running low on shampoo as well. Then he would need to get pasta sauce, cheese, pickles…Stiles ran though his mental grocery list and absentmindedly petted his babbling son’s head that was full of black hair.
Stiles was in the middle of choosing cereal while nodding along to his son’s gibberish when a lady came up to him. “Oh my goodness, aren’t you just the most precious little thing! Oh my.”
Stiles turned to the woman who seemed to be middle aged, maybe heading straight toward old age, and had a bright smile on her face as she walked up and bent down to look into the baby’s hazel green eyes. “Oh, what’s this cutie’s name?”
“Jake.” Stiles supplied, moving forward to unbuckle him from the cart and lift him into his arms before the woman could touch him. Stiles was probably a little too protective of his son, but in the end he just didn’t care, because this was his son and he no idea who this woman was or where’d she’d been or what she’d do. She could be a werewolf for all Stiles knew.
“Oh, Jake.” The woman smiled as she leaned forward into Stiles’ personal space and thus into Jake’s personal space to stare into his eyes, which were currently looking at her with suspicion and annoyance. Ever his father’s son, Stiles thought, and smiled. “Well you are just the cutest little thing I ever did see. And also the most handsome. Yes, sir.” The woman straightened to stare at Stiles for the first time since she had barreled over there to coo at his son. “Is he yours?”
Trying to stifle his own annoyance, Stiles smiled thinly. “Yes, he’s my son.”
“I’m sorry.” The woman shook her head and laughed to herself. “I forget my manners sometimes. He must look more like his mother, then.”
“Father.” Stiles supplied, watching the confusion and then understanding wash over her face.
“Well, you have a beautiful child there."
‘I know.” And Stiles smiled softly down at his son, who had since seemed to forget the woman and was playing with Stiles’ shirt, babbling away.
“How old is he?” The woman asked, smiling as Jake leaned back to look up at Stiles and babble at him in a serious tone. He looked so much like Derek in that instant that Stiles’ heart warmed and fluttered and his smile turned wide.
“He’s almost two,” Stiles said.
“Oh, he’s so big for his age. Maturing fast, I see.” The woman smiled and the skin crinkled at her eyes.
“Yep,” Stiles nodded. The fact that Jake was a werewolf probably helped with that in some way, maybe. Stiles didn’t know for sure.
“Well, you have a nice day.” And then she rested her hand on Stiles’ arm and gave it a small squeeze before flashing one last smile at Jake, who had zeroed in on the contact, and walking away.
Well, okay then.
Jake immediately turned grumpy, a small squeak emitting from his throat as he reached over and took Stiles’ arm where the woman had touch it, his small hand grabbing onto Stiles’ skin.
“Hey buddy, it’s okay. She was just being polite.” Or something, who the fuck knows. There were weird people in the world and there was nothing Stiles could do about.
“No touchy,” Jake managed to get out, and Stiles laughed.
“Right, no touchy Papa except for Daddy and Jake and the Pack.” Stiles nuzzled the side of Jake’s head, taking in the smell that was purely Jake and feeling comforted by it.
“Daddy. Touch.” Jake grumbled, still grasping Stiles’ arm before he all of the sudden turned his little head into the crook of Stiles’ neck and started to sniffle.
It took Stiles a moment, but then he understood. Jake had started to do that lately, where he scent marked everyone in the pack, especially Stiles and Derek, and Stiles even more so than Derek. Probably because Stiles was human.
“All right, time to finish grocery shopping, bud. You can finish that at home.” Stiles started to pull Jake back from him, but Jake whined and even whimpered when Stiles got him far enough away.
Derek had said this was just Jake needing the reassurance that this was his pack, and no one else’s, and when someone outside the pack touched any of the others, it smelled wrong to him, and his instincts made him want to fix that, no matter what.
Sighing as tears filled Jake’s eyes, Stiles brought him back to cradle him against his chest, automatically wrapping his arms around him securely as he sniffled and sniffed against Stiles’ throat and grabbed tightly onto Stiles’ shirt. He even started to rub his face against Stiles’ throat, and Stiles grimaced as he felt snot get rubbed onto him.
Well, it looked liked Stiles would have to finish grocery shopping with a baby attached to him. Oh well.
=*=
When Stiles got home, he still had a baby attached to him, and so Stiles called Derek out to help with the groceries.
“What happened?” Derek asked the second he caught sight of Jake holding on to Stiles so tightly with his face tucked in against his neck.
“Some lady at the story cooed over him and then touched my arm as she left, and that didn’t sit well with Jake."
Stiles saw the annoyance flash across Derek’s face, and found himself laughing at how similar that look was to Jake’s.
"What? What’s so funny?” Derek grumbled as he moved forward and grabbed four bags at once - and leaving only two for Stiles to deal with.
“Show off,” Stiles huffed, and smiled in response to Derek’s smug grin. “And I was just laughing at your expression, because Jake made practically the same one earlier.”
Shutting the trunk of the car with his elbow, Stiles followed Derek up the front steps and into the house.
They walked in to the kitchen and set the bags down, and the minute Derek’s hands were free, he reached out to take Jake, who was almost asleep at that point.
Derek immediately kissed his cheek, and Jake’s eyes flashed yellow for a second before he blinked and it went away, and he grinned when saw his Daddy’s face. “Daddy!” Jake immediately started to scent mark Derek, even though he hadn’t been touched by any stranger.
“There now, sweetie. It’s all right. That’s a good boy.” Derek cooed as he walked around and bounced Jake in his arms.
Stiles could have died from the cute, but focused on putting groceries away instead.
“So this woman just came up to you and touched you?” Derek said as he swayed to and fro with a sniffing, happy Jake in his arms.
“Well she was there to coo all over Jake and ask questions and say how cute and handsome he is, and as she left she touched and squeezed my arm,” Stiles shrugged, and then rolled his eyes at Derek’s disgruntled look. “Sometimes people are just touchy feely and there’s no reason for it, they just are. Nothing you can do about it.”
“But what was the point in touching you?” Derek sighed, nuzzling his son’s head and smiling that soft private smile that he saved for just Stiles and their son.
“I don’t know,” Stiles shrugged, putting away the chips and then moving on to the cereal.
“Well. It’s over now,” Derek said, and Stiles guessed his was talking to their son as he pulled Jake away from his neck and then held him above his head. “Isn’t that right, Jake? It’s all over now. No strangers here."
Jake then giggled as Derek tossed him in the air and then caught him, then proceeded to run out of the kitchen making airplane noises, Jake’s squeals and giggles joining him.
Stiles sighed, feeling his insides melt to goo at the laughter coming from the living room. Damn his boys for making Stiles all soft and pudgy on the inside.
"Who’s a big boy? Who’s a big boy? You are, that’s right! Jake’s the biggest boy, oh yes he is.” Derek’s voice cooed, carrying into the kitchen and making Stiles melt because they were just too fucking cute.
“Ugh!” Stiles huffed out, abandoning the rest of the groceries and making his way into the living room, where Derek was currently blowing a cherry onto Jake’s stomach and making him giggle and wiggle in his arms.
“Daddy no!” Jake managed to say between giggles.
“Daddy yes!” Derek laughed and pulled away form his stomach only to start tickling his armpits.
Jake squealed loudly and the complete joy on his face as he urged his Daddy to stop it was almost too much for Stiles to handle.
“Okay, boys,” Stiles said as walked forward and wrapped his arms around Derek’s shoulders from behind. “Enough squealing.” Derek stopped tickling Jake, who sat in Derek’s lap trying to get his breath back for only a couple seconds before Stiles said with a grin, “Unless I’m the one causing it.” And proceeded to tickle Jake himself.
“PAPA!” Jake shouted as he giggled and squirmed, trying to get away from the endless tickling. But he was no match for Stiles.
The happy sound of a child’s laughter filled the living room, along with Stiles and Derek’s, and in that moment, as Stiles finally stopped tickling Jake and turned his face toward Derek, who got the memo and turned his into the kiss Stiles had been seeking, Stiles’ life felt absolutely perfect.