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Derek stood at the entrance to the aisle and took a deep breath, arms squared, preparing himself to leave with hopes dashed once again. Finding the perfect puppy was never easy, and finding the perfect animal companion for Stiles was going to be an even greater challenge. Most things with Stiles seemed to be difficult, but worth it, if their current relationship was any indication.
He passed a few rows of crates, unsatisfied with each animal he saw. Then he heard a tiny growl coming from the back of the store, an irritated, high pitched noise. He walked toward the sound until he found himself staring at the smallest, angriest ball of fluff he’d ever seen. It resembled the ones he’d seen his boyfriend cooing over on the internet. The puppy looked up at Derek and growled again, and he couldn’t resist the urge to return a low growl in response, letting the animal know who the alpha was going to be.
He stood there for a little longer and wondered if adopting a dog was really the best idea, if they were ready for this, and then he made the mistake of coming up with names. Everyone knows that naming future animals is a trap that leads directly to never ending bonds covered in fur and kisses.
He went into the store with low expectations and left with an angry ball of fur and bags full of dog paraphernalia.
_____
Showing up at the loft had become a regular thing for Stiles. After all, they’d been dating for a while now, but this was even more the case since his dad and Melissa had started dating. Tonight was date tonight and he didn't want to be around for that, no matter how happy he was for them. He used his key to unlock the door and when it opened, he was greeted by an unhappy face and promptly dragged into the apartment by a fistful of hoodie. His chest grew tight and he knew something was wrong, but he didn’t know what it was.
“Stiles. I need your help.” Derek’s frown deepened as he let go of the the younger man.
“What is it? Is it pack stuff? Is it Peter? Again?” Derek just pointed across the open space; Stiles followed his gaze until he saw a small thing in front of the couch. He walked toward it, almost nervous, until he realized that the thing was, in fact, just a puppy. “THIS is your problem, Derek? I guess the first thing I should ask...Is this your puppy?. The second is shouldn’t you be able to use your magical Alpha powers on it or something if it’s giving you problems?”
“Not 'it', Icarus,” Derek said, hardly louder than a whisper.
“I’m sorry, what?” Stiles asked as he knelt down, trying to get the dog to come to him. He held out his hand and it waddled over until it was close enough to touch. He reached out slowly, fingers barely brushing its nose, and then he felt the wet scrape that could only be an animal’s tongue running over his hand.
“Icarus.” Derek was leaning against one of the kitchen’s high counters, face blank and unreadable.
“From the looks of his face, I’d say he was more of a Sourpup.” He picked the creature up, cradling it in his arms. He turned back to the Alpha in the room (and, oh man, was he going to have fun making dog jokes now), the dog panting happily up at Stiles’.
“He’s letting you hold him.” Derek looked at him in awe, like he was made of magic. “Stiles, what did you do?”
“It’s easy, Derek. You just pick him up. He’s little, you’re big, it’s no heavily guarded secret or anything.” He pressed a kiss to the puppy’s little head and it panted happily, licking Stiles’ face. Derek came closer, taking tentative steps like the animal was made of wolfsbane. He only got within five feet of the pair before Icarus started growling, and then he was hurrying backwards, face still screwed up in confusion.
Stiles just laughed and rubbed the puppy’s soft belly. “What, afraid of the big bad wolf?”
“No, it’s just...he’s protecting you. He hasn’t let me hold him since the first day I brought him home.”
“I probably wouldn’t let you pet me either, if you kept acting like that. He’s a canine, too, remember? He can probably smell whatever brand of nope you’re putting off right now.” He put the puppy down and wiped his hands on his jeans as he walked toward the kitchen. “You didn’t growl at him, did you?.” Silence. “Tell me you didn’t growl at a two pound dog....” Derek turned away from Stiles to rearrange his refrigerator. “Oh my god, you did! You totally did!”
Stiles turned, fully intending to move back to his new furry friend and found that all he had to do was look down. Icarus was sitting patiently at his feet, wagging it’s tail in expectant joy. He smiled and picked the pup back up, then pressed another kiss to its belly and inhaled that soft puppy smell that only a dog-person could love.
Derek closed the refrigerator door and looked back at them, all feelings of nervousness about Stiles loving the dog completely thrown out of the window. Stiles clearly loved Icarus, if the belly nuzzling was evidence. An image of his partner holding a child, their child, flashed through his brain and happiness welled up inside of him. That’s what this had been about in the first place. Their relationship was going well, headed in all of the right directions, and Derek had gotten nervous. He needed a confirmation that this was the right thing to do.
Stiles went back into the living room, letting the puppy wiggle its way into his hoodie, and that sight was all the confirmation he needed
_____
Derek got used to never seeing his boyfriend without the puppy. Icarus sat at the door and whined when Stiles had to leave, he slept curled deep into the hoodie that Stiles left for him at night. The critter even let Derek hold him now, although he clearly didn’t love him the same way he loved Stiles.
He was flipping through channels one night, when he came across a family-centric romantic comedy. Everything he wanted with Stiles was playing out in front of him, and he sighed as he watched the on-screen family interact. He gently picked a sleeping Icarus up and cradled him in his arms, wondering what it would be like to hold their sleeping child instead. Wondering if he would be a good father at all. He hadn’t always had the best of luck with his betas and he didn’t want Stiles to see that experience, or lack thereof, and turn him down. It quickly became too overwhelming and he turned off the tv, picked up the hoodie, and let the puppy snuggle back inside of it before he placed him on Stiles’ side of the bed.
He fell asleep with the clean scent of puppy muddling with Stiles’ hoodie, a mix that got him thinking about the little black box that had been hidden in his nightstand for the past three months.
_____
Stiles came over the next day with a bag of breakfast sandwiches, fruit, and treats for his favorite furry friend. He set the human food on the counter before he opened the bag of bacon flavored chewing bones and tossed one to the dog. He left Icarus in the kitchen and set out to find Derek who was uncharacteristically lazing in front of the tv.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he sat down on the couch. There was a tapping sound as the puppy wobbled across the loft and pawed at Stiles’ leg. It was clearly nap time, so he picked it up and rubbed its head until its little eyes closed. Derek turned his head to look at Stiles then down to Icarus then back up to Stiles. “Is he the problem? If you don’t want him anymore I’m sure,” he paused and took a breath, “I’m sure I could find a home for him, or he could live with Dad. Scott and Allison have enough on their plates with moving but-” Derek cut him off.
“Stiles, it’s not the dog.”
“Then what is it, Derek? You can talk to me, you know that.”
“It’s...” Derek stood up and crossed his arms. “Dammit, Stiles, what if I’m not a good father.” His eyes went wide. He hadn’t meant to say that. Not out loud, at least.
“Father?! We don’t even have kids?! Wait...” Stiles mumbled to himself, as if he were calculating something. “Derek, is that what getting Icarus was all about?” He scooted over to his boyfriend and placed his hands on either side of his face. “Just for the record, I think you’d make a great father.”
Derek stared at him for a moment like he didn’t believe him, but his heart and his eyes showed that what he’d said was nothing but the truth. He wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him into a tender kiss. Before Stiles knew what was happening, Derek had let go of him and dropped down on one knee.
He pulled a box from his pocket with one hand and grabbed Stiles’ hands with the other.
“Stiles, I’ve known that I loved you since...” Derek fidgeted, looking nervous. “I can’t pick the exact moment, but the truth is that I’ve loved you for a very long time now. There hasn’t been anyone else for me and there never will be. I want you to the one who helps me run the pack, who helps me tuck our children in at night and read them bedtime stories. I can’t do it alone, I don’t want to do it alone. I want you there with me, every step of the way. So, Stiles...will you marry me?”
Derek looked down to see their puppy planted between his maybe-fiance’s feet, staring up at him and panting his approval in small, puppy breathes. Before he could give Stiles a chance to answer, he smiled and said, “I think Icarus wants you to marry me, too.”
Stiles took in the whole scene, the man he loved asking him the most important question he’d encountered so far in his life, and the puppy he loved most sitting between them. He sank to his knees as tears fell out of his eyes.
“Yes! Oh god, yes!” He brought his free hand up to wipe the tears away. Icarus let out a yip of excitement and began to run around in circles.
Derek slipped the ring onto Stiles’ hand before he pulled him in for another kiss, this one less tender. This kiss was full of promises of the future, full of wishes and adventures yet to come.
They fell to the floor and let their happiness consume them.
_____
The first thing he had done was called his dad, then Scott, then the rest of the pack. There were congratulations all around, questions about when the date would be, and the obligatory pestering about the post-engagement sex from Erica.
Later, when Stiles managed to stop kissing his fiance, he took the band off of his finger. It was simple, silver, exactly the kind of thing that he liked. He ran his hands over it until he noticed something on the inside of the band. He held it closer to his face and saw a triskele identical to the one on Derek’s back engraved into the band. He knew what it meant, wearing the symbol of the Hale pack in such an important way. He knew that Derek meant it when he whispered forever into his ear.
That night when they went to bed, Icarus snuggled between them and the first scenes of their life as a family formed.