Archive of Our Own

“Erica, come back here!”

There was a high pitched shrill sounding through the house, echoing off the walls down the hall, and the sound was closely followed by the sound of rushing footsteps, as Erica sprinted through the living room, a bright and happy laugh escaping her as she ran. Her short legs moved as fast as they could, her arms held out in front of her in case she ran into anything, and her blonde hair waved wildly behind her.

Derek was running (or rather, jogging) right behind her, chasing after her with his hands held out and making grabby hands, his body bend down slightly as he hunched over.

“Daddy, stop!” Erica laughed brightly and slowed down when she reached the couch, her held out hands landing on the cushion with a soft thud. She wasn't still for long, though. When she saw Derek coming toward her with grabby hands, she let out a loud and high squeal, before she took off running again.

This time, it was around the couch.

Derek chased her around it one and a half time, before he caught up to her and grabbed her under her arms, swooping her off the ground and spinning her a few times, while she laughed and kicked her legs out.

“Nooo, daddy!” Her laughter was louder now that he was closer, and it only got louder, when he pressed his face to her stomach – her shirt had ridden up slightly when he had grabbed her, leaving a patch of bare skin – and blew raspberries.

She kicked wildly as she laughed and wiggled in his grip, accidentally (or maybe not so accidental) kicking him in the chest and stomach more than once. He didn't care, though. The bright laughter from his daughter was worth all the pain in the world.

Derek blew on her stomach a few more times, before he pulled back and tugged down her shirt a little. She was still laughing, quieter now, and she had stopped kicking, now leaning her weight against him.

“Okay,” he said, patting her covered stomach. “Are you ready to put some pants on now, so we can go to the park?”

“Noooo,” Erica whined, wiggling in his arms when he turned and walked down the hall toward her room. “I don't wanna!”

“Oh really?” Derek gave her a look, a hand brushing through her messy hair. Even though she was struggling – although not enough to be serious – and whining, he kept walking. “And here I thought you wanted to draw the trees, meet cute dogs...”

Erica interrupted his listing with a heavy sigh, that could just as easily have been a groan. “Fiiiine.”

“Good girl.” Derek leaned in to kiss her cheek. She giggled and put a hand in his face but didn't push him away, and just let him smother her soft face with butterfly kisses – and a few raspberries that had her laughing again.

Erica only struggled a little while Derek got her in some pants and put her shoes on. However, she didn't struggle at all, while he braided her hair. She just sat perfectly still in his lap and hummed a soft tune, as she played with her dolls.

Which wasn't surprising at all, considering she loved getting her hair done and hated putting on pants.

[ … ]

The park was, unsurprisingly, full of people. Families, couples, lone photographers, and groups out on picnics. Some walking their dog or dogs, some not. Some throwing frisbees, some getting said frisbees stolen by excited dogs, some not. The playground was full of loud kids playing, some crying and eating sand and dirt, some showing off on the monkey bars, and parents sitting on the nearby benches in deep conversation with their eyes trained on their respective kid.

The weather was great, the sky only holding a few clouds and otherwise bright blue. It was just around noon, the sun high on the clear sky, and it didn't look like the weather was going to worsen anytime soon.

So of course the park was filled with people enjoying the nice weather, that was no surprise.

“Dad, can we have a dog?” Erica asked for not the first time just that day alone.

She had just been over to great yet another dog, this one a puppy happily running in circles around her as she laughed brightly and ran with it. The owners were a young couple, the woman taking pictures of the two of them playing around. She had been nice enough to ask Derek for permission first, before taking pictures of someone else's child though. Derek appreciated it.

Erica and the puppy had played for a while, until the owners called it back because they had to get going. The dog had whined and Erica had pouted, but she had been good and had said goodbye to them anyway.

With an extra few pets to the dog and a sad and nearly begging look to the owners. Because Erica Hale knew how to use her cuteness, Derek knew how well firsthand.

Erica pulled herself onto the bench they had claimed as theirs shortly after entering the park, her sketchbook laid out on Derek's lap and her pencil in his hand. She hadn't drawn much more than just the trunk of a tree though, kept getting distracted by dogs and didn't stay focused for long enough to actually draw anything else.

Not that it really mattered, though. She was outside and around other people, which was what the sole purpose of this trip really was.

It was good for her, and it was good for Derek.

“Maybe when you're older,” Derek answered, yet again, and ran a hand over the top of his daughter's head to lay down the few hairs that had escaped the braided pigtails.

Erica sighed heavily and pouted, grabbing the pencil from his hand. “That's what you always says.”

A small smile tugged at Derek's lips, and he ran his hand over Erica's head one last time, before his arm moved to loosely lay around her from behind. She shifted, pulling herself into his lap and putting the sketchbook in her own, and she went back to drawing after making herself comfortable there, leaning against her dad's chest.

Erica drew like any other child; with her fist clenched around the pencil or crayon, tongue poking out between her lips, and the drawing itself simple and colorful and not at all colored within the uneven lines. She drew because she liked putting what was in her head on something that was blank.

It had been hell for Derek for the first few weeks after she discovered how much she liked that, because she had taken it out on the walls. Doodles had filled almost every wall in the living room, her room, his room, the hall, everywhere. She had been scolded, of course, but then Derek had gone and bought her her first sketchbook.

It had been an excellent idea. She kept drawing, kept getting to explore her creativity, and the walls stayed clean. The sketchbook she was currently drawing in was her seventh, and it was already half full.

Most of her drawings were unfinished or random doodles of nothing, but she was proud of almost every single one of them – especially the many, many drawings of monkeys. She had an odd obsession with monkeys, had had for the past year. Derek still couldn't figure out where it had come from, but he didn't question it too much – and Derek kept encouraging her to keep drawing.

And as much as he wanted to put a few of them on the fridge every once in a while, she never let him.

Except for the one time, where she had drawn a family portrait for father's day earlier that year. That drawing hang proudly on the fridge, and Derek was going to keep it there forever.

Or maybe frame it and put it on his work desk, so he could look at it when he was stuck on a chapter. Feel less stressed or frustrated. Something to calm him down.

“Daddy, I need the green one.” Erica turned slightly in his lap and looked up at him, her hand held out toward his face and a smile on her face that shoved off her white teeth. Her cheeks dimpled slightly, her light brown eyes even lighter in the sunlight.

Derek reached into the bag laying next to them on the bench and pulled out the green crayon. “There you go, princess,” he said, putting it in her stretched out hand and pulling the pencil out of her other, before he leaned in to plant a kiss on her cheek.

She giggled and happily let him plant a few more, before she turned back to drawing.

They sat there, uninterrupted, for a good twenty minutes. Erica finished her drawing of two trees, a field, and stick dogs playing with a red ball, that was half the size of their heads. During the whole time of drawing, she told him about the story she had read the day before and the morning cartoons she had watched that morning, even though she had read the story out loud to him and even though he had been there to watch morning cartoons with her.

But she had loved both, still did, and Derek happily listened.

Their twenty minutes of uninterrupted father-daughter time was interrupted by a dog – a German Shepherd, probably no more than a year or two old – coming running toward them, tail wagging wildly behind its body and tongue lolling out of its mouth, ears perked.

“Doggie!” Erica exclaimed and scrambled off of Derek's lap, drawing forgotten momentarily. Her laugh was bright and happy, when the dog moved closer and sniffed at her, tail continuously wagging excitedly.

Not five seconds could have gone by of Erica letting the dog sniff her, before someone exclaimed “Nymeria!” down the trail to their right, and a man came jogging up to them. He was in a loose, short sleeved shirt with pit stains and a washed out Batman logo stretched out over the chest, and a pair of jogging shorts that ended by his knees, headphones hanging around his neck and his cheeks flushed.

He was beautiful, Derek quietly noted but he didn't chase the thought and instead pushed himself off the bench as the man came closer.

“Oh my God, I'm so sorry!” As soon as he was close enough, the man grabbed the collar around the dog's – Nymeria, apparently – neck and pulled it back. “She just ran off when I wasn't looking.” He crouched down and grabbed Nymeria's snout in his hands, his eyes wide and serious. “Don't do that, dumbass.”

Nymeria barked, her tail still wagging despite being scolded, and Erica quietly walked over to her dad to wrap a hand around his. “You're not supposed to use that word,” she said, and Derek couldn't help the amused smile that threatened to form on his lips.

Of course she would say that.

“What?” The man looked up from his dog, eyes flickering from Erica to Derek and back again. He looked more than a little confused, surprised, and something else that Derek couldn't place.

It took a second, then his face softened and he nodded once, eyes on Erica. “That's right, I'm not. It's a bad word and you only use it when really bad things happen.” He turned his attention back to Nymeria, now with a leash attached to her collar. “Like when your dog decides to run off and bother cute girls and their dads.”

“It's okay,” Derek said, finally pulling himself together. He put his free hand on the back of Erica's head and offered the man a quick smile, that he hoped came off as friendly. “She loves dogs, so it definitely didn't bother her.”

“Nope!” supplied Erica with a wide and toothy smile. She was shyly leaning into her dad's side, though.

A smile slowly appeared on the man's lips – pink, full, kissable, Derek's brain told him, and he quickly ignored it – and he put a hand on Nymeria's head. “Well then, this is Nymeria,” he introduced, Nymeria's tail wagging at the mention of her name. “And I'm Stiles.”

“That's a silly name,” was Erica's quick comment.

And even though he sort of agreed, privately, Derek was quick to say, “Erica,” in warning, which made Erica duck her head a little.

“No, it's okay,” Stiles said around a chuckle and stood up, groaning slightly as his legs stretched and knees popped. “It is a silly name, but actually,” he looked at Erica now, “it's a nickname. No one can pronounce my real name, and Stiles is a lot easier to say.”

Erica blinked. “But why?” She tilted her head slightly to the left. The look on her face was the one she always had when she didn't understand something or was curious. “People learns. I can't pronon... uh, pronounce a lot of stuff, but I learns.”

Derek found himself smiling softly down at his daughter, pride swelling his heart.

Meanwhile, Stiles blinked in surprise at Erica, then grinned widely and lifted his gaze to Derek. “She's smart.”

“Yeah, she is,” Derek easily agreed, because she was. Erica was very smart, and Derek was very proud. He took a moment to watch his daughter with a fond smile on his lips. She was already back over by Nymeria, playing with her and giggling as the dog licked her stretched out hand and sniffed at it curiously.

It was then that it hit him.

“Oh shoot, sorry.” He looked back at Stiles, who was watching him with a smile on his lips and a tight hold on the leash attached to Nymeria. Derek took a step forward and held his hand out to him. “Derek Hale. That's my daughter, Erica,” he introduced with a quick gesture toward his daughter.

“Stiles Stilinski,” Stiles reintroduced himself as and gave Derek's hand a strong and firm shake. His hand was warm, Derek noted, and maybe they both held on for a second too long. No one needed to know that, though.

Derek's brows furrowed in thought. The name sounded familiar. “Stilinski,” he muttered quietly, chewing on the name for a moment. “Like the sheriff?”

Stiles chuckled, nodding. “Yeah, that's my dad. Good ol' pops.”

Derek nodded as well, suddenly unsure of what to say. His social skills – he could hear Cora snorting and saying, “What social skills?” in his head – were rustier than he had thought. Then again, he had only really been around Erica and his family for... well, for as long as Erica had been alive.

It didn't matter though, as it turned out, because Erica interrupted them. Nymeria had lost interest in her, apparently, and was currently sniffing curiously at the bag on the bench.

“Do you like Batman?” Erica asked, coming to stand between the two of them and leaning against Derek lightly. Her eyes were big and wide on Stiles, curious.

Stiles' eyes dropped down to his own shirt for only a second, before he looked back at Erica with a raised brow. “Do I not look like I like Batman?” he asked, grinning widely when she giggled and nodded. He crouched down to be on eye level with her. “Erica, I love Batman almost as much as I love my own dad. He's my hero!” He spread his arms out for a moment, and Derek couldn't help the fond smile that spread across his lips, when Erica laughed.

“Do you liked Batman?” Stiles asked, moving to sit down on the grass even though the bench was right there and free to sit on.

Erica instantly nodded and slowly inched closer to Stiles. “Mhm, but Catwoman is way better.”

“Oh yeah? She's pretty cool too.”

Sitting back down on the bench, Derek kind of stopped listening. Not because he didn't care for the Batman and Catwoman talk – he had always been more of a Marvel kind of guy himself, but his daughter loved the DC universe, which meant so did he – but because he had heard it so many times. He already knew exactly what she was going to say.

Instead, he sat and quietly watched them, keeping an eye on her the whole time but offering Nymeria a few head and ear scratches, when she trotted over and sniffed curiously at him.

Stiles was beautiful and if Derek didn't have a kid to look after, he would have been someone he would have shamelessly flirted with. However, just his type or not, the guy was a stranger and an adult, and Derek didn't trust people, so he wasn't going to take his eyes off of the two of them for even a second.

He sat and watched them for what was several minutes but only felt like a couple of seconds, before Nymeria whined impatiently and tugged at her leash, pulling Stiles away from the conversation – which had turned into more of a debate, at that point – that he clearly had been swallowed into as much as Erica had.

“Oh my God, I totally just hijacked your kid,” Stiles said, apologetic eyes on Derek as he stood. “I'm so sorry, dude, I did not mean to, I swear, but she was talking to my nerd side and that side is ridiculously out of control.”

Derek waved a hand at him dismissively, holding out his other for Erica to take when she came back over to him. She immediately climbed into his lap and send him pleading eyes.

Uh oh.

“Daddy, can Stiles come play with me?” she asked, smiling sweetly at him.

Derek blinked at her, brows shooting up in surprise, and he saw Stiles gaping out of the corner of his eye as well. He opened his mouth to tell her that no, Stiles could not come play with her, but Stiles beat him to it.

“Sorry, Erica,” he said, gape turning into a smile, “but I've actually gotta work tonight. Being the new deputy at the station doesn't let me take shifts off, even when Catwoman wants to play.”

So Stiles was a deputy. Derek didn't let the thought that started in his head finish. Inappropriate.

Erica pouted, bottom lip poking out, and Stiles quickly added, “Maybe another time?” It sounded like a question, more direction at Derek than at Erica.

Stiles send both of them smile, his eyes lingering on Derek for a second too long. “I'll see you two around,” he said and started backing up, Nymeria already on her way ahead of him. He was just about to turn around, when he send Erica a grin and pointed at her. “Keep Beacon Hills safe for me, Catwoman!”

Erica immediately brightened. “Bye, Batman!” she called after him and waved. Stiles waved back shortly, before he jogged down the trail with Nymeria running alongside him.

Erica didn't stop talking about Stiles for the rest of the day.

[ … ]

Over the course of a few days, however, Stiles became less and less of a topic that Erica brought up. And by the time Saturday, which was also Laura day, rolled around, Derek hadn't heard Stiles' name being said in several hours, so he figured she had forgotten about him and was moving on.

He was trying to forget and move on too, but something about those warm, brown eyes made it almost impossible. Key word; almost.

They were both on the couch, Erica in his lap and Derek brushing the knots out of her hair carefully, with Zootopia playing for the billionth time, when there was a sharp knocking on the front door and a familiar voice calling out from the other side.

Immediately, Erica perked up and her attention went from the television to the direction of the door and then back at him, her eyes pleading.

Sighing and running the brush through her hair one more time, Derek nodded in response to her silent request. “Go let your aunt in.”

Erica smiled widely, leaned in to kiss his cheek but got his nose in her hurry, and slid off his lap, before she went into a sprint toward the door, her bare feet smacking against the hardwood floor. Derek was quick to yell out, “Careful!” even though he knew she wasn't listening.

He smiled fondly to himself as he listened to Erica's excited squeal once the door was open, and he heard Laura say, “There's my favorite niece, hello beautiful!” which only had Erica giggling and telling her, “I'm your only niece, silly.”

He listened to them for another moment, before he decided to get up himself, leaving the hairbrush behind on the couch and the movie paused.

Erica was off the ground and in the arms of Laura, arms tightly around her neck, by the time Derek made it over to them, and he rolled his eyes at them. “Don't let her crush you, Laura.”

Laura huffed at him, sending him a look that was supposed to be annoyed but really wasn't. “Oh please. She's just happy to see me.” She leaned in to kiss Erica's cheek, and Erica giggled happily. “Unlike your dad, who seems extra grumpy today. Did you wake him up too early again, is that it?”

“Nooo,” Erica said innocently, smiling widely.

For the record, Erica had woken Derek up too early, but Derek hadn't complained. They had stayed in bed and cuddled for almost half an hour, before either of them bothered getting up. And only because Erica was getting hungry.

“Of course you didn't,” said Laura. The tone in her voice implied that she clearly didn't believe her – because Erica was a terrible liar, unable to not laugh when she tried – but she didn't push it. Because she was a terrible sister, who lived for teasing her brother. “Because you're a nice girl, right?”

“Yep!” Erica immediately agreed, grinning widely at first Laura, then Derek.

Derek gave her a deadpan look, although he didn't disagree. Erica was and always had been a nice girl.

“Alright, enough of that.” He stepped over and grabbed Erica from Laura, only to put her down on the ground and crouch in front of her. “You be nice to your aunt while I'm gone for a bit, okay?” He was already in his running clothes, phone and headphones resting on the counter in the kitchen, and he was eager to get out of the house and run for a while.

Like he did every Saturday. Routine was good, his therapist had told him so during one of their last and final sessions.

Erica didn't hesitate to nod, and she stepped forward to wrap her small and skinny arms around his neck. He allowed himself to be pulled into a tight hug, returning it immediately. It was only for an hour, two at most if he could manage it, but Derek worked from home and they were both pretty attached to each other, especially after everything they had been through together.

They were working on that, though. Just like they were working on a lot of things.

Derek left the house just as Laura was led down the hall to Erica's room by Erica, already in full conversation about science stuff and everything in between and around. Laura was always willing and able to answer Erica's endless questions, the ones Derek couldn't, and he smiled fondly as he closed the door behind him.

He put the headphones on, buds in his ears, and he scrolled through Spotify to find his running playlist. He stretched in the driveway to the house, loosening his muscles, before he took off running in a slow pace down the sidewalk.

Running was therapeutic for him. It cleared his mind of negative thoughts, and it made him feel in control of himself. Something he, in the past, hadn't been but had been unaware of at the time. As a father of a five year old girl with medical problems, he couldn't afford not to be in his right mind, so he really did need the occasional break to go through his therapy.

Which was why having a big family was a lot of help more often than it was annoying these days. If Laura was busy, someone else could watch Erica for a few hours, while he focused on himself. And they were all more than happy to do so, because they all adored and loved both of them.

Erica more than him, he suspected, which he fully understood.

They were all aware of Derek's situation and were always ready to help, and he couldn't be more grateful for having such a great and supportive family. It made everything easier to deal with, because he didn't have to do it alone.

Although, concerning some things, he did still deal with on his own, because that was just who he was.

He was warm, slightly damp with sweat, and pleasantly sore by the time he neared the park. There were, thankfully, not a lot of people out at the moment. The weather wasn't all too nice, the clouds above warning for rain in the near future, so it were really only dog owners and mothers with strollers milling around the streets.

His feet were moving in beat with the music playing in his ears; something upbeat that his cousin, Nathan, had suggested to him the last time they saw each other. Not too upbeat but enough to be good music to run with.

Derek had lost count of the minutes he had been running, completely in the zone and clearing his mind of the cloud, but an excited few barks coming closer and closer made him slow down and tug one of the buds out of his ear.

Turning around, he saw a familiar German Shepherd coming running toward him, tongue flopping lazily out of her mouth and tail wagging excitedly as she neared. Nymeria, his brain provided him, came to a stop by his side, and he smiled softly as he crouched down and reached a hand out to pet her.

He lifted his gaze a moment later when he heard cursing nearby, and he saw Stiles come running toward them, leash in his fist and an embarrassed and nearly pained expression on his face.

Derek had to bite back a grin.

“Nymeria!” Stiles called out, saying the name like it was a curse. Nymeria wasn't listening though, too busy enjoying the petting and scratching she was receiving. “You gotta stop running away from me!”

“Maybe teach her better manners,” Derek suggested, reaching into his pocket with his free hand to turn down the volume of his music, so he wouldn't get distracted and so he could actually hear what Stiles was saying. He didn't want to be rude. Looking from Nymeria rubbing her head into his hand to Stiles scowling down at her, he grinned. “Or don't take the leash off. That would probably work too.”

Stiles huffed, his hands moving to his hips, and Derek only let himself take in the view of the guy's lean and muscular body for a second, before he forced himself to look away. Stiles said, “Yeah, but then she'd never lean. Which I realize is kinda stupid, 'cause she's not learning now either, are you? No, you're fucking not, dumbass.”

The words had barely left his mouth, before Stiles' eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth, as he looked at Derek. His eyes flickered around them quickly, and then he let out a relieved sigh and dropped his hand from his mouth. “Oh thank fuck, I thought I just accidentally cursed in front of your daughter. That would've been so bad, oh my God.”

Derek let out a small huff of a laugh and gave Nymeria's head a quick ruffle, before he stood back up. “It's just me today. You're good.”

Stiles' attitude seemed to change in an instant, from relieved to friendly. “Yeah? Where's the little Catwoman? Not gonna lie, I kinda told my best friend about her, 'cause she's a super cool kid.”

Derek smiled softly and said, “She's with my sister, while I'm out on a run.”

“Oh, you're running?” Derek gave him a deadpan look and gestured to his workout clothes, to the forming pit stains under his arms and the sweat stain on his chest. Stiles rolled his eyes at him. “Don't sass me, dude. Maybe you were just sweating, I don't know!”

“Right, because it's normal for people to start sweating just from walking.”

“Well, not for someone with your body- uhhh, I mean...” Stiles immediately went bright pink, eyes going wide. “I just noticed that you're in good shape, is all. Arh shit, that's not better.” He brought his hand to his head and tugged frustratingly at his hair, cringing at himself.

Derek couldn't help but let out a low and amused chuckle. “It's okay.”

Stiles sighed, dropping his hand, and Nymeria perked up at the sound of it slapping against his thigh, but she quickly lost interest again. “Well, now that I've already embarrassed myself once, I might as well do it again.” He lifted a hand and pointed at him, smiling. “Derek, right?”

“Yeah, it's Derek,” said Derek with a nod, and then immediately raised a half questioning, half judgmental brow at Stiles when he threw his fist in the air. “What are you, ten?”

Stiles scoffed halfheartedly. “I'm a kid at heart, don't judge me.”

“I'm not.” Stiles gave him a look of narrowed eyes, not convinced, so Derek shrugged. “Okay, maybe I am a little bit.”

“I knew it!” Stiles held up an accusing finger and stepped closer, the grin on his lips teasing. “You're an asshole.”

“Only occasionally,” Derek said, matching Stiles' teasing grin with one of his own.

“Unbelievable.” Stiles huffed, the grin not faltering. “And here I thought you were a nice, good looking guy with a hella awesome kid, but nope. You're an asshole. Your kid's still the greatest, though. Too bad her dad sucks.”

Derek raised a brow. “Good looking, huh?”

Stiles flushed and huffed again, flinging a hand at him but not touching him. “Shut up.” He busied himself with whistling for Nymeria's attention, and she went over to sit in front of him obediently. He bend down and clasped the leash onto her collar. “There. Now you can't run off like a dumbass again.”

Derek huffed quietly at him just as Nymeria barked happily, and he shook his head shortly, ignoring his suddenly warm ears now that Stiles' eyes were back on him. And shamelessly checking him out, it would seem.

“Well,” he said, offering Stiles a quick smile, “it was nice running into you, but I should finish my run before the weather gets worse.”

“Yeah, of course.” Stiles hesitated for a short moment, looking nervous. “Um, would it be cool if I tagged along on your run? 'Cause I mean, I'm out here running as well,” he gestured to his own clothes, the Batman tee swapped out with an Iron Man one, this one not as washed out or as well worn, “so why not run together, right? Unless you don't want company, which is totally cool. You can just tell me to fuck off and I'll scram.”

Normally, Derek would say no with no hesitation. He liked running by himself, needed it to properly clear his head. But he found himself nodding before he could really make up his mind. “Sure, you can tag along.”

Stiles' smile was nearly blinding, and Derek had to mentally tell his heart to calm down. “Cool. Let's go, big guy.”

The first three or four minutes of the two of them jogging side by side, their speed matching and Nymeria running along slightly ahead of them, tongue lolling out of her mouth, were spend in silence. Stiles was the one to break that silence, and Derek found that he didn't mind it too much.

He had tugged away his headphones anyway, so he didn't have an excuse not to listen even if he did mind it.

“How old is Erica?” Stiles asked, sounding slightly out of breath but not a lot.

“Five,” Derek answered and smiled fondly. “Just turned a couple of months ago.”

“I swear, she's like the cutest kid I've ever seen,” Stiles said and chuckled. “Scott, my best friend, would kill me for saying that, 'cause I've told him time and time again that his kid's the cutest. And yeah, he's pretty cute too, but Erica has him beat any day.”

They jogged across the pleasantly quiet street and made it to the park. There weren't a lot of people there either, just a few dog walkers and an old couple or two walking hand in hand down the trail.

“How old is Scott's kid?” Derek asked, sending Stiles a quick glance, before his attention returned to ahead of them, as they ran around a slow moving couple.

“Six,” Stiles answered and made a noise at Nymeria, when she tugged at her leash. She had spotted three dogs to their right and her tail was wagging excitedly, but she continued to follow them when he tugged at her. “He's starting school in a few months, and Scott is freaking out. His wife, Kira, isn't much better either. Those two a mess, honestly.” He laughed fondly. “I'm surprised they're functioning adults with jobs and a kid.”

“You got any kids yourself?” Derek found himself asking. He hadn't seen a wedding ring on Stiles' fingers – because yes, he had been curious and had looked – but people had kids without being married or even in a relationship. Derek was a good example of that.

Stiles shook his head, though. “Nah, no kids. Would love some though, but maybe finding someone to date first is a good idea.”

“So you're single?”

Stiles turned and grinned at him, and Derek mentally cursed at himself. “Subtle, Derek. Yeah, I'm hopelessly single and very much looking, in case you were wondering.”

Stiles was flirting with him and he wasn't being subtle about it either. Derek wanted to flirt back, he really did. Stiles was just his type, but Derek had a five year old to take care of, and he couldn't just let himself indulge in casual flirting. Or relationships, for that matter.

“What about you? Is Erica's mom your wife or girlfriend?”

Derek's smile instantly dropped from his lips, and he clenched his jaw as he swallowed thickly and bit out, “Erica's mom isn't in the picture anymore.”

“Oh.” Stiles' steps haltered slightly, but he picked up speed again quickly. “Hey, I'm sorry.”

Derek shook his head.”No, it's okay. She was horrible, so I'm glad she's not in the picture.”

“Sooo,” the teasing tone was back, “you're single?”

A small smile tugged at the corner of Derek's lips. He was glad they dropped that subject. “Yeah, Stiles, I'm single. No romantic partner in life.”

Stiles nodded and made a noise in the back of his throat, a short hum. “Pretty cool of you to raise your kid all by yourself.”

“It's not all by myself,” Derek said. “My family helps occasionally.”

“Yeah, but you do most of the work and you've done an awesome job, I gotta tell ya. I've seen a lot of shit single dads, and you're incredible.”

Derek felt his ears grow hot at the compliment, and he cleared his throat and averted his eyes, concentrating on moving his feet. “Thanks.”

They jogged in silence for several minutes after that, picking up the pace after they had stopped when Nymeria needed a pee break.

“So, this is probably super rude,” Stiles started, breaking the silence, “but I'm curious and I never know when to stop, so you don't have to answer. It's just killing me and I gotta ask.” He turned his head slightly, just enough to glance Derek's way. “You said partner... does that mean you're not straight?”

There was a hint of hope in his voice, Derek noted.

Derek let out a brief laugh and shook his head. “I'm definitely not straight,” he answered, smiling at the way Stiles beamed at him. Which was why he hated what he said next, fearing it would kill that beaming. “But I'm also not looking for anything.”

Surprisingly though, Stiles kept beaming at him. “That's okay, I was just curious. I kinda figured you weren't looking, 'cause I know Erica comes first, and I respect that.”

“She does,” Derek agreed immediately, nodding. His legs were starting to feel slightly sore, but he kept pushing. “Always will.”

“I get it,” Stiles said with a quick nod and let the subject drop right after.

Their conversation thinned down after that, both almost too out of breath to keep a steady stream of conversation going for more than a few minutes at a time. Occasionally, they would stop when Nymeria demanded them to, and Derek found it more nice than annoying. It was actually pretty okay to have someone run with him.

And that someone being Stiles – well, that was a perk on its own.

They jogged side by side for a near hour, through the park and back out onto the streets of Beacon Hills, before Derek had to call it. His legs were already sore, and he was sweating through his shirt too much for it to be comfortable.

So was Stiles, his shirt soaked with sweat. Nymeria was panting as well, but she was still wagging her tail wildly and could probably go for another while.

“This is probably completely out of line,” Stiles started as he wiped the back of his hand across his sweaty forehead, “but can I get your number? Friends only, I promise.”

Derek stood silently and watched him for a moment. Stiles looked nervous. It was kind of cute. “You're right,” he said, because he was an asshole. “It's completely out of line.”

Disappointed but hiding it – not doing a good enough job, because Derek noticed it – Stiles nodded and send him a slightly forced smile. “Yeah, of course. I just figured I'd ask, y'know? Totally fine. Cool, cool. Coolio.”

Stiles winced, and Derek laughed quietly. “Stiles,” he said, holding out a hand. “Give me your phone.”

Stiles blinked at him, then gawked. “You're such a fucking asshole, I swear.” He huffed and dug into his pocket, slapping his phone into Derek's open hand once he found it. “Playing with my heart. How dare you?”

Derek grinned at him but didn't reply. Instead, he programmed his number into the phone in his hand and handed it back. “I'll see you around, Stiles,” he said, then bend down to offer Nymeria a quick head scratch. “You too. Be nice to him.”

With one last smile exchanged between them, they parted ways and Derek headed back home, feeling lighter than he usually did.

[ … ]

Without taking his eyes off of the pot he was stirring in, Derek reached over and slapped at Laura's sneaking hand. “Stop eating the food.”

When he had come back home, he had found Laura expertly braiding Erica's hair on the living room floor while telling her all about the universe, big words that Erica couldn't understand yet, and Erica had been listening intently, eyes big with wonder. He had leaned over and placed a quick kiss to his daughter's forehead, only to have her make a disgusted noise because he was sweaty, and she had pushed him away as he had laughed.

His shower had been quick, and then he had joined the two in the living room, and they hadn't done much other than play with Erica's toys until it was time for dinner.

While Laura had decided to help Derek prepare the dinner, Erica was planted in front of the television watching the Lion King. They could hear it all the way to the kitchen, and Derek smiled fondly each and every time he could hear Erica sing along to the songs. She wasn't even fully aware she was doing it sometimes, and it was ridiculously adorable.

Laura huffed at him and put down the carrot, that Derek had tried to slap out of her hand. “You're just like mom, did you know that?”

“I'll take that as a compliment,” said Derek, dropping a pinch of salt into the pot.

“Yeah, you would say that.” Laura grinned and punched his shoulder playfully. “You're such a momma's boy.”

Derek would have teased back, but his attention was grabbed by his phone vibrating on the kitchen counter. The screen lit up, showing two new messages from an unknown number. It was easy to figure out who it was though, and he couldn't help the small smile that pulled at his lips.

Momentarily pausing his stirring and wiping his hands against the front of his sweatpants, he reached over, unlocked his phone, and pulled up the messages.

> [06:05 PM] Unknown: [image of Stiles and Nymeria closely pressed together, Stiles smiling widely and Nymeria with her ears perked]
> [06:05 PM] Unknown: Hello from the Stilinski household! [happy face emoji]

The smile on his lips grew wider involuntarily at the sight of Stiles, but he quickly forced it away when he saw Laura creeping over his shoulder to look at his phone.

“Wow, he's cute,” she commented, leaning into his space and grabbing his phone out of his hand to get a better look. “And he's got a dog too, which makes him cuter.”

“Laura, give me my phone.” Derek reached out for it, but Laura just turned around and stretched her hand out of Derek's reach.

“Tell me about him and I will.” She smiled sweetly in response to his scowl.

They stared at each other, neither willing to give up, for longer than two fully grown adults should. They had done it a lot as kids too, both stubborn as hell. But while their staring contests could usually last several minutes, this one was short lived, because Derek gave up.

Sighing, he rolled his eyes. “There's not much to tell.”

“Ah, but there is something, so out with it.”

He shot her a quick look, then turned his attention to the pot as he started stirring again. His phone was still in Laura's hand, the screen lit with Stiles' messages, and he so desperately wanted to end this conversation and reply to him. But he knew his sister, and he knew she wasn't going to budge. Even if it meant nagging him about it for months to come.

“Erica and I went to the park the other day,” Derek started, noticing Laura leaning against the kitchen counter and crossing her arms, watching him with interest. “His dog came up to us, he and Erica talked about Catwoman and Batman.”

“Of course they did,” Laura muttered quietly, fondness in her voice.

The corner of Derek's lips pulled back in a smile that was gone as quickly as it had appeared, and he continued. “I ran into him on my run earlier. We talked, he asked for my number, I gave it to him, end of story.”

The silence that followed was cut short by Laura asking, “Does he have a name?” Her voice was softer now, gentle.

“Stiles,” Derek replied, giving her a quick and unsure glance.

A wide and happy smile was on Laura's face, and her eyes were bright with glee. “You're so cute when you're crushing on someone.”

Derek rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. “I'm not crushing on him.”

“Oh, but you are!” Laura teasingly poked at his side, and he swatted at her hand. She laughed, but quickly sobered. “It's nice, actually. You deserve someone good, someone who can make you happy. And this Stiles is the first person you've shown interest in since you-know-who.”

Derek turned and gave her a deadpan look. “She's not Voldemort.”

“She's just as bad,” Laura quickly said, brows raising and her face hard. “Maybe even worse. She seriously messed you up, Derek.”

“Yeah, and now she's dead,” Derek cut her off harshly, stirring in the pot with more force than before, “so can we forget about her already?”

Laura didn't answer but she, thankfully, dropped the subject. Talking about Kate was not something Derek was up for. Ever. It got him in a terrible mood and often send him spiraling, and he couldn't let that happen.

Laura tapped around on his phone, before she moved over and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him in and lifting the phone. The face camera was opened, and Derek scowled at her. “What are you doing?”

“Taking a selfie, duh.” She grinned at the screen, thumb hovering over the capture button. “C'mon, smile. The best you've got.”

He did as he was told, but his smile was tight and forced, and he made sure to not look happy about what was happening. Which earned him a shove and a scoff from Laura, but she didn't make him take another, so it had to be good enough.

“Text it to your boy,” she told him, handing him the phone back.

Derek didn't correct her, didn't say “He's not my boy,” but he did take the phone, saved Stiles' number to his contacts, and send him the picture.

< [06:12 PM] Derek: [image attached]
< [06:12 PM] Derek: Hi from the Hale household.

The phone had barely been put down on the counter, before it buzzed and demanded his attention again. Laura snickered quietly, but she made no comment and just took over cooking for him.

Derek rolled his eyes at the message.

> [06:13 PM] Stiles: LIAR!!You said you were single!!

Ignoring Laura's teasing nudge and brow wiggle, Derek busied himself with replying.

< [06:14 PM] Derek: That's my sister, idiot.

> [06:15 PM] Stiles: Oh right yeah, that makes sense
> [06:15 PM] Stiles: I was about to say you look like twins and it'd be weird if you dated

Somehow Derek managed to finish cooking dinner (with little to no help from Laura the Carrot Thief) while still sneaking in a text to Stiles every once in a while. Laura just pinched his cheek and called him cute, cooed at him like he was a child, and Erica laughed happily at them when she joined them in the kitchen after the Lion King was finished, even though she had no idea what was going on.

Laura told her her dad was adorable, and Erica immediately agreed with a wide and genuine smile on her face, the smile directed at Derek.

He could take the teasing if he got that for it, he decided.

[ … ]

Laura left shortly after dinner was done and the table was cleared. She left with several cheek kisses and a tight hug from a tired and worn out Erica and a tight embrace from Derek, who told her to get home safe.

When the door was closed and locked, Derek picked Erica up into his arms and let her lean against him. “You wanna go sleep?” he asked in a lowered voice, kissing her forehead. He was already carrying her toward the bathroom, rubbing her back gently.

Erica nodded slowly against his shoulder and made a short, confirming noise, before she buried her face in his neck. A sigh of content escaped her, and it was like she deflated against him all of the sudden.

“Don't fall asleep on me yet,” said Derek as he flicked on the light in the bathroom, Erica groaning at the sudden light. “Still gotta take your medicine and brush your teeth.”

Erica made a low, zombie-like sound and made no movement to get up for a second longer, but eventually she did. Getting her to take her medicine was never easy. She didn't want it, hated the taste of it, but Derek always managed to get her to take it anyway. With some extra kisses and the promise of a goodnight story, of course.

She stood on her stool by the sink and looked in the mirror as she carefully and thoroughly brushed her teeth, while Derek went into her room and laid out her Wonder Woman pajamas. Cora had gotten it for her a while ago, and she had yet to grow out of it.

Derek had a feeling he would be buying one in a size bigger once she did though, because it was one of her favorites, right after the cartoon monkeys one.

The sound of small feet coming toward him made him turn around, and he smiled softly at Erica when she came trotting into the room, rubbing sleepily at her eye and yawning silently. “Come here, baby,” he said softly and lifted her off the ground.

Erica got in her pajamas and under the covers, her toy monkey in her arms, and Derek settled down next to her after grabbing a book from her shelf. One of her favorites, that he knew by heart now. She lay her head on his chest and her eyes were already closed by the time he started reading.

She was fast asleep within the first couple of pages, but Derek kept reading for another few, just to be sure.

And when he stopped, he stayed there and lightly brushed the blonde hair out of her face, watched her quietly for several minutes, before he got up, careful not to wake her. He pulled the covers over her little body, kissed her forehead, and turned off the lights in her room but left them on in the hallway, her door ajar to let some of it stream into her room.

Erica had gotten over her fear of the dark quickly and didn't need a nightstand lamp anymore, but she did want the light in the hall to stay on throughout the night.

Derek felt tired himself, drained. His legs were sore after his run earlier in the day, and he had had quite a bit more social interactions than he usually would in a day, so now that he was alone and the house was quiet, the exhaustion washed over him like a sudden wave crashing into the shore.

Despite that though, he headed for his bedroom and sat at his desk. Getting his computer started, he opened a document, determined to get some writing done. However, he found himself staring blankly at the screen.

Twenty minutes passed and still not a word had been written, but he had found music to listen to, headphones on and volume lowered. Five more passed, and he had written exactly two words (which were “Chapter Three,” so really, it didn't count) when his phone buzzed next to his computer on the desk.

He eyed it, considered it, and quickly gave in to the distraction as he picked it up.

Because what kind of write would he be, if he didn't procrastinate?

> [09:17 PM] Stiles: My legs are killing me, dude! Why did we run so much omg

Derek welcomed the smile that tugged at his lips, and he leaned back on his chair as he typed out a reply.

< [09:18 PM] Derek: It's good for you.

> [09:19 PM] Stiles: You wore Nymeria out too btw
> [09:19 PM] Stiles: She fell asleep on me and now I can't get up
> [09:20 PM] Stiles: I've had to pee for an hour, Derek! An hour!!

Derek rolled his eyes, fondly.

< [09:21 PM] Derek: Then go pee.

> [09:22 PM] Stiles: I have a dog asleep on me
> [09:22 PM] Stiles: It's the law that you don't move a pet when it falls asleep on you bc it's a blessing
> [09:23 PM] Stiles: And as a deputy, it's my job to uphold the law

< [09:24 PM] Derek: So you plan on peeing your pants, and therefore also peeing on your dog? Or better yet, hold in your pee and get a bladder infection?

Several minutes passed with no reply, and Derek managed to write a full sentence, before his phone buzzed again.

> [09:30 PM] Stiles: I peed. Not in my pants and not on the dog! [thumbs up emoji]

< [09:31 PM] Derek: Good for you.

They texted back and forth for the better part of two hours, and Derek didn't get much writing done. That was okay, though. His deadlines weren't too close and if they did come close and he started stressing about it, he could always drop Erica off at his mom's and take a few hours to do some writing.

Unless a writing block decided to torture him, that was.

Around eleven, he had to get himself to bed, the exhaustion making it hard to keep his eyes opened. He told Stiles he was off to sleep and didn't bother checking his phone before he passed out the moment his head hit the pillow.

He woke up to Erica calling for him and Stiles' goodnight text on his phone, and he couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips, even though it was way too early.

[ … ]

Paper and pencil and colors and crayons were spread out across the living room floor. Erica was sat in between Derek's spread out legs, consumed by drawing and humming quietly to herself, while Derek carefully brushed the knots out of her hair.

It was early in the day and in the middle of the week. Sunlight was beaming in through the opened window and the street was quiet outside, the quiet occasionally disturbed by birds chirping or dogs barking in the distance or cars driving up and down the road.

Erica wanted to go to the park again, this time not to draw but to play on the jungle gym and “climb like a monkey, daddy!” and Derek couldn't say no to that. But first, she had insisted on getting her hair done.

“Done!” Erica announced and held up her drawing of Dory, smiling proudly over her shoulder.

“Another masterpiece,” Derek told her and paused brushing her hair to kiss her cheek. “Good job, Erica, it's amazing.”

“Thanks, daddy.” She momentarily leaned into him, and then quickly turned back to drawing.

“How do you want your hair today?” he asked, running the brush through her hair carefully. Knot free, finally.

Erica hummed in thought. “Can I have Rey's hair, please?”

“Of course you can.” Derek put the brush down,paused to stretch his arms, and the pulled off one of the many and colorful elastics around his wrist. “You want a lightsaber too?” he asked as he gathered some of Erica's hair in his fist.

“I have one already,” was Erica's response. A pause, then she continued, sitting up straighter and looking over her shoulder. “Can I have another one?”

Derek smiled down at her and gently pushed her head back around, so he could fix her hair. “Maybe if you're extra good, Santa will give you one for Christmas.”

Erica's shoulders slumped, and Derek knew she was pouting. “But that's months away!”

Erica's hair was longer than Rey's was, so the buns ended up floppier but still secure. The hair was out of her face and she was happy with it, and that was all that really mattered. Derek snapped a quick picture of her – after she had run to her room to grab her lightsaber – and send it to his mom. She replied with a string of hearts, every version and every color of one.

“Carry me, daddy,” Erica demanded after Derek had locked the door behind them. He bend down and let her crawl into his arms, even though she was five, knew how to walk herself, and the park was only a thirty minute walk away.

By the time they made it to the park, Erica was on Derek's back and laughing loudly, as he bounced with each step. The bag he had brought with him – snacks, water, Erica's sketchbook in case she got bored – hang on his left arm while his right was under Erica, securing her on his back.

The park was bare of people, which wasn't all that surprising considering it was barely noon on a week day. Summer break was still weeks away, too.

There were only a few kids on the playground, one or two in the jungle gym, but Erica didn't seem to mind and was off Derek's back and over there in a second. Derek stayed close by, avoiding the few mothers who sat off to the side and watched from a distance and instead focused on Erica, watching her laugh as she climbed around.

She quickly got bored of it though, and Derek ended up sitting on the grass leaning against a tree trunk further into the park, while Erica sat in his lap and slurped down a juice box, watching the few people milling around the park with curious eyes.

Derek wasn't really paying attention to the people. He was more interested in fixing the one bun that had come loose, carefully trapping the blonde hair with the elastic again.

He wasn't interested in the people milling around, until Erica suddenly perked up and made a noise as she stretched a hand out, waving it. Derek lifted his gaze and saw a familiar man jog down the trail, a familiar dog stopped a few meters behind him, ears perked and tail wagging wildly.

He watched as Stiles slowed down and turned to Nymeria, watched as Stiles turned to see what caught his dog's attention, and watched as Stiles visibly brightened at the sight of them. Stiles raised a hand in greeting, one that Erica quickly returned, and then he came walking over to them, a tight grip on Nymeria's leash so she wouldn't suddenly jump on them and scare Erica.

“Oh my God!” Stiles exclaimed as he got closer, his grip on the leash tighter now that Nymeria was even more excited. “Is that a little Rey I see? That's awesome!”

Erica lowered the juice box and smiled brightly up at Stiles. “Thanks! My dad did it.”

“Oh yeah?” Stiles' eyes went from Erica to Derek, and his smile turned soft. “Well, he did a great job with it. It looks amazing.” He crouched down, Nymeria sitting down as well when he put a hand on her back. He was looking back at Erica, a grin on his lips, and he said, “And you're as cool as Rey, so it's fitting.”

Derek hummed quietly, a smile on his lips as he nodded. “Gotta agree with you there.”

Erica grinned at both of them, but her attention quickly shifted to Nymeria, when Nymeria inched forward and sniffed curiously at her. Erica giggled and reached out to pet her, juice box forgotten in her lap.

Derek watched them for a moment, before he looked back at Stiles who was watching them too. “Hey,” he said, getting his attention. “You wanna join us?”

“Absolutely,” Stiles said without hesitating, and he sat down, loosening his grip on Nymeria's leash sightly to let her get closer. “My legs are still killing me from our run anyway, so who needs a jog?”

Derek gave him an unimpressed look. “That was four days ago.”

Stiles shrugged and said, “So? It was a long run, dude. I couldn't move my legs for days!”

“And here I thought deputies were supposed to be in great shape.”

“They are. We are. But an hour long run?” Stiles let out a puff of air. “That's a long run.”

“Sure it is,” said Derek, then looked back at Erica. Nymeria had her head in her lap, her tail wagging happily while Erica pet her head and touched her ears. He couldn't stop himself from smiling softly down at them, heart fluttering.

“Maybe I should've called Nymeria BB-8,” Stiles said in a lowered voice, watching them as well. “Or maybe Chewbacca, 'cause I'm obviously Han Solo.”

Derek huffed at him and opened his mouth to say something back, but Erica beat him to it. “Auntie Laura says my dad is princess Leia,” she said innocently, looking at Stiles before twisting around to look at Derek and giving him a wide and innocent smile.

Which Derek knew was nowhere near innocent, because he knew exactly what she was doing, and he narrowed his eyes at her. It only made her smile wider, giggling.

“Yeah, I can see that.”

Derek lifted his gaze from Erica and met Stiles' eyes. Stiles was smiling softly at him, not breaking the eye contact, and Derek felt his ears burn all of the sudden. Stiles was looking at him with so much genuine adoration, and it made Derek feel... odd, was probably the right word. Tingly.

Their moment was broken when Erica reached a hand up and put it in Derek's face, demanding his attention and more juice.

Stiles stayed with them for the duration of their park visit, and even though they had only known each other for a short period of time, it felt normal. Like this was where they were supposed to be.

[ … ]

“More!”

“More? There aren't enough bubbles already?”

“Nope!”

Sighing softly and shaking his head, Derek made more bubbles in the tub. He smiled fondly at his daughter, as she splashed in the water, the bubbles surrounding her entire body and reaching her shoulders.

He himself was on the bathroom floor, sleeves rolled up to above his elbows, but it didn't matter. The sleeves and shirt itself had gotten wet anyway. Not that he expected anything less. He always ended up soaked during Erica's bath time. He didn't mind it either.

Erica reached over and patted at his cheek, grinning widely as she spread bubbles over his stubble. “Now you have a real beard,” she stated happily as she continued to pat soapy bubbles over his cheeks.

Derek smiled widely and happily leaned into it. “Yeah? Does it look good?”

“Mhm,” Erica hummed in reply and grabbed two handfuls of bubbles to add to the already growing bubble beard.

Derek reached into the tub and scooped up a handful of his own, that he put onto Erica's face. She squealed and giggled loudly and swatted his hand away, but not before getting a bit of a bubble beard herself.

“Now we match,” he told her with a smile.

When she had finished laughing, Erica decided that having a bubble beard was a great thing and quickly added more bubbles to her face. “Can I see?” she asked once she finished and scooted closer to the edge of the tub, raisin wrinkled fingers gripping it.

“Yeah, hold on.” Derek quickly dried off his hands and reached for his phone laying by the sink. He pulled up the camera and held it up so she could see herself, leaning into the frame too. She laughed in delight and amusement at the sight of them.

Smiling, he said, “Say cheese.”

“Cheeeese!”

The picture was only send to his mom, but he made it his wallpaper, replacing the one of Erica and Laura cuddling on the couch for the time being.

[ … ]

“- I wou- woold-”

“Would.”

“Would! Not steal a hat. Don't ask me any more qu... qu-es... daddy, what does this say?”

Cutting another cucumber in two, Derek put down the knife and turned around to the kitchen island, where Erica was sitting with her book in front of her. “Where?” he asked, and she pointed. “Questions.”

“Thank you.” He kissed her cheek quickly, then returned to cooking, while she returned to her reading. “Questions,” she said slowly, repeating it a few times until she could say it correctly. “Questions! Ok, thank you anyway.”

Derek finished cutting the vegetables just as Erica finished her book, and she jumped down from her chair and went over to him. “Can I help, dad?” she asked, hands on the counter as she stood on her toes and reached up to grab a carrot he hadn't cut yet.

Derek bend down and hoisted her up on the counter. “You can help by telling me what the book was about,” he said, and she didn't hesitate to launch into the retelling of the book.

When dinner was done and eaten, he put a movie on for her – it was a Spongebob day, apparently – while he cleaned up the kitchen. He joined her on the couch once he was done, leaning into the cushions and letting her snuggle into his side. His phone vibrated on the coffee table, but he ignored it in favor of running his fingers through Erica's loose hair and joining her in her running commentary on the movie.

Around eight, she started drooping on him, yawning and practically crawling on top of him for cuddles, so he turned off the television and got her in bed. He stayed with her for a moment, holding her small hand in his own larger one as she fell into a deep sleep. And once her grip on his hand loosened and she was snoring softly, he returned to the living room and picked up his phone.

Seeing who the text was from, Derek decided to ignore any plans of writing.

> [07:13 PM] Stiles: Were you ever arrested when you were a teenager?

< [08:58 PM] Derek: Are you interrogating me?

There was no immediate reply, so Derek moved to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. His phone chimed with a new message just as he drank the last few drops of water from the previously full glass.

> [09:03 PM] Stiles: Yes, absolutely
> [09:03 PM] Stiles: The station's quiet. Entertain me

He thought about it for a moment.

< [09:05 PM] Derek: I got pulled over for speeding once.

He remembered it clearly. He had been a teenager and driving to his first girlfriend's house, when it had happened. He had been grounded and lost his car privileges for a month after his parents had found out. It had been terrible at the time, but now he couldn't help but chuckle a little at the memory.

> [09:06 PM] Stiles: Wow, you're boring
> [09:06 PM] Stiles: But also kinda perfect. I think I'll keep you

Derek's face felt hot, a blush warming his ears and dusting over his cheekbones, but he ignored it.

< [09:06 PM] Derek: Thanks?

> [09:07 PM] Stiles: [winky face emoji] [winky face emoji] [winky face emoji] [winky face emoji]

< [09:08 PM] Derek: [middle finger emoji]

He hit send with a small smirk tugging at his lips, and he found himself laughing quietly at Stiles' reply.

> [09:09 PM] Stiles: Rude! I'm offended. Here I am being so nice to you and you're just an ass

< [09:09 PM] Derek: Get back to work, Stilinski.

> [09:10 PM] Stiles: Yeah yeah, you too, Hale
> [09:10 PM] Stiles: wait

Derek stared down at his phone as the screen lit up with “Stiles Calling”. He didn't hesitate to pick up though, and, in lieu of greeting, he said, “Going back to work doesn't involve calling me, Stiles.”

“What do you do for a living?” Stiles asked, ignoring his comment. There was chatter in the background, the typical station chatter. “You never told me. Unless you don't wanna tell me, which is cool. You don't gotta.”

Derek let out a slow and quiet sigh and put the phone between his shoulder and ear, so he could refill his glass. “I write.”

“Dude, seriously?” Derek hummed in response, lifting the glass to take a sip, and Stiles continued. “That's awesome! Written anything I might have read?”

“That depends.” He paused, bending down to put the glass in the dishwasher. “How into werewolves are you?”

There was a pause on the other end and when Stiles spoke again, Derek could practically hear the grin on his lips. “Derek, do you write werewolf erotica?”

Derek gave the air in front of him the stink eye and flatly but firmly said, “No, Stiles, I do not write werewolf erotica. I write fantasy novels. The main characters just happen to be werewolves.”

“And what're they called?”

“Alpha, Beta, Omega. Four books in the series right now, working on the fifth.

“No shit, I love those books!”

Derek stood up straight and lightly kicked the dishwasher closed. “We're already friends, Stiles, you don't have to pretend.”

“We're friends?” And there it was again. The audible grin, except this time it sounded softer. “Anyway, I'm being serious. Scott, my best pal, got me the whole series for my birthday this year, and I couldn't put them down. I'm pretty sure I fell in love with Miguel two chapters in. Brooding werewolf? Hell yeah, sign me up.”

Derek bit back a smile, even though Stiles wouldn't be able to tell he was smiling anyway. Although if he could hear Stiles smiling when he talked, chances were Stiles would be able to hear him smile too. And he wasn't going to risk that.

“Ah, shit,” Stiles let out in a sigh, cutting off anything Derek was going to say. “Sorry, I'd love to keep talking with you, but duty calls.”

Derek nodded, shutting off the lights in the kitchen as he headed to the living room. “Okay. Be safe out there, deputy.”

“Always am,” said Stiles, that hint of a smile back in his voice. However, he quickly added, “Well okay, I try to be, I can definitely promise you that. Gotta run, though. Sleep tight, Derek, and tell Erica I said hi.”

“Will do,” Derek managed to get in, before Stiles hung up.

[ … ]

Stiles became a pretty permanent person in Derek's life surprisingly quick, which meant Erica's life too.

It terrified him a little bit (read: a lot); how quickly he came to like this man. This man he had met by accident, met by coincidence. This man who his daughter had taken a liken to almost immediately because they had bonded over comic book characters. This man who didn't have to force his way into his life, because Derek practically welcomed him inside with open arms. This man who had such a bright smile, Derek could feel himself melt with joy just seeing his name pop up on the screen of his phone.

This man who Derek could no longer deny he was starting to get feelings for, the feelings growing the better he got to know him.

And it terrified him.

Not only did they text just about every day – sporadically throughout the day, sometimes with hours between replies but still holding the same, easy flow of conversation – they also met at the park more often than not.

Erica wanted to go out more and more. “I wanna see Stiles and Nymmie,” was the reason she gave him about a week after their impromptu picnic under the tree, and it kept being the reason ever since. Derek didn't blame her, couldn't deny that he wanted the same, so they kept going. And Stiles was almost always there, always happy to see them.

And so was Nymeria. She was always barking happily the moment she caught sight of either him or Erica. If she was leashed, she would pull and tug and whine until Stiles saw where she wanted to go. If she wasn't, she would just run over and attack Erica with gentle licks and happy barks.

Nymeria was great, she was. Erica loved her. But it wasn't who Derek was the most happy to see. It was Stiles. Always.

Derek had sworn off relationships after ending it with Erica's mom – not long before the accident that killed her, back when Erica was barely a month old. It hadn't been a good relationship, in more ways than one, and he didn't want to get hurt like that again, was afraid to put himself in such a vulnerable position again.

But now, with Stiles? He found himself responding to Stiles' flirts more and more without even thinking about it. He found himself leaning just slightly closer to him if they happened to sit near each other, found himself spacing out staring at Stiles' lips while he talked, either to him or to Erica.

Stiles was incredible and pretty much the man of his dreams. And he was good with Erica, too. Hell, he was perfect with her. He had a childish soul and loved comic books and Star Wars as much as Erica did. He made them both laugh so effortlessly, brightened their days.

So yeah, Derek was utterly and completely screwed, and he didn't know what to do. He knew he had two options, both with several outcomes.

Option one: Tell Stiles how he felt.

• Outcome one: Stiles returned his feelings and they lived a happy life together with Erica by their side. Grew old together and watched Erica grow up and become a happy person with friends of her own and doing what she loved.

• Outcome two: Stiles returned his feelings. Their relationship was short lived for whatever reason, and they broke it off. Erica had become attached and was devastated to have lost another person in her life, someone much better than the previous one she had lost.

• Outcome three: Stiles didn't return his feelings and their friendship was ruined. Again, meaning Erica lost another person in her young life and was devastated.

Option two: Internalize these ridiculous feelings.

• Outcome one: Those feelings eventually went away, and he never compromised their friendship. Erica and him kept having Stiles in their lives. As friends.

• Outcome two: Those feelings never went away, and Derek had to see Stiles fall for someone else, get married, have kids, the whole shebang. It would be like losing him, in some way, but Erica never would.

In Derek's eyes, it suddenly became obvious what he had to do.

He was a father, first of all. Erica came before anyone else, even himself. He didn't want to risk her unhappiness just for a short lived happiness for himself. He just couldn't do it.

Even if he could, would Stiles even return his feelings? He flirted, sure, but for all Derek knew, that could just be how he acted with everyone. And if that wasn't the case, would Stiles even want to start a relationship with someone who had a kid? Both he and Erica were a lot of work, and it was just a lot to put on someone, let alone on a new relationship.

Shoving those thoughts to the back of his mind with a shake of his head, Derek focused on the scene he was (supposed to be) writing instead.

[ … ]

The grocery store was pretty vacant, bare of people. It was in the middle of the day anyway, so it wasn't all that surprising that people wouldn't be milling around in the grocery store. Only a few people, mostly elders, walked the aisles, one or two employees walking around with a bored expression on their young faces as well. Most people would be at work or at school, getting on with their day.

Normally, they wouldn't even be at the grocery store at this time, but they were both off work at the moment, so they took the chance to hang out and be productive.

“Your soulmate,” Scott said, deadpan, as he dropped a pack of baby carrots into the cart.

“Don't give me that look,” said Stiles, making a face at his best friend. “I know how it sounds, but I'm serious! He just...” He paused, letting out a heavy sigh as they continued down the next aisle. “You know how you just knew Kira was that special someone after one date, right?”

“Yeah, after a date.”

“And I've known Derek for weeks now! That's way longer than one date, and I'm pretty sure he's that special someone for me. I just...” He sighed, slightly dreamy because Derek was on his mind, so how could he not? “He's just so incredible.”

And he was. Derek Hale was the most amazing man he had ever met. Granted, there was still a lot Stiles didn't know about him, but he didn't really need to know more than he did to realize that. Or to feel this way toward him.

The first time they met, it had felt like lightning struck through Stiles' body, and he had found himself breathless at the sight of this beautiful man. Cheesy and like something straight out of a romance novel, but nonetheless true. And this adorable little girl had grabbed his attention with talks of Catwoman and Batman, and he knew he was in serious trouble.

Now weeks later, over a month, and he had gotten too attached to ever leave either one of them ever again.

“And his daughter, dude,” Stiles said with a sigh, pulling himself out of his daydreaming. “She's like the most amazing kid I've ever met.” At Scott's offended gape and look, he threw him an apologetic look. “No offense to yours.”

“Stiles, you've told me, several times, that Tristan is the most amazing kid there is,” said Scott, still giving him an offended look. “You've told him that too!”

“Yeah, I know.” Stiles rolled his eyes and quickly grabbed a lettuce head, dumping it in the cart. “But that was before I met Erica! She's so cool, dude. I could literally spend hours just talking with her. Like, if Derek ever asked me to babysit, he wouldn't even have to pay me, 'cause her company is payment enough. I mean, unless the payment came in kisses and hand jobs or blow jobs from him, sure.”

There was a pause, and then: “I didn't need to hear that.”

Stiles grinned at him and waggled his brows and said, “Don't be such a prude. Be happy for me, Scotty! If my ten year plan works out, Tristan and Erica might end up best pals.”

Scott opened his mouth, probably to make a snarky comment on the ten year plan bit, but, as if on cue, there was a bright and familiar voice calling his name at the end of the aisle, cutting off Scott.

“Stiles!”

Both of them stopped walking and both of them turned around, and Stiles' face immediately lit up in a bright smile at the sight of a familiar, little blonde coming sprinting toward him. “Catwoman!” he called back and crouched down, opening his arms to let Erica crash into him, her arms circling around his neck instantly, and he didn't hesitate to hug her back.

“Hi,” she muttered into his neck, hugging him tighter.

“Hey you.” Slowly, Stiles managed to pull out of her tight hug, and he smiled down at her, before he looked up and around the aisle they were in. “Where's your dad?”

Erica harrumphed and pouted, crossing her short arms and looking ridiculously adorable like this. Stiles' heart melted. “Dad is a meanie.”

“Oh yeah?” He looked away from her for a moment, spotting Derek coming toward them with a cart half full and a slightly annoyed look on his face. But even from the distance between them, Stiles could see the fondness and love behind the annoyance. “Why's he a meanie?”

“Dad said I can't have Lucky Charms,” Erica told him in a small, pouty voice.

“He said what?” exclaimed Stiles and gaped down at her for a moment, before he lifted his gaze to Derek, who was rolling his eyes at them, now joined them in the aisle. “Derek. You gotta give the kid some Lucky Charms, man.”

Derek sighed, exasperated. He looked tired, Stiles noted. Stiles really wanted to hug him, to hold him close. “No,” Derek said, firmly, and gave Stiles a quick look, eyebrows telling him to shut up, before his attention returned to Erica still pouting away. “You already picked Froot Loops. You can't have both, you know that.”

Erica's pout deepened, and Stiles half expected her to continue arguing, but then she sighed heavily and said, “Fiiiine.” She walked back over to Derek and reached her hands up, universal signal to get picked up. Which she was a moment later, and she rested her head on her dad's shoulder, kicking her legs lightly.

Stiles' heart melted once again. He adored both of them so damn much, it was almost painful.

Maybe he should cut the ten year plan in half and do it in five.

A moment passed where Stiles just watched the two of them, then someone cleared their throat and pulled him out of his adoring thoughts.

“Hi,” Scott said, stepping forward with a smile on his lips and a hand reached out for Derek. “I'm Scott. The best friend to that one.” He tipped his head toward Stiles, gesturing.

“Hi,” Erica said in a small, shy voice, and she lifted her hand in a short wave.

“Good to meet you,” said Derek, reaching out with his free hand, the one that wasn't keeping Erica up, and shook Scott's. “I'm Derek. This little one is Erica.”

“I'm not little,” Erica protested with a huff, and Stiles bit back a chuckle.

“No, you're a big girl,” he agreed with a nod, and his smile widened when he saw one on Erica.

“Stiles has told me a lot about you,” Scott continued, eyes still on Derek and a wide grin on his lips. Stiles slowly turned to look at him, eyes slowly narrowing a glare. “Nice to put a face to the name.”

“Only good things, I hope,” Derek said, eyes flickering from Scott to Stiles for only a moment.

“Oh yeah. I don't think Stiles has a single bad thing to say about you-”

“Okay!” Stiles interrupted a bit too loudly, and apparently Erica found it amusing, because she laughed brightly at him. “We should get going. Scott has a kid to pick up, isn't that right, Scott?”

Scott turned to give him an unimpressed look and they had a silent conversation involving a bit of eyebrow movement, before Scott nodded and looked back at Erica and Derek. “I do, actually. It was nice meeting you two.”

“You too,” said Derek, a slightly confused and slightly amused look on his face as he looked between them.

Stiles wanted to kiss him.

“I'll text you later?” he said, letting it come out as a question, and Derek nodded in response. “Bye, Erica.”

“Bye bye, Stiles!”

Stiles grabbed Scott's arm and hauled him away, dragging him down the aisle and away. “I'm gonna kill you,” he bit out, and Scott laughed at him. “I'm gonna tell your wife how mean you are, and she's gonna help me kick your ass.”

“Stiles, we both know you're the one whose ass will be kicked if you tell Kira what happened.”

Stiles paused. “I hate when you're right.”

While they were packing Scott's car with the grocery bags, Stiles spotted Derek and Erica across the parking lot. Derek had a fucking soccer mom car. Of course he did, the dork.

Stiles may have fallen a little bit more in love with him in that moment.

[ … ]

> [07:19 AM] Cora: don't forget family picnic today

Derek squinted at the bright screen in his hand, grunting lowly at it. Even though he had been awake for a good ten-fifteen minutes – Erica had wandered into his bed and was currently softly snoring away on top of him – he still felt like it was too early to think about the annual Hale picnic.

< [07:20 AM] Derek: Too early.

> [07:21 AM] Cora: [poop emoji]

Derek rolled his eyes and put his phone away, before dropping his hand to the top of Erica's head. She made a soft noise in her sleep as he carded his fingers through her blonde hair. He hadn't braided it the night before, so a few knots had gathered over night.

“Morning, baby,” he whispered softly, wrapping his arm around her while still petting her head. “You wanna sleep a bit more?”

“Mhm,” muttered Erica with a short and quick nod, her cheek rubbing against his chest.

Carefully, Derek moved out from under her and got out of bed. He pulled the covers over his daughter's sleeping body and leaned down to kiss the top of her head lightly, before he left the bedroom, barefoot and scratching the back of his head.

After a quick trip to the bathroom to freshen up with a short shower, he went to the kitchen to start making breakfast. They still had another few hours before they had to go to the Hale house for the picnic, so there was no rush with getting Erica out of bed.

The Hale Picnic Day was an annual thing that had started when Derek was six, and after his mother, Talia, officially took in his cousins, Nathan and Justin, after their dad (Derek's uncle) had bailed on them shortly after their mom did the same. They were cousins but they were so close, they may as well be brothers.

Talia had decided the picnic would be a good thing to have, a tradition, and his dad, William, had agreed and made it happen. Derek had only good memories associated with Picnic Day, and he wanted Erica to have that too.

Erica joined him in the kitchen about twenty minutes later, while Derek was in the middle of making scrambled eggs. “Morning, princess,” he said, smiling softly at the way she sleepily rubbed her eye and crawled onto her chair.

Going straight for the juice, like always.

“Morning, daddy,” came her little voice as she reached across the table for the juice filled cup.

“Did you sleep well?” She nodded in response, too busy drinking from the cup to verbally answer. “And did you remember to pee after you got up?”

There was a pause, and Derek lifted his gaze from the pan to his daughter's guilty face. He waited, then she nodded quickly and returned to her juice. He gave her an unimpressed look. “Oh really? 'Cause I didn't hear the toilet flush.”

Another pause, then Erica sighed, put her cup down, and slid off her chair. “I will go pee now,” she stated and ran off down the hall toward the bathroom.

Derek rolled his eyes at her, but he couldn't help the fond smile that pulled at his lips regardless.

After breakfast, Erica was much more awake, and Derek had to chase her around the house while she laughed loudly and brightly and refused to put clothes on. He did get her in some clothes though, only because he promised to give her a french braid.

Just around nine, he got a text from Nathan reminding him about the picnic (and at least twenty sunglasses emojis, because Nathan was lame). Around ten, they made it to the Hale house.

The Hale house was big and in the outskirts of the Beacon Hills preserve. Even though it was pretty secluded from the rest of the town, Derek had never felt disconnected from it when he had lived there. The forest was a good place to play around as a kid – the Hale siblings had several hideout spots between the trees – and it was just a good ten minute bike ride away from other houses. It wasn't that bad.

“Anyone home?” Derek called out as he pushed the front door open. It was freshly repainted, he noted. It was already dry, so a few days old at least. Erica walked in in front of him, already pulling off her jacket even though they would be going out again as soon as everyone had arrived.

Approaching footsteps came from the right, and his cousin Justin appeared. Instantly, his arms spread out and he crouched down with a wide smile on his face. “Erri, hi!”

Erica was over by him, arms around his neck, in a second, and she exclaimed, “Hi!”

“Shit, you've gotten big,” Justin said after the separated again, his hands on her shoulders as he took her in. “Someone's been eating their vegetables.”

“Justin, don't swear in front of my daughter, please,” Derek interrupted, although there was no heat in his words. Justin swore occasionally, he always had. Erica hadn't picked up on any of the swears yet, so he figured it was okay.

Justin huffed at him, patted Erica's head as he stood up and said, “Your dad's boring, did you know that?” Erica giggled at him, and he stepped around her to pull Derek into a tight hug. “Missed your stupid face, Derek.”

“Missed you too, you punk,” said Derek as he hugged him back. When they parted, they smiled at each other, and Derek ruffled Justin's hair. “Did you bring your girlfriend?”

Justin shook his head and sighed, reaching up to fix his hair. “Nah, Dianah had to work.” He paused, a smile slowly forming on his lips. “Nathan brought his new girl though. She's great.”

Derek studied him for a moment and let his hand be taken by Erica, giving hers a gentle squeeze. “Good great, or you wish she'd be quiet great?”

“Good great,” said Justin with a single nod. “She's just different than the last one. In the good way.” He took a step forward, gesturing toward the living room with a tilt of his head. “Come on, they're all in here.”

“We the last to arrive?” Feeling a tuck on his hand, Derek bend down and let Erica climb into his arms, before he followed Justin to the living room.

“Laura still isn't here.” Justin reached out and booped Erica's nose, and she giggled, swatting at his hand. “Ten bucks she's late because she had someone over last night.”

“Deal.”

The moment Erica spotted her grandmother in the living room, she wiggled out of Derek's arms and ran to her. “Hi, grandma!”

Talia chuckled and reached down to pull her up into her lap. “Hi, sweetie. Oh, your hair is lovely today.”

After quickly being embraced in a hug from his dad, Derek walked over to the two of them and leaned down to offer Talia's cheek a quick kiss. “Hey, mom.” She smiled at him and squeezed his hand, but she didn't get to greet him back properly, because Erica had already launched into telling her about anything and everything and she wasn't stopping.

Derek offered them a quick smile, before he turned to Nathan. And his new girl. She introduced herself as Natalia, and Justin was right. She was different than Nathan's last partner. Good different. They seemed happy together, and that was good enough for Derek.

Laura arrived only five minutes later – Derek ended up paying Justin those ten bucks – and shortly after that, they packed their cars and headed for the park to start the annual picnic trip.

It was a Sunday and the weather was nice, so the park was pretty full. Finding a spot under a tree, though, that was no hardship for Talia Hale. She found one almost immediately and got the approval of Erica as well.

They spread out the blanket, put down the basket, and sat down. Erica sat by her grandmother for only a few minutes, before she moved over to sit in Derek's lap after he handed her a juice box. He smiled at her and kissed the top of her head, then fell into quick and easy conversation with his family.

Laura had just made a teasing comment at Justin, when Erica suddenly flew up from her seat in Derek's lap and sprinted off. For a second, Derek panicked and moved to get up to run after her, but then he heard her yell, “Stiles!” and he relaxed with a sigh.

He honestly didn't know why he hadn't expected to run into Stiles that day, considering they almost always ran into each other in the park.

“Stiles?” Derek took his eyes off of his daughter jumping into the arms of Stiles, Nymeria wagging her tail and jumping happily around the two of them, and he turned to look at Laura, who was grinning teasingly at him. “Stiles who you've been crushing on for a month, that Stiles?”

Derek ducked his head and groaned quietly to himself. Well, it was only a matter of time before his family found out about Stiles. He just didn't think they would all be there at the same time.

“Ooooh, Derek has a cruuuush!” said Justin in a singsong voice and nudged him with his elbow, wagging his brows teasingly.

Derek put a hand in his face and shoved him away.

With a sigh, he nodded and avoided looking at any of his family members and watched Erica pet Nymeria instead. “Yeah, that Stiles.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Talia asked, giving his shoulder an encouraging pat. “Go invite him over.”

Derek wanted to protest, he really did. He didn't need his family embarrassing him in front of the man he wasn't crushing on but in love with, but did he have a choice? No.

So, with a threatening glare in Laura's direction – one that she replied to with sticking her tongue out, because they were adults – he pushed himself up to stand and headed over toward Stiles and Erica.

“Erica!” he called out, interrupting whatever conversation the two of them were holding, both of them petting Nymeria. Erica looked at him and the wide smile immediately fell into a guilty look. “What did I tell you about running off like that?”

“Sorry,” she muttered, hanging her head. “I just wanted to say hi to Stiles.”

Derek crouched down in front of her and took her small hands in his. “I know, but you can't just run off. Okay?” She nodded slowly and stepped closer to him, so he picked her up as he moved to stand again. “Sorry,” he said to Stiles and offered him a smile.

“Are you kidding me?” Stiles' smile was so bright, Derek felt his knees going weak. “There's no one I would rather have come up to me than the amazing Catwoman!” Erica smiled widely and shyly leaned into Derek.

“Although,” Stiles grinned teasingly at him, “now who's the one who needs to teach their kid better manners, huh?”

Derek gave him a look, raising his brows. “So you're saying Nymeria has learned not to run off?”

Stiles opened his mouth, but he snapped it shut a second later, and Derek grinned smugly at him. “Okay, so we both need to teach our kids better manners.” His eyes wandered to behind Derek, and Derek turned to follow his gaze.

And immediately, he groaned quietly to himself.

All of them, every single one of them, were watching them with wide and amused smiles on their faces. Derek hated them.

“You guys having a family picnic or something?” Stiles asked, lifting a hand in a quick wave over to the Hales.

“Yeah, annual family picnic.” Derek hesitated for a moment, then he sighed. Might as well get it over with. “My mom actually said I should invite you to join us. If you're not busy, that is.”

Stiles seemed to hesitate too, for just a moment, and Derek could understand why. There were seven people watching them, waiting for them to join them. It was probably very intimidating and overwhelming, and Derek opened his mouth to tell him he didn't have to join the if he didn't want to.

Stiles cut him off though, a soft smile on his lips. A smile that reached his beautiful, brown eyes. “I'd love to.”

They had barely taken two steps toward the Hale family, when Laura suddenly jumped up and rushed over to them with a smile on her face that was a little too wide. “Hi, Stiles,” she said as she reached them, drawing out the name and throwing Derek a knowing look.

Derek glared at her in return, a silent warning to behave.

Not that she was going to anyway, but it was worth a shot.

“Oh my God, you're the woman from the selfie, hi!” Stiles immediately wrapped his hand around Laura's in a firm shake, a toothy smile on his face. “Laura, right?”

“That's right.” Laura let go of his hand and turned to give Derek one of those looks, those teasing looks he had always hated. “Aw, did you talk about me, Der?”

Derek just glared at her. Stiles was the one to respond, and he said, “Yeah, he did.” There was no teasing in his voice, his smile wide and bright. “He talked about all of you, and I've actually wanted to meet you 'cause you sound super cool.” He paused, eyes finding Derek's momentarily. “And if you're anything like Derek and Erica, I know I'll like you.”

Derek ignored the way his ears heated up. There was a gagging sound somewhere toward the picnic spot. He didn't need to look to know it was Justin, nor did he need to look to know Nathan was whistling low at them or that his mom was cooing quietly.

“Geez.” Laura huffed and shook her head, but she wasn't trying to hide the smile on her lips. “I like you already. Come on.” She hooked her arm around Stiles' and dragged him over to the rest of them. “Time to meet the rest of the family.

Derek wasn't sure how to feel about how quickly Stiles got along with his family. It was like he fit right in, like he belonged there. Sitting by Derek's side and letting Erica steal the grapes Talia had offered him.

Stiles got along with Justin because they were both sarcastic and had a similar sense of humor and a similar taste in movies. He got along with Nathan because they both liked baseball and video games. He got along with Laura because he was nice to Derek and good with Erica, which was also why Derek's parents liked him immediately. Cora was the only one who seemed to hold her ground and not give in to Stiles' charms so quickly.

Until they bonded over their mutual hatred for a Mr. Harris that they both had had in high school. Not at the same time, because Cora was a year younger than Stiles, but close enough to both have had him before he got fired.

Nymeria was enjoying herself too. She got a ton of pets and belly rubs from everyone, and she ended up falling asleep with her head by Erica's feet.

And the whole time, Derek was painfully aware of how close Stiles was to him. Their shoulders brushed, their thighs touched. Stiles was a warm presence to his side, and it was nice. Nice enough to freak him out a little, because it wasn't supposed to be so nice.

Laura kept sending him knowing smirks throughout the picnic, and he kept sending her glares in return, silently telling her to keep it quiet. Same with Justin, who kept nudging at him and waggling his brows.

At least his parents seemed to behave and play nice.

Although, knowing them, they would probably corner him about it later.

“So Stiles,” Talia started as they packed down the picnic stuff. Nymeria was off playing with Justin and Erica, their laughter and her barking a joyous background noise. “You should join us for dinner on Friday.”

“Mom!” Derek immediately took his eyes off of his daughter to send a wide eyed look at his mom. He quickly turned to look at Stiles. “Don't feel obligated to say yes. She just likes to get ahead of herself,” he said, and Talia huffed at him.

Stiles laughed lightly and shrugged. “I'd love to come. I've got a shift at the station on Friday, though. What time is dinner?”

“At seven, but we gather at six,” Talia told him, and Derek grumbled incoherently to himself but let it happen.

“I'll be there before seven then,” said Stiles with a smile. It dropped quickly though, and he turned to look at Derek, worried and nervous. “If it's okay with you. I mean, I don't wanna intrude or overstep anywhere or anything.”

Derek shared a look with his mom. She was giving him that stern look, that silently told him to go for it. So with a small sigh, he looked back at Stiles and told him, honestly, “I'd like it if you came.”

Stiles smiled widely at him. “Then I'm looking forward to it.”

Derek couldn't deny that he did as well. Erica, when he told her, was ecstatic.

[ … ]

“What about this one?” Stiles asked, holding up one shirt.

“Hmm, no.”

He dropped it, lifting another. “This one?”

“Pass.”

Stiles dropped his arms and along with them the shirts in his hands, and he looked at the Skype window opened on his computer screen, where Lydia was shown, looking more bored than anything. “Lydia, you've said no to over half of the shirts that I own. I'm supposed to be leaving,” he paused to look at his watch, “fuck, in ten minutes!”

“And here I thought you wanted to impress this guy and his family,” said Lydia, giving him a teasing grin.

Stiles sighed and tossed the shirts to the pile already on the floor. “I do. And I know, I know. They've already met me and seen me in my shitty clothes, but this is different. This is official, ya know? I just wanna do this right.”

There was a silence, and when Lydia spoke again, her voice was softer. “What about the dress shirt you wore to mine and Allison's wedding? Wear that with your good pants, and you're golden.”

Stiles still had the shirt. It was in the back of his closet, because the wedding had been years ago and he hadn't bothered wearing it since, so he stuck his head into the closet and pushed aside all the other shirts he had hanging. But he found it, along with his good pants and a hanger of ties, which he held up in front of his webcam. “Tie, yes or no?”

Lydia hummed softly in thought, then shook her head and said, “No, tie's too formal. Go for casual formal.”

Nodding, Stiles stepped into his pants and started pulling his shirt on when a thought hit him. “Wait, am I supposed to bring anything? Shit, I didn't even think about that.”

“Pick up some good wine on the way there,” Lydia suggested. “Wine's always good.”

“Derek doesn't drink,” said Stiles. Derek had told him a couple of weeks ago, casually mentioning it after Stiles had said he liked to have a beer at the end of a work day sometimes. He hadn't said why, and Stiles hadn't asked.

“So bring wine for his parents.” Lydia suddenly smiled widely, a glint in her eyes. “And maybe flowers for Derek. That should make a good impression.”

Stiles rolled his eyes and buttoned up his shirt. “Isn't that kinda weird? I'm not even going to his house. Is he supposed to take the flowers home with him afterward?” He shook his head, then paused and shrugged. “Maybe I should bring flowers to his mom.”

“Wine and flowers?” Allison piped in from Lydia's end and a second later, she came into view, a brow raised. “That's a little too much, if you ask me.”

Stiles whined and tugged his shirt into his pants. “Then what the hell am I supposed to bring?” He ran a hand down his front and looked at the screen. “Jacket or no?”

“Blazer,” Lydia said, and Allison followed with, “Bring desert. His kid will definitely love that too.”

“Oh shit, yeah.” Stiles immediately brightened, as he shrugged on the blazer. “You two are a godsend, I love you.”

“And we love you too,” said Lydia while Allison smiled. “Now, get going so you're not late. And I expect a detailed retelling of the whole night when you get back.”

“You got it,” said Stiles with a quick and lazy salute. “Bye.” He ended the call and went out of his bedroom, Nymeria trailing after him with her tail wagging excitedly.

After stepping into his shoes and grabbing his keys and phone, he crouched down in front of her and took her head in his hands. “Sorry, baby, you're not coming with me.”

She whined as he closed the door on her, even though he stayed to pet her for an extra two minutes that he didn't really have.

He hurried out the door and into his car, and he drove toward the nearest bakery that was still open to grab some desert, before he drove off to the Hale house, his heart in his throat with nerves and excitement.

[ … ]

“Daddy.”

Derek paused his chopping and turned to look down at Erica coming up to his side. “Yeah, princess?”

“When is Stiles here?” she asked and reached up to the counter to peek over it. She went up on the tips of her toes to see what he was chopping, and he let go of the knife to pick her up and sit her down on the counter. A good distance away from the chopping board and anything else.

“Probably soon,” he told her and handed her a still whole carrot she could chew on if she wanted. Which she did, kicking her feet lightly, and he returned to chopping.

His mom was at the other end of the kitchen, humming softly to herself as she shifted from the stove to the oven. The rest of the Hales – Justin's girlfriend, or rather fiancee, included but no Natalia this time – were in the living room, chatting away.

Derek could only occasionally hear what they said. Like when Laura said, “Ten bucks Derek is gonna be a blushing mess when Stiles arrives,” and he yelled out, “I heard that!” while Cora and Justin said, “Deal,” at the same time. He could only just hear Nathan snorting.

It felt nice being around them again. Erica seemed to think so too, but she still stuck to his side more often than not.

Erica sat quietly and gnawed at her carrot, until Talia came over and handed her a small bowl and a whisk. “Can you stir this for me, sweetheart?” she asked and petted her cheek softly.

Erica nodded and handed Derek the chewed carrot, which he took and set aside, and she set to moving the whisk around the bowl. She yelped when she nearly spilled what was in it, and then laughed when she saved it. Derek watched her with a fond smile, until Talia swatted at him with a towel and told him to get back to work.

They worked quietly for another half hour, before there was a knock on the door. Erica was over by her grandmother, helping her with something, so she didn't hear it, but Derek did. “I'll get it,” he told his mom and wiped his hands off, before he went to the front door.

He stopped by the mirror in the hall, just to make sure he looked presentable. Then, letting out a breath of air, he pulled the door open.

And he had to clench his jaw to stop it from dropping to the floor at the sight he was met with.

Stiles always looked good, okay? Even when he was sweaty after or mid run, he looked good. Beautiful, no matter what. But standing in front of him now, wearing a dress shirt with a blazer thrown over and pants that fit snugly around his thighs, hair styled carefully, and with a warm smile on his face, well... Derek felt his heart skip a beat.

“Hi,” said Stiles, a light blush dusting his cheeks, and he held up his hand. Derek only just then noticed the box he was holding. “I brought desert. Hope that's okay.”

“Yeah, that's-” Derek cut himself off to clear his throat, and he nodded. “Yeah, that's fine. Thank you.”

They stood there in awkward silence for a moment, before Stiles grinned and said, “Are you gonna let me in, or are we gonna stand here all night and stare at each other? 'Cause I can smell food and I'm really hungry.”

Mentally cursing at himself, Derek nodded and stepped aside to let Stiles in. “Sorry.”

“It's okay,” said Stiles as he stepped inside, still grinning at him. “You okay? You seem a little out of it.”

“Oh, he's fine.” Both of them turned to see Laura standing in the doorway, a grin on her lips and Justin and Cora poking their heads out from behind her, watching them curiously. “He's just a little starstruck.”

Not even thinking twice, Derek reached for the nearest object – his dad's hat hanging on the coat hanger by the door – and tossed it in their direction. They laughed and stuck their tongue out but left, so he took it as a win.

With a huff, he turned back to Stiles and said, “You can just ignore them. They don't know what they're talking about.” Even to his own ears, he sounded annoyed, maybe a little embarrassed even.

He loved his siblings, but he also hated them sometimes.

Stiles chuckled lightly and gave him a look, like he didn't believe him. “Sure thing, big guy.” They looked at each other for a moment, a lingering look, then Stiles lifted the box. “Where do I-”

“Stiles!” They were interrupted by Erica coming sprinting from the kitchen, and she immediately crashed into Stiles' side, hugging him and digging her dirty fingers into his blazer. “Hi!”

“Erica, hands,” Derek told her, giving her a stern look.

“It's okay,” Stiles quickly said as he smiled down at Erica. “I can just ditch the blazer, no big deal. Here, hold this.” He handed Derek the desert box and shrugged the blazer off.

Derek's mouth and throat went dry.

He pulled his eyes away from the way Stiles' shirt stretched across his chest though, when Talia stuck her head into the hall, a smile on her lips and wiping her hands in her apron.

“Hello, Stiles,” she greeted him and headed over. “I hope you didn't have too much trouble getting here.”

“Oh no, not at all,” Stiles said with a shake of his head and an easy smile, as he hung his blazer on the hanger. “You have a lovely home, by the way.”

“Thank you.” Talia's eyes went to the box in Derek's hand and one of her brows quirked curiously. “What's that?”

“Stiles brought desert,” Derek told her, all too aware of how Stiles flushed and ducked his head in embarrassment next to him.

“Oh, you shouldn't have,” said Talia, clearly touched. She took the box and smiled at Stiles.

“Nah, it was the least I could do, since I'm crashing your family dinner and all.”

“You were invited,” Derek reminded him, serious and finally looking at him again. Stiles looked back at him and smiled softly.

“Is dinner ready yet?” William, Derek's dad, asked, sticking his head out from the living room, where laughter erupted from. “Hey, Stiles.”

“Hi, Mr. Hale,” Stiles greeted back, offering him a smile and a quick wave.

Talia huffed at her husband. “You've got no patience left. Yes, dinner's ready.” She turned to Derek and Stiles. Erica was still standing by Stiles, playing with his hand, and he wiggled his fingers at her absently. “You three, go in and sit.”

“You don't need more help?” Derek offered, but he quickly backed off when she gave him that stern mother look.

Erica insisted on sitting next to Stiles as well as Derek, and Derek elbowed Laura before she could make any comment, which only made her throw her head back and laugh loud enough for their mom to tell them to quiet it down.

Dinner went smoothly. Well, as smoothly as dinner with so many people could go.

Derek had to kick both Laura and Cora, as well as Justin and Nathan, under the table at least once, because they kept making suggestive comments at either him or Stiles. Mostly Derek, because they lived to drive him up the goddamn wall and embarrass him in front of Stiles, the man he was in love with.

He wasn't very subtle about the kicking either, and both Erica and Stiles found it highly amusing every time, while his parents tutted at him. Not that he stopped though, because they didn't stop either.

His parents weren't much better either. His mom kept suggesting they should bring out the baby pictures, and while Stiles had smiled widely and said he'd love to see those, Derek had groaned at her and told her, “Absolutely not, mom, cut it out.”

His dad, on the other hand, had practically interrogated Stiles, constantly asking about his job, about his family, about everything, until finally he decided Stiles was good enough for his son, and they bonded over their mutual love for the Mets, which brought Nathan into the conversation as well.

By the time Talia brought out desert – Stiles had bought a cake that was big enough for everyone to get at least one and a half slice – Erica was yawning and rubbing at her eyes.

“You wanna go sleep a bit, baby?” Derek asked in a soft and lowered voice, running a hand through her now loose hair and kissing her forehead.

Erica nodded slowly, leaning into him, so Derek picked her up and got out of his seat. “I'm gonna put her down for a bit,” he told the table, as Erica slumped against him.

“Want Stiles too,” she muttered sleepily.

Derek paused. His eyes met Stiles' surprised ones. There was a silent question in the way he lifted his brows, and Stiles shrugged a moment later in answer, smiling softly at them. Derek didn't look at the rest of the table as Stiles got up to follow him up the stairs to the bedrooms, and he ignored the cooing from Laura and Justin.

His ears burned, sure, but he ignored them.

Derek's old room still had a made bed in it but not much more than that, so having Stiles in there wasn't as weird or embarrassing as it would have been if any of his old stuff was still there. Like his basketball trophies or movie posters that practically covered the walls or the hundreds of books that overflowed the floor, because the shelves had gotten too full.

Erica's head had barely hit the pillow, and she was already pretty much asleep. Derek leaned down to kiss her forehead, and she mumbled incoherently in her sleep. Brushing a hand over her head, he lifted his gaze to look at Stiles.

Stiles hadn't moved from the doorway, and even from there, Derek could see he looked uncertain. Nervous and hesitant.

“You can come say goodnight, if you want,” he told him in a lowered voice, a near whisper.

Stiles nervously worried his bottom lip for a moment, before he walked over to stand right next to Derek, pressing his side to his, and lightly brushed his fingers over Erica's cheek. “Night, Catwoman,” he whispered, a smile tugging at his lips when Erica made a soft noise in her sleep.

Quietly, they walked back downstairs and rejoined the table. They were talking wedding stiff, it sounded like. Derek didn't really pay them much attention, because he was still trying to calm down. Stiles helping him put Erica to bed had felt so normal, it freaked him out a little.

Stiles, however, did pay attention.

“Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask you,” he started, attention on Dianah. “When's the wedding?”

Justin snorted, and Dianah rolled her eyes. “We're still not set on a date yet. I would like it if it was sometime in November, but Justin wants it earlier, because he obviously doesn't know the amount of planning there goes into a wedding.”

“Here we go again,” muttered Justin with a sigh.

Dianah huffed at him, but something in her expression quickly changed when she looked back at Stiles. “You're more than welcome to come too, Stiles,” she said, her smile too sweet to be anything but teasing, and Derek narrowed her eyes at her. “I mean, I'm assuming you're gonna be Derek's plus one.”

Derek immediately glared at her, while Justin barked a laugh. “God, I love you,” he said and leaned in to kiss his wife-to-be.

“You're terrible,” Derek told them, reaching over to grab his glass of water and avoiding Stiles' questioning look. “Both of you. Terrible.”

It was around ten, that Stiles announced he had to leave.

“I've got a dog at home, who's probably really hungry,” he said as he scooted his chair back to stand. “Thank you for dinner, Mrs. Hale. It was delicious.”

“You're welcome back anytime,” Talia told him with a smile. “Get home safely.”

Stiles nodded and quickly shook William's hand, while Derek got up as well. “I'll walk you out.”

“Dude, I think I actually love your family,” Stiles told him as he slipped on his blazer by the front door. “They're some of the coolest people I've ever met.”

Derek huffed with a fond smile on his lips and his hands in his pockets. “They seemed to like you too.”

“Good, 'cause I plan on coming back. Like, a lot.”

Derek lifted his gaze from the ground and met Stiles'. “Yeah?”

“Are you kidding me? I've tasted your mom's food now. No way you're getting rid of me.”

He rolled his eyes and said, deadpan, “How terrible.”

Stiles grinned at him. “Don't worry. I'll wear you down and you're gonna fucking love me.”

I think I already do, was the first thought that popped up in Derek's head, and he quickly pushed it aside. “Get out of here, idiot,” he said, pulling the door open and shoving at a laughing Stiles. “Go feed your dog.”

Stiles' laugh was bright, and he didn't even fight it when Derek shoved him outside. “Yeah yeah, sourpuss. Give Erica a hug from me, when she wakes up.”

“I will,” Derek promised him and stepped forward to stand in the doorway, watching Stiles head for his car. It was a beat up, old jeep. “Drive safe.” He hesitated, then said, “Text me when you get home.”

Stiles stopped, smile dropping from his lips. He stared at him for several, drawn out seconds, an unreadable expression on his face, and Derek feared, for just a second, that he had fucked it all up. But then Stiles' smile returned, warmer and softer. “Okay, I will. Bye, Derek.”

“Bye, Stiles.”

Derek waited until Stiles' car was out of sight, before he headed back inside. And he was met with a table full of teasing grins.

Rolling his eyes dramatically, he sat down and said, “You're all terrible, and I hate you.”

There was no heat in his words, and he had to bite back a smile, as the table erupted in laughter.

[ … ]

The air was cool outside, the sky dark but shining with stars. The moon was high but not full. A fresh wind bristled the trees around the house, the wildlife a distant noise in the background. The sound of his family was muffled by the walls and doors between them, the rest of them still inside while he sat there.

Derek was on the porch, on the chair his dad had build a few years ago and had bragged about ever since. His feet were on the table his mom had bought at an antique store, his hands folded on his stomach as his eyes watched the night sky.

Erica was still asleep upstairs, and he was considering spending the night at his parents' place, just so he wouldn't have to wake her up for the drive home. That, and he really didn't want to leave yet.

The quiet whine of the door opening pulled Derek out of his quiet thoughts, and he craned his head around to see his mom coming outside, wrapping her cardigan further around her body. They smiled at each other, and she moved to sit down on the chair next to the one Derek had sat in. That one wasn't handmade but still matched the porch furnitures.

“So,” Talia started, her eyes on the sky for a moment before he attention moved to her son. “Stiles seems nice.”

In a second, Derek rolled his eyes and sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. “Mom, please don't.”

“Oh, come on.” Talia swatted at his arm lightly. “Humor your mother a little.”

“Mom.” He paused, swallowing and taking his eyes off of her to look back at the sky. “Nothing's ever going to happen between us, so let it go.”

“And why won't anything happen between you?” she pushed. When he didn't answer, just pointedly looked away, she continued, reaching a hand out to grab his. “Derek, honey. Stiles is wonderful. He's good with Erica and he's good with you. You deserve another chance at happiness.”

Derek lowered his gaze to where his mother was running her thumb across the back of his hand. A gentle touch of comfort.

A part of him knew she was right. A part of him knew that Stiles was good, maybe even perfect, for both him and Erica, and that Erica was good with Stiles too. Erica loved him, she'd told him so herself. Pretty much right from the get-go, she'd adored him.

But, was Derek good enough for Stiles? That was what he doubted.

Derek was damaged, beyond repair in his eyes. He had more baggage than he sometimes could handle, and he had a kid. And his kid came first. Always and forever. Her happiness was more important to him than anything else, even his own. And if things didn't go well with Stiles, well...

“I can't risk it,” he admitted in a small voice.

“Because of Erica?” Talia asked before he could continue, and he nodded. “She wants you to be happy too, and she'll be thrilled to have Stiles in her life.”

“And if it doesn't work out?” He lifted his gaze, looking at her. His brows were furrowed, worry in his eyes.

“Honey, you can't and won't go through life without heartbreak.” She squeezed his hand, a small and sad smile on her lips. “I know you know that already. But you don't stop going for the good things. You don't stop living. If it doesn't work out with Stiles, you will have at least tried.”

She paused and let go of his hand, only to rest hers on his cheek. “Promise me you'll think about letting yourself have something good again, at the very least.”

Derek hesitated, then nodded shortly. “I'll think about it.”

He stayed at the Hale house for another while, before he decided it was time to head home. Erica was put straight to bed, after having slept through the whole car ride, and Derek stayed up for another hour to write a little.

Seeing his family always cleared his head just enough. Seeing Stiles and having it be so normal had definitely helped as well.

But it had left him confused too, uncertain about what he wanted to do about the feelings that weighed his heart down.

[ … ]

< [10:03 AM] Derek: I hate going to the doctor.

He did. He hated them with a burning passion, and he hated that Erica had to deal with them so often. He hated that he could do nothing but hold her hand and tell her she was doing great, while the doctors checked that everything was going okay with her and her brain, and that her medication was working correctly.

Derek hated how much it drained her, how quiet she always got on the ride to the doctor's office and to the hospital. He hated that she had to be put through it.

He just hadn't meant to complain to Stiles about it.

> [10:04 AM] Stiles: Are you okay?
> [10:04 AM] Stiles: Is Erica okay?
> [10:04 AM] Stiles: What happened?

A short and little smile tugged at the corner of his lips as his phone buzzed in his hand. It was nice to know Stiles cared so much.

< [10:05 AM] Derek: She's okay. Regular check up for Erica.

He hesitated for a moment, looking down at Erica cuddled into his side as they relaxed in the waiting room after her examination. Everything looked fine, doctor Deaton had told them with a kind smile, and they were welcome to go home and rest. But Erica hadn't wanted to let go of her dad, and Derek hadn't wanted to let go of her either, so they sat in the waiting room until she was ready to let go.

Turning his attention back to his phone, he send another text.

< [10:05 AM] Derek: She's just worn out and I hate that she has to be put through this.

His phone buzzed only a minute after, but he didn't get the chance to check the incoming text, because then Erica pulled away from him just a little. “You ready to go home, baby?” he asked, running his hand down along the braid he had done that morning.

Erica nodded slowly. “Can I see Lion King when we come home?”

“Of course you can,” he promised her as he picked her up in his arms.

He didn't get a chance to look at his phone, had completely forgotten about the text he had received, until they were back home and he unlocked his phone to give his mom an update. Erica was already on the couch with the Lion King playing again, cuddling her old and raggedy monkey plushie.

When he saw the texts from Stiles, he couldn't help but wince slightly and feel bad for letting him hang for so long.

> [10:06 AM] Stiles: But she's okay, right?
> [10:08 AM] Stiles: and are you okay?

He quickly fired off a text to his mom, before he replied to Stiles.

< [11:01 AM] Derek: Yeah, she's fine. Everything looked good, according to the doctor. She's just tired now.

Stiles' reply wasn't immediate, but Derek wasn't surprised. He knew Stiles had a morning-midday shift and was probably doing important deputy work, so he didn't expect a quick reply. Hell, he hadn't even really expected a reply when he'd started complaining.

A cup of juice in hand, he headed over to the couch and sat down next to Erica. He handed it to her, and she took it while leaning into his side, her monkey tugged between her side and her arm, and her wide eyes glues to the screen where the opening scene to Lion King was playing.

His phone buzzed on the couch cushion next to him twice, just as Erica started muttering the words to the song in the movie quietly to herself and into the cup in her small hands.

> [11:19 AM] Stiles: okay good. Give her a hug from me
> [11:19 AM] Stiles: now answer the second question pls

Derek's thumb hovered over the keys for a moment, hesitating.

< [11:20 AM] Derek: I'm fine.

> [11:22 AM] Stiles: bullshit

He let a quiet sigh pass his slightly parted lips, and he took his eyes off of the screen of his phone to look at his daughter. She was still sipping at her cup of juice, hugging her monkey close to herself and watching the movie with interest and wonder.

He took a moment to brush his fingers through her nose loose hair, before he replied to Stiles.

< [11:25 AM] Derek: I'll be okay.

Stiles didn't respond, and Derek put his phone away in order to focus on his daughter instead. They finished the movie and another one, then Derek got up to make them both something to eat, while Erica went to her room for some of her toys, which quickly came to be spread out all over the living room floor.

They ate and played at the same time, and Erica seemed to brighten up little by little. She was still slightly drained, Derek could tell, but after a quick nap on the couch for both of them, she was getting more and more energetic and was laughing brightly now.

He had just fallen over on the floor with a groan, Erica jumping on him while laughing happily and clutching one of her dolls in her hand, when his phone rang loudly from the kitchen counter.

At first he ignored it, planned to ignore it so he could continue to focus on his daughter, but when it rang again, he got up and grabbed it.

“Hello?” he answered without looking at the screen. He was immediately back over by Erica, sitting in front of her and taking the doll she handed him.

“Hey.” It was Stiles. He sounded slightly out of breath and the sound of a busy street was in the background. “How're you guys doing?”

“Better,” Derek answered truthfully, smiling softly down at Erica, as she went straight back to playing, babbling to the dolls and stuffed animals on the floor.

Stiles let out a heavy breath. It sounded like a sigh of relief. “Okay, good. Great.” There was a pause, and then he continued. “I don't wanna overstep my boundaries here, but uh...” He stopped speaking.

His pause was too long, so Derek, brows furrowed in confusion and slight worry, eyed the phone quickly just to see if the call had been disconnected. It hadn't. “Stiles?” At the sound of the name, Erica looked up at him with bright and curious eyes.

“I was just wondering,” Stiles started again, and Derek heard the sound of a car door shutting. “Would it be too much if I came over? I mean, I was kinda worried about Erica and you, and I kinda just wanna see you, to be honest. Totally fine if it's too much or too overwhelming for either of you, I get it. Just thought I should ask.”

Stiles was worried. He was worried about Erica, worried about him, and Derek was... Well, he was stunned. To have someone who wasn't anything more than a friend – although, honestly, Stiles was so much more than just a friend at this point. To him, at least – be so worried about them, that he'd want to come over presumably right after work.

Derek didn't really know how to react. So he didn't react. At all.

“Derek?” Stiles asked in his ear, just as Erica asked, “Daddy?” in front of him, tapping his chest.

Clearing his throat and bringing his free hand to Erica's head to let her know he was okay, Derek nodded. “Yeah,” he said, swallowing thickly before continuing. “Yeah, let me check with her first.” He pulled his phone back a little, turning his attention to Erica. “Erica, Stiles wants to come over. Is that okay with you?”

“Stiles is coming?” Derek's heart swelled with how much she brightened at the mention alone.

With a chuckle, he nodded. “I'll take that as a yes.” He pulled the phone back and told Stiles as such.

“Awesome,” Stiles said, a smile audible in his voice. “Hey, don't go cooking dinner or anything. I'm gonna bring something over.”

“What? Stiles, you don't have to-”

“I know,” he interrupted. “But I want to. So just relax and play with your daughter, okay?”

Derek hesitated for a moment. He could practically see Stiles' brows lifting in a silent challenge to protest any more, so he sighed and didn't fight him. “Okay. Sure.”

“Cool. Anything she can't eat?”

“Nothing too sugary, otherwise no.”

“Got it.” Stiles paused again, this time for a shorter time. “Would it be too much if I brought Nymeria too? I've kinda been gone all day, and I don't wanna leave her alone. She was a mess after I got back from dinner at your parents', and I feel bad for leaving her alone again so soon.”

“The dinner was two weeks ago, Stiles,” Derek reminded him, a slightly amused smile on his lips.

“Yeah, I know but still!”

He let out a small chuckle and said, “Sure, you can bring her. I don't think that would be too much. She'll probably love that.”

“Great. I'll see you in, let's say, an hour?”

“Yeah, see you.” He hung up after giving Stiles their address, and Erica was in his lap immediately, eyes wide and a smile on her lips.

“Stiles is coming?” she asked, sounding excited and much more alert than she had been earlier.

Derek nodded, wrapping an arm around her. “Yeah, and he's bringing Nymeria too.”

Erica bounced in his lap, then quickly bounded off down the hall toward her room, while yelling, “I'm gonna show him my toys!”

Derek smiled fondly after her.

[ … ]

Showing Stiles her toys, apparently, meant bringing all of her toys from her room to the living room. Specifically, to the living room floor. All of her toys.

It was like she was emptying her room and pouring it all out there, and there just kept being more and more toys. Derek was baffled at just how many toys she had. Then again, his family liked to spoil her and so did he. But seriously? There were a lot, it was ridiculous.

Derek sighed at the sight as she brought out more dolls and lined them up on the couch next to her mountain of stuffed animals. It was going to be absolute hell to clean all of that up again, but she was so excited, that he just let her.

When he had told her she could just take Stiles to her room and show him her toys in there, she had yelled, “No!” and kept going.

She had had a rough day, so he allowed it.

He was going to make her help him clean it up the day after, though.

Erica was arranging her stuffed animals and dolls on the couch, talking quietly to herself and them, when there were a few rapid knocks on the front door. She instantly met Derek's eyes, hers wide and bright and excited, and he held out a hand for her to take, guiding her to the door.

He barely managed to get the door swung completely open, before Erica let go of his hand and flew forward. Right into their visitor's middle, her arms tight around him.

Stiles groaned as her head hit his stomach, but he laughed a moment later and looked down at her. Nymeria, sitting obediently by Stiles' side, had her tongue lolling out of her mouth and looked like she was about to vibrate out of her skin in excitement. Derek couldn't read animals' or anyone's mind, but he could see from where he stood that she wanted nothing more than to jump around in greeting, her tail wagging so fast he feared it would fall off.

“Hi, buddy,” said Stiles around a chuckle, and Derek took his eyes off of the dog to look at him, and-

Oh no.

Derek had to clench his jaw to prevent it from dropping to the ground at the sight of Stiles in his deputy uniform. No cuffs and no gun, he quickly noticed because he wasn't going to let someone with a gun into his house with his daughter, but Stiles still carried a shining badge by his hip.

He looked so good, and Derek's mouth was like sandpaper.

“I'd love to hug you back,” said Stiles, returning Erica's bright and wide smile with a warm and kind one, “but I've kinda got my hands full.”

Derek wasn't even sure how he could possibly have missed the two full grocery bags Stiles was carrying in his hands, but he had. Until the moment Stiles lifted his arms and shot him a look, silently asking for his help. Which he got, when Derek reached out to grab them from him. He silently took noticed of how heavy they were in his hands.

“How much do you think we can eat?” he blurted before he could stop himself, looking down at the contents of the bags.

“Hopefully a lot,” Stiles answered as he crouched down to pull Erica into a proper hug. Nymeria barked happily and nosed at them, but she stayed put where she was. “And if not, then you've got leftovers to last a day or two. Win win.”

Derek huffed quietly and shook his head. You're ridiculous and I think I love you, he wanted to say but didn't. “If there are leftovers, you're taking some back home with you too,” he told him instead, giving him a look.

Stiles met his eyes for only a second, before he rolled his own and said, “Derek, you're the one with two mouths to feed, not me.”

“Actually, you are.” Derek shot Nymeria a pointed glance, before he looked back at Stiles with his brows raised.

Stiles glanced at his dog, then quickly back at Derek. “I love my dog with my whole heart, but I am not feeding her babcia Stilinski's homemade lasagna. That's not dog food.”

Erica cut into the conversation when she leaned back from her long and tight hug with Stiles, and she smiled widely at him. “Do you wanna see my toys?”

“Erica, I would be honored to see your toys,” Stiles told her seriously, and Erica beamed and bounced before taking his hand.

Nymeria's leash was taken off as soon as the front door was closed, and she instantly started walking around to sniff out the new place. Derek didn't even realize he had been watching her like a hawk, until Stiles snorted at him.

“Relax,” he said. “She knows not to chew up shoes or anything that's not one of her squeaky toys. Don't worry, I've trained her myself.”

“If she chews up anything I own, you're paying for it,” Derek told him only slightly heatedly. He meant it, though.

Stiles saluted him with his free hand and was then dragged into the living room by Erica. “Wow!” he exclaimed at the sight he was met with. “That's a whole lot of toys, Erica. Are you a little bit spoiled, maybe?”

“Nooo,” said Erica in a giggle and dragged him over to the couch full of dolls and stuffed animals.

Derek rolled his eyes at them and turned to the kitchen to put whatever Stiles had brought into the fridge. Placing the bags on the kitchen counter, he couldn't help but smile softly at the sound of Erica and Stiles talking in the living room.

He had barely put away more than one or two things from one of the bags, when suddenly he heard Stiles say, “Oh shi- shoot, that reminds me! Hold on a second, Erica, I'll be right back,” and he came rushing into the kitchen a moment later.

“Don't hate me,” Stiles said as he headed straight for the other bag on the counter, and he shot Derek a nervous look, “but I couldn't help myself.”

He rummaged through the bag for a while, before he pulled his hand out. And with it, a stuffed monkey dressed as a superhero.

Derek stilled as he stared at it, his heart swelling. “Stiles,” he started, voice soft and low.

“I know, I know,” Stiles interrupted him with a roll of his eyes and a smile on his lips. “She's already spoiled, she's already got, like, fifty stuffed monkeys, she doesn't need more. But,” he paused, lifting the monkey for a brief moment as he shrugged, “I saw it on my way over and I couldn't help it. It was practically begging me to buy it for her.”

Derek didn't know whether to hug him or kiss him. He wanted to do both, but he also wanted to punch him a little bit. Stiles was so stupidly perfect, and Derek didn't deserve something or someone so good in his life. Erica did, of course she did, but not him.

Swallowing thickly, he met Stiles' eye and smiled. “She's gonna love it.”

And love it, she did.

Derek followed Stiles to the living room, leaving the grocery bags unattended for a minute, just so he could see the bright and happy smile that spread across his daughter's face, when Stiles handed her the superhero monkey.

She lit up like the sun, her eyes wide and her entire face screaming excitement and happiness and pure joy, her face breaking into a smile so big, her cheeks dimpled. It was ridiculously adorable, and Derek may have snapped a quick picture on his phone, as she threw herself at Stiles in a tight hug, superhero monkey in her hand and face bright with happiness.

And if, despite the poor angle and slightly blurry quality of it, he put the picture as his background, no one needed to know.

[ … ]

Watching Stiles move around the kitchen like he belonged there, like it wasn't the first time he was cooking there but like it was a regular (or maybe daily) thing, had Derek zoning out, absently entertaining his daughter by wiggling one of her toys in front of her and pretending he was playing along.

They had known each other for barely three months, and yet this? This felt normal. It felt like home, and it was freaking him out a little.

It felt normal to sit on the living room floor with his daughter, entertaining her, while Stiles was busy in the kitchen, cooking and humming quietly to himself and occasionally sending them smiles or asking where something was.

It felt normal to walk over and help when Stiles asked him to, leaving Erica to herself for a moment, busy with her toys. To get a taste of whatever Stiles was cooking and telling him whether it needed more salt or if it was good enough.

It felt normal and domestic and like home, and Derek felt content and freaked out at the same time.

Nymeria had tired out on her adventure around the house and had gone straight to sleep on the couch in the living room, after a quick trip into the kitchen to see if she could play vacuum for a moment. She hadn't gotten anything though, not that Derek had seen.

Although, knowing Stiles, he probably did slip her a little something while Derek wasn't looking.

Stiles, as it turned out, was an incredible cook. The lasagna was amazing. Both Derek and Erica ate a lot of it, but Stiles had made enough for the whole Hale family and then some, so they had to pack the rest away.

At least Derek didn't have to worry about making dinner the following day.

“Is it too late for a w-a-l-k?” Stiles asked as they put away the dishes, spelling out the word to not catch Nymeria's attention. “For Erica, I mean. 'Cause I gotta take the dog out for one, but I can do that by myself if it's too late. Just figured it'd be fun.”

Derek glanced at the clock on the wall – it was old, had been given to him by Cora when he had first moved into the house with a two months old Erica. Something was engraved under the arms, but the letters were barely there anymore, rusted away. It was still working perfectly fine though, still ticking away.

He turned slightly and looked through the kitchen to the living room, where Erica had joined Nymeria on the couch, playing with her new superhero monkey on her back. Not that it seemed to bother Nymeria. She was still sleeping soundly.

“I think it might be a bit too late,” he finally told Stiles, looking back at him just as Stiles glanced into the living room and smiled at the sight. “We've got a yard, though. She can run around out there if you want to hang back.”

“Fenced in?”

“Yeah.”

Stiles nodded and stood back up from having put the last plate in the dishwasher. “Alright, I'm gonna take advantage of that then.” He shot him a smile, then whistled to get Nymeria's attention. “C'mon, girl, let's go outside.”

Nymeria was immediately up from the couch and running toward him, and Erica pouted at the loss of her playing ground. Derek huffed at her, smiling softly.

While Stiles took Nymeria outside, Derek got out Erica's medicine and went over to her, a cup of juice ready for after she had taken it.

“Time for your meds, baby,” he told her, sitting down next to her.

Erica slumped slightly, hugging the monkey to her chest. “Do I have to?”

“Yes, you have to.”

“But doctor Dee said everything was fine.” She looked up at him, eyes big and pleading.

“And you need to keep taking your medicine so everything can stay fine,” said Derek and held it out for her. “Okay?”

Nodding quietly, Erica did as she was told. Immediately after, she made a noise of disgust and reached for the cup of juice. Derek handed it to her and let her down it quickly, while running a hand over her head, petting her gently for comfort.

Looking over the top of his daughter's head, Derek made eye contact with Stiles. Stiles who stood leaning against the door frame and watched them with a soft look on his face.

Derek had only briefly mentioned to Stiles that Erica had epilepsy. He had done it, because Stiles had become a part of their lives and needed to know just in case Erica had a seizure or something happened, so he wouldn't freak out.

But hearing about what the two of them did – regular doctor visits and check ups, medicine, carefully avoiding anything that might trigger a seizure, all of that – was so much different than actually experiencing it.

The look on Stiles' face wasn't pitying, though. The look on his face very clearly said that he wanted to hug Erica, and Derek knew exactly how he felt. He felt the same way every day whenever Erica had to take her medicine.

About an hour and a lot of play time with Stiles and Nymeria later, Erica was put to bed. She gave Stiles a quick hug, Nymeria one as well, and then she dragged Derek down the hall to her room. She made him stay until she was asleep, and he gladly did so, running his fingers through her hair and holding her close until her breathing evened out and he was sure she was sound asleep.

Giving her a quick kiss on her forehead, Derek wandered back out to the living room, where he found Stiles still on the couch with Nymeria's head in his lap, a hand scratching her head absently.

“You want something to drink?” Derek asked as he came closer.

Stiles craned his head around, looked at him for a second, then smiled and said, “Nah, I'm good.”

Nodding quietly to indicate he had heard him, Derek moved to sit down on the couch as well, leaving just enough space between them so that they were still close but not too close. Even though he wanted to do nothing but lean into Stiles and stay there until morning.

“Can I ask you something?” asked Stiles after a minute or two's silence.

Just to be a dick, Derek said, “You just did,” and send him a smug grin.

Stiles smacked his arm with a huff, and Derek chuckled. “Shut up, asshole.”

“Sorry.” Derek turned to him, smug grin turning into a soft smile. “Go ahead.”

Stiles hesitated for a moment, shifting and playing with Nymeria's ear as he did. “Erica,” he started, lifting his gaze to meet Derek's. “Was she born with it?”

The smile faded from Derek's lips slightly. “Pretty much, yeah,” he answered, lifting one of his shoulders in a half shrug. “Her mom...” He paused, sighing at the thought. “She wasn't careful during the pregnancy. At all. It affected Erica.”

Stiles made a noise of acknowledgment and reached a hand out to rest it on Derek's arm, its weight a warm presence. “Hey. You've done a great job with her. Much better than some parents would have.”

Derek did nothing but stare at him for a minute, feeling electricity run through his entire body from where Stiles was rubbing small circles against his arm with his thumb. “Thank you.”

They looked at each other, letting a comfortable silence fall between them. Derek wanted to lean forward and kiss him.

He didn't.

“Now can I ask you another thing?” Stiles asked a few minutes after, voice now lowered.

Derek opened his mouth, and Stiles immediately cut him off with a lifted finger, brows high on his forehead. “Do not say I already did, Derek, I swear to God.”

Derek held up his hands in surrender, a chuckle escaping him. “Alright, I won't. Ask away.”

Taking in a deep breath and letting it back out slowly, Stiles looked at him and asked, “Can I take you out sometime? On a date, I mean.”

The smile that had formed on Derek's lips slowly fell, as did his face. “I don't know if that's a good idea, Stiles,” he told him, voice lowered to a whisper.

“Why not?” Stiles asked, slightly pressed, and he shifted closer to him, knocking Nymeria out of his lap. She didn't seem bothered, only moved her head to the couch instead and fell right back asleep.

Swallowing, Derek's eyes flickered to Stiles' lips as he said, “I've got a kid.”

“I know, Derek. I know she's part of the deal too, and I want that.” Stiles shifted closer, their thighs and knees touching and the hand previously on Derek's arm now hovering by his cheek. “I want that with you.”

When Derek looked at Stiles' lips this time, he didn't look away. “I've got a lot of baggage.”

“So do I,” Stiles whispered, leaning in with a casual shrug. “A ton of it, actually.”

Derek found himself leaning in as well, just slightly. “You deserve better-”

“Stop.” Stiles leaned back just enough for them to lock eyes, a serious look in his. “Don't talk yourself down like that. I know what I want, and what I want is you, Derek Hale. I want you with my whole heart. I want...” He paused, tongue moving between his lips to wet them. “I want a lifetime with you.”

Time stopped. For just a moment, it stopped.

“You don't stop going for the good things. You don't stop living,” Derek's mother had told him a few weeks ago, holding his hand and looking at him with that heartbroken look that was still somehow so full of love, that Derek had wanted to cry.

For the past five years, Erica had been that good thing that had kept him from falling into a pit of darkness and negativity that would eventually have ended him. Even through the seizures and the fear and panic that came with them. Even through the toddler tantrums and the mess of a house he had to deal with on a daily basis. Even through everything, Erica was the light that kept him alive.

But he had stopped living. Hadn't really wanted to, either. He wrote to tell the stories that haunted his mind and needed to be let out, not because it was necessarily what he wanted to do for a living. That hadn't been the plan, at least. He ran to clear his head and to keep his blood pumping, to feel the air brush his cheek and to feel the soles of his feet slam against the ground. He ran because it reminded him that he was still alive, still breathing.

All his previous hobbies – he had given up on them, because he had no interest in them anymore. Nothing he did really made him want to keep living.

When Erica took her first steps and said her first word and read the first sentence in a book out loud and wrote her own name in blocky, squiggly letters and laughed for the first time and held his hand for the first time and told him she loved him for the first time, however? That was when he had felt the most alive since before all the mess he went through with a horrible woman.

He lived for Erica, not for himself. His mother liked to remind him of that, and often.

In that moment, where time stood still, he decided to listen to his mother for once in his life and start living for himself too.

Derek leaned forward, closed the distance between him and Stiles, and kissed him stupid, desperately holding onto that something good that had found its way into his life.

[ … ]

When they planned their first date, they planned it carefully and thoroughly, both wanting everything to be perfect.

Stiles had gotten them a reservation at some fancy restaurant in the middle of town. “I know people, Derek,” he'd said with a grin and a wink as he lifted his phone to his ear. “I'm gonna woo the shit out of you with this, you just wait.”

They had picked out a movie they both found interesting enough, had agreed Derek would pick Stiles up, had gotten Laura to agree to babysit Erica – Derek had to wrestle his way out of his sister's embrace when she showed up. She wouldn't let go of him, too busy sobbing over him actually having a date and smiling about it. He expected to force his way out of Erica's arms, not his sister's – all of it.

They had carefully and thoroughly planned your classic dinner and a movie date, and yet on the way to the restaurant, Derek made a decision. A decision to be spontaneous for just once in his life.

“You know what? Fuck the plan,” he said, getting a confused look from Stiles in the passenger seat of his car, dressed sharp and looking beautiful as ever.

The confused look quickly became a wide grin, when Derek pulled into the nearest fast food place, and Stiles laughed loudly and said, “Wow, you sure know how to make a guy feel special.”

Stiles was already eating the fries (“Get curly fries, Derek, I need them.”) the moment they pulled back onto the road, the smell of greasy and warm food filling the car. Derek didn't stop him, only reached over to steal a few from him and grinning when Stiles slapped at his hand and made a noise of protest.

He drove them out to the edge of the preserve, the edge of Beacon Hills, to the spot where trees cleared and gave a perfect view of the still awake city and the darkening sky above it. The moon was already up, a few stars scattered across the otherwise clear sky.

“This was my favorite place as a teenager,” Derek said as he parked, smiling as he turned to look at Stiles. “We can go to a nice restaurant next time.”

The smile on Stiles' lips was wide and toothy, bright and happy. “We've got all the time in the world for that.”

They ate the food on the ground in front of the car, leaning into each other's sides and keeping a steady stream of easy conversation. Occasionally leaning over and stealing a few kisses, too.

It was perfect in every way, and Derek didn't really want the night to end. He wanted to sit there with Stiles until sunlight broke the starry sky.

But it did end and when he dropped Stiles off by his front door, they spend another several minutes just kissing. Enjoying each other's closeness and warmth and touch. Derek nearly took Stiles up on the invitation to come inside. He didn't but kissed him firmly one last time, a silent promise, before he left.

Laura demanded a detailed retelling of the whole night, when he arrived back home, teasing him endlessly because he just couldn't stop smiling. He told her everything, the smile never fading from his lips. She called him gross and pulled him into a tight hug.

She didn't let go of him for at least five minutes, and Derek let her.

He did, however, complain and roll his eyes at her.

It was two weeks and another two official dates later, that Derek send Stiles a text, while Erica was munching away on breakfast cereal at the kitchen table.

< [08:47 AM] Derek: I want to tell Erica about us.

What he and Stiles had... Derek felt like it was something special, something that could potentially be long lasting, and he wanted Erica to be a part of it too. Sure, it was still early into their official relationship – they had started calling each other boyfriend at the end of their last date. Stiles had called him boo at first, and Derek had shoved him and walked away from him – but it felt right.

> [08:49 AM] Stiles: I get off work at 4. I'll come over [kissy face emoji]

Derek rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hide the fond smile that tugged at his lips.

< [08:50 AM] Derek: See you then. [middle finger emoji]

> [08:50 AM] Stiles: [broken heart emoji]

He gave it just a few minutes, before he send another.

< [08:55 AM] Derek: [heart emoji]

Closer to five than to four in the afternoon while Erica was playing with her legos in her room, there was a knock on the door. Derek greeted Stiles with a quick kiss, hand running down along his uniform clad torso as their lips moved together.

Stiles grinned against his lips and asked, “Uniform doing it for you, huh?”

“Little bit,” Derek told him, kissing him again. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't entirely the truth either. The uniform definitely did it for him.

Stiles hummed into the kiss, bringing his hands to Derek's cheeks and stepping closer. As much as he wanted to keep kissing him, to keep touching him, Derek could hear small feet moving their way from the hall, so he broke the kiss and stepped back.

“Come on,” he said, reaching out to grab Stiles' hand. “Let's go tell the little one.”

Erica sat and watched them with big, round eyes while they explained to her that they were together now. A couple.

“Like a mommy and a daddy?” she asked when Derek paused, and Derek smiled softly at her as he nodded.

“Yeah, like a mommy and a daddy. Just with two daddies.”

She fell silent for a moment, mulling it over as she stared at Stiles. Suddenly, she brightened and whipped around to look at her dad, her smile wide and happy. “Will Stiles be my dad too now?”

Derek looked to Stiles, raising his brows slightly in a silent question.

Stiles only spared him a glance, before he moved to crouch down in front of Erica, a smile on his lips but a serious look in his eyes. “Only if you want me to be.”

Erica's answer was immediate.

She flung herself at Stiles with a happy squeal, and Stiles burst out with a happy laugh as he threw his arms around her. Derek watched them with a smile.

Yeah, they were going to be okay.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

5 YEARS LATER

There was a cold and wet snout pressing against the back of his hand, the hand that hang lazily over the edge of the bed. Derek ignored it, kept his eyes closed, and hoped the snout and its owner would think he was still asleep and would leave soon enough.

It didn't. The snout just moved to his face and a rough tongue licked at his cheek.

Derek grunted in annoyance and pressed his hand to the side of Nymeria's face to push her away. “Stop it,” he told her in a lowered whisper. “Go lay down.”

That got a whimper out of her and, cracking an eye open, he saw her sit impatiently by his side of the bed, ears perked and a pleading look in her eyes. The look she gave him every morning, when she needed to go outside and pee.

Pushing the covers off himself slightly with a heavy and tired sigh, he moved to get up and out of bed. Only to pause when the door to the bedroom was pushed slightly more open and a set of bare feet tiptoed into the room.

“I'll take her outside,” Erica told him in a hushed whisper, grabbing Nymeria's collar.

“Thank you,” Derek whispered back and leaned in at the same time as her to give her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Put some shoes on if you're going outside too.”

Erica rolled her eyes at him and tugged Nymeria with her, as she headed back out the room. “Yeah, dad, I'm ten, not four.”

Derek stared after her for a moment, before he let out an amused huff and threw himself back down with a small grin on his lips. He allowed his eyes to close for another moment, but he didn't let himself fall asleep again. Instead, he rolled over onto the other side of the bed and snaked his arm around his boyfriend's waist, bringing them close together. He kissed his neck softly, earning him a soft and sleepy groan in return.

“Five more minutes,” murmured Stiles, voice rough with sleep.

Derek rolled his eyes, a fond smile on his lips, and he scooted closer, pressing his lips to just below Stiles' ear, then his jaw and then his cheek. He moved a hand to the other side of Stiles' head and turned it, so he could press soft kisses to Stiles' lips.

Stiles hummed softly in return, kissing him back lazily. “Good morning to you too,” he said as they parted, a smile on his lips. His eyes were slowly opening, just enough to look.

“Happy anniversary,” Derek whispered, offering Stiles' lips another soft and light kiss.

Instantly, Stiles' smile brightened and he moved a hand to the back of Derek's neck. “Happy anniversary,” he repeated, before bringing him down for yet another kiss. This time it was firmer, deeper, full of love and passion.

They lay there, lazily kissing each other in the dimly lit bedroom, for a while. It had been five years and kissing Stiles still made Derek excited. The way Stiles would brush his long and obscene fingers along his neck and around the back of his head and bring him closer, tugging at the short hairs there. The way his tongue would run along Derek's lips, asking for permission that it usually got without a second of hesitation. The way Stiles would press himself against Derek, plastering himself to his front and, if they were alone, grind teasingly against him.

There was no grinding this morning though, both of them too tired and sleepy to get anything heated going. There were tongues touching, however, and Stiles moaned softly into the kiss as he ran his fingers through Derek's tussled hair.

Derek leaned back to break the kiss several minutes after, when he heard a pair of rushing footsteps coming down the hall toward them, and he grinned down at Stiles just as the door flew open all the way and a ten year old threw herself on top of them with a laugh. Nymeria came bounding into the bedroom as well, but she stayed on the floor, tail wagging wildly and tongue lolling out of her mouth.

Stiles immediately sat up, forcing Derek out of the way, and pounced on Erica with a roar, which had her laughing loudly. “Good morning, princess!” he said loudly, his fingers tickling her sides.

“Papa, stooop!” Erica managed to get out in between laughs, as she kicked and batted lightly at Stiles and his tickling fingers, squirming in the bed.

Derek sat back and watched as Stiles leaned over Erica and tickled her into a squirming and laughing mess. He watched as Stiles suddenly stopped tickling her, only to pick her up in his arms and he stood up, jumping off the bed with a still laughing Erica in his arms, carrying her bridal style.

“It's a beautiful morning!” Stiles called out, nearly singing the words, and he threw Derek a wide grin, before he spun around, stepped around Nymeria, and exited the bedroom, swaying and still singing loudly, while Erica laughed brightly as she was carried out.

Derek couldn't help the fond smile that formed on his lips, as he listened to the sound of Stiles and Erica – his family – sing good morning to each other at the top of their lungs while waltzing around the house.

He leaned back against the headboard and lifted a hand to scratch Nymeria's head, when she came over and laid her head in his lap, tail wagging lightly behind her. “They're crazy, right?” he asked her, voice lowered. The answer came in a small huff.

He was still sitting there, petting Nymeria who was half asleep with her head in his lap, when Stiles poked his head back into the bedroom, Erica now on his back and grinning widely at him. “Get out of bed, old man,” Stiles said, his grin matching Erica's. “We want breakfast.”

“Yeah, dad!” Erica supplied, smiling toothily over Stiles' shoulder.

Derek quirked a brow at them. “Oh really? And you couldn't make it yourselves?”

“Nooo,” they said simultaneously, both smiling widely at him, both with pleading eyes.

Derek looked at them for a moment, then he sighed and rolled his eyes. “Alright, alright,” he said, gently nudging Nymeria out of the way and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. “Since you asked so nicely,” he started dryly, “I'll make you breakfast.”

While Derek was in the kitchen making all three of them breakfast, Nymeria was sitting by his feet in case he “accidentally” dropped something, and Stiles and Erica were on the couch in the living room watching morning cartoons and getting morning cuddles. Derek could hear them occasionally talk in lowered voices or laugh at something on screen, and he smiled lightly to himself at the sound.

When breakfast was finished and put on three plates, he joined them. Both in the morning cartoon watching and the morning cuddling. Erica was the first to finish her breakfast and when her plate and cup were empty, she wiggled out from between them and ran off.

“Dishes, Erica!” Derek called after her, scooting closer to Stiles and bringing an arm around him.

Erica came running back into the living room a moment later to put her dishes away. “Good girl,” he praised her and let Stiles switch the channels. “Hey. You want your hair done now or later?”

“Can we do it now?” Erica came back into the living room and crouched down next to Nymeria on the floor to pet her.

“If you go grab your brush and elastics, yes.”

“And can we do them extra pretty today?”

Derek smiled softly at her and said, “Of course. Bows?” She nodded. “Okay, go get them.”

When Erica came back with her bows, elastics, and brush, Derek moved to sit on the floor and she sat in between his legs. And while he did his daughter's hair, Stiles left to take Nymeria out for a morning run.

With her hair done in french braided pigtails with bows at the end, Erica kissed his cheek and went to her room to play for a while, and Derek went to write. He lost himself in the words, his fingers moving over the keyboard almost frantically as his fingers tried to catch up with the words his brain provided.

He only vaguely noticed Stiles coming back and kissing his cheek and telling him something, but he didn't answer with anything more than a low grunt, too consumed by getting the words written down before they disappeared again. Because his brain liked to do that more than not.

He was, however, pulled out of his writing trance a long while later, when long arms wrapped around him from behind and soft lips kissed his neck.

“Did I ever tell you it's really hot when you get so in the zone?” Stiles asked him in a whisper, lips brushing against the shell of his ear.

His fingers stilled on the keyboard, Derek smiled lightly and turned his head to look at his boyfriend. “Then why'd you pull me out of it?”

“'Cause it's almost five,” said Stiles, and, surprised, Derek turned to look at the time on his computer. 4:48 PM. “And we've got a reservation at Mahealani's.” Stiles kissed Derek's neck again, bringing his arms further around him. “And we gotta drop off Erica at the Boyds' before then.”

Derek sighed and leaned back against the chair, bringing a hand up to touch the one traveling down his chest. “Can't we just stay in? Put on Dead Poet's Society, order some curly fries?”

They had plans. He had plans, the ring in his jacket pocket a constant reminder of that. They could still stay in, though. Going out was such a hassle.

“Trying to bribe me with my favorite movie and my favorite thing to eat?” Stiles chuckled lightly. “You sure do know how to make a guy feel special.”

“You're talking to the guy who ditched our first date plans and took you stargazing instead,” Derek reminded him.

“And it was perfect.” Stiles stole a quick kiss from Derek's lips and then pulled back, stepping away. “But, I'm pretty sure Danny won't forgive me for pulling that shit on him again, so let's get going.”

Sighing, Derek scrubbed his hands over his face and stood up. “Alright, fine. Let me just shower and we'll go.”

“Awesome.” Stiles stepped close again and kissed him, this time longer and firmer, hands roaming for a moment. Derek returned it. “I'll get Erica dressed and ready,” Stiles said, pulling back slightly.

Derek hummed softly, grabbed his hips, and dove in for another kiss. “Remember to pack her-”

“-meds too,” Stiles finished for him. “Yeah, I know.”

They kissed once or twice (five times) more, before they parted and went to get ready.

The Boyds lived a good twenty minute drive away. Their son, Vernon, had become good friends with Erica when he transferred to her school the year before, and their daughter, Alicia, had taken a liken to her as well. Along with Vernon and Alicia, there was Isaac Lahey too. Isaac came from a broken home with a terrible father, and he spend most of his time away from home.

They were a close group, and Derek was overjoyed to see his daughter have such good friends.

“And you remember to take your medicine,” said Derek for not the first time in the twenty minute drive. Erica was in the backseat, rolling her eyes.

“Yes, dad, it's not like I've been taking them my whole life or anything,” she said dryly, and Derek send her a look of narrowed eyes in the back view mirror, while Stiles bit back a laugh.

Vernon and Isaac were already waiting for her by the front door of the house by the time they pulled up to the driveway, and Erica wasted no time before she got out of the car, Batman pack swung over her shoulder. She shouted a quick, “Bye, dad! Bye, papa!” at them, and then rushed over to her friends.

Eyes following Erica until she was over by the two boys, Derek sighed and leaned heavily back against his seat. “Of all the things she could've gotten from you, it had to be your sarcasm,” he muttered. “Unbelievable.”

Stiles laughed, head turning to look at him with a sly grin. “Oh come on, you love my sarcasm. And now you've got the double of it!”

Derek looked at him, deadpan. “You say that like it's a good thing.”

Huffing, Stiles smacked his arm lightly and then turned back to look out the car window. To where Erica stepped forward and embraced Vernon in a tight hug. “Aw, look at them,” he cooed, hand over his heart. “Ten bucks Vernon's gonna ask Erica out when they're older.”

Derek rolled his eyes at him and said, “Don't make bets on our daughter's future relationships. She's only ten.”

Stiles went quiet and didn't respond for far too long, and when Derek took his attention off of the three kids disappearing into the house, he found Stiles smiling softly and lovingly at him. “What?”

“Nothing,” Stiles said, smile widening. “I just really like it when you call her our daughter.”

Slowly, a smile of his own appeared on Derek's lips, a smile that matched Stiles'. “Well, that's what she is.”

Stiles leaned over and offered Derek's lips a quick and soft kiss. “Let's go eat.”

“Okay,” Derek replied in a whisper, kissing him once or twice more, before he drove off, Stiles' hand clasped in his own.

[ … ]

Dinner went by in a haze and easy conversation, their feet touching under the table and hands touching above it when they took a moment to do so. The food was good, the company was amazing as always, and the closer they got to the end of their meal, the more nervous Derek got. Although he tried to hide it as well as he possibly could, so it would still be a surprise.

They hadn't sat down and seriously talked about marriage before, but Derek knew that Stiles wanted to get married one day. And so did he. So why not, on their fifth anniversary, propose?

He had spend weeks finding the perfect ring, with the help from Laura and Scott and a quick approval of the design from Lydia, along with telling Stiles' dad that he was going to propose to which the Sheriff embraced him in a tight hug. And now the ring sat in a velvet blue box in the inner pocket of his jacket, his fingers itching to take it out and drop to his knee and pop the question.

But not here. Not in a full restaurant with their bellies full of delicious food and fresh water.

By the time Derek paid for their food (“C'mon, let me at least pay for half of it.” “No, Stiles, I invited you out, so I'm paying.”) and they left the restaurant with a quick wave at Danny, the owner, the sky had gone dark and the air was cool, the moon high on the starry sky.

“How 'bout a walk through the park?” Derek casually suggested, heart in his throat and fingers running along the ring box in his pocket.

Stiles turned to give him a look, brow raised. “Seriously? You wouldn't rather just go home and have sex? 'Cause that's kinda what I had planned, to be honest.”

“Come on.” Derek stepped closer and slipped his hand into Stiles', intertwining their fingers. “Just a quick walk, and I promise we can go straight back home and have as much sex as we can.”

Humming, Stiles squeezed his hand and turned to grin at him. “Fine. But I want a nice foot rub on top of that. Y'know, as an anniversary present.”

Derek rolled his eyes but agreed regardless.

The park was, unsurprisingly, bare of people. Empty. It was late and dark had fallen, streetlights the only thing keeping the place lit. Not a lot of people would be out at this time, and it was perfect in Derek's eyes. After all, he didn't particularly like the idea of proposing in front of an audience. This was just for him and Stiles and no one else.

Derek walked in silence, hand still clasped with Stiles', as he listened to Stiles talk on and on about the deputies at the station. Honestly, he wasn't really listening anymore, too busy looking for a certain spot. He did, however, nod and hum in all the right places, because he didn't want Stiles to think he wasn't listening or wasn't interested.

Finally, he spotted the bench his eyes had been searching for. The bench they met at all those years ago. It still looked the same, although rustier and dirtier now. Derek smiled at the sight.

“Hey,” he said when Stiles paused in the middle of his Jordan Parrish rant. “Let's go sit down.”

Stiles looked at him with suspicion, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. “Why?”

Derek shrugged, trying to play it casual. “No reason. Just feel like it.”

But Stiles knew him. He knew him well, so of course he had it all figured out. “Derek, are you gonna propose?”

Derek stopped walking and so did Stiles, who came to stand in front of him with a growing smile on his lips. “How did you find out?”

Shrugging, Stiles smiled widely at him. “You haven't been as subtle as you think you have. Especially not tonight. It's pretty easy to see you're nervous and have been nervous since we dropped Erica off. So,” he paused, a pink color dusting his cheekbones as he stepped closer and looked at him through his lashed, head ducked slightly, “did you get me a ring?”

Derek sighed silently. It didn't really surprise him that Stiles knew what he had been planning. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise him if he had known since he bought the ring or since he first talked to Laura about it. Stiles was smart and observant, he loved that about him.

Although, it did make surprising him really hard.

“I did,” he admitted and dug into his jacket pocket for the box. “Had a speech prepared too.”

“Oh yeah?” Stiles looked down at the box for a moment, biting his bottom lip to hold back a smile that was obvious anyway. “Well,” he let go of Derek's hand and sat down on the bench, smiling widely up at him, “go ahead.”

Derek quirked a brow, and Stiles rolled his eyes. “Come on, Derek. I wanna hear your speech.”

“Do you want me on my knee too?” Derek asked dryly, but already moving to do so.

“Duh, if you want to do it properly.”

A little smile tugged at his lips, and he reached out to grab Stiles' hands in his own, holding the box with the ring between them. “Stiles,” he started. He took in a deep and steadying breath, before he continued. “Before I met you, I thought I was doing great.”

“You were doing great.”

“If you're gonna interrupt me, I'm not gonna ask you, idiot.”

“Right, sorry.” Stiles pulled a hand back and mimed zipping his lips closed, then gestured for him to continue.

“Before I met you,” Derek repeated, shifting where he stood on his one knee, the park ground digging into it but he ignored it, “I thought I was doing great. I had Erica, I had my family, I had my books. I didn't realize, not really, that I had stopped living.” He paused when Stiles squeezed his hand, and he lifted his gaze to meet his.

“And then I met you. Stiles, you were this light that I didn't think I'd ever get the chance to have, didn't think I deserved. I had Erica, she was that light in my life, the light that kept me out of the darkness, and she still is. But with you coming into my life, our lives, that light got stronger. And I love you for that.”

Stiles was smiling softly, eyes watery and hands tightly squeezing Derek's. Derek continued. “You're annoying. You somehow always find something to talk about, even when I'm not in the mood for it. You leave your dishes in the sink, even though there's a dishwasher right there.”

Stiles scoffed and laughed, and Derek smiled up at him. “You come home from work and stick your stinky feet in my face, demanding a foot rub. You eat too many curly fries and never share with me. You leave your dirty socks and underwear under the bed. You take a piss when I'm in the shower, because you apparently don't know what boundaries are.”

“Oh come on,” Stiles interrupted with a roll of his eyes. “We've been together for five years!”

“Stiles, shut up. I'm not done.”

Stiles sighed. “Fine. Continue complaining about me.”

“Oh, I will,” Derek told him and shifted, sending him a soft smile. “You're the most infuriating man I know, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

The slightly annoyed look on Stiles' face quickly washed away, and he flushed instead, biting back a smile.

Derek cleared his throat and let go of Stiles' hands, so he could open the box and reveal the ring inside. “You're not perfect. You have your bad days and bad nights. You sometimes don't answer your phone and leave me worried to death. You're snarky and, sometimes, bitchy, and you're not perfect.”

“But,” he said, reaching out for one of Stiles' hands, “you're amazing with Erica. Always has been, and she loves you. You're funny and smart and incredible in every way imaginable. You know how to cheer me up when I'm having a hard day, and you somehow always know. You can see right through me and my bullshit, and I love you for that. You're not perfect, but you're perfect for me and for Erica.”

He shot the ring a quick glance, before he looked back at Stiles, locking eyes with him. “To quote you, back when we got together,” he said and smiled fondly up at him. “I want a lifetime with you, Stiles. I want to be with you for the rest of our lives, bad things included. So, Stiles Stilinski,” he reached into the box, picking the ring up and holding it toward Stiles, “will you marry me?”

Stiles swallowed thickly, eyes not locked with Derek's anymore but glued to the ring held up toward him. He was silent for several seconds, but Derek wasn't worried. He could see the little tremble his bottom lip did, the way his brows were furrowed, and he knew Stiles' eyes were watery.

“Yes,” Stiles finally croaked, and he began nodding almost frantically as he looked at Derek. “A thousand times yes, you piece of shit.” With a watery laugh, he slid off the bench and to his knees, grabbing Derek's face between his hands, and he kissed him.

Except, kissing when both of them were smiling so wide their cheeks hurt wasn't easy, and they both pulled back to laugh, foreheads resting together and arms wrapped around each other.

“That was the cheesiest and most insulting proposal I've ever heard,” Stiles told him in a whisper.

Derek leaned back just a little, giving him a look of narrowed eyes but with a teasing grin on his lips. “You've had other people propose to you?”

Scoffing, Stiles smacked his chest. “Shut the fuck up, dumbass, you know what I mean.”

Derek chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, I do.” He paused. “So, do you want to put the ring on, or should I just return it?”

“No fucking way,” Stiles said immediately, holding out his hand. “I wanna show this bad boy off to everyone and brag about my man.”

“Your man?” Derek quirked a brow at him and gave him a look, before he slid the ring onto his finger. A perfect fit.

“Hell yeah, you're my man.” Stiles held up his hand and smiled blindingly bright at the ring, before he leaned in to kiss him again. “I'm gonna marry the shit out of you.”

“Can't wait,” Derek told him honestly and kissed him back.

They kissed until their knees hurt too much. And standing up, they both stepped into each other's space and leaned in to continue kissing. Stiles' hand, his left with the ring firmly in place, was in Derek's hair, and their tongues mingled, bodies pressing close together.

It was only when Stiles rocked against him just slightly and moaned against his lips, that Derek leaned back and whispered, “Let's go home.”

Stiles grinned widely at him and waggled his brows. “Let's go have engaged sex, you mean.”

Derek huffed at him. “Sure, that too.”

They didn't leave the bed until morning, and when they told Erica they were getting married after they had picked her up around noon, she was more than happy. She was ecstatic and yelled excitedly at them, already going on and on about the wedding and how she wanted to be the flower girl and wear a pretty dress and do her hair like a real princess.

When they told their families, Stiles' dad welcomed Derek to the family officially, and Derek's mom started crying on the phone even though she kept denying it.

Derek had never been happier. Neither had Stiles.