a/n: As much as this story is my baby, I cannot take full credit for it.

The premise of the story and pretty much the entirety of the first chapter were all Andy's idea, and I can't thank her enough for letting me give life to her thoughts.

I'd also like to thank Beth for being with me since the very beginning of all of this, helping me and correcting my mistakes every step of the way.

The biggest thank you goes to whatthehale. The last four chapters of this fic wouldn't exist without you, nor would the possibility of this becoming a series. You're the best and I'm so glad I met you.

And thanks to all of you who took a chance on this monster of a fic! I know how tiring it can be waiting for chapters, especially chapters as long as the ones I wrote, so thank you for subscribing and commenting and leaving kudos and sending in ideas when I asked for help and for not abandoning me when times were tough. You're all lovely and it's been a pleasure sharing this with you!

xoxo,

J.

FOUR YEARS LATER

April 1st, 2018

Derek thinks he'll never get tired of this.

Of waking up to see Stiles sprawled on the bed by his side, face tucked between Derek's side and the mattress, one of his arms wrapped around Derek's naked waist like he never wants to let go.

It's been five years, and Derek still can't help the way his lips curl up at seeing Stiles first thing in the morning, can't help the way his fingers start tracing patterns across Stiles' back, just wanting to touch, just wanting to feel him.

And the fact that he gets to do that when they're sleeping in their bed at their house only makes it sweeter.

Derek's stomach flips.

It still catches him off guard, this life he's made for himself, with Stiles by his side.

Derek remembers wanting him the first time he saw him, in a tight white bunny suit with his nose painted red and lips stretched in a smile, but Derek never really thought he'd actually have him.

At least not like this.

At least not for this long.

Derek is ridiculously glad Stiles proved him wrong.

Derek is ridiculously glad Stiles still is proving him wrong, with every anniversary that passes and milestones they reach and mornings they wake up tangled together, much like they are right now.

Stiles snuffles in his sleep, nose scrunching up and lips smacking together, his fingers tightening against Derek's hip.

Derek tries and fails not to find that endearing.

Nevermind that it takes Stiles about ten seconds after that to blink awake, brows furrowing as he presses his face more firmly against Derek's side, as if trying to hide from the light in the room, and the first thing out of his mouth is, his voice rough with sleep, "You're such a creeper."

Derek rolls his eyes, even though Stiles can't see him.

"Thought you'd be used to that by now."

Stiles hums, placing a kiss to Derek's ribs before making his way up the bed, managing to knee Derek in the thigh and elbow him in the stomach while he's at it.

Derek grunts, rearranging them so Stiles is now sprawled over him, their legs tangled together, his chin resting on his folded hands on top of Derek's chest.

"Good morning," Stiles says quietly, sounding a bit more awake, a small smile on his lips.

"Morning," Derek says back, hands sliding up Stiles' back and then down to rest just above the swell of his ass.

Stiles squirms.

Derek's dick twitches.

And then Derek's ears turn red when Stiles just raises an eyebrow at him, eyes glinting in amusement, "Really?"

Derek shrugs one shoulder, letting one of his hands move lower so he can cup Stiles' cheek, while the other comes rest against the back of his neck, pulling him closer.

"You're naked," Derek says flatly, licking his lips when Stiles' eyes zone in on his mouth. "And on top of me. In our bed. How can I resist."

Stiles huffs out a laugh, but lets Derek close the distance between them, slotting their lips together in slow and deep kiss.

"I take it that's a vote in favor of morning sex?" Stiles asks breathlessly, moving so that his arms are bracketing Derek's head, his fingers tangled in his hair.

"I'm always in favor of sex with you," Derek mumbles, making his point by rocking his hips up against Stiles'.

"You say the sweetest things," Stiles sighs, breath hitching when Derek starts mouthing at his jaw, down his neck, teeth scraping over the bruise on his collarbone from the night before.

Derek takes his time tasting him, surging up to kiss him when Stiles starts to move his hips in slow circles against his, tightening his grip on Stiles' ass.

Derek thinks he'll never get tired of this.

Of sex with Stiles.

Of knowing he can enjoy himself and share that part of him with someone he loves without having to second guess himself or worry about what he's doing.

He's come a long way since Kate, from starting therapy and his relationship with Stiles and learning that he's more than just his looks or what he can do for people, that he's worthy and deserving of love.

Something Stiles still makes a point of showing and telling him as often as he can, even after five years together.

And something his therapist still works and talks about with him, whenever Derek goes see her every three months.

Like he said, he's come a long way.

And that's something his mom and sisters are grateful for, their eyes softening whenever they see Derek smiling and laughing and talking to people, playing with Tori and Scott and Allison's youngest, Jaime, offering Erica and Boyd to babysit Kyle if they need some time alone, teasing Cora and Isaac about adopting another cat to keep Lucifer company and naming him Michael, or helping Laura teach Alex how to ride a bike and their soon to be six year old son, Zach, everything he knows about cars.

You know, just being more caring and affectioned and unafraid of showing others how much he cares for them, like he used to before having a relationship with Kate.

There are also all the little ways he's changed that only Stiles knows about or recognizes, since he's the person Derek chose to share his life with.

Like how he's not afraid to fight back when they're arguing about something important to him, instead of backing down and immediately apologizing for fear of doing something to screw things up like he used to.

Not to say Derek doesn't know when he's in the wrong, because he does, but not feeling like he's the only one to blame when he and Stiles fight or something goes wrong is kind of a big deal for him.

But there are still some days when he feels like every little things that goes wrong is because he did something to deserve it, because good things shouldn't happen to someone like him, but they are few and far in between and Stiles is always there to remind him that that's complete and utter bullshit.

He also doesn't get as choked up whenever they talk about things that really matter because Derek is not that afraid to speak his mind or share his opinions or tell Stiles what he wants, like when they decided to move in together and started looking for a house of their own.

Just like when Derek moved from the loft to Scott and Allison's old apartment, it took them about four months of house viewings and meetings with their real estate agent and Stiles getting more and more frustrated before Derek found a place he could see himself living at.

Derek remembers the way Stiles' mouth was parted and his eyes wide and utterly focused on him as he tried to explain, without pausing to even take a breath, how none of the other places, aside from this two-story house with a front porch and a swing, felt like home to him, like a place where they could live together and maybe someday in the future raise a family together.

He also remembers the rug burn on his ass and back from having Stiles fuck him in the middle of the living room floor.

And speaking of which, his and Stiles' sex life also took a turn because of something Derek learned to deal with and worked through about himself.

When it comes to sex he still doesn't like being straddled, doesn't think he'll ever manage not to associate having someone on top of him like that with anything other than her, but the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach he got whenever he thought about actually fucking someone?

Well, it's not there anymore.

In the almost five years since he started therapy, with him learning to be more trusting of people and realizing that his past relationship with Kate wasn't healthy, it helped a long way in making him feel more comfortable with himself, his body, and his wishes and wants.

He's aware his hesitancy to be the one doing the fucking came from his experience with Kate and her constant disappointment with him in that area, so after years of working through his issues and coming to the understanding that what she did and things she said in no way reflected on how Derek really was as a person, he was finally able to let that go.

Derek still prefers when Stiles is the one sinking into him, slowly fucking him into oblivion, until he's shaking and begging and crying out, but he finds that he also enjoys being the one breaking Stiles apart and them putting him back together.

Kind of like Derek is planning on doing this morning, as he flips them over so he's hovering above Stiles, their half-hard dicks brushing together, their mouths busy kissing.

"How much time do we have?" Stiles asks, licking at the stubble on Derek's chin, legs settled on either side of Derek's hips.

Derek pulls away just long enough so he can see the red number of clock on their nightstand, voice cracking when Stiles moves to suck a mark under his jaw as he says, "Forty minutes."

"Better get moving, then," Stiles says, nipping at Derek's throat, rocking his hips up, moaning at the friction of his cock bumping against Derek's stomach. "We wouldn't want to be late, or your mom and Lydia will kill us."

Derek groans, part because of the way his dick starts to fill up even more and part because no one should ever have to think about their mothers when they're naked in bed with their significant others and about to have sex.

Derek tells Stiles that much.

Stiles laughs, raking his nails over Derek's back, eyes glinting when Derek's entire body shudders.

"Go find the lube," Stiles tells him, brushing their lips together. "And I'll just lie here and be pretty."

Derek snorts, but does as he's told, grabbing the half empty bottle they used last night from the floor.

When he looks back at Stiles is to find him with his legs still spread, one hand wrapped around his dick, jacking himself slowly, his eyes glued to the spot where Derek's ass must have been when he bend over.

Derek raises an eyebrow at him, shaking his head when Stiles blinks and shrugs, completely unapologetic.

"And you say I'm the creeper," Derek says, all fondness.

"I can't help it," Stiles says, licks his lips, lets go of his dick in favor of grabbing Derek's ass and squeezing when Derek goes back to lying between his legs. "You have the most perfect ass I've ever seen. It'd be a shame not to look at it."

Derek rolls his eyes, trying to look unaffected when he can still feel the tips of his ears blush.

He suspects he'll never grow out of this, of the rush of pleasure and blood to his cheeks and ears and neck whenever Stiles tells him how much he likes something about him.

Whether it be his ass or how much he loves him or that his pancakes are the best he's ever had the fortune of tasting.

And by the way Stiles' lips curl into into a small smile as his eyes follow the path his fingers make as he traces the shell of Derek's ear, Derek also suspects Stiles will never get tired of seeing the way he reacts to his words.

Stiles's teeth clamp down on Derek's bottom lip, tugging lightly until Derek settles fully on top of him, tongue darting out to lick over the hurt before he sucks Derek's bottom lip into his mouth.

Derek lets himself be kissed, opening up to Stiles, letting him do as he likes while he braces himself with one arm on the bed, still holding the lube, his other hand sliding down Stiles' chest, fingers stopping to flick at Stiles' left nipple.

He smiles into the kiss at Stiles' sharp intake of breath, at the way he arches his back, pulling back to replace his fingers with his mouth, his teeth, his tongue.

Stiles just threads his fingers through his hair, nails scratching at his scalp, not pushing him down or away, just holding on. Even when Derek lifts his head after placing a kiss right over his heart so he can slick his fingers, or when he gets a knee under Stiles' thigh and spreads him wider, or when he starts sucking a new mark on his collarbone as he traces his finger over Stiles' opening.

Stiles doesn't talk much when he's the one fucking Derek, not really, aside from murmuring you feel so good and I love you and that's it baby and you're so good for me and Derek.

But when he's the one being stretched open by Derek's fingers, the one fucking himself back into Derek's hand, he's reduced to only making tiny soft sounds of pleasure, like he can't quite get his mouth to form words, like he can't help himself but whimper, gasps, moans, give himself away to the feeling of having Derek inside of him.

And Derek-

Derek's overwhelmed.

He thinks he always will be.

That the feeling of having Stiles tight and hot around him when he first lines himself up and presses in will always make him lightheaded, will always make his heart constrict painfully in his chest, will always make him stop for a moment to consider and be amazed at how fucking lucky he is to have Stiles with him.

And every time they do this, every move of their bodies, thrust of their hips, meeting of lips as they kiss and pant into each other's mouths is a victory for Derek.

It's proof that he survived, that he got here and that he's better and that Kate's words don't rule his life anymore.

He finds a little bit of freedom every time he looks down at Stiles' eyes blown with lust, every time Stiles meets his thrusts, every time he surges up at the same time Derek leans down to kiss him, all teeth and lips tongue.

Because this is him being in control of himself, of his body, of his mind.

This is him doing what he wants without being afraid he's not meeting some kind of sick expectation of what he should be like.

This is him just being himself, with Stiles.

And in Derek's opinion there's nothing quite like it.

Especially when he gets to feel Stiles clenching around him when Derek wraps a hand around his dick, stroking him, see his mouth parting in a silent moan and his nails digging into Derek's shoulders.

He looks so fucking beautiful fucking himself back into Derek's cock and up into his fist that all Derek can do catch his lips in another kiss, speed up his movements, finally give him what he wants.

And when Stiles comes it's always with Derek's name on his lips, it being no different this time, his head thrown back and his throat bared and his muscles gripping Derek so tight Derek kind of loses himself for a minute, rocking his hips up once and twice and three times before tipping over the edge, his face buried against the side of Stiles' neck.

He slumps gracelessly on top of Stiles, smiling when Stiles grunts at the added weight but still wraps his arms around him, hugging him close.

"Well," Stiles mumbles after a while, fingers tracing the swirls of the tattoo on Derek's back. "That was officially a good start to our morning."

Derek snorts, mouthing at Stiles' collarbone before placing a kiss over his Adam's apple, hand curling around Stiles' hip as he shifts on the bed and pulls out. When Stiles hisses softly through his teeth Derek kisses Stiles again, this time on the corner of his mouth, in apology.

"It was," Derek says honestly, because for him, any morning where he wakes up with Stiles by his side is considered a good one.

Not that he tells Stiles any of that.

And not that Stiles doesn't fill in the blanks anyway, with the way he bites down on his bottom lip and looks at Derek like he doesn't really know whether to laugh, call him a sap, kiss him breathless, or all of the above.

Stiles ends up doing neither, well, aside from pecking Derek on the lips before getting up from the bed, his face twisting in minute discomfort as he does so.

"Come on," Stiles says, grabbing hold of Derek's wrist and pulling him with him. "We have to be at your mom's before lunch and I have jizz running down my legs."

"You have such a way with words," Derek says dryly, and then frowns. "And please don't ever mention my mother and jizz in the same sentence."

"'S your fault anyway," Stiles pokes him in the ribs, grinning when Derek yelps. "You're gonna have to help me clean up."

"Because that's such a hardship," Derek says, eyes sweeping over Stiles' body and licking his lips when he focuses on Stiles' bare ass.

"No," Stiles points a finger at Derek, trying to look stern and failing horribly when he only manages to look angrily turned on instead. "Stop with the face."

"What face?" Derek asks innocently, inching closer to Stiles.

"That face," Stiles gestures at him at the same time takes a step back, throat working as he swallows. "The one that makes you look like you want to do dirty, depraved, unspeakable things to my nubile body."

"Maybe it's because I do," Derek raises an eyebrow at him, resting his hands on Stiles' waist, thumbs rubbing circles against his hips.

"We don't have time," Stiles tells him, more than a little breathless.

Derek shakes his head, leaning in so close their noses bump together, "We have all the time in the world."

Stiles makes a noise that's half a whimper and half a laugh, cheeks coloring when Derek keeps looking at him.

He doesn't say anything, though, just stares back and lets Derek close the distance between them, catching his lips in a kiss.

And he doesn't complain when Derek pushes him up against the wall when they're showering and ruts against him until they both come.

He also doesn't protest when Derek helps clean him, actually leaning into him and moaning low in his throat when Derek starts washing his hair.

Derek takes it as a win.

And also as agreement that yes, they have all the time in the world.

"You're late," Lydia says first thing, wasting no time nor waiting for an answer before pointing a finger at Derek and then at a stack of plates on top of the kitchen counter. "Your mother's waiting for those. Backyard."

"They're always late," Laura looks at them in disapproval as she enters the kitchen. "It's like they can't keep their hands off each other long enough to get to places on time. And we're out of lemonade."

"It's nice seeing you, too," Derek huffs, smiling a little when Lydia rolls her eyes at him but leans up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek and Laura ruffles his hair.

"I'll have you know I wasn't the one who made us late," Stiles sniffs, greeting the girls before Lydia walks out, a roll of paper towels in hand. "If it wasn't for Derek wanting to-"

"No," Laura snaps, closing the fridge door at the same time and making the magnets rattle. "No sex stories when we're about to eat."

Stiles opens his mouth.

"No sex stories any other time, either," Boyd pipes up as he appears at the door, having heard the conversation. "There are children around."

Derek's heart flips at seeing the way Stiles' entire face lights up at the mention of kids.

They haven't really talked about it, about having kids, not since that time at Tori's baby shower when they more or less decided that was something they wanted for themselves in the future. But like Stiles said back then, they still had some very important things to discuss before bringing up the subject of children again, no matter how Derek might feel about it whenever he sees Stiles with Laura's son or Boyd or Erica's little boy or Scott and Allison's kids.

You know, sort of like he gets punched in the gut with waves and waves of love and affection, only to feel helpless at the magnitude of his feelings for Stiles and all that he wants to have with him.

"My lips are sealed," Stiles says solemnly before he breaks into a smile. "Now where are they?"

Boyd is the one to roll his eyes this time, but he still answers, "Kyle's with Erica getting changed and Zach is trying to climb one of the trees in the backyard."

"He's what?" Laura asks sharply, head snapping to the kitchen window, trying to see.

"Alex's got him," Boyd waves a hand at her. "Don't worry."

Laura sighs, mumbling, "I always worry."

Boyd gives her a sympathetic look, taking the full lemonade jar from her hand and telling her to go, "I'll take care of this one."

"Thanks, Boyd."

They all watch as she disappears through the back door, lips curling up when they hear her yell, "Zachary Grayson Hale, what do you think you're doing?"

"How's Zach doing?" Stiles asks quietly, to no one and everyone at the same time.

"He's okay," Boyd tells him, a small smile still on his lips. "It took him about five minutes to get away from Laura and Alex and go ask Isaac to show him his bike when they got here."

"Yeah?" Derek asks, pleasantly surprised.

Laura and Alex adopted Zach a little over a year ago, and he still had a hard time letting either of them out of his sight.

Zach's biological parents died in a car accident, the same one that led him to stay at the hospital as one of Alex's patients for about a month because of his injuries. To say that Alex got attached and fell in love with Zach's little smiles and big brown eyes that take in everything and everyone around him as he helped him heal was an understatement.

Derek doesn't really know when Alex made the decision to talk to Laura about applying for guardianship or how the conversation about them even wanting kids came about, but he remembers answering a call from his sister and hearing her choke on a sob and tell him about this wonderful little boy who needed a home and that she thought she and Alex could give that to him.

And they did.

Zach is turning six in June and they haven't looked back since.

Not to say that everything's been sunshine and rainbows for them, as things rarely are when someone loses their parents that young and goes through a lot of big changes in such a short time. Zach's reluctance to leave Laura and Alex's side because of fear of having them go away being one of the aspects in which that shows.

He's been getting better at that, though, with everyone's help and care and pretty much living out of each other's pockets and constantly being around him.

Isaac teases and says this is the way you know you're a really a Hale: they'll smother you with love and will never leave you alone for as long as you live.

As someone who's had his sisters and uncle barge in on him in inappropriate times more times than he can count, Derek has to say he's not entirely wrong.

"Yeah," Boyd nods, and then turns to Stiles. "He's also been asking about when Uncle Stiles was going to get here because he's the only one who knows how to play 'explorer' the right way."

"Well," Stiles says, and Derek can tell he's trying not to preen. "I shouldn't leave him waiting then."

"Sometimes I think you like being around our kids more than you like hanging with us," Boyd comments, not sounding hurt by it.

"They're more fun. And they're cuter," Stiles says, turning around to look at Derek. "Except for you, boo. You're the cutest of them all."

Derek shakes his head at him, but steals a kiss before walking to the counter to grab the plates. "Come on, then. I'm sure Zach will make you run about four laps around the yard before lunch is served."

Stiles lets out a dreamy sigh, and Derek has to shake his head again at him because for someone who doesn't really like to exercise Stiles sure as well enjoys chasing after a five year old.

A five year old who screams, "Uncle Stiles!" at the top of his lungs as soon as he sees them stepping into the backyard, running away from his mom and only pausing to look back once before barreling into Stiles' legs, the biggest smile on his face, his little hands clutching at Stiles' jeans and tugging.

"Hey, little man," Stiles lowers himself down so he's kneeling in front of him, laughing when Zach hugs him. "How are you?"

Derek can hear Zach telling Stiles in hushed, but still loud, whispers all about how his mom doesn't want him climbing trees because he could get hurt, even though he was being real careful and dad was there and he's a doctor so he could just fix me right up, as he sets down the plates he's carrying on top of one of the folded tables set up on the yard.

Zach stops mid-sentence when Derek comes back, though, aiming a smile his way and lifting a hand up, "Hey, Uncle Bear!"

Derek high-fives him, not even grimacing at the nickname anymore, but still glaring at Stiles when his boyfriend chokes on a laugh.

Since, you know, the nickname is all Stiles' fault.

Because Derek's dating a horrible person, whenever Stiles would babysit Tori he'd let her play with his stuffed animals Bunny Yummy, Dog and, whenever they were at Derek's or after they moved in together, Derek's biker bear Der Bear. That led to Stiles explaining to her whenever she'd go for the bear that he looked just like her Uncle Derek, all grumpy looking but actually a softy inside.

Add that to the fact that sometimes Allison and Laura called him Der when Tori was near by, and it didn't take long for her to put two and two together.

Nevermind that she got the answer wrong.

Because then Uncle Bear was born, and that's all she's called him ever since.

Something Zach was quick to pick up after he started settling in with his new family, for everyone's endless amusement.

Derek doesn't mind it, at least not anymore.

To him it's a testament to how close they've all become, how much they all love each other, how they're family.

"So I heard you were looking at Isaac's bike earlier," Derek tells him, smiling a little when Zach nods vigorously. "You know what we should do?"

"What?" Zach asks, jumping in place.

"We should ask your parents if it'd be cool for you to spend a day in the garage with us."

"Really?" Zach looks up at him, brown eyes round and disbelieving.

"Yeah," Derek nods, ruffling his hair. "You're almost six now. I think you're old enough to come work with us for a day and behave."

Derek ignores the whispered child labor from Stiles, not even sparing him a glance.

"I can behave," Zach promises, expression as serious and determined as he can make it.

"Go ask your parents, then," Derek tilts his chin in Laura's direction. "See what they think about it."

The last words are barely out of Derek's mouth before Zach runs off, grinning when Zach starts yelling, "Mom! Dad! Guess what?"

"Is this what your dad did?" Stiles asks as he gets up, snaking an arm around Derek's waist before they start walking. "Put the kids to work so he could get things done faster?"

"You got us," Derek says dryly, and then shrugs one shoulder. "He didn't really let us do more than hand him things, but it still felt good to be doing something, you know?"

"I know," Stiles nods, leaning in to place a kiss on Derek's cheek.

"You sure it's okay for him to go into work with you?" Alex asks Derek when he and Stiles get to him and Laura, one of his hands resting on Zach's shoulder and the other patting Derek's back when they hug hello.

"It's fine," Laura answers for him, waving a dismissive hand. "Our dad used to do it all the time. Plus, Derek's used to it. How do you think Isaac and Erica learned anything?"

"It's true," Isaac says as he walks up to them, Cora by his side and Lydia following after them. "And I bet I got myself into more trouble than this guy here."

Zach ducks away from Isaac's fingers trying to tickle his sides, moving from Alex's side so he can hide behind Laura's legs, giggling.

Derek sees the way Laura's face softens at that, her lips curled in a small smile as she runs her fingers through Zach's hair, eyes warm when she looks down at him.

"That's not that hard to believe," Cora says, side-eyeing Isaac.

Isaac sticks his tongue out at her.

Derek presses his lips together, trying to contain a smile at how much those two haven't changed in all these years.

Aside from rescuing another cat and naming him Michael - something Stiles always teases them about, especially considering how much Michael loves Derek and always curls up on his lap or feet whenever he can -, things pretty much stayed the same as they were for them four years ago.

They haven't changed their mind about wanting to get married, no matter how many times Lydia tried to convince them to let her plan everything, not thinking it's something they have to do just to show how much they love each other.

Kids are not in the picture either, something Derek can understand but that still makes him feel a little sad. Not because he thinks that's something they should want or do, but because he knows that, aside from Cora having no desire to raise a kid, that also comes from Isaac's abuse at the hands of his father, him not being comfortable or wanting a child of his own in fear of ending up the same way.

It kind of makes Derek want to break something, if he's being honest, knowing how deeply Isaac still feels that.

All conversation stops when they hear laughter coming from the house, and about ten seconds later Boyd is stepping outside, followed by Talia, Jackson, and Erica, who's holding her two year old son, Kyle, in her arms.

And Kyle, much like Zach did before, starts beaming as soon as he sees Derek and Stiles are there, squirming until Erica puts him down and running to them.

Only instead of hugging Stiles when Stiles goes down on his knees again and open his arms to him, he bypasses him completely and throws himself at Derek, laughing loudly when Derek picks him up and hugs him.

"Wow, Stilinski," Jackson whistles. "Way to be rejected. Really, I'm feeling sorry for you."

Derek chuckles when he sees Stiles get up and punch Jackson in the shoulder, but looks back at Kyle when he pats Derek twice on the cheek.

"Hi," Kyle says, all smiles.

Derek can't help but smile back, staring at the almost carbon copy of Boyd, save for the shape of his eyes and his curls, which are all Erica.

Boyd and Erica got married three months after Erica proposed, in a small ceremony at the Hale house for their closest friends and family, and it surprised absolutely no one when she announced her pregnancy a little over a year later by inviting everyone to have dinner at her house and then spending half the night throwing up after finding out the smell of strawberry made her nauseous.

Kyle was born in the beginning of March, and he's growing up to be more and more like Erica everyday.

Derek doesn't know whether to be worried or ridiculously happy for Boyd and Erica.

"Hello," Derek says back, eyes crinkling at the corners. "How are you today? I heard your dad saying you were getting changed when we got here."

"Good," Kyle puffs out his chest, and then starts pulling at his shirt.

"He spilled juice on his shirt earlier," Erica explains as she gets close to them, rubbing a hand over Kyle's back. "That's why we were changing. We couldn't leave you all sticky, now could we?"

Kyle perks up, eyes swinging to his mom when he asks, "Momma? Juice?"

"Here," Boyd hands him his sippy cup, now full of lemonade. "Juice."

"Can you say thank you, daddy?" Erica asks him when Kyle grabs it and promptly starts drinking.

Kyle just blinks at her, happy with his juice.

"I see you're still working on learning manners," Stiles says, leaning against Derek's side and tracing a finger over Kyle's small knuckles. "Which would explain why you completely ignored me before."

"I don't know," Jackson muses out loud, crossing his arms over his chest. "I think he had the right idea with that one."

Stiles gasps, all mock-offense, his expression turning smug when Zach stands up to his full height - which isn't much - and says, glaring at Jackson, "Uncle Stiles is the best."

Jackson starts pouting at that, dropping his arms by his sides and slumping his shoulders and generally making a big show out of how sad that makes him.

Everyone aside from Jackson, Zach, and Kyle press their lips together, trying not to laugh at both of them, especially when Zach starts shifting from foot to foot, and then pats Jackson on the knee, his voice soft when he says, "But I like you, too."

Laura and Alex are grinning down at their son like he's the most amazing person they've ever met, and Alex doesn't waste anytime before scooping Zach up with an arm around his waist and throwing him over his shoulder, ignoring his protests and laughter as he tries to get down.

And that's when Kyle wrinkles his nose when he stops drinking his juice, turning the cup upside down, shaking it and saying, "All gone."

"It is," Erica nods, taking the cup from Kyle. "But we're gonna have to wait until everyone gets here so you can have more when we're eating lunch."

Kyle doesn't look to pleased about that, and Boyd sweeps in and takes him from Derek before Kyle can start showing them just how much of a bad idea he thinks waiting for juice is.

"Speaking of which," Talia says, a small smile on her face as she watches Boyd with Kyle and Alex with Zach. "We should probably start grilling."

"I take it that's my cue," Derek eyes his mother, shaking his head at her when winks at him.

They've never been much for following religion traditions when it came to Easter, so neither of them minds eating meat instead of fish today. Fuck, someone could say they actually prefer it.

"Ill help you," Lydia says, curling her hand around Derek's upper arm and throwing Stiles a look over her shoulder. "Because we all know if we leave it to Stiles, he'll just spend the entire time staring at you and end up drooling on the food."

Stiles shrugs, unbothered.

"Not my fault my man's smoking."

Lydia rolls her eyes at him, and Derek can feel the tips of his ears turning red when Stiles looks at him, smirking.

While Lydia and Derek start preparing the food, Stiles helps Boyd set up the playpen in the backyard, laying over the grass one of the quilts Melissa made for him and Erica when she found out they were expecting.

Kyle is as happy as always when Erica puts him down and dumps about eight different toys there with him, babbling nonsense as he plays.

Derek can tell Boyd and Erica are keeping a close eye on him, something he asks Boyd about when his friend comes help him with lunch as Lydia goes play host and make sure everyone has drinks.

"He's starting to catch on that all he has to do if he wants out of there is to climb over the fence," Boyd says, expression torn between exasperation and amusement. "Hopefully he won't try anything when Scott gets here with Jamie."

"I don't think he'll have the chance," Derek says, looking back at the house and at Allison and Scott making their way over with their kids.

Tori, who's turning four at the end of next month, is sitting on top of Scott's shoulders, one of her hands tugging at his hair and the other waving at everyone, beaming when they wave back.

Derek tries not to find it hilarious the look of discomfort on Scott's face at having his hair being pulled.

He doesn't think he succeeds, when he ends up snorting out loud and getting an elbow to the ribs from Boyd.

"Just wait until you're the one with kids," Boyd says, eyes glinting.

Derek gulps, face flushing.

Tori has Allison's looks and Scott's laidback personality, always with a smile and a hug for everyone she meets.

As Derek watches Scott set her down and Stiles immediately grab her by her tiny waist and lift her up, spinning her around in circles and laughing when she shrieks in joy, he remembers the day she was born.

Not that he'll ever be able to forget it, considering he was the one with Allison when her water broke, in the middle of a The Pacific marathon at her house.

While Scott was at work.

He doesn't remember ever feeling as scared as he was back then, and he'll forever thank Allison for knowing how to keep her calm and making sure he had everything they needed and didn't crash into a tree was they drove to the hospital.

And Stiles and Danny for being the amazing people that they are and using their ambulance to get Scott to the hospital as fast as possible, sirens blaring and everything.

Derek also doesn't remember feeling as small or humble as when he got to hold Tori for the first time, her tiny little fingers wrapping around one of his.

And no matter what Stiles says or what the pictures Lydia took show, he didn't tear up.

Honestly.

Right now Allison trails behind Scott with their fifteen months\ old son, Jamie, perched on her hip, one of her hands wrapped around his tiny wrist and making him wave at everyone, trying him to get to say hi to people, just like his sister.

Jamie, for his turn, looks exactly like a mini-Scott, down to the puppy eyes and uneven jaw. He's calmer, sometimes downright shy, a lot more like Allison, taking in everything around him.

He is, too, for some reason, completely obsessed with Jackson.

Something that horrifies not only Jackson himself but Stiles, too, who pouts whenever Jamie makes grabby hands for Jackson when Stiles is the one holding him.

Which happens a lot.

Case in point being right now, when Stiles goes to kiss Jamie hello while he still holds on to Tori, only to have Jamie pat him in the nose once and then throw himself forward when Jackson comes near, arms stretched as he waits for Jackson to pick him up.

Derek bites down on his bottom lip trying not to laugh, an action Allison repeats as she snakes an arm around Stiles' waist and kisses him on the cheek.

That's not enough to make Stiles smile, though, not until Tori imitates her mom and smacks a loud and wet kiss on Stiles' other cheek, grinning when he chuckles and runs a hand through her hair.

That's right about the time she notices Derek staring at them, her grin widening as she pats Stiles on the shoulder and points at Derek, her mouth moving as she talks.

"Come on," Boyd says, hip checking Derek away from the grill. "Give me this and go say hi before you let everything burn. You're worse than Stiles with the kids sometimes."

"Thanks," Derek claps him on the shoulder, ignoring the comment about how, apparently, he has it as bad as Stiles when it comes to the children.

And they all know Zach, Tori, Kyle, and Jamie have Stiles wrapped around their little fingers.

"Look who we have here," Stiles grins as Derek approaches.

Allison gives Derek a brief hug and a kiss hello before looking back to where Jackson is trying to get Jamie into the playpen with Kyle, not succeeding in getting Jamie to let go of his shirt in order to do so.

"Well, that's not gonna end well," Allison mutters before she walks away, a small smile on her lips.

Stiles hides his snicker against the side of Tori's head, who just keeps grinning at Derek until he opens her arms and takes her from Stiles, hugging her tight against him.

"Hey, bug," Derek says, kissing the side of her head.

"Hi, Uncle Bear," Tori says back, patting Derek's stubble.

Derek sees Stiles' entire face soften as he watches them, his lips tugging up at the corner, and Derek feels his heart beating faster, stomach flipping, a warm smile of his own forming on his lips.

"How are you?" Derek asks, clearing his throat and focusing back on the little girl he's holding.

"I'm awesome," Tori says, dimples showing, sounding so much like Scott and Stiles Derek can't help but laugh.

"I see Uncle Stiles has been teaching you some new words," Derek arches an eyebrow at her, only to have Tori flash her dimples at him.

"Like she wouldn't have learned that anyway," Stiles snorts, rolling his eyes as he stops by Derek's side, one hand coming to rest on the small of his back. "And it's not like I'm teaching her how to cuss."

"What's cuss?" Tori promptly asks, tilting her head to the side.

Derek presses his lips together, looking skyward, while Stiles just blinks at her and says, "I heard Aunt Cora brought the cats with her. Why don't you go ask her to see if you can play with them?"

Tori's eyes widen as she tugs on Derek's shirt asking him to let her down, skipping off to where Cora's sitting by Erica's side near the playpen.

Derek shakes his head at Stiles, chuckling when Stiles offers him a sheepish smile, getting an arm around his waist and pulling him close.

"Someone would have thought you'd be used to little ears by now," Derek says, rubbing their noses together.

Stiles makes a face at him, arms wrapping themselves around Derek's neck, fingers playing with the hair at his nape.

"Are you going to be mad at me when I accidentally end up teaching our kids how to swear?" Stiles asks him, voice low, eyes shining in the morning light.

Derek's fingers spasm against Stiles' hips at hearing him speak so freely about this, and his tongue darts out to wet his suddenly dry lips before he says, "We should probably make a list of age approved swear words, just in case."

"You mean like they can say poophead when they're five but can only say shithead when they're fifteen?" Stiles' tone is teasing, but his eyes speak of a seriousness that tells Derek he knows exactly how much this conversation means to them.

"Exactly like that," Derek nods, warmth blooming in his chest when Stiles smiles at him just before closing the distance between them and pressing their lips together.

"Other kids' parents will hate us," Stiles comments when they pull back, sounding completely unbothered by that thought.

And Derek can't really help when he blurts out, "I thought you said we had some other things to discuss before talking about having kids."

Stiles blinks at him, taken aback, before he swallows and stars chewing at his bottom lip, his entire body tense, a clear sign he's nervous about something.

Derek instantly gets suspicious.

"We do," Stiles tells him before he can say anything. "We do have to. Talk about other things. Like-," Stiles gulps, licks his lips. "Like- Well, we already have the house. And regular income with the garage and me working at the firehouse. And us moving in together is a clear indicator that we're- That we're in this. Together. For the foreseeable future."

"We are," Derek interrupts him, eyes focused on Stiles'. "I am."

"Right," Stiles breathes out, relaxing a little in Derek's arms. "Right. And we've been together for five years now. That's- That's a lot. Of years together. But we've never really talked about making it official or whatever. Or when we'd like to have kids. Or how many. Or if we'd go through the adoption route or surrogacy or-"

"I get it," Derek says, hands sliding up and down Stiles' back in a calming gesture. "You just thought you'd mention it. No pressure."

"Right," Stiles says again, eyes bright as he looks up at Derek. "No pressure."

He still doesn't relax completely, though, something that makes Derek frown and open his mouth to ask what's wrong.

Not that he manages to, when the Sheriff and Mrs. McCall arrive, followed by Danny, Ethan, and their German Shepherd, Apollo.

The Sheriff and Mrs. McCall are still going strong, with the Sheriff looking to retire in a few years time and Scott's mom helping Stiles making sure his dad keeps to his diet and stops sneaking junk food past his deputies.

They're not married, something Derek thinks they'll never get around to doing, with the way the Sheriff's always felt about Stiles' mom and Mrs. McCall having the background that she does with Scott's dad.

They're happy together, though, and that's really all that matters.

Now Danny and Ethan got married in Hawaii last year, to everyone's absolute delight at getting to go on vacation to a place as amazing as that one to celebrate their friends' love for each other. They decided to adopt Apollo not long after.

Needless to say, Tori and Zach run straight to the dog, forgetting Michael and Lucifer near Cora, laughing when Apollo starts licking their faces, the three of them making so much noise they attract the attention of everyone in the yard.

Stiles slips from Derek's hold and goes say hello to his dad, leaving Derek frowning and wondering if he's missing something.

A feeling Derek has to push back momentarily when Boyd calls for him to come help him, and soon he's too busy either grilling or slapping either Scott or Cora's hands away whenever they try to steal some food.

And then when they're all sitting by the folded tables as they eat - Kyle happy once more as he drinks his juice and watches his parents deep in conversation with Scott, Tori and Zach sneaking meat to Apollo and Danny and Ethan pretending not to see as they speak to Talia, Jamie sitting on Jackson's lap and sticking his fingers into his mash potatoes and Allison, the Sheriff and Mrs. McCall trying to cover up their laughter, and the Stiles, Isaac and Cora talking in hushed whispers -, Derek doesn't really feel anything but warm content.

He doesn't feel anything other than happy at having him family surrounding him, laughing and talking, living, right here with him.

Because it took him a while, but he's finally come to accept that he deserves this.

He deserves having these people as his friends and family.

He deserves their love and care and friendship.

Because he's worthy.

And because he finds that now he doesn't hesitate to love them back.

"Stay still."

"But it tickles."

"Tough luck. Unless you want to go out with crooked whiskers, you're going to stop moving."

"I'm trying."

"You're worse than the kids, I swear to god."

Derek bites down a smile at that, watching as Stiles pouts, letting Allison move his head with a hand on his chin as she starts drawing the second line of a whisker on his face.

"You still love me," he hears Stiles mumble, only to have Allison throw the marker on top of the table and her arms up.

"I give up," Allison huffs. "Go find someone else to draw on you."

Stiles stares after her, crestfallen, only to turn and mock glare at Zach and Tori when they start giggling, their painted-pink noses scrunching up adorably.

"I could sit still," Zach says, obviously proud of himself.

Tori nods in agreement.

And then Derek is on the end of one of Stiles' glares when he can't hold his laughter anymore, resting a hand on the back of Stiles' neck and saying, "Mom looks about done with Kyle. She'll help you."

"And we'll get these two their bunny ears," Lydia says, smiling sweetly when the kids grab hold her hands. "I heard Aunt Cora brought all kinds of colors with her."

"Like green?" Tori perks, looking up at Lydia.

"Yes," Lydia nods, and then turns to Zach. "And I think I saw a purple one earlier. But you'll have to be fast if you don't want Uncle Scott to grab it first."

Derek grins as he sees the way Zach's eyes narrow at that, knowing Scott will have a fight in his hands if he decides to wear the bunny ears in Zach's favorite color.

"Stiles," Talia calls, dragging Derek's attention to her, eyes glinting at the smirk on his mother's lips. "I hear you're having a hard time staying still."

"It's all lies and slander," Stiles drawls, cheeks slightly flushed.

Talia gives him a look that clearly says she's not dealing with any of his shit today, and pats the empty chair across from her.

"We've been doing this for four years," she says, glancing quickly at Derek, smirk softening into something else. "You know better. Now sit down. I still have to make my son presentable."

Derek's hand falls from Stiles' neck to slide down his back as Stiles gets up and does as he's told, this time only wrinkling his nose as he visibly makes an effort not to laugh or pull away when Talia starts drawing on him.

It takes no longer than five minutes for her to declare him ready, and Derek's lips twitch up when Stiles smiles at his mom and kisses her cheek in thanks.

"I better go change, then," Stiles tells Derek, wiggling his eyebrows. "We all know it's me in my bunny suit that makes all of this worth it."

Derek just raises an eyebrow at him, but he knows that by the way the tips of his ears turn red he's not that successful in proving Stiles wrong.

Stiles grins at him, bending down to place a kiss on his hairline before sauntering off to Derek's room to change.

Derek shakes his head at him, taking Stiles' place in front of his mom and wrinkling his nose when she scratches her nails against the scruff on his chin.

"This would have been easier if you shaved," his mom gives him a pointed look.

"It's not like you can't still do it," Derek grumbles, and then adds quietly, "Stiles likes it when I don't shave."

Talia sighs, all fondness and warmth, and goes about painting a bunny's face on Derek, her eyes focused on what she's doing.

"I know I say this every year," she says, voice low, and keeps going before Derek can open his mouth to stop her. "But I'm glad you found him. You needed peace in your life, and heaven knows Stiles brought that to you. I'm beside myself, Derek, knowing you have someone like him in your life."

"Mom," Derek mutters around the lump in his throat, even though he knows no matter what he tries to say it won't stop his mother from telling him this, year after year after year.

He knows they worried, knows how bad those couple of years after Kate were, how he acted nothing like himself.

He knows seeing him that way, like a shell of man, hurt his family deeply. And, that seeing him right now, so many years later, being able to laugh and joke and relax around them and just be himself, without the weight that being himself was not enough, is nothing short of a miracle for them.

And they all know Stiles is the spark that lit up the changes Derek decided to make in himself.

"Beside myself, honey, that you finally got everything good in life you deserved," Talia whispers, cupping Derek's cheek and giving him a small smile.

So Derek does all that he can do, which is to lean forward and pull his mom to him, hugging her tight.

That is until they hear the sounds of little feet running their way and Kyle's voice yelling, "Nana! Hug!"

They untangle themselves just in time for Kyle to get to them, Talia laughing when scooping him up into her lap, her arms wrapping around him and squeezing him at the same time she plants kisses all over his face.

"Sorry," Boyd says as he walks up to them, giving Kyle an unimpressed look. "Someone ran away from me."

Kyle just smiles back at him, all innocence, his pair of yellow Bunny ears perched crookedly on his head.

"It's okay," Talia waves a hand at him, grinning down at Kyle. "You're good spending time with Grandma, aren't you?"

Derek can't help but smile every time Kyle calls her Nana, that, more than anything, making it clear to everyone that Boyd and Erica are Hales just as much are Derek and his sisters.

"Yes," Kyle says, just as he reaches out a hand trying to grab one of the markers from the table.

"I think Grandma needs to pay more attention," Derek says dryly, moving the markers further away from them.

"I think Grandma raised three kids and they all turned out just fine," Talia gives him a flat look.

"And I think I'm gonna go help Lydia with the kids," Boyd pipes up, eyes glinting in amusement. "If you're okay with staying with Kyle for a little bit."

"We're fine, aren't we?" Talia looks down at Kyle, who just takes his bunny ears off and tries to put them on Talia. "Yes, we're okay."

"I'll go with you," Derek tells Boyd, stopping only to kiss both him mom and Kyle on the forehead.

"Alex set aside your bunny ears," Boyd tells him as they step into the other room, tilting his chin towards the man before he walks up to where Erica is trying to tame her hair long enough to put it in a bun on top of her head.

"Black," Alex says when he sees him, looking up from pining a fluffy purple bunny tail to the back of Zach's pants. "Stiles got them before he went off to change."

"Thanks, I'll get it from him," Derek claps him on the shoulder, and then flicks one of Zach's bunny ears. "Looking good, buddy."

"Thanks," Zach grins up at him. "Uncle Scott wasn't even upset I got the purple ears instead of him."

"That's very magnanimous of him."

Zach frowns, "What's mag- magnana- Magna-"

"Derek means it was very nice of Scott to do that," Alex explains, raising an eyebrow at Derek as if to say did you really have to use big words?

"Oh," Zach says, and then nods. "It was. Even though that meant he got to wear the pink ones."

Derek presses his lips together, trying not to smile.

"I'm sure Scott looks good with pink bunny ears," he says loudly, finding Scott sitting on the couch with Tori.

"You bet," Scott says loudly, smiling, and then turns to talk to Tori. "Don't you think I look good?"

"The prettiest!" Tori says, grabbing Scott's face between her tiny hands and squishing his cheeks together.

"I think so too," Allison offers as she places her hand on the back of the couch and bends over so she can place a kiss on Scott's cheeks, her blue bunny ears falling victims to Tori's grabby hands.

"And I think Jackson and I have to get going," Lydia informs them, eyes softening when her eyes find Jackson sitting on an armchair with Jamie on his lap. "I need to make sure no one messed anything up while I was here for lunch."

"They wouldn't dare. No one wants to have to face your wrath," Jackson tells her, passing Jamie to Allison.

Or at least trying to, and then looking kind of helpless when all Jamie does is curl his fists around his shirt, refusing to let go.

"Come on, sweetie," Allison tells him, rubbing Jamie's back. "You'll see Uncle Jackson again in a couple of hours, I promise."

Jamie doesn't look convinced, brows furrowing as he looks from his mom to Jackson and back again.

It's not until Jackson sighs and cups a hand on the back of his head and looking incredibly awkward as he does so, says, "Listen to your mom. You'll be at the hospital with me in no time."

Derek's lips tug up as he watches Jamie seemingly consider those words.

He's a lot smarter than their usual one year olds and Derek doesn't think he's ever seen a child as young as Jamie that aware of what was going on around him, and watching him stare down Jackson for a couple of seconds before letting go of him and snuggling back against his mom just kind of makes their point.

"I'll never understand why my kid loves you so much," Scott shakes his head, the edge of a smile playing on his lips.

Jackson scoffs, shifting in place, looking so uncomfortable it makes Derek chew on the inside of his cheeks not to laugh.

It's Lydia that comes to his rescue, flipping her hair over her shoulder and grabbing Jackson's hand as she says, "He obviously has flawless taste."

"I agree," Erica pipes up, hair now secured in a bun and a pair of red bunny ears on top of her head. "Jackson's also my favorite."

Jackson looks even more embarrassed at that, only keeping his mouth shut when Lydia starts running her nails up and down his arm.

Lydia and Jackson's on-and-off-and-on-again relationship has been on for the past two years, after Aiden made his final visit to Beacon Hills and tried to get Lydia to go on a date with him for the majority of his stay in the town.

To say Jackson hadn't taken that well was an understatement, but at least that situation just served to finally get him and Lydia to talk about their relationship and admit how much they loved each other.

Six months ago they moved in together, and so far everything between them has been as great as it ever was.

"I thought that I was your favorite," Boyd raises an eyebrow at her, and then ducking his head when Erica tilts hers up to kiss him.

"It's not like you named Jackson his godfather or anything, Scott," Allison rolls her eyes, dimpled smiling making an appearance when Jackson huffs and averts his gaze.

And when Scott turns from side to side, eyes sweeping over the room, before he lets out a relieved breath, "Thank god Stiles didn't hear-"

"I heard that!" Stiles yells out, startling everyone as he makes his way down the stairs in his white and pink bunny suit, Danny, Ethan, Isaac, Cora, Laura, the Sheriff and Mrs. McCall following behind him. "And you shouldn't be spreading lies, Scotty. We all know Jamie's my godson."

"What we know is that your ability to ignore things you don't like is scary sometimes," Stiles' dad says, eyeing Stiles like he's trying to find out where he went wrong.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Stiles sniffs.

The Sheriff just waves out a hand as if to say see?

Derek dutifully ducks his head so Stiles can put on the black bunny ears on his head, frowning as he wonders what all of them were doing upstairs while Stiles got changed.

Not that he gets to think about it much, with the way Stiles' face twists in about a hundred different expressions as he looks at Derek before settling on something that makes Derek's stomach flip.

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing you like this," Stiles says quietly, fingers tracing the whiskers drawn on Derek's face.

"Are you two ever gonna look less disgustingly in love with each other?" Cora asks as she tilts her head, the brown bunny ears she's wearing almost sliding off her head.

"No," Derek and Stiles say at the same time, smirking.

You know, even though Stiles' cheeks and Derek's ears turn pink.

"As they shouldn't," Mrs. McCall says firmly, a small smile on her lips.

"Exactly," Talia agrees as she walks into the room, putting down Kyle when he starts squirming in her hold and watching as he walks back to Boyd, laying his head on Boyd's shoulder when Boyd picks him up.

Derek just pulls Stiles' tighter against him as he tries to will the blood rushing to his face away, hiding his face against Stiles' hair when both his mom and Mrs. McCall glance at each other before looking at him and winking.

"And it's not like you two are any different," Danny comments, dimples showing when Cora glares at him.

"Neither are we, to be fair," Ethan points out, grinning when Danny leans in to peck him on the lips.

Neither of them are wearing bunny ears or makeup, since they don't have bikes and are not participating on the race, along with Derek's mom, Stiles' dad and Mrs. McCall, Lydia and Jackson, and the kids.

Nevermind that the kids didn't let something as trivial as not participating in the race be an excuse not to dress up as bunnies.

Derek kind of wishes his mom would reconsider racing, but he knows how many memories of their dad it brings her to watch everyone participate, let alone do it herself when he's not there, since going on the Egg Run was very much a dad related thing for them.

Even though Talia was the one who taught him how to ride in the first place.

So it means a lot to them that she's still coming, though, even if it is just to help out with the kids and watch as all of her kids race on their bikes.

"We should get going," Lydia says, tugging at Jackson's arm.

They say their goodbyes to everyone, even though they'll be seeing each other again soon, with Jackson avoiding everyone's eyes when he stops to place a kiss to the top of Jamie's head before they leave.

Danny and Ethan are soon to follow, seeing as they're Egg Run volunteers and are needed to help set up the baskets.

Derek hugs them both goodbye and watches out of the corner of his eye as Danny pulls Stiles away from him so they can talk, Stiles hands flailing as he speaks in a tone so low Derek can't hear and Danny's smile getting bigger and bigger as he listens.

Not that Derek gets to pay that much attention to the two of them when Laura gets an arm around his shoulders and one of her hands comes to pinch his cheek, her lips stretched in a wicked grin.

"Don't you look precious," Laura coos, laughing at Derek when he snaps his teeth at her.

"You're a bunny, too," Derek mumbles, scowling at Laura's gray bunny ears.

"But I don't look cute," Laura shrugs one shoulder, unbothered. "I look badass."

"Mom said ass!" Zach tells the room, even though they all heard her.

"What's ass?" Tori asks, peering up at Scott, who just turns to glare at Laura.

"Ass!" Kyle yells, lifting his head up from Boyd's shoulder and laughing when Boyd sighs and looks skyward and Erica chokes trying not to laugh.

"Really, Laura," Derek shakes his head at her, tone flat and straight-faced. "How could you."

"Oh, look," Stiles says, grinning so wide his cheeks must hurt. "I'm not the one who taught them how to cuss afterall."

Danny hides his face behind his hands at that, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

Cora and Isaac are not as polite, though, cackling gleefully as Laura tries to glare everyone into forgetting this ever happened, Isaac's orange bunny ears falling to the floor when he throws his head back.

The others, for their part, look from Stiles to Laura with a mixture of exasperation, amusement, and horror on their faces. With the exception of Derek, of course, who doesn't look anything less than charmed and in love by Stiles' words.

He knows it makes him look like an idiot, but still.

It's been five years, and Stiles still makes his stomach flip at the weirdest things.

Danny and Ethan take their leave at that, chuckling as Scott tries to explain to Tori that ass means the same thing as butt and that no, you can't go around say it, and Erica tries to shush Kyle whenever he starts repeating the word while Boyd sends unimpressed looks at Laura.

Zach, though, just waits until Laura lets go of Derek and goes to sit by his and Alex's sides before stretching out a hand, palm up, and saying, "You owe me a dollar for saying a bad word."

Laura blinks at him, and then arches an eyebrow, "And I think you owe me a dollar for repeating that bad word."

Zach stares back at her, unflinching.

And then gets this innocent look on his face and says slowly, "So we don't owe anyone any dollars."

Laura grins widely at him while Alex presses his lips together and looks torn between laughing or telling Laura that's not how things are supposed to go.

"Our kids," The Sheriff sighs, all mock disappointment, shaking his head.

Both Talia and Mrs. McCall pat him in the shoulder, while Stiles, Scott, and Laura frown and say, "Hey!"

Only to have Kyle yell, "Hey!" right after them.

Stiles snorts, coming up to Boyd so he can tickle Kyle, "God, you're cute."

Kyle just giggles, screaming, "Dada!" as he tries to get away from Stiles' fingers.

"I'm cute, too!" Tori announces, standing up on Scott's lap and placing her hands on her hips.

"You are," Derek says honestly, because seeing Tori with bunny ears and bunny makeup is about the most adorable thing he's ever seen.

You know, after Stiles dressed as a bunny.

"Thank you, Bear," Tori smiles, blowing him a kiss.

"And I'm bad-," Zach starts, only to stop mid-sentence when Alex looks down at him, eyebrow raises.

"You're awesome," Isaac whispers conspiratorially, nodding in encouragement when Zach turns to him.

"And I'm awesome," Zach repeats, biting down on his bottom lip when everyone chuckles.

"You are," Laura says, throwing her arms around Zach's shoulders and squeezing him tight, placing kisses all over his face. "So awesome."

Zach just wrinkles his nose but doesn't try to get away, and even kisses Laura's cheek after she pulls back and lets him go.

"Am I awesome?" Stiles asks as he goes back to Derek's side once again, resting his chin on top of Derek's shoulders, arms going around his waist, breath tickling the side of Derek's neck.

"Yes," Derek says as he turns his head, their noses bumping, and he can't help but add, "And you're cute, too."

Stiles rolls his eyes at him, but Derek can tell by the twitch of his lips that he's pleased.

As much as it still affects Derek whenever Stiles compliments him about something - whether it be how good his cooking is or how adorable he looks just after he wakes up or how much of a sap he is -, it makes Derek smile knowing Stiles pretty much feels the same way.

So Derek can't really help but bring up a hand to cup Stiles' jaw and lean in to press their lips together, their teeth clinking when Stiles starts smiling halfway into kissing him back.

They break they kiss when they hear someone clear their throat near them, and Derek's been around long enough - and has been caught making out with Stiles enough times - to recognize the sound as it coming from Stiles' dad.

Another thing that still affects Derek, no matter how much time has passed, and makes him blush and straighten his spine at the same time as he turns to look at the Sheriff.

"Why don't you two go grab your things so I can put them in Melissa's car?" the Sheriff asks, lips tilted up. "Unless you'd prefer walking around town in bunny gear after the race is over."

"I'll have you know I look very fetching in unitards," Stiles bats his lashes at his dad.

Derek purses his lips together, half wanting to agree and half wanting to just push Stiles in the direction of the stairs so they can grab their clothes bags.

"I'm sure Derek like you in whatever it is you're wearing," the Sheriff says, only for a look of pure horror flash across his face as Stiles starts grinning and opens his mouth to say something.

Derek, also being used to Stiles making inappropriate comments in front of basically anyone who'd listen, is fast in covering Stiles' mouth with his hand, trying to suppress a shiver with the way Stiles' lips brush across his palm as he still tries to talk.

"We'll go grab our stuff," Derek tells him, leading Stiles away with a hand on the small of his back as Stiles starts licking his hand trying to get him to let go.

The Sheriff just gives him a grateful look, and gets distracted when Allison walks by holding Jaime, who takes one look at Stiles' dad and starts making grabby hands at him.

Stiles stops what he's doing as his entire face softens when he looks at his dad grinning down at Jamie, and Derek's stomach flips when Stiles' eyes move from his dad to him.

They don't say anything, but they both know what Stiles is thinking.

About how it would be like for the Sheriff to be holding their kid instead of Scott and Allison's.

As they make their way upstairs, it makes Derek wonder what it is about today that has them thinking about this so much.

It's not the first time they've all been together with the kids, or alone with them, considering how much the two of them offer to babysit.

Hell, if there was a time where they should be seriously thinking and talking about this would be when they were all born, at the hospital, with him and Stiles getting to hold Tori and Kyle and Jamie for the first time.

Maybe it has something to do with this holiday meaning something to them, with it being something Derek's dad used to love and something that kept Stiles grounded when he was a kid and his mom was at the hospital.

It's something they associate with family, and after five years together and knowing they both want to have their own family it's not really a stretch to start thinking about stuff like this.

Yes, it probably must be it.

They help Mrs. McCall put their things in the trunk of her car, watching as Scott struggles trying to buckle Tori in her seat while Allison successfully gets Jamie secured in his. Erica and Boyd are having much the same problem with Kyle, who keeps going limp whenever they try to make him sit up so they can buckle him up and sliding down his seat.

"Should we help?" Stiles asks, trying not to laugh.

"They've had him for two years," Derek says, shoulders shaking. "I think they got it."

And they do, because soon enough they're all saying goodbye to Talia, the Sheriff and Mrs. McCall going to their cars, Boyd getting in his while Erica hops on her bike, the same thing happening with Scott and Allison as Allison kisses him on the nose before pulling down the visor of his helmet. Zach hugs Laura and kisses her on the cheek when his pleas to let him go on the bike with her go unanswered, and he's maybe pouting a little when he and Alex get in the car.

Isaac and Cora get into a discussing about who's bike they're gonna be taking, which in the end leads them to go on separate ones and betting on who's going to get to the finish line first.

"If I win, you're gonna have to clean the litter box for a whole month," Cora tells him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And if I win you're gonna have to stop playing loud music when you work out in the mornings for two months," Isaac raises an eyebrow, smirking when Cora narrows her eyes at him.

"Please," Laura huffs, having heard them. "It's obviously I'm the one who's gonna win."

Derek sighs, looking skyward and wondering what he did to get Laura and Cora as his sisters, because Laura's words only serve for her and Cora to start arguing about who's the better driver.

"Are we gonna get in on the bet?" Stiles asks, watching in amusement as they argue.

"No," Derek and Erica say at the same time, sharing a glance.

"We know better," Erica tells him. "It never ends well."

"The last time I made a bet with them and won," Derek starts, smiling despite himself. "It was ten bucks to see who could eat more marshmallows without throwing up. They jumped me when I was walking back to my room, pinned me down, grabbed my wallet, and stole not only the twenty bucks back but also all the money I had on me."

Stiles presses his lips together, one hand coming up to run through Derek's hair when he says, voice strangled as he tries not to burst out laughing, "Baby."

Derek huffs, "I know."

"And that's why we never bet against Cora and Laura on anything," Erica nods solemnly.

It takes about five more minutes of Cora and Laura yelling at each other before Isaac and Derek decide to step in, remind them that if they don't get going soon then neither of them will win anything.

Even so, Erica is the first one to drive away, raising a hand up in a wave when Cora and Laura start screaming after her.

Derek just rolls his eyes, taking his time to get up on his bike and have Stiles settle in behind him, arms wrapped around Derek's waist.

"Are you never going to learn how to drive one?" Derek asks as they watch Laura and Cora drive off, with Isaac close behind them.

"Now why would I do that when I have you to drive me around?" Stiles drawls out, kissing the back of Derek's neck. "Plus, I like being behind you just fine."

Derek rolls his eyes at that even though Stiles can't see him, and leans back against him, covering Stiles' hands with his own.

"I like this too," Derek says quietly, because in a way it was being exactly like this, both of them on the same bike, preparing to race, that was the catalyst to getting them together.

Stiles kisses him again, on the soft skin right under his ear this time, and squeezes him once before saying, "Put on your helmet, baby."

Derek does as he's told, with Stiles doing the same, and soon they're off to the hospital for their fifth consecutive Egg Run.

And Derek can't help but smile to himself at that, letting go of one of the handlebars so he can trace Stiles' knuckles with his fingers, basking in the fact that this is another year he has Stiles here with him, his front plastered to Derek's back, arms tight around his waist, the wind and roar of the bike drawing out any sounds as they ride.

Yes, Derek thinks, he really likes this.

"Are you all set?" Alex asks, checking something on his iPad, much like Lydia did that first run Derek and Stiles ran together.

"We will be," Allison says, trying to pry Jamie's hands from the tight hold he has on her shirt. "As soon as I get someone to let go of me."

"Mama," Jamie says, tugging at her shirt.

"That's me," Allison nods. "And mommy has to go ride a bike for charity for a while. So how about you go with Uncle Jackson and let go of mommy's shirt?"

Derek can't help but snort when, as soon as Jackson's name comes out of Allison's mouth, Jamie perks up, twisting his head to look around.

"I honestly don't know what Jamie sees in him," Stiles comments, sounding all kinds of bothered.

Especially when Jamie starts saying, "Jax. Jax. Jax," and sees Jackson walking up to them, a pair of small dark green bunny ears in his hand.

"Maybe it's because Jackson got him bunny ears," Derek guesses, biting down on his bottom lip as Stiles tries to glare at Jackson taking Jamie from Allison and sliding the ears on his head.

Tries being the key word.

Because Jamie smiling and trying to grab at the end of the ears is just too cute to leave anyone angry for long.

"Now we're all set," Allison smiles, dimples showing.

"Really," the Sheriff says, running a hand over Kyle's head when Boyd and Erica glance at him, a small smile on his lips as Kyle starts chewing on his shirt. "We've got them. Don't worry about it."

"I feel like I should apologize for that," Boyd says with a grimace, tilting his chin at the now damp spot on the fabric.

Stiles' dad just rolls his eyes, "Trust me. I've had worse things than spit on my clothes."

"Because you're a cop?" Isaac asks, looking torn between being disgusted by that info and curious.

"No," the Sheriff snorts, and then looking entirely too played with himself. "Because I'm Stiles' dad."

"Hey," Stiles protests, glowering at his dad. "I was a good kid."

Both Mrs. McCall and the Sheriff choke on laughs at that, making Stiles looks even more sullen as he crosses his arms over his chest and stares them down.

He's pouting.

Derek wants to kiss him.

"Dude," Scott says, poking Stiles on the cheek. "Half the trouble we got into when we were kids was because of some idea you had."

"Well," Stiles huffs, quickling looking at his dad and Scott's mom before averting his gaze. "Don't go telling them that."

"Honey," Mrs. McCall smiles at him, reaching out a hand to pat Stiles' arm. "We already know."

"Come on," Derek says, trying not to laugh. "Let's go before you dig yourself deeper."

Everyone's smiling at Stiles when he turns to glare at Derek, and Derek does as he's been wanting to do and drags him in for a kiss, one hand on the back of Stiles' neck as he presses their lips together.

"Say bye to your parents, kids," Mrs. McCall says to Tori and Zach, who are standing by her side and watching in fascination all the bikes and people milling around in costumes.

Derek remembers feeling like this when he was little and came to the runs with his dad, the awe at seeing so many different types of bikes and seeing people together with paint on their faces and bunny tails attached to the back of their pants.

Laura hugs Zach and kisses him soundly on the forehead while Alex stops checking his iPad so he can hug him and ruffle his hair, telling him to, "Be good to Mrs. McCall and the Sheriff."

"I will," Zach nods. "Promise."

Allison kisses Jamie and thanks Jackson for taking care of him, and then turning to Tori and adjusting her bunny ears before cupping her face between her hands and kissing the tip of her nose.

She smiles when Tori giggles, reminding her to, "Be good to Grandma and Grandpa and stick close to them and Uncle Jackson, Uncle Ethan, Uncle Danny, and Aunt Lydia, okay?"

"And Jaime and Zach?"

"And Jaime and Zach," Allison nods, running a hand through her curls before getting up.

Scott is just finishing up snuggling the fuck out of Jamie and kissing his mom on the cheek before he turns to Tori, booping her nose.

"Hey," Scott kneels, arms opened. "Can you give me a hug before mommy and I go riding?"

"Yes," Tori says, throwing her arms around Scott. "Can I go with you, Daddy?"

Scott shakes his head, face full of sympathy. "Not until you're older."

"But why?" Tori asks, brows furrowed, and everyone settles in to listen to her.

Because they all know that once Tori starts asking why questions, they're going to be there a while.

"Little kids are not allowed to be on bikes," Scott explains, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.

"But why?"

Stiles snorts, resting his forehead on Derek's shoulder.

"Because you could get hurt."

"I won't get hurt," Tori says, earnest. "I promise."

Scott presses his lips together, while Allison hides her smile behind a hand.

"You still can't come with us," Scott tells her. "Unless you want Grandpa to put me in jail."

"Why?" Tori asks, and then turns to Stiles' dad with wide eyes. "Why, Grandpa?"

The Sheriff looks horrified as Tori looks up at him, which kind of makes Derek want to laugh.

It's not everyday he sees Stiles's dad scared of an almost four year old.

Luckily, Mrs. McCall comes to his rescue, laying a hand on top of Tori's head and saying, "You know how it's Grandpa's job to put away people who do bad things?"

Tori nods, trying to understand.

"Hurting little kids is a bad thing," she continues. "And if your daddy took you with him on his bike and you got hurt, Grandpa would have to put him away."

Tori stares at Mrs. McCall for a few seconds before turning to Scott, her little hand coming up so she can pat him on the nose a couple of times, "Bye, Daddy. I stay with Grandma."

Erica and Boyd say goodbye to Kyle next, distracting him from eating the collar of Stiles' dad's shirt by handing him another cup full of juice.

And making everyone laugh when Kyle screams in delight, "Juice!", and almost hits the Sheriff in the face in his eagerness to start drinking.

They all start walking back to their bikes - aside from Alex, who goes see if everyone's in their posts and if anyone needs to be paired up with someone -, Danny and Ethan reassuring everyone they'll also help take care of the kids, already roping Zach and Tori into seeing who spots more people wearing black bunny ears.

Derek stops about a few steps away from them when he notices Stiles is not following, turning his head back and frowning when Stiles just waves him off and tells him, "I'll be right there!"

His frown deepens when Stiles starts talking to his dad, Danny, and Lydia, every once in a while looking back at Derek before glancing away, his cheeks flushing.

It makes Derek's suspicions come back full force, and when Stiles jogs back to him after hugging them all goodbye, Derek narrows his eyes at him and asks, "Do I want to know what you're up to?"

Stiles' eyes round, all mock innocence, as he tries to pretend he has no idea what Derek's talking about.

"What are you talking about?"

Derek raises an eyebrow at him, "I've known you for five years. I think I know when you're planning something."

Stiles blinks at him, and the way his entire face changes as he stares intensely at Derek, eyes almost golden in the afternoon sun.

They stay that way for a few seconds, Derek's stomach flipping at having Stiles so focused on him, before Stiles' entire face softens, lips tipping up in a small smile.

"Do you trust me?" Stiles asks, smile widening a little when Derek doesn't hesitate before nodding. "Then just wait. You'll see."

"Okay," Derek says, swallowing hard. "Okay."

And Derek does see, when they get to the finish line some time later.

After they get on the bike, Stiles wrapped around him, behind him, a warm line against his back and the sides of his thighs.

After Alex gives start to the race, Scott and Allison, Erica and Boyd, Isaac and Cora, and Laura, all riding by their side, smiles on their faces, bunny ears moving with the wind.

After Chief Finstock, of all people, drives by them in his car, yelling out words of encouragement and startling Derek so bad he almost runs them off the road.

After Stiles starts laughing so hard he has to tap Derek's thigh twice and ask him to stop somewhere, taking off his helmet and wiping tears from his eyes with his thumb.

And then asks Derek if he's okay with them taking a bathroom break, because after all of that he really needs to pee.

Derek doesn't know if he means being scared shitless when Derek almost lost control of the bike or for laughing so much.

He still agrees.

And accepts a kiss when Stiles comes back, sliding his phone into his pocket, arms winding themselves tighter around Derek's waist as they go back to the race.

Yes, Derek does see, when they finally get to the finish line, the last ones there, and his heart almost stops in his chest.

Because that's his whole family standing there, grinning at them, holding up a sign between them that says-

That says-

Derek gulps.

And feels Stiles climbing off the bike, giving his shoulder a squeeze before letting go.

They both take their helmets off at the same time, Stiles rounding the bike and coming to stand in front of Derek.

And Derek-

Well, Derek can't do nothing but stare at him with wide eyes and his lips parted, his mind blank, heart going a mile a minute, as he looks from Stiles to the sign and back again.

Because on one hand it explains so much about Stiles' behavior today, from the hushed conversations to talking to people away from Derek to having secret meetings at the Hale house.

But on the other-

There's that split second in which Derek doubts himself.

Doubts that this is really happening.

Doubts that he can have this.

That is until he feels Stiles place a hand on top of his on one of the handlebars, the sight of them touching and the feel of Stiles' sweaty palm against the back of his hand serving like nothing else ever has to ground him.

And to kind of make him really make sense of what the bright red glittery letters on the sign Danny and Cora are holding says.

And when he does he can't help but feel his ears redden and his stomach flip and his lip curl up.

Because only Stiles would make a sign with the words BE MY BOO FOREVER written across it and make his friends and family hold it up.

In public.

In the middle of a charity race.

"Stiles, are you se-," Derek stops when Stiles' other hand covers his mouth.

It takes him back to the first time they met, when Stiles was trying to warn him about how vicious some of the mothers' in the hospital were, the slide of his skin against Derek's lips.

Unlike that day, though, the look on Stiles' face right now is anything but joking, with the way his eyes are trained on Derek's face and his cheeks are flushed and his lips are bitten red from nerves.

And that kind of makes him think that Stiles doesn't have to be nervous at all.

Because Derek's giving him his everything since the moment he saw him standing at the hospital parking lot dressed in a white and pink bunny suit.

It took him a while to figure that out, but he knows now, has known for years, that to him there's only the man standing in front of him.

There's only Stiles.

And he knows Stiles feels the same way, without having to hear him say the words, even though he appreciates it.

So he keeps his mouth shut, Stiles' palm on his lips, and listens.

"I knew you were going to mean something to me the moment I met you," Stiles starts, voice low and surprisingly steady. Not like he's rehearsed what he was going to be saying, but like he believes with everything that he has in the words that are coming out of his mouth. "I knew you were someone special, and I knew that if given the chance you were going to change my life forever."

Derek shakes his head at that, eyes stinging, because Stiles has it backwards.

He is the one who's special, the one who changed Derek's life around, the one who made him want to be the best kind of person he could be.

"There's nothing I can say right now that you haven't heard these last five years of us," Stiles continues, his own eyes filled with tears. "Like how much I love you, or how much you mean to me, or how I'm so fucking lucky to have you in my life, to have you trust me to share your life with me."

Derek presses a dry kiss to Stiles' palm, then, eyes crinkling at the corners when he feels Stiles' fingers spasm against his cheek, sees Stiles visibly trying to calm himself down and not start crying right then.

Not that Derek would mind.

These are the kind of tears Derek can handle.

"But I do have one very important question to ask," Stiles swallows hard. "One I haven't asked before, and one I hopefully won't ever ask again."

Derek nods at that, giving Stiles the go ahead, because he's suspects he's just as eager and nervous to answer as Stiles is to ask.

"Derek Hale," Stiles takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly, eyes turning warm and liquid when he asks, "Baby, will you marry me?"

Derek blinks.

And stares at Stiles.

And the silence stretches between them.

You know, until Derek licks a stripe up Stiles' palm still covering his mouth.

"Oh," Stiles jumps, startled, letting his hand drop, his cheeks turning redder by the minute. "Sorry."

Derek can't help the smile that blooms across his face, nor he can help the way his hand finds Stiles' hips, pulling him closer.

"Ask me again," Derek tells him, clearing his throat when his voice cracks. "Now that I can answer, ask me again."

"Derek," Stiles sighs, hands coming up to rest on either side of Derek's neck. "Marry me?"

Derek leans in and rubs their noses together, hands tightening on Stiles' hips, smile turning into a grin when Stiles starts tapping his thumb against his pulse point, impatient.

"Yes," Derek finally says, lips brushing lightly over Stiles', both of them shivering at the contact. "I'll marry you."

Stiles' breath hitches, and before Derek can do or say anything he's pressing their lips together, tongue pushing into his mouth, his nails digging into Derek's neck.

Derek doesn't know how long they stay there, kissing, laughing into each other's mouths, but he becomes faintly aware of a little girl's voice yelling, "Yes! Be his boo, Uncle Bear! Be his boo!"

They break apart to look at Tori and laugh, and that's all it takes for everyone to run to them, only waiting for Derek to climb off the bike before attacking them both with hugs and kisses and wishing them congratulation.

Derek's surprised when he finds himself hugging Peter, blinking owlishly at him while his uncle just smirks.

"You really didn't think I'd miss this, did you Derek?" Peter drawls out, and then flicks Derek's nose. "Is not everyday my favorite nephew gets hitched."

Derek doesn't bother correcting him, saying that he's Peter's only nephew, and also doesn't have time to be touched about how Peter flew all the way from New York to come see this happening, instead finding himself with an armful of Scott this time.

"Dude," Scott says, beaming when he clasps Derek's on the shoulder. "You know what getting married to Stiles means? We're brothers now."

Derek just shakes his head at him and pulls Scott in for another hug, sharing a glance with Stiles and Allison, who stare at the two of them with the biggest smile on their faces.

"I found glitter in places I never thought I'd have glitter on," Danny says when they hug, dimples showing. "So you better make sure this is for life, Derek."

"Does this mean Uncle Stiles is really gonna be my uncle now?" Zach asks as he stops in front of him.

"I was always your uncle," Stiles says before Derek can, ruffling Zach's hair. "But I guess being married to your mom's brother makes it seem more legit."

"Awesome," Zach whispers, diving in for a quick hug.

"I had something special with Stiles' mom," the Sheriff says lowly when he comes to congratulate Derek, his hand a heavy weight on Derek's shoulder. "And you have no idea how happy it makes me to see my kid found that with you, son. Be good to him."

"I will," Derek promises, kind of feeling like he just got punched in the gut.

A feeling that comes back full force after he and Stiles hug everyone else and he sees his mom a few steps away from them, her arms crossed over her chest, her own eyes watering as she watches on, lips pulled in a serene smile.

The lines around her face are softer, her greying hair falling over her shoulders, and she doesn't hesitate to open her arms to both him and Stiles when they get to her.

They both hug her, tight, their hands finding each other and fingers lacing behind her back, their cheeks resting on her shoulders and she runs her hands through their hair once, twice, before letting go.

"I knew I was right about you," Talia tells Stiles, grinning when Derek frowns in confusion.

"Your mom and I had some words when you first brought me to the Hale house," Stiles says, lips twitching up. "Let's just say I'm glad she was right."

Derek gives them a long look before sighing, mumbling, "Keep your secrets," and smiling when both his mom and Stiles laugh.

He turns to look at her when he feels the tips of her fingers against his cheek, swallowing hard at the expression on her face.

"Your dad would be so happy for you," Talia says, voice low. "So happy that you found someone you love with all your heart and want to share your life with. And he'd be so proud of the person you've become, just like I am."

"Thanks, mom," Derek says, voice muffled by her hair when he hugs her.

"I love you," Talia says before she lets him go, kissing his cheek.

Stiles slides his fingers through Derek's at that, squeezing his hand once in silent support as they walk back to the group, Talia walking in front of them.

"Well," Alex says, looking around. "Not that this wasn't great and we're all happy for you, but we do have some chocolate eggs to deliver to little children."

"Chocolate?" both Zach and Tori say in unison, turning to Alex.

The ones who're participating on the run follow after Alex, grabbing their baskets, Laura and Allison making promises to bring any extra eggs to them once they're done, and going off to their assigned floors.

"This year someone's gonna get it if one of those mom's try to hit on my husband," Stiles says, narrowing his eyes as they make their way to the elevator, still holding on to Derek's hand.

Derek almost chokes on his tongue at that, gulping before he says, "We're not married yet."

"Details," Stiles shrugs one shoulder.

And that-

Well.

That kind of makes Derek's heart skip a beat,

It makes warmth curse through him and it makes his entire body tingle and it makes him lightheaded in the best of ways.

Because this?

This is what he's always wanted.

Stiles.

Right here.

Standing with him in an hospital elevator wearing crooked white and pink bunny ears and an unitard and holding a basket of chocolate eggs.

And with the promise to be his forever.

So he really can't help himself when he crowds Stiles against the wall, hands finding his waist, noses so close they're almost touching.

"Bunny."

"Yeah?" Stiles breathes out, licking his lips.

"I love you."

Stiles smiles.

That small, private, soft, obviously only Derek's smile, his voice barely a whisper when he says, "I love you too, baby."

And because Derek's always been better at showing people what he feels instead of using words to tell them about it, he presses their lips together.

And he knows that right now, as he tries to pour everything he's feeling, everything he's thinking, into the kiss, Stiles gets it.

He gets it with the way his hands clutch at Derek's arms, his mouth opens under his, his lashes flutter and his back arches as he tries to get closer.

He gets it in a way that both of them get so distracted by the magnitude of what they're feeling that they don't realize the elevator doors are opened until someone clears their throat.

And even then Derek takes his time pulling back, nipping at Stiles' bottom lip one more time before tracing his tongue over and giving him a small kiss in apology.

When they both turn to see who's there, they're met with three pairs of eyes belonging to, without a doubt, the mothers of a few of the children their probably set to be handing out eggs.

And to say that they're looking disapproving at the way they're tangled together is an understatement.

Which is why he gives them a wolfish smile when Stiles says, completely unbothered, "It's okay. We're getting married."

a/n: I'd like to announce The Feeling That I'm Under is now going to be part of the Whatever Comes Our Way 'verse!

That's right! There's going to be more Stiles and Derek after this story is done.

There are two things I mentioned in TFTIU that I didn't get to work with in the epilogue, and both of them will come out as timestamps (most likely oneshots) to be added to 'verse: Stiles and Derek's wedding and their kids. I'll always refer to the reading order whenever I post something new, so this way you guys won't miss anything.

I'll be taking a break during the entire month of April, but I already have about 4 different timestamp ideas I want to get to. I'll be posting more info about this on my tumblr (dylansneck) under the tag ficcing rants as I go writing, and you guys can always send me messages or leave comments asking me about it.

So if you're interest in reading what comes next, don't forget to add me to your author's list. :)