"Seriously, Derek, where is it?!"

"Where is what?" Derek pokes his head over the balcony of the second story. He has no idea why they thought it would be a good idea to have a loft library over the living room and kitchen. Okay, he does know, it's because both he and Stiles like having a retreat to read that isn't his office or Di Caife. But it's mostly turning into an excuse for Stiles to yell throughout the house.

"The whip cream," comes back to him in Stiles' less than dulcet tones. "I need it for the hot cocoa and everyone will be here soon and I'm not even close to ready and…"

Derek walks away and ignores whatever came next. He finds the whip cream dispenser half rolled under the bed, from where they used it last night. Stiles was planning his menu for the next day and brought it up and well one thing lead to another. He shuffles down the stairs with that, a pair of socks for Stiles who is likely to be hopping around on cold feet, and the blanket for Scott and Allison's latest, since he's pretty sure Stiles will ask about that shortly.

"Here. We might need more." He leans over the counter to kiss Stiles.

Stiles beams at him. "Thank you."

"We have about half an hour to change our minds," says Derek, not really meaning it. Mostly.

"You don't want to host Christmas?!" shrieks Stiles.

Derek kisses him before he can work himself into a state. "I want to. It's just a lot. Both of our families together, under our roof. It's asking for crazy."

"I kinda like your brand of crazy." Stiles smiles back at him, relaxing. "Besides, it'll be fine. Everyone's already met, how bad can it be?"

Derek hurriedly knocks on the cabinet next to him to ward off that jinx and rolls his eyes at Stiles.

Stiles' words don't end up jinxing them. At least no more than usual. Scott and Allison arrive first with their three kids. Allison is as ever the picture of calm, tucking Tori into one arm and sipping on eggnog as she sits with Boyd on the couch, who holds Aspen-his and Laura's youngest-as she sleeps.

Scott sits on the counter with Erica, feeding the older kids pieces of cookies whenever they come screaming through on breaks from snowball fights. Derek would suggest against filling the kids up with sugar, but then none of them belong to him so he's not overly concerned.

Plus judging by the sympathetic looks Scott and Stiles both keep giving Erica, he's pretty sure Claudia and Laura have her next on the list of people to set up.

The rest of their family members are scattered through the house and property, the sounds of laughter in the air. Over the years, Derek's gotten used to having people around again, and sometimes he can't believe he ever missed out on this.

"So let's see this mistletoe kiss you two are so famous for." Lydia sweeps in on Cora's arm, kissing Derek's cheek and then Stiles' in greeting.

And suddenly Derek remembers why he's okay still living several hours away from family.

"Again?" protests Stiles. He sounds half-hearted about it at best.

"C'mon, it's the best part of Christmas," insists Cora.

"But every year?"

"It's tradition."

Derek sighs and drags Stiles over to the doorway. "One time," he admonishes the others. "That's all you get."

Stiles fake swoons in his arms. "Such a romantic."

Derek grins. He slips his hands around Stiles' hips, drawing him in close. The sounds of shuffling feet indicate the growing audience around them. He leans in and kisses Stiles, starting soft, then harder, allowing a brief flick of his tongue inside Stiles' mouth before pulling back and smiling at him.

"Like I always say," comes Talia's voice from behind them. "Mistletoe never lies."