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„Derek?”“Hmm?”“Why did your momma buy a ring for your papa? Are they getting married?”“What? No, doofus! They’re already married! Duh!”Derek huffed, looking up from his Legos just long enough to give Stiles a scowl before concentrating on his castle again.Stiles scrunched up his nose, giving Derek a confused look.“But why, Derek? You give people rings if you want to marry them! I saw that on TV! And Mommy said so!”“If my parents were not married, how else would I have been born, huh?” Derek shot back, biting his lip in concentration, and letting out a little impatient growl when he couldn’t find the right piece.“Hmm. That’s true, I guess,” Stiles decided, glancing at Derek’s castle enviously before setting down his own Duplo blocks and scooting a bit closer to the older boy, who immediately looked up and held up a finger in warning.“Don’t knock my tower over again! Or I’ll tell your mommy and daddy on you!”Stiles let out an affronted sound, biting his lip guiltily as he poked at Derek’s leg.“I didn’t mean to! I’ll be super careful this time, I promise! Please let me play Legos with you, Derek? Pleeeeeease? Duplo is boring! It’s for babies!”“That means it’s just right for you, then – you’re still a baby!” Derek decided, sighing like a world-weary seven-year-old who’d been tasked with playing with a little kid because their parents were friends.Granted, Stiles was funny and when he wasn’t totally annoying, he could actually be quite sweet.Also, Derek could not deny that he sometimes got a warm feeling in his tummy when the little Alpha slipped his hand into his and looked at him like Derek had hung the moon or accomplished something equally cool and amazing.Still.He was three years younger than Derek and that meant he was practically still a baby.Stiles clearly didn’t agree, his eyes flying wide open as he let out the battle cry of all grievously wronged four-year-olds everywhere.“I’m not a baby! Cora is a baby! I’m not! I can poop all by myself!”“Ugh, I know! You made me go to the bathroom with you so you could show me, remember?” Derek huffed, and Stiles beamed, clearly as proud of his mighty achievement as he’d been the other week, when the Hales had visited the Stilinskis for Sunday brunch and Stiles had insisted on showing Derek that he no longer needed to use the plastic potty but could finally climb on the big-boy-toilet all by himself.Derek would never admit it, but he’d definitely been a little impressed at the size of the turd that Stiles had manage to produce.Of course, Stiles’ achievement hadn’t been all that impressive in comparison to what Derek’s papa had accomplished later that afternoon, since they’d returned from their bathroom adventure to find Stiles’ daddy hectically yelling into a phone and Derek’s papa having a very bad stomach-ache, which Derek was given to understand had only gone away after he’d successfully pooped Cora out of his private parts and saddled him with another sister that he most certainly hadn’t asked for!Admittedly, Cora was way cuter than Laura and didn’t like to pull his ears all the time, but Derek had a sinking suspicion that was only because she had yet to figure out what hands were for and would begin her torment of his person the moment she could walk.Clearly, sisters were the worst!Even if they smelled really good and snuffled adorably in their sleep.“I think Momma bought Papa a ring to say sorry because he had such a bad tummy ache before Cora was born,” he decided, glancing at his half-finished castle consideringly before he sighed and made space for Stiles.“Here. But you can only use the red pieces, okay? It’s supposed to be a dragon castle!”Stiles let out a surprised gasp, his face lighting up as he gave Derek a big grin.“Ooooh! I love red! Thank you, you’re the bestest!”Derek smiled, ducking his head so Stiles wouldn’t see his cheeks flushing a little red.Stiles noticed, of course, and he giggled, reaching up and pressing a kiss to Derek’s cheek with lightening speed and scowling just a little when Derek groaned and wiped it off.“Argh! Cooties!”“Not cooties! Smoochies! Smoochies are the bestest and you’re the bestest, too! No take-backsies!” Stiles informed him happily, reaching for a red piece only to set it back down again and giving Derek a worried little frown.“Did your papa really get such a bad tummy ache because of Cora? That’s weird! She’s so pretty and cute, but when your papa got that tummy ache it was really scary and not cute at all! Are you sure it was her fault?”“It wasn’t her fault, duh! That’s just ... that’s just how babies are born, I guess. Their Omega momma or papa gets a big tummy because they first have to grow the babies in their bellies and then they get a really bad tummy ache and then they have to poop out the baby.”“Really? Did your papa really have to poop out your baby-sister? Even though she’s way cuter than a turd?” Stiles asked breathlessly, and Derek shrugged, nodding and biting his lip consideringly.Admittedly, he wasn’t entirely sure if Papa had, in fact, pooped out his baby-sister, but he figured it made sense, considering that taking a big poop was often the best way to make a bad tummy ache go away. Stiles frowned, clearly not one hundred percent convinced just yet.“Are you sure? Because tried to ask Daddy where babies come from, but he told me to go ask Mommy and Mommy said that babies live on a cloud in the sky and when it’s time for them to get born, they ride to their mommy and daddy’s house on the back of a stork!”Stiles bit his lip, squinting up at Derek conspiratorially.“I don’t think Mommy is right,” he whispered, quickly looking to the left and then to the right to make sure no one had sneakily snuck into the room like ninja before leaning closer to impart his scandalous revelation.“I looked for stork feathers when we came here! Storks are really big, so they lose lots of feathers all the time, but there wasn’t a feather anywhere in the garden! Or in the house!”“Maybe it’s different for every family,” Derek offered, pretty sure that Stiles’ mommy would never lie ever and humming thoughtfully as he pondered Stiles’ words.“You know what? You really love the swans in the park! Maybe that’s because they remind you of the stork who brought you to your mommy and daddy!”Stiles gasped, giving Derek an exciting grin.“Yes! You’re right!”He gasped again, looking rather thrilled as he stared at Derek with wide eyes.“Derek! Maybe you were brought by a wolf and that’s why it’s your favorite animal ever, even though wolves are always mean!”“Wolves aren’t mean! Those little piglets had it coming!” Derek said heatedly, pausing for a moment to imagine a big black wolf delivering him to his parents’ doorstep while he was snuggled in a blanket and dangling from the wolf’s snout.Like many of Stiles’ ideas, it was the greatest idea ever, obviously.Even if he was pretty sure it wasn’t true.“No. I think I grew in Papa’s tummy and he had to poop me out of his private parts, too. Uncle Peter said that Papa should have asked for a bigger diamond than last time, because it only took three poops to get me out, but he had to poop for two hours to get out Cora’s big head!”“Really? But your head is way bigger than Cora’s!” Stiles gasped, looking at Derek intently and humming consideringly.“Your head is prettier than Cora’s, too! Your hair is really soft, and your eyes are pretty and green and your face is not red and squishy at all!”“Stop it!” Derek muttered, feeling very tempted to hide his apparently pretty head behind his hands before deciding to just scowl at Stiles instead.As per usual, Stiles was not even remotely intimidated.“So if your parents are not getting married, that means the ring is like ... a present for pooping?” he asked, and Derek blinked, letting out a surprised sound as a memory came to him.“Yeah! I think that’s what Uncle Peter called it! A poop present! Momma told him he was being a doofus, but Papa said he was totally right!”Stiles grinned, looking quite satisfied now that they’d solved the mystery and finally turning back to the Legos in front of them.For a while, neither of them said anything as they focused on building Derek’s Lego castle, which was starting to look really awesomely cool despite Stiles’ sometimes not exactly helpful help.Not that Derek would have ever said that out loud or anything.Eventually, Stiles cleared his throat.“Derek?”“Hmmm?”“When you poop out our baby, I’m going to get you the coolest and prettiest ring ever!”Derek paused, staring at Stiles with wide eyes.“What? Our baby? We’re not having a baby!”“Not now! Duh!” Stiles shot back, rolling his eyes as though Derek was the dum-dum in this situation.“We can’t get married until we’re really tall! My daddy and your momma said so, remember? But when we’re really tall, we can get married and then you’re going to get a huge tummy and then a really bad tummy ache and then you can poop out our baby!”“But I don’t want to get a bad tummy ache and poop out a baby!” Derek protested, not quite sure why his tummy was fluttering all of a sudden, but figuring he’d probably had a little too much of the awesome cake that Stiles’ mommy had brought over as a present so she could snuggle with Derek’s new baby-sister.Snuggling Cora was way awesomer than eating cake, of course.Not that Derek was going to admit that out loud either.Still.He was pretty sure his parents had left out a bunch of important stuff when they’d explained the whole baby situation to him and Laura a couple of months ago, but he’d paid enough attention to figure out that having a baby in your tummy made you very tired, very pukey, very achy, and altogether unable to do anything fun anymore.Well.Derek figured there was a tiiiiiiiny possibility that grown-ups had other ideas of fun than kids, but he simply couldn’t see how there could be anything more exciting than playing chase in the garden or jumping on a trampoline until your belly felt funny, neither of which his papa had been able to do in practically forever!In either case, he was not going to have a baby in his tummy ever, because Derek knew exactly what it was like to have a bad tummy ache and he was definitely sure that not even a baby as cute as Cora was worth feeling tired, pukey, and achy all the time. No thank you!“But how else are we supposed to have a baby, Derek! I don’t think I can grow our baby in my tummy! Wait! Can I?”Stiles immediately pulled up his shirt and poked his tiny tummy curiously, and Derek frowned, slowly shaking his head as he thought.“I don’t think so,” he finally decided, his frown deepening when Stiles let out a disappointed sound.“Huh! That’s sad! If I had a baby in my tummy, I would eat lots of cake and chocolate and if Mommy and Daddy said I have to eat veggies, I’d just tell them the baby does not like veggies and wants lots of cake and candy! That’s what your papa did, remember? When he ate almost all of Mommy’s cake at her birthday and then got all red and said the baby wanted cake, too!”“Hmmm. I guess it would be kind of fun to get to eat all the cake you wanted,” Derek allowed, looking down at his own tummy and biting his lip.“I don’t want to get a bad tummy ache like my papa, though. It was really, really scary,” he confessed, and Stiles huffed, not even hesitating before he unceremoniously climbed on Derek’s lap, slung his arms around his neck, and squeezed him as hard as he could.“You don’t have to be scared, Derek! I’ll be there, I promise! I’ll give you lots of kisses and snuggles and I’ll rub your tummy to make it all better! Just like Mommy does when my tummy has an ouchie!”“Do you really promise?” Derek asked quietly, biting his lip when Stiles nodded so earnestly that he almost bumped their heads together.“Pinky-promise, Derek!” he declared, holding out his pinky to Derek and looking quite pleased when Derek nervously held out his own as well.Grinning happily, Stiles hooked their pinkies together and shook them excitedly, his eyes bright and even a little red when he looked up at the older boy with a determined expression.“Aaaaand I’m going to get you a super cool ring as a poop present, too!”Stiles let out a gleeful sound, scrambling off Derek and looking at him expectably.“Derek! I have the bestest ring ever! Come! Quick!”Derek frowned as he watched Stiles hurry out of the room, hearing him trample down the stairs and yelling for his mother excitedly.Sighing, Derek glanced at his castle to make sure it would not topple over and got up to follow Stiles, hoping that Laura was currently very busy or – preferably – on another planet, so she wouldn’t get the grand idea to waltz in here without permission and improve his creation.Again.Not matter how cute they looked or how often they protected him from big bullies on the playground who would not let him get on the swing, Derek firmly stood by his opinion that sisters – for the most part, at least – were the absolute worst!When he got to the living room, Stiles was already hopping around excitedly, clutching a little packet in his hand and completely oblivious to the fact that all the adults in the room were giving him very amused looks.“Derek! Derek, look! Isn’t it the bestest?”He hurried over to Derek, his cheeks flush with excitement and his eyes bright as he held out the little package with a beaming grin.“Mommy bought this for me at the supermarket this morning! I’m not supposed to eat it until we’re back home, but now it’s for you, so that means I’m not going to eat it ever!”Derek looked down at the package, squinting at the letters and carefully sounding them out as he tried to read them by himself.After all, Derek went to the big kid school like Laura now. He had an awesome backpack with Ninja Turtles and everything!“A cherry ring pop?” he asked hesitantly, and Stiles nodded happily, though he frowned and snatched the package right back when Derek tried to grab it.“Hey! I thought this was for me!” Derek protested, but Stiles shook his head immediately, hiding the package behind his back and giving Derek his best Duh! look.“No! Not yet! It’s for when you poop out our baby! I told you!”Behind him, all the grown-ups laughed, and Derek flushed brighter than a tomato, suddenly fiercely glad that Laura was nowhere to be seen for once.Or Uncle Peter.Especially Uncle Peter, who liked to tease people all the time and was just a big meanie all around!Stiles ignored the laugher at his behalf, whirling around and beaming at his parents instead.“Mommy! Daddy! Guess what! Derek and I are going to get married and then he’s going to poop out a baby and then I’m going to give him the bestest ring ever as a poop present!”“Is that so? A poop present?” his mommy asked, sharing an amused look with his daddy before cocking her head curiously and giving him a gentle smile.Stiles nodded,“It’s because he’s going to get a bad tummy ache before he can poop out a baby! You have to give people a present if they poop out a baby, Mommy! That’s what Derek’s momma did!”“Oh really? Did you hear that, John?” Stiles’ mother laughed, shooting her husband a playful look, and laughing when Stiles’ father hid his face behind his hands with a little groan.Again, Stiles ignored his parents, looking down at his lollipop ring proudly and then flashing Derek a big smile.“I’m not going to eat this ring ever! I promise! But only if you promise that you’re going to poop out our baby, Derek! Do you? Do you, do you, do you? Pleeeeeeease?”Sometimes, Stiles could be even more annoying than sisters.Still.They’d made a pinky promise and everything and Derek did not believe in take-backsies either.He wasn’t Laura or Peter, thank you very much!“I promise.” ==========================
25 Years Later
“Babe? I got something for you.”Derek could barely bring himself to look up from his beautiful, perfect little baby, but when he finally managed to tear his gaze away from cute chubby cheeks, long dark eyelashes, bow-shaped lips, and an adorable tuff of dark brown hair, his reward was the expression of endless adoration and wonder on Stiles’ face.His husband’s eyes were shimmering wet again, just like they had almost non-stop ever since Derek had cried out for one last, final push and then the room had been filled with the sound of the most beautiful little cries that Derek had ever heard.“Please tell me it’s sushi?” Derek asked hopefully, and Stiles chuckled, holding up his phone and giving him a besotted smile.“I told your sisters they were only allowed to stop by tonight if they brought butt loads of sushi, remember? I’m sure they’ll bring a ton when they get here later. That’s not what I meant though.”He smiled, leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to Derek’s chapped lips.“Nah. I got you something else. After all, I made a pinky-promise and everything.”His smile widened as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little wrapped candy package, the foil a bit crinkled but the letters still visible when he held it out to Derek.“I told you this was yours, remember?”For a moment, Derek’s severely sleep-deprived and hormonally overstimulated brain didn’t quite make the connection.Then, it came to him and he let out a soft gasp of wonder, his eyes already filling with tears as his gaze snapped up and Omega gold met Alpha red. “But ... is that really ... you seriously kept that? All this time?” he croaked, not quite able to believe it and wondering how it was even possible that the equally ridiculous and amazing Alpha he’d married could somehow always find ways to make Derek love him even more.“Of course I did, my love,” Stiles said gently, his fingers shaking just a bit as he ripped open the wrapper and pulled out the cherry ring pop he’d presented to Derek all those years ago and carefully reached for Derek’s finger.“I promised, I would.”Derek let out a shaky breath, his gaze going back and forth between his perfect, beautiful little baby, the bright red candy ring on his finger, and his beloved husband, who had not only made good on his promise to get him a ring but had also been a pillar of strength, support, and love for Derek during his twelve-hour labor and the entire pregnancy.Just like Derek had suspected all those years ago, pregnancy had been a rather tiring, pukey, and achy experience.Admittedly, it had not kept him from all the exciting things he liked to do on a regular basis, but it had definitely slowed him down and put a damper on his enjoyment of some of them.What he hadn’t understood as a child, however, was that pregnancy was also filled with magical and exciting moments of a different kind altogether, and Stiles had been there for all of them.In fact, his husband’s support and love had never wavered and had always been given unconditionally, no matter whether Derek had needed him to rub his back during a bad bout of morning sickness or whether he’d joyfully grasped his husband’s hand and pressed it against his stomach so he could feel their baby kick.His husband had been there for him during the good and the bad.Just like he’d promised on their wedding day almost five years ago and just like he’d promised a little more than twenty-five years ago, back when they’d been kids and still almost two decades away from truly understanding just how deeply they loved each other.Stiles had made good on all of his promises.As he looked down at their gorgeous little baby, Derek was nothing but grateful that he’d gotten the chance to make good on his own.