I don't own Teen Wolf or any of the characters in the series, I'm just borrowing them from their respective owners to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I'm done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don't make any money from writing fanfiction.
Pet wanted
Stiles desperately wants to get a pet but Derek is reluctant to agree to make an addition to the family. He manages, however, to come up with a slightly unorthodox solution to their problem…
"Not a dog, Stiles" Derek interrupted him before he even got halfway into his well-rehearsed speech about why having a pet was truly awesome. "Neither of us has the time to properly care for it and take it for walks and we'd have to get a sitter every time we're away on pack business. No dog."
"But, Derek" Stiles pouted but Derek was proud to say he was more or less immune to it now. The pleading look was still too hard to resist though. "If we need to go away the whole rest of the pack could help us and just think about how cosy it'll be, to snuggle up on the couch and watch TV together and you'll have company when you work from home and it's like the best idea ever and..."
"No, Stiles" Derek said firmly, but inwardly he sighed. Stiles was hell-bent on getting a pet it seemed, and he was beginning to see that this would become a very long discussion.
"But a cat then?" Stiles then continued hopefully, whiskey coloured eyes wide and pleading and great, now Derek really felt like a jerk. He'd much rather tell a small child that Father Christmas didn't exist than to have this particular discussion with his boyfriend.
"No, Stiles" he groaned. "Not a dog and not a cat."
"But cats don't need walking like dogs do and it's easier to find a sitter and I know that the neighbour next door would just love to..."
"No, Stiles" Derek interrupted. "Even if cats are less demanding than a dog it won't work, I know…"
"You haven't even tried!" Stiles cut in vehemently. "You just don't want it to work out!"
"Stiles," Derek said, as patiently as he could. "It doesn't work with a cat, I've tried. They don't like werewolves, and as soon as I get near them they start hissing and spitting. Then the claws come out and it gets nasty. Trust me, I have tried." Stiles' shoulders slumped momentarily but the he perked up again, apparently far from defeated.
"But what about a bunny then? Or a hamster or a guinea pig? They're cute and fluffy, easy to care for and they'll just..."
"Keel over and die from heart failure as soon as they realize that their new owner is a werewolf" Derek interrupted. "Come on Stiles, they're prey and they'll panic the second they see me."
"You wouldn't eat our pet!" Stiles exclaimed heatedly and Derek sighed.
"No, of course I wouldn't eat them, but they don't know that, do they?" he calmly pointed out.
"I knew it" Stiles mumbled relieved. "I knew you could never eat my bunny for me."
"Nope" Derek deadpanned. "Too much work and not nearly enough meat" he continued and Stiles screeched loudly, arms flailing as he unsuccessfully tried to hit his boyfriend.
"Bad wolf!" he shouted but Derek just shot him a large grin, clearly showing off his pointy canines. Stiles huffed, crossed his arms threw himself on the couch, seemingly dropping the subject but Derek knew that it wasn't the end of it, merely a small respite.
The next time Stiles brought it up was at dinner. They'd gone with the easy option, ordering pizza, and when they'd eaten their fill and were lazily sprawled out on the couch he started carding his fingers through Derek's hair, just the way his boyfriend loved.
"Um, Derek?" he asked quietly after a while.
"Mm" his boyfriend sleepily answered him, having been rendered almost boneless by the petting. "Whazzit?"
"So, I've been thinking…." Stiles started and maybe Derek should have been alarmed by this but it was so nice the way Stiles' long fingers combed through his hair and it felt like he was almost floating around in a world where all was well and cuddles were for everyone.
"Yeah?" he mumbled.
"I've been researching a little and I think that an iguana would be perfect because…"
"Stiles!" Derek growled out as he jerked himself upright and slapped his boyfriend's hand away. "No. Fucking. Pets!" Angrily he stomped out of the room and went to bed, leaving an equally angry boyfriend sputtering on the sofa.
"Jerk!"
Stiles had looked so hurt that Derek was almost beside himself with guilt but on the other hand, he really shouldn't have to feel that way. All the reasons that he'd given for not getting a pet were both true and reasonable. They didn't have the time to care properly for a pet and often they had to unexpectedly go away on pack business, for which they'd have to rely on the rest of the pack or a sitter. A dog needed too much attention for them to take on, and many of the smaller, more manageable animals didn't go well together with werewolves. None of them wanted a couple of fishes. It wasn't as if he did this on purpose to be mean to his boyfriend, the circumstances just weren't right at this time in their lives and Stiles had to understand that. Still he felt miserable about the whole situation and tossed and turned in bed, unable to get to sleep.
After two hours it was apparent that Stiles felt as miserable as he did.
"So," Stiles said tensely when he crossed the threshold to the bedroom, almost as if he'd expected Derek to tell him to leave. "No pets, huh?"
"I'm not trying to be the bad guy here, Stiles, just the reasonable guy" Derek explained tiredly. "But I'm sorry for snapping at you."
"Sorry I called you a jerk" Stiles mumbled in response as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt before pulling it over his head and going to bed. "And I get it, I really do. We don't have the time right now and I'm not trying to be a sulking child that doesn't get to eat candy for breakfast but… but I really want a pet anyway" he whined. Derek sighed and rolled his eyes and pulled Stiles into his arms. It was a start at least.
While Stiles did understand and tried really hard to keep the pet discussions to a minimum he still couldn't stop moping around the house and whenever they went shopping he had to go through the pet aisle to have a look. He kept looking at different animal shelter's websites and took every opportunity to hang back after his lessons with Deaton to spend time with the animals at the clinic. Derek realized that he had to do something about the situation and reluctantly contacted his uncle.
"I'm cold" Stiles muttered. The 'if we'd had a dog he could keep me warm' was left unsaid but Derek could definitely read between the lines, or in this case, see it in Stiles' unhappy pout and the frown on his forehead. He sighed and got to his feet. It was show time.
When Stiles heard the clattering of claws against the floorboards he looked up from his laptop in confusion, only to be even more surprised. Instead of seeing his boyfriend getting him an extra blanket or a pair of warm socks his eyes fell upon a large, black wolf. Later Derek would remember this exact moment vividly, because it was the first time since he'd gotten to know Stiles that he'd seen him completely and utterly speechless. He trotted over to the sofa and nudged his boyfriend's knee with his nose.
"De-derek?" Stiles stuttered, tentatively lifting a hand towards the wolf and Derek took the opportunity to duck his head underneath it, effectively head-butting Stiles' hand. Stiles carefully stroked the soft fur but he still looked very confused.
"What are you doing?" Derek just jumped up on the couch, leisurely stretched out over Stiles' lap and proceeded to let his boyfriend cuddle the hell out of him.
"Why now though?" Stiles asked later when they'd gone to bed and Derek was his less furry self. "I've been talking about getting a pet for ages."
"I wasn't sure that I could do it before" he admitted quietly. "Or, since my mum could do it I knew that I could learn as well, but I wasn't sure that I'd be able to turn back again."
"You thought you might become feral?" Stiles asked and Derek nodded in response.
"What changed?" Stiles pressed when Derek continued to stay silent.
"I found my real anchor."