a/n: hi everyone! here's the continuation to my Whatever Comes Our Way 'verse (the reading order so far is: The Feeling that I'm Under; Make It Happen). just a heads up-this story has a non-linear timeline, so things don't happen in chronological order. hope you enjoy it!
To be honest, Derek didn't think he would find out like this.
And by this he means at the new pizza place that opened in town, with Stiles leaning against his side and moaning pathetically as he rubs a hand over his stomach, eyeing the remains of large pepperoni pizza on the table between them with such betrayal it kind of makes Derek want to laugh.
"I told you not to eat the last slice," Isaac says, grinning when Stiles glares at him.
"This is all your girlfriend's fault, she's the one who invited us here."
"Stop blaming your lack of self-control on others," Derek tells him, shifting in place so Stiles can rest more heavily against him. "It's not a nice thing to do."
"And you know all about nice things," Stiles huffs, looking up at him from under his lashes.
Derek shrugs. "You're a nice thing."
"A nice person you mean," Stiles corrects him, wrinkling his nose.
"You're right," Derek nods, bumping their noses together. "I'm sorry."
Stiles hums, pecking him on the lips. "It's okay. And I'm always right."
Derek rolls his eyes, poking Stiles on the stomach in retaliation and smiling when he curls into himself, groaning in misery.
"You know what else is nice?" Cora asks them, grabbing her glass and taking a sip of her drink.
"What?" Derek and Stiles ask, their eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Me being pregnant," Cora says, smirking. "Congratulations, Derek. I'm having your husband's baby."
Isaac grins down at her, kissing the side of her head.
Derek freezes, muscles coiling tight as he tries to make sense of Cora's words.
And Stiles flails so hard he hits both of his knees on the table and sends all of their food, glasses, and plates to the floor.
Yeah, no.
Derek can most definitely say he didn't think he would find out like this.
"I think we should talk about it."
"About how good my ass looks in these jeans, you mean?" Stiles asks, wiggling his eyebrows and shaking his ass before he goes back to folding his laundry.
Derek stares at him, unimpressed.
Mostly because he's trying his hardest not to look down at the rip on Stiles' paint splattered pants, right under his ass.
He doesn't think he's that successful.
You know, considering how he catches himself with his hand extended and with a finger tracing the soft skin on display.
Stiles catches him, too, lips stretching into a grin as he raises an eyebrow at Derek.
Derek flushes and takes his hand back, pressing it into the mattress of their bed and curling his fingers around the duvet so he doesn't end up doing anything like that again.
Because he has something important to say, and he doesn't need to ruin it by not being able to keep his hands off his husband.
After six years of being together and a little over a year of being married to Stiles, Derek likes to think Stiles would have stopped having that effect on him.
He's kind of ridiculously glad he hasn't.
"Your ass looks great all the time," Derek huffs, cheeks heating even more in embarrassment and lips quirking up when Stiles' face softens.
"I like knowing that after all of this time you're still the same adorable sap I met during an egg race," Stiles tells him, stopping midway to folding a pair of socks so he can lean down and kiss the tip of Derek's nose. "It says good things about our future."
Derek stops Stiles from going back to his laundry by getting a hand on the back of his neck and angling his head up so he can brush their lips together.
"That's what I want to talk to you about," Derek says, pressing a light kiss to the corner of Stiles' mouth before letting him go.
"Your sappiness?" Stiles grins cheekily, laughing when Derek balls up one of his shirts and throws it in his face.
"Don't be a dick," Derek grumbles, narrowing his eyes at him.
"I thought you loved it when I was a dick," Stiles wiggles his eyebrows, and then squeaks when Derek wraps a hand around his wrist and pulls him into his lap.
"Dude," Stiles huffs, squirming until Derek snakes both his arms around Stiles' waist and traps him. "Dude."
"I'm trying to talk to you," Derek tightens his hold, hooking his chin over Stiles' shoulder. "Stop making things difficult."
"I'm sorry," Stiles sighs, leaning back against Derek's chest and resting his hand over Derek's so he can play with his fingers. "So you want to talk about our future?"
"Yes," Derek says, throat suddenly dry.
"Anything specific about it?" Stiles asks in a tone that means he has a pretty good idea what Derek wants to discuss.
Not that there's anything new with that, with the way Stiles often seems to know what Derek wants or means better than Derek himself does.
Not that Derek minds.
It does make things easier between them, especially considering Derek's not a really big fan of, you know, expressing himself. Even though he's gotten a lot better at it.
"Yes," Derek repeats, pressing their cheeks together, and he feels more than sees Stiles smile.
"Specific like what are my thoughts on having little feet running around the house some time soon?"
Derek swallows, dipping his head so he can nuzzle Stiles' neck. "How did you know?"
Stiles starts squirming again until Derek loosens his hold, sliding down to sit on the bed by Derek's side, his legs thrown over Derek's lap.
"You've been looking more and more like a kicked puppy whenever you have to say goodbye to Kyle and Jamie after babysitting," Stiles informs him, tone soft. "I figured it wouldn't take long for you to come talk to me about kids that you'd get to keep at the end of the day."
Derek snorts, the tips of his ears flushing, but he has to admit Stiles has a point. He loves spending time with the kids, always has, even as they're getting older and don't need him to keep an eye on them at all times.
"Do you think it's too soon?" Derek asks, fingers playing with yet another rip on Stiles' jeans, right under his left knee.
"Well," Stiles says slowly, tilting his head to the side. "You are getting closer and closer to your forties."
Derek pushes Stiles off of him at that, jaw clenching, and gets up.
Or at least tries to.
Because next thing he knows there's a hand on the back of his shirt pulling him backwards and he's lying flat on his back on top of their bed.
"Stiles," Derek snaps, trying to sit up, only to be stopped by Stiles pushing him back down again with a hand on his shoulder and then proceeding to wrap his limbs around Derek and tucking his head under Derek's chin.
Cuddling him.
Derek glares at the ceiling.
And refuses to get his arms around Stiles like he usually does, because he's angry at him.
Not even when Stiles snuffles and rubs his cheek against Derek's sweater and mumbles, "I'm sorry."
"I'm trying to talk to you about something important," Derek says, arms flat on the mattress. "And you keep making jokes."
"I know. I'm awful, I'm sorry," Stiles apologizes, placing small and light kisses against Derek's neck. "I just- This is serious. You know how I can be sometimes when it comes to having serious conversations. I fall back on my sense of humor to try and lighten the mood and sometimes that-"
"Doesn't work," Derek deadpans, and then rolls his eyes. "That'd be an understatement."
"I'm sorry," Stiles says for the third time, lifting his head up so he can stare at Derek in the eye. "I mean it. I want to talk about this with you and I shouldn't make a joke out of it."
Derek blinks at him, letting Stiles suffer for a few more seconds before he nods. "You're right. You shouldn't."
"You forgive me, then?" Stiles asks, pouting.
Derek sighs a long suffering sigh and kisses the pout right off his face, tangling his fingers through Stiles' hair.
"No more joking," Derek says firmly when he pulls back. "And no more cuddling your way out of an argument."
"I'm good with the no joke thing, but I can't promise the same about cuddling," Stiles tells him, a small smile playing on his lips.
Derek shakes his head.
He'll take what he can get.
"So," Stiles says, poking Derek in the stomach. "Kids."
"Kids."
There are a few seconds of silence from Stiles after that before he says, "I don't think it's too soon."
"No?" Derek asks, hope blossoming in his chest.
"No," Stiles says, eyes bright as he looks down at Derek. "I know we just had our one year anniversary last month, but we've been together for over six years. I know I want a family with you, and I think we're ready to start considering our options if that's something you want to do."
"It is something I want to do," Derek tells him, absolutely sure of it.
Stiles smiles, then, small and soft at first before it widens into full blown toothy grin, happiness written all over his face when he says, "So. Kids."
"Yeah," Derek breathes out, helpless to do anything but smile back. "Kids."
And that's how it starts.
Derek tries really hard not to start grinning like an idiot.
Really.
He does.
He doesn't think he's being that successful, though, considering the way Laura rolls her eyes whenever she looks at him.
It's not his fault that his chest feels like it could burst from all the happiness inside of him at knowing he's going to be a dad.
And it's also not his fault that he's helplessly in love with his husband and finds pretty much everything he does endearing. Especially the way Stiles has been waving the blurry ultrasound picture around and showing it to everyone he passes by ever since they got back from Cora's first doctor's appointment.
Kind of like he's doing right now as he throws an arm around Erica's shoulder and points a finger at the picture, beaming from ear to ear as he talks animatedly about how he's going to be a dad and he's holding in his hands the proof of it.
Nevermind that Cora is standing a few feet away with Isaac and talking to Danny and Ethan, her hand resting on the bump of her belly that's just become more visible through her clothes.
"Stop being so smug," Laura pokes him in the ribs when she catches Derek looking at their little sisters. "It's not even like it was your jizz that got her preg-"
"Laura, no," Allison winces, interrupting her before she can finish that train-wreck of a sentence.
It takes Laura about three seconds before she realizes what she just implied, entire face twisting in disgust just before she drops her forehead against Derek's shoulder and groans.
"We're going to pretend you never said that to Derek," Boyd says, tone flat, and staring at her as if daring her to argue with him.
"But I'm still going to hold that against you for the next few months," Derek says, pushing Laura off of him. "Just so you know."
"That's okay," Laura pats his arm, slumping back on her chair. "I deserve that one."
"You're lucky the kids aren't around," Allison tells her, glancing at where Lydia and Jackson are keeping the kids entertained by playing with Legos. "I wouldn't want to be the one to explain to them what inbreeding means."
"You'd be the most qualified, though? Being a doctor and all," Laura offers, and then presses her lips together when Allison narrows her eyes at her. "Let's change the subject."
"Let's," Allison agrees, turning to Derek. "Are you and Stiles working on the nursery, yet?"
Derek blinks.
"Cora's due date is not until November 8th," he says, feeling a rush of nervousness and utter joy at knowing that by the time Christmas comes around he'll be a dad. "We still have some time."
He hears a snort coming from behind them, and twists his head to see Mrs. McCall and his mom standing behind him.
"Derek," Mrs. McCall says, a kind and amused smile on her face. "Babies are rarely born when we expect them to."
His mom nods, reaching out to run a hand through Laura's hair. "Look at your sister. She decided to come three weeks before schedule when your dad and I were arguing about which toothpaste to buy. I almost had her in the middle of the grocery store."
Derek is pretty sure there's horror written all over his face, if judging by the way his mom, Mrs. McCall, Allison, and Boyd are looking at him.
"But the doctor said," Derek tries, argument sounding weak even to his own ears.
"Babies don't listen to doctors," Allison says, eyes going to Tori and Jamie trying to build a Lego tower with Jackson's assistance, expression fond. "Trust me, I'd know."
Derek gulps.
"Don't worry," Boyd says, nudging Derek's foot with his own. "We'll help."
Derek nudges him back.
And then he stands up, walks the two steps to Boyd's seat, leans down, and hugs him.
Boyd huffs.
But still hugs him back.
Derek can hear the sounds of Erica cooing from where she's still sitting next to Stiles, and he gives her a small wave as soon as he lets Boyd go.
"That was beautiful," Laura sniffs.
Only to be smacked in the head by her mom. "Don't mock your brother."
"Sorry, mom," Laura mumbles, glaring at Derek when he chuckles.
"Come on, Talia," Mrs. McCall says, shaking her head at Derek and Laura. "We better go back to the kitchen and supervise."
"Scott didn't burn anything, did he?" Allison asks, apprehensive.
"Not so far," Derek's mom smiles.
"And Alex didn't break anything, did he?" Laura looks at her mom, wrinkling her nose. "Because I'm not buying you new kitchen appliances."
Talia doesn't bother with a response, just giving Laura a flat look before she and Mrs. McCall go back to the kitchen.
"You're such a good daughter," Derek teases Laura, tugging at the strands of her hair. "No wonder you're her least favorite."
"Excuse me," Laura gasps. "I was born first."
"I'm still the one she likes best," Boyd pipes up, and then levels Derek and Laura with a stern look before they can say anything. "And it's not good parenting playing favorites with your kids."
Derek and Laura blink.
And then Laura shrugs. "I only have the one. I can play favorites if I wanna."
Allison rolls her eyes, and then turns to Derek. "Like Boyd said earlier, we'll help you and Stiles with the nursery. Scott and I still have a lot from when Jamie and Tori were babies, so something might be of help to you."
"Thanks," Derek says, placing his hand on top of Allison's and squeezing.
"Don't worry," Allison waves a hand at him. "And I'm sure Lydia will be thrilled at knowing she has blanket permission to do what she wants with the room."
Derek opens his mouth, ready to protest, because that's not what he said.
But he's not fast enough - or Allison speaks louder than he thought - before he can even get a word out Lydia promptly says, "Yes, I will be!"
Derek deflates. "I'd better warn Stiles."
Boyd and Laura both nod, giving him sympathetic looks.
Allison just smirks.
Derek makes a mental note to not ask her to be the godmother of any of his children.
When he reaches Stiles and Erica sitting by the living room table it's to see they've been joined by the Stiles' dad, who doesn't look at all bothered by having his kid showing him the ultrasound picture for about the hundredth time that week.
Derek suspects that might be because he's actually worse than Stiles at the whole showing off the ultrasound picture thing.
So much worse, he's taken to showing off the picture to people that, for whatever dumb reason it is that got them picked up by the police, end up in the backseat of his squad car.
It kind of worries Derek that the criminals and low lives of Beacon Hills know he and Stiles are going to be parents.
Not that he has the guts to ask the Sheriff to stop, considering the way his face lights up whenever someone brings up the fact that he's going to be a grandpa.
And also considering the way he cried when Derek and Stiles came to tell him about their plans of starting a family. And then when he cried again after they told him Cora was pregnant.
So really, Derek just resigns himself to his fate and is thankful the Sheriff is so happy about all of this.
Because it probably means that in the future he'll have no problems with babysitting whenever Derek and Stiles need some time for themselves.
"Hey there, Daddy," Erica smirks when she sees him, only to frown a few seconds later. "That didn't sound as good as I thought it would."
"Thank god for that," the Sheriff mumbles, sharing an amused glance with Derek.
"Derek's not going to be called Daddy," Stiles says, patting the chair by his side. "He's going to be Papa. We decided. That way he'll be Uncle Bear and Papa Bear. Now, come look at this and be amazed at what your sister and I made."
"And that will never not sound weird," Stiles' dad shakes his head, and then looks down at the picture. "But you did good, son. You should be proud."
"I am," Stiles preens, giving Derek a quick kiss on the lips when Derek sits down. "I'm so proud I'm thinking of naming one of our kids after me."
"No," Derek says vehemently. "No naming them after ourselves."
He doesn't add that it's enough his kids will call him Papa because of Stiles' stuffed bear he named Der Bear when they started dating.
"So we can name them after other people?" Stiles perks up.
Erica and the Sheriff laugh.
Derek sighs.
And then looks down at the picture still in Stiles' hand.
The picture that shows him the two babies that soon will be his and Stiles' twin kids.
Derek tries really hard not to start grinning like an idiot again.
"This-," Derek's breath hitches, hips stutter, hands clutch at the pillow under Stiles' head. "This is not gonna help us decide how to- Fuck."
"I don't know, Derek," Stiles laughs breathlessly. "But I think a lot of people managed to- oh- oh, fuck, that's it- to have babies this way."
He makes his point by tightening his legs around Derek's waist, arching his back, and clenching around Derek's dick.
Derek wants to be mad.
Because this is most definitely not the time for Stiles to be making fun of him.
Not that he can hold on to that feeling, though, when he's on top of Stiles, inside of him, staring down at his flushed cheeks and bitten red lips and glassy eyes.
Stiles will always be the most gorgeous person Derek's ever seen.
Especially when he's gasping Derek's name, writhing under him, not knowing if he wants to fuck himself back on Derek's dick or get away from.
Derek doesn't give him much of a choice, pressing his body down into Stiles', getting as close as he can, settling his weight on top of him.
And then smirking at the sounds Stiles makes when his cock starts brushing against Derek's stomach at every other thrust, his hands sliding down Derek's sweaty back as he tries to hold on to Derek.
"Derek," Stiles breathes out, his mouth at Derek's jaw, Derek's cheek, seeking Derek's lips.
Derek doesn't resist, turning his head and giving Stiles what he wants, their noses bumping together before their mouths slot together in a deep kiss.
He knows Stiles is close.
He can tell by the way Stiles arches into him, the way Stiles pulls back so he can clamp his teeth down on the side of Derek's throat.
Stiles' hand trying to find its way between them and to his cock and the way he whines in protest when Derek slaps it away might also have something to do with it.
Derek doesn't tease him, not like he thinks Stiles deserves after making fun of him and after talking him into sex when Derek was trying to have an important conversation with him.
The sound Stiles makes when Derek wraps his hand around him is like music to Derek's ears, and he doesn't bother hiding his smug smile as he starts jerking Stiles off in time with his thrusts.
Stiles doesn't notice.
He's too busy throwing his head back and moaning Derek's name and coming all over himself and Derek's hand, going impossibly tight around Derek's cock.
Yes, Stiles will always be the most gorgeous person Derek's ever seen.
It doesn't take long after that for Derek to come, urged by Stiles' soft voice after Stiles catches his breath, Stiles' hands sliding up and down his sides.
Hands that manhandle Derek until he's tucked close against Stiles' side, head under his chin, arm wrapped around Stiles' waist after they're done and cleaned up.
"Hey, baby," Stiles murmurs after a while, turning his head so he can press a kiss to Derek's forehead.
"Yeah?"
"I think we should try getting pregnant more often, because this was grea-"
Derek doesn't let him finish.
He just unceremoniously pushes Stiles off the bed instead.
Stiles takes the covers with him, laughing all the way down.
And then wastes no time in getting back up again and throwing himself on top of Derek, both of them mock wrestling until Stiles manages to pin Derek down on the bed, arms above his bed.
They stare at each other, eyes soft and lips curled up in smiles, not really saying anything.
Until Stiles ducks his head and kisses the tip of Derek's nose, the corner of Derek's mouth, breath ghosting over Derek's lips.
"I want to try having a kid that's either half you or half me first," Stiles tells him in almost a whisper. "And if we don't find a surrogate or that doesn't work out, then we can talk to Laura about what we should do if we want to adopt. I mean, if that's okay with you."
"That's okay with me," Derek says, trying to blink tears out of his eyes.
He shouldn't be emotional about this, dammit.
But it makes him feel a little bit better that Stiles looks pretty much the same way, letting out a wet laugh before he closes the distance between them and kisses him.
"We're going to have a baby," Stiles says when he pulls back, wonder coloring his tone.
"Yeah," Derek nods, pulling Stiles close. "We're going to have a baby."
"This is not what I signed up for," Cora sighs, taking Derek's hand as he helps her into the exam table.
"Just think we'll be the ones waking up in the middle of the night to them crying," Derek offers. "And we'll be the ones changing their diapers. And getting thrown up on."
Cora wrinkles her nose. "You make parenthood sound so great."
"Thank god we're never having children," Isaac says, lifting up a hand.
Cora high fives him.
Derek rolls his eyes, sitting down on a chair beside Stiles as they wait for the doctor.
"It's not my fault I have super sperm," Stiles says, totally unapologetic, and ignoring the way Isaac groans. "And got you pregnant with twins."
"Please don't ever refer to your sperm as super even again," Isaac pleads, wincing.
"Or just don't refer to your sperm," Cora says narrows her eyes at Stiles. "Ever."
Stiles looks like he's about to say something - and Derek's ready to cover Stiles' mouth with his hand if he has to - when the doctor enters the room.
Derek and Stiles' posture changes immediately, both of them straightening in their seats and grabbing for each other's hands.
"So," the doctor says, giving them an encouraging smile. "Are you ready to find out the sex of your babies?"
Derek and Stiles look at each other, all nervousness and giddy excitement, before staring down at Cora.
"Don't ask me," Cora shrugs one shoulder. "I'm only carrying them for you."
Stiles rolls his eyes at her while Derek lets out a low chuckle, turning to the doctor and saying, "We're ready."
He almost doesn't notice Isaac taking his phone out of his pocket and aiming it at him and Stiles, raising an eyebrow in silent question.
"Laura and Scott made me promise to film your reaction," Isaac explains, grinning when Derek glares at him.
"Hey," Stiles pokes Derek in the cheek. "No glaring during baby moments. These are supposed to be happy times."
Derek sighs, sending one last glare in Isaac's direction when he laughs, but smooths out his expression.
He gets a kiss from Stiles for his efforts.
"Alright, are you guys ready?"
Derek takes a deep breath, hand tightening around Stiles' own.
"We're ready," Stiles says for both of them, worrying at his bottom lip, eyes glued to the ultrasound machine.
And no matter what Isaac's video shows, Derek and Stiles don't cry.
Really.
They don't.
Not that it's not understandable, with how this is them finding out the sex of their babies.
But still.
They don't cry.
What they do, though, is laugh and kiss and hug Cora and Isaac until they complain, dumb smiles stretching across their faces, cheeks flushed with happiness.
Because not only they're having twins, but they're going to be parents to a boy and a girl.
A son and a daughter.
Fuck.
"Are you really sure you want me to be the one to-"
"Yes, Stiles," Derek says patiently, even though he's getting tired of having this conversation. "It makes more sense for it to be you. That way our baby can have some Hale and some Stilinski in them."
Derek watches as Stiles' face softens the way it always does whenever Derek mentions their baby, eyes turning liquid and lips tugging up right before he leans in to give Derek a kiss.
"If you're really sure," Stiles mutters one more time, hand coming up to cup Derek's cheek.
"I am," Derek kisses him again. "Now stop asking me about it."
"Okay," Stiles nods, pressing their lips together one more time before pulling back. "Okay. So we're talking about either Laura or Cora being our surrogate. I mean, if they accept."
Derek shakes his head, already feeling dread curling at the pit of his stomach. "Laura's out. She's too old to be the one to do it."
Stiles' lips thin, and he looks torn between feeling disappointed and laughing at Derek's words.
Derek's kind of glad when Stiles chooses the funnier route, knocking their knees together.
"I dare you to tell Laura that to her face."
Derek rolls his eyes, grabbing one of the many throw pillows on the couch and hitting Stiles in the face with it.
"I'm not that brave," Derek deadpans, smiling when Stiles laughs.
"I still love you, baby," Stiles says, batting his lashes.
"Me too, Bunny," Derek says, getting a hand on Stiles' wrist and pulling him until Stiles' body is flush against his. "Me too."
Stiles grins, going for another kiss, this time deeper and sweeter than all the others.
"So when are we talking to Cora?" Stiles rests his forehead against Derek's temple, playing with the buttons on Derek's Henley.
"Whenever we're ready to talk to her," Derek tells him, already feeling anxious about it.
Stiles is quiet for a few seconds, thoughtful, and his voice comes out a lot softer and quieter when he asks, "Do you think she'll say yes?"
Derek's mind goes to his little sister, and his lips twitch up at their own accord.
"Yeah," Derek sighs, running a hand through Stiles' hair. "I think she'll say yes."
"I'm kind of bummed we can't go trick or treating," Stiles sighs, staring after a group of kids dressed as The Avengers as they make their way to the house next to theirs.
"You only have yourself to blame!" Cora yells from the living room, where she's currently sitting in between a mess of blankets and empty candy wrappers. "And can you bring me some water, please?"
Stiles makes a face at her, only to turn and glare at Derek and hiss. "This is all your fault."
"I didn't get her pregnant," Derek points out, ignoring Stiles' indignant face. "And I also didn't invite her and Isaac to move in with us during the last trimester of the pregnancy."
"But she's your sister," Stiles whispers furiously. "And those are our babies."
Derek opens his mouth, only to close it again at the angry look on Stiles' face.
"You're right," Derek says, scrubbing a hand over his face. "I'm sorry. It's just-"
"You're tired of being treated like her own personal servant?" Stiles offers, expression softening a little. "And then feeling guilty about not wanting to do what she asks you to? Because not only she said yes to having our kid, but she ended up with twins, and that was a huge thing we asked of her?"
"Yeah," Derek admits, getting a hand on the back of Stiles' neck and pulling him close. "What you said."
"At least we only have one more week of this," Stiles says, licking his lips. "Unless the babies decide they want to stay where they are for a while more."
"Don't even joke," Derek tells him, tightening his hold on Stiles' neck.
"Seriously, though," Stiles says, resting his hands on Derek's sides. "With our luck, these kids are only going to be born at the end of Nov-"
"Guys?" Cora calls out again.
"Your water, we know!" Stiles yells back. "We'll be right there!"
"That's okay! I don't think I'll need it!"
"Typical," Derek mumbles, only to have Stiles poke him in the stomach.
"Are you sure?" Stiles asks, because Cora's been known to say she doesn't want something only to change her mind ten seconds later.
"Well, yeah!" Cora says loudly, slowly. "You know, since I think we should probably get to the hospital because my water just broke!"
Derek trips on his own feet on his hurry to get to her, while Stiles flails so hard he hits his hand on one of the vases Mrs. McCall gave them as a housewarming gift and sends it crashing to the ground. Isaac, for his turn, comes running down the stairs - obviously having heard all the yelling -, with a towel wrapped around his waist and shampoo still on his hair.
All in all, they could have done better than this.
But at least the scene is enough to make Cora stop looking freaked out and let out a laugh, which Derek will take it as a win.
And to be fair, they weren't expecting this to happen during Halloween night.
Something Derek also isn't expecting is for him to be the calm on in this situation, having thought that since Stiles is an EMT and is used to finding himself in a crisis he'd be the one to take charge of things.
That doesn't happen.
What happens is that Stiles freezes as soon as he sees her, hands halfway in the air as if he's going to grab for something, eyes widening and mouth dropping open and face paling as he sees the mess that is their couch and the blankets.
Isaac doesn't look any better, standing by the end of the stairs and dripping everywhere, looking like he doesn't know if he should go to Cora or go back upstairs and put some clothes on.
Cora and Derek exchange a look.
"Who would have thought we'd be the only sane ones when this happened?" she says, raising an eyebrow, and then eyes both Stiles and Isaac. "And if you think I'm not telling everyone you two freaked out and freezed up like two idiots, then you're wrong."
That seems to snap them out of their frozen state. Not that they do much more than just shift their eyes from Cora to Derek, as if waiting for Derek to tell them what to do.
So Derek does.
He sends Isaac back up to rinse off and get dressed, while he tells Stiles to grab some clean clothes for Cora and then start the car while Derek helps her get changed.
Derek doesn't even want to think about how he's going to get the couch cleaned, settling for helping Cora up and walking her slowly to the car.
"Do you want to be the one timing your contractions or calling everyone and telling them to go to the hospital?" Derek asks, opening the backseat door for her and helping her inside.
"Phone," Cora says between a grimace, one of her hands resting on her stomach and the other making grabby gestures to Derek.
Derek hands her his phone, waiting until Isaac is running to the car with his shoes in his hand and his shirt only halfway on to start giving out orders again.
He puts Isaac on talking Cora through her contractions duty, figuring he's the one with more experience in handling her when she's in pain. And Stiles gets settled with figuring out how far apart her contractions are, with Derek knowing he'll have an easier time with all of this when he has a task in hand and has to keep track of things.
Derek drives.
He drives like he's a man on a mission, which, admittedly, he is.
He can hear Cora talking on the phone with someone, letting them know the twins are coming and everyone should meet them at the hospital. She stops every once in a while between calls to curse something, breathe through her mouth, and kick the back of Derek's seat.
"You're lucky you're having twins, because I'm never doing this for you again," Cora says through gritted teeth.
Derek glances at Stiles.
Stiles shrugs.
They can deal.
Mrs. McCall meets them as soon as they get to the hospital, saying she won't be the nurse with them during the labor, but that she thought it'd be nice to have a familiar face around while they get ready for the delivery.
Stiles hugs her and maybe cries on her shoulder a little bit.
Derek hugs both of them and kisses her on the cheek and tells her that if she ever needs something done on her car, it'll be on the house.
Cora throws the phone she's still holding at Derek's back. "I'm having two babies here."
They enter the delivery room before anyone arrives, with the doctors trying to make sense of their little family when they ask who's going to accompany Cora during it.
"I'm the dad," Stiles says, sounding both proud and scared shitless.
"And I'm the other dad," Derek tells them, not sparing them a glance, too busy trying not to wince when Cora grabs hold of his hand and squeezes.
"And I'm her husband," Isaac shrugs, even though that's not technically true.
In the end the three of them get in, with Isaac being led out after he starts swaying in place when he gets a look at what's happening with Cora.
Stiles and Derek politely refuse the chance to watch her push their babies out of her, claiming it'd be too weird considering Derek is her brother and Stiles is married to him.
Aside from the scratches and bruises on his left hand from Cora holding on to him and his throat being dry from trying to talk her through the breathing exercises they learned and the look on Stiles' face through it all, Derek doesn't remember much about the delivery.
Not until the moment he hears the first cry, the doctor's voice announcing they have a beautiful baby girl, the glimpse of her pink face covered in goo before they take her to be measured and cleaned.
They don't have time to rest before the doctor tells Cora to start pushing again, and the sound of his son's first cry brings tears to Derek's eyes, to Stiles', and to Cora's, even though she tries to hide it.
Derek kisses her on the forehead, once, twice, three times, both him and Stiles telling her how thankful they are, how proud, how they'll never forget what she did for them.
Cora just lets out a slow breath through her nose and waves them off, telling them to go hold her nephew and niece and bring them close so she can see how cute they are.
Derek's heart trips over itself when a nurse hands him his daughter, giving him a wide smile. "Congratulations, dad."
Derek laughs a wet laugh, arms going around this tiny little human wrapped in a soft pink blanket, his daughter, holding her close to his chest.
He looks down in wonder, breath hitching, eyes filling with tears once again.
He bends his head down close to her, lips brushing over the crown of her head, his voice low when he says, "Papa's going to love you so much."
"Come on, bro," Cora calls him. "I wanna see if she's as beautiful as I am."
Derek doesn't even have it in him to stick his tongue out at her, walking up to Cora's bed and leaning down so she can see the baby. "This is your niece."
"She's so tiny," Cora says, tracing a finger lightly over her cheek. "And surprisingly cute for a newborn."
"She's amazing," Derek huffs, eyes still on his daughter, fascinated.
"Stiles, it's your turn now," Cora says, waving Stiles over. "Let me meet my nephew."
Derek lifts his eyes from his baby girl when Stiles gets to his side, holding their son in his arms. His eyes are filled with so much love and wonder and happiness that Derek can't help but lean in and kiss him.
Stiles beams at him, eyes going back to their son, who's wrapped around a blue blanket and has a firm hold around Stiles' index finger.
"He looks perfect," Derek whispers, placing a kiss to his tiny knuckles.
"Yeah," Stiles breathes out. "She does, too."
They don't have a chance to stand around staring at their babies for long, having to set them down so they can be moved to the private room they got for Cora. But once they're there, with their families and friends surrounding them, Derek knows he and Stiles are gonna have some trouble letting other people hold them.
"Stop hogging them," Laura says, peering over Derek's shoulder down at her nephew. "I wanna hold him."
"I'm their dad," Derek says, feeling himself smiling. "And so is Stiles. If anyone has the right to hog them, it's us."
"He's got you there," Alex says, kissing Laura's temple when he makes a face at him.
"You should be proud," Lydia tells them, voice soft. "They're beautiful."
"Thanks," Derek and Stiles grin at her.
Lydia rolls her eyes. "I wasn't talking to you two. I was talking to Cora."
"Go me," Cora says weakly, obviously exhausted.
"I gotta agree with Lydia, Stilinski," Jackson pipes up, looking impressed. "Who would've thought you'd make babies this cute?"
Stiles huffs, but doesn't snap back at Jackson like he generally would, settling for staring down at their daughter and making cooing noises whenever her mouth moves.
"I'll have you know Stiles was a beautiful baby," the Sheriff says, eyes a little wet, as he looks at his son and Derek with his grandkids. "It was only later that he got weird looking."
"He's not weird looking," Derek says in Stiles' defense, not bothering to take his eyes off his son. "Isn't that right, son? Your Daddy is the most handsome man Papa's ever known. Don't listen to grandpa."
Erica squeals at that, delighted. "Oh my god, Derek's going to be an adorable dad."
"A hot dad, you mean," Stiles corrects her.
"Bro," Scott shakes his head. "Little ears."
Derek watches as Stiles' face melts at that, eyes going from their daughter to their son and back again.
"Dad, can I touch it?" Kyle, who's four years old now, asks, tugging at Boyd's hand and trying to get closer.
"They're not an it, little man," Boyd says. "They're your new cousins."
Kyle blinks at him. "So can I touch them?"
"I wanna touch them too," Tori pipes up, looking up at Allison and Scott as if asking for permission. "I'm six, I'll be careful."
"Me too," Jamie says, trying to step around Mrs. McCall's legs, only to laugh when she gets her arms around his waist and picks him up.
"Me three," Zach tells them. "But only if Uncle Bear and Uncle Stiles say it's okay."
Alex ruffles Zach's hair at that, proud.
At eight years old, Zach is not only the oldest but also someone the kids look up to, so at his words it's not hard to get them all to form a line so they can hold the babies for a bit.
The adults follow their examples, and soon everyone's getting their cuddle on, making faces and cooing at the babies and congratulating Stiles, Derek, and Cora for them.
Derek and Stiles don't let that go on for long, though, with Derek barely caring about the pink on his cheeks when Peter starts teasing him about being a dad for only a few hours and already being overprotective.
"Like you were any better when I had the kids," Derek's mom raises an eyebrow at him, lips quirking up. "I remember you insisted on sleeping on the nursery for three weeks after Cora was born because someone had to make sure she kept breathing."
Peter looks so utterly displeased at that information being out that it makes Derek laugh, even more so when Cora grabs Peter's hand and swings in back and forth.
"Thanks, Uncle Peter," Cora drawls. "You're the best."
"I don't know why I associate with any of you."
"You love us," Isaac blows him a kiss, ducking when Peter tries to smack him on the head.
"What are you going to call them?" Danny asks, dimples in full view as he watches the babies.
"Please tell me it won't be anything Halloween themed," Ethan's eyes widen, making everyone turn to Stiles and Derek.
Derek gives them his best unimpressed face.
Stiles rolls his eyes. "You got us. We're naming them Sally and Jack and doing The Nightmare Before Christmas musical numbers every Halloween and Christmas."
"Is he joking?" Ethan whispers loudly. "I can't tell if he's joking."
"Stiles wouldn't do that," Scott shakes his head. "Derek wouldn't let him."
Stiles sputters, while Derek grins at Scott.
"Guys," Cora sighs. "I wanna know what the kids I gave birth to are gonna be called before I'm too sleepy to remember your answer."
Derek and Stiles share a look, both of them suddenly nervous about revealing the babies' names.
"Come on, dude," Scott clasps Stiles' on the shoulder. "After watching you two fight about it for the last five months, we're all curious."
Derek presses his lips together.
Because he and Stiles didn't fight that much about which names to choose for their kids.
Really.
They didn't.
Well, he might have slept a night or two on the couch while Stiles was in their bed, but still.
"Well," Stiles says slowly, eyes scanning the room before settling on Cora. "Since you're the most amazing woman I've ever met and you did just gave birth to my two kids, I'll be honored to introduce you to Charlotte Cora Stilinski-Hale. But you can call her Charlie."
Derek is glad Allison is filming the big name reveal, because he wants video evidence of the way Cora's eyes fill with tears and she presses her lips together and her voice cracks when she says, "No way."
"You gave her to us," Derek says, shrugging one shoulder, trying not to look as affected by Cora's reaction as he is. "Hopefully she'll be just as great as you are."
Cora sniffs. "She'll be even greater. I'll make sure of it."
Derek and Stiles smile at her, while Isaac wipes away her tears and kisses her cheek.
"And the boy?" Jackson asks, puffing his chest. "Did you name him after me, the most amazing guy you know?"
It's Stiles' turn to give him a flat look.
While Lydia sighs like she can't believe him and smacks Jackson on the stomach, a small smile forming on her face when he curls on himself.
"We didn't name him after anyone," Derek tells him, not even a little bit sorry. "We talked about naming him after Stiles' dad, but-"
"We know how much you're not a fan of that after what mom did to me," Stiles wrinkles his nose, cracking a smile when his dad shakes his head and laughs at him.
"You know right, then," the Sheriff says, and then adds. "She'd be happy for you both, though. And for these two little angels."
"Your dad would be, too," Talia chimes in, reaching out a hand so she can run her fingers through Derek's hair. "And he'd probably be trying to convince you to name at least one of them after a motorcycle."
Stiles looks horrified at the thought, cradling Charlie closer to his chest as if protecting her from that.
Derek's stomach flips.
"Luckily Talia has a will of iron," Peter smirks. "Even when she's doped up on hospital drugs."
Derek's mom smiles.
"What's he going to be called, though?" Allison brings them back to the subject. "Inquiring minds need to know."
"Especially if I'm to knit them something," Mrs. McCall nods in agreement.
"This one's all you, boo," Stiles kisses Derek's cheek.
"Everyone," Derek sighs, eyes going to his son, lips tugging up at seeing him wrinkle his tiny little nose. "Meet Anthony William Stilinski-Hale. You can call him Will."
"Sorry, Derek," Erica says, eyes glinting. "But I'm calling him Tony."
Stiles beams at her, lifting a hand up for a high-five.
Derek frowns
Boyd shakes his head. "How do you think we picked Kyle's name? If we had a girl Erica swore we'd be naming her Selina."
Derek gives him a sympathetic look.
"So," Scott says. "Charlie and Tony."
"Will," Derek corrects.
Scott nods. "Tony."
Isaac laughs. "This is not a fight you're going to win, Derek."
Derek tries to glare, but just then To- Will makes one of those soft baby noises, with Charlie following soon behind, grabbing everyone's attention.
Stiles leans against Derek's side, making himself comfortable when Derek lifts up an arm and snakes it around his shoulders, both of them with eyes only to their son and daughter.
The panic Derek expects himself to feel at realizing he's now responsible for two new lives never comes, only happiness and love and a sense of right at having his family with him and around him present.
"We're gonna love them a lot, aren't we?" Stiles asks, fingers tracing Ton- Will's forehead, Charlie's chubby cheek.
"Yes," Derek swallows, warmth rushing through him. "We will."
"So are you two going to tell me why you invited me here and told me not to bring Isaac, or are you going to look shifty all night?"
Derek curls and uncurls his hands, wipes them over his jeans, tries not to look nervous about the conversation he and Stiles are going to have with Cora and fails miserably at it.
"We have something we'd like to discuss with you," Derek starts, jaw clenching when Cora rolls her eyes.
"Well, obviously."
"What Derek means is," Stiles takes a deep breath, placing his hand over Derek's on where it rests on Derek's knee. "We're thinking of starting a family."
Cora blinks, her face drains of color, and then she shrieks, "I'm not having sex with either of you!"
Derek is glad they're already done with dinner, because this way neither he or Stiles spit or anything over the living room table.
They still choke on their tongues, though, with Stiles coughing so violently it brings tears to his eyes.
"Look at what you did," Derek snaps at her, clapping Stiles on the back and trying to find something for him to drink.
"Excuse you," Cora glares at him, handing him her class of water. "I'm not the one who invited my sister for dinner only so my husband could proposition her."
"We didn't-," Stiles wheezes, coughs some more, accepts the glass Derek offers him and takes big gulps of the drink. "We didn't mean it like that."
"Then what did you mean?" Cora crosses her arms over her chest, still glaring.
"We were going to ask you to be our surrogate," Derek says harshly, only for his anger to melt away at the surprised look on Cora's face. "That's what we meant. That's why we asked you here."
"You-," Cora gapes. "You want me to be your surrogate?"
"If you're okay with it," Stiles says, voice rough, kissing Derek's palm when Derek wipes the tears from his cheeks. "We've always known we wanted kids, but we didn't really start talking about it until a while ago. And when we were discussing our options we thought we'd try the surrogacy thing first, and if that didn't work we'd adopt."
"And you thought of me?"
Derek doesn't think he's ever heard her sounding this small, this surprised, this flattered.
It kind of makes his heart ache for her, makes him want to wrap his arms around her and hug the shit out of her.
"Derek did," Stiles says, knocking his elbow against Derek's. "He said that way our kid can have a little bit of Hale and a little bit of Stilinski in them."
Cora looks at him and Stiles for what seems like a lifetime, before the corner of her lips twitch up and she asks, "What do I have to do?"