Author's Note: So here's the first of the follow on fics for I'll Be With You Through The Dark - bit harder to keep them all in one place on here as I can't link them in a series like on AO3! Anyway! People really seemed to like the idea of Derek hiding in a pillow fort with their kids, so I hope I've done it justice! xx
(+17 years,10 months) Coming home from work to find that Derek has built a pillow and blanket fort behind the couch in the lounge for Remy and Oliver and is hiding in there with them.
"Derek?" Stiles called as he threw his keys into the bowl on the side table. The house was suspiciously quiet for this time on a Friday afternoon. He glanced through the window by the door to double check that Derek's car was still on the driveway, wondering if he'd gone out for a walk with the kids.
He ambled in to the kitchen, surprised to find no note on the table explaining where they might have gone. As he pulled the fridge open and took a long drink of milk from the carton, he heard a stifled giggle floating through from the lounge and followed the sound.
Peering around the door to the lounge, he heard the giggle again, Remy's giggle, and leant against the door frame, feigning innocence.
"Oh it's terrible and tragic," he announced to the room. "My children have run away and abandoned me. Who's going to help me eat pancakes now?"
"Daddy! No!" A small voice wailed from the corner of the room. Stiles smiled to himself and stepped into the room. As he did, he heard a scuffling noise and focused his attention on one of the couches, a mop of dark hair just visible behind it.
"Whatcha doing peanut?" Stiles asked Remy as she popped up from behind the couch, a huge grin on her face.
"Daddy made us a pillow fort!" Remy beamed, scrambling over the arm of the couch and standing up on the cushions.
"Yeah? Where's daddy and Ollie now?"
Remy giggled, holding a finger to her lips and pointing at the blanket draped over the back of the other couch. "They're hiding!"
Stiles bent down and lifted one corner of the blanket to reveal Derek leaning back against the wall, his eyes closed and a soft smile on his face. Oliver was curled up next to him, fast asleep with his head resting on Derek's thigh and his toy sheep clutched tightly in one hand. The cosy little space was filled with scatter cushions and extra blankets and strewn with various library books, a clear sign that Remy had been there.
"Fort or den?" Stiles asked quietly, leaning into the warm space to poke Derek in the knee.
"S'mine, whatever it is." Derek replied drowsily, keeping his eyes closed. "Shoo."
Stiles smiled happily, letting the blanket drop back down again. He stood up and scooped Remy up into a hug, rubbing his nose against hers. "Want to help me make dinner?"
"Can we have blue pancakes again?" Remy asked excitedly, trying to squirm out of his arms.
"No baby, they made Ollie crazy last time, remember?" Stiles laughed, letting Remy slip to the floor and ruffling her hair. "Because of all the blue in them."
"They made you crazy more like." Derek mumbled from inside the blanket and pillow fort. Stiles made a derisive snorting noise and bent down to glare at him.
"They did not make me crazy, I was just excited about the baseball." He let go of the blanket again and ushered Remy away towards the kitchen, murmuring under his breath about how nearly forty one year olds shouldn't be building pillow forts, smug in the knowledge that Derek would be able to hear him.
. o o o .
Stiles leant over and pressed a gentle kiss against Remy's forehead, quietly closing the book and placing it on her bedside table, still amused that she'd demanded facts about amphibians as bedtime reading. He slipped out of the room, flicking off the overhead light as he went and left the door slightly ajar so the light from the landing would shine through. He'd ended up cooking dinner for just the two of them, figuring Derek would get himself and Ollie something when he emerged, before bathing Remy and tucking her up in bed.
He glanced into Oliver's room as he headed towards the stairs, surprised to see his bed empty and the light off, figuring that Derek must have decided to give him a late dinner. He padded quietly down the stairs, wandering into the kitchen to find that empty too, smiling to himself when he realised Derek was probably still in the lounge.
The lights were off when he entered; and as he turned on the lamp on the end table, he bent down to look into Derek's blanket fort. Derek was lying on the scatter cushions, fast asleep, his body curled around an equally comatose Oliver. Stiles felt as though his heart was swelling with happiness and love for both of them as he watched them sleep. He was desperate to get a photo of the pair of them, but figured the flash on his phone would probably disturb them so left them to nap, settling down on the couch with a book to wait for them to wake.