Christmas. The day that landed just a week before the last day of the year. But many people call it a day of celebration and a day to be with their families. For the past seven years Derek hasn't wanted to get up out of bed on this day. This year was even harder on him, This year his sister wasn't here to kick his ass out of bed to spend the day with her. This year, Derek felt totally alone.
Derek rolled over in bed with a grunt. There was a chill coming from the window just above his bed, causing him to pop one eye open. His hazel green eyes stared out the small bit of window that peeked through his dark colored curtains. He watched as large fluffy snow flakes fluttered and danced past the glass. The snow made him relive a memory from his childhood. It was the earliest holiday memory he could look back to.
It was around noon on Christmas day. Derek had made sure that the entire family woke up at the crack of dawn so they could open presents. He was still at a very young age so the family understood his excitement. After opening all the presents under the large tree that his parents had set up, Derek and his older sister Laura noticed that it was snowing outside.
"Snow!" Derek shouted with glee as he got up from his toys and ran towards the door. But his mother's swiftness outclassed him with ease. With a soft smile on her lips she had grabbed him gently by the arms. The boy retaliated by looking up at his mothers soft smile with big pleading puppy dog eyes.
"Now now Derek. Before going outside go upstairs and dress in warmer clothing. Then put your coat, boots and hat on. I don't want you to catch a cold." She said as she hugged her youngest son close to her. Derek's small arms wrapped around his mother, though he was hidden by her long wavy black hair. He inhaled her scent, the smell of fresh gingerbread cookies. The ones his mother always made on this special day.
"Okay Mama." Derek said with a smile before he rushed up the stairs. Laura chuckled as she walked over to her mother.
"I'll go out with him. Dad is in a heated debate with the uncle's about one of the toys they bought." Laura flashed a light grin to her mother before pointing to the large group of men looking over a toy that needed to be assembled, problem was; was that there were many little pieces and they were arguing over the instruction booklet.
With a gentle sigh, Derek and Laura's mother stepped back into the kitchen. "Thank you Laura. I will keep watch and bonk any of their heads if pieces start to get thrown." The mother and daughter shared devious grins before Laura stepped up the stairs to get ready. Laura passed by her brother's room and peeked in. Derek was in the middle of fighting with a sweater over his head. He was waddling around the room flailing his arms inside the fabric before finally his head popped through. Laura sniffled a chuckle and quickly entered her room and dressed in warmer clothing.
Only a few minutes passed before the sound of Derek's feet came storming down the stairs. He tripped a bit when he got to the bottom floor but made a mad dash to the coat rack. Laura soon walked down the stairs whistling lowly as she watched Derek jump up and down like a puppy trying to grab his coat. "Okay okay." She chuckled as she plucked the coat up off the rack and passed it down to him. She zipped his coat up before helping him slip his boots on and wrapped his scarf around his neck. After Derek was ready, she got ready herself before both of them ventured outside and into the snow fall.
The wooded area in which their house was perfectly settled in was naturally quiet. There was about two inches of snow on the ground perfectly untouched since the family had been inside since the night before. Derek glanced to his sister with a slight devious grin plastered on his lips. He stepped down the stairs and watched as she began to walk around. The small boy reached down and picked up a fair amount of slow. Working as silent as he possibly could he patted it into a ball before he took aim. He stuck his tongue out the corner of his mouth and closed one eye. He brought his arm back before he threw the ball and hit his sister's butt. "Haha!"
Laura let out a shriek at the cold snow ball that hit her rear. She turned quickly on her brother with narrowed eyes. "I'm going to get you back you little twerp!" The older sibling reached down to pack her own snowball. Derek however, took off running on all fours from his sister. "Hey get back here!" Laura said before she ran after him.
The two of them laughed as they continued their snowball fight. By the time they managed to call a truce, both of them were soaking wet. Laura noticed Derek yawning and smiled. She took his little brothers hand and the two walked back to the house. When they got there, their parents were standing on the porch waiting for them. Derek gave a sleepy smile as he waddle ran over to them. His mother picked him up and listened to his sleepy story about how he beat Laura in a snow ball fight and proved that he had what it took to be an alpha. His father chuckled and wrapped an arm around Laura's shoulders before the family walked inside to dry off and enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate.
Derek cut the memory off there. He didn't want to live in the past anymore, he wanted to move forward. He was making his own pack now, his own family. He gripped his hands into fists as he stared at the snow. "I will protect them." After that sentence however, a clatter came from the living room of his flat. He turned his head and narrowed his eyes at his door. Quietly he slipped out of bed, he was wearing a pair of green plaid pajama pants. He crept over to the door and opened it up to peer out into the living room.
"Do I have to wear these?" Boyd's voice came as he carried in a Christmas tree. On the other end was Scott, wearing a casual green hoodie, Santa hat, jeans and sneakers. Boyd was dressed in a zipper hoodie with a red shirt underneath, jeans and sneakers. But Stiles was quickly following after him with a box in his hand. Stiles was dressed up in a Santa suit. But he couldn't stand the beard and he threw it away.
"Dude you have to wear them! I need my main man reindeer!" The spastic teen said as Issac walked over and set up the tree with Scott. Issac was wearing a sweater with golden bells knitted into it with jeans and sneakers. He had on an elf hat as he grunted to get the plastic wiring off of the tree so he could fluff it up to perfection.
"Just wear them Boyd. I'm enjoying being dressed up." Erica walked in carrying a large box of homemade food they all worked on. Erica was in a short red Santa baby dress with a hat and matching heels. She set the food down in Derek's kitchen and began to unpack it to set up a buffet line. "Stiles when did you learn how to lock pick?"
Stiles looked over to Erica as Boyd caved in with an annoyed look at Stiles. It was one of those looks that said 'Oh how I want to strangle you'. But Boyd took the box from Stiles and turned away. "Well Erica I have an array of awesome skills, Thank you very much." He then looked back to Boyd who was now standing with an unhappy look on his face, but on his nose was a big red foam ball and on his head was a pair of antlers.
Derek watched with a deadpan expression from the door way of his room. He soon opened his door with a bang. "What the hell is going on here?" He demanded as he stared at the group of werewolves...and Stiles. The group turned to him before Stiles walked over.
"Simple, we knew you would be spending the holiday alone so we came to fix that. We're you're pack. You're no longer alone Derek. Even though that scowl on your face frightens everyone away." He said standing proudly in his Santa Clause outfit. Scott soon walked over and placed a hand on Derek's shoulder.
"Come on man. Just sit down, have some food and deal with us for a little while." Scott said as the three omegas nodded their heads. Derek reluctantly agreed and helped them set up. His conditions for the day were; They have to clean up and if they break into his apartment again he had permission to kill them.
About an hour later, they were all sitting down and eating. Issac and Erica were in a heated debate over something as small as which one of them was faster. Boyd was silent as he sat near Derek and Scott and Stiles were behind the couch wrapping something. Of course the two of them ended up with more tape on them then the actual present. But when it was wrapped, not to decently but enough so that what was inside was hidden, Stiles popped out from behind the couch.
"Hohoho! Merry Christmas!" Stiles held the gift out to Derek as Scott took a seat. Derek looked over the pathetic excuse of a wrapping job before looking back up at Stiles. He felt he didn't need to openly mock the wrapping job, and his stare would work equally. He puffed out a sigh before he began to pull the wrapping paper off. When the wrapping paper was fully off, Derek's eyes widened. He looked down at a metal wall ornament. It was hand made and each of the fruit hanging from the tree were pictures of the Hale family. "How did you-?" Derek looked up at Stiles.
"Well...I asked for my dad's help. He helped me track down some pictures and me and Erica went through the ones we thought looked the best. Boyd and Issac worked hard on making the entire thing. Scott over there made the small tree underneath." At the mention of the small tree underneath, Derek pulled out a smaller tree with Derek's own pack on it. Everyone's picture was on this one and Derek's was at the top. "We're you're pack now man. You don't need to sit here all alone anymore."
Derek's eyes watered faintly but his lips actually curled in a smile. "Thank you. This is...the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me in a long time." He said before clearing his throat. He then looked up at the group before standing up. "Come on, I'm going to make you all a batch of my mother's famous hot chocolate." And for the rest of the evening, Derek would spend having a good time with his pack.