I don't own Teen Wolf and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Derek hated the holidays with every fiber of his being, and all he wanted to do was crawl into his bed and not come out until after the new year. That plan had worked out semi-well for him since the past few years - since Laura died (and even though she blamed him for their family dying, she refused to let him drown in self-pity and dragged him out of bed every Christmas) anyway. Cora claimed she didn't care what he did for Christmas, so that was that. He ignored the pack and did what he wanted to do since it was easier. But it seemed like life – or Stiles – had other plans for him. He really shouldn't have been surprised when Stiles burst through his door and pulled the covers down. Derek whined and then glared at his friend. "Go away, Stiles."
"No chance. Sorry I'm not sorry. Merry birthday!"
He narrowed his eyes at Stiles. "Merry birthday?" Derek wasn't sure why he was surprised those words had come out of Stiles' mouth.
Stiles rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to smack his palm against his forehead. "Cora told me that today's your birthday. I just combined the two phrases. Anyway, you're going to get out of this bed and have the best birthday-slash-Christmas ever."
And that answered Derek's question on how Stiles even knew it was his birthday. He was going to kill Cora for this later. "No. I'm going to stay right here. You go hang out with your dad and Scott."
Stiles sat down on the bed. "Sorry, buddy, but our plans include my dad and Scott. And everyone else. You're also not getting out of this, so stop trying to figure out a way since it's not going to happen. Now go get a shower and get in clean clothes." He was actually extremely worried about Derek – Cora informed him that her brother had only gotten out of bed a few times since the eighteenth. Stiles didn't want him to drown in angst and grief when he had family with him. And he understood why Derek didn't want to celebrate, but this was unhealthy. He wasn't going to stand for it, thus the plan he had devised a few days earlier.
Derek tried to think of ways to scare Stiles away, but groaned when he realized nothing was going to work. He was too stubborn to stop once he set his mind on something and this was going to happen whether Derek wanted it to or not. "Fine. But get off the bed so I can shower."
Stiles grinned. "Will do! Go on, big guy. I'll be waiting for you in the living room." He was so glad Derek and Cora had moved into an apartment after returning to Beacon Hills – the loft had never felt the same after Boyd died there. And he knew Derek still had nightmares about what went down because of the Alpha pack and blamed himself, no matter how many times they tried to tell him it wasn't his fault. He didn't really believe them.
After Derek got his shower and dressed himself, he sighed. "So your house, I'm assuming?"
He nodded. "Yup. Everyone is expecting us. Dad and Melissa have a place reserved for you at the table already." His dad and stepmother had decided to go out all this year since it was Lorelei's first Christmas that she could actually remember. He did not appreciate being woken up at the crack of dawn, although seeing the look on her face when she opened her presents had been worth it. And at least there was no troll to go after this year.
"Great." Derek liked John and Melissa, but he wasn't sure he could handle an exuberant three year old reminding him of what his family used to be like. Cora dealt with these things better and he didn't understand how. Maybe because it wasn't her fault like it was his.
The two of them got in Stiles' Jeep and headed to the Stilinski house, where Melissa was the first to greet him. She hugged Derek. "Merry Christmas and happy birthday. Come in and enjoy the holiday with us."
"Why don't I get that kind of greeting?" Stiles complained.
"Because I live with and see you every day, kid," Melissa shot back just as Lorelai launched herself as Derek.
He couldn't help himself – he laughed and picked her up. Her excitement was infectious. "Hey there. What are you up to? You excited about Santa?" He could do this. He could pretend to be excited about this when he'd rather be anywhere else.
Lorelei nodded and launched into an explanation of what she had asked for, something Derek listened to intently so he didn't upset her. "You look great," she whispered when he set her down.
Derek laughed. "Thank you." All of them sat around and talked for a little bit while Melissa, Lydia, Cora, and Allison repeatedly disappeared into the kitchen to get dinner ready. "Shouldn't we go in there and help?"
John snorted. "If you want to get kicked out, sure. Melissa gets a little intense around the holidays and stresses the rest of us out." He pointed at Scott.
"She slapped me on the head with an oven mitt! I just wanted to taste something," Scott complained. They all laughed at his misfortune, Derek included.
When dinner was finally ready, he followed everyone else into the dining room. They were all crowded around the table and barely had any room, but managed to make it work. Cora exchanged a content smile with her brother. "This remind you of anything?"
"No, it doesn't." Derek didn't want to remember what his sister was clearly thinking about. He had avoided it as best as he could all day and wasn't about to stop now. His emotions were starting to overwhelm him, so he tried to shut down (and was unsuccessful).
"Oh, come on. Enjoy yourself. That's what today is about. This food is excellent, Mrs. Stilinski." Cora gave her a thumb's up.
"Thank you. I'm glad you like it." Before she dug into her food, Melissa scolded Lorelai about eating too fast and then continued doing what she was doing.
Stuck next to Derek (he was sure it was on purpose), Stiles kept bumping into his elbow and received glares every time. "Hey, it's not my fault. We need a bigger table or spread out."
"Yeah, I'm going into the living room because it's too hard to eat. Sorry, Mom and John." Scott got up and headed to the living room. Lydia apologized and then followed her fiancé in because she was starting to feel way too boxed in and couldn't take it anymore.
Derek breathed a sigh of relief as Stiles moved a few inches away from him. He liked him (maybe a little too much) but he needed some space (especially today). The conversation continued, even when Isaac, Allison, and Cora broke away to watch TV and eat with Lydia and Scott.
Despite himself, Derek ended up enjoying dinner and the various conversations occurring around the table. Melissa disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a sheet cake, which prompted the group to start singing Happy Birthday (although Stiles combined it with his own versions of Christmas songs). "Thanks."
"No problem."
"Stiles came up with the entire idea," John informed him before swiping a tiny bite off Melissa's piece of cake. When his wife glared at him, he shrugged and apologized.
After they finished eating, Stiles and Derek joined the rest of the pack. Unfortunately, both had to sit on the floor (they didn't mind too much, however). "So are you mad? Did I do good?" Stiles looked at him expectantly.
Derek nodded. "Yes." He had had a surprisingly good day and was glad Stiles had forced him out of the house. It was nice not to wallow in self-pity around the holidays for once. He looked forward to future Christmases with his family (and they truly were his family, no matter how many times he tried to deny it) now. And Derek had a feeling Stiles was going to drag him out for New Year's too, but he found he didn't mind all that much.
When it started to get dark, Stiles offered to take Derek home since Cora was going to her boyfriend's for a few days. Derek happily took him up on his offer, and they actually talked the whole way home. He had a warm feeling spreading throughout his body he tried in vain to ignore because he didn't want to think about his feelings for Stiles.
"So we're back. Merry birthday and I will see you later." But Stiles just waited there, doing nothing, and Derek had a feeling about why.
Giving in to his urges, he leaned over and kissed Stiles. "Thanks for the best birthday-slash-Christmas I've had since my family died. Why did you do this?" Derek needed to satisfy his curiosity.
Stiles beamed at him. "Because you're my friend, you idiot, and I have feelings for you. We need to kiss more often."
"Agreed." He was terrified this was going to end badly, but it was his birthday and Christmas so he wasn't going to think about it (maybe Stiles was affecting him more than he thought).
Derek and Stiles' relationship heated up after that and they spent many holidays (and birthdays) as a couple after that. Stiles actually made Derek happy, and everyone was grateful for that. Derek started to feel less like a failure with him, although their insecurities sometimes combined and created issues that led to fights (that they always resolved).