They finally made it through the rest of the store without incident, filling up all the carts with random household supplies. Derek realized quickly that they picked out too many big box items to fit in all of their cars, so he had to stand in the awfully slow customer service line to set up a delivery to his storage unit for later in the week. Stiles was paying for all the other stuff, while the rest ran around the little grocery section, piling up another cart full of frozen meatballs and Swedish candy. He knew those chest freezers would come in handy.
When his shipping ordeal was finally sorted out, he made his way back to the group. Most of them were happily licking at their ice cream cones, but Boyd and Jackson were locked in a heated cinnamon roll eating competition. Isaac shoved a cone in his hand when he got there, leaning up against his side. Derek put his arm around him, grinning at him as they ate in companionable silence.
After Boyd was declared the victor, they walked back to their cars, trying to tetris all the items they were taking now into the limited space. Isaac ended up sharing the backseat with a bunch of throw pillows and rugs, but he didn't seem to mind. He even fell asleep halfway through the trip home flopped on top of them.
"This was a good day," Stiles grinned, slouching down in his seat.
"Yeah it was," Derek agreed, bringing their connected hands up to his face so he could kiss the back of Stiles'. He had the money to live a jet setting lifestyle without a care in the world, but nothing could compare to this. He was looking forward to when school was out, so there could be more days like these.
When they got back to the house, everyone put everything into the empty rooms, leaving the sorting and building for the next day. Even a group of rowdy werewolf teens got tuckered out after a long day of shopping and eating. They all bunked down on the floor like they had the night before, taking a nap all grouped up. No matter how hard he tried though, Derek couldn't fall asleep.
After making sure Stiles was deep enough asleep, he carefully extricated himself so he could move to the chair and watch over everyone. And by everyone, he mostly meant Isaac, who was wrapped up with Jackson and Lydia. Jackson was smushed in between them, with Isaac's long limbs bracketing them both to his chest.
Derek couldn't stop thinking about his talk with that woman in the store and how she'd just known that Isaac was the focus of his parental affection. His whole schtick for a while had been being mysterious, but now random moms in a furniture store had his number? He thought his mind was going to be fixated on the potentially expanding relationship, but now he was stuck in his daddy feels.
This Alpha stuff was so complicated. He'd always expected that if he ever found himself in this role, he would be leading members of his blood family, like his mom had. There wouldn't have been any need to make new wolves and figure out the dynamics from there. But here he was and he truly loved them all, but it was just complicated. Adding in all this mate stuff was icing on the cake. Or course his pack of teens would be finding their partners left and right, much more easily and sooner than typical.
"I can hear you thinking," Stiles murmured almost inaudibly. Once again, Derek should've known he couldn't get away with anything when it came to his love. Stiles carefully picked his way over to join him on the couch, snuggling into his side with a sigh. "Wanna talk about it?"
"Not the best place for it," Derek mumbled into his hair, tilting his head to the pile of sound detectors that were snoring on the floor.
"Bad stuff or good stuff?" Stiles asked, resting his head over Derek's heart.
"The best stuff," Derek replied quietly, finally letting himself join the others in sleep.
The rest of the weekend went well, with another night of movies and a day filled with putting together terribly instructed furniture. There was barely any fighting, even Jackson and Erica getting along for the most part. Scott surprisingly got frustrated with a shelf he was drilling into the wall and snapped it in half. Stiles scoffed, saying he just reset the replacement timer for that particular category of furniture and Boyd took over any task that involved major power tools.
When they were finally finished, Stiles served everyone lasagna he'd thrown together earlier in the day. He cheekily mentioned he'd ground up some of the Swedish meatballs and thrown them in, to give the dish some pizzazz. The pans were devoured, of course, and all the pack members reluctantly started filing out to return to their legal residences.
Scott and Allison each gave Isaac a kiss on the cheek as they left and Derek could finally breathe freely again. Nothing he'd been afraid of had happened this weekend, so he had a chance to prepare for the talk he knew he had to have. Jackson was the last of the Betas to leave, sending Lydia ahead to the car so he could say goodbye to Isaac alone. Derek did his best not to eavesdrop, but he caught their long hug and Jackson's quiet "love you" before dashing out of the house before Isaac could respond. That was definite progress.
"I don't want to go!" Stiles moaned, throwing himself dramatically onto the couch. He was the only one left to leave, but he was dragging his feet as usual.
"I really don't need to get on your dad's bad side," Derek scoffed, standing away from the couch. If Stiles got ahold of him, it would just make things harder for everyone.
"Yeah right, as if he doesn't love you," Stiles snorted, rolling onto his back so he could look up at him. "Don't think I don't know what you let him order on your little lunch dates."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Derek denied, crossing his arms. He'd never admit supplying the man with a few goodies to get on his good side.
"Why do you think I've been even stricter with his diet? I have to counteract your poison," Stiles grumbled, letting his face morph into a conspiratorial smirk. "Although it has worked wonders in making my dad adore you. You guys didn't even know you were playing into my hands the whole time."
"So devious and sneaky," Isaac gasped, flopping into the chair. "This is why you come up with all the schemes."
"And don't you forget it," Stiles grinned, finally rolling off the couch and bouncing to his feet. He walked over to Isaac and kissed him on the temple, ruffling his hair before dodging his answering swipe. "Is Derek taking you to school or do you need a ride?"
"I'm taking him," Derek answered, walking toward the door.
"I wanna hear how you like your bed tonight, okay? If it isn't comfortable, we can get you a new one," Stiles said, pointing at Isaac as he walked backwards toward the exit.
"I will, but I'm sure it's going to be fine," Isaac agreed.
"I want something better than fine," Stiles said, turning to face Derek. "I'm sure Derek wouldn't mind buying another one."
"Of course not," Derek sighed, knowing that if he argued, he'd probably find himself shopping somewhere undesirable faster than he could blink.
"That's my papa wolf," Stiles cooed, leaning up to peck him on the lips. Derek couldn't resist holding him there for a few extra moments, running his hands over his back as he slightly deepened the kiss. Not too much, with Isaac right there, but enough to say everything he had a hard time articulating. Stiles finally pulled away, stumbling off in a lust filled daze.
"And it's my chastity you're worried about?" Isaac snickered, stretching his limbs from his seat.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Derek grumbled, walking over to pull him to his feet. They made their way up the stairs together, parting ways at the top with soft goodnights. Derek took a cold shower for reasons before he went back into his room. The newly painted walls made it look nothing like his parents' old room, but he was still caught up in that feeling he didn't belong here. His mom and dad should be chatting about pack business as they crawled into bed, yelling down the hall for Derek to shut off his music and go to sleep. But now the house was almost empty in a way it never should've been.
He started walking around the room, recalling different memories from the different spots. The antique chest that used to sit along the wall. The his and hers closet filled with business suits and dresses. The family portraits they posed for every year. All of it was gone, but the presence was still felt.
"Can't sleep?" Isaac asked from the doorway. His hair and sleep clothes were rumpled, as if he'd been tossing and turning himself.
"No big deal," Derek brushed off, moving back to sit on the side of the bed.
"Want me to sleep in here with you tonight?" Isaac offered, leaning against the wall near the door.
"Don't you want to sleep in your new bed, in your new room?"
"I can't rest if I know you can't rest."
"It's really not that big of a deal," Derek insisted.
"You sleep with me when I have a hard time. Why can't I do the same for you?" Isaac challenged.
"I'm your Alpha and your guardian. It's my job to take care of you."
"It's my job to take care of you too," Isaac said simply, walking over and climbing into the bed. Derek sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument. Stiles must've been training him on how to get his way. Derek slid down the bed, crawling in to lay on his back. Isaac was curled on his side facing him.
"You sure the dark walls won't bother you?" Derek asked, kind of regretting the color choice now that Isaac was in here with him.
"Not with you here to protect me," Isaac mumbled, closing his eyes with a soft smile. Derek made sure to stay awake until he was sure Isaac was settled in sleep, just in case. When he sensed the boy drifting he leaned over to brush a curl from his forehead, pressing a feather light kiss to the spot.
"Good night, Isaac," Derek whispered, leaning his head back onto his pillow.
"Night dad," Isaac murmured. Derek's breath caught and he mentally tried to take a snapshot of every detail about this moment. That one little word slipping from Isaac's lips took away any doubt left in his mind and Derek's heart felt settled in a way he hadn't realized it wasn't before now. He knew what he had to do and he was going to start the next day. Derek was going to adopt Isaac.
Author's Note: That's it for this one! Thanks to everyone who read my story. I truly hope you enjoyed it! There will be another story in this series posted in the near future.