The morning came late as Stiles was left to sleep in as long as he wanted. He awoke alone in his room for the first time in weeks. Something about it felt off, but he could hear the television all the way from the living room and knowing some of the kids were there made him feel better. It was nearing midday when he finally made his way downstairs.

He found Isaac and Scott all but cuddled up on the couch. Isaac was snoring softly, sprawled across Scott's lap. His best friend waved to him in a friendly manner and motioned towards the kitchen. Stiles found the kitchen empty, but he found a pile of french toast and eggs left for him on the counter.

He knew that Scott could burn water, so it was clear that someone else had made breakfast. Stiles smiled softly as he made himself a plate. It brought him a small sense of comfort to know that if he wasn't around, that the pack wouldn't starve.

"Where are the others?" Stiles asked as he sat down on the opposite end of the couch. Somehow even in his sleep, it was like Isaac could sense he was there as he snuffled lowly before settling back down.

"Boyd and Erica went to check in on Derek, and Jackson and Lydia had something to do with her family," Scott explained, never once pulling his eyes from the screen. Dodgeball played on the tv and Stiles chuckled.

"Who made breakfast?" He wondered as he dug into his food.

"Boyd, actually," Scott finally looked over at him, "I was more surprised than anyone. It was really good too."

Stiles could tell, it was toasted to perfection. Every bite melted in his mouth. He loved cinnamon.

Together they finished the movie, even when Stiles set his empty plate on the coffee table. It was a nice quiet morning with nothing to look forward to except rest and relaxation. When the credits rolled Stiles leaned over and raked his fingers through Isaac's curls. The boy huffed and then opened his eyes.

If Stiles didn't know any better, he'd say the look he was graced with was love. Then Isaac yawned and the look disappeared. "What do you all want to do today?" Stiles asked.

There wasn't much to do in their small town, but knowing Scott, his friend would have an idea.

"Why don't we have a game night?" Isaac offered and Scott's eyes lit up.

"You do have all those board games Stiles," Scott said in excitement.

The games in question must have had an inch of dust on them if Stiles remembered correctly. It had been years since they played them.

"I think the only thing I have is Candy Land," Stiles joked and Scott rolled his eyes.

Isaac scrunched his nose, "What's Candy Land?"

It broke Stiles' heart as the reason why Isaac asked for a game night came to mind. Because he'd never had one before. "It's a game from when Scott and I were younger. How about we play a round of it before everyone gets back and then we could play a card game?"

Scott, bless him, didn't need it all spelled out for him for once in his life and pepped Isaac up. He began rambling on about how fun the game was, especially when you played for real candy.

Stiles retrieved the game and for the next hour or so, they played. It was a simple game but Isaac was still smiling, though Stiles got the vibe that he knew it was for kids. In the end, Scott stole the win and collected his 'winnings' three candy bars. He still shared one with Isaac, but kept the other two for himself.

Stiles tried to act offended, but he had plenty more where that came from in the candy drawer in the kitchen. While Scott and Isaac shuffled through the game closet, Stiles went about some tidying up, making sure the dishes were done and vacuuming the living room.

By the time he was finished, Erica and Boyd came stumbling in through the front door. Erica's laughter was sweet and light, and it felt contagious. When he stepped in to greet them, she threw her arms around Stiles' shoulders with a cry of joy.

"We have the best news, Stiles!" She said, lips just shy of his ear.

In a moment, his stomach dropped. He knew what the news was. When she leaned back from him, he could see that she noticed the change in his scent, but he smiled brightly back at her anyway.

"What's that?" He said, careful to make sure his voice didn't tremor. He knew it was selfish of him to deny them something so good.

She smiled back at him, shaking it off, "You all have to come and see! Right now!"

"Okay, okay, just breathe!" He laughed with her and called for the boys to come down. They had heard the commotion, so when they came down they immediately slid on their shoes.

They all piled into Stiles' Jeep and without instruction, Stiles pulled out in the direction of the reserve. The drive there was spent with Erica chatting away about just how excited she was.

When they pulled up to the house, instead of looking up at it, he looked at the expressions of his friends. Isaac stepped out of the car with awe in his eyes and Scott with shock. Stiles knew what they were thinking because he had thought it too. It was gorgeous.

Stiles finally looked up at the house and it took his breath away. The sun was sparkling through the slightly overcast sky, making the house itself glow. He steeled himself, this would be good for them. He knew that, but he still felt at a loss.

Derek stepped out of the front door, painted a beautiful terracotta brown.

Erica rushed up the stairs to him, leaving Boyd to follow in her wake. Together Stiles walked with Isaac and Scott and they made their way into the house.

"It's stunning," Isaac said softly, a slight shake in his voice.

"Thank you," Derek said as he shut the door behind everyone. "This is your new home."

Isaac's eyes went wide, shock clear across his face. He looked at Stiles and then back to Derek, filled with confusion.

Stiles smiled and placed a hand on Isaac's shoulder, "Say thank you, Derek has worked really hard to provide a better home for all of you." Something about his tone was tight, almost like he was trying to hold back tears, but no one questioned it.

Derek showed them around the house and just knowing that it had working plumbing gave Stiles some relief. Once upstairs Derek motioned towards the rooms, "You can choose your bedrooms, except for the doors that are closed."

Erica's tinkling laugh was left behind as she rushed to choose her room, one of the back bedrooms at the end of the hall. She dragged Boyd with her.

"Me too?" Scott asked and Stiles looked at Derek who smiled.

"You too," He said and Scott couldn't contain a whoop of excitement. He raced off in the direction that the others had disappeared.

"You too, Isaac," Stiles nudged Isaac in the back, and when he looked back, almost seeking permission, he received a smile in return, "Go on."

Isaac looked to Derek then, "Where is yours?" Derek pointed at one of the closed doors and Isaac nodded. He wandered directly across the hall to the first open door he found, before disappearing inside with a curious gaze.

That left Stiles and Derek standing there. Stiles gave him a smile, "You did good."

Derek nodded, "Thank you, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to do it."

"You would have figured something out. It really is gorgeous Derek, they'll be happy here." Stiles felt his throat get tight, but again shoved the feeling down.

Derek hummed in agreement, "I actually want to show you something."

He turned and made his way down the hallway opposite to where the others had gone. Stiles could only follow. They walked down the long hallway and stopped at a closed door. Derek seemed to take a deep breath before pushing the door wide open.

The room was big, with floor to ceiling windows on the back wall. Stiles walked over and looked out over the back of the property, a thicket of trees for miles. He could even see the mistletoe that grew at the top of the trees. It was poisonous to werewolves, but when left in the wild, it also protected the home it surrounded.

"This is for you," Derek said from behind him. It was Stiles' turn to be shocked as he turned to stare at Derek in disbelief. "You don't have to move in right away, or at all, but the pups look up to you and I want you to have a place here." Behind Derek, the wall that the door was on was covered in bookshelves.

"I don't know what to say," Stiles stuttered out, running his fingers through his hair, suddenly very nervous.

"You don't have to say anything, I just wanted you to know," Derek said, looking unsure of himself. That was the last thing that Stiles wanted.

He stepped forward before losing his confidence as he swayed from foot to foot, "It's beautiful, thank you. I'm still in school, so I wouldn't move over right away but after I graduate in a couple months, it would totally be on the table. I've gotten used to having the kids around you know? So, I can only imagine that it would be a good thing. I wouldn't want to impose on you though, it's such a big undertaking and it would just be one extra mouth to feed at first because I don't currently have a job and I had been planning on attending the local University, BCU."

Derek took the initiative and put a finger on Stiles' lips when he stopped rambling to take a breath, "When you are ready, you are welcome here. You have done me the biggest service in taking care of the pups when I couldn't. I can't ever repay that. This is my way of trying to make it right."

Stiles took a deep breath and nodded. "I appreciate that Derek, I really do."

Isaac came bumbling in then, having thoroughly inspected his room, "Oh wow, my room doesn't have windows like that. That's really cool."

"Did you like your room though?" Stiles jumped in.

"I do, it's really nice and spacious, it'll be cozy I think," Isaac smiled.

"That's good, this is," Stiles motioned around, "my room, give or take a few months."

Isaac's smile widened as he looked to Derek, "Really?"

Stiles watched some wolfy exchange between the two before Derek nodded in confirmation. Isaac looked like he was going to up and fly away, and some tension that Stiles hadn't noticed before that moment melted from his shoulders. "I'm so glad," He said as he stepped into Stiles' space and hugged him tightly.

A nose rubbed up against Stiles' neck and he just leaned in closer, quite used to this particular display of affection. Derek however, looked like he was in pain, and that made Stiles curious. A call for Isaac from down the hall grabbed the taller boys attention and he jogged out of the room.

"How often have they been doing that with you?" Derek asked once he was sure they were alone again.

Stiles blinked at him, "Doing what?"

Derek pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh, "Hugging you."

"Every day," Stiles said, still confused and with more questions without answers, "I would love to know why."

Derek's expression became pained again and he looked up to the heavens as if asking for a little divine intervention, "For now, they see you as family. I'll explain the rest one day, but can we agree that if it was that important that I would tell you?"

Something about the way Derek said it made all of Stiles' worries drain out of him. It was strange, Derek could tell him to jump off a bridge in that tone and Stiles would probably do it. Stiles didn't know how much he liked that.

"But we will be having that conversation," Stiles insisted to which Derek nodded.

"When it matters," Derek affirmed.

Stiles was content to leave it at that as Scott came to drag him to see his new room. The rest of the day went by with Jackson and Lydia showing up eventually to pick a room of their own. They all explored and ran around the house together, excited by Derek's promise to go and pick out furniture the very next day.