Oh, I had gotten baby fever rn cause I saw the cutest little chubby baby. What if Stiles is babysitting a tiny baby for a few days/weeks for some family, but he isn't able to join a pack meeting and the pack finds it weird since he hasn't told them cause he'd forgotten, and ends up going to his house to find out why. They suddenly discover a side of Stiles that melts their hearts, and some realize that he's also been taking care of them like family but for a certain alpha just has his brain goes blue screen at the sight of Stiles with a baby.
[i'm gonna say my favorite phrase..] WELL YES!
I've always HC'd Stiles taking a few odd jobs during and/or after graduating high school, maybe also while in college just to afford a few necessities or buy things without having to ask his dad.
he's done grocery pickups for the neighbor across the street, he's worked in a diner some nights, a bookstore not too far off campus, the mail room of the sheriffs office, and of course, he's got years experience of baby sitting. He probably just hasn't done it in a while for obvious reasons?
but Stiles needs money for books, gas for the commute to his classes that are one town over, groceries (which is probably an unnecessary amount of redbull, noodles, frozen dinners, and uncrustable sandwiches). the cafe Stiles was picking up a shift for on a random afternoon usually had wealthy looking customers. which is where he's offered a babysitting gig after a mom in an all black pantsuit asked Stiles to hold her crying baby just for a second so she could pay for her matcha. her eyes shooting directly up at them when she notices the baby stopped crying and is cooing back at Stiles, her little hands pawing at Stiles’ face. she asks, begs, pleads Stiles to come babysit for her, "name your price, literally," she tells him. Stiles figures he could inflate his prices a little bit and accepts the job. it'll be fun, Stiles thinks, and he loves kids so it'll be easy money.
one night turns into every Tuesday night, which turns into every Tuesday and Thursday night, that turns into every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night. the Griffin's love their date nights… Stiles loves the couple hundreds he walks out with afterwards. and he tries his best to make it to the pack meetings, which are probably only twice a month, but Stiles still hates to miss them. when he charges in, he's asked where he's been and he just waves a dismissive hand because it doesn't matter, "I'm here now; what are we talking about?"
almost missing one night soon enough becomes a pattern for all the other times. especially when the Griffin's are late coming home from their planned dates. Stiles paces, shooting off texts to Derek and Scott to just wait for him, don't start without him, or to not talk about anything too important and that he swears he'll be there. and when Mr and Mrs Griffin do finally walk in, Stiles remains cordial and professional, and maybe a little too scared to tell them he has places to be — they do tip him really well, after all. but then, he's not even just late anymore, he ends up missing majority of the meetings.
it gets to a point where he even starts missing pack nights, which come more often than the meetings. Stiles maybe only got lucky once when Mr Griffin came down with something and they didn't need Stiles’ services. Stiles drove away quickly from the Griffin's home, hoping to make it to Derek’s loft across town on time, but when he barges through the door, Derek’s already cleaning up soda cans and Chinese takeout containers.
Derek raises an eyebrow but doesn't stop cleaning, letting Stiles know, "there might still be some fried rice leftover if you want it." Stiles huffs, throwing his backpack against the couch before shuffling towards the kitchen and picking at the cold rice at the kitchen counter. "you've been missing a lot of meetings lately," Derek says when he walks into the kitchen. Stiles sighs, shaking his head and responding, "i've just been caught up with a lot of work stuff." Derek asks why Stiles is working himself to death anyways, offering to just buy Stiles’ books for him. Stiles gawks before shaking his head adamantly, telling Derek no and that it's not necessary. Derek shrugs and says, "suit yourself," before stealing a bite off of Stiles’ fork, a smooth smile across his lips as he chews and a flirty wink directed at no one else but Stiles.
Stiles rolls his eyes and blushes, wishing Derek would stop playing these games with him.
he's in the middle of an arts and crafts activity with little Isabella when he's bombarded with texts after texts from the pack. Stiles tries his best to ignore the texts, giving his focus to the one year old he caring for. the texts are endless through every activity Stiles does with Isabella; through nursery songs, ping! finger puppet play time, ping! story time, ping! Isabella's bubble bath? ping! Stiles shoots off a text, "guys, stop! im busy" before shoving it back in his pocket.
he gets back to drying off Isabella and putting her in one of her cute footy pajamas before carrying her back downstairs to start on her milk before bedtime. just as he reaches the bottom step, there's a rough knock at the door. when he swings the door open, his eyes go wide. "you guys cannot be here!" he whispers, watching Erica’s mouth drop and saying, "oh.. my, god. he's got a second family." "sec— i'm babysitting, E! and if the parents come home and see a bunch of weirdos on their front steps, i'm going to get fired," Stiles tells them.
the pack doesn't seem to care as they gently push Stiles back inside the house with Isabella in his arms. there's awes and oohs as everyone looks around the extravagant home. Isaac says something about him too wanting to miss meetings to hang out in mansions with cute babies. Erica wonders out loud how much Stiles is getting paid. Stiles snaps at Scott to not touch anything when he gets a little too close to an art piece. Lydia falls back against the luxurious couch commenting that this was the life she was meant to live. "so you've been missing meetings so you can get paid to watch a chubby little gremlin?" Jackson quips. if Stiles weren't in the presence of a small child, he'd spit a few choice words Jackson's way.
Derek’s the only one quiet throughout all of this; his eyes never leaving Stiles or the baby. there's a small smile across his face as he watches Isabella look around all the strange faces, her adorable small fingers holding onto Stiles, a wide toothy grin on her face when Erica sneaks up to tickle her toes. “do you want to hold her?” Stiles asks Derek when he hears the bottle warmer play a tune signifying that it’s ready. Derek nods, gentle hands reaching for Isabella and Stiles feels his heart jump in his chest, watching Derek talk quietly with her as he sways.
Stiles continues to let Derek hold her as they sit together on the couch. somewhere off, Stiles hears someone say, “mom and dad are replacing us. i can’t compete with a cute chunky baby!” Stiles lets out a small snort, his eyes glued to isabella as she’s got her hand gripped around his finger, her eyes drifting as she lays in Derek’s arms. it’s not lost on Stiles that him and Derek are sitting impossibly close, both of them basically curled around the one year old. their eyes look up to each other the same time, Stiles giving a gentle smile when Derek does first. “might be time to put her down for bed,” Stiles whispers.
luckily the pack gets the message, all of them filing out of the house with quiet goodbyes. Derek continues to rock Isabella in his arms to keep her asleep and Stiles gestures for Derek to follow him upstairs. Derek’s incredibly gentle when he places her in her crib, a soft finger brushing away a loose curl before he backs away. “you’re pretty good at that,” Stiles says low enough for Derek to hear. Derek playfully shrugs a shoulder, saying, “not too bad yourself.”
they’re quiet as they head back downstairs, Derek palming his keys from his pockets. they stop just before the door and Stiles is about to say, “i’ll try not to miss anymore meetings—“ but Derek shakes his head, telling Stiles not to worry about it, “i want to take you on a date,” he says instead, “maybe don’t miss that.” Stiles’ face lights up, his lips curling into a smile and saying, “seeing me with a baby did something for you?” Derek shrugs again before telling him, “i’ve been meaning to ask you for a while.. but yeah, now i need you to have my babies. i’d figure asking you out on a date first would be a better way to approach..”
Stiles practically chokes on air hearing the words come out of Derek’s mouth. Derek leans forward, giving a teasing peck against Stiles’ lips before walking out the door just as the Griffin’s are walking up.
“who was that?” Mrs Griffin asks. Stiles grins from ear to ear, his face most likely red from blushing so hard as he tells them, “my future baby daddy.”
