#sterekweeklybacon

Stiles rubbed at his belly when he felt baby Ava moving around as if trying to say she was ready to come out and meet the world. He was just as much ready for her to be born as she was. He’d permanently moved into Derek’s clothes at this point, stealing his sweats, sweaters, and shirts, even if they were stretched out around his belly because they still weren't quite big enough for Stiles being near to term with their second child.

He considered his options. He could lay in bed and wait for Derek to come to check on him once he realized he was awake and Eli gave Derek a moment to breathe or Stiles could struggle bus it out of bed and hope that he didn't fall when he rolled over the edge. If he could get onto his hands and knees he could at least crawl out of bed and waddle his way to the kitchen.

Stiles sighed and rubbed at his face with a yawn. Okay, he had to get up.

Before he could move, a warcry from the kitchen sounded and Elijah came running into the room screaming as if he were being chased. Stiles laughed and then hissed as Elijah collided with him in bed, tucking himself against Stiles’ side.

“Be careful kiddo,” Stiles teased and hugged Elijah close, giving his son a kiss on the head.

“It’s time to get up! We made breakfast! And you know what we made with breakfast? Bacon!”

Stiles laughed. “Is it good? I bet it’s good.”

“Yep!” Elijah half-yelled with a grin. He really didn't know how to control his volume yet, so everything Elijah said was basically yelled with enthusiasm.

“Elijah, what did I say about waking your daddy up?” Derek asked, walking into their bedroom with a tray full of food.

“Sorry, Dad… I wanted him to eat the breakfast we made!” Elijah pouted, even though Stiles knew it was a big show. He chuckled and ran his hand over Elijah’s floppy hair.

“Alright, scoot over kiddo so your dad can help me sit up. I can't eat this yummy breakfast laying like this in bed.” Elijah scooted over to Derek’s side of the bed as Derek put the tray on the nightstand, then circled around the bed to help Stiles.

Stiles tried not to feel like a whale as Derek helped him while he scooted around and propped him sitting up in bed with a ton of pillows propping him up. He sighed with relief and ran his hands over his belly, soothing himself and baby Ava.

“Ready eat, little girl?” Stiles asked his belly with a smile. Derek chuckled and kissed Stiles’ forehead before going back around the bed and climbing in, Elijah crawling to sit between them.

“I think she’s ready to eat all the time.” Derek smiled and grabbed the tray, balancing it on his lap and handing Stiles a plate. Stiles did the only thing he could do, balancing the plate on his belly carefully. He looked at the eggs, bacon, and sausage piled generously on the mismatched plate.

Stiles’ stomach growled and Ava kicked him simultaneously as if telling him he needed to hurry up and start eating.

“Alright, alright,” he grumbled and took the spoon Derek gave him, shoveling first eggs into his mouth and then following it with the tastiest piece of bacon he’d had since at least yesterday. He groaned in satisfaction and smiled as he looked at Derek and Elijah, their son curled in Derek’s lap as Derek helped him eat his breakfast.

Derek was the best mate and husband Stiles could ever wish for and watching him become the best father was something that Stiles had the joy of experiencing.

“Hey, babe?” Stiles smiled at Derek when Derek looked over at him with his questioning eyebrows. “I love you, you know that?”

“I love you too,” Derek said softly, taking Stiles’ hand as he reached out for him.

“I love you too!” Elijah practically squeaked at them.

They both laughed and Stiles was filled with warmth and love as they ate in bed, thinking about how much he couldn't wait to have baby Ava in his arms to share moments like this with her and their little family.

And Stiles knew she’d be beautiful, just like Derek, with his kaleidoscope eyes and dark hair, and hopefully, she’d have a splatter of moles across her skin too.

Stiles looked around, but no one was there.

A beat of silence.

He pointed at himself. “Me?”

“Look at all this bacon!” the woman forged on as Derek stood there pinching the bridge of his nose. “Do you think this is healthy? Derek won’t listen to me!”

Stiles just sort of stood there, mouth opening and closing like a fish. “U-Uh, well, uh, maybe some, er…variety could be good…?”

It only took him at least a minute to say that garbage line, and he wanted to dig a hole.

The woman nodded approvingly. “See? He agrees!”

Stiles thought that’d be the end of his first not-really-a-conversation-but-maybe-it-counted-indirectly with Derek, but then the woman introduced herself as Laura and Derek as, well, Derek.

Stiles nearly tripped saying his own name.

“Yeah, I’ve seen you at the gym,” said Derek with a casual, blinding smile that rendered Stiles speechless now that he was on the receiving end of it. “We work out on the same days, I think.”

Stiles acted like he had no idea. “Oh, really? Huh. Small world.”

Small world, his ass.

And then Derek laughed, and Stiles’ brain simultaneously short-circuited from the heavenly sound and spiraled, because why was Derek laughing? Was he laughing because he thought Stiles was funny?

Or was it because he knew Stiles was full of shit and had been subtly and discreetly staring stealing glances at him at the gym for who knew how long now?

Whichever one it was, Stiles didn’t have the time to parse it out, because Laura started telling Derek that eating different types of bacon wasn’t any nutritionally better than eating one type of bacon, and Stiles, being the fountain of random knowledge no one gave a shit about that he was, opened his big mouth to defend Derek’s cartful of bacon and proceeded to spiel about how regular cured bacon had 30% protein and 70% fat per serving while back bacon had 65% protein and turkey bacon had 53% protein, so actually, Derek’s selection of bacon did make sense to an extent, and—

“Oh my god, are you a fitness nut, too?” asked Laura. She squinted at him. “No, wait, are you studying nutrition? I have a friend who’s studying that and they spout off random facts all the time when they’re preparing for exams.”

And that was when it all started going wrong.

Derek leaned against the column closest to the kitchen, glad he hadn't called out for Stiles when he got downstairs. If he had, then he probably would have startled Stiles and missed the chance to watch him dancing around to whatever song played through his AirPods as he stood in front of the stove.

It was moments like this that Derek missed when Stiles was gone. Sure, it was only school, and Stiles was only four hours away. Still, sometimes that felt like a lifetime when he missed out on waking up with Stiles tucked into his side or falling asleep with Stiles curled around him as if Derek were his personal body pillow.

Stiles bobbed his head as he flipped the French toast he had cooking in the pan. The cinnamon-vanilla scent was overpowered by bacon when Stiles opened the oven, likely making sure he didn't burn them as he often did.

Derek's mind wandered as he watched Stiles move about the kitchen with an ease that could only come with practice. Even though they hadn't started dating until this past summer, he and Stiles had always been close. They had been best friends since they were kids, having met when nine-year-old Derek fell off his bike and scraped his knees in front of the Stilinski house.

Five-year-old Stiles had been playing in his front yard and ran over immediately. He stared down at Derek, who was trying not to cry over the sting of pain. Even as a werewolf, scraped knees still hurt.

And though Derek tried to assure Stiles he was fine, Stiles still insisted on helping Derek to his feet. He insisted on cleaning Derek's 'ouchies,' as he liked to call them, also insisting that Derek wear his favorite Batman Band-Aids because 'they make everything better, duh.' And even though his scrapes had already healed, Derek did it because how could he say no to those big brown eyes that glinted with gold in the sunlight?

Even so young, he knew Stiles was special. That Stiles was his.

Derek smiled warmly as he replayed their shared memories in his head. They'd come such a long way since then. Always close, but there were years of pining. Of watching Stiles crush on Lydia Martin. Then Danny Mahealani.

He still wasn't sure why he'd finally confessed his feelings for Stiles last summer during Stiles's graduation party. But he was glad he did because when Stiles's face lit up like Derek had given him the best gift, Derek finally felt whole. Complete.

His heart swelled with affection as he watched Stiles' bare back and shoulders shift and bunch as he cooked. He loved how at ease Stiles was in Derek's loft, as if it were his home. Because while Stiles might technically live with his dad, it was. It was what Derek had wanted for so long. That was why it was so hard when summer ended and Stiles left for college. Derek had gotten used to Stiles in his space long before they were lovers, and it was hard going days and weeks without seeing him. Phone calls and Skype just weren't the same.

"I can feel you staring at me," Stiles called out without looking over his shoulder, though he took out one of the earbuds and pocketed it. He wore Derek's sweatpants. They were almost the same size, but the sweats hung low on Stiles's hips.

Derek pushed away from the column and walked over to Stiles, needing to touch him. So he pressed against Stiles's back and hooked his chin over Stiles's shoulder. As he laid his hands on Stiles's waist, Derek nuzzled into the crook of his neck and whispered, "Can't help it. I like watching you."

Stiles chuckled, and the sound was like a sweet melody washing over him. "I think you just missed me." He turned his head and gave Derek a peck on the lips. "I missed you too, in case that wasn't obvious."

"I know." Of course he did. Derek heard the sadness in Stiles's voice every time they talked on the phone. "But it's just while you're at school. We'll have summer and your breaks."

"And the occasional weekend here and there…"

Derek kissed his shoulder. "I asked your dad for some weekends off so you don't always have to come up here. He's going to see what he can do."

"Ah," Stiles snorted. "Already cashing in that preferential treatment for being the son-in-law…"

Son-in-law.

It was said with such ease, as if it were a done deal.

Derek's heart flipped in his chest, tripping over itself as his mind tried to form words. "You…want that? You've been thinking about…that? Us getting married?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, one day, right? Preferably when I'm done with school. I don't think I could handle being so far apart from you during our first year of marriage. I can barely handle it right now. Did you know some people think we're grossly codependent?"

Yes, though Derek scoffed at the description of gross. Stiles was his person, his forever, and he was the same for Stiles. So what if they spent all their time together? What was gross about that?

"Anyway," Stiles turned the stove off and placed the last piece of French toast on a plate already piled high with seven. "That wasn't a proposal, just so you know. And even though I'm a guaranteed yes, I still want a big production. I'm talking flash mob with Bruno Mars playing."

It was a lie. Derek knew that even without the skip in Stiles's heartbeat. He'd want something intimate. Spontaneous. He'd want Derek smiling down at him while they were in bed together on some random morning, whispering, 'Marry me?' because he just couldn't wait any longer. Or while they were visiting their old treehouse because why not?

"Mmm…" Derek chuckled as he stepped back with Stiles as he pulled the bacon from the oven and set it on the counter. "Right on Main Street? I'll have to see if your dad can clear it for me."

Stiles's head fell back on Derek's shoulder as he barked out a laugh. "Dad would look at you like you'd grown two heads."

Derek kissed his cheek. "And then I'd tell him it was for you and he'd understand." Because everyone knew there wasn't anything that Derek wouldn't do for Stiles. It had always been that way.

"Softie. And to think, some people are intimidated by you. I tried to tell them that you can't help what your face does when you're pissed."

The snort Derek let out would be embarrassing if there were anyone besides Stiles there. He knew he had resting bitch face, something his sisters liked to remind him of, and didn't give a flying fuck what anyone thought. Besides, Stiles thought it was hot.

"Besides…it's hot," Stiles said, voicing Derek’s thoughts. He smirked over his shoulder before turning in Derek's arms, sliding his hands up Derek's chest and around his neck. "You know, I should be mad at you right now."

Derek quirked a brow. "Why?"

There wasn't any logical reason for Stiles to be mad at him. They’d had a great night after Stiles surprised him by showing up out of the blue. Derek hadn't known he was going to come home for the weekend. They’d had dinner, then fucked until they couldn't move anymore. And then, this morning, Derek woke to a cold bed. If anything, Derek should be the one upset at waking up alone.

"Because I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed." Stiles pouted and Derek wanted to kiss it right off his face, so he did.

He cupped Stiles's face, brushing his thumbs over Stiles's cheeks as he placed the softest kiss on his lips. "I'd go back upstairs, but—"

"Yes!" Stiles pushed him back a little, nodding eagerly. "You go back upstairs while I finish and put all this together because I still need to make the eggs."

"You don't need to—"

Make eggs was what Derek was going to say, but Stiles spoke over him, "Pretend you're sleeping too. I want the full effect."

"You're a little ridiculous." There was no way, Derek would go back upstairs and make Stiles carry everything up by himself.

Stiles raised a brow and crossed his arms. "And you love me. Knowingly and willingly, so who's the ridiculous one in this relationship? I think that's you, buddy."

When he narrowed his eyes, Derek raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright. Alright. I'm going." And so he did because, again, it wasn't as if Derek wouldn't do anything for Stiles. Well, within reason, he supposed.

As Derek reached their bedroom, he listened to the clanking of plates and Stiles humming to himself and couldn’t help but smile. He was so lucky to have Stiles in his life.

As his boyfriend.

As his soon-to-be fiancé.

As his future husband.