#this is peter

Written for @fullmoonficlet

Derek relaxed on the couch, his book lying open on his chest, while a no-longer kitten licked at his hair. He swore Tonia Talia was the reincarnation of his mother with all the time she spent grooming him. Claw-dia wasn’t much better where she was attempting to make biscuits on the hem of his sweatpants while balancing on his crossed legs on the couch’s arm.

He tried to sit up, but JD and Veronica objected loudly from where they were curled together between Derek’s side and the couch’s back. Giving up, he sank deeper into the cushions, debating a nap. Running his fingers through JD's fur, he murmured, “Where are your brothers?”

It was a rhetorical question. Bastian would be sitting on the windowsill in the mudroom watching Sir Cinnabunbun on the back porch in his hutch. The smallest and mightiest of the cats, Noah, would be upstairs batting at Jackson’s aquarium. The bond between the lizard and cat was strange yet endlessly entertaining.

Never when he was growing up did he imagine having a houseful of animals, but he wouldn’t deny Stiles anything. Derek was just relieved that it had been a few months since their last acquisition, and he thought it might be the end. As his eyes traced the far end of the room, he considered getting a fish tank wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe he would mention it to Stiles when he got home from wherever he’d disappeared earlier that day. The purring and warmth of the cats sent Derek drifting off to sleep with thoughts of a colorful fish swimming among neon-colored plants.

The sound of the front door slamming open and Stiles shouting, “A little help here!” jerked Derek out of his sleep. He must have been sleeping more deeply than he thought since he’d missed the sound of the Jeep pulling up in front of the house. Rolling off the couch, he apologized to the cats as they flew through the air, landing on their feet and ducking under the nearest furniture.

Hurrying to the door, he managed to grab the large box that Stiles was carrying before he dropped it. Once Derek had it in his arms, Stiles disappeared again. Shaking his head, Derek looked at what he was holding, a brand new fifty-five-gallon aquarium. Smiling, Derek headed towards the living room and the spot he’d imagined putting the fish tank.

“Derek?” A few minutes later, Stiles called when Derek had gotten the tank out of the box and set it up on the table he’d brought up from his workshop in the basement. It probably needed a coat of paint, but he would worry about that later.

“In here,” Derek called absent-mindedly as he reached into the tank to pull out Noah, who had come down to investigate. He imagined the aquarium reminded him of Jackson’s home.

“You want to set him up in here?” Stiles asked, holding a large bag over his shoulder and two boxes under his other arm. Derek did not miss that both boxes had holes poked in them. 

“Him? You only bought one?” Derek looked at the tank, imagining it would be lonely for one fish to swim around in it. It’s going to take a while to fill it. Maybe I can run the hose.

“What? He only needs a small bowl. Would you really want more than one? I thought it would take a little more convincing even for him,” Stiles said, setting down the bag that Derek noticed had a box with the same type of heat lamp they used for Jackson.

Derek’s heart sank as the realization that the aquarium was probably going to be more of a terrarium with something significant and reptile living inside of it. He had a small moment of thought that maybe it would just be a giant turtle, but the way Stiles watched him made Derek think otherwise. “Stiles, what is in the box?”

“What do you think is in the box?” Stiles asked, and Derek could already smell magic on him.

“Don’t even think about it. Just show me what is in the box.”

“Which box?” Derek let out a long slow breath, fighting the urge to flash his eyes at Stiles because it wouldn’t work and because he didn’t want to give Stiles the upper hand. “Fine.” Stiles set both boxes down on the table next to the aquarium, moving the smaller to the side before opening the slightly larger box. “You sure?”

“Stiles.”

Moving slowly, Stiles reached into the box, keeping his back to Derek for a minute before turning around with a small snake in his hands. “It’s a Children’s Python,” Stiles said before Derek could say anything. “I already have the perfect name for him!”

Derek narrowed his eyes. “You’re not calling him Snape.” Stiles gasped and shook his head vehemently. “Or Draco.” Stiles gave another shake of his head, and his eyes were glittering with malicious mischief he usually only revealed around one person. “You are not naming him Peter!”

“See! It’s perfect!” Stiles said, raising the snake's face to eye level and baby-talking to it. “Isn’t it? Aren’t you just the cutest little Pete…er….” Derek raised his eyebrows in triumph, knowing he’d won on the name thing at least. “Fine, we’ll call him Sir Hiss. He and Sir Cinnabunbun will be best friends.”

“No, I think Sir Cinnabunbun will be dinner. Why can’t we call him Genghis or something?” Derek had yet to name one of the animals, so he didn’t think he would win, but Stiles gave a thoughtful face before nodding and putting Genghis into the aquarium.

“Okay, but I get to name what’s in the other box,” Stiles said, his lips twisting with maliciousness again as he opened the flaps on the box and reached inside to pull out a large white mouse. 

“Shouldn’t you just call him Snack?” Derek asked.

Stiles shook his head. “Oh no. This…this is Peter,” Stiles said as he set the mouse inside the aquarium with Genghis and gave it a little wave before turning his attention to the bag and the heat lamp. Derek didn’t want to watch his uncle’s namesake get swallowed, so he picked up Noah, who had tried to hop into the tank, and left the room.

Tony: Peter we’re in a movie theatre, please don’t.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter: To dance... or not to dance. That is the question.

Tony: Peter... this is my wedding. Pepper and I haven’t even kissed yet

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter: To dance... or not to dance. That is the question.

Tony: YOU ARE BLEEDING OUT WITH TWO KNIVES IN YOUR SIDE. DO. NOT. DANCE.

Peter:

ohmythatmiya

Edit Bokuto next to your horse. Problem solved

if you insist!

"Airin's been around since I was seven," Spoke a timid-sounding boy, whose olive shaped eyes inferred that he was of asian descent. "I had visions back then that I wasn't going to alone with the voices in my head anymore. And on a field trip to a strawberry field I saw a golden bird that came crashing from the heavens, but... When I got there there was this golden fox thing." He ran his fingers through his shaggy, black hair.