Human is just a Word 41/?
Chapter 41
They would have a barbecue for dinner and when Stiles entered the kitchen, it was buzzing with preparations. At the table Gina was kneeling on a chair at one end, cutting cucumber for the salad under the watchful eye of her mother Loreen, while at the other end the twins and Stephen were busy kneading dough for self-made bread. The whole table looked as if a bomb had exploded in the middle of it but nobody really seemed to care.
The twins' mother, Stiles thought her name was Ellen but he wasn't sure, waved him over to the oven and a second later he was in charge of the sauce that would go with the steaks. Stiles wasn't surprised that the pack preferred a good chunk of meat over some hamburgers.
"Do you always make everything yourself?" He asked. He liked to cook fresh but making the bread and the sauce himself seemed like a lot of work for something that wasn't even the main dish.
"All the chemicals they put in the convenient stuff." Ellen wrinkled her nose. "It doesn't taste good. And it's not good for the children."
Stiles thought of his own pack. So far nobody had complained about a pre-made sauce now and then but on the other hand, before Stiles had come along, Derek had lived of mac'n'cheese and instant ramen.
"It's easier for us." Loreen spoke up. "We have enough space and enough people for a garden. We grow most of our vegetables, fruits and herbs ourselves. And there is the farmer's market where we get everything else."
"That sounds nice." Stiles had to admit. Not that he could see himself in a garden. He couldn't keep a potted plant alive, no way should he be responsible for a garden.
In his mind he pictured Derek with a straw hat, jeans overall and rubber boots. He had to bite his tongue to not burst out laughing.
By the time they had finished the preparations, a man Stiles hadn't seen before came in to fetch the already seasoned steaks from one of the fridges. Stiles helped him to carry out the containers of meat.
Others had dragged out the large dining table and chairs and when Stiles come outside, Megan and her mother were busy setting up the table.
Megan ignored him while he walked over to the largest grill he'd ever seen. He had noticed the brick construction before but hadn't paid it any mind, people had the weirdest decorations in their gardens, but now there were coals glowing at the bottom and the new guy, he must have been at work this morning, put enough meat on the cooking grate to feed an army. Or one hungry werewolf pack.
The smell of the cooking meat even drew out Laura and Derek. Stiles had a wary eye on his mate but Derek seemed at ease when he stepped out of the back door.
So things with Laura were good again, not that Stiles had doubted that. One bratty teenage girl couldn't do that much damage. Why she even knew about Kate was a question Stiles had failed to ask earlier. It didn't seem like a topic for a Sunday dinner. But as good as werewolves were at keeping their business to themselves, it was hard to keep secrets inside the pack. It was possible that the whole pack knew about Kate and Derek.
Out of the corner of his eye Stiles watched Megan but she pretended that she didn't notice Derek and that was okay with him. As long as she didn't blurt out more of the shitty stuff she had said earlier, Stiles was perfectly fine with her ignoring Derek.
She still wasn't able to look Stiles in the eye either and it hadn't helped that Jeremy had been running around all morning, screaming "cut toad" at the top of his lungs. While the mispronunciation was admittedly cute, it still was a constant reminder of some of the not so nice things Stiles had said earlier. Not that he regretted anything he said. He was just glad that words like "chloroform" and "Chianti" were above Jeremy's speech level and that his televisional education was currently stuck at Dora the Explorer, damn werewolf ears.
However, it was interesting to watch how the pack reacted to Derek. They hadn't really seen him since his hasty retreat from the breakfast table and everybody made sure to let him know that they were good.
The pack had done the same with Stiles earlier but with him they had mostly used their words, with Derek it was more touching than talking. A pat on the shoulder here, a sniff at the neck there and everything without making a big deal out of it. If Stiles hadn't been paying attention he would have completely missed it.
What stunned him the most was that they did all this, making sure that Derek felt loved and welcomed, and he wasn't even part of their pack.
Dinner was even more chaotic than breakfast. Now the whole pack was there and the air was filled with laughter and loud voices.
The guy in charge of the grill didn't even bother to sit down, he just took his plate with him to the grill but he was never alone for long.
Gina and Jeremy stayed at the table for what felt like two minutes before they disappeared under it and when little Stacy loudly announced that she was hungry too, Miranda breast fed her right at the table. Miranda continued eating, mostly dipping bread in the sauce with her free hand and snatching grilled tomatoes from Laura's plate next to hers, and didn't even halt the conversation she had with Laura and Stephen.
Stealing food seemed to be a thing, though. Stiles had never thought that anybody would be brave enough to steal food from a werewolf, especially an alpha like Derek, but his mate didn't seem to mind when the guy across the table just reached over and snagged his freshly buttered bread. Derek just took a new piece and stole half of the guy's steak in return.
They had pie for dessert and when things finally calmed down, Stiles was leaning heavily in his chair and didn't want to move ever again.
"So, you're Stiles." Grill guy sat down next to him, Stiles hadn't even noticed that the chair was empty, and before he even introduced himself, grill guy ate the piece of pie crust Stiles had left on his plate.
"I'm Mark, by the way." He said around his mouthful of crumbs.
Stiles burst out laughing.
"Is it always this chaotic?" He made a gesture over the table and they yard where people were now gathered in small groups.
"Most of the time." Mark admitted. "Okay, more like always. But it's good." He paused, his eyes on Laura, Derek and Stephen standing together at the grill. "We missed him."
Stiles hummed to that. It was obvious.
"Maybe you can convince him to visit more often." He said softly.
"I'd like that." Stiles answered. He never had a big family and this felt nice.
"Laura wanted to invite him and his pack over for Thanksgiving but knowing Derek ..." He let out a heavy sigh and Stiles couldn't help but chuckle to that.
"I can team up with Erica, we'll drag him here if we have to." Stiles promised. That moment Derek looked up and locked eyes with him and Stiles was pretty sure that he'd heard what he had just said but Stiles just smiled innocently at him.
"I've never seen him this happy." Mark said in a low voice once Derek had turned back to Laura. "I think you're good for him."
Later, after the children were put to sleep in the den, the adults gathered together around the now blazing fire and chatted and laughed or just watched the flames. Stiles had sought out Derek, not sure how he would react to the open flames, and now they were standing their, fingers laced together and leaning into each other.
"Laura asked if we want to join the pack tonight." Derek said, eyes on the flames in front of him. The flickering light cast shadows over his face and softened the edges. He looked young.
Stiles thought about the pack nights at home. He liked those but this wasn't his pack.
"We don't have to." Derek said but it was clear that he wanted to. Stiles knew that they could split up for the night with Derek sleeping in the den and Stiles up in his room, but that didn't feel right.
"I'd love to." Stiles squeezed his hand and with that it was settled.
The den was way bigger than the one Stiles was used to, a large cushioned place where the children were already sleeping. They all went to get ready for bed and one by one they trailed back in, quietly settling in without waking the kids. The wolves slept in their fur and the humans in sleepwear, however, Stiles got the feeling that was mostly for his benefit.
The only ones missing were Stacy and Miranda because she didn't want to wake everybody up every time she had to go and look after the baby.
Stiles and Derek found a spot at the edge and with his face buried in the thick fur between Derek's shoulder blades Stiles drifted off to sleep.
He woke up in the middle of a puppy pile. He was lying on his back with an actual puppy on his chest. Blinking in surprise Stiles squinted at the tiny nose resting on little paws just under his chin. Jeremy didn't even twitch.
The next thing he noticed was that his right arm was numb and when he looked over he found the boy twin sleeping with his head on his shoulder and another not fully grown wolf wedged between them. Stiles guessed it was the twin's sister. Finally there was Gina, lying across his stomach, half curled around Jeremy.
On his other side he felt the familiar bulk of Derek's body and when he looked over, he found his mate awake, tongue lolling out.
"Stop laughing." Stiles muttered but low enough to not wake the kids. All around him the others were still sleeping, wolves and humans in a tangle of limbs. Derek inched closer until his head was resting on Stiles' shoulder and with his fingers carding through Derek's fur, Stiles drifted back to sleep.
The next time he woke up it was to children tugging and nipping at him but he wasn't entirely sure that the nipping came all from wolf teeth, though.
They had to drive home today, tomorrow was a school day, so the kids insisted on getting the most out of Stiles and Uncle Derek for the short time they had left today.
By the time they had to leave, Stiles was looking forward to the quiet of the loft. The kids were fun but they were exhausting. And loud, his ears were still ringing.
There were a lot of hugs and Ellen provided them with snacks and sandwiches for the long ride. Stiles promised to wrestle Derek into coming back for Thanksgiving and this time they would bring the whole pack and Laura promised to drive over to Beacon Hills soon to have a word with Peter.
When they were finally on the road, Stiles let out a deep sigh.
"You okay?" Derek threw him a glance.
"Just tired." Stiles offered his hand and Derek laced their fingers together without taking his eyes off the road. "It was fun but I can't wait for it to be just us again. There are a few things I want to do without little ears prying on us."
Derek let out a laugh.
They fell into silence for a while.
"Do you think that Laura's visit in Beacon Hills will change anything?" Stiles finally asked.
"I don't know." Derek admitted. "I doubt it, though."
"Me too."
"It's pack politics, she has to talk to him first." Derek didn't look happy about that.
"And what comes second?"
Chapter 42
Masterpost