The Things We Learn

4

"Come on buddy, we're gonna be late." Derek said, grabbing his nephew's bag. Daniel huffed, but went to follow his uncle.

"Uhuhuh, not so fast. I know you weren't about to leave without saying goodbye to mommy." The five year old's eyes went comically wide as Laura's voice boomed through the room. He ran into his mom's waiting arms, squeezing her tight.

"Of course not, mommy. I was just about to say goodbye."

"I'm sure you were." Laura kissed her son's head, a smile on her face. "Alright, have a good time with Uncle Derek. You better be on you best behavior. What's the rule?"
"No wolfy unless Uncle Derek says it's okay."
"That's my good boy."
"Love you, mommy."
"I love you too, baby. Now go on."

Daniel ran back to Derek, taking his uncle's hand in his. "Have fun using my son to pick up dates, Derek." Derek glared at his sister, flipping her off behind Daniel's back, as they walked out the door.

****

Derek's heartbeat nervously in his chest as he knocked on Stiles' apartment door. Daniel hung onto Derek's hand, trying to see how much of his body weight Derek could take before his uncle would fall. So far he was not successful. Derek smirked at his nephew, just as the door was pulled open.

"Derek!" Jenna flew out of the house, throwing herself at Derek's legs. From the weight of Daniel pulling on him, and Jenna running into him, he did sway a bit but managed to stay standing.

"Hey, sweetheart."
"You're just in time, Daddy just pulled the pigs in a blanket out of the oven. They're soooo good!" Derek chuckled at her, corralling both kids into the house. The scent of the food wafted through the house, Derek's stomach growling in anticipation.
"I can smell them, they smell delicious." Derek knelt down so he was at the kids' level, smiling as Jenna was almost instantly hanging off of him. "Jenna, this is my nephew, Daniel."

Jenna climbed off of Derek, finally realizing someone else existed other than Derek. She stuck her hand out like her Daddy taught her.
"Hi Daniel, I'm Jenna." Daniel took her hand in his, shaking it. Derek covered his mouth with his hand, trying not to laugh at the scene. They were too cute.
"Hi Jenna, it's nice to meet you."

Derek noticed Stiles leaning against the wall in the doorway that Derek assumed led to the kitchen. Stiles had a kitchen towel thrown over his shoulder, his arms crossed over his chest, and a smile on his face. The older man felt his heart lurch at how beautiful Stiles looked, doing his best to keep it out of his facial expression. Stiles caught his eye, pushing off the wall and walking towards them.

"Hey, Derek."
"Hey. Daniel, can you say hi to Mr. Stiles?"
Daniel stepped forward, repeating the hand shanking and the introductions. Stiles smiled at him, having knelt down to his height.
"Just call me Stiles, no need for the formal titles." He said, throwing a wink at the five year old. Derek had to take a couple deep breaths.

Stiles stood back up, waving the group to follow him farther into the apartment. He brought them into the living room, picking up a couple toys as he went.
"Sorry about the mess. I told Jenna to clean up her toys, but obviously, she didn't." Jenna smiled sheepishly at the look Stiles sent her. Derek chuckled, waving it off.
"It's fine, I get it. This one is like a tornado in our house." Derek said, poking Daniel in his side a couple of time. Daniel barked out a laugh, squirming away from his uncle.

Derek looked back up in time to catch a hint of a something on Stiles' face as he watched the two Hales, but it was gone before Derek could interpret it. Stiles cleared his throat, taking a couple steps away.
"I'm gonna grab the food. Make yourselves at home. Bo, turn the game on please."

Derek set Daniel's backpack on the floor next to the couch, before sitting down on said couch. He watched as the two kids sat on the floor, Jenna explaining in detail how to work the remote. Derek chuckled, shaking his head fondly. He could hear Stiles moving around the kitchen, the younger man humming to himself as he worked. He could hear all of it. Stiles, the kids playing together, the tv quietly playing in the background. The peacefulness of it all, and the almost domesticity was heavy in the air. It hurt a little because it resembled something that Derek wanted so bad. He forced himself to shake off those thoughts though, just as Stiles walked back into the room. 

Derek stood, grabbing one of the three plates from him. "Here let me help."

"Oh, thank you." Derek just nodded, setting the plate on the coffee table in front of the couch. Both men sat down on the couch, just in time for the guys on tv to stop talking, and for the baseball game to actually start. 

It was comical how into the game Jenna got, occasionally throwing yells at the screen. Daniel had never really been into watching sports on tv, too young for it to really catch his attention. But he was right up there with her, yelling when she did. Derek and Stiles shared a look, quietly laughing at the duo. 

The Mets won, Jenna raising her arms and letting out a victory cry. Daniel followed suit, the two of them running around the room. The adults let them, amused smiles on their faces. They eventually tired, collapsing on the floor at Stiles and Derek's feet. Jenna looked up from her position on the floor, flailing her arms a bit.

"Tatuś, can Daniel and I go play in my room?"

"Derek only agreed to stay for the game, baby. You can't keep them captive here forever." 

Both kids looked panicked at the thought of being separated, clinging to each other.  

"No, no, no. Please, just a little longer. Pleeaase." Both kids pulled out the puppy dog eyes, laying it on heavy. Stiles looked to Derek, shrugging.

"Up to you, big guy." Derek looked at his watch. The girls weren't due back for another hour and a half, giving them plenty of time. Derek nodded, smiling down at the kids. 

"You have an hour. Make the most of it." The kids didn't need to be told twice, zooming off to Jenna's room. That left Derek and Stiles alone, which Derek had not planned for before this moment. 

"Thank you." Derek was surprised by Stiles' words, his eyebrows going up in confusion.

"For what?"

"For that, them. Jenna.. Jenna doesn't really have friends, which is probably my fault. But this, today, was really nice for her. So thank you." Derek was again surprised. 

"You were the one to invite us, I should be thanking you. This was good for Daniel too. My sister decided to wait another year before putting him into school, so he doesn't interact very much with kids his age." Stiles nodded understandingly, a soft smile on his face. 

They continued talking, conversation flowing easily between them. It wasn't nearly as awkward as Derek thought it was going to be. He enjoyed talking to Stiles. 

It was about forty minutes later when Derek realized the kids had gotten awfully quiet. With Daniel, and he was suspecting with Jenna too, that was never a good sign. "You know, I haven't heard anything from the kids in a while."

Stile looked towards Jenna's room, eyeing the door suspiciously. "You are very correct." They both got up, walking down the hall to Jenna's room. Stiles pushed the door open, stopping in the doorway. Derek stood behind him, his eyes searching the room, before falling onto the bed.

Curled up in the middle of Jenna's bed, was Daniel and Jenna. Both of them were out cold, a book in between them, and their hands clasped together. Derek got his phone out, snapping a couple of pictures. Stiles smirked at him, tapping Derek's phone. "I want those." He whispered. Derek chuckled, nodding.

He walked over to the bed, carefully picking up Daniel. It would have been easier, but Jenna did not want to let go of Daniel's hand, even in her sleep. Stiles helped, gently untangling their fingers. Derek carried Daniel out of the room, Stiles turning off the lights and closing the door behind them. 

Stiles scooped up Daniel's backpack as they walked past the couch, Derek sending him a quiet thank you. The younger man walked them out to their car, Derek gently placing Daniel into his car seat and buckling him in. He turned around then, taking the backpack that Stiles held out to him. 

"Thank you again, for today. We both had a really nice time, and the food was delicious." Stiles chuckled, bashfully smiling at the ground. 

"Well, I'm sure it won't be the last you guys are over here. I think this was only the beginning of a great friendship." Derek smiled too, nodding in agreement. 

"I hope so," They shared a look, before Derek cleared his throat, stepping closer to the car. "Well, goodnight Stiles."

"Goodnight, Derek." 

Derek smiled again, before getting in the car. Hopefully, this really was just the beginning.