Will You Be My Valentine?

Derek, Stiles, and Greyson enjoy a day full of sugary, Valentines, and time together. Derek's departure for spring training looms ever nearer, but Stiles IS NOT thinking about that!
Sort of just a day in life for them, with the added little details for Valentine's

Notes:

It's only been.... oh yikes. almost a year?! Woopsies! Sorry bout that. But if you're here for this story. Thanks for sticking around! I hope you enjoy this little addition! And hopefully it being an extra long update helps make up for the long gap between?

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Stiles groaned when his alarm went off. He rolled over to turn it off, but found it turned off before he got there.

“Whu?” He asked the air, cracking open his eyes. He found Derek smiling softly, with Stiles’ phone in his hand.

“Ugh, why are you awake?” Stiles groaned. Derek chuckled but didn’t say anything. “You have a shit sleep schedule. Go to bed regularly at midnight or later, and sleep in to get your eight hours. But the last few months, you’re suddenly a morning person. Since when did I fall in love with a morning person?”

“Mmm,” Derek murmured, leaning forward to kiss Stiles’ forehead, “It’s off season. You’ve now met off season Derek. He's a different person.” Derek trailed kisses down to Stiles’ nose, and then his lips, before he could reply.

“What a way to wake up,” Stiles sighed, laying back after a few minutes of making out, on arm lying above his head. Derek smiled, but didn’t disagree. “You’re not all that different from in season Derek,” Stiled continued after a moment. Derek raised a brow and looked over at him. “Okay, yeah, you wake up stupid early and you’re still a health nut. But it’s not like you wouldn’t occasionally get a slice with us,” Stiles protested. Derek shrugged. Stiles opened his mouth to explain more, but found it occupied with Derek’s lips instead.

“Good morning,” Derek murmured.

“Mmm yeah, definitely,” Stiles agreed, pulling Derek on top of him as he laid back down.

They made out for a while, hands wandering. But when Derek’s hands started to wander with a little more purpose, Stiles grasped Derek’s hands and then nudged him back over to the other side of the bed.

“No time. Grey will be here in, 3…2…1…” Stiles explained,, just as the door opened and the little red head came running into the room.

“HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY DADDY!” Greyson yelled as he catapulted himself into the bed. Derek quickly grabbed a pillow to guard himself, having learned after a couple of mornings of getting Greyson’s knee, foot, or elbow to his groin when he jumped in bed with them in the morning. Derek raised an eyebrow at Stiles’ timing, still carefully guarding his groin as Greyson settled in between the two men.

“It’s my super power,” Stiles said with a smirk.

“What is, daddy?” Greyson asked.

“Being your dad!” Stiles said, before reaching down to tickle Greyson. The little boy shrieked and wiggled around. Stiles grinned and shared a smile with Derek over the top of the head of the little boy.

“Did you bring it?” Stiles asked, as they settled in. He glanced at the time to make sure they still had time, before Greyson shoved a Valentine’s book in his hands.

Stiles read the valentines books, a tradition they had started a couple years back when Stiles needed just a couple more minutes to wake up and Greyson had been overly excited about his school’s valentine’s party and woken Stiles up long before they needed to leave for school.

By the time they had finished the second book, Derek had gotten up and walked out of the room, and some of Greyson’s excitement had been curbed to at least simmering under the surface.

“Alright, Kid, go get ready,” Stiles said, as he closed the last book. Greyson was immediately up and running to his bedroom, his clothes already laid out the night before.

Stiles slowly stood up, stretching out his joints, before finally making his way out to the kitchen. He found Derek already there with a full cup of coffee. Stiles groaned as he accepted it from him, sighing and taking his first sip with his eyes closed. Derek smiled.

“Do you do anything special for breakfast?” he asked quietly. In reply, Stiles reached into the fridge and pulled out a can of cinnamon rolls and shook it at the other man. Derek raised his brows.

“I’ll make some eggs to go along with that. Otherwise you’ll both be hungry again in an hour,” he grumbled. Stiles chuckled. But leaned forward to peck a kiss on his boyfriend’s lips.

While Derek busied himself with making eggs, Stiles carefully unraveled each cinnamon roll and reshaped it into a heart. He put them in a heart shaped pan and followed the instructions for time and heat of the oven. Stiles leaned back against the counter, arms crossed over his chest, while he watched Derek cook.

“My mom used to do stuff. For every holiday. I don’t really remember everything. I know I have family recipes for the bigger holidays. But for the smaller ones, I don’t really remember. Except for April Fools. She’d always make food that looked like one thing but was something else,” he said. Derek glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes but said nothing.

“Then, when she died, it all kind of stopped. It wasn’t really my dad’s thing and… I think it hurt too much at first. But then we started doing stuff again for the big holidays. I found my mom’s recipe book and started cooking things from it for special occasions. I did little things for my friends. I think my dad figured I wouldn’t care about valentines and stuff and I honestly kind of forgot about it, and then we had Greyson. Suddenly, all these memories came back of my mom doing stuff like this, so,” he shrugged and trailed off.

Derek moved the finished eggs off the stove and turned off the burner before turning and pulling Stiles into his arms.

“I think it’s great,” he said softly, kissing the side of Stiles’ head. Stiles rested against Derek’s chest and let the moment wash over him. They were interrupted when the timer for the cinnamon rolls beeped, and Stiles moved to take the rolls out of the oven.

As Stiles iced the rolls, Derek pulled down some plates and started dishing out the eggs.

“Anyway,” Stiles started again, “We don’t have specific foods for the smaller holidays. But on Valentine's day, I usually try to do heart-shaped stuff.”

“Daaadddyy, where’s my valentines for my friends?” Greyson cried out. Stiles smiled and kissed Derek’s cheek, before leaving the kitchen.

He made a pitstop to put out a book, small stuffed animal, and a small box of chocolates at Greyson’s spot, before making his way to Greyson’s room. Stiles leaned against the doorway and watched.

“We put them in the living room, remember bud?” He asked.

“Oh yeah!” Greyson said, running out to the living room. Stiles shook his head and moved to clean up some of the mess Greyson had made trying to find his valentines. By the time he made it back out to the living room, Derek was setting the plates on the table, and Greyson was racing over.

“Look Mr. Derek!” Greyson cried out, holding up the stuffed animal.

“I see, Cub,” Derek said with a smile.

“Thanks Daddy!” Greyson called out, as he tried to open the box of chocolates.

‘You’re welcome, G,” Stiles said with a smile, and gently took the box out of his hands. “How about you eat your breakfast first, then you can have one piece.”

“Okaayyy,” Greyson sighed. Stiles smiled and leaned down to kiss the top of his head.

“Alright, I’m gonna go get ready for work. Listen to Derek,” he said, raising his eyebrows. Greyson nodded eagerly and was already talking Derek’s ear off.

Stiles took a quick shower, before putting on his clothes. He had dark slacks and a grey button up shirt. He then pulled on his conversation hearts tie, and pulled on a maroon suit coat. When he walked back out to join Derek and Greyson, Stiles couldn’t help but smirk when he saw him.

“You look good, daddy!” Greyson called out, “And we match!” He said, pointing to his own shirt that had six conversation heart graphcis on it with different sayings. Stiles smiled.

“Alright, you ready to go, Grey?” He asked.

“Yeah, just gotta potty!” the little boy called out, running down the hall.

“Wash your face too!” Stiles called out, having glanced the smeared icing at the corner of his mouth.

“You look,” Derek trailed off, eyes roving up and down Stiles body.

“This doing it for you?” Stiles asked, raising his eyebrows up and down, before giving a little twirl. Derek gave an amused snort, but got up to pull Stiles in for a kiss.

Stiles pulled back when a thought suddenly occurred to him.

“Hey, uh, you… you don’t mind that we’re doing stuff all day with Greyson, do you?” He asked quietly.

“No?” Derek asked, his eyebrows scrunching.

“I just know most people, you know, do couple stuff on Valentine’s. It’s just been so long since I have and I’ve gotten used to doing stuff and making the day special for Greyson,” he said.

“No,” Derek murmured, “I don’t mind. And… I know we’ve been avoiding talking about it, but I want to spend as much time as I can with both of you before I leave for the start of spring training.” Stiles sighed and pressed his forehead into Derek’s shoulder. They hadn’t spent a night apart for the last week, as the day of Derek’s departure loomed closer. They hadn’t really talked about it, but it had started when Stiles asked Derek to come over after a long day. And he just hadn’t… really left, except to maybe get more clothes from his place.

“We still on for Friday?” Derek asked quietly, as they both heard Greyson noisily coming down the hall.

“Yeah, I’ll double check Scott and Kira are still good to watch him. But… yeah. One last date night,” he sighed. Derek smiled a little sadly, but leaned down to capture Stiles’ lips in a lingering kiss.

“Daddyyy we have to go! We gotta get to school!” Greyson interrupted, bouncing on his toes. The adults chuckled.

“Let me get a picture first,” Derek said, as he pulled his phone out.

“Yeah! Cause we match!” Greyson said with a grin. Stiles smiled but stood beside his son and held out his tie as Greyson instructed.

Once the photos were taken, Stiles grabbed his bag and Greyson’s valentines, while Derek held the little boy’s backpack for him, then passed off a lunch box to Greyson and Stiles. Stiles blinked at him in surprise, while Derek snuck a kiss on his cheek.

“Breakfast. Since you didn’t eat,” Derek said.

“I.. thanks,” he said in surprise, before his eyes widened, “Oh Shi-eeoot! The kitchen, I didn’t clean up breakfast.”

“50 cents in the half swear jar, Daddy!” Greyson cried out gleefully.

“I’ve got it, don’t worry,” Derek said, nudging them to the door.

“No, Derek, that's not fair. You shouldn’t have to-“ stiles started but Derek shushed him with another quick kiss.

“I don’t mind. I like helping out when I can,” he said, as he pulled back from the kiss. “Besides, I don’t have anything I have to do today. Most of the staff is already down in Florida so no team meetings, one on one meetings, nothing. And there’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” he assured. Stiles bit his lip but slowly nodded. He was still getting used to someone else being around who wanted to help.

“If you’re sure,” Stiles started.

“Positive,” Derek said, “and happy Valentine’s”

“Happy happy Valentine’s Day!” Greyson cheered. Stiles cast one more glance over his shoulder, but let Greyson lead him out the door, while Derek waved them off.

Stiles vaguely listened to Greyson’s chatter and gave appropriate responses as they rode the subway. By the time they made it to the stop for Greyson’s school, the little boy was skipping with excitement.

“And we’re gonna make Valentines! You think I can make more than one? I wanna make one for Mr. Haley too,” Greyson said.

“You can ask your teacher,” Stiles said as they turned onto the street.

“And then we’re having a party! Can you come to the party daddy? Our teacher said adults can come,” Greyson said, staring up at him. Stiles froze. He had completely forgotten about the class party.

The teacher had sent something out about it last week and Stiles had meant to see if his boss would let him off for a longer lunch break so he could make it. But between work, Derek getting ready to leave, and figuring out Greyson’s schedule, he had completely spaced on making sure he could get away for the class party. Stiles sighed and squatted down so he was on Greyson’s level.

“Hey, G,” he started. Greyson bit his lip, “I’m really sorry. I didn’t ask my boss if I could have the time off, so I won’t be able to come.”

“Okay,” Greyson said softly as he stared down at his shoes. Stiles reached out and took his hands.

“But I promise, we’ll have a special dinner tonight. So you can enjoy your party and tell me all about it, okay?” He asked. Greyson nodded his head.

“And Mr. Derek will be there?” he asked. Stiles smiled.

“Yeah bud, Derek will be there and we’re gonna spend the night at his place. How does that sound,” he asked. Greyson nodded his head looking a little less sad.

Stiles stood up and took Greyson’s hand as they finished the walk. At the steps, a little girl turned and caught sight of them. She excitedly waved a hand.

“Hi Greyson!” She called out. Greyson gave a shy smile and wave.

“Hi Mia,” he said softly. Stiles shared a smile with Mia’s mom as they walked in. Mia chatted as they walked by and Greyson quietly listened, giving her a smile. But when they passed by the classroom for the next grade up, Greyson stopped.

“Daddy! Did we get Caleb a valentine’s?” he asked, turning to stare up at Stiles.

“Yeah, here, we put it in your backpack so it wouldn’t get mixed up with the others,” Stiles said, helping Greyson take off the bag so he could dig through it for the Valentine.

Stiles got the attention of the teacher, but let Greyson do the rest. His therapist had encouraged Stiles and Lydia to help get Greyson started in social settings, but otherwise follow his lead. Greyson very quietly and shyly asked to speak to Caleb, who the teacher called over.

“Greyson!” Caleb greeted enthusiastically. Stiles breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Greyson become more animated.

“Here! I gots you a valentine! It’s your daddy!” He said, excitedly showing him the Mets valentine card.

“That’s so cool! I got you one too, but my dad is gonna bring it later,” Caleb explained, then turned to his teacher, “Can I show Greyson my desk and project?”

“Sure, but remember, we have to start school soon,” his teacher said. Stiles watched as the two boys walked a few steps away. Stiles hadn’t known where the friendship between the two boys would lead, but he was happy to see it blossom. Stiles was still confident they had done the right thing in holding Greyson back a year, but it was good to see him retaining a friendship from the previous year and to know that it was a family that was entirely familiar with the lifestyle they were living with Derek gone a lot of the time.

“I can make sure he gets to his class,” the teacher said. Stiles glanced at the time but shook his head.

“It’s alright, I have a few minutes,” he said.

“What grade is your son in?” The teacher asked.

“He’s still down in the preschool, but… he’ll be in kindergarten next year,” he said, shaking his head. It was hard to believe how fast Greyson was growing up.

“Well I’ll keep an eye for him,” the teacher said with a smile, before walking over to join the boys.

A couple of minutes later, she brought Greyson back to Stiles. Greyson threw a wave over his shoulder to Caleb and the teacher, before following him out the door and finally to his own classroom. Stiles took a moment to make sure Greyson was settled for the day and that his valentines had been placed in the appropriate place until it was time for them to be passed out. He gave one last kiss to Greyson, before making his way back out of the school, glad that Caleb had seemed to provide a small distraction to Greyson’s disappointment.

Stiles sighed and pulled out his phone as he started the walk back to the subway.

Text message:

Stiles: I’m a horrible dad

Lyds: You aren’t. But what’d you do this time?

Stiles: I forgot about the class valentine’s party.

Lyds: That doesn’t make you horrible. Did you remember the valentines for his class?

Stiles: Yep. He was loaded down with them and I’m sure I’ll pick him up with just as many from his other classmates.

Lyds: Then you did fine, Stiles. There are many working parents. I doubt every kid will have a parent there.

Stiles: I know. I just feel bad.

Lyds: He’s five. He’ll have so much fun and be so busy talking about it he won’t miss you that much.

Stiles: Ouch.

Lyds: Would you feel better if I just agreed and said yes you’re a horrible parent?

Stiles: No….

Lyds: There you go then. Thank you for the flowers, by the way.

Stiles: Of course. Greyson picked out the stuffed animal and card.

Lyds: Well tell him I absolutely love them when you see him later. Now, I have a class to catch and you have a train to catch.

Stiles: Yeah. Have a good day Lyds.

Lyds: and send me the class pictures from the day!

Stiles: You have the class log in too.

Lyds: But it always acts weird for me and I hate sifting through the other hundreds of photos of other peoples’ kids.

Stiles: Yeah, yeah, alright.

Stiles sighed and turned on a podcast, adjusting his earbuds as he boarded his subway train and lot signal. Lydia had never sugar coated things for him. Which he knew. If he wanted things sugar coated, he talked to Scott. But none of his friends had kids. It was easier to talk to Lydia about things like this. But sometimes he felt like Lydia didn’t understand it sometimes either.

He tried to be fair to her, but he dealt with all the school things. She stayed up to date on everything and would phone in for parent/teacher conferences. And Stiles appreciated that she’d always been involved in serious things like when they’d decided Greyson should stay back one year for school. But she wasn’t there for the day to day.

Stiles rubbed a hand over his face and decided to push it away and not think about it. Things were good with Lydia. He didn’t want to rock the boat and it wasn’t that big of an issue. She was also right. Greyson would likely forget about it by the time the end of the day rolled around. But Stiles couldn’t help but remember all the times he had sat in a classroom alone, watching all the other kids’ parents.

After his Mom had died there hadn’t been a parent around for that kind of thing. Stiles knew his dad had tried and he didn’t begrudge him having to work. But he didn’t want that for Greyson. He didn’t want his kid to look back on his childhood and remember all the times he was alone or that he had hung out with his friend who also didn’t have any parents there. Stiles loved Scott. And he wouldn’t trade their days of huddling in the corner, hoarding their goodies and laughing. But he had always wanted to be there for his kid, or be there for the other kids’ whose parents were busy, like Mrs. McCall had done from time to time, when she could.

Stiles tried to finally shake the thoughts off as he got off on his stop. There wasn’t anything he could do about it now, except make more of an effort at the next class party. Which he was pretty sure there’d be another one for St. Patrick’s day. As Stiles beeped into the building he worked in, he already had his calendar up and was blocking off that week. He would look at the class announcements later and see if there was a specific date set aside yet.

Once he dropped his bag off at his desk, he walked back to the break room with the bag Derek had handed him as they walked out the door. Stiles was surprised when he pulled his breakfast out of the bag and found a little bento box filled with a cinnamon roll, eggs, and fruit in a compartment that easily came out of the box. He popped the box into the microwave, without the fruit, then turned to get some coffee. Once the food was warmed up, he took it back to his desk.

He tried to focus on his work and starting the day, but he couldn’t help but glance at the box. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had done something like this for him. His dad had always taken care of him, but he had always been more about meeting his physical needs.

He’d been there for Stiles and they had muddled their way through a sex talk, puberty, first girlfriend and first boyfriend. They’d even managed to get through Stiles’ awkwardly coming out to his dad. And his dad had been good through it all. Great, even. His dad had given him a Stilinski hug, told him he loved him, and then awkwardly made conversation about having safe sex with guys, commenting about the same practices applying from their first sex talk, though maybe in slightly different manners. Stiles had stopped him from continuing too far, saying they’d covered it in sex ed. They hadn’t. Their sex ed classes had been abysmal. But someone else not teaching Stiles had never stopped him from getting knowledge and information he wanted.

All that to say, his dad was great. He was there for Stiles’ for the important things and even some emotional things. But he wasn’t an over the top guy. He got Stiles gifts for his birthday and holidays, but it was usually given to him with a gruff “here” and with little fanfare. Stiles loved his dad and there was even something special about his gruffness that was just his dad. But it didn’t mean that’s how he wanted his son to grow up.

As Stiles sat there, stewing in his thoughts and eating his breakfast, a sudden thought occurred to him. He whipped his phone out.

Text Message:

Stiles: Hey, are you still doing nothing today?

Derek: Well I wouldn’t say nothing, but I don’t have any major plans. Why?

Stiles: So I made a major dad screw up. Totally spaced that they asked parents to come to the class party and Grey was seriously upset. But. If you aren’t busy. Maybe you wouldn’t mind stopping in?

Derek: Are you sure you want me going? I’m not his parent

Stiles: That doesn’t really matter. There’s plenty of nannies that go instead.

Stiles: Not that I think of you as a nanny! You aren’t!

Stiles: You mean more to Greyson than a nanny!

Stiles: And me! I don’t think of you as a nanny!

Derek: well I’d hope not. And you’re not a screw up. You’ve got a lot on your plate right now. But I don’t mind going if you want me to and you don’t think Greyson would mind.

Stiles: Are you kidding?! It would make his day. You’re like, his favorite person ever. I would pay to see his reaction when you walk into his class for the party

Derek: I take payment in kisses and cuddles.

Stiles: You got it! The biggest, most wet, kiss you ever had as soon as I walk through the door.

Derek: Can I just get a regular kiss?

Stiles: Fiiinneee.

Derek: Do you need me to pick anything up for tonight?

Stiles: Well… I saw this thing going around instagram and I kinda wanted to replicate it for dinner.

Derek: which is?

Stiles: Well… it is Tuesday. Which means Taco Tuesday. And Valentines…

Derek: Say no more. I know what you’re talking about.

Stiles: You don’t have to cook. I’ll do it. Just maybe see if there’s any pans? Or look through my pans. I should have a heart one in there somewhere

Derek: I’ll help. I want to. I’ve got it all covered and it’ll be ready at my place after work.

Stiles: You’re the best! Okay. I gotta go. If I want to be able to actually come home tonight. And thanks for the breakfast.

Stiles finally turned his do not disturb on, on his phone. The only people who could get through during work hours were Greyson’s school, Lydia, and his dad. Usually Derek could get through too, but since the off season, Stiles had found he could easily get distracted sending memes and links to Derek or trying to start a conversation. The other man tried valiantly to get Stiles to refocus after a few moments, but it only sometimes worked. So, his number had been taken off the do not disturb list. At least until the season started again. But Stiles wasn’t going to think about that.

At lunch, Stiles joined his coworkers. He joined in the debate of whether Valentine’s was an overrated holiday. He understood, he did. He knew how hard the holiday could be when single, and yeah there were definitely companies that took advantage and monetized the day. But even before Greyson was born, Stiles had enjoyed treating himself to a fun day, gorging himself on candy and wearing t-shirts with corny sayings. He didn’t know what it was about the holidays, but he always enjoyed getting into them. Now, with a kid, they were even more fun.

The rest of the afternoon went by both quickly and slowly. As soon as he took his phone off Do Not Disturb, he had several texts from Derek. He checked the last message first.

Text Message:

Derek: They offered to let the kids go home at the end of the party. I asked Greyson what he wanted to do and he was ready to go. We grabbed a snack with Mathews and his kids. But we’re at my place now. I hope that’s okay.

Stiles: Yeah, of course! It’s good for him to get time with you too. He’s gonna miss you just as much when you have to go. But yeah, I don’t mind. Just means I get to see you guys all the sooner. Be home soon

The rest of the texts were a play by play of the afternoon and a smattering of photos of Greyson at the party. Stiles finally let himself open the video.

Derek started with it facing himself

“Alright, I’m here to surprise my number one fan, Baby Met,” he said, before walking into the classroom. Stiles watched as the teachers greeted Derek familiarly and as he made his way through the maze of small tables and chairs. He finally stopped behind a familiar redhead.

“Hey Baby Met, I heard your dad couldn’t make it to your party. I hope I’m an okay substitute,” Derek said. Greyson’s eyes were wide as he slowly turned around to face Derek. He blinked slowly, before throwing himself (and a pink cupcake) at Derek.

“Mr. Haley!” Greyson yelled. Stiles winced as he watched pink icing smoosh into Derek’s pants. But the man didn’t seem to mind as he easily caught the kid in a hug and stood up. Derek turned the camera back to face him, but instead of looking at the camera, he was watching Greyson with a smile on his face.

“An Mia and Stella got me special Valentines, so I gave them two ‘cause Mommy gave me valentines to give my friends and Daddy got me valentines for everybody. We got the Mets ones, but I saved your one cause I didn’t want to give any one else your card cause I’m your number one fan,” the little boy babbled. Stiles sat there smiling as he watched. There really wasn’t anything much hotter than his boyfriend patiently listening to his son tell him a lot of details he already knew because they’d both been there when Stiles had written the names of all of Greyson’s classmates on the cards that Greyson designated for each classmate.

“An Blasie’s nanny brought the cookie cake. It’s the bestest. But the cupcakes have more frosting. An Blakely’s Daddy brought popcorn balls with the sprinkles. I wish someone had brought cotton candy,” he finished. Derek chuckled.

“I think there’s more than enough other goodies here, G,” Derek said, clearly amused.

“Oh! An we made Valentines!” Greyson added, scrambling to be set down. Derek obliged, quickly turning the camera around again, and Greyson was scrambling through the pile of paper on the table before thrusting one at Derek.

“This one’s for you!” Greyson said, “Mr. P said I could make one for Mommy, an Daddy, An you!” Derek had the camera on himself again and was smiling softly.

“Thanks, Baby Met. It’s the best Valentine’s I’ve ever gotten,” he said.

“Yes!” Greyson cheered in the background, causing Stiles to chuckle as he walked down the street.

“Hey, I was making a video for your dad, you want to say anything?” Derek asked, squatting down so his and Greyson’s faces were next to each other.

“Thank you, Daddy! Do good work! Can we have ice cream tonight?” He asked. Derek laughed again, which caused Greyson to look at the man with a pleased grin. “Oh!” Greyson said then turned to whisper in Derek’s ear. The man grinned and then the two of them were facing the camera and blowing kisses.

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” They chorused. Then Greyson was pulling Derek up and talking about all the treats he wanted to get as Derek fumbled to end the video.

Stiles grinned and watched the video at least two more times, before opening an app on his phone and editing it so that all the faces of the children, including Greyson’s, were obscured. He also edited out any part that detailed any personal information. By the time he came to his stop, the video was ready and he uploaded it to Baby Met’s stories once he had service again. He also sent the unedited version to Lydia.

On his way to Derek’s he stopped to get flowers for both Derek and Greyson, before finally making his way to the building.

“DADDY!” Greyson yelled, as soon as he stepped inside. Greyson raced down the hallway and Stiles had just enough time to hang his bag and put his shoes away in their appointed cabinet, before scooping Greyson into his arms. He was handed a slightly crumpled red heart that had lace glued crookedly around the edges. In the middle was a pink hand, the size of Greyson’s.

There was an array of glitter and smaller hearts in the palm of the hand and the words around it read A handful of my love for you.

“Thanks, G,” Stile said, planting a kiss on his cheek, “I love it.” Greyson smiled and then excitedly told him about his day. He talked about Derek showing up and playing with Caleb afterwards. Stiles felt any stress or tension from the morning melt away as he listened to Greyson talk. Derek smiled from where he stood in the kitchen, getting things out for dinner.

Eventually, Greyson asked to be set down and Stiles handed him the flowers he’d bought.

“Can I show Mommy? And Call her?” Greyson asked, bouncing on his toes.

“Sure bud,” Stiles said, handing over his phone.

“Hey,” Derek said, with a soft smile, as Greyson wandered away, Stiles phone in hand, already filling Lydia in on his day.

“Hey, yourself,” Stiles said, walking up behind him and wrapping his arms around Derek’s waist and resting his chin on Derel’s shoulder. He still had a dozen roses in his hand, obscuring Derek’s view with the flowers and his arms around him. Derek glanced down at the roses and then over his shoulder at Stiles, but he didn’t make a move to take them.

“Those for me?” he asked quietly.

“Well I’m not going around buying flowers for anyone else, except Greyson. And Lydia,” he said.

“Thank you,” Derek smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corner. “Could you put them in a vase for me? I’d take them, but my hands are covered in raw chicken right now.” Stiles stepped back and rummaged for a vase.

“I told you I’d cook,” Stiles said, as he filled the vase with water.

“I don’t mind. I’ll do the prep, you can do the cooking,” Derek replied, as he put the chicken in a marinade.

“Fine,” Stiles agreed, before turning to the fridge to get a drink, the roses now in a vase on the island. He paused though when his eyes caught sight of something on the door.

It was another homemade card, but this time it had a piece of pizza on it that had an array of topping glued and colored all of the top. On the side it read, You stole a pizza my heart . Stiles glanced over his shoulder and found Derek watching him.

“He made me a Valentine,” Derek said, a grin on his face. Stiles returned the smile, before opening the door and grabbing a drink. He wandered over to one of the chairs at the bar and grabbed a seat.

“So, have a good day?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah, I had fun. The kids had a ton of sugar, but we also did some crafts. The teachers walked the tables through how to make this slime foam stuff the kids could play with. I think they all got sent home with a tub of it and the recipe on the lid. We also made some love bugs, which Greyson insisted we tape on Isaac’s door when he saw the man had no Valentine’s. I was surprised he didn’t make anything for Erica,” he said. Stiles shook his head as he swallowed the sip he had just taken.

“We did. He made some in class for her last week and we already met up to give them to her,” Stiles explained.

“You did?” Derek asked. The surprise was clear in the lift of his eyebrows.

“Uh, yeah. You guys had that meeting last week and you, Boyd, and Isaac were getting measured for sizes for all your gear this year. So, we met up with Erica. I hope that’s okay?” He asked, a little hesitantly. Derek smiled.

“Yeah, definitely okay. I just didn’t realize you guys had gotten comfortable enough to meet without us around,” he explained. Stiles shrugged and turned his attention to the Mets theme Valentines box he had helped Greyson make.

“We’ve been talking off and on. She watched him back in December. Then we’ve all grabbed coffee and stuff. It’s been nice though, having someone that understands getting ready for the season. I didn’t realize what it’d be like I guess, but she’s helped,” he said shrugging.

“Yeah, she’s good at that,” Derek offered.

Stiles could feel his eyes on him as he dug through his kid’s candy. He opened one of the little boxes of mixed chocolates and picked one, popping it in his mouth. Derek chuckled as Stiles made a face.

“You’re gonna regret eating his candy when he notices it’s gone,” he said. Stile shrugged and quickly grabbed something else to get rid of the taste of the first chocolate.

“He’s used to it,” Stiles said.

“Daddy! You better not be eating all my chocolate!” Greyson called out, as he wandered back to the living room to grab Lydia’s valentine and show her. Derek grinned while Stiles shot him a glare.

“Sorry, Auntie Allie, I didn’t make one for you,” Greyson said, pulling Stiles' attention to him. “I didn’t know you were gonna be with Mommy.”

“It’s okay, Greyson! Your mom has made sure I had plenty of Valentine’s today,” Allison’s voice responded. Stiles wandered over to where Greyson was now sitting on the couch and found Allison, as well as Lydia on the screen of his phone.

“Hey, Allison,” Stiles waved.

“Stiles! How are you?” She asked, smiling.

“I’m good. Didn’t realize you were in Boston,” he said. Allison smiled and shrugged.

“I was in the area for a conference and once I realized Lydia didn’t have any plans, I couldn’t help but surprise her,” she said. Lydia smiled beside her and reached to give her a one armed hug.

“Best surprise I’ve had in awhile,” Lydia said, “But, we should get going if we want to grab dinner. Are you okay if we go, Greyson?” she asked, making sure her son had said all he wanted.

“Yeah! We’re gonna have tacos cause it’s taco tuesday! And Mr. Derek bought a heart pan that’s ten times as big as daddy’s! We gotta go make em!” He said. The adults shared a laugh, before Allison and Lydia said their goodbyes.

“So, you bought a bigger pan huh?” Stiles asked as he joined Derek in the kitchen and Greyson pulled around his kitchen tower that Talia and Eric had bought him for Christmas, so he could help.

“Well, before I saw all the sugar the kids were eating, I thought I’d try to bake something in it,” he said.

“Then you realized we’re gonna have enough sugar until Halloween,” Stiles said knowingly, causing Derek to laugh.

“Yeah, pretty much,” he agreed.

“Well, I guess we get more tacos this way,” Stiles said, before rolling up his sleeves and walking around to the other side of the bar to start getting tacos ready.

All three worked together to get dinner ready and Stiles smiled as the sound of Greyson happily chatting washed over him. While Stiles cooked the meat, Greyson and Derek plated everything. When the tacos were all assembled, there was a large heart board with way too many tacos on the outside, and a pile of rose petals in the middle. They had also put together some chips, queso, and salsa in the smaller heart tin. The three eagerly settled in to see how many tacos they could eat.

Once dinner was over, Stiles set Greyson up with a Bluey valentine’s special before moving to start doing the dishes.

“Nope,” Derek said, hip checking him out of the way, “You can put things away and clean off the table but I’m doing the dishes.”

“You basically did everything for dinner. I should do the dishes,” Stiles protested.

“My house. I clean,” Derek said, already scrubbing the first dish.

“You still don’t let me do the dishes at my own place, so that’s not a real rule,” Stiles grumbled, but he had already stepped over to start clearing the table away. He didn’t really mind. Dishes were actually one of his least favorite chores. But it felt wrong to at least not put up some protest.

Despite the fact there were enough leftovers for a few more meals to put away, Stiles finished his part before Derek was done cleaning, but Greyson was still engrossed in the tv show. So he settled at the bar and opened instagram. He had a flood of notifications on the video he had uploaded and smirked reading through the comments. He couldn’t help but respond to a few. He tried to resist any snarky comments, and decided if he did reply, he’d do it with his personal account instead.

@Tiff_dy32: OMG. This is adorable! I didn’t know @dhale88 did personal appearances.

@babymet: only for his #1 fan ;)

@steffy_982: Ugh. Cute kid. Cute man. I didn’t think this account could get any cuter.

@babymet: thanks @steffy_982 !

@officalgigi_p: unf. Can @dhale88 make a personal appearance in my room?

@sarcasmismyonlydefence: he’s a little busy at the moment

@becksblake: awww, this is adorabl! Baby Met is so Lucky and I’ve loved getting to see @dhale88 and Baby Met over the last year.

@babymet: thanks @becksblake we always enjoy your comments!

@emmy_cook: If I had a Valentine as cute as Baby Met or @dhale88 I’d die happy

@babymet: right?

@dad4lyfe: cool post, make sure that man gets an extra thank you. I love my kids but class parties are entirely different beasts.

@sarcasmismyonlydefense: oh he’s gonna get a big thank you for everything he did today. He went above and beyond

@phillydad: Duuude, my husband had to go down early for spring training since he’s a catcher. Seriously jealous. My kid has been asking for her other dad all day.

@babymet: man, that sucks. Baby Met says happy Valentines to her!

@marcymathews2: awww Caleb and Raina loved having their dad go in today too! So glad Derek got to go.

@babymet: Baby Met had a blast, both with Derek and Caleb and Raina

@thewolfiesthale: Awww this is the sweetest! Give him a kiss and a hug for us!

@babymet: will do!

@theericareyes: No fair! Baby Met told me I was his Valentine!

@babymet: you definitely got the most out of everyone! And I bet you really didn’t want to give up your night with Boyd ;)

@theericareyes: For that little man? Anything! (Just don’t tell Boyd)

Stiles grinned at the last reply from Erica, and left the rest of the comments. He liked Kira’s comment and sent Scott a video he’d seen earlier, before starting to scroll through the feed. It wasn’t too busy as they typically only followed people they knew on the Baby Met account as well as a few other kid accounts that were in the same vein as this one. So he wasn’t surprised when Lydia’s account showed up.

There were three pictures. The first was of Allison sitting across a table. It was hard to really make out who it was from the lighting and the focus was more on the rose and candle sitting in the middle of the table. The second picture was of a hand holding another, slightly in front of the perspective of the camera. The last was a photo from behind two women, one with black hair and the other red, as the heads leaned into one another, standing outside on the steps of a building at MIT. Stiles knew it was the building Lydia’s office was in.

The caption on the photos read:

@Martin92: Who needs a Valentine when you can have a Galentine?

Stiles liked the photo from the Baby Met account. But he had to admit his curiosity was piqued. Lydia and Allison had always been friends and it wasn’t unusual for them to post photos together, but the way Lydia had framed these photos was different.

“You’re gonna get me in trouble with my agent,” Derek said as he shut the water off.

“Hmm?” Stiles asked, as his attention was pulled away from his phone.

“Or give my agent horrible, awful, ideas that I do not want any part of,” he said with a glare. Stile smirked.

“Oh yeah? Not up for any personal appearances?” Stiles asked.

“No,” Derek scowled, “Only if they’re personal appearances for you and Greyson.”

“Well you won’t hear any complaints from us on personal appearances,” Stiles said with a grin. Derek shook his head, but walked around to stand in front of Stiles. Stiles grinned up at Derek and pulled him down for a big, wet, over exaggerated kiss. Derek made a face but didn’t move away.

“I thought we agreed on regular kisses,” Derek groaned.

“Oh that wasn’t from me,” Stiles said with an innocent look, “That was from Laura and your family.” Derek rolled his eyes but didn’t protest anymore.

“So, what do I owe you for the dry cleaning bill for your pants?” Stiles asked. Derek laughed, glancing up at the ceiling and shaking his head.

“Nothing,” he said, leaning down to give Stiles a real kiss.

“I don’t think your pants would agree with that,” Stiles uttered, when they broke free of the kiss.

“My pants will be fine. Worth it to see his smile,” Derek said, nodding back to the couch where Greyson sat.

“Yeah,” Stiles said quietly and smiled at the little red head peeking over the back of the couch, “Come on,” Stiles said, standing up and leading Derek over to the couch.

They settled on either side of Greyson, who moved so his head was in Stiles’ lap and his feet in Derek’s. Derek rested a hand on Greyson’s little ankles, while Stiles played with Greyson’s hair. Stiles relaxed into the couch, happy. He had been worried he had completely messed the day up earlier, but now he felt like the day couldn’t have gone any better.

Eventually, it was time to get Greyson ready for bed. The little boy clambered onto Derek’s lap so he faced the man and held his face between his two small hands.

“Good night, Mr. Derek. Thanks for being one of my Valentine’s,” he said very seriously, before leaning forward to plant a kiss on Derek’s nose.

“You’re welcome, Cub,” Derek said softly, as several emotions played across his face. Stiles smiled and threw a glance over his shoulder before following Greyson to help him get ready for bed.

Stiles let out a slow breath as he mostly closed the door to the room Greyson was sleeping in. He couldn't help but be a little pleased at how much it showed Greyson’s presence. There were pictures that Greyson had drawn taped to the wall, a picture frame with a selfie of Derek, Greyson, and Stiles that they had taken one day after throwing the baseball around. A nightlight and even a few doubles of items that were at Stiles’ apartment. There was a Mr. Met fleece blanket that was folded over the end of the bed, a child’s step stool in the attached bathroom with a dinosaur hooded towel on the towel rack. Some of it was stuff they had brought over and left, but a lot of it Derek had slowly bought over time. However it had all gotten to Derek’s, it made Stiles smile realizing just how much their lives were bleeding into one another. Their places were becoming less and less one or the other’s. Stiles knew there was a blanket currently laying over his couch that Derek had brought over and half his closet now had joggers, jackets, sweats, and a few henleys that were Derek’s. Stiles wouldn’t change any of it. He liked seeing the glimpses of all of them in the different places. He wanted them to stay that way, even after Derek left. It would make it easier to pretend Derek wasn’t in another state, or at least give them a little piece of Derek when he was gone.

When Stiles walked back out to the kitchen and living area, he found the lights had all been turned low, there were a couple of candles and a piece of paper folded in half. Stiles walked over and picked it up. He chuckled as he opened it. Inside, it said