Fox Tails and Nursing Majors (Sterek AU)

OS #3

It's too quiet in the house, Derek thinks. Where is the sound of loud music? The sounds of PIne begging for food even though dinner should be ready? The sounds of Tiger telling Peter about his day? Derek is suspicious. "Hello?" Derek calls, looking around. Stiles' car is in the driveway, parked very crooked being that it was Pine that parked it this time, but no sounds coming from downstairs.

"Dad's upset. Forest came home from school upset today." Pine says, coming up from behind him. Derek jumps into the air, his eyes flashing a dark color, and he grabs his chest. "You're not really good at that anymore." He says, and Derek growls at him.

"What happened to your sister?" Derek asks. She just started middle school, and she's having a hard time fitting in. she's always been quiet, almost awkward in a way that reminds him of Cora, but she's never complained about it or about being lonely in the world. Pine shrugs which means he doesn't know or he doesn't want to get to be the one that has to tell his father what happened. Derek kicks off his shoes, sighing out as he always upstairs to find out what had happened. HIs phone beeps, Tiger texting him ask if he can buy dinner on the card tonight for him and his girlfriend. Derek says yes, telling him he loves him, and he silences his phone before knocking on his only daughter's door.

Stiles opens the door for him, kissing him in hello since even after all these years he's still missing when he's gone all day, and he pushes Derek out of the door. "I am handling it," Stiles says, and Derek takes that mean it's either boy trouble or she's just feeling down on herself today. Both things that Stiles is much better at dealing with than he is. Derek doesn't involve himself more, he'll hear what's really wrong from Stiles later or Forest herself will tell him when she wants too.

Derek takes it upon himself to start on dinner, seeing as though Stiles is occupied with their child, and he walks into the kitchen. "Hello, Peter," Derek says, squeezing Peter's hand as he walks past him. "Did Stiles beat you in chess again today?" Derek asks, earning himself a grunt in an answer. Pine follows him into the kitchen, clearly there to see Peter since he sits next to him ready to begin talking about his day. Derek assumes that he got home late from practice. Pine has started baseball, Derek is so proud, and his practices can run late into the evening usually several times during the week.

****

Dinner is almost ready when Stiles walks back downstairs, his tail wagging happily again making Derek assume that all is well, and he makes a happy chirp when he finds dinner is ready. "Yes! Dinner! Thank you!" Stiles says, walking past Peter to see if he needs to do anything else. "Forest is upset because she got in trouble. Someone was cheating on her test, and the teacher didn't believe that it wasn't her fault as well." Stiles says, and Derek gives an angry huff because his daughter shouldn't be upset over that.

"I'll call tomorrow," Derek says, and Stiles waves it off since he'll just swing by there tomorrow. Stiles is a lot more comfortable in public now than he was, but he's just as careful as ever before. "Tiger needed money again," Derek says, rolling his eyes. He never really asks for money so it doesn't bother him much.

"That's okay," Stiles says, going to feed Peter his dinner since that's ready and Pine is busy with homework otherwise he would do it. "Pine's first game is tomorrow! So excited." Stiles says since Derek can come with them as well. "Tiger said he'll try to come, but his last class isn't over until the game starts so he might be a little late," Stiles tells him, and Derek nods along as he finishes up dinner. He calls for Forest and Pine, and they settle in for a regular dinner.

It's predictable and the same every day, but Derek is content.

****

There's a boy at Pine's school that he can't figure out if he likes him or not. He's always around, never speaking, and he doesn't say much in any of his classes. Which Pine has all of them with. He fits the stereotypical nerd, but Pine doesn't think he's ugly or anything. Pine also isn't sure if he's very smart since he never answers questions or speaks. Pine might think that he's mute, but he got out of his mom's car once and he spoke to her. "Pine, you're staring again. It's getting weird. We're going to start to think that you're gay then Aiden is going to try to hook you up with Grady who is the only gay person he knows." Landon says, and PIne laughs at him. "Seriously, what is your obsession with Aaron?"