Derek had faced hunters, kanimas, alpha packs, and more supernatural nightmares than he cared to count. None of it had made his palms sweat quite like this.
Sitting on the couch, rigid as a steel beam, he glanced at Stiles, who was fidgeting with his fingers, his knee bouncing at a mile a minute. They had rehearsed this conversation—twice.
“Okay,” Stiles exhaled, rubbing his hands together before clasping them tightly. “Eli, bud, we, uh—well, we wanted to talk to you about something.”
Eli, who had been sprawled on the armchair with his legs hanging over the side, lazily looked up from his phone. “Yeah?”
Derek cleared his throat. Why was this so hard? He felt ridiculous. Stiles was the one who’d insisted they talk to Eli before making any legal moves, and Derek had agreed. It was the right thing to do. But it was also nerve-wracking as hell. “Well, uh,” Stiles started, then promptly turned to Derek. “You do it.”
Derek scowled but turned back to Eli. “Stiles and I have been talking about getting married.”
Derek hesitated. That was… underwhelming. Stiles jumped back in. “And, y’know, if we do that, we were thinking of making things official with you too.” He licked his lips, eyes darting to Derek for reassurance before continuing, “Like, legally official. Like, I could adopt you.”
Eli blinked again. Then he snorted. “Yeah, obviously.”
Stiles stared. “Wait, what?”
Eli rolled his eyes. “Dude, you practically live here already. You take me to school when Dad’s busy, you’re at every game, you nag me about my grades—”
“I do not nag,” Stiles huffed.
Eli ignored him. “You make Dad less grumpy, and you keep the house from looking like a brooding cave. And let’s be real, I already call you for advice before I call him.” Derek frowned. “You what?”
Eli shrugged. “No offense, Dad, but you kinda suck at emotional pep talks.”
Stiles grinned. “He really does.”
Derek shot him a look before turning back to Eli. “So… you’d be okay with it?”
Eli made an exaggerated expression of deep thought. “Let’s see. Do I want Stiles to be legally obligated to put up with my nonsense? Yes. Do I want the ability to guilt-trip him by calling him my official dad? Also yes. Does this change literally anything in my life? No.” Stiles huffed a laugh, shoulders finally relaxing. “Okay, wow. You really took the tension out of this moment, kid.”
“Did you want me to freak out?” Eli raised an eyebrow. “I mean, I can if it’ll make you feel better.” He gasped dramatically. “Oh my God, you’re getting married? Stiles is going to be my stepdad? This is so shocking! My world is changing forever!” Derek groaned, but Stiles cracked up. “Alright, alright, you made your point.”
Eli grinned and stretched. “Cool. Can I go now?”
Stiles feigned offense. “You don’t even want to help us pick out wedding colors?”
Derek sighed, rubbing his temples, but Stiles just grinned. “Fine, fine, you’re dismissed.”
Eli hopped up, but before heading to his room, he paused. His teasing smirk softened, and he looked between them. “For real, though… I’m happy for you guys.”
Derek felt something warm settle in his chest, and he wasn’t sure if it was relief or something deeper. Stiles beamed, nodding at Eli.
Eli just shrugged before disappearing down the hall.
Stiles turned to Derek, a smug grin on his face. “Told you he’d be cool with it.”
Derek huffed. “You were just as nervous as I was.”
“Shh,” Stiles said, kissing Derek’s cheek. “Let me have this.”
I have never watched the Teen Wolf movie, and as of right now, I don't intend to. I do not like the fact that Derek dies or that Stiles isn't in it. Even though I know that wasn't the actors' choice and there's nothing wrong with it, I just don't feel like I could handle it, since Stiles and Derek are two of my favorite characters in the whole show.
That said, I do love what l've seen of Eli as a character online, and my shipper brain can't help but love the idea of Derek and Stiles being his parents-or just being parents in general. I mean, come on, Eli is basically the embodiment of Stiles' personality.
So, no matter what canon says, I'll always think of them as a family.