(Whether u want mpreg, a surrogate or adopted)
Bc I think that would be so fricking cute
nickolai (with a little mole under his eye) and claud (blame the French in me) and both shy
Both wanting to be held all the time by stiles and Derek,
Both tolerating, eventually liking, grandpa Noah hugs and Peter hugs
But the rest of the pack is totally 50/50 (more like 20/80)
Sometimes they’ll tolerate being held but the rest of the time (80%) they’ll get fussy and want to be back w stiles or Derek.
Obviously stiles takes this in his stride. Okay shy babies, he can work with that’s alright, itll get better once they’re walking and talking and going to preschool
Derek on the other hand... while he’s not shy he was as a child and as stiles claims, he’s antisocial and doesn’t like people in general that aren’t 1) stiles or 2) pack or 3) pack adjacent (at a push)
So Derek worries. Bc he knows from Peter that he was the same. A shy baby. And look how that turned out: most of his family dead and enough trauma he’d need a bus to carry it around. And, at 36 years old, he’s finally getting the life that he’s always wanted and he wants the best life for his babies. (Dereks such a push over dad dont fight me on this)
But stiles tells him it’ll be ok, they’ll get through it. They always have. Derek says ok. He trusts stiles. Always has, always will. There’s something inside of him that nags at it, but he trusts stiles that their kids will be fine, stiles seems to know what he’s doing. Even when nickolai clamps onto them at bedtime stiles fixes it.
Like Derek predicted, it doesn’t get better.
By the time the boys are walking, looking more and more like Derek (dark hair with a slight curl that stiles insists is the cutest, green-blue eyes that are also totally the cutest Derek, and increasingly heavy brows that means that there are multiple photos of Derek, nickolai and claud all making the same annoyed face) and are still just as anti social.
By the time they’re walking they’re fine with stiles and Derek, giggly happy children, just a little quiet.
They’re okay with Peter and their grandfather. They’re alright with Melissa and Scott (due to many forced baby sits, on both sides)
By the time they’re walking if they go outside the boys are either holding hands like limpets attached to eachother, or their hands clamp around stiles’ and dereks’.
It makes a cute image, but stiles and Derek wish the boys would play with the others at the park. They wish the boys wouldn’t be so... so... Derek doesn’t even know how to describe it. He’s worried the boys will never be able to be without each other. Every time they try doing separate activities (that aren’t in the same room) with the boys it always ends in tears. Nickolai’s, Claude’s
At least, by the time they’re walking and attempting to talk they don’t hang off of the legs of whichever parent tries to leave the house.
But by the time the boys are two, maybe two and a half they’re still just as shy as when they were one and preschool really needs to be considered, dereks worried.
Stiles says it’s alright, that the boys are just shy in nature and it’ll get better once they start socialising.
From where dereks standing the boys aren’t going to socialise at this point. They’ll huddle in the corner and whisper to each other until derek picks them up.
Derek doesn’t want to let them go in the first place, they’re his babies
But they need to go to school.
He knows about stiles’ not so secret secret research that he compiled when they first started noticing the shy behaviour
But derek books an appointment anyway.
He hadn’t been to his therapist since way before the boys were born and it’s strange, going back.
It doesn’t feel the same as it did when he first entered the building when he wasn’t quite sure what he and stiles were, had no idea where it was going and could hardly concentrate on it past the chaos in his mind.
He knows that one session won’t cover it, but hearing it from someone that isn’t stiles, isn’t pack, helps. Hearing it from a professional, and someone somewhat emotionally detatched from the kids telling him that shy children are sometimes just shy children. Sometimes children start shy and lose that over time, some are shy and remain shy. Some start social and become highly introverted. It’s not necessarily the parents fault.
Derek goes back two weeks later, just talking, or trying to. Not necessarily about the kids, but maybe for them. Maybe for stiles too.
It does get a little better with preschool.
At first the teachers tried to make sure that the boys weren’t always together
Which had mixed results and the boys being grumpy sometimes. But also led to the claud becoming friends with Jack, and nickolai becoming friends with Emily (and their imaginary koalas)
The teachers suggested maybe putting them in different classes. Stiles said play it by ear, if it’s really necessary. Derek agreed. He didn’t want that much distress for his babies children.
It does get a little better.
One day, a few months later, claud and Derek go to the park but nickolai doesn’t want to. Claud agrees to go anyway, and if he doesn’t like it without Nickolai, they can come back.
They stay for half an hour. Claud doesn’t cry, neither does nickolai.
Derek classes that as a win.
By the time the boys are five, claud attends little league lacrosse (just like daddy, he says) and nickolai doesn’t (just like you, daddy, he says).
But if you make nickolai and claud not have matching socks, there will be tears.
Derek thinks they’ll be fine.