True Love Is Hard to Find (But It's Real, You And I)

Summary: Or the one where Stiles couldn't figure out why Isaac started calling him mom and realized he and Derek have been mated for almost two months now.

NOTE: For the anonymous person who asked me for this, this is for you, you lovely person. :) I'm sorry this is late, life and all.

Originally entitled I Was Not Prepared Enough (To Fall So Deep In Love) from No Ordinary Love. Oh well. :)

This is set just 'after the alpha pack' and when I started this verse/series, I have no idea what will happen in Season 3.

UNBETA'D. UNEDITED. I'M LAZY.

Stiles still couldn't figure out why Isaac started calling him mom.

It all started about two weeks before they were able to get the alpha pack out of Hale territory. Oh, it was also around the time that Derek and Stiles became official. As in, boyfriend-boyfriend. (Although Derek loathed that term). Anyway, Isaac started calling him mom. Then the rest of the pack followed.

He couldn't comprehend what the deal was with the mom thing. He knew he can be good at taking care of people—take his dad and Scott for example. He was good at taking care of people he loved, but if they didn't matter much, he really didn't care. At all. So the mom thing was kind of weird because he was just doing his job as a son (Sheriff Stilisnki) and as a brother (Scott). And the only reason he took care of Isaac as well was because he loved (loves) Derek, since Derek and Isaac were kind of a package deal.

So, yeah. He didn't know why he was mom.

"Hey, mom?" Stiles heard Isaac call from downstairs. He was in Derek's bedroom in the loft, waiting for his boyfriend (and he will keep calling Derek as that, despite the older man's protests), doing his homework. Derek was fixing the Hale house, due to Stiles insistence. Peter, freakily enough, was helping him with the plans. Stiles still couldn't fully trust Peter, but after the Alpha Pack, he may be getting there. Peter was actually cool.

"Yeah?" He said without looking up. A few moments later, Isaac was at the top of the staircase holding his Physics book and a pen. He was looking at him with the puppy eyes he obviously learned from Scott. Stiles smiled softly with a soft sigh and waved his hand at the werewolf, beckoning him to sit with him. Isaac eagerly sat beside Stiles, showing him his Physics homework. "What do you need help with?"

"Mom! Jackson's being a jerk!" Isaac screamed from the lower portion of the loft, then a crash was heard. Stiles sighed softly. He and Derek didn't have much time with each other lately because Stiles was busy with school and learning the Argent bestiary, training with Allison and Chris (which was quite surprising), learning more about the spark thing (he was still freaked out about him being a nephilim) with Deaton, it was hard to find time with his boyfriend. Sadly, when they do get some time together, things like this, "MOM!" happen. His life kind of suck.

"Why does he keep calling you mom?" Derek asked with a confused frown as he laid underneath Stiles, shirt already gone. Stiles sighed once more and sat up, searching for his shirt.

"I don't know either." He replied with a pout as he grabbed his shirt from where it was dropped by the bed. Derek found his own shirt by his head and sat up as well to put it on. Stiles looked down at his tented pants, then at Derek's, and sighed once more. It looked like sexy times would have to wait.

Derek must've read his expression because he smirked and grabbed Stiles by the back of his neck, pulling him in for a wet, dirty kiss. "Go." Derek whispered when they pulled apart. There was another crash and another loud, 'Mom!' from Isaac. "Before those idiots break everything. I don't to buy more furniture when we move everything to the house."

Stiles just had to snort at that. "You don't have any furniture." Derek smiled at him and kissed him once more. When Stiles stood up, he shouted, "Jackson!" there was a loud thud as Stiles quickly got down.

"Do you think I can't protect myself?" Allison said as she barged into Stiles' room. Stiles had to blink several times to comprehend what Allison said. And even then, he didn't fully grasp it.

"Uh . . . What?" he asked dumbly, instead. Derek, who was on top of him, shirtless and his pants open, groaned and let his head fall on Stiles' bare chest. Stiles couldn't decide if he should feel glad that he can make Derek's senses useless when they were together or frustrated because his boyfriend didn't hear Allison get inside the house.

Allison sighed and frowned, seemingly oblivious to the lack of clothing on Stiles' part (he still has his boxers on!) and the lack of shirt on Derek's part. "Do you think I can't protect myself? That I'm helpless?" she repeated slowly.

Stiles narrowed his eyes on her, he would sit up but he was, well, yeah. "Can you please elaborate?"

Allison once more and moved towards Stiles' desk and sat down on his chair. She was playing with her hands with a frown on her face, obviously thinking of the best way to say what she wanted to say. Derek still hasn't moved from his position on Stiles' chest, which was fine, actually. He didn't want to totally scar Allison for life by letting his erection be seen through his white boxer briefs.

Stiles started playing with Derek's hair as he waited for Allison to speak. The werewolf's chest was shaking, which meant he was purring. Yep, totally purring.

"It's just," Allison finally started but kept her gaze on her hands, "both dad and Scott have been treating me like I'm some defenseless little girl, like I can't protect myself." She finally looked up with wide eyes.

Stiles smiled softly and said, "Allison, they just care about you."

"I know that, but," she made a frustrated noise and pouted, "they make me feel like I'm not capable of taking care of myself."

Stiles was silent for a while, thinking of what he should say to her. Derek was also quiet, obviously knowing that it was Stiles' job at the moment. "If you could keep them locked away from any harm, would you do it?" Allison blinked, confused, then nodded. "It's because you love them, right?" Another nod. "How do you think they'll feel if you do that?" Stiles asked with a smile. He can feel Derek smile against his chest as well.

Stiles watched as realization dawned on Allison. "They'd feel incompetent."

"Exactly." Stiles said with a smile. "They love you, that's why they act that way. I don't think they even realize they're doing it. Just show them that you can take care of yourself but let them take care of you as well, okay?"

Allison was finally beaming as she stood up as she said, "Thanks, mom! Bye, dad!" she walked out of the room, leaving the door open. Stiles stared at the open door with confusion.

"Did she just…?" Stiles asked in which Derek simply grunted at. Stiles looked down at Derek's head, still on his chest, wondering why his boyfriend wasn't speaking yet. Which was explained when Allison barged in. Again.

"Sorry!" She said with a shy smile as she pressed the lock on Stiles' door and pulled it close as she said, "Bye, mom! Bye, dad!"

Derek finally looked up at Stiles with curiosity. "I don't know either. And I'm not sure I want to know." Stiles answered the unasked question. Derek simply rolled his eyes upwards and shrugged, an obvious gesture of, okay, fair enough.

Derek looked back at Stiles with a predatory smile and said, "Wanna continue having sex?"

"Hell yeah!" Stiles exclaimed and quickly pulled Derek in for a kiss. He could feel the older man smiling against his lips.

The 'mom incident', which Stiles started calling as that in his head, didn't stop with Allison. Even Scott, Jackson, Lydia and even Danny have taken to calling him mom. He would sometimes look down at his chest and his junk to make sure that what he possessed were still boy parts. His chest was still flat, obviously not boobs, and he still had a penis and not a vagina. So, yeah, he still didn't know why he was mom in the relationship.

"Hey mom, have you seen my purple dress?" Lydia has asked when they went on vacation before they all had to go to college.

"It's in the closet you share with Jacks." Stiles replied absently as he unpacked Derek's clothes.

"Thanks, mom!"

"Mom, the fridge is full, there's still some food that needs to be refrigerated." Allison said as she carried a few plastic bags with meat to be put in the freezer.

"Take the pork out and put it in boiling water to soften it. Then take out the vegetables and start on some vegetable salad. You can use some of it to make some sandwiches with luncheon meat and cheese we have. Take the fruits out and just put it in the basket lying by counter in the kitchen. If there's still not enough space, come and get me."

"Okay mom!"

"Hey mom, have you seen my sunglasses?" Jackson asked.

"It's in your backpack, in the inside pocket of the main zipper."

"Thanks mom!"

"Mama Stiles, where's my and Isaac's room?" Danny asked as he poked his head at the open door.

"Upstairs, the second room on your right."

"Okay. Thanks, mom!"

"Mom, have you seen my swim trunks?" Scott asked.

"And mine." Isaac added.

"Scott, yours is in the drawer beside the room you share with Alli, Isaac, yours is still in your bag with Danny; upstairs, second room to your right."

"Thanks, mom!" Scott and Isaac said in unison. Stiles blinked a few times, finally realizing that each pack member has been calling him mom.

"Wait!" Stiles said loudly as he stood up, making the two wolves go back by the door. "Why are you guys calling me mom?"

Scott and Isaac looked at each other, as if they were wondering why Stiles didn't know why they were calling him mom. Finally, Scott spoke. "Because you're Derek's mate." He said it so matter-of-factly that Stiles remained silent. Also, what? Scott took that as his cue to continue, since Stiles probably looked confused. Okay, obviously confused. "And since Derek's the alpha, he's obviously our dad, and because you're his mate, obviously, dad's mate is our mom." Scott finished with a tilt of his head, making him look more like a puppy than usual.

"And you take care of us." Isaac added cheerfully. Both he and Scott then walked away while Stiles tried to think if Derek has told him that he was (is) an alpha's mate. Nothing was coming up.

"Derek!" He shouted, making the werewolf rush to their.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Derek asked as he checked Stiles over.

"I'm fine." Stiles said exasperatedly. Derek looked at him with disbelief, as Stiles was hiding a wound somewhere. "I'm fine. Now, close the door." Derek was still suspicious, but he closed the door nonetheless. "Why didn't you tell me I'm your mate?"

Derek looked at him with confusion, and… and that was obviously hurt. Stiles didn't understand why Derek would be hurt. "What do you mean?" Derek asked gruffly and plastered his back to the door, as if being away from Stiles would help him hurt less.

"Just as I asked. I don't even remember doing anything for us to me mated." It wasn't that Stiles didn't want to be Derek's mate, it was just something he thought Derek should have told him.

"We did. On your eighteenth birthday. And you accepted, even before then. You told me."

"I'm well aware of that. Because when I told that I was ready to be your mate, I realized I was in love with you. But we didn't really do anything on my birthday except—" Stiles paused. He looked back at Derek with a confused frown and said, "Wait, that was all we had to do to be mated? Have sex on a full moon?" Derek closed his eyes as he tilted his head back. Whether he was praying for restraint so he wouldn't strangle Stiles or was trying hard not to cry, Stiles couldn't tell. It was probably the former, though.

When Derek looked back at Stiles, he was closed off, catching Stiles off guard. He then removed his shirt. When Stiles opened his mouth to speak, Derek glared at him and said, "It wasn't just the sex." He turned a little, showing the side of his shoulder. There was a mark by the joint of his shoulder, like a bite mark. "You marked me when I marked you. It was instinctual, I told you before. This sealed the deal." Stiles kept on staring at the bite mark, remembering the events of his birthday. It really was instinctual because, as much as he liked Derek nibbling on his skin, he wasn't much of a biter himself. "Did you not mean it when you told me you wanted to be my mate?" Derek asked. His tone sounded nonchalant but his eyes told a different story.

"Of course I meant it! I just didn't know we were actually mated. You know I wasn't lying when I told you I love you for the first time. You know I was sure that I want to be your mate. I was waiting for you to tell me that we've sealed the bond. I thought you weren't ready for it yet so I kept my mouth shut. And by the way, you actually inform a guy if a mating bond is sealed mister, because I—" Stiles was cut off by Derek's mouth on his, which, rude. He was proving a point here.

"I get it." Derek said breathlessly when they pulled apart. "I'll use my words, I promise."

If you're interested, you can stalk me on Tumblr ( castiel52 dot tumblr dot com :P) and ask me to write ridiculous stuff, maybe? ;P