Work Text:
Stiles is in the middle of fixing a salad when his phone rings. There’s no ID but in his line of work that happens quite often, so he doesn’t hesitate to answer.
“Hi. Who is it?”
“Stiles, it’s Adam.” Obviously he’s not calling from his cell since Stiles has his private number.
Adam’s voice puts him on alert immediately. If his husband was in town, he wouldn’t have any reason to call him, but with Jackson out of town, whatever Adam wants to tell him is probably not good.
“Hey, Adam… anything wrong?” Stiles comes out of the kitchen area and walks towards the living room, seating on the sofa.
“Stiles, there’s no easy way to say this—”
“Just tell me, okay? What’s going on?”
“He’s missing. Jackson is missing. We’ve lost all communication with him. And we haven’t been able to locate him.”
Stiles is left speechless for a moment. He closes his eyes and breathes deeply.
“Stiles?” Adam asks.
”When was this exactly?” Stiles asks, opening his eyes.
This time is Adam who is silent as he hesitates. “A week ago.”
“A week ago? You have to be kidding me! He’s been missing for a week and you tell me now?”
“Calm down, okay? You think I didn’t want to tell you. You think I haven’t been fucking worried? We all are… but it’s protocol. I just couldn’t tell you. I’ve called you because it’s been six weeks and I know you… I know you’d be worried if he didn’t contact you. And actually, I’m surprised you haven’t called me.”
“You’re full of shit, you know that?” Stiles shakes his head. “I didn’t call you because the last time we talked he said he might not be able to call me for a few days. He said he couldn’t have distractions which is his way of saying that he’s undercover and calling me is not an option.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” Adam can’t confirm anything so, that’s the best he can offer.
“Besides, work has been insane this week and being busy helped to stop thinking about him risking his life for this country.” Stiles runs his left hand through his hair and shakes his head. He needs to focus on what really matters.
“Okay, just tell me what the fuck happened? Where is he?”
“You know I can’t tell you that. It’s confidential,” Adam says firmly but as kindly as he can manage.
Stiles has a list of words he hates and confidential has been at the top of it for a long time.
“You can’t tell me where he was or you can’t tell me what happened?” Stiles frowns.
“None of it. You know it’s confidential.”
Stiles snorts. “So you call me to tell me that my husband is missing and but you can’t tell what the hell happened? Not even today?” Stiles says, getting more upset by the second.
“I can tell you that we don’t know if he’s dead or alive. When he failed to communicate his status report, of course we were worried but we thought it was a matter of time. You know, this kind of thing is not so rare… it doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s been compromised. So we gave him twenty-four hours before we assumed something was definitely wrong. Oh and he wasn’t in the States… I can also tell you that.”
“Fantastic. You’re telling me he might be dead. That I might never see him again…” For a moment Stiles’ voice breaks and he’s not able to speak. He can’t stop the tears that start rolling down his cheeks.
“Stiles...” Adam hesitates. The truth is that he has no idea what to say. He’s probably just going to make it worse.
“Listen to me. Are you listening?”
“Yeah.”
“He might be alive. We just don’t know what happened. I can think of many possible scenarios and he’s alive in all of them.”
“Don’t do that, okay? Don’t give me false hope.”
“It’s not false hope. I’m being honest with you—”
“Then tell me where the fuck did you send him?”
“It’s confidential,” Adam says once more. “And it wouldn’t solve anything right now. Where he is… It doesn’t matter. But he was perfect for the assignment. He never hesitated about doing it. I knew he could handle it or I wouldn’t have given it to him. And he knew there were risks, there are always risks. You know they’re part of the job—”
“You can save that for somebody else,” Stiles interrupts him.
“Stiles… we’re trying to locate him. We haven’t given up. Maybe I shouldn’t have called you until we had more information.”
“What information?” Stiles’ sarcasm evident in his voice. “What if you don’t find out anything. Then what? And what I am supposed to tell his parents or my family?” Stiles removes the tears with the back of his left hand.
“We’ll talk about it if it comes to that. There’s too much confusion right now.”
“Confusion?” Stiles repeats with disbelief. “Confusion is when you don’t know which train to take or if you are at the right address... this… this is an absolute nightmare.” Stiles licks his lips and runs a hand through his hair. “You might never find him. That’s the truth… and right now I can’t tell anyone. Do you get what you are asking me?” There's a hitch in his breath and the question is almost a whisper.
“Yeah, I know. But it’s protocol. You—”
“Fuck protocol!” Stiles says loudly.
Adam sighs. “I hate it too, believe me,” Adam admits because it’s the truth, in times like this protocol is a total pain in the ass. “But you can’t tell anybody. For now, you need to keep his cover as it is. You can’t change anything. It’s also for your own protection, remember that.”
Stiles doesn’t answer, so Adam thinks of what to say next.
“He expects you to be strong. Wherever he is, he’s thinking about you and I know that’s one of the things he’s thinking right now. You’re the most important thing for him and... you have to stay strong for him, okay?”
There is no response but Adam can hear the breathing on the other end of the line.
“Look. You know I’ve known him for a long time and since he met you… since he married you, he’s changed so much. You changed him for the better… in so many ways I can’t even begin to tell you. The thing is he always makes sure that he comes back to you and this time is no different. So, don’t jump to conclusions before we know what really happened. Please give me time to work this out. That’s all I’m asking.”
There’s obvious confidence in Adam’s voice and Stiles wants to believe him. For a moment he feels a little more confident himself.
“Yeah… okay.” Stiles says after a few seconds.
“Good. I’ll keep you updated, so don’t worry. We’ll be in touch.”
“Adam?” Stiles says before he hangs up.
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry. You’re right… I know you’re just doing your job. I know… I know how you feel about him. I know this is hard for you too.” Stiles admits. The fact is that Adam is not only his husband’s boss, he’s one of his best friends too, and he can only imagine what he’s also going through.
“It is. But I know him. That’s why I’m not giving up. And I can’t promise anything, but we’re doing everything we can. I swear. Like I said, I’ll tell you as soon as we find out anything.”
“Okay, thank you… I… I’ll be here… obviously.” That sounded stupid but who cares. “Bye,” Stiles adds, hanging up.