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"Let’s see… cranberry, stuffing mixings, green beans, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, apple, blueberry and pecan pie ingredients… Where did I put those pie pans, anyway…?”
John Stilinski comes downstairs a few days before Christmas to this checklist going on and is completely unsurprised to see his son rifling through their cupboards and fridge, the things he’s rattling off in a heap on the kitchen table.
"Is this one of those times that I’m better off not asking?”
His voice makes Stiles squawk and almost drop five pie pans on the ground before he realizes that it’s just his father asking and shooting John a grin that preluded trouble since before Stiles was out of diapers.
"Hey there, sweet and understanding father of mine-"
"Oh god, what did you do this time?”
Stiles pouts at him, but John hasn’t fallen for that since the Incident with the Neighbor’s Window, so his son sighs heavily and says, “You know how Christmas has been a joint occasion with the McCalls ever since Scott’s dad left and mom…”
"Yeah?" John doesn’t make Stiles finish that sentence, his own chest constricted slightly with the reminder.
"And you know how things have been sort of topsy-turvy ever since I told you about the very real werewolves living amongst us?"
A heavy sigh leaves John’s lips. “Yeah.”
"And you remember how I asked you about maybe hosting a dinner to get together again and reminisce about the old days when the most we had to worry about was Scott not dying because he was running too hard?"
"Vaguely. Didn’t you ask me that right as I was getting off a double shift?"
"Not the point!"
"Then what is the point, Stiles?”
"I… may have invited more than just the McCalls this year."
A heavier sigh than the first one follows this statement and John runs both hands over his face instead of wrapping them around his son’s throat. “And you thought it was a good idea to not tell me because…?”
"I was hoping that I could get this whole thing together without having to bother you…?" Stiles scratches at the back of his neck, his eyes flitting between the fridge, the table, and the cupboards like one of them with give him an answer that won’t end up with him grounded for the rest of the following year. "I was planning on it being a bit of a surprise, but you caught me while I was trying to make sure we had enough food for everybody.”
"And who, exactly, is ‘everybody’?”
"Well, you, me, Melissa, and Scott, obviously." Stiles quips with a smile that does nothing to endear John to him. With a huff, he continues, "I also invited Liam, because he did almost die trying to save Scott and Kira, so I figured we owed him something. Then his friend-Mason, right?-heard me invite him and invited himself along ‘to make sure we didn’t do anything weird now that Liam was all…you know.’”
Stiles says this with such an exaggerated emphasis that John can’t help the small chuckle that gets by without his permission. “Something tells me that isn’t the end of the list.”
His words cause a wince before Stiles continues with, “Kira heard about it and was super excited about all of us ‘bonding’, so I guess she kinda invited herself? It’s kinda hard to tell her no when she gets all happy about something. I was going to invite Malia too, but that ship had already skipped town…”
Hearing the hurt tone starting to leak through, John decides he needs to distract his son, so he blurts out, “Speaking of Hales, I noticed Derek wasn’t on the guest list?”
Suddenly, the cupboards are holding the secrets to the universe, because Stiles is rooting around in them like it is the single most important thing in the world. “I’m sure he’s got other plans.”
"So we’re not going to even extend him the chance to be here? Come on, kid, I know I taught you better than that.”
Shoulders hunched around his ears, Stiles looks like he just swallowed a lemon when he turns around. “Dad, the last time we talked, he was telling me to leave him behind while he was dying, don’t you think the conversation after that would be kind of awkward?”
"So make it not be," John stares off with his son, arms crossed in front of his chest. "Liam’s not the only one that helped you with Scott, and Derek wasn’t even fully himself when he went with you. The least you could do is invite him to Christmas dinner.”
"Oh shi- shoot!" Stiles corrects himself off his father’s look, still looking like he just remembered something horrible. "You know who else I forgot to invite? Lydia. I thought she had this swanky party to go to with one of her parents, but she’ll be pissed that she was left out again! I’m going to invite her right now!”
John waits until Stiles has extracted himself from the cupboards and has his jacket on before he says, “Good, and while you’re out, you can invite Derek.”
“Dad!”
"You’ve got everybody else here, son, this party isn’t going to be a disaster if you invite one more."
"A few seconds ago, you were pissed I hadn’t even told you about this!”
It’s a stalling tactic, and a weak one at that, so John simply tosses his son his car keys as he states, “That was a few seconds ago. Now you have my full and unconditional support, with the stipulation that you go over Derek’s house and invite him, as well as Lydia.”
Stiles gapes at his father for a few seconds before throwing his hands in the air with a growl and stomping out of the house. Smirking, John watches him go, remembering that Claudia would do the exact same thing whenever he won an argument.
Stiles really is the best of both of them.
Shaking his head out of the memories, John takes over from where his son left off and makes sure that they have enough food to feed a house full of people, most of them supernatural, half of which are growing boys that he knows can put away a decent amount of food.
They may need more than one turkey.