Chapter Text
“Awwoooooooo!” Greyson howled, before jumping into the pool. Scott laughed and splashed around with him, while Jackson, Ethan, Allison, Kira, Lydia, and Stiles sat to the side.
“I can almost pretend he isn’t half yours, until he opens his mouth, Stilinski.” Jackson said.
“You’re just jealous you don’t have a little mini you walking around.” Stiles retorted. Jackson opened his mouth, but Lydia jumped in.
“I’d choose your next words very carefully Jackson.” she said. Jackson grumbled and pulled his shades down.
“I don’t know why I still hang out with you losers.”
“Because the rest of us grew up and realized you were stupid.” Stiles said.
“Stiles.” Lydia sighed, while the rest of the group laughed and Kira and Allison changed the subject.
“You know, we have Lydia to thank for all the wolf stuff. Not me.” Stiles said conversationally.
“I definitely did not teach my son to howl.” Lydia said.
“No. But you did supply us with the tickets to the home game where we sat behind the dugout and Derek Hale, the wolfman himself, tossed the ball he caught for the last out of the game, directly to our own little wolf.” he said.
“Hey, haven’t you and him been talking? Like you message all the time on Instagram?” Scott asked as he and Greyson climbed out.
“Daddy, mommy! Did you see? I splashed the biggest!” Greyson shouted, running towards them. Allison caught him with a towel before he could get everyone else wet.
“Yeah Dude, you did great.” Stiles said with a smile. Scott elbowed Stiles and he rolled his eyes.
“Yes, yes. We’ve been messaging. But it’s not like we’ve exchanged phone numbers or anything.” Stiles said. Lydia snorted.
“Don’t let him make you guys believe it’s no big deal. Derek plays ISpy with Greyson.” Lydia said.
“ISpy?” Kira asked curiously.
“Yeah, he-” before Stiles could explain, Greyson came running over.
“Daddy, daddy! Did he respond?!” he asked, pulling a corner of the towel into his mouth and chewing on it.
“I dunno bud, let’s check.” Stiles said, pulling out his phone and opening the Instagram app. There was a video waiting in Baby Met’s messages and Greyson shouted excitedly, clambering into Stiles lap. Stiles gave him his phone and watched as his son hit play on the video.
Derek’s voice came out of the phone as he slowly panned it around the Giants’ visitors locker room.
“I spy, with my wolf eyes, something that is, red.” The video kept going for a little longer and suddenly Greyson pointed his finger at the screen.
“Daddy! Mr. Hale has my picture! The one I drew and he said he liked. And then you helped me mailed it to him!” he said excitedly. Stiles felt his own eyes widen and his breath hitched as he spotted the stick figures Greyson had drawn.
“Yeah bud, and what color is it?” he asked, clearing his throat.
“It’s red!” the little boy shouted. “Help me do the video Daddy!” Stiles clicked the button and got the video set up. Greyson scrambled down and walked away while it recorded. Stiles felt Derek must be the most patient person to watch the videos Greyson made for their little game when Stiles didn’t help.
“So, he’s met Greyson.” Allison commented, as Greyson continued to wander around the Martin’s backyard.
“Uh, not exactly? I mean we haven’t even met. In person. We just talk. A lot. Online.” he said.
“So like a dating app, but on Instagram.” Kira said.
“Sure you aren’t being catfished, Stilinski?” Jackson asked
“Don’t be a dic-” Stiles started, before Scott interrupted.
“POOPY HEAD! Don’t be a poopy head.” Scott yelled over him.
“Who’s being a poopyhead?” Greyson asked, wandering back up.
“Your Uncle Jackson.” Stiles said, reaching over to flick Jackson’s head.
“Oh. Uncle Jackson is always a poopyhead.” Greyson said, turning back to the phone. A few minutes later he walked up.
“Here Daddy, I’m done.” he said before walking over to Jackson.
“Come on Uncle Jackson. It’s your turn to go in the pool. It’s what Poopy heads have to do.” he said. Jackson grumbled but followed the kid into the pool. Everyone knew the kid had Jackson wrapped around his finger though, no matter how much he complained.
Stiles smiled and uploaded the video on their message chain. He glanced at the time and wasn’t sure if Derek would get to it before his game. His friends had started hiding his phone a couple of hours before the games, claiming Derek wasn’t focused otherwise. It pissed Derek off, while Stiles found the whole thing amusing. He set his phone down and turned his attention back to his friends.
Twenty minutes later, he felt his phone vibrate and saw the notification. He opened up the app to see Derek had messaged but not sent a video reply
@dhale88: I've watched the video 5 times and I still can't get the answer. A certain, pale, very nice looking, body keeps distracting me.
@babymet: Ooh, is Casper the friendly ghost here? I’ve always told Lydia this place was haunted.
@dhale88: … no dumbass.
@babymet: Name calling I see. That’s just rude and uncalled for.
@dhale88: You’re being purposefully dense, aren’t you
@babymet: who me?
@dhale88: Stiles….
@babymet: awww, c’mon. I just don’t see how my pale ass could distract you when that cute little redhead is on the other side of the camera.
@babymet: unless of course you were just shocked into silence by how pale I am.
@dhale88: can’t say that I saw the pale ass itself. But that would probably cause me to lose all coherent thought.
@babymet: DEREK! THIS IS A CHILD’S INSTAGRAM. BAD WOLF!
Stiles' cheeks burned and he was thankful he was outside in the sun. Unfortunately for him, Scott and Lydia could read him like a book. Thankfully, Lydia seemed to have had her fun in teasing Stiles. Scott on the other hand, while he was a good friend, he could be a little oblivious.
“Dude, you okay?” Scott asked
“I’m fine.” Stiles waved him off.
“You sure? You’re looking a little over heated. Maybe you should go in the water or inside? I think you need to cool off.” he said.
“I told you, I’m fine!” Stiles hissed, which of course caused more attention to be drawn to him.
The next thing he knew was Allison had swiped his phone and his friends were all playing keep away with it.
“If one of you sends my phone to a watery death you get to pay for it! And face the wrath of Derek when he can’t get in contact with his favorite fan.” Stiles huffed, lunging for his phone.
“Well someone thinks highly of themselves.” Jackson uttered. Stiles rolled his eyes.
“I’m not talking about me di- poopy head.” he said, interrupting himself. “I’m talking about Greyson.”
“Yeah!” Greyson chimed in, “I’m Mr. Hale’s number one fan!” he yelled before throwing himself back into the water.
Ethan finally managed to get a hold of the phone and his eyebrows rose as he read the latest messages, before he smirked and calmly handed the phone back to Stiles.
“He’s definitely interested.” he said.
“No shit, Sherlock.” Stiles rolled his eyes.
“Daddy, that’s a bad word.” Greyson chimed in. Stiles groaned and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in while his friends laughed. But thankfully the conversation moved on from him.
He opened the message chain back up to find a winky face.
@dhale88: 😉
@babymet:🙄 no. bad wolf. You’re in the dog house.
@dhale88: really, Stiles? Dog jokes?
@babymet: If you can’t behave yourself….
@dhale88: Alright alright. I don’t have time to respond to Baby Met before the game. Tell him I’ll have to later?
@babymet: Yeah, he’ll be fine. He’s being spoiled by grandparents and thriving on summer vacation.
@babymet: Good luck! Hit the ball hard and far!
@dhale88: Just for you
@babymet: If I were a bat and you were a ball….
@dhale88: please don’t finish that
@babymet: I’d hit that!
@dhale88: I’m trying to be nice, and this is what I get in return.
@babymet: Can I pinch hit on you?
@dhale88: Okay, I’m leaving.
After that, the messaging stopped. But Stiles couldn’t keep the smile off his face for the rest of the night. He took a good amount of teasing from his friends when he put the game on as they got dinner out. But he teased back and didn’t find he was that bothered by it. While Stiles still had to work remotely, he enjoyed the slow, summer evenings when they visited home. Their friends around and days spent chilling by the pool or showing Greyson around. The big houses after being cramped in their little apartment. It was a nice break from the business of the city.
Both Lydia and Stiles helped Greyson get ready for bed and tucked him in together.
“Will you be here when I wake up Daddy?” Greyson asked. Stiles shrugged.
“I can try buddy.” he said.
“But why can’t you just stay here?” Greyson pouted.
“Well I don’t want to leave Grandpa all by himself.” Stiles answered.
“Oh. yeah.” Greyson said, his eyebrows scrunching.
“Besides, don’t you want to spend some time with just mommy?” Stiles asked.
“Oh yeah! We’re going running in the morning!” he shouted.
“Running?” Stiles asked, looking over at Lydia.
“This figure doesn’t keep itself, Stiles.” Lydia said.
“Yeah! Mommy runs nd I coach! From my seat!” Greyson said, clearly happy about whatever running thing they did together.
“Uh huh. Well you two enjoy that.” Stiles said, “How about I meet you for donuts after?” Stiles asked. Greyson cheered and Lydia rolled her eyes, but Stiles knew even she couldn’t turn down the local donut shop.
“All right. Then you go to sleep and give daddy a call when you start running and I’ll meet you for donuts after.” Stiles said, starting to tuck the blankets around Greyson and get ready to leave.
“Wait! I have to say good night to Mr. Hale!” Greyson said. Lydia started to respond, but Stiles beat her to it.
“Alright, but that’s it. No more excuses. Then it’s bedtime. No snacks, no water breaks. It’s time to go to sleep.” Greyson eagerly nodded his head in agreement.
Stiles laid down next to him and opened the video to record.
“Hey, Derek. Someone wanted to try and extend their bedtime a little longer and wanted to say good night.” Stiles said.
“Daaadddyyy!” Greyson groaned. Stiles grinned and turned his head sideways to blow a raspberry on Greyson’s shoulder. The little boy giggled and tried to move away. “Mr. Wolfman help me, my daddy’s gonna eat me!” Greyson squealed. Lydia coughed from her spot outside the camera and gave Stiles a pointed look. Stiles grinned but leaned back.
“Okay, bud, what do you want to say.” the little boy snuggled up by Stiles, though he did eye him a little suspiciously.
“Good night Mr. Hale-y Hale! I hope you winned good! I wanna see a homerun when I wake up!” he called. Stiles laughed, and feeling relaxed and emboldened he leaned down and whispered in Greyson’s ear. The little boy nodded eagerly.
“Okay, on the count of three. Ready? 1-2 -3!” Stiles said, then turned to the camera. He and Greyson both blew a kiss at the camera, before waving and Stiles stopped recording.
After a story from Lydia, and a good night kiss from both his parents, making sure he had his Mr. Met plushie next to him, they finally got the kid settled down. Lydia softly closed the door and the two walked back downstairs. A few of their friends were still around and they all hung out in the living room, Stiles keeping an eye on the game. He opened Instagram and sent the video to Derek, intending to stay awake until it was over. But by 9:45 Stiles was out like a light, snoring away on the couch. Someone would wake him up and he’d catch a ride home with Scott. Stiles wasn't really worried about it