Work Text:
Thursday, 28th November, 2013.
They were an odd pair. Everyone at this point was well aware of this. In the beginning when they had met, it had not crossed either of their minds that things will turn out this way. They had never anticipated Claudia dying or Raphael leaving because they had all been happy raising their sons and watching the friendship between the parents extend to the children.
And even afterwards, when those two major incidents had happened in their lives, it had never really been an outcome that they had thought about. Scott may have been okay with them getting together even back then because what he felt about his dad was anger from the perspective of a child too young to be abandoned yet old enough to know he has been abandoned but Stiles, what he felt was guilt -even though he shouldn't have- and that made every thought of dating unfavorable to him even after years of being single and very celibate.
But then that had all changed sometime in december the previous year when he had gotten home from work after a night shift and walked into Stiles' room:
¤¤Flashback begins.¤¤
--- Wednesday 19th December 2012.
"You’re awake?"
The sheriff asked after stepping into Stiles' room to see the boy already sitting up in bed looking pale. And exhausted.
"Dad I'm sitting."
The snarky little shit replied with a playful roll of his eyes.
"Alright smart pants. I just got in, going to take a shower and have a hot breakfast before going to bed. Need anything?"
"Aren't I the one supposed to be asking you that?" Stiles asked, to which the sheriff just chuckled.
"Old habit I guess. Any plans for today?"
"Yeah I plan on getting out of this bed first." His son mumbled to himself, a blush starting at the base of his neck he really wasn't thinking about anything else but the fact that the boy could be ill so he hastened from the doorway to the boy's side, leaning onto the bed, the back of his palm pressed to Stiles' forehead. "Why didn't you tell me you were ill?"
"Because I'm not. I just feel weak and...” he himself touched his burning skin. "...and apparently, my skin is burning too but i'm not ill."
"You stay in bed right there...” The sheriff says, pushing Stiles back onto the bed gently. "..And I'm going to whisk up some soup for you okay?" and then he was out.
He walked in cheerfully with a bowl of soup and a bread loaf, balanced on a tray about 15 minutes later, Stiles still sitting in the bed with his back propped against the pillows. He reached for the tray and set it in his lap. "Dad... Seriously, you need to sleep."
"I'm not resuming work till 27th. There was a rebellion at work yesterday. It was horrible." the man told him with a serious face.
"What kind of rebellion?" Stiles asked as he broke a piece of his bread.
"Apparently, I'm a workaholic who never takes day offs so i was voted out. And promised to be voted in again on the 27th."
"Good. I'd be all 'aye aye' if i was there too. You need your rest. Starting to look like an old man and hey how do you expect to attract any ladies if you look older than your age?"
The sheriff glared at him and stood up. Well that had worked perfectly in getting him to leave and get some rest or he would have hovered all day.
"And for the record, most of them say I look younger than my years." he popped back in to say.
"That’s just Melissa. I know for a fact she's the only one who compliments you. She must have a... spot for you." Stiles says casually, drinking some of his too hot soup.
"Hey blow some air on it before drinking." The sheriff moved back fully into the doorway. "And you think Melissa likes me?"
And that really was when he started feeling impending doom.
"I think you like her." Stiles deadpanned around a mouthful of bread.
"Pfft. Me? No... No... Are you saying you won't mind if I date other women?"
That caused him to pause in his eating. "You're an old guy. You don't need my permission to date and besides, mom's been gone for a while now. Man to man, there's only so long a guy can remain celibate. I mean we both still love mom and all that but i don't want you holding back on the whole romance thing for me because I'm not going to spend forever in this house but I’d like to know you won't be lonely in my absence. That said, I'll personally do the screening and right now, Melissa is at the top of my list."
"That's a lot to take in."
And it was. It was unexpected and for a few seconds, he actually felt too overwhelmed.
"Well you should. Because i'm not about to have some fake breasted hobo for a mom. I need someone who I can go out with and feel good and someone whose boobs my age mates won't drool over but most importantly, i need someone who will never try to seduce me like the stepmom's do in those cheap porn movies."
The sheriff coughed. He wasn't even going to ask about the porn because he learnt a long time ago that with Stiles, the more you ask, the worse it gets. Basically, never ask. "Okay. You've made your point. I'm just gonna...” he gestured in the random direction of 'away' and briskly walked away, Stiles chuckling after him.
"I'm evil." Stiles mumbled to himself, resisting the urge to give an evil laugh.
¤¤ Flashback ends¤¤
And after spending weeks just... thinking about Melissa, he found that perhaps Stiles was right. Maybe it was time to see if all those decades of friendship can turn into something more. So he had tried, although he was doing pretty much the same things he used to do, he felt that Melissa felt the shift in their relationship and when he confirmed it, he was both terrified and glad.
Monday, 5th August 2013.
John Stilinski always fancied himself an odd man. If someone were to call him a weirdo, chances are he wouldn't even find offense in that. He had dated. . . One woman in his entire life -he wasn't counting that one time where he almost went on a date with Natalie Martin about a year ago- and that was Claudia.
Their love story was the epic cliché one that turned quickly into a tragedy. High school sweethearts get married, have a beautiful son and then the woman dies of dementia and a blend of cancer. It was pretty epic. Five years of knowing Claudia prior to marriage, ten years of marriage and ten years after marriage mourning the same woman. No, he didn't regret the time he spent mourning the love of his life.
He had absolutely no regrets when it came to that and he was a man filled with regrets. A year and a half ago when he had decided it was about time he "moved on" with his life, there had just been one woman he could think of. Yes, he had thought of her but never really asked her out properly. It wasn't because he saw no point. It was because the little perfectionist in him wanted to wait for the perfect moment.
So here he was, twenty months after he had decided to pursue her in a romantic way, still "just friends" with her. Melissa McCall. Of course there was the issue of their children but he was absolutely, a million percent, sure that their approval was just written and signed, only now waiting for him to make the move on his woman. If only it was that easy.
"I brought you lunch." He called out to Melissa as he entered the Accident and Emergency (A&E) unit of the Beacon Hills hospital where Melissa was almost always located around this time of day. She hadn't expected him. Or anyone, really.
All day, there has been stitches to be done, people to transfer to other departments and Melissa was so exhaused that she had dozed off while still standing, her body slumped slightly forward as she rested her palms on top of the metallic table. She jumped -quite embarrassingly- when she heard the voice so close behind her and a yelp escaped her throat as she slipped and felt herself falling slowly.
It was a reflex action as John's arms went out to grab her around the waist, chuckling lightly in spite of himself and the situation. "Why, Melissa it seems you have a need for me after all." He mumbled as he steadied her once more. "You know all you have to do is tell me and I'll be here to protect you." Yes, it was a lame thing to say but he really didn't think this was the appropriate time to beat himself up over it.
"My hero." Melissa muttered with a chuckle. "It does seem I need you after all. Maybe you should stick around longer." It was after she said those words and turned her head slightly to smile at the sheriff that things started to get. . . For lack of a better word, awkward.
Their eyes locked on each other's because apparently, John had had the same idea to tilt his head and give her a look-down. So there they stood, eyes locked onto each other with the sheriff's front pressed into Melissa's back, hands still gripping her waist firmly. Their eyes didn't move beyond each other's but they noticed everything else.
Her lips, her eyes, the little crink at the sides of each eye and that wild hair he would love nothing more than to grab onto. She saw him. Not for the first time because that would be absurd considering all the time they spend together both whiles they were both married and afterwards, till date.
He was a handsome man. His eyes, the hair, the manly face which looks older due to years of being a sheriff but he was handsome and his arms. . . Oh Lord his arms around her in that moment felt so strong and firm she wanted to curl into him and never wake up. Well at least not for a year or something and these foreign thoughts did not appall her at all, for some weird reason.
It felt like years as they kept staring at each other and John thought; "Just a few centimeters. Just a few and my lips will be on hers and there will be no escaping what I feel for her because she'll know." And then his inner pessimist argued; "but what if she rejects your affection? What happens to your children then? And all those years of friendship. Don't throw it all away. Don't be selfish."
For once he wanted to be selfish. He leaned in slowly, noting that she did not pull away but before he could get anywhere, a piercing scream tore through the hospital and Melissa's instincts caused her to jump out of his arms and rush towards the door. "Hey!" He called after her when she would have walked -sped-out.
Melissa's hand stopped on the door knob and turned to look at the sheriff, an apology on her lips only to see him holding a brown paper bag up. At the back of her mind, she recalled what he had said ealier before she had jumped -unintentionally- into his arms. "Oh."
"Yeah I'm going to leave this at the front desk. I'll write your name boldly on it so remember to go for it okay?"
"Yeah I will. Thanks."
"It's no problem." He managed with a smile.
Her smile answered his before she stepped out and went into full nurse mode. The sheriff stood in that same spot for a while after she had left before managing to slip out, first heading to the front desk and leaving the packaged meal there like promised and heading back to the station. His thoughts were only filled with that moment when Melissa had seen him inching closer and closer and had just. . . Waited. He really doubted he could get that out of his mind.
Beyond that, they had done absolutely nothing. They hadn't even called each other but when they had met a week later in the hospital because he came for a dead person's report, it had been comfortable smiles and conversation. Her smile told him she remembered what had happened and that she wasn't angry or shy about it but her lips never mentioned it.
After that, it was back to careless banter and phone calls every now and then, with him never once bringing up the subject although he employed the use of innuendos to see her reaction and it was similar to how she had reacted to the almost kiss. Open.
Monday, 26th August, 2013.
"I just happen to be here. No, I'm not stalking you." Sheriff Stilinski muttered then groaned because in his experience as a cop, that was tantamount to admitting he had actually been stalking her.
"I never said you were." Melissa replied calmly -or more accurately, tiredly,-. She was done for the day and would kill for some free food and free bath.
"But you were thinking it." And John was just digging his hole deeper but he was hopeless. Much like his son was.
"And you know this, how?" She asked with a quirk of her brows, her humor evident.
"Just. . . A cop's intuition."
"Right."
"But since I'm already here, I was going to have dinner in a while. Do you want to join?" Smooth, Stilinski. Real smooth. Not really.
"Yeah sure. It's not like Scott and Isaac will be home when I get back." Melissa replied then not wanting to give the idea that that was the only reason why she was agreeing, she added; "What I mean to say is that I'm *dying* to have a meal with you.- even though it won't be the first time and-"
"Melissa?"
"Shut up?" She asked with a grin.
"More like it."
"Right." She hadn't brought her van to work because there was no gas and all the better because she rode back in the sheriff's car to the man's house. The pair spent the next hour chatting and cooking with John doing most of the work because apparently, it was written all over her face that she was exhausted.
"Oh please when I first met you, I never thought we would remain friends all this time. Especially since Stiles had a temper back then and hated Scott's guts." Melissa mused as she ate her food, seated across from the sheriff.
"Scott shouldn't have messed with his comic books." The man chuckled at the particular memory of little Stiles throwing a tantrum.
"Can't argue with that. He was into cutting when he was a kid. He cut everything he got his hands on even though we kept all sharp objects away from reach."
"Determined boy."
"Yeah he was. A lot more like his father than he knows, or cares to admit. Except the part where he's responsible and Kyle is just not."
"Speaking of, how's he doing these days?" John asked with a smile, too at ease to be offended at Kyle's existence. Not tonight.
"You mean since the last time he was in town to give us all hypertension and teach us how to do our jobs?" Melissa scoffed.
"Yeah there's a problem with that man."
"He knows how to work it. Anyone else with that attitude will find themselves dead, most probably by my hand, by now."
"You're confessing your dark thoughts to a cop? Brave, woman." The man teased lightly, taking a sip of his water.
"Or just stupid."
"Nah it's not a word I'll describe you with. Ever. Unless of course the choice is between selfish and stupid then I'll pick stupid any time."
"That wasn't comforting."
"It was meant to be. What is it they say? It's the thought that matters." The sheriff was in the middle of chuckling when-
"Uhm Dad?"
"Mom?" Stiles and Scott both called from where they were standing in the kitsen's doorway. Scott looked. . . Fairly shocked. Stiles just winked at his father but remained calm for Scott's sake.
"Hey kids."
"Scott." The adults felt like the roles have been reversed and they had been caught doing something they shouldn't be doing.
"What're you guys doing?" Scott asked after a while of silence.
"Nothing. Just having dinner." Melissa replied quickly. Maybe a little too quickly.
"Is this the first time?" Scott asked, his tone oddly somber.
"What, having dinner with the sheriff? No of course not."
"No I mean, alone. In his house."
"Yeah now that I think about it, it is. Wonder why I didn't notice until now." The nurse mumbled more to herself than to her son, a little absentminded.
"Because you're already family and you two are so cute." Stiles couldn't help exclaiming.
"Stiles! Good thing you're here, Scott. I was going to ask you this the next time I saw you." John cleared his throat and steered Scott's attention from his mom to him.
"We're not giving Walter away to the cops." Scott replied lazily because since the Sheriff had found out about Walter being the wanted mass murderer, he had thought it a great idea to bring him in. He had asked thrice already.
"I know that. That was not what I had in mind."
"Oh." He frowned.
"Well, can I have your permission to court your mom?"
"John!" Melissa exclaimed in shock but her exclamation was swallowed by Stiles'
"Court, dad? who says that stuff anymore?"
"Shut up, Stiles, I'm being traditional here."
"Do you like him?" Scott redirected to his mom, confused by her feelings.
"Scott-"
"And don't lie to me. I'll know. So? Do you like him?" He asked again, firmly.
"I don't know. This is all a little too sudden." Melissa replied honestly, a memory of that almost kiss pulling up in a slide show inside her head.
"Alright then, I'll give you my blessings on one condition."
"I'll make her happy." The sheriff replied too eagerly, grinning.
"Oh I know." Scott said it as if he was giving the sheriff no choice where that mattered and yeah, John was a little shaken up by that tone, oddly.
"I'm right here." Melissa pouted.
"I know that too." He replied. "I'm keeping my sirname."
"Scott!" Melissa exclaimed again, appalled. No one said anything about marriage! And now taking names?!
"You got it." The sheriff agreed eagerly.
"I mean, it's going to be weird enough being Stiles' brother but sharing a name? That's just pushing it." This time, his usual playful demeanor was back and his tease was directed at his best friend.
"Hey! What do you- come here! Get your ass back here and answer for yourself, Scott Stilinski!" The spastic boy chased after the alpha.
"That went well."
"Yeah for you. A little heads up would have been greatly appreciated." Melissa grumbled.
"What's the fun in that? You should have seen the look on your face. Priceless." He laughed, teasing her.
"You're terrible." but before the sheriff could taunt her further, his phone beeped with a messaged:
Stiles (21:58): -- Scott says to make sure you tell Isaac and expect he'll ruffle you up with tons of very embarrassing questions.--
"What?" Melissa asked when the sheriff cringed up his nose.
"Apparently, your other son may not be as easy as Scott was." he mumbled.
"Oh yeah. Suddenly, I feel bad for you."
"Don't be. I'm a charmer."
"That you are."
They had started dating after that and a few weeks later, on the night of their first official date, he had had the "pleasure" of sitting alone with Isaac in the sitting room while Melissa finished up upstairs and for the first time, he felt what it was to be at the receiving end of a police scrutiny. No, that was much worse. He felt like he had been bound in a guard room, forced to give answers to questions like: "What's more important, letting her do things that will make her happy or encouraging her to better herself?" He had been befuddled all through the questioning and had breathed a sigh of relief when Melissa appeared, making to stand up only to be told he wasn't done asking. Fifteen minutes later, he had walked a giggling Melissa out of the house, fighting between laughter and painful tears and anxiety about how he did on Isaac's test.
Till date, he still had no answers but he was guessing that since the boy hadn't opposed to their relationship in the last two months, then he at least did okay. He breathed out deeply when he stepped into the sitting room of doom, now with the ability to look back at the event and chuckle.
Upstairs, the pair in question were getting ready for the day in Scott's bedroom. "First thanksgiving as a couple." Scott mumbled as he pulled on his light brown hipster chino shorts and an arctic blue button up shirt.
"First thanksgiving ever." Isaac replied, emerging from the closet and looking so ravisheable in ripped faded blue denim jeans and a cotton coloured t-shirt and a slouchy beany in the same colour.
"Oh come on, last year you were here for thanksgiving." Scott says as he padded barefoot to wrap his arms around Isaac's shoulders.
"Yes but I had very few things to be thankful for. This year, there's the fact that no one has died, everyone I know is happy -including Derek-, we've all been accepted into colleges and most importantly, I have you... It's just different this year." Isaac whispered, leaning down to press his lips tenderly to Scott's, his arms wrapping around the alpha's waist.
"That's true." Scott affirned when they tore away from the kiss. "Hey. For what it's worth, you're the first.... date I'm taking for thanksgiving if you don't count Stiles."
"I won't." He chuckled, leaning in to kiss him again before pulling away. "Come on, we should go help with the cooking. I wanna make desert."
"I don't think mom would be against the idea. If Stiles made that offer, be sure there'll be some lies been told and eventual blunt rejection." Scott chuckled, a memory flashing in his head.
"Last thanksgiving was..." Apparently, Isaac remembered the same thing.
"Something mom would never forget. Ever." They both laughed as they walked downstairs to help, meeting the sheriff who was holding a pink rose in one hand and a bottle of wine in another.
"You know she's in the backyard by now..." Isaac says, moving from Scott's side to the Sheriff's and taking the wine. He gave the man a playful wink, indicating with his chin at the rose he held before saying; "good form. Who says you only have to give flowers when it's an official date? So now we'll give you a headstart to make her swoon."
The sheriff couldn't help chuckling as he took off his jacket which Scott took and hung for him.
"Thirty minutes." The alpha specified and the sheriff nodded, walking through the house towards the backdoor.
"That gives us thirty minutes to ourselves too." Isaac says with a playful wiggle of his brows.
"I already took a shower. I'm not having sex again, you pervert." The alpha teased lightly.
***
Meanwhile in the Tate household;
"I'm picking you up for thanksgiving at the McCalls'." Kira says as introduction when Malia opened the door to her house.
"It's too early." Malia groaned, walking back into the house. Kira followed after her till she stepped into Malia's room to see the girl had gone back to her bed. Admittedly, 9am was early but then her mom always said when invited to thanksgiving, one must go early to help with the preparations and not just show up for the eating part. "Something wrong?" She asked, genuinely worried as she crawled onto the bed only for Malia to pounce on her. Of course she should have known better than just believe Malia's act.
"What are you doing?" She asked as she flipped Malia over, the coyote lying beneath her.
"What do you think?" Malia replied with a cocky grin and flipped them over till she was the one on top. Her lips came crashing down on Kira's not giving her the chance to retort and giving her a clear idea what he had in mind.
After a while, Kira succumbed to the forceful seduction, investing herself in the pleasure she knew was imminent as their clothes came off, their skins touched, lips devoured each other's skins and lips and fingers trailed and delved to each other's depths, touching both sets of their lips in ways that brought them both immense pleasure till they went crashing over the edge in a trembling mess on the bed.
It took them an hour to cool off, take a shower and head to the McCall house.
"See? 10am is not that early." Malia teased. "Hey you know what won't be such a bad idea?"
"Stopping the car in a secluded spot and burning another hour of sexual energy?" Kira asked with feigned glee before turning stern eyes on Malia. "Forget it."
"Oh wuss. No fun." The coyote laughed, leaning in to press a kiss to her neck.
***
Back at the loft, Stiles was putting his men on a drill. "Guys! Come on, we'll be late for thanksgiving!"
"Maybe you should go ahead." Derek suggested calmly.
"And leave you here? No... Hell no."
"Ow come on..." Neither mentioned the fact that going to thanksgiving at 11am was still pretty early in some cultures because apparently, in Stiles' culture, it was not the case.
"I'm serious."
"Why do you smell so nervous?" Peter asked after a while, pulling on his pants.
"Nothing." The teen replied, causing both men to stop what they were doing to look at him with worried looks.
"Why did you just lie to us?"
"Okay get your nose out of my aura!"
"Yeesh, calm down. We're just worried, that's all." Peter mumbled.
"We'll finish up in a bit." Derek added.
"Guys I'm sorry... I just..." Stiles sighed, casting apologetic looks at the pair before slumping onto the bed.
"...don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Peter says, earning himself a glare from a very curious Derek.
"I want to tell you but I'm not really fixed on a decision yet."
"Alright." Both men seemed to agree on this one as the finished dressing up, Derek grabbing the keys to his car and his wallet. "Let's go."
A few minutes later, they arrived at the McCall house just in time to see Malia and Kira stepping out of the kitsune's car.
***
"Should I take wine or vodka? Or maybe champagne?" Parrish asked his girlfriend, looking at the array of drinks he had on the kitchen islan before him. It was almost noon and he was only dressed in his boxers because well, he has never really been to a thanksgiving dinner and was a little worried. Back in the army, a carton of beer would be the perfect one. "What?" He asked when he looked up to see Lydia staring at him funny.
"Oh nothing. I'm just realizing a few new things about you. That's all." The banshee waved her hand dismissively.
"And you don't like it."
"Oh no. Far from it but I have to study it more, come to a factual conclusion." She smiled, stepping into the kitchen to go for a bottle of water.
"What-"
"I never pegged you as a worry-er because well, you're very stoic. A few times you've shifted into panic mode but I shelved that as being as a result of duty and responsibility. Remember that day you found out who your supernatural conterpart is? It was cute." She explained, taking a sip of the very chilled water.
"Sometimes I wonder about you too." The hellhound replied playfully, a fond smile plastered onto his features as he watched her neck move with every swallow. "Must you disect every aspect of life?"
"It's fun."
"So you say." He chuckled then turned back to the drinks once more. "So which one am I going with?"
"Vodka is useless because they can't get drunk and even then, Melissa wouldn't allow it for formalities' sake so wine for the adults and champagne for the kids although knowing Melissa, she probably put the kids first and bought champagne so we should take wine. That way, she and the Sheriff have something too."
"See what I mean?"
"Shush. Now come on, I wanna cook today." Lydia all but skipped out of the kitchen. In only a pair of matching hotpants and bra in baby pink colours, she made a sight. A very arousing sight but he was going to hold that in for later.
***
"Are you walking there alone?" Liam asked when Cora walked past them without so much as a hi. He and Mason had come to the loft because the human wanted some company and they had been there an hour and some. He didn't have a watch on but chances were it was around 2pm guessing from the time they had left his place to the loft and the amount of time they have spent here.
"I think that's obvious." The she-wolf replied, her pace just as nonchalant as before.
"Why didn't you go with Derek and Peter?" Liam asked again, matching her pace now.
"I wasn't ready when they were leaving." She replied again, not giving anything away. It was enough to make him worry but he didn't comment on that.
"Oh right."
"And you? What are you doing here?" Finally!
"Apparently, Mason promised to go over with Walter so he's coming to spend the day here."
"The two of you will be alone in the loft?"
"Uuuh yes." Liam replied easily before snapping his head up to look at her. "and no, we're not going to do anything...sexy like they do in the movies."
"I never thought that." Cora fought the smile that nearly tugged at her lips.
"Well then it's good I prevented it for good, then we can be sure you won't think it again."
"Well now that you mention it, I'm thinking-"
"Can we go together?" Liam asked out of the blue, surprising even himself.
"About i- what?" She asked, turning to him although she recovered quickly. Very quickly.
"You know, to Scott's place."
"But Mason..." She tried to reason.
"Will probably sleep through the day because Walter keeps him up all night." Then this time, he grinned silly. "Again, nothing sexual. I think."
"It's a free world, a free town. Do as you please." It was, in other words, 'yes, we can go together' because if not, Liam was sure Cora would have told him in no uncertain terms to back the fuck off.
"You're very hard to figure out." He managed after a while though, his hands tucked in his pockets.
"I didn't know you were trying." And maybe that left her a little flustered. Yes, she was still blaming Peter.
"Would it have changed anything?" It sounded too intimate even for him.
"Probably not."
"Thought so." He replied then changed the topic easily. He pulled out his phone to send a text to Mason and about an hour later after cutting through town, they arroved at the McCall house to join in the laughter and sharing of stories. It wasn't really Cora's scene but then in the past year, she has gotten used to the fact that it was chaos whenever the pack met.
Too much happiness was something she was still trying to get used to. "Here." Liam held out a chocolate cupcake which she took with raised brows. "Apparently, Lydia and Isaac went head to head in a desert-making competition so there's more desert than food."
She actually chuckled, taking a bite out of the cupcake and nodding in appreciation. The next few hours waas filled with teasing and tasting of a tiny bit of the cakes and chips and turn-overs while the pack pretended to grade even though with Scott as a judge, there was call of controversy at every score given.
"Is it me or does this year's thanksgiving feel noisier?" John asked from where he was standing in the porch with Melissa, an arm lazily draped around her shoulders while the other held onto a wine glass.
"It's not just you. I think they have good cause to be happy too. It is by far the best year they've had since all the supernatural sprung up." She replied, taking a sip of her own wine. They had shifted the dinner time to 7pm so they still had about 2 hours till then, hoping the kids aren't so full by then.
"And are you happy?" He asked, unable to help himself.
In the crowd, two boys held their breaths, waiting for that answer just as much as the sheriff was. "What's not to be happy about? I have you now. And I know I've pretty much always had you but... I have you now, and add that to everything else, this is by far my best thanksgiving." And he meant it.
The alpha and his mate locked eyes and shared a smile before silently agreeing to not eavesdrop on that conversation anymore.
***
The day before :: Wednesday, 27th November 2013.
"You wanna go with me to the thanksgiving dinner?" Walter asked the boy beside him. He and Mason still hang out a lot but since that awkward trip to Paris, there seemed to be this invisible rift between them although neither acknowledged it.
"I didn't think you needed to go with anyone. I mean it's not like it's a wedding ceremony and you need a date or something like that." Mason responded. They were sitting in the lawn in his house. It was almost midnight and his parents were asleep but then having a vampire friend meant things like this happening to him was very very normal.
"Will you go with me or not, dammit!" Walter snapped impatiently in his sleek British accent which Mason secretly adored.
"Why are you fessing up? I was just saying we'll be late." The ebony skinned boy countered.
"Isn't it dinner?"
"Yeah but usually we finish before 5;30pm." Mason explained, turning curious eyes to the boy beside him.
"That's not dinner!" Right on cue.
"What time did you do it back in England?"
"Never had a thanksgiving dinner." The vampire mumbled, falling onto his back in the grass, his arms folded behind his head to serve as a pillow. "My parents always had something to do even on the holidays."
"Harsh." Mason whispered as he fell back on the grass beside him. They stayed that way for god knows how long, staring silently at the stars.
"Neh it's no problem. That part of my life's over." The vampire whispered into the dark mist.
"Seriously?"
"Truthfully, I don't even miss them." He turned his head just as Mason did and spent a while just staring at the human's face before a small smile cracked onto his face. "To be able to miss someone, you have to know them. I didn't know them."
"I'll go with you tomorrow." He muttered.
"But then we'll both miss dinner."
"I'm sure if we tell the pack, they'll understand and wait." Mason reasoned.
"Fine... If you say so."
"I do. Say so, I mean."
*****
Thursday, 28th November, 2013.
6:05pm.
"Ready to go?" Walter asked as he blured himself into the room.
"I've been here for hours." Mason replied
"Right. Wrong question." Walter replied then used his hand to beckon the other boy closer. When Mason stepped close enough, he grinned at the boy then whispered: "close your eyes" before taking off at high speed toward their destination.
Walter and Mason got there just as the others were taking their seat and the vampire escorted the other boy to a seat before stepping back to look at the sight before him. There was food! Too bad he couldn't stomach it. Literally.
"Don't look so forlorn. I got you B+ blood from the hospital. See, I even got you ice cubes so you can sip on it like wine." Melissa patted the boy on the back, gently steering him to the seat between Kira and Lydia. Those two seem to have the most tolerance for blood and with the wolves' sensitive noses, she couldn't trust that one of them won't puke all over the food.
"We are doing so many weird things lately, day in and day out, I'm more convinced that this is a dream." Scott mused from where he was sitting between Isaac and Parrish, earning himself a cuff at the back of the head when his mom walked by.
Stiles watched as everyone took their seats, Walter hungrily staring at the blood bags in front of him and couldn't help chuckling. They said the grace, the sheriff stood up to propose a toast;
"Last year, it was just a few of us... Like it has always been. Connected by blood and decades of friendship, enough to make us feel accomplished. And I do recall thinking to myself that this family, I want to keep it just the way it is, with Melissa, Scott, Isaac, Stiles and myself but then this year, I look around the table and I feel like I couldn't have been so wrong in my wishes. This looks better. This /feels/ better. Bonded not just by blood like we were told families are, but also held together by a sense of loyalty and duty to each other and well, after surviving all the crappy things life has thrown at us, I think we owe it to ourselves and to the world, and to this /amazing/ looking feast, to devour it as hungrily as possible. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, this is an open family and if by next year, there's more additions, then so be it but for now, that turkey is calling to me." He paused and cast a smile at them before lifting his glass up just slightly. "Happy thanksgiving."
And after that, they dug in, trying to eat as gracefully as possible yet coming up short after ten minutes of trying and then it was just a bunch of animals at the table. Cuttlery clinked against plates and easy chatter was heard in the background while the size of the turkey decreased with every passing minute till all that was left was the skeletal structure and a pack of very full people, slumping lazily in their seats while the toothpicks went to work.
They spent the next hour lazily reciting the things they were thankful for and after saying his, Stiles stood up and slowly inched away from the chattering crowd to the kitchen. He stood in the doorway, staring at the back of the other boy in the room for a while, well aware that Isaac most probably knew he was there but made no indication of it, waiting for him to. "Isaac-" He whispered.
"So you've made up your mind." The beta wolf replied, back still turned to Stiles before slowly turning around to look at the boy, a concerned look on his face. "Are you scared?"
"Terrified." He gulped audibly.
"Come here." Isaac replied, holding his arms out and waited as Stiles stepped into them before wrapping his arms around the boy, resting his chin on top of his head. "You shouldn't be, you know that, right?"
"I do. It's kind of hard not to be, though. I mean, I could be ruining this holiday for him forever." The boy mumbled.
"He won't be /that/ traumati- okay yeah he might be." Never one to lie through and through.
"You're supposed to be comforting me." Stiles' words were muffled by Isaac's shirt.
"I am. I'm hugging you and helping you see your options. You can say it another day." He rubbed the human's back, up and down in a way he hoped was even slightly calming.
"First rule of lobbying: do it when the person is at their highest peak in happiness or euphoria."
"And it's today."
"Yes."
"Can I just say that no matter what happens, you can count on me. Anyhow, anyday." Isaac whispered after a few moments of silence.
"I know."
"Which is probably why..." He drifted off, instead pulling away from the boy and reaching into the top cabinet for the hidden vodka bottle and pulling two shot glasses alongside it.
"You're gonna get me drunk?" And even as he asked, he realized he wasn't so against the idea.
"No. I'm going to help you loosen up. The first glass is an acceptance shot and the second is to lower your inhibitions." Isaac explained.
"In other words,"
"Drunk enough to say what needs to be said but sober enough to remain standing and believable. Last response you want to your confession is laughter."
"No that won't be good. I might never find the courage after that." He mused to himself.
"Good. Then let's avoid it." He poured the drink then shoved them across the island to Stiles who gulped the first, then second shot down with a frown then shook out his limbs as he started to feel the effects. Outside, two wolves frowned to themselves, then to each other as they listened to the conversation.
In their heads, they thought of how tense Stiles had been that morning and about that conversation they had had last christmas about when Stiles would get tired of them and want to walk away. It felt worse than they thought it would.
"Just for the record, I love you." The boy whispered, his words slightly slurred.
"See? Already working." Isaac chuckled, putting the things where he had taken them then picked up the ice cream he had come for.
"No, dude. I mean it." Stiles emphasized.
"A few kisses and already you're-" He started to say, moving around the island and heading out.
"You know what? Forget it. It's a waste-"
"I know." He wheeled around to face the boy.
"-of time." Stiles continued regardless.
"For the record, I love you too." Isaac offered with a lopsided smile.
"Wish me luck."
"You don't need it. I'll be two chairs away if you need me." He reassured.
"You're too good to be true." Stiles walked out with him.
"I know. Now go drop some missiles."
"Thanks." The boy playfully nudged Isaac in the shoulder then breathed in deeply as he stepped back into the backyard, eyes fixed intently in Peter who sat there staring with brows raised and a look of concern still on his face.
"I wanna sit here." Stiles says, the only warning he gave before sinking into Peter's lap. Everyone froze in what they were doing except Isaac who just relaxed and scooped ice cream into his mouth. The sheriff's eyes went straight to Derek to see how he would react and couldn't pinpoint what emotion the young man was feeling. Either it was time for him to retire or Derek Hale was one shielded person. He was betting on the latter.
"Stiles..." Peter whispered. He had gone stiff too, and not in a sexy way because now he was expecting a bullet in his skull any moment from now.
"Shh... what?" The boy whispered unapologetically. Derek's eyes went to Isaac's, met and held, reading all he needed to know from the former beta's gaze.
"Son, are you drunk?" The sheriff asked after a while when it seemed everyone was waiting for him to say something.
"Nope. Quite certain that it's alright for someone to sit in their boyfriend's lap." Stiles sat up, then pointed to Lydia who was sitting comfortably in Parrish's lap. "See?
"Derek is- ... Is there something I'm missing?" He finally gave up, preparing himself for the worst.
"No." The rest of the pack sung in unison.
"Yes." Stiles' voice cut through the chorus, his eyes fixed challengingly on his dad's.
"And what is that?" The older man questioned cautiously.
"Do you want to get me killed?" Peter whispered heatedly.
"I just don't want to keep lying to my dad, okay. Admittedly, it's a lie of omission but to me, it's still a lie. I wanna be able to talk about you without fear of being found out. I mean, it's not like I talk about Derek /all/ the time but I don't talk about you /at all/ and I'm not okay with that." The boy retorted, sombering Peter up.
"Stiles." Was all he could say.
"Do you think it's fair?"
"I really don't mind."
"Well I do. I don't-"
"Quiet!" The sheriff cut in then sternly looked at his son. "Now start from the top."
"I am in love with Peter Hale." Stiles deadpanned.
"Oh god..." The man whispered.
"And while you're still in shock, lemme add that I also love Derek." Stiles nodded before adding the final nail. "And I'm with both of them."
"Oh god..." The man whispered again.
"Dad-"
"No. No no no. I just..." Then he cast his gaze around to look at the guilty looking pack. "You all knew."
"I didn't." Melissa whispered, recovering from her own shock.
"Are you mad at me?" Stiles asked after a while, his gaze less challenging and more pleading.
"No!" The older Stilinski exclaimed before calmly saying; "Okay yes. A little."
"If it helps, I don't bottom-"
"Don't finish that." The man glared. Last thing he needed was to be painted a picture of his son's sex life.
"Oh uhm.. Yeah sure."
"We'll talk when we get home." He says firmly although his hand just kept trembling.
"I'm game." Stiles accepted cheerfully.
"And we'll talk." That was aimed at Peter and Derek.
"Anytime."
"Absolutely." Both men agreed.
"Well since Stiles has confessed, I also have a confession." Isaac chipped in when it felt like the tension was about to break Stiles into pieces.
"What, what, what?" Scott asked, panicked. He hated Isaac's 'secrets'. Well, not really but they tended to be embarrassing for him 90% of the time.
"Scott and I aren't just dating. We're like married." He paused dramatically. "In a werewolf way."
"Oh dear God." Now it was Melissa's turn to be flabberghasted.
"We couldn't help ourselves. I mean I tried but-" Scott started to explain, cheeks flaming red.
"shhh." The nurse cut in then turned to the sheriff. "John, would you /please/ take me for a walk?" At this rate, she was terrified about what other traumatizing news she'll have to hear before today was over.
"Gladly." And boy did he /look/ glad what with the quick way they escaped the gathering.
"How could you-" Scott turned on Isaac.
"The pressure was too much on Stiles. I just helped out. I'm sorry we agreed to wait but-"
"It's okay."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah. Very efficient the way you did it. One blow, surgical precision, bam! Mission accomplished." And now, he was really glad. He had wanted to tell his mom but every time he though of how awkward it would be, he just stopped.
"Is this how every thansgiving dinner goes? Because this is awesommmee..." Walter whisper-screamed, downing what was left of his chilled blood.
"We should probably resolve to never have thanksgiving without Stiles. Last year, he made that trifle from hell and this year..." Lydia mumbled, shaking her head fondly.
"That's right. I'm like a genius now."
"Yeah one who might get eternally grounded." Jordan chipped in.
"True." He admitted.
"Very possible." Scott confirmed. Peter breathed deeply, eyes locked onto Derek's for a while and smiled when the other gave him a reassuring smile.
"In the spirit of confession, I chose fashion as a main course instead of medicine like I had intended." Kira chipped in.
"And I chose Archeology instead of fashion, specifically scarf-making." Isaac teased.
"Twerp." Malia chuckled.
"I also chose earring making instead of..." Scott attempted to say then bumped his head onto the table instead. "I can't lie. Well, I'm definitely one step closer to becoming a vet though."
"I got a full scholarship from Havard." Lydia muttered, then chuckled at the collective gasps that rose around the group. Only Cora remained stoic and Parrish simply kissed her neck and whispered; "that's my girl."
"And I got into NYU." Kira whispered, feigning unexcitedness.
"Congratulations! How long have you been dreaming of that?" Scott asked excitedly.
"Dunno. But pretty long." Isaac and Malia shared a look then chuckled. Previously, they would fess up but not anymore. Nope. Scott and Kira are done but they still know each other so that familiarity was never going to go away and they have accepted that. However...
"I got into NYU too." Isaac says with a pout.
"You said..." Scott started.
"I got accepted in two of them. NYU and Boston College but I decided to go to NYU."
"That's..."
"Far?"
"Yeah."
"I'm sure we'll figure something out."
"Anyway, I got into Berkeley." Scott turned away from Isaac to address the crowd.
"Me too." Stiles mumbled, shoving cookies into his mouth.
"Well that's not surprising... I doubt either of you will go to a college where the other one wasn't." Peter finally spoke.
"It's one of those times when nature just turns a blind eye to everything and goes for it." Lydia rolled her eyes.
"I'm going on a STRIVE scholarship." The boy added.
"I didn't know you applied." Derek asked. He would have been willing to fund for college but knew for a fact that Stiles wouldn't accept that.
"Well, I only told Scott because I didn't want dad to find out. Chances are, he would get all macho and start the 'I'm supposed to take care of you' speech."
"Did you tell him now?" Liam asked, looking up from where he sat chatting with Cora.
"Wow, it seems I keep more secrets from my dad than is healthy." The boy seemed to realize now.
"And you're now realizing this?" Parrish asked with a shake of his head.
"Oh look, it's the deputy who keeps secrets. Pretty sure you'll be punished more." The human quipped and they eased into their conversations.
**********
A few blocks away, hand gripping his, Melissa broke the companionable silence between them. "You're okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah I guess I kind of suspected..." John Stilinski's words trailed off.
"That he was with both men?"
"No. Well, not like that. A few times I've seen him acting too familiar with Peter but then more than a few times, I've seen Derek in his room. He even came around a few times for dinner." And the idea has not fully sunk into his mind.
"So you thought what, that he was chea-"
"Oh no. No. Even though Stiles sprouts more lies than any kid his age should, he's not a cheater. That's one thing I can vouch for. He's too emotional to think of doing something like that. Once, maybe. But he would most probably confess soon after." He cut in to explain. "My intuition just told me there was more there if I looked into it."
"And yet you didn't." It wasn't a question.
"Ignorance is bliss." The man replied, tilting his head to give the woman beside him a smile.
"It is." And oh yes, she could relate to that.
"Look at us, worrying about our kids who are in polyamorous relationships and mated..." He trailed off again.
"We have research to do." She whispered with a chuckle.
"Turns out we do. And I'm investigating every Hale family member." Somehow, he eased up enough to chuckle too.
"They don't seem to have much to hide."
"Yeah..."
"What will you do?" She asked, stopping suddenly.
"Well for starters..." The sheriff started with a mischievous grin on his face as he turned fully to her then reached out to grab her by the waist and haul her against him, fimly keeping her in place then whispered; "I'm gonna kiss you."
And when he leaned in to claim her lips, it was to find them eager and waiting, soft and lush under his and just for as long as it lasted, all their worried faded into the distance and everything they knew and were, was stripped bare so much that they even forgot it was thanksging and all that remained was a man and woman, glad to have found each other's warmth.