"Are you stupid enough to think that you can save him?" Derek asks one day at random maybe not so random he asks this question a lot, Chris doesn't answer him, he doesn't have an answer he still isn't sure what he's doing himself, "I don't know."
It was later that night that he understood why he brought Peter home with him, why even though Peter pushes him away and refuses to utter a word that he is still persistent in trying to bring the old Peter back, the Peter that would beam at him whenever their eyes met, the Peter that always had a certain spark in those blue eyes.
Peter woke up screaming, he could still feel the flames licking at his skin, can still smell the disgusting stench that is a human body being burnt, can still hear the screams of his family and himself as they burn, he wakes up still screaming everything clear as day in his mind, he only stops when the stench suddenly turns to wolfsbane and gun oil, when the screaming stops and he can hear a steady heartbeat beneath his ear.
He stops screaming then because this is Chris, the man who loves him no matter what sins he committed, the man will take a scared werewolf into his arms with no fear, Chris Chris Chris and suddenly that's all he can think about, he will deny until death that he sobbed into Chris' chest, that he sobbed and cried like a child. He had a feeling that Chris would deny it as well if only to protect Peter's pride.
"I'm sorry" Peter sobbed against a strong chest "it's alright Pete" Chris whispered, his voice was quiet and if Peter was in his right mind he would've heard the sadness there. But he missed it, what Peter didn't realise was that Chris wasn't just holding onto him for Peter's sake but for his own as well, because if Chris could hold Peter while he was like this and not get hurt if Peter would still let him hold him and break down in front of him then for Chris he was still worth saving.
Sat there on this uncomfortable bed that Peter never once moaned about holding him tightly while he cried Chris finally realised the answer to Derek's question "I'm trying to save you" Chris whispered because that was what he was trying to do, he was trying to bring Peter back, no one else saw him as someone worth or even deserving of being saved but Chris did.
Because if Peter could still cry like this if he could tell him that he was sorry and mean and god did Chris know he actually meant it, that means there was something worth saving there, and he would try no matter how long it took he would save him.
Chris looked down ready to say something to Peter to try and explain himself but soon realised that Peter had fallen asleep in his arms, Chris moved them so Peter lay with his head resting on Chris' chest "I'll have to buy you a new bed" he mumbled to himself before slowly falling asleep.
When he awoke in the morning it was to an empty bed, panic hit him hard "PETER?" He shouted jumping out of the bed, he ran down the stairs and found Peter in the kitchen in front of the stove.
"You need to go shopping" was the first thing out of Peter's mouth, "this is the first time that you've spoken in months and you're talking about food?" Chris asked with a mixture of anger and relief, "I'm hungry" he muttered with his back still to Chris, Chris was so relieved he almost felt like crying almost, "Peter" whispered said man finally turned around to look at him he'd shaven, the scars covering the left side of his body stood out more like this, his hair was flat against his head and there was a light in those usually dull eyes.
"You look like you've seen a ghost" Peter tried to smirk but it came out more like a grimace, "it feels like it" was his reply "I don't look that bad" Peter snarked Chris scoffed "you mustn't have had a very good look in the mirror" Chris snarked back, Peter grinned at him, "I don't think I look too bad, I've certainly looked worse."
Chris shook his head fondly "if you have I've never seen it" he told him honestly, Peter didn't have an answer to that.
After they finished eating they finally made their way out of the house and drove to the store, where Peter promptly had a panic attack before they could even make it out of the car.
