What Would You Do Without Me? // Teen Wolf

Guess I'm A Dad Now

Stiles had spent years dreaming of the day he'd finally escape the sleepy town of Beacon Hills, where nothing ever happens, to go to university. Then, he'd dreamed of escaping the town of Beacon Hills, where everything goes wrong, to just face normal young adult problems. Stiles should really know better, things never go his way. When Stiles learnt that Scott would be leaving in order to go to university, he wasn't surprised (and of course he wasn't, they'd all been planning to go to university together, it was the Big Plan) but some part of him expected Scott to change his mind. He was the Alpha of the McCall Pack, he had betas to look after and problems to solve, but it seemed that Scott was even more eager to leave the trouble behind than Stiles himself. He'd been laying in bed alone one night when he realised that he would have to stay.

Of course, in reality, he didn't have to do anything. Stiles was Pack but he was still human, he didn't have the same pull to be near his pack as his little Were family did and so he could leave at the drop of a hat and never return. It was more a moral obligation that he had to remain. He'd spoken to Deaton frequently at the beginning of the summer about his steadily growing spark - Deaton would never be his first choice, but his options were slim - and they'd covered the topic of the Nemeton. They'd woken it just over two years ago now but it was always going to cause issues, particularly for Stiles as it would appear.

"Anyone home?" Issac asked with a look that Stiles had come to know meant concern, waving his hand in front of Stiles' face.
"Sometimes." Stiles responded absently, shaking his head out of the thought tunnel he'd been falling down, refocusing his eyes on what was happening around him. It was Scott's going away party which meant the whole pack was there. Scott, Kira and Lydia were all leaving Beacon Hills to go to university, the rest of the pack was staying at home. Allison was forsaking university in favour of helping her father with his new protection business alongside Isaac - Stiles was surprised the two were still going strong. When Allison and Scott had broken up, he hadn't been too surprised, he knew that high school romances didn't last; then Isaac began to date her and they lasted long term instead. It's hardly the most surprising thing that had happened during his time at high school, but it was one he had to regularly think about.

He pushed up from the chair he was sitting in and stretched, smiling over at Liam, Mason and Corey all curled up in a mess of teenage limbs on a love seat that didn't quite fit three. In some aspects, he felt responsible for Liam. Liam was Scott's beta, there was no questioning that, his best friend turned the boy, but it was Stiles that was there for him whenever something went wrong. Liam would go to Scott and Scott would hand him to Stiles. It was Stiles that had helped pick up the pieces of Liam's broken heart after Hayden decided she was done with Beacon Hills at the end of the school year; it was Stiles that took Liam out to drink for the first time so that he'd be safe doing it; it was Stiles that had encouraged him to repair his broken friendship with Brett and he'd been the one to help do so. Scott was his dad and Stiles was his mum, as Lydia had once put it. Liam glanced up and met Stiles' eyes and tilted his head, just like a dog, and Stiles had to resist going over there to pinch his cheek. Stiles half shrugged to gesture that he was alright and headed through to the kitchen. He didn't really need anything but he didn't want to sit down for any longer.

Stiles decided that, while he was standing, he'd make himself a new drink and called out to see if anyone else wanted a refill. Jackson walked into the kitchen behind Stiles, placing a few glasses down onto the counter.
"Apple for the twins, Malia wants orange and Lori just asked for 'the good stuff'." He explained with a snort and Brett then entered.
"I hate her." He muttered, only making Jackson laugh again and Stiles joined them, the three boys set about making the drinks requested as well as their own ('the good stuff', Stiles discovered, meant apple juice with some water - disgusting). They dished out the drinks accordingly and Stiles found that his previous seat had been taken by Erica, who was in a playful back and forth with Theo, who was sitting on the edge of the coffee table.
"Coffee table isn't a chair, Theo." Stiles scolded with a shake of his head, perching on the arm of the chair that his Robin was sitting in.
"Buy more chairs then." Theo replied with a roll of his eyes. Stiles slipped his arm around the back of the chair for more support, but still almost fell when his father coughed loudly from the doorway.

He handed his drink to Erica for safekeeping and turned to his dad, giving him a quick side hug.
"Did we really need to host this?" He mumbled into his son's ear.
"I suggested it so everyone decided it was my job to host. Plus, I'm the chef." He shrugged and his father ruffled his hair, then slipped off his jacket to hang it near the door.
"Scott, son, your mother said she's going to come by with the cookies she promised soon." Noah called out into the living room, not bothering to identify where the boy was sitting amongst the large number of teens. Then, with a final smile to Stiles he began toward the stairs, but just before he could slip away Lydia caught his attention.
"Sheriff, do you know if Parrish is on his way?" She asked with a smile, she tried not to look too hopeful.
"I think he mentioned that he'd be coming by tonight." Noah replied with a knowing expression, then reached out and gently squeezed her hand before he finally made his escape from the masses.
"Parrish, huh?" Stiles teased with a smirk and Lydia elbowed him on her way back to the living room, only succeeding in making Stiles laugh at her.

Just as Stiles made to return to the living room, Liam emerged with his phone in hand, and took Stiles' shoulder to steer him along. Stiles let him, smiling fondly all the while. Distantly, he realised that he hadn't smiled this much in some time and how nice it was to have everyone together, but he filed that away for later. He'd bring it up with Scott. Liam finally exhaled and showed Stiles the texts from his step-father. David was a nice enough man and when Liam had reluctantly caved and told him about the supernatural, he accepted it easier than Stiles' own father. Though, Melissa helped with that. The texts were stressed ones, demanding to speak to one of the older teens. Stiles took the phone and wrapped an arm around Liam's shoulders then hit the call button. He spoke with David only briefly, assuring him that Liam was safe and the Sheriff would never dream of allowing underage drinking in his home, he listed everyone in attendance and everyone that could be expected to arrive later. The mention of Melissa arriving eased David's worries significantly and so they were allowed to return to the party. Liam thanked Stiles enthusiastically, with a tight hug to match, then returned to the loveseat where he'd previously been, almost spilling both Corey and Mason's drinks in the process.

Stiles returned to the living room and chose to sit, instead of with Erica, with Jackson and the twins. Jackson had changed a lot since the kanima issue, London had clearly changed him and it was for the better. Upon his return he'd apologised to Lydia, becoming good friends with her and in turn, the twins. Jackson being gay wasn't something that Stiles had anticipated but once he'd said it it almost made sense. Their conversation floated around lacrosse and how they thought the team would fare without them, but they settled on the fact that with Liam they couldn't go wrong - the kid was practically perfect at it. The younger boy perked up at the sound of his name and shuffled off the loveseat to sit beside Stiles on the floor, joining their conversation. He shared who they thought would be joining the team from his year and the year below and how they'd treat and freshmen that tried out. Liam was in the lead for the role of Captain now, but there was always the chance that it'd be given to someone else (not).

When there was a knock at the door, Stiles knew nobody would make the effort to answer except him, so he did. Parrish and Melissa had arrived together, at least that meant he'd have to stand up at least once less, (though he wished the Hales had also arrived at that time, so he wouldn't have to stand again at all). He greeted Melissa with a warm hug and shook Parrish's hand, then announced their arrival as he took the cookies from Melissa's hands to set them in the kitchen.

Melissa followed after him, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder as he reached up for a plate to put the cookies on.
"I love watching you interact with them." She murmured, smiling as he faltered at her comment.
"Why?" He asked, turning to face her with a questioning tilt of his head that he'd picked up from Liam.
"You.. mother them." She answered, searching his eyes for what type of reaction he'd have. Stiles stood frozen for a moment then, processing what he'd been told. He didn't see any of his mother in himself, certainly not in the way he interacted with the pack. Sure, his time with his mother had been brief and atypical, but he didn't understand. Once he considered his own mother, he decided that perhaps Melissa herself was a better example of how mothers should be (though, he knows his mother did her best and nothing was her fault) and then he came to the conclusion that perhaps she was right.
"If any of them call me mom, I'll kill them myself." He muttered, though he couldn't help but smile despite himself.
"I believe you." She whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his temple before heading off to find Noah, opting to spend the evening in his company rather than that of the teens.

Stiles paused again once she was gone to consider what she'd said and his smile only broadened.
"Guess I'm a dad now, then." He muttered to himself, then set the cookies on the snack table, rustling Liam's hair playfully as he passed the younger boy.