Rating:

General

Category:

M/M

Fandom:

Teen Wolf

Relationship:

Chris Argent/Sheriff Stilinski

Tags:

canon divergent, future fic

Stats:

Posted on:

2012-12-12

Words:

2,074

Chris is in the back of the auditorium, watching the school play. He likes to pretend nowadays that there’s not much he cares about, but one thing he’ll never stop caring about is his little girl.

His shoulders suddenly tense; someone is behind him. He turns around to see the familiar face of Sheriff Stilinski.

“They’re all grown up now, haven’t they?” the Sheriff says.

Chris nods and turns back to the play. “Yeah,” he says quietly; somehow over the years, he and John and Melissa have become something like friends, even though John is the sheriff and Melissa works at the hospital and Chris is a rogue werewolf hunter. That doesn’t stop Melissa from teasing about his “always grumpy face”, though.

Their kids have grown up, in their senior year of high school now. Allison has somehow found her calling on the stage, and Scott, her ever loving boyfriend now (thinking this makes Chris want to scoff and puke) is entirely supportive, even though he’d tried out for theater with her and Melissa had called him up in tears. Of laughter.

“How’s your boy? Stiles?” Chris asks after a minute. Even though John talks about his son too much. But Chris has caught him staring down at his knees too long or spacing out when he needs to be listening the most; Chris figures that Stiles is the only thing that keeps John going.

“He’s good.” John brightens up almost immediately. Chris wonders if John’s aware that he does that. “He helped me solve another case yesterday, you know. Who would’ve thought that it was a bunch of stupid kids and not that woman we searched who stole from the jewelry store?”

Chris chuckles. “Your cases aren’t all that interesting anymore, are they?”

“Well,” says John. “There’s not as much werewolf drama nowadays, is there?”

*

Chris gets the call from one of his wolf hunter buddies and then suddenly he’s ringing Derek Hale up – because that’s been happening too, because Derek has a pack and has saved his life more than enough times that somehow he and a fucking wolf are allies – about a rabid Omega somewhere in this area. Derek hangs up instead of responding, which pisses Chris off. Well, a lot about Derek Hale pisses him off.

He calls John and Melissa too, because he knows that their kids will be there along with Allison and they’ll want to make sure that they’re safe. At least, Chris as a Parent hopes so, because that’s just what he thinks when he thinks about Allison running in the woods with her crossbow – unimaginative skill, efficient experience, and he still worries about his little girl getting hurt.

When he gets to the edge of the woods, he sees John there already, resting against his car. Chris nods at him in greeting, and says, “Melissa?”

“She should be here soon; the road from the animal clinic is sort of twisty,” says John.

Chris nods again. “Right,” he says, and then sighs, shouldering his rifle. He notices that John has his gun too – will probably be ineffective against the Omega, but will distract it nonetheless.

Derek and Scott and the rest of Derek’s pack come running then, with Allison and Lydia on Scott’s and Jackson’s shoulders, respectively (and Stiles on Derek’s, and John flinches noticeably). They halt at the sight of the adults and Scott says, “Wha – ?” and Allison says, “Dad, what are you doing here?”

“Yeah,” says Stiles, looking at John.

Chris inclines his head toward Derek, and Derek looks at the rest of them, relatively apologetic.

“I figured that we could use some help,” he says.

“Derek, we don’t need – ” starts Scott.

“From a werewolf hunter,” Derek continues, ignoring Scott. He looks to Isaac and Jackson instead. “We’re good and everything, but Chris’s family has had generations of experience in finding werewolves, especially lone ones – ” he looks at Allison appreciatively ” – and we’ll need all the help we can get, especially since this guy has killed twelve people already.”

“Who said you could call me Chris?” says Chris, but Derek ignores him too.

“Dad,” says Allison, sliding off Scott’s back – thank goodness. “Just don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

Chris scoffs. “Stupid? I should be saying the same to you, young lady. You’re riding your boyfriend’s back while he’s shirtless and runs at practically eighty miles an hour? I don’t even know why I – ”

“Chris,” he hears John say gently, from behind him, and Allison’s eyes flash. They remind him of his wife’s.

“I’m grown up now, Dad,” she says. “I trust Scott.” She turns to him and Scott gives her a little smile and Chris holds back the urge to throw up. “I love him,” she says, turning back to Chris. “Anyway, I’m currently a legal adult now anyways, so – ”

“Your relationship would be considered pedophilia,” Jackson says unhelpfully from the background.

Chris shoots a glare at him. “My daughter is not a pedophile!” he hisses, while Allison swivels and says, “Jackson!”

“Sorry, sorry,” says Jackson, adjusting Lydia on his back. “Geez.”

“Chris.” John is closer behind him, his hand on Chris’s back. “Just let them. They’re our kids, but – this isn’t anything new to them.”

Chris sighs and steps back. He would’ve let them go anyways – Scott’s too reckless and needs someone to watch his ass, even if it’s his daughter or Derek Hale or just Stiles talking his way out of everything. At some point he’s come to care about Scott McCall too, and that’s sort of frightening.

The kids run off and John asks him, “Should we follow?” Chris sighs again, just as Melissa’s car pulls up.

“Sorry, I was running late,” she says, climbing out of her car, “my boss wanted me to finish a patient and he wouldn’t stop screaming – what’s going on?” She looks between the two of them.

“I,” says Chris, as John and Melissa look at him expectantly – Chris can feel John’s gaze burning through him, like he knows exactly what’s running through Chris’s mind, all the do’s and don’t’s of parenting and obligation, like John has any idea what it’s like. Being Stiles’s dad and county sheriff, of course. “It’s nothing,” says Chris. He adjusts his rifle again. “Let’s go.”

*

They do catch the Omega and Derek saves Chris’s life yet again, which pisses him off beyond reason. A few nights later, Scott and Allison are on a double date with Jackson and Lydia and Chris sits alone in his big empty house, debating whether to go through the pains of cooking dinner or to go to bed early.

He hears a knock at his door. He hopes that it’s someone to help him pick between the two, and gets up from his chair to answer the door.

It’s John. By instinct, Chris thinks he’s done something wrong, but then he remembers that he and John are friends. Sort of. “Hi,” says Chris, and then steps aside. “Come in.”

He closes the door when John is inside and says, “Is there something you wanted?” He doesn’t mind too much; at least the house feels a little less empty.

“Not really,” says John. “It’s just that Stiles is out doing werewolf business with Derek, and I – ”

Chris snorts. “Yeah, right. Werewolf ‘business.'”

“Okay, well if they’re doing anything other than talking, I don’t want to know,” says John, and then shudders. “Because it’s Stiles with – Derek Hale.”

“Now you know how I felt for the past two years,” says Chris. “C’mon, let’s go into the kitchen. I was going to make dinner anyways.”

He leads them into the kitchen and starts at the stove. He sees John lingering by counters and the living room, evidently seeing pictures of – Chris swallows and turns to his pot. Funny, because there’s nothing in it and he doesn’t even know what he wants to cook.

(Pictures of him and Allison and his wife, back when they were a happy family. Never normal, no – but they used to be happy, didn’t they?)

“Do you miss her?” he hears John say under his breath, and Chris, putting the lid on the empty pot, clears his throat and says, “Yes.”

“Oh, I – ” says John, turning around. “I didn’t mean – ”

“It’s okay,” says Chris. “I do, every day. And I know you miss her too.”

John’s wife. Chris doesn’t know the details about it, but – he knows it’d been an accident, and too tragic. John’s face crumbles nearly at that moment and Chris immediately feels a knife wrenching in his gut for even mentioning it, and then somehow his arms are wrapped around John’s as he pulls him in for a – hug. And it’s strange because this is the first time in a long time when he’s embracing someone that’s not Allison, but – he doesn’t complain and he can feel John’s nose pressed against his shoulder, which feels maybe a bit wet.

“You know,” says John’s muffled voice. “I came here because I wanted someone to make me feel better for being so alone in my house.”

“I,” says Chris, holding onto the back of John’s neck. “I – Sorry – ”

“No.” John shakes his head against him. “Thank you.

*

They don’t speak anything of it the next time they meet for werewolf things, even though Allison has spring musical rehearsal tonight and Chris tried to persuade her out of the werewolf issues for today but Allison had said no because apparently her boyfriend’s life is more important than getting the perfect chemistry with her new stage love interest. (Scott, to say in the least, is happy. The spring play love interest had been violently threatened, Chris knows; he imagines that this new one will be going the same way.)

But Chris and John share this sort of look after the kids go off running, and Chris thinks he sees John soften, like, John knows. John knows what it’s like to love someone who’s dead, what it’s like to see your kid grow up faster than your eyes can understand. Chris remembers the warmth of John’s hands.

(He remembers them eating half-cooked pasta in his home and joking about their kids. Remembers saying too much to John last night – or perhaps, not enough, not telling John that he’d liked it and would want to do it again, instead of rattling off his life story and the stupid shit he did when he was a teenager. Remembers John being John and not just a kid’s dad’s parent, not just a sheriff.)

“Well, you boys better run,” says Melissa, breaking Chris out of his daze. He looks at her and she seems expectant of the both of them.

“What about you?” says John.

“Oh, well,” Melissa laughs, “I’m flattered that you guys want me along to protect you two, since I’m so well-armed and you’re obviously not – ” she indicates their guns. “But I actually have work to do back at the hospital,” she continues. “Considering my job doesn’t require me to go run off and chase after supernatural beings.”

“Melissa,” says Chris.

“I’m really okay,” she says. “Plus, you know. Well-armed and all.” She glances at their guns again.

“No,” says Chris. “I mean – what about Scott?”

Melissa cocks her head to the side. Chris almost expects her to say, What about him? but then a wave of understanding passes over her face and she smiles.

“He’ll be fine,” she says. “I know it. I know my own kid.”

She gets into her car and drives off, waving to Chris and John as she heads back onto the main road. John clears his throat and they turn back to the woods.

“We better go after them, then,” he says. “To make sure they’re okay.”

“Yeah,” says Chris. “I.” He stares at his shoes as he walks, and is startled a moment later when John puts a hand on his shoulder.

“She’s right,” John says. “They’re our kids. Where would they get it from?”

Chris smiles. He doesn’t feel too entirely assured, but – he smiles anyways. “Yeah,” he says, and then takes a deep breath. “C’mon. We don’t want to lose them.” He quickens his pace and together the two of them head through the forest.

John doesn’t let go of him once along the way.