Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at /works/13362465.
Rating: General Audiences
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: M/M
Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV), Scorpion (TV 2014)
Relationship: Walter O'Brien/Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski, past Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski - Relationship
Character: Stiles Stilinski, Walter O'Brien, Paige Dineen, Derek Hale, Ralph Dineen, Happy Quinn, Original Hale-Stilinski Child(ren), Toby Curtis
Additional Tags: Episode Tag, Episode Tag s03e04 Little Boy Lost, FBI Agent Stiles Stilinski, BAMF Stiles, Dysfunctional Family, Team Dynamics, Relationship Issues, Relationship Problems, Developing Relationship, Emotionally Confused Stiles Stilinski, Emotionally Confused Derek Hale, Emotionally Confused Walter O'Brien, Single Parent Derek, Single Parent Stiles Stilinski, team drama, Spoilers, Spoilers for Scorpion season three, I'm Bad At Tagging
Series: Part 5 of /Family
Stats: Published: 2018-01-14 Words: 2917
Title: Lost Boys by JackalPinesOfHouseEvergreen
Summary: Based on the Scorpion episode "Little Boy Lost"
Derek gets more insight into what exactly Scorpion is and what they do, and how both Stiles and Jason fit into it. There also seems to be some tension between Ralph and Jason, all while they try to save a little boy and stop an attack.
Derek made sure to get to the museum early enough to beat the buses. It was a nice day so he had rolled the windows for the first couple of minutes but then he got bored and got out of the car. He tried his best to locate Jason with his hearing but there were too many hearts and the car engines from both the cars outside and those from the exhibits inside, made it impossible.
Soon his attention was directed to the women in the car a few feet from him. He knew them, or of them at least. They were the women that worked with Stiles on that Scorpion team.
He didn't want to listen in, not really. The chances of them speaking about Stiles was slim. From what he managed to get out of Jason was very little about anyone who wasn't Walter or Sylvester.
The taller woman, Paige he believes, chuckled as the shorter woman inched away from the passing children getting into cars or buses. "Relax, they don't bite...at least not after the third grade."
"I don't get it." The shorter woman said bluntly, and genuinely confused. "There are buses here. Why pick him up?"
"Uh...we talk in the car?" Though phrased like a question it was more of a statement. Like it was obvious. At least it was obvious to Derek who also enjoyed his rides home with Jason.
"Is...is that what parents do? Look for places to spend time with their kids?" The shorter woman asked.
Derek thought he should tune them out, it was heading towards something personal that he shouldn't be eavesdropping into. But he couldn't. Knowing they were part of Stiles's life now, he was curious about the new people he was hanging out with.
"That's kinda the whole point of having children," Paige said gently.
"It wasn't for my parents." The shorter woman said bluntly again.
There was a silent pause before Paige pointed out, "Oh look there's Ralph's class." It seemed to be just in time.
Ralph though...that was the same name as the kid Jason had problems with. Could it be a coincidence or not?
"Dad!"
Derek snapped out of his thoughts as Jason ran up to him. Jason hugged him and Derek hugged him back. "Hey kiddo, did you have fun today?"
Jason shrugged and looked at his feet. Derek frowned and knelt in front of his kid. "What's the matter?"
"I didn't get to see my friend Daniel too much today. I was worried about him. He's on the spectrum and loud places like this can be hard for him...but we're in different classes so we were doing different tours...and I haven't seen him since. Not even to say goodbye."
"Hey, it's alright. I'm sure you'll see him tomorrow." Derek said in a hopeful tone but then he stood up when he heard the commotion.
Daniel was apparently missing. Before he knew what was going on, Jason had gone up to the group.
"How can we help?" Jason asked with determination.
"You can't. You should just go home, Hale." Ralph told him with a steady stare that was almost a glare.
Jason stood his ground. "Daniel's my friend. You were once too. Plus, my daddy's also on the team."
"Happy, is that Jason?" Derek heard Stiles's voice over one of the comms.
"Yup. And whatever gets us moving faster to find the kid the better. No squabbling. Toby does enough of that for everyone." The shorter woman, Happy, commanded.
Paige was looking at everyone from Jason to Derek to the other mother back to Happy before nodding. She looked like she'd seen a ghost...or an old Mean Girl or something.
He knew the responsible thing to do was to take Jason home and let the authorities handle this. He would have had hell to deal with Jason at home but it would have been the smart and responsible thing to do.
So why the hell did he offer Mrs. Klein a ride down to Scorpion?
"What are you doing here?" Stiles asked Derek as he pulled him off to the side.
Derek himself still wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to admit that. "There's a little boy missing. We're here to help."
"That's nice of you but there's really nothing here for you to do. You should just take Jason home." Stiles told him.
"I know I should but I can't. This is his friend and he feels guilty." Derek told him, which was true.
Stiles looked confused. "Why would he?"
"Daniel doesn't have many friends because of his autism. Jason's one of the few people in his life that treats him normally. He feels like if he made more of an effort..."
"He could have stopped this." Stiles finished for Derek and sighed. "It's not his fault...Ralph is in his class and he didn't notice anything either. Sometimes stuff just happens...even bad stuff."
"Speaking of Ralph...any problems here with him and Jason?" Derek asked because he had to.
Stiles looked at him with confusion but also alertness. "Why would there be?"
"He's mentioned it before but today I heard him tell Ralph that they were friends once too. This being bought up when telling Jason to just go home. Look if this Ralph kid is bullying Jason-"
"Ralph isn't the bullying type." Stiles cut in but it wasn't as...sure. He looked over to the kids who were sitting very far apart from each other.
"There is more than one way to bully kids. He may not be able to do it physically but emotionally or mentally."
"Okay, okay...look...I'll speak with Jason later, try to get him to talk to me," Stiles told him.
"I was thinking maybe talk to the other kid or his mom. Why would Jason tell you something and not me?" Derek asked, both because he was genuinely concerned that Jason was now keeping other things from him, and a jealousy that Stiles and Jason were more bonded.
Stiles made a shrugging motion. "Sometimes it's easier to speak to the not as serious parent."
"I'm not that serious!" Derek argued.
"Even when I thought you were hot you still had a murderous vibe about you." Stiles deadpanned.
"Hey, wherever this conversation was heading ends now. We gotta get going. Not you." Walter came up and told them, pointing his finger at Derek at the last part. He'd heard the last sentence and wasn't thrilled, especially since the last time he saw Derek.
Derek remembered as well, and the way Stiles said that in past tense didn't sit well with him. But that wasn't important right now. "What's going on?"
"Work. Come on." Walter told Stiles.
"I can hel-" Derek began but this time Stiles was the one to cut him off.
"This is a team sanctioned by the government. You're a civilian. We know what we're doing. You stay here and help Paige and Jill. Keep an eye on the boys as well."
They had a silent conversation, which to them was more about keeping an eye for tell a tale signs between Jason and Ralph. To others, it may seem like more.
Despite knowing Stiles was in the military for a while before going into college and then being recruited into the FBI, Derek never thought about it. By the time Stiles was qualified to be in the field tackling actual, dangerous bad guys, he and Derek were already split.
Derek didn't know how many cases Stiles worked on, didn't know how many bad guys made it personal, didn't know how many times he's been punched, kicked, stabbed, shot at, or actually shot.
Hearing Stiles to into hand to hand combat with the mercenary they were tracking nearly gave him a panic attack. He was the only alpha male in the room and he was the one close to passing out with stress.
When they managed to find the boy and Walter was going to be the one to go after him, Derek didn't care. But then Stiles volunteered. His words being, "Your job is to calculate you pull me out alright, my job is to do the crazy-jumping-into-stuff part." And then Derek heard the 'thwack' of Stiles landing into the oats of the silo.
As Paige got closer to zero, Derek was sure he had a dozen grey hairs. Walter wasn't one to be outdone, or as Derek didn't really want to think too much about it, and cared for Stiles. When the barrels didn't have enough weight to pull Stiles back out, Walter jumped off of the railing and supplied the extra weight. Derek was jealous because it should have been him to have Stiles back like in the old days...
But Stiles was alright. And so was the boy. He'd done it. They'd done it. Scorpion saved the kid and brought him home, with themselves intact.
"Thanks for saving Daniel." Jason told Stiles as they walked out to Derek's car.
"Of course. He's going to be fine. A little shaken up at first maybe but he'll be fine. I've talked to Mrs. Klein and she said she'd love to have you over for a playdate if you want." Stiles told him.
Jason smiled a little and nodded. "I'd like that. Can it be on Tuesday? The new Flash comics come out Monday and I wanna get it before going over. The Flash is his favorite."
"We'll ask Derek and Mrs. Klein to see if Tuesday works, but I don't see why not." Stiles took a pause before he dared to ask. "So...Derek mentioned some tension between you and Ralph. Is...is everything okay?"
Jason blushed a bit before biting on his lower lip.
"Baby, what is it?" Stiles knelt in front of Jason and made eye contact.
Sighing, Jason began to explain. "Ralph really looks up to Walter. Like, in a dad sorta way. He saw how much Walter liked his mom and he says he knows how much his mom likes Walter. He was hoping that one day..."
"Ah...I see. Is Ralph...mean to you?"
Jason shrugged. "I guess. Not like in the bully way. I mean, I'm stronger than him. I do sports and training with daddy Der and on the teams. But he's cold. Doesn't like me being involved in stuff anymore. The only reason I get to hang around Sly is probably cos Ralph thinks Super Fun Guy is boring...which is like an oxymoron."
Stiles smiled, though a bit sadly. He understood it but didn't know how to really tackle it. But he wouldn't just let it be since it was harming his son.
"Dad, you can't say anything. He's not bothering me! We just...we're not friends. And that's okay. People can just not be friends and it's okay...right?" Jason asked, looking over to Derek, no so discreetly.
"Yeah, you are." Stiles just smiled and nodded. Standing up he ruffles Jason's hair. "You're growing up too fast. Next weekend we're going to a baseball game and the amusement park, got it?"
"I'll find a moment to speak with Paige. Jason's okay with not being friends with Ralph and it seems like it's nothing more than a cold-shoulder sort of thing but it still seems like something to be made aware of." Stiles told Derek. They were outside by the Camaro, but still with enough space so Jason wouldn't hear them.
"Good. You okay? You were chasing bad guys, stopping a terrorist attack, saved a kid by dry drowning in a silo...is...is this every day for you?" Derek couldn't help but ask.
"It's...never a dull day," Stiles replied honestly.
"I uh...I heard your plans. With Jason. Normal, fun weekend...how about...how about the three of us do that together?"
Stiles was silent for a moment, face clear, but his heart was racing. Then he shook his head. "I think what we got going on is good enough. Let's not rock the boat."
"Stiles-"
"Derek, no," Stiles said seriously. More serious than Derek's ever seen him, even at court. "Your family hates me, they'd hate the idea. I'm doing good. I'm getting more visitation rights, I've got my dad's house cleaned up, Roscoe's working properly for the first time since my mom had it..." Stiles paused and licked his lips as they'd gone dry before finding his words again. "Look, if we can someday be friends...that's great. But your family will see it wrong. They will meddle and do something that'll set me back just to make sure you and I aren't ever anything again...and you can't tell me I'm not right. So for now...let's just be the civil-separated parents who raise a child properly...okay?"
It felt like a breakup, but Derek nodded. The way some of his family spoke about him wasn't nice, to say the least. For so long Derek just saw Stiles as his ex who fathered their son. Thinking about him being his own person, with his own life, and moving on...well, he thought about it as much as he thought about Stiles being an agent. Which was...not until recently.
After realizing he'd been standing there quiet for too long Derek cleared his throat. "Yeah...yeah. Right. Uh...stupid."
"Not stupid, just...not right now," Stiles said and offered him a small smile. "Let me get some footing. Be more than just on might feet. Let me be someone again and then I promise you...I'll have the brass balls to show up to Sunday dinner and sit right next to Peter himself."
That made Derek smile. "Okay. I...I guess I'll see you when you come to pick up Jason tomorrow?"
"8 AM sharp," Stiles promised.
When Stiles walked back inside it was to catch Toby and Walter fighting. Cabe was pulling Walter away while Sylvester pulled away Toby.
"You married Happy, you son of a bitch!"
Stiles' eyes widened as he looked over at Walter.
"It was strictly for my green card, there was nothing romantic!" Walter said strictly, eyes darting between Toby and Stiles but staying on Stiles.
"You could have told me days ago. I HAVE BEEN SUFFERING!" Toby yelled, still struggling against Sly.
"Your reaction is exactly why I stayed silent!" Walter defended himself.
"I did not see this coming..." Paige muttered out loud.
Toby was still threatening Walter until Happy joined them, "Stop! It was six years ago, it was a friend in need. If I divorce him now he'll be deported and Scorpion is disbanded."
"So you just have to wait two years until I get my citizenship and then you can get married," Walter explained easily.
"Two years?"
"Two years?"
Both Stiles and Toby asked at the same time.
"Yeah, about that, Walter... I don't want to get you kicked out of the country, I don't want to mess up the team but I kinda need that divorce now." Happy told him.
"Whoa, why the rush all of the sudden?" Walter asked, perplex.
"Because she's in love jackass!" Toby snapped.
Cabe saw the look in Happy, a mix of hope and fear, and he smiled. "That's not the only reason. Now I know why she was acting so weird at the chemist."
Happy gave him a tight smile before telling Walter. "I need this divorce to be able to marry Toby because...I'm pregnant."
"Hey, wait up!" Walter called after Stiles as he tried to catch him down the street. He was a little out of breath before he asked Stiles, "So uh...I don't know if you heard me when I told Toby there was nothing romantic or sexual with my marriage to Happy. It was all for my green card."
"I heard," Stiles said bluntly, still walking to Roscoe parked at the end of the block.
Walter jogged to keep up. "You're upset. Stiles this isn't cheating if that's what you're worried about. Happy and I had an agreement that we were free to sleep with whoever since-"
"It doesn't mean anything." Stiles finished for him.
Walter took pause before correcting. "It means I could stay in America. In that sense it means something. But other than that, yeah it doesn't mean anything."
"But marriage does. And it's supposed to. Walter...I don't even know what we fully are. But after some accusations thrown to me a few years back, I swore I would never be certain things. And being that guy who sleeps with a married person is something I swore I would never do...So I'm sorry. If I'm still welcomed at Scorpion, then I'll work with you guys, but if..." He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath for a moment. "I can't sleep with you if you're married." And with that, he left Walter in the middle of the street as he went home with many emotions and concerns. His relationship with Walter was one, and also the security the job offered. His life stabilizing as much as it has was because of his job at Scorpion. If he's cut loose then he was back to where he started.
"Congratulations..." Walter said half heartily.
"You okay?" Happy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Uh...no. I...I guess I sort of need the divorce quickly myself. Stiles...he uh...he can't be involved with a married man."
"We gotta fix this." Happy said.
"Agreed."
End Notes
To be honest, when I wrote the very first installment I was like, "This might get a few Kudos, maybe a comment." I never thought so many people who watched Teen Wolf also watched Scorpion...I haven't read any other crossovers personally, I don't even know if it's a thing. I just know and love all the comments I get. People are genuinely surprised and in a good way. I hope you guys keep liking all that continues.
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