Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at /works/11546478.
Rating: Mature
Archive Warning: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: M/M
Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV), Scorpion (TV 2014)
Relationship: Walter O'Brien/Stiles Stilinski
Character: Walter O'Brien, Stiles Stilinski, Toby Curtis, Original Child Character(s)
Additional Tags: implied Sexual Content, Male Slash, Original Character(s), Past Relationship(s), Past Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Alive Hale Family, Werewolves, Custody Battle, Single Parent Stiles Stilinski, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Family Drama, Military Stiles, Friends With Benefits, implied car sex, Awkwardness, Awkward Conversations
Series: Part 2 of /Family
Stats: Published: 2017-07-19 Words: 1728
Title: Beneficial Acquaintances by JackalPinesOfHouseEvergreen
Summary: Walter is doing his best to avoid Paige and Tim's relationship. He's got the AAA plan and it's working!...mostly. But after his talk with Cabe he knows he can't give Paige anything less than what she deserves. But letting go is hard. He needs a distraction. Stiles showing up to Scorpion with Roscoe is quite the distraction...though one Walter wished Toby hadn't learned of.
"Are you sure your arm's gonna be okay?" Jason asked him as he hopped out of Roscoe.
Stiles grabbed his backpack and helped Jason put it on before ruffling his hair. "I'm sure. Your daddy's one tough birdie. Did you have fun with me this weekend?"
Jason's face lit up and he nodded. "It was one of the bestest!"
"Best, sweetie. Bestest isn't a word." Stiles corrected. He might not have the education the Hale's deem worthy, but he was still smart. And though it was cute to hear his baby be that excited, he needed to teach him any way he could at any moment that presented itself.
"Right." Jason nodded, remembering the fact. Then his face became gentle and far too serious for a kid his age. "I really did have fun. I promise. No fibs...and I'll make sure daddy Der knows. I...I wanna spend more time with you."
It was hard explaining the reasons why Jason was being fought over in court. Stiles knew they weighed on him...if even just a bit. He hated it, but he couldn't stop from fighting. Not for Jason.
"I know sweetie." Stiles knelt at his eye level and rubbed his shoulders gently. Then he leaned in and kissed his forehead for a long moment. "I want to spend more time with you too. And I'm trying...I'm...doing better now. I swear things will get better. Now...I'm sure your father's waiting for you with something special planned today as well. Go on."
They hugged once more before Jason ran up the stairs and Derek opened the door in a timely manner.
Stiles wasn't sure if Derek did it to spite him or if he was even aware of it. But every time Stiles took Jason out to do something fun and special when Jason came back to the Hale estate it was to some sort of treat or surprise that Stiles could never dream to afford.
Sometimes it was hard to remember a time when they thought they loved each other but Jason was living, breathing, proof that such a time existed. Reality and responsibilities just tore them apart. The real world came with bills and expenses, tragedy, and little acts of mercy. They never married but they tried living together after Derek realized they had conceived a child together. Jason was about three, almost four, at the time. Stiles had taken care of him on his own until then. They struggled, but they managed.
With Derek though they fought. Derek wanted to raise him with the best of everything but Stiles didn't have that and didn't want to seem like a gold digger. He wanted to work hard for what he gave Jason. To prove to Jason and himself that he could care of his child. Derek played along until there were signs that Jason might indeed be a wolf as well. His family got involved and soon Jason was literally torn from his arms. Stiles fought. Legally and physically. One of his never healing scars was a werewolf claw done by Samuel Hale, Derek's father. Who along with Peter, had been the ones to come get Jason after Derek had moved out.
Since then, his interactions with the Hales was forced civility, edging on cold indifference.
He got back into the Jeep and drove out of there with a great desire to head to the bar. But he resisted. Roscoe seemed to agree in its own way because it started making some really weird noises and Stiles knew couldn't be ignored.
Being short on cash, he went the only place he could think of that could help and give him a break.
"Yeeeeah. You'll need Happy to come to fix this. I mean...I'm a genius and I'm not 100% sure how this even...happened..." Walter said slowly as he pulled out a piece of the engine that was triple wrapped with duck tape.
Stiles blushed as he closed the hood. "I uh...I'm good at improvising when I don't know how to fix the problem."
"Right. But that only gets you so far. Kind of inefficient if you ask me."
"I don't remember asking that. I asked if you could fix my Jeep." Stiles replied with an easy smirk. Which was the only marker that Walter knew that he was joking. Or at least not serious and therefore not peeved at Walter's bluntness.
"And my expert advice is...wait for Happy to come back. Might be a few hours. She went to get some parts she needed for the solar panels she's building."
Stiles leaned against his Jeep. "Do you mind if I crash here for a bit? I got nowhere else to go."
Considering that he hasn't been able to stop thinking about Paige and Tim's relationship and their 'coupley-ness', Walter just smiled and nodded.
"Sex in the back of an old Jeep. I gotta tell you Walter...there aren't too many moments when I feel proud for you. But this? This is totally one of them." Toby said while making an a-okay motion with this hand.
Walter turned to look up where Stiles was changing into something of Walter's since...Walter sort of...literally tore his shirt off, then glared at Toby. "This stays between us."
"Why? Not ashamed are you? He's a good looking guy. And if this means you've moved on from Paige and we don't need to worry about any more awkward tension, then isn't that great?" Even if posed as an innocent question of a great solution, all Walter heard was Toby's sarcasm.
"You obsessing over who Happy's husband is, is creating tension as well. Don't even try to deny it."
"Hey! I love her and want to spend the rest of my life with her. With all the crazy things we do, I don't know how long that is. And someone is robbing me of that!" Toby exclaimed as he pointed his finger upward in emphasis.
"Um...am I interrupting something?" Stiles asked as he came back.
"Yes. And I'm thanking you for it." Walter said as he gave Toby an unimpressed look.
"Whatever, Walter. Anyway, Agent Stilinski...may I call you Stiles?" Toby changed
"I prefer it if you do." Stiles smiled on.
Toby raised an eyebrow. "Why? You got a name you don't like?"
"Toby." Walter gave him a warning look before he turned to Stiles. "I can call you an uber if you wanna go home."
Stiles made an apologetic face to Walter. "I...don't." Then he turned to Toby and said. "My real name? It's a monstrosity to the English language and tormented me as a kid. Stiles is just easier."
Toby ignored the name information for now and asked, "Why don't you wanna go home? There's conflict in your eyes. Sadness too. Worry as much as the sadness. Walter, what did you do?" Toby asked in that usual tone of bantering he usually had with the team.
"Nothing!...right?" Walter turned to ask Stiles because he wasn't sure. Apparently, he hasn't made as much progress with his EQ as he thought.
"No! No, of course not. You've been...a great distraction to me, trust me."
"I bet," Toby muttered. Walter elbowed him.
"I got kicked out of my last place," Stiles admitted and scratched the back of his head in shame.
"Oh...do you need a place to stay?" Walter asked.
"Yeah, Scorpion's no Hilton, but it's better than any motel...mostly." Toby chipped in.
"No...I uh...my dad's house is where I'm going. He uh...he passed. Cop. On the job..." it was short sentences, but it was the most he could manage without breaking down. "The house was paid for...I just... I couldn't go in it with him being dead...but...it's in my name...and it'll be a good place for me to start fixing up my life. Another step is getting Roscoe fixed..."
"Does seem like a good place to have sex in," Toby smirked.
Both Stiles and Walter blushed and looked away from each other before Walter said. "Do you need money?"
"I...I need a job." Stiles didn't want to be a charity case.
"Richard Elia emailed me, saying he had an upcoming job for us. Why don't you come along?" Walter asked, thinking it was a brilliant option. They'd have another trained personal and if things got weird and icky with Paige and Tim acting so damn sweet, he could always get a distraction from Stiles.
"Oh please say yes, I wanna see how this turns out," Toby said with a lot of amusement.
"I...do you guys really have a valid place for me? It's not just out of pity, right?"
"Walter's the boss. If he can't just bring in someone who he has a connection to that also happens to be a benefit to the team, then what's the point of being the boss?" Toby scoffed and then placed an arm around Walter's shoulder while he looked at Stiles. "Welcome to Scorpion!" And then he whispered to Walter. "I cannot wait for Paige to learn about your FWB."
"FWB?" Walter asked with utter confusion.
"Friend with benefits." Toby wagged his eyebrows suggestively.
But still, Walter was confused. "I...I don't understand."
"Friends who have sex but aren't in a relationship," Stiles said and then looked at Toby with a dry expression. "I like Walter but we're not friends yet. Merely acquaintances."
Walter pointed to Stiles like he had a point. Which he did.
"Fine. BA's. Beneficial Acquaintances." Toby relented as he picked up a snack bar from his desk, unwrapped it and took a bite. "I still want to be present when Paige and the others learn about this. But mostly Paige, have I mentioned that."
"You're far too interested in other people's live's doc..." Stiles muttered.
"Hey, the woman I love is married to a man I can't find yet...I need a distraction too. Just not the sort you two get up. By the way, you might wanna clean the Jeep before you ask Happy to fix it."
"We used protection. There was no mess." Walter stated, which had Stiles as red as he's ever been.
"Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?" He muttered before heading the Jeep to give it a clean up anyway