Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)

by Takara Phoenix

Stiles, Scott and Kira are spending the summer after their college graduation at the Hale Ranch. Stiles is quickly charmed by the hot, married couple who owns the place. This is supposed to be a supernatural free vacation, but what they don't know is that the ranch is owned by a pack of werewolves… and Stiles fell for the Alphas. Chris/Peter/Stiles slash Stetopher

Teen Wolf || Stetopher || Teen Wolf || Save a Horse || Teen Wolf || Stetopher || Teen Wolf

Title: Save a Horse – Ride a Cowboy

TW Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Jeff Davis and MTV. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Tags: m/m/m, polyamory, alternate universe, cowboys, Spark Stiles, Pack Alpha Peter, Pack Alpha Chris, werewolf Chris, magic, fluff, hurt/comfort, explicit intercourse, anal, past abuse, f/f, m/f

Main Pairing: Chris/Peter/Stiles

Side Pairings: Scott/Allison, Boyd/Erica, Jackson/Lydia, Malia/Kira

Teen Wolf Characters: Mieczysław 'Stiles' Stilinski, Peter Hale, Chris Argent, Derek Hale, Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd, Isaac Lahey, Jackson Whittemore, Lydia Martin, Cora Hale, Scott McCall, Allison Argent, Malia Tate, Kira Yukimura

Summary: Stiles, Scott and Kira are spending the summer after their college graduation at the Hale Ranch. Stiles is quickly charmed by the hot, married couple who owns the place (not that Scott and Kira can judge him, since they're busy swooning over the owners' daughters). This is supposed to be a supernatural free vacation, but what they don't know is that the ranch is owned by a pack of werewolves… and Stiles fell for the Alphas.

Save a Horse

Ride a Cowboy

Stiles was going to be a librarian. He finally had his degree. Well, before he was going to actually work as a librarian, he was taking the summer off to recharge, take a breath and also to celebrate with his two best friends. After all, it wasn't every day that one finished their Master's.

Stiles and Scott had been best friends since elementary school and thick as thieves, inseparable until high school graduation when, sadly, college did pull them physically apart. Never emotionally though. They texted and called and visited each other as often as they could and always met up when both returned to their home town of Beacon Hills for the holidays or a break.

Kira on the other hand was Scott's first college girlfriend. Stiles met her the first time he finally got to go and visit Scott on campus and the two of them hit it off right away. Chatty, excited, passionate and like the biggest sweetheart Stiles ever met.

When Scott and Kira broke up, Stiles had felt like what he imagined kids of divorcees felt like. He had been more devastated than either of them and somehow, they ended up having to comfort him about their breakup. Thankfully enough, the two sweetest people Stiles had ever met managed to actually stay friends, so Stiles didn't have to pick a favorite parent in the divorce.

To celebrate their newfound freedom after their final exams and the end of their lives as college students, Stiles, Scott and Kira decided to go on a nice, long vacation somewhere. It was a months long process of arguing where to go and what to do until they finally found the perfect compromise.

A horse ranch.

Animals for Scott, fresh air and exercise for Kira, hot cowboys for Stiles. Everybody won.

And oh boy was Stiles winning the most. When they got out of his Jeep at the Hale Ranch, he couldn't help but absolutely gape at the supermodel cowboy who greeted them with a smirk that made Stiles' pants want to hit the ground. The man was absolutely gorgeous and at least twenty years older than him, which did make him even more attractive because hell yeah did Stiles have a thing for older guys. He was ridiculously good looking, with such a cut jawline, a nice, thick neck, a well-trimmed beard and the most dazzling blue eyes Stiles had ever seen.

"Howdy," the hot gorgeous cowboy greeted with a playful wink. "You must be our new guests, booked under Stilinski?"

"Yep. Yeah. That's me. Stilinski. Stiles. You can call me Stiles," Stiles nodded wildly, trying hard not to drool. "I also answer to 'good boy'. But you can call me whatever you like, honestly."

Scott groaned and covered his face with his hands while Kira giggled.

"Stiles, we are going to live here for the next three months, why can you not even control yourself for three minutes?" Scott complained miserably.

"Listen, you know my brain-to-mouth-filter is permanently broken and it like breaks even more in the face of unfathomable hotness!" Stiles defended himself and, helpfully enough, motioned at the hot gorgeous cowboy. "You know what I always say! Go big or go home."

Hot gorgeous cowboy raised an amused eyebrow at him, but before hot gorgeous cowboy (honestly, cowman. But no wait that sounded weirdly like Stiles was talking about a Minotaur. Which, also hot, but different flavor of hot) could say anything, another hot cowboy stepped up. This one, Stiles would categorize more as handsome. Salt and pepper hair and oh that gray looked good in his beard in particular, broad shoulders and bulging biceps and also with the pretty blue eyes, though these leaning a little more into steel-gray. Even more daddy energy than hot gorgeous cowboy. Stiles was ready to die, or perhaps he was already dead and had gone to DILF heaven.

"Well then, sugar," hot handsome cowboy offered, an amused smirk on his lips. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Chris Hale and this here 'unfathomable hotness' is my husband, Peter Hale."

Stiles was ready to die from embarrassment right now. Could the Earth maybe open up and swallow him whole? Was that an option? Had his 'not gotten laid in months because drowning in exams and thesis and preparations and just kill him now' brain really made him embarrass himself in front of the very married (very hot) owner of the ranch by hitting on him while his husband was in earshot?

"Okay, I guess 'go home' it is then," Stiles muttered sullenly, turning to drive off the nearest cliff.

Kira expertly grabbed him by the back of his shirt collar to pull him back. "You absolutely are not leaving. You're the one who found this place, Stiles. If you can not control your mouth, you will have to live with the consequences of what it does."

"And what does that mouth do?" Peter asked intrigued, one eyebrow raised.

A wicked grin spread over his lips and yep, Stiles was going to die. Turning around, he buried his face in Kira's neck, allowing her to pat his back. Because unlike Scott, Kira actually had pity with him when he was being pathetic, sad and in need of being taken out the back and put down.

"Why don't you lot come inside, meet everyone and then we get you settled in?" Chris suggested.

The man looked far too amused, which made his pretty eyes sparkle and crinkle. Stiles liked the laugh lines, they showed he'd led a happy life so far. Also, again, the raw daddy energy was overwhelming. Stiles more or less got dragged into the absolutely gorgeous, large farm house by Kira and Scott. Once inside, Peter whistled loudly, startling all three of them. Steps thundered down the stairs and by the time they reached the living room, it was already full with people.

"This is the family and staff," Peter offered, motioning at the gathered people one by one. "Our daughters Malia and Allison, our nephew Derek, our niece Cora, and these are Isaac, Boyd and Erica, they also live and work on the range and are practically family."

"He once tried to bribe my parents into giving me up for adoption when I was nineteen," Erica said proudly. "When that didn't work, he tried to play matchmaker between me and Malia. We would have been a killed bi4bi couple, but I already got my man, I'm afraid."

She grabbed Boyd's hand and lifted it up a little, making Boyd smile. "Yeah, he tried to arrange a marriage between me and Cora."

"That's all my fault, because Allison and I dated as teens and he thought that would be his in to make me join the family, before we broke up," Isaac said gravely. "Peter cried about it for a week."

Isaac made a very disgruntled face aimed at Peter, who looked indignant at best, while Boyd looked both amused and embarrassed. Allison, Malia and Cora seemed a mixture of exasperated and fond. It all made Stiles burst into bright, delighted laughter. That was actually adorable, all of that. He grinned broadly, feeling really warm and happy in that moment. There was no tenseness, no stiff awkward 'strangers in our home' feeling, it just felt like these people were opening their home to them and Stiles really loved that feeling.

"These here," Chris cleared his throat. "Are our new guests."

"Hi," Scott beamed at the room. "I'm Scott McCall, thank you for having us."

"Kira Yukimura," Kira bowed a little and gave both a smile and a wave.

"And this here is Stiles but he answers to everything," Peter offered with a mean smirk.

Stiles groaned and covered his hands. "I am eternally sorry for hitting on you. I promise it won't happen again. I didn't notice the wedding ring, I hadn't gotten to your hands yet, your neck is very distracting, can we please just forget I said… literally anything at all since I got out of my car?"

"Your neck is very distracting," Erica parroted before cackling. "I mean, you're not wrong. But."

She was laughing so intensely, she had to lean onto Boyd for support. The tall, also very attractive man wrapped an arm around her waist, smiling amused. Actually, letting his eyes wander through the room, everybody was insanely good looking. This felt more like the set up for a model shoot or maybe the music video to a sexy country song than an actual horse ranch.

"Don't worry about it, dollface," Chris chuckled and patted Stiles on the back. "I would not have married this man if I couldn't deal with people appreciating his good looks. He draws attention."

"He also revels in the attention like a cat," Isaac muttered beneath his breath.

"Not wrong," Peter nodded, a cheeky grin on his lips as he winked at Stiles. "Who doesn't like a pretty little thing telling them that they look good?"

The wink nearly did Stiles in. Was the ground going to swallow him whole any time soon…? Please? He could not handle the hot gorgeous cowboy making fun of him.

"How about I show you where you're gonna stay?" Boyd offered.

Bless his heart for having mercy on Stiles. His new favorite person! Boyd smiled at them and led the way out through the back, though he didn't do it alone. Erica hadn't let go of his hand yet. Stiles noticed the very shiny engagement ring on a necklace.

"Congrats," Stiles grinned, jerking his head toward the ring. "Good catch. On both of you."

Erica gave him the broadest grin in return. "Thanks. I had to bag him before Peter was going to forcibly marry him off to Cora, or try to make a match between me and Derek happen."

"I like Cora a lot, but I am not marrying anyone but this woman right here."

And oh, Boyd looked at Erica like she was the moon and the stars, making Stiles' inner romantic swoon. Kira's too, judging by the small noise she made next to him. They reached a smaller house behind the main house and Erica unlocked the door for them.

"This is our guest house," Erica explained. "Staff and family live in the main house and we're renting the guest house out to guests. There is another couple who's going to spend the summer with us and you'll be sharing the space with them. They're currently in town shopping."

Stiles nodded, looking around. It was just as rural pretty as the main house and Stiles found himself instantly in love with it. He'd always been a big DC fan and Superman had always romanticized that farm life for him. Ever since early teen Stiles first sat in front of the TV to watch Smallville had he dreamed of his own handsome farmer to sweep him off his feet.

"You can either have breakfast here, make it yourself in the kitchen," Boyd motioned into one direction where Stiles assumed their kitchen was. "Or join the family in the main house. Peter always makes enough to feed a small army, so we usually host hour guests for breakfast."

"Thank you," Scott offered with a kind smile.

"Yeah," Stiles grinned. "Thanks. So, uh, we'll… see you guys later, I guess?"

"Come by the house when you're all settled in, take your time. Someone from the fam is always easy to find, if you need anything," Boyd nodded. "Today's just gonna be you guys settling in and getting a tour of the grounds. Tomorrow, your program starts."

They had agreed on a more or less mild program. People could sign up for just a vacation of living on the farm, or to help out on the farm to varying degrees. They'd agreed on a milder helping out, because they wanted something to do too, plus riding. There were horses! Sure, the whole farm with animals angle had been for Scott's sake, but riding? Stiles hadn't been on a horse in years.

As soon as Boyd and Erica were out of the room, did both Kira and Scott turn toward Stiles with so much judgment and pity on their faces, reminded him of his utterly embarrassing blunder.

"I didn't mean to say all of that," Stiles groaned in frustration, throwing his hands up. "That man is sex on a stick, have you seen him? And the way those jeans hugged his ass, holy shit. He has an evil smirk too, which is so, so sexy. I just couldn't not say it, you know? If I'd known that he had a husband and his husband was the king of all DILFs, I would not have said it!"

"You still would have," Scott muttered beneath his breath. "You have the self-control of a cat in heat when it comes to older men."

"That's just not true," Stiles whined frustrated.

"Professor Hayes," Kira reminded him. "You knew it was a bad idea, but couldn't hold back. To quote you: I know it's a bad idea, he's my professor, I'm going to look like the class slut but have you seen his smirk? He can bend me over his desk every day'."

"He did bend me over his desk every day," Stiles helpfully supplied. "It was good. And I wasn't the class slut! Nobody even knew we were dating and it didn't interfere with my studies at all!"

Scott nodded in agreement, before his face darkened. "And then there was Michael."

Even Kira's soft laughter died at that. "Yeah… I did not like Michael."

"We don't need to talk about Michael," Stiles growled defensively.

He hunched in on himself a little and forcibly grabbed his bags off the ground to stomp upstairs. Nobody should ever talk about Michael. Or to Michael. Grabbing one of the bedrooms with an open door, Stiles threw his bags onto the bed. Scott slowly approached him from behind, hugging him.

"I'm sorry," Scott sighed. "I didn't mean to bring him up. I know it's still a touchy subject. I just… I'm worried about you, Stiles. You're my best friend. And I know you have a thing for older men, but sometimes, there is a power dynamic and sometimes they are assholes and will use it to their advantage and I don't want to ever see you taken advantage of again. That shit fucked me up."

"That shit fucked me up," Stiles countered, glaring at his bags, before he heaved a deep sigh. "Look, Scottyboy, I love you, I appreciate your concerns. But as we just established, the two hot guys are very much married to each other, so you don't have to worry about me getting into anything where I'll be 'taken advantage of'. This was an embarrassing moment and we will just ignore it. I have shit taste, I know. Either they're assholes, or they're my professor whom I shouldn't date, or, apparently, they're married cowboys with a ranch full of family."

"One day, we will find you a nice boyfriend who'll treat you right, is in the same emotional space as you and also not in a position of power over you," Kira offered softly, her eyes very big and sad on his behalf. "Or you could reach out to Robert again, since you're not nineteen anymore. I liked Robert, even if he was your professor, he did treat you right."

"Robert had three kids. One of whom was only like three years younger than Stiles," Scott argued.

"Oh, Charlie was a menace," Stiles cringed. "She kept calling me 'step-daddy' and started introducing herself as 'Miss Charlene Stilinski Hayes' to everyone she met. Which. Might have factored into the breakup because that was a lot of pressure and a lot of hostile energy. Looking back, honestly, she was kind of inspired. 10/10, would have totally done the same if dad had started dating a nineteen year old when I was sixteen."

"See, dating men with grown children is not a good idea," Scott chimed, patting Stiles on his back with a way too cheerful smile. "And these men have two grown daughters. One of whom is the prettiest girl in maybe the entire world."

"Ye—eah," Kira sighed softly, biting her lip.

Slowly, Scott and Kira turned to stare at each other. Finally, the spotlight was off Stiles, he would much rather cackle at his two best friends. Was this it? Were they finally entering the YA rom com stage of their lives where Kira and Scott would be in an awkward love triangle, two exes pining for the same hot girl? After all, Kira coming to terms with being a lesbian was what had broken them up. No hard feelings, Scott had fully understood why a girl from a small town who never had made many friends, much less dated in high school, hadn't really questioned her sexuality much and he was happy to have helped her figure herself out. Sometimes, the guy was just too good to be true.

"I'm calling dibs on Allison!" "I'll not give up Malia without a fight!"

Aw. No love triangle drama for Stiles then. Too bad, that could have been fun to watch. He grinned as he watched realization and then relief settle into both their faces.

"At least I'm not the only one going heart-eyes for a Hale," Stiles smirked triumphantly. "This vacation is going to be so much fun."

/break\

Peter had a broad and satisfied grin on his face as he collapsed back onto the bed next to his husband, both their chests heaving. Chris wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer.

"Maybe we shouldn't be too mean to the twink," Chris muttered.

"We weren't 'mean' to the twink," Peter argued. "He embarrassed himself and then he had to be all cute and adorably flustered about it. How could I possibly not tease him then? Especially when you started it. You never indulge in the teasing. I was delighted."

Chris grunted, not arguing that. He had called the pretty boy 'sugar' first and teased him. But after what they'd overheard earlier, he felt a little bad about it, knowing that someone had taken advantage of the boy in the past and to some degree messed him up. The kid's voice had been so steely and hurt when discussing this Michael with his friends. No need to rub salt in the wound.

"Sometimes, I hate werewolf hearing," Chris noted with a heavy sigh.

Peter chuckled and kissed his temple. Of course he did. Damn Alpha was a born werewolf, he didn't know what it was like to be human. Chris remembered though. Before he'd gotten bitten on a hunt and had to run away, flee and hide. Finding refuge on the Hale Farm, Peter's father and the then Alpha Logan Hale offering him a roof over head and a place in the pack.

Chris took a shuddering breath as inevitably the memories of what followed came. When Chris' family had tracked him down to kill him, just to find him with a whole pack of wolves. It had been a vicious fight, until Chris' younger sister set the barn ablaze. Filled with hay, it quickly went up in flames, the fire spreading onto the main house. Peter's parents and siblings had died, Peter himself had only made it out alive because he'd herded the kids out.

Twenty years, and still it haunted Chris. Would forever haunt Chris. Peter, Derek, Laura, Cora and Malia had been the only survivors of the Hale family. Chris and his daughter Allison, who'd been left behind in a motel in town by her mother Victoria when the Argents had come to kill him, were the only ones left behind of the Argents.

Laura had left the farm for college in New York and was now working there, had found a place in a local pack where she had felt so home, she didn't return after college. Peter was sullen about it, but they could also both understand why she'd left the farm behind, after all they had lost here. But Peter and Chris, they had rather rebuilt. Rebuilt the farm and rebuilt the Hale Pack. At first, their pack had only been their family, before in their late teens, Isaac, Boyd and Erica joined. Together, they built something new. Something beautiful.

"I know you don't hate the werewolf nose though," Peter growled teasingly. "He smells divine."

He was nosing along Chris' neck, teeth scratching over his pulse. This one, Chris couldn't argue with. Sure he may have told the cute twink that he was fine with people appreciating his husband, but Chris' wolf was still a wolf – possessive of his mate – so someone actively flirting with Peter usually did make him growl and stake his claim in some way. Usually by planting a big hickey on Peter's neck, which infuriatingly enough would be gone in a couple hours. But at least as an Alpha wolf himself, he could make 'injuries' last that long. When he'd still been a beta, he had spent a lot of time growling in frustration at the hickeys as they faded faster than he'd made them. Being a werewolf who liked to leave possessive marks and dating another werewolf with supernatural healing, especially an Alpha werewolf, did not mash well.

But yes, usually Chris was more territorial. Something about the pretty boy's scent had softened him up though. Sweet like honey, making Chris want to lick his skin to see if he tasted as good as he smelt, but with a dangerous note of an oncoming lightning storm, which was thrilling in a way Chris had never experienced a scent to be, yet also the soft, sharp scent of drying ink on paper. It was a complex, layered scent in a way Chris had very rarely smelt from a person and it intrigued him, made his wolf growl softly in a pleased manner.

"Why does he smell like that?" Chris asked, tilting his head to look at Peter. "Why does he appeal to my wolf like that? Your scent appeals to me, but even that feels… different."

"Mh," Peter tilted his head. "Maybe he should be ours."

"Peter Hale, we are not going to seduce the twink who's spending his summer at our ranch," Chris heaved a sigh. "The very human twink who has just expressed that he's been taken advantage of by an older guy in the past. We will not be that kind of people."

After all, the kid was going to be living at their place for the next three months, relying on them in certain ways. There was no need to make him uncomfortable and maybe feel pressured into anything, especially since he'd be gone in three months again, back to wherever he lived and they'd never see him again. No need to drag him into their supernatural mess.

"I do think we have to watch out for the kid with the crooked jaw though," Chris growled. "I do not like the way he smiled at Allison. Or that he called 'dibs' on our daughter."

"Oh, him you're worried about. But not about little miss radiant sunshine who kept batting her eyelashes at Malia all throughout dinner?" Peter teased.

"Mal would eat her alive," Chris snorted. "You and I both know that."

"Oh please. Ally could eat that McCall boy alive too. Just because our princess has a sweet smile and got you wrapped around her little finger doesn't mean you didn't raise a prolific huntress there," Peter countered, one eyebrow raised. "I think our daughters are both old enough to do whatever they want with whoever they want."

Chris heaved a sigh. Wouldn't be the first time someone from their pack found a summer fling with a guest. Not even the first time one of their daughters did. That was how Isaac had come into their lives, after all. But that didn't mean he had to like it.

/break\

The other people staying at the farm were Jackson and Lydia Whittemore, a young relatively freshly married couple. She was an absolute goddess and he was an absolute jackass. That much Stiles knew after one day with them. Sadly, he found the jackass kind of charming though. But then he kept being accused of having bad taste, so there was that.

Day two of their stay at the Hale Ranch opened up with a truly glorious breakfast feast in the main house. There'd been a welcoming dinner at the main house the previous night already and it had been a lot of fun, everyone seemed so nice (even though Chris kept glaring at Scott for some reason), so Kira, Stiles and Scott decided to take the family up on their offer of shared breakfasts.

Pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, eggs sunny side up, sausages, ham, bacon, fruits, cereals – quite frankly, Stiles had stayed in fancy hotels with fewer options. And Peter looked so cute in his Kiss the Cook apron. And it got really hot when Chris walked downstairs, slipped a hand into Peter's back-pocket and pulled the other man into a kiss. Stiles was not going to survive this vacation.

"You lot slept well?" Chris asked, regarding them all one by one, before his eyes landed on Stiles with something akin to concern on his face. "You do not look well-rested."

Stiles winced and emptied his second cup of coffee. "Ye—eah. Not due to your place or anything. We just had a, uh, conversation yesterday that made me remember some… less than pleasant things. Don't worry about it. My mind is a messy place and I am not the boss of it."

I'm your Alpha now, Stiles, and you do what I tell you. Stiles could hear the words in his mind like they were being growled into his ear all over again and when someone touched his shoulder, he violently flinched away. Peter looked down at him with surprise that quickly morphed into concern.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine," Stiles lifted a hand to wave the other off.

"People who are fine usually don't have to say it three times," Malia pointed out.

"What can I say," Stiles offered the cheeriest, fakest smile. "I always talk too much."

He felt himself tense as other memories haunted him. You would be so much more enjoyable if you didn't talk so much. His fingers curled tightly into his jeans until his knuckles were white. Scott noticed and reached out, taking the hand closest to him to ease it off.

"I'm sorry," Scott muttered very lowly, leaning in. "I didn't mean to…"

"All good, Scotty," Stiles chirped, still with that fake smile forced onto his lips. "Not your fault."

His smile looked just a little tighter at that. It was true. It had been his own fault, Scott had warned him from the get-go, getting involved with an older guy while he was all alone in another state was a bad idea and an even worse idea when said guy was an Alpha. It was his own fault.

"Not to overstep there, sweetheart, but I doubt whatever happened was actually your fault," Chris spoke in a graveling dark delicious voice, frown on his face.

Why would the man say that. He had literally zero context to Stiles and Scott's conversation from yesterday and the only impression Stiles must have made so far was that of a bumbling mess who put his foot in his mouth so why would he not assume that whatever shit happened to Stiles must have been Stiles' own fault? He so did not deserve that level of trust in his ability to not fuck shit up, because Stiles always fucked shit up, one way or another.

"All due respect there, Mister Hale," Stiles tilted his head, keeping his voice neutral. "You don't know me, or my situation, well enough to judge that."

"Well, I do, and he's right," Scott growled beneath his breath.

Oh no, no growling, especially no growling in company of normal regular people. Stiles gave him the most vicious wide-eyed stare, both for the growling and his words. He hoped Scott caught that it was for both. They had agreed that there would be no growling, that this would be their super normal non-supernatural vacation of just three regular non-supernatural college graduates. No kitsune, no Alpha wolf, no Spark, just three best friends having a relaxed, normal summer.

"How about," Kira started in a cheerful voice. "We talk about what we're going to do today?"

Stiles turned toward her with a tired, grateful smile. "Yeah. That sounds like a good plan. Thank you, Ki, you remain my favorite person on the entire planet."

Kira perked up at that, smiling brightly, while Scott whined like a wounded puppy. Again with the wolf noises. What was even the point of Stiles using his magic to conceal Scott's wolf-nature if he kept behaving like a puppy anyway? They'd agreed! No supernatural shenanigans this summer! So Stiles had found a spell to dampen Scott's wolf nature, meaning he wouldn't smell like wolf to other wolves – because Stiles just knew there had to be some kind of pack in Silver Lake, the town had a large forest that stretched up a mountain and that just screamed werewolf territory – but it also meant that Scott's own senses were dulled. Meaning they had lost their early warning system for supernatural bullshit. So, what was the point in giving up the early warning system if Scott couldn't play the human part?

"We're gonna get you acquainted with the horses," Boyd offered. "After breakfast, you can go and wash up and then meet us at the stables."

Hell yes. Stiles perked up, the smile on his lips turning genuine and excited.

/break\

"You are the most handsome man on this ranch, aren't you? Yes, you are. God, you're just so gorgeous. I can't wait to ride you."

Peter pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to not be jealous of a horse. What in the world was that twink doing to him and his husband. They were Alpha wolves and grown men, not little pups, they should have better control than this. Yet here he was, two seconds from growling at Pepper, the horse Stiles was currently petting and cooing at. Pepper, a pitch-black stallion, was gladly leaning into the caress, allowing Stiles to pet him. Which was rare, Pepper was one of their more temperamental horse (and that was why Chris had originally assigned the horse to Scott. Peter loved his husband, but the protective vengeance he felt over Allison was ridiculous at times).

"Watch it before you flash your eyes at Pepper, uncle Peter," Derek muttered with a smirk.

"Do shut up, nephew," Peter growled and aimed a glare at Derek.

The two of them were leaning against the wooden fence surrounding the riding area. Allison was already on her own horse, perfect posture and perfect smile in place, while their five guests all stood next to their respective horses. Allison had glared at her dad for assigning Pepper to Scott, so they'd switched it up. Now Scott had the tamest horse in the stable, Salt.

"Question: Are all animals named after food?" Kira asked, looking up at Allison.

"Nope. But all horses are named after spices," Erica offered with a grin.

"That is kind of weird," Stiles whispered, staring at her in awe. "I love it."

"Mal and Ally started the tradition when they were little and we just kept with it," Peter supplied.

Allison blushed ever so slightly at the reminder. Pepper neighed and nuzzled more into Stiles, which made the boy coo softly. Peter continued being jealous of the horse. At least until his attention was drawn to Salt and Scott. The light-gray mare whined and tried her hardest to get away from Scott, which was rare. She was one of their softest and most gentle horses (Allison had decided to pair them up, making Peter think that Chris may have reason to worry about that boy).

Both Peter and Derek tensed, ready to step in and help out. Getting their guests injured was something they did try to avoid. Which was part of the reason why the two of them stood out here. Another part, for Peter at least, was to look at Stiles' ass in those skinny jeans. Mh, that pretty little thing really was tempting all around.

Before Peter and Derek could step in though did said pretty little thing get between Scott and Salt. He rested one hand on the horse's face and pushed Scott off with his other hand.

"Ease there, girl," Stiles whispered gently, and then turned to Scott. "Horses are not dogs."

"What," Derek grunted. "Does that mean."

Cracking a smile, Stiles turned toward them. "Scotty is a real dog whisperer. He's a vet. Now actually really officially! And he's always been amazing with dogs. Turns out, horses are not dogs."

Peter snorted softly and shook his head. Maybe a bit of backup for Allison would be a good idea then. The last thing they needed was for one of the horses to go off. He quietly summoned Boyd and Isaac, the two wolves that the horses were most friendly with. The two betas came and climbed over the fence, getting closer but not too close. All the animals on their farm knew the pack and trusted them, though it had been a bit of a struggle at first with each horse. They didn't react too kindly to werewolves. Which was why they put Allison, their only human, on the task of teaching their guests how to ride, because though the horses knew and trusted the pack, there was always an unknown element to having their guests interact with the horses. A bad reaction such as this, or the occasional rude and entitled city kid who didn't know how to treat a horse. These things could escalate and in those cases, the presence of the wolves was more counterproductive than helpful.

"Okay," Allison called out. "Let's get up on your equine companion for the day. Follow my lead."

She demonstrated very slowly how to climb up on a horse and Peter was delighted to watch Jackson nearly fall off immediately, while Scott actually did end up on his ass in the mud. Kira managed on her second try. The only ones who did it right from the start were Lydia and Stiles.

"Isaac. You mind helping Scott out?" Allison requested amused.

Peter grinned and relaxed as he got to watch his daughter at work, every now and again chancing a glance at Stiles, who despite flailing a lot when literally walking a straight line, was actually pretty good at this. He looked gorgeous on his horse.

/break\

Stiles sighed and leaned back on his elbows, legs stretched out in front of him. Next to him, Jackson groaned. It made Stiles smirk a little in vindication. The guy had been kind of an asshole from the get-go so it served him right to now feel the ride in his backside, even if he was kind of a charming asshole. Scott on Stiles' other side made a similarly miserable noise.

"Nobody told me this would hurt that much," Scott complained. "Why are you not in pain?"

"I've ridden bigger stallions," Stiles wiggled his eyebrows. "And I am not talking about horses."

Erica broke into hysterical laughter while the others gave varying degrees of noises of disturbance or amusement. They were outside, behind the house. Chris was manning the barbecue and their five guests had once again been invited to join the family for the meal. Allison had taken it slow with them, riding in circles within the fences first, then going a bit beyond. Today, five days into their stay at the Hale Ranch, they'd finally taken a proper, long ride.

"You've clearly also ridden horses before though, Stiles," Allison noted amused.

Humming, Stiles tilted his head back and stared up into the clouds. "Kinda grew up on a farm."

"How do you 'kinda' grow up on a farm?" Cora asked with a frown. "Either you do, or you don't."

Scott's face did that thing that Stiles lovingly identified as 'remembering some Tragic Backstory detail about Stiles that made him unfathomably sad', so Stiles reached out to pat his best friend's thigh in comfort to ease the sadness a little. It only made Scott look even sadder, because he actually hated how casual Stiles was about his trauma. Scott thought that Stiles should be the one in need of comfort, but Stiles always scoffed, smiled and waved him off. He was fine.

"I spent two years living with my aunt and uncle in Texas, on the family farm when I was nine. They had a couple horses and my cousins were the most horse girls I have ever met. So learning how to ride was an inevitability. Maybe that's part of why I picked this place. I kinda miss it."

"You picked this place to be horny over the cowboys," Kira chimed in.

"And he is doing a splendid job of it!" Erica cheered with a snicker.

Though Stiles winced and rubbed the back of his head. "I do feel like apologizing for that. Again. Because I fully did not mean to objectify anyone, especially not at their place of work. I've been a bartender in college, I know how much that kinda thing sucked. Can we just blame the long drive and summer heat for my temporary lack of self-control?"

"There's nothing to apologize for, doll," Chris assured him amused as he came with a large plate of steaks. "Peter soaks up the attention. He'll die if he isn't complimented at least four times a day."

"It's true," Peter nodded gravely. "I'll wither away."

It made Stiles laugh softly, feeling warm all over. These two were so damn cute, it wasn't good for him. With a smile did Stiles accept the steak Chris offered him.

"So, what do you do for fun around here?" Lydia asked half-way into her salad.

Who ate salad when a hot cowboy made steaks? She was amazing but this was just wrong. Stiles himself was on his second steak and he was devouring it like a starving man. He'd forgotten how much energy riding could take. And these were damn good steaks.

"Mostly, we just hang out together on the ranch," Isaac said with a shrug.

"There's a theater and a cinema in town, a couple restaurants and bars," Cora offered.

"And a club," Erica's grin was razor-sharp. "You could come dance with us tomorrow. I mean, if you want. Fine if you don't want to spend your free time with the employees."

"I would unironically pay money to spend my free time with you, you are a fucking delight, Miss Reyes," Stiles told her seriously, before grinning.

"Why, Mister Stilinski, I ain't that kinda gal," Erica gasped and grasped her heart.

"Wha-" Stiles' eyes widened and his cheeks flushed furiously. "I didn't mean like that holy shit I did not mean to imply you're a prostitute, not that there is anything wrong with sex work I support it fully but I didn't mean to come off that way and oh just shoot me to make me stop talking."

"Relax," Erica laughed loudly. "I'm just teasing. I get what you mean. And thank you, the feeling is mutual. You're fun. I think I'm going to keep you when the summer is over."

"Erica," Boyd groaned, covering his face with one hand and wrapping his other arm around her shoulders. "We talked about this. You can't keep the guests you like as pets."

Stiles blinked doe-eyed at them and, before he could stop himself: "Meow."

The next second, he startled because Peter was coughing so violently. Chris next to him patted his husband on the back before Peter could die from the piece of steak he swallowed wrong. Well, at least Stiles wasn't the only one who had awkward mishaps.

"You people are all exhausting," Jackson muttered, shaking his head.

"We'd absolutely love to go clubbing with you," Lydia smiled, ignoring her husband.

It was so funny just how obvious it was who wore the pants in their marriage. Jackson acted like a big douche and like he was in control, but if Lydia snapped her perfectly manicured fingers, he stood at attention. Totally whipped, Stiles found it delightful.

/break\

"He meowed, Christopher! Meowed!"

Chris tried to hide his amused smile behind the book he was reading in their bed. His eyes followed his husband, who was pacing in front of their bed, hands thrown up in the air in annoyance and exasperation. A scowl was on Peter's face and when he pulled his lips up, Chris saw a bit of fang.

"Would you like to go to the nearest pet shop and buy a collar with a little bell, dear?"

"Don't joke," Peter growled in warning, flashing his eyes red.

Mh. The pretty boy was really getting to Peter. Chris raised an eyebrow. Not that Stiles was leaving him unaffected. The boy's scent alone made Chris want to do a lot of very naughty things to him. His comment about riding bigger stallions had Chris nearly burn a steak because his mind was too busy imagining Stiles in nothing but a cowboy hat, riding Chris' cock, bouncing on it, moaning…

"You're having naughty thoughts yourself, Christopher," Peter stated indignantly.

He glared at Chris, but all Chris did was shrug. No reason to deny horny thoughts in a pack of werewolves. And he wasn't making fun of Peter for getting horny over the delectable twink. He was making fun of Peter for being so exasperated by it. Also more specifically about the cat thing.

"I'm sure he'd look cute curled together on your lap, purring," Chris commented, just to be mean.

Peter groaned again and resumed his pacing, with many more swear words thrown in this time. Smirking to himself, Chris put his book down and decided to leave the bedroom before he got a headache. Downstairs, he found Boyd and Erica curled together on the couch, watching what looked like that horrendous vampire romance movie that Chris had somehow managed to avoid so far, so he fled before she could try to make him watch the sad boy sparkle. Once outside, he took a deep breath. He loved the cold night air. And that sweet honey scent. His eyes immediately found its source. Stiles was sitting on the porch of the guest house, long legs stretched out in front of him, head tilted back to stare into the night sky. Chris couldn't resist approaching the boy.

"Roommates too loud, kitten?" Chris asked playfully.

"Oh yeah. If I have to listen to one more 'Ode to Allison's Dimples', I will jump from the roof," Stiles snorted and then froze. "…I did not just say that to Allison's dad."

Chris heaved a deep sigh before sitting down next to Stiles. "I am painfully aware of the sad love-sick puppy-dog eyes McCall keeps sending my daughter. He is not subtle in it."

"Oh, Scott has not met the concept of subtly when he likes someone," Stiles laughed.

"A thing you two have in common, then," Chris smirked.

A cute blush lit up Stiles' face. "It's not my fault you and your husband are hotter than hell."

Chris laughed and patted Stiles' back. "It's fun to tease you, pretty boy. You blush nicely."

The blush intensified as the twink started fidgeting again. He was too damn cute. Peter and Erica weren't wrong, it would be a delight to keep him. And Chris hadn't been lying earlier either, Stiles would look very pretty all curled up on Peter's lap, letting the Alpha pet him.

"Tell me about yourself, sweetheart. What do you do when you're not on vacation."

"Right now nothing, which is why we're on vacation," Stiles turned a blinding smile on him. "We all just graduated from college, this is like our 'we did it and survived' reward. Also, to give us a little time to… figure out what to do. Where to go."

"What did you study?" Chris asked interested, knitting his fingers together between his knees.

He leaned forward and stared intensely at the boy, eyes trailing down the span of pale, pretty throat (that would, admittedly, look marvelous adored by a collar and marked up with hickeys. A collar made of hickeys?), his chest and belly, down to nice thighs and long legs.

"I am now officially a librarian," Stiles looked proud as he said it. "I always loved research, spent a huge chunk of my high school life in our school library. Well. Partially also because Scott and I weren't exactly popular and kind of only had each other, so not a huge social life, you know. And I don't just mean Wikipedia rabbit holes kind of research – though those too – I loved finding the right books to get what I want. I love old books. There's just something… magical about them."

Stiles was a pretty boy and physically attractive, there was no denying that. But when he spoke so passionately about something he genuinely cared about, he was downright breathtaking. Chris couldn't look away if he tried. The smile, the way his eyes sparkled and seemed near golden.

"And you don't have a library in mind yet? Got some applications for jobs out?"

Stiles sucked his lower lip between his teeth, dragging it through slowly as though he was trying to torture Chris with that tempting mouth of his. The already very pink lips turned a soft red, shiny with spit. The Alpha adjusted himself, feeling his pants tighten a little.

"I always thought I'd go to college and then return back home," Stiles whispered softly. "Never really wanted to leave, but you can't get that degree everywhere and our small town college did not offer it. Leaving had been a must do, not a want to do. But… Then I went to college. Got my Bachelor's degree, made new experiences without relying on the same support system I always fell back into at home. And then I had to move again, for my Master's. And I… kind of liked it. The change of pace of it all. I never noticed how miserable I used to be at home until I left."

"You don't wanna go back," Chris grunted, narrowing his eyes. "That got anything to do with the two years you spent somewhere else as a kid?"

He couldn't help but ask. Kids didn't just go and randomly live with their aunts and uncles for two years. His wolf had growled as soon as he'd heard the casual admittance during dinner. Wanted to pull his boy close and keep him safe from what the wolf immediately deemed an unsafe home life, because why else would a child be removed from their parents. It occurred to Chris that perhaps he should be concerned that his wolf thought of Stiles as his boy after knowing Stiles for five days.

Honey-whiskey eyes blinked largely at him, long lashes painting pretty shadows on pale cheeks. "What. Oh. Oh you… No. No I'm not… My dad is great. I do miss him a lot. This isn't about avoiding family for whatever reason you think."

"Kids don't usually spend two year long vacations with family," Chris pointed out casually.

Stiles wiggled his nose and turned to look back up into the sky. "My mom died when I was eight. And my dad didn't cope well. He… drank a lot. I took care of him, and of the household, at which… I wasn't that good at back then. I accidentally nearly burned down our house, it… drew attention to the situation, I went to live with my uncle and aunt until dad was sober and got custody back. It scared the shit out of him, was the wake up call he needed."

For a beat, Stiles was silent, but he smelt incredibly sad. "He isn't a bad father. He just… He lost his wife and didn't know what to do, how to grief or how to raise a kid on his own, and… alcoholism is a sickness. He's been sober ever since and he's been trying real hard to make up for the lost time. He's always been supportive and loving and he's… all I have left."

Chris refrained from commenting, his wolf still too riled up and he didn't want to say anything the boy would take as insult to his father, for whom he clearly cared deeply.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Chris offered instead. "We… know loss around hear."

"I know," Stiles whispered back, looking at the farm house now.

A curious grunt escaped Chris as he looked at the boy again. "How so."

"We're from Beacon Hills. That's only one town over," Stiles bit his lips. "The Hale Fire was… big news. Many first responders from our town came to help. My dad was a deputy back then, Scott's mom is a nurse, she came with some colleagues to help too. I'm sorry for your loss."

All Chris could do at that was grunt. The loss still ached, even after a decade. Sometimes, he could still see Logan's kind smile, or hear the bickering between Peter and his sister Talia. Sometimes, he even missed his sister. Those were the hardest, because he hated himself for it. She'd started the fire, had killed so many innocent people. But he still remembered the pig-tailed, tooth-gaped little girl she used to be, when they were young and only had each other as their father dragged them across the country on his hunts. And that part of her, that was what he mourned.

"C'mon, kitten, time for bed, it's getting late," Chris got up. "You got a long and exhausting day ahead of you tomorrow if you want to go dancing with Erica and the rest. She's demanding."

Stiles laughed softly and let Chris help him up. "Good night, Mister Hale."

"Chris. Just call me Chris, dollface."

"You know you can call me Stiles, right? Because that's my name."

"Mhmh. I distinctly remember an offer to call you 'anything' and I am taking it, sugar."

Stiles made a cute distressed little noise in the back of his throat before he retreated into the house.

/break\

Peter was miserably bent over his coffee in the morning. Visions of collared, kitten-eared and kitten-tailed twinks meowing and sprawling out on Chris and Peter's bed had haunted him all night. The fact that his husband seemed to have no mercy on him did not improve his mood. Chris had sucked him off and kissed his temple, but he had also smirked like a smug bastard and called Stiles kitten when the boy came in for breakfast.

"Say, did you show our guests the town already?" Chris asked, eyes on their daughters.

"Did you want a tour?" Allison asked with a look that mainly settled on Scott.

"Yes," came Scott's immediate and predictable reply.

"We've been so busy exploring the ranch for the past few days and just… relaxing… it hadn't occurred to me," Kira admitted, blinking curiously. "If it's not too much trouble, it'd be nice to have a local show us all the best spots?"

"Absolutely not," Allison offered a blinding smile.

"Okay," Malia nodded, not looking away from Kira.

"You gotta show them the old library," Chris requested, sounding casual.

Peter grunted into his coffee. Subtle. Very subtle. The wolves had all heard Stiles and Chris' conversation last night, about how Stiles was a librarian without a library. Oh, Chris absolutely had lost all rights to make fun of Peter if he was already scheming to make their boy stay in town.

…Their boy?

/break\

Stiles was honestly having such a good time. He'd been dancing with Kira, Erica, Isaac, even Lydia had given him one dance (though he suspected mostly to piss off Jackson after he failed to immediately pay attention to her. These two kind of started to fascinate him, they were so vindictive, possessive and should absolutely not inflict anyone else to whatever they had going on so good they had found each other). Right now, he was nursing a drink while sitting with Cora and Boyd, watching the others dance. Jackson and Lydia were bordering on having clothed sex on the dance floor. Malia and Kira were doing what could only be described as the most lesbian energy courting dance, like, Kira was even doing the cute little smile and hair throw-back. And Scott, after much nudging and teasing and pushing from Stiles, had finally asked Allison to dance too. Isaac and Erica were sharing a friendly dance that looked much less than friendly.

"And you're not… jealous?" Stiles asked slowly, turning toward Boyd.

"Erica's a flirt," Boyd grinned and sipped his drink. "But her heart's all mine and she would never cheat on me. She just… ravels in the attention, much like Peter."

"They were cut from the same cloth," Cora said in a dry voice. "This is not a compliment, even if Erica keeps mistaking it for one."

"She wasn't popular in high school," Boyd continued in a soft voice. "She was… very… sick and couldn't do the same things others could, it isolated her and she missed out on a lot of the… experimenting and expressing yourself phase of your teen years. I don't mind that she's enjoying her health and freedom now, I'd never want to change who she is."

You're too much of a flirt, you need to learn who you belong to, maybe I should just not let you out anymore. Stiles sucked in a breath and startled when something cold seeped through his shirt. Looking down, he noticed that he'd dropped his glass because his hands were shaking.

"Hey, everything okay?" Boyd asked concerned, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"No, yeah, I'm fine," Stiles swallowed hard. "Maybe I need some fresh air."

"I'm coming with you," Cora glared as she got up.

And she definitely did not take no for an answer there. Her and her brother, Stiles had noticed, were both the glaring, quiet type, but they cared fiercely for their family and would do anything to protect them. Stiles offered a thin-lipped smile, grateful that her protectiveness seemed to extend to the guests in their care. Once outside, he leaned against the wall and took a slow, deep breath. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the wall.

"Does Scott realize that uncle Chris owns multiple guns?" Cora asked casually. "Because it doesn't feel like he realizes just how obviously he's flirting with my cousin, of whom uncle Chris is very, very protective. You should maybe let him know about the guns."

Stiles sputtered out a laugh, his tension easing off. "I'll let him know, but I'll also let you know that that's not gonna do much. Scotty is a stubborn bastard. And a romantic fool. He is falling fast and hard and not even Chris aimed with ten guns is gonna make him stop giving Allison heart-eyes."

"I respect the dedication," Cora nodded. "There's a lot of places to hide a body in these woods though so he should be a little careful."

"I am deeply disturbed and deeply fascinated by this statement," Stiles grinned, feeling himself relax even more. "Also, I have questions about the guns."

/break\

When Chris and Peter entered their kitchen to get breakfast and coffee started, Stiles was already sitting in it. On the counter, to be precise. Chris noted how far his knees were apart and how well he'd fit right between those thighs, perfect to claim a morning kiss from the boy.

"Good morning, kitten," Chris greeted, turning toward the coffee-machine to avoid temptation.

He did note the cute way in which Stiles wiggled his nose at the nickname though. Each of them got a different reaction, which was why Chris circled through them. Sugar had Stiles go a little glassy-eyed, he'd bite his lower lip hard at doll and dollface, the faintest blush graced his cheeks at sweetheart, pretty boy had him look in so much awe, and at kitten he would very much make a face like a kitten who'd just encountered something it didn't like.

"What has you up so early?" Peter wanted to know. "Didn't you lot go dancing last night? Should you not be hungover and wallowing in self-pity?"

"I have a very effective hangover cure," Stiles grinned amused. "It's called not drinking alcohol."

"That'd do the trick," Chris grunted with a nod.

Because of his dad, Chris' mind supplied. He reached out to run a hand down Stiles' arm, shoulder to elbow, ever so slowly. To sooth his snarling wolf. Peter cleared his throat very pointedly as he watched his mate scent-mark Stiles. Chris opted to ignore him.

"Cora brought up your guns last night, and I am not talking about the quite frankly illegal biceps."

Chris coughed to cover up for the embarrassing sound he nearly made. "Yeah? What about them?"

"The biceps?" Stiles blinked those large, innocent eyes at him.

"The other guns, darling boy," Peter rolled his eyes amused.

"Right," Stiles blushed in embarrassment, tearing his eyes away from Chris' arms. "Sorry. Got distracted for a second. I was wondering if you had like a shooting range or something like that on the ranch and if it's open for guests to use too."

"I don't let inexperienced tourists wield actual guns in my home for their entertainment."

"I got a license," Stiles smiled. "I did leave my own gun at home though. Vacation and all that."

"You… know how to use a gun?" Chris spoke slow and careful.

"Yu—up. My dad's the sheriff of our home town. I used to spend a lot of my free time at the shooting range with the deputies when I was in high school. Still went to ranges during college, didn't want to get out of practice and it's kinda… calming? But I haven't had the time in months, do you know how stressful and time consuming writing your Master thesis and defending it is?" Stiles sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "So, I was wondering, if I could… It's not a problem if you say no, of course-"

"You can," Chris interrupted him sharply. "Meet me at the barn at eleven?"

Peter gave a wicked smile and whispered so low beneath his breath that even werewolf ears could only barely pick it up, much less Stiles' human ones. "Oh, I can't wait to see you physically fight your instincts to drag him into our den if he's even just a half decent shot, dear."

Chris aimed his withering glare at the eggs he was cooking. So he liked when someone was knowledgeable with a gun. Of course did he enjoy competence. He had been a trained hunter before he became a werewolf. That was no reason for his husband to make fun of him. Though then perhaps this was deserved payback for all the teasing about what a good kitten Stiles would be and how good he'd look wearing a collar with the Hale triskele on a tag… No, Chris decided that Peter absolutely deserved the teasing and Chris definitely did not.

/break\

Peter had seen Chris after he'd been freshly turned, fighting against his instincts, fight against being a wolf. But this? This was ridiculous. Chris was trying so hard not to flash his eyes red and drop his fangs. He was growling, bordering on animalistic but still just this side of passing as human. A predator ready to pounce on his pretty little prey. Which seemed ironic, considering said 'prey' was holding a gun and hitting every target on bullseye.

"Da—amn," Erica whistled. "Hand over the money, Whittemore."

"I should not have taken this bet, I was baited into it," Jackson sighed in a forlorn manner.

But he did get his wallet out and handed over an obscene amount of cash. Stiles hit another target and Chris' claws dug into his own palms in a clear effort to not jump the boy.

"Kitten's got claws," Peter commented delighted.

"Better, kitten's got a gun," Stiles grinned broadly. "In my experience, guns win against claws."

Peter stilled for a second. Something about that made the hair at the back of his neck stand up. His gaze turned onto Stiles, finding that infuriatingly distracting grin on the boy's lips. Surely this flailing disaster who can't keep his thoughts inside his head was not a werewolf hunter, right? He'd blurt it out straight away and he was too much of an endearing disaster to fight the supernatural. Peter had not found a second hunter to fall for. Right?

"Let me guess, you guys go hunting regularly?" Kira asked, nodding toward the woods.

Well, Peter could not keep the wolfish grin off his face at that. "It's a family sport, really. You?"

"Oh, no," Kira laughed and shook her head. "I mean, I know my way around a katana, but that is not exactly fit for hunting. Stiles is the only one of us who knows how to use a gun."

"Katana?" Malia tilted her head intrigued, staring intensely at her. "What's that?"

"Japanese sword," Kira gave a shy smile and tucked her hair behind her head.

"O—Oh," Stiles put the gun down and fumbled for his phone. "Come here, Mal, I have an absolute revelation for you that will make you drop down on one knee and propose to Kira on the spot!"

An embarrassed noise came from Kira at that, but the pack was definitely intrigued to see that. Stiles pulled up a video of a sword fight, an official competition or tournament of sorts, and Peter had to admit… the girl had quite the skill. Malia growled low in her throat. It was endearing that Peter's biological daughter took more after Christopher in that respect.

"That is really hot," Erica admitted with a nod. "I mean. Damn."

"Is there anything you're good at, McCall?" Chris asked, voice heavy with judgment and intimidation. "Seeing as your friends are weapon experts."

"Nope, no weapons," Scott popped the p and offered an innocent smile. "I don't like fighting."

Stiles snorted loudly and Kira giggled, making Peter wonder if this was a running gag between the trio – the fact that Scott couldn't fight while they were both pros with specific weapons – or if there was something they weren't saying. The boy's heartbeat didn't betray his words, yet still, Peter had a feeling there was something being left unsaid here.

/break\

On Monday, Allison and Malia showed them the town. It was pretty. Bigger than Beacon Hills, smaller than where Stiles had gone for either college education. The park was nice, large and well-kept. The best sight in Silver Lake was, quite obviously, the large silver-glittering lake that the town was located at. They even went on a little boat tour on the lake, where Stiles was miserably clinging onto the railing while Kira was happily clinging on to Malia. Since Saturday's dance, the two were hard to be pried apart. Scott was making puppy-dog eyes at Allison again.

"Can we now do something fun that doesn't make me feel like a fifth wheel on a double date?"

Allison, Scott and Kira all blushed, while Malia looked a little smug. Yep, definitely her father's daughter. Stiles already liked her. Not that there was anyone on staff he actually disliked. They were all pretty great and though it had only been a week, he somehow felt like he'd known them all since high school or something. It was weird, how fast and strong the bond between them felt. Usually, Stiles had a harder time feeling at home somewhere. He'd been straight up miserable for the first two months of his Bachelor's. And then he got closer to Professor Hayes and, uh, things got better.

"Dad said we should show you the library, how about that?" Allison suggested with a kind smile.

Enthusiastic nodding was Stiles' reply and they were finally off to see the good stuff. And it did not disappoint. It was an old building, at least a hundred years old probably older, large, with long windows that let in all the natural light. High shelves all around, a winged staircase leading to the second floor. Old chandeliers above, heavy doors leading to separate rooms. Everything was kind of rustic but well-kept and simply beautiful.

"Oh, she's gorgeous," Stiles whispered in awe as he looked around. "I want to marry her."

"I am so sorry, dear boy, but you are a little too young for me."

Startled did Stiles turn toward who he assumed to be the head librarian, considering the about 80 year old short lady was sitting behind the large desk. She had a kind and amused smile on her face, thick glasses perched on her nose and her nearly white hair up in a messy bun.

"I'm sorry I mean the library," Stiles mumbled embarrassed.

"Why would you gender a building," Malia asked with a deadpan.

"Because libraries are female in Polish," Stiles shrugged. "And sometimes, it's fun giving inanimate objects a gender, so I go with their corresponding gender from my mother tongue."

"That's… actually kind of cute," Allison laughed softly.

Grinning at Allison one last time, Stiles headed over to the librarian. "Hi. I'm new in town and I would love to see everything you got."

Scott behind him heaved a sigh. "We will be stuck here all day…"

/break\

Chris raised both his eyebrows when the kids returned from their trip to town, each carrying stacks of books. He couldn't even see Stiles' face due to the height of the books and just when Stiles was about to trip and fall, Chris caught him by the upper arm.

"I'd say watch where you're going, kitten, but you can't see much, can you," Chris chuckled. "Give me those, let me carry them for you, pretty boy."

After steadying Stiles, Chris took the books from the boy, revealing his absolutely beaming face. Chris blinked, a little dazed by just how bright those eyes shone, more honey than whiskey, and how far his lips could stretch in a smile, a happy little flush on his cheeks.

"Did you people rob a book store?" Isaac asked disturbed.

"No," Scott's voice was grave but fond. "Ally showed us the library."

"…And now it's empty?" Isaac guessed with an amused smile.

"Nope!" Stiles bounced on the balls of his feet. "We will gave to go back later this week."

Isaac peered at the other four people carrying stacks of books. "…Later this week?"

"He eats them," Kira supplied helpfully, before pausing. "Not literally. But he absolutely devours knowledge. Sometimes, I think he loves books more than me."

"He loves books more than me," Scott added with a sad whine.

Stiles blinked at them and patted them both on the shoulders. "The books don't argue with me. The books also don't spend all their time making pretty eyes at the pretty Hale ladies. If you two plan on continuing your flirtations, I will need something else to occupy my time."

Both Scott and Kira blushed, while Allison laughed softly and Malia rolled her eyes. Chris heaved a deep sigh. So this was actually happening then. Why could he not be spared.

"Let's get your books to the guest house, dollface," Chris suggested.

/break\

Everything was good and calm for three more weeks. Riding, helping with the harvest and clean-up around the farm, hanging out with the animals, hanging out with the Hales. They went swimming in the lake, the movies in town, hiking up the mountain, fishing at the little river that ran through the forest at the tail end of the ranch. Allison and Scott officially started dating on week three, at which point Malia had already sneaked out of Kira's bedroom five times. Which was fine too, because even when his two best friends were busy with their girlfriends, Stiles had a gorgeous library to raid and at this point he would even tentatively call the employees of the ranch his friends, with whom he was more than happy to spend time with too. And Lydia was now officially Stiles' sister from another mister because the girl had brains, and Stiles had even built a kind of friendship with Jackson, based on shared assholery and snark. Stiles loved being here, with them all.

Everything was good. Stiles still got teased by Peter and Chris about his inappropriate slip-up on day one, but at this point he'd actually gotten used to the multitude of nicknames.

It was the first full moon since their vacation started, which was part of the reason why Stiles had used his magic to dampen Scott's wolf. As good as his control has gotten, better not risk him mauling an innocent cow or something, or flashing his eyes because Allison smiled at him.

It was weird, he was probably projecting his own anxiety and tenseness, but to him, everyone felt kind of on edge on the day before the full moon. Things culminated when Jackson and Scott got into yet another stupid fight – the two had a weird rivalry going on with each other that Stiles could not describe as anything but Alpha Male Posturing. They were outside together, getting lasso lessons from Boyd and Jackson had mocked Scott's bad form, which had made Scott insult him right back, which had led to a full-on encounter. The two were backing against each other, circling each other, growling – and then Jackson flashed his eyes blue.

Which, Stiles had a great close-up look at because he was kind of squished between them, trying to make them back off from each other to deescalate the situation. Mostly because while he trusted his magic, he also didn't know if the full moon combined with rage may trigger a more wolfy response from Scotty after all. He had not seen this coming though.

What he also didn't see coming was Peter grabbing him by the shoulder, pulling him out from between them and quickly shoving him straight into Chris' arms before making himself a solid line of defense between Stiles and Jackson, growling deep and very much not like a human.

"Stand down, pup," Peter warned with a wolfish snarl.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy fucking-" Stiles chanted anxiously.

"It's okay, doll," Chris' voice was a deep rumble vibrating through all of Stiles since he was pressed against the man's chest. "We'll protect you, you're safe, sweetheart."

And then he caught a flash of red and oh-so slowly turned his head to look at Chris. Wolved out and eyes Alpha red as he held tightly onto Stiles, trying to shield him from Jackson. Malia and Cora were in front of Kira, eyes blue and yellow respectively. There were claws on Erica's fingers as she slowly approached Jackson with golden eyes. Derek and Isaac pulled Scott out of harm's way and put themselves right next to Peter. Isaac and Boyd stood wolved out in front of Allison and Lydia.

"Stiles," Kira called out distressed, unable to see him. "Are you okay?"

"Y… Yeah," Stiles croaked out.

He tried not to focus on the feeling of strong, solid muscles against him because Chris was pressing him real close, very protective, and the man smelt so good. Stiles reached up to rub his face. This could not be happening. But then it also explained everything.

Lydia was trying to struggle against Isaac's grip, clearly trying to get to Jackson, but Isaac, the fucking werewolf, was trying to protect her. Stiles took a moment to take it all in and then sighed.

"Isaac, let go of Lydia so she can get to her mate and calm him the fuck down before there is bloodshed," Stiles barked out annoyed, trying to get out of Chris' hold. "A pack of wolves cornering him is not going to help this any, what he needs is his fucking anchor."

Suddenly, everything got very, very still and quiet. Which did give Lydia the chance to break free and get to Jackson, gently laying her hands on his face until his eyes faded back and he looked both annoyed and embarrassed at his loss of control. Oh, Stiles wasn't having any of that. He twisted out of Chris' hold himself and stalked up to Jackson with anger on his face.

"Why, the fuck, would you go on a vacation over the full moon if you can't control your shift?" Stiles spat out angrily, shaking a little as he got all up in the wolf's face. "Do you enjoy living dangerously and risking exposing the supernatural? What the fuck were you thinking?"

Jackson's wolf was still too close to the surface and too easily agitated though because he snarled and lunged forward at Stiles. The pack around them all made to jump in at once, but Stiles was honestly not having any of all of that, actually. With a withering glare did he raise his arms and everyone just froze. Not in surprise, though judging by their faces they may have, but because he forced them into stillness, his eyes burning a bright turquoise.

"Well," Stiles growled, holding Jackson's gaze unflinchingly. "I am waiting for an answer."

"He hasn't been a werewolf for long," Lydia sighed. "We came here because we knew there's a pack here and we wanted to… We're looking for a pack, for a new home. The vacation seemed like a good opportunity to see if both the town and the pack were a good fit for us."

"Right," Stiles grunted, hands still up. "I'm not letting any of you go until you guys pack the claws and fangs away, by the way. That's quite enough wolfly postering for one day."

"What," Chris' voice was a little strangled. "Are you."

A sharp grin spread over Stiles' lips while the wolves finally did shift back to full human so he could let them go. "Hi, I'm the Spark of Beacon County, nice to formally meet you."

As soon as everyone was let go again, the pack gathered together, Lydia cradled Jackson somewhere in the middle between the pack and where Kira and Scott rushed over to Stiles' side. The look on Scott's face was wary and he did put himself between Stiles, Kira and the pack like they needed protection. It was cute, honestly. Stiles sighed to himself.

"Back down, Alpha," Stiles patted Scott on the shoulder. "Everyone's friendly here."

"Alpha," Allison choked on the word. "But you can't be a wolf, the others would have smelled that. They smelt Jackson the moment they arrived, but you three don't smell like wolves, they said."

Peter narrowed his eyes at Scott, and then at Stiles. "You did something."

"Magic ritual that can bind a wolf for one circle of the moon," Stiles shrugged. "Because we wanted a nice, supernatural-free vacation and I expected there to be a pack in this town, on account of its location and wildlife. I did not expect to move in with said pack though. That… seems rude and if I'd known that, we would have formally introduced ourselves and gone through all the right protocols and whatever. Scotty, protocols."

He gave Scott a shove, causing him to clear his throat. "I'm Alpha McCall of Beacon Hills. I'm sorry for… intruding onto your territory without permission. Me and my pack are not here for trouble, we just… wanted a vacation…"

"Okay but what I don't get is what Stiles just did to us," Erica argued, gesturing at Stiles but looking at Peter and Chris. "You told us about Sparks! You said they're elemental magic users! What about controlling people's bodies is elemental magic?"

"First of all," Stiles frowned. "Just because Sparks are natural elemental users doesn't mean we can't perform rituals or use potions and spells, it just means we have additional powers that other magic users don't. We aren't limited by our nature, we are more powerful for it. Second of all, hey! Alphas who actually taught their betas what a Spark is. That's rare. Thirdly, I did not control your body. I controlled the air around your body, solidifying it to make it feel like a brick-wall surrounding you and thus making you unable to move. Elemental magic."

To prove his point, he made a gesture with his hand, causing a strong wind to flow in the exact motion he made, rustling Erica's hair. Smiling, Stiles pulled his hand back, and the wind simply came back to him, like it had circled her once, caressing her.

"Very finely tuned elemental magic," Derek muttered with his arms crossed.

Stiles offered a delightful grin and a shrug. "I'm really fucking powerful. Thanks for noticing."

Kira groaned and sat down on the ground. "This is not how any of this was supposed to go."

"No kidding," Malia frowned, looking at her. "Are you…?"

Kira turned toward her girlfriend and showed her orange-burning eyes and aura. "Kitsune."

"Fuck, that's hot," Malia and Erica whispered at the same time.

Malia gave Erica a very strong shove and a very inhuman growl. Stiles sighed and rubbed his face again. His focus was drawn to Peter and Chris, who stood side by side, slightly in front of their pack. Their betas. Because they were the mated Alpha pair.

And Stiles thought it had been bad when he hit on a married man. But a mated Alpha werewolf? Damn, he could be glad Chris simply reveled in teasing and tormenting him about it and hadn't just ripped his throat out without a warning. This also did explain his intense attraction to them though. He… really had a very predictable, and very problematic, type, didn't he? Fuck his Spark.

/break\

The group had decided to dissolve, so everyone could calm down and talk among themselves. Jackson and Lydia returned to the main house with the pack, considering they'd been in the know about Jackson from the get-go and he was on trial to join their pack. Stiles, Scott and Kira returned to the guest house. Peter's face was pinched as he watched his pack sit down in the living room.

"I mean, that went better than expected," Isaac offered. "If they weren't supernatural themselves, we would have a lot to explain right now."

"I'm still freaked out about the fact that Stiles is a powerful wizard," Erica lifted a hand when Peter opened his mouth to argue. "Not a wizard, I kno—ow, but still."

"What, exactly, is Stilinski?" Jackson asked, looking around. "What's a Spark?"

"A Spark is a… very special magic user," Chris answered, running his fingers through his hair. "They're magical guardians of a territory. Unlike other magic users, who only channel nature's magic through spells, rituals and potions, Sparks can manipulate nature, the way you saw him do with air. He can control all natural elements, on top of using magic the way you'd seen in TV from witches or wizards or whatever. Sparks are rare and very unique."

"So Stilinski is a big deal," Jackson raised his eyebrows.

"A very big deal," Peter confirmed with a short nod. "Sparks are rare and powerful, and they are highly respected in the supernatural community. I may be the Alpha of Silver Lake, but our territory is only recognized by wolves, and it lays within his territory if he really is the Spark of Beacon County. Their authority is recognized by all supernatural beings, because we welcome their protection and support, gained by living on their territory."

"You two have been shamelessly flirting with a super powerful magic authority figure?" Boyd raised his eyebrows. "You've been calling him kitten."

Peter made a small noise and rubbed his face. Teasing the cute human and flirting with him had been fun, but Boyd was right. The worst case scenario now was that him and Chris had made Stiles so uncomfortable, he'd banish their pack from his land. Knocking on the door interrupted them and Peter wasn't the only one who startled. It had been eerily quiet – Peter had kept an ear out on the guest house to see what Stiles, Scott and Kira were talking, but there was no conversation – and they should have heard someone approach the house. When Derek opened the door, it was Stiles.

"How did we not hear you approach?" Derek frowned down at the boy.

A wry smile spread over Stiles' lips as he followed Derek to the others. "As we established, I control the air. Sound is just vibrations in the air. I don't make sounds if I don't want to."

For a moment, Stiles paused and then sighed. "I didn't do it on purpose to be a dick just now. My magic is very instinctual and what happened outside has me a bit on edge. My magic tends to naturally try and protect me, which, being quiet to not attract predator's attention falls under."

The pack simply stared at him. Nobody knew how to react, or how to interact with him right now. This wasn't Stiles the charming, flailing human who rambled a lot and was overall adorable and beloved by the pack. Suddenly, this was an incredibly powerful magic user, who had authority over them and could quite easily kill them all within the blink of an eye, if he wanted to. Not that he would, even if they'd only known Stiles for a month, Peter felt sure in the knowledge that Stiles would never harm an innocent person unprovoked. It was the knowledge that he could.

"Okay," Stiles took a deep breath. "Betas out, I gotta talk to the Alphas."

There were some noises of protest, but thankfully, Derek and Allison managed to herd the betas out of the living room, leaving only Chris, Peter and Stiles alone. The boy stood in front of them with his arms crossed for another moment, before he approached them and sat down on the table, right in front of them while the two were sitting on the couch.

"We're gonna do something that I really, really hate," Stiles frowned annoyed, causing both Peter and Chris to tense. "We're going to have an all cards on the table, grown-up conversation."

Peter took a relieved, shaky breath. "Sweetheart, you had me worried for a second."

The frown deepened. "You should be worried. And probably upset or angry. Or both."

"Why would you say that, doll?" Chris asked, voice soft.

"I'm a Spark and that comes with more than just magic," Stiles' fingers dug into his jeans, his eyes on the floor. "You know why wolves call it an 'Alpha spark'? Because werewolves may have always had Alphas, but the red eyes and additional strength and healing were a gift from Sparks. So Alphas tend to… feel drawn to Sparks, and Sparks tend to feel drawn to Alphas. Guess that's why I had such an intense, blurt-out reaction to you on day one. And you guys… the pet-names, I honestly thought you were just teasing me, making fun of me for the blunder."

Both Peter and Chris made to argue, to protest, but Stiles continued before they could. "Now I'm not so sure about that anymore. But it's still… It's because I'm a Spark. So. I'm sorry about that."

Tensing, Peter turned toward his mate, exchanging a look with Chris. They had both wondered why Stiles appealed to them so strongly, couldn't explain it. But they also couldn't quite believe that their attraction to Stiles was wholly due to the boy being a Spark.

"So you and McCall are fucking, then?" Chris asked bluntly.

"What," Stiles sputtered, blushed and then made a face. "No! What the hell, Chris. No."

"You just acted like our attraction to you is all because you're a Spark and we're Alphas," Chris shrugged, looking unimpressed. "McCall is an Alpha too, so, if the attraction is all Spark-Alpha, then surely he feels it too and the two of you are going at it like rabbits."

"For the love of everything under the moon, stop talking about me having sex with Scotty," Stiles made gagging noises. "He's like my brother, I never would. Neither would he, also because he's straight. This isn't. No. We don't have sex, Christopher."

Peter grinned a little at Stiles' use of Chris' full first name, before he leaned in. "So, that magnetism between a Spark and an Alpha doesn't have to be sexual, then? It doesn't override what you want, it doesn't dictate or change who you're attracted to, doesn't force you to be attracted to someone."

Stiles stilled as Peter's words sank in. He sighed, his shoulders slumping a little. Victory. They knew that what they felt for Stiles was more than just the pull. Yes, Stiles' delicious scent drew them in, but it was Stiles' big heart, sharp mind and enthusiastic personality that got them hooked.

"Yeah," Stiles conceded after a moment. "The draw doesn't have to be romantic. I've met Alphas who felt a more… paternal draw to me, Scotty is like a brother to me, but…"

When he trailed off, both Chris and Peter sat quietly, watching him. Waiting for Stiles to sort his thoughts out and figure out what he wanted to say. There was a near electric buzzing in the air while Stiles thought and it wasn't hard to guess that this too was the Spark.

"I've dated Alphas before," Stiles admitted after a moment. "Two Alphas. Separately. One was Robert Hayes, an Alpha of a San Francisco pack, where I got my Bachelor. I was nineteen, he was my professor and he was… There was a draw. I was quite charmed by him, I loved being with him, but to him, the draw felt like it should be something… more. He saw a white picket fence future with me and his pups when I wasn't ready for that. Can't hold it against him. Guess that's what happens when your type are men twice your age, they tend to be in a different place in life."

Stiles' face twisted, but he did look fond when he spoke of Robert Hayes. Even if they had been in different places in life, Peter could tell that Stiles had cared deeply for the man. There was a twist of jealousy deep in his belly at the thought of Stiles with another Alpha and pups who weren't Peter and Chris'. Okay, he had to admit that the intensity of his desires was more than normal and did make more sense explained through Stiles' Spark.

"And then I went to LA for my Master," Stiles whispered, decidedly not looking at either of them. "I met Michael Harlow there. He… was also an Alpha… And… he saw the pull as more too. Just not in a happy family white picket fence kind of sense as Rob did. He wanted to own me, like a priced possession, control a Spark. And I was, well, I was young, naive and… alone. I had only just moved to LA and I had a hard time making connections, I kind of only had him, my entire support system – both from home and the one I had built in San Francisco – wasn't there. It was…"

Stiles swallowed hard, every muscle in his body visibly tense. "...Bad."

Peter didn't like that. He didn't like any of that. His jaw set tightly and he blindly reached for Chris' hand to grasp and squeeze. Both in support but also to keep Peter from getting in the car and driving all the way to LA right now to rip another Alpha's throat out with his claws.

"That's why Scott's so… protective," Stiles quirked his lips. "Him and Kira had to kind of pick up the pieces after I got out of that relationship. The fact that you're not just older guys, but Alphas, two Alphas at that, is… Let's say while you were discussing whatever you were discussing with your pack, I had to listen to another speech on how much he worries about me."

"Stop saying things that may make me like McCall," Chris glowered. "I am not ready to like the boy who keeps trying to hook up with my daughter. But I do appreciate him looking out for you."

"We both do," Peter added, turning soft eyes on Stiles. "He's right to worry. You may be very powerful, but… the people who get under your skin and get close can still hurt you."

"I'm well aware," Stiles frowned annoyed, before he looked up at them. "And I'm not saying that I expect either of you to… be that way. I've seen you guys with your pack, with your kids, with each other. I'm saying this more as a heads up to you, honestly."

"How so?" Chris furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Because this whole conversation felt more like you were letting us down gently there by explaining why you won't give us a try."

"Oh no. This is a 'this is why you shouldn't give this a try' speech," Stiles raised both his eyebrows at them. "I make bad decisions. I spent months in an abusive relationship that really fucked me up in different ways that still sometimes show… also in my repeated apologies for everything, honestly. I'm a mess and as you saw when I came here without making a sound, I don't always a hundred percent control my magic, sometimes it acts on its own account to protect me – which, it did start that with Michael because I wasn't… protecting myself, so my magic started doing it for me at one point and it hasn't exactly grasped that we got out of that situation yet."

Stiles ran his fingers through his hair and they were shaking. "I'm kind of a mess and dating me isn't exactly a casual thing, it can't be a casual thing because all the trauma and bullshit I drag with me demands support and stability, I can't put myself into a casual thing-"

"Doll, we're married men in our fifties with two grown children and a pack we take care of," Chris interrupted him, frowning. "We're not the casual types either. We don't want casual with you either. You are… special, not because you're a Spark but because you're you. You're charming, sweet, funny, incredibly beautiful, a good friend and kind person. We want to be with you, Stiles."

Stiles' head snapped up to stare at him with doe eyes. "You said my name."

"I want you to understand that we're serious," Chris grunted. "I liked calling you pet-names not to tease you – well, to tease you, but in a fond and loving way, not a cruel and mean way – but because I enjoy your reactions to them. I have cataloged the way you react to each pet-name and I love that. But I need you to understand that we want more than just to tease you, or hook up."

"Yes," Peter agreed, tentatively reaching out to rest a hand on Stiles' knee, taking Stiles' hand that was still clawing at his own jeans. "Your Spark may have drawn us in, intrigued us, but it's you we want, not your Spark, not your magic or power. Just… you."

"My magic and power are a part of me," Stiles argued and tilted his head. "I get what you mean, I know you mean to be sweet, but I do need you to understand that being with me means being with my power and magic too. It draws dangerous creatures. It also means I'll leave on missions to fight intruders into my territory. Even if I stay here, I'd still have to regularly go to Beacon Hills, to my Nemeton to recharge. There are responsibilities I carry as the Spark of Beacon County."

"Let me reiterate the fact that we come with two grown daughters, a whole pack and a ranch," Chris pointed out. "It may not be the same as whatever being a Spark entails, but being with us also comes with responsibilities that are a part of us, Stiles. That's just what relationships are."

Stiles blinked at them and, reluctantly, smiled. "Okay. How about… How about we try? For the rest of the summer. Dates and… stuff… No pressure for the future yet, just… let's see where it goes? And make a decision by the end of the summer? Is that… okay?"

"That would be perfect, darling," Peter smiled and leaned in. "Does that mean I can have a kiss?"

"More than one," Stiles grinned and met him half-way.

/break\

Chris' mouth was hot and firm against Stiles', calloused hands pulling Stiles' shirt out of the way to touch his chest. Stiles shuddered and arched into the touch. Chris' other hand was cupping his ass until it instead slipped into Stiles' jeans to squeeze his bare ass. Two fingers slipped between the crack, teasing Stiles' hole and finding it slick with lube and cum.

"Peter and I were having a little fun," Stiles answered the unasked question with a grin. "Since you were busy with work. But I see you're all done. What do you say, Alpha, up for some fun too?"

Chris growled, flashing his eyes red and then pushing Stiles' pants down. He wanted to turn Stiles around to fuck him against the barn's wall, but Stiles instead pushed Chris off to make him stumble back onto the bench behind him. Raising his eyebrows, Chris watched how Stiles picked up Chris' cowboy hat from the pole he'd hung it earlier. The Spark grinned as he put it up.

"I thought I could ride you, cowboy," Stiles' grin split his entire face. "What do you say?"

"Yeehaw, baby," Chris chuckled, freeing his dick from his own pants.

Stiles huffed out a laugh even as he came to climb Chris' lap and straddle his thighs. He sat up and lined Chris' dick up with his hole, slow to ease in. The image of Stiles on his lap like that was captivating, the pleasure on Stiles' face as he through his head back. Gorgeous. Chris' hands landed on Stiles' hips, holding him. And then Stiles started moving, lifting himself up and then bringing himself down hard. A groan was drawn from Chris, followed by a curse at the pretty blush on Stiles' face and the way Stiles looked wearing Chris' hat. His possessive wolf loved that look.

"Fuck," Stiles gasped, moving harder and faster. "You feel so good inside me, Chris."

Chris grunted his agreement. "You feel so good around me, kitten. So tight, even after Peter fucked you, just perfect for me, baby. Can you move faster? Fuck yeah, that's good. That's great."

Stiles' hands rested against Chris' chest for support as he started riding the cowboy for earnest, hard and fast and hungry for it. Stiles' own dick bounced between them until Chris reached down to grab it and get his lover off. When Stiles came, he crashed their lips together in another kiss, thighs quivering even as he kept bouncing on Chris' dick until the Alpha hit his own orgasm.

"As much as I enjoyed this, what brought this on…?"

Chris nuzzled against Stiles' neck, kissing along the pale stretch of skin. He could hear footsteps approaching, but didn't worry, because he recognized his mate's heartbeat. Moments later and Peter stepped up to them with a sated grin on his face. He wrapped his arms around Stiles from behind, kissing Chris over their boy's shoulder. Stiles sighed and leaned against Peter's chest.

"You told Christopher?" Peter asked with a smile.

"Mh," Stiles shook his head. "Was about to. I got the job. At the library. Mrs. Robinson was so delighted, I honestly don't think she even read my application. She just hugged me."

Chris inhaled hard through his nose, trying to contain his excitement. Stiles had told them last night, very casually, that he was going to apply for a job at the library. Not how either of the wolves had pictured Stiles telling them that he'd chosen to stay, but then it was the most Stiles way to do it. Talking about his feelings was something Stiles didn't like and to him, the conversation that had gotten them together had been enough for the whole year, according to him.

"The past two months did fly by," Peter whispered softly, trailing kisses along Stiles' shoulder.

And wasn't that the truth? Being with Stiles, time seemed to just fly by. It was terrifying and wonderful how easily Stiles had slipped into their relationship. Not that it was all easy and sunshine. Stiles hadn't exaggerated about his problems. He had a lot of nightmares, about various trauma, and sometimes, his past relationship with Harlow made him react in certain manners when it was the three of them on dates. Sometimes he'd just shut up in the middle of an excited rant and look near terrified and then Peter and Chris had to coax him back into talking, assuring him that they loved his enthusiasm, that they didn't want to shut him up. But they knew what they signed up for and they loved their boy far too much to not put in the effort and make him feel safe and loved.

/break\

Stiles loved the library. Mrs. Robinson retired pretty much the week after Stiles started working there, handing him the keys and telling him 'you'll be fine, dearie, I have a vacation in Hawaii to go to'. It took Stiles a month to make the library his new home. He felt as comfortable, safe and happy there as he did at the ranch, which his new pack. Even though he missed Scott and the others too, but their friendship had survived all of college, it could survive Stiles living literally one town over and being mated to the Alphas of a different pack. Besides, since Allison and Scott, as well as Kira and Malia, were doing the semi long distance (three hours were not that long distance, he kept telling Scott whenever Scott would whine about it) relationship thing, both packs had grown incredibly close in the past months and spent a lot of time visiting each other. There had been a few full moon runs spent in the preserve with both the Hale Pack and the McCall Pack.

"Peter," Stiles gasped out, fingers digging into Peter's shoulders.

"Sh, we have to be quiet, this is a library," Peter whispered back teasingly. "I may be on good terms with the librarian, but if we're too loud we may get kicked out."

Stiles offered a half-hearted glare and rolled his hips in a way he knew made Peter growl out in pleasure as Stiles rode him. A smug smirk spread over Stiles' lips and he started moving a little faster. This was a nice way of spending his lunch break and he did love when one of his mates made the trip to town just to drop off lunch and be a little afternoon delight. Gasping, Stiles brought himself down on Peter's dick one last time, teasing his own head until they both came.

"I should ban you from the library," Stiles muttered, dragging his lips along Peter's jawline. "My lunch break always goes on for too long when you come by."

"And that's my fault," Peter gasped indignantly before pulling Stiles into a kiss. "I just wanted to see you one last time before Christopher and I leave tonight for that auction."

"Mhmh," Stiles smiled and leaned his head against Peter's shoulder.

He loved his pack, his family. He loved life at the ranch, he even loved Silver Lake, it was a beautiful town. And of course did he absolutely adore his library. Oh, and his mates.

"You know we would love to take you, but it will be dreadfully boring for you," Peter sighed.

"Stop," Stiles requested, pressing a kiss against Peter's neck. "I don't like when you lie to me."

The Alpha tensed as Stiles got up to get dressed. "Darling-"

"I just said to not lie to me," Stiles raised his head and looked at Peter with raised eyebrows. "So if you're going to try to convince me you're not, I will be actually angry, Peter."

Peter's mouth snapped shut, and then he sighed. "I'm sorry. We're not trying to deceive you. We-"

"Oh, no, I know what you're lying about and why," Stiles chuckled. "And I'm fine playing along with your lie and pretending I don't know what's happening. It won't do if I know what's happening so we're pretending I don't. But don't… actively lie to me, mh?"

He leaned down to kiss Peter softly, smiling at him gently even as Peter looked surprised and white-eyed. It was cute that the Alphas thought they were subtle in their whole 'horse auction'. Stiles knew that Derek and Allison would come along to these. No, Stiles knew that Chris and Peter had spent the past four months planning this trip and consequent murder.

"As a Spark, I can not know or approve of what you're doing," Stiles whispered, wrapping his arms around Peter's neck and sitting back down on his lap even as Peter tensed. "But as your mate, I… appreciate you two doing this. Just… come back to me, okay?"

He pressed a kiss beneath Peter's earlobe, while Peter relaxed. The Alpha wrapped his arms around Stiles' waist, pulling him close. They were going to Los Angeles and the Los Angeles pack was going to need a new Alpha and as a Spark, Stiles could not be an accomplice to inter-pack issues, even if they were because of him. He relaxed against Peter's chest and sighed.

"I love you, big bad," Stiles murmured. "You do make me feel safe. I'm happy with you both."

He smiled when he saw Chris walking in, a complicated look on his face because he'd heard their conversation. Still, he came to stand next to them and kiss the top of Stiles' head.

"We love you too, doll. We just want to make sure he'll never hurt you again."

Stiles leaned against his mates. He'd let them have a little murder, if it helped make them feel better.

~*~ The End ~*~

---

Author's note: If you have been following my Teen Wolf fics in these past few months, you may not be surprised to hear that this, yet again, was supposed to be a quick and dirty PWP - really just the image of Stiles riding cowboy!Chris and cowboy!Peter, that was it, that was the entire idea - and then I accidentally developed feels and spilled angst into this? Geuinely, Stiles' past abusive relationship fully came out of nowhere, it just felt like the right emotion in the scene and then I figured "whelp, time to use Michael for the first time, I guess *shrug-emoji*"