Like Son, Like Father, a teen wolf fanfic

WolfCop || Teen Wolf || Stargent || Like Son, Like Father || Stargent || Teen Wolf || WolfCop

Title: Like Son, Like Father – The Oblivious Sheriff and the Emotionally Constipated Wolf

Tags: m/m, post-series, Valentine's Day, courting, fluff

Main Pairing: Chris/Stiles & Noah/Peter

Teen Wolf Characters: Mieczysław 'Stiles' Stilinski, Chris Argent, Peter Hale, Noah Stilinski

Summary: When Noah gets home from work on Valentine's Day to find a dead deer on his front porch, he has some things to think about. Stiles volunteers to help out.

Like Son, Like Father

The Oblivious Sheriff and the Emotionally Constipated Wolf

Noah heaved an exasperated sigh when he got home. He stared at his front porch, then turned to glare at the woods, before looking back at the porch. With another sigh did he dig out his phone.

"He—ey, daddio. What can I do for you?"

"Hey, kiddo," Noah gave it a gentle nudge with his foot. "Can you come over to the house? And… bring your… boyfriend too."

Stiles made a curious noise at that, then there was a muffled conversation like Stiles was covering the receiver while whispering with said boyfriend. "Are you gonna threaten him again? Because I'll leave him at the safety of our place if you're just gonna threaten him again."

"I have never, not once, voice a direct threat against him."

Stiles snorted. "Just because you are the sheriff and know not to voice direct threats doesn't mean your not so subtle gun cleaning whenever he's over hasn't been received as the threat it was."

"Christ, Stiles, just bring Argent here," Noah sighed. "I need his help with something."

"You could start calling him Chris, you know. Since that's his name."

"Don't test your luck," Noah glared pointedly at the door. "Just hurry up."

/break\

Stiles and Argent did hurry up. And they both faltered when they approached the sheriff.

"Oh no, don't tell me there's another 'mountain lion' in town," Stiles groaned.

It made Noah snort out in annoyance. "Oh, it's the same damn mountain lion."

"What," Stiles frowned in confusion. "There never was a mountain lion. It was just…"

Stiles trailed off, not saying the name but putting it together in his head. It was nearly worth it just to see the look on his son's face and the myriad of emotions he was speed-running through. He settled on something between surprise and pettiness. Yeah, Noah was going to hear about that one for a while.

"Peter Hale," Stiles said the name very slowly and very deliberately while stepping closer. "Peter Hale killed this giant deer and dumped it at your doorsteps. Peter 'ten years younger than you' Hale is werewolf courting you."

Yep, Stiles was absolutely going to weaponized this. Maybe Noah shouldn't have called him. Opting to ignore his son, Noah instead turned to Stiles' age-inappropriate lover. Much more age-inappropriate than Peter would be, if Noah and Peter had anything going. Which they did not, contrary to what the giant, dead deer on Noah's front porch might indicate.

"Argent, you're a hunter. You must know how to make this," Noah nudged the deer with a foot. "Fit into my freezer. Butcher it up and all that. I've never done that before."

Chris stared from Noah down to the deer and back up again, before he nodded slowly. "Sure. Let's get this inside before the neighbors come gawking and I can take care of it for you."

While Chris and Noah hefted the beast up together, Stiles opened the doors for them, his pointed glare never leaving Noah. When they reached the kitchen, Stiles just stood there with his arms crossed, still glaring at Noah like he could make the sheriff crack.

"Doll, if you could stop glaring at your father and help me," Chris requested gently.

Stiles narrowed his eyes one last time at Noah before he turned a blinding smile onto his boyfriend. "Sure thing, babe."

And then he went about getting knives out and everything set up for butchering up the deer, like he had done this before. Noah frowned suspiciously as he sat down.

"Chris takes me hunting," Stiles answered the unasked question. "After he taught me how to use a gun at a shooting range, he taught me how to use it on a moving target. A hunting trip was the perfect way to learn. We go about twice a month, if there's no major attack on the town, anyway. He also taught me how to take it apart. We do it together."

A soft sigh escaped Noah. He should probably know this. But ever since Stiles had announced that he was dating the more than twenty year older man, who was the father of one of Stiles' friends, Noah might have made it a bit of a point not to know too many details about their relationship. In his mind, there was only one reason why a man that age would want to be with a boy Stiles' age and Noah was Stiles' father, he wanted to protect his son. Stiles was an adult so Noah had no legal leg to stand on – even though he truly couldn't tell if Argent had actually waited until Stiles turned eighteen, or if the two had just been sneaking around before then. But Noah was bracing himself for the inevitable outfall, when Argent would deem Stiles too old and move on to someone younger and when Noah would have to pick up the pieces of his son.

He watched with wary eyes just how easily Chris and Stiles moved around each other, handing each other things without the other needing to ask for them. How casual and near natural it all was, including the little affections they both sneaked in between. Stiles would tilt his head to kiss Chris' cheek whenever he was in range, Chris would press a kiss to Stiles' temple when Stiles was close enough, their hands lingered on each other's whenever they handed something to the other.

Noah was struck by just how much this reminded him of himself and Claudia, when they would cook together. Noah would do all the prep work, bring everything to his wife whenever she requested it, never resisting an opportunity to steal a kiss from her when he could.

"I'll take it from here, doll," Chris smiled at Stiles with warm eyes. "Why don't you go clean up? I remember you wanting to take a shower when we got home before your dad called."

"Ri—ight. Pixie dust in places where pixie dust has no business being," Stiles made a face and then looked at his bloody hands. "And now I have even more reason to shower. Yeah. Okay. Good plan."

He wrapped his arms around Chris to pull him into a soft kiss before stepping away, giving his dad one last warning look. "We are not done talking yet, mister."

Heaving a sigh, Noah watched his son walk upstairs. Leaving him alone with Chris Argent. The man kept cutting up the deer, but his eyes strayed to Noah every now and again.

"I do understand your concerns, sheriff," Chris said after a while. "If Allison started dating a man my age, I wouldn't be a fan either. I know what you're worried about and I understand why you're worried about it. And though I doubt my words are going to change anything, I do need you to know that I am deeply in love with your son."

"Why," Noah asked, finally, after all these months. "Make it make sense to me, Argent. What do you, successful businessman, family father, over twenty years his senior, see in barely-out-of high school teenage son, who flails and rambles his way through every conversation."

The look on Chris' face couldn't be described as anything but fond. "I find his flailing and rambling very… endearing, actually. And your son is more than just a college student. That boy's clever beyond his years and can give any of us a run for our money. He's a real spitfire, he never backs down from a challenge, has a fighting spirit that I can't help but admire."

There was a pause in which Chris concentrated on the meat but he was clearly still considering his own words. "When Scott got bitten, he thought this was 'cool'. But even when it turned out to be life or death, when he first hand saw the dark side of it, the ugly. When my own father kidnapped and tortured him. He… never once considered quitting. He's human, he could have just walked away from all of this. But that's not who he is. He doesn't abandon people in need and he would never turn his back on those he loves. It is a privilege to be counted among those."

Noah's eyes softened. "You truly do love my son, don't you?"

"I didn't mean to," Chris huffed out a laugh. "God knows I never intended to fall for a loudmouthed, bratty teenager. When I married Victoria, I thought that would be it for me, till our dying days. And then she… died. And I was left picking up the pieces. Not just of myself, after losing my wife, but of my daughter, having to deal with her mother's suicide, of the life we were supposed to have when the way my family did business no longer sat right with me."

Noah couldn't help but turn away at that, guilt and shame at the way he had handled his own wife's death gripping him tight. He started wrapping up the meat Chris had already portioned, so he could have something to do.

"Stiles really helped Allison back then," Chris continued, voice lower now. "I didn't know how to help her about losing her mother, which is ironic, considering I lost my own mother when I was much younger than her. But my father… well, he was never the emotional or comforting type. Our grief was something me and my sister were forced to swallow, so I didn't know how to… do it right, for her. Stiles was there for her, talked to her about it, listened to her. As much as I hate the name, but their little Dead Moms Club that they started, it really helped her, to be able to talk to Stiles and Isaac about this, to someone who understood."

Noah made a face at that name, though yes, that was absolutely something Stiles would say. He'd known that before the Nogitsune, Stiles had started spending a lot of time with Allison and Isaac. He hadn't known it was about Allison's mother though. Perhaps that was why he didn't know. Stiles most likely left that detail out to not remind Noah of Claudia.

"That how you ended up taking the Lahey kid in?" Noah guessed gruffly.

"Yeah," Chris chuckled. "Stiles practically waved the adoption papers in front of me. By spending more time with Allison and Stiles, Isaac kept… breaking into our apartment and the times he left became fewer and fewer until Stiles, in his ever blunt fashion, told me to just man up and take responsibility for the kid. After his abusive father died, Isaac had been bouncing around between Derek, the McCalls and ultimately our place."

Somehow, the man's words gave Noah pause. "…Did my son adopt a teenager, Argent?"

Mirth was dancing in Chris' eyes. "Not legally, no."

"Unsure how I feel about that answer," Noah muttered lowly.

"Stiles has been forcibly taking care of the entire pack for… a long time now," Chris smiled, but it was somewhat sad. "He is more responsible than he lets strangers know. I'm glad I got the chance to know him this well and to help him shoulder these responsibilities."

Heaving a resigned sigh, Noah rested a hand on Chris' shoulder, patting him hard. "Maybe you and I could go to the shooting range together some time, get to know each other."

Chris looked surprised but pleased. "I'd like that very much, sheriff."

Another sigh. "Just call me Noah. You've been living with my son since graduation. I thought this would fall apart quick, but I'm getting the feeling it won't and I… will not alienate Stiles. If your intentions with him hold true and you do make him happy, I can hardly protest this relationship. But do know that if you break his heart, I will kill you. And I have a wolf on speed-dial who knows how to effectively dispose of a body."

"Ye—eah, can we talk about that body-disposing wolf you have on speed-dial, dad?"

Stiles walked back into the kitchen, hair still damp and wearing some of the clothes he still kept in his old bedroom for occasions just like this. Sometimes, Noah would still walk in there to greet his son, just to remember that Stiles had moved in with his boyfriend.

Stiles made a beeline for Chris and kissed his cheek again. "You are still in one piece, that's good."

"Your father and I will go to the shooting range together later this week," Chris offered a smirk.

The way Stiles' whole face brightened at that made Noah's heart clench. And then the boy launched himself at Noah, hugging him tightly. Maybe Noah should have had this conversation with Argent earlier. Maybe he shouldn't have been stubborn for as long. But at what point is one supposed to accept that the middle-aged man dating his son may not just want sex out of that?

"This is not getting you out of the Peter conversation," Stiles warned. "When did this happen? How did this happen? What does this mean?"

Grunting, Noah rubbed his face. "I don't actually know."

"…What does that mean?" Stiles asked suspiciously.

"Ever since the majority of the pack left for college, Derek's been pairing Peter up with me for patrol a lot. What with you always taking the boyfriend with you," Noah gave his son a pointed look, just because he could. "And Derek usually taking Parrish with him. So we've been spending a lot of time together. Got talking a lot. And with him having his license back, he loiters at the station a lot too."

The few young betas who were still in town and hadn't left for a college farther away – Allison, Isaac, Malia and Erica – usually paired off among each other for patrol. Since Derek and Peter were the only born wolves with a lot of experience, they usually didn't pair up for patrols and they liked to use the insight and resources of the sheriff station, so Noah and Parrish split the Hales up between them.

"Okay," Stiles nodded slowly. "And you are a Stilinski man and we are irresistible and charming, so I get what Peter sees in you. What about you, dad? Do you… like him?"

There was a long stretch of silence as Noah allowed that question to just sit with him. He hadn't thought about this, not really. Not romantically. For a while, he'd tried dating Natalie Martin and though it had been nice, it ultimately hadn't worked out. Since then, he had shoved romance back in the closet, to all the other dusty, useless things he had no time for.

Peter had a sarcastic wit that made long stakeouts more bearable. If Noah was honest with himself, Peter reminded him a lot of Claudia. Not in the sense that he was yearning to replace his dead wife, but in how Peter had many of the same character traits that Noah had first fallen in love with in Claudia. The snark, the mischief, the wicked sense of humor and utter disregard for the law or common sense.

He was also a gorgeous man, that much was obvious. They fought well together, having each other's back. Noah might have even started discussing cases with Peter for the wolf's perspective, well, when it wasn't a case involving one of Peter's clients.

It wasn't just how well they worked together, it was even beyond pack or professional settings. Noah found himself texting or calling Peter, whenever the house was too damn big and too damn lonely. Sometimes, the wolf would come over and cook for Noah (mostly healthy food because Peter wasn't 'fool enough to incite Stiles' wrath', which was fair, considering Stiles had set Peter on fire in the past), other times they'd go out to the diner together and just talk.

They talked about the pack, about their days. About Stiles and Chris too. Peter had been a big advocate for it, which had surprised Noah, considering the Argent of it all.

But Peter had said near the same things as Chris, that Stiles was more mature than most his peers, had seen more and suffered more than most adults, and that if he found safety and comfort, then Noah should be glad that Stiles had found that at all in their dark and grim world.

Noah paused, blinking stunned. Safety and comfort, huh. Like with the wolf who always had his back and whom Noah called whenever he felt lonely so he'd feel less lonely – would feel comforted?

"Ah, crap," Noah sighed and rubbed his face. "I think I might be dating Peter Hale."

"Hold on, how did you land on that one?" Stiles stared at him completely baffled.

"He might be coming over every Friday to cook dinner for me and we might have been going out to the diner… very regularly and these might have been dates," Noah frowned. "I might also be calling him a lot and just generally talking to him. You know the house is lonely now that you moved out and Peter's been keeping me company, in person or through the phone. But that might not have been friendly hang outs after all, looking back at it."

Chris had the audacity to laugh out, earning a glare from both Stilinskis. "I'm sorry. It's just… Peter owes me a hundred bucks. I told him there's no way you realized that's what's going on without him actually putting words to his action."

"Wait you knew that Peter was dating my father and didn't tell me?" Stiles gasped indignantly.

Chris motioned between Noah and Stiles. "The two of you are very, very similar in many respects and as much as I love you, doll, you are painfully oblivious to people being attracted to you. You needed Allison's help to figure out that I liked you. But Peter was convinced your father knew what was going on between them and chose not to tell you yet since things were still 'so new'."

"Crap," Noah muttered and rubbed his face. "What do I do now…?"

Stiles turned to look at the clock. "Well. There is still six more hours left to this Valentine's Day, so… do something? But also: Chris, hurry up, we have a reservation at seven. And I would like to go home and get changed first because I don't think old Batman shirts meet the dress code."

"Valentine's Day?" Noah made a distressed noise.

"…Dad," Stiles heaved a sigh. "Yes, it is Valentine's Day. I swear, you always forgot it with mom too. If she hadn't put a reminder in the calendar… You're hopeless."

"Not helping, Stiles," Noah glared at the back of his son's head.

"Here," Chris sighed amused, pushing one of the packaged meat portions over. "The rack. Peter loves a good venison rack. Bring him a cut of the meat that he caught for you. And just… come to our apartment with us first, I made a new wolfsbane whiskey that he's been bothering me to try. It'd make a good present."

Noah brightened up a little. "Thank you, Chris."

"Oh, now he's Chris," Stiles muttered beneath his breath. "Months of being my boyfriend and he's just 'Argent', but when he helps you with your boyfriend, he's suddenly Chris."

"Stiles, doll, stop looking a gift horse in the mouth," Chris requested, wrapping an arm around Stiles' waist to draw him close enough to kiss. "Just be grateful, for once."

"Fine, fi—ine," Stiles huffed with a pout before fixing his dad with a glare. "But you really gotta spell it out for him. Hales are historically crap at emotions, dad. I am like 90% sure that is the main reason why he didn't actually say the words, because he was afraid to get hurt himself so he hoped you'd just… get it, on your own."

"So… you're not…" Noah didn't know how to say it.

"Against you dating?" Stiles raised an eyebrow. "No, dad. I'm not. I always just wanted you happy. And mom's been dead for ten years now. You're allowed to move on."

Noah heaved a sigh and pulled his son into a hug. "Thanks, kiddo."

"I just don't know if I approve of your boytoy," Stiles quipped. "He seems so immature and young."

…Okay, Noah might deserve that one. He might also owe Stiles and Chris an apology, even if Chris understood where Noah was coming from. He turned to make eye-contact with the man in question and received an understanding look and an amused smile.

/break\

Peter was not pouting. He knew if Christopher were here right now, the bastard would accuse Peter of pouting, but Peter didn't do something as undignified as pouting. How had he ended up befriending an Argent? Truly the bane of his existence. But then the man had insisted on dating Peter's favorite pack member, so through Stiles, Peter got more exposure to Chris and before long, the two went to the bar together, playing darts, getting along. Horrible that.

And Peter just knew that if Christopher were here right now, the man would also be gloating. It was nearly seven in the evening and so far, Noah hadn't as much as texted Peter, much less called or shown his face.

Peter had gone out of his way to get up before dawn to hunt the mightiest deer for his future mate, had dragged it proudly to Noah's den and left it there, and then consequently spent all day waiting to hear from his boyfriend. He knew it'd be a while before Noah would actually see the deer, of course. But anything at all. Just a nice little 'Happy Valentine's Day' would have sufficed.

Hence Christopher's hypothetical gloating. The hunter was probably right and Noah really hadn't caught on with the fact that they were dating. Or more like Peter had deluded himself into thinking that he was dating the sheriff. Sighing, he rubbed his face.

It had been stupid, hadn't it? Oh, he remembered the hopeless crush he used to have on Noah back in the day. When Talia and Noah had been friends at college and she'd sometimes bring him home and Peter, a lanky teen who was still learning how to wield his sarcasm, would trail after them like a lost puppy, completely smitten with the handsome young man and completely invisible to him.

And then Noah had met Claudia, fallen in love, gotten married, had a son (a brilliant son, who had both his parents' best qualities in a magnificent way). So Peter moved on. Then the fire happened and life just stopped, for him. Now that he was back – for the second time, after being feral and being killed (by his nephew and by Noah's son), after his resurrection – he was trying to get his life back.

He'd rekindled his relationship with Derek and Cora, had built a relationship to his own daughter Malia, after learning of her existence. He had earned his place in the new Hale Pack, even made friends, though it was somewhat ironic that said friends were an Argent and Noah's son. He got his license back and was working as a lawyer again.

Life worked in funny ways, how Derek had started pairing Peter and Noah up. An old youthful crush came back with full force and Peter came to appreciate the man Noah had become. They built a friendship and Peter's feelings gradually shifted. He'd really thought it was mutual, the fool that he was. Everything seemed on such a good trajectory, he had really convinced himself that he might be allowed to have this.

Happiness had never been for Peter Hale, why should that change now.

His father's death, othered as his sister's Left Hand, just to lose his family and pack as a whole, the coma, his time as a feral Alpha, his death, a daughter he was robbed of. Just because things were going better now didn't mean he should grow too comfortable with that or expect good things.

His phone interrupted his thoughts. For a moment, he was hopeful, but then he saw the caller ID – Clever Boy. With a quirk of his lips did he pick up.

"Yes, darling. Shouldn't you be at dinner with Christopher?"

"You owe me," Stiles declared. "You owe me big times. And also how dare you date my dad without telling me, Zombiewolf. What the hell. There should be a courtesy 'I plan on becoming your stepfather' conversation! I had that with Ally when I started dating Chris!"

The doorbell rang and, at this point, he fully expected it to be Christopher to do some in person gloating. Perhaps to crash on his Peter's couch because he got kicked out of his own apartment for not sharing with Stiles. Stiles could be vindictive if he wanted to be.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about, Stiles," Peter heaved a sigh.

He opened the door and paused surprised. Noah was wearing the pretty, dark-blue shirt that brought out his eyes best and he was holding up a bouquet of Peter's favorite flowers – red gladiolas – and a bottle of whiskey, the home-made wolfsbane laced kind that Christopher made.

Stiles snorted on the other end of the line. "Like I said: You owe me."

Peter continued staring at Noah like he was having hallucinations, until the man started shuffling a bit. "I, uh, thank you for… the dead deer?"

"Did he really just say that?" Stiles asked with a groan. "Okay, look, Chris and I did our best. The rest is up to you guys to figure out. Don't fuck this up, Peter!"

"Stiles, hang up the phone, we are really running late," Chris called in the background. "And tell Peter I'm cashing in on the hundred bucks this weekend. Now come, doll."

"You heard the man, I have a date to get to. And so do you. Seriously, Peter, don't fuck this up. I like you now, so I would hate to have kill you again, but I absolutely will if you break my dad's heart."

The call disconnected and Peter was left with the still sheepish looking sheriff holding flowers and whiskey. Peter stepped aside, more so on autopilot than anything else, and let Noah inside.

"It has been brought to my attention that we might be dating and that you… seem to be courting me," Noah looked flustered (Peter had never seen him flustered before but it was a very cute look on the man). "You know, you could have told me, Peter."

Now it was Peter's turn to perhaps be a bit sheepish. "Sometimes, it is a little hard for us born werewolves among humans. These things are… instinct. Easily understood by wolves. I thought I was being very obvious and unmistakable in my advances…"

Noah huffed and put the whiskey down, before he went ahead to get a flower vase out of the cabinet, filled it with water and put the flowers in it. He placed them at the center of the kitchen table. He moved through Peter's den with so much ease and familiarity, like he belonged here, and it made his inner wolf growl pleased.

"Chris wrapped me up the rack, thought it might be… a nice dinner for us," Noah got a big package out of his bag. "If you don't mind cooking? Or if it's not too late?"

"It's barely past seven, I'm sure we'll both be fine until it's done," Peter dismissed him while getting everything out to cook.

Noah touched his arm and gained his attention. "Not what I meant, Peter."

Peter frowned in confusion, prompting the sheriff to heave a sigh. With determination did Noah step up to him. He reached one hand out to cup Peter's face.

"It took me months to realize we're dating, Peter. I want to know if it's too late."

"I killed a deer for you this morning," Peter pointed out. "And do you know what an absolute fight it is to keep it? Malia bit me when I told her this wasn't for us for dinner. She actually bit me."

Noah's eyes sparkled with amusement. Peter swallowed hard at just how much he wanted to kiss the man.

"Venison is her favorite, so that seems fair," Noah paused, unsure. "I have a lot of venison in my freezer now. Maybe you could come over some time, we could cook something together, share with Malia and Stiles?"

"Be careful, dear," Peter deflected in a teasing tone. "That nearly sounds like family dinner."

Noah grabbed him by the neck and pulled him closer, so close there was barely a breath between their lips. "Stiles was right, I really gotta spell it out for you, don't I? Damn it, Hale, I'm trying to tell you that I'm committed to this too."

And then he kissed Peter, pulling the wolf close up against his chest and biting Peter's lip softly. And oh, yes, Peter definitely owed Stiles. Big time.

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: HAPPY GALENTINE'S DAY TO MY BEST FRIEND AND THE PLATONIC LOVE OF MY LIFE! Have some WolfCop for the occasion that may have gotten a lil hijacked by Chris, but I know you don't mind Chris hijacking fics so there's that ;D