Cowboyz 'n Lassos, a teen wolf fanfic

Teen Wolf || Stetopher || Teen Wolf || Cowboyz 'n Lassos || Teen Wolf || Stetopher || Teen Wolf

Title: Cowboyz 'n Lassos – Shoot at the Hale Ranch

Tags: m/m/m, polyamory, Spark Stiles, Neckz 'n Throats AU, hurt/comfort, fluff, m/f

Main Pairing: Chris/Peter/Stiles

Side Pairings: Derek/Allison, Boyd/Erica

Teen Wolf Characters: Mieczysław 'Stiles' Stilinski, Chris Argent, Peter Hale, Allison Argent, Derek Hale, Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd, Isaac Lahey, Cora Hale, Laura Hale, Talia Hale, Theo Raeken

Original Characters: Dalia Hale, Damon Hale, Aaron Hale, Fiona Hale

Summary: Neckz 'n Throats is renting the Hale Ranch for a cowboy themed photoshoot. Stiles, the star model, and his husband and photographer Chris might seduce themselves a real cowboy.

Cowboyz 'n Lassos

Shoot at the Hale Ranch

„A porn shoot, Peter. A porn shoot!"

"I heard you the first time, Talia," Peter rolled his eyes. "And the dozen times before that, actually. It's not a porn shoot. It's a soft porn magazine."

"Porn is in the name," Talia argued, her face contorted in irritation.

"It's more like artful photography, really," Peter drawled. "Humans usually don't even classify it as porn at all. It only does things to weres."

"We are weres," Talia pointed out, her glare more seething. "It is porn. I can't believe you invited a porn shoot onto our ranch, Peter."

"I can't believe you're getting your panties in a twist about this, Talia," Peter rolled his eyes, again. "Besides, it's not like I made the decision on my own. We had a majority vote."

Talia made a disgruntled and annoyed noise before motioning wildly at their brother. Aaron froze, coffee cup hovering just in front of his lips as he was suddenly the center of attention. He slowly put the cup down and turned to look at his older sister.

"Sloan wants to become a doctor. College is expensive, Tali," Aaron argued. "They are paying us ridiculously much money just to use our ranch for the shoot! Even split between the four of us, that's enough of a cushion for Sloan's college tuition."

The four of them referring to the four owners of the Hale Ranch. The three siblings, Peter, Talia and Aaron, as well as their mother. Talia's glare landed on said last member of the family present right now. Talia's husband and Aaron's wife had wisely opted out of this conversation, knowing that it could get ugly whenever Talia and Peter clashed.

"I think it could be fun, dear," Dalia smiled mischievously at her daughter. "They are bringing the very pretty young lad here who's hanging in Peter's bedroom."

Peter choked on his coffee, coughing so wildly he nearly passed out. "What."

For the first time, the glare on Talia's face melted somewhat as she raised an eyebrow at her brother. "Did you even read the contract at all, beyond the sum at the end, Peter?"

"Wait, are you for real?" Aaron stared dumbfounded at Peter. "I thought that this being a Stiles shoot was why you advocated so loudly for this."

"Stiles," Peter hissed, his eyes involuntarily flashing blue. "No, I mostly did it to annoy Talia and for the extra cash. I got my eyes on that Cobra… You're telling me this whole time I was arguing for a shoot with Stiles taking place at our ranch? Stiles?"

Talia heaved a sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose, knowing that if Peter had been stubborn before, now he would be unbearable. There was no winning this argument. As much as it annoyed her that the three other Hales had banded together to invite a porn shoot onto their ranch – it was a porn shoot, porn was in the name, for crying out loud – she had to admit defeat at this point. She just hoped this would go smooth and be over fast.

/break\

Peter had leaped at the chance to host Neckz 'n Throats when the offer came in through the mail. He'd just seen the magazine's familiar logo and been filled with giddy excitement. When he saw the number on the check they offered for the week? Peter had kind of stopped reading after that, zeroing in on the zeroes. Now, he wished he had carefully read the whole thing.

Stiles. Mieczyslaw Stilinski, twenty-three years old, born and raised in a small town in California. Married to the photographer Christopher Argent for two years now.

Peter wasn't a stalker. He was just an enthusiastic fan. The boy was perfection. With his pale skin, speckled with moles like stars on the night sky, his long neck practically begging to be marked up by a werewolf, those long slender legs made to be wrapped around Peter's waist, that crooked and wicked grin that send shudders down Peter's spine and those pretty, pink bow-shaped lips that were made for kissing and other activities.

Peter had a bit of a celebrity crush on Stiles. The first time he'd seen the boy, on the cover of Neckz 'n Throats, in a gas station on his way back from a riding competition, he'd been so mesmerized by those beautiful, big brown doe-eyes, until he caved and bought the magazine. Even though he used to have a similar opinion about porn magazines as his older sister Talia did. But Stiles was… Stiles was perfection and he needed to own that magazine.

He'd bought every issue featuring Stiles since and tracked down old issues too. The more artful shots, particularly his Little Red Riding Hood shot, hung framed in Peter's bedroom.

If Peter had known that this was a Stiles shoot, he would have tripped over himself in his eagerness to convince his family. Part of him was relieved that he had missed it, because he'd have made a fool of himself in the process. Besides, it all worked out well for him.

He was going to meet Stiles in person. Sure, he knew there was nothing going to happen. He didn't live in one of these obnoxious romcom movies that Fiona and Damon always forced everyone to watch where the rich big shot city kid fell in love with the farm life and they lived happily ever after. Stiles was already happily married and Peter would never be the other man, not even if it was Stiles. Still, the chance to meet Stiles at all, to see him and perhaps talk to him, was pretty exciting.

/break\

Stiles was filled with giddy excitement as he more or less stumbled out of Roscoe. Chris heaved a fond sigh and shook his head while watching his husband. It wasn't Stiles' fault! The Hale Ranch was huge and the land was absolutely stunning. He was excited to be here.

"Baby, please slow down before you break something," Chris requested gently.

With an indignant sound, Stiles straightened and slowed down. Not because of his overly worried husband, but because he could see the ranch owners exit the main house and approach them. Stiles did not want to make a bad flailing mess of a first impression. The stern lady Lydia had talked to on the phone to book this already put the fear of god in Stiles as was, thank you very much.

Four people exited the house and six others came flocking toward them from elsewhere too. Werewolves and their hearing. Though Stiles understood the curiosity to meet new guests, especially famous guests who planned a photo shoot at the ranch.

Chris had rounded the car and was now standing next to Stiles, with a hand on Stiles' lower back. For not being a werewolf, Chris could display ridiculous possessiveness. But then they did spent all day around werewolves, some habits rubbed off. Stiles put on his most dazzling press smile.

Judging by the impressive disapproving frown on the face of the lady leading the group, Stiles guessed her to be Talia Hale, the Alpha of the Hale Pack and the scary lady Lydia had talked to. Next to her stood a man with salt and pepper hair, green hazel eyes and a very kind smile.

"Hello, I'm Damon Hale, I'm the Alpha Mate of the pack and this is my wife Talia, Alpha of this territory," the man said, offering his hand to Stiles. "We're happy to have you."

Some of Stiles' nerves eased at the man and his smile turned a little more genuine as he shook Damon's hand. "I'm Stiles. This is my husband Chris. There's three more people coming, but they took their own car and I am fairly sure we lost them three exits ago."

"I told Theo to just follow us," Chris sighed.

"Shouldn't have let the new guy drive," Stiles shrugged. "He's too busy trying to prove himself to ask for directions or anything. Oh well, they'll find it sooner or later."

"…We could send someone out to fetch your colleagues?" Damon offered with a concerned frown.

"Nah, if push comes to shove, they'll call," Stiles waved a dismissive hand. "Wouldn't want to cause any trouble."

Damon nodded reluctantly and then turned toward his pack, pointing at them one by one as he introduced them. "This is the rest of the family currently living at the farm. Dalia, Fiona, Aaron, Peter, Laura, Derek and Cora. And these are our farm-hands turned pack-mates Boyd and Erica."

Judging by the way Boyd and Erica perked up, they must be relatively recent additions to the pack. Stiles tilted his head intrigued by that. Familial packs rarely added outsiders without a matebond or an adoption. Well, he would have enough time for snooping and interrogations later. For now, he had to make a good impression.

"Thank you all for having us," Stiles smiled his most charming smile. "We're looking forward to our stay and we really do appreciate the opportunity."

"Might I ask," Peter spoke up and stepped forward. "What made you pick our ranch?"

"Well, I was kind of just browsing google for something in upstate New York and I might have fully fallen in love with your ranch when I saw the pictures," Stiles ruffled his hair a little. "It's gorgeous. The houses got that rustic charm but are all well taken care of, the land is vast, the mountains and forest around make for a beautiful backdrop. You're lucky to live here."

A small, soft smile spread over Peter's lips, making his intensely blue eyes sparkle. "That we are."

"Boyd and Erica will show you to the guest house," Dalia declared with a bright smile, rubbing her hands. "And tonight, you will all join us for dinner in the main house."

The deal was that they'd rented the guest house for a week – the ranch regularly rented it out for tourists and weddings – while being allowed certain privileges for their photoshoots. Talia Hale had made it very clear that the two main houses were off-limits and that the barn and stables would only be accessed under staff supervision. The long-suffering look on Talia's face told Stiles that this was a matter of being outvoted by their parent. Heh, somehow Stiles found it hilarious to see a pack Alpha submit to the whims of their parent, just like common folks.

"Thank you for the invitation," Chris offered Dalia his most charming smile. "We'll make sure to pass it on to our colleagues and to be on our best behavior."

"Oh, dearie, you don't need to be on your best behavior," Dalia argued, looking him up and down. "A fine man like you is allowed to misbehave."

While Chris blushed a beautiful red and the majority of the Hale family made varying noises of discomfort and frustration, Stiles started cackling. "See, I keep telling him that too. Now come on, you fine man, carry our luggage. I wouldn't mind a nap before the others get here."

/break\

Boyd and Erica showed them around a little, going around the buildings and pointing out which was which, before ultimately leading them to the spacious and beautiful guest house. The mated pair were turned wolves who had run away from their incompetent first Alpha and after bouncing around from town to town, had come here three years ago. They'd worked at the town for a couple months before Derek Hale had approached them and asked if they wanted to work on the ranch; it had the benefit of wide, privately owned lands to roam free for the wolves. It still took them over a year before they actually ended up joining the Hale Pack though.

So Dalia wasn't a wolf, she was a druid and the mate of the late former Alpha. Mother to Talia, Peter and Aaron. Damon was Talia's human husband and the two were the parents of Derek, Cora and Laura, with Cora currently attending university in New York, so she was always only at the farm during the weekends. Aaron was human and married to Fiona, they had two kids, Sloan and Jason, who were both going to college out of state. With Dalia's age and both Aaron and Damon being human and three of the twenty-something generation in college, the pack had opted to hire Boyd and Erica, making use of the two werewolves staying on their territory. Becoming pack was just something that had happened naturally after that, according to Boyd.

Stiles loved how much information he had gotten out of the mated pair in such a short time. Even after years, his sheriff's kid mind still shone through. He grinned to himself while getting ready for dinner, looking around their cute little bedroom. Everything was wooden and really did have that rustic charm. His old-fashioned hunter fit right in, it reminded Stiles of every hunting cabin Chris had ever taken him to. Chris frowned when he turned to look at Stiles.

"What are you grinning at? That's never a good sign."

"You are so rude to your beloved, sweet and innocent husband," Stiles pouted a little.

Chris snorted and rolled his eyes. "Only one of these adjectives is accurate. Now come here, beloved husband. We're running late for dinner and I don't want to keep the hostess waiting."

"Yeah, Alpha Hale seems not the biggest fan of us," Stiles frowned a little. "I'm guessing either the money was incentive enough, or her family outvoted her. Though, outvoting an Alpha…"

"A good Alpha listens to all members of their pack and weights their opinions before making big decisions that affect the entire pack," Chris noted softly.

He wrapped an arm around Stiles' shoulders and pulled him close enough to kiss. Grinning at Chris, Stiles rested his hands on his husband's chest for a moment before pushing off.

"Dinner. Before you distract me with these pretty eyes of yours and that strong chest," Stiles glared playfully. "I shouldn't have dessert before the main course."

Snorting, Chris reached out to take Stiles' hand. The two headed out of their bedroom and on their way downstairs ran into the rest of their crew. They'd opted to take Isaac as their make-up artist, while Allison was working with her dad so they'd be covered on lighting and everything around. And Stiles had chosen to take Theo as his shooting partner. Part of Stiles wanted to test the new kid. Theo only had one solo shoot so far, Stiles hadn't worked with him yet, but he had a weird feeling about Theo and he liked to follow through on those and see for himself.

For now, he was looking forward to meeting their hosts and seeing what kind of feast a family of werewolves would put on the table.

/break\

Being good hosts, the Hales invited their guests to the main house for dinner that evening. Peter might have suggested it in passing and his mother may have pushed the matter. And nobody said no to Dalia Hale (even though Peter had seen Chris try, before the man gave in).

"A week seems quite long for a photoshoot," Talia noted in a neutral voice during the salads.

"Oh, yeah no," Stiles laughed. "A day for the shoot, a second day for potential reshoots. But the rest is vacation. I kind of pushed the shoot to overlap with Chris and my anniversary. Which is also why we're here with this particular lineup."

Peter raised an eyebrow and looked at the Neckz 'n Throats crew one by one, wondering what Stiles meant, until the boy continued. "Theo's the new guy so he agreed without knowing what he was agreeing to. And Isaac and Allison are our kids and we're making it a family vacation."

"Your kids," Derek repeated with a snort, looking between Stiles, Isaac and Allison.

It was Chris who heaved a long-suffering sigh and rubbed his face. "Allison is my daughter from my first marriage and I adopted Isaac when he was a teenager. Stiles is, legally and technically, their stepfather. And he likes to use this fact to torment all three of us."

"Look at my precious pup," Stiles cooed and pinched Isaac's cheek. "Momma's boy."

"Momma's boy," Peter blinked repeatedly at the model.

"Well, I'm not calling myself daddy," Stiles' smirk was all teeth and wickedness as he winked at Peter. "In this relationship, Chris is daddy."

Somehow, Chris managed an even deeper and more long-suffering sigh. Peter shifted uncomfortably as thoughts filled his head that were not appropriate for dinner with the family and their guests. Talia shot him a sharp, devastating warning-look. He opted to ignore his sister. Thankfully, their mother broke the tension by bursting into laughter.

"I like you, Stiles," Dalia patted Stiles' hand. "You're a delight. Are you, perhaps, up for adoption?"

"I'm afraid not, ma'am," Stiles grinned back at her. "Dad would protest that."

"That's alright," Dalia's smile turned more mischievous. "You could marry my son, then you would also legally and technically be my son, yes?"

Stiles looked surprised before he laughed a little. "I'm afraid this one would protest that."

He took Chris' hand, interlacing their fingers in a way that lined up their wedding bands while the husbands stared lovingly at each other. Peter was only allowed a brief moment of envy, before his mother decided to further torment him.

"That's alright, this one can also marry my son."

"Mother," Peter's voice pitched in mortified frustration.

"Aw, but uncle Peter, I'm sure you have entire pages of your diary dedicated to pink glitter pen Mister Peter Stilinski," Laura smirked, an evil expression.

"Yeah," Cora chimed in. "Uncle Peter has like two dozen pictures of you in his room. Probably even more under his mattress."

"Can we please stop talking about this?" Derek requested with a sour look.

"I hate this family," Peter heaved a sigh and rubbed his face. "You are my favorite, Derek."

He couldn't bring himself to look at Stiles, completely mortified and embarrassed. Sure, he knew he stood no chance with the happily married, rich and famous model, but did his niblings have to twist the knife like that? What had he done to deserve that? (Do not list all the ways he had embarrassed them over the years, that was completely different and well within his rights as their uncle.)

He looked up startled when someone touched his hand and was even more surprised to be looking into the amused eyes of Chris Argent Stilinski. "It's okay. You don't need to be embarrassed about it. The little brat prides himself on these kind of things and it is his job."

"Yeah, thanks for contributing to my paycheck," Stiles grinned impishly and winked at Peter. "Your patronage is appreciated."

"He might have financed your car all on his own," Cora quipped. "…Well, I saw that car earlier, so I don't think that's saying too much, actually."

"Roscoe isn't a car, she is family. Doesn't matter how much I make, I'll never replace her."

There was so much fond love in Stiles' voice that Peter found himself jealous of a car. That was a new low. He returned his attention to the food in front of him, somewhat regretting all of this.

"So you'll start the shoot tomorrow?" Damon asked, bless him for changing the topic.

"If the weather's cooperating, we'd like to wrap things up tomorrow and the day after, if needed," Chris agreed. "We don't usually do outdoors shoots. Don't like when things are out of my hand."

"Control freak," Stiles shot him a loving look. "And I am saying it as a term of endearment."

"How a control freak like my dad ended up with the least controllable person on the planet is truly beyond me," Allison pointed out.

"Oh, your dad knows how to control me," Stiles wiggled his eyebrows.

"Can we have one dinner without innuendos and allusions to your sex life?" Isaac pleaded.

"She set me up for it!" Stiles exclaimed, motioning wildly at Allison.

"You people sure are gonna make this place more lively," Fiona pointed out amused. "Jason is so gonna pout about missing this."

Peter thanked the stars that Jason was missing this. If Laura and Cora tormented him, Jason was a next level menace. They liked to call him the Dalia of his generation. He wore the title with pride.

"Derek and Peter will supervise you tomorrow," Talia declared with finality, cutting into the relaxed atmosphere. "You're not to disturb any of our animals and you will not go into the barn or the stables without them. I'll not be sued because a celebrity got kicked by a horse."

"Fair. But yeah! Awesome. We're looking forward to it. And, again, thanks for having us."

Peter had no idea why Talia had assigned him to do this. She wasn't an enabler of shenanigans, she was the responsible one. Well, mostly. There was that one time when him and Aaron had been teenagers and she in her twenties and the three of them had gone skinny dipping on the neighbor's property. She just stepped out of the lake, fully nude, no shame at all, smiling and challenging the poor guy to do anything. He'd been so flustered, he went to fetch her a towel and then just went back inside, his anger about the three trespassers fully forgotten.

/break\

"This was a nice idea, doll," Chris' voice was a soft murmur against Stiles' skin.

He had his nose buried in Stiles' hair, lips gracing his husband's temple. The two of them were sitting curled together on the windowsill in their room, watching the sunset over the Hale Ranch. It was breathtaking. Chris had gotten so comfortable with his city life, he spent too little time outdoors nowadays. As a hunter, it was inevitable to be out and about. Nature all around him. He didn't miss the life, the hunt or his family, but he did miss the serenity that came from being removed from the city like this, in the middle of green fields, dark woods and blue sky all around.

"I knew you'd like it," Stiles grinned and tilted his head so he could steal a kiss.

"You like it too," Chris argued amused. "Which I didn't expect. You're not much of an outdoor person, beyond getting yourself into trouble as a teen."

"I always got myself out of trouble too," Stiles pointed out. "And well, while a camping trip would have been less fun for me, this is… more my speed. Reminds me of my grandpa's ranch. I hope I'll be able to charm the pretty Hale into letting me ride a horse."

Chris snorted softly. "I'm fairly sure you could charm the 'pretty Hale' into signing over his part of the ranch to you. He's been staring at you with heart eyes ever since we got here."

His husband preened at that, making Chris smile a little. Stiles loved the attention, the admiration. He'd had some self-esteem issues as a teen, the 'lanky human surrounded by hot werewolves', as he liked to call it. This career? The clear confirmation that he was desirable, it had been a much needed ego boost. Chris was far too pleased by how it all made Stiles feel to be jealous. Besides, he knew his husband was loyal and in love with him, so there was no reason, in Chris' opinion, to be jealous. Jealousy was for the insecure, who thought their lovers would stray from them. Not Stiles, never Stiles. Stiles' loyalty had always been his most impressive and honorable feature.

"I think I like this family," Stiles declared after a few minutes. "They have easy banter, there isn't… the Alpha doesn't seem the strict kinda be all end all? And Dalia's amazing."

"I could marry her pie," Chris muttered softly.

"Sorry, the pie wasn't on the table. Only the son," Stiles snickered.

"Don't flirt too much with the guy," Chris suggested after some thought. "He seems more hung up on you than the usual horny fan. No need to make him feel worse about not getting you."

"I try not to break any hearts. But I do wanna have a little fun with him. He's snarky."

Chris sighed amused and shook his head. "Don't torment the poor bastard too much."

Stiles cackled gleefully and twisted in Chris' arms so he was straddling the photographer's lap. His arms wrapped around Chris' neck, fingers playing with the soft hair at the base of his skull while Stiles leaned in ever so slowly until he could press his lips against Chris'.

"Let's wrap this shoot up quickly tomorrow so you'll be all mine," Stiles whispered.

Chris ground his teeth together a little at that. He hated that they'd brought Theo, he didn't trust the kid. Mostly because Stiles didn't have a good feeling about him. Why Stiles needed to always poke and prod and had to take Theo specifically because of that, Chris had no idea. No, that was a lie. He knew exactly why his infuriating husband was like this.

Stiles had always rather put himself at risk than others. If he thought there was something shady about Theo, he'd rather see for himself. Hopefully without any harm coming to Stiles. Chris grabbed Stiles by the neck and pulled him close enough to kiss again.

/break\

Isaac finished make-up and had put Stiles and Theo into the clothes they'd brought. Proper, stereotypical cowboy get-up. Chris wanted to rip open that shirt, kiss down his husband's chest and drop on his knees in front of Stiles. These skinny jeans, with the leather pants over them, the cowboy boots and hat, even the damn belt-buckle, big and with the bull on it, had an appeal.

"C'mere," Chris growled as he grabbed Stiles by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss.

Heated and long enough to leave Stiles panting breathlessly when they parted. "You really can't keep your hands to yourself, Mister Stilinski."

Chris laughed at that and gently shoved Stiles back some. "Get back to work, slacker."

When Stiles turned his back on Chris, Chris smacked his ass to make him go faster. Both Allison and Isaac heaved very exasperated sighs, while Derek grunted uncomfortably.

"They're always like this," Allison supplied, turning to the rancher. "Ever since they got together. At first, I thought this was a midlife crisis – the age difference and the level of horniness. But it's been four years. We came to terms with the fact that they're just like that."

"Horrible," Derek muttered with a glower. "I thought Boyd and Erica were too big on the PDA. Well, Erica is. Boyd just can't deny his mate."

Allison laughed at that and for a long moment, Derek stared at her. Chris watched the wolf warily until he got distracted by the other Hale making a soft noise next to Chris. Turning his attention to Peter, Chris followed the wolf's line of sight. Stiles had unbuttoned his shirt all the way and knotted it up at his navel, revealing his hips, collarbone and parts of his chest.

"My boy's gorgeous, isn't he?" Chris asked with a smirk.

"Breathtaking," Peter whispered back, his voice startlingly genuine.

It really did feel different from the usual perverts who were horny for Stiles and saw him as nothing but an object for their masturbation. No, Peter sounded… Well, Peter sounded the way Chris had felt before pulling Stiles into that kiss. Ready to drop on his knees and worship the boy.

"I'm sorry," Peter looked at Chris. "Somehow, that doesn't feel like the thing to say to his husband."

Chris laughed and shook his head. "You're good, Hale. The brat likes to read his fanmail out loud to me, with a puffed up chest. I'm used to hearing these kind of things about my husband. Wouldn't have married a famous model if I couldn't handle it."

He twirled his wedding band subconsciously, before taking a step toward the two models. "Okay. Let's get to work, you two."

With that, Chris started posing Stiles and Theo to his liking, having them lose clothes, change outfits, change location. Allison took care of the lighting and overall helped Chris out a great deal. She'd been shadowing him for a while, wanting to follow her dad's footsteps after college hadn't fulfilled her the way she had hoped. Chris encouraged it, even if it wouldn't turn out to be her thing, he enjoyed the chance to spend more time with her.

"Relax some," Stiles laughed, but it was a forced laugh. "I know this is your first big shoot, but your nervousness is bruising the goods."

Chris' grip on his camera tightened. It wasn't the first time Stiles had said something along these lines today. About Theo's grip being too tight. Chris had to tell Theo to back off repeatedly too when he did more than was asked for, got too touchy with Stiles. Every fiber in Chris' being wanted to pull the wolf off Stiles, but Stiles was the one setting the boundaries. As long as he was still comfortable enough to laugh it off, Chris wasn't going to intervene. He knew his husband wasn't a damsel in distress and he had never appreciated the white knight act. If someone overstepped, Stiles knew how to put them in their place. And only when Stiles did that was Chris allowed to step in too. Didn't mean Chris liked it though.

/break\

They'd finally wrapped up the shoot and Derek was both wired and exhausted. Wired, because he hadn't gotten any physical exercise all day but exhausted from watching the shoot, staying alert. The input too. New people were always a lot of new, overwhelming scents and noises. Derek had never been too good in a crowd so spending all day with them had exhausted him.

"You're the big silent, broody and mysterious guy, huh?" Allison's smile was all dimples as she looked at Derek from where she was gathering the last of the equipment.

Derek turned to help her and then frown at her. "No. I'm just socially awkward."

She blinked startled at him and then started laughing, the sound like chiming bells, before her eyes widened and she clasped a hand over her mouth. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to laugh at you!"

"It's okay," Derek offered a wry smile before he returned to the fields in front of them. "I'm used to the teasing. I got two siblings and two cousins who never miss an opportunity to do so."

"No, no, I didn't mean to tease," Allison sounded a little embarrassed. "I mean, I kind of get it. Growing up, my parents moved around a lot and I never really… I never got the time to actually settle into any school long enough to make proper friends, so I was always the awkward new girl."

Furrowing his brows, Derek turned to look at Allison. Allison, with her cute dimples and bright smile and soft-looking long, dark hair that gave her a Snow White charm. He had a hard time believing that she wasn't the most popular girl in any school. But then optics could be deceiving, couldn't they? Since he wasn't the big silent, broody and mysterious guy.

He turned back toward the open field, watching the herd. "Horses are easier than people."

Allison made a curious noise, but it didn't sound judgmental. "I… guess they are, yeah."

Derek pushed off the fence. "Come on, there's a lady you should meet."

Confusion looked cute on Allison as she followed Derek to the stables. When they stood in front of Pepper in her gray glory, Allison started giggling, her eyes sparkling.

"This is Pepper. She's friendly," Derek offered.

"Hello, Pepper," Allison smiled and tentatively held out a hand. "I'm Allison, I'm also friendly."

Derek tried to ignore the strange warmth in his chest at her words. "Do you know how to ride?"

"No," Allison laughed and shook her head. "I'm a city girl to boot."

"You're wearing cowboy boots right now, so maybe this city girl needs to adjust to her footwear," Derek managed an awkward but encouraging smile. "Want me to show you?"

The way Allison perked up made Derek feel even warmer. "I'd love that! Thank you, Derek."

Swallowing his tongue at the disarming smile that was aimed his way, Derek simply nodded.

/break\

"You missed dinner, Derek," Talia frowned at her son. "Peter's been back for two hours already."

Derek tensed and looked at his mother. A nostalgic smile stretched over Dalia's lips. Oh, that boy was his mother's son. That was the exact same expression Talia used to wear when she was sneaking around with Damon behind her parents' back. Logan had always been too hard on any potential suitors for his firstborn and his only daughter, so Talia had tried to hide Damon for months. Not overly effectively so, considering the majority of their family were werewolves.

"Derek was teaching the girl how to ride," Cora chimed in, grinning. "I saw him earlier, helping her up a horse and explaining everything to her. Never seen him talk that much to a stranger without being forced to."

"I thought I made it clear that they should stay away from our animals. They're only here for their shoot, to them our ranch is a backdrop for their work. I don't want them near the animals, Derek."

"Allison isn't like that," Derek's voice was very soft. "She was really good with Pepper."

"Pepper," Talia blinked perplexed. "You never let tourists near your horse."

Dalia pursed her lips in amusement as she got off the couch. She gently patted Derek on the back in passing, wishing him good luck with this conversation, while wondering how long it'd take Talia to catch on. Though in Talia's defense, Derek didn't have much of a track record when it came to romance. He buried himself in his work and dedicated himself to the pack.

There'd been his high school sweetheart Paige, who had wanted the bite to join the pack, but her body had rejected it. It had been a devastating loss and largely factored into why the popular boy pull away from people and curled in on himself. He'd dated a lovely girl named Braeden for a while after high school, but she'd been a traveling farm hand who roamed the states and had only stayed with them for a couple months before moving on.

"Why, have you been exiled by your husband?" Dalia asked surprised when she left the house.

Stiles was laying sprawled out on the ground, vaguely between the main house and the guest house. He blinked those impressively large eyes at her and then grinned and waved a little.

"Uhm. Kinda, yeah. Chris is working, you know, going through all the pictures we took today, seeing what will be good to work with and what will need to be reshot," Stiles stretched all four limbs wide. "He finds me 'distracting', so I am usually not allowed in his workspace. Since his workspace happens to be our bedroom right now, I figured I'd do some stargazing. Not a lot of that possible in New York."

"I can believe that," Dalia huffed with a disgusted look on her face. "Between the light pollution and the smog… I don't know how anyone can live in a monstro-city like that."

"…Did you just pun monstrosity and city?" Stiles blinked. "I might be in love with you, ma'am."

Dalia laughed brightly. "I'm sorry, dearie, you're a little too young for me."

He grinned playfully before returning his attention to the sky. There was something mournful to him. She tilted her head and with a last smile at him, returned to the main house. Her steps led her upstairs and to Peter's bedroom. Knocking briefly, she entered, just to find him at the window, with a book in his hand but his eyes on the model sprawled out outside.

"You know you could just go downstairs and… sit with him and talk to him, sweetie."

Peter sighed and put his book down. "He's married, mother."

"Yes. Very fine young man, that one," Dalia purred softly. "I didn't suggest you go down to seduce him, Peter. I suggested you go and talk to him."

Peter heaved another sigh, but this one was the one signaling that he gave up. Dalia smiled pleased.

/break\

Peter doubted that Stiles was even capable of looking anything less than perfect. The boy was sprawled out on the grass, the moonlight making his skin glow silver, a serene smile on his lips. He was breathtaking and Peter could just stare at him all day every day.

"Hey," Stiles greeted him, looking up at him upside down.

"Hello," Peter smiled and sat down next to him. "How are you enjoying your stay so far?"

"I honestly could move in here, especially if it means I'll get more of your mom's cooking."

"My mother doesn't cook," Peter snorted. "She has a select few recipes that she has perfected. Mostly related to holidays. But Damon, Boyd and I do the cooking around here."

"Oh," Stiles blinked those pretty doe-eyes at him. "So today's delicious dinner…"

"Was from yours truly," Peter smirked. "And you are free to move in, darling. I promise to cook something delicious for you every single day."

Stiles huffed, but he also smiled. "Don't tempt me."

Tilting his head, Peter decided to lay down next to Stiles and aim his gaze up at the stars too. "You are filled with longing. Since you got here, the way you look at everything, it's… different than most tourists who look at it as a spectacle. You look at it with awe and revere. Like a wolf."

"Not a wolf, but… I am something that's linked to nature, I guess," Stiles whispered and lifted a hand up, letting blueish green sparks dance around it. "I'm a Spark. I was meant to protect my territory, my Nemeton, but… my Nemeton's been cut down many years ago. I'm a fluke. It hadn't granted anyone magic in decades, because it wasn't strong enough to sustain it. I got the magic, but I don't have the territory or the tree. I'm… adrift, I guess."

Peter stared at him in surprised awe but he remained quiet, waiting for Stiles to continue. "We came to New York to get away from home, to get a new start. And for the most part, it works. I'm happy with the life we have. But this place… it makes my Spark sing, I guess? It reminds me that there is a part of me that belongs to nature and that I've been neglecting it."

"Mh, like a wolf," Peter teased with a soft smile. "Many city wolves feel that way when they come here and get to roam free for the first time in years. We integrated ourselves so much into human society that it's easy to forget we don't fully belong there and it has never adapted to us."

Stiles hummed softly, looking sad. "I suppose you're right."

"How does your husband feel about all of that?" Peter asked curiously.

"Oh, if Chris got his way, we would be living in a cabin in the mountains with no wifi, hunting our own food," Stiles heaved a sigh. "So he would be all for living more in nature."

Somehow, the thought made Peter laugh. The two of them laid comfortably next to each other watching the stars for nearly an hour before Chris stepped out of the guest house.

"There you are, baby," Chris sighed. "I didn't mean you had to leave the house, you know."

"You called me a 'distraction', Christopher!" Stiles yelped offended, then turned to Peter. "Can you believe that? I am trying to be affectionate with my husband and he calls me a 'distraction' from his work and asks me to occupy myself otherwise!"

Pursing his lips, Peter looked between the two of them. "Yes, I can believe that. I don't think I would get anything done with you around either, darling. He was right."

"See," Chris smirked and crossed his arms. "I'm done with work. You may come back inside."

Peter tried not to stare at the way Chris' biceps bulged this way, or how tight the shirt spanned over the man's chest. His mother was right, Chris really was fine. Stiles had great taste. Huffing, Stiles got up and walked over to Chris to wrap his arms around the photographer's neck. Damn, those two were stunning together. Peter sat and watched quietly how they shared a tender kiss.

"Very generous of you, husband," Stiles whispered against Chris' lips. "So—o, what's the verdict? Everything turned out well? We are all done and can move on to the third honeymoon portion of this stay and get down and dirty behind the barn?"

Peter and Chris both sputtered at that, earning a cheeky grin from Stiles. Sighing, Chris shook his head and laid his own arms around Stiles' waist to pull him closer. The way they fit together was mesmerizing and the natural grace with which they moved in each other's space had Peter envious. Not even just of Chris, but generally. It was the kind of easy intimacy he had always wanted too.

"Actually, I don't like most of the takes," Chris sighed and rested his forehead against Stiles.

"Wha—at," Stiles yelped and then turned to Peter. "Peter, tell him he's lost his mind. I'm gorgeous and he is a genius so these pictures all have to be perfect."

"He's right," Peter agreed, motioning at Stiles. "Your camera must be broken."

Chris huffed out a laugh and shook his head. "It's not you, baby, you are perfect. I don't like the interplay between you and Theo. There is no chemistry, only tenseness. It's stilted. Doesn't work."

Heaving a sigh, Stiles adjusted to bury his face in Chris' chest. "...Reshoots it is then."

"Good night, Peter," Chris nodded in his direction. "This one needs rest for tomorrow."

Stiles grumbled but waved at Peter before the couple disappeared inside again, leaving Peter alone outside in the cold. For a couple minutes, Peter remained on the ground, staring at the closed door of the guest house, before he got up and returned to his own bedroom.

/break\

"Psst," Erica knocked on the window, startling Stiles out of bed. "Hey! Good morning!"

"We are on the first floor," Stiles yawned. "What…"

"Nobody was opening the door when I knocked," Erica shrugged. "Talia left to take care of business in town, with Fiona and Laura. Peter is making second breakfast. Wanna join?"

Stiles snorted and sat up. Alpha Hale really didn't like them much, did she? But the rest of the pack didn't mind? Mh. Stiles grinned and got out of bed to open the window so the wolf could climb into the bedroom and didn't have to perch on the window sill. She grinned at him.

"Second breakfast? Are you wolves or Hobbits?" Stiles asked.

"Wolves have a high metabolism. Also, first breakfast was at four thirty. Now it's ten. A reasonable amount of time has passed to eat another meal," Erica grinned. "There will be waffles and Peter's famous chocolate chip pancakes, you shouldn't miss them."

"Okay, yeah, I am not saying no to a free meal," Stiles turned to his closet to get changed. "You guys really… love the pack? I mean, just… you and Boyd aren't…"

"Blood family?" Erica offered and sat down on the bed, shamelessly watching him change. "Yeah. Don't get me wrong, we weren't instantly adopted by them. And we didn't immediately grow attached to them either. Boyd and I had been a pack of two for years at that point, we didn't trust easily. But something just… clicked."

"Was Alpha Hale like this to you too, or is she just like that with tourists…?"

"Oh, she is like that with everyone," Erica nodded solemnly. "She's just… protective."

Stiles hummed and put on his favorite jeans. "There… a reason for that?"

"The Hales left their hometown like seventy years ago, when Dalia's husband was barely a baby. Something happened back then, that made them abandon their homeland," Erica spoke softly. "This ranch, Talia's grandfather bought it, it was barely a house and a barn, really. Talia's father and his siblings built it up. It's… I guess it's because the pack had to establish a new territory that way? And a part of Talia, the part that grew up with her grandfather's yearning for their home territory, is fiercely protective of it and of the pack. Because the Hales left back then, but… only the Hales. Their pack was reduced to their family, and so they… stayed that way."

Fear of loss. Stiles could understand that. He sighed and straightened up, checking himself in the mirror. When he deemed it good, he motioned for Erica to follow him outside.

"Okay, Stilinskis, time for breakfast," Stiles called out loudly.

"Not a Stilinski," Allison and Isaac called out from their respective rooms.

Rolling his eyes, Stiles knocked at Theo's door. "We were invited to breakfast. You coming too?"

Theo opened the door and smiled charmingly at Stiles. "Sure thing."

"Oh, Chris says we'll have to do reshoots today," Stiles sighed.

"Not a problem. I don't mind getting close and personal with you, Stiles."

Stiles chuckled and swallowed the bad feeling. Instead, he led everyone to the main house, where Erica took over leading them to the kitchen. Peter looked cute in the frilly blue apron, flipping pancakes and joking around with Boyd and Damon. His eyes crinkled prettily when he laughed. This wolf was absolutely gorgeous and Stiles appreciated the view.

"We hear there's breakfast," Stiles grinned and sat down with Cora.

He noted the way Allison walked around the table to sit opposite Stiles, right next to Derek, and then turned to smile at the grumpy wolf. Much to Stiles' shock, Derek offered a genuine smile in return. Huh, so far the guy had given off murder vibes at every turn. Interesting.

"There is," Peter confirmed and put a huge plate of waffles and pancakes in front of him.

Chris sat down next to Stiles and immediately snagged a waffle. "Theft!"

"We're married," Chris muttered around a mouthful. "All of yours is half mine."

"You can have your own plate, Christopher," Peter sighed and put one down in front of Chris.

"Hey, it's only been two days and he already perfected the exasperated use of Chris' full first name," Isaac whistled impressed. "And here I thought Stiles had a monopoly on it."

Stiles snickered and gently nudged his husband. "Nah, his mom taught me, actually."

"Mamie was delighted to have someone help her team up on papa," Allison laughed softly.

"Yeah, how did that go?" Cora asked curiously. "I mean, your husband being the same age as your kids. Can't really imagine your parents were too impressed with that."

"Cora," Damon chided his daughter, both eyebrows raised.

"What," Cora shrugged. "I'm just saying. The age gap's kinda obvious."

"My mother was… pretty understanding," Chris looked at Stiles with that heartache-y look. "Though she says I'm lucky my father never got to meet Stiles, because he would… not have been a fan. Neither of the age difference, nor of the gender."

"I would have given that bigot a piece of my mind if I'd ever met him," Stiles promised.

He placed a gentle kiss on Chris' lips. The Argent family was a bit of a tricky topic. Sure, Gerard had been dead since Chris was twelve, but the man had still done some damage. He'd spread his bigotry even when Chris was a child. Stiles could be grateful the man died early and that Adeline had mostly raised her children on her own. Sure, Chris' sister was kind of a bitch, but it was mostly fine. He only had to deal with Kate on the big holidays.

"He wouldn't have been a fan of me adopting a werewolf either," Chris added thoughtfully.

"Argent, was it?" Dalia asked with knowing eyes. "It's good you made a family of your own then, sweetie. A pretty man like you would have been wasted on the hunt."

She winked at him and it effectively broke the melancholic atmosphere by making Chris blush. With that, breakfast turned into a more lighthearted and pleasant thing. Stiles smiled as he watched the Hales banter and watched the way his own family integrated into it. Isaac was joking around with Erica, Boyd with his arm wrapped around his mate's shoulder joined in every now and again though he seemed pretty content just watching Erica laugh and smile (so—o smitten, so cute. Stiles totally adored these two already). Allison was mostly talking to Derek in a soft voice, coaxing the quiet guy into talking. Chris was in a heated debated about some sports thing with Aaron, Damon, Peter and Dalia (from the looks of it, Dalia was winning the argument). The only one not participating was Theo, whose eyes were firmly on Stiles. Stiles tried to ignore it. It was getting harder with every day. He was used to it, new colleagues usually had either a crush on him or were just intimidated by him due to his fame, it took a while for things to even out. Somehow, he had a feeling that things weren't going to even out with Theo.

/break\

Peter was in a pretty good mood. Last night's stargazing, breakfast this morning and the way the Stilinski-Argent family had folded so naturally into the Hale morning routine, and now another shoot. Shirtless Stiles was a sight to behold, all that pale skin begging to be marked up and these charming moles that Peter wanted to trace with his tongue.

"Okay, let's take ten," Chris sighed, looking frustrated.

Peter frowned and turned toward the man while the models wandered off into the shade near the main house, where Dalia was providing them with lemonade. Walking closer to Chris, he looked over the man's shoulder, noting how good Chris smelt.

"They look fine to me," Peter said.

"Fine," Chris repeated dryly. "The photos of Stiles you have hanging in your room, according to your family, do they look 'fine' to you?"

That made Peter hesitate. "No. No, they're not. They're spectacular."

He tilted his head at the light flush on Chris' cheeks. The man reacted prettily to praise.

"It's easy for me to capture Stiles on his own. He's my masterpiece," Chris murmured softly. "Working with multiple people – even without Stiles – is always challenging, because the involved parties need a certain level of chemistry and comfort around each other. There's something guarded to Stiles around Theo, see the tension in his posture? While there's something… not playful about Theo that makes me uncomfortable to see aimed at Stiles. Maybe that's just me being an overprotective spouse, maybe I'm being too picky…"

Peter hummed thoughtfully. "No, now that you said it, I can see it."

"Thanks," Chris offered a weary smile.

"Why don't you go and get some lemonade and maybe a snack? It might give things perspective," Peter suggested in a gentle voice. "But do watch out for my mother's wandering hands."

He smirked when he saw Chris sputter in mortification. Stiles, Theo, Isaac and Allison had left the table with the lemonade and while Peter could spot Allison sitting on the stairs to the main house with Derek, he didn't see the other three. Maybe they went inside where it was cooler?

Peter wandered around a little himself, actively looking for Stiles. Something about what Chris had said sat uncomfortably with Peter. He'd rather make sure the guy wasn't left unsupervised with Stiles. He found Isaac by the apple orchard with Cora, Boyd and Erica, actually helping them pick apples and laughing with them. Now he wanted to find Stiles and Theo even more.

"I really don't think that this is working out," Stiles sighed. "I'm sorry, you will be compensated for the work you did so far, but I think we will have to pivot."

"I don't care about the money! A shoot with you is supposed to boost my career," Theo's voice was a dangerous growl. "It's not me, it's you who's not cooperating. Just submit, damn it."

Stiles snorted, sounding unimpressed (but Peter still quickened his steps into their direction). "Sorry, the only one I submit to is my husband. And he has to work for it too. That's not how this job works, Theo. You can't just force chemistry."

"I could try," Theo snarled.

"I'll warn you once: Let go of me," Stiles growled back. "Back off, Raeken."

Peter rounded the corner of the barn to find Theo pinning Stiles against the wall by his throat with one hand, the other hand on his stomach, creeping lower. He saw red. His eyes flashed as his beta-shift took over and he lunged at the other wolf, pulling him off Stiles.

"I believe," Peter forced the words out between his fangs. "He told you to let go."

Theo snarled at him and the two went at it, until they had an audience. It was only when Talia stomped up to them with red-glowing eyes and the threatening growl of an Alpha that they froze.

"What is going on here?" Talia demanded to know.

"He was hurting Stiles," Peter snarled. "Molesting him!"

Stiles was straightening his clothes, but the red marking around his neck was undeniable. Talia gave another growl and grabbed Theo by the neck, hauling him off Peter and dangling him in the air like a naughty puppy. Stiles, all the while, was being flocked by Chris, Allison, Isaac, Laura and Erica.

"It's fine," Stiles sighed and rolled his eyes. "And I didn't need Peter to step in."

The Spark frowned and flashed his eyes a glowing teal at Peter. Taking deep breaths, Peter reigned his wolf in. Right. Powerful Spark, could have probably handled one werewolf on his own.

"Doesn't mean the help isn't appreciated," Chris added pointedly, aiming soft eyes at Peter. "Thank you. My husband tends to let things go too far sometime."

"Taking Theo onto this shoot was letting it go too far," Isaac muttered.

"I wanted to give him a chance," Stiles glared at his stepson. "Scott's been singing his praises, I just… wanted to give him a chance. Clearly, I was wrong."

"Laura, Derek," Talia growled. "Accompany him to his room so he can take his things and then take him off our territory. Don't leave him out of sight until he is gone."

"What," Theo stared at her incredulously. "You can't just-"

"I am the Alpha," Talia's eyes flashed an even more intense red. "This is my territory. You attacked someone under my protection and then attacked my brother. If you ever set foot onto Hale land again, I will personally rip your throat out with my claws."

"It's so hot when she does that," Damon muttered beneath his breath.

Peter shot his brother-in-law a pointed look and then watched his niece and nephew lead Theo off to the guest house, holding his arms maybe a little too tight for comfort. Relaxing a little once the threat was removed, he hurried to Stiles' side to check his injuries himself.

"It's barely a little red," Stiles rolled his eyes again. "Stop fussing over me!"

"I'll make you a tea, dearie," Dalia frowned at him and patted his cheek. "You do not always have to be brave and strong, it's okay to be affected by things."

Something in Stiles' eyes cracked at her words and he slumped in a little in defeat. "Okay, fine."

"Come inside," Talia instructed, her eyes softer. "I'm sorry about this."

"We brought him onto your territory," Isaac argued with a frown. "Feels like we should apologize."

"You are guests on my territory, your safety is my responsibility," Talia pointed out. "I am not having you supervised so closely because I don't trust you, but because I take my duties as an Alpha seriously. Harm that comes to you on my land is a failing on my part."

"That's…" Stiles blinked surprised at her. "Thank you, Alpha Hale."

"Come inside and drink my mother's tea," Talia offered, again.

/break\

So being fussed over by the Hale Pack was actually pretty nice. Stiles found himself cuddled on the very comfortable couch in their living room, drinking delicious tea and eating cookies that Boyd had made. They watched a cheesy Hallmark movie together, where a successful lawyer lady fell in love with an apple farmer and decided to leave the city life behind to farm apples.

"I just truly don't get that," Cora muttered. "Giving up your whole life for love."

"You're telling me," Isaac huffed. "I already don't get the whole thing, but leaving everything you built for yourself like that. I mean, if she had at least been miserable about her life, but she loved her career and seemed to love her fiance before just dumping him."

"These movies are midlife crisis distilled," Stiles pointed out. "Sudden, unexpected huge life change. It never really felt romantic to me, if you give up everything you did for someone else. Real love should be to share, to find a compromise that works for both."

"Wouldn't sell as well as a movie," Allison pointed out dryly.

"You are all horrible," Laura groaned. "Just let me enjoy my movie!"

Stiles grinned softly and leaned sideways against his husband. Chris had a possessive arm around Stiles' shoulders, always a little more protective after something like this happened. It wasn't the first time and wouldn't be the last either, it was just something that came with the job. Too many people still thought that his line of work constituted consent. Stiles tilted his head, looking at the wolf on his other side. Peter still sat tense, alert, like he was looking for a threat.

"Hey," Stiles whispered gently, reaching out to take Peter's hand. "It's okay, Guardwolf. He's gone. Derek and Laura took him away. And even if he wasn't, I am literally surrounded by a whole pack of badass wolves. I'm safe. You can relax."

Peter looked a little embarrassed at being caught, but when Stiles grinned at him, he did relax.

/break\

They decided to take the next day off, give Chris some time to come up with a new concept and give Stiles the time to settle with what had happened. Even if Chris' stubborn husband always acted like anything happening to him didn't affect him. Chris really wished that Stiles would allow others to comfort him. The fact that the Hale Pack had been able to make Stiles sit down, curl together under a blanket, eat cookies and let them be there for him.

"They look good together," Chris murmured softly.

"Who?" Isaac frowned and then followed his line of sight. "...Stiles and Peter?"

Peter and Stiles were riding side by side, smiling at each other as they talked. There was an easy chemistry between them, Peter reacted beautifully to Stiles' flirting. Chris tilted his head thoughtfully as he watched the two of them. He preferred pairing Stiles off with wolves for the shoots, their main audience were wolves and they liked it that way. Isaac wasn't a model and driving someone else out here now would be a hassle. He could do a solo shoot for Stiles, his boy sold beautifully all on his own too, but something about Peter appealed to Chris…

/break\

"You have lost your mind," Peter raised both his eyebrows stunned.

"No, I think he's onto something," Stiles' eyes had an unholy sparkle in them.

"I'm not a model," Peter said with emphasis.

"You could be, Prettywolf," Stiles shrugged, eyes dragging over Peter's body. "You really could be. And have you seen your neck? That fits right into Neckz 'n Throats, you know."

Peter made a frustrated noise. Chris had cornered him and Stiles after the ride – the very fun ride where Peter got to show Stiles the whole span of the ranch – and suggested that Peter could fill in for Theo in the reshoots. Peter was convinced the man might have been kicked in the bead by a horse or something, but then there was Stiles enabling this ridiculous idea of his husband's.

"You can't just make that decision! Something like that definitely should be greenlit by a higher up or something," Peter was scrambling at this point. "You can't hire people."

The look on Chris' face was downright amused. "You're right. Let me talk to my boss. But be warned, I have a pretty good relationship to him. Babe, can we hire Peter?"

Stiles feigned a thoughtful look and then nodded. "Yeah. Allison, please call Lydia, have her draft up a one shoot contract and mail it over for Peter to sign, with an option of more shoots in the future. First signer incentive included. Tell her to hurry."

"What," Peter blinked as he watched Allison pull out her phone.

"I own Neckz 'n Throats," Stiles chuckled amused. "I'm the CEO of the company. I just… get bored in the office and prefer modeling and being out and about."

"How rich are you?" Erica asked stunned.

At which point Peter became acutely aware of his own pack that had gravitated toward them since this conversation had started. Thanks to the werewolf hearing. Talia had a judgmental eyebrow raised, Aaron looked like he was two seconds from bursting into laughter. Cora had her phone out.

"Oh, I am totally calling Sloan and Jason," Cora informed them.

"I didn't say yes!" Peter exclaimed frustrated.

"How much money are we talking about?" Talia asked.

"Talia!" Peter hissed at his sister. "You were against this shoot. And now you want to sell me out."

Talia shrugged. "We wanted to expand the main house, give everyone more privacy, ever since Boyd and Erica joined our pack. The kids are grown too and need more space."

Stiles looked evil as he approached her. "Let's talk money, Alpha Hale."

"We're not going to force you," Chris rested a comforting hand on Peter's shoulder. "How about you read through the contract with your family, see if these are terms you are okay with, and then, before you sign it, we do a test shoot tomorrow. Just a couple pictures, see how you feel, nothing that will be published in any way or shape. Just so you get a feel for it. If you're uncomfortable with it, rip the contract apart, forget about it, I do the shoot with Stiles solo."

"Can I have a test shoot too?" Erica asked eagerly. "I wanna play model too."

"Erica," Damon chided her with a stern look.

But Chris' eyes were near fond as he huffed. "Sure, kid. I can snap a couple pictures of you and your mate, make some memories if you want."

Erica squealed and fist-bumped the air before pulling Boyd into a kiss. At least Boyd looked as happy about this as Peter felt. Modeling? That wasn't his world. He was a cowboy.

/break\

"Relax," Stiles' voice was a seductive purr. "Ignore the camera and the audience."

Peter made a small noise. "You say that like it's easy."

A sharp grin spread over Stiles' lips as he straddled Peter's lap. "Focus on me. Don't think about them, just look at me. I'm the only thing that matters."

Well, that was deceptively easy for Peter. He stared in awe at Stiles, this up close. Stiles' arms wrapped around Peter's neck and then he pulled Peter closer, until Peter's nose was pressed against Stiles' neck. Stiles tilted his head to bare it to both Peter and the camera. Daringly, Peter rested his hands on Stiles' hips, pulling him closer. Stiles made a soft sound and obeyed the pull.

Stiles was patient and playful as he guided Peter through it, until Peter got comfortable enough in it to let Chris direct them both. As much as he had opposed the idea at first, because he didn't know anything about modeling, he was a rancher, as much fun did he end up having.

By the time the shoot wrapped and Chris moved on to snap a couple pictures of Boyd and Erica, who both looked spectacular after Isaac raided their closets and did their make-up, Peter was grinned and lax. He sat on the ground propped up on his elbows, Stiles right next to him.

"You took to that like a fish to water," Stiles teased.

"That's because Peter has always been a peacock at heart," Talia commented dryly.

She'd watched the whole thing too. One of her conditions had been that it was nothing obscene. She didn't want her pack represented that way. But in the end, Neckz 'n Throats had always been relatively tame. It was about the allure, the temptation, more so than the climax.

"If Chris ends up liking these, we will fi—inally get to enjoy our time without work," Stiles sighed.

"Did you have any plans?" Peter asked curiously.

Stiles frowned thoughtfully. "Well, we wanted to borrow a couple horses, ride out to have a picnic."

"I will not leave you unsupervised with our horses," Talia shot him a look.

"Great. Peter, wanna chaperon our date?" Stiles grinned amused. "You can sit and eat with us."

Peter blinked and nodded before he could think better of it. He probably should have thought better of it, because accompanying Chris and Stiles to a date sounded like a horrible idea.

"What else fun thing can you do around here?" Stiles asked.

"There's a riding competition coming up in two days, two towns over," Talia supplied. "Peter is going to compete representing our ranch. We will all attend to support him, I'm sure you could enjoy the show too. It's quite impressive."

Peter shot his sister a horrified look. The last thing he needed was his celebrity crush attending his competition. That was just going to make him nervous. Talia ignored him.

/break\

Chris used every distraction on Peter's part to glare pointedly at his husband for inviting Peter along to their anniversary date. Stiles smiled innocently at him and then did something obscene like deep-throat the damn banana he was eating or sucking on a strawberry.

Yes, Peter was gorgeous, cunning, ruthless in how he had defended Stiles, protective, pretty, had a beautifully easy chemistry with Stiles, the two of them were absolutely beautiful together and Chris could have spent all day yesterday just watching them play around with each other, teasing each other… Chris forgot where he was going with this train of thought.

"I was honestly surprised that you're CEO of the company," Peter brought up when his attention returned to the company. "I would have thought something like that would be widely known."

"Oh, no," Stiles shook his head amused. "I prefer people underestimating them. Models have a certain… reputation. People like to think I'm just a pretty face, the cute arm-candy on Chris' arm. Noshiko is a ruthless business woman and she is a great acting head of the company. But I own the majority shares on the company and I have last say on every major decision, such as hiring."

"Stiles is far more than his pretty face," Chris noted with a pleased look. "He made this company. Built it from the ground with Noshiko's help and guidance."

"Mostly because nobody took an eighteen year old seriously when it came to business," Stiles shrugged. "So I let her be the face of things, while we shared being the mind."

"One would be sorely mistaken to underestimate you, darling," Peter commented.

His eyes were dark with a hunger that went beyond the physical. The kind that Chris could relate to and it made him share a smirk with Peter. Stiles grinned and picked up another strawberry.

/break\

"I want to keep him," Stiles' voice was soft.

He was leaning against Chris' side, his husband's arm around his waist. Both their attention was fully taken by Peter, on his horse, doing stuff that Stiles hadn't thought was physically possible to do with a horse. He'd always thought riding was just about transport. But this was artful. Masterful. And Peter looked so pretty on the horse, happy and enjoying himself.

"We can't keep him, baby," Chris heaved a sigh. "He has his ranch, his pack, his family. We have our life in New York. Where we'll return to when the week is over. It's not a good idea to give him a taste of it just to take it away again. That's cruel."

"You know what I'm not hearing?" Stiles asked, a challenge in his tone. "I don't want."

Chris leaned in to kiss Stiles' temple. "Our wedding vows included not to lie to each other."

Stiles hummed, pleased enough by that answer. Everyone cheered as Peter's performance ended and a couple minutes later, the cowboy came to stand with them, still smiling broadly.

"You were amazing," Stiles grinned at him.

"Mhmh," Chris looked at Peter with appreciation. "You are really good."

"Thanks," Peter ducked his head a little, looking adorable.

Stiles so desperately wanted to keep the wolf. Wanted to kiss him and pull him in and take him home. Chris was right, of course. They couldn't take Peter home to New York with them. Peter loved his pack and territory, the gray city would make him miserable. Hell, half the time it was making Stiles miserable. Slowly, he leaned more against Peter, pleased when Chris followed.

"Oh," Peter perked up when the next contestant entered the arena.

"Mh?" Chris frowned curiously, following his line on sight. "You know her?"

"That," Aaron on his brother's other side snickered. "That is the love of Peter's life."

Stiles felt an inappropriate amount of possessiveness at that and turned toward the rider, while Peter heaved an exasperated sigh. "I am not in love with a horse, Aaron."

Oh. Wait, what? Stiles blinked and turned back to their wolf curiously, waiting for him to elaborate.

"She's beautiful, she's feisty, look at her shiny hair," Aaron mimicked Peter's voice.

"She's a beaut, I'm a rider, of course do I appreciate a beautiful horse," Peter rolled his eyes. "She also rides like a dream. With her, I would be unbeatable, I tell you."

"Oh. You want the horse," Stiles nodded. "Why not buy it?"

"...That was the most rich person thing you have said so far," Fiona snorted and peeked at them from next to her husband. "You know how much prized competition horses cost? Rhetorical question, clearly you don't."

Right. Sometimes, Stiles did forget that not everyone had world famous modeling and CEO of a global best selling magazine money at their disposal. Tilting his head, Stiles watched the horse.

/break\

The week ended far too quickly for Peter. And though he somehow ended up with Stiles and Chris' numbers saved in his phone, they still left for New York again. To return to their lives. They texted in a group chat and Peter didn't entirely know how to feel about that. He knew Stiles was also texting with Boyd and Erica a lot and Chris was texting with Damon and Fiona, so it certainly didn't mean anything. Peter desperately wanted it to mean something.

"Peter," Talia called out in her scolding voice. "Please move your present out of the way."

Frowning, Peter exited the house to check on what his sister was talking about. He froze when he saw her. Next to Talia stood Peanut the Thoroughbreed Peter had been dreaming about for years. For a few moments, Peter just stood there and stared at the horse.

"What," Peter managed, barely so.

"There's a note," Talia offered helpfully. "Dear Peter, really didn't know what horses cost. Damn. This one's yours now. Heart, Stiles. PS: Chris said I should give you something smaller and when I said 'Then it'll be a pony' he admitted defeat. So enjoy your horse."

"What," Peter repeated eloquently.

"PPS," Talia continued amused. "Yes, this is a courting gift. Consider yourself courted."

"What," Peter's voice sounded somewhat strangled.

He left his sister and the horse – his horse – standing where they were and rushed back upstairs to his room to find his phone and call this ridiculous man. It rang two times before Stiles picked up.

"Did your courting gift arrive?" Stiles asked eagerly. "Do you like it?"

"You can't. She is. That's too. What."

"Baby, I think you broke him," Chris chided in the background. "I told you to start small."

"But flowers and chocolate are boring," Stiles argued. "So you don't like the horse?"

"You're ridiculous," Peter heaved a sigh. "Why do I find that charming."

"Because that's how he gets you. Believe me, I've been there," Chris commented.

"Why do you think that this is a good idea?" Peter asked softly. "What do you think I have to offer you? There's a four hour car drive between us. You're a public figure, you're famous, I'm a cowboy. If you just want… to spice up your marriage, you don't have to court me, that's…"

"If we wanted to spice up our marriage we would have taken you to bed while we stayed at the ranch. Which we specifically did not do so you wouldn't think this," Stiles sighed. "We like you. We'd like to get to know you better, which is what a courting phase is for, right? Show you we appreciate you and get to know you better. The distance is fine. We can work with it."

"Please say yes, he is doing the sad kitten eyes," Chris tagged on. "And he's right."

Peter wavered, before a chorus of werewolves from throughout the house screamed. "Say yes!"

He ducked his head a little embarrassed as he noticed that he'd left his bedroom door ajar in his hurry. His mother may have soundproofed the entire house with her magic, but for it to be effective, a door actually had to be closed. Glaring at it, he closed it a little forcefully.

"Yes," Peter replied before he could change his mind.

/break\

Being courted by a billionaire was an experience. His wardrobe got a definite upgrade and so did their family dinners. Saturday, they had wagyu beef. Because Stiles had read that werewolves primarily courted through food. And he had sent enough to feed Peter's entire family. Last month, the Cobra Peter had been eyeing just stood in their driveway with a giant blue bow on it.

There was one gift the couple had hand-delivered to him though and it was the fresh first print of Cowboyz 'n Lassos, the issue of Neckz 'n Throats that had been shot at the ranch. Stiles was on the cover, grinning, wearing a very unbuttoned shirt, a cowboy hat and holding his hands in front of him, with a lasso tying his wrists together. They'd done multiple takes on Peter lassoing Stiles and the wolf had to admit that he'd found catching Stiles very thrilling.

The money for the shoot – both, renting the location, as well as Peter's paycheck for modeling – had gone into remodeling the farm. They had wanted to expand the main house for years. It was fine, all of them sharing the upstairs, when the kids had still been kids. Now, it was time to expand, as they were all grown adults themselves. They built a large annex for Laura, Derek, Cora, Boyd, Erica, Sloan and Jason, tore down a wall between the two buildings to expand the living room. They even had a lot of optimistically empty bedrooms for potential future Hales (Dalia was not very subtle about wanting great-grandchildren). It was perfect. The Argent-Stilinskis came to celebrate with them when renovations finally wrapped at the beginning of summer. It was a huge barbecue and bonfire, there was laughter and dance and by the end of the night, while sitting with his lovers, Peter even saw Derek dance with Allison, staring dreamily into her eyes.

"So—o," Stiles drawled where he was sitting on Peter's lap.

Peter himself was seated between Chris' lap, leaning against the man's chest. "Mh?"

"That new annex and all," Stiles was fidgeting, a nervous habit of his, biting his lip too. "Think there's room for four more in it?"

"Mh?" Peter repeated, surprised and confused.

"I've been considering stepping back some for a while," Chris' breath tickled Peter's neck as he spoke. "And so has Stiles. Not… quit. But if we only have to go to the city once a month or so for a shoot, we could… very comfortably live here. With you. If you'd like that."

"Yeah, Ally and I are still full-time employees and we are keeping our apartment in New York, but we wouldn't say no to having rooms too and coming to visit on some weekends," Isaac added, before he turned to look at Talia nervously. "I mean. If that… If that's okay, ma'am. Alpha."

Talia tilted her head intrigued. "I'll admit, I was impressed by the way Stiles managed to create a pack of his own between the four of you, despite three of you being human. He effectively kept you from going feral by sheer force of will and stubborn determination. But I think that being around wolves will do you good, pup. And you… have been working very well with our pack."

Over the past eight months of courting and rebuilding the house, all four Argent-Stilinskis had been over many times, had actively helped around the farm and with the renovations. And Talia was right, Isaac fit very well especially with the younger members of their pack.

"If it's my blessing and acceptance you seek, you have it," Talia looked from Isaac over to Chris and Stiles. "You proved yourself to our pack. You're welcome to join it."

Peter stared in surprise at Talia at that, his heart skipping a beat before he returned his attention to his lovers. Stiles was still nervously fidgeting and even Chris seemed tense. Taking Stiles' hands, he eased his fingers off the shirt and then pulled him close enough to kiss.

"I'd love to have you here with us," Peter whispered against his lips. "With me."

"Okay," Stiles visibly relaxed and took a relieved breath. "Okay, good. Great. Awesome."

Chris rolled his eyes at Stiles and then tilted Peter's head so he could kiss the wolf too. "We'd love to be here with you, Peter. Every day."

Sighing contently, Peter leaned into the photographer again, pulling Stiles with him. This was the one thing he was missing. As wonderful as expensive gifts were, they were worth nothing compared to the time he got to spend with them. But every time Chris and Stiles had to leave again and Peter's bed was empty and cold again, he felt an ache in his chest.

/break\

Chris, Peter and Stiles remodeled the attic for their needs. They needed a studio for Chris to work, Stiles demanded a room for all of his books. It was honestly a miracle to Peter that they had agreed to move in at all and that they hadn't wanted their own house. But it seemed that both men enjoyed the shared space and sense of familiarity. The attic gave them enough privacy and space while still being part of the main house, still being close and sharing space. It was perfect.

"Mother, stop staring at my mate's ass," Peter growled annoyed.

Nearly perfect. Since Chris now lived with them, the man was happy to help out around the farm any way he could. Which mean there was a lot of Chris in nothing but a sleeveless shirt and old, and thus tight, jeans. Stiles and Peter were not the only ones appreciating the view.

"Stop showing him off like that if you don't want me to look," Dalia huffed.

Chris, standing too far away from them to hear them with his human ears, bent down to pick another crate up, causing both Hales to sigh in appreciation. Stiles snickered at them both and wrapped his arms around Peter's waist. He rested his chin on Peter's shoulder to kiss his cheek.

"Good morning, babe. I see we are appreciating the view this fine morning."

"Go set the table, brat," Peter huffed. "And tell Derek and Chris that breakfast will be ready soon."

Despite his words, Peter couldn't help but smile. He didn't remember ever being this happy.

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: Holy shit this was a fun ride! I love writing rich and famous Stiles. And having established Stargent as the starting point is a nice switch from the usual (though I still prefer Stiles being courted by Petopher you DO need a balanced diet and a change in meals every now and again ;D) and the way both of that and the No Hale Fire changed Peter. Having a Peter who got to grow up happy, didn't suffer loss and trauma, being courted by Stiles and Chris was a delightful thing to write! And all of that because Ian Bohen looks hot on "Yellowstone" and made me want a cowboy themed N'n'T AU * snorts *