TW Not!Fic - Stilinski Family Future Fic

[mad_madam_m]

Another not!fic from ye olde Tumblr days (posted in July 2015, so yeah, it's older XD), originally posted here.

OKAY SO I keep seeing this gifset (either thanks to Tumblr or Twitter) and you know what? NO. IT HURTS. IT MUST BE FIXED.

Because while I love the idea of that character arc with those two, I also don’t even remotely trust the show to do it any kind of justice. (I honestly think they haven’t even REALIZED they’ve put it in there.)

SO LET US TALK OF A FUTURE STORY, because I don’t think this is something that would be dealt with until after Stiles was a little older and (somewhat) more mature, perhaps only after he himself has kids.

SO LET’S SAY Stiles returns to Beacon Hills after a few years elsewhere, where he’s been training as an emissary/druid/witch/magic SOMETHING, with his 3-year-old son in tow. He doesn’t really want to go back, because he was supposed to return as this badass emissary or some crap like that, and instead he’s a single dad who had to drop out of his master’s program and is going home because it’s the safest place he can think of.

So he’s back in Beacon Hills and staying with his dad while he tries to find his own place and get back on his feet, but his dad is married to Melissa now, and every time Stiles hears him say something about Scott (because of course Scott stayed in California for college and came back to BH and now happily runs the vet clinic and takes Dad and Melissa out to dinner once a week LIKE A GOOD SON SHOULD) it feels like a tiny knife in his heart, a reminder that Stiles is a fuckup, that he was never the son his dad wanted, he was just the one he was stuck with.

And finally one night his dad says something, like while they’re doing the dishes, and it’s perfectly ordinary but it’s something that’s just, like, “You know, you can finish your master’s at Berkeley, if you wanted,” or "you should’ve come back more often, we missed you” but it comes at the tail end of a terrible day and Stiles just mutters something about how he didn’t want to ruin his dad’s new perfect life with Scott and Melissa by dropping by and fucking everything up.

And everything goes quiet and Dad just stares at him and is like “What?”

Stiles didn’t actually MEAN to say anything but now that he has it just kind of comes out, years’ and years’ worth of how much of a fucking screwup he is and “I know you’ve never trusted me” and “You always wished Scott was your son” and “I’m sorry you got stuck with me.”

And the sheriff is stunned because he had no idea this was even waiting in the wings, and Stiles storms out before he can even frame a response. 

SO maybe a few days later Stiles is having a fight with his son, because his son is three years old and 3-year-olds are little shits, and Stiles is so frustrated he’s talking without thinking and what comes out of his mouth is “I hate—”

And he catches himself before he finishes, but he knows what he was going to say, and what’s worse is that he can see the look on his son’s face, the one that says he knows what Stiles was going to say, and his kid bursts into tears and runs upstairs and locks the bedroom door.

Stiles feels about two inches tall, and he goes out onto the back porch and just collapses, because he’s a terrible person, he’s a terrible dad, God who let him take care of a small human being?

And then his dad comes outside and hands him a beer and Stiles takes it, and they don’t say anything for a minute, because Stiles is pretending his dad hasn’t heard him fuck up yet again.

And then his dad starts to talk, real quiet.

“You’re going to screw up. You’re going to say a lot of things you don’t mean, you’re going to say things you regret, you’re going to say things you will wish to hell you could take back the moment they’re out of your mouth. But none of it, absolutely none of it changes how you feel about them. It will never change that you love them more than life itself, that you would lay down your life in a heartbeat if it meant keeping them safe. And you would never, ever, not even for half a second, even think of trading them for someone else.” He puts his hand on Stiles’s shoulder. “And I’m sorry...I’m sorry.”

And Stiles just sags against his dad and breaks down, because he is so fucking exhausted, physically and emotionally, and his dad hugs him, saying stuff like, “God, Stiles, I'm so sorry, I had no idea” and “I’m so proud of you” and “You’re a great dad, seriously, you’re doing a fantastic job with him” and “I love you, I love you, I love you, kid.”

Because there’s a lot of stuff they say but “I love you” is one they haven’t said enough lately, and by God John is going to start making up for it now.

And then Stiles goes back in and has a similar conversation with his son (only with less cursing and beer), and puts his kid to bed, and then comes back out on the porch and sits and drinks with his dad. And for the first time since he came back, it doesn’t feel tense or like he’s screwed something up.

"Maybe I should’ve yelled at you sooner,” he says, trying to joke.

His dad doesn’t laugh. “You should’ve,” he says, and Stiles can hear the I’m sorry and the I love you behind the words.

And that’s...for some reason, that makes him feel relieved, like they’re rebuilding a bridge between them. And it’s not okay, not yet. It doesn’t fix everything, but it’s a start.

It’s a good start.

Comments

[rhysiana]

I also don’t even remotely trust the show to do it any kind of justice.

So, so true. You did it far more justice than they ever would have. (How do any of those people still have jobs?!)

[mad_madam_m]

I don't knoooooooow. Like, I know writing is hard (believe me, I know that) but by the time s4 rolled around I got the feeling that the writers had just stopped caring. :/ So frustrating.

[pallidvixen]

I love this sooooooo much!

[mad_madam_m]

Thank you so much!