The Saving Grace

by Baby_Sweetpea

Summary:

"It's hunter territory," Chris scoffed, his arms snaking back around Stiles' waist to pull him close.
"Argent territory," Peter pointed out, "Of which there are only two of you, and both of you have taken in a wolf. Poetic, don't you think?"
"You talk in circles and I'm too tired to boost your ego before my morning coffee," Stiles grumbled, flipping off the alpha before slinking into the kitchen, slipping from Chris' hold, to make his own drink.
"Trust me, my ego doesn't need boosting," Peter scoffed.
"We know," Chorused almost half the room with varying levels of annoyance.

___

The Hales come sniffing into France in search of a pack, though Peter might be searching for something a little more, and Stiles might be about to get swept of his feet for the second time.

-Please read the first part of the series for this one to make sense!-

Notes:

We are so back, baby. I couldn't resist the allure of adding in the Hales, Peter my beloved, he's just too tempting! I haven't got an update schedule planned but this one won't be too big, though it will have a few chapters, maybe three? So we're starting small.
This does mean that the tags will be updates as we go, so keep an eye on those!
I hope you enjoy it, kudos and comments are appreciated!

Chapter 1: Come Hale or Shine

Of all the things Stiles Stilinski expected, the Hales were not part of that equation.

"The fuck are you doing here?" Stiles blurted out after having come down for breakfast from an empty bed to find Chris with his arms crossed, looking at one Peter Hale sitting at their kitchen dining nook.

Peter smirked, tired expression actually lighting up as he looked at Stiles.

"Well hello there sweetheart, we heard a rumour that you were here but we had to come see for ourselves," the older wolf purred.

"You said you were looking for pack," Chris said gruffly, reclaiming Peter's attention away from Stiles. And from what Stiles saw, Peter didn't seem to mind at all.

"It can be two things, Christopher," Peter drawled.

Stiles scoffed, certain the handsome older man was probably up to something but not caring. Regardless of his manipulative ways, he wasn't a bad man. Instead he turned and made his way to Chris, pleased when he was welcomed with open arms and a kiss to the forehead. Peter made a noise that sounded speculative but Stiles ignored it in favour of tilting his head up to receive a proper kiss. He and Chris had been together for several weeks now, everyone already knew, and he wasn't about to hide it for Peter's sake.

He smirked against Chris' lips when he heard Peter choke on his coffee though, and felt Chris' returning smirk before they both turned to look at Peter with a raised brow each. He was looking a them, visibly stunned, mostly recovered from inhaling the drink Chris must have given him before Stiles came down.

"This is… a new development," Peter pried.

"Mmm, if by new you mean a few weeks, then sure," Stiles replied. Shouldn't Peter have smelt it on them, at any rate? Whatever, Stiles wasn't privy to everything wolves decided to go sniffing.

"And your father?"

"The one who encouraged it."

Peter raised his own brow at that, Stiles shrugged and went back to snuggling up to his hunter. He hated waking alone.

There was a few voices getting closer, and Stiles picked out Ally and Isaac's, and surprisingly, Derek, Cora and Malia's. It wasn't just Peter, then, but the entire remainder of the Hale clan.

His dad entered first, looking as tired as Stiles felt, ruffling Stiles' hair as he walked past and sighing at the sight of Peter at the table.

The rest entered in a clump, and Malia went straight for Stiles. He reluctantly detached himself from Chris to hug her, feeling a piece of himself settle. Surprisingly, both Cora and Derek snooped in next.

"So you and the hunter?" Cora asked, and Stiles huffed.

"Yes."

She smirked, and Isaac thankfully turned the attention off him, noting that Stiles really wasn't feeling it this morning. He'd kiss the pup if he wasn't already in a dedicated relationship.

"So," Isaac started in the same tone Cora had taken, "Peter's an alpha again."

Chris and Stiles' heads whipped around to the self-satisfied eldest Hale, who shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.

"Who'd you kill to manage that," Allison snarked, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against Isaac.

Stiles peered at the wolf, waiting with everyone.

"It was a rogue we came across while travelling," Derek filled in when Peter appeared to be staring down Ally like she'd issued him a challenge.

If Stiles had to guess, she was probably emitting a werewolf-sensing hostile energy, or scent or whatever. Chemo signals, blablabla.

"We needed an alpha, I for one have no plans to set foot in Beacon Hills again." Peter waved a hand dismissively, relaxing back in his seat as though it were a throne.

Stiles rolled his eyes. "So join another pack."

"Every pack has it's own rules and orders, sweetheart. We have friends and allies but none were quite a fit. Besides, the Hale pack has held a mantle as a most ancient pack for generations, it wouldn't do for us to permanently loose our title."

"You're ancient," Stiles snapped, looking away when Peter raised a brow at him. He felt like he was being called a brat silently and he didn't like the way it made his heart stutter. "And picky, in case you hadn't noticed you don't have a territory."

"Mm, but your little wayward pack here does, plus one of Derek's missing pups. We have an alpha and the wolves needed to help Isaac and your spark stabilise, you have the territory," Peter sounded amused, treating the whole thing like a forgone conclusion.

"It's hunter territory," Chris scoffed, his arms snaking back around Stiles' waist to pull him close.

"Argent territory," Peter pointed out, "Of which there are only two of you, and both of you have taken in a wolf. Poetic, don't you think?"

"You talk in circles and I'm too tired to boost your ego before my morning coffee," Stiles grumbled, flipping off the alpha before slinking into the kitchen, slipping from Chris' hold, to make his own drink.

"Trust me, my ego doesn't need boosting," Peter scoffed.

"We know," Chorused almost half the room with varying levels of annoyance.

Peter had the audacity to look offended, and Stiles bit his lower lip to hide a smile as he filled his cup with as much coffee as it could fit and bent down to sip off the excess before he tried to pick it up. The other youngers started bickering while Isaac and Stiles teamed up to cook breakfast. Chris stayed by the island bench, between Peter and Stiles, but not in a suspicious way. Every time Stiles looked up at his silver fox, he saw a mix of emotions between contemplative and something Stiles hesitated to call nostalgic and longing. There was a story there, one Stiles would get out of his hunter later.

After they had food and coffee, and only after, while his dad did clean up— which Stiles suspected was so he could have a good vantage point of the entire group— did Stiles take a deep breath and bring it up.

"What exactly are you expecting?" He asked Peter seriously, gesturing to the existing Argent clan then to the Hale clan. Yes, he counted himself, his dad and Isaac as Argent clan.

Peter eyed him like this was their chess board, working out how to move his best piece forward in a way that would appease Stiles.

Stiles.

Not Chris. He wasn't trying to appeal to Chris.

Stiles didn't know how he felt about that, would it have been wrong of him to feel a thrill of excitement?

"Pack, sweetheart," Peter rumbled. "Stability, a new start, all of us joining together. You as emissary, Derek my right hand, Christopher my left and the mini-argent an enforcer."

Stiles considered him then looked at Chris, wanting to hear his partner's thoughts. Chris was staring at Peter though, like he was aware of something Stiles was not.

"What else?" Chris asked, voice rough, low.

And oh. That was the voice, the one Chris used when he was trying to encourage Stiles to open up about things, usually during sex. He looked between Peter and Chris, the tension almost crackling between them. Stiles was missing something big here, and he really should have felt jealous that Peter was on the receiving end of that voice but he was almost entirely intrigued.

"You ask, but I think you already know." Peter tilted his head at Chris.

Chris stood abruptly, scowling at the wolf, "I'm not sure I do, Hale, why don't we talk about this privately. Stiles?"

Chris held his hand out and Stiles took it, blinking at the back of his hunters head while he was pulled from the room and almost startling when he felt the slightest brush of fingers over his wrist. He looked back and found Peter walking shockingly close behind him, expression infuriatingly smug as usual.

"Creeperwolf," Stiles muttered and Peter's smile only widened into a grin.

Stiles' head whipped back to the front as his heart raced and he moved closer to Chris, who brough them up to his study and closed the door behind the three of them. Stiles had warded and soundproofed the room to high hell last week, so he knew whatever this conversation was about to be was intended as private.

"You're very touchy, Christopher," Peter drawled as he draped himself over a couch in the corner.

Chris sat stiffly on an armchair and pulled Stiles down into his lap, making Stiles just that little bit more bewildered.

"And possessive," Peter added, chuckling.

"And you're a creep, what's your point?" Stiles bit back.

Peter raised his hands lazily in surrender, "I don't think you're really all that creeped out, darling."

"Keep your nose and ears to yourself."

Peter's gaze became predatory, at least until Chris cut him off.

"Peter, enough." The hunters arms tightened around Stiles' waist, and he leaned more against the older.

"I feel like I'm missing something, I'd like to be filled in on that something now," he sighed, eyes narrowing at Peter.

Peter seemed to relax more, the smugness returning easily.

"It's quite simple, darling. I chose my first mate when I was a little younger than you are now. Unfortunately for me, he went and got married off then spent an egregious amount of time attempting to kill me. I chose my last mate quite recently, only to find he ran off and now I learn has paired up, quite beautifully might I add, with my first chosen mate who I had believed was out of my reach after our history." Peter sat up, leaning forward with his eyes focused on them.

Stiles was almost shaking, eyes wide, if he was understanding correctly…

"I came here seeking pack, yes. But, sweetheart, I also came here hoping to seek my mate, and now I think I'll have to claim you both."

Chapter 2: I really wish you weren't such an asshole

Notes:

I am becoming more active on tumblr and I post teasers and teen wolf memes now (and star trek ones because it's my current fixation) so if you're in want of any of that, you should come follow the blog (it's now under Theoryly instead of baby sweetpea as that's what most of my non-archive stuff is under. I'm also a published author and artist, so, enjoy!).
This chapter was written in a haze of coffee-fueled exhaustion, because caffeine doesn't wake me up but it makes me jittery, anxious and focused which is the same thing, so I'm just writing tiredly at the speed of light instead of like a sloth.
A bit of angst and resolution ahead, I hope y'all enjoy it!

Stiles heartily considered throwing hands. Partially because he could, and partially because what the fuck Peter. Of all the things for the still-occasionally homicidal werewolf to throw at him. He was dumbfounded, speechless, all the thoughts flown from his mind the moment Peter said those words.

And worst of all, a big part of him was fucking thrilled.

He really didn't know what he was meant to say, and was a little infuriated by how smug Peter appeared to be about shocking them both. A glance at Chris told him that yeah, Chris was equally stuck about this.

"I-" he started, mouth trying to kickstart where his brain was so beatifically failing. "Feel like I'm still missing some things."

Chris sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Do you really think this is a good idea, Peter?" The hunter asked, and Stiles' head bounced between the two like a ping pong ball. Yeah, this was what he was missing.

Because since when did they once upon a time almost have mate status.

"I think it's a splendid idea, actually," Peter replied, waving a hand. "You and I have unfinished business. I wasn't exactly keen to let it go but I can hardly just be content with watching you two from a distance."

"That's creepy," Stiles pointed out. "You said… unfinished, how unfinished are we talking? Like, unrequited crush, flirting-"

Peter cut him off, "Fucking like rabbits every chance we could get where no one would find us."

Stiles almost choked on nothing, his eyes widening. No, he knew what was worst of all now, it's that he wasn't even jealous, he wanted to see it. He wanted to watch.

"Fuck that's hot," he muttered, and then realised he'd said it out loud when Peter grinned hungrily and Chris inhaled sharply. "Whoops- I mean-"

"No take backs now, baby. It was hot, very hot." Peter leaned closer to them, tilting his head in a rather predatory manner.

"Peter," Chris scolded, but he sounded vaguely amused and they all knew he didn't meant it.

"Okay so," Stiles started then hesitated, pulling a face. "Complex history, I'm getting that, which means you both probably need to sort that out before we can really- well I mean if we're- if it's something to consider…"

He looked at Chris, panicking because he'd let himself run away with the thought of the three of them being inevitable without actually checking that it was something Chris wanted too. But Chris was nodding, and Stiles spotted the fact that his pupils were slightly dilated. Well, he was a hot blooded male after all, and hot in general. Oh who was he kidding, he was going to go down on Chris about it later.

"Probably for the best regarding everything. Pack, and anything beyond that," Chris concluded.

Peter didn't look put off at all by the prospect of a trauma reliving conversation, instead actually looking relieved.

"I can go? For this? If you two wanna hash it out?" Stiles offered, rubbing the palms of his hands together to soothe his own anxiety.

"Better you stay, baby. You should know everything so you can make your own informed decisions too," Chris rumbled, his hand sliding under Stiles' shirt to press grounding-ly over his stomach.

Stiles didn't fuss, knowing Chris was probably trying to comfort them both and not just put up walls against the inevitable. He leaned back against the older's chest more solidly, considering Peter.

"This is your show then, get talking," he urged, not wanting them to stall and be there for a thousand years before one of the two finally figured out how to confront such a difficult topic.

"I was angry, when we were younger and you gave in and married Victoria and pushed me away," Peter dove right in, and maybe Stiles was wrong. He didn't need to prompt them, Peter had probably been waiting for the chance to let loose about this for a long time. "But I was young and in love and heart broken. Age gave me some perspective, I forgave it long before I saw you again. Then your sister and father came into town and slaughtered my family and I lost my mind, I could only blame the Argent name and for a bit, you were caught in that too. I'd thought you had done it, that I'd been wrong to forgive you. By the time I figured out you had no idea what was going on, you seemed to hate me and were beyond brainwashed. I honestly didn't think our paths would align again."

Stiles' heart hurt. Like, an almost physical pain, he wanted to cry. Having this context, knowing more of what was going on in Peter's head these past years, made so many more things make sense. He wasn't too sure if he really liked that, knowing Peter was going through even more betrayal and pain than Stiles and the others initially assumed. Did Derek know? Had the sourwolf been keeping that a secret to protect Peter even when they were at their worst?

Chris seemed more reluctant to speak than Peter had been, but pulled himself together.

"When we were… when it was us, I was stuck in a mindset that family meant everything and had to come first," he started.

"Which is something I understand, and is part of why I got over that," Peter murmured.

"Your family never would have accepted an ex-hunter. If I lost my family, I would have lost everything. I was too young to know how to survive without them, and too caught up in my training and well, the cult brainwashing mindset, to see beyond the panic. When I was told to marry Victoria or else, I didn't want to find out what 'or else' meant," Chris said, and though Stiles had been piecing this together, it still hurt to hear.

Chris took a deep breath before he continued.

"When you- when everything happened, my focus had been Allison. Keeping her safe, keeping her free, dealing with the issue before it ever reached her. Obviously I didn't succeed-"

"Hardly your fault-" Peter scoffed.

"- but I felt like I had no choice but to double down. I didn't think it possible for you to be the same person I- that I cared for when we were teenagers-"

"-you can say loved, I'll say it-"

Stiles would have been amused if it weren't for the seriousness of the topic.

"Peter shut up," he sighed, resting his head back on Chris' shoulder to look up at the ceiling and focus on Chris' dep voice rumbling in his broad chest against Stiles' back.

"The point is," Chris pushed, sounding a little more tired, "I kept you at a distance because everything was too different and I didn't- it wasn't the right time to prioritise myself, my feelings. It never was. I had Allison to care about, the get out of there, then Isaac, you were a grown man keeping everyone at arms length too, I didn't think you'd possibly want anything from me anymore when everything was said and done."

Silence fell between them.

"And then Stiles?" Peter asked quietly.

Stiles' shoulders hunched.

"And then John contacted me," Chris somewhat agreed, quieter this time, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on Stiles stomach.

So, reluctantly, Stiles decided to take over to explain his part.

"I wasn't doing well," he didn't look back down at either of them, telling the story too the off white ceiling with it's pretty filagree ornaments above. "I was doing really fucking bad, actually. I'm still- It's still- not great. But I'm processing shit now. I was… not really responding to much of anything, barely eating, apathetic? I shut down hard and I couldn't deal with any of it any more. Dad made the choice to call Chris."

"He needed support, I got Ally and Isaac away, he wanted to know if he should do the same, needed another father's opinion. I offered for them to come here, I…" Chris took a deep breath, like he'd probably not intended to share the following information. "I needed Stiles to be okay, I needed to have him here, I hated myself for leaving him behind when I suspected he was crashing, though I'd thought John and Scott and the others would be able to somewhat help him."

"We're both guilty of that, then," Peter sighed.

And woah, he sounded miserable. Stiles slowly lifted his head, looking between the two who were both looking at him with so much regret it was palpable.

"Well, I'm here now, you'll never get rid of me," he tried to joke, but his voice was a little too wobbly.

"I don't think I could let you leave now I have you, baby," Chris informed him with a kiss to his cheek.

"So then, will you fill me in on how that happened too?" Peter asked.

"We danced around it for a while, I think. It was always there but… I'm a grown adult now. It's been- different. And we…." Stiles struggled for words.

"We bonded," Chris continued, "Late insomnia nights in the library, touch starvation, helping one another with nightmares."

"Until my dad dropped a comment about everyone waiting for Chris and I to get together and well, it happened." Stiles waved his hand with a half-hearted flourish.

"Mm, must have been spectacular," Peter purred.

Stiles pretended his cheeks weren't heating.

"How exactly did you intend to pick me up as a mate when you were never going back to Beacon Hills," he deflected as a challenge.

"Subtle wooing," Peter supplied immediately.

"Nothing about you is subtle," he said flatly.

"Not even a little," Chris agreed.

Peter rolled his eyes fondly with a tut, and Stiles tried not to smile. He failed, but the important part was that he tried.

"Phone calls, text message check ins, and an arraignment of deliveries. Flowers, meals, gifts." Peter listed, "and then I would lure you away to join my established pack."

"Again, Creepy. Again, not subtle."

"It would have started subtle, and then moved up once you were reciprocating."

"You're insufferable!"

"You like it."

Stiles wanted to bite him like a feral kitten. But also wanted to bite him like a claim. Dammit, Peter was right, he did like it.

"Well, I guess your plans will have to be updates," Chris mused, feeling much more relaxed under Stiles now. "Because I've already lured him away and given him an established home."

"Obviously Christopher, there are now two of you to woo," Peter scoffed.

"Please stop saying Woo," Stiles groaned.

"Woo."

Insufferable. Entirely. And yet, Stiles wanted to suffer them both, because what a way to go.

Peter and Chris probably had more to resolve between them, a talk probably didn't calm the tense feelings between them, but maybe they'd spar it out later. Or fuck it out. Stiles hoped they'd let him watch either way.

"I suppose we could let you… woo us," Chris said, smirking into Stiles' shoulder when Stiles huffed about it. "Don't you think, baby boy?"

"Yes," he grumbled back, "You're welcome to try."

Peter's lips curled into a sinful smile like the cat that got the cream. "Oh sweetheart, I don't just try, I succeed."

Stiles almost gave into the urge to launch closer and flick his nose, but refrained, knowing it'd probably end up a completely different way now he knew Peter was trying to romance them both. And woah, wasn't that just a trip? So he huffed again, ignored Chris' chuckling, and stood.

"The pack thing is going to be dependent on everyone, he said with emphasis, and then everyone was serious once again. "Ally, Isaac and my dad are as much a part of our family as Chris and I, and if your puppies and ours can't get along, then there will be no point to any of this. So I would advise ensuring everyone gets along and wants to be pack before you get in over your head with… wooing."

"Of course, clever boy. I wouldn't settle for anything less," Peter promised and Stiles dithered.

"Right. Cool, uh… good talk. I'm going to… go make sure… that dad isn't getting into the cookies." He held his head high as he left, refusing to admit he was fleeing the intensity to process, leaving behind two sets of low chuckles behind him that sent heat curling low in his abdomen.

Chris already was a very intense man, but Peter too? Oh boy, he wasn't going to survive this.

He found the pups in what was probably intended to be a ballroom when the manor was built, but had long ago converted into a training room. Surprisingly, they were all within, sparring. In a far less vicious manner than what Derek used to run.

His dad was actually present too, sitting in a chair by a sunny window, watching the wolves play with a look of intrigue. Stiles joined him, and shook his head when he was given a curious look. He was so far from ready to share everything that had just transpired with his father. Hell naw.

And he decidedly didn't react when Peter and Chris trailed in shortly after, though the looks the wolves gave him when his heart doubled in speed probably gave him away. He was just going to pretend it wasn't. And that Malia and Cor and Isaac weren't smirking at him. They were going to be menaces paired together, a hellion trio. The manor would be burnt to ashes, then where would they be?!

Chris pulled him out of his semi-hysterical inner monologuing with a kiss to the top of his head and he relaxed immediately, tilting his head up with a smile and getting a soft kiss to the lips for it.

"You're beautiful in the sunlight, baby," Chris murmured.

"Oh god, tell me they're not always like that," Cora complained, fake gagging.

"Yes, yes they are," Isaac responded sympathetically.

"Fuck off or I'll build you a dog house to sleep in," Stiles drawled.

"We have dog cages in the basement," Chris offered.

"Good enough for me!"

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of Saving A Spark