January Prompts 04

[inkandblade]

 

Stiles adds a third piece of bread to the toaster and then turns to grab another cheese slice. His dad raises an eyebrow at the amount of food his son is about to consume, blinks a few times, then apparently decides to ignore it. He may have avoided dealing with most of Stiles’ puberty and its associated issues, but he grew up with an omega sister and had an omega wife, so John knows exactly what that extra little up of calories is for. 

 

“And you won’t be home till late today, kiddo?”

 

Stiles decides that he’ll go for an old standard this morning; high in taste and lots of energy — lots of cheese and tomato with some of that ham his dad doesn’t know he’s bought — it should get him through to a late lunch, as well as help get him ready for his heat in a week or two.

 

“It shouldn’t be much past five or six. The Kahn twins turned thirteen a few days ago, and they can’t really put it off any more. It’s a pity their omega mom is still with her parents in Maryland.” 

 

His dad nods and pushes his own plate away. “Does Jenette know when Greta will be back?”

 

“I’m not sure. But she definitely won’t be here today. I tried to tell Jene that it was fine for the twins to go for their tests with their alpha parent, but she was adamant.”

 

Stiles hears the noise his father makes at that and turns, probably too quickly, to see what it means. His dad looks embarrassed, and maybe a little upset.

 

“It wasn’t...” he rubs a hand over the back of his head. It’s cut the same way as it was ten or eleven years ago, but it’s now flecked with gray. “It wasn’t what I wanted for you, Stiles. I knew you were close to presenting when you did. I could have called your aunt to be here for you then, and then when it was time for your lyca-tests. I should have.” 

 

Stiles jumps when the toaster beeps and pops. He takes a deep breath and makes himself say it what he hasn’t been able to for the longest time.

 

“I don’t blame you for wanting to go with me, Dad. I know why you tried to do it all yourself. And for what it’s worth, the other omegas I’ve spoken to since seemed to have done exactly what I did that day. You took me for lunch at my favorite place before going to the doc. I had the tests, you bought me ice cream, and then we went and you all but let me pick my lyca-band out on my own.” Stiles ran his fingers over the bracelet. It sits around his wrist these days instead of being pushed halfway up his arm. The weight of it is comforting. “I now realize that you’d given the jeweller your price range beforehand, but while it was happening that was the farthest thing from my mind, I swear.”

 

“And the fact that it was me, not your mom?”

 

Stiles smiles wide. “That it was my beta parent instead of my omega one didn’t seem strange to me. It didn’t dawn on me until the other omegas at school went for theirs that it could be anyone but you. I remember mostly wondering why it was so important, really, for me to know if I could take the Bite or not, ‘cause I wasn’t interested in having a boyfriend or a girlfriend yet, and definitely not worried about whether or not I could safely make werewolf babies.”

 

“You started seriously making eyes at Lydia Martin a month or two later, Stiles.”

 

“I don’t doubt the timing now, Dad. At all.” He’d had his semi-heat almost exactly a month after he’d gotten his yes-I-can-be-a-wolf bracelet, and moved to Aunt Helena’s place not long after that. His dad might have been able to deal with the doc and blood tests, but his thirteen-year-old omega son having heats was a completely different matter for a new Sheriff who couldn’t control his work schedule.

 

His dad tilts his head a little, and his lip curls that tiny bit in the way that says he’s thinking about Stiles’ mom. 

 

“You look so much like her, you know. That’s all I could think of when I set out to take you for your tests and things. I couldn’t have her eyes judging me for not taking you for her. I asked every omega I could find what I needed to do for you that day.”

 

Stiles can’t help it, his toast can wait, but hugging can’t. It’s only three or four steps to the table, and then his arms are around his father, and even from the odd angle it feels right. 

 

“You did it all perfectly Dad, and hopefully I can live up to your example so the twins look back on today the way I look back on my turn.”

 

 

ritual (n): any practice or pattern of behavior regularly performed in a set manner

 

 

 

December January Prompts List/Series: AO3, Pillowfort, Dreamwidth