“How’s Stiles doing? He out of the hospital yet?” Parrish asks him.
Noah is taken aback, because as far as he knows, Stiles isn’t in the hospital. He clears his throat, “Yeah, he’s doing better.” A vague answer because Noah doesn’t want to make it look like he doesn’t know. Especially if Stiles actually is in the hospital.
Parrish smiles and nods.
Noah goes straight to the hospital. He tracks down Melissa and before he can say anything, she asks, “Are you here to see Stiles? I can take you to his room.”
“How long has he been here? Why didn’t I get a call?”
Melissa pauses and stops. She hadn’t been working the entire time Stiles was in the hospital, so she figured her and Noah had just missed each other. Not that he hadn’t known Stiles was here.
“You didn’t know? It’s only been a few days. He was brought in unconscious and they had to do surgery to fix up his knee. He’s recovering well and should be out soon.”
“How did I not know this? Shouldn’t I have been called? Especially if he was unconscious and needed a procedure done?”
“I’ll check for you,” Melissa leads him to a nurse’s station where she pulls up Stiles’ file. Her eyes widen, “It, ah, looks like you aren’t listed as his next of kin anymore.”
“But I’m his father! They can’t perform surgery without my permission.”
“Well. He is eighteen now, so it’s up to him who he lists as his next of kin.”
Now Noah remembers that Stiles had a birthday last month. It’d slipped his mind. There’d been a lot going on at the time. He’d been working a lot because some supernatural crisis or whatever had been going on and there’d been a rash of break-ins and murders.
Still… “Who is listed as next of kin?”
“Derek Hale.”
After spending a solid ten minutes calming down after that little bomb shell, Noah finally makes his way to Stiles’ room. Where he finds Derek sitting at the bedside while Stiles is apparently sleeping. He looks up as Noah enters and nods.
Noah gestures to the door, indicating that he wanted to speak with Derek.
In the hallway he hisses, “Want to explain to me why you’re listed as my son’s next of kin?”
“No.”
While Noah had warmed up to Derek since finding out about werewolves and such, he hates seeing that same impassive face he’d seen the first time he’d arrested him. It was really fucking frustrating not to be able to read Derek at all, not when he was used to being able to crack suspects with ease. His years of experience as a cop were of no use with Derek’s implacable facade.
“No? Well you’d better if you don’t want me to shoot you.”
“It isn’t any of your business. And you, our fine upstanding sheriff, will shoot me for no reason?” Derek just raises a brow.
“He’s my son. So it’s automatically my business. And I’m a father before a sheriff.”
Derek actually barks out a laugh, which startles Noah.
“What the fuck is amusing about that?”
Derek just shakes his head. A smirk on his face.
“Fine. I’ll ask Stiles but you stay away from him from now on. I have no doubts that this hospital visit is probably your fault. Stiles always seems to get hurt around you,” Noah went to push past Derek. Who steps in front him and doesn’t budge. His eyes are also glacial cold now.
“Sheriff. Your son is an adult and makes his own choices. You might want to think about that and why it took you three days to figure out that your son is in the hospital. Because I’m staying. And you can play nice or I’ll have you barred from his room. He needs rest.” Derek looks about as movable as a mountain.
Noah is saved from possibly making a big mistake when his radio crackles to life. He narrows his eyes at Derek, “This isn’t over, Hale.”
The next day, after his shift finishes. He goes back to the hospital to find out that Stiles had been released and has gone home. So he goes home to talk to his son.
Except that when Noah steps into his room, it is devoid of Stiles’ belongings. The furniture is there, but none of his son’s stuff. And considering the layer of dust on the desk, this isn’t a recent event.
He calls his son.
“Hey, dad. What’s up?”
“Son, where are you?”
“I’m at home.”
“No, you’re not. I’m standing in your room and not only are you not here, neither are any of your things.”
“Oh. Um, right. I’m at Derek’s. You know, home?” A huge yawn, “Anyway, dad. Starting to get sleepy so I’m going to take a nap.”
And the call disconnects.
Noah is stunned. Because he’d obviously missed something big. His son had moved in with Derek Hale. Who is also his next of kin.
When had this all happened?
Noah pulls up to the, apparently, rebuilt Hale House. It is large. But still surprisingly cozy looking. Of course, as soon as his car stops, Derek steps out of the front door. Noah climbs out of the car and approaches the porch.
“Called the hospital and was told Stiles went home. Only that his room is empty and this is home now.” Noah said with a wave of his hand to indicate the house.
Derek just nods.
Noah climbs the stairs and they just look at each other.
“Well, are you going to let me in? I’d like to see my son.”
“No. He told you he was going to take a nap. He’s resting. He needs it.”
“Son…”
“I am not your son.”
Noah blows out a breath, “Derek, I don’t want to fight with you. I just want to see my kid.”
“Fine. But don’t wake him up.”
Derek leads him inside, up some stairs, and into what is clearly the master suite. With his kid sleeping in the large bed. Of Derek’s room. In Derek’s bed. Noah can see more than a few things that had been in Stiles’ room littered about. So it’s pretty clear where Stiles had moved.
And he’d moved in with Derek Hale. A man too old for his kid.
As he looks at Stiles, looking a little banged up with a cast on his knee, he wonders what has gone wrong. How had he not noticed this happening? He didn’t even know when this happened. He wants to shake Stiles awake and demand answers. Wants to yell at Hale until his questions are answered.
Instead, he turns around and leaves.
It took far too many days for his schedule to sync up with Stiles being awake and able to talk to him. He spent some of that time subtly questioning the people in Stiles’ life. All of whom knew that Stiles was living with Derek and assumed he did too.
“Stiles, how are you? Every time I’ve been to visit you’ve been sleeping.”
“Oh, I’m doing okay. Derek’s been taking good care of me. He’s a big ol’ worrywolf.” Stiles smiles.
“We need to talk. When did you move in with Derek? Why didn’t you tell me?” Noah tries to keep his voice mild.
Stiles just looks puzzled, “I moved in with Derek when I turned eighteen. And I did tell you. Like a month before I moved. You’d just gotten off shift. I said, ‘hey, dad, I’m moving in with Derek when I turn eighteen’. You said, ‘I’m not in the mood for your jokes, Stiles’. I said, ‘I’m not joking’, you grunted and went to bed.”
And… Noah remembers that conversation. Vaguely. But he really had thought that Stiles was joking.
“I thought you were joking.”
“Well, I wasn’t,” Stiles just shrugs.
“Okay, why is Derek listed as your next of kin?”
“Because he’s my husband?”
“What!? Now you must be joking,” Noah’s voice is rising.
“Why would I joke about this? He’s my mate and the love of my life.” Stiles is still puzzled but starting to look unhappy, “I also told you this.”
“No, I would’ve remembered.”
“Like a week after my birthday, I dropped off lunch. You asked me what my plans were and I said me and Derek were eloping. You laughed and said, ‘Have fun, son!’. How do you not remember these things?”
“Wait. You were serious? How was I supposed to know that?”
“Dad. It isn’t my fault that you don’t listen to me. Or take me seriously. Wait. If you’re asking me about all of this now, does this mean you only just noticed that I’m not living with you anymore? It’s been, like, six weeks!” Stiles looks devastated, “You know… Derek told me you were a neglectful parent and I got mad at him. We had a big fight about it. I defended you. Ever since mom died, you really just haven’t been there. Wow.”
Stiles is crying now. And suddenly Derek is there. Arms around Stiles as he weeps.
Derek turns to him, eyes shining crimson, “It’s time for you to leave.”
Noah stumbles out of the house.
Noah hadn’t realized that, despite moving out, Stiles had still been doing stuff at home. Some cleaning and cooking. He knows now that he’d have noticed Stiles moving out within a week if he’d stopped doing chores.
The house is a mess. And he’s been eating takeout all week. Because Stiles doesn’t live here and is too injured to do chores. Although, Noah isn’t sure he’d be doing chores even if he wasn’t injured. Because Noah has been a bad parent.
He recognizes the scope of it now. How… absent he’s been. How much Stiles has been taking care of him, rather than the other way around.
He doesn’t know what to do. And finds himself reaching for the whiskey more than he’d like.
It’s Stiles’ high school graduation and Noah hasn’t spoken to his son in months. He’s tried. But Stiles has refused every single time. Derek makes an unsurprisingly good guard dog.
Still. Watching his kid walk the stage makes him proud. He’s also pleased to see that Stiles looks happy. Even if it is with Hale.
Noah doesn’t even know where Stiles is going to college (if he’s going).
His life feels very, very empty. It has since Claudia died but… he didn’t realize how much he still had until it was gone.
Stiles sees him and actually walks over, “Hey.”
“Hi, son. I’m proud of you,” and Noah realizes its the wrong thing to say when he sees Stiles’ face twist, “Shit, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say to you anymore. Will you ever forgive me?”
Stiles just looks at him for a long moment before speaking a simple ’no’ and walking away.
Noah isn’t surprised. Stiles is fiercely loving and loyal. Right up until you break that trust. And then he’s as unforgiving as he is loving and loyal. Noah is kind of the same way. It’s why Claudia’s death hit him so hard.
He’s not sure why Stiles would forgive him when he knows he’ll never forgive himself.
When the Sheriff dies after being injured on the job five years later, Stiles doesn’t go to the funeral.