Chapter Text
Teen Wolf || Stetopher || Teen Wolf || Your Voice in My Ear || Teen Wolf || Stetopher || Teen Wolf
Title: Your Voice in My Ear – Two Foxes in London
TW Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Jeff Davis and MTV. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/m/m, polyamory, Bad Alpha/Friend Scott, the Hale Pack Moves to London, Pack Alpha Peter, Author Peter, Spark Stiles, Pack Feels, post-Nogitsune, hurt/comfort, fluff, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, f/f, m/f
Main Pairing: Chris/Peter/Stiles
Side Pairings: Jackson/Allison, Ethan/Danny, Boyd/Erica, Malia/Kira
Teen Wolf Characters: Mieczysław 'Stiles' Stilinski, Chris Argent, Peter Hale, Kira Yukimura, Jackson Whittemore, Allison Argent, Ethan Steiner, Danny Mahealani, Malia Tate, Derek Hale, Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd, Isaac Lahey, Cora Hale, Laura Hale
Summary: Stiles and Kira leave Beacon Hills for college together and they move to London. Stiles is studying journalism and working at a newspaper on the side. He has to interview werewolf erotica author Peter and in preparation, he listens to the audio version of the books. The erotica is hot, but the voice of Chris, the narrator, is what really gets to Stiles.
Your Voice in My Ear
Two Foxes in London
Chapter 1: The Call to London
They leave right after graduation. And by ‘right after’, Stiles quite literally meant peeling out of the drive-way of the school with the Jeep packed with both their stuff, heading straight for the airport. Their parents knew. The five of them had had a celebratory dinner last night together, lots of hugs and kisses. But Stiles and Kira? Stiles and Kira needed to get out of this gods forsaken town.
It was hard for Stiles, leaving his dad behind. But Noah was going to follow, eventually. After retirement. For now, his duty bound him to the town. Stiles knew that. Stiles understood that. It had bound him to this town for too long too. But things had broken when the Dread Doctors came to town, things broke when Stiles and Scott grew apart, things became irreparable when…
“Stiles,” Kira whispered gently and reached out to rest a hand on Stiles’ thigh.
Stiles blinked, torn out of his thoughts, and looked at his hands. One hand was gripping the steering wheel so tightly, his knuckles turned white. The other hand was tapping hard against the wheel. Stiles forced himself to ease his grip and take a slow, deep breath.
“I’m just… I’m still so angry,” Stiles muttered, not meeting her eyes.
“Yeah,” Kira’s voice wavered. “It… Me too. Scott and I were dating. And even when I asked him directly if something was off with my aura, he lied to my face. We could have gotten a grasp on it much earlier if he trusted me, if he told me. This was about me and he lied. To my face.”
Stiles let go of the wheel with one hand and reached out to take Kira’s. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Kira sighed.
“I should have done something. Said something,” Stiles argued, shaking his head. “When we were outside Eichen House, when he told me that he doesn’t know if he can trust you anymore, just because you went for the kill with a chimera who had attacked to kill you guys. I should have spoken up, argued with him, that you’re part of the pack, trustworthy, his girlfriend!”
“You were scared,” Kira argued. “Because you thought his judgment would expand onto you. Since Donovan had only attacked you a few nights prior. And you were right. So I can’t fault you for it. For not speaking up against our Alpha, when your fears turned out right too.”
Stiles’ jaw clenched and he turned to stare at the road instead. She was right, after all. He’d been afraid of Scott’s judgment and rejection – and in the end, he had received exactly that. It had been months and yet he still vividly remembered standing in the rain in front of the vet clinic, asking Scott how he could fix this, pleading for his forgiveness. Instead of any of that, Scott walked away. Flinched and then walked away, leaving Stiles out in the rain.
That was the final crack in their relationship. The last straw. No. No, the last straw came the after in the hospital, when Stiles’ dad nearly died because Scott had trusted Theo. And when Stiles told him that, told Scott that this was because he had trusted Theo… Maybe things could have still been saved if Scott had apologized, had owned up for his own misjudgment. Because if Scott had believed Stiles about Theo, had even just been cautious about Theo, then… so many things wouldn’t have happened. Stiles’ dad wouldn’t have ended up in the hospital, Lydia wouldn’t have been attacked and ended in Eichen House, Liam wouldn’t have tried to kill Scott. Scott was the Alpha, he should have made the call, should have trusted Stiles’ gut enough to at least be cautious. But he wasn’t. He invited Theo into the pack, told him everything.
That day, with Noah in the hospital, dying, when all Stiles needed was for Scott to take responsibility, to apologize for not believing Stiles, not trusting Stiles, Scott stood before Stiles and tried to twist the truth, accused Stiles of having trusted Theo too – which just wasn’t true. No apology, no taking responsibility, instead trying to blame Stiles for it equally.
That was the day everything broke and the day Stiles’ plans changed. He was no longer invested in keeping the pack together, because there was no pack left. Lydia in Eichen House, Malia off searching for her birth mother with Braeden, Liam having tried to kill Scott, Kira pushed away. Stiles had tried to keep them together and he knew he couldn’t.
“I’m kind of nervous,” Kira admitted. “I’ve never been to Europe. Living in London is… It’s kind of scary? Starting over in a new country, in a new continent.”
“Yeah,” Stiles agreed, swallowing hard. “Yeah, it kind of is. But… it’ll be good.”
“And Jackson’s really going to help us settle in?” Kira asked. “It still seems surreal that you two are actually friends. You were like cats and dogs when I first moved to Beacon Hills.”
“He’s going to be an ass about it, but that’s just his nature,” Stiles grinned a little, snorting to himself. “But yeah. He… He’s been a great help since the Nogitsune. What he’s been through with the kanima, it was… similar enough that he makes me feel understood there. We have an understanding. It’s weird, that I consider Jackson Whittemore my friend, but… I do. And you and I, we’re not… We’re not going to be alone, okay? Jackson took care of things in London for us, he got us a cheap apartment – he was very judgy about it, but it’s a good place, a place we’ll be able to afford. I think. I hope. We will need jobs, of course. But yeah.”
Stiles started tapping his fingers again, nervousness rising. When he realized that both him and Kira didn’t have Scott’s trust anymore, he started planning to leave. Really leave, for good. Kira was quickly on board with it, but the question was where to. All the late-night calls with Jackson when Stiles couldn’t sleep, tormented by nightmares about the Nogitsune, at one point, Stiles started talking about leaving. And Jackson offered him to come to London.
“It’s going to be good,” Stiles whispered, more so to himself than to Kira. “We’ll be fine.”
/break\
Jackson woke up feeling strangely tense. Today was the day. Stiles and Kira were going to finally move to London. If anyone asked him, he would deny it, but he had been looking forward to this.
“You’re eager,” his girlfriend teased him with a dimpled smile.
Allison leaned over him to kiss his cheek and he huffed. “I am not eager.”
Allison rolled her eyes and got up, quickly putting on a shirt and shorts, before also throwing clothes at him. He got changed and followed her into the kitchen, where their roommates were already getting breakfast ready. Ethan was behind the stove, cooking eggs, while Danny was setting the table and making coffee, by the smell of it. Both boys waved at him.
“Stiles is arriving today, isn’t he?” Danny asked. “You want us to come too?”
Jackson’s eyes immediately darted to Danny’s boyfriend. The other wolf could sense, or smell, Jackson’s reservations, because he turned to shoot Jackson a knowing look.
“Not the best idea, babe,” Ethan pointed out. “From everything Jackson said, Stiles… blames himself for what… for what happened to Aiden. Maybe I shouldn’t be one of the first faces he sees upon coming here? Since he wants to start over?”
Jackson tensed at that and nodded his agreement. The possession had happened way after Jackson had left Beacon Hills, but he’d heard all about it through phone-calls from Lydia, as well as Stiles, in the end too. It had been the calls from Lydia that had made him reach out to Stiles for the first time. Because he’d seen the parallel in the picture Lydia was drawing about the possession and what Jackson had been through with the kanima. First couple weeks of calls were stilted and awkward, with long stretches of silence. Only after Jackson opened up about the kanima did Stiles do the same. They became friends through that, built trust based on mutual understanding.
One of the big things Stiles blamed himself for after the possession was Aiden’s death. Ethan’s twin-brother. From what Jackson had heard, Aiden and Ethan had wanted to join the McCall Pac, did their best to prove themselves but weren’t ever accepted into the pack. And then Aiden died. And Ethan left, together with Danny, for London. Because Ethan needed a pack and a fresh start, and Danny knew Jackson’s pack in London was good.
“You really think this is the right call?” Danny asked softly. “If you’re worried about how Stiles will take seeing Ethan, is it really a good idea for him to live here? That’s not even taking the Argent of it all into account. The bad history with the American side of Allison’s family-”
“That won’t matter,” Jackson cut in with a frown. “Ally and Chris are Hales. They’re not Argents. They left that family behind years before we ever encountered an Argent in Beacon Hills. They had nothing to do with anything that Victoria, Kate or Gerard did to us in Beacon Hills.”
Allison turned toward him with a small smile, resting a hand on Jackson’s. “That’s sweet of you to say, but Danny isn’t wrong. Our… family… has done a lot of damage. And dad and I never shied away from it. And if… if Stiles has any issues with us for it, we’ll talk about it.”
“I don’t…” Jackson trailed off reluctantly. “Getting Stiles here was already so much coaxing. I’d rather not go ‘and by the way, our Alpha mate and my girlfriend are technically Argents’.”
Amusement danced in Allison’s eyes as she leaned into press a kiss to his cheek. “You’re right. That might not be the best approach. And you did say that he doesn’t want to meet the pack yet so I’m not sure if it needs to be said just yet.”
“He was very, very clear about that,” Jackson heaved a frustrated sigh.
“Can’t blame him,” Ethan served up the eggs and offered a shrug. “Scott was a shit Alpha. You were part of his ‘pack’, before it was an official pack, before he turned into an Alpha, and he never noticed that you turned into a killer lizard? C’mon. And when Aiden and I were still part of the Alpha Pack but were seducing Danny and Lydia-”
“I seduced you. Not the other way around,” Danny cut in, a challenging eyebrow raised.
A smitten smile spread over Ethan’s lips before he kissed his boyfriend. “Whatever you say, babe. But either way. We were the enemy. Dangerous. And he didn’t feel like putting an end to it? Or at least telling you about the supernatural? Sure, you knew already, had figured it out because of Lydia and Jackson and all the shit happening in Beacon Hills. But he could have done more to try and protect you both from getting dragged into the pack war.”
Jackson heaved a sigh and poked at his eggs. He’d been thinking about that too. He’d been really pissed when he had first learned about Lydia hooking up with some Alpha werewolf. Jealousy, back then, still hung-up on his first love. His eyes darted to Allison and he couldn’t help the small smile. He’d gotten over that, had fallen in love again. He still thought it was fucked up though, how long the McCall Pack had tried to keep Lydia out of things and he really thought she might have had an easier time getting used to her powers, and would have generally had a less traumatic time doing so too, if the people around her had been more honest. She was at MIT now, a new life of her own, was apparently flirting with a cute physics major. It was normal, good. Away from Beacon Hills.
“So, what’s the game plan, then?” Danny asked, eyebrows raised.
“I’m going to pick them up from the airport. Bring them to their new place,” Jackson made a face to convey how much he was not a fan of the place he found them. “Let them settle in. Bring Danny with me next time around. Ease him in to the idea of reconnecting with Ethan. Then introduce him to Allison and tell him about the… Argents.”
“And if he takes that well, introduce him to the pack?” Danny guessed.
Jackson offered a half-hearted shrug at that. It was the plan. Stiles may claim he didn’t need or want pack, had been burned and wanted to leave it at that. But Jackson knew him better than that. As much of an asshole as Stiles was, and as true as it was that he could take care of himself, at his heart, Stiles needed to care. He cared about others, fiercely and protectively. His dad, Scott, the pack. Leaving and trying to lone wolf, even though he took Kira with him, it just wasn’t Stiles. And Stiles deserved to be taken care of too. That was what pack was supposed to be, taking care of each other. It was a lesson Jackson had learned after moving to London.
“What about Kira?” Allison asked curiously. “I mean, he clearly trusts her, if she’s the only one he took with him? Would it be easier to convince her to give the pack a chance so she can weigh in?”
“Manipulative,” Jackson raised his eyebrows teasingly. “Peter would be proud of you.”
“Shut up,” Allison huffed and hit his chest. “I’m just… If I struggle with something, and don’t know what to do or who to trust, I lean toward those I trust and take their opinion into consideration. So maybe telling Kira, would that help?”
“Kira is sunshine personified,” Danny chuckled fondly. “She’d probably join the pack easy enough, so I think it’s more Stiles’ opinion keeping her away too.”
Jackson hummed his agreement. Everything had started back then, when Kira had moved to Beacon Hills. Scott had fallen instantly in love with her and Lydia basically imprinted on her. That was how Jackson had first gotten involved with Stiles and Scott, with everything. And then the feral Alpha had torn through town, torn through Jackson, Lydia and Scott.
“Hey,” Allison gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Where did you go just now?”
“Nowhere,” Jackson shook his head, offering his girlfriend a tight smile. “Just… the past.”
The kitchen got really quiet at that. Beacon Hills had been a lot, a lot of suffering, for Jackson, Danny and Ethan, to varying degrees. They were all glad they got away. Jackson was glad Stiles and Kira finally got away too. He wanted this to work for them, wanted them to feel as at home in London as Jackson had come to feel.
/break\
Stiles was tired and cranky when they finally got out of the plane. He’d never been the kind of person who could sleep on a plane and he also struggled with the whole staying still for so long. And a flight from LA to London was very long. Truly so long. Agonizingly long.
“I need sugar, food and to never get onto a plane ever again,” Stiles declared.
Kira huffed out a laugh at that, shouldering her bag. She was pulling her suitcase along behind her. Stiles grumbled to himself and followed her, his eyes scanning the crowd. His mood changed some when he spotted Jackson’s face. Damn. He hadn’t seen the asshole in two years. Not live, at least. In video chats, photos too, but not like this. He ran up to Jackson and wrapped his arms around him.
“Dude,” Stiles couldn’t help but laugh. “Never thought I’d say that but I’m happy to see you.”
“Yeah,” Jackson huffed and hugged Stiles closer. “I missed you too, Stilinski.”
“Is this an exclusive bromance moment, or can a girl join too?”
Jackson opened one arm and wrapped it around Kira. “Good seeing you too, Yukimura.”
For a very long moment, the three just stood together, hugging. It felt like a new start. It felt like for the first time in months, Stiles could breathe. He’d been forcing it, ever since that day in the rain. He bit his tongue, worked together with the others to get Lydia out of Eichen House because he couldn’t abandon her. He put his head down and continued on like things were okay when they weren’t. When he knew he had lost Scott’s trust and Scott had lost his. It was okay now. He was away from the town that constantly tried to kill them all. He was with his best friends. New start.
“Bring us to the new Casa Stilinski-Yukimura,” Stiles declared. “I need sleep.”
“...Do we have beds in our apartment?” Kira asked concerned, looking between them.
“Yeah,” Jackson shot her a look. “I got you a pre-furnished place.”
“He doesn’t like it,” Stiles stage-whispered to Kira.
“It’s just below my standards,” Jackson glared.
“Yeah, rich boy,” Stiles snorted and rolled his eyes. “Your standards have always been a little different. You grew up with a pool and got a brand-new Porsche as your first car.”
Jackson shrugged. “True. Doesn’t mean you don’t deserve better.”
“But it does mean that we can’t afford anything more,” Kira argued. “We are going to be first semesters at college in just a few short weeks. We’re looking for jobs, but we’re not exactly going to get super high-paying jobs as a side-gig to college, Jackson.”
“Fine, fine,” Jackson sighed.
Stiles raised his eyebrows, because he knew the underlying things Jackson wasn’t saying. He knew the wolf wanted them to join the Hale Pack. Stiles had absolutely no interest in that. He was done with all of that pack stuff. He had come here for Jackson, yes. But he could be friends with a wolf without being a part of the pack. And the Hales? That just dragged more Beacon Hills into their lives. Oh, they knew that. It was how Jackson had first ended up in London, after all. Deaton had called the former pack of Beacon Hills, who had fled town after the Hale Fire. Stiles didn’t need that, he didn’t need to be dragged into another pack, another mess from Beacon Hills.
/break\
“Are you alright, Jackson?”
Peter raised one eyebrow, regarding his Beta carefully. Jackson’s former pack-mates had moved to London a week ago. Peter, and everyone in the Hale Pack, knew how much this meant to Jackson. How much Stiles meant to Jackson. So many late phone-calls that Peter could hear half of when Jackson would be out in the backyard. Tears and whispered sorrows. Peter knew that though Jackson had provided his friend with support through a trauma recovery, it had also helped Jackson in his own recovery. He was still dealing with the aftermath of the kanima.
“I don’t know,” Jackson sighed and sank down onto the couch, right next to Peter.
“Is this about your… friends?” Peter asked carefully.
He never knew how far Jackson wanted to talk about them. Peter knew first hand how tricky Beacon Hills as a topic was. Knew first hand how tricky the topic of past packs were. Their situations were very different. Most days, Peter couldn’t talk about the family he had lost. The pack that had been torn from him. For Jackson, the pack he had parted with had lived, but they hadn’t been much of a pack to him, because if he had had strong ties, he wouldn’t have turned into a kanima to begin with. Pack was the core of Jackson’s issues.
Though even Jackson himself could admit that it wasn’t all the pack’s fault, he had pushed them away, kept them at arm’s length, too afraid to be hurt and abandoned. The irony of that fear leading him exactly where he feared to go. He’d learned from his mistakes though, had learned to trust his pack, to build strong pack-bonds. Peter reached out to rest a hand in Jackson’s neck, scent-marking.
“They’re settling in well,” Jackson replied after a pause. “I think. Stiles found a job at a newspaper. Kira is working at a diner. I’m just… I don’t know.”
“Wanna talk about it, pup?” Peter asked.
“I heard about the damage that town had done to them both,” Jackson frowned, looking out the glass doors onto the backyard. “But… actually seeing it? Kira, she… not being trusted, losing control of her fox nad fighting to rein it in? It left her hardened, compared to the Kira I knew. She was this bright and cheerful person, now she’s more wary. And Stiles… The bags under his eyes, the haunted look in his eyes, the nervous ticks he’s gathered since the possession. Counting his fingers, constantly tapping them to keep track of them, questioning reality. He doesn’t sleep well, doesn’t sleep enough, doesn’t… He’s worse than I expected.”
Peter hummed his acknowledgment. The Nogitsune possession. Peter couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of damage that would do to a person. To survive it? It came at a high cost. Peter knew what it meant to survive at a high cost, knew how exhausting surviving could be.
“If there is anything me or the rest of our pack can do to help, you say the word.”
“Yes, Alpha,” Jackson smiled weakly at Peter. “Thanks. For the offer. I just… Stiles is like a house cat that’s become a stray and now he’s hissing and lashing out with claws at the idea of being brought back inside. It’s gonna take patience to domesticate him again.”
Peter snorted out a laugh at that, shooting Jackson a look. Jackson grinned back at him. It was good, to see Jackson care like that. When he’d first arrived in London, he had been suspicious, wary, rying to keep his distance. It had taken time for him to warm up to the pack and trust too.
“That’s quite alright. This pack has a good track-record of patiently domesticating strays.”
If Stiles and Kira weren’t ready to meet the pack yet, that was not a problem. Peter would never force anyone into his pack. But he also knew they meant enough to three members of Peter’s pack that Peter was willing to keep the door open. It was up to Jackson. If they never wanted to meet, that would be okay too, but Peter knew how much it’d mean to Jackson in particular.
/break\
Stiles held his breath in awe as he looked up the building. The London Quill was a prestigious and old newspaper. It was the goal. One day, Stiles wanted to work here as an investigative journalist. For now, he was going to take literally any job they’d offer. Which, apparently, meant the call center for now. But it was fine. He was going to work his way up, while doing college.
Taking a deep breath, he walked in, clinging tightly onto the strap of his bag. He was going to build a new life, this was step three. After leaving, after getting an apartment. Now a job. This could work. What had been a dream for so many months was now actually becoming reality.
His phone rang, startling him. While walking inside, he pulled his phone out and saw Jackson’s face flash a stupidly handsome smile at him. Stiles accepted the call as he continued walking.
“What’s up, Jackson?” Stiles asked.
“Just calling to wish you good luck on your first day, Stiles. Don’t fuck it up.”
“Fuck you too,” Stiles rolled his eyes. “But thanks. I’ll be fine.”
Stiles grinned in excitement as he reached his destination, quickly disconnecting the call and putting his phone into his pocket. First step. He was taking the first step. It was kind of scary, he’d never really had a job before. Everything about this move had been scary. Different continent, so far away from everything he had known, college, work. All of it. Terrifying but exciting.
/break\
“How’s your book coming along, handsome?”
Chris rested his hands on his husband’s shoulders, massaging gently. Peter gave a soft groan and leaned into the touch, encouraging Chris to massage him more firmly. After a moment, Peter closed the laptop, which was just never a good sign. It meant he was a little too willing to stop writing. Which meant the writing wasn’t going all that well.
“Terrible,” Peter frowned annoyed. “David is three seconds from pinning Dylan to the desk and fuck him over the captain’s desk. Three seconds, I swear.”
Chris’ lips curled into a fond smile at that. “Are you going for a Daddy Kink angle there? The captain is a father-figure to Dylan, getting fucked by the hot older man he is in love with on that desk sure is a choice on your part, babe.”
“Urgh. The Daddy Kink angle is too obvious,” Peter made a dismissive hand-gesture and wrinkled his nose annoyed. “I’m just not feeling it. And don’t call the character I based off of you hot. It’s kind of arrogant of you, Christopher.”
Chris chuckled lowly and pressed a kiss against Peter’s temple. “Which part are you struggling with? Can’t decide on the smut scene? Or is it the whole of it?”
There was a long beat of silence, which was peculiar. Peter tapped his fingers against the desk.
“I think it’s Dylan,” Peter admitted softly.
“What about him? Kinks? Preferences? Character development?”
“The whole character,” Peter sighed in frustration and tilted his head back so he could look up at Chris. “He… feels empty. I haven’t fleshed him out enough. He was meant to bring something fresh and unexpected into the series, to… spice things up. But instead, he just feels empty.”
That made Chris frown. He walked around Peter and perched himself on the edge of the desk. Crossing his arms, Chris leaned back and regarded Peter long and slow. Trying to force Peter into continuing on with that train of thoughts. Most of the time, Peter didn’t need Chris to contribute anything constructive to the conversation. He just needed a soundboard to talk things through with so he could solve it himself. A lesson learned from being married to an author for long enough.
“David and Julian having hate-sex and reconnecting was hot for long enough,” Peter sighed frustrated. “It’s just… Dylan was supposed to get me out of this rut.”
David and Julian had been the center pieces of the Moonlight Matings series. Enemies to lovers slow-burn, with a lot of hate-sex to mask the resurfacing feelings. Peter had started writing these books back when Chris and him had reconnected, as a way to cope. After Chris and Peter got married, Chris got to read them and encouraged Peter to actually publish his works. They were bestsellers now. The werewolf hunter and the werewolf PI. Peter had written a couple of them at this point, but he had written himself into a corner, or so he claimed.
The solution for the problem was Dylan Doherty. A new character, a cute, young detective who was turning the stilted enemies to lovers situation into a love triangle. He was supposed to tempt both Julian and David, hook up with them separately and then make both jealous and realize that their feelings were serious, ultimately leading to them finally admitting their romantic feelings.
It appeared that wasn’t working the way Peter had wanted it to. The problem was he couldn’t mirror real life again. What had made Peter and Chris put their anger aside had been the Hale Fire that had wiped out the majority of Peter’s family, had put him into a coma and made Chris see what his family was truly capable of before turning his back on them and leaving with the Hales, taking his daughter Allison with him. That was just a little too heavy for romance and erotica novels.
“What do you need to make it work, wolf?” Chris asked lowly.
“He’s too one dimensional, he doesn’t work,” Peter sighed in frustration. “Make Dylan real.”