Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/1084737.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Teen_Wolf_(TV)
  Relationship:
      Peter_Hale/Stiles_Stilinski
  Character:
      Peter_Hale, Stiles_Stilinski, Original_Character
  Additional Tags:
      Drug_Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional_Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Mates
  Series:
      Part 3 of We_Learned_the_Sea
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-12-16 Words: 1558
****** Caught in a Whirlpool ******
by thegirlwhoknits
Summary
     Peter gets some advice on dealing with his feelings for Stiles.
Notes
     WARNING: Hypothetical reference to drug overdose. Also this chapter
     is a tiny bit more sexually graphic, though we haven't gotten to the
     really good bits yet! Comments warm my heart and keep me going
     through the long, dark work-week! You can also follow_me_on_Tumblr.
Peter slid onto a stool in the hotel bar and ordered a wolfsbane-infused
scotch.  He wasn’t aiming to get drunk—that would definitely set a bad example
on a trip that was supposed to be about getting Stiles clean—but he did need a
little breathing room and a drink would help him relax a bit. He hoped.
He swirled the amber liquid around in the glass, suddenly wishing he’d ordered
something that wasn’t the color of Stiles’s eyes.  He noticed someone sit down
next to him, but didn’t look up; hopefully whoever it was would get the message
and leave him alone.
“Trouble with your mate?” The soft voice belonged to Holly, one of the resort’s
owners. Peter reluctantly raised his head to meet her gaze.
“What gave it away?” he asked tiredly.
“Well, you’re down here by yourself, and you’re staring into that drink like
you’re going to drown in it,” Holly pointed out.  “Would you like to talk about
it?  I may be retired, but I’m still pretty good at listening.”
Peter sighed.  He wasn’t normally the type to ask for advice from anyone, but
he and Holly had been friends a long time, and he honestly had no idea what to
do in this situation.
“I don’t know if there’s anything anyone can do.  Stiles, my mate…  Well, first
of all, he doesn’t know he’s my mate.  And he’s human, and young.  He’s not in
love with me, and I’m afraid he may never feel the same way.”  The last part
felt ripped out of him; Peter hated feeling vulnerable or helpless.  It was
extremely uncomfortable.
Holly clicked her tongue thoughtfully as she gestured to the bartender for a
bottle of water.  “Well, first of all, if he’s not in love with you yet, he’s
well on his way.  I’ve seen you interact quite a bit over the past few days,
and he clearly trusts you and values your opinion.  And, in return, you really
listen to him and give his thoughts weight.  I have a feeling there are not a
lot of people in his life who do that.
“And on some level, he does know he’s your mate.  The mating pull is strong
magic, and while it doesn’t affect ordinary humans as strongly as werewolves,
for Emissaries the effect can be even stronger than it is for weres, because
they are so much more attuned to their magic.  He’s probably been feeling the
pull for a while, and just didn’t know how to interpret it. Does he spend more
time around you than the rest of the pack?”
“Well, yes, but that’s because we research…” Peter trailed off, looking
thoughtful.  Now that Holly had called his attention to it, he realized that he
and Stiles seemed to gravitate toward each other even when the circumstances
didn’t require it.  When the pack split up in battle, Stiles worked most
seamlessly with Peter, even though technically any of the other weres could do
the same things.  And when he was in trouble, it was Peter that Stiles called
out for, when it should have made more sense for him to call to Scott, or even
Derek.   “I suppose we do, actually.”
She nodded.  “My advice would be to just give him some time to sort things out,
without pressing the issue.” She held up a hand against his protest. “I know
you wouldn’t.  But Peter? Whatever you do, don’t do something ridiculous like
‘giving him space.’”
He looked at her curiously. “Why not? Isn’t that what one’s supposed to do in
these situations?”
“Stiles is very unstable right now, and it’s my understanding that he became
that way because he feels he’s only important to people when he’s being
‘useful,’” she explained. “If he feels you’ve abandoned him now, when he’s weak
and has failed to reciprocate your feelings, it may send him into an even
deeper spiral, one even his mate might not be able to pull him out of.”
Peter felt himself go pale as visions of Stiles lying motionless on his
bathroom floor after overdosing flashed through his head.  He gulped the
remains of his drink in one swallow and stood, placing some money on the bar. 
“I understand,” he told Holly.  “Thank you for your advice.”
“It’s no problem.” She smiled.  “All I ask is that you invite me and Dale to
the mating celebration!”
He gave her a half-smile and nodded. Despite her encouraging words, he still
had doubts.  Still, she was right; there was nothing to do but be patient, and
be there for Stiles. No matter how much it hurt.
 
Stiles was asleep when he got back to the room, starfished over the covers with
his clothes still on.  Peter clamped down on a momentary twinge of panic,
remembering that Stiles couldn’t possibly have access to more than a couple of
aspirin way out here, and anyway he’d only been downstairs a short time.  The
boy’s breathing and heartbeat were steady, and Peter crept across the room
quietly, not wanting to wake him.  He pried Stiles’s cellphone out of his hand
and checked the recent calls to make sure the teen had made his evening call to
the Sheriff.  He had. He put the phone on the nightstand and went to grab some
spare blankets from the closet.
After putting one over Stiles, he hesitated.  He wanted nothing more than to
lay down next to his mate, wrap his arms around him and bury his nose in that
wayward brown hair.  But even though Holly had warned him about not keeping his
distance, that seemed like the sort of thing they should talk about first. He
had no idea what Stiles’s comfort level might be, now that he knew how the
older werewolf felt about him.
Reluctantly, he carried the other blanket over to the couch. Luckily it was a
sofa bed, and a fairly comfortable one. Ten minutes later, he was staring at
the ceiling, feeling cold and empty with his mate only a few feet away.
 
Peter’s wolf registered the feeling of warmth and comfort the next morning
before his conscious mind was fully awake.  He opened his eyes to Stiles, now
dressed in a t-shirt and sleep pants, pressed against his side with an arm
draped heavily over Peter’s chest.  A thin strand of drool connected the corner
of his mouth with the shoulder of Peter’s shirt.  It was probably a measure of
how far gone he was that Peter found it adorable.
Stiles snuffled in his sleep and gripped the werewolf tighter when he gingerly
tried to move away. “Stop wriggling,” he muttered sleepily.
He gave up, lying back against the pillows again and resigning himself to
waiting until his bed partner was fully awake.
As it happened, that didn’t take as long as he feared. With a series of
irritated noises, Stiles seemed to struggle to wakefulness, finally lifting his
head and propping it on Peter’s chest.  He looked slightly guiltily at the
older man.
“Sorry about this,” he said. “I woke up from a nightmare and couldn’t get back
to sleep.  I guess I’ve gotten too used to having someone nearby.”
Peter smiled down at him, trying to keep the affection out of his look and,
judging by the flush that spread across Stiles’s face, failing miserably. 
“It’s all right,” he said.  “I do have to get up soon, though. Nature calls.”
Stiles blushed harder and scrambled to his feet hastily. “Yeah, um, of course.
I’ll just…” He flailed a bit, searching for a plausible course of action. 
“Order breakfast!” he said finally. “Eggs Benedict, right?”
“Right,” Peter confirmed, struggling to contain a smirk as he headed to the
bathroom.
 
Peter leaned back against the wall of the shower, finally allowing himself to
release the iron grip on his self-control.  To have his mate within such easy
reach, to know that he was willing…it was driving his wolf crazy.  He palmed
his dick, letting out a low moan that he hoped Stiles’s human hearing wasn’t
sensitive enough to pick up on.  The thought of the teen overhearing him made
him even harder, though, and he stroked himself faster, imagining Stiles’s
beautiful, clever fingers joining his own.
The memory of the boy’s mouth on his, his eager young hips thrusting forward,
made Peter pant shamelessly.  He’d tasted so perfect, the scent of his arousal
so heady and strong.  He cursed himself momentarily for letting the opportunity
slip by; he could have just keep his mouth shut, taken what he could get.
But even in the midst of his arousal Peter knew that wasn’t an option. It
wasn’t in his nature not to pursue something he wanted with everything he had; 
especially something he wanted as badly as Stiles.  Eventually, he would have
his mate, and it would feel so good to sink into that slim, agile body, to draw
out all the sounds that no one else had ever gotten to hear, or ever would.  To
finally give the mating bite he’d offered to Stiles at the beginning, and know
he was his forever…
He came with a yelp that Stiles would definitely hear in the other room, and
sagged against the wall. The afterglow of his orgasm mixed with the now-
familiar hollowness of having his mate just out of reach.
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