Tattoo

                                    

                                          
Stiles pushed open the door to the sheriff's station, "Hey, dad, I brought you dinner."
                          
"Hey Stiles," Noah gave his son a nod. 
                          
"Whoa, what's wrong?" Stiles asked setting down the brown paper bag of food.
                          
"Is that Hardees?" Noah asked excitedly, ignoring Stiles' question.
                          
"Yes, but you have to tell me what is wrong first," Stiles snatched the bag back up before his dad could grab it.
                          
Noah let out a sigh, "I just lost another deputy. Alaina quit. She said she took a job here cause nothing too crazy was supposed to happen in a small town. I'm telling you Stiles with the way things are going, I'm not gonna have enough people to staff this place. I'm already covering two extra shifts this week. Now that Derek is gone and word has started to get out, you kids have had your hands full. I'm afraid it's only going to get worse," Noah pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed a file he had been looking through.
                          
"Dad, we have Gage now, that should help," Stiles felt bad that his dad was now caught in the middle of the supernatural like he was, but it was easier to keep him safe when he knew what he was up against, and Stiles wasn't having to lie to him constantly anymore. His dad didn't believe him at first, but it didn't take long for there to be enough evidence that he couldn't deny the truth. He quickly became an asset to the pack once he had accepted that his son was running with literal werewolves. 
                          
"Speaking of, Is this your way of telling me you two are dating?" Noah asked glancing at the bag still in Stiles' hands.
                          
"What? No. This is my way of telling you Gage bought the old mill factory and wants the pack to move in," Stiles shook his head.
                          
"The whole pack? I guess that includes you, huh?" Noah said thoughtfully as he opened the burger Stiles had handed him.
                          
"If you need me to stay home, I can tell him no. He just relies on me to help him since I Know the pack and town better than he does. Plus I'm this buffer between him and the pack. They keep associating him with Derek," Stiles shrugged.
                          
"Stiles, I'll be fine. I'm rarely home anyway, and when I am you're usually out with the pack,"  Noah shook his head as he shoved another bite of burger in his mouth.
                          
 "I'll still meal prep for you for the week, so don't think you get to eat Hardees all the time. This is a treat," Stiles pointed a fry at his father.
                          
"Which one of us is the son here?" Noah snickered.
                          
Stiles grinned at his dad. He would miss the guy but he had a point, they rarely saw each other at home anyway.
                          
"Well I'm supposed to go help Gage pick out a dining room table. Apparently he expects us all to eat together once a week," Stiles shoved the last couple fries in his mouth before standing from the chair opposite of his dad's desk.
                          
"Okay son, just do me a favor and be careful. I know you say he's not Derek and that's fine, but remember how upset you were when Derek left...be mindful that Gage is related to him and it's not out of the realm of possibility that he could disappear too."
                          
Stiles dropped his head, "I know, trust me, I don't expect it of him, but I'm prepared for if he does," Stiles' tone was sad earning a sympathetic smile from his dad.

                          
-

                          
"Come in." Gage called to the door of his bedroom where Stiles had knocked. 
                          
"Hey, you ready?" Stiles asked popping his head into the spare room where Gage was currently sifting through a bag of the few clothes he'd brought.
                          
"Yeah, just let me toss on a shirt real quick," Gage nodded.
                          
Stiles noticed how similar Derek and Gage really were. They were identical even beneath the clothing. '