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If there was one thing Malia had come to be thankful for as she got older, if was having a rich dad looking to make up for lost time because a government salary was not a lot. Especially with the kinds of crazy bills that supernatural crisis caused, not to mention babies and just being alive apparently. If they didn’t have Peter around constantly looking for ways to show how magnanimous a grandparent he was they would be in a much rougher financial spot since she couldn’t really work. She was pretty sure that he felt threatened by how close she was with Sheriff Stilinski. Eh, let him squirm.
The plan had been for Stiles to go to college and Malia to figure out what she wanted to do (she never did), then they’d get married after he graduated (they got married like two years in), he’d work for the FBI (he still did) and she would do whatever job she wanted (she almost got arrested for nearly mauling a customer and was banned by the entire family from ever working again) and they would have a sensible amount of children at a sensible pace (mixed results on that one). The plan had been Stiles’ plan and she wasn’t all that sad that they hadn’t stuck to it all that closely. Waiting to get married was stupid, jobs and money were stupid and she hated people. In hindsight waiting longer to have kids would have been smart but in her defense coyotes had a litter once a year and Stiles was extremely attractive. She thought she’d been very accommodating by waiting until they were married and he was graduating before she got pregnant the first time. Now nine years later Leia, their oldest was getting ready to graduate the grade her mother never did and Malia was pregnant with their last baby. Stiles had been pretty adamant that five was plenty and Malia was magnanimous enough to go along with it. If they were both coyotes five pups would have been a smallish litter for one year but it seemed to be a larger amount for humans so she figured she just needed to adjust her expectations.
It wasn’t like she had some insatiable need to have babies, she just loved Stiles a lot and their children made her happy because she loved them too. Why wouldn’t she want a lot of them when they made her so happy? They made Stiles happy too for all his griping about early mornings and late nights and stepping on toys. She could see it in his face every day, in how he always kept up with what mattered to them, in how he talked to her stomach and papered his office with lists of potential names. Even though he was adamant that this was their last kid, so adamant he’d already gotten a vasectomy, he said it with a sadness in his eyes. Having more children after this one just wasn’t practical, but it already felt like they were all growing up too fast. It felt like just yesterday that they were stuck at home trying to homeschool a five year old and a two year old while taking care of a baby and getting ready for another. Now Leia and Daphne were both in school while Rowan and Bowie were spend half their days in pre-k. Sometimes it was nice to have the space, sometimes it was horrible.
She far preferred spending her time taking care of her children and her mate than sitting in some horrible boring office or being asked stupid questions by smelly humans. She didn’t really like calling Stiles her husband, that was a human legal term and subject to divorces, but she also had enough sense to not call him her mate outside of supernatural company. She’d tried partner for a while since he really was her partner in all facets of life which was similar to what mate meant to her, but people kept thinking she was a lesbian — something about partner and how she looked — so she’d stopped. Stiles had thought it was funny though, something about him not being the only one to give off “vibes”.
Stiles was picking the boys up from pre-k now on his way home from the office. When she had gotten pregnant with Daphne he’d opted to step down to part time until their children were all in school, it’d turned out to be a perfectly timed move with the lockdowns starting the next year. She knew it was a sacrifice for him, he loved working cases. She had told him he didn’t have to but he’d insisted, saying that they were only small once and that both coyote parents took care of the young. He always got her with coyote talk. She loved how he met her in the middle.
The plan for today was to have lunch then go to the state park she volunteered at to play, then get the girls from school, have dinner, do homework and then movie night.
“I just want you to know that if they try and make me watch the fucking minion movie I will be disowning all your children.” Peter said.
She did not acknowledge the jibe and instead kept folding very tiny laundry. “Is the crib up?”
Her father rolled his eyes. “Yes, it’s up. Honestly I’m shocked you two ever even took it down. I figured after Rowan it was a permanent installation.”
“Too much temptation” she said snidely.
“Oh and you two absolutely do not need anymore encouragement. You’re practically repopulating the Hale family on your own. Remind me once again to thank Stiles for getting his head out of his ass and asking you to take him back. If I had to suffer even one grandchild with Scott McCall as the father I would have to kill you and start over again.”
Malia made a face. “Humans date other people after they break up.”
Even to her it sounded lame and unconvincing.
“Oh yes and you’ve always been so good at acting like a human, that’s why you tried to make it work with the closest thing to the boy you were already planning a whole life around. You absolutely weren’t still pining for Stiles or sitting and looking up at his window with pathetic little coyote eyes.”
Malia went red up to the tips of her ears. He smiled obviously, eyes glittering with amusement. He was never going to let her live down being caught red handed slinking around in the treeline of the Stilinski house in her coyote form.
“I’ve killed my parents before and I can do it again, Peter.”
He laughed warmly and kissed her forehead. Warmth spread through her from the spot. She had ended up losing Henry Tate as a father and she couldn’t blame him for his choice, not when she couldn’t forgive herself for what she’d done. But she had gained Peter, her birth father, and after years of messiness they had something really good. Between him and Sheriff Stilinski she had good parents and the comfort of knowing her children had good grandfathers.
“You couldn’t kill me no matter how hard you tried. Besides I’m the one keeping you little idiots afloat.” He nodded towards the door. “Speaking of which, we should get going so we can meet your boys at the restaurant.”
Malia abandoned her chore immediately and without second thought.
Just because she preferred to put her effort into rearing her pups doesn’t mean she was a fan of chores. Or good at them. Stiles was just happy she’d learned to cook edible food. There had been a period where she’d served all her meat raw.
It went about as well as you’d expect.
Peter drove in his own car. He didn’t live with them but he had a townhouse down in Sacramento and came over a lot. Again, putting in the time to earn more grandpa points since Sheriff Stilinski was still a few hours above them in Beacon Hills. Malia was happy to let him drive, she could do it but she hated it and she still hated cars. She’d had a panic attack the first time they’d had to put Leia in the back of their car to drive home from the hospital. She still hated having the kids in the car. She laid her hand on her swelling belly, trying to add another layer between the life inside and the danger around them.
“Hey baby.” Stiles kissed her cheek, his close cropped beard scratching her skin pleasantly.
She kissed him on the mouth, once, twice and savored the pleased rumble in his chest and the hand sliding onto her lower back.
“Hey, how was work?” She asked.
She savored his closeness for another second before she went to her boys and kissed them both, their dark hair soft under her palms.
“Good. Kind of crazy but I got outta there before things could fully blow up. Fully expect to have a massive case file in my email by the end of the day.”
“Well, you’re the best detective they have. Of course they’re doing to drag you into every case.” Malia said matter of factly as she and Peter sat.
Stiles rolled his eyes. “I’m not that good Mal.”
“No, you’re not.” Peter said lightly as he looked over the menu.
Stiles glared at him but Rowan giggled and Peter flashed him a mischievous grin, snapping his menu shut and leaning on the table towards the boys.
“And how was school you two? Did you have lots of fun?”
They nodded excitedly.
“Oh good! Did you learn lots?”
The boys nodded and started to talk over each other, regaling them with what they did. Stiles tried to get them to take turns but quickly gave up. All their children had inherited his motor mouth. They had played with blocks, did a fire drill which was very exciting for them but Malia panic just thinking about them needing to do it for real, had music time, learned colors and during story time their classmate Sung got a nosebleed. This was the big event of the day. She was glad this was the highest stakes they had to deal with, she hoped it stayed that way for a long time. Peter asked them about their numbers and letters, how the turtles were doing and how their friends were. Her dad was very attentive with the children. She had been surprised at how good he was with children at first but he’d rolled his eyes and reminded her that he’d been close with his entire family and Talia wasn’t the only one to have kids he’d had to babysit. And while she was sure that was all true, she thought the real reason was that he was still angry about the time he missed with her.
He couldn’t go back change the time they’d missed, but he could be present for his grandchildren. She was thankful for it, that he had wanted some kind of relationship and that he cared. She didn’t know how many of her children would be weres, which would be werewolves or werecoyotes. She didn’t know how to help a young, confused were just starting to shift. She had been totally alone when it happened to her and had to learn it all the hardest way. She’d completely panicked when Leia turned eight. There wasn’t a set age for a born were to have their first transformation, Derek had started to transform in his teens, Malia had transformed in elementary school. She’d been terrified that it would be the same for Leia, that she’d be sitting in class one day and suddenly burst into fur. Peter was the one to step in and calm her down, together they had figured out if it was something to even worry about and how to explain to Leia what would happen to her when the change finally did come.
When lunch was over it was time to head to the national park bordering their house. They lived a ways out of the city on a large secluded plot of land as it was but Malia still liked the national park more. There were more trees there. It was more wild and full of life, less touched by humans. It was the place she felt the most at peace, most sure of herself. She wanted their children to love the wild as much as she did.
The boys were practically dragging them around, asking her about every plant and coming up with new games before they even finished the last one. By the time it was three pm they had tired themselves out so thoroughly that Stiles and Peter had to carry them back to the parking lot. When they got there and started getting the boys into their car seats they were greeted by Malia’s “boss”, a werewolf named Casey.
Malia didn’t work but she volunteered as much as possible at the park. Technically since she didn’t have the qualifications Malia couldn’t be a park ranger and wasn’t supposed to do half the things she did for the park, but Casey knew what she was and that she’d lived in the wild for years. She’d figured that it’d be a waste not to put all of that to use and put Malia to work however she saw fit. Malia loved it. She loved working in the park. Back when Stiles had been in college she hadn’t seen the point in going herself, she hadn’t been in a classroom since she was eight and getting her GED had made her head hurt. If she had realized back then that jobs like forest ranger would want you to have a degree in something like biology or forestry she would’ve signed up in a heartbeat. Maybe when the kids were all in school she’d go back herself and become a ranger like Casey. She and Stiles had talked about the idea and he encouraged it readily.
Casey was a short asian woman with long dark hair, tattoos and bleached strands framing her face who was so relaxed and pleasant that Stiles had described her as “naturally permanently stoned”. But Malia could see the violent animal lurking just under the surface of her skin. So could Peter, which was why he was always on his best behavior when they bumped into each other. Casey was not the kind of alpha you wanted to get on the bad side of.
Currently said menacing alpha was making funny faces at her toddlers.
Peter made some hasty goodbyes and beat a hasty retreat. Coward.
They got the kids secured in the back of the minivan and lingered a moment to chat, Casey leaning on the car door.
“I take it we won’t be seeing you this month either?”
“No, I still don’t like changing too much when I’m pregnant. The nausea is awful.”
“That’s cool. We’ll go hunting sometime when things settle down. Just lemme know when you need a sanity break, the deer population needs some serious culling.”
“Is that what your plan is for this full moon?” Stiles asked.
“Yeah.” Casey said. “We’ll see how we do, we’ve got some newbies so I’m not expecting any kills but if we bag any I’ll make sure to bring you some venison.”
Malia’s mouth watered. “I love you.”
Casey laughed. “I know I’m great. Now go get those kids napping before they blow their tops.”
“Or you steal my mate from me.” Stiles groused good-naturedly. Malia’s heart burst at his use of the term. He always tried to meet her half way.
Casey made a face, sticking her tongue out like she’d eaten something foul.
“Eeeew! Coyote!”
Malia growled playfully. “Who’d want to have a wolf?”
They all laughed and the Stilinskis officially made their way home with a wave from the alpha and promises of a patrol of their area. Stiles was very serious about their safety, he’d worked out something with Casey that had their pack including them in their watches and Stiles helping solve the occasional supernatural mystery that might need some massaging from law enforcement. So far there hadn’t been any reason for them to be concerned about their safety but neither of them was inclined to let their guards down.
The boys were already half asleep when they got them out of their carseats and in the house for a nap. With them set for a while Stiles went to his office to get some work done and Malia took the laundry from the nursery where she’d been keeping Peter company to Stiles’ office for more company. He smiled at her at she set down the bin on the floor and sat down to get back to folding. When she looked up at him again he was still watching her, smiling a daydream braindead smile she recognized from when they were teens, his chin resting on his hand.
“What?” She asked.
“I love you.”
Malia grinned and crawled over to his desk, she swiveled his office chair so she could more comfortably kneel between his legs. She wrapped her arms around his waist and grinned up at him. Stiles grinned back, his hands carding through her hair.
“I love you too.” She said. “Now kiss me.”
Stiles chuckled. “So bossy.”
He kissed her anyway, leaning over awkwardly to do so. Malia squeezed him tightly before leaning back on her heels.
“Now get to work. You’re not gonna get anything done after we get the girls.”
Stiles laughed, still looking at her all mushy. “Alright, Alright. I’m doing it, not my fault you’re so beautiful. It’s distracting.”
Malia looked from him to the laundry, to his computer and then to Stiles again, doing the pro-con math on fucking him versus being responsible adults. Stiles caught on and gently pushed her back towards the laundry.
“Oh no, that way lays madness and being lay for pick up again. I’m pretty sure Mrs. Carmondy knew exactly why we were late the last time and I don’t want her calling me a sex freak in the teacher’s lounge.”
Malia pouted but relented. He had a point. They didn’t have a good sense of time once they got going. She went back to the laundry bin to do her own work.
“Fine. But we’re getting back to this later tonight.”
Stiles grinned. “You bet, sweetheart.”
They worked in companionable silence until the boys got up from their nap then she went to tend to them, got them a snack and brought them and some of their toys to the office for Stiles to mind them while she went and got the girls from school. The pickup circle was a torture device, it was clogged with cars, bad drivers and was slow as shit. She saw the moment the girls spotted her, Leia tugged on Daphne’s arm and pointed before the two of them booked it to the minivan. Malia smiled as Leia ripped the door open and both girls tumbled inside. The girls sat in the seats they’d decided was theirs and Malia started to look for the first possible opening she could take without getting arrested.
“So how was school?” Malia asked.
“Good! We did an experiment where we made canals and stuff and learned about water and how it goes up and down and stuff. It was so cool there were these things called locks and they kept the water in so you could add it or take it away and make the little ships match the water levels of the other parts and there were currents and all this stuff.” Leia said.
“We wrote stories and Ms Patel said mine was really good and we learned about countries. I was the only one who knew right away were Japan was because aunt Kira showed me and when I told Ms Patel she thought it was really cool. We’re supposed to pick a country and write down ten facts about it to tell the class so I’m doing Japan cause I already know lots about it.”
Malia cut off three other parents trying to escape.
“That’s so cool guys. I’m glad you had a really great day. Dinner is going to be barbecue chicken sandwiches and veggie mac and cheese.”
The girls cheered.
When they got home Stiles took over and helped the girls with their homework while the boys played in the living room and watched Bluey. Malia didn’t really do much of the schoolwork, she might have gotten her GED but she still wasn’t the strongest. Instructions would confuse her, and she wouldn’t know the best way to help them. Half the time she didn’t even think half this shit was important at all but Stiles continuously assured her that it was very important and she trusted him on that. He was better at gauging that kind of thing. Malia’s talents tended to be more helpful with solving supernatural mysteries than math anyway. Math was still evil, but she allowed the math needed to cook to live because she actually did like to cook.
Deer was still her favorite food, hands down but one of the major perks of being human was that food was so much tastier. Before she could only have deer raw, now she could have it like a hundred different ways all year round. She liked finding new recipes, trying things out and learning about new cultures and kinds of cuisine. It was fun, educational and she got to eat a lot at the end. Most things in life really only had value if they were edible, felt good or made you happy, everything else was trash. She liked providing for her family as well and grocery shopping was a lot less time consuming and potentially lethal as solo hunting a buck.
She was halfway done cooking when Stiles came into the kitchen and kissed her temple.
“Homework’s done. The bloodbath for the remote had begun.”
“My money’s on Daphne, she’s sneaky.”
He wrapped his arms around her while she shredded chicken and dumped it into the bubbling barbecue sauce.
“She gets that from her mother.”
“She gets it from her father. You’re the sneaky one.”
“Hm. We’re both sneaky then, partners in sneaking.”
She snorted. “We’re the worst at sneaking, especially together.”
“I dunno we managed it pretty well when we had to.”
Stiles’ hand caressed the curve of her stomach. She was six months out now and staring down the barrel of the uncomfortable whale stage of this. She would not miss that at all. Still, she was happy with her choice of mate, with her litter and with her life. She would never have imagined with was possible when she was still alone in the woods, that someone would love her and want to have a family with her. She had thought that there was absolutely nothing left for her in the human world, that any future she might have had there died with her crime. But behind her was the raucous conversation of her children and beside her was her mate trying and failing to inconspicuously sneak shredded chicken and cheese.
She growled at him, low rumbly and annoyed and Stiles just smiled.
“See? Sneaky.”