Father || Teen Wolf

20 - Red Right Hand

Of all the times Scott regretted not to possess the gift of telepathy, now was one of the most memorable. 

Phones acted as a decent replacement but he simply could not picture himself whipping out his phone right in the middle of family dinner with the Argent hunters. Especially not with Gerard presiding over the assembly from the end of the table, watching him like a hawk. The older man would find an acid remark to throw his way and Scott didn't want that.

In fact, Scott wanted nothing to do with Gerard Argent, especially when he could feel his phone buzz incessantly in his pocket and started to fear his friends were in trouble. Stiles calling him earlier that evening, right when he and Allison were sneaking into Gerard's office and searching for the hunter's book, had been a first hint. Scott now deeply regretted hanging up on his friend but he calmed his nerves by repeating himself that it had all been worth it, because he and Allison had found the blasted book. It wasn't an old tome with a worn-out leather cover like he had pictured, but a flash drive. Gerard Argent was a modern man after all.

Every time the older hunter looked his way, Scott felt as if the flash drive was burning through the fabric of his jeans and it was all he could do not to reach for it and give himself away. Here in the Argent home, he was powerless. He couldn't move without being watched, he couldn't speak without being overheard, and he certainly couldn't leave without Gerard giving his express permission and that just wasn't happening in the immediate future.

When the time came for dessert, Scott had never been so happy in his life to see cheesecake. He was now attempting a very challenging balancing act, eating as fast as he could to finally reach the end of the meal, but not fast enough that the Argents would know he was just trying to escape their company. Scott's plate was empty before Gerard had taken three bites, his phone buzzing again in his jeans. The wait was unending and the old man seemed to find a twisted kind of joy in watching him shift on his seat, impatience clear on his features despite his best efforts to hide it.

The atmosphere in the dining room was heavy to say the least, with the soft clatter of forks and knives scratching the surface of the plates as its soundtrack. Time seemed to come to a stop. Allison was staring at her plate with dead eyes, cleaning away the remnants of her long-finished dessert absent-mindedly. Scott had to stop himself from groaning out loud when Gerard stopped eating, put down his fork and looked at him and Allison as though they had all the time in the world. He neatly folded his napkin and put it near his plate, next to his almost-intact cheesecake.

"All right," he said, and all heads around the tables turned to gaze at him. "Why is everyone so quiet? Is it that uncomfortable that they dated?"

Chris sighed and put his own fork down as well, much to Scott's dismay.

"Did you ask them if they'd be uncomfortable?" the other hunter replied, his tone disapproving.

The older man chuckled, seemingly amused by the situation. It was as if he was completely unaware of the tension in the room, or more likely, that he chose to ignore it and basked in the glory of making his guest squirm on his seat with no other desire than to run far, far away and never come back.

"Okay, I know it's been a few centuries since I was a teenager, but even back then, we dated and broke up all the time," Gerard explained, the spark of humor in his tone nowhere to be found in his eyes.

"We're fine," Allison swooped in before her father could reply. She turned to Scott with a forced smile. "Right, Scott?"

"Totally fine," Scott replied too fast.

Gerard nodded, playing idly with his knife. Scott tried not to gulp nor think of what this man could do with a knife between his fingers.

"Then why did you break up?" Gerard frowned.