Poolside Panic

Stiles had never liked swimming nor has he ever been fond of the water. Not since he was four and his mother tried to drown him in the bathtub. It didn't help that he got bullied and dunked repeatedly, making him terrified of swimming lessons. He ended up teaching himself because the other kids just kept pushing him under.

So, Stiles taught himself how to swim and he now only took showers. Well, he mainly only took showers now. Oh, he would take baths occasionally but it was pretty rare and he never swam. He had tried to work through it and he would only ever swim when he was completely alone. It was why he got a private membership at Luna Aquatic Center.

However as he stood outside the public pool with Samuel's hand in his, he felt sick to his stomach. He idly traced the now bare ring finger of his left hand with his thumb. His wife—ex-wife—was the one who took Samuel, their little Sam, to the pool. Stiles never trusted her enough to tell her why he couldn't, and the lack of trust really should've made finding her in bed with another man less surprising. The only reason Stiles remained as calm as he had upon discovering them was because his son was sleeping. His bitch of an ex slept with another man while their son was taking his afternoon nap.

Since Stiles owned the house, he kicked her out and unsurprisingly ended up with full custody of their son.

That was just before summer started. Stiles realized he probably could have asked for someone to help take his son to the pool but that felt like admitting weakness and it wasn't something that he could afford to admit. He had already lost his wife. He didn't want anyone to have any reason to think he was unable be a father to Sam.

"Daddy?"

Stiles looked at his son who held out the sunscreen. "Sorry, kiddo. Daddy was just thinking." He took the bottle and squeezed it into his hand before covering his five-year-old's skin with it.

Sam tilted his head. "It's okay, Daddy. I was thinking too."

"Oh? What were you thinking about?"

His son pointed. "The slide. I wanna go down but I'm still too little."

Stiles glanced at the slide and chewed his lip, nerves churning in his gut. He knew Sam could go down if he had an adult waiting at the bottom. "Well, you could go down if I was waiting for you."

Sam gasped and shook his head. "Daddy, no. You don't like the water."

Stiles set the bottle aside and smiled softly. "No but I love you and if you want to slide I'll do it for you."

"No. No thank you, Daddy."

"You sure, kiddo?"

"I'm positive. Guess why."

"Why?"

"Cause I love you, Daddy and I'm smart cause I know that sometimes growed ups are scared of things. I know you love me, Daddy and you don't have to catch me from the slide for me to member that."

Stiles felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes making them sting slightly. Fuck but he loves his son so much. "How'd I end up with such a wonderful boy like you with a big golden heart?"

Sam grinned revealing a gap where he lost a baby tooth and hugged his dad. "I take after you, Daddy. Gampa said so."

Stiles hugged his son tightly, wiped his face, and cleared his throat. "Well, if you change your mind let me know. I'll be here when you need more sunscreen in an hour. Okay?"

"Okay, Daddy. I love you."

"I love you too, kiddo."

Stiles watched as his son jumped in the shallow and splashed around. He couldn't help but smile at the sight. He was so focused he didn't hear a man speaking to him the first time but startled slightly when he spoke the second time.