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Stiles had learned early in their marriage not to make stray comments about things he liked. Peter had a bad habit of just going out and buying or ordering (and Stiles suspected Peter wasn't above stealing) whatever Stiles had looked at or spoke of positively.
"Peter! Just because I like something, doesn't mean you have to go out and get it!" Stiles protested finally.
"But, it's something you like," Peter replied. "I like giving you your heart's desire."
"Doesn't mean I need to have everything I like," Stiles sighed.
Peter frowned for a moment, thoughtfully. "Maybe I have been going a bit overboard. But, you're special to me."
Stiles couldn't help but lean into a kiss. "And you're special to me. I have plenty of things, you know. I'm happy with what we have together."
Peter kissed him back at that.
Although every once in a while Peter would 'forget' and buy something Stiles had admired or paid the least bit of special attention to.
Stiles learned to live with the Iron Man playing cards, the VIP tickets to Comic Con, the impromptu trips to Hawaii, or the Opening Night at La Scala.
On the other hand, Stiles never expected to be part owner of a baseball team. Even of a minor-league AAA team.
Early on, Peter had learned which team was John's favorite baseball team and had rented a box for a handful of games during the season. Stiles suspected his dad had to stop Peter from simply renting the box for the season, since getting to more than half-a-dozen games in the year was as many games as John could reasonably get to. Stiles would have liked to have been there for that conversation!
Once Peter realized how much Stiles enjoyed baseball, there were semi-regular trips to see games all over the country. A number of games coincided with business trips but many were 'just because' or because Stiles' currently favorite player was playing an away game some place interesting.
Stiles did keep count and they were like five visits away from having seen a game in every major league baseball park. He suspected Peter was keeping count also.
Marrying a billionaire did have its advantages.
Stiles' phone buzzed, drawing his attention back to what he was supposed to be doing.
Not going to make it home tonight. Talk to you later?
Damn. Peter was supposed to be home from this business trip. It had been a week already and Stiles missed seeing him. But Stiles was just finishing up his grad school classes and couldn't afford the time out of town.
Definitely! Miss you. Stiles sent back.
Stiles called Coach. "Peter's not coming home tonight. I've already started dinner in the crockpot, want to come by and eat with me?"
"Sure!" Coach replied. "Your cooking is better than mine!"
"I have class until four, so dinner should be about seven," Stiles said.
"Works for me," Coach agreed. "Want me to bring anything?"
"Should be all set," Stiles replied.
"See you later!"
Stiles went off to a class. It was his last in-person class for the program, the largest portion of the courses having been moved to online or self-study. The administrators running the program quickly had learned that students in their Business, Technology and Entrepreneurship program had other things to do than attend seated classes. Most of Stiles' classmates were business owners, partners in a business, or working in start-ups. They wanted the degree for both the credentials and the information the program provided, but they weren't going to put up with sitting in a classroom any more than they had to.
Stiles wasn't running a business, having given up the wedding planning business as a practical move -- there were only so many hours in a day and most brides wouldn't be patient with his class schedule. These days he was traveling with Peter whenever he could, so the flexibility was a godsend to him.
Additionally, Stiles needed to travel back to Beacon Hills at least once a month to interact with the Nemeton there. If he stayed away too long, the tree would get... 'lonely' was the best he could describe it. His dad would make a point to visit weekly but the Nemeton had a clear preference for Stiles.
Having a private plane at his disposal made the traveling easier.
Over dinner, Coach asked, "Peter say why this meeting thing is running long?"
"No, but I'll talk to him later tonight," Stiles said.
Coach got an interesting look on his face.
"What? Do you know what's going on?" Stiles asked, pointing his fork at Coach.
"Maybe?" Coach tried to prevaricate.
Stiles laughed. "I won't ask, then."
Coach gave a sigh of relief.
Online later, Stiles asked, "So, what nefarious thing are you up to?"
Peter pretended to be affronted. "Me? Nefarious? Why would you think that?"
"Oh, Coach kinda of asked why you were still there and then implied there was something going on," Stiles laughed. "I didn't push."
Peter grinned. "Part of this is a surprise, which I will not tell you about until it's ready."
"Fine, keep your secrets!" Stiles replied with a grin.
"I will, thank you!"
"So, when will you be back?" Stiles asked. "I'm done with having to attend classes, thank god. So I can come to you, if you want."
"We just finished up tonight, actually, but it's late enough that they wanted to go to dinner to celebrate," Peter admitted. "I should be out of here first thing in the morning and back home by lunchtime."
"Well, Coach ate the dinner with me, since I had planned for dinner together for us for tonight, so you'll have to suffer with leftovers," Stiles replied. "If there's anything left by the time you get here, that is."
Coach was famous for eating through any leftovers that were not clearly marked DO NOT TOUCH. Stiles hadn't thought to do that, so heaven only knows what there would be by morning.
"We can order in," Peter said. "Or I know you have some things stashed in the freezer. And it doesn't have to be a big meal, we're invited to Talia's for dinner tomorrow night."
"Got that on my calendar," Stiles said. "That was next, to check if you'd be back for that."
Stiles had learned a lot about Werewolf packs and Pack dynamics since their wedding. Peter had found someone who would work with training Stiles and his Spark, but -- officially -- the negotiations went through the Alpha. That meant working with Talia on a regular basis. And as much as Peter pretended to ignore his family, he reveled in the closeness and the Pack they provided.
Family dinners would have happened but Peter and Stiles both knew Stiles was being groomed to be the Hale Pack Emissary. Fortunately, Talia recognized Stiles' academic obligations and was holding off on making a formal request.
Peter came home, they had lunch, went to dinner and finally were alone.
"Hey, you!" Stiles said, moving closer to Peter.
"Hey, yourself," Peter said back.
"Missed you," Stiles said.
"Missed you, too."
There wasn't a lot of talking for quite a while.
"What next?" Stiles asked as they lay together.
"I have a meeting in Buffalo and was wondering if you wanted to come along," Peter asked.
"Sure, never been to Buffalo," Stiles said easily.
Peter went off to his meeting and Stiles took an Uber to the Lake Erie waterfront, which the folk at the hotel had recommended.
Stiles was sunburned and windswept by the time he met up with Peter in the afternoon.
"I rented a bike and rode for miles!" Stiles grinned. "It was so much fun, but now I'm starved."
"Well, I can fix that," Peter said. "Let me change and we're meeting some people for a ball game."
"I saw the park from a distance," Stiles nodded. "It looked pretty cool.
The catering was good, the game was fun -- the Bison's won -- and Stiles met some of the people who ran Sahlen Field. Although the naming rights would be up for renewal at some point and Stiles wondered if Peter was looking to put the Hale name on a ball park.
As the game ended, Peter took Stiles' hand and they sat in chairs near the window. They could see the park emptying out.
"Did you have fun?" Peter asked.
"What did you do?" Stiles asked, automatically suspicious.
"The owners are getting older and while they have some family that is willing to work for and with the team, no one is truly interested in running the entire operation," Peter said. "I've put in an offer for a minority stake in the team, with an option to buy them out if and when the owners are ready to sell."
"And..."
"Well, it's going to be our fifth anniversary and I thought you might like a diamond to celebrate," Peter grinned.
Stiles groaned. Then he leaped out of his chair to sit on Peter's lap and kiss him silly.
It turned out that running a baseball team was right up Stiles' alley. (Being a wedding planner and running a baseball team had too many parallels, he realized one day. There was lots of problem solving in each job.) He could be as hands off as he wanted, but he found himself drawn into the day-to-day operations.
It was opening day for Stiles' second year of being with the team. He looked over the field, pleased with the crisp, fresh, white lines and the pattern mowed into the bright green grass. It was actually cold, it was late April in Buffalo after all. But the sun was out and it was going to be a good day for baseball.
"Everything ready?" Peter came up to him.
"Ready as it's going to be," Stiles replied.
"Think it's going to rain?"
Stiles shook his head. "Doubtful. Snow? That's more likely,"
Peter laughed.