Chapter Text
“Stiles! Looking good man!” Scott smiled up at him from his place at the counter, a big goofy grin as the boy shoveled food into his mouth. He was inhaling whatever Jack had made and it looked like the other pups were doing the same. Where had they slept?
“God, shut your mouth. It’s getting everywhere.” Erica pushed at Scott’s face, trying to forcibly shut the boy’s mouth. Scott just gnashed his teeth and accidentally breathed in, choking on a piece of food for a bit before he red facedly went back to chewing like the normal, sane, human being that Stiles had raised. “But really, daaaaamn I’m good at guessing sizes, those jeans are fucking fire.”
Stiles felt a blush rise in his cheeks as he looked around the apartment, avoiding everyone’s eyes. In the living room was a pile of blankets and pillows, mounded together to form a small mountain between the couch and the TV. Apparently the kids had slept in a puppy pile in the living room.
“Here.” Peter handed over a plate and waved at the rest of the apartment in a ‘good luck finding a seat’ kind of motion. Stiles squinted at him but made for the couch anyway.
“Why did you all spend the night?” Stiles asked as he settled in. There were eggs, a pile of bacon and hash browns, and toast on his plate. Far too much for him to eat alone, so he wasn’t surprised when Derek chose to follow him to the couch instead of getting his own plate.
“Well, Alpha-Mate .” Erica said, enunciating the title so you could hear the italics, the hyphenation, and the capitalization. “We figured that if we didn’t you all would disappear again. Or something.”
There was true worry in the sound of her voice.
“We wanted to support you.” Issac murmured.
Seeing them wanting to help, but not knowing how, hit Stiles in the chest. Knocking air out of him. He inhaled sharply and tried not to let his thoughts tumble backwards into blades of memory waiting to slice into his present. He wanted desperately to stay in the present, to stay with everyone having breakfast.
“Oh.” He said dumbly, earning a snort from Laura.
“How did the meeting go last night?” She asked and Stiles didn’t really know how to answer.
“We’ll be meeting Eadhadh at the Alliance today.” Derek said instead when it became obvious Stiles was defective at that moment. He took a bite of bacon and hummed at the taste, listening to Derek talk about going to the Alliance again with trepidation. He didn’t really want to be separated from Derek again for an entire day. It had been hell the day before, but needs must.
“What will we be doing?” Scott asked, eyes large and needy. The other pups were quiet, but it was obvious they wanted to help in some way. Stiles chewed on his toast as Derek took a bite of hashbrowns. He had no idea what task to give the heathens. What they could do that wouldn’t put them in danger.
Just telling them ‘hey, go home’ would both hurt them and piss them off. But having them stay here would mean that this had officially become the worst secret hideout ever. Not that it was even a secret anymore that Stiles was staying here. Hell the big blue jeep in the side parking lot sure gave that away.
A brilliant idea hit him.
“Wanna go see Lydia?” He asked. He could happily pawn them off on her while he worked with Ichi and Zed on the Gerard project. The others immediately said yes. “She should be getting out of the hospital today, so we should be able to go over and see her whenever she’s home.”
Stiles ate another bite of eggs and handed the fork and plate over to Derek who started shoveling the rest of the food into his face. It was strange that he still found his wolf just as attractive with egg on his face as he did when he was laid out on the bed. Telling too.
“We’re finishing up the paperwork to graduate early.” Peter said, coming over to them on the couch. Jack was entertaining the kids by putting more food on their plates. Laura was at the table with her laptop open, a messy bun in her hair, and a legal pad that she was writing in. “Your diploma will be sent here rather than your father’s house, so you won’t have to worry.”
Stiles nodded a bit numbly.
He’d never return to school. That thought surprised him as it ached in his chest. A loose ache of memories that haven’t yet become so, moments that have accumulated into recollections and remembrances. He’d never see Lydia drive around in her expensive car with her expensive clothes and her expensive air as she drove through the parking lot of the school. Ignoring everyone who was beneath her.
A kiss at his temple brought him back into the moment and Stiles hummed at Derek in thanks. He took the plate from Derek and made his way back to the kitchen, washing it before placing it in the side board. The menial task centering him as chaos flowed around him. Derek was talking to Peter about the Alliance now, and the kids were talking about what to bring over to Lydia’s place.
Jack pressed his shoulder against Stiles’ in a silent show of support and the night sky of their bond shimmered.
“What does the pack bond feel like for you?” Stiles asked, looking up at the taller, quiet, man. Jack thought about it a long moment before answering.
“Like being the black space between all the stars.” He finally said and Stiles nodded, it made sense. That’s what he felt like sometimes too. Just the connection between everyone. He knew he was more than that, but sometimes the bonds became these overwhelming things that tore asunder his thoughts into actions.
He dug through the fridge and found a bottled water, cracking the cap. He took long draws of it until it crinkled that it was empty. He felt as though he was waiting for something, as if he was waiting for a tug in one direction or another. Stiles was waiting… waiting… waiting.
Was that all his life was? Waiting for others? Waiting for himself? At the whims of the world.
Then his phone rang, a buzzing sound in his pocket that meant nothing good, he was sure of it.
He looked at the number.
“Beacon Hill’s morgue, you stab ‘em we’ll slab ‘em.” Stiles answered falsely bright.
“ Szczęście Genum Stilinski.” Lydia’s voice rang through the phone, voice a bit on the ‘I’m important and you will pay attention to me’ kind of side. “I am home, and my parents have given their permission for you and everyone else to visit me.”
“Yes ma’am, I can see the confusion.” Stiles started in a falsely deep southern accent. “You see, we only handle the dead roadkill. The more decomposed it is, the better the flavor.”
“Stiles!” She hissed and Stiles smiled.
“Lyds, chill. We’ll all be over in a little bit. I’m bringing the kids, and we can set you up to meet your dam today as well.” Stiles answered, soothingly. His chest ached a bit, words wanting to spill out, but he kept them locked away for now.
“You do realize you are just as much of a kid as the rest of us.” She pointed out and Stiles let out a sharp, singular, laugh at that. If only he’d gotten to be a kid. Hell, he wasn’t even going back to high school anymore, there was no way that he’d be considered a kid by the Alliance, or the alphabet agencies that had descended.
“No, I’m really not. Not anymore.” Stiles said quietly, voice somber and serious. That earned him quiet consideration from Lydia as she thought about his words. “We’ll be over there in a bit, see you soon.”
“Alright, drive safely.” Then she was gone and he was once again alone in the apartment filled with people. Stiles took a deep breath before turning to the peanut gallery.
Erica and Scott were trying to fit a piece of bacon into their mouths sideways without bending it. Boyd was watching, and Isaac was pushing eggs around on his plate. Jack had finished washing the cooking dishes and had given a kiss to Peter, and Derek and Laura were bent over her laptop looking at something.
“Lyds is home.” Stiles said a little louder, earning looks from the four footmen of the apocalypse. “Do you all want to come with now? Are you ready?”
Four identical nods, mostly because Erica’s and Scott’s mouths were full. But not for long.
“Are you going to wear that?” Erica asked, looking up and down Stiles’ body. “It’s good, but is it seeing-your-former-crush-after-they-were-shot good?”
“Yes, this is what I’m wearing.” Stiles glared at her for bringing up his previous faults. Though, being in puppy love wasn’t a fault, the stalking part - that? That was his fault. “Come on, we can be over there in like 15-20 minutes and I can answer your guyses questions about everything super natural.” He put an echoey spin on the last few words to make them sound more important. Earning several nonplussed looks.
“Fine.” Erica huffed, throwing her hair over her shoulder. “What are we driving?”
“ I’m driving my jeep. And if you all are very very good you can ride in her with me.” Stiles glared at them and four identical puppy eyes looked back.