Chapter Text
By the time they had reached Peter’s apartment, found at the top of the nicest building downtown, which Stiles had only really seen once or twice in passing, Erika and Boyd had joined in their laughing. The atmosphere had become much softer than it had been before, everyone relaxing now that they felt safe- For the time being anyway, Stiles made sure to keep Gerards survival in his thoughts. They’d need to plan around that later, when they had time to focus on their plans again.
Settling the younger teens into the living room didn’t take long, Peter and Stiles moving to the kitchen when Peter pointed out they probably hadn’t eaten in a while. While Peter pulled out the ingredients for something quick- Pasta of some sort? Stiles wasn’t paying much attention- the younger picked up the man's phone. Staring at it contemplating before he finally huffed a sigh and opened it, planning to call his father. Afterall, he did just disappear after the game- And the man may not be always present, but he had been at the game like he’d promised.
Dialing the man's personal cell, used only for Stiles and few deputies in cases of emergency, Stiles waited. The phone rang twice before being picked up, only a couple seconds of waiting and Stiles had been prepped to end the call before it started. Maybe he should ease up…
“Sheriff Stilinksi speaking, do you have an update on my son?” The man's voice was rough, sounding like he’d been frantic for a while, panic still evident in his tone. He must have been expecting a call from one of the deputies.
“I’m- Dad, it’s Stiles.” Stiles heard the rush of air his father released, relieved, before the frantic questions started. The teen decided to cut in before the man could keep going, knowing that would take ages.
“I’m fine- I’m fine, I promise. I- Well, I can’t explain on the phone. But I am ok, Peter helped me and, and everything is fine. I’ll explain later- Really, I will, but I need you to do something for me. Please?” He waited for his father to regulate his breathing and gather his thoughts, getting a grunt in response before continuing.
“Ok, ok I need. I need you to bring me an extra pair of clothes, mine are. Uh. I need new ones. Also I need you to find Jackson- i don’t know what happened after the game but-” Stiles was cut off.
“Jackson- Something happened on the field, Jackson didn’t make it. I’m sorry son.” And that. That didn’t make sense. Jackson was dead? How did that help with Gerards plan at all? Having a body in the morgue wasn’t helpful at all unless-
“Oh god- Ok, dad I am going to send you my location for the clothes and everything. I will explain when I see you- I have to go.” Stiles hung up immediately, interrupting his fathers protests. When he whipped around to look at Peter he found the man mere steps in front of him, face already concerned. Before he had a chance to question, Stiles began speaking again.
“The plan makes no sense- Killing Jackson? I mean, kind of counterproductive. Unless-”
“Unless Gerard knows something about Kanima’s that we don’t.” Peter nodded along, following along with Stiles quicker than anybody else, something the teen found himself falling a bit more in love with the man for.
“Exactly so- You have to go find Derek, see if he’s found anything. I’ll wait here until the pups settle, then-”
“Then continue with the rest of our plan- Ok, I’ll call- Text you probably. There’s an extra phone in my car console, I’ll grab it on my way out. Stay safe.” The man left with a quick kiss, the two pushing out as much warmth as they could, filling the other's chest. It would have to do for now.
When he was gone, after a quick word of assurance to the teens in the other room, Stiles went to work on dinner- He couldn’t let himself continue to stress over something he couldn’t do anything about. Not yet at least.
~~~
By the time the three of them had finished the pasta Stiles made(which turned out to be chicken alfredo, and was quickly devoured by the small group of teens) his( Peters ) phone was dinging with a list of messages from the man himself, filling him in and letting him know it was go-time. And he was ready, already making sure the baby beta’s were ok to be alone, there was just one problem-
“Lydia-” He opened the door to find his dad there, his best friend looking ready to beat the door down. Before he could finish expressing his shock, he was shoved backwards by a smack to his shoulder, causing him to hiss lightly. More from shock than pain.
“What-” He was unable to get through more than one word before she took over, his father staring in sympathy over her shoulder.
“Do not ‘what’ me Mieczyslaw Stilinski,” And, ouch, she was angry if she was pulling out the full name. “you disappeared from the field and what? You don’t call to let me know you’re alive? I had to hear it from your dad , of all people. Are you kidding me? Where’s Peter? He’s next. I’m gonna beat him with a mountain ash made baseball bat.” She looked ready to storm past Stiles to search the apartment up and down for the man- Which would probably scare the pups so Stiles pushed her back. Closing the door behind them when they’d reached the hall.
“I am so sorry- Seriously, I wasn’t even thinking- Lyds, I’m sorry. Really sorry, but I’m ok. If it makes you feel any better, I only called him because I needed clothes- And to make sure there wasn’t a search party out looking for me. I was just distracted, turns out, seeing puppies in danger actually stresses me out a lot .” He kept his hands lightly on her shoulders, both to steady him and her, and to prevent her from marching into the apartment anyway. The contact seemed to help, as she paused when he had finished speaking to take a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment to refocus, before straightening back up and looking Stiles in the eyes.
“Just- Be careful . You worry me.” Here she sighed again before moving on. “So, Erika and Boyd are in there? It can’t be Isaac, I saw him with Scott.” He nodded in affirmation, taking the chance to lead her, and his dad, back to the garage. They needed to get out of here quickly so they were on time. Lydia being with his dad actually helped a lot- He wouldn’t have to find her now.
She didn’t question the rush, already aware of at least the basics of the plan. He’d have to catch her up on the new developments Peter had sent him on the ride there.
He gave his dad the address, and hopped in the back, Lydia choosing to join him instead of taking the front seat.
“Your clothes are back there too. Now, the drive isn’t long, but it’s long enough for at least part of an explanation I’d say.” The man was looking at them pointedly through the mirror as he spoke, which had them giving each other contemplative looks. Neither was sure how much they should explain yet. Plus Stiles still had to update Lydia…
Huffing, the boy tossed his borrowed phone towards the girl, nodding for her to read the messages for herself- It was faster. Then he set to explaining basics to his dad while starting the process of changing. Made more difficult by the small backseat, and the way he had to avoid the supernatural aspects of the day's happenings.
“Well- Just don’t freak out, ok?” He only gave the man enough time to sigh before continuing, “First thing you should know- The Argents? Not great people, at least. Not most of them, which I’m sure you could have guessed by now. Especially not Gerard Argent, which brings me to today's events. Turns out he really wants to find a way to hurt the Hales, and Scott- Don’t ask me why, I don’t know-” Lie . “All I know is he decided I would be a good way to do that. Hence the bruises. And he also had Erika and Boyd, probably because they’re close to Derek, I’m not sure.” Another lie. “He had some guys with him to beat us up a little, and when they would get tired they just left us alone. So we made a run for it. He tried shooting us, but missed obviously. Good-ole zigzag method, never disappoints.” Stiles kind of wishes he didn’t have to lie so much, wondering what it would be like to have one honest conversation with his dad for once.
“Anyway, that’s basically it…” He let his voice trail off, finishing his redressing by tugging his clean shirt over his head, throwing the plaid shirt his dad had also grabbed over the top. Grimacing at Lydia’s expression, looking at him like his explanation was exhausting her. Which, fair enough.
“That’s… Certainly a lot of information. Do you have proof against Argent? You know one of the first rules-”
“Never report without proof. Yeah dad, I know. I didn’t grab any- But I can show you where we were, and all of the stuff he had to keep us down there should still be there. First though, we have to get to the warehouse. No , I can’t tell you why yet. I know you’re tired of hearing it but, later , I promise.” With a begrudging nod his father went silent, leaving Stiles to start up a silent conversation with Lydia.
She had finished reading through the messages, and had already pulled out Jacksons house key- The one Stiles had given her endless shit for still having, which he was now grateful to her for. She had assured him she wasn’t still in love, just that she wasn’t ready to let go, that she did love him. And that-
That , Stiles understood.
So, without a word, he grabbed her hand comfortingly, smiling when she looked at him, returning his smile in kind. That’s how they spent the last few minutes of the drive, a comforting silent presence next to each other. One of them going to say goodbye to a period of her life that had been filled with love and pain, the other on his way to stand next to the love of his life as they ensured the pack's safety.
Their pack . Even if the feeling was strange, distant, at times unwelcome. It was still there, this was still pack. And they would protect it, looking up he met Lydia’s eyes again, all three of them.
~~~
This was not the scene they were expecting to arrive to. They expected some chaos, of course they did, but they did not expect to have to ram the car into a fully scaled up Jackson. Something which wasn’t difficult to convince his dad to do, considering the boy currently looked like a huge scary lizard. When the Kanima jumped onto the roof seconds later they all scrambled out of the car, not wanting to wait for him to crash through the windshield. Rushing towards the group of people- Mostly wolves though Stiles’ dad wouldn’t know that, they stood staring at the thing.
Stiles watched as his dad readied his gun, hoping it wouldn’t be needed. Instead he focused on the feeling of Peter nearby, chest burning in reassurance. Holding his breath as Lydia rushed to stand in front of the Kanima, holding the key in front of her as if it were a shield- And it might as well have been, the way it had the boy jerking to a stop inches from her face.
Stiles could see the way Lydia was trying to keep herself calm, eyelids fluttering as she fought to keep them open, chest heaving as she forced her breaths to calm. Everybody was frozen, watching with bated breath as the brave girl waited, hoping this plan would work.
When Jacksons scale covered hand reached for the key, holding it instead of attacking, his scales slowly receding revealing parts of the boy underneath. Stiles felt his and Peter's chest’s deflate, breathing again, fire a welcoming warmth around his heart.
Not even a minute later the warmth in his chest turned to burning, fire engulfing his heart, hurting like it had never hurt before, forcing a gasp out of him and drawing Lydia’s attention. Looking toward her he realized why his chest was burning, Peter .
Peter and Derek, claws out, looking like they were about to rush Jackson. Oh no.
Rushing forward Stiles pulled Lydia out of the way, both of them clinging to the other, sensing what was about to happen. The bad side of being so closely linked to death.
They had their eyes clenched shut, Stiles because he could feel Lydia’s pain on top of the pain in his chest, Lydia because she couldn’t bear to witness Jacksons crucifixion. She sobbed into Stiles’ shoulder, waiting for the choking noises to stop. When Stiles opened his eyes to peek, he saw the two wolves stepping away from Jacksons trembling body, so he pushed himself and Lydia towards him. The girl looked up as they moved, seeing Jackson and rushing forward to catch him before he fell. Stiles going to his knees next to them, arms still holding Lydia, one of her hands gripping him back.
He focused on their surroundings instead of on them, not wanting to intrude on their last conversation anymore than he already might have been, gripping Lydia tighter when she began to stand, laying Jackson down softly. Together they stood, turning to face the aftermath, both refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
They only made it a few steps before they heard scratching against concrete, the noise coming from where Jackson lay. So they turned back, slowly, afraid almost, but hopeful. Watching breathless as Jackson stood from his once-dead position on the ground, eyes opening. Shining blue, so very blue. When he had stood fully, completely naked now, Lydia threw herself forward again.
Grasping at him like he would disappear if she let go, Jackson holding her back just as tightly.
Stiles didn’t want to get too close, but he didn’t want to leave her side right now, so he settled for waiting next to the entangled pair, relief flooding his senses. Pushing away the burning, for the moment. He heard the surrounding group begin to disperse after staring in shock for a bit, likely having no idea what to do now and deciding leaving was best.
All that was left outside of the separated three was Chris, standing at a distance but likely waiting to talk to Jackson about what happened, to try and help them both find an answer, Stiles’ father who he had genuinely forgotten was there, shit- And Peter. Who had backed away, unseen except to Stiles. Who he hadn’t taken his eyes off of.
Scott and Allison had wandered off together, and Derek and Isaac had been the first to flee. Stiles pushed away the stray thoughts of how he was going to tell the two about Erika and Boyd, that situation already feeling like a lifetime ago, before refocusing on the now parting pair in front of him.
Returning Lydia’s relieved smile when she aimed it towards him, smiling just as kindly to Jackson though the boy seemed confused on how to respond, not used to the civil energy between them. Stiles held Lydia's hand tightly as she found her place next to him again, and let his mind wander as Jackson was given a jacket by Argent. Speaking of.
Looking around, Stiles saw the ground still puddled with the black goo he had seen surrounding Gerards body when they had arrived, but no Gerard. He vaguely remembers hearing them mentioning his disappearance, but now that he could focus on it he was left concerned. They may not think the man can get far, but him getting anywhere at all worried Stiles- Peter too, by the feel of it. Though Stiles was still ignoring the man outwardly.
For now, he decided to focus on his father. Who looked about as shocked as a man could get while still trying to remain expressionless. Although, he seemed to be getting more irritated at his own lack of understanding as the time passed, which was never a good sign.
Looking over to the girl at his side, the two silently agreed now might be the time to approach his father. Try to prevent the incoming fallout that was bound to happen after this much chaos in a day. As they approached the stressed man, Stiles noticed Jackson staring at Lydia, looking like he wanted to approach her but not wanting to interrupt, which was new for him. Knowing the upcoming conversation wouldn’t be fun for he or his dad, Stiles motioned for Lydia to go back to Jackson instead of having to witness it.
The girl seemed unable to decide what she’d do, so Stiles gave her a push to get her moving, which got him an eye roll and glare, but she did finally go to the other boy. When Jackson motioned to them leaving with Mr. Argent Lydia looked back to Stiles for a last confirmation, which he gave. Watching them leave as he felt Peter approaching from behind, coming to a stop next to his glaring father.
Inhaling deeply, Stiles debated just how needed he would be for the upcoming conversation. When the two behind him began radiating tension mere seconds after Peter had stood beside his father, he knew he didn’t have much of a choice on the matter.
So, releasing his breath with an exhausted huff, he spun around to face the two most important men in his life. Both with whom he was currently too exhausted to deal with, yet here he was. Dealing.
This is gonna be oh so fun…