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Chapter Text

                    It all started when two men appeared in a flash of light in front of the Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital in 1995. The shortest of the two was carrying a bundled up sleeping baby in his arms. “Are you sure about this Cas?” the taller one questioned. Cas nodded, “Everything will workout. It’s ok to relax Dean.” When the two men left in another flash of light there on a bench was the baby. A minute later the baby was found by a woman named Claudia Stilinski who was just ending her shift at the hospital. 

                          15 years later.

                 Mieczysław "Stiles" Stilinski was 15 when he truly  found the supernatural; when the adventure began.

                 It was afternoon on a spring Sunday of late April that Stiles ended up helping his dad look through the attic for something. It is too freaking hot to be in the attic. “Dad, why are we here again?” 

                Noah sighed and looked at Stiles with a face of exhaustion, “Because I just thought of something that we put up here years ago.” 

                It dawned on Stiles that in the 20 minutes he has been up here he didn’t remember what they were actually looking for. “What are we looking for again?” 

                Sighing again Noah answered, “Something left with you from your birth parents.” Stiles knew by now that he was adopted, he knew since he was 8, but he never bothered to really think about it .  

              “Here it is!” Snapping out of his thoughts, Stiles looked back at his dad who was holding up a box marked Baby Stiles . 

                      Making their way down the attic stairs and to the kitchen Stiles couldn’t stop wondering what exactly was in the box. Setting down the box his dad looked back up at Stiles, “You want to open it?” What could possibly go wrong.

                     Opening the box to see a blanket on top brought a wave of nostalgia with it. Stiles picked up the blanket and unfolded it sensing a strange feeling of warmth and safety flowing off it. “That's the blanket Claudia found you in,” Noah said, looking into the rest of the box. The blanket was knitted with a blue green colour wool and in the middle was a symbol. The best way Stiles could describe it was a star with flames around it.

                     “What is that?” 

                      Noah looked up questionably “What is what?”

                     “The symbol on the blanket.”

                     “Don’t know, I guessed it was a family crest like the Hales.”

                     “You mean like their weird spirals?”

                     “Yeah.”

                     I’ll research it later. “What else is in there?”

                    “Just a few stuffed animals.”

                    Looking at the line he saw a wolf, a raven, and something he had never seen before. Picking it up he asked, “What do you think this is?”

                     Noah shrugged. “No clue it was with you in your blanket.”

                   More to research later I guess. 

                  There wasn’t anything more in the box besides old pictures and other toys, but nothing stood out like the blanket and toy that was given by his birth parents.

Chapter Text

              It took 5 hours to find the symbol, but even with looking at everything, nothing was a clear description. Stiles sighed and looked back at the most possible definition which is anti-possession ward. He put everything aside and looked at the stuffed animal (if you can even call it that). Looking at it more closely he could make out six wings surrounding an eye.

What in the hell were they thinking when giving me this? It was a quick search that came up with a seraphim, a type of angle.

  So they were religious and believed in anti-possession wards. Not like demons are real.

              As he got ready for bed the one question that was left floating around in his head was ‘but why?’ But why did they give me the angel? But why did they believe in anti-possession? There had to be something to make them believe in this other than religion.  

                The dream Stiles had that night, when he finally fell asleep, was nothing more than the symbol seeming to be inked on skin. The dream was all he could think of when he got up that morning. A tattoo. Is that what it’s supposed to be? Why would anyone have a tattoo of an anti-possession ward? 

“Dad.” Stiles said as he reached the kitchen to see Noah leaning on the counter. 

“Yeah” Noah answered looking up from the coffee pot he was intensely watching. 

Then the words slipped out faster than Stiles could think. “Can I get a tattoo?”

                The silence was loud as Noah looked at him shocked. See Stiles has an ever loving fear of needles so when he asked the one thing no one expected, Noah thought the world was ending. “What?”

“Can I get a tattoo?” Stiles asked more quietly.

“I heard you, but why? Aren't you afraid of needles?”

                Sighing Stiles responded. “I have a feeling that the family crest thingy is more important than what it looks like and I had a dream about it.” The last part came out as more of a question, but Stiles could tell he got his point across. 

“Ok, so you want a tattoo of a family crest that may mean something different because you had a dream about it?”

“Yes.”

              Noah looked at him with an expression that read that he gave in. “Fine. We can go after school today. Now get ready to go.” With that the coffee machine went off as a kind of signal that the end of the conversation. A signal of the beginning.

Chapter Text

             Getting to school was like every other day. After saying bye to his dad Stiles got out of the car and looked around for Scott. 

“Dude, what are you looking at?”

        Jumping what felt like 20 feet in the air Stiles turned around to find Scott standing there like this was normal. “What in the ever-loving hell!” Scott looked at him confused but said nothing.

“You can’t just sneak up on someone like that!” Scott just gave him a sheepish grin with the signature puppy eyes. 

“Anyway I need to tell you about something cool I found.”

“What is it now?” Scott was interested in what his friend found, like always, but after listening to the rambles for so many years you have to question what else is there to find.

“I found something from my other parents in the attic yesterday.” Stiles let it sink in as it’s been years since he has talked about his biological parents with Scott. Scott hummed to let him know to keep talking.

“And it turns out they are either really, and I mean like sell their soul crazy, religious or they are part of a cult.” Stiles could tell the second he lost Scott.

“What?” Sighing, Stiles repeated what he said.

“What makes you say that?” The bell rang.

“I’ll tell you later Scotty but I really don’t want to be late to 1st.” With that Stiles and Scott quickly said their goodbyes and walked into the high school. 

         By the end of the day Stiles was done. He looked around for Scott in the parking lot since they didn’t have practice today, but he wasn’t there. That’s strange, his bike is still here and usually there’s nothing keeping him at school. 

         Walking around the campus Stiles saw no one; the school was abandoned. He had a feeling of someone, something, watching him just out of his line of sight. Finding himself in the empty field he quickly did a 360. 

          Nothing was there, but just out of the corner of his eye he saw it. A blackness that seemed to shine blues and purples and whenever he looked over his shoulder it was gone with a sound like ruffling fabric. Wings.

Bam!

         With a quick jolt Stiles found himself at his desk. Looking up, the teacher had her hand on a book that was half off her desk. “Stilinski, I will not have you sleeping in my class.” 

         A second later the bell rang. “Make sure you get the homework done,” She said to the class and with that Stiles grabbed his backpack and ran out the door. 

“Scott!” Stiles called out when he spotted his friend by the parking lot. 

“Yeah?” Scott responded as Stiles ran up to him.

“I have to tell you something.” He smiled like a kid telling their favourite story. 

“Is this about Lydia again?”

“No, this is about a dream I had in history. So I was in the field and I felt someone watching me, but no one was there and I saw the most beautiful thing ever-” “Are you sure this isn't about Lydia?”

“Yes because I don’t know what I saw but like out of the corner of my eye was a shiny blackness with purples and blues and it looked so unreal-” Looking at Scott's face Stiles could tell he lost him again. “Nevermind.”

       Scott gave him a questioning look but didn’t say anything. “Are you free tonight? My mom is working a late shift.”

      Nodding he watched Scott get on his bike. “I’ll be over by 8.” Scott gave a short nod then drove away. 

Chapter Text

              Getting a tattoo was easier than Stiles expected, once you get past the needles. He was looking at the symbol in the mirror feeling some sort of energy coming off of it. What the hell. Rubbing his hand over the plastic that protected the ink he felt the energy stronger. 

             “Are you just going to look in the mirror all day or come eat dinner?” 

              Stiles saw his dad leaning against the doorway in the mirror when he looked up. “Yeah I’m coming. Can you do something first?” 

              The look his dad gave him told him to keep talking. “Place your hand on top of the ink for a second.” Noah sighed and put his right hand against the plastic that was just below the collar bone. “What do you feel?” Stiles cringed, realising how weird that sounded.

             “Warmth which is from the irritated skin that is trying to heal.” Maybe I’m just overthinking it.

              Giving a short hum Stiles put his shirt back on. “What time is it?”

            “6:30. Now come and eat.”

             By the time 7:45 came Stiles was already standing at Scott’s door. I really need to get a key for myself. Or just make one. As Stiles was thinking over how to make a key Scott opened the door. “Dude, did you see the history project?” That’s my greeting?!?  

            “Yeah the one that was due a week ago,” Stiles responded while stepping through the door. 

              Scott turned around from closing the door behind Stiles looking ready to respond, but didn’t. The look Scott gave Stiles was curiosity and bewilderment at the same time. “Earth to Scott.” Stiles looked at him questioningly. 

             With no answer Stiles followed Scott’s line of sight to a part of his left shoulder that showed the wrapping. “Oh”

            “What is that?” 

           “Let's just go up to your room and I’ll show you.”

           Quickly running up the stairs and into Scott’s room Stiles sat down on the bed while Scott closed the door. “So what is it?”

          Stiles sighed and pulled down his shirt to reveal the inked skin under the collar bone. His hand sat there for a second before letting the shirt go. 

         “Wow,” Scott whispered, “So what does it mean and I thought you were deathly afraid of needles.”

         “It's a protection thingy and like my family crest apparently. As for the needles I just did it blindfolded.” and knocked out, but Scott didn’t need to know that.  

         “Is this the religious thing you were talking about?” So he does listen .

          Stiles looked around the room seeing if anything changed since he’s been in the room while answering, “Yeah. All the research I found said something about an anti-possession ward.”

         Scott, still standing by the door, just looked confused. “An anti-what?”

       “Possession like the stories of people being possessed by demons or spirits.” 

       “Those aren’t real though.”

       “I know that so maybe my parents were religious or something.” Stiles felt it was more of the latter, he was begging it to be something, but he didn’t know why. “That’s not all.”

       Standing up and walking over to Scott he pulled the shirt back down. “Put your hand on it.” 

      Stiles could see the gears turning in Scott’s head then stop. “What?”

      “Put your hand on it.” Stiles repeated a bit more impatiently. 

      Giving Stiles a concerned look Scott put his and on the wrapped ink. “Ok. Now what do you feel?”

      “Warmth.”

      Stiles nodded at Scott as if to keep going. “Not like a heat warmth, but like getting a hug from your parents warmth.” The more Scott held his hand on the ink the more concerned he got. 

    “That’s what I thought.” Stiles said, pulling away and letting the shirt go. 

      “I think we’re imagining things.”

     “What?”

     “I mean like how can a tattoo make you have those feelings? I think something is off.”

     “What's off?” Stiles looked offended but mostly confused. 

     “I don’t know, just the longer my hand was on it the more intense the heat got. Like it was trying to burn me.”

     Now Stiles was fully confused because all he could feel was that nice feeling of being protected by a parent. “Maybe because you’re not me.”

    Scott looked at him sceptically, but didn’t say anything, just choosing to shake his head and ask Stiles what movie he wanted to watch. 

Chapter Text

              It was 10 when Stiles came up with what seemed like the best idea of the century. Looking at Scott, who passed out a few minutes ago next to him, he got up quickly moving to Scott’s desk. Getting into Scott’s laptop was easy, but what came next made him slow down and think.  

             Do I look up demons first? Or do I start with angles? It turned out to be neither, before he could make up his mind, there typed on the screen was one simple word. 

            Ghosts . 

           When did I- The screen loaded with that his eyes immediately went to the third link to come up, GhostFacers. Every fibre in his body told him to click it, but he ignored it and opened the first link that had the history and lore about ghosts. 

             It was 2 when Stiles finished going through every link on the first page except one. Looking at the notes he made, in an empty notebook he found in a pile of books and papers on the desk, he knew what came next.

              It can’t be that bad. Stiles clicked on the link and regretted thinking that. Welp.  

            Going through the website was nothing interesting except the row of links to videos. Quickly while looking around for Scott’s headphones there was a noise down stairs. Stopping and straining his ears to listen he heard nothing, but the ruffle of fabric. Wings. Must have been Melissa. It took a minute more to find the headphones he plugged it in and pressed play on the first video. 

            After watching what felt like 20 videos (more like around 10) Stiles wanted bang his head against the wall.

            Why did I watch that? There were only three episodes that even seem like they had use. Staring at the wall above the laptop going through everything a thought was pushed forward. 

           The book the ‘angel’ had was strange. If that video really was real then the book would be, but they didn’t know about the book even though apparently it had everything about them. Going back to the video and skipping through it so he could find the title of the book Stiles yawned. Supernatural was what the book was titled and sighing he opened a new tap and looked up the name. 

         Stiles didn’t know how much time went by as he researched about the books, apparently it was a whole series, and looked through news reports to see if anything was real. Scott’s alarm went off at 6:30 bringing Stiles out of his train of thought. “Did you -yawn- even sleep?” 

        “No. Now come on or we’ll be late.”

         Scott didn’t answer, just got up and started to get ready. Stiles leaned back in the chair and stretched. Humming with content he closed up the laptop. Picking up the notebook Stiles made his way down stairs. 

         Leaning on the counter waiting for Scott so they could run by the house before going to school Stiles went over his plan. Go to the house then have Scott take me to school. When the first period bell rings, walk down to the library. Easy. Stretching again feeling a slight pressure in his shoulder blades Stiles heard a thump up stairs then a second later Scott running down the stairs. 

         “Look outside!” was the only thing Stiles could make out as Scott ran towards the living room window. 

          Stiles stood next to Scott at the window. “So what am I looking at?”

         “It was just there.” Scott looked like a kicked puppy. 

         “What was?” 

         “I don’t know.”

        Stiles looked at Scott disbelievingly before sighing, “We should get going, we're going to be late.” even though I’m ditching.   

      Getting to the house was like normal if you can say that. See fitting two people on a dirt bike made for one wasn’t easy, but by now it was natural. Running into the house grabbing his backpack after getting changed Stiles stumbled down the stairs quickly locking the door and turned around to see the street was gone. 

       What, what the fuck?!? There was a tall abandoned building with a big black door and when Stiles blinked it was gone and the street was back with Scott yelling at him to hurry up. 

       Running back to the bike and more than likely breaking the speed limit they made to school with three minutes to spare before the late bell. Scott said goodbye running in the direction of his first period and when he was out of view Stiles turned around and started walking towards the library. 

Chapter Text

             Finding the Supernatural books wasn't hard, but getting all 104 books into his backpack wasn’t fun at all. Stiles was fifty books in when he had to take all his school stuff out. Why the hell did I think this would be ok?  

            After finally fitting all the books he realised he had to check all of them out; which required taking them out then putting the books back in. I want to bang my head against a wall so bad right now….Fuck it! Snatching up everything that was laid out on the floor Stiles booked it to the checkout counter and practically threw the backpack full of books at the worker sitting there. 

           “I would like to check out all these books.”

          “Sir, do you have a library card?”

           Stiles nodded and quickly felt around in his jeans for his wallet. Turning up empty he went for his backpack and found nothing. Shit! Shit! Shit! “If I give you my name could you look me up?” 

         “Yes. Please give me a moment.” Taking in a deep breath Stiles nodded while taking a second to look around. The other worker at the counter was looking at him in disbelief and when Stiles looked at him confusedly the guy looked away. “Ok sir what is your name?”

       “Stiles Stilinski.”

       “Psota Stilinski?” Oh God I need a reminder to get that changed.

       “Yes,” Stiles said breathlessly, getting back the feeling of banging his head against the wall at hearing his birth name. 

       “Ok so what are the books you want to check out?” 

       “The whole series of Supernatural.”

        The worker typed a few words into the computer then with a look of surprise and confusion looked back at Stiles. “All 104 books? Sir, that's over the limit of checked out books at once and they would have to be back in a month.”

       “If you let me check these out I promise in a month they’ll be back in good condition.”

       “You do have a good record of books. I’ll let it happen, but if anything and I mean anything happens then you’ll have to pay.”

  Nodding quickly Stiles dumped the books on the counter so they could be checked out. 

        It wasn’t until Stiles got half way through the first book that the landline rang. Who the hell is calling at this time? Quickly Stiles marked the spot on the page he was on and put the pencil he was using for notes down. He ran down stairs just to realise it was only noon. Scott. Taking a deep breath in and out Stiles picked up the ringing phone. “Hey Scott.”

      “Stiles, where the hell have you been?”

       “I’ll tell you about it later.”

      “Well you’re at home so I’m eating alone.”

      “You can come over. You do have a bike.”

      “Sure.” Really just like that? Not even a ‘I got a test’ or ‘What if my mom finds out’?

      “The door’s unlocked.”

     “See you!” was the last thing heard before the line went dead. Slowly making his way back up to his room Stiles felt tired, but he knew he had to do this. Sighing Stiles checked his phone to see seven missed calls from Scott.

     Setting back down at the desk to pick up the book and pencil; he felt it. A sharp pain in his shoulder blades that felt knives digging in. How the hell is it getting worse when I’ve done nothing. Stiles pushed past the pain and went back to the reading and note taking. 

      Stiles heard Scott come in and run up the stairs. “There better be a good reason for you not to be at school.”

     “Happy to see you too Scotty.”

       It took a second for Scott to see all the books stacked up on the floor next to the desk.  “Why..”

     “Sit down and I’ll tell you.”

      Scott sat down on the bed and Stiles swivelled around to face him. “So I did more research last night and it led me to these books.”

     “Ok so what does books have to do with you being home?”

      “I’m getting there. So these books are based or more like retelling of reports? Like when you look up things that are said in the book it’s real, but I mean it has to be fiction right?”

       Scott looked at him bewildered. “So these books that have real things in it caused you to skip school?”

      “Yes and no. These books are mostly if not 100% true, it's just that it has to be impossible right?”

     “What are these books about?” Scott was intrigued at what books would make Stiles forget about school. 

      “That’s the thing. There about the supernatural if the name gives it away.” Stiles handed him over the book after making sure his spot was remarked. “Read the summary.”

     “‘Two siblings from a little town called Jericho, where unmarried men disappear without a trace, go in search of their lost father. The night before graduation, Sam is visited by his estranged brother.’ That doesn’t mean anything .”

      “Ok what about this one?” Stiles quickly found the second book and shoved it into Scott’s hands.

     “‘Sam and Dean Winchester pose as park rangers to help a brother and sister search for their lost sibling. The Winchester's believe he may have been taken by a Wendigo.’ I don’t get what you are trying to say.”

     “I looked up the town reports and windigos.  Everything matches up, even the report some guy gave about how two brothers saved him.”

    “Ok so it's based on true stories.”

    “But how does someone publish a book about that not even a day after it happens. It took two days for the report to reach the news.”

     Stiles could tell Scott wanted to believe, but just couldn’t put it all together. “Why don’t you just hang out while I get this done. At the rate I’m going at, it's going to take me about two weeks to read and a long while to research.”

       The rest of the day went smoothly besides Scott asking questions about the book every ten minutes. Stiles finished the first book and had half a page of notes down when he took a break to eat. At the end of the day Stiles was ¾ the way done with the second book and had a whole page of notes. “Stiles I’m home!” The clock read five and Stiles realised how much the time went. 

      “We’re up here dad!” Looking back over the notes Stiles heard his dad walk up the stairs. 

      “Is there something you-” Noah stopped taking in the sight of Scott passed out on the bed and the books next to the desk. When did Scott pass out? I didn’t even realise he stopped asking questions. “I don’t even want to know. What do you want for dinner?”

     “Burgers, I guess.” Noah nodded and walked back down stairs to make dinner. 

       Stiles got the rest of the second book done by the time dinner was ready. As he was about to leave the room he remembered Scott. “Scott,” Stiles said, nudging him. No response. “Scotty!” With that Scott opened his eyes slowly.

     “What time is it?” 

    “5:30. Now come on, let's go eat.” As Stiles relaxed he heard the noise again, wings ruffling, and for a quick second his shoulder blades rested with a comforting knowing weight.

Chapter Text

              It was book number fifty-six, “Jus in Bello”, where Stiles felt as if he was being hit by a truck. The symbol. What the hell is the symbol doing there? I mean it’s public knowledge, but even then it took me forever to find it and when I did nothing said anything about the books. It being two in the morning really didn’t help the circle his mind was quickly yet slowly walking in. Stiles had barely slept since he got the books. 

             Some days he would somehow go through seven or eight on the weekends and four or five through the week day. It was going to take him longer than the two weeks he thought, but at the moment it didn’t matter. Think. Think Stiles. Think. Stiles. COME. ON. THINK. PSOTA. It felt as though his brain shut off at the thought of his birth name. 

          Stiles knew what his name meant and that it was Slovak, but something always felt off about it like there had to be another name he was called. Stiles felt that every name was off, for starters his birth name that was found faded on the blanket when he was younger and he will sometimes use instead of his adopted name, that was long and difficult to say, and now his nickname that was made so Scott had something to call him by. 

         For a long second he felt a pull to some very distant memory and the need for sleep, but it was gone when a knock came from his window. Looking over Stiles saw no shadow through the now transparent currents, thanks to the bright full moon. He walked over and pulled the currents away to see nothing, absolutely nothing. The knock came again, but from the door this time. Stiles would admit to how fast he turned around terrified, but he wouldn’t say what terrified him more the knock or the fact his door is now wide open to the dark hallway.

         The knock seemed to come from both the door and the window this time. Breath Stiles. Breath. Taking a few deep breaths he starts towards the window. If there was someone in the house dad would have heard. Not seeing anything through the window and with the half of a brain he had left, Stiles opened the window and stepped out into the cool spring air. 

        After finding an easy place to stand he did a slow 360, taking everything in. There was nothing on the roof or anything nearby that could have touched the roof. Maybe it was a bird and I’m over reacting. Turning around to go back in, for a second he saw a face. In the corner of his bedroom he could have sworn he saw a man standing there seeming to just be watching. While taking an uneasy step back Stiles's foot slipped and for a second everything seemed to be in slow motion.

       Beep.

      Where is that coming from?

      BEEP.

      Am I dying?

      BEEP!

     Waking up in a hospital bed would be the opposite of what Stiles had in mind that morning. The empty white walls and now steady beeping of the heart monitor really set the mood for anything and everything to happen. A minute later Noah walked in with Melissa right behind. 

     “Stiles, do you know what happened?” Noah looked almost scared for the answer when he asked.

     “I was on the roof.” His voice came out hoarse for a second, but it quickly went away. “And when I went to go back inside I slipped and fell?” It came out as a question because in all honesty he couldn’t remember and telling them about the ‘man’ wouldn’t go well. 

     Sighing Noah sat down in one of the two chairs in the room. “You weren’t on the roof.” 

    What? “We found you in the middle of the preserve two hours after you went missing.”

   “Wait, hold on. I was in the preserve? I was missing?” 

    “I heard your window open and came to check on you. You were gone and I looked up and down the neighbourhood for you and when I couldn’t find you I sent out a missing persons case.” 

     No that’s not- the man, was there a man? “The man.” The word left his lips before he could think it through. 

    “Who?”

    “Was my door open when you went into my room? Was he there? I mean he had to be because how else would leave. How did you not see him? He was right there in the corner near the door. And-”

    “Stiles breath.” Stiles took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “Why don’t you explain what you think really happened?”

     Stiles nodded and took another deep breath. “I was reading when I heard a knock at my window. I went to go look, but nothing was there. I heard a knock from the door and when I turned around my door was wide open. I decided to check the roof first since you haven’t woken up hearing anything from inside the house. I stood on the roof and looked everywhere, but still there was nothing. I went to go back inside when I saw him. In the corner there was this man. It scared me and as I slipped off the roof I blacked out.”

     The look Noah and Melissa had on their faces said everything Stiles needed. They were absolutely speechless, but Melissa was the first one to speak up. “What did this man look like?”

    “I didn’t get a good look, but he had a beard and was dressed in what looked like a suit.”

     Melissa nodded. “Ok if there is anything else you remember let us know and you will be checked out tomorrow.” Melissa walked out of the room after saying something about another patient. “Did this man seem familiar in any way?” Stiles shook his head, but for some reason he felt an itch start up around his tattoo and put a hand in it. Maybe it’s a coincidence. It had to be. 

      It took a while for Stiles to fall asleep to the steady beeps of the heart monitor. 

      Beep…

      Beep…

      Beep..

      Beep.

      Beep Beep 

      BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-

     The instinct to reach over and turn off the alarm clock was overruled by the tension in his neck. God, never sleeping on the desk again. Stiles stretched as he got up to turn off the clock. What the hell was I dreaming about?  The more the morning carried on the more the dream became a swirl of colour then gone. Getting ready for the day went as planned until he picked up his phone. Saturday. It’s a Saturday, since when? …I got up at 7 in the morning for it to be a Saturday. With what seems like the never ending urge to bang his head against the wall, Stiles sits down at his desk. He was only greeted with the same problem he tried to figure out last night, the tattoo. Fun.

Chapter Text

        All Stiles did that morning was look at Sam and Dean Winchester’s criminal record and anything he could dig up. He did a small bit of research in the beginning to see if they were real, but nothing like this. One thing that was mentioned over and over was a tattoo described in their physical traits. A picture of the tattoo confirmed that it was the same as Stiles. 

       Great so I may be related to the two most wanted people who also apparently may be part of the supernatural. Great…..could have been worse? No fuck it….it is as bad as it can get. 

      Stiles’ phone lit up on the desk next to him with Scott’s contact name, That One Kid. Yeah guess I never bothered to change it from when we first met. Picking up the phone, Stiles couldn’t get a hello out before Scott said, “Open the door.” Do I seriously need to teach him how to answer the phone, God damn.  

     “What?” Stiles was already getting up to go to the front door, but he still needed to know why. 

     “Because you promised to go to the hospital with me to drop off lunch for mom.” Oh shit. Stiles quickly threw on his shoes before opening the door and hanging up. “What took you so long?”

     Stiles just sighed before answering with a different question, “How long have you been here?” 

   “Ten minutes,” Scott mumbled as he walked over to the dirt bike. 

   “Really and what just stood at the door?” I can’t believe him!

   “I was thinking about what to get mom and lost track of time.” Stiles didn’t know how to respond so he hummed as he got on to the back of the dirt bike. 

     As they made their way to the hospital after getting food, Stiles spoke faster than he could think. “I might be related to the two most wanted people.” 

     Scott may have stopped a little harder at the stop sign they came up to, but Stiles didn’t comment. “What?”

   “So I was reading the books and a tattoo was mentioned and well it was described like the one I have so I looked up the Whincester brothers and on their record there is a picture of the same tattoo in their profile and it's not hard to connect the dots from there so…” Stiles trailed off realising they were still at the stop sign. “Scott?”

   Scott slowly started to drive while silently nodding his head up and down. “How do you know it's not just a common tattoo?”

   That was actually a good question. “Because when I went to look for it there was nothing, it took me five hours and you know what I found? Two paragraphs of information that said nothing about the books or really anything besides what it means and how it works.” 

 “Ok… and if you are somehow related to them what are you going to do?”

  Contact them. “I don’t know…nothing I guess. I mean if I was related to them then there has to be a reason why they didn’t reach out.” Scott pulled into a parking spot nodding. 

  It was a normal slow fast day in the lobby. Melissa saw them walk in and smiled. “What took you guys so long?” 

  “Traffic,” Stiles lied before Scott could say something stupid. Melissa nodded, taking the bag from Scott. 

  “Thank you. Is there anything I could do while you're here?”

 “Could I look at my records?” Stiles didn’t mean to answer that fast or even ask that.  

  Melissa looked a little off guard, but nodded. “Yeah, what are you looking for?”

  “Just wanted to look at my file to see if there is anything that can help me.”

  Melissa looked like she was about to ask another question, but Scott had to say something. “He thinks he could find his biological parents.”

  Stiles turned around and looked at Scott like he just said something insane. “Dude, really?” Scott just shrugged while smiling like an innocent puppy. 

  Melissa cleared her throat to get their attention. “Bottom floor in row 38 and section ST.”

  “Thank you. Come on Scott.” Scott looked like he wanted to protest, but Stiles was already walking to the elevator. 

   Finding Stilinski, Mieczysław in a filing cabinet marked STIL was easy. Making sure he had his and not his dad or mom’s, Stiles pulled it out and sat on the floor with it in front. Scott sat next to him not saying anything. I mean it can’t be bad. I was found outside of the hospital so what more could they have on me? Stiles opened the folder to find his freshman photo with his breakdown. 

   Birth name:

   Psota 

   Legal name:

   Stilinski, Mieczysław 

   Any other name:

   Stiles

   Date of Birth: early April no exact date found

   Recognised date of birth: 8 April 1995

   Hair colour: Brown         Eye colour: Brown

   Stiles stopped reading, seeing as there wasn’t anything that stood out. The next page was different though it wasn’t titled and looked like a long note. Stiles read out loud.

   Mieczysław Stilinski was found outside of the Beacon Hills Memorial at 2:00am on Monday, 24 April 1995. He was found on a bench swaddled in a blanket and was brought in by Claudia Stilinski. Doctors guessed that he was about two weeks old and after running tests Mieczysław was pronounced healthy. A DNA test only showed one parent that at the time was only 16 years of age. The cameras did not see anyone dropping the baby off. Looking at the parent’s record showed that they were not suitable to take care of the kid. 

   The rest of the page went on about his adoption, but nothing mentioned the name of the parent. Makes sense if they were only 16 and not being 18 blah blah blah. Turning to the next page he was met with DNA Results in big letters across the top of the page. Bingo. Stiles stared at the title for a minute, not ready to read the rest. “Oh” Stiles looked at Scott who was looking at the paper with a surprised look. Looking back down Stiles saw it. 

   Winchester spelled out in big lettering met him. Oh. There were only two living relatives listed. His biological father, Dean Winchester, and an uncle, Samuel Winchester. What the fuck. What The Fuck. What. The. “Fuck.” It came out as a whisper, but neither him or Scott fully spoke as they just stared down at the names. 

   They didn’t know how long they sat there in silence, but the sound of Scott’s phone ringing broke their trance. “Hey mom.” So he does know how to answer the phone. “Yeah we’re still here.” Stiles looked back down at the paper before putting everything back faster than he meant to. “Yeah we’re on our way up.” Stiles stood up, putting a hand out to Scott. “Ok, bye.” Scott grabbed Stiles’ hand while hanging up. 

   “What was that about?” Stiles asked while helping Scott stand. 

   “Mom wanted to know if we’re still alive.” 

   Stiles nodded leading Scott to the elevator. Once the doors closed Stiles turned to Scott. “If you say one thing about this, I’ll disown you.” Scott looked like a kicked puppy, but Stiles knew he got his point across. What the hell am I going to do? 

Chapter Text

     Saying bye on the way out was easy, figuring what came next was not. As Stiles got on the dirt bike he felt an uncomfortableness settle on his shoulder blades. He hadn’t felt the stiff uncomfortableness since the day of the library visit. I’m Dean’s son, but there was never a son or anything mentioned in the book. The books know a lot about the brothers, so if Dean did have a son then it would be mentioned right? There are multiple Deans, but not Winchesters.

     “Stiles please don’t say you're thinking about how to get in touch with them.”

     Stiles smiled even though Scott couldn’t see it, “I’m not.”

     Stiles knew Scott knew it was a lie, but he didn’t care. 

     Getting back to the house was fast, Stiles opened the door and started up the stairs with Scott closing the door and following. It was a quiet afternoon as Stiles read and Scott went over information that had been written down in the notebook. 

     “Why is Singer's Junkyard circled?” 

     “What?” Stiles marked his page and turned around. 

     “The junkyard that's in South Dakota. Why is it circled?”

     “It was something I needed to look into.” Total lie and by the look Scott is giving me, he knows. “Fine I wanted to see if I can get in touch to find out more about my parents.”

     Scott stared at him for another minute before nodding slowly and going back to reading.

     The weekend was slow, but when Stiles got home and started to read the next book, he may have stared at the summary a bit too long.

     ‘Dean awakens in a pine box, freed from hell, and has a joyful reunion with Sam and Bobby; Sam, Dean and Bobby wonder what pulled Dean from hell, and what it will want in return.’

     Stiles felt scared to read, something he never felt when picking up a book. He turned it in his hands a few times before opening the cover to begin reading. 

     The feeling of being scared turned into anticipation as the book went on. He was near the end when the anticipation went away, but he knew it wasn’t over. 

     Castiel. The word hit him like a freight train.

     When he read that word there was a twitch in his shoulder blades and a feeling of longing in his gut. Castiel. What a beautiful name. Castiel. He couldn’t stop himself from saying out loud or over and over again in his head. The comfort it brought him was beyond his understanding. 

     The rest of the week he couldn’t get the word Castiel out of his head. Sometimes Stiles caught himself calling people that or saying it out loud in passing halls. 

     Next next Tuesday Stiles put down the last book,#104. He finished with less than half a week left until graduating his freshman year. Less than a week to refine the notes and make a plan. It was a miracle that he is somehow passing his classes with the amount of time looking for his parents took up. The uneasiness in his shoulder blades didn’t go away since the day at the hospital, but some days he didn’t notice it at all. Everyday he would say ‘Castiel’ as he walked down the halls or when he was sitting on a bench waiting for Scott.

     It was 2am on that Wednesday and Stiles was still looking over notes even though he finished the book hours ago. How would I get to South Dakota? Just showing up on his doorstep would get me shot. Do I call him asking for help? Noah was sceptical with letting Stiles go this summer, especially by himself, to South Dakota to look for his parents. With the little (or well thought out) knowledge Stiles gave him, Noah agreed after hearing for three days straight about it. When Noah asked about his parents Stiles just said ‘I’ll tell you when I find them,’ both of them knew how vague it sounded.

     Now it’s a day after graduation and Scott came over to make the call with Stiles. Scott sat on Stiles’ bed while Stiles took the chair at his desk. 

     “Are you sure about this?”

     “Yes.” Stiles answered a bit on edge as he put the number in his phone. Scott just nodded in response, listening to the phone ring. 

     On the third ring someone picked up. “Hello.”

     Stiles breathed in then out before answering. “I’m looking for Bobby Singer.”

     It was silent for a second. “He’s not here right now.”

     Uhhhh shit. “Well, could you leave him a message?”

     There was a hum and a bit of noise in the background of a draw opening and closing before the man answered. “Yeah what is it?”

     “I’m looking for help on finding someone and they trace back to Singer. I was wondering if he had any information.” 

     There was a sigh along with what sounded like pen on paper. “How old are you kid to be looking for someone connected to Bobby?”

     Stiles shared a look with Scott, both were at a loss of words. “15.” It sounded a bit stiff.

     Another sigh. “Kid, who are you looking for exactly?” 

     Stiles swallowed, “I’m looking for my parents.”

     Stiles and Scott look at each other as the silence plays on. “Name.” Stiles didn’t know if the man was asking for his name, his blood last name, or what. The man apparently noticed with the silence. “Your name.

     “Psota Winchester is my birth name.” There was absolute silence, no pen on paper, no breathing, nothing. Stiles checked to make sure the line didn’t go dead. Scott looked at him cautiously as Stiles did nothing, but stared back. 

     “You have two days to find him.” That was the last thing said before the line went dead for real. Stiles stared at the phone in shock. 

     “How am I supposed to get there in two days?”

     “By leaving now I guess.” Stiles just looked back up at Scott with the same shocked face. If Stiles didn’t look like on the edge of a mind break, Scott would have taken a photo to save for later. 

     Later that night Stiles told Noah that he was leaving tomorrow. “How are you going to get there?”

     “A bus?” Stiles hadn’t thought it out, but he also thought he had time to actually make a plan.

     “If you are going to go halfway across the country, you are not taking a bus.”

     “Can I take the car then?”

     Noah just stared at him blankly. “One, you don’t have a licence, two even if you did, you have only driven in empty parking lots.”

       Stiles nodded

     but at 3am there was a creek on the stairs and a note on the fridge and he took the keys walking out the door with a bag in hand.

Chapter Text

     Stiles took the back roads so that there was less of a chance of being caught. The early morning was quiet and calming, until around 6 when his phone went off. Quickly pulling over he checked the caller ID. Dad. Stiles picked up while turning the radio off. “Hey dad.”

     “Stiles! What are you thinking? You don’t have a licence and don’t even know these people.” 

     “Dad, I'm taking the back roads and driving the speed limit. I’m fine and I put the address on the fridge if anything happens. I’ll even call you everyday. I just need to do this.”

     There was a sigh then “How far out are you?” 

     “About three hours, I pasted the Nevada sign a few minutes ago.”

      Another sigh “Stay safe Stiles and you better not get pulled over. Call me everyday. Do you even have money?”

     …….Welp ummmm. Stiles threw the glove box open to find a wad of twenties he put in there when he first thought of driving to Sioux. “Yeah and will do.” Thank you past me.  

     “If anything and I mean anything happens I’m coming to get you.”

     “Yep understand.”

     “Love you Stiles.”

     Stiles smiled “Love you too dad.” 

     Beep.

     After staring out at the road for a few minutes, Stiles turned the radio back on and pulled out onto the open road. 

     It was about in the middle of Nevada when he pulled into a gas station. Stiles leaned against the jeep while waiting. He still had a long while to go and it was only around 8:30. Walking into the station to pay Stiles couldn’t help feeling someone watching him. He paid and walked towards the door quickly wanting to get out of there. As he walked out he bumped into someone in a trench coat that was walking in, but when he turned around to apologise they were gone. It’s just the sleep mixed with the books and you seeing Castiel. Way to go brain, but….what if that was him?. Quickly shaking his head Stiles ran across the parking lot to his jeep. The second more he spent there made him feel more uneasy. 

     It wasn’t until he pulled off into the road he felt the pressure building up in his shoulder blades. Stiles held the wheel tighter and strained his eyes to look at the road, it really was going to be a long day. 

     Nothing else happened as the drive went on until Stiles had to get gas again in Utah. 11:45 was what the clock on his dashboard read as he pulled into another gas station. While waiting for his jeep to fill Stiles looked up places where he could get some quick food from. When he left the station there was no uneasiness this time, just the pressure in his shoulder blades that he desperately tried to stretch out.

     The diner Stiles found was small and welcoming. He ordered and ate quickly, not wanting to risk running out of time even though he knew he had enough. When Stiles went to pay the lady said that someone else already did. Stiles only nodded and said a quick goodbye before walking out the door straight for the jeep. The feeling of waiting for something to happen built has he got into the car and it only got worse when Stiles drove away.

     It was three more stops for gas and the same weirdness followed until he made it to the edge of Sioux. It was almost 2 in the morning when he checked into a motel, under a fake name, for the night. Might as well get rest before everything blows up or something. 

     It was 11 when he woke up. I’m here so might as well get it done and over with. It was 11:30 when he stepped into a diner to get a quick lunch before driving to the junkyard. While finishing his meal a lady dressed as a sheriff walked in. Must be Jody. Stiles went on like trying to seem normal, but he could feel her eyes on him. Does she know? How would she know? Did someone tell her to look out for me? Pushing the thoughts down we finished and paid for his meal. 

     12:30 is when Stiles pulls into the junkyard. It was what you expect, tall towers of cars filling the lot with a garage off to the side and a house right in the middle. Stills got out of the car with his head spinning with all the possibilities that could happen. He carefully walked up the old wooden porch, took a breath then knocked on the doorframe. 

     After a second footsteps were heard walking to the door. The door was opened to reveal a ruff bearded man with a worn baseball cap on. So this is Bobby Singer. Stiles was about to say something, but Bobby beat him to it. “You’re the idjit that called.” 

     “Yes.” Stiles was at a loss of words. Bobby stared for a second more before letting him in. The house had a big yet small inside and Stiles couldn’t help, but look around at everything. One thing that caught his eye is the study that was across from the kitchen he was led into. There’s more books than even described in the series. How many languages are there? And different cultures too.  

     Stiles was brought out of his thoughts when Bobby spoke, “Water.”

     Stiles looked at the man then at the silver cup of water in his hand. Silver and holy water, of course. Stiles took the cup and drank it down quickly and offered the cup back. “Thank you.”

     The man grunted and put the cup down on the counter. “Now what do you want with the Winchesters?” 

     Simple question. “A month ago I found a box with a couple of things from my biological parents. There was a blanket with this symbol on it,” Stiles pulled down the collar of the shirt to show his tattoo, “I wanted to know more so I looked it up thinking it was like a family crest. I found nothing, but a bit about anti possession so I got it tattooed. A while after that I found the books and read them and spent the last month researching as much as I could. Then when I went to the hospital to do something I went down to check my file for anything. Now that I think about it I should have brought it or something for proof, but right there on the paper said Winchester and I thought no it can’t be the same, but it is and-” Stiles stopped when he saw Bobby’s confused face. 

     “Who’s name is on it kid?” It was a simple question, but for some reason the way Bobby said it made Stiles uneasy.

     “Dean Winchester, but they couldn’t find my mom’s DNA or she wasn’t in the system because it said it not found in the box.”

     There was a second of shock in Bobby’s eyes before it went away. “You're 15?”

     “Yes and marked in the files Dean was 16 at the time and there wasn’t much on him.”

     Bobby nodded and Stiles felt like he needed to add more to make Bobby believe. He rushed the words out before he could think. “I don't think Dean was sixteen when I was born. I was found outside the hospital and the cameras saw nothing and there was no birth certificate or anything. I have read the books even if they may not be entirely accurate. Hear me out….time travel.” Bobby sighed and Stiles felt like everyone was doing that nowadays.

     “Psota I don't know what's true, but if you want to even dip your hands into what may be your family you have to know and be ready. So sit down and you are going to read all of those books. You are going to go for a run everyday and train because if you do have Winchester blood, it puts a target on you.” 

     Stiles nodded while rolling shoulders back, finally feeling the pressure release from his shoulder blades. He was eager to read more about the supernatural, but also couldn’t help but feel that he just jumped into the deep end. Did I jump on board too quickly? Yes, but do I regret it? I’ll have to find out.

Chapter Text

     Bobby spent the next two weeks watching Stiles, he later learned the nickname. He got the kid’s DNA from the shapeshifter test and sent it to Judy. The results are supposed to come by the end of next week. 

     While watching Stiles, he realised the DNA test just may be a nail in the coffin. As the days went on, Bobby could point out when Stiles was acting like Dean, Sam, or someone he couldn’t put a name to at the moment. 

     For the first few days he sat on the porch in the early mornings and watched Stiles run by during his mile run. The kid loved to read and research, but it didn't overpower his sarcasm and need to do something a little more physical. There were times Bobby started to notice the small smiles or the head tilt when he tried explaining how to fix a car. It was small, but it was there mixed in as brief moments in Stiles’ chaos. 

     “Hey,” Stiles said as he walked in the door after his run. Booby was standing over the sink staring at nothing. 

     Bobby nodded his head, “Today someone is coming by and I think it’s best that you stay in your room or outside.”

     Not suspicious at all, but I guess some hunters can be a bit much. “Ok, did you make coffee?” 

     Bobby tilted his head in the direction of the pot before going to sit down at his desk. 

     It was the middle of the third week and it was peaceful. It took Stiles about two weeks to learn Latin, but after he read like there was no tomorrow. Of course every night he would call his dad while sitting on the porch and tell him how his day went, not mentioning the supernatural.

     It was around noon and Stiles was out climbing on top cars and parkouring around. He got told off the first few times he did it, but after he swore not to get hurt then Bobby stopped saying anything. While standing on one of the higher stacks he saw a black car drive in. He quickly got down and jumped up the side of the house to his room. After he first learned how to get up there he always kept the window unlocked. 

     Quietly he climbed through the window, closed it, and walked out the room to the top of the stairs out of sight. He sat down as he heard the door close. 

     “Bobby.” The voice sounded like the one that picked the phone when he called. 

     “Sam.” Wait like Sam Winchester, he’s in hell, but it’s the Winchesters who apparently can get out of anything. The next greeting brought him back.

     “Campbell” Why does that sound familiar?

     “I was checking to see if the kid was here or not.” Sam’s monotone voice continued. 

     “I sent him back the next day. He doesn't need to be in this life.” Bobby, a little too quickly, responded. 

     After there was quieter talking and Stiles could only pick up bits and pieces. Something something werewolves. Something something turning without the moon. Something something French and Argent. Then a few more words, a goodbye, and the door closing. 

     They know he’s here and sooner or later they’re going to drag him into their little gang. 

     “Bobby.” That kid keeps getting quieter and quieter. Some days I swear he just appears out of thin air.

     “Yeah kid.”

     “How did Sam come back from hell and why does he seem so dead? And why does Campbell sound familiar?” Can always count Stiles to ask the most questions.

     “I don’t know how Sam got back, but the reason for acting like this is that he doesn’t have a soul. Campbell is Mary’s maiden name. I don’t want you going anywhere near them.” 

     He watched the kid nod then walk over the couch and start reading. 

     It was that Saturday when Jody came over with the results, but Bobby’s mind was somewhere else by the time she walked through the door. Earlier Stiles was complaining about his shoulders, he does it every few days, but today was different. Stiles described it like someone was stabbing him in the shoulder blades. The kid couldn’t move his arms without being in pain, so Bobby told him to go lay down while giving him an aleve.

     “Welp I have good news and bad news.” Jody said as Bobby gave her a cup of coffee. 

     “Just spit it out.”

     “Well he was right about being Dean’s son.”

     “That’s the good news?”

      “Compared to the next one, yes.” Shining Bobby nodded for her to continue. “He was also right about having no other DNA besides Winchester. So whatever his biological mom was is either not human or the family is really good at living off the grid so that any trace doesn't exist in the system.” 

     Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt pieces click in place. Complaining about shoulder blades with pain I’ve never seen before, having a mom that doesn’t even exist, the easiness of sneaking up on people, and the soft smiles. 

     “Nephilims.” 

     “What?”

     “I read somewhere about Nephilims, half human and half angel.” Bobby explained as he went through his books.

     “So you're saying that Dean had a kid with an angel at the age of 16 and didn’t know?”

     “Angels didn’t start really coming down here until Cas. There was one that was down here that we know of, but that’s a far possibility.”

     “Why don’t you call and ask Dean? I know he’s living his life right now, but he may have answers and he would want to know that he has a kid.”

     “What if he doesn’t have answers because it hasn’t happened yet.”

     Jody just looked at him in total confusion. 

     “The kid brought up a point that time travelling may be in play. I heard from both Dean and Sam that it is possible and they have travelled a few times.”

     “Ok so what if it’s in play, then he is here for a reason.” 

     They were both quiet for a long time seeming to run out of possibilities with little information they have. Jody stayed for dinner and Stiles was feeling a bit better after resting. They spent the night talking and telling stories. It made Bobby miss the times the boys would stay a night or few, but this was nice. Bobby thought about taking Stiles to see Dean, without Dean knowing about Stiles being his kid, and seeing what he has to say. If Stiles is a Nephilim then where is his grace and why is he growing up at a human rate and not quicker?

Chapter Text

     It was the end of June and the drive to Dean’s was long. It was about a day's drive to Michigan and they spent their time listening to music and Stiles bouncing his leg up and down without end.

     “Kid, we have a couple of hours left, is there a way for you to sit still?” Bobby knew by now the answer was no, but with 10 hours of driving and nerves of seeing Dean, Stiles didn’t help.

     “Sorry, but what if he figures it out. What would he do then, I mean he doesn’t know me and-”

    “Stop. When he figures it out, of course he would be surprised, but he would welcome you in.”

     The kid breathed out like he was holding his breath, but Bobby saw how it helped with the nerves. He knew that in the two days they are staying that Dean will figure it out. Dean might be a bit oblivious, but he isn’t stupid. He picked up when Dean got suspicious when Bobby called him about visiting, but the boy tried to cover it up. I hope I didn’t make a mistake doing this. We don’t even know if Dean would have any new information. 

     It was evening when they pulled up to the normal white-fenced suburban house. Stiles fidgeting as they got out of the car. Standing on the doorstep Bobby didn’t even knock before the door swung open. Ben was standing there smiling as footsteps were heard making their way towards the door. A second later Dean came into view. 

     “Dean.” 

     “Bobby”

     As they greeted each other Ben pulled Stiles into a conversation. Dean let them in and closed the door behind. Ben pulled Stiles to the living room still talking. 

     “So that’s the special guess.”

     Bobby nodded, thinking back of trying to find a way to visit without being weird. Not like it was weird anyway.  

     “Bobby, why do you have a 13 year old kid with you?”

     “15 and he came looking for me.” 

     “So what, you let him in?”

     “He came to me looking for someone.”

      Dean was about to answer, but was cut off when Lisa called them in for dinner. The look on Dean’s face said that the conversation wasn’t over, but led Bobby to the table anyways. 

     Dinner went smoothly. Stiles, Ben said the kid’s name was, mostly listened to Ben and added some of his own thoughts. Dean kept an eye on them as he talked with Bobby and Lisa. There was something about the kid that stuck out, but he couldn’t name it. Bobby and I both know there is something more to this. Bobby sounded like he knew, but even then he seemed unsure. Dean thought nothing else on the matter for the rest of dinner.

     It wasn’t until later that night Dean got his answers. Bobby and him were sitting on the porch both holding a beer.

     “So, who was the kid looking for?”

     Bobby took a long drink before answering. “The kid’s looking for his parents.”

     Dean narrowed his eyes, staring out into the street. “So you brought him here, why?”

     Bobby put the now empty bottle down by his feet, “I need help.”

     Dean nodded, but didn’t say anything more. 

     “Just watch him.” Bobby picked up the bottle and went back inside. Dean sat there and weighed Bobby’s words as he stared at the street. 

     ‘Just watch him.’ 

     God I hope I’m not just babysitting. It gives Ben a friend, but if one thing goes wrong… Hunters can’t have normal lives.

     Dean watched Stiles for the next day and a half. The kid was kind, curious, and helpful, but it didn’t hide the obvious sarcasm, sass, and smartassness. The sarcasm reminded Dean of himself, but he couldn’t help but see Cas whenever he took a quick glance. It made Dean anxious and cautious whenever he felt Stiles’ eyes on him. 

     In the late afternoon Dean couldn’t help but fidget with his tools as he watched the two boys play out in the yard. Stiles held this air of innocence around him as he talked about wanting to help others. It made Dean’s heart hurt and in that moment he realised something. ‘The kid’s looking for his parents……..I need help………Just watch him.’ Dammit Bobby.

     Dean was sitting out on the porch with an awkward Stiles and a tired Bobby. Dean sighed and looked over at Stiles next to him. “You’re my kid aren’t you.”

     Stiles nodded. “Blood test and everything.” Stiles pulled down the corner of his shirt for a second to show the tattoo. Dean sucked in a breath. God why can’t it just be a normal day.  

     “Who’s the mother?”

    Bobby swallowed. “We were hoping you would know.” Dean looked up at the man who was leaning against the house. “The blood test only showed Winchester blood.” 

     Only Winchester blood? “What the hell?”

     “More like heaven.” Dean looked back around at Stiles, who was smiling at his own joke. When Stiles saw Dean’s confused face, he elaborated. “We have a theory that I’m half angel.”

     Why does it make sense? Everything else, beside demons, angles, and maybe some others, has been human before. “How are you sure it's an angel? And what angel? There was like only one angel down here when you were born. They didn’t come down here really until Cas.”

     Stiles, still smiling just softer, nodded. Bobby was the one to talk next. “Stiles has been having humanly impossible pain in his shoulder blades half the time, he walks quieter than a skilled hunter, and he learned Latin in about a day. The kid is smart, but even I have seen most if not all hunters take a while to learn Latin. As for which angel, I was hoping you would have an idea.”

     Dean went back to staring at the street. “Why is he growing slow and not fast like a Nephilim?”

     “Someone must have sealed his grace, so he grows up human.” 

     Dean put his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face. Have any idea of which angel? There’s only one. Hell sometimes when I looked at Stiles I saw him. It was clear as day. “Cas.”

     “You saw it too.”

     “What did he see?” Stiles sounded confused.

     Dean looked up at Stiles to see his head was tilted. Dean smiled. “You act just like him sometimes.”

     “So you’re saying that I’m Cas’s kid? Like The Castiel? The angel that pulled you out of hell? The one that’s totally in love with you?” Dean stared at Stiles. “I read the books.” 

      In love with me. Dean rubbed his face again. The thought of him and Cas together wouldn’t get out of his head. “ God, where is Sammy when you need him.” 

     “He came by.” Dean shot up and looked at Bobby. “Sam, he came by. He knew about the kid being a Winchester and tried to take him.”

     “Sam’s in the cage. What are you talking about?”

     “I don’t know how, but he got out. He’s not the same though. He’s colder.”

     Dean felt like he should yell, lash out, or say something, but nothing came out. He turned around back to the road and stared out. 

     It felt like years, but Dean knew it had to be only 30 minutes. Bobby headed back inside once he knew Dean wasn’t going to say anything. Stiles sat there quietly and looked out into the road. Dean felt a comfort around Stiles he really only felt around one other man. Cas. Why can’t you just be here?  

     It was another ten minutes before Stiles spoke. “My adoptive mother, I guess, once told me a story about a kid. The kid went on adventures looking for something that others couldn’t see. It wasn’t until the kid was older and worn with days he found it. He was looking for himself.”

     Dean didn’t know the point of the story, but he didn’t have time to speak when Stiles started again. 

     “I didn’t know what she meant. I still don’t, but some days when it’s just me and my pal Scott, I look for something more in everything we do. Soon that looking got me here. In the middle of Michigan sitting on my biological father’s porch. I’m still looking even though I found what I was looking for.”

     Dean felt like Stiles was trying to say something, but he didn’t say anything. Stiles slowly leaned into Dean with his head on Dean’s shoulder. 

     “Don’t stop looking for what you want.”

     Cas.

      The next morning, Bobby and Stiles waved at Dean as they pulled out of the drive. “What did you say to him, kid?”

      “Something he needed to know.”

     Each day the kid is more and more like Cas, I swear. 

Chapter Text

     Dean kept in touch and swapped ideas with Bobby after the trip. Ideas of time travel and angels, Bobby didn’t tell Stiles much of the details. The kid still needs to have a life.

      It was the beginning of August and Bobby was helping Stiles pack into the Jeep. “You going to be ok kid?”

     Stiles stopped and looked at Bobby. “I’m a Winchester.” Bobby shook his head. God why is it always Winchesters. “But yes I’m fine and I’ll keep studying and training.” Bobby nodded as putting the last box in the car.

     “Kid, you call me if anything happens. Don’t be an idjit.” 

     “Will do.” 

     It was a quick wave as Stiles got in the car. Bobby stood out in the lot watching Stiles drive away. Time to see if I can track down a dead angel.

     The drive home was weirdly shorter than the drive to Bobby’s. Stiles spent the drive half thinking and half tapping his wheel to the beat of the music. 

     Stiles took the same way going back that he made there. Stepping into the diner again felt like it was just yesterday that he stopped there. Stiles didn’t have school for another few weeks so there was no rush to get home. 

     As he was finishing up his fries, he looked around the small diner. There were records on the wall that he didn’t notice the first stop. The floor was a classic black and white chequered. There was a jukebox at the other end. The man sitting at the bar in a trench coat. The bright red cushion seats. The man sitting at the bar in a trench coat. Hold up.  

     Stiles looked back at the man. The man had to be at least an inch or two taller with dark hair. Stiles couldn’t help but stare. It’s not him. Stiles quickly ate his fries and paid. Walking out to his Jeep he knew the man’s eyes were watching him. 

     Stiles was in Nevada now. The man - Castiel- wasn’t seen again. Stiles was walking back to the Jeep from buying gas when he felt it. He did a 360, nothing in sight. Stiles shook his head and got in the car.

     “What are you?”

     Stiles jumped, turning around to find him in the passenger seat.

     “It’s not cool to just show up in someone’s car.”

     “Dean has told me, you are a hard person to get to.” 

     “So that means you get to just show up in my car because you couldn’t find any other way to approach me?” 

     Castiel just blinked. 

     “And about that weird question, I’m human.”

     “I believe the term Dean uses is 'bs'.”

     God angels really don’t have social cues. “Yes I lied, now do you want me to drop you off or are you just staying?”

     Castiel nodded, but didn’t move. Stiles shook his head and started the car. 

     The drive was quite the rest of the way with the music as white noise. It was an hour out when Cas broke the silence. “Your Dean’s kid.”

     Stiles smiled. “Yeah and we’re trying to figure out how.”

     “We?”

     “Bobby, Dean and I.” The mention of Dean made Cas run an awkward hand down his pant leg. Stiles didn’t say anything more. 

     It wasn’t until 15 minutes later that Cas spoke again. “How is Dean?”

     Stiles couldn’t help but smile. “He’s good. It’s not perfect, but good.” Cas nodded. “Cas, can I ask you something?” Cas nodded again. “Do you have feelings for my dad?”

     Cas swallowed. Stiles can see the awkwardness and confusion set in. “We share a profound bond.” 

     Stiles tapped on the wheel. “What does that mean?”

     Cas looked out the window and fidgeted with his fingers quickly. “I care for Dean.”

     Stiles chowed his lip. “Do you ever think what it would be like to be with him?”

     “Be with him?” Cas was staring at Stiles with confusion. 

     “I like what humans do. Love. Buy a house together. Care for each other. I don't know. What people normally do when they love someone.”

     Cas nodded. “Human emotions are complicated.”

     I need a drink . “Look, you like the guy and he likes you too, so just get a room already.”

     Cas titled his head. “Dean never explains that one.”

     Stiles titles his head bewildered. “Never explains what.”

     “The act of getting a room.”

     I’m going to need a whole bar after this. “Ask him next time you see him and tell him Stiles sent you.”

     Cas nodded, but said nothing else. 

     The ride went better afterward. It was around 6 in the morning when Stiles passed the sign into Beacon Hills. He pulled the Jeep into the driveway a few minutes later. Stiles was about to get out when he remembered the man next to him. “Are you going to sit there or help me get inside?”

     Castiel got out of the car without a word. Stiles followed getting out and went to get the two boxes from the back seat. As he was getting the second box out, a pair of hands took it. Stiles turned and looked at Cas. “Do you ever smile?” Cas just gave a small smile. If you can even call it that. Stiles shook his head and led them into the house. 

     Stiles opened the door to find Noah in the kitchen. “Hey.” Noah looked up from the coffee machine. 

     “Who’s this?”

     Stiles nodded his head toward Cas. “Dean’s boyfriend.” Cas looked like he was about to argue when Noah took his hand and shook it. 

     “Noah. Stiles’ adoptive father.”

     “Castiel.”

     Noah nodded. “Well I’ll let you get comfortable. I got to be at work in a minute.” They nodded at each other and Noah left. 

     Stiles started walking up the stairs with Cas following. “This is my room.” Stiles pulled open the door. “You can put the boxes on the bed.”

     Cas put the boxes down while looking around the room. “I’ll be right back, I got to get something.” Stiles ran out the room looking for his angel plush. I wonder what he’s doing here. Guess I can call Bobby. 

     Stiles found the plush in the living room where he left it last. Smiling Stiles ran back up the stairs. “You-

     Cas was staring out the window while talking on the phone. Guess he didn’t notice yet. Stiles did what any sane person did, eavesdrop. 

     “Dean.”

     …

     “Your kid.”

     …

     “When?”

     …

     “He’s not human Dean.”

     ………..

     “Nephilim?”

     …..

     “Dean, when do you have a kid with an angel?”

     ……..

     “Yes.” With a ruffle of fabric Cas was gone. Wings not fabric . 

     Later came questions from Noah about the trip that wasn't asked over phone calls. Stiles answered them the best way possible without bringing up the supernatural. I wish I had told him that night.

After dinner, Stiles went to Scott's and the questions started all over again. Of course with the supernatural this time.

Chapter Text

     Stiles shouldn’t have dragged Scott out that night. Stiles knew that bringing an inexperienced person to a case is a bad idea. I just didn’t want to be alone. Now look at what happened. You fucked up and you can’t save him. All he wants is to go back and save Scott, but what happened happened.

     Stiles was staring at Scott’s, now closed, bite wound that had just healed in front of his eyes. Oh God No. Fuck no. Shit. Shit.  “Stiles?”  

     “I’m sorry Scott.”

     That was a day ago and Stiles has researched everything he could get his hands on to find out what type of werewolf bite it was. It was at the end of the day when Stiles crashed from adrenaline and lack of sleep.

     w.rew.l.es… 

     He barely could make out the far away voices.

     t.rni.g w.th.ut t.e m.on… 

     He knows this conversation from somewhere.

     Fr.n.h. a.d Ar.ent.

     Bobby’s .

     Suddenly he was back at the top of the stairs again. Something something werewolves. Something something turning without the moon. Something something French and Argent. Then a few more words, a goodbye, and the door closing…..

     Stiles woke up with the sunrise blinding him through the open blinds of his window. He sat up from sleeping at his desk and stretched out his neck and back. Why is it always the desk? The clock read 5:30 and Stiles picked up the phone to call Scott.

     Ring….Ring….Ring… Come on Scott… Click

     “Stiles?” Scott slurred like he just woke up. Because what sane person would be up this early?

     “I know what you are,” Stiles replied nonchalantly.

     Silence….Shuffling…“I’ll be there in five,” Scott rushed then hung up.

     Stiles put his phone down and turned to his computer to type in French Werewolves . 

     To get Scott to fully understand what it meant to be a werewolf was difficult, but not as difficult to get him to agree with Stiles in the next stupid idea. Stiles leaned back in his chair watching Scott who’s sitting on his bed. 

     “You want to skip class to go back and look for the thing that bit me?” Scott looked like he was trying to figure out a puzzle.

     Stiles slowly nodded. Come on Scott just agree already.  

     “I was hoping to talk to Allison again,” Scott said with a puppy-eyed look.

     “Allison?” Who the hell is she? 

     “I met her the other day in class, remember?” Scott looked confused on how Stiles could forget the girl he remembered rambling about the whole day. 

     “What was her last name again?” Stupid question.

     “Argent, I think. Why?” Scott started to look more confused.

     “Oh Scott. Scotty. Scott’s boy. Really have to go for the huntress?”

     Scott just stared at him in absolute confusion. I’m not surprised anymore. This is sounding like more of a weird knock off Twilight each day. Actually maybe more loosely based- focus Psota. “So are you coming with me or not?” Stiles asked as he started putting on his shoes. Scott nodded and followed Stiles out of the door.

     The forest was like any day, empty. “I think this is about where I left you.” Stiles said as he made a quick look around.

     Scott started walking around trying to look for something. “I remember dropping my inhaler when I was getting trampled by the elk.” Elk? They started wandering around the woods looking for Scott’s inhaler. That he won’t need anymore !

     15 mins later.

     “Found it!” Scott yelled from a few feet away.

     Stiles walked over to Scott watching him smile at it in pride. “You know you don’t need it anymore, right?” 

     “Really?” Scott looked at him with a puppy face mixed with awe and confusion.

     “Yes, now don’t think about it too hard.” Stiles said over his shoulder as he turned around to check the surroundings. 

     Watching two teenagers search around the woods from a hundred feet away wasn’t on Derek’s plan for this morning, but he couldn’t help but watch in confusion. 

     A few minutes later.

     “Found it!” One of the teens called.

     The other one walked over. “You know you don’t need it anymore, right?”

     “Really?” The first one with longer hair asked in confusion.

     “Yes, now don’t think about it too hard.” The second one with a semi grown buzz cut retorted as he turned around. 

     Derek stood there and watched for a second before he was spotted by the second teen. Shit.  

     “Scott.” The second teen whispered to his friend.

     The other, Scott, turned around. “What Stiles?” 

      Stiles nodded in Derek’s direction; Scott turned around and saw him. “Oh.”

      I should have just left when I had the chance. Derek thought and frowned as Stiles stepped closer. They were a few feet apart when Stiles stopped walking and Derek could get a better look at them. Stiles seemed to be the same height as Scott, both shorter than Derek though. Stiles had dark whiskey coloured eyes while Scott’s were brown and both had brown hair. They were both in shape, but Stiles more so. Stiles had a black shirt with a target on it and  red plaid shirt under his black jacket. Scott had a blue shirt with some kind of black design and a greenish jacket. 

      “Derek?” Stiles said, which sounded more like a question. Derek’s gaze narrowed as he felt his hairs stand on end. Derek could feel that the air around Stiles was different then the one around Scott, but the one around Scott was somewhat familiar. “Derek Hale right?”

     “Who’s asking?” Derek didn’t want to be sitting here talking to some teens that shouldn’t be here. 

     “Can you help out my friend Scott?” Stiles pointed at Scott next to him. Derek lifted an eyebrow as he looked at the other teen. “You’re a werewolf.” Derek looked back at Stiles to see him visibly regretting his words. No skips in his heart beat.  

      Derek stared at Stiles for a minute and watched as Stiles struggled then started talking, seeming to try and explain everything. “Scott and I were looking for the body the other night and I kind of got caught, well that was my fault since I wanted to look for the rest of the body, but Scott here was left behind and said he got tackled and bit by something, but when he showed me the bite it was healing and didn’t look normal. I came to the conclusion that it must have been a werewolf bite because we don’t have wolves and I’ve always heard them howl. And-” Scott jabbed his elbow into Stiles which made him stop. Derek heard the kids sporadic heart beats, but couldn’t tell if it was lying or the adrenaline. 

      “You want me to help your friend because you think he was bit and that I’m a werewolf.” Stiles nodded and looked at Scott who looked lost. So the kid is a wolf, that’s the familiarity I felt.  

      Derek sighed, “There is a full moon in a few days.” 

      That was the day Derek felt like he sold his soul to the devil more like a Nephilim really. That was also the day Derek couldn’t help but be drawn towards Stiles and the strange feeling around him.

Chapter Text

     It was the end of April and Stiles felt dead. Derek had helped Scott with werewolf stuff even though Scott was stupidly stubborn. The whole thing with Jackson was a nightmare. The whole thing with Lydia and Peter was a whole different nightmare. Derek’s pack was just a different thing altogether. The Argents were the nail in the coffin; and don’t even get Stiles started on the serial killer and the kidnapping.

     What hell just happened? It has really only been what….four months. Four months!

     Stiles was laying on the couch in Derek’s new loft while the pack (five werewolves, a banshee, a hunter, and a nephilim. That sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. ) was having a recap. For some reason.  

     “Stiles.” 

     Stiles looked over at Scott with an eyebrow raised. “What?”

     “You're going back to Bobby’s for the summer right?” Bobby. God I forgot to keep him updated. I’m so dead when he finds out the shit I got into. Really pulled a ‘Winchester’ ay, Psota. 

     “I have to call him, why? Scared the supernatural won’t wait for me to come back?” Stiles felt someone staring him down and looked over at Derek. “You alright Sourwolf?” 

     “I was just wondering what everyone is doing this summer. You think you’ll be able to see your dad again?” Scott looked like he was looking forward to the stories Stiles will tell when he gets back. Derek frowned, but didn’t respond to Stiles’ question. 

     “I hope so, but I don’t know if he’ll be busy.” Stiles left it there and Allison picked up the conversation talking about her and her father’s trip. Stiles started to zone back out, but could still feel Derek’s eyes on him. Out of pure boredom and impulse Stiles looked at Derek and winked. Derek narrowed his gaze then looked away as someone asked him a question. Why is it always Sourwolf?

     Later that night Stiles pulled up Bobby’s number. He sat with his thumb over the call button for a minute before he heard a faint pop. “Why don’t you just press the bloody button already.” Stiles turned around faster than what seemed humanly possible; a man in a suit was sitting on the chair near his bed. 

     “You.” 

     “Me.”  There was a sense of humour in his voice. The man had a Scottish accent and way of holding himself that made Stiles uneasy. “What are you waiting for?” 

     “I’ve seen you before…in my dream.”

     “A Winchester dreaming about me?” The man seemed concerned with this information. 

     Stiles grabbed a pair of scissors off his desk and pointed them at the man. “Who are you?” 

     The man shook his head and mumbled something about how Winchesters are all the same. “Crowley, King of Hell.” Stiles felt something from his memory being pulled up. The books. I should have put two and two together. Stiles sat there and stared at Crowley trying to organise his thoughts.

     “What do you want?” Stiles’ head was going through every possibility. 

     “Can’t I check up on my dear friend Castiel’s kid?” Crowley seemed impatient, but calm.

     “I wouldn’t say friend, so what do you really want?” Stiles’ hands were starting to shake from the adrenaline build, but still held the scissors steady.

     “I’m here to make a deal.” Crowley stated. 

     “With me?” 

     “Yes. I heard rumours of a hunt for a Nephilim and you’re the only one I care about.” 

     “A hunt for a Nephilim? Why would they hunt me?”

     “Heaven calls you an abomination, you already know that, and hell really just doesn't want to deal with you. So I have a deal, I will give you protection from the hunt and you will give me a soul with no due date.” 

     “A soul, like killing someone?” Stiles felt more uneasy at the thought of killing someone.

     “Precisely and at any time.” Crowley smiled. Stiles making a deal with the ‘devil’ wasn’t uncommon for a Winchester, but more like an expectation instead.

     After the deal Crowley had to leave saying something about a call while Stiles pressed the call button.

     “Hello.” Bobby’s voice brought a sense of calming after the spook Crowley made.

     “Hey Bobby.” Stiles ran a hand through his no longer buzz cut hair and down his face. 

     “Kid. What are you calling about this late?” Bobby didn’t sound bothered, just genuinely curious. 

     Late?…..23:35…oh “I was wondering if I can drive down this summer.” 

     “You can, but I got to be honest kid, it's going to be like hell over here.” Bobby sounded tired like he just got back from something big.

     “Oh….Will I be able to see Dean though?” Stiles really wanted to see his dad. 

     “Yeah and maybe be able to meet Sammy, but it won’t be easy boy.” There was the sound of something being poured. Whiskey. 

     “I can manage. Does the first week of June work?” 

     “I don’t know what’s happening, but I’ll let you know when it’s safe out here.” 

     “Thank you.” 

     “No problem. Now get some sleep, kid.” 

     Stiles still had one more question that’s been bothering him. “Wait!....How’s Cas?”

     There was a sigh and then silence for a minute. “He’s not himself. Dean thinks he’s planning something.”

     “Oh.” Stiles didn’t like the uneasiness that resettled in his stomach. 

     “Stay safe, kid.” It sounded like a command or a promise that Stiles knew he couldn’t keep. 

     “I will.” Stiles knew that Bobby could tell that he was lying, but Bobby ended the call anyway. 

     Stiles sat there at the desk zoning out when he saw a drop of water hit the wood. What? Then another one. Oh. Shit. Stiles rubbed his eyes trying to get himself to stop crying. You shouldn’t have gone out that night…. 

     It wasn’t until 23:49 that Stiles stopped crying and the overwhelming memories of the last months slowed.

00:01

     “Stiles, I’m-” Noah stopped as he saw the boy asleep and barely able to be seen under the mound of blankets. “Goodnight.” He smiled as he walked across the hall to his room and closed the door.

1:17 

     Stiles shot up in bed frantically looking around his room. He could feel his brain running a mile a minute as he tried to calm down. Breathe, Stiles. Breathe. Stiles didn’t know what woke him up suddenly, there was no noise or thought. It’s fine. Just go back to sleep. 

     Stiles layed in bed trying to get his mind focused. Just think about books or training or hunting or werewolves or- nope. Stiles turned over, realising that he won't be sleeping soon. Shit. Welp there goes my seven hours of beauty sleep.  

     Stiles laid on his back staring up at the almost pitch black ceiling, if it weren’t for a sliver of light that came through his blinds. Black like Castiel’s wings, are my wings black? Do I have wings?.... Like the door I saw in a dream once, where did it lead to? Like his eyes….wait. Stiles sat up confused on the memory that was brought up. 

     “Dean with black eyes?” Stiles moved to sit at the edge of his bed and rubbed a hand down his face. “But Dean’s not a demon…….but the door doesn’t ‘exist’ either……….or hasn’t happened yet.” Stiles picked up a notebook and started writing about the dreams, the door, Dean’s black eyes, and any theory he could think of for how time travel could work to bring to Bobby’s.

Chapter Text

     The next few weeks were spent going to school, Derek’s loft on Friday's for a pack meet, and home. School was as interesting as watching an black and white war movie, interesting but colourless; while home was just sleeping, reading, and going for a run. Derek’s was just watching movies or talking, but sometimes Stiles found it better than home. 

     It was a Friday in the middle of May, and the pack decided on pizza. Shocker, I know. Stiles was sitting on the floor against the couch because it was the only open spot left. Courtesy of Scott. Stiles played with the laces of his shoes while everyone was arguing about a movie to watch. 

     “How about Up?” 

     “We watched that last week, Isaac. How about the new Twilight movie?”

     “That’s worse and no one likes those movies, Allison.” Allison gasped at Isaac in mock betrayal.

     “Guys how about we just watch Ratatouille again?” 

     “Really Scott?” Derek sounded done with the whole idea of a movie. 

     “I heard that they are making a new show based off of a book series. Give me the remote.” Lydia was handed the remote from Erica who was just scrolling Netflix. It took a minute for her to find the show. 

     “ Supernatural?” Stiles looked up from his shoes at Scott’s words. 

     “Yeah it’s based off the series about two brothers who hunt the supernatural.” Lydia sounded sure which meant that they were going to be stuck watching it. 

     What the absolute- “Stiles read the books.” Stiles turned and glared at Scott, who was sitting at the edge of the couch next to Allison. “Yeah, last year right?” Scott explained while everyone had questioning looks. 

     “Yep.” Stiles said through gritted teeth. Nothing else was said as Lydia hummed then clicked on the first episode. Is there a wikiHow of ‘How to Put a Nephilim Out of Its Misery’?

     Let’s just say the night full of Lydia, Allison, Erica, and sometimes Isaac talking about how hot his dad and uncle were, made Stiles highly uncomfortable. Scott passed sorry looking glances with his puppy eyes every now and then. 

     They watched six episodes before it was late and Derek told everyone to leave or go to sleep. It was decided at that moment that the pack would sleep over. They somehow found enough blankets and pillows and everyone picked where they would be sleeping. 

     Stiles was kind of going through the motions as he couldn’t stop thinking about the books. Do they know about me now that I made contact with Bobby? Will I be in the show? Would that cause a paradox or some- “-Stiles?”

     “What?” Stiles looked at Lydia who was sitting up against the other couch. 

     “The show.” Lydia looked at him confused.

     “What?” I should really start paying more attention.

     “What did you think of the show? Does it live up to the books?” 

     “Oh, it was good. Some things were different, but yeah.” Stiles really didn’t want to be talking about it. Lydia nodded and turned to Allison to ask something Stiles couldn’t hear. 

     “So?” Stiles looked at Scott who sat down next to him against the couch.

     “So what?”

      “Bobby’s.” Scott looked like it should have been obvious. 

      “Yeah I’m going and yes my dad will be there.” Scott looked like an excited puppy.

     “I meant to ask you about that actually.” Stiles jumped a little and looked over at Isaac. “I thought Stillinski was your dad?” 

     “Oh. No, I’m adopted.” Stiles realised that everyone was looking at him shocked except Scott. “I’ve been visiting my biological dad in the summer.”

     “Bobby?” Boyd asked, sitting next to Erica.

      “No, Bobby is like a family friend. My dad’s name is De-stiel, Destiel Novak.” Really Psota, Destiel?

     “Destiel Novak?” Allison asked intrigued. 

     “Yeah.” Stiles prayed that the werewolves wouldn’t pick up his lie. Why is it so hard to learn to control your heart when you lie? They seemed good with that answer and Lydia and Allison went back to talking about the show. 

     Stiles looked over to the eyes that were watching him with a raised eyebrow. Derek frowned slightly and turned back to what Erica was saying. He totally saw through my lie.

1:35 

     Stiles stood out on the balcony of the loft looking out at the forest; everyone else was out half an hour ago. Stiles took out a flask from his back pocket and took a sip of whiskey. “Stiles.” 

      “Sourwolf.” Stiles looked over at him. 

     “Whiskey?” Derek walked over and stood next to Stiles. 

     “Yeah. It helps with the nightmares.” Stiles shrugged. “It works most of the time.” Derek didn’t respond. Always cheerful to talk to. “Look if you aren’t going to talk then I will.” 

     “You lied about your dad.” Stiles took another sip. 

     “So?” Derek didn’t say anything while Stiles started to get uncomfortable. “Look what am I supposed to say, oh yeah I’m a hunter’s kid and those books aren’t fiction and-” Stiles saw Derek’s face. 

     “A hunter’s kid?” Derek sounded strangely amused at the idea.

     “I’m drunk.” Stiles lied and put the flask back in his pocket. “And tired.” Stiles left Derek on the balcony and went back inside. Stiles laid down at his spot and closed his eyes; a minute later he heard Derek come in. Shit. Stiles didn’t sleep that night.

     Two weeks later. The pack was eating pizza and watching more Supernatural . 

     “Shadows, really?” Allison asked as the beginning of episode 16 was starting.

     “It's a Daeva which is a demon of darkness. They’re summoned by witches, mostly, to kill people and..” Stiles looked up from his shoes to find everyone staring at him. “What?”

     “You just spoiled the episode, that’s all.” Lydia replied. 

     “Oh.” Stiles nodded. 

     It was in the middle of episode 18 that Stiles’ phone started ringing. Bobby . “I’ll be back. You guys can keep watching.” Stiles said as he got up and walked towards the balcony door. He answered the phone as he closed the door. He leaned against the balcony wall looking into the loft. 

     “Hey.”

     “Hey kid.” Stiles smiled. “Look I talked it over with Dean and Sam, and it’s safe to come over next week.” Yes! “But there’s one thing you need to know.”

     “What?” Stiles heard the sudden seriousness. 

     “Sam won’t be the same. Dean is watching him and he may need your help.” Stiles nodded slowly even though Bobby couldn’t see him. 

      “Ok. Is he sick or wounded?” Stiles started to pace the length of the balcony. 

     “It’s better we talk when you get here.” Stiles nodded again. 

     “I’ll drive down next weekend.” 

     “Stay safe, kid.” Bobby said, then the line went dead. Stiles put his phone in his back pocket and leaned on his elbows on the balcony wall. Stiles rubbed a hand over his face as he stared at the forest. Is it something with Hell? He has to have his soul back by now. Stiles heard the door closed and looked up. 

     “Derek.” Derek didn't say anything as he leaned against the wall with his back to the forest. “Werewolf ears.” Stiles muttered and shook his head and sighed. “How much did you hear?”

     “Nothing, but you reek of worry.” Charming. Stiles rolled his eyes. 

     “My uncle got in an accident and I’m going to help my dad take care of him this summer.” How far from the truth makes it a lie? Derek didn’t say anything and Stiles fidgeted with his hands.

Chapter Text

     Sam was leaning against the window as Dean sped down the road. They were on their way to Bobby’s for something that Dean won’t exactly tell him. 

     “In a white room with black curtains in the station…”

     Sam watched a street lamp fly by and knew that Dean was definitely going way over the speed limit. They had to be about an hour out from Sioux Falls. “Hey..” Dean said as he turned down the Black Sabbath that was playing.

     “..Black roof country, no gold pavements, tired starlings…” Sam frowned at the never ending singing from the back seat. 

     “So I was thinking tha-” Dean stopped when he looked over at Sam. “Stairway to Heaven again?” Dean asked, amused. 

     Sam stared back at him feeling tired and done. “White Room, actually.” He saw Lucifer smile out of the corner of his eye. “Silver horses ran down moonbeams in your dark eyes…” Sam frowned even more at the semi-out of tune, but surprisingly good singing.

     Dean laughs. “What I was going to say..” He jesters with his right hand to nothing in particular. “I was thinking that I should tell you that there's someone I want you to meet. Actually that's why we are going to Bobby’s in the first place.”

     “Wait. You told me that this was an emergency; like life or death.” Sam stared at Dean as he shrugged in response. “Dawn light smiles on you leaving, my contentment…”  

     “Ok so I may have lied about the emergency part of it.” Sam gave Dean his bitch face and Dean smiled in return. 

     “Dean, you brought me out here to Sioux to see someone. Like a hunter, a witch, a psychic?” Sam looked at the black open road ahead wanting nothing more but to sleep. “I’ll wait in this place where the sun never shines..” Sam turned around and looked at Lucifer with a glare. “Ok, ok. Jeez.” Lucifer put his hands up in mock surrender. 

     Dean doesn’t comment on it and sighs. “The kid’s not a hunter, but not a civilian either. He knows about the supernatural, hell he’s a part of it, but isn’t really considered a hunter either. Look, it's hard to explain and it will be better when we get there.”

     A kid? “Wait in this place where shadows run from themselves.” Sam leaned his head back against the glass and tried to tune out the singing. 

     It was just after midnight when they pulled into the junkyard. As Sam got out of the car he noticed a blue beaten up Jeep a few feet aways. Dean shook his head and laughed quietly when Sam pointed at it questionably. Sam looked at the house with a fond smile as Dean got their bags. 

     “You know what Sammy?” Lucifer smiled while walking towards the Jeep as if to inspect it. “I have a feeling that this summer is going to be fun.” Sam glared at him and watched as he made a circle around the car. 

     “Sam.” Sam looked up to see Dean almost to the door with their bags in hand. “You coming or what?” Sam nodded and followed Dean into the house. 

     Dean was going through the usual hunter’s greeting while Sam closed the door behind him. “Hey Bobby.” Dean passed over the flask to Sam as Bobby smiled. 

     They were settling down in the library after the greeting when Dean asked what Sam’s been thinking. “Where’s the kid?” 

     Bobby sighed as he poured two glasses of whiskey. “Sleeping. He got in about two hours ago.”

     Dean nodded. “Someone has a secret.” Lucifer said half mindedly as he looked around the room at all the different books. Sam watched as he picked a book up and opened it amused. 

     “How’s he been doing?” Dean said, sounding a bit concerned. Sam could feel Lucifer smile from where was standing behind him. 

     “I wouldn’t know. The kid stopped contacting me around January.” Bobby replied, throwing a cautious look at Sam. “When I asked him about it he just said ‘long story’.” Bobby shrugged. Dean nodded and said nothing else. 

     Sam woke up the next morning to the house being quiet. When he got down stairs the kitchen was empty, but coffee was made. Sam was grabbing a cup and filling it when he heard a noise from the front porch. With the cup in hand he opened the door to find Dean and Bobby sitting on the porch. 

     “Morning Sammy.” Sam nodded and sat down next to Dean. 

     “What are you doing out here?” Sam ran a hand down his face to clear up the fading tiredness. 

      “Waiting for the kid to be done with his run.” Dean replied, looking to the right side of the yard. Sam watched as a kid, about 16-17, jogging around the corner smiling. For a second Sam could have swore he saw a younger Dean, but the more he watched the weirder the thought became. 

     “Morning.” The kid greeted Sam when he stopped in front of the porch. Sam heard a small gasp behind him and looked to see Lucifer staring at the kid. When Sam looked back at the kid for a second he thought that the kid was looking at Lucifer. Can he see Luci?

     Dean got up and hugged the kid. “Sam meet Psota.” Dean was ruffling Psota’s hair. 

     “It’s Stiles, da-Dean.” Stiles said smiling and laughed when Dean gave him a look. Sam noticed the slip up and felt uneasy. 

     “Dad?” Sam questioned. Dean and Stiles stopped and looked at each other as Bobby sighed and got up. 

     “Anybody hungry?” That was the end of the conversation for now. Stiles went inside saying something about a shower; Bobby followed after which left Sam and Dean looking at each other. 

     “Dean.” Sam didn’t know what to say. Behind him he could hear Lucifer shift as if feeling awkward. Weird.

     “I’ll explain, but how about we eat first.” Dean offered a hand out and Sam took it.

     Breakfast was quiet, but soon as it was over everyone was in the library. “So..” Dean looked uncomfortable and didn’t know where to start. 

     “My name is Psota Winchester.” Stiles spoke up after it looked like Dean wasn’t going to say anything. 

     The name seemed familiar. Where have I heard it? “The call.” Sam took a quick look at Lucifer, who was sitting on the back of the couch. “You called last year looking for your parents.” The memory came back to him now.

     “Yeah.” Stiles fidgeted with a string on his shirt (flannel, which Sam took note of). “Long story short I’m a nephilim and from the future.” Stiles gave a small smile. 

     “Your Dean’s kid?” Stiles nodded and Sam looked over at Dean. “Looks like Romeo and Juliet had a kid before their beautiful end.” Sam noticed Stiles eyes flickering to Lucifer before at Dean. 

     “Yeah, he’s my and … kid.” Sam could fill in the blanks and nodded as Dean shifted a little.

     “And you're from the future?” Stiles gave a small smile. “Told you it would be fun.” Stiles looked over Sam’s shoulder at Lucifer and gave a small snort. So he can see you. There was a laugh from behind him and Sam could feel the corner of his mouth tilt up involuntarily.

Chapter Text

     The awkwardness stuck around for a bit, but after lunch Sam was sitting on the porch steps watching Stiles and Dean getting tools from the garage. “You know Sam, that kid can be dangerous.” Sam looked up at Lucifer who was leaning on the porch railing. “Nephilims are twice as powerful as the angel and the kid is a Winchester.”  

     Sam looked back to where Stiles and Dean were opening the Jeep’s hood. “Sonovabitch!” Stiles smiled sheepishly as Dean took out a mound of duck tape. “His grace is bound, but once it starts to show….” Lucifer shrugged, but Sam knew the end of that sentence. “He’ll be a beacon.” Sam watched Stiles laugh at Dean's distress. What were our future selves thinking?

     Stiles was laughing at Dean’s rising anger at the amount of duct tape under the Jeep’s hood. He stopped when he saw Sam sitting on the porch steps looking distressed while Lucifer watched a bird fly by. “How long?”

     “What?” Dean looked up at him then followed his gaze to Sam. 

     “How long has Lucifer been with him?” Stiles watched as Lucifer looked over and waved. Stiles frowned and waved back even though it would seem odd to Dean.

     Dean gave him a questioning look, but answered. “A week or two. Death got Sam his soul back and sealed his memories of hell. It worked for a while until…” Dean trailed off and had a distant look in his eyes. Stiles nodded and decided not to push any farther.

     An hour passed and Stiles looked up to see Sam go into the house while Lucifer stayed on the porch. “How’s Cas?” Stiles asked as he went back to looking for a tool. 

     Dean stilled for a moment. “He’s being Crowley's best buddy or something.” Stiles could hear the hurt and anger in Dean’s voice. Stiles watched in silence as Dean took out a part out of the car that Stiles had never seen before.  

     “It was Cas.” Stiles could see Lucifer leaning against the car out of his peripheral vision. “The one who unblocked Sam’s memory.” Stiles picked at a piece of duct tape that was stuck to the fuse box. “I mean your dad’s gone off the deep end.” Lucifer frowned to himself and shook his head. “I mean my little bro trying to play God while his kid runs with wolves.” Stiles stopped and looked up at him. Lucifer made a mocking gasp then smiled. “Whoops.”  

     “You good?” Stiles felt Dean’s hand on his shoulder and frowned. Dean looked between him and the empty space where Lucifer is. “You see him, don’t you?” Stiles nodded. “Don’t listen to what he says. Sam says that it's all bullshit.” Stiles nodded again and went back to the piece of duct tape. 

     “Why can I see him, but you can’t?” Stiles finally got the duct tape off and handed it back to Dean.

     “Lucifer is in Sam’s head or that’s what we think. I don’t know why you can see him, but it probably has something to do with being part angel.” “And part demon.” Stiles looked at Lucifer questioning for a second before being given the alternator. Stiles started to concentrate on taking off the duct tape, but kept a close eye on Lucifer.

     Stiles helped and watched Dean basically rebuild his engine from scratch. Lucifer stayed quiet after the demon remark and tried to look uninterested in Dean's work. “I got to get something to finish it up.” Dean said as he pointed over the garage. Stiles nodded and watched him walk away. 

     “Demon?” Stiles stayed watching Dean, he could hear Lucifer move next to him.

     “Yep. Not enough to be noticeable at first though.”  

     “How?”

     “I can’t tell the future, but if I had to guess, Mr. Righteous Man makes a deal.”  

     Stiles nodded. “Is that just a Winchester thing or..?” 

     Lucifer chuckled, “You should know, kid. Crowley?” 

     Stiles couldn’t help but smile and shake his head. “How do you know about that?” Lucifer shrugged. 

     Sam was reading a book on Nephilims while Bobby took a phone call, when Dean and Stiles walked in covered in grease and sweat. Lucifer followed the two in looking bored. “You two get it done?” 

     “Yeah. Could not believe the amount of duct tape the kid stuck in there.” Dean grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down at the table. Stiles smiled innocently and grabbed a cup of water. Sam kept Luci in the corner of his eye. 

     “What?” Lucifer looked offended. “ I’m innocent.” Sam could see Stiles shake his head and frowned. 

     It was late when Sam joined Stiles on the back porch. “What are you doing up?” Sam asked as he sat down on the stairs next to Stiles.

     Stiles sighed then laughed. “I have a terrible sleep schedule.” Sam nodded and thought about how messed up his schedule is sometimes. “I know that Lucifer is..well Lucifer, but I didn’t know he was such a..” Stiles waved his hand while looking for a word. 

     “Pain.” Sam shook his head in understanding. 

     “Yeah. Stiles smiled as he looked out at the yard. 

     “Stiles.” Sam fidgeted with his hands for a second. “You know what comes with being a Winchester or, hell, even a nephilim?” Sam looked at the boy that was only 16 and already seemed to be doomed by the universe. 

     Stiles smiled sadly and laughed, “Yeah and it’s alright.” Sam watched the boy fidgeted. “Can’t run away from what you're supposed to be.” 

     Sam looked at the boy with worry. “That’s not true. The idea of you even being here shows that it isn’t true.” 

     “Yeah because I’m not an abomination.” Stiles said, full of sarcasm, but it didn’t hide his voice crack.

     Sam watched as Stiles wiped his face. “So what if angels are assholes, that doesn’t mean you are nothing. You’re probably one of the most powerful beings, it may be because you're a nephilim and a Winchester, but that’s only if you let yourself be. You can be whoever you want.” Sam watched as a tear fell down Stiles’ face.

     “Thanks.” It sounded choked and Stiles wiped at the tears on his face. Sam nodded and looked away from Stiles to the yard; feeling calmed by the night. Nothing else was said as they sat there shoulder to shoulder while Stiles cried quietly. 

      It’s been half a week and everything has calmed down. Sam learned that Stiles was on the highschool lacrosse team, sarcastic, makes weird references, and has a strange sense of knowing. Lucifer has taken to splitting his time between Stiles and Sam which he’s glad about. 

     It was dinner when everything went sideways. 

     “Me and Scott went looking for a dead body.” Sam saw that immediately after Stiles spoke that he regretted it. “Um..”

     Dean choked on his beer as Sam shared a confused look with Bobby. “You did what?” Dean coughed out.

     “Scott and I went to look for …the other half… of a dead body.” Stiles fidgeted with his fork. Lucifer snorted, “and got his friend bitten by a French werewolf.” Stiles looked up scared at Sam. Why are you such a douche?

     “You went to find a dead body in the woods without any information?” Dean had a still expression on his face, but Sam could see the mix of emotions. Stiles nodded and looked between Sam and Dean. Dean shook his head at his loss of words. “Is this why you didn’t keep in touch with Bobby?” 

     Stiles shrugged and glanced at Sam then Bobby. “That was something else.” Sam looked down at his plate. Just rip the band-aid off Stiles.

     There was silence and Sam looked around the table; Dean was rubbing a hand down his face while Bobby looked like he was trying to figure something out. “Stiles.” Stiles looked up at Sam with wide eyes. “They’re going to find out no matter what.” 

     Dean looked confusedly between the two as Stiles nodded. “It was a werewolf…that killed the girl.”

Chapter Text

     Dean watched Stiles fidgeted with his fork. Why? Why can’t we just get out of this damn life? Dean ran a hand down his face because he couldn’t even be mad at the kid. The kid is a Winchester and a nephilim, this was bound to happen.  

     “What kind of werewolf?” Sam asked, seeming to remember something. 

     “French.” Stiles nodded. 

     “French werewolves?” Dean really didn’t know that there were different werewolves. 

     Stiles looked between Sam and Dean as if to find the words. 

     “French werewolves are different from the average werewolves you hunt.” Bobby got up to look for a book. “They have control over their shift and silver doesn’t kill them.” Bobby found the book he was looking for and sat back down. 

     “So basically they’re evolved more than the ones here.” Dean realised he was fidgeting with his fork and stopped. 

     “They were the ones that Campbell was looking for.” Dean cringed at the mention of his insane grandfather. “He was working with the Argents, I think.” Sam frowned at the uncertainty. 

     “The Argents?” Bobby found the page he was looking for and put the book down in front of Dean to look at. “I bet it was Gerard and Kate. Those two are the most obsessed hunters I’ve ever met. Obsessed with killing any being in sight ” 

     Dean noticed Stiles flinching at the mention of the two Argents. “You know them, kid.”

     Stiles slowly nodded. “They’re dead as well as Chris Argent’s wife.” God kid what happened? Bobby looked relieved at this news while Sam looked concerned. 

     “What happened?” Sam was the one who asked.

     Stiles swallowed. “The werewolf that killed the girl, he bit my best friend Scott.” Stiles was stabbing the table with his fork and nobody stopped him. “So I tried to help Scott control his shift with the werewolf’s nephew Derek, but….”

     It was two hours later and Dean lost count of the glasses of whiskey he had. He could tell that there were things that Stiles didn’t mention or would trail off on, but Dean could fill in the gaps. 

     “Why don’t you boys get some rest.” Bobby got up and put the dishes in the sink. Sam nodded and looked between Dean and Stiles. Dean nodded and started getting up while motioning for Stiles to follow him. 

     Dean and Stiles were sitting out back on the porch steps just like the night at Lisa’s almost a year ago. Where did the time go?  

     “Psota.” Dean rubbed his face again. He feels like he has been doing that a lot lately. 

     “Dad.” Stiles leaned against Dean’s shoulder.

     “I’m sorry.” Dean could feel the build of tears behind his eyes. 

     “It’s not your fault. It was mine for being careless.” Stiles said softly and it reminded Dean so much of Cas. 

     “What were our older selves thinking?” Dean asked himself with his head in his hands.

     “There had to be a good reason for me to be here. I know that you wouldn’t do anything without a good cause.” Stiles said.

     Sometimes Dean forgets that Stiles has read all about his life and yet doesn’t hold anything against him. “God you are so much like him sometimes.” Dean didn’t need to elaborate who, Stiles already knew.

     Stiles chuckled. “Everyone back home would disagree.” Dean smiled. He thought about the crazy plans and terrible luck Stiles mentioned when he was telling about his adventures. It reminded him of himself so much.

     They sat outside silently until Dean realised that Stiles had fallen asleep. Dean smiled and picked the boy to carry him inside. 

     The next two weeks Dean taught Stiles everything there is to know about self defence. Most of the time Sam watched from the porch with a book while Booby worked. Sometimes Dean dragged Sam into a mock fight to show Stiles a move. 

     It was mid day near the end of June, Stiles was exhausted, but determined to reach the goal Dean had given him. “I will tackle you.” Stiles huffed out as he got into a fighting stance. 

     Dean smiled. “Remember to watch out for the legs.” Dean had swept Stiles’ legs out from under him almost every time. 

     Stiles and Dean stood in a fighting stance, waiting for the other to start. Stiles threw the first punch which Dean dodged and went to lightly punch Sitles in the chest. Stiles twisted and hooked a leg around Dean’s right leg. Dean grabbed Stiles’ arm to throw him over his shoulder, but a second later Dean was on the floor with Stiles staring down at him, smiling. 

     “I did it! Yes!” Stiles did a little dance while Dean’s brain caught up. “Remember to watch for the legs.” Stiles teased.

     “Damn kid, what did you do?” Dean sat up and looked at Stiles. Stiles looked over at Dean and for a second he could have sworn that the kid’s eyes glowed. 

      “I don’t know.” Stiles frowned and looked at his hands. Sam had walked over and offered Dean a hand up. 

     “Stiles took your leg out then used his weight to drop you.” Dean dusted off his pants and nodded. Sam gave Stiles a pat on the back. “Nice job.” 

      “Ok what about Sam?” Dean towards Stiles. “Tackle him.” Dean needs to test his theory of Stiles’ powers. 

      Stiles nodded and got in a fighting stance. Sam looked hesitant. “Are you sure?” 

      “I can take on a giant.” Stiles responded which made Dean laugh. Sam seemed content with the answer and got into a stance. 

     They stood there for a second while Dean closely watched. Sam threw the first punch and in a flash the fight was over. Stiles was standing over Sam smiling while the other man caught his breath. There it is. Stiles looked over at Dean excitedly with his eyes glowing. So it is his angel mojo. Dean smiled and hugged the boy. 

     “For a second it felt like Sam was a feather.” Stiles looked at his hands confused while the glow in his eyes faded. “Is it my angel mojo?” Dean looked over at Sam with a smile. 

     “Yeah, but we got your eyes to stop glowing or it will give you away.” Dean walked over and gave his brother a hand. Sam nodded as he took the help. 

     “Dean.” Dean looked up at Sam to find him frowning. Dean looked at Stiles and smiled. 

     “How about we call it a day. You can go read the leviathan book you wanted to.” Stiles nodded and ran off while yelling a ‘thanks’ over his shoulder.

     “Dean.”

     “I know.” Dean was still looking towards the house, not wanting to face his brother yet.

     “Even if you teach him to hide it, it’s still going to be figured out. Hell what happens if he starts flying or seeing souls. You can’t-”

     “I know” Dean looked back at Sam. “But the kid is going to have to learn. He can’t ignore it forever.”

     Sam had a concerned look on his face. It’s the same look of concern that he gave whenever he thought that it was risky. 

     “Look, I raised you. How hard is it to teach a half-human-half-angel kid?” Dean shrugged, he could feel the anxiety already settling in his gut. 

     Sam shook his head. “I’m your brother, that's different. This is your kid, Dean.” Dean looked towards the ground and swallowed. “Look. I’m here if you need anything.” Sam patted Dean’s shoulder as he walked towards the house. 

     My kid that I already failed to protect from this fucked life. Dean looked about at the sky, wishing that Cas was there.

Chapter Text

     It was a Saturday afternoon that Stiles flew for the first time. Stiles was sitting on top of a car stack when he slipped and teleported a foot away from the stack.

     “What the hell.” Stiles looked at the ground around him that he is now standing on. Lucifer watched from the side of the house as Stiles climbed the stack again. “ The kid is going to get himself killed.”

     Stiles jumped off the top of the stack. Lucifer watched as the kid panicked then appeared standing on the ground next to the stack. The kid noticed him watching and paused. “Flying are we?”

     “I don’t think I did it right.” Lucifer raised an eyebrow and spread his grace out. He could see the young black wings on Stiles’ back. It reminded him of when Castiel was younger and of his own black burnt leathery wings.

     “You’ll get the hang of it soon.” Lucifer watched Stiles’ wings ruffle when the kid frowned and pulled his grace back in. “I can teach you.” Stiles looked up at him in shock. “What are uncles for?”

     Stiles shook his head and mumbled. “What is my life?” Lucifer smiled and laughed. “What about Dean?” Stiles looked at the house and Lucifer followed. He could see Dean’s soul shining brightly through the house. 

     “What about him?” 

     “The demon part of me.” Stiles looked down at his hands. Lucifer remembered seeing Stiles’ soul on that first day. It shined as brightly as Dean’s, but with the smudge of dirt that made even Lucifer want to flee. 

     “You don’t have to worry about that. Uncle Luci will teach you how to control it.” Lucifer watched the kid stare at the floor in thought. “I don't have all day.”

     “Fine.” 

     Lucifer smiled. He liked the kid. Stiles reminded him of Castiel and the years Gabriel and himself had spent raising the younger. Sometimes Lucifer wishes for those days and sometimes he wants those days to burn. Right now, he feels like this is his second chance. 

      Stiles was standing out in the middle of a field when he opened his eyes. It had been two hours since Lucifer found him at the stacks. He looked around to find wheat in every direction. 

     “Um.” Stiles took a second look around hoping for something he missed. 

     “Shit.” There was nothing but wheat. 

     “‘Think of a field,’ he said. ‘You won’t fly,’ he said.” Stiles patted his pockets for his phone. 

     “‘It will be fine.’ This is what I get for trusting Lucifer!” He found his phone and turned it on. No Service. Shit. 15% . Double shit.  

     “Think Psota, you flew here. So why don’t you fly back?” Stiles felt his wings stretch like the way Lucifer taught him. Think of Bobby’s. The house. The garage. The random panic room in the basement. The library. 

     Stiles felt his wings move, but when he opened his eyes there was only wheat. “Fuck!” Stiles walked through the field with no direction in mind. 

     It was nightfall when he saw lights in the distance. Stiles could make out a sign in the distance as he got closer. Welcome to Manchester Oklahoma!  

     Oklahoma? Stiles walked past the sign and into the small town. The town was quiet and dead looking. “This can’t be how I die.” He made it to the Cenex and sat down on the curb in front of the gas pump. 

     He found Dean’s contact and pressed the call button. 

     Ring….Ring…. Pick up please …CLICK!

     “Stiles!” Thank God.

     “Hey dad.”

     “Where are you? Sam said that Lucifer did something.”

     “I’m fine dad.” Stiles watched a shady figure cross the street toward him. Shit. “I’m in Oklahoma.” Stiles watched the figure stop in front of the lit gravel. 

    “....You wanna elaborate?” Stiles didn’t take his eyes off the figure.

     “I flew and somehow ended up in a field outside of Manchester.” Stiles felt a coldness creep in around him. “It’s not safe here dad.”

     “We’re on our way. How long can you stay on the pho-.” Stiles heard the click of his phone disconnecting. Dead. Stiles put his phone down, not bothering to take his eyes off the figure for a second. 

     He stood up and put the phone in his back pocket. “Look, I'm just trying to get home.” Stiles watched the figure shift. “I don't want any trouble."

     The figure started walking forwards which caused Stiles to take a step back. My pocket knife. Stiles reached for his boot. He started putting the knife in there after the night with Gerard. 

     "You need a place?" What? Stiles had his pocket knife in hand when the figure stopped a few feet from him. "I said, ‘Do you need a place?’" 

     Don't talk to strangers. Welp I think that went out the window last year, soo... "No, my dad is going to be here in a bit." 

      “It’s not safe out here. Why don’t I come sit next to ya while we wait for your dad?” There was a coldness that ran through his bones. Stiles sat back down on the small curb. “It gets lonely out here.” Stiles got a better look at the man as he sat down a few feet away. The man had to be 6 foot and in good shape. He had tan skin and long black hair. 

     “Yeah.” Stiles shivered as he felt the air shift. 

     About 20 minutes went by and Stiles had built up the courage to ask to borrow  the man’s phone. “Sure.” The man pulled it out of his back pocket. 

     Stiles took the phone and called Dean. Ring…Ring..Ri-CLICK!  

     “Hello.”

     “Dad.” Stiles kept an eye on the man. 

     “..What happened? Did-”

    “I’m fine dad.” Stiles shook his head. “I’m at the gas pump with…”Stiles looked over at the man.

     “Walker.” The man, Walker, replied, catching Stiles' hesitation. 

     “..Walker. He looks like a decent guy.”

     “Stiles.” Stiles sighed. “It’s going to be at most seven hours, kid. Find a place to sleep and stay safe.” Stiles nodded and looked over at Walker, as if to judge the man. 

     “Ok.” There was a click and the call ended. 

     “Have you eaten?” Walker stood up and took the phone back. “My partner is making dinner if you want some.” The man started walking towards the street. 

     Stiles swallowed and stood up. “Sure.” He followed Walker across the street and down towards a house. 

     The house was small, but beautiful. There were lights on inside and music playing that you could hear through the screen door. Walker walked up the porch and opened the screen. “You coming?” Stiles nodded and followed him through the door.

     Stiles let the screen door close behind him and watched Walker walk into the kitchen with a smile. 

     “How did the talk with the kid go?” A man with long blonde hair asked. Walker leaned against a counter next to his partner. The man was noticeably shorter than Walker.

     “He’s staying for dinner.” The man turned around from the stove to find Stiles standing in the entryway. 

     “Oh. I’m Thomas.” Thomas walked over and held his hand out. 

     “Stiles.” He shook Thomas’ hand. Thomas motioned him to sit at the table when he walked back over to the stove. Stiles took a seat and looked around the room. It was small, but cosy. There were paintings on the wall with some photos in between. 

     “So where you from honey?” Stiles looked back at Thomas and Walker. Walker was eating an apple as he watched his partner cook. 

     “California.” Thomas nodded and turned off the stove. 

     “Long away from here to California.” Stiles nodded and looked over a painting that caught his eye. It was of a blue house in the middle of a sea of wheat. 

     “I was visiting my dad in Sioux.” Walker took three bowls out of the cabinet while Thomas added green onions. 

     “Still a long way out, kid.” Walker said as he passed a bowl to Thomas. Stiles frowned and picked at his hands. “How long is it going to be?” 

     “My dad said about 7 hours, maybe less if he ignores the speed limit.” Stiles turned around when Walker walked over with two bowls in his hands. He put one down in front of Stiles then sat down across from him. 

     “Hope you like chilli.” Thomas said as he sat down with his bowl and passed out spoons.

Chapter Text

     Dinner was nice, Stiles sat and listened as Walker and Thomas talked about their day. Walker works at the grain company while Thomas works at the bar. It was half way through their second bowl that Thomas asked Stiles a question.

     “How did you end up here?” Stiles stared at his chilli. ………………

     “Drugs.” Fuck! “I mean I woke up in a field ” Abort! Abort! Stiles closed his mouth and focused on the chilli. Shit…now they think I do drugs.

     “Oh.” There was a shift. Stiles wanted to faze into the chair he was sitting on. “So you partied too hard with some friends?” Thomas said and Stiles looked up at him.

     “Yeah.” Walker laughed and Thomas smiled quietly. This is fine.

     “I remember when Thomas would call me to pick him up when we were in highschool. Always ended up in the strangest of places.” Thomas shook his head and laughed. 

     “I had fun while you wanted to work over time.” Thomas pointed a finger at Walker. “ And I didn’t end up in a different state.” 

     Walker laughed and Stiles felt better. “Does your dad know, kid?” Walker looked back at Stiles.

     “No.” Stiles frowned. Has Dean ever done drugs?

     “Well, we won’t say anything, but you better get cleaned up. That stuff can be deadly.” Thomas said as he picked up his and Walker’s bowls. Note: Never do drugs,easy . Stiles nodded and finished his bowl. 

     Thomas took Stiles’ empty bowl. “You can use the landline to call your dad while Walker and I clean.” Thomas pointed towards the hallway. 

     “Thank you.” Stiles got up and turned the hallway to see the land line halfway down. Stiles looked at the pictures and paintings as he walked down the hallway. He could hear laughter from the kitchen when he picked up the handset and dialled Dean.

     Ring..Ring..Ring…..CLICK

     “Hello.” It was Sam that answered. 

     “Hey.” Stiles stared at a picture that was on the table next to the phone. It was of two kids outside. 

     “Stiles!” It was Dean. Must be on speaker phone. “How’s it going?” 

     “Good. I’m staying with Walker and his husband.” Stiles looked over at a picture on the wall of the two kids, a bit older, with a labrador in between them. 

     “We’re less than five hours out. You stay put.”  Sam informed him. Stiles nodded even though they couldn't see him. 

     “Will do.” Stiles saw another picture, this time it was of the kids and the lab with Walker and Thomas. “I’ll be fine here.” 

     “Stay safe.” Dean said then there was a click and all Stiles heard was the buzzing of the phone. 

     “How long?” Stiles jumped and took the pocket knife out of his pocket. Thomas was standing in the doorway looking at the open knife in Stiles’ hand. 

     “Five hours.” Stiles shifted as he put the knife away. “Sorry.”

     Thomas nodded. “We were thinking of watching a movie, if you would like to join.” He then walked back into the kitchen. 

     Stiles put a hand on the table next to him. Breath Stiles. After a minute of calming down his heart Stiles walked back into the kitchen. 

     Walker was making popcorn while Thomas was nowhere to be found. “He’s in the other room.” Walker said with the tilt of his head towards the archway next to the dining table. 

     “Thanks.” Stiles walked towards the other room. In the room was a sofa and a tv with windows on two of the walls. The windows had currents that reached the floor and were closed.

     “How do you feel about Stand by Me ?” What? Stiles stared at Thomas in confusion. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Thomas laughed as he put the disk in the DVD player.

     It was just after 10:00 when the movie finished. Stiles was half asleep on one side of the couch while Thomas and Walker softly talked on the other. 

     “Kid.” Walker looked over at Stiles. Stiles tried to keep his eyes open as he laid there. “Why don’t I show you to the guest room.” Walker got up and gave hand to Stiles. Stiles nodded and took his hand to be led down the hall. “What car are we looking for?” 

     “What?” Stiles mumbled as they got to a nice white door at the end of the hallway. 

     “What car does your dad drive?” Walker opened the door and untuck the sheets as Stiles stumbled to take his shoes off. 

     “Black Impala.” Stiles finally got his right shoe off after a small fight. Walker nodded and walked towards the door as Stiles got in bed. 

     “Door open or closed?” Walker turned off the light once Stiles was situated. 

     “Open.” God this bed is soft.

     “Good night, Kid.” It was the last thing Stiles heard as Walker left the door a crack. Goodnight.

     Next thing Stiles knew, the sound of the Impala was outside. Stiles stumbled out of bed and looked around in the half lit room for his shoes. After a minute he found them and quickly put them on; not bothering to tie them. 

     There were voices in the kitchen as he walked down the hallway. He stopped half way from the kitchen.  

     “Thanks for taking care of the kid.” Dean.

     “It was the most we could do.” Thomas replied. “It’s a long way from home.” 

     “Yeah his mom would’ve killed me if ‘she’ found out.” Stiles smiled at the thought of Cas being his mom. 

     “Oh. Are you two split?” Thomas seemed generally curious. 

     “It’s complicated.” Dean said pointedly. “I’m taking care of him for the summer for his adopted father.” 

     “Oh. Well no matter what the situation is, your son is amazing.” Thomas said then there was some shuffling. “Good thing we got to him when we did. ”

     There was a silence before Walker spoke up. “Teens gone missing at the gas station just down the street.” There was more shuffling then Walker spoke quieter. “Old man Johnson, down the road, says that sometimes there would be a car rolling in around midnight. Each night a different car then after a minute ...gone.” 

     The whole house was still. Stiles pressed up against the wall of the hallway and stared at the floor. Thomas was the next to speak. “It started out as a tale, but some of the high school kids liked to go out there sometimes. Then one night our son and his friends were doing some dare and…..” 

     Walker finished the sentence. “The kids won’t talk about what happened that night and we haven't seen our Bret since.” Stiles looked up from the floor to see the final picture at the end of the hallway. It was of the girl all grown up in a cap and gown surrounded by family and friends. The boy, Bret, was missing from the picture. Oh… It hurt to realise how close the picture was to his new life. 

     Dean spoke up. “I’m sorry for your loss.” There was whispered talking that Stiles couldn’t pick up. 

     “How ‘bout you go tell Stiles that his dad is here.” It was Thomas. Stiles quickly shuffled down the rest of the hall before they could realise he was standing there. 

     “Oh. There he is.” Thomas said when Stiles appeared in the doorway of the kitchen.

     Dean turned around and smiled. “Thank god you're alive.” Stiles smiled back as he hugged his dad. “Don’t ever do that again.” Stiles could hear the unspoken ‘you scared me’. 

     “I won’t” Dean broke apart from him and looked back at Thomas and Walker. 

     “Thank you again.” Thomas nodded while Walker smiled.

     “Have a safe trip.” Walker called as Stiles smiled and followed Dean out the front door. 

     They got into the car and pulled out of the makeshift driveway. Lucifer sat next to him in the back with a smile on his face. “So.” Dean looked at Stiles from the rear view mirror. “You flew.” 

     Stiles picked at his hands. “How was the trip?”  Stiles looked over at Lucifer and gave him the middle finger. Lucifer put his hands up in mock surrender. “Yeah, I flew.” Stiles turned around and looked out the window. He could see Dean and Sam share a look out of the corner of his eye. 

     “And Lucifer taught you.”

     “Yeah.” Stiles really just wanted to sleep.

     Dean sighed and shared another look with Sam. “Get some sleep, kid.” Dean turned up that music as Stiles laid his head against the glass window. The last thing Stiles heard was Dean whispering. “I think we have a case.”

Chapter Text

     The closest motel to Manchester was the Sky-Palace in Anthony, Kansas. Stiles was still passed out when Dean pulled into the parking lot. “You get a room. I’ll get the kid.” Dean told Sam as he turned off the car. 

     Sam walked over to the office while Dean took a quick look around. There was one other car in the parking lot. Dean opened the back door of the Impala and put a hand on Stiles shoulder. “Kid.” Stiles' face twitched slightly in acknowledgement. 

     Sam came back with a key and opened the room while Dean picked up Stiles. The room had two beds, a small couch on one wall and a four seat table. Once Dean put Stiles down on the couch and threw a blanket on top of him, did Sam speak. “Are we going to let him hunt?”

     Dean looked at Sam. “Let’s just get some rest.” Nothing else was said that night. 

     Sam and Dean were eating lunch when Sam found something. “So get this. There used to be a story back in the 80’s that a car would come around every so often to ‘take the delinquents.” Sam looked up and frowned.

     “Delinquents?” Dean sat back and looked at Sam.

     “Yeah, that’s what it seemed like most people called teens back then.” Sam nodded as he typed something else on the computer. Dean looked over at Stiles who began to move. Stiles sat up and rubbed his face. 

     “Rise and shine, kid.” Dean could see Sam gave him a bitch face out of the corner of his eye. 

     “Where are we?” Stiles looked around the room as he got up and stretched. 

     “Anthony, Kansas. We got a case.” Stiles nodded and walked over to them. Dean slid a container of fries and a burger over to Stiles. 

     Stiles looked at the food in confusion. “What time is it?” Stiles sat down next to Dean. 

     “One.” Sam answered while staring at the screen that neither Dean or Stiles could see. Dean looked over at Stiles and shrugged. Stiles shrugged back. 

     Stiles was finishing his fries when Sam spoke up. “The supposed driver, 30 year old Roger Douglas, was on trial for 10 missing teens in 1982, but they had no evidence. He’s buried in Burchfiel Cemetery.” Sam looks up at Dean and Stiles 

     “You think this is our guy?” Dean got up and looked through a duffle bag for the shotgun. 

     “I mean everything kind of leads to him.”

     “Then we ride at dusk.” Dean said as he started to take apart the shotgun. Dean was wiping down the barrel when Stiles came up to him.

     “Can I hunt?” Dean looked over at the kid. His kid. He glanced at Sam for a second to see Sam looking back. Dean looked back at Stiles and really looked at him. He’s going to have to learn. His brain supplied.

     “Sure.” Dean looked back at the dismantled gun on the bed. “You got to help your old man first.” So Dean taught Stiles to clean a gun. 

     Sam worked on anything else he could. He could see Dean and Stiles standing shoulder to shoulder over the bed. The way when Dean stood relaxed while Stiles was randomly talking about a story form California. Sam smiled and took out his phone to take a photo. He was happy that Dean got something that he deserved, even if it isn’t exact. 

     Sam watched in amusement as Dean gave Stiles a shovel. Stiles struggled to dig for a minute before Dean gave him the shotgun and told him to watch guard. “Does he know how to use a shotgun?” Sam asked as he and Dean were halfway through digging. 

     Dean shot a glare that answered a ‘no and shut up’. Sam smiled and shook his head. He looked over to where Stiles was standing, shot gun in hand, with Lucifer at his side. Sam rolled his eyes when Lucifer looked back at him and waved. 

     Stiles felt uneasy looking at the dark empty cemetery in front of him. “ Dean putting you on look out. He’s not as smart as I thought.” Stiles glared at Lucifer only to get a smile in return. 

     It was another twenty minutes before Stiles heard “What the fuck?” from behind him. He turned around to find Dean and Sam standing in the open grave.

     “It’s just an urn.” Dean said in disbelief.  Sam glared at the grave and crouched down so Stiles couldn’t see him anymore. 

     Something caught Stiles out of the corner of his eye. Lucifer was watching something and following his gaze Stiles saw a car sitting on the road. The car was faded, but Stiles could make out the 1980 look of a Volkswagen. 

     Shit. “Guys.” There was no answer as Stiles watched as the car turned towards him. “Guys!” He could hear a shuffling from behind him and a quiet ‘Shit.’ 

     Stiles watched as the car seemed to come closer. Lucifer watched from next to him. “I think now would be a good time to shoot.” Stiles held the shotgun as close to the movies as possible and pulled the trigger. The car disappeared in sparks as Stiles fell back on his butt. Lucifer gave him a mocking smile and Stiles flipped him off. 

     There was a rumble and light that came from behind him. Stiles quickly stumbled to stand up. A 1970’s Stingray was at the edge of the cemetery. Why did I sign up for this? Stiles walked back and the car rolled forward. He could see Dean and Sam moving quickly in his peripheral then the car went up in flames. Stiles looked over to see Sam and Dean standing over a fiery grave. Thank God.  

    Stiles walked over to Dean. “What took you guys so long?” Dean put an arm around Stiles’ shoulders. 

     “Dean couldn’t find the lighter.” Sam said as he looked over Stiles' shoulder.  Lucifer.  

     “The kid’s got guts.” Lucifer said as if it answered a question. Can Lucifer hear Sam’s thoughts?  

     “Your first hunt. I say that this calls for pie.” Dean gave Stiles a pat on the back and picked up the gasoline can that was by his feet. Sam shook his head, but seemed to agree. “And when we get back to Sioux, you,” Dean turned around and pointed at Stiles, “need to be taught how to shoot.” Stiles smiled as he followed Dean and Sam to the car. 

     Stiles was sitting next to Dean at the restaurant they stopped at in Anthony. He couldn’t remember the name of the place just that it was a Harry Potter character. Sam was in the bathroom when the pie came. 

     “How does it feel?” Stiles looked up at Dean in confusion. “Your first hunt.” Dean elaborated.

     “Good.” Stiles smiled. Dean looked at him for a moment like he could see Stiles’ soul. Dean nodded.

     “You know I thought I would have gotten out of this life.” Stiles watched as Dean stabbed at the pie. “I guess now that I think about it; I don’t know what I would do if I wasn’t hunting.”

     Stiles looked at Dean, and there it was. For a second Stiles could see the bright white glow from inside. Dean’s soul. “I think you would have found a way.”

Chapter Text

     Dean was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of Behind Blue Eyes. The long stretch of road in front of him had a feeling of calmness. Dean could see Sam passed out against the passenger window next to him. He took a quick look at the rear view mirror to see Stiles leaning against the window, sleeping.

     It was half way through the drive that Sam woke up. “Sleep good?” Dean asked as he quickly changed the cassette. Sam nodded as he stretched and looked back at the still sleeping Stiles. 

     “How long has it been?” Sam looked out the window to the lighter, but still dark sky.

     “Three hours,” Dean shrugged and started to drum to the song on the new cassette. 

     Sam nodded and quickly looked back at Stiles again. “Did you actually mean it? Teaching him to shoot.”

     Dean took a quick look at Sam and sighed. Seems like I’ve been doing it a lot lately. “Look, the kid should learn with the way things back in California are going.”

     Sam seemed to disagree, but didn’t push it any further.

     The rest of the drive was quiet as Sam looked out the window or fell back to sleep. Dean was grateful for the calm with everything lately until his mind wandered. Next thing he knew it was a year ago and he was on the phone with Cas…

     “Dean.” Dean was sitting on the same front porch that he sat with his son a day ago. 

     “Cas?” Cas calling wasn’t out of the blue, but something made Dean feel uneasy. 

     “Your kid.” Dean swallowed.

     “Yeah.” It was hard to push the words out like it was suffocating. 

     “When?” Dean put his head in his head.

     “It's complicated.” But so is everything that involved him and Cas.

     “He’s not human Dean.” Dean looked up to see a kid run with a dog just across the street.

     “He’s a nephilim.” Dean swallowed the feeling of wanting to hang up and get away from the conversation.

     “Nephilim?” Cas sounded off, but Dean couldn’t fully pick up the tone.

     “Yeah.” It was silent for a moment like Cas was processing the information.

     “Dean, when did you have a kid with an angel?” Never . 

     “I haven’t (yet) . Look, I’ll explain it later, but for right now just can you let him have a chance at normal?” It was harsh and Dean knew it, but he couldn’t find the exact words at the moment. 

     “Yes.” Then Dean heard a ruffle and the call ended. 

     Dean sat on the porch staring at his phone until Lisa called him inside to help her with dinner…

     The song on the cassette switched over and Dean could see the sky outside noticeably start to lighten. They had about an hour before they got to Bobby’s. Dean could feel the same feeling of heaviness settle on his shoulders as that day. The heaviness feeling that he rather calls anger than what it really is, longing. 

      A longing that everything will turn out right.

      A longing that Cas won’t leave him. 

      A longing that in the end he will have a chance. 

     The hour went by fast and soon he was pulling into the junk yard. Home, sweet Home. “Sam.” Dean parked next to Stiles’ Jeep as Sam tiredly looked over at Dean. “We’re back.” That was all Sam needed to get out and stretch his legs. Dean got out and carefully opened the back door where Stiles was leaning against the window. 

     “Kid.” Dean said quietly as he laid a hand on Stiles’ shoulder.

     There was a small hum from the boy, and that was all Dean needed to pick Stiles up and carry him towards the house. Sam closed the door and got their bags behind them.

     Bobby opened the door when Dean got to the porch. 

     “How’s the kid?” Bobby moved out of the way for Dean to walk past.

     “Didn’t really get the chance to talk.” Was all Dean said as he made his way up the stairs.

     Dean walked into Stiles’ temporary room and set the kid down on the cot in the corner. He found a blanket and draped it over Stiles and took a quick look around the bare room. Should get him something to hang up at least with all the time he spends here. Dean took a last look at the boy and walked out the room. 

     When Dean got down stairs Bobby and Sam were already talking.

     “Flying?” 

     “Yeah apparently Lucifer taught him.” 

     Dean walked into the study feeling more tired than he should. “Well with Cas out, he’s going to have to learn from somewhere.” There was a burning feeling that swelled up in Dean, and he tried to push it down.

     Bobby shared a look with Sam and Dean tried not to acknowledge it. “How did the kid do on the hunt?” 

     Sam looked more interested in a book than the conversation; which left Dean to answer.

     “Pretty alright. Going to have to teach him to shoot though.” 

     Bobby nodded and it seemed to be the end of the conversation. Dean got up and looked around. “I’ll be in the yard.” He said as he walked out of the house. He needed to get out of the suffocation that was building in the house.

     Stiles stretched as he rolled over and felt a blanket fall off of him. He realised that wasn’t in the car anymore and shot up. He looked around and it took him a moment to realise where he was. Dad must have brought me up. Stiles rubbed his eyes as he kicked off the already half off blanket that was on him. 

     “Rise and shine.” Stiles looked towards the voice to see Lucifer leaning against the wall next to the door. 

     Stiles sighed and got up from his cot. He walked out the door without acknowledging Lucifer who frowned mockingly.

     “Silent treatment I see.” Lucifer walked a step behind him. 

     Stiles said nothing as he walked down stairs. He walked into the study to see both Sam and Bobby reading books. “Where’s Dean?”

     “Outside.” was all Sam said without looking from his book that looked to be in Latin. 

     Stiles nodded and made his way outside while leaving Lucifer with Sam. He found Dean around the side of the yard with his under the hood of a random car. There were random car parts on the ground around. 

     “Dad.” Stiles watched as Dean stilled for a second before relaxing. 

     “Damn kid you really are quiet.” Dean looked back at him as he took another part out.

     Stiles smiled and shook his head. “I get that a lot, but I guess it comes with being half angel.” 

     Dean gave a half laugh and put a wrench down. “You need something?” 

     Stiles walked over fully and stood next to Dean. “No, just bored.” 

     “Well you can help me rebuild this engine.” Dean offered. 

     Stiles ended up doing most of the work as Dean instructed him. It was calming to do something so normal after the crazy of the last two days. It left like it was only minutes later when Dean said that it was time for a break. It wasn’t until Stiles saw the time that he realised it had been nearly two hours.

     They were sitting on the porch during the break after Dean came back from getting a beer and a glass of water, when Stiles asked a question. “What is Cas really like?” 

     There was a still moment when Dean just stared off at the junkyard. “Beautiful.” It caught Stiles so off guard that he must have made a face because Dean elaborated. “There’s no need to lie to you especially if you really are our kid. Just don’t tell Sammy about any of this.” Stiles nodded slowly while taking a sip of water.

     “Beautiful?” The word felt strange, but somehow right.

     “The way that no matter how much crap I ended up getting into; he doesn’t treat me like a monster. The way he is fascinated by the smallest thing. He would tilt his head whenever he was confused. For being an angel he was the loyalist and kindest person I’ve ever met, especially to things he cared about. ” There was this broken feeling in the words that Stiles decided not to acknowledge. “He’s smart, too; of course more book smart.”

     Stiles smiled at the obviousness that an angel would be book smart. “He learned everything human from you.” Stiles could see the smile on Dean’s face relax. He shook his head at what looked like a remembrance of a fawn memory. There was a comfortable silence for a moment until Dean clapped his hands together and looked at Stiles. 

     “How’s California?” Stiles was confused. “I mean besides the whole werewolf thing.” Stiles nodded as Dean to a drink from his beer.

     “It’s good.” Stiles fidgeted with his hands while looking for the next thing. 

     “Good?”

     “I mean I have my best friend Scott and everyone. I mean we mostly hang out either at school or Derek’s.” Stiles looked up at Dean.

     “Derek. The werewolf one right? The one that’s like 20?” Stiles frowned and shifted.

     “Yeah. I mean he has a flat that we hang out at.” Dean looked at him for a second and Stiles couldn’t tell a thing. “I mean the dude’s alright, besides the whole werewolf thing. I mean sure the first time I talked with him was in the woods and I mean if you get past the times he has just showed up in my room then..” Stiles suggested at the air like there was an answer there. Stiles could feel Dean’s eyes on him and looked back at him

     Dean was looking at him amused while Stiles frowned and stared back confused. Dean nodded and didn’t say anything in return; he just took a drink from his beer. What the hell! 

     There wasn’t anything more said for the next five minutes of their break. Every now and then Dean went inside for a beer or something, Stiles didn’t question it.

     The rest of the day until dinner was just finishing up the engine. 

     The sun was just setting after dinner, when Dean got up from the table. “Ready?” Stiles was confused about what was happening, but he guessed Sam knew because he nodded. “Come on kid.” Dean motioned towards the door. 

     Stiles got up from the table and followed Sam to the door. Sam was putting on a coat and motioned for Stiles to do the same. Just as Stiles followed Sam out the door, Dean asked Bobby, “Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Stiles didn’t hear the answer before he crossed the threshold of the house.

     “Where are we going?” Stiles looked up to Sam.

     Sam just smiled and said nothing. “Your Pops has a surprise.” Lucifer said as he walked a little too close to Sam. Stiles nodded and followed Sam to the Impala. 

     “So kid, are you ready?” Dean was walking towards them with a smile. Stiles nodded a bit confused. 

     They got in the car and Stiles watched as Dean turned the music. Stiles looked out of the window as they pulled out of the junkyard. 

     There was a familiar hum from next to him, Lucifer. Stiles tried to ignore it, but then the singing started. “There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold and she’s buying a stairway to heaven.” Stiles half listened to Lucifer’s singing the rest of the drive.

     The drive was short as they pulled up to a cream coloured house. Dean parked in the driveway next to a sheriff's truck. It was then that Stiles realised where he was. Jody’s. Stiles got out of the car after Dean and looked around. It was different, but close to how he imagined it. 

     The front door opened and Jody stepped out. “I thought I heard you boys pull up.” She walked across the lawn to them and gave Dean a hug. 

     “It’s good to see you.” Dean said as he patted Jody on the back. Jody let go and turned to hug Sam, who Stiles didn’t see walk around the car.

     Stiles stood there awkwardly as the three of them started to greet each. After a moment Dean mentioned to Stiles which led Jody to look over at him. Stiles raised a hand in a still wave and Jody smiled. 

     “Psota, it’s good to see you.” Jody gave him a hug. “I haven’t seen you since you first came into town.” Stiles awkwardly patted her on the back. Jody let go and turned back to Dean. “Ready?” 

     Dean smiled and turned to Stiles. “Why don’t you go help Jody.” Stiles was about to protest before closing his mouth.

     Stiles followed Jody into the house. “How do you like it up here?” She turned down the hall towards a heavy looking door. 

     “It’s alright. I flew.” Stiles didn’t know why he said it, just that it felt like something to do. 

     Jody shook her head as she pulled the door open to reveal a garage. “I heard about your guys' adventure to Oklahoma.” 

     Stiles shifted trying to find a way to react to the statement. Jody propped the door open and stepped down the step. She grabbed something from the right of the door and gave it to Stiles. Lawn chairs?  

     Jody gave Stiles another before picking two herself and stepping back into the house. Stiles fidgeted with the chairs while Jody kicked the door stopper out of place. “The boys probably got the drinks already.” Jody started walking down the hall and Stiles followed, letting the door shut behind them.

     When they made it back outside there was an iceless cooler with drinks in it. Dean and Sam seemed to be bickering about something but stopped when they heard the screen door close. 

     Stiles silently helped set up chairs in a line and sat down at the end. Dean sat down to his right and smiled. “Ready?” 

     “For what?” Stiles looked around the street confused. Dean didn’t say anything back and was pulled into a conversation with Jody and Sam. 

     Stiles fidgeted as he watched the sun fully pass under the skyline. A little later Dean put an arm around Stiles' shoulder. A few minutes later he pointed at something in the dark sky. 

     For a second Stiles couldn’t see what Dean was pointing at then… there it was. 

Boom!

Chapter Text

     Stiles watched as colours lit up the sky. Fireworks . Then a bit away there was another one of green and gold that lit up the sky. Stiles smiled as more fireworks from across the neighbouring streets went off. 

     A family across the street came out with two kids running around with lit sparklers. It was beautiful; and Stiles sat there and took it all in.

     “Happy 4th of July, kid.” Dean said next to him. Stiles leaned on Dean's shoulder and continued to watch the fireworks. The lit up sky was something you couldn’t see in California with the fire watch and miles of trees. Stiles hasn’t seen this many fireworks since he was little and they travelled down south to see a show over Lake Tahoe.

     It was around nine when Stiles' phone rang. He looked down at the glowing screen. that one kid.  Stiles picked up the phone and put it to his ear. “Hey.”

     “Hey Stiles. Happy 4th of July.” Stiles smiled. 

     “Happy 4th of July. How’s everyone over there?” Stiles has been meaning to call Noah, but then something happens. 

     “Good. It’s been peaceful…..Oh hold on.” Stiles gave a confused look even though Scott couldn’t see it. 

     (“Who is it?” Dean whispered. 

     “Scott.” Stiles whispered back.)

     “Stiles.” Scott was back. Then after a second there was a shuffling. 

     “Stiles.” Noah was on the phone and Stiles smiled.

     “Yeah.” Stiles watched as blueish green fireworks lit up the sky.

     “How is it over there?” Noah sounded tired like Scott just caught him at the end of a shift.

     “Good. We went to Oklahoma to visit and I fixed Roscoe and learned how to build an engine and-”

     “Stiles.” There was amusement in his voice. And Stiles blushed at his rambling. “So it’s been good.” 

     Stiles nodded. “Yeah.” 

     “Good. I was wondering if I could talk to Dean for a minute.” Stiles froze and looked over at Dean who was whispering and bickering with Sam. Dean must have felt Stiles freeze because he looked over questioningly. 

     “Yeah.” Stiles bit out and held the phone up to Dean. Dean used his free hand to take the phone while still having an arm around Stiles.

     “Hello?” Dean looked at Stiles confused.

     …………

     “No, he’s been great.”

     ……………

     “Yeah.” Dean laughed for a second. “I can see that.” Stiles sat there watching Dean with the filling of anxiety fading away.

     …………….. 

     “Yeah.” Dean shook his head. “I agree with you.”

     ……………..

     “That’s understandable.” 

     ………..

     “You too. Bye.” Dean passed the phone back to Stiles.

     “Hello?” Stiles said as he put the phone back to his ear. 

     “You're coming back in two weeks, right?” Stiles eyebrows shot up. Two weeks already?

     “Yeah.” Stiles looked towards another firework that went off and left a purple light in the sky. 

     “Your friends were wondering because Allison will be back next week and I believe Lydia will be back the week after.” Stiles nodded wondering where Lydia went. “Anyway, it was good talking to you, but I’ve been awake almost 24 hours.” 

     “I’ve been meaning to call.” Stiles shifted. 

     “It’s alright. Good night, love you.” Stiles smiled.

     “Good night, I love you too.” There was movement for a second like Noah was passing the phone back to Scott.

     “Hey dude.” Scott said.

     “Hey.” Stiles watched as the family across the street took a firework out. The mom was holding her two children back as the dad lit the fuse. 

     “Been working at the diner.” This shocked Stiles and as he was about to respond the firework in the street went off. 

     All kinds of colours shot out of the can and sparks fell freely. The kids clapped and laughed as the mom pointed out the different shapes that were made from the sparks. “Wow.” Stiles didn’t mean to say it out loud.

     “Yeah I know, but I had to do something with everyone gone.” Scott replied not realising that Stiles’ answer wasn’t for him.

     Stiles cleared his throat. “True.” The fireworks died out and the children went to their dad looking like they were asking for one more.

     “My mom wants me outside. I’ll talk to you later?” Scott said as there was a noise in the background. 

     “Yeah.” That was all Stiles said before the phone went dead. He put his phone back in his pocket and looked back at the sky. 

     “Everything good?” Dean asked. 

     “Yeah.” Stiles smiled. 

     The rest of the night they watched the fireworks. Dean kept his arm around Stiles the whole time as the kid laid against him. At one point a teenager went by on a skateboard with a firework taped to the back. Dean smiled over at Jody who was shaking her head at the dangerous trick.

     It was at midnight they decided to call it a night. There were still fireworks being shot off as they packed up.

     Sam went with Jody to put the chairs back as Dean and Stiles put the cooler back in the kitchen. “Are you ready to go back to California?” Dean asked as they exited the house. 

     Stiles seemed to think about it as they walked over to the Impala. “No.” It was an honest answer. Dean looked over at him and watched the kid fidget with his hands. “I don’t want to go back.” 

     Dean was confused because just a bit ago Stiles was smiling while on the phone with his friend and Noah. “Why not?”

     Stiles shrugged and Dean looked up at a firework going off. “I miss everyone,but…” Dean could guess the rest of the sentence. But not the life threatening situations. But not the times where everything went against anything you tried to do to fix it.  

     Sam and Jody came back before anything else was said. Stiles didn’t say much else as Dean and Sam said goodbye to Jody and got in the car. The car ride back was quiet as the music played. 

     Sam looked over at Dean every now and then, asking ‘Is everything good?’ with his eyes. Dean answered with ‘I got it’ and Sam nodded. 

     They got back to the junkyard and Dean got out of the car. He turned to ask Stiles a question, but he was gone. Dean panicked and looked around to find the kid nowhere. 

     “Inside.” Sam said as he walked towards the porch.

     “How-” Lucifer. Dean followed Sam inside. 

     Once inside Dean walked over to the fridge. “Where’s the kid?” Bobby asked from his desk.

     “Upstairs.” Dean answered while finding a beer. Bobby looked confused when Dean turned around. “Flew.” Dean answered as he sat down on the couch.

Chapter Text

     They sat in the study for a while before Dean made up his mind. “I’m going to check up on him.” No one said anything as Dean got up and put his empty bottle by the sink. 

     It was quiet as he walked up the stairs. Once he was on the landing he could see Stiles’ door open and light flooding out of it. 

     Dean walked up and stood in the doorway to see Stiles was sitting on his cot reading a book. Dean knocked on the door frame and Stiles’ head shot up to look at him. “Hey.” Dean said while leaning against the doorframe. 

     Stiles frowned and marked the page in his book before putting it down. “You don’t have to answer, but is there a reason why you don’t want to go back to California?” Dean asked while looking around the room to make sure the kid didn’t feel pressured. 

     Stiles fidgeted for a minute then answered. “I don’t want to have to be useless again.” 

     It caught Dean off guard. “Useless?” 

     “Human.” Stiles answered then quickly added, “Not that humans are useless, but-” 

     Dean cut him off by chuckling. “I understand what you mean. Sometimes I wish I was more than just human.”

     Stiles smiled at Dean’s calmness about the answer. “I just don’t want to be a liability.” 

     Dean looked at his feet for a second. “You’re not.” 

     Stiles nodded but looked down at his hands again. “It’s just so much easier to be…” 

     Dean nodded.“Not human.” He supplied.

     “Yeah. Here then there, and it would only just put them in more danger.” Stiles looked like he was about to cry and Dean stiffen. He hasn’t really ever been good with crying; the last time it was something like this had been with Sam. 

      Dean forced himself to relax and walk across the room to sit on the cot next to Stiles. “You can do other things.” Dean felt a bit out of his comfort zone, but knew it was the right thing to say. Stiles leaned against Dean and nodded. “You’re smart and know how to hold your ground.” Dean put an arm around Stiles. “When you learn how to shoot then you could really hold your own.” Dean smiled a bit. 

     They sat there for a while until Sam came up the stairs looking tired. Sam’s eyes said ‘Everything good?’ and Dean nodded. Sam said a quick goodnight before walking farther down the hall to their shared room. 

     Dean sat with Stiles until the kid was asleep. He tucked Stiles in then walked down the hall to Sam’s and his room. Dean walked into the room and over to his side where his makeshift bed was. 

     “How is he?” Dean swallowed and layed down.

     “Torn.” It was the only word Dean could find to describe Stiles. “The kid doesn’t want to go back to California.” 

     Sam seemed fully awake now and sat up. “What?” 

     “Yeah. I mean after everything that happened I wouldn’t really want to go back either.” Dean wasn’t lying but he didn’t want to say Stiles’ real reason.  

     “Yeah, after everything I wouldn’t go either.” Sam agreed as he laid back down. 

     “He can’t stay here or with us.” Dean voiced his thoughts. 

     “True.” 

     Silence. Dean laid on his back staring blankly at the ceiling for hours, until finally sleep took over. 

     The next day Dean showed Stiles how to shoot while Sam watched from the porch. It was a nice day and Sam didn’t have much to do. He watched as Dean first taught Stiles how to shoot a pistol, but now it was midday and the shotguns were out.

     Sam watched as Stiles almost knocked out his teeth with the kick back. It was about after a round of shots and simple comments for Dean that the kid was getting it. 

     “How about we take a break and I can show you the different bullets.” Dean said as he took the shotgun from Stiles. Sam got up and stretched before making his way over to a table covered in bullets and guns. Dean was talking about each bullet to Stiles while Sam stood to the side of the table. Something caught his eye just out of his peripheral vision. 

     Lucifer waved at Sam smiling. What does he want?

     “Ouch, Sam. I just want to check in on my favourite person.” Lucifer stood there with his hands up in a mock surrender. 

     Sam glared at Lucifer. There has been something different lately, almost like Lucifer is stepping up his game. Sam looked back at Stiles and Dean while trying to tune out Lucifer’s voice. 

     “Finally” Dean held up a shotgun shell. “Rock salt for ghosts.” Stiles nodded. Dean went quiet before giving a smile. It was the smile that Sam knew from years of horrible plans and pranks. Dean looked at Sam and all Sam could feel was dread. “How about me and Sammy show you how to disarm someone.” 

     Stiles smiled and nodded with a look in his eye that almost matched Dean’s. Sam quickly looked over at Lucifer almost in a plea for help. “Yeah Samuel, why don’t you show the little bird.”  

     The next 30 minutes consisted of Sam being disarmed and tackled to the ground. Dean was talking Stiles through it as he would swipe Sam’s feet from under him or kick him in the stomach. It was light punches and kicks, but Sam could help but wished that he stayed inside today.

     “Ok, kid why don’t you give it a try.” Dean said, helping Sam up from the ground for what left like the hundredth time.

     Stiles nodded and Sam frowned. God please. Then a second later he was on the ground with that gun he once held being pointed at him by Stiles. Stiles was smiling and looked over at Dean to get a thumbs up. Sam laid on the ground feeling like he was just hit by a truck. He must have used his angel strength. Sam sighed and watched a crow fly by overhead. 

     “Nice one kid.” Sam watched Stiles smile at Lucifer. Favouritism at its finest. Lucifer looked over at Sam and laughed. “How could I not favour my favourite nephew.” Sam sighed and got up on his feet with Stiles' help. Your only nephew. Lucifer shrugged the comment off. 

     Sam went back to his porch step. The rest of the day he watched Dean and Stiles mock fighting. The fights would end when one of them cheated; such as going for the legs or Stiles using his angel powers. Lucifer leaned against the table and would cheer Stiles on. Sam felt happy while watching Dean and Stiles have something they both deserved. 

     Bobby came out onto the porch around sundown and joined Sam on the step. Nothing was said as they watched Dean and Stiles laugh at each other before being tackled. 

     “It’s nice, isn't it?” Sam asked. Bobby looked at Sam with a small smile. “Sometimes I wish…” Wish what? Sam shook his head. 

     Bobby nodded. “You boys are the bravest idjits I’ve ever met. You’ve gone through more than any other hunter would be able to live through. You’ve earned your peace.” Sam swallowed and nodded because they both know that this ‘peace’ always has a way of biting them in the ass.

Chapter Text

     The next week went by faster than Stiles would have liked; though most of the time was spent hanging out with Dean. They would spend their day in the yard mock fighting or building a car from scratch. In the evenings after dinner, Stiles would hang out with Sam and talk about lore as Dean called them nerds, but Dean always had a fond smile. Bobby had work throughout the day, but at dinner he would share stories from the calls that came through that day

     It was nice. Lucifer would help him with his powers, but Stiles realised that most of Lucifer’s time went to Sam. Sam would look tired or angry sometimes, but Stiles couldn’t figure out why. It was a Tuesday when Dean and Stiles had the whole day to themselves. Bobby had to leave for a hunt and Sam wasn’t feeling good. 

     “Why don’t we go into town today?” Dean asked as they ate the breakfast that Dean made. Stiles nodded knowing that this may be one of the last times he goes to town before going back to Cali. 

     After breakfast they got ready and walked out the door. Stiles asked if he could drive Baby; after a few minutes of pleading Dean gave in and gave him the keys. Driving the Impala wasn’t as bad as it seemed and they made it to town in one piece. Dean had Stiles park the car at a park. He was confused as he followed Dean out of the car and onto the grass. 

     It wasn’t until Stiles saw something fly toward him that his brain caught up. He caught the glove and smiled at Dean. They played catch for hours, just them and the baseball. 

    It was around noon when Dean had the idea to walk down the street to a diner. Stiles recognised the diner as soon as they stepped in; it was the one he stopped at a year ago while coming into town. 

     They sat down in a booth in the corner of the place. Stiles looked around trying to pick up every detail that he missed the first time. “Kid.” Stiles looked across at Dean with a raised brow. “I’ve been thinking...” Dean fidgeted with his hands before looking back up at Stiles. “That if you need anything, you can call me.” Stiles nodded. “And If anything and I mean anything bad, like it's an emergency, then you should know something. Poughkeepsie, it means drop everything and run.” Dean looked at Stiles with a look he had only seen in the mirror; a look of terrified concern. 

     Stiles nodded, not knowing what to say. Dean opened his mouth to say something, but the waitress beat him to it. “Is everything alright?” They both nodded. “Are you ready to order or do you need a few?” 

     Dean sighed. “Could I have the double cheeseburger.” 

     The waitress nodded then looked over at Stiles. “Same, please.” The waitress nodded again and gave a quick smile before walking away. 

     “Dad.” Stiles took a quick look out the window. “It’s alright. Nothing is going to happen.” Dean nodded, but Stiles couldn’t help but feel like he was lying to the both of them. Not a lot was said for the rest of lunch. 

     On the way back to the car Stiles couldn’t help but ask a question that's been on his mind for a while. “Where’s Cas?” Dean seemed to stop walking for a split second before acting like nothing happened. 

     “He’s ah…” Dean looked lost like he didn’t know how to put it into words. “He’s…gone” 

     Stiles walked a little closer to Dean in confusion. “Gone?” Stiles remembers what Lucifer said at the beginning of the summer. “Does it have something to do with Sam’s memories?” 

     Dean fully stopped and looked at Stiles with wide eyes. “How?” Stiles fidgeted with his shirt. He watched a quick look of anger flashed over Dean’s face before it was replaced with sadness. “Yeah.” Dean started walking again. “Cas was going through something and wouldn’t tell me. Then he just fucked with Sam’s head and left.” 

     Stiles pushed his grace out like Lucifer had taught him one afternoon on a slow day. Stiles could see the anger bubbling, but deep down there was this pool of sadness and longing. He looked away while pulling his grace back in. He never did like the feeling of looking at other people’s souls. 

     Dean drove home while Stiles took a nap. He would look over at the kid every now and then to make sure that he’s alright. He felt guilty for almost snapping at the kid. Stiles was just asking about his other parent. Dean sighed and steadied his grip on the wheel. Why do you have to fuck everything up! First with Cas and now you can’t even keep the one thing left of him safe. Dean was so lost in his head that he didn’t release he had made a wrong turn. 

     When Dean finally focused fully back on the road, he was met with barn doors. He didn’t know how long they had been sitting there, but Dean got out of the car and walked towards the doors. Everything looked the same from when he and Bobby left it years ago. 

     He felt the cool wood under his hand and pushed a door open enough to slip in. After letting his eyes adjust, Dean was hit with a wave of nostalgia and he took it all in. He felt tears prick at his eyes as remembers that night. The night where he met the one thing that would keep him going. God, where are you Cas. Please just….come home.

     Stiles woke up feeling watched. He picked up his head from the car window and looked around. A shot of fear went through him as he realised Dean was gone. Shit. Shit. Stiles fidgeted and stumbled as he turned off the car. As he was about to tumble out of the car he saw him.

     Cas stood just before what looked like barn doors. Stiles quietly felt his wings stretch and focused on the spot next to Cas. In a swoosh he stood next to the being, and stared at him. Stiles followed Cas’ strong gaze into the barn and there was Dean standing in the middle of the barn. His back was facing towards them. Stiles could barely make out something on the wall of the back of the barn. 

     He felt a warmth behind his eyes and he could see clearer. There on the wall was a faint outline of wings broken and shredded. “Dad.” Stiles whispered as he looked back at Cas. Cas looked at him and smiled with a sad look in his eyes. “Why?” Stiles reached for Cas’ hand, but a second later the man was gone. Stiles stared at the ground like it had personally offended him; in a way, it did.

     “Psota.” Stiles looked up at Dean. “What are you…” He seemed to remember that Stiles was left in the car with no warning. “Shit, sor-” 

     “It’s fine, dad.” Stiles walked into the barn. Dean looked awkward as he reached an arm out. Stiles gave a small smile and fell into his father’s arms. It was awkward for a moment before they both relaxed. They stayed like that for a while before Dean pulled back and looked over at the back wall. 

     Stiles watched as Dean swallowed and took a breath. “This is where me and Cas met formally, is the term I guess. He came in kicking up a storm and I stabbed in the heart.” Stiles snorted as he remembered reading that chapter. How stupid both of them were as they stared at each other for the first time. “But I think that was the moment I knew he was staying.” Dean shifted. Stiles took a quick look around the rest of the wood walls. “I…” There it was. The sentence both of them knew, but will not be said out loud. 

     “Let’s go home, dad.” Stiles said he reached for Dean’s shoulder.

     Dean couldn’t get the three words out of his head the rest of the day. i loved him. I loved him. i LOVED him. i loved HIM. It didn’t feel like real words anymore; and in some way they weren’t. The words were just thoughts that held together a damn of feelings and ideas. Dean sat on the porch once they got back to Bobby’s. After Dean checked on Sam and got a beer, he watched Stiles work on a new engine he was experimenting with. The rest of the day went by at the proper speed and then it was dinner time. 

     Bobby would be gone another day and Sam was getting worse, so it was just Dean and Stiles. They sat at the beaten up table across from each other. 

     “I might have to find a place to put Sam.” Dean said as he stared down at his plate. He heard Stiles shift and looked up. “Do you know something?”

     Stiles looked everywhere but Dean and swallowed. “Lucifer was acting off the last time I saw him.” Dean leaned forward. 

     “Last saw him?” Dean could feel the fear building in the back of his chest. 

     Stiles fidgeted and sighed. “About a day ago, I stopped seeing him and whenever I looked…he wasn’t there. And with Sam getting worse I thought it had something to do with Lucifer’s grace, but..” 

     Dean was lost. “Lucifer’s grace?” 

     “Yeah the thing that’s keeping Sam from fully losing it. I mean it’s smart of Luci to leave some with him. ‘Got to keep the vessel strong’ and all of that jazz. But…his grace had been draining because of the cut off of having control or something. I don’t know. He was rambling about it one day.” Dean saw the moment Stiles realised he had just dropped a bomb. “Um…I mean…Uh.” 

     Dean watched in silence for a moment as his kid fidgeted. “So what happens if we don’t get this fixed?” Stiles focused back on Dean and said three words that set all the nails in the coffin. 

     “They become one.” Stiles shrugged. Dean stared at the kid in front of him. The kid that was fully Winchester and fully Cas. The kid that shouldn’t have this knowledge, but has no choice to. For a split second Dean saw a younger Sam and felt bile rise in the back of his throat. 

     God, please….

     In the thoughts of a broken man, the rest of the prayer became meaningless.

Chapter Text

     Stiles watched for the next few days as late nights and drinking had consumed Dean. Books were read and reread; glasses of whiskey were filled and refilled; and anything that was found seemed to lead to a dead end. 

     “Fuck.” Dean said, for what felt like the millionth time that night. Stiles watched Dean run a hand across his face. Dean was sitting on the couch near the window with an empty whiskey glass, on the table next to him, that had reached its fourth fill. 

     Bobby had gone to bed an hour ago and Sam still was held up in his room, but Stiles wouldn’t leave his dad alone. “Dad, we have time. He’s not going to change at the flip of a coin. Plus I don’t think Lucifer would like the idea of permanently being held down. Something must happen sooner or later,” Stiles said as he got up from his spot on the armchair. 

     He reached over and took the empty glass after putting the whiskey away. “You need to sleep.” Stiles knew that if he didn’t get Dean to bed that it would be another long day tomorrow. Or is it today? What time is it? Dean mumbled something Stiles couldn't decipher, as he walked into the kitchen. 

     Stiles washed the glass and dried it while peace settled over him. He stared out the window as he focused on the silence around him. He could hear the bugs outside; Bobby and Sam sleeping up stairs; and Dean shuffling around in the room behind him. Why did I tell him? It was the same thought that went through his head these last three days. The last three days have been some of the stressful days this summer. That’s saying a lot.  

     He heard the sound of a book drop from behind him and turned around. Dean stood at the desk of the study with his back towards Stiles. He watched as Dean went back to the couch and layed down. I should probably sleep down here. Stiles quickly put the glass away and went back to his spot on the armchair. 

     Just as Stiles got semi-comfortable, there was a whisper that he wouldn’t have been able to make out if not for his grace. “Thanks, Cas.” Stiles looked over at Dean on the couch as he reached for the light switch. 

     Turning off the light, a wave of sadness washed over him as he could make out the slow breathing of his dad in the moonlight. “You’re welcome,” Stiles whispered back without his voice breaking. Stiles couldn’t sleep with the crampedness of the armchair and buzzing at the back of his head. 

     Stiles watched the moon through the bit of window he could see. He could feel time move slowly like he was watching a clock. 

     Psota. Stiles stilled and looked around the dark room. Psota. He pushed his grace out as he got up. 

     Psota, can you hear me? Stiles’ grace fell over the whole house, but all he could feel was three souls. Something is going to happen. 

     Stiles fumbled in the dark trying to go outside to see if there was anyone around. Where are you?  Stiles screamed as he pushed the door open and stumbled outside. It’s not safe. He could feel his wings stretch out as the hair on his neck stood up.  

     They're looking for something. Stiles pushed his grace out as far as possible. “Who are you!” Stiles yelled as he felt nothing more in the 50 ft radius of his grace. The pack isn’t safe. 

     Fear shot through him as the buzzing in his head grew. “What?” They’re coming soon. Stiles quickly found his phone in his back pocket. He pulled it out and dialled the first name could think of.

     Sourwolf.

     “Pick up.” Stiles walked in a circle in front of the porch, fidgeting nervously. 

     Rin- CLICK! “Stiles?” Stiles held his breath. “Stiles?” He crouched down on the ground, sitting on his heels. “Stiles.” 

     “Derek.” Stiles let out a breath and tried to keep his voice steady. “Sorry I didn’t mean to call you.” LIE. “How’s the pack?” Stiles tried to manage a laugh, but his voice strained. 

     “...Good.” Stiles could hear the underlying concern. “How’s your uncle?” Stiles was taken aback at the question. 

     “He’s not looking good, but he’s been hanging on. My dad wants to find a hospital for him.” Stiles walked over and sat on the porch steps. The nerves calmed as he could breathe easier. There was silence on the other side, but Stiles knew Derek was listening. “How are you?” The question came out casually, yet Stiles felt anxiety suddenly build. 

     “I’m good, but I would be better if Peter left.” Stiles could hear the dead pan annoyance. He could imagine Peter sitting across the room smirking as Derek glared at him.

     Stiles laughed, “My uncle is like that.” Stiles elaborated after a second. “On my mom’s side, not the one who's sick.” Fucking Luci.

     Stiles didn’t know how long they had sat in silence, but it was until Derek had to go. Stiles didn’t ask and just said his good bye. He sat on the porch afterward, staring out at the yard. A saddened peace fell over him. “I’m going to miss this place.” 

     Finally he got up and walked back into the house. The house looked different in the moonlight. It looked like every other house; peacefully asleep while waiting for the chaos of a new day to begin. After standing in the entrance and taking a mental picture, Stiles went back to his armchair. 

     For a second he stopped as he saw a blur in his peripheral vision. Looking at the wall he could make out a picture in the dim light. The thing that stuck out was the blur of the faces. Huh, weird. Maybe it’s just the lighting.

     Just as he finally turned the corner, he could make out a figure in the faint light. Stiles pushed his grace out to greet the figure, knowing the other man. The man looked at Stiles with eyes glowing in the moonlight. There was sadness and shock in the blue eyes as Stiles stepped forward. Cas hugged Stiles and held him tight. 

     “Come home.” It was a whisper, but it felt like a yell in the still air. 

     Stiles felt Cas shake his head no. He was about to argue when Cas whispered, “Sleep, mi fili.” 

     Stiles smiled at the sudden peace and warmth. He thought of California and those perfect summer days. The days when he and Scott would run through the preserve while on an adventure. It was days like those that made him feel complete.  

     Those days feel like in another world,

     In another time,

     In another memory, 

     In another dream….

     There was a sharp pain in his neck as Stiles woke up. The feeling of warmth never left him as colours swirled around from forgotten dreams. “Glad you’re awake.” Stiles looked over at Bobby in confusion. Bobby was sitting at the desk with files pulled out everywhere.

     “It’s midday.”

Chapter Text

     Stiles quickly looked at the window to see the mid day sunlight streaming in. He slowly got out od the armchair while stretching. There was a chain of pops in his back when he saw the empty couch. 

     “Dean went into town.” Stiles nodded at Bobby’s words before stumbling into the kitchen. 

     “Did you make-” Stiles saw an empty wall and stared at it. There was something there. Wasn’t there? “Bobby was there a picture here?” Stiles put a hand to the wall feeling like something was missing. 

     There was a shuffling before Bobby came around the corner to look at Stiles. “No.” Bobby stared at him for a minute before the coffee machine went off. 

     “Oh.” Stiles took his hand off the wall and looked around. Guess sleep is getting to me. “Nevermind.” Stiles turned around and went to get a cup of coffee. Bobby watched him from the table while staring at the phones. “Waiting for a call?” Stiles leaned against the counter. 

     “Hunter in Iowa dealing with a rouge wendigo.” Bobby shrugged. 

     “A rouge wendigo? Don’t they usually live in the woods.” Stiles felt a slow buzzing around him. 

     “Been hunting in cities; taking dogs and kids.” What the hell? The phone rang suddenly which caused Stiles to jump. Bobby shock his head and picked up the phone marked FWS.  

     Stiles took it as his sign to leave and walked up stairs. He got to his room and changed his clothes before making his way down to Sam. As he walked up to doorway he could here Lucifer. “You know it only gets worse from here. I mean if you really think about it Dean has what he wanted. A kid and stable life. You just don’t fit in…” 

     Stiles felt his grace flare up as he walked around the corner and into the room. Lucifer was sitting on the floor under the window, while Sam was laying on his mat with his back to the door. 

     “Sam.” Sam turned around and looked at Stiles confused. “I have coffee.” He wasn’t planning this, but he was curious. Sam nodded and sat up against the wall. Stiles walked over and gave him the cup. 

     “Thank you.” Stiles nodded and walked over to the doorway to leave. “How’s Dean?” Stiles stopped and turned around.

     He felt the stress of those long nights of whiskey and muttering of curse words. “He’s Dean.” It was all Stiles could say before leaving the room.

     Stiles made his way down stairs quietly, wondering if Bobby was still on the phone. When he got to the bottom he saw that Bobby wasn’t in the kitchen. Stiles poured another cup of coffee and turned to the study, Bobby wasn’t there either. Stiles shrugged as he heard the Impala’s engine outside. Dad’s home.  

     Stiles sat down at the armchair and looked around at the stack of books to find something to read. He saw the book of Russian folktales that he’s been meaning to read. Pulling it carefully out of the stack Stiles sat down. 

     “I’m home.” Dean said has the door closed. Stiles heard Dean shuffle around before he turned the corner into the study. “You’re up,” Dean commented as he sat on the couch. 

     “Yeah” Stiles skimmed through the table of contents in interest. There was multiple names that sounded familiar.  

     “So I was in town and I found…” Stiles looked up in curiosity. “Tadah.” Dean held up a mini gun. ??? Stiles looked between the gun and Dean. “What?” Stiles was at a lost of words. “I was thinking. You can’t carry a gun around because of school and everything so…” Dean shrugged. 

     Stiles nodded and smiled as he took the gun from Dean. He was happy at the gift, but honestly was lost at the suddenness. “Thank you,” he forced out. 

     Dean gave a small smile. “So what you reading today?” Dean got up and went into the kitchen. Beer. Stiles rolled his eyes. 

     “Russian folklore.” Stiles turned the page and found a background page. “You know that could kill you one day.” It was the same thing Stiles always mentioned when Dean drank. Like always Dean just shook his head in response. 

     Stiles quietly read as Dean sat back down. Nothing else was said for a while. The day went by slowly fast as Bobby took calls while Dean looked for lore to help. Stiles watched to the two while slowly reading the book in hand. 

     Stiles doesn’t know what day it was, but he did know that he would be leaving soon. It was a night where he found himself on the porch alone crying. He didn’t know why he was crying, but it was in that moment he found himself carving his initials into the front of the porch. PW stared back at him as he sat there in the light of last night’s full moon. 

     Stiles didn’t know how long he sat on the porch before Dean came out and sat with him.

     Dean had just finished checking up on Sam when he noticed Stiles was gone. He walked into the kitchen and looked over at Bobby who was sitting in the study on the phone. Bobby gestured to the door after noticing Dean standing there. Dean nodded and quietly walked outside. He stopped just outside of the doorway when he saw Stiles shaking. “Psota?” 

     Stiles went still as Dean walked over and sat next to him. Dean saw the knife in hand and sucked in a breath. Slowly he reached out and took the pocket knife from Stiles’ shaky hand. Dean closed the knife and dropped into his flannel pocket. 

     “Dad.” It came out as a whisper as Dean wrapped his arm around Stiles. Stiles went slack against him as they sat there enjoying the silence. 

     Nothing else was said as they sat there for awhile like time didn’t matter. It was after 1 when Dean was able to get Stiles into the house. If he saw the PW carved into the wood of the porch, Dean didn’t say anything.

     The next day a DW and a CW joined the other initials that were all soon forgotten.

     It was that Tuesday that Stiles found himself packing up the Jeep in the early morning. Bobby was making coffee while Dean helped Stiles get ready to leave. Dean was not a morning person, but Stiles could tell that Dean was trying his best to function. 

     “Psota.” Stiles turned around from putting in his last bag into the passenger seat. Dean rubbed his neck and looked around. “Thank you.” 

     Stiles smiled. “A compliment this early in the morning.” (Stiles wasn’t really a morning person either.) 

     Dean smiled at the sarcasm and shook his head. “Just give your old man a hug.” They hugged until Bobby came out with a cup off coffee telling them to get inside. 

     The three of them stood in the kitchen drinking coffee, enjoying this last day. Once coffee was finished Stiles said goodbye to Bobby and made his way upstairs. 

     Sam was asleep when Stiles found him, Lucifer was gone. “Goodbye.” Stiles whispered. 

     Dean walked Stiles out to Roscoe to say his final goodbye. 

     “Call if you need anything .” Dean said as Stiles opened the Jeep door. 

     “I will,” Stiles replied has he put some last things down. 

     “You better stay out of danger.” Stiles rolled his eyes knowing that it wasn’t going to happen. “Hey I saw that.” Stiles smiled. 

     “Goodbye.” Stiles put his hand up in a still wave. Dean brought him into one last hug.

     “Goodbye.” Dean smiled has he patted Stiles’ back. 

     Stiles got into the car and got ready to leave. He noticed Dean walking away from him when he started the car. As Stiles finally pulled out of the Junkyard with Dean in his review mirror; he took a breath, ready for the next year.

Chapter Text

     There was a sense of anxiety and pressure in his lungs as Stiles drove back to California. The quiet loud hum of Roscoe’s engine and the never ending ringing in his ears was driving him crazy. He quickly reached over and threw open the glove box. Keeping his eyes half on the road and taking his foot off the gas, he quickly searched for a cassette. Finally he spotted the plastic container and ‘gently’ shoved it into the stereo. There was a click and soft static before the first song hit. The first few notes of Led Zeppelin's “Ramble On” made him smile and shake his head. Dad.

     Stiles slowly hummed along to the song as it eased the pain in his chest. The open road was becoming a comfort for him as he watched fields go by. Bet Dad would have a field day with the idea of his kid loving the road. He tapped his fingers on the wheel with the beat of the music. 

     For a while Stiles went through the motions of driving until he saw a figure in the distance. The closer he got the more he could make out a girl on the side of the road. Stiles slowed down as he realised she had a thumb out. Yes or No, Roscoe? If Stiles pulled over because he ‘lost’ a fight with his car, he will never admit it. He rolled down his window as the girl walked up. 

     “Need a ride?” Stiles noticed her blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked young to be out here in the literal middle of nowhere. 

     The girl rolled her eyes. “Duh.” She quickly opened the door and climbed inside. 

     “Uh.” …………… “You shouldn’t be trus-

     “I can handle myself now are you going to drive or?” Stiles stared at the girl. Wait until Dad finds out I met a mini him. Stiles swallowed and put the car into gear. 

     “Seatbelt.” He muttered as he pulled back on the road. Can’t blame someone for wanting to follow some of the safety rules.

     The silence was driving Stiles up the wall. He didn’t dare to move to flip over the ended tape, even though the girl was staring out the window. “I’m Stiles.” And I’m not a murderer. Just your friendly neighbourhood Nephilim. He tapped on the wheel trying to calm his nerves. 

     The girl looked over at him with a glare. Stiles could tell she was weighing her options before she made a decision. “Claire.” 

     At least we are getting somewhere. “Ok, so where are you headed?” Claire narrowed her eyes at him. “I mean I am the one driving, unless you’re good with passing two state lines.” wow not creepy at all Psota. Stiles frowned shifted uncomfortably under Claire’s gaze

     “Broadwater.” Stiles lifted an eyebrow. Is that supposed to mean something? Claire shook her head and took out a map from the satchel she was carrying. I swear she didn’t have that when I picked her up . “If you just follow this road until after about Kadoka and take a left then you should be there.”

     Stiles took a glance at the map to see more than 100 miles between Kadoka and Broadwater. ‘ Just take a left’…This is going to be a long trip.

     Stiles was a talker. Everyone knew that so it wasn’t soon before he found something to talk about. “I mean my dad grew up on the road so we hang out at our family friend’s over the summer. I mean it’s not perfect, but with his work it works for us. The whole travel and not settling must be tiring, but he does it for a good cause.” Stiles shrugged, he really just wanted to end the silence. 

     “Where’s your mom?” Stiles almost didn’t pick it up. 

     “Oh um…he’s kind of on a work trip. He kind of left my dad for a ‘project’ with a ‘buddy’.” Stiles could feel his teeth grinding against each other. Not a lie if you just rephrase it.

     “My dad left.” Stiles felt like he had been shot. Shit I just spent the last 30 mins rambling about my dad. “Not that it matters. He was a bit of a dick.” 

     Stiles nodded. “Well you had your mom right?” Please don’t let me be a total asshole.

     “She disappeared one day.” Shit. You should really just shut your mouth Psota. “I’m trying to find her.” 

     “On your own. Aren’t you like 12?” Stiles took a quick glance at Claire, as if to judge her age.

     “I’m 13 and what aren’t you like 23? Picking up little girls must be your pastime.” Claire glared at him. Stiles shook his head; he was speechless. 

     WOW… ”I’m 16 for your information and if it wasn’t for me, you would still be walking in the middle of nowhere. You could have been easily picked up by someone worse.” Stiles saw her eye roll and fought back one of his own.

     “...” Stiles sighed. “Are you sure your mom is in Broadwater?”

     Claire looked back out the window. “No.” Stiles swallowed and chewed his lip. It was hard to not be able to help someone. He couldn’t just say ‘oh well you can crash at my place’. “But it doesn’t matter.”

     The rest of the trip was silent besides Claire giving navigation once in a while. She navigated him to a motel. He pulled in and put the car in park. Stiles quickly got a piece of scratch paper and a pen. 

     “If you ever need something, call me.” Stiles handed Claire his number as she jumped out. Claire gave a quick nod and walked off.

     Stiles watched as she walked into the office. Slowly he changed gear and pulled out of the parking lot. Stiles watched the motel slowly go out of view as he drove down the road. 

     There was a click in the stereo as Stiles finally turned the tape over. 

     It wasn’t until the outskirts of Las Vegas did he realise why Claire seemed so familiar. Crap…please just let it be a coincidence. When has it ever been a coincidence? …Welp #officallyworst(technically ‘step’?)brother. 

     Stiles stopped at the gas station at the edge of Blue Diamond. He stood and looked out at the skyline of Las Vegas. It was beautiful to look at, but Stiles couldn’t help but wonder. How many things are part of the supernatural? Ghosts? Maybe there’s sirens. Has anyone ever hunted there? Stiles let his mind roll as he leaned against the gas pump. It was probably the last gas station along the California border until Carson City. 

     It was nice out in the desert, besides the storms of dirt. Finally the pump clicked. Stiles closed his gas tank and locked the car. He turned around just to see a small dust devil go by. Really don’t like the dirt.  

     The drive up to Carson City wasn’t long (he’s lying to himself), but he did run out of tapes to play. (Like a day ago. Ok, whatever, you can listen to something twice .) Stiles took to every kid’s favourite game; searching the radio. 

     For the last two hours Stiles switched from pure static to meditation, rock to christian rock (don’t ask), pop to heavy metal, a random news station to an educational station, and even getting stuck in between distorted Mexican music and a cult-like station. Yeah don’t ask how he was able to find them in the middle of nowhere because he doesn’t know either. Just as he got closer to Carson City, he found a nice rock station; it was mostly background music, but he would tap his fingers to the beat. He kept his eyes open for a diner. 

     As he found a parking spot at a small diner his phone rang.

Chapter Text

     Noah. Stiles picked up the phone as he turned off the car. 

     “Hello?”

     “Stiles…” Stiles felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he opened the diner door. “We have a…a missing person’s case.” Stiles stopped and the lady at the counter looked at him. The fear must have shown on his face because the lady looked concerned. 

     “Who?” Stiles shakily took the menu and searched it for a second. 

     “Classmates of yours um…” There was shuffling of papers. Stiles pointed to the two egg breakfast. The lady nodded and wrote something and slid the paper over to him. Over easy? Togo? “Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd, and Isaac Lahey.” Stiles nodded to the lady. 

     “What did Derek say?” Stiles knew it was a long shot, but he had to try. 

     “Hale?...He’s the one who reported them missing. Talked to the other’s parents and they said they’ve been gone for a day or two. We put an APB out, but we’ve got nothing.” 

     “Wait, how long ago did they go missing?” Stiles was eating at his fingers when the lady showed back with a bag. 

     “According to the parents at least three days. Hale put in the report a day ago.” Stiles put his phone in his shoulder and searched for cash in his pocket. “Stiles…” 

     “Yeah?” He found a ten and put it on the counter knowing it was too much.

     He took the bag and smiled at the lady and left. “Why is Hale reporting missing teens?” Stiles almost fumbled getting into the jeep.

     “They’re part of his pack.” Stiles rushed out as he quickly turned the car on. 

     “What.” Shit. Stiles turned on to the highway.

     “Look, I’m an hour out and I’ll explain everything when I get home.” He hung up without waiting for an answer. 

     The next hour Stiles spent trying to figure out how to tell Noah about the supernatural. When he pulled into town, he pulled into the gas station. He ate his, now cold, food in hope of buying time before he has to go home. When he finished eating there was nothing to stall him.

     “I’m home.” Stiles said as he opened the front door. He saw the sheriff car out front and knew Noah was waiting. 

     “How was your dad’s?” Noah was leaning against the kitchen counter, in uniform. 

     “Good.” Stiles slugged his bag down on the floor. 

     “So, pack?” Stiles sighed and rubbed his face. 

     “You might want to sit down for this.” So for the next hour or so they sat at the table. Stiles started at the beginning with his parents and then the first summer to this last one. He talked about everything in between and brought out a chess board to show how the packs work. He answered any questions Noah had. He told him about Melissa finding out about Scott and everything. 

     By the time Stiles was done there was a sense of exhaustion over the room. “So, you’re half angel?” Noah looked at him as if to finalise his thoughts.

     “Yeah. On my ‘mom’s’ side.”Stiles fidgeted with a pawn on the chessboard. 

     “And you’re related to some of the two most wanted people?” Stiles nodded looking up at Noah. 

     “It’s a lot to process. Sorry I shoved this on you.” Stiles was about to get up when Noah put his hand out on the table.

     “Thank you for telling me. I might have a hard time believing, but thank you.” Stiles nodded, feeling a weight lifted from his shoulders. 

     “I’m going over to Scott’s.” Stiles said quietly and Noah nodded back.

     “Guess I’m going to call Melissa.” 

     Stiles pulled up to Scott’s to see the dirt bike gone. Ok..whelp .

     Ring…

     Ring…

     CLICK “Hey Stiles.” Weird.  

     “Scott, where are you?” Stiles tapped on his steering wheel. 

     “Uh…at Derek’s actually.” Sweet ok. Stiles pulled onto the street making his way to the abandoned district. Why do we have so many? Like why do we need ike five abandoned districts?  

     “I’ll meet you there.” Stiles hung up and focused on the road ahead. 

     When he finally pulled up to the building there was a wave of knowing something was there. What the hell? When he looked up towards the loft he could see it. There was a faint outline of coloured lights moving around, one red and one orange. Souls…great. Guess I won’t be losing my pack of dogs anytime soon. Stiles made his way up the stairs and spread out his hearing. 

     “What do you mean you can’t find them? They’re your pack Derek.”

     “I told you that something was off days ago.” yay…more fighting. Stiles could feel his sarcasm getting tired. 

     Stiles pulled open the loft door to see Scott and Derek standing on different sides of the table. “What are you girls bitching about?” Maybe Dad and Bobby had more of an influence then I thought.  

     Scott took a moment to reply. “He can’t find them.” Derek opened his mouth to speak, but Stiles was done. 

     “Look I just got back from an amazing drive and wanted to hang out with my friend. Plus they’ve been gone for what…three days like we can look for them tomorrow.” Stiles shrugged.

     Scott smirked at Derek. Will these two ever get along? “Let’s go. Mom’s got the night off.” Scott said and walked past him. 

     Stiles walked over to the table. “We will find them Derek.” Derek stared at him before turning to the table. Nothing else was said as Stiles followed Scott out to the car. 

     When Scott and Stiles pulled up to the McCall house, a sheriff car was outside. Amazing. Stiles was craving sleep at this point. “Mom, I’m home.” Scott said as they entered the house. 

     “Good. Just in time for dinner.” She said from the kitchen. “Can you set the table?” Scott mumbled an ‘ok’ while going over to the dining room. 

     Stiles walked into the kitchen to find Noah leaning against the counter with Melissa at the stove. “Stiles.” Stiles sighed. 

     “Noah.” Noah smiled and shook his head. 

     “Did you find anything out from Hale?” Stiles shook his head. “Do you think this is a supernatural thing?” Stiles frowned and that seemed to give Noah the answer.

     “How was your dad’s, Stiles?” Stiles looked over at Melissa then back over at Noah. 

     “It was good.” Does she know? Scott came in before anything else was said. 

     “Table’s set.” Scott looked between the three of them then at Stiles. The expression on his face asked if everything was alright. Stiles nodded back. 

     “Just in time.” Melissa turned off the stove and pointed to the cabinet with bowls in them. Noah got them down and stood next to her to help. It was Stiles’ turn to stare at Scott.

     Scott scratched the back of his neck. He didn’t even tell me about this new addition. Stiles may have been tired and ready to explode, but instead he forced a threatening smile at Scott. Scott started to fidget, but Melissa and Noah broke into their staring contest. 

     “I’m guessing we all have questions from this summer.” Melissa said while handing out bowls and making her way to the dining room. Yeah, since when has this nonsense been happening? Gone for two months and people stop telling you things, nice.

     They all sat down at the table and the show began. Stiles tried his best to make it through dinner without shattering the bowl in his hand. He could see the memory of shattering a glass at Bobby’s on accident. Dinner was nice. Everyone seemed to have questions for him or just in general. It’s safe to say that when Stiles got home later he slept until mid afternoon the next day.

Chapter Text

     Dinner had been two weeks ago, and it had become a regular Sunday night thing. Week days were filled with research and enough caffeine to kill a horse while Fridays and Saturdays were spent on sleeping. Stiles searched high and low for Boyd and Erica, but it was like they disappeared out of thin air.

     It was going smooth until the day before school started. So here he is sitting in his car watching the skin of Scott’s arm cover his new tattoo. “Thank God, I hated it.” Stiles turned on the Jeep’s engine.

     “It wasn’t that bad. Plus you’re the one who has a star.” Scott looked offended.

     Stiles couldn’t care less. “At least mine means something, AND it’s for protection.” Stiles pulled out of the parking lot. 

     “ It means something... ” Scott mumbled. “Wait, you don’t even need protection.” 

     “Angels can get possessed too,” Stiles fought back. Nothing else was said and the silence settled in comfortably.

      They were half way across town when Stiles spoke up. “Have you heard from Allison?” Stiles changed the subject remembering that he hasn’t heard anything from her in a while. 

     “No, she hasn’t said anything. We agreed to give each other the summer. No texts, no calls. I don’t think she’ll be back at school.” Stiles nodded as he pulled up to a red light.

     “Wait, why didn’t you tell me before? So then why do you think she won’t be back at school?” Stiles took a quick glance at Scott, who was staring off into space. Of course. This had to happen. There Lydia and Allison were in the car next to them.

     “After everything that happened, I’m not sure she’s coming back at all.” Oh Scotty boy, how wrong you can be.

     “I think she is.” Stiles nodded. God why do these two have to be like this? “I’d say pretty definite, you know. Like 100%” Poor Scott looked confused until he motioned over to the girls. Stiles kind of spaced out as Scott had his look of longing moment.

     “Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” Scott muttered and shrunk in his seat when Allison spotted them. Stiles waved at Lydia when she looked over in confusion. These two are worse than my dads. Scratch that, nothing can be worse than my dads’ tango around each other. “Can we just drive please?” Yep, definitely throwing them in a room together later.  

     “Scott, it’s a red light.” Lies, I could run it. “I think we should talk to her. I think we should say something.” Damn, did I miss messing with Scott. Stiles reached across Scott for the window crank. 

     “No. No, no, Stiles, come on. Oh, my God, dude, no.” Too late Scotty.  

     “Hey!” Stiles yelled as he rolled the window down. He watched as Lydia drove through the red light. So close, yet so far. “You know, they probably didn’t see us.” Stiles fought the smile off his face. 

     “Dude, what was that?” Scott cranked up the window. Stiles stared at the red light thinking of how far he could take this. 

     “I was giving a greeting to the people I didn’t see all summer.” The light turned green and Stiles put more speed then needed while Scott frowned at him.

     “What are you doing?” Scott looked lost. 

     Making you face your problems head on. “I’m driving.” Stiles responded, letting some of the sarcasm show, even though he knew it wouldn’t be picked up.

     “We’re right behind them.” Yeah that’s the point.

     “Ok, well, do you see any turns?” Stiles knew there wasn’t any in at least a mile radius.

     “I don’t want it to look like we are following them.” Did you forget how the road works?

     “Well what do you want me to do?” I’m about to speed up if you keep going.

     “I don’t know, anything.”  On second thought . Stiles slammed the breaks, knowing it would look even more suspicious.

     After they skidded to a stop, Lydia stopped in front of them. What is going on with these people? Stiles looked over at Scott for an answer. Then Stiles felt it, a feeling of fear so strong that it scared him. Suddenly he got out of the Jeep and ran for Lydia’s car. The feeling was getting closer and fast. Stiles felt the warmth behind his eyes as he could see farther in the fog. 

     He could make out a deer and got in between the car and the animal. Please don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me. Stiles spread his wings and suddenly the animal slowed down, coming to a stop just in front of Stiles. The deer looked sideways at him, bowing with its legs bending before it took off into the woods.

     “What was that?” Stiles turned at Lydia’s voice, to see the three of them standing there. Shit. Stiles looked at Scott then at Allison. 

     “Would you believe me if I said it was magic?” Stiles looked at Lydia. Lie, lie, lie. Love to lie. “It started happening during the whole Jackson thing last year.” What did Deaton call it? “Spark! I mean Deaton said it was a spark.” Please just take it.  

     Lydia didn’t look like she believed it fully, while Allison seemed to shrug it off with him being himself. “Well why the hell was it about to run straight into us?” Lydia turned to the open road in fear. 

     “It was scared. Terrified, actually.” Scott spoke up. Thank God, I don’t have to explain that. Scott looked at the road with his eyes glowing. Yay, why don’t we all just stand here and look at the road.  

     “Well between watching Scott’s mutilating of the skin and this, how about we go home.” Stiles remarked and started making his way back to Roscoe. 

     “Wait, you still have to explain yourself, Stiles.” Lydia said.

     “I will, but this all happened and how about we regroup and talk later.” Stiles turned around and replied. Lydia seemed to take the answer and nodded. Thank my grandfather. Oh that’s a new one. Stiles looked over to Scott to see him and Allison staring at each other. Stiles shook his head and turned back around to Roscoe. 

     “Come on, lover boy!” Stiles yelled as he got in the Jeep. 

     “Do you know how many vehicle collisions last year involved deer? ... 247,000.” Stiles stared at the numbers on his laptop. 

     “Oh, God, please go to school.” Noah said from his doorway. Stiles looked for the sentence he knew he would find.

     There. “But, that’s crossing the road. This one last night came right down the middle.” Stiles pulled up a new tab. 

     “I’m not going to beg you.” Noah sounded closer, but Stiles put the thought aside. 

     “Ok, good. I’m impervious to your influence anyway.” Stiles pulled up tab after tab trying to see if there were any other reported cases like the one last night. People experience weird things all the time, someone must have seen something similar.

“Would you consider a bribe?” 

Yes, a less chaotic life. “You couldn’t meet my price.” Stiles knew that his time was ticking before he was forced to go to school.

     “Extortion?”

     “What are you going to do, tell people about the supernatural?” Stiles knew it was a bit low, but he really needed to buy time.

     “Yeah.” That was all he heard before Noah pulled his chair away from the computer. 

     “What are you doing?” Stiles fought against him. “What are you doing?” Can’t a man research the supernatural in peace? Stiles suddenly felt the chair slip out from under him and ended up on the floor. “Ow.”

     Stiles looked over at Noah, who was now standing by the door with a blank face. “You’re going to be late.”

     “But this could be supernatural.” He replied as he grabbed his backpack and followed Noah out of his room. “I mean how many deer have you seen run straight down the road terrified?” Stiles asked as they went down stairs.

     He watched Noah consider it before opening the front door with a blank face. “School, then we can talk about this later.” One point, Stiles.

Chapter Text

     Luckily Stiles was not late to school, but parking was still hard to find. More than half the kids take the bus, and yet still no parking. Stiles finally found one and saw Scott walk towards the entrance. Bingo. Stiles jogged to catch up.

     “Hey.” Scott said as Stiles caught up behind him. 

     “Hey.” Stiles looked around. God he did not miss this place.

     “So I was thinking of asking Derek for help with the tattoo.” Stiles looked back at Scott.

     “You want to ask Derek for help? Why?” Stiles really couldn’t focus with the noise around him. Unlock your angel powers and now you can hear every teenager's conversation down the hall. Yay . 

     “He’s got the triskele tattooed on his back. So there has to be a way to do it without healing, right?” Damn Stiles, your brain is slow today. Wait, how did I even get my tattoo without healing? Does mom have one?

     Focus. “Ok, yeah, but still, doesn’t he have his hands a little full?” Stiles motioned to the missing posters on the bulletin board. Ok that might have been a bit harsh.

     “Look, these are the applications for the career advisor. I need them sorted.” Stiles looked at Scott. Damn their good hearing. They turned the corner to see the old principal talking to his vice. “And whatever happened to the library while I was gone, I want it cleared up. And what the hell is this?” Stiles saw him hold up a sword from their fight in the library. 

     God, we need to learn how to clean up our messes. Stiles looked at Scott. “Go. Go. Go.” Stiles pointed as he started walking. Wait, that's been here all summer?  

     Stiles was sitting next to Scott waiting for class to begin when he got the text. 

     ‘They found Isaac. I talked to Melissa and she said that he’s almost fully healed. I’m going to talk with him now.’ - Noah.

     Holy shit. Stiles looked over to Scott to see Allison standing by the empty desk in front of him. He watched as Scott fumbled his words with a frown. How can a werewolf be taken down with one simple question? Scott looked over at him and Stiles opened his mouth to tell Scott the news. “So-” 

     Everyone's phones went off. Seriously? Stiles looked down at the message when a voice started talking. “The offing was barred by black bank of clouds and the tranquil waterway,”

     Stiles looked up at the lady. What the fuck is that? There was a lady with a scarred mutilated face walking into the room. “Leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky,” Stiles looked around. Was no one else seeing this? Surely Scott. Stiles looked over to see Scott looking attentively at the woman ? . “Seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.” Lady, are you sure you’re not the darkness? “This is the last line to the first book we are going to read.” 

     Stiles tuned her out after putting his phone away. He was too busy with the whole straight out hell look the lady was apparently going for. 

     It wasn’t until Scott got pulled out of class did Stiles zone back into the book he didn't remember taking out. Stiles quickly looked at his notes for help only to find them all theories of the deer and his new teacher. Shit. He sighed and sunk into his seat. Something in the corner of his eyes caught his attention.

     “Hey, Lydia. What is that? Did something happen after the accident?” He pointed to the band aid on her ankle. 

     She breathed out then looked over “No. Prada bit me.”

     “Your dog?” Stiles was confused because she has had Prada for years.

     “No, my designer handbag.” Wow, ok. “Yes, my dog.” She rolled her eyes. At least answer my next question please.

     “Has it ever bitten you before?” Stiles watched her shake her head no. Bingo. “Ok. What if it’s like the same thing as the deer? You know like how animals start acting weird right before an earthquake or something?” Or before a Darth Maul looking woman shows up. 

     “Meaning what? There’s going to be an earthquake?” Lydia is really not buying this.

     “Or something. Maybe it means something is coming. … Something bad.” Stiles at this point just needs this feeling that's been creeping up on him to go away. Please just tell me I’m not crazy. The feeling settled into his bones.

     “It was a deer and a dog. What’s that thing you say about threes?” Stiles looked for a second behind Lydia. No. “Once,” No, please don’t. “ twice…” Stiles watched the raven hit glass. There’s the third.  

     Everyone stopped and looked at the blood smeared glass. Stiles could hear cries in the distance. Of course there’s more. He watched as they got closer. He watched as the symbol of death itself flew straight to the school. Stiles looked over at his teacher and then the second raven hit the window in front of her. Shit. I knew something was wrong with her. 

     Suddenly the ravens smashed the windows, flying into the classroom. Stiles quickly got down and moved towards Lydia. Finally holding her, he spread out his wings to cover her fully. It felt like hours before the noise stopped and Stiles looked up to see the ravens gone. As he stood up he felt sick at the sight of the feathers and dead birds everywhere. Shit. Shit. He stared at the mass of black feathers that were just a bit more muted than his own.

     He looked at Allison to see her looking at him. He looked at Lydia to see her glancing at Allison before him. Why can’t this year be simple?

     The next few minutes went by quickly as Ms. Darth Maul called the police and everyone else called their parents. Stiles sat on a desk and checked his phone to see a text, while the police showed up.

     ‘I contacted Derek about Isaac. According to Isaac, this is a supernatural thing, so I’ll let you guys handle this with my help.’ - Noah 

     Yay. Hopefully Ms. Mutilated has something to do with it so it's only one thing to deal with. Stiles looked up to see her staring off into space. “Ms. Blake?” That’s her name right? “You ok?” Stiles saw a feather in hair. Just got to play with the act. He hesitantly reached for it. “Sorry, just..that.”  It took a second, but in the end he got the feather out of her hair. He quickly dropped it on the floor, but he couldn’t help but notice the fear that was resonating off it. 

     As Stiles sat back down, Noah walked past him to the Argents. Shit. Stiles got back up and walked over. “Mr. Argent, you wouldn’t have any insight into this, would you?” 

     Stiles cut Noah off from his questioning. “Noah knows.” All three turned towards Stiles in confusion. “About the whole supernatural thing.” Stiles lowered his voice. 

     There was a beat of silence. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Chris answered honestly. The four of them looked at each for a second. “I’m out of the business anyways” 

     Noah frowned and nodded at Chris then turned to Allison. “Are you alright?” She gave a small ‘yeah’ in response. Noah nodded again while looking lost; before he walked over to another officer which left Stiles to be stared at by the Argents. 

     “What? You’re out of the business? I just got law enforcement on our side and-” He cut himself off with the look on their faces. “I’m going to go call Scott.” Stiles said, nodding before turning around and walking out of the school. 

     He stood in the parking lot and called Scott. 

     “Hey.” Scott answered. 

     “Hey, so…We got a serious problem at school. Ms. Blake’s class…” Stiles was cut off.

     “Can you tell me about it later?” Stiles frowned. 

     “Uh, well, no. I’m pretty sure this qualifies for an immediate discussion.” Stiles was about to talk about the crows when of course Scott cuts him off again. 

     “All right, then meet me at Derek’s house.” What?

     “Derek’s house? What? What the hell are you doing at -”

     “Just meet us here, ok?” Scott hung up. Why not the loft? The last 24 hours have not been on my side, I guess. 

     Stiles speed walked to his Jeep.

Chapter Text

     The drive to Derek’s house was as suspicious as ever. “Who wouldn’t want to drive through the preserve in the middle of the day? Normal people, that's who.” Stiles mumbled to himself as he pulled up the dilapidated house. 

     He walked into the house to see Scott and Derek treating Isaac on a crumbling table. So we are stealing people from the hospital. Great. He watched while talking about the birds at school, as they finished up before sitting in the corner. Stiles followed over and stood next to them. 

     Scott held out his arm. Of course it’s about the tattoo. Stiles folded his arms and spaced out while watching the two discuss. 

     “Do you know what the word tattoo means?” Scott asked.

     Stiles answered faster than his brain could stop him. “To mark something.” He winked at Derek when he looked at him in confusion. Maybe being deprived of sleep is catching up to me.

     “Well, that’s in Tahitian. In Samoan, it means ‘open wound’.” Damn, I should start shoving books at him. Stiles stayed quiet as he and Derek listened to Scott.

     “I knew that I wanted to get a tattoo when I turned 18. I always wanted one; and I decided to get it now, to make it like a reward.” Scott shifted as he spoke. 

     “For what?” Derek asked.  

     “For not calling or texting Allison all summer. Even when I really wanted to; even when it was so hard not to sometimes. I was trying to give her the space she wants.” Stiles frowned, remembering what happened in the last 24 hours. “Going four months later, it still hurts. It still feels like a…” 

     Stiles saw the hesitation and finished for him. “Like an open wound.”

     “Yeah.”

     Stiles nodded as Derek picked something up. “The pain’s going to be worse than anything you’ve ever felt.” 

     Lovely. “Oh, that’s great.” Stiles nodded while weighing his options of staying or leaving. 

     “Do it.” Derek lit the blowtorch at Scott’s answer.

     Yep definitely leaving. “Oh, wow. That’s a lot for me. So I’m going to take that as my cue and I’m just going to wait outside.” Stiles said as he started to walk towards the door. 

     Derek of course had to stop him with his hand. “Nope, you can hold him down.” Yay.

     Stiles walked back around and over to Scott. He placed his hands on his shoulders and nodded at Derek. 

     Watching my friend getting his skin burned for fun was not something on my bucket list. Stiles felt his power seep into his hands to hold Scott down. 

    Stiles held Scott down until he passed out half way through. He still kept his hands on his friend’s shoulders but took off the power. When Derek was done, Stiles stepped back and looked at the tattoo while Derek put the torch away.

     “How come yours heals?” Stiles mumbles to himself.

     “Because we have fast healing.” Damn werewolf hearing.

     “I know that.” Stiles looked over at Derek. “But so many other supernatural things have it too, and they don’t heal over.” Derek narrowed his eyes at him. “It’s probably the French in you.” Stiles shrugged with a smug smile to hopefully end the conversation. Except Derek still looked at him like he was a puzzle.

     “Hey do you know of anything that could hide itself, like disguising their true face.” It was a shot in the dark, but it could make Stiles’ life easier. “Like an illusion.”

     Scott woke up before anything else could be said. Damn it. There wasn’t a lot of talking while they helped Scott calm down and get ready to leave. 

     “Thanks.” Scott said, ready to leave. Derek nodded in return. When they turned to leave, did Stiles say something. 

     “Well, it looks pretty damn permanent now.” Thank God for no more burning or healing of skin. 

     “Yeah. I kind of need something permanent. After everything that’s happened to us, everything just changes so fast.” Scott stopped and looked at Stiles “Everything's so…ephemeral.” Stiles nodded. Yeah definitely more books. Maybe something about lore. 

     “Studying for the PSAT’s?” Stiles asked to change the subject

     “Yep.”

     “Nice.” So he is really trying to be better. Good. Stiles watched Scott open the door. 

     “You painted the door.” Nice observation. “Why’d you paint the door?” Scott looked over to Derek. Stiles really just wanted to go home. 

     “Go home Scott.” Stiles just watched Scott run his hand against the door. 

     “And why only one side?” Scott who paints both sides of a door? He zoned out and watched Scott scrape the paint off the door. Why couldn’t we just go home?

     Of course there had to be a symbol there underneath, a symbol of three. Yay. “The birds at school and the deer last night, just like the night I got trampled by the deer when I got bit by the Alpha. How many are there?” Now he admits they were deer? Mr. ‘I got trampled by elk’.

     “It’s a pack of them.” Great, now we have to see if Ms. Maul is part of this. “An Alpha pack.” The cherry on top. Wait.

     “All of them? How does that even work?” Stiles asked, thinking of the way a pack works.

     “I hear that there is some kind of a leader. He’s called Deucalion.” Stupid name. Alpha of Alphas and you go with Deucalion? I mean a Greek demigod really? “We know they have Boyd and Erica. Peter, Isaac, and I have been looking for them for the last two months.” 

     “Wait months?” Derek looked at Stiles. “Noah said that you put the missing persons notice three days after they were missing. Which was less than a month ago.” 

     Derek looked down for a second. “I did it because we were struggling to find them.” 

     “So you brought the police into it before they even knew about the supernatural?” Stiles felt his anger grow. “You could have contacted us earlier. We could have helped end this earlier.”  

     “It is my pack.” Derek said. Stiles knew he would see self anger burning Derek’s soul if he checked. 

     “Fine, so what do we do now?” Stiles backed off. 

     “We find them.” Scott stepped up. “How do you deal with an Alpha pack?”

     “With all the help I can get.” Derek looked at both of them. 

     Stiles sighed and looked out the door. Fuck it. He turned back to Derek to listen to his plan.

     “Where is she?” All three of them looked over at Isaac, who is now sitting on the table. “Where’s the girl?”

     “What girl?” Derek asked.

     Issac looked around with his eyes half focused. “The girl who…” He tilted his head like he couldn’t remember the rest. 

     “You need to rest, then we can talk about this girl later.” Derek said, walking over to him. Stiles sighed and walked past Scott and out the door. “Go home Scott.” Stiles could hear as he walked over to Roscoe. The girl better be on our side and not Ms. Maul. 

     As he opened the car door he could see Scott slowly walking down the steps. Stiles shook his head. “Do you need a ride?” Scott looked up at him and motions to his bike. Stiles frowned. “Do you want a ride?” Scott looked over at his bike then back at Stiles. 

     “Sure.” Scott walked over and picked up his bike. 

     Stiles sighed and went to open the back. Scott put the bike down next to them as Stiles put down the back seat. “Did you and Allison break up?” Stiles asked as Scott lifted his bike into the back. 

     “Uh…kind of?” Scott looked at him as he slid the bike forward and closed the gate. 

     “Kind of?” Stiles asked as he went around and got in the car. 

     “Well I mean she said she wanted to, but…I feel like we can make it through.” Scott answered as he got into the seat next to him. Remind me to never get in a relationship, besides maybe Lydia.

     “Welp maybe it’s time to live a little. You know a friend of mine is having a party tomorrow night. Maybe you can find someone to talk to.” Stiles turned on the engine and started to back up. 

     “Are you sure?” Scott frowned

     “Scott, what if you and Allison don’t work out? I mean you're almost 17, so just give it some time.” It was a bit harsh, but Stiles rather help out now then later. 

     “Fine.” Scott said as he turned to look out the window. Thank you.

Chapter Text

     The next day went eerily well. Nothing happened at school, and Ms. Maul didn’t do anything that tipped Stiles off on what she was. It was strange; Stiles tried to put it off as the universe giving him a break, but something unsettling found a home in his chest. 

     He hoped the party would get rid of the feeling. So when it was time to meet up with Scott he suggested that they walk the short distance. It was a nice night, until Scott got anxious. 

     Stiles looked over at Scott. “What?” 

     “What do you mean ‘what’?” Scott played dumb. Oh my god Scott.

     “I mean ‘what’ and you know what.” Stiles felt the unease in his chest worsen for a second. 

     “‘What’ what?” Really

     “That look you had.” 

     “I didn’t give a look.” Stiles started to feel frustration build. Scott started to get more robotic in his movements

     “Oh, there was a distinct look, Scott.” 

     “What look?” So we are really playing this game.

     “The look that says that the last thing you want to be doing is going to a party.” 

     “It’s not that. It just feels a little weird going to a different High School’s party.” Really?  

     “We talked about this - Oh my God, one drink, alright? You’ll be fine. I went to preschool with this girl, ok? She promised that she will introduce us to her friends. So tonight, no Allison, no Lydia. Just like we talked about yesterday, we are moving on.” Stiles saw Scott pull out his phone to Allison calling and frowned. 

     “You’re right.” Scott said as he put his phone away. YES

     “That’s right, I'm right.” Stiles felt the excitement replace the unease. “Onward and upward. 

     “Let’s do this.” 

     “That’s what I’m talking about.” Stiles high-fived Scott before they walked over to the door of the house. 

     “How’s my breath smell?” What the fuck?

     “I am not smelling your breath.” 

     “Do you have any gum?” 

     “No. No gum, you’re fine.” 

     “Can you at least tell me what kind of party this is?”  Stiles stopped in front of the door and put a hand on Scott’s shoulder. 

     “It’s just a birthday party, you’ll be fine.” Scott nodded and Stiles opened the door. 

     “Stiles!” Stiles looked over to see Heather walking over to him.

     “Hey. There’s the birthday gir-” He was cut off suddenly when she kissed him. Oh shit.  

     “I’m so glad that you made it.” 

     “Me too.” Stiles could feel the immediate shut off of his brain.

     “Come downstairs with me and help me pick out a bottle of wine.” There was an itch in the back of his chest.

     “Yes.” Stiles replied and looked back at Scott as he was pulled away by Heather. As he followed her to the basement door the itching in his chest became worse. She opened the door and pulled him inside. Stiles quickly closed the door behind them and followed her down the stairs, trying to not fall from her pulling. 

     “Remember when we were little kids,” Stiles started talking, trying to get rid of the feeling. “And we used to come down here all the time and then we would-” He was cut off again as she kissed him. “Yeah, we never did that.” 

     “Stiles,” She led them over to an aisle of wine. “I just turned 17 today.” Stiles hummed as he tried to clear his fogged mind. “And you know what I want for my birthday?” 

     “A bike?” Stiles stupidly said as his brain tried to hold onto any thought. She pushed into a column in the middle of the row.

     “To not be a 17-year old virgin.” OH. Stiles' brain clicked. She kissed him again. The itch in his chest and the rush of adrenaline was making him feel nauseous. She grabbed his belt. “You’ve never done it before either?” 

     “Turned 17? No, not yet, no.” Stiles couldn’t tell if the nausea was anxiety or discomfort. 

     “Stiles?” She looked at him seriously. 

     “Yeah, maybe that other thing too.” He shifted. 

     “Do you want to? I mean would you be ok with that?” She pulled back for a second.

     “Yeah. Would I be ok with that? I believe so, yeah.” He really just needed to stop talking. She nodded and kissed him again. You can do this. 

     She reached for his belt again. “Wait. Wait. Wait. I don’t have any um..” Stiles brian short circuited the last part of the sentence.

     “My brother has some in the upstairs bathroom.” 

     “Yeah?” Stiles studied her face as she nodded.

     “Yeah.” Stiles nodded in return.

     “Ok, can you show-” She cut him off again. 

     “You should go get them. Go.” Stiles nodded. 

     “Going.” Stiles turned to leave almost running into a wine rack. He stumbled and quickly went up the stairs and closed the door. 

     He quickly made his way to the stairs, when suddenly the unease grew. Breath. Stiles was halfway up the stairs when the adrenaline slowed down and the unease fully took over. What the hell? He pushed past the people on the stairs. It’s just the excitement.  

     Stiles looked around when he got to the landing trying to remember where the bathroom is. There. He walked around people and to the bathroom. Just as he closed the door and reached for a draw, something punched him in the gut. What the fuck? He grabbed the counter top and pushed his grace out. 

     Suddenly he felt it, a strong energy coming from the basement. Heather. He quickly stretched out his wings only to find a wall around the basement. Shit. He threw open the door and ran down the stairs trying to get past people as fast as possible. He finally reached the basement door and grabbed the door handle. Locked. Stiles panicked and put his grace into the door. 

     The door opened and he ran down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, the energy was gone and when he looked around for Heather’s soul, nothing. Panic went through him. Shit. Shit. Shit. He pulled out his phone and called Scott. 

     “Hey.” 

     “Hey. Do you see Heather anywhere up stairs?” Stiles pushed his grace out more to look for her. 

     “What?” Stiles found Scott outside with Lydia and Allison, and no Heather. Stiles hung up the phone and fumbled to find Noah’s number. 

     “Stiles?” 

     “Heather’s gone.” 

     “What? Aren’t you at her party?” Stiles panicked and looked around the basement for anything.

     “Yeah, but I left for one minute and she’s gone.” Stiles found nothing and went up stairs. 

     “Are you sure?” Stiles looked around and saw people acting normal. 

     “Yes. I can’t find her.” Stiles walked out of the house. 

     “Stiles, we can check in the morning, but right now I can’t put it in just from your powers.” Stiles paled and his eyes found Scott, who looked concerned. 

     “Ok. Ok, yeah.” Stiles nodded. “Ok.” 

     “I promise, Stiles, we will do a check-in in the morning.” Noah sighed. “Please stay safe, for now.” Stiles nodded. “I’ll be home in a bit.” 

     Stiles put his phone away. “Can I get a ride Lydia?” He didn’t feel like walking home at the moment.

     The three of them looked uncomfortable, but Lydia nodded anyway. The ride was quiet as Stiles tried to calm himself down. 

     “God, I turned away for one minute. I should have stayed with her.” Stiles rubbed his face while he mumbled to himself. 

     “Maybe she just went with her friends?” Scott tried to reassure. Stiles shook his head no. “She’ll be there in the morning.” Stiles just shook his head more. God I knew something bad was going to happen. Stupid. Stupid. 

     When they pulled up to Stiles’ house he quickly got out with Scott following him. “See you guys tomorrow.” Scott said, trying to clear the mood. Stiles walked to the door as they drove off. “How do you know she’s gone?” Scott asked as he walked over to him.

     “Because I felt it, Scott. Her soul wasn’t anywhere near the house.” Stiles bit out. Stiles opened the door with more force than needed.  

     “Maybe she went with a friend somewhere. If she is still missing tomorrow then I’ll help you find her.” Stiles looked over at Scott and nodded. “Just get some rest.” Scott patted him on the shoulder and walked over to his bike in the driveway. Stiles watched him drive off and knew that there would be no sleep tonight.

Chapter Text

     Stiles stayed up reading through lore about alpha packs and magic. It was around 12:30 am that he heard Noah get home. He looked through articles of possibilities, writing down things that seemed to catch his eye. Finally something clicked. He was looking at the lore of druids when a sentence stuck out. 

     ‘In the literature the druids cast spells and turn people into animals or stones, or curse peoples' crops to be blighted.’ If they can turn people into animals then why not werewolves. Stiles wrote down druids with a question mark next to it. He spent the rest of the night looking at druids and werewolves for a connection. 

     Stiles heard his alarm go off and looked over at the window to see light streaming in. More coffee for me. Stiles got up and stretched. 

    The rest of the morning went by in a blur. I know I don't need to sleep, but I think the human side of me is starting to hate the angel side. Stiles thought as he slowly slipped in and out of focus in his second class. When the bell rang Scott was at the door waiting. 

     “Lydia and Allison need to show us something.” He said as he started walking down the hall. Stiles nodded and followed. 

     When they got to a classroom door Scott turned around, “Derek is here too.” Stiles raised an eyebrow as Scott opened the door. Lydia and Allison were standing awkwardly near the door while Derek leaned against a desk. 

     “What did you want to show me?” Derek asked as Scott walked over to them. Stiles opted to sit on a desk next to the group; and propped his feet up on a metal bar between the two legs. Lydia and Allison both held out their arms to show a bruise.

     “We got them after a girl came up to us looking for Scott.” Allison explained.

     Derek looked at it for a minute. “I don’t see anything.” 

     “Look again.” Scott persisted. Stiles shifted to get a look, but he still couldn’t see it. 

     “How’s a bruise going to tell me where Boyd and Erica are?” Stiles felt the tension rise and started to fidget with his fingers.

     “It’s the same on both sides, exactly the same.” Scott argued. 

     “It’s nothing.” Stiles rubbed his face. Why must everyone be stubborn?  

     “Pareidolia.” Lydia spoke up. “Seeing patterns that aren’t there. It’s a subset of apophenia.” Stiles shook his head. At this point everything has been a pattern.  

     Scott and Derek looked at each other. “They’re trying to help.” Scott reasoned. 

     “These two.” Derek said with mock shock. “This one,” he pointed at Lydia, “who used me to resurrect my psychotic uncle. Thank you.” Derek looked over at Allison. “And this one, who shot about 30 arrows into me and my pack.” 

     Stiles was done. “Ok, alright, now, come on. No one died, alright? Look, there may have been a little maiming, ok, a little mangling, but no death. I mean Lydia was just being a banshee and Allison was just being a hunter. That's what I call an important distinction.” Stiles argued.

     Lydia looked at him in shock, but before she could say anything Allison spoke up. “My mother died.” She wasn’t a good person anyway. Stiles let his right leg bounce up and down in boredom.

     “Your family’s little honour code killed your mother, not me.” True. Stiles nodded.

     “That girl is looking for Scott. I’m here to help him, not you.” Jesus these two need to get along.

     “You want to help? Find something real.” Derek went to turn away.

     “Wait.” Stiles got off the desk and looked at the bruise “It looks like it might be a logo because I have never seen a symbol like this. I can look around for it and see what I can find.” He really just wanted this tension to end. 

     Derek looked over at him. “Are you sure that you are going to find anything?” 

     Stiles fidgeted and nodded. “There’s a bunch of abandoned districts, maybe it’s where they are hiding them.” 

     Derek looked around at everyone before going back to Stiles. “Fine.” He turned to leave. 

     Scott walked over to him. “Thank you for giving them a chance.”

     “I’m giving Stiles a chance. If you want me to trust her, then maybe you should tell her what her mother was actually trying to do that night.” Derek whispered before walking out.

     Shit. Stiles looked over at the girls to see Lydia staring at him. Oh yeah. I kind of just dropped it on her. Thankfully the bell rang, so he grabbed Scott and walked out the door. 

     Stiles and Scott walked down the hall and out the building. “So what do you think a pack of alphas want with Erica and Boyd?” Stiles finally asked. 

     “I’m not sure it’s them that they want.” Scott said, looking around.

     “Ok, what, like Derek? Like they’re recruiting?” Stiles saw Scott stop in his peripheral vision and stopped as well. Scott was staring at two people in leather walking away. Huh, must be new. Stiles suddenly felt weird with how much Scott was staring. Doesn’t hurt to look. The familiar warmth filled his eyes as two red souls came into focus. Shit. shit.

     “Scott.” Stiles warned. “Class.” Scott looked at him confused. Stiles started walking towards the building without waiting. When Scott caught up he started talking. “Don’t trust those two.” Scott pulled a face of confusion. “They are part of the pack.” Stiles lowered his voice. “Just act normal. We don’t want them to know we know.” 

     “Why?” Scott picked up his pace to keep up with Stiles, who was walking faster now. 

     “Because if they know then they’ll change their plans. I mean, what does every villain always want?” Stiles stopped before their class. 

     “The element of surprise.” Scott said in sudden understanding. Stiles nodded then pulled the door open.

Chapter Text

     They walked into class and took their usual seats next to each other. Stiles pulled out his phone to look up. ‘Out of Beacon Hills business logos’. The list that came up was long. Welp. Stiles quickly looked through the list to find a link called ‘Beacon Hills companies through the years’ Bingo.

     “What are you doing?” Scott leaned over to look. 

     “I’m-” A muffled bang came from the front of the class. 

     “The stock market is based on two principles. What are they?” Coach asked as he stood in front of the room. Only Scott raised his hand. “Yes, McCall, you can go to the bathroom. Anybody else?” 

     Scott put down his hand. “Uh, no, Coach, I know the answer.” Stiles sat back knowing that this would take a while. He put his hands in his pocket to find spare change. When did that get there?

     Coach gave a quick laugh before realising. “Oh, you’re serious.” 

     “Yeah, it’s risk and reward.” Stiles nodded in agreement. 

     “Wow, who are you? And what have you done to McCall?” Ask myself too, everyday. “Don’t answer that. I like you better.” Coach stood up excitedly. “Does anybody have a quarter?”

     Stiles pulled his hand out his pocket to find 35¢. “Yep.” He held up the quarter to Coach. 

     “Risk and Reward. Put the quarter in the mug. Win the reward.” Coach put a mug on the ground and backed up. “Ok, watch Coach.” Stiles leaned forward and Coach crouched down. 

     Stiles and Scott looked at each other for a second before back at their Coach. They watched as the quarter bounced off the floor and into the mug. Everyone gave a small clap as Coach walked up to Danny and gave him the quarter.

     “Ok, Danny, risk or reward.” 

     Stiles slid his phone under the desk and went back to quick scrolling through pictures of logos. Come on. Come on. There a couple of pictures down, he saw the logo that matched the bruises. First National Bank. It was in the middle of one of the abandoned districts. Bingo.

     “McCall. Risk, reward.” Stiles slid his phone back in his pocket. He looked over at his friend in question. “The risk: if you don’t put that quarter in the mug, you have to take the pop- the- the quiz and--and you have to write an essay.” What? “Risk, more work. Reward, no work at all. Or choose not to play.” 

     “But isn’t this just chance?” Everything we have done in the last year has been just chance. 

     “No. You know your abilities, your coordination, your focus, past experience--all factors affecting the outcome. So what’s it going to be McCall, more work, no work, or choose not to play?” Stiles watched Scott examine the quarter. Scott slowly put down the quarter. “No play.” Really Scott? “Ok, who’s next? Who wants the quarter?”

     Stiles looked around before theatrically getting up and slamming his hands on his desk. This is going to be easy. “There you go! There’s a gambling man!” Stiles took the quarter from Coach. “Come on!” Stiles put some flare in his walk over to where Coach had been. No test, easy. “Step up, step up.” 

     Stiles calmed down and started to line up the quarter. “Alright, Stilinski.” 

     “Stiles.” 

     Stiles shifted. “Yeah, Coach, I got it.” 

     “Stiles.” Noah. Stiles stopped and looked up to see him and another officer. Heather. Noah motioned for the door and Stiles followed. He quickly put the quarter on Coach’s desk as he passed. 

     Once outside the class with the door closed, the other office took out a pad and pen. “When did you last see Heather?” Stiles looked at Noah then back at the other officer. 

     “Last night at her party.” Stiles fidgeted with his shirt sleeves. 

     “What were you doing with her?” Stiles started to fidget even more.

     “We went to go get a bottle of …..wine….from the basement.” Noah sighed. “I left to go to the bathroom, but when I came back I couldn’t find her.” Stiles looked back and forward between the two. Please don’t charge under age drinking. It’s honestly just wine. “I figured she hooked up with her other friends. Has no one really seen her since last night?” Stiles looks fully at Noah now. 

     Noah nodded. “No. We put out an A.P.B., but, Stiles, all her friends say you were the last person who saw her.” Duh. Something happened in the basement. God this looks bad.  

     “Me?” Stiles played along with it because of the other officer present. 

     “We hope that it’s just a series of bad decisions based on too much to drink, but if you remember anything else, you call me. Alright?” Stiles nodded and both officers turned to leave. 

     “Dad, do you know when you’re going to be home for dinner?” Stiles quickly improvised. Noah turned and looked confused before stepping closer. Stiles watched the other officer step back to give them privacy. One Stiles was sure he was mostly out of ear shot, he spoke, “This is something to do with the animals and the packs. I don’t know yet, but something bad is going to happen. The darkness in the basement that night was strong enough to stop me from getting in there.” Noah looked at him for a moment then nodded. 

     “We’ll search the preserve.” 

     Stiles nodded before adding. “You might want to talk to Derek about anything that might stand out.” Noah stared at him for a moment then gave a face that Stiles couldn’t read. Nothing else was said before they left. 

     Stiles stood outside the door confused before realising his chance. He took out his phone and found the group chat with Scott, Allison, and Lydia. 

     Stiles  - ‘Found the logo. Going to talk to Derek about a plan.”

     Before Stiles found Derek’s contact, a message showed up.

     Sourwolf - ‘Peter wasn’t much help with Isaac.’ 

     Lovely. Stiles quickly put his phone away and walked back into the classroom. The rest of class went by quickly. 

     “There is something else here besides the pack.” Stiles said as Scott met up with him after class. “I mean what happened in the basement wasn’t werewolf related.” Scott looked confused. “It was a type of magic and when have you ever met a werewolf who can use magic?”  Stiles turned the hall corner a bit fast.

     Scott nodded. “Maybe someone who is close to a werewolf? I mean maybe they just want to turn her, but then again what would a pack of alphas want with a beta?” Scott quickened his pace to keep up.

     “Scott, I don’t know. I don’t care. Alright? This girl…My adoptive mom was best friends with her mom before mine died, alright? I got to find her.” Stiles looked over at Scott. 

     “Then we need Isaac to remember.” Scott said. Duh, but how…

     “I could do it.” Stiles said remembering what Cas did once. Scott stopped and looked at him. “Wait, no that’s too risky.” Stiles added remembering that it was easy to burn someone’s brains out. Scott looked unsure. “You know any other werewolves with a better trick?” Stiles asked, trying to change the subject. 

     “Maybe not a werewolf.” Stiles gave him a deadpan face. “But someone who knows a lot about them, like Deaton.” Stiles sighed.

     “I’ll give you a lift and you can call Derek.” Stiles started walking towards the school doors.

Chapter Text

     On the way out they were met by Allison and Lydia. “Got the text,” Allison stated; as Stiles pushed his grace out with a feeling that they weren't alone. “So what-”

     “We have a plan for the project.” Stiles said feeling the two red souls get closer. “I have to check on something then we can meet up and make a plan on who works on what.” Stiles started walking towards Scott’s bike. The other three followed behind, confused.

     Scott got ready to roll his bike to the Jeep. “Aiden.” Lydia called out. Stiles stopped and looked up to see the werewolf twins on the bikes next to them. Really Lydia.  

     Something tapped Stiles shoulder; he looked over to find Scott motioning to Roscoe. “Lydia. Allison. We’ll text you later when we find the missing piece and write out the plan. Don’t want to fail the first project of the year.” Stiles nodded while the girls caught on and nodded back. 

     Stiles and Scott turned to leave. As they walked away, Stiles listened to the conversation behind them. 

     “Well, I’m Allison’s ride home for the day, but we can talk later.” Lydia said. There was a short silence before the start of bike engines and the sound of footsteps walking away. 

     “Stiles.” Stiles looked back at Scott to see him waiting for him to unlock the car. 

     “Sorry.” Stiles fumbled to unlock the car. He got in and started the engine as Scott put his bike in the back. “You know you could just start riding with me everyday.” Stiles said as Scott got in the car. 

     Scott shrugged and pulled out his phone. Stiles shook his head and pulled out of the parking spot. 

     “Hey, Derek, Stiles and I thought of a plan to get Isaac’s memories back.” Scott said as they turned the corner out of the school.

     Stiles listened to the other end of the conversation for a response. “Oh and what does your plan involve?”

     “We are on our way to Deaton’s to see if he can help us with it. I mean he has to know something with him being a-” Scott stopped while trying to find the right words.

     “Druid.” Stiles said. Scott looked at him in confusion before repeating it back to Derek. “In some lore druids curse those that have wronged nature by turning them into creatures, such as werewolves. So why not have a druid be part of a pack? They would know everything about werewolves.” Stiles rambled, not noticing the silence from Scott and Derek. “The alpha pack must have a druid. How else would you explain the magic when Heather was taken.” Stiles finally looked at Scott. 

     “Did you get that Derek?” Scott said into the phone that was being pointed at Stiles. 

     “I’ll get Isaac and meet you at Deaton’s.” Stiles watched as the line went dead. 

     “You think that the alpha pack has a druid?” Scott asked, looking at him. 

     Stiles to a quick look at Scott then back at the road. “I think it’s Ms…..” God what’s her name. “Blank? Blake? Ms. Blake.” Stiles turned at a light on to the road for the vet. 

     “Ms. Blake? Why do you think that?” Stiles could see Scott, from his peripheral, fully staring at him in now. 

     “Think about it. She shows up the day after the deer and everything gets worse. The birds at school, the animals at the vet, there was another deer crash yesterday, and now Heather is gone. She even looks like a killer.” Stiles pulled up into a parking spot at the vet. 

     “Like they are happening in threes.” Scott said, looking out the window for Derek. “Like the triangle for the alpha pack.” Scott looked back in shock. 

     “See. She is related to them, I just can’t figure out what she is doing.” Stiles could see Derek’s car pull into the parking lot.

     “Why don’t you ask Deaton? I mean a druid should have an idea what another druid is doing, right?” Scott asked as they got out of the car. 

     “Stiles.” Stiles looked over at Derek. “Did you send the police to the preserve?” Oh, yeah I did. “Because they came to me asking if I’ve seen anything.” 

     “They are trying to find a girl that went missing, and since Noah knows about the supernatural I asked them to ask you if there was anything strange.” Stiles said and shrugged. Derek looked annoyed but seemed to take the answer.

     “Ok let’s get this show on the road.” Stiles said as he walked towards the building. He could hear a sigh from Derek as they started to follow him. Stiles reached the door and pulled it open. The bell rang over him as he spotted Deaton at the counter. “Hey, got anything for memory?” Stiles pointed over his shoulder to Issac.

     “We need him to remember where he found Erica and Boyd.” Derek supplied. Deaton looked around before walking into the back room. Stiles sighed as they followed the man through the doorway.

     “I have an idea that might work. We are going to need ice, lots of it.” Deaton said as he nodded to the freezer in the corner. 

     Welp. Stiles walked towards it while Deaton directed Scott and Derek over to a tub. Stiles looked at the white freezer on the ground. Big enough to store a body. He shrugged and undid the latch before prying it open. The ice creaked against the hinges as he propped it open. “You got the ice?” Stiles turned and gave Scott a deadpan look. 

     Spending the next five minutes pouring ice into a bath is not the highlight of Stiles day. “Obviously it’s not going to be particularly… comfortable.” You can say that again. Stiles glanced at Isaac and Deaton while he poured an ice bag into the water. “But if we can slow your heart rate down slow enough, you will slip into a trance-like state.” You’ll slip into being dead. Stiles shook his head. Please let this work.  

     Stiles stood back and leaned against the wall as they talked logistics. Three werewolves, a druid and a nephilim walk into a vet. Stiles scoffed at his bad joke. He kicked off the wall as Isaac got ready to get into the tub. Deaton looked over at him. Creepy.  

     “I want Stiles to be the one to hold him down.” 

     “How about no.” Stiles shifted. “I would like to rather not be in charge of my friend’s murder.”

     “You will be able to hold him down easier and open his mind.” Stiles looked around the room.   Stiles looked at the werewolves' confused faces. Believe me I’m just as confused.

     “Doc, we don't even know if this will work.” Stiles jokes.

     “That’s why I need you to be the one to do it.” Deaton continued to stare him down. Oh, part angel duh. Stiles shook his head at his own stupidity. 

     Isaac got into the tub and Stiles walked around to stand next to his head. “Ready?” Derek asked. Isaac nodded and Stiles placed his hands on his shoulders. Pushing Isaac down was easy but holding him down only got harder. Stiles felt warmth flow down his arms as Isaac came back up. Isaac thrashed and bared his teeth before Stiles pushed him under again. A minute later the fight was over. Stiles kept his hands lightly as on his shoulders as Isaac floated back up. Stiles felt the warmth die down in his arms and he could hear a slow heart beat in his ears. 

     “Now, remember, only I can talk to him. Too many voices will confuse him and draw him out. Stiles, try to help him.” Try to help him? I just committed a possible murder.

     Stiles took a deep breath as Deaton started talking. “Isaac? Can you hear me?”

     A second later Isaac gave a small nod. “Yes I can hear you.” Stiles gave a relieved breath as he closed his eyes. All he could see was darkness as he tuned out of Deaton’s voice. He could hear Isaac’s heart beat rise as he started to freak out. Stiles could only push his grace into his hands as he tightened his grip. 

     “Relax. Relax. Relax.” Deaton’s voice came back in. Stiles released his grip as he felt waves come over him. What the hell? A second later colours came into view with changing shapes. Stiles could feel a spike in heart beat and pushed back with grace. Come on Isaac. Finally like a camera finding focus, Stiles could see it.

     Issac was walking up stairs in a grey toned scape. Stiles could feel the panic of the memory as it slipped in and out. There were voices in the background. ‘ Eric and Boyd.’ Stiles looked around the pillar as the memory came back into view. The bank. Stiles felt a ringing build in his ears. Come on Isaac. The memory flickered and they were in a room. Stiles could make out someone on the floor. ‘ Erica?’ Stiles tried to hold one as the memory flickered again. ‘ She’s dead.’ The ringing built as he felt the memory torn away from him. 

     Stiles inhaled and coughed as colours and noise rushed back to him. “God, how does he do this?” Stiles stumbled as he blinked from the light. He felt cold metallic under his hand and a sudden warmth in his eyes. Breathe. Breathe… Stiles stared at the metal table that held him up. Breathe. Blinking a couple times made the warmth recede and the lights dimmed.

     “Stiles?” Stiles looked up at Scott. “Hey, you good?”

     Stiles nodded. “Remind me to never do that again.” He looked around to find Isaac sitting on a table with a towel. “Thank you for the joy ride.” Stiles stood up straighter and leaned against the table. Derek looked lost between Isaac and Stiles before choosing Isaac. 

     “Erica?” Derek questioned. Isaac looked at Stiles confused.

     “She’s gone Derek.” Stiles said. “She was practically cold.” Derek rounded on him in shock. 

     “Then who was the girl with Boyd?” Derek looked between Isaac and him. 

      “Someone else, obviously.” Stiles could feel the intensity in the room build like static.

     “And maybe it was the girl on the motorcycle, ok, the one who saved you?” Scott jumped in looking at Isaac.

     “No she wasn’t like us and whoever was in the vault with Boyd was.” Isaac replied.

     Stiles nodded in agreement. “What if that's how Erica died? They pit them against each other during the full moons and see which one survives. It is like a werewolf thunderdome.” 

     “Then we get them out tonight.” Derek looked around at them.

     “Be smart about this, Derek. You can’t just go storming in.” Deaton spoke up for the first time. Technically I can.

     “If Isaac got in, then so can we.” Derek looked back at him.

     “But he didn’t get through a vault door, did he?” Well he didn’t have me did he?  

     “We need a plan.” Scott stepped up. Agreed. Stiles pulled out his phone and clicked on the news article he left off on.

     “How are we going to come up with a plan to break into a bank vault in less than 24 hours?” Bingo.

     “I think someone already did. ‘Beacon Hills First National closes its doors three months after vault robbery.” Stiles scrolled down a bit more. “It doesn’t say here how it was robbed but it won't take long to find out.” Stiles shifted as he put his phone away. 

     “How long?” 

     “It’s the internet, Derek. Ok? Minutes.” Stiles felt the static lessen as Derek looked away. 

     “Tomorrow we need a plan.” Derek finalised it. 

     The next ten minutes was spent helping Deaton clean up. God why doesn’t this get stated in the fine print? Finally getting everything back together they started to head home. 

     Stiles was almost at the door when Deaton spoke. “Psota.” Stiles stopped and whipped his head around to find the man in the doorway of the back room. “Watch over your darkness.” 

     What the fuck?

     Stiles heard the bell ring over the door and turned back around. “Stiles are you coming?” Scott asked from the door.

      “Yeah.” Stiles answered and walked out the door. Looking back at the last second, Deaton was gone. Yeah not creepy at all. 

      Stiles might have overestimated the time it takes to find the details of the robbery. One minute he and Scott are putting newspapers together, the next, it's morning and Noah is saying something about school. 

     “Wait. Heather?” Stiles called as he slid the rest of the way off the bed.

     Noah looked back and shook his head. “Nothing.”  Shit. Noah gave him a look before walking away.

     “God I feel like a truck hit me.” Stiles said as he got on his knees and started picking up papers. “Ten hours and nothing.” Stiles stood up to see his printer spitting out another paper. Fuck.

     “We’re going to find something.” Scott supplied.

     “Finding something doesn’t make Erica any less dead or Boyd any less about to be dead.” Stiles reached over and stopped the printer with more aggression needed.

     “Well, we still have time.” 

     “Is this whole, like, ‘remain optimistic in the face of complete and utter disaster’ thing a part of the ‘be a better Scott McCall’ program?” Stiles frowned at Scott.

      Scott looked around then back. “Not if it doesn’t work.” 

     Stiles sighed and looked down at the paper in his hands. “No, it works.” There for a second he saw it. Dropping the other papers Stiles found a picture of Noah arresting the robber. Stiles quickly shoved the paper into Scott’s hands and stumbled down stairs.

     “Wait!” Stiles called as Noah reached for the front door. “How did Beacon Hills First National get robbed? Erica and Boyd are there.” 

      Noah shook his head. “You planning on recreating it?” 

     “Yes.”

     After a quick overview and some persuasion to get blueprints. Stiles and Scott headed to school. “Did you text Derek?” Stiles asked as they pulled out of the driveway. 

     “Yeah. He hasn’t responded yet.”

     “What about Allison and Lydia?” Stiles turned on to the main road. 

     “Done.”

Chapter Text

     It wasn’t until they pulled into the school parking lot that they heard back from Derek. “All right, so we meet at Derek’s at 5:00 to go over the plan, and then we don’t get started until dark.” Scott said as they climbed out of the Jeep. 

     Stiles nodded, “Okay, what do we do until then?” 

     “What, right now? We’ve got English.” Stiles shook his head.

     “Duh, but seriously like we’re just going to make-” Stiles noticed Lydia and Allison ahead. “Hey Lyds,” Lydia looked back at them with Allison following suit, “meet at Derek’s at 5:00.” They nodded before walking to who knows where. 

     Stiles sighed and looked back at Scott, “As I was saying we can’t just fully come up with the whole thing in what? An hour?” Scott shrugged before continuing down the hall. 

      Great. Just great.

     The rest of the day was uneventful and full of nerves. It wasn’t until Stiles was throwing blueprints down on Derek’s table did it seem too real. Think of this as a hunt Stiles. “Okay. You see this?” Stiles was pointing at the roof blueprint near a vent. “This is how they got in. It’s a rooftop air conditioning vent. Leads down into the wall of the vault which is here.” He shakily circled the wall on the paper. Just a hunt.  

     “Okay?” Stiles quickly looked around the room before continuing. “One of the robbers was lowered into this shaft. Now, this space is so small, it took him about 12 hours to drill into that wall, which is stone, by the way.” Stiles looked up to see four pairs of eyes on him. A hunt. “Then,” Stiles went back to looking at the paper, “throughout the rest of the night, they syphoned the cash up to the guys back up on the roof through that one little shaft in the wall. Boom.” Stiles hit his hand against the table before looking up. 

     “Can we fit in there?” Is the first thing Scott asks. Ummmm

      “Yes we can, but very, very barely. And they obviously patched the wall so…” Stiles looked in between Scott and Derek.

     Derek sighed before giving in, “If I go in first, how much space do I have?” 

     “YOU are going to punch through the wall?” God I love playing dumb. Derek sighed again. 

     “Yes, Stiles, I’m going to punch through the wall.” 

     Stiles tried to keep from smiling at Derek. He could see Allison and Lydia share a look out of the corner of his eye. “Okay, big guy. Let’s see it. Let’s see that fist. Big, old fist. Make it, come on.” Stiles pushed his grace out in preparation to give up his whole wrist. “Get it out there. Don’t be scared. Big bad wolf.” 

     Stiles was really trying to keep up his poker face at the moment but he could feel the amusement radiating off of Derek. Please don’t let me lose my hand. “Yeah, look at that.” Stiles grabbed Derek’s wrist while saying a silent prayer. “Okay see this,” He moved his hand just in front of Derek’s fist. “That’s maybe 3 inches of room to gather enough force to punch thro-” 

     Suddenly the back of his hand slammed against the table. Holy shit! He could feel his grace mend the most likely broken bone. “Fuck, yeah he could … he could do it.” Stiles walked away from the table as he felt his grace surge without his full control. Fuck that hurt. Stiles tuned out the conversation as he pulled his grace back in. 

     “I’m sure Erica and Boyd are great kids, they’re going to be missed.” What . Stiles shot a look at Peter who was sitting on the stairs in the corner. 

     “Could someone kill him again, please?” Stiles forced out. “Look how about this.” Stiles looks around the table. “Derek and Scott go through the vent. Alison, you go through the front. Lydia, can watch guard with me.” Stiles looked around. 

     “How about you stay here?” Scott looked at him. Stiles looked at him confused. “You said it yourself, you are the only human. (Allison coughed) The only human without a weapon. I’m just trying to- “

     “It’s fine.” Welp I’m benched with the fucking zombie in the corner. I’ll just use my grace to spy on them I guess. Scott gave him a face of understanding knowing that Stiles could help more, but would put a major target on their backs. 

     “But.” Scott suddenly in thought.

     “But?” Derek looked over.

     “Who’s the other girl? The one locked in there with Boyd?” Scott looked around the room. 

     “Guess you guys will find out.” Stiles looked around before looking at the time on his phone. “Time to head out."

     Stiles watched them go and sighed before looking back down at the blue prints. He could feel them getting farther and farther away. He sighed and walked around the table looking out of the window, I should have called dad. I should have… Stiles stopped and bit at the skin around his nails as he zoned out. 

     It was about fifteen minutes when the moon came out. Fuck. “I can’t take waiting around like this, you know?” Especially when you can help . Stiles could feel the faint souls in the distance. “It’s nerve-racking. My nerves are racked. They’re severely racked.” 

     “I could beat you unconscious and wake you when it’s over.” Stiles considered it for a moment before realising his grace properly will keep him awake.

     “You think Erica is really dead?” Stiles asked turning towards Peter.

     “You think I really care?”

      “Damn ok. I just don't understand the bank though.” Stiles walked around the table before looking through the papers. “There has to be something there. And the full moons.” Stiles took out the stack of papers with all the materials listed. 

     “Wait. What are the walls made out of?” Stiles heard footsteps get closer as he sped through the book. Suddenly there in the materials list, “Hecatolite.” 

      Stiles took his phone out calling Scott. “Shit.” It took two rings before Scott picked up.

      “Hey Stiles this -” 

      “Shut up Scott and listen, the walls are made of hecatolite. They haven’t felt the moon light in months. You and Derek need to get out of there fast. They will try to kill you now once you let that moonlight in.” Stiles yelled into the phone. “Scott… Scott…” Suddenly there was yelling then a dead line.

     Fuck. Shit. Fuck. “Cora?” Stiles looked up confused at Peter. “Cora was there.” Derek’s sister. Stiles walked towards the door to the balcony. “Where do you think you’re going?” Peter yelled at him from behind. 

     “Air.” Stiles said in return as he opened the door and walked out into the cool night. In the distance he could feel the mixing of souls fighting. Suddenly he could feel Boyd and Cora moving towards Lydia at the front of the building. 

     One second Stiles was taking out his phone, the next a scream ripped through the air. Lydia. He could feel her move away from the rest in a different direction. Stiles ran back inside and past Peter. He quickly ran down the stairs and stretched his wings. 

     He felt the wind and when he looked around he saw Lydia’s car parked down the road. Stiles ran while feeling the burn in his eyes as he saw Lydia standing next to the pool. Then he picked up the grey empty figure near her pale grey glowing form. He picked up his pace as he turned the corner; there Lydia was looking back at him.

     “Stiles?”

Chapter Text

     “Lydia, you okay?” Stiles walked over to her.

     “I don’t…” Lydia looks around.

     “Lydia, where is the body?” Stiles knew, but he had to know if she knew.

     She looked at him before turning towards the pool. She walked over and stopped, staring at the ground before looking up at the guard tower. Lydia backed up as her scream pierced through the air. Stiles reached forward and held her with one arm while taking his phone out with the other. 

     It was only one ring when the Sheriff Department picked up. “Hello. What is your emergency?” 

     “I would like to report a dead body at the pool.”  There was silence at the end of the line before the normal ‘help is on the way and be safe’. Stiles walked Lydia over to the car. 

     “Just stay here,” He said as he opened the passenger door and guided her inside. Once Lydia sat with her head in her hands did Stiles leave her. He walked back over to the scene to look for any clues. He spread out his grace and felt the same magic from the night at Heather’s. Ms. Blank Stiles frowned as he looked at the body. I just hope I don’t have to take care of a ghost. It was like a ping went off in his head and he looked towards the noise. The only thing that was covered in magic was a ring on the victim’s finger. Purity. Well shit. 

     Time to call Scott McCall…….yay . Stiles carefully took the ring off the victim’s finger as his phone rang. He held the suddenly heavy metal as the phone clicked.

     “There’s something else out there.” Stiles said immediately while bringing his grace to his eyes.

     “What?” 

     “It’s after virgins. It took Heather and we have another body at the pool.” Stiles looked around feeling the warmth in his eyes getting hotter. There was nothing around, not even an animal. “Have you found Cora and Boyd?” 

     “No, but they would never hurt anyone.”

     “Yeah but they could be a target. Look Scott, I don’t know what she is after but she is hunting for something. Tell Allison to get her dad; we don’t want them to become number one suspects.” Stiles could see lights in the distance and pocketed the ring. He felt warmth cover his hand quickly, then suddenly the blood was cleared away. “Noah’s here. Be careful.” Stiles hung up the phone and walked out just to see the police car stop.

     Noah got out of the car and walked towards Stiles while telling the female officer to check on Lydia. “What is going on Stiles?” Stiles nodded, signalling for Noah to follow him, and walked back over to the pool. 

     Noah stared at the body for a moment before Stiles spoke. “Virgins. Both him and Heather were virgins.” He took the ring out his pocket and Noah looked down at it. 

     “A girl in the preserve called earlier about her missing girlfriend.” Threes again. 

     “If the girl is a virgin then she’s behind it. Ms. Blake. The deer, the birds, the animals at the vet. Now this.” Stiles looked at Noah with concern, only for Noah to mirror him.

     “I can’t just arrest her.” Noah guided Stiles away as the ambulance showed up. Stiles put the ring back in his pocket.

     “But once I figure out what she wants then we can put out a warning.” Stiles looked around feeling everyone’s souls in the area. Noah nodded, but seemed unsure about the whole thing. Which…Fair.  

     “Lydia found the body I’m guessing.” Noah looked over to Lydia still sitting in the passenger seat with the female officer standing next to her. 

     “Yeah. I flew out here when I heard her scream.” Stiles ran a hand through his hair.

     “Make sure she gets home.” Noah said before walking over to the medics, who’s  rolling a body bag over to the ambulance.

     Stiles walked over to Lydia and gave the officer a quick nod before getting into the driver’s seat. Lydia said something quick to the officer before getting fully in the car and closing the door. “Banshee.” Stiles looked over at her in confusion. “The predictor of death.” Stiles frowned and turned on the car. “How?” Stiles could see her look at him out of the corner of his eye. 

     “It’s something with Peter. I don’t know the details. I'm guessing it’s a version of the murdered woman that turns.” Stiles could feel her unease and fear swimming around in her soul. He decided to stay quiet. 

     The rest of the ride was silent as Stiles drove her home. 

     “You know you didn’t have to drive me.” Lydia looked at Stiles as she sat down on her bed. “You don’t even have a ride back.” 

     “Don’t worry about that.” Stiles shifted. Yeah I hope no one else noticed.

     “And you didn’t have to follow me into my room.” Lydia rolled her eyes at him. 

     “Uhh.” Stiles shifted again and looked around at the very pink room. Why did I follow her in here? “Yeah I don’t have an answer for that. I can leave.” Stiles took a step back towards the door. Lydia nodded and Stiles walked out. 

     Just as he landed back next to his Jeep, he got a call. Mama McCall. 

     “Hey,” Stiles got in the car. Why do I drive if I can fly?  

     “Hey, you need to see this.” Stiles sighed.

     “I’ll be there in five.” 

     Stiles opened the door to the hospital to find Melissa at the desk. “Hey.” He said as he walked up to her.

     “Hey. Over here.” She led him down the hall. She sternly grabbed his elbow and leaned in. “And if you tell anyone that I showed you this, I swear to God, I will kill you painfully and slowly.” Which would just be torture unless she has something that could actually kill me.

     “Why do you want to show me a body I’ve already seen?” Stiles looked at her confused.

     “Because you haven’t seen everything.” Stiles frowned and nodded. They walked down the hallway for a bit before they came up to a room colder than the rest of the hospital. Melissa opened the door and Stiles followed her in and closed the door behind him. 

     Stiles looked at the empty bodies on the table as she put gloves on. Once done she walked over to the male and uncovered his face and neck. Stiles looked over her shoulder as she spoke. “See this around his neck? That’s a ligature mark.” She followed the bruised skin with her finger. “That means he was strangled with something like cord, rope…”

     Stiles stared at her in confusion. What druid uses their bare hands to kill someone? “And then there’s this.” She walked around the table and shifted the kids' heads. There was a piece of scalp missing with cracks in the skull. Oh. “See the indentation? He was hit in the back of the head. Hard enough to kill him.” Stiles frowned. “In fact, any of these things could have killed him. I mean, someone seriously wanted this poor kid dead.” 

     Stiles shook his head. “Ms. Blake. She’s behind this, but what druid goes out of their way to kill someone three-” Three injuries. Three possible causes of death. “She’s doing a death ritual, something with threes.”

     Melissa nods slowly. “She’s just missing one then.” She nods over to the table behind him. Stiles stares at the covered body and selfishly prays that it's the girl from the woods. 

     Melissa walked around the table to stand next to him and uncovered her face. Stiles stared down at Heather. He didn’t even know Melissa was talking to him until he heard the word garrote and he took a step back. “Stiles?” Stiles took another step back against the table behind him. “Oh my god. Did you know her?” Stiles slowly nodded as the ringing in the back of his head set in. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even think,” she said as she covered Heather back up. 

     “I was…I was at her party.” Stiles let the words slip out. “It was her birthday.” Stiles took a deep breath and felt tears sting his eyes. “Her name is Heather.” Stiles wiped his eyes and closed them to feel pounding in the back of his cranium. 

     “Okay, we need to call Noah cause you’re a witness.” It suddenly hit Stiles that his friends will keep dying. Erica and Heather. Lydia and Jackson were a close call. How many more are going to die?

     Stiles looked around while clearing his head. There’s only two and one is missing. “Did a girl come in here tonight? She is missing a girlfriend.” Stiles pushed his grace out as he looked at Melissa. 

     “Yeah a girl named Caitlin came in for a tox screen and said something about a missing girlfriend.”

     “I need to talk to them.” Stiles started to walk around Melissa.

     “Wait, why?” Melissa stopped him.

     “Because if she is a virgin then that completes this section.” Melissa  nodded and led him out the room. They walked down the hall as Melissa took off her gloves. They passed the font desk and turned a corner. 

     “Here.” Melissa said as she opened the door. 

     Stiles walked in to meet a girl setting one the hospital bed. “Hello. I’m just here to ask you a couple questions about tonight.” Stiles walked over and stood next to her. 

     “We weren’t doing anything that bad. I mean I’ve camped out there plenty of times.” Caitlin stared at her hands and fidgeted. 

     “Right, but why tonight?” Stiles rocked side to side. 

     “We wanted to be alone for one night. Emily lives with her mom, and I have three roommates. Not exactly romantic settings. You know?”

     “How long have you two been together?” Stiles can hear his heartbeat.