Chapter 2
When the plane landed, Stiles was grateful to be on the ground again. None of his friends had showed up to see Stiles off, though Stiles had planned it that way, purchasing his plane ticket for the very next day and in the middle of a school day, so everyone would be busy at school. His dad had given him a long hug, not wanting to let him go, but reminding himself, even more than Stiles, that this was only for a year and a half.
After a five and a half hour flight, Stiles was relieved to finally make it to the arrival gate, his eyes scanning the terminal and landing on his uncle who was waiting for him. He couldn't help but smile; no matter how upset he was, he would always be happy to see his uncle. “Uncle Phil!”
Phil opened his arms in preparation as the boy launched himself into his arms, hugging him just as tightly back. “It’s good to see you Stiles.”
Phil pulled away, taking in the bruises on Stile’s face. “John was right. That was some beat down, Stiles.”
Stiles rolled his eyes, tired of trying to explain the bruises off, so instead he changed the subject. “I see that you’re still being tailed. When are you going to finally admit that you’re some kind of spy?”
Phil rolled his eyes right back. “I’m not a spy Stiles, and I’m definitely not being tailed.”
Stiles snorted. “Yeah, right. I haven’t forgotten your last surprise visit or the girls you had with you. May looked like she could break me with just one finger. She’s sitting at the café at my 3 o’ clock, pretending not to pay attention to you by the way. There is also Sky, the girl who taught me a bit of hacking. She’s staring right at me at my 10 o’ clock.”
Stiles winked at her and she shook her head in amusement before looking away.
Phil huffed, ruffling Stiles hair and trying to hide his pride, but failing. “I regret ever playing those ‘I spy’ games with you when you were younger.”
Stiles chuckled. “It wasn’t till I met Scott that I realized that your game of ‘I spy’ wasn’t exactly the way it was supposed to go.”
His Uncle clasped Stiles shoulder playfully as they walked. “It’s important to always be aware of your surroundings. My version was better at teaching you to read people and your surroundings.”
His lips quirked to the side as he picked up his bags, passing one to his Uncle so they each were carrying one. “And you still deny being a spy. I’m never going to believe your lies, Uncle Phil.”
Phil’s lips quirked in amusement but he remained silent as he walked towards the exit, Stiles keeping time with him.
The pleasant silence lasted until they exited the airport and Stiles caught sight of Phil’s car and beamed. “Lola! You repaired her!”
His uncle beamed at him. “Of course I did. She’s my girl, and I’d never abandon her. Ever.”
Stiles’ shoulder slumped slightly. “I feel really bad about having to leave Betsy behind.”
Phil clasped stiles’ neck gently. “Don’t worry, Stiles, your jeep will be on good hands with your dad. She will be waiting for you when you graduate.”
Stiles nodded, but he was silent for the rest of the drive to Phil’s condo.
When they arrived, Stiles took in the complex with a soft whistle. “You sure got an upgrade, Uncle Phil. This is much nicer than your last place.”
Phil gave him his signature ‘I’m not telling you everything’ smile. “I was given a good price. There’s a pool and gym, if you’re interested, and the tenants are all pretty good people.”
Stiles nodded as they grabbed his suitcases and made their way through the fancy lobby, where the guard greeted his uncle by name and nodded to Stiles with a friendly smile on his face.
Once in the elevator, Stiles was somehow not surprised when Phil pressed the top floor.
The Condo they stepped into was sleek and temporary, mixed with a classic design, perfect for his uncle. It had an open floor plan with a spacious kitchen with island, and a huge sectional sofa surrounding an extremely large entertainment system.
Stiles couldn’t help but stare at the TV. “Is that seriously what you’ve been playing Call of Duty on all this time? You’ve been holding out on me, Uncle Phil.”
Phil chuckled. “It’s actually pretty new. When your dad mentioned you coming to stay with me, I figured you’d appreciate something bigger. It’ll be much easier to play split screen this way. “
Stiles swallowed back the emotion at the action. He might feel bitter about having to leave his life to come here, but he truly loved his uncle. “I’ll kick your butt.”
He patted Stiles’ shoulder. “Keep telling yourself that. I’m going to order us some pizza, so why don’t you bring your bags into your room? It’s the first door on the right.”
After stuffing themselves with pizza, Stiles spent the evening showing his Uncle just how much he had improved his game.
Ever since consoles started having games with online options, he and his uncle had used it as a bonding experience when he was not able to visit. Shooter games were particularly some of their favorites to play.
His uncle refused to go easy on him and Stiles played his hardest. They were pretty evenly matched, coming to the end at a tie.
Phil finally rose from the couch, patting stiles’ shoulder on the way. “Well, it’s time for bed. You need to get some rest before your first day at school.”
Stiles groaned. “Seriously? I just got here and I have to go to school already?”
Phil just stared back at him, brow raised. “Stiles, if you want to graduate, you can’t afford to miss any day at school.”
Stiles sighed, lifting himself off the couch as well. “I know. It would just have been nice to have a small break, that’s all. Good night, Uncle Phil.”
They shared a hug before separating, then Phil patted Stiles on the back, and they headed to their own rooms.
Stiles took his time putting away his clothes and exploring his room. It was a nice size and it had a super comfortable looking queen size bed filling it. There were a few extra things to make his room more comfortable, like a nice size closet, a bookshelf, a reading chair and lamp, as well as a sleek contemporary desk. A few things already strewn over the desk; things that Stiles had left at his Uncles over the years, like his old Captain America action figure, and mementos from things like baseball games and musicals they had watched.
His fingers ghosted over the items before throwing himself onto his bed, rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling with a deep sigh.
He expected to not be able to fall asleep, too busy thinking about everything that he had left behind and what would come next, but sleep claimed him surprisingly fast.
~*~
Phil eyed Stiles with almost as much trepidation as Stiles felt as he stopped in front of the administration entrance. “I can come in with you if you like.”
Stiles took a deep breath and shook his head. “No, that’s fine. I’ll be okay, Uncle Phil, I’ve got all the paperwork I need. Have a good day at work. I’ll see you tonight.”
He gave the boy a smile, which Stiles returned, a bit shakily, before exiting the vehicle and making his way inside.
The paperwork didn’t take much time and he was quickly trying to find his way through the maze called school in order to find his class, when he fell upon a group surrounding a slip of a boy sporting a black eye and hunched shoulders.
The biggest of the guys was leaning forward, grabbing the boy by the front of the shirt, with a sneer on his face that could have rivaled Jackson’s. “Think you could show me up like that in front of class you little fag, just because you’re the teacher’s pet? I bet you bend down for him like a little slut don’t you? That’s how you get such good grades all the time. “
The boy stammered eyes wide in panic. “Kyle, I didn’t, I don’t. I.”
The boy was so scared he could barely even make proper sentences. His whole body wracked in tremors, eyes glassy, and fighting back tears.
Kyle took a swing and Stiles was reacting before he even realized that his body had moved, shoving Kyle away from the boy while bellowing possibly a little too loudly. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
Kyle quickly righted himself, turning to Stiles with a scowl on his face. “I was teaching this fairy a lesson. One that you should know better than to get in the middle of, new kid.”
Stiles raised a brow, squaring his shoulders and placing himself between Kyle and the boy. “You’re bullying him because he’s gay?!”
Kyle snorted. “What, you’re a fag too? I’d be careful, newbie, or you’ll find yourself in the same position he’s in.”
Stiles didn’t say a word, keeping his position and tensing at the slurs that no one in his school would have dared fling at Danny or anyone else.
Kyle eyed a teacher rounding the corner and signaled his goons to follow him as they quickly dispersed.
The boy that had recently been huddling in the corner in fear, shifted behind stiles before finally speaking. “Thank you for helping me, but you most likely caused yourself more trouble than it was worth.”
Stiles shrugged before eyeing the boy. “They were seriously bullying you for being gay?”
The boy nodded, his mop of curly brown hair bouncing. “This school isn’t really known for being into gay rights advocacy.”
Stiles scowled. “That’s ridiculous. I come from a small town and no one at our school would have stood for any kind of gay bashing. Hell, our lacrosse goalie, Danny, was gay and one of the most well-loved guys in our school.”
The boy smirked. “Welcome to my own personal hell. I’m Nick, by the way. Short for Nikodim, but only my mom calls me that.”
Stiles couldn’t help but Snort. “I have you beaten. I’m stiles, in no way short for Trzetrzelewska.”
Nick couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. “Wow, cruel parents!”
Stiles faked affront. “I will have you know that my mother named me after my Polish grandfather. It’s a great regal name. Sadly no one can pronounce it but my mom.”
The boy beamed at him and then realized they were standing in the hallway and shuffled his feet. “Do you need help finding your class? I don’t mind being late, since I already technically am.”
Stiles nodded, passing the boy his schedule.
Nick grinned. “You’re in luck. We are sharing all the same classes, except for your internship class.”
Stiles eyed the impish grin and couldn’t help but tease. “Are you sure that’s luck? It might be misfortune”
Nick shoved Stiles’ shoulder playfully as they made their way to classes.” I’m jealous; it’s hard to get into that elective. Everyone wants a chance to get out of school and do an internship. Our school is the only one in the state that I know of that that does it. It's to get life experience apparently.”
Stile’s hummed. “We never had that in my old school back in California either. It sounds interesting, so let's see how things go.”
Nick grinned as they finally walked into their first class together.
The day passed by quickly. Having his classes with Nick helped ease a bit of the loneliness Stiles was feeling.
When the time came for his internship class, stiles found a familiar face.
Kyle scowled at him and Stiles sat himself as far away from him as he could.
When the teacher walked in, she started giving out filled out sheets to the other students with confirmations for internships that they had applied to two weeks before.
Stiles couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous about it. What if he couldn’t find a place that would take him in? Let alone a place that would interest him.
He heard some of the students groaning at the places they were accepted at while others whooped in cheer.
Kyle was the loudest; apparently his father had pulled strings and gotten him an internship at Stark Industries.
Stiles wondered where he could apply. The two main things that interested him were criminology and technology. Sure he could apply at the NYPD, but he doubted he could get in there like he could have at his dad’s station due to insurance. Heck, he was sure his dad had his name in the insurance roster with how often he was at the station and getting involved in cases. Stark Industries would definitely be an interesting place to work, especially with all the changes Tony Stark and Pepper Potts had made to the company.
Stiles mulled over this all day slightly distracted, until he was finally home sitting at the kitchen table, application sheet at his elbow, waiting to be filled out. The only things written on the paper were ‘NYPD? Stark Industries?’
Phil finally managed to grasp Stiles’ attention by pulling the plate of curly fries away from his reach. “Alright Stiles, what’s bothering you? You have been staring at that sheet since you got home and you seem very distracted.”
Stiles sighed deeply. “All the classes are going great; I’m actually a bit further ahead in classes than they are here. But the internship class all applied for internships two weeks ago and received them today. I need to come up with places to apply and I really don’t think anyone will be willing to take me on, last minute like this.
His uncle grabbed the sheet before Stiles could stop him. “What places are you looking at?”
Stiles blushed lightly. “I really don’t know. The only ones that come to mind right now are the NYPD, which would most likely not let a kid go on patrol with them for an internship. The other option is the Stark Industries, which already has one kid doing an internship. I doubt they would accept me, anyway.”
Phil met his gaze squarely. “Do you really want to do your internship at Stark Tower?”
Stiles nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I love the things that Tony Stark and Pepper Potts have done with the company, changing it from the ground up. You know how much technology interests me. I mean I really want to join the force but if something happened, working with tech is something else I would be really interested in.”
Phil nodded before pulling his phone out and dialing a number that answered after two rings. “Hi, Pepper. Yes, I received the cookies, they were delicious, and my guys really appreciated them. No, it was our pleasure. Listen, I have a favor to ask. You know how I mentioned my nephew was coming to live with me? Well, apparently he’s taking an internship class and needs to come up with an internship and has shown a lot of interest in Stark Industries, specifically with all the changes you and Tony have done to it these last few years.”
Phil chuckled lightly. “Well, like I said, he’s not your usual kid. He’s curious, likes to figure things out. He reminds me a bit of Tony without all the arrogance.”
Stiles gaped at his Uncle as he continued to speak to whom stiles assumed was none other than Pepper Potts as if they were the best of friends, even going so far as snarking over Tony.
Phil and pepper seemed to be negotiating the details of Stiles’ work term, but Stiles only caught Phil’s side of the conversation. “All right, I’ll go ahead and fax you his work term sheet. Just fax a copy to me and one to the school and we will be good to go. Thank you, Pepper, I really appreciate it and I’m sure you are going to love Stiles.”
When Phil finally hung up, he eyed his still silent nephew. “So, Pepper has agreed to take you in for your work term. She is going to make sure you get a full feel of the company by shifting you around to different departments to see what kind of work they do. You will be reporting to her and you will also get to shadow her and see what kind of work is involved in running a company like Stark Industries. I’m sure she will try to convince Tony to let you sit with him as well, although he’s not really running the company anymore, but he still stays involved to a degree. Watch out for him, he’s a bad influence.”
Stiles couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Both extremely excited and also baffled beyond imagination. “Since when are you friends with Pepper Potts?!”
Phil Shrugged. “We became friends when I was assigned to investigate her company. I can’t give you any details but we hit it off and stayed in touch.”
Stilled raised a brow at his uncle in disbelief. Stiles was never going to believe his uncle was anything but a spy.