Chapter 5
Stiles slowly came back to reality in the morning, with the sun shining brightly through his window.
He rolled to his side gingerly, grabbing his cellphone, which had been left on his nightstand, checking the time. He had managed to wake up at seven in the morning, twenty minutes before his alarm was due to ring.
He noticed the glass of water and painkillers sitting on his side table along with two unlabeled jars, one white and the other one black. He grabbed the slip of paper that came with them, popping the pills into his mouth with his other hand before taking a gulp of water.
The page had his uncle’s elegant scrawl ordering him to use the green bottle for his burns and the white bottle for his bruises.
He was surprised by how fast the pain eased once he was done applying the salves to his burns and bruises. The easing of the pain was almost immediate.
From the corner of his eye Stiles noticed something extremely colorful that had been resting under the bottles.
Picking it up, stiles couldn’t help but feel his shoulders stiffen in disbelief before he shot out of bed, making his way to the kitchen to seek out his Uncle. “Seriously, uncle Phil? You’re sending me to group therapy?”
His uncle turned to face him, obviously prepared for his reaction. “It’s a support group, Stiles, not group therapy. I think it would be good for you after everything that you’ve been through, both back home and here. You’ve refused to talk about it and that can’t keep happening. If you won’t talk to me, then talk to others who you might be able to connect to. If Nick wants to join you, he is welcome to come. I can bring the both of you.”
Stiles sighed deeply, looking down at the pamphlet, skimming through the information before falling on a few lines that finally made sense to Stiles why his uncle would want him to join this support group.
- LGBTQ individuals are several times more likely to be victims of assault, at risk for suicide and, in general, experience other ill effects of social isolation.
- Despite anti-discrimination legislation and other protective policies, the enforcement of these policies to protect LGBTQ community members is not consistent.
- Violence or other crimes against these citizens are frequently overlooked due to personal and/or institutionalized homophobia.
Stiles took a deep breath, trying not to sigh again. Of course his uncle would think that the issues he had been having back home were due to him dealing with his sexuality. It made a lot of sense when he thought about it but at the same time the thought that his uncle would think he felt ashamed about his sexuality didn’t sit well with him. “Alright, uncle Phil, I’ll go. But I want you to know that what happened back home had nothing to do with my sexuality, ok? I never really talked about it with anyone because it never really came up. Well, except that one time when dad caught me at The Jungle. I tried to talk to him about it but he shot me down saying I wasn’t gay.”
Stiles winced at the look on Phil’s face, knowing he was going to have a talk with his father. “To be fair, he probably thought I was trying to weasel my way out of trouble, which I usually am.”
He was saved from his uncle’s response by someone ringing the bell.
Phil brought up the camera showing the front entrance, where Tony stood staring in front of the camera waving cockily, garment back in hand.
Phil sighed before buzzing him in while Stiles ran back to his room to slip a shirt on.
When he came back into the living room, Tony shoved the garment bag into his arms. “Put this on and let’s get a move on. We want to get you to school at prime time. This won’t be worth anything if you don’t get seen. Don’t touch your hair; it’s the perfect ‘just slept in’ look. You don’t need to fix it; girls go for that. Guys too, for that matter.”
Stiles raised a brow but didn’t question him, having already learnt that when Tony had that look on his face he would not take no for an answer.
He quickly made his way back to his room, shutting the door behind him.
Unzipping the garment bag, he couldn’t help but notice how expensive the outfit looked. He couldn’t recognize the label, but knew that Lydia would most likely have flipped over it.
Surprisingly, when everything was on, he didn’t feel uncomfortable or completely overdressed. He was wearing charcoal black pants that fit him snugly with a vest that fit him just as well with a white shirt underneath, once again nicely fitted. The whole outfit was European cut and tailored.
He couldn’t help but snort at the sleek Iron Man buckle that Tony had attached to his belt. It was muted and didn’t stand out much, but was still there like Tony had placed his own special little brand on him, warning others away. The tie was checkered black and white, giving it a very monochrome look, except for the light pop of red on his belt buckle.
When Stiles made his way back, Tony gave him a once over and nodded while Phil couldn’t help but huff. “You’re turning my nephew into a mini version of yourself, Tony.”
Tony shrugged and thrust a pair of shiny pointed dress shoes into stiles hands.
He quickly slipped them on and hugged his uncle goodbye before following Tony out, thankful that he had bought a slightly more sophisticated black over the shoulder bag for his homework, which went much better with his look.
Stiles stopped in his tracks when he saw the sleek silver convertible Tony was driving today. “Is that a Spyder?”
Tony smirked, opening the door for Stiles. “We need to make an entrance, don't we?”
He gently placed his bag in the back, petrified to even so much as cause a scratch on the car that was worth well over nine hundred thousand dollars.
Once he was situated in the car with his seatbelt on, Tony handed him over a pair of expensive looking aviators. “To finish the look; plus, it will cover up your bruises.”
Stiles slipped the glasses on and the car purred to life, shooting out of the parking lot like a bullet.
In no time at all they were arriving at school with Tony revving up the engine loudly, causing heads to turn.
Stiles perked when he saw Nick and couldn’t help crying out. “Oh, there’s Nick.”
Tony stopped him from waving to his friend. “Keep it cool, kid, we’re working on your reputation here. If you wave, keep it short and not too enthusiastic.”
Stiles answered Nick’s slightly awed wave with one of his own and Tony stopped the car at the entrance, where a crowd was quickly converging.
Nick thankfully managed to get to Stiles first and just as they were about to leave, Tony called out loud enough for everyone to hear. “Don’t forget, I’m picking you up tonight; we’re going shopping. You can bring Nick too, if you want; I’ll bring a car with more seats.”
Stiles turned and raised a brow at Tony. “What is this, Mean Girls?”
Tony chuckled. “Just make sure you’re here on time or I’ll have Jarvis track you down.”
Stiles sighed and then nodded, waving goodbye before dragging a shell shocked Nick, who was waving goodbye to Tony, unbelieving that he would ever know his name, let along be invited him to go shopping.
Once they were inside the school building, the questions were finally asked. “What the hell was that? What is with the outfit? Since when does Iron Man drive you to school? Holy crap, we are going to be shopping with Iron Man after school! What the hell, Stiles?”
He couldn’t help but chuckle, ignoring the whispering and assessing glances he was getting as they walked passed, keeping quiet and hoping to find a more private place to talk.
That plan backfired when they bumped into Kyle in the hallway.
He took one look at Stiles, paled, then turned tail and ran, much to Nick and Kyle’s posse’s shock.
Nick finally grabbed Stiles and demanded answers. “What the hell is going on, Stiles? I feel like we are in the twilight zone here!”
Stiles sighed before slipping his glasses off, ignoring Nick’s gasp when he saw his bruises. “Kyle managed to get ahold of me last night and kicked my ass. My uncle and Tony didn’t take too kindly to it. I wasn’t there for the confrontation, but from the look of it they put the fear of God into him, so he shouldn’t be bothering us ever again. I think Tony might have adopted me or made me his personal project; I’m not sure which one.”
Stiles couldn’t help but chuckle, sliding his glasses back on. “Might be both, since Pepper likes me and Lord knows he has a soft spot for Pepper.”
Nick wrapped his arm around Stiles shoulder and grinned brightly. “Have I told you how glad I am that you came into my life? If only we were actually attracted to each other.”
Stiles burst into laughter at Nick’s words. “Come on, you clown, we need to get to class before we’re late.”
The day breezed by with the both of them in a great mood. They were approached by many different groups trying to befriend the kid who was friends with Tony Stark. Stiles and Nick agreed to play hard to get for a while, unsure who they would hang out with. Yes, it was important to be popular, but neither of them wanted to be stuck with people they could not stand.
Nick tried not to be overenthusiastic when he spoke. “Maybe Tony can give us his opinion on it.”
Stiles shrugged as they made their way to the exit to meet him. “I don’t care what he says. I refuse to be stuck with people who care nothing about me and just want to use me for my skills or because of who I’m friends with. Never again.”
Nick became quiet for a moment, bumping shoulders with Stiles gently, who looked back at him and gave a small smile, letting him know he was okay.
Tony was waiting for them leaning against his bright red Aston martin Rapide S, his aviators firmly in place while ignoring the crowd staring. Stiles couldn’t help but sigh. “Don’t you own any cars that are, I don’t know… Less expensive or at least not as in your face?”
Tony snorted. “I’m a billionaire, Stiles, I’m allowed my toys. Now you boys get in the car, we’re going shopping.”
Once they were both situated, Tony started the car and sped out of the parking lot.
Stiles was somehow not surprised that they did not go to a mall but ended up on Fifth Avenue.
Nick was vibrating in his seat behind Stiles, only having dreamed about getting to walk into these stores.
They started at Dolce and Gabanna, where Stiles honestly thought most of the shirts were butt ugly and was thankful that Tony mainly got him to try Jeans and a few suits.
When Stiles slipped into a fitting room, Tony noticed that Nick was just standing next to him, looking around. “Why aren’t you trying anything on, kid?”
Nick shifted uncomfortably. “I can’t really afford anything here.”
Tony huffed. “Kid, the majority of New York can’t afford anything in here. I wouldn’t have invited you to tag along if you weren’t included in the shopping. We’re working on Stile’s image, we can’t have his only friend get left behind now can we?”
His eyes shone bright with excitement as he thanked Tony, thankfully not overly profusely or to a point that it might have annoyed Tony, and let one of the shopkeepers pick a few items for him to try on.
Once they were done, they made their way to the next shop, thankfully bag free, as Tony had organized for everything to be dropped off at their homes.
They stopped at Oakley because Tony was adamant that every man needed good quality sunglasses.
When they walked in, Tony looked around before zeroing in on a man wearing casual jeans and a t-shirt and shirt combo, similar to something Stiles would wear, minus the plaid and the fact that he had a baseball cap on his head. “Steve, glad you could make it.”
The man turned and Stiles breath caught in his throat. He was the most beautiful man Stiles had ever seen in his life. And this was saying something, since he had met Derek, Danny and even though he was a douche, Jackson was model gorgeous.
He blamed that for not realizing who he was staring at, until Nick blurted out quietly, as if afraid if he said it too loudly he would disappear. “Holy shit, you’re Captain America.”
Steve Rogers; smile made Stiles feel as if he had been punched in the solar plexus. It was genuine and shone like the light of a billion suns. “Which one of you is Stiles?”
Stiles flinched when Nick elbowed him, catching his bruised side. “Uh, I am.”
He moved forward, taking Stiles’ hand in his, clasping and shaking it. Stiles was so flustered he could barely manage to return the handshake. “Nice to meet you, Stiles. I’m Steve.”
Once he released Stiles’ hand. his attention turned to Nick. “You must be Nick. Nice to meet you.”
Nick enthusiastically shook his hand, saying something and Stiles felt his brain fizzle at the sight of Steve’s long neck as he threw his head back to laugh, Adams apple bobbing.
Tony moved forward and finally spoke up. “Why don’t you help Nick pick out some shades while I help Stiles?”
When they moved out of earshot, Tony turned to Stiles with an amused tone. “You never got that flustered when you first met me.”
Stiles snorted. “Well, to be honest, Tony, you don’t look like THAT. Not that you aren’t good looking or anything, but we’re just too much alike.”
Tony snorted moving towards a case of sunglasses and picking a few out. “Is this going to be a problem? Because I need to know now.”
Stiles frowned in confusion. “Why would it be a problem?”
He shrugged lightly. “I don’t know, maybe because he’s agreed to teach you self-defense. Maybe I should have asked Romanoff, actually, but seeing as gender has no significance to you, that might not work either.”
He couldn’t help but gape. “Captain America is going to teach me self-defense…”
Tony shrugged. “Before he became Cap, he was skinny and defenseless. He took plenty of beatings but refused to stay down, kind of like you. You could say he dislikes bullies.”
Stiles looked back at Nick and Steve who were laughing, trying on glasses and something fluttered inside his chest at the fact that he made sure to treat Nick like he mattered, even though he had never met the boy before. Stilinski fell hard, and that was a record even for him. He wasn’t new to having a crush on someone who is unattainable; he had been in love with Lydia since third grade, but this might be his most unattainable crush yet. He remembered his uncle bringing him to the Captain America exhibit and seeing the photo of the beautiful Peggy Carter who had been the love of Steve Rogers’s life. He would trudge on and be lucky that at least with Steve he had a chance to actually be friends with him, while Lydia had never even given him the time of day before werewolves came into the picture.
He turned to Tony and shook his head. “It won’t be a problem, Tony; a bit unbelievable, but not a problem.”
Once he was over his initial internal freak out, they had a blast. Tony and Steve were hilarious together, and Steve always made sure to keep them included in the conversations, asking for their opinions, laughing at their antics, and being a genuinely nice guy.
Stiles was sure they bought out multiple clothing stores, accessory shops and shoe stores as well as one hat shop.
He was pretty exhausted by the time they watched Steve drive away on his motorcycle and crawled into Tony’s Aston Martin.
Nick sleepily wished both of them a goodnight and thanked Tony once again for the clothes.
Tony just waved him off with a smile and told him not to let the bullies bug him anymore.
He smiled and nodded, turning back to greet his mother who stood at the door, staring disbelievingly at Tony, obviously having recognized him.
Tony just waved cockily before backing out of the driveway and heading towards Phil’s Condo.
The Aston Martin stopped smoothly in front of the entrance and Tony smiled softly at Stiles. “Get some sleep, kid. Try not to give Pepper too much trouble tomorrow.”
Stiles huffed. “I never give her any trouble, Tony, you’re mistaking me with yourself.”
Tony chuckled and Stiles smiled. “Thanks for the shopping trip and thank you for including Nick; I know this probably made his life for so many reasons. I had a lot of fun too.”
Tony shrugged but couldn’t hide the smile. “He’s a good kid; you’re good at reading people. Now get out of my car and get some sleep. If I catch you wearing anything but what we bought tonight I will find out.”
Stiles couldn’t help but chuckle as he climbed out of the car. “Goodnight, Tony.”
He nodded and sped off as soon as the door was shut.
When he finally walked into the Condo, he could see the mountains of bags against the wall and his Uncle leaning against the kitchen island with his brow raised. “Did Tony buy out the stores?”
Stiles laughed. “He might have gone a little overboard.”
The corner of Phil’s lip twitched. “Did you have fun?”
He beamed at his uncle, telling him about his whole day, from being dropped off to meeting Steve to how Tony had invited Nick and even bought him a new wardrobe too.
Phil couldn’t help but smile softly at his nephew. “I’m glad you had fun. Your father called and asked for you to give him a call when you came home.”
Stiles nodded before picking up the cordless phone and heading to the bedroom, dialing his dad’s number and settling comfortably in bed.
The phone rang three times before it answered, his dad’s voice drifting through the earpiece. “Hey, son, how was your shopping trip?”
Stiles once again described everything that happened from the morning to the evening, most likely gushing a little bit too much over Steve Rogers, but his father didn’t seem bothered.
Once he was done, his father was silent for a moment before he finally spoke up. “Stiles… About… About that time I caught you at The Jungle…”
Stiles inhaled sharply. “Dad, you don’t.”
His dad cut him off. “Stiles, please let me finish. I shouldn’t have shot you down like that. I shouldn’t have just assumed that you were trying to lie to get out of trouble and I shouldn’t have said something so hurtful. You’re my son and I love you and I’m proud of you, no matter who you choose to love. I don’t care if you’re straight, gay or bisexual, Stiles. I’ll love you no matter what.”
Stiles sniffled lightly, surprised by how much the words meant to him. He always said that his sexuality was never an issue to him, but knowing his dad accepted him no matter what touched something deep inside him. Curling on his side, he held the phone closely. “I love you, dad.”
The line was quiet for a moment but he could almost hear his dad’s soft smile. “I love you too, son. Now it’s getting late, get some sleep.”
Stiles nodded before answering. “Alright, you too, pops. Be safe.”
John huffed. “I always am. The same goes for you. No more bullies, alright?”
Stiles chuckled. “You got it, dad, no more bullies.”
They both hung up and Stiles held the phone close to his chest, falling asleep with a smile on his lips, feeling like everything would be okay for the first time in a long time.