Chapter 17
Steve came to in a jolt, forcing his body to stay motionless, trying to get a read on his surroundings but the Darach wasn’t fooled. “I see you’ve finally woken up. You really are Captain America. Most take a few hours to come to.”
His eyes snapped open, staring at the curly haired woman who was standing in front of him, not showing any signs that she was actually a severely disfigured monster.
Flexing at the chains wrapped around him, he frowned. He might be able to break them but would need her distracted as there was no way he could both break his bindings and deal with her before she hit him with whatever she used to knock him out. He needed to get her talking until help arrived. “Why take me? What could you gain from taking Captain America?”
The woman stepped forward cooing. “Oh honey, I could care less about you being Captain America. But you are the ultimate sacrifice. Your friends dealt with Deucalion and his mutts, but I need enough power to never have the past repeat itself. Never again will I be weak enough to have someone torture me. I used to be Kali’s emissary, until Deucalion arrived and ordered her to murder her whole pack, including me. We were also lovers and yet she sought power so much that she was willing to betray me. Never again. You are a warrior, guardian, philosopher, healer and best of all… A virgin. The amount of power I will gain from sacrificing you will be substantial. “
A voice spoke up from the shadows, quivering with rage. “Like hell you’re going to sacrifice him.”
Stiles stepped out of the shadows, Beretta in one hand, the other one clenched tightly around something.
The rest of the avengers as well as Phil all slowly crept out of the shadows, weapons pointed at the Darach.
She turned, looking highly amused. “Awww, are you angry because I stole your little toy?”
Stiles stood in all his glorious rage. “First you killed my friend, then you took my dad and now you take Steve? I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with.”
The Darach laughed. “You think you can take me, when I easily subdued Captain America?”
Stiles stepped forward, smirking. “I know I can take you. You see, people always underestimate me, because I’m human. But you know what I have?”
He lifted his hand throwing the Mistletoe dust into the air. “A Spark and some mistletoe.”
The darach screeched as the mistletoe settled around her, trapping her in a circular prison, body transforming back and forth between the disfigured form of the Darach and her glamour form.
She finally panted, staring up at Stiles before chuckling deeply when he pointed the gun at her. “You wouldn’t have the heart to kill me.”
Stiles huffed. “ Normally, I’d be reluctant to kill someone, but you see, you took what was mine and I don’t take well to having my loved ones being threatened.”
He cocked the gun and the Darach only had time to widen her eyes in shock before the bullet lodged between her eyes and her body rocked backwards, dead before she even hit the ground.
Stiles didn’t even wait for her to hit the ground, he ran to Steve’s side, ready to help Steve out of the chains.
Steve just huffed before flexing and breaking the chains pretty easily.
Stiles rolled his eyes as he helped him get the remaining ones off.
Then he was suddenly in Steve’s arms as he hugged him closely. “I’m sorry you had to kill for me. I wouldn’t have wanted you to ever have to experience if I could have helped it.”
Stiles shook his head pulling back lightly to look him in the eye. "Shut it with the self-sacrificing bullshit right now buddy.”
The others converged; needing to make sure their team mate was safe with their own eyes.
Tony smirked. “Seriously Rogers? You couldn’t take care of the whole virginity thing before it became a hazard to your health? Fix it soon, and fix is with stiles so he won’t be a target either.”
The rest of the crew chuckled as Steve and Stiles blushed.
Phil huffed, breaking up the teasing that ensued. “Alright, let’s head to Johns house and let them know we’re all safe and unwind for a bit.”
Steve and Stiles hung to each other during the whole drive but Stiles was wrenched out of his arms when they arrived, first by his dad and then Scott. The others gave him a small hug or a smile, relieved that he was okay, obviously not believing the avengers that he was more skilled than they gave him credit for.
The final person to embrace Stiles had Steve practically seeing red.
Derek had dragged Stiles into his lap as the boy squawked only to be hushed. “You’re pack Stiles and my wolf is hating the fact that you don’t smell like it.”
Derek’s eyes met Steves and smirked as he leaned forward, nuzzling Stiles neck in a scent mark, causing the boy to squeak.
Steve moved forward, not even aware he was doing it until he was grabbing Stiles and dragging him away from the alpha. “Stiles we need to debrief, come on.”
Tony snorted as they passed and Steve just barely heard his passing quip. “Debrief, alright.”
Stiles blushed bright red but quickly recovered and guided Steve to his old bedroom.
Steve took everything in curiously as Stiles sat down on his bed, waiting for him to be done before he spoke. “So what’s up?”
Steve blushed looking away, shuffling his feet like a little boy. “I’m sorry; I’ve never been jealous before but for some reason Derek raises my hackles.”
Stiles chuckled lightly. “Well he is pretty good looking. But honestly he never behaves like that, so I think he was doing it on purpose to get a rise out of you. I really don’t know why though.”
Steve looked Stiles straight in the eye. “Maybe he really likes you. He would definitely be a better fit for you. He’s younger, might have more things in common with you. He wouldn’t be bringing nearly as many bad things down on you, like I would. You killed for me Stiles. I never wanted that for you, especially at such a young age.”
Stiles growled lightly, rising to his feet. “Alright, first things first! From the first time Derek came into my life, it’s been one near death experience after the other. Other than being beat up once, this was the first time anything supernatural happened since I moved to New York. And lo and behold, Derek hale was involved. I want you to stop being so self-sacrificing Steve. I know you want me to keep my childhood but I was forced to grow up much faster than anyone else, starting on the day my mom died. You need to realize that I am not a child. My age does not determine my maturity and that was not the first person that I’ve had to kill.”
Steve sighed tiredly and nodded in agreement, sitting down on Stiles bed. “Will you tell me about the person you killed?”
Stiles sat down next to Steve, shoulder pressing gently against his. “I told you about Gerard. How he had Erica and Boyd strung up in the Argents basement, torturing them even though he knew they would never give up Derek. He kidnapped me during the Lacrosse game and dragged me to the basement. What’s worse is he knew I wouldn’t give him any information either. He beat me to send a message to Scott. I was a human, yet he didn’t give a shit. He didn’t care because he was the real monster. Not the werewolves trying to live their lives and be under the radar. He came down to get vengeance on his daughter who slaughtered a family of innocents, humans and werewolves alike who had never hurt anyone. She took advantage of a sixteen year old boy to do it too. At least that’s what we thought he had wanted. But turns out he had cancer and wanted the bite to turn himself. Scott was an idiot and played along with him and forced Derek to bite him but switched his pills with mountain ash, hoping it would counteract the bite. It seemed like it would at first but I followed the trail of black blood into the woods, after he had disappeared. He wasn’t dead. He was slowly getting his strength back. When he heard me coming he turned, staring at me, eyes flickering an electric blue and grinned in triumph and I couldn’t let that kind of monster loose on the world. So I bashed his head in with my bat and cut his head clear off with a shovel before burying him out in the preserve in pieces. By the time I was done, I just had enough time to shower and pack before dad drove me to the airport.”
Stiles hands trembled and Steve reached over, gently clasping them in his own and he met his gaze, eyes filled with pain. “What’s worse is that’s not the first time I killed someone.”
Stiles took a harsh breath, fighting off the panic. “I’ve never told anyone about this. When my mom was sick in the hospital, she suffered so much. Some days the pain was so much that she begged for it to end.”
Stiles trembled. “Dad was out on patrol that night and mom was… She was in so much pain. Not even the morphine was doing anything by that point. She had wasted away. She used to be so beautiful and she was just a shell of the bright woman she used to be. She asked me to get her locket from her bag and I just took it out, not asking any question, even though I had seen dad refuse her multiple times, even though she had worn it for years before she ended up in the hospital. I just gave it to her and watched as she opened the locket up, pulling the photo of dad from it and taking out a red pill, giving me the locket back and telling me to put it away and not tell anyone that I had given her the locket, not even dad. She made me promise and then swallowed the pill and within minutes, she was dead.”
He felt Stiles hands clench tightly under his own, as tears escaped him, dropping onto Steves hands. “I killed my mother. I didn’t want to, I-I didn’t mean to. And I wanted to tell someone for so long, but anytime I would think about telling someone, I would have a panic attack.”
He pulled him into his arms, feeling Stiles clutch at the back of his shirt. “Stiles, you did not kill your mother. You didn’t know what was in her locket. You just wanted to ease your moms suffering. You were just a boy, it wasn’t your fault.”
Leaning forward he placed a gentle kiss on Stiles lips, trying to comfort him.
The boys breath hitched lightly before he pulled Steve forward until Stiles was lying on his back, Steve sprawled on top of him.
He looked into Steve’s eyes, gaze pained and desperate. “Please, Steve. I need to forget, just for a little bit. Just kiss me, please? Kiss me like you mean it.”
Stiles pulled Steve down desperately and their lips mashed, the boys tongue twining with his when Steve gasped in surprise.
He froze for a moment before he was kissing him fervently back, his brain not having clicked in yet to the repercussions of kissing Stiles like this.
In that moment, everything felt right, Stiles hands desperately tugging at his hair, his body squirming beneath him, causing their bodies to glide deliciously together.
The door slamming open had Steve lurching back, shielding Stiles.
John Stilinski was standing in the doorway, as if frozen in place for a moment, before he growled, taking his handgun out, pointing it at Steve. “What the hell do you think you’re doing with my underage son?”
His mouth gaped, brain fizzling, unable to come up with a single rebuttal.
From downstairs he heard Tony yelling. “That was NOT what I sent you up there to interrupt Sherriff! I had no idea things would happen so fast!”
Steve groaned. Of course Tony would have hacked into their conversation using their coms. The guy had proved to be extremely over protective of Stiles.
Stiles flailed before somehow managing to plaster himself over Steve, shielding him from his dad. “Dad! What the hell? If I’m old enough to rescue and protect people, I should be old enough to kiss someone. Besides, Steve is so straight-laced, he refused to do anything before I turn eighteen. I surprised him, it’s the only reason he actually kissed me back. If you shoot my future boyfriend, I will be super upset with you, now put the gun down!”
John sighed, putting the gun away. “So I guess this is the extent of the, you hurt my boy I hurt you talk, that you’ll allow me?”
Stiles nodded firmly.
John sighed. “I want you both downstairs. No more… Debriefing.”
He mumbled something about knowing damn well what debriefing means since Stiles mother used that term all the time.
Steve eyed Stiles as horror crept on his face, realization finally hitting him. “Not only did the wolves all hear us, but Tony connected to our coms and listened in, didn’t he?”
He nodded. “Knowing the team, they probably all listened in thinking we were going to be doing something…”
He couldn’t help the blush that enveloped him. “Well like what your father caught us doing.”
Stiles breathing became shallow and rapid, panic overtaking him and Steve wrapped his arms around him. “Easy, Stiles. Just breathe. These are all people that love you. No one thinks worse about you for what happened. “
Stiles shook his head. “I can’t – I can’t tell my dad. Everyone knows and – “
He rubbed Stiles back, trying to soothe him as much as he could. “Would it be better if Phil told him? I know you don’t want him to know Stiles, but with everyone knowing, it would be worse if he didn’t. He won’t think badly of you. I promise you.”
Stiles clenched at Steve’s shirt, hiding his face in Caps chest before nodding and mumbling out an affirmative.
Steve spoke, clearly expecting a reply. “Phil, can you take care of it?”
Phil didn’t even hesitate, voice deep with emotion. “I’ll talk to him.”
Stiles just stayed there, curled in Steve’s arms as he gently rubbed his back, muscles tight with stress. He breathed deeply against Steve’s neck, his presence, the only thing stopping him from having a full blown panic attack.
What felt like an eternity, though was most likely only about five minutes, passed and John walked through the doorway, eyes bloodshot.
He didn’t hesitate, sitting down next to Steve, hands reaching for his son, voice quivering. “Stiles, it wasn’t your fault, what happened to your mom. If anything, it was my fault for not warning you about why I never gave her that stupid locket.”
Stiles moved forward, wrapping himself around his dad, tears falling. “It’s my entire fault dad, if I hadn’t given it to her.”
John shook his head, hugging his son tightly. “She would have died one way or the other Stiles. At least this way she didn’t suffer the extra few days she might have had.”
Steve slowly made his way out of the room, giving them privacy as father and son comforted each other, both apologizing for past mistakes.
Everyone downstairs that had listened in looked as gutted as Steve felt.
Tony was leaning against the wall, looking grim, Thor and Banner sitting on the couch with the humans, faces solemn. Clint and Natasha had a hand on Phil’s shoulders, the man was barely holding on to his stoic façade. The wolves were huddled together, leaning towards their Alpha who had his arms wrapped tightly around his chest and was brooding, obviously his way of dealing with pain.
He took a deep breath, letting his commanding presence surround him before glaring at everyone. “Alright guys, snap out of it. This is not what Stiles needs to see when he comes down here. Let’s get some food on the table; it should help liven everyone’s spirits.”
Tony snorted lightly. “How about I order delivery, I think that should help even more than any of us cooking. You werewolf types eat a lot? How much should I order?”
Taking his phone out he brought the local restaurants that delivered and eyed Isaac. “You, puppy. What’s good here?”
Isaac blushed hard when everyone looked at him amused at the nickname, but finally mumbled. “I’m not a puppy, and Harry’s pizza is pretty good.”
Tony nodded calling in delivery and asking for a ridiculous amount of food telling him there was an extra four hundred dollars if he got the food over in an hour.
Stiles and his dad made their way back downstairs a few minutes before the pizza arrived.
Stiles wrapped his arms around Steve and nuzzled him with a sigh, mumbling “Thank you.”
Steve squeezed him back, the nervousness of being this close with Stiles father in the room, wiped away with those words. “I didn’t do anything Stiles. But I’m glad that you’re doing better.”
The doorbell rang and Stiles let Steve go to answer the door, immediately grabbing some of the pizza boxes with a curse, ushering the delivery guy in. “Damnit Tony! How much pizza did you think we needed?”
Tony shrugged, obviously unfazed. “Werewolves eat more than a regular person and I know for a fact that most of the avengers do as well. Not to mention we need to bring some back to the bus for the rest of the crew.”
The Delivery man finally placed the boxes down on the table. View no longer blocked by the crazy amount of pizza boxes, he took in his surroundings and his eyes bugged out of his sockets when he eyed Tony Stark, Thor, Natasha and Steve in uniform.
Tony just stepped forward handing him his credit card. “There’s a grand in it for you if you don’t go blab to all your friends that we are here, got it?”
The boy nodded dumbly and took the payment, tip included and finally left.
Steve couldn’t help but ask. “Do you think he won’t tell anyone we’re here?”
Tony snorted. “I give him ten minutes. We should probably eat and then make our way back to the bus.”
The billionaire eyed Stiles questioningly. “You coming with us kid?”
Stiles fidgeted, eyeing his dad who shrugged. “It’s your call, Stiles. I know you were starting to make a life there but now I know what really was happening here, although I don’t like the idea of you getting involved in any of this supernatural crap.”
Stiles looked around at everyone, eyes falling on Steve last, before he finally looked back to his dad, decision made. “I want to go back to New York. I have so much more to learn there and you’re right, I’ve started to make a life there and I’m happy. I thought that even with Uncle Phil there, I would have jumped at the first chance to come back. I never would have thought, when you first sent me there, that I would have made so many amazing friends. I do miss you though.”
His dad smiled, pulling Stiles into a tight hug. “You’re growing up and making a life for yourself. I’m proud of you son. “
Tony smirked. “It’s not like I can’t fly you over every so often to visit, same goes with flying any of your friends to New York for a weekend.”
Stiles chuckled. “I’m pretty sure no one here will ever forget that you are both a billionaire and a genius who likes to make tech toys including super-fast jets.”
Everyone laughed along with him and finally descended on the pizzas like literal wolves, the atmosphere changing to one of celebration.
Steve watched from a distance as Stiles spent time with each of his friends, talking and laughing as they ate.
He even seemed to have patched things up a bit with Scott, giving him one last hug before they boarded the bus later that evening.
He had been fine just watching over Stiles, but it wasn’t until the boy curled up next to him on the couch and started to tell him the true story of how his dad and mom had met, that he felt fully at peace, arms wrapped around him.
His mom and dad had both been SHIELD agents and when his mom ended up pregnant with him; they decided to leave that life behind to raise him properly.
Stiles sighed. “I’m glad I know the truth now, something never felt right with the original story they gave me. I never saw my mom as a librarian. He’s not really crazy about the idea of me joining SHIELD but says he won’t stop me if I decide to join.”
Steve smiled, hugging him closer, thankful that the others had given them their privacy. “Whatever you choose to do Stiles, you’ll be great at it.”
Stiles smiled back. “And you’ll be by my side right?”
Steve nodded, leaning forward to kiss him gently. "For as long as you'll have me."
Stiles tried to deepen the kiss but Steve stopped him, chuckling lightly. “We’re still waiting until you’re eighteen. I promised your father.”
Stiles squawked in outrage and Steve couldn’t help laughing before he pulled Stiles back into another hug, unable to stop touching him, now that he had the right to.
Stiles finally settled into the crook of Steve’s arm with a contented sigh.
Their life wouldn’t be perfect, it would be full of hardships and war, Unknown enemies and peril. But if Stiles and Steve had anything to do with it, they would stay together until the end.
a screech from behind them interrupted stiles and Steve's quiet moment.
Jerking around, they saw Clint, hanging upside down, from the roof of the plane. Natasha stood beneath him, arms crossed and scowling. "No pictures while stiles is underage!" She scolded.
Tony stood behind them laughing until tears were falling down his cheeks, the others quickly running towards the commotion looking highly amused.
Steve and Stiles met each other’s gazes, laughing.
And they would always have their friends to watch their backs.