Tea, really?
Stiles POV
"How's your father?"
Well I wasn't expecting that ...
"W-what?" I spluttered caught off guard by his question
He said how's yo-
Yes, I know what he said I just wasn't expecting it
Jeez don't be such a sourfox
Did you just-
...
I can feel you smirking
*snicker*
I rolled my eyes momentarily forgetting about my uncle and the fact that he doesn't know about the crazy fox demon that currently occupies his mind and will probably think he was rolling his eyes at him.
data-p-id=56bef8cc2102d98ab5ef53a27077c3cc,"How's your father?" Uncle Phil repeated giving him an odd look, but stiles was relieved to see that he didn't seem to have seen his little sass show.
I wanted to lie, say he was fine. the words were balancing on the tip of my tongue. But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I never was able to lie to uncle Phil.
"I-I don't know"
The man sitting across from him furrowed his brow in confusion before realisation dawned on him and his eyes widened
"You mean he doesn't know your here?!" He near shouted.
If he had a hairline Stiles guaranteed his eyebrows would've disappeared under it.
"Not here per say, he knows I'm gone, he just doesn't know where" If Stiles thought that would ease his uncles worries, he was very wrong.
"So what he just let you leave just like that? you told him you were leaving, and he just let you?!" Uncle Phil asked incredulously.
I gulped "Um, he didn't, I uh-I left him a letter"
Uncle Phil looked as if he was about to combust
...how high are my chances of surviving this?
slim
shit
You better start coming up with a bloody good explanation and quick
Any ideas?
I'm guessing the truth is out of the question
Yep, I don't want to put him in danger. And let's be honest the truth probably sounds more Ludacris than most of the lies I could come up with.
I reckon you'd be surprised at how much he would actually believe, not to mention he looks pretty capable of taking care of himself and even if he couldn't, he's got us.
You make a good point but I'm still not risking it, I can't bear to lose any one else.
So come on, I need excuses and fast.
how about-
Before I could hear Voids idea, he was cut off by a high-pitched ringing noise emanating from Uncle Phil’s pocket.
The older man scowled slightly as he fished his phone out of his pocket.
“It’s work, I’ve gotta take this. Don’t move” he told me sternly before answering and walking off into a separate room.
…Wanna eavesdrop?
Normally I’d say yes but one, I already know about his work at S.H.E.I.L.D and two, the least I can do is give him some privacy after all the shit I’ve pulled on him in barely the span of a day.
You make a good point.
Of course I do.
“Stiles there’s been an incident at work, I know you can’t stay put so if you do leave just don’t go far and please stay out of trouble” Uncle Phil said walking back into the room
“Is everything ok?” I asked concerned because I knew that a normal work incident doesn’t even compare with one in his line of work, and I just hoped it wasn’t anything to dangerous that could get him hurt. He’s all I’ve got left.
“Yeah, everything’s fine somethings just came up that they need my help with” he reassured with a smile.
“Ok well I’ll see you when you get back” I told him reluctantly silently pleading with him to be careful.
“Only if you haven’t somehow gotten yourself into trouble while I’m gone, god knows how you manage to do so much in so little time”
I smirked “It’s a talent”
Uncle Phil rolled his eyes in fond amusement as he picked up his keys and moved towards the door.
“Oh and Stiles?” he called over his shoulder
“Yeah?”
"This conversation is not over"
And with that he was out the door leaving me alone
Ehem
…Almost alone in an unfamiliar house.
Barely seconds passed before I couldn’t stand it anymore and became jittery. The silence was suffocating me, and it felt as if the walls were closing in on me. I needed to get out.
Stiles are you ok?
Yeah, yeah, I just gotta get outta here
Alright but first you need to calm down, ok? so take some breaths with me, ok?
Ok
Take a deep breath in
Hold
And release slowly
It took a bit but eventually I was able to focus my mind enough to listen to Void and follow his instructions.
I took a deep breath in, held it, then released slowly. Repeating this process for around 5 minutes before I was finally calm enough to think clearly. Well, as clearly as I could with a hyperactive mind.
You, ok?
Yeah, thanks
No problem
Noticing I was still in the same clothes as yesterday I made my way to the room, I was staying in for the time being and opened up my duffel bag, looking for a fresh set of clothes.
Eventually I settled on my red zip up hoodie, a plain grey T-shirt, Black jeans, and (feeling a lil spicey) threw a leather jacket over top of it.
I quickly splashed some water on my face to freshen up a little bit, sprayed on some cologne and headed for the door making sure I had my wallet and car keys, even though I was only walking.
***
My stomach grumbled as I walked the unfamiliar streets of New York in hopes of finding somewhere to get something to eat or at least some caffeine. Some very strong caffeine.
You gonna tell me what happened back there?
Shouldn’t you know? I mean you’re in my mind
I’m an extension of your mind, I cannot access your thoughts unless you give me permission, even subconsciously.
Oh
Then, how did you know how to help me?
Experience, when you’ve been around for over 1,000 years you tend to gain a vast expanse of knowledge.
Guess there’d have to be at least some pros to being immortal
There are pros in everything but very few discover them and learn to make the most of life
And he’s wise too, any other skills you’re hiding from me?
Are you just trying to get me to talk about myself, so I forget about your little episode?
…Maybe
Well your gonna have to try harder than that next time, honestly that was just sad
Yeah, wasn’t my best
So are you gonna tell me what that was about?
I sighed in defeat, I hadn’t really spoken to anyone about this and never planned on doing so and was quite content with baring the burden alone for the rest of my life. There was no other way out of this than to talk about it with void which I wasn’t keen on but then again, he already lived in my head so it could be worse, and this way It’s a win win situation.
Void gets the information he want’s and I get to lift a weight of my chest without having to worry about whether or not whoever I’m telling will betray my trust or not. I mean he literally lives in my head, who’s he gonna tell? I get the perks of confiding without the overhanging anxiety and worry of betrayal.
It started just after my mum died. When she was alive the house was always filled with the beautiful sound of her singing, she was always singing or humming joyful tune. Her voice was beautiful, and it brought light to even the dullest of situations, there was never a dull nor silent moment when she was around. After she died it was like all that happiness was sucked out of the world, leaving it dark and empty. The house was always too quite after that, dad took on more hours at work and I was left alone, alone in the silence. When dad finally got home, he would be drunk and hit or yell at me until he passed out, it was horrible, but at least it wasn't silent anymore.
I stopped for a minute to take a breath, I may not physically be speaking but finally letting go of the emotions that have haunted him for so long, even if only to his own mind, left him feeling weightless. and it was still incredibly exhausting to think about.
I could no longer bear to be alone without some form of noise to distract me, which is why for a few years after that I was constantly wearing headphones or talking. I mean I still talk a lot but not for the same reasons and nowhere near as much. The physical and Verbal abuse ceased when he stopped drinking it and it was like I had my father back.
Soon after he was kidnapped by Jennifer and he discovered the supernatural he couldn't cope and started drinking again, so did the beatings, verbal abuse, and long hours at work. But it wasn't until after I was free from your control that the silence started affecting me again.
Stiles I don't know what to say, I'm so sor-
No, don't, please.
I don't need pity.
A mouth-watering fragrance caught my attention and I followed it to a very cosy looking café.
What I need is food, and quick.
I stepped forwards and read the ornate sign above the entry way.
Café nuovi inizi
New beginnings
I smiled softly, that sounds perfect.
Not waiting for any response from Void I walked through the door and was immediately assaulted by the welcoming scent of fresh baked pastry and brewing coffee. The inside was lit with warm white lighting and the furniture was all mismatched giving the place was cosy and held a sense of home that I haven't felt for a very long time.
While I waited in line to be served, I took the opportunity to take another look around. The counter, coffee machine, and baked goods food display were situated in the middle of the café with very friendly looking staff bustling around while keeping up steady conversations between each other and the customers.
Booths were lining the walls on either side of the room with various sized tables filling the space between, seating a multitude of different people from Uni students hunched over laptops to families having a nice lunch out to couples (new and old) talking over a warm cup of coffee or fresh meal.
I instantly fell in love with the place and knew without a doubt in my mind that I would be coming here often. Even if the food and drinks were shit (which he doubted they were, you don’t often see this many people at a place with bad food) he’d be happy to come back purely for the welcoming allure of the place
This is my Central Perk
...What?
Oh my god, F.R.I.E.N.D.S dude F.R.I.E.N.D.S
Uh, am I supposed to know what that means?
When we get back to Uncle Phil's place the first thing I'm gonna be doing is making you watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S
Fi-
"Who's next?"
I looked up and noticed I had been so preoccupied with my own thoughts that I wasn't paying attention to the line, and it was now my turn to be served.
Damn this place moves quick.
I smiled politely as I took a step closer to the counter where I was promptly greeted by a cheerful looking woman who looked to be in her mid-60's wearing a light brown name tag that had 'Luretta' written on it in curly white letters.
"Hi, how are you love?" Luretta asked brightly with a contagious smile that Stiles couldn't help but return
"I'm good thanks, how are you?"
If possible, the woman’s smile brightened even further
“What can I get for you hun?” Luretta asked in a smooth voice
“Can I please get a Poppy seed bagel and a-“
Green tea
What?
Just get a green tea, please, I’ll explain later
But I want coffee
Just trust me, get the tea
“-And a large green tea to go” I asked slightly baffled, hoping none of the annoyance I was feeling at being denied coffee seeped into my tone.
“Good choice, that’ll be $5.50” Luretta said as I dug around in my wallet for the right money. Finally I managed to fish out a 10 and handed it to her.
“Keep the change” I told her sincerely making her grab my hand and give it a grateful squeeze before she pulled away to put the money in the cash register shoving the change in the front pocket of her worn apron.
“Thank you, what was the name or that one love?” she asked still speaking in a polite tone however it was different now, instead of speaking to him like another customer it seemed more personal.
“Stiles”
“Alright Stiles take a seat, and your order should be with you shortly” Luretta said writing his name down on a small slip of paper
“Perfect thank you”
“No problem sweety”
I slid into a booth by the window and made myself comfortable on the soft cushioning of the leather seat.
Right, so why the tea?
It will have great benefits on your physical, mental, and spiritual health.
It can both energise your body for battle and relax your mind and soul enough so that sleep isn’t even necessary.
It was an essential element of day-to-day life in the ancient times. It is the dew of nature and keeps you connected to the earth.
And because of its ancient connection to my culture it will also benefit our connection and allow us to use our power to the best of our potential.
Tea, really?
It couldn’t have been something I actually enjoy drinking like coffee?
It’s not like you cant drink coffee again, it just doesn’t have the same benefits for the both of us as something like tea. Of course I would prefer traditional tea better, but it is rare to find these days and this is the next best thing.
Fine, at least I have a bagel to get rid of the taste if I don’t like it.
just trust me you’ll enjoy it.
I sure hope so, I was really looking forward to that coffee.
Oh come on don't be so dramatic
It was barely 10 minutes later when Loretta slid into the booth plonking down in the seat across from me.
"Hello ma'am" I greeted politely
She laughed heartily
"Oh please, call me Loretta I'm not old enough for such formality yet"
"Alright, Loretta" I said finding myself surprised at how natural it felt to speak to her so personally.
She smiled and lent back into the seat making herself more comfortable
"So what brings you to this neck of the woods? I take it you’re not from New York" she asked curiously
I looked out the window struggling for a second to think of what to tell the women, I couldn't very well tell her I moved away because I killed a man and got kicked out of a pack of werewolves. but there was something about her and he couldn't bring himself to outright lie. then he caught his mind wondering to the sign advertising the caffe just outside.
"I needed a new beginning" I said simply turning back to find her sending an understanding smile his way
"Nuovo inizi" Loretta recited fondly
They sat together talking about everything and nothing for what felt like hours but couldn't have been any longer than 10 minutes when a young waiter approached them with my a large take away cup and two brown paper bags in his hands.
"Ah and this'd be your order"
She stood up to take the items out of the man's hands
"Thank you, Terrence,"
The man, Terrence, nodded with a smile and walked over to take orders from scattered tables around the café.
"Here you go Stiles" Loretta said sliding the cup and bags in his direction
"It's on the house" she added with a wink before walking off to greet some new customers
I looked curiously at the second bag and lifted to fingers prying it open gently.
Inside I found 2 large choc chip cookies and a little note saying:
Enjoy your new beginning - Loretta :)
My heart swelled in my chest at the small gesture, giving me hope for starting my new life and I tucked it into the second clear sleeve of my wallet next to my license.
The cookies were by far the best he'd ever eaten. They had the perfect amount of chocolate chips and melted in his mouth. It took no time for him to inhale both of them.
Now all that was left to do was walk back to Uncle Phil's place, drink the tea, and eat his bagel. Just the thought of the bagel made my mouth water with anticipation.
I scooped up my bagel and tea making sure to leave a generous tip on the table before making my way out the shop and onto the sidewalk.
Phil POV
Taking a deep breathe to ready myself, I pushed through the doors to Fury’s office. The man himself was standing beside his desk, looking out the window with his back turned towards me.
"Director, what seems to be the problem?" I asked keeping my tone sharp and professional, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible so that I can get back to Stiles.
"You tell me agent Coulson" He responded vaguely
"Sir?" I responded confused because honestly if I knew what was going on I wouldn’t have asked.
"It has come to my attention that your nephew, who I understand has recently made an appearance in this very city, has been involved in some very interesting activities over the past few years including some very...unusual crimes"
"Stiles?"
"Not only that but his file has been almost completely cleared! We don't know anything about this kid other than his name and a few vague witness accounts mentions of him from other people" he continued completely ignoring me.
"This kid is hiding something and I wanna know what it is"
"No sir that can't be right, I mean I know he's a bit of a troublemaker but he's a good kid." I tried to explain, Stiles may have gotten into some strife with the law but nothing serious enough to capture the attention of S.H.E.I.L.D surely.
Fury handed him a stack of files. He was right Stiles’ file had virtually nothing on it, however there were a series of odd crime reports and witness accounts that only had one common denominator. Stiles.
“I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation to this” I insisted.
Fury didn’t look convinced
"Well, we'll soon find out"
"What do you mean?"
"I've sent an extraction team to collect him and bring him here for interrogation"
"What?!"
"Don't worry, he'll be fine. I was very clear that he remain completely unharmed"
"He had better" I all but growled out.
"Was that a threat agent Coulson?"
"No sir it was a promise, if any harm comes to my nephew… well I’ll leave that up to your interpretation" and with that I turned my back on him and stormed out. No one, and I mean no one, messed with my nephew, I don’t care what he’s done.
Stiles POV
I had been walking for barely two minutes when I noticed 3 shady looking guys, dressed in dark clothing trailing along behind me as well as a white van that been park surfing on the other side of the street for the past 2 blocks.
Stiles?
Yeah, I see them, Let’s see if their actually following me.
I took a sharp turn down a random street.
Their still following us.
Very obviously by the way, like, this is almost sad.
…these guys suck at kidnapping
Agreed.
Right well even if their shit at stealthily following someone, we need to deal with this somewhere more closed off where there isn’t as many people around. We don’t know what these guys policy is on hurting innocents.
There’s an alley way to your left around 20 meters up.
I kept my pace steady and my posture casual as I followed his directions. This isn’t my first rodeo, and I am a professional at playing dumb in the face of kidnappers.
I turned down the alley
They’ve got friends
The ones from the van.
How many?
5 guys and 1 girl.
Is that it?
I almost feel sorry for them.
Kick their asses
With pleasure
I came to a slow stop putting my tea and bagel on the ground by my feet.
“So, how’re we gonna do this?” I asked keeping my back to them, my hands in my pockets so it gave me a nonchalant appearance
“We just wanna talk, come quietly and you won’t be hurt” a rough voice came from behind me
I slowly turned to face them finding 5 people dressed in all black equipped with sunglasses and ear pieces.
Damn someone’s gotta teach them how to be less suspicious, this isn’t a frickin spy movie.
“Hmmm yeah, you see that doesn’t exactly work for me, I’m currently late for an appointment with Netflix and my Bagel” I told then in mock disappointment, looking down on my watch less wrist.
“Then you leave us no choice” and with that they began to fan out, obviously hoping to overwhelm me by surrounding me.
I just stood there, a light smirk playing on my face as I waited for them to approach me.
I didn’t have to wait long before the first one came at me.
He was a tall guy, around an inch or so taller then me with a bulky build and looked to be around mid-30’s.
My fingers twitched in anticipation, I hadn’t been in a proper fight in a long time and these guys looked like they had been professionally trained so I was expecting a challenge.
The guy swung his right fist in my direction aiming for a simple punch.
I’m almost disappointed
I met his fist with a flat palm using a defensive style aiming to knock out not kill. I brought my other palm up breaking his nose and effectively sending him sprawled across the ground out cold.
“I’m honestly offended you think a punch is all it would take to bring me down” I stated placing a hand over my heart for dramatic effect.
“Can’t exactly blame us, you don’t look like much” The woman sneered
“That’s the point love” I said, shooting her a wink.
She narrowed her eyes at me and turned to the two bulky guys on her left tilting her head in my direction.
These two were a lot less reserved then the first guy however still heavily underestimated me.
I waited for the first guy to throw a swing before ducking under his arm into a crouch position and spun on the ball of my foot, swiping his feet out from underneath him. Then I came back up catching the second guys fist and using the momentum to flip him over, pushing him to the ground and twisting his arm effectively dislocating his shoulder.
Before I got the chance to properly straighten up a third guy was on aiming a blow to my stomach. I dodged his hit and drew back a few steps round house kicking him in the abdomen.
I turned back to the remaining two and prepared for the next attack. The next guy unsheathed a sleek combat knife and came at me quickly, he was a lot more agile then my previous men, his movements precise and calculated.
Aiming low he aimed the knife towards my stomach with an upwards thrust. taking a quick step back, I caught the knife by the blade and turned my back into his chest twisting his arm around and using that momentum to flip him over my back and onto the ground. Keeping a firm grip on his wrist, so he couldn’t stab me with the knife that was still in his hands, knelt to the ground and punched him square in the jaw knocking him out.
The woman came forward quickly, however Stiles hadn’t noticed how far he had been pushed back by the others until he noticed his bagel and tea still on the ground in her direct path.
“Wait walk around, come on please I’ve been craving that Bagel all day” I tried reasoning with her however his plea fell on deaf ears, and she stepped directly onto the bagel.
My mood was instantly ruined, I originally planed on sparing her from as much pain as possible, knocking her out as cleanly as possible, but all that went out the window as soon as she stepped foot on my bagel.
“I will knock your ass out, I do not care that you’re a girl”
This time I didn’t wait for them to make the first move, I was far too pissed off. I round house kicked her in the stomach and then slammed the side of her face into the brick wall (Not hard enough to kill her, she’d have to have done a lot more for that).
Barely seconds after one of the guys that hadn’t been fully knocked out came at me from behind and held the knife I’d took from ugly number five’s hand to my throat, pressing just hard enough that I could feel the lade pierce my skin though not dep enough to be serious.
I brought one hand up to firmly grasp at the forearm around my neck and pulled the knife away from my throat, elbowing the man sharply in the stomach and throwing my head back into his before bending forward and throwing him over my back, sending him flying a good 2 feet away.
He landed with a heavy thud but quickly scrambled to his feet and came at me again.
This guy’s persistent.
Tell me about it, if he weren’t attacking me id be complimenting him on it.
I blocked him next few hits with my forearms, focussing more on evading his blows than landing any of my own aiming to tire him out then go in for the money shot. However as I blocked a particularly nasty side kick from the guy, I caught glimpse of a badge attached to his hip.
It was a S.H.E.I.L.D badge.
Shit.
I immediately lowered the severity of the fight from my end making it inevitable for them to capture me but not so obvious that they got suspicious.
Stiles what are you doing?! You’re just letting him win!
These guys work for S.H.E.I.L.D I don’t want to risk anything happening to Uncle Phil’s job by becoming a governmental fugitive.
Well I hope the sore head your about to get is worth it, Cuz that guys fist is about to hit us right in the temple.
Just as Void finished, I felt the guys fist make contact with the side of my head, It wasn’t enough to knock me out but it did send me sprawled on the ground (which I did on purpose).
Fuck that kinda hurt.
Don't complain to me, you let this happen
Does the ground seem a little hard to you?
It's concrete Stiles its not supposed to be soft
Alright wise guy.
Lets add a lil drama, shall we?
You're the host
...
....
What are you doing?
I'm trying to mentally smirk
Just finish this before you hurt yourself
Killjoy
-__-
Alright fine!
I winced and let out an over dramatic groan.
Hey maybe I should be an actor
Get through this first then think about your career aspirations.
Fine
Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my neck and my vison began to blur. He was using a sedative on me not even trying to use his own hands to knock me out.
“Tha’s chea’n” I slurred.
Then everything went black.