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"Umm.. can I try something?" Stiles asked, looking at Peter.
Peter looked back at him, then nodded.
"Stiles..." John started.
"No, it's simple," Stiles assured his dad. "Just... touching requires consent."
"It's okay," Peter assured John. "I trust Stiles."
John frowned but stayed in his seat.
Warmed by the overt trust, Stiles moved to sit next to Peter on the couch. He moved slowly, and he put his left hand over Peter's heart. Stiles closed his eyes.
Little Spark... are you there? Stiles thought carefully.
Something bounced up and down in happiness. Yes! Give welcome to Big Spark!
Peter will be good to you. Take care of him. Stiles replied.
I am Hale. Pleased to be home.
Always Hale. Stiles made that a promise.
Always. A heartbeat. Hale mate.
Oh! That did and didn't surprise Stiles, somehow. We take care of each other.
With that, Stiles opened his eyes. Peter's warm eyes were close.
"Okay, what was that?" John asked.
Stiles blinked. "What was what?"
"A white light kind of, well, flowed over both of you," John waved a hand.
"Oh. Umm..." Stiles stuttered.
"It's okay," Peter said softly, putting his hand on Stiles'.
"I had this wild idea that maybe I could, like, talk to Peter's Alpha spark," Stiles explained. "And I did! It was so cool. And, as I suspected, it's the original Hale spark. I kind of promised it that it would always be a Hale spark. That must have been when the light show happened. It was a magical promise between us."
"Stiles!" Peter was amazed.
"What does that mean?" John asked.
Stiles sat back. When he removed his hand from Peter's, it felt cold for a moment. "It means that the 'True Alpha' bullshit Deaton fed us about Scott becoming a True Alpha was just that. Bullshit. That night that Derek healed Cora, someone manipulated that entire scenario. When Derek set the Hale Alpha Spark free, Cora was healed but maybe the Spark didn't heal her. Almost probably not. The Hale Spark was captured and given to Scott. When Scott gave it up for Allison, a true healing, at least that one time, the freed Spark was free to seek out a Hale. It chose you." Stiles lay a hand on Peter's arm.
"Who could have done that?" John frowned.
"The most likely candidate is Alan Deaton," Peter replied grimly.
Stiles nodded.
"So what do we do now?" John asked. He looked between Stiles and Peter.
"Well, since I kinda made sure that the Spark won't be able to leave Peter, unless it was going to another Hale, Deaton would have to find another Spark to give to Scott if he wants his own tame Alpha," Stiles said.
"How would that be done?" John asked.
"A ritual of some sort?" Stiles guessed.
Peter nodded. "Now that I know more, that's probably what happened the first time. If Deaton caused Cora's illness, he could time the ritual for when Derek would be trying to heal her. He'd 'fix' the illness and capture the Alpha Spark at the same time," Peter explained. "Now? He has no real control over events."
"You need to talk to Derek," Stiles urged. "As soon as possible. Make him part of your pack and that will protect him better."
Peter hesitated. "I don't know..."
"Oh, come on," Stiles rolled his eyes. "Derek's a marshmallow and would be thankful to not be the Alpha. And he can tell you about the rest of the puppies. Some will need careful approaches and, well, a couple you may not want."
"Would you help with that?" Peter asked.
Stiles nodded. "Sure. But only after you bring in Derek. We have to protect him. And sooner than later."
Peter held up a hand. "I get it. Breathe for a moment and think about what makes that so important."
Stiles sat back, closed his eyes and let himself breathe. It took a moment for his concern for Derek to settle.
"I think the Pack bond is feeling like it's missing something," Stiles said slowly. "And the Hale Spark used to be in Derek, so it knows Derek is an important part of the Hale pack. As well as being some of the last family you have. It... it doesn't want to lose that connection."
"Ah. That makes sense," Peter said. He lay a hand on Stiles' arm. "Thank you. I will go and see him tonight."
"Good!" Stiles nodded.
"I still need to call Melissa about Scott missing school, if nothing else," John said, standing. "Anything else that needs attention right now?"
Stiles shook his head. He wanted to keep the Hale Mate part to himself for a bit. He knew it was important but not immediately urgent, so it could wait until he and Peter could have a private discussion.
"Then I'm going to see Derek," Peter also stood. He drew Stiles in for a hug. "Thank you."
Stiles wrapped his arms around Peter for a moment, returning the hug.
"John," Peter held out a hand. "Thank you for having me to dinner." He drew a surprised John in for a brief hug. Stiles knew it was the scenting instinct at play. He'd brief his dad later.
"We're going to be seeing a lot of you, aren't we?" John asked wryly.
Stiles and Peter both nodded. Stiles blushed when he realized what they had done.
John sighed. "Just... just keep me in the loop?"
"Yes." Peter made that a promise.
"We can use all the adults we can get," Stiles admitted.
"And use those adults." John pointed a finger at Stiles. "No going off on your own anymore."
"I vote with your dad on that one," Peter added.
"Oh, man," Stiles groaned.
The two men laughed.
Scott was indeed in school the next morning. Stiles had made sure to get to class early so that Scott couldn't catch him by their lockers.
"Thanks for being a narc," Scott muttered as he slid into his seat in their shared History class just as the bell rang.
"The school would have called today, anyway," Stiles reminded him. "Three days absence without notice requires a call home. So I saved you from that." Stiles turned back to face the front of the room.
Scott growled a little but settled down as the teacher started talking about the project he was assigning. Stiles already knew what he was doing since this teacher assigned essentially the same project every year and Stiles had earned spending money by writing papers for older students in previous years. He was now doubly glad he never shared that information with Scott.
"Oh, man, you gotta help me with this damn project," Scott moaned. "There's too much reading and I don't have time."
"Aren't you grounded?" Stiles asked, amazed.
Scott looked shifty.
"When you're ready for help, let me know," Stiles offered, trying to keep his voice casual. "Text me and we'll get together and work on it. I'm free tomorrow night." By offering to help, Stiles knew he made himself out to be the 'good' friend. But he knew Scott would be too busy trying to find a way to see Allison to ask for help until the last minute.
Huh. He'd have to ask Peter about that fixation. Or maybe... there was someone else he could ask, although it would have to wait until later.
Scott dragged through their shared morning classes, moaning at every assignment -- small or large.
At lunch, Scott ditched Stiles without a word to sit with the Lacrosse team.
Stiles sat at a table on his own, reading through the morning assignments and making sure he was prepared for his tougher afternoon classes. Thankfully, without Scott.
Then something Peter said last night filtered through his brain.
Son of a bitch!
Scott was on his way out of the cafeteria and Stiles grabbed his arm, dragging him to the side.
"What? I have to go," Scott jerked his arm out of Stiles' grip.
Never ask a question you don't want to know the answer to... Stiles thought sadly. But he had to know... to make sure.
"Was I ever really in your Pack?" Stiles asked.
Scott looked surprised for a moment. "Well, umm. sure. I guess."
"Was. I. Pack."
Scott looked away, which was Stiles' answer.
"That's what I thought. Go away, Scott." Stiles said tiredly.
Scott left without looking back.
Stiles' phone buzzed at him. It was a text from Peter. Whats wrong? The fact that Stiles' roiling emotions had caught Peter's attention should feel intrusive but, right now, it was the thing he needed. He took a breath and settled himself. He still had classes to go to.
Talk later. Come to dinner?
I'll bring take-out
That works. Thanks.
The rest of the afternoon was a blur. Stiles didn't screw up too much but he knew he was just going through the motions. He went home, crawled into bed, and wrapped himself in a blanket.
His dad came home and said softly, "Hey. You okay?"
"Just... cold, I guess," Stiles answered. "Peter's bringing dinner."
"He's here," John said. "He was outside when I came home. You coming down to eat?"
"Yeah," Stiles nodded. "Just... just give me a minute."
"Okay." John put a warm hand on the back of Stiles' neck and held it there for a moment. "Take your time."
Stiles closed his eyes and made himself breathe. He finally got up, used the bathroom, and splashed water on his face. He put on a hoodie and warm socks.
When he went downstairs, Peter stood and opened his arms. "Come here, sweetheart."
Helpless to resist, Stiles went into the arms that wrapped around him. He buried his face in Peter's shoulder and started crying. He felt Peter pick him up and carry him to the couch. Peter just let him sob.
When he had himself under control, there was a glass of water and two tylenol sitting on the table next to them.
"What happened?" Peter asked softly.
"I just realized today that Scott never saw me as Pack," Stiles said brokenly. He blew his nose on the tissues he was handed and took the tylenol.
"Oh." Peter said and nodded.
"I don't get it," John said.
"I'm sorry," Derek added. "I didn't realize myself."
Stiles blushed when he realized he had broken down in front of essentially everyone that was important to him.
"None of that," Peter said firmly. "You were betrayed at a level you never expected."
"More words, please," John said. "You going to be all right, Stiles?"
Stiles nodded. "I really did know it," Stiles said. "The Pack Bond we made yesterday was... primal. There was never anything even remotely like that with Scott. He kinda treated me as Pack when he needed something, but that was it. I... I asked him today if I had been Pack."
"I am so sorry," Peter held him close.
"What does that mean?" John asked.
"A robust Pack Bond, like we have, would more than likely prevented the Nogitsune from taking Stiles over," Peter explained. "Even a weak bond would have given Stiles some power over the spirit."
"Oh." John sat down heavily. "All that chaos could have been... prevented?"
Peter nodded. "Or at least mitigated. Doesn't mean it wouldn't have found another host, but it would have had a harder time taking over Stiles."
"Damn that boy." John rubbed his face. "He doesn't know, does he?"
"He won't care," Stiles admitted with a shrug. "But, no, he doesn't know."
Stiles' stomach took that moment to rumble. "Sorry."
"We brought food," Derek said. "Chinese."
"Spring rolls?" Stiles asked.
"Extra for you," Derek admitted with a grin.
"And no complaining about what I eat!" John pointed at Stiles.
Stiles shook his head. "Not tonight."
"First, some minor business," Peter said. He looked over at Derek. "Derek?"
Derek came over and sat next to Stiles and put an arm around him. "Welcome to the Hale Pack."
The Pack Bond bloomed hard and fast. "Whoa." Stiles rubbed his chest.
Derek nodded. "I'm sorry. I had such a weak bond with Scott that I never even thought that you wouldn't have at least that."
"Not your fault, big guy," Stiles said. "There were a lot of things we didn't know."
"Still." Derek wrestled Stiles from Peter and drew him in for a firm hug. "Not going to let anything like that happen again."
Stiles nodded against his shoulder. "Good."
"Okay, let's eat before it gets cold," Peter said. "We can talk more over dinner."