Chapter Text
Stiles POV
Stiles looked at the True Alpha, standing in the middle of his pack, congratulating himself that he had once more seen off the latest threat to his territory. A witch sent packing with a pat on the head and a promise that she won’t hurt anyone or try to gain more power from the Nemeton ever again.
Stiles had known better, he listened to the warning of the old, wiser werewolf who also happened to be his lover. Only Noah, having faith in his son, had been willing to learn the rules that governed the supernatural world they had been dragged into and understood that he had to adapt to deal with threats that fell within those rules. Together with Derek and Malia they had tracked her down and found her trying to sacrifice the new Captain of the Lacrosse team to the dam tree. They had stopped her, her body buried deep in the preserve, but not before his father had been injured so badly that when he recovered, he would have to retire.
Things between stiles and Scott had been strained for so long, it wasn’t any wonder they had reached breaking point. Once he had called him brother, but now he didn’t think he knew who Scott was anymore. He was blinded by his obsessions that he was special because he refused to kill those who wouldn’t hesitate to kill him or his pack, fed by Deaton whose only real interest was maintaining his precious balance. Time and again Scott had let him down, left him in danger, called him a murderer and a liar and still seemed to twist it to make it look like it was his fault. He called him weak, easily manipulated by his lover and not able to cope alone without Scott. It was a poster child for an abusive relationship, something he hadn’t realised until he finally gained healthy friendships in the shape of the Hales. Still, after all this, he was loyal to his friend because he didn’t know how to be anything else. The Hales and he had cleaned up the messes, got rid of the evil that the Alpha refused to see and all while trying to work with the pack to see reason. That was until his father had become the victim of Scott’s stupidity. That was the last straw.
All this made the decision he had been putting off suddenly become very easy to make. Still, the slight sliver of hope that their friendship could be saved lingered, making him feel that he had to give it one last chance. As he watched the group in the bar, he pulled his cell from his pocket and dialled. As well as the ringing through the speaker, his human ears just made out the ringing of the alpha’s phone. As he watched, Scott pulled the phone from his pocket to check the Caller ID. The alpha shook his head before he tapped the screen and returned it to his pocket.
Stiles barely registered the default voicemail recording asking him to leave a message, he knew by heart anyway, having heard it more than his friend’s real voice. Accepting it was over, Stiles said what he needed to before hanging up and turning back to Peter who waiting for him with Noah in the back of the car already.
Scott POV
Scott heard his phone going off in his pocket and he quickly fished it out to see who was calling him. He groaned when he saw it was Stiles. He wasn’t in the mood to hear his friend try to roast him because he was trying to do the right thing, proving that werewolves didn’t need to be animals and that killing wasn’t the only solution. It was something that Stiles had agreed with once. Deciding that it was something he could deal with in the morning, he rejected the call and slipped the cell back into his pants.
However, now he was in the forefront of his mind, the Alpha found he couldn’t stop thinking about Stiles. When Peter had first turned him, it had been just the two of them, trying to figure out what was going on. Ok, Stiles had wanted to work with Derek more and certainly hadn’t been happy about how close Scott had gotten to the Argents, but for the most part, it was still the two of them against the world.
Then Stiles got possessed and killed Alison. Scott knew he wasn’t really responsible and had felt guilty about it in any case, but that didn’t mean Scott didn’t blame his friend deep down. It was certainly when the first cracks emerged. Then he killed Donovan. It might have been an accident, but one that wouldn’t have happened if Stiles had been more careful. Of course, the biggest changes happened after Stiles and Peter returned from the train station. Their time together changed their relationship more than either would admit at the time. It hadn’t led to anything immediately and might not have done had stiles decided not to join the FBI and Lydia decided to go to London to join a poly-relationship with Jackson and Ethan.
It left Stiles heartbroken, despite all his reassurances that he was not only perfectly fine but had encouraged her to follow her heart. After all, being scorned by the only person he had ever truly loved could explain why Stiles had let Peter use their shared experience to worm his way between them and take advantage of him in his bed. Stiles was so blinded that someone wanted him when Lydia didn’t, he didn’t see that Peter was using him.
It meant that Scott could no longer trust Stiles. Slowly he was working on pushing Stiles to the outskirts of the pack, where he could take advantage of his loyalty to the pack to make use of his research ability without actually having to listen to his advice. Malia hadn’t been happy about it, even going so far as to break up with him, but Scott was certain that when she released that as Alpha, he knew best and would come back to him, begging him to take her back.
Because he did know best. So, some of the bad guys had tried to come back into town and one rouge wolf had reportedly gone on a rampage in the next county, Chris having to have him put down by his old hunter contacts. But that had been in the beginning. Now, the news of his position as the true alpha must have spread and they took him seriously now when he told them they had to mend their ways. Of course, apart from the witch that had recently disabled the sheriff, that was Stiles' fault again for letting his father stick his nose in where it wasn’t wanted. Yes, the problems between Scott and Stiles were all Stiles' fault and the sooner the other man understood that the better.
Scott was pulled from his thoughts when his phone chimed, telling him he had a voicemail. Thinking that it could be from his mom, he moved to a quiet part of the bar to listen. He was surprised to hear Stiles' voice instead.
“Hi, Scott. Not really surprised to get your voicemail. It’s not like I’ve heard anything else the last few years.
So, dude, I’m calling to say……..well, I think we both know this thing is over. I’m just making it easy on you, by saying it out loud. But that’s all I’ve ever done.
I called you my brother once, remember? And I meant it. I followed where you led for years. I’ve cleaned up after you, fighting the fight you won’t but now I can’t do that anymore. You see, what we’ve become isn’t healthy for either of us, I see that. You’ve changed, more than just the bite, but you can’t let me do the same. I’ve started to grow and become who I was hiding from, loving who I was meant to, and yet you want me to stay small in your shadow.
So, we’re leaving, me, dad and the Hales. I will always love you, Scott, but I have to be the one to say goodbye. I have to be the one……….. I’m giving up on you.
See you round, Scott. And good luck not killing anyone and staying safe without us.”
Scott let the phone slip from his fingers, and it hit the ground, smashing. He stared at the spot where stiles had stood minutes before, almost as if he knew that was where he had been. He told himself that it shouldn’t matter, that he didn’t need any of them, especially stiles. But that didn’t stop the hollow feeling growing in his stomach.
He was the true alpha; he didn’t need anyone. And he almost believed it. Almost.