Work Text:
Senior year was not going the way that Stiles had expected. He was horrifically behind due to the time he had lost while being possessed the year before. Worse still were the hospital and Eichen house bills that would not stop coming with large red threatening “Overdue” status marked on them. The sheriff was working crazy hours at the station to try and pay off the medical bills making Stiles worry for his health as the man worked himself to the bone.
That was how Stiles found himself sitting at the kitchen table in Derek’s loft looking through job postings. Unfortunately he was struggling to find something that would work for him since even just going to school was taking too much of a toll on his body. After they had killed the Nogitsune, Stiles hadn’t just gotten miraculously better. He was still struggling to sleep, eat and function due to the memories of the horror he had unknowingly carried out.
Things were hard with the other pack members as well. Scott and Lydia could barely stand to look at him after what the demon had done. He was still technically a part of the McCall pack, but pushed to the side. The mourning pair sought comfort in each other with the deaths of their significant others. Once upon a time it would have made Stiles furious that Scott would sleep with Lydia, but now he could barely bring himself to care. He could hardly bring himself to care about much of anything these days.
Scrolling angrily through the local ‘help wanted’ posts Stiles mood got even darker as he despaired of finding something to help with his and his dad’s money issues.
“Well aren’t we a little storm cloud today, darling” came Peter’s voice as he entered the loft, taking off his designer coat and scarf leaving him in a tight fitting v neck that always captured Stiles’ attention. “What has you so down?”
Stiles just glared at the screen. He hadn’t told anyone in the pack about his financial troubles not wanting to be a burden again. Peter didn’t take his silence for an answer though, strolling over to look at Stiles’ screen, placing a warm and heavy hand on Stiles’ shoulder. Stiles couldn’t help but lean back against the firm chest and soak up the wolf’s fiery heat. The man was like a walking furnace and Stiles was always cold and touch starved these days.
“Dog walker, morning baker, volunteer fireman, ambulance driver, file clerk, grocery store bagger… what’s all this sweetheart?”
“Just looking at job options”
“Shouldn’t you be resting or working on your school work, darling? College applications are due soon and you’ll want your transcript up to par. Malia has been complaining about the whole process non-stop, especially math. You hardly have time to take on another job besides school and you’re still not healthy again, Stiles” said Peter concerned.
Stiles couldn’t help but let out a bitter bark of laughter at the mention of college. What had once been a barely achievable dream with lots of loans was now completely down the pipe financially.
“What’s so funny?”
“Me. Going to college. Like that’s going to happen” scoffed Stiles bitterly, his heart breaking yet again over missing out on the chance of higher education, where he could be safe and really challenged for once. His dreams of getting out of their tiny hellmouth of a town were thoroughly shot.
“I fail to see how that’s a funny thing. If anyone is qualified to get out of this backwater town from our little pack its you and Miss Martin”
“Yeah, well it’s never going to happen. I’d join the force after graduation, but the mental health background disqualifies me. I have to find something and soon”
“Mieczysław” said Peter, sinking to his knees and turning Stiles’ chair to face him. “What is this really about? Why the urgency?”
Stiles couldn’t bring himself to look Peter in his perfect striking ice blue eyes, instead he focused on his hands, counting his fingers again and again.
“Money is really bad at home. Between dad and I’s hospital bills, the MRI, Eichen and the mortgage on the house… we’re drowning. It’s going to take years to pay it all back and I’m convinced the stress is going to kill my dad” as soon as Stiles started speaking he couldn’t stop, feeling relieved to finally tell someone what had been weighing so heavy on his heart and mind. “I need to start contributing, but my stupid body won’t cooperate and it’s too traumatized to even do school properly” Stiles felt his eyes start to get wet and furiously blinked away tears. “My dad and I are doing everything we can and it just isn’t enough. We’re going to lose the house soon and they’ll start taking money directly from Dad’s paychecks. The house is the last thing we have of Mom”
“Shhh sweetheart, let it all out” soothed Peter, tugging Stiles out of his chair and into the man’s lap on the floor. “It’s not healthy for you to keep all of this bottled up” The wolf soothingly rubbed Stiles’ back as the young man devolved into tears. He was only eighteen and the world was crumbling down around him yet again. Utterly exhausted, Stiles found himself falling asleep against the comforting solid chest of the wolf.
—------------------------------
It wasn’t until a week later that Stiles began to notice the change. The frequent mail of overdue bills had stopped arriving and the strangest thing happened when his dad went to make a payment on one of the charges.
“Hey kiddo, do you have any idea why our mortgage is suddenly paid off?” asked Noah as he entered the kitchen where Stiles was making breakfast. Cooking was one of the things he could still do, even if eating what he made seemed to be a sisyphean task. Today it was veggie and mushroom omelets. If the stress of the job didn’t kill his father and their financial troubles, then it would be all the food he was sneaking that wasn’t on his diet plan.
“What do you mean?” asked Stiles, flipping the cooked eggs onto two plates and giving his dad some turkey bacon as a reward.
“I mean that I had put in a call to Jannine about refinancing the house and she just wrote me back letting me know it was all paid off” said the sheriff sounding shocked. “Do you have any idea how this could have happened?”
“No, there must have been some kind of mix up at the ba-” started Stiles as he placed their food on the table, only to freeze. No… it couldn’t be.
“What’s that face? That’s your thinking face. Do you know who could have paid it off?” asked the sheriff around a bite of his breakfast.
“I only told one person that we were having money issues and might lose the house… but he couldn’t have” whispered Stiles in shock and confusion.
“Who?”
“Peter”
“Hale, huh. Well we need to send him one hell of a thank you gift and work out a repayment plan with him. I’ll call him today during my break” offered Noah.
“No! I’ll go see him now about it now” said Stiles, shakily getting to his feet. It was a Saturday and he wasn’t going to finish his breakfast anyways.
—------------------------------
Taking a deep breath, Stiles raised his hand and knocked loudly on the penthouse door. Peter opened the door a moment later shirtless with his silk sleep pants riding low on his hips showing Stiles a delicious view.
“Stiles, to what do I owe the pleasure?” asked the wolf leaning over the younger man in the doorway. “Also how did you know where I live?”
“Oh please don’t pretend to be surprised. Of course I know where you live” sassed Stiles, pushing past the taller man into the apartment.
The interior was so Peter. It was a mix of old world beauty with modern conveniences. Despite being on the top floor of the most expensive apartment building in Beacon Hills, it still had an earthy kind of feel from the dark wood paneling and the lush forest green carpets with golden accents.
“Did you need something dear, or are you just trespassing in a wolf’s den to see what’d happen? I’d love to show you” snarked Peter flashing his eyes supernaturally blue.
“Why did you do it?” asked Stiles, finishing taking in the penthouse and turning back to the dramatic wolf.
“You’ll need to be a bit more specific, sweetheart. I do a lot of things. What in particular are you asking about?”
“My dad’s mortgage. Why did you pay it off!?!”
“Because I could,” shrugged Peter.
“How?”
“Derek, Cora, at one point Laura, and I are the only remaining members of our family. Between us is split the life insurances of our long dead family. We are VERY rich. Plus I was a rather well off lawyer before the fire as well. I am hardly hurting for money. Trust me, this barely made a dent in it”.
“But why!” whined Stiles, overwhelmed at the generosity of a not generous wolf.
Peter stepped forward and grabbed Stiles’ jaw forcing him to look him in the eyes as he said, “Because you are worth it Stiles and wolves look after our own”.
“I’m barely even pack anymore. I can’t be of any help and I killed Alison” sniffed Stiles, feeling utterly defeated.
“You are my pack and soon enough you will know it. I care little for the Argent, but you must know that that wasn’t you. Stiles. Please tell me that you know that”
“I know that intellectually, but getting my head and my heart to believe it is a whole other thing. Especially when the others are keeping me at arms length… also wait! What are you planning now?”
“Nothing much darling, you know me always plotting; but I will be going out of town for a couple days soon, possibly up to a week and I needed to get your finances sorted out before them.
“Thank you for doing it, you didn’t have to, and I still don’t really understand why you did. But I am so grateful that we get to keep our house. This will make things significantly easier. If I can only find a job we can work on paying off the medical loans too” sighed Stiles, sinking down onto the comfy couch. “I told dad that we would set up a repayment plan too. Do you have somewhere to be this morning or can we plan that out now?”
“I have nowhere I would rather be, darling, but there is no need for you to get some taxing job or for your father to repay me” said Peter, sitting down on the couch beside Stiles and wrapping him in a warm hug, the teen let himself sink into the warmth. “You just need to focus on your health and recovery. Speaking of which I asked around and found some great places that help with the treatment and aftercare of possession. I have a few fliers around here somewhere. Some are total inpatient stays while others are outpatient programs. I know that with school and all an outpatient stay might be better, but with fall break coming up maybe you could go for just a few days”
“What? Peter, what are you talking about? Obviously I still need to get a job to help with the bills and we can hardly afford food, much less mental health treatment!” said Stiles.
“Sweetheart? What are you so worried about? I took care of all your bills. And if you’re worried about the cost of the treatments, I will be covering them too”
Stiles just kind of blue screened as he took in what the wolf had just said. Peter had taken care of all of the bills… all of them. His dad didn’t need to work to the point of collapse, Stiles didn’t need to get a job that would probably kill him…
“Stiles, come on darling, you’re scaring me” came Peter’s voice. “You need to breathe dearest”. What finally snapped Stiles out of it was Peter grabbing his face and forcing him to look at him as he ordered “Breathe Mieczysław!”
Stiles took a strangled breath.
“Good work, sweetheart. Now copy me, in two three and out two three. In two three, and out two three. Good boy, keep going for me” Stiles did his best to match his breathing to Peter’s steady breaths following the sound of his commanding voice which filled Stiles with a sense of safety.
Eventually Stiles was able to breathe evenly on his own, but he was utterly worn out.
In the smallest voice he asked, “Why?”
“Becuase you are mine Stiles, and wolves take care of their own” repeated Peter, his eyes hiding not an inch of manipulation, which was rare for this specific wolf.
Stiles finally gave in with a quiet, “Thank you, Peter” as he curled into himself.
“Of course sweetheart. You smell utterly exhausted. Get some rest and we’ll talk more later” said Peter, pressing a kiss to Stiles’ head before helping him lie back on the couch and draping a thick fuzzy weighted blanket over him.
—------------------------------
Stiles woke to the sound of his phone beeping. Rolling over on the comfortable couch in Peter’s apartment he picked up his cell to see messages from everyone’s favorite Brit.
Jackass: Ethan is driving me absolutely crazy. How did you guys put up with him?
Jackass: How are you doing? Any better?
Stiles: I got a bit of sleep at Peter’s just now. Still not feeling great, Peter’s pushing therapy.
Stiles: As for Ethan, I mostly just threatened him and then I was possessed… IDK.
Jackass: No shame in the Therapy game, Stilinski. I've been doing it for years. Listen to your wolf.
Stiles: He’s not MY wolf
Jackass: No? I’m pretty sure you’re the only reason he’s still in BH
Stiles: There’s Malia…
Jackass: Right the long lost daughter he doesn’t have much of a relationship with
Jackass: Face it Stiles the man is down bad for you
Stiles: whatever
Jackass: You're totally blushing aren’t you?
Stiles: NO!
Jackass: Liar.
Jackass: Look I gotta go, but text me if you need me. I mean it Stiles.
Stiles: Thanks Jacks, miss you.
Stiles and Jackson had started talking right after the possession; it helped to have someone who understood what he was going through even if they were in another country. Putting his phone down, Stiles scrubbed his face and sighed, despite his nap he still felt tired. He knew it was a side effect of the possession trauma but that didn’t make it any better.
“I can hear that you’re up sweetheart. Come have something to eat” called Peter’s voice from down the hall where Stiles assumed the kitchen was.
Following the sound of the wolf’s voice Stiles found Peter dressed in a pair of tight dark wash jeans and a red v-neck sweater serving up two plates of food.
“I’m not really hungry, Zombiewolf” tried Stiles.
“Tough. I doubt you ate breakfast with how early you got here and knowing your latest habits you didn’t eat dinner last night either since your dad was working. You need to eat to get healthy, even if you don’t want to”
Stiles sighed and took a seat at the kitchen table next to Peter and did his best to eat the chicken and veggie pie that Peter had made. The wolf watched him with a serious look on his face and didn’t start eating his own meal until Stiles had taken a few bites.
“I looked at those pamphlets and talked to your dad while you were sleeping. There’s an outpatient program in Pine Hollow which is only a half hour drive from here. It would pair you with a supernatural therapist who’s worked with possession survivors before. Stiles, sweetheart, I think this is really important for you to do. We all want you to get better, darling”.
Stiles looked down at his plate in shame. “I know, it’s just a lot right now”
“I get that sweetheart, and this will help. Please give it a shot” said Peter, taking Stiles’ cold hand in his large warm one.
“Fine. If you really think it’ll help”
“I know it will” promised Peter, pressing a kiss to the back of Stiles’ hand.
—------------------------------
Therapy it turned out wasn’t as bad as Stiles expected. Peter insisted on driving Stiles to and from each appointment and paying for his treatment. Stiles and his dad tried to protest in the beginning but the wolf slammed down copies of his bank records showing his millions… and there really was no arguing with him after that. So three times a week found Stiles sitting shotgun in Peter’s Shelby Cobra being driven to Pine Hollow to meet with Jacob Grayson, a certified possession expert. Stiles found himself growing closer to the wolf as they got to know each other better over their drives. Peter shared with Stiles his own experience with madness and the work he had to do to overcome it as death and his resurrection had not solved all of his problems.
Stiles was put through several cleansing rituals as part of his treatment and given a strict food and exercise plan as they sought to heal his body, mind and soul. Slowly, and with a lot of work, Stiles began to feel like himself again. And through it all Peter stood by his side, making sure he took his meds, got enough sleep and held him when he cried. Healing was not a linear process and there were plenty of ups and downs… but by Christmas Stiles had submitted several college applications at Peter and his Dad’s urging and seemed to find himself again.
His relationship with the rest of the McCall pack was basically non-existent at this point. Stiles couldn’t remember the last time that Scott had talked to him about something non-class related. Stiles kept his head down and nose to the grindstone, doing his best to not let Lydia and Scott’s disregard of him hurt… it didn’t work. Scott had turned a freshman boy named Liam on accident and brought him and his friends into the pack. Stiles didn’t even know all of their names; that was how far he had been pushed out.
Unsurprisingly, as Peter’s relationship with Malia got better so did Stiles’. The girl would join her father for dinner once a week along with her mate, Kira, who she was living with. Things with Malia’s adopted father were apparently not going well so she had basically moved in with her girlfriend. Peter offered her a room in the penthouse, but their relationship just wasn’t quite there yet.
Cora and Derek were living in the loft across town and also still technically on the fringes of the McCall pack, at least involved enough not to go Omega. Stiles found himself splitting his free time between hanging out at the loft with Derek when Peter was at work or curled up in Peter’s library devouring all the books in sight.
Even though things were going better, Stiles knew that they couldn’t go on like this. It was a regular Tuesday night in February that Stiles brought it up. Stiles was curled up on Peter’s insanely comfortable couch wrapped in what had to be the world’s softest blanket beside his own personal furnace, Peter. He was dressed in clothes that actually fit his new body after Peter had dragged Stiles, Malia, Derek and Cora to the mall for a shopping trip. He claimed that none of them knew how to dress and that needed to change if they wanted to be associated with him. Derek had snarked “Do we really want to?” but it had been playful, the relationship between Uncle and Nephew finally healing. Stiles had walked out of the mall, his head spinning from the dollar signs, with a whole new wardrobe courtesy of Peter’s black amex card.
“Hey Zombiewolf?”
“Yes, Darling?”
“When are you going to become an alpha again?”
“What dearest?”
“An alpha. You know, get yourself a set of totally hot red eyes and the ability to get us out of this godforsaken town”.
“You find alpha eyes hot Stiles?”
“Well duh, especially on you” teased Stiles, feeling bold he shifted their positions so that he was sitting on Peter’s lap.
The wolf let out a little growl and placed his hands on Stiles’ hips and squeezed tightly as he swore “I will have to get some soon then”
“We gonna talk about this too?” asked Stiles, gesturing between the pair.
“Hmm, darling?”
“I turned eighteen months ago, I’ve been waiting for you to kiss me!” exclaimed Stiles with a pout. “Do you even still want me?”
“Of course I want you sweetheart, but you haven’t been well darling. I didn’t want to disrupt your healing”
“Silly wolf, the only reason I’m better is because of you” said Stiles. “I love you, Peter”
“I love you too, Stiles. Always have, always will” swore the wolf before pulling his boy into a sweet kiss.
--------------------------------
True to his word Peter left a few days after their conversation to find a rogue alpha to kill. He had apparently been tracking possible targets over the past couple months but hadn’t wanted to leave Stiles while he was in such a vulnerable stage.
The young man had practically pushed the wolf out the door of the penthouse promising that he would be safe and follow his therapist’s advice while Peter was gone. Plus he would have Derek, Cora, Malia and Kira to watch his back.
It ended up taking about a week for Peter to find and secure a new alpha spark. He returned home to Beacon Hills triumphant with a new set of fiery red eyes. Stiles had jumped into Peter’s arms when he saw them and excitedly kissed him.
Finally a real pack again, the Hale pack made plans for after Stiles, Cora, Malia and Kira’s graduation. They had all agreed that they needed a fresh start and with Derek’s endorsement the pack agreed to move to New York. Stiles was accepted to Columbia as a History major. Kira and Cora would be attending NYU with Derek who was finally going to finish his engineering degree. Malia opted to sign up for the fire academy deciding that higher education was not for the coyote. Peter transferred his bar license to New York and joined a law firm in the city. Jackson, now a legal adult, had decided to join them in the city as well, bringing Ethan along, as they were both sick of London.
As Stiles stood on the porch of the new Hale Mansion looking out at his mate and pups playing under the full moon he was grateful for everything that had led them to be here together.