Stiles was five years old when he realized that there was something different about him. His parents were going to spend some time with Mama McCall, who had been lonely for a while now. Scott didn't understand it, but Stiles did, and sometimes Stiles wished he couldn't either. But being smart came with a heavy price.
Stiles stood in the doorway of his parents bedroom as they got ready to head over. Poppa was buttoning and Mommy was putting powdery stuff on her face. The child reveled in the transformation it brought to her. She was always beautiful but now Mommy was stunning. Like when Stiles stared at the sun too long and it burned his eyes. He walked over to his mommy, pleading with her to put him on her lap. When she did, they both watched her finish.
When Mommy was done, she looked down at her only son. "Do you want to try some make-up?" she asked. Stiles nodded enthusiastically. Noah didn't put up any fuss about Stiles trying something "girly", only smiling at Stiles' curiosity. Claudia put a little foundation on her son's face before adding a light pink blush and red lipstick. When Stiles looked in the mirror, he was surprised at how... right it felt to look like this. He grabbed some of his mommy's hair and put it on his head like a wig. When looking in the mirror, Stiles saw something that was different than meanies like Jackson saw him as. Stiles saw someone as beautiful as Isabel Lahey, as his mommy.
It was then that Stiles began to cry, Claudia hugging her little boy close in order to give him some comfort. Noah came over, kneeling down and placing his large hand on the crown of Stiles' head. "What is it, Szczepan?" Mommy asked the sobbing child.
Stiles couldn't breathe properly with the force of his tears. "I-I-I-I'm no-ot per-perfect," Stiles managed to get out, sniffing as snot began to run down his face.
Noah and Claudia's hearts broke at the shattered voice of their young son. "Why would you think that?" Noah asked.
"I-I-I-," Stiles stutters, trying to understand the heavy weight in his chest. No, not he. "I'm not a girl," he said after a few moments of silence.
His parents blinked. And blinked again. "Szczepan?" Claudia asked, comprehension slowly but surely dawning.
"I'm not a boy, Mommy," Stiles said, the conviction surprisingly strong for someone so young. "I'm a girl."
Stiles' parents shared a look, Claudia's understanding and Noah's confused. "Ok, you're a girl. Can I still call you Szczepan?" Claudia asked her so― daughter.
Stiles thought about it. "What was grandma's name?"
"Stanisława," Claudia answered.
The young girl grinned. "Daddy can't pronounce it. I like it."
Claudia laughed as Noah 'frowned' (pouted). "Well, aren't you a little ballbuster?" Noah said, plucking his daughter from his wife's lap, enjoying Stiles' squeals as he spun her around. He set her on his hip. "Can I still call you Stiles?"
"It's my name, Daddy," Stiles said, that weight inside her finally giving. Admittedly, she was nervous about telling Scott and Mama McCall, but they took it as well as his parents did. Scott thought it was cool to have a sister, making Stiles grin until her face hurt. Even when she lost her mom when she was thirteen, Stiles still had support from her family. That was all she could have asked for.