Prompt: Liam and Scott are brothers (Melissa is their mom) and Scott cares for Liam deeply. One night, after a fight with a rogue Were, the Pack is making their way back to the Jeep when Liam is hit with a surge of negative emotions.
A/N: Vaguely set during S5 with the Canon deaths (sadly) and Canon relationships; Stiles, Malia, Lydia, and Kira are present in the beginning but then give Scott and Liam space to work through his feelings.
Lydia turned and looked at the group as they trailed behind her… it wasn't like what they had before but, well it was starting to feel like Pack. Scott had his arm around Kira and Malia was giving Stiles a piggyback ride since he had worn himself out running from the vicious rogue. It was cute to see Malia carry him like it was a normal everyday occurrence. It was good to see that Stiles also didn't feel any shame in being carried by his girlfriend.
"Dude, Scotty, we should just like, make a Were newsletter or something. I mean, I know this is Beacon Hills and it's well, a beacon but really… we're getting a lot of random creatures showing up since Miss Blake messed with the Nematon. Can't we just tell them to stay out, or to at least not be evil within the town limits?" Stiles complained, chin hooked over Malia's shoulder.
Malia frowned, "But by defending our territory, we become better fighters. How else am I going to get experience with controlling my powers. I want to get stronger!"
"You're plenty strong you silly Coyote, you're carrying around Stiles like he's nothing," Lydia called out, a smile on her face.
"I can even do this still too!" Malia quickly ran up to a thick tree and leapt up to one of the stronger, low hanging branches.
"Bit of warning next time Babe," Stiles laughed, holding on tighter with his legs as she jumped down.
Kira spoke up next, "I agree, I'm learning a lot about my Kitsune powers, it's easier to tap into it when you're actually facing an enemy versus just trying to train with friends. Or getting lectures from my mom…"
Scott was going to answer but then a pitiful whine came out of nowhere; none of them had noticed Liam trailing further and further behind, consumed with guilt. But now he was about 20 feet behind them, dragging his feet and lost in his thoughts. He just kept picturing the fight over and over in his head- he was a failure at being a Wolf. No matter how much Scott tried to teach him, he just sucked at it. Even Stiles, a Human knew more about being a Were than he did! Sure, he'd been the one to do all the research but how can he know more about it than someone that actually feels the shift? Liam dropped to his knees, eyes squeezed shut and hands tearing at his hair.
"Hey, hey, Liam, what's wrong?" Suddenly Scott was there, kneeling next to him. Scott was always there, ever since they were young. He didn't deserve an older brother like Scott…
"I shouldn't be here, I'm just a danger to everyone! You shouldn't have bitten me Scott," Liam whispered.
Stiles whispered something to Malia and she let him down, the three girls politely giving Liam space while the lanky teen made his way over to the other two. "Liam, you okay?"
"You almost got hurt because of me Stiles, you should be mad at me… Malia should be mad at me! She did get hurt, because she had to protect you from my mistake. I don't deserve to be Scott's Beta, I suck at this!" Liam spat out, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"It was one rogue Were, we had it under control. Malia healed from the scratches, no biggie," Stiles assured him.
"But it was my job to make sure he didn't get past the choke point… you were supposed to lead him through and I was supposed to stop him. But I didn't… he got past me and the only reason you aren't on your way to the hospital is because Malia was fast enough to jump in front of you."
Scott nudged his brother, wanting him to look into his eyes, "He was stronger than we thought. He was a rogue Beta… not an Omega like I thought. Somehow he was barely holding onto his old Pack ties. By rights he should have been an Omega and a lot weaker. It was a flaw in the plan… I should have been the one at the choke point."
Liam shook his head, "No, because if you were there, he would have just ran away, knowing it was a trap… That was why we picked me… You trusted me to protect Stiles and I let you down… again." He wiped at his cheeks roughly, wishing the tears would stop.
"You're still learning, none of us hold that against you," Scott mumbled, pressing his forehead against Liam's.
"Yea, like I said, no hard feeling okay, I knew the risks- I mean hell, I'm not the best runner, what if I had tripped and didn't even make it to the choke point? That's why Malia was my back up, in case things went wrong. Plus Lydia had your mom on the phone, ready to tell her to send out an ambulance if one of us got hurt. Don't… don't be so hard on yourself okay? You're getting better, really, you are," Stiles promised.
The younger boy just sniffed and looked down at his knees. "Can we just go home?" he asked quietly.
"Yea, we can go home, Mom will want to make sure we eat dinner before it gets really late."
The three of them stood up and Stiles quickly pulled the shorter boy into a fierce hug. It wasn't hard to see how tore up Liam was about all of this. He didn't know about all the times Stiles had thrown himself into harm's way to protect his friends. He hadn't been a Were then so Derek wouldn't let the younger boy help so he never saw how Stiles was. Hell Derek didn't want Stiles to help either because of his tendencies but Stiles was stubborn. Plus he was the one with all the research, he needed to be around to help out. Stiles was no stranger to danger, Liam was just new to the risks and was shouldering the nonexistent blame. "I'll take the girls home. You did good Liam, you didn't freeze up when Malia got attacked and that made a huge difference."
The girls called out soft goodbyes before turning and following Stiles to the Jeep while Scott held Liam close for a few moments. Once he was sure that the tears had stopped, he handed Liam his helmet and put his own on, both boys hopping onto the motorcycle. Once they were home, Liam shuffled into the kitchen and dropped down on a barstool.
"Is leftover casserole okay?" Scott asked, looking in the fridge for food.
"Yea, sure…" Liam mumbled.
"Stiles is right you know, you're getting better. And you saved Malia from any serious injury by jumping on the guy's back like that. You didn't mess up, he was just stronger than any of us thought and completely bowled you over. It's kinda hard to prepare for that."
Liam growled and turned away from his brother, "Stop making excuses for me! I suck at this, I can't find an Anchor and my anger makes everything harder! You should have just let me fall!"
"Don't you say that!" Scott argued, putting down the casserole dish and rushing to his brother's side. "You are my baby brother, I could never have let you fall. I wish… I wish I didn't have to bite you, I didn't want this life for you but I'd rather you be introduced into the supernatural world than have you dead. I… I can't imagine you not being here Liam…"
Liam sighed and fidgeted on the stool, he knew Scott was right, it wasn't his fault that he ended up turning him. And if he was honest, it wasn't like he wanted to fall to his death, and he hadn't even thought about the repercussions of if the bite didn't take and his body rejected it. But it was all harder than he had anticipated.
Scott hugged his brother, knowing that some of this was his fault. Back when he was first bitten, he'd done everything he could to keep it from Liam; then when he did find out about it, Scott did his best to disguise his hardships. But it was because he didn't want Liam to freak out and think he wasn't safe anymore, or that he'd ever do anything that might hurt him. And now Liam thought that he was the only one that had a hard time transitioning… He hadn't confided in him when he'd first broken up with Allison, when he thought he'd lost his Anchor. Scott had run to Stiles, asked Derek for help, even asked Mom- anything to keep Liam from seeing his desperation. "I had a hard time too… I know I keep telling you that, and maybe I shouldn't have worked so hard to hide it from you. I just didn't want to scare you. But Liam, you are improving, and I know that you are trying hard. That's what matters, okay? That you're trying. We'll get through this, I promise."
"But what if Malia is mad at me, I almost got Stiles hurt and she loves him… if he got hurt because of me…"
"She'd take it out on whatever creature hurt him, not you. She's had a hard time transitioning as well but even she knows that the only one to blame is the one that does the attacking. Would you ever just attack Stiles?"
"No.. I don't… I don't think so… He's Pack, and he's like… almost a brother, he's been around for years. I couldn't hurt Stiles…"
"Then Malia won't get mad at you. None of us will, I promise. Just, one day at a time okay? It's like lacrosse, just gotta keep practicing."
Liam finally spun around on the stool and threw his arms over Scott's shoulders, burying his face in Scott's neck. "Don't give up on me."
"Never Bro, we're family, and we're Pack. I'm always here for you- always," Scott whispered fiercely, holding Liam tight.