It is a truth universally known that when your best friend has girl troubles, you take him out and get him drunk. Or at least you try. And despite the fact that Scott is the true Alpha, leader of their pack and selfless protector of Beacon Hills, the fact remains that he is still first and foremost Stiles' best friend. And that is why he and Scott are currently making their way through the nightly forest of Beacon Hills to get to the place Stiles picked out for them.
The half-moon is up thankfully, making it possible for people without wolf-senses to see where they are going. The wind makes eerie sounds in the trees and it seems as if they are not alone out here, but Scott would know of course if there was anyone close. They parked the jeep on the side of the road and have been hiking through the woods for about twenty minutes. Stiles has already bumped his toes twice on protruding roots. He isn't the one complaining, however.
"Does it have to be the woods?" Scott asks and considering Stiles is doing this for him and only for him, he sounds disappointingly unenthusiastic. "We could just be drinking in your room, you know? Or at my house in front of the TV, eating pizza."
"You're a wolf, Scott", Stiles points out. "You're supposed to feel at home in the woods."
"A few run-ins lately might have suppressed that feeling." Scott deftly ducks a branch that almost takes out Stiles' eye. "It's going to rain later. I can smell it."
"C'mon Scott, stop whinging", Stiles says, trying not to rip his jeans on some raspberry bushes. "You're the true alpha, remember?"
"Doesn't mean I enjoy getting soaked. You're sure you're not lost? I could find our way back to the jeep if you wanted me to."
"I know that, okay? And no, I'm not lost. Not even close. Everything is going exactly as planned."
Scott is thankfully quiet after that, allowing Stiles to concentrate and actually lead them to the stance he was looking for. "Here we are", he says, turning to face Scott. "Cozy as heel, right? Malia told me about it."
"Seems nice", Scott agrees with a little smile. He climbs up the ladder first and Stiles hands him the backpack before he follows him and drops down onto the narrow bench next to Scott. They can overlook a small clearing from up here. The tall trees surrounding it look a bit spooky in the moonlight but the grass has a beautiful silvery glow.
"You even brought a blanket", Scott says, unpacking.
"Some of us still do get cold."
"I could have kept you warm you know?"
Stiles looks at Scott, pauses for a moment and then pulls two bottles of Whiskey out of the backpack. They both know that Scott can't get drunk of course and any substance that is able to alter his state of mind seems much too dangerous for him to mess around with. But they found out that Scott can get into a state similar to being boozed when they are together. It's just about letting go after all and when they were a few years younger they didn't need alcohol at all to have a party of just the two of them.
He opens the first bottle and hands it over to Scott who takes a swig.
"The last time you took me out to get drunk was after Allison dumped me", he says. "This is to Allison."
"To Allison", Stiles says but he knows things aren't going to go well if he lets Scott ponder his dead ex-girlfriend for too long. He wants to cheer Scott up not make him more depressed after all.
"It's nice being here with you, you know", he says. "We haven't had a lot of bonding time in the last few months with the beast and the dread doctors being around and all."
"True. Life's been rough. And I don't even know where Kira is right now. Or how she's doing."
Why does Stiles sometimes get the feeling that Scott doesn't even want to be cheered up?
"Or if she's coming back" Scott adds.
"Take another drink", Stiles says and he does.
"I wonder if being with me means bad luck, you know?"
"Hey, come on!" Stiles says, taking the bottle from Scott. "I've been with you for years. Does it seem like I've had any bad luck?"
Scott looks at him and Stiles rolls his eyes. "Not counting the Nogitsune of course. Or being threatened by Chimeras. Or being constantly attacked by various abominations. You're still the best bro I could imagine, okay? I wouldn't trade you for anyone."
Scott smirks. "No one else would take you."
"Hey that's not fair! I've become quite popular, you know? Especially with the girls. There's nothing like being all heroic and getting hurt every now and then to make you interesting." Stiles takes a drink and spills most of it on his sweater.
"Getting hurt hasn't worked too well for me up to now", Scott says.
"You're kidding, right? Remember what I told you? You're the hot girl. I meant that." Stiles takes another drink. He's going to need it to get through this night.
"Hot and single again, apparently", Scott says but he sounds better now. Not as distressed. "I am glad I still got you, however. Hope you know that."
"Oh, you better be", Stiles pulls the blanket around himself, because it is getting kind of chilly. "Taking care of you is quite the burden you know? Wouldn't want to put that job on anyone else's shoulders."
"I liked it back then when it was just the two of us. I've been thinking about that time a lot lately."
Stiles turns his head to face Scott. "You do? Who's the one constantly dragging new people into the pack then?"
"It was nice. Less complicated. We just fit, you know? No need to explain anything, no need to try being someone else."
Stiles shrugs. "Maybe we should try being a couple then."
"Maybe we should." Scott leans forward and gives Stiles a peck on his cheek. Then he rests his head on Stiles' shoulder and dares to fall asleep while Stiles is internally freaking out.
"It was just a peck on the cheek, you know?" Stiles tells his image in the mirror. His image frowns back at him. "Has he ever done that before?"
"No."
"Well then it has to mean something."
"I know that but what? Was he just not thinking? Was he joking? Overcompensating? He never makes jokes like that." Stiles gets up to walk another small circle around his room which fails to clear his head just like the dozen circles he's walked before. He slumps down on the bed. "I just wish I could remember his exact words. Was it really 'we should try being a couple then'? Did he actually use the word couple? Or was that just me?" He buries his head in the pillow. "Oh come on, this is important."
His image in the mirror is of no help as usual and the wall opposite his bed is unnervingly empty and clear of red thread giving him nothing else to think about.
It's Monday Morning and he is supposed to be getting ready for school. The only problem is that he will meet Scott there and he is not sure he can do that after what transpired on the stance. Not before he can figure out what it meant. If it meant anything at all.
The thing is Scott has never said anything like that. Not even as a joke like Stiles likes to do sometimes. Everything that goes beyond typical best friend behavior is usually beyond Scott. Maybe he doesn't get it, maybe it just makes him uncomfortable. He's the best mate anyone could imagine and Stiles knows that Scott would give his right arm for him, would die for him. But for the love of god he wouldn't kiss him. Well, maybe if Stiles' life depended on it, but unfortunately Stiles' life has never depended on a kiss by Scott. And considering the many things his life has actually depended on in the last few years that seems a tad unfair. He gets up from the bed to walk back to the mirror.
"Stiles are you gone yet?" his father shouts from the basement. "Because if you are I might actually get some sleep after my long and exhausting night shift without you stomping above my head like a herd of mammoths."
"No, dad, I'm not gone yet but it's always nice to hear how much you love having me around."
"Go to school, Stiles."
Stiles gets his backpack from the bed and grabs some books at random. He doesn't really care what subjects he has today. He'll need the lessons to think about Scott anyway.
Of course Scott arriving at school on his green motorbike is the first thing he has to see when he parks the jeep. The boy he calls his best friend takes off his helmet and shakes his hair, looking half young alpha wolf-god and half disheveled teenager who got up too late to do anything decent with is hair. He is beautiful, Stiles thinks and tells his brain to stop.
"Come on Stiles, you can do this", he tells himself. "Get yourself out of the crush on my best mate mode and into best friend mode like so many times before."
He does and gets out of the car with a sigh. He isn't sure why he's doing this to himself. It has been a while since he's gotten himself this worked up about Scott and back then it was because he thought he had actually lost him after Donovan. It wasn't falling back into old habits like now. And it's bad this time. He's spent all of Sunday pondering and longing and he knows it isn't healthy.
Scott is already surrounded by Liam when Stiles gets to him. Literally surrounded. Really, it's amazing how much that boy is pinning himself onto Scott. Stiles can't help being reminded of a puppy looking for attention. He's talking about Lacrosse, of course but for once Scott seems like he's only half listening.
"Hi", Stiles says and Scott surprises him again by greeting him with a short hug. Not that there's anything unusual about it. In fact many of the boys in their school greet each other with hugs, especially those who aspire to be popular and establish their connection with other cool dudes through body contact. It hasn't really been their "thing" though. Scott usually saves his hugs for special occasions. Not that Stiles is complaining or anything, it just confuses him a little more.
"You haven't been on skype yesterday night", Scott says. "I've been trying to call you."
"Anything going on?"
No. I just wanted to – you know – talk to you. Make sure you didn't catch cold after us getting soaked on our way back from the stance." Scott grins broadly. "Pizza at home might have been the better option after all."
"What were you guys doing on a stance?" Liam asks.
Stiles would like to tell him that it's really none of his business but he looks too innocent to be mean to. Once again.
"Just having a chat", Scott says and the way he says it immediately makes Stiles thinks that obviously there was nothing else to it. And here he goes again over-analyzing everything Scott says. He hates that state of mind and it would be better for everyone if he just stopped now. Because for Scott it's always going to be just a chat.
And then he feels Scott's fingers against his hand and for a second he honestly thinks that he's going to take his hand. But Scott just brushes his skin. "Stiles tried to cheer me up a bit."
"Well that's nice", says Mason, joining them and putting an arm around Liam's shoulders.
Stiles thinks that it must be awfully nice to be the gay best friend of someone who actually knows that you're gay. Then of course Mason doesn't have a crush on Liam which makes things a lot less complicated.
"Yeah", he says.
"And you know what?" Scott asks. "It worked. Thanks, bro." And he smiles that terrible smile that tears at Stiles' heart and makes him think of sun melting the ice on a winter day. He's so often thought that he's over Scott but he'll never be able to get over that smile.
"Good", he says lamely.
Like he expected lessons drag and on and once again and he's glad that he's learned from a young age to understand stuff with an absolute minimum of input from the teachers. Due to his ADHD concentrating in school has never been one of his greatest skills but he has become an expert at totally faking it.
In Maths Malia sits next to him, gnawing her way through another pencil, eyes glued to the board with a hint of panic in them as more and more numbers and signs appear. And Stiles thinks once again that he wishes he could just be honest with everyone because Malia deserves to know why they failed so miserably in their relationship and she really isn't to blame. They've never really talked about their break-up or whatever it was and have not only managed to remain friends. Stiles feels closer to her than before. It feels like she somehow understands what he's going through. And then maybe that isn't so strange because having spent half of her life as a coyote she still has to watch her steps in the world of humans. She probably still feels Alien, even around her best friends. Stiles can relate to that sometimes.
Scott sits down opposite of him during lunch break. "Hey, have you been avoiding me or something?" he asks without being serious. "I was looking for you between periods.
"Of course not", Stiles says who totally has been avoiding Scott, because he knows he's going down a dangerous path and he has to stop. And seeing Scott really doesn't help. Jesus, why can't he just move on? Honestly he thought he had after surviving Scott slowly falling in love with Kira so shortly after Allison. He was proud of himself for managing so well. And one little kiss on the cheek and he's worse than over two years ago when Scott fell in love for the first time.
Malia and Lydia sit down next to them, Lydia trying to explain about Maths and Malia looking as if she wants to run away and hide in a hole somewhere. Stiles thinks of the time when he wanted nothing more than Lydia sitting down with them during lunch break and as much as he still likes her, even loves her in a way, he now wishes it could just be him and Scott sometimes. Lydia was the one girl that made it possible for him to almost convince himself he was straight and not in love with his best friend. But now that they are actually closer his feelings have become less and less romantic somehow, if not less deep.
"I was thinking we should revive movie night on Fridays" Scott says and it takes Stiles a moment to realize that he's talking to him and only to him. Movie night was a thing from back when they didn't have any other friends. Of course they hung out all the time but on Fridays they always picked a movie together, ordered pizza and spent the night at each other's houses. Nothing unusual but they always used to look forward to that.
"We totally should" he says and despite all of his confusion this really cheers him up. They haven't done that kind of thing for a while and he remembers that it's the first time Scott is actually single since freshman year. "I loved movie night. You're not invited by the way", he tells Liam who arrives at the table with Mason.
"Oh, I'm sure he can live without the two of you crying over the Time Traveler's Wife." Lydia says. "And don't bother asking Malia or me. We're having a girl's night out."
"Wasn't planning to", Stiles says. So he's really going to be alone with Scott for a whole night. And that's the moment he remembers that's not a good idea right now.
"Deal", Scott says.
And Stiles internally freaks out for the second time this week.