A/N: My second Teen Wolf fic! This one is slight Scott/Stiles, but you can read it as really strong friendship if you want.

Warning: major character death

Allison's death had been the worst moment of Scott's short, awful life. Holding the love of his life in his arms while she breathed her last... Scott was sure no moment would ever be worse than that.

But Allison had died without pain. A slow, painful death was so much worse.

Derek wouldn't even let him take pain. It wouldn't help, he said, and Scott would just be wasting his energy.

Scott took some anyway.

Watching his friends die was one of Scott's worst nightmares, but this... He had never imagined this happening, not even in his darkest dreams.

Because this was Stiles.

This was Stiles with the poisoned wound in his thigh, spreading burning pain through his veins, paralyzing him. Derek said that there was nothing to be done, that the poison would reach his heart in five minutes, that any help was at least ten minutes away.

Stiles was dying in his arms, and there was nothing Scott could do about it.

He looked down at the human's face, and was surprised to see his eyes open, glazed with pain but aware.

"Scott," he murmured, and the pain was audible. "I can't feel either of my legs."

The werewolf froze. That was bad, and both of them knew it. Only a minute ago, Stiles had only been paralyzed up to his knee on one leg. The poison was spreading fast, faster than Derek had predicted.

"You're going to be fine," Scott said, but his voice shook. He wanted to smile, but his face wasn't cooperating.

Stiles somehow managed a shaky smile. "It's okay, Scott," he said, grasping the werewolf's hand and squeezing it. "It's not your fault."

Scott shook his head frantically. Stiles was NOT giving up on him, not already, not after everything they'd been through together. "Stiles, NO. It's not okay. You're going to be fine, I promise, help is coming, we can fix this, we can save you..." Scott was rambling and he knew it. Stiles was always the one with a million things to say, but the human was quiet, and that scared Scott more than anything else. "I can save you," he repeated, although the words had little meaning.

"Scott," Stiles said, and his voice broke on that one word. "I'm sorry."

Scott's eyes filled with tears as he stared down at his best friend in the whole world, the person who meant more to him than anyone else. One tear dripped onto Stiles' face. In the movies, this would be the moment when everything worked out. The poison would stop spreading, their friends would arrive with help, and the two heroes would embrace with huge smiles on their faces.

But this wasn't a movie. This was real, and Stiles was dying.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything," Scott said quietly, his eyes still watering.

"Scott, I..." Stiles started, but then he was cut off as his body spasmed. The human's eyes clenched shut as he shook, his agony filling the air with a scent Scott tried desperately to ignore.

There was nothing he could do. In about 30 seconds, the shaking stopped, and Stiles was left panting, his eyes still squeezed shut. "Stiles?" Scott said hesitantly, placing his hand on his best friend's forehead.

Stiles opened his eyes slowly, as if he didn't have energy for the movement. "I can feel it spreading," he said wearily, no longer trying to hide the fear and pain in his voice.

With a gentle hand, Scott ran his fingers through Stiles' hair. The human relaxed slightly, and closed his eyes again. The pain was still there, but it had lessened. "Not yet, Stiles," Scott murmured. "Please, not yet."

But Stiles was fading fast. Scott watched in fear and agonizing sadness as his friend struggled, and failed, to open his eyes. The werewolf slid his hand into Stiles', and the human squeezed his hand again, grateful. Scott tried to take some of the pain, but it was no use. Stiles just had too much of it.

"You were trying to say something," Scott said quietly. "What were you trying to say?"

He received only a weak squeeze of his hand in response.

Suddenly, a new scent assaulted Scott's nose. Not just the pain and fear he had smelled before. Now he smelled death.

It was almost over.

"Scott." The voice was barely there, probably inaudible to anyone without werewolf hearing.

Scott leaned forward and responded gently, "It's okay, Stiles. I'm right here." Another tear dripped onto Stiles' face. "I'm always here."

Somehow, Stiles smiled at that. His eyes closed, his body paralyzed and flooded with pain, Stiles smiled.

Scott listened in horror as the human's heart beat slowed. The poison had reached his heart, but it was, stubbornly, still beating. Giving them just a few more seconds. "Stiles, I..." Scott paused, searching for words. He wasn't even sure if his friend was aware enough to understand, but he spoke anyway. "I love you, Stiles. I love you."

As if it had been waiting for those words, Stiles' heart beat once more, and was still.

A/N: Please review!