Chapter 74

Stiles was tired to the bone after a long day of trying to hustle magical gimmicks to unsuspecting, though thankfully largely supportive, people at the hospital. With an uninspired push, he opened his door - and shrieked like a girl when a figure with red glowing eyes stared at him from their place in the shadowy corner that the kanima also preferred when visiting.

"Oh my god, can you not?" Stiles shouted, slamming the door shut behind him.

Peter's eyes were firmly on Stiles as he prowled close and Stiles' hair at the back of his neck rose in response. Even Lou, who normally was very comfortable in Peter's presence, stood at attention, silent and wary.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Stiles demanded, heart jack-hammering in his chest.

"I lied," Peter growled, now crowding Stiles back against the door.

Stiles swallowed, eyes unable to leave Peter's face. On his skin, Lou was forming his defence, but he communicated a confusion that was both worrying and thrilling. At least part of it had to be Peter's incredibly appealing scent, which curled warm and spicy around them as if directed by magic. "About what?"

"Knowing that you were with her drove me crazy yesterday," Peter snarled and dipped his head down, lips nearly touching the hot skin of Stiles' neck. "Tell me how terrible it was."

For a moment, Stiles couldn't make sense of the words, but then he relaxed a fraction and placed his hands on Peter's waist. A little hoarsely, he said, "It was the worst."

"Mmh. Tell me so I can make it better." Peter's teeth grazed Stiles' neck and his lips followed.

Exhaling a shuddery breath, Stiles gripped him tighter and tilted his head for better access. "She was all nice and friendly and knew exactly what she wanted."

Peter's growl cut like a knife through the tense silence in the room but he kept pressing kisses into Stiles' skin.

"The darach tried to distract us several times," Stiles continued a little breathlessly, allowing himself to let his hands wander over Peter's muscular back and cupping his shoulders in a surprisingly intimate half-hug. The scratch of Peter's stubble across his sensitive neck drove him crazy. His eyes grew warm and a slight rumble began to vibrate in his chest. "Scratched my Jeep up good, the bitch, even though they were obviously too weak for much more than that. Heather would've let me have a look, even in the middle of things. Terribly inconsiderate of her, isn't it?"

Peter huffed sulkily and leaned his whole body weight against Stiles, trapping him deliciously against the door.

Stiles felt every ridge and contour of that ridiculously cut body and hello, someone was very pleased to see him. He moaned helplessly and ground his pelvis against Peter's, which resulted in a toe-curling bite into the meat of his shoulder.

Even more breathless now, Stiles continued, "She even had the audacity to want it more than once, and get this, she actually taught me how to do it better for her. Man, that really sucked." He paused. "Or rather, I sucked. Everywhere she wanted. I didn't know my lips could get sore, but here we go."

Peter's grip tightened and it would've been uncomfortable if Lou hadn't pitched his strength against that of the silently seething werewolf.

"Do you know what really was her worst fault?" Stiles murmured, raking a hand into Peter's hair and holding the man tightly. Softly kissing the place just by his ear, he whispered, "That she learned about you before we got started and was glad for me. That she'll keep my secret - our secret - just because I'm her friend. What a callous cow, right?"

Peter jerked his head back, stared at Stiles, and then crushed his lips to the teen's in an almost violent kiss.

Stiles could barely hold on, Peter was so insistent on him losing his mind. Every sweep of his tongue imitated a rub with his lower body and while his hands stayed far above the belt, everything about it was filthy enough to make the devil blush.

"I want …" Stiles managed to gasp out between kisses, feeling half-melted in every sense of the word, "I want you. So much. Please say we can have at least a little bit of this."

"Sweetheart," Peter groaned, pained. He pressed his forehead against Stiles and panted. Lou crawled over both of them, laying open the searing emotions and the lust between them. "You feel far too good. And your taste. I'll have to shoot myself if we don't stop."

Stiles wrapped his arms around Peter and buried his hot face in his shoulder bend. "My dad would shoot me, too."

For a while, they just breathed each other in and allowed themselves to cool down. Stiles only managed without whining because he was still somewhat sore from the day before … and he was pretty sure Peter had chosen this moment for his confession because he'd known that Stiles would refuse to use a healing card on this occasion, just like he'd already refused the wolfy pain drain from Derek and Isaac.

At long last, Stiles nibbled a torturously slow path up Peter's neck, back to his mouth, and kissed him again for agonizingly long and sweet minutes.

When he felt like he'd finally had something approaching enough, for now, he murmured, "Doing this with Heather was the right thing, even without the darach. For one because she's a girl, and since we're not gonna share once I'm old enough, she might well be the only woman I'll ever have sex with."

Peter looked at him, silent but intent, and only a hair's breadth away. His eyes were still burning red.

"And also because you were right; she deserved having a good first time with someone she trusts," Stiles continued. "She's my friend, I'm planning on introducing her to you all when it's convenient. I think she'd be good for our group. Erica likes her already and she could be a friend to Lydia as well since she shares her unholy appreciation for fashion and make-up."

"Will you see her again?" Peter rumbled, fingers tightening around Stiles' hips.

Stiles licked his swollen lips, a surge of possessive pride rising inside of him at the sight of Peter avidly tracking the small movement. "That depends on how much you'd hate it."

"I shouldn't have told you that I lied," Peter said roughly.

"You absolutely should have," Stiles countered and stroked his thumbs over the tense muscles of Peter's neck. "We're already in a partnership. And I can't speak for you, but I consider myself in a, uh, a romantic relationship with you, too. I don't wanna see you suffer; it's not worth it to me."

Peter took a deep breath. "I don't deserve it … but I'll take it if you're offering."

"I do. I like Heather and maybe we could have made something of it in another life. But I like this life way more than any maybes and now that this …" he looked between them meaningfully, "isn't just a teenage fantasy, I don't even want anything else. I want you. Claws and all."

"I'm not fond of early spring weddings," Peter said after a beat. "The summer holidays would be more convenient for the majority of the pack. June might be too early, but we could make it work."

Stiles' hands got a little numb and his mouth dropped open. "Are you asking me to marry you next June?"

Peter bared his teeth in a smirk. "Of course not, sweetheart, what do you take me for. I fully intend to propose properly, at the right time. I'm merely making my preferences known, in case it becomes relevant in the future."

"You totally asked me in your slightly creepy roundabout way," Stiles accused. He pinched Peter's side. "What if I don't wanna be a teen groom?"

Peter snorted. "Then I should hope you'll tell me so before any actual planning takes place. Also, you'd be the bride in our configuration because there's no way in hell I'll allow myself to be carried over some threshold."

"But I will?" Stiles gasped, playing the offended.

Peter's smirk widened. "You'd enjoy it, too. You love fucking with people's societal expectations and I'd never suspend any pleasure of yours. Honestly, it's a gift that just keeps on giving and people do say that laughter is good for the soul."

"I don't think they meant laughing at dumb people," Stiles replied, grinning. "You adorable bastard. Fine, I'll be the bride. But I want a tuxedo wedding, to offset our crazy."

"Done," Peter agreed and his sharp smile was replaced by a look of wonder. "I adore you, sweetheart."

Stiles flushed and felt his whole body grow hot. In his mind, Lou whined longingly, yearning to be back in that delicious embrace. "Yeah, likewise, dude. I honestly wouldn't even consider this with anyone else. I still wish we could be together like everybody else."

"Don't tempt me," Peter rumbled, pressing his forehead against Stiles' again. He took a few deep breaths. "I need to be able to look your father in the eye, but even more importantly, I can't hurt you. Not if I want this to work, and I do."

"Thanks," Stiles murmured on a sigh. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to go lax in Peter's secure hold. "I reserve the right to demand make-outs occasionally to tide us over, though. A bloke can't be expected to shack up without even the slightest bit of enticement."

Chuckling, Peter kissed his forehead. "I think that can be negotiated. Although we should probably keep that part of our negotiations private for the time being."

"I'm a-okay with that," Stiles said. He perked up. "I'll have to research what exactly making out entails. Personally, I'm of the opinion that some semi-heavy petting is definitely included." He waggled his eyebrows at the tensing werewolf and grinned. "If you even think about taking it back I'll curse your tastebuds so your hipster coffee won't ever taste the same again."

"That's cruel and unusual punishment," Peter complained. He pressed a bruising kiss to Stiles' smiling lips. "I approve. Within reason."

"I'll have the essay done in a couple of days," Stiles hummed, his hooded eyes taking in Peter's dishevelled appearance. "I could give it to Derek for proofreading and record his reaction. It'll be hilarious."

Peter's rumbling laughter and the following searing kiss was all the permission Stiles needed.

oOo

It was amazing how settled Stiles felt in the following days despite all the running around he and his friends were forced to do. There had been another murder, this time the virgin half of a lesbian couple, and everyone was up in arms. During that time Peter also introduced Erica's parents to their daughter's new circumstances. While shocked initially because they were religious, the Reyes took it surprisingly well and threw their support behind their daughter like Stiles had seen them do from the first.

Danny, who felt like he'd somehow failed personally at protecting one of his acquaintances, proved his actual worth by hacking into the city's servers and pulling up the most current map of Beacon Hills when Stiles' father failed to gain access for them. After some discussion, the whole team then chose the optimal hiding places for the ward stones and decided on the best way to go about it.

"We've got a lot of stones to hide," Stiles said, indicating the seven times seven times seven ward stones they'd painted into the printout of the map. "Due to some new developments we won't need everyone's help with digging the holes, but we do need me to activate the master stone and set up security around the city."

"Well, I wouldn't have minded planting a couple of trees," Jackson's father said. He held his wife's hand tightly who looked like she still couldn't believe what she was seeing but was determined to be a part of it regardless. Stiles thought that it helped how unconditionally Erica's parents stood behind their child. "What can we do to help?"

"I'd like for the strongest of us to monitor the town's border while I'm doing my thing," Stiles admitted. "There is an alpha pack of four out there, plus a darach, plus yet another unidentified magic user of unknown affiliation."

"Let's not forget Deaton," Peter said. "In my eyes, he's just as suspect as the dark druid that already attacked this town thrice."

"Wouldn't that make Deaton a dark druid as well?" Jackson's mother asked hesitantly.

"I can't say for certain," Peter allowed, "but he did some very questionable things and supporting The Failure was actually the least of them."

Zia Whittemore shook her head. "It seems unbelievable that he'd try to do you harm. What for, if he's supposed to keep the balance?"

"We don't know," Peter said. "Yet. But I intend to find out eventually. So far, he's withheld aid to my family, whom he was sworn to support and protect as the emissary; stole rare plants from my family's, now Derek's, land; and tried to get Scott McCall out of a well-earned prison sentence. Who knows what else he's done that we simply don't know about."

"We'll find out after we've laid the wards," Stiles said into the somewhat stony silence. "Right now I'm more worried about those locust rocker dudes or the alphas getting into the city and hurting someone. I'll try to make it quick but we just can't be sure that we won't be disturbed, hence the border patrol. We could do with some human help since we're so few werewolves."

"I'll help with the patrol," Boyd offered.

"Jackson, you game?" Stiles asked. "Either you or the other you?"

Jackson pulled a face. "It's so weird when you ask me stuff for the other me. How would I know what he thinks?"

Stiles smiled crookedly. "You can assume that he's game for almost anything. That's why I'm asking you."

That brought Jackson up short. "Oh. I dunno. What'd you suggest?"

"I'd do it as you," Stiles replied honestly. "That way, you might get in contact with him. He'd still take over if it gets dangerous, but you'd have that chance at least. The other way round won't work because integration hinges on you, not him."

The whole group waited quietly for Jackson's decision. It spoke of his dedication to his therapy that he didn't get huffy and just looked at his parents for guidance.

"I think you could do it," Mr Whittemore encouraged him. "Stiles told us how strong the other you is. You likely won't come to any harm."

"But if he did, he'd heal quickly," Isaac said. "Plus, we've got Stiles' healing cards. They've healed Jackson before so he knows that they work."

"I wish it weren't necessary," Jackson's mother sighed, "but after what I've learned so far your help will be needed, Jackson."

"I don't wanna worry you, mom," Jackson murmured.

She smiled sadly. "It's alright. You're old enough to make your own decisions. And I trust them to keep you safe. Stiles' display was quite convincing."

Jackson looked to Lydia then, wordlessly asking for her opinion.

"I'll be managing communication with Erica and Danny," she said. "You could do good, watching out for Stiles' ward stones. And as Stiles said, it shouldn't take too long."

"Fine," Jackson said after another moment of contemplation. "I'll do it."

"Thanks, dude," Stiles said. "Now to the particulars; around the new moon would be best, because it's darkest then and werewolf powers aren't as strong. It probably doesn't make a difference in the scheme of things, but if I have to pit my magic against their strength, every advantage helps."

"That being said, the next new moon is in just five days, on the 30th," Peter went on. "We have plans for that Saturday, so we've decided to set up the wards a bit earlier, either on Thursday or Friday, whichever works best for everyone."

"What plans?" Jackson asked, suspicious.

"Allow me," Mr Reyes said and stood when Peter readily ceded the floor to him. "It is my pleasure to announce that our daughter Erica has decided to join the Hale pack by accepting the bite from Peter on the day of the new moon."

"What?" Stiles blurted. "Already?"

"Surprise!" Erica said, smiling widely. "Don't be angry; once my parents knew about everything they also asked whether the bite could help with my condition."

"All of my research came back positive," Peter explained, "therefore the family decided that there was no sense in waiting when the next new moon would be so conveniently situated. Doing this now will give Erica some time to learn control before school starts, and allow her to experience at least a small part of her youth like every other healthy teen."

"I really want it; you'll be there for it, won't you?" Erica asked Stiles pleadingly. "Everyone's invited."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Mrs Whittemore asked, looking a little pale. "Maybe you should wait until you're at least eighteen?"

"With all due respect, but we've talked about it as a family," Mr Reyes interrupted. "And as a family, we've decided to let Erica have this chance. As Peter said, most of her youth is already spent and we don't want her to miss any more of it."

"We even signed the contract already and will sign it again just before the bite to make sure that it really is what she wants," Mrs Reyes added. "It's all quite decided. If you don't want to attend, we understand, but please don't try to talk her out of it."

Mrs Whittemore swallowed as she sank back into her chair. "I apologize. It's just such a huge step. After Jackson was bitten against his will and nearly died as a result, I can't view it as a good thing."

"For us, it is," Mrs Reyes insisted. "We're aware of all the risks and ramifications and it'll still be better than this half-life our daughter was forced to lead so far."

"I'll receive the bite also," Boyd said into the somewhat tense and uncomfortable silence, drawing Mrs Whittemore's attention to himself. "Erica and I will join the pack together and we'll keep each other safe once we're back to school. We'll also watch out for Jackson."

"You know what this means," Stiles said ominously before Jackson's mother or her indignant son could open their mouths. He clapped his hands excitedly. "We've got a turning party to plan!"

End of chapter 74