Noah was slightly surprised when he got the phone call, not expecting to hear from this person for a few more months. Though he wasn't complaining in the slightest, he was just genuinely surprised. So when he answered and could only hear the pitiful sniffling and heartbroken murmurs of his beloved niece, he knew something was wrong. He quickly slipped into 'Sheriff-Mode' as Stiles likes to call it, and tried to soothe the clearly distraught girl.
"Nusha, what's wrong?" obviously he knew that she wouldn't be able to answer him because as soon as he asked, he could hear a choked sob from the other line. He decided that calming her down would be more suitable if he wanted the girl to give him answers.
So he channelled his inner-Claudia because he knew his son must have gotten his sweet side from his mother. He took a deep breath and spoke in a tone that only a parent had when comforting their child.
"Nusha, kochanie," he started slowly, deepening his breath, "listen to my voice okay, I want you to take some nice deep breaths for me okay?" He wasn't sure if this was the right way to comfort a distressed teenager, but he was trying his best alright?
He heard her take a shaky breath but it was cut off by her choking out a sob before she started to hyperventilate slightly. Small whimpers echoed through the phone as the girl tried to get her breathing under control. Noah kept up his soothing tone and encouraged her to take deep breaths with him throughout this.
After a few more minutes of coaxing, he finally managed to get his niece to calm down enough to tell him what was going on. Though what he heard her say made his heartbreak.
"It's all my fault," came the teary voice of Nusha Hartrun, cousin of Stiles and darling niece of the Sheriff of Beacon Hills.
Nusha was almost as energetic as his son, but she knew when to calm down and when to not stick her nose into things that doesn't concern her, something he wished Stiles could learn from her. But after this long, there was nothing he could really do from keeping his son from snooping around, especially now that he was aware of the more supernatural background of their not-so-anymore quiet town.
He wondered if Stiles had told her about everything that's been happening around here. He wouldn't be surprised if the boy did. He could never keep anything from Nusha, she always found out. If it was from Stiles or from snooping around (much more subtly than Stiles could ever dream of), she always found out.
"What was your fault sweetheart?" he asked gently, silently preparing himself for whatever she would throw at him. He heard her sniffle again and take a deep breath. "I told them I—," her voice was cut off by a car honking and someone yelling. This confused the Sheriff, he thought the girl was at home.
Before he could ask her where she was, she started talking again. "I told them I was dating this girl I met a while ago, and-and they just lost it," he could hear her starting to cry again, but she kept on talking like she just couldn't stop. "They started screaming at me, saying what I'm doing was wrong and they called me these horrible things and," she stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath, "and they kicked me out,"
Noah felt his heart sink to his stomach, making him nauseous. He couldn't believe her parents could do such a thing. They were supposed to support her, love her, encourage her. But no, they kicked her out like, like she wasn't their own flesh and blood. Noah could feel his disgust morph into anger, into white-hot rage.
"Uncle Ark? Are you going to say something? Say something please!" Nusha's voice was filled with desperation, trying to get her uncle to say something.
Noah knew he needed to get a grip on his anger if he wanted to keep a level head and not just outright curse her parents for being so heartless. "I'm here sweetheart, I just needed to take a little breather s'all," he reassured her, letting out a deep breath to make his point. Nusha was quiet for a moment, breathing shakily and sniffling every few seconds. Oh and how the Sheriff wished he was there with her to wipe those tears away and give her the best Stilinski-hug that was ever given.
"You're not mad are you?"
Her voice held so much emotion, Noah wasn't even sure how she could put that many feelings into one measly sentence. He felt his heart break further at her words, he couldn't believe that she thought he would be mad at her.
"No no nonono," he rushed out, desperate to reassure the girl. "I'm not mad at you, kochanie. I could never be mad at you. I'm mad at your parents because I mean, who would do that to their only kid? That's just outright cruelty." He spat out his words, not caring if someone were to overhear him, he wanted people to know that he won't stand such treatment towards a child. The other reason for him not caring is because he was home, finally taking a day off so that Stiles wouldn't have to worry about him overworking with all the night shifts he's been taking, and because Stiles wasn't home, he was over at the Pack House as the kids like to call it.
Derek had finally come around and rebuilt it, which meant he wasn't living in that rundown loft. The Pack was there almost every day after school, going about their 'Pack bonding' as Stiles called it, and insisted that it was crucial for them, though it was just an excuse for them to hang out and bother Derek.
In his rush to reassure the girl, he didn't hear the front door open and Stiles calling out to him saying something about his Jeep breaking down and having to walk home. He didn't hear Stiles coming into the living room, asking his father what was wrong, didn't see his son's face drain of colour as he said those words.
He felt a hand rest on his shoulder, turning him to look at his son, brows pinched in worry and the corner of his lips pulled in a frown. Noah sighed and shook his head as if to say they'll talk about it later.
"Uncle Ark?" Nusha called out to him.
"Yes, droga?" he answered. His voice had returned to its gentle tone, face softening as he imagined his niece looking up at him with her doe eyes. It always made his heart melt when he saw it or even thought about it.
"Is it okay if I stay with you and Mieczy?" her voice was small, expecting her uncle to turn her away and reject her just like her parents.
"Of course you can kocham, just remember there's always a place for you here in Beacon Hills."
"Thanks, Uncle, you're the best," Noah could practically hear her smile, it was nice. He had half the mind to ask his niece how she was coming to Beacon Hills. She had replied saying she was taking the bus, and that she was on her way. The Sheriff smiled and told her to stay safe and to not cause too much trouble. The girl giggled lightly and said that she couldn't make any promises, it was her way of giving the old worrywart of an uncle reassurance of her good behaviour.
"Love you, Uncle Ark," her voice was soft as he heard the shuddering of the bus as it started moving. He smiled to himself, feeling at ease knowing his niece was on her way. He could hear Stiles stumbling upstairs as he prepared the guest room for Nusha, the boy didn't know the reason for her abrupt visit, but that didn't deter his excitement of finally seeing his cousin after three years.
He sighed contently, "Love you too, kochanie," he said, waiting for the girl to hang up before he brought his phone down.
Noah turned to look at his son, he could tell by the look on his face that he was in for a long night. So he sat down on his 'Dad chair' as Stiles called it and told his son,
"Alright, start talking,"
And Stiles didn't disappoint.