Chapter Text

Chapter 6

Not knowing if he'd get another chance to change things was like torture to Stiles. He kept calling to Nortia, but she wasn't responding. The only reason he could think of, was that he was stuck in this time line for good.

"Damn it!" Stiles swore, rattling his chains. The Argent family looked at him in surprise. "Never get your wish granted." Stiles told them heatedly. "It won't end well."

"Even an amateur knows that." Victoria scowled.

"Honey." Chris said in warning. "He's a kid who screwed up. Don't be so tough on him. He learnt his lesson, and he won't do it again. Right, Stiles?" The last bit was addressed to him in a glare. Stiles looked away.

"At least you're alive, and human, in this time line, Victoria." He grumbled. It was almost worth it to see her face, but he still felt bad for saying it.

OJust before he could say anything, the door opened and Scott came down the stairs again. Everyone tensed, until they saw that there was no sign of the wolf in Scott's eyes what-so-ever. They were a pure, beautiful brown. Stiles, not knowing what that meant, stayed tense. Chris and Victoria remained guarded, but Allison looked relieved.

"Okay…" He drew out, gaining everyone's attention. "Obviously I'm missing something here." Stiles stated, flicking his hands up slightly.

"Stiles!" Scott exclaimed as he rushed forwards and enveloped him in a hug.

"Wha-?" Stiles was confused. "Okay, now I am definitely missing something!"

"I thought you were dead!" Scott whimpered into Stiles' shoulder. "I thought I killed you!" Stiles could feel the wetness of tears soaking through his clothes.

"Uhh…" Stiles uttered, not knowing what to say. "What's going on? Guys?" Stiles looked to the Argents'.

"If his eyes are blue, he's dangerous. If they're brown, he's back to normal." Allison told him.

"So he is being voodoo mind-controlled by Peter!?" Stiles shouted in realisation.

"You could say that." Chris muttered while Victoria rolled her eyes at the lot of them.

"Dude." Stiles said. "That's messed up." Scott was still hugging Stiles and didn't seem to have any plans of letting him go. "You know, you could let me go, right? And the Argent's too..?" Stiles suggested.

Scott sniffed as he pulled back. "Yeah, okay, man." Turning, he quickly scurried back to the stairs, disappearing under them and then coming back with keys in hand.

"Yeah, buddy!" Stiles cheered with a smile as Scott grinned back, beginning to unlock the chains around his wrists.

There was a creak from the stairs before Scott was tackled to the floor with a roar that rattled the room.

"Oh my God!" Allison shrieked in surprise, Chris and Victoria swearing theirs.

Stiles watched in horror as Malia lifted her head, both hands shackled around Scott's neck. "Dad's gone, but I'm not!" She growled.

Stiles spotted the keys on floor by his feet, obviously dropped in the struggle. Keeping an eye on the fight as Scott freed his throat, Stiles used his foot to drag the keys back towards himself. The growling and snarling mess that was the Beta fight covering the clinking and scraping sounds nicely. Knowing he wouldn't be able to reach the keys if he bent down, Stiles carefully pushed them up onto his other shoe and shakily lifted his leg. It was close, but Stiles managed to lift them high enough to reach and freed himself. Smiling at his success, he silently rushed to Allison, unlocked one arm and handed her the keys to do the other before looking around the room for a weapon.

"Sorry about this, Malia." Stiles said, lifting a tin bucket of left over paint and smashing it down as hard as he could on her head. The thwack of contact was sickening and she grunted before collapsing down on top of Scott.

"Thanks man." Scott panted, eyes rolling from the exhaustion.

"We need to leave." Chris said urgently, now free from all restraints.

"Right." Stiles nodded, grabbing Scott by the hand and pulling him up. "Let's go."

As Stiles turned to leave, not noticing Chris opening his mouth, everything faded out again.

"Seriously?" Stiles sighed as his room came back into focus.

"How was it?" Nortia asked from his bed.

"Worse." Stiles told her flatly.

"So something else needs to change then." She said, standing up. "I'm giving you hypothetical gifts, so you can re-try as many times as you like before choosing a final outcome." She told him. "What do you want to try changing now?"

Stiles sighed, looking down in thought. "The fire." He told her. "I wanna go to just before the fire, and stop it." He finished.

"Okay." She allowed. "However, Paige won't be alive here. Your stuff will still be there though. They'll have appeared with a note from me asking the Hales to hold onto them until your arrival and to look after you when you do."

Stiles nodded his understanding as his room once more faded away. Unlike before, Stiles' surroundings didn't instantly begin to materialize back into focus. The world remained a faded dark grey existence. Stiles turned slowly as a breeze caused the hair on his next to stand on end. He saw a door behind him, and felt his eyes widen in fear as his heart began to race. As he was about to back away, Nortia's voice floated gently around him. It's okay. You're safe. Go through. Still Stiles hesitated, until he felt a warmth embrace him, gently pushing him forwards.

Slowly stepping through the door, Stiles found himself inside the boys changing room. It was dark, both from the late hour and from the powered down lights, but he could hear pained painting and the whirl of the fans as shower water splattered down onto the tiles. Carefully walking through the room until he reached the sectioned off shower area, he noticed a chant.

"Alpha, Beta, Omega." A young man's voice echoed with strain. "Alpha, Beta Omega!" He continued to pant, growing louder and more aggressive. "Why isn't it working!?" He shouted, upset.

Stepping into the entrance to the showers, Stiles saw a young Derek. Older the boy Stiles had left sleeping, but still many years younger than the one he was used to. Derek continued to panic and struggle with his control, not even noticing Stiles. Even knowing it was a dangerous risk, Stiles silently walked up behind Derek, paused, and then wrapped his arms around him securely causing him to jump. "Shh…" Stiles hushed him, beginning to rock slightly. "Take a deep breath in, come on." He coached, pulling Derek's head back so it was resting on his shoulder. Blue eyes glowed at him in confusion. "Deep breath, Derek." Stiles said firmly, waiting for Derek to do as told. "Good. Now hold it." Stiles pressed a hand to Derek's neck, monitoring his fluttering heart. "And out." Derek breathed out. "And again. Keep doing that. If you can't, breathe with me, okay?" Stiles ordered gently. Evening out his own breathes into a slow and calming rhythm with Derek copying him.

"Who are you?" Derek questioned, looking up at him curiously, no sign of the wolf left.

"I'm Stiles, and you're Derek Hale." Stiles said, smiling back before running a hand through Derek's hair, who closed his eyes and leant into it, before he pushed Derek forwards and stood up. "Here." He said, holding a hand out to Derek, who took it and pulled himself up.

"Why aren't scared?" Derek demanded. "Or at least freaking out."

"Dude," Stiles frowned. "It's so not cool to freak out when someone's having a panic attack of their own. That'll just make everything a lot worse."

"Don't cool me dude." Derek glared. Stiles smiled. "And I didn't mean that. I meant about, you know," Derek gestured at himself, kitted out in his basketball uniform and wet from his impromptu shower.

"Okay, I know you're an attractive young man," Stiles started. "But that is just way too conceited of you." Stiles stated, folding his arms and raising his eyebrows with a click of his tongue.

Derek blushed. "That's not what I meant either." He pouted. His eyes flicked down to the floor, before flying back to Stiles' face, wide in astonishment. "Are you him?" Derek asked in awe.

"Who?" Stiles scrunched his face in confusion.

"The boy from the future that's trying to fix something that goes wrong!" Derek exclaimed. "Mum got a letter a few months back, along with someone's belongings saying that someone who knew me in the future wanted to fix something in the past to make me happier! You smell kinda the same, so it thought it was you!"

Stiles' arms fell to his side as he watched Derek incredulously, mouth slightly agape. "S-seriously!?" He stuttered. "You just took that at face value? No questioning, or disbelief, at least a bit of suspicion!?" Stiles floundered, arms waving.

"Come on." Derek raised a brow. "Most of my family are werewolves. Of course we believe in Gods and Goddesses." He rolled his eyes. Stiles stared for a bit longer. "So, are you?" Derek asked once more.

"Yeah." Stiles uttered, still shocked. "Can't you be little bit more suspicious of people?" He groaned, throwing his head back.

Derek's face lit up in a bright smile. "That'd be mean. Innocent until proven guilty." He said cheerfully.

Stiles sighed, rubbing a hand over his eyes. "Whatever, let's just go back to yours. I'm tired."

"Right!" Derek nodded, grabbed Stiles arm and tugging him along.

Like old times. Stile thought with an eye-roll. But gentler.

When they got back to the Hale house, Derek took a great amount of pleasure in introducing Stiles as he time traveling friend from the future. Laura rolled her eyes at him, but went along with it indulgently whilst Cora waxed poetic about how cool that was and demanded to know where her time traveling friend from the future was. Stiles replied that he was a family friend, that just so happened to meet Derek first. Cora was satisfied with it. Peter used his usual brand of sarcasm to greet him, but seemed genuine enough in his happiness at his arrival, which Stiles found unnerving before realising that there was no confrontation in this meeting, so he hadn't developed a dislike for Stiles. Yet.

Stiles did notice that compared to his last stay with the Hale family, they were more somber, which Stiles figures was a result of the Paige Incident. Stiles felt a flash of guilt race through him that saving her hadn't helped the time line any.

Having finished the mandatory bragging and greetings, Derek and Stiles made their way to Talia's office at Laura's behest. Knocking on the door and entering was no less intimidating as the last time he had been here. Maybe this time he might actually be able to give them all some warnings before he was ripped away again.

"Welcome, Stiles." Talia greeted as the door closed behind him and Derek. "Have a seat. Both of you." She smiled, gesturing to the two chairs sitting opposite her, in front of the desk.