Stiles barely withheld a groan when he heard the window slide open. The wolves had left him alone the past week and he was more than happy about that. Had the serum been as painful the first time around? He really couldn't remember. The week since he got back had been full of pain but also one of the sweetest he had in a while. They had done it… He and Tony actually managed to go back in time to their younger bodies and from what he had seen they managed to hit the right time as well.

"Stiles," Derek spoke up, narrowing his eyes on the teenager in bed. The room smelt of sweat and pain "Scott said he hasn't seen you in a week."

"Well, maybe because I'm sick," Stiles pointed out, waving his hand around. He bit his lip and immediately lowered his arm back to the bed. His muscles were still aching but he was glad that he was wearing a sweatshirt. At least his new muscle mass wasn't showing that way. It would probably be a little hard to explain how he managed to buff up as much as he did in a week.

Not that many people cared. Hell, his father hadn't even realised that Stiles hadn't been in school for the past week and Scott had texted him once. That was about all the contact he had to the outside world since he got back. Had it always been as bad as this? He could barely remember more than the rough events and the last few months he spent with the pack. HYDRA had been very thorough in wiping most of his childhood from his mind. They had tried to make him a better version of the Winter Soldier. Bucky needed wiping more than him because compared to Stiles, he had been fighting them at first. Stiles, on the other hand, had been just tired of everything.

Stiles looked over at Derek "It's not like Scott showed up. Why are you here, Derek?"

"Can't I just…"

"You don't like me," Stiles cut him off "You made that point clear more than once. Aren't you a big, strong Alpha now? Shouldn't you go around building your pack now?"

Derek looked at him for a moment before he crossed his arm "How much do you actually know?"

Stiles raised his eyebrow at Derek before he gritted his teeth "Derek, I really don't feel up to humouring you right now. Please, leave."

"Stiles," Derek's voice held a hint of warning as he growled out the teenager's name.

"I'm not lying, Derek," Stiles sighed tiredly "I'm really not up to dealing with you at the moment."

Derek was quiet for a moment, just looking at Stiles. There was something different about him, something dangerous. Also, Stiles' scent had changed somehow. He wasn't sure exactly what had changed since Stiles had always smelt liked chemicals and drugs but now it was different… Subtler and yet more obvious "What are you hiding?"

"What… I'm not the one keeping secrets," Stiles exclaimed, shooting up in his bed. He let out a groan, almost falling backwards at the ache in his stomach muscles. Note to self, moving was a bad idea still. It felt like he ran a marathon – with all the muscles in his entire body. Even his jaw was achy "You want to know what I'm hiding? Then you tell me all your secrets." When Derek looked away, Stiles let out a noise "See? Before you come here and demand answers, better look in the mirror. Now, leave."

Derek clenched his hands before he turned around, jumping out of the window.


"Hello?"

"Are you feeling as fucked as I do?"

Stiles relaxed when he recognised the voice "Tony…"

"Hey, kiddo. How are you doing?" Tony asked, lying back on the sofa in his workshop.

"You have no idea," Stiles laughed, burying his head in his pillow "There's nothing that didn't hurt. At least it's getting better now."

Tony's lips twitched at the muffled voice "How have you been holding up? Anyone asking questions?"

Stiles sobered up, rubbing at his eyes. He was feeling tired all of a sudden "I don't really know. My dad hasn't noticed that I've been missing school. Scott texted once and then sent Derek here."

"I'm coming as soon as I can," Tony vowed seriously "I'm not leaving you there for longer than you have to be. I promise. I just need to wait out Vanko."

"Don't worry about me," Stiles told him "I'll be fine. Vanko is more important. Plus, I didn't forget about the Palladium, Tony."

Tony hissed through his teeth "I'm actually surprised that it isn't that bad. Extremis sort of counteracted the worst of it but I still need to make a new arc reactor. But for that, I'd need to make some Starkanium."

"Or you apologise for what Howard did, talk to the royal family of Wakanda and ask them for some Vibranium in exchange for your help with reinstating them in the world," Stiles pointed out. It felt good talking to Tony. Especially since he had been pretty much alone for a week now with no one but his thoughts to occupy him. Well, that and movies but he had learned the hard way that some movies he had enjoyed back in the day, he couldn't watch anymore "You could tell them why you need it or you could not. It's really up to you but I think they would help. From what I heard about King T'Chaka he seems to be an awesome person and a fair king."

Tony made a noise in the back of his throat "And how would I explain how I know about their super-secret country?"

Stiles laughed lightly "You're Tony Stark. Just do what you do best. Make shit up."

"What would I do without you, kid?"

"Probably forgive Cap," Stiles spat out, shivering in disgust "And that Scarlet Bitch."

Tony groaned "I don't even want to think about that. What the hell am I supposed to do when the pirate approaches me this time? He already did before we got back."

"Don't think about it yet," Stiles murmured "Just focus on Vanko for now. We can deal with the rest when the time comes. There's a lot of plans to make."

"That's true…" Tony sighed before straightening up when he heard heels clicking behind him "Shit. Pepper is coming. I have to go. I'll call you soon, alright? Stay safe. And don't get too annoyed with people around you. And text JARVIS. He wants to meet you."

Stiles rolled his eyes fondly "Sure. Don't slip up with Pepper, would you?"

"Hey, you're the one with…"

"You told James that he has a sexy ass after telling me you'd rather die than to admit anything to him," Stiles pointed out "And then there was the time…"

Tony spoke up, his voice abnormally loud through the phone "I'm hanging up on you. Don't blow anything up."

"Pot calling kettle black," Stiles grumbled, lowering the phone when the dial tone sounded.


The Sheriff walked through the door, wrinkling his nose at the mess that was the kitchen. He hadn't even realised that Stiles hadn't cleaned up for the past couple of days and he hadn't really bothered to clean either. It wasn't something that he usually had to do.

"Stiles?" he called up the stairs. He hadn't seen his son in almost two weeks and he couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed before "Stiles!"

Stiles appeared at the top of the stairs, carefully moving to allow his body to get used to his new muscles "Dad?" he questioned quietly, not really sure what to say to the man.

"What the hell…" the Sheriff blinked up at his son "When did you start working out?"

"Months ago," Stiles told him easily.

The Sheriff raised his eyebrows "Right," he shook his head in disbelief. He was sure he would have heard it if Stiles had changed that much. His son never stopped talking about things "I got a call from your school today. You called in sick a week ago."

"That's because I was sick," Stiles pointed out.

"I'm not going to argue with you, Stiles," the Sheriff shook his head in annoyance "I thought I told you that I didn't want to hear anything from school this year."

Stiles ran a hand through his hair "Look, I really wasn't feeling well. I haven't seen you in over a week, dad. And you always tell me not to bother you at work."

The Sheriff narrowed his eyes "You're going back to school tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," Stiles sighed, turning around to head back up the stairs. Just getting up for this had tired him out. He would have probably had more energy, had he managed to eat right but how the hell was he supposed to manage to eat enough for his metabolism without his dad finding out?