Chapter Four: Walk A Little Straighter

Stiles woke up to a sunny morning, and he groaned. Scott was still passed out next to him, his thumb in his mouth. Sometimes he did that when he was sleeping, and Stiles thought it was adorable. He reached out and stroked Scott's cheek, glad that Scott was sleeping soundly. Stiles hadn't been able to sleep much lately himself, it was worry about Rafe, who was out on bail. Scott hadn't said much about it, and Stiles didn't know what he was thinking. That was new for him, he usually could read his husband like a book. Stiles yawned, and stretched, getting out of bed, moving carefully so he wouldn't wake up Scott.

It was about a week after Rafe had been arrested, and Stiles was really starting to worry about Scott. He did all the time anyway, but he was especially worried right now. Stiles cast his glance back at Scott, who really did look adorable, thumb in his mouth and sleeping like a baby. Stiles was at least glad that he was getting some sleep. He didn't know what to do, to get Scott to talk. He knew that he couldn't pressure him, and he didn't want to. But he knew that Scott had to talk at some point, if he was going to get through this. Stiles didn't know that he liked Scott keeping it all in. He watched as Scott rolled over, the blanket moving with him and giving Stiles a good look at his impressive package, and it was all he could do to not go over and wrap his mouth around it.

He heard the doorbell, and wondered how late in the morning it was. Stiles reached for some sweatpants, pulling them on, and then ran for the stairs. Melissa had called, she was still at the hospital. Stiles knew that there had been some sort of car accident, and she'd had to stay on longer than her shift. Stiles opened the door, and found Allison Argent. "Hey, Allison." Stiles said, and stepped back so she could come in. He wondered if she was searching for some advice on how to deal with her girlfriend, Lydia Martin. They'd only been together for a couple of years, not long after Allison had moved to town, they'd hooked up.

"What's up?" Stiles asked, she looked a bit worried. He wasn't sure he liked that.

Allison was here to talk to Scott, actually. But she supposed Stiles would work, too. Allison looked at him, and then said, "I need you to tell Scott something for me." She had just caught Melissa kissing her dad at the hospital. Allison wanted to know if Scott knew about this. She wasn't sure she was okay with it. It's not like she didn't mind if Scott ended up her stepbrother, but her mom had been only been gone a year. She wasn't sure she was okay with her dad moving on like that. "I know that he's got a lot going on, but I still think he'd want to know what I have to say."

She was quiet for a moment, and then she said, "I caught my dad kissing Melissa." She watched as the news hit Stiles, that was news to him. Allison was at least glad that he hadn't known, because if he had and hadn't told her she'd have been upset. Allison folded her arms. "Thankfully they didn't see me, but I thought Scott would want to know that they're… involved." Allison wasn't sure she could say that "dating" word, because she just didn't know if it was that. It could just be they were fooling around. She didn't like that any better, but she would at least prefer them to actually have a relationship rather than just a friends with benefits thing.

That was news to him. Stiles ran his hand through his sleep mussed hair. First of all, he'd not expected Allison to stick around for the summer, she was supposedly going to UCLA with Lydia, too. It was a bit funny to him that the four of them had ended up at UCLA. Kira was going to some school back East, and Stiles had to admit, he was going to miss her. Malia hadn't really told anyone what her plans were, and Stiles was starting to think she hadn't gotten into college. Stiles looked at her, and her expression didn't change.

"Okay, so you're serious." Stiles said, and she nodded. "Okay…. That's going to freak Scott the hell out." He said, and started to pace a bit. "He's not sure he wants your dad involved with Melissa." Stiles hastened to tell her why when she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "He it's not that he doesn't like Chris, he just is super protective of Melissa, and he knows that Chris is still working through your mom's death. Scott is just worried his mom's going to get hurt, even though he knows that Chris wouldn't do it on purpose."

"It's nothing against Chris, I swear."

Allison held up her hand. "It's okay, I get it. I'm not sure I like this, either. It's not that I don't like Melissa. I just think this is really ill advised right now. My dad's still not dealing with a full deck since Mom, and I know that with all of this stuff with Rafe, Melissa's not really in a relationship mode." She looked up past Stiles as she saw Scott walking down the stairs in his underwear. "Scott… I came to talk to you." She said, as Scott reached the bottom of the stairs and slid his arms around his husband's waist and kissed his neck. She couldn't help but smile, when you looked at them, you were truly looking into the face of love.

When he lifted his head, she said, "My dad's dating your mom." She watched as his eyebrows rose to his hairline, but he didn't let go of Stiles. "Or rather, they're having some kind of relationship, I saw them kissing." She watched as he digested this. "I don't know that I like it. I don't want your mom to get hurt. Dad's… he's not exactly making smart decisions right now. And your mom has a lot on her plate. I don't want to see this blow up in anyone's face." She was glad that Scott seemed to be in agreement.

Scott, his hands playing with the waistline of Stiles' sweats, he wasn't able to stop himself, Allison or no Allison, said, "I don't want that either. I mean…. I don't know how long it's been going on, but I had a suspicion before the wedding." Scott was enjoying Stiles' shivering against him, he was liking Scott's fingers on him. Although he also could tell that Stiles was about five seconds away from telling him to cut it out. Scott kept his eyes on Allison's as he spoke. "I don't know what we can do about it though. If we confront them, they're either A, going to deny it, or B, tell us it's none of our business."

"And we don't know how serious it is just yet. Maybe they're just…. Sleeping together." Scott wasn't happy about that idea, he grimaced as he said the words. "I agree that that's not any better, but if that's all they're doing, it couldn't be too serious. Ma…. she's not stupid. She wouldn't be leaping into this with both eyes closed. And you're right, there's a lot of stuff going on." His voice wobbled a bit when he said that, and Stiles turned in his arms to kiss his cheek. Scott was quiet as he held Stiles close, drawing strength from him, and then he was able to keep going. "I don't think we need to panic yet, but we definitely should be wary."

"When do you and Lyds leave for UCLA?"

A pause, and she answered him. Allison didn't want to ask him about Rafe, the whole town knew within the last week what had happened, but she didn't want to make him talk about it. She knew that he wasn't going to want to, and anyway, that was Stiles' job. Allison couldn't even imagine how he must feel, she hadn't ever had anything like that even remotely happen to her. And she had a father who actually loved her, and had always protected her. Allison's mother hadn't exactly been such a good mom, but she had made peace with that. Allison said, "We actually leave in a couple weeks. Lydia didn't want to spend the whole summer here. Plus, our apartment is just waiting for us." Allison and Lydia had decided not to stay in the dorms, they'd discussed it, but they thought they'd be fine with living together. They weren't at the stage that Scott and Stiles were at, but Allison knew that they would survive living together.

"I don't want you to think we're abandoning you though, Scott." She added. "I know that you're going through a lot, and I can't even imagine what that must be like. You know that you can ask anything of me and Lydia, though." Allison had had a small crush on him when she'd first got to town, but he'd been with Stiles already, and she had quickly learned that for him, there was no one else. Allison hadn't tried to get him after that, she hadn't been able to deny that Scott and Stiles truly loved each other, and she hadn't been able to justify it to herself to keep trying. She hadn't ever seen a more solid couple in her life, even with the adults she knew. When they'd announced they'd planned to get married after graduation, she'd not been a bit surprised. No one had, really. It had just been something that they'd all accepted.

Scott was quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts. He knew that Allison meant well. He really did. His hands played with the waistline of his husband's bottoms, and he kept his gaze away from Allison, he was doing all he could not to start crying. He buried his head in Stiles' neck, and took a deep, shuddery breath. He could hear Stiles telling Allison that maybe she should go for now, but she was welcome to come back later for lunch or whatever. He kept his face in Stiles' neck, and he could hear the door opening and closing, it sounded like a million miles away, though. "When…. When is it going to stop being so hard when someone… when someone asks me how I am?"

A pause, and then he said, his voice shaking, "I can't…. I know she's not meaning to be causing pain… she's just trying to be there for me. That doesn't mean that it's okay to hear it. It doesn't mean that I can… that I can just talk about it." Scott's voice was muffled, and he moved with Stiles as he turned them around, sliding his arms around Scott's waist. He lifted his head when Stiles started stroking the small of his back.

"It's going to be okay, Scotty. One day, this is going to hurt so much less. I promise. You will get through this. It's going to hurt less every day. The hurt will never fully go away, but it will become more manageable." Stiles told him, his fingers tracing circles on the small of Scott's back. He liked that it was starting to make Scott dizzy with desire, his husband's eyes had slipped closed. Stiles leaned out and kissed him, softly. Scott kissed back, and Stiles pulled back, both of them opening their eyes. Stiles said, "I promise, we'll get through this. You can do this. I know you can. It feels like you can't right now, but I also promise you that you did the right thing. You may not feel like it right now, but it was the right thing."

It was hard to watch his husband go through this. Stiles met those chocolate brown eyes, and he saw the sorrow in them. He saw the fear. Scott was able to hide his emotions from a lot of people, but he'd never been able to hide them from Stiles. Stiles kissed him again, softly, tugging him closer. "It's going to be okay. I know you don't believe that right now, you can't even see okay in the rearview mirror. But it will be okay one day. In the meantime, you have me, and you know I'm not going anywhere." Stiles hated that look of fear he could see in Scott's eyes. It was always there. Maybe it was less fear at certain times, but it was always there. Stiles hated that Rafe had put that fear there. Stiles knew that Scott was even more worried because Rafe was out on bail. Stiles honestly didn't even know how that had happened. It shouldn't have, honestly. Especially with Scott being the sheriff's son in law.

It was all true, Scott knew that. But he was having a hard time telling himself that right now. "You didn't wake me up." Scott said, his eyes pleading with Stiles to move with him when he changed the subject. "I had to wake up to an empty bed." Scott also couldn't talk about Melissa and Argent right now. He didn't like it, and he knew that he couldn't even let himself go there right now. He had too much on his mind. Scott kept his eyes on Stiles', and he could tell that his husband was struggling with his emotions internally. Scott didn't have to say the please out loud.

Finally, Stiles said, "I'm sorry, bae. I didn't want to wake you because I wasn't sure when you got to sleep." Scott let out a soft sigh of relief, and buried his head in Stiles' neck. He could hear Stiles talking about breakfast, even though it was going on eleven o'clock, but Scott could hardly focus on the words. Scott was just glad to be in Stiles' arms. His arms were wrapped around Stiles' neck, and he was taking deep sniffs of his husband's neck. Scott didn't know what he even wanted to eat, but in the end it didn't really matter, because he was just going to be glad that he was in Stiles' company.

Stiles knew Scott wasn't really listening to him. He didn't mind. He wanted to be there for Scott, however he could be, and he knew that him just standing there talking was doing the trick, even if Scott couldn't tell him what Stiles was actually saying. He kissed the top of Scott's head. "Come on, bae, let's go eat. You're getting too skinny for my tastes." Scott sighed and shoved at him lightly, letting him know that Stiles was being too overprotective, but Stiles wasn't going to stop, whether Scott was okay with him worrying or not. Stiles looked into those brown eyes as his husband lifted his head, and Stiles could see the pain there, along with the fear.

He didn't like it, but he knew that Scott needed to go through this. If he ever wanted to have at least a bit of a handle on things, he had to go through this. Stiles lifted his hand, and brushed some stray tears off Scott's face, but he didn't mention them. He knew that Scott needed at least some sense of normalcy right now. Although, Stiles wasn't sure that they had ever known what normal was. Stiles reached down and laced his fingers through Scott's tightly. Their eyes stayed on the other's, although neither of them said anything. Stiles waited for Scott to speak, and then his husband leaned into him, and letting go of his hand, Stiles wrapped his arm around Scott's waist and started them towards the kitchen.

Later that afternoon, Stiles was buried in a book, and Scott was asleep on the couch, still just in his underwear, but with the AC on, Stiles had worried he'd get a little chilly, so a blanket was wrapped around Scott's waist. His head was in Stiles' lap, and Stiles was leaning the book on the arm on the couch. It was inconvenient, but he didn't want to disturb Scott. Honestly, Scott sleeping so much was starting to worry him. It had made sense at first, Scott was dealing with a lot. But once they'd started the whole process of charging Rafe, Scott had started sleeping through the night more often. Stiles was starting to wonder if they should go and see a doctor. It was worrying him more than he wanted to admit.

When the door opened, he said, "Hey Ma." Without even looking up from the book he was reading. "How was work?" He asked, as she came into the living room, watching them with her brown eyes curiously. Stiles looked up then, and said, "He's been asleep for a couple of hours, honestly, it's starting to make me worry." Stiles didn't want to say what he thought it was out loud, he'd lost his mother to something similiar, and he just couldn't let himself go there. It was too scary to even contemplate. That's when he noticed the look on his mother in law's face. "Ma? What's wrong?" He asked, not liking that look on her face. It was her scared look. He'd seen it often enough to know, especially lately, with all of this stuff with Rafe going on.

Melissa was quiet for a long moment before she replied, it was still sinking in for her. "Scott… he… he gave blood a few days ago. He usually does it every few months. He…. I ran some tests on it, they always make us, so we can know if there's anything wrong with it before we… before we use it." She was shaking, and she looked at Stiles, who had slipped out from under Scott and put his book down, and he was shaking too. Melissa had had time all day to sit with this news, and it still wasn't getting any better. Scott didn't deserve this. "He…. he's got…." She couldn't talk, her eyes were full of tears, and she was having trouble getting the words out.

"He's got cancer, Stiles." She finally managed to say, and she hated to see the news hit Stiles, his face crumpled immediately, and she reached out to take his hand, and squeezing it for strength, she said, her voice still shaking, "It's stage three, Stiles. It's… it's not good." Melissa wanted to scream at God until she was hoarse. It wasn't fair. First Scott had ended up with one of the worst fathers in the world, and now this. "They…. They need to do more tests before they can tell what they want to do."

It was, she had to be joking. Stiles could feel his knees going weak, and he was glad when she helped him to sit down in the armchair near the couch. Stiles' voice was barely above a whisper as he said, "I knew it….. I knew something was wrong." Stiles was barely keeping the tears at bay, his hands went to his hair, and then he buried his head in them, and he was trying to wrap his brain around this. It wasn't fair. Scott didn't deserve any of this. Rafe did, and he was still walking around there. He was going to get convicted, Stiles was sure, but he wasn't in immediate danger. Stiles let himself cry, he felt his mother in law's arm go around his shoulders.

"He's…. It's not fair." Stiles' voice was shaking, and he lifted his head then, looking over at Scott, who was still sleeping away, and Stiles knew that the reason he'd been looking so thin lately was because he was sick. Stiles had been wondering, even though he knew that Scott was dealing with a lot, his appetite hadn't changed. Stiles kept his gaze on him. "It's…. What kind is it?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He barely heard Melissa as she told him they weren't sure until they ran more tests.

As he stared at his husband, he could remember the first song they'd danced to. It had been in Scott's bedroom, and it had been You and Me, by Lifehouse. Scott loved that song. Stiles wiped his eyes. Stiles couldn't be losing him. Their lives were just starting. How was he going to make it through anything without Scott? Stiles found himself humming the song now, his gaze never moving from Scott. "You said it's stage three…. That's bad, isn't it?" Stiles asked, but he knew the answer to that question. The only stage worse was four. He supposed if there had to be a silver lining, it was that it wasn't at a stage four. Stiles wondered how long he'd had it, and how they had just been living their life together, not knowing that it could be over just like that.

She knew that it had to be hard. She rubbed his arm, Melissa didn't expect him to look back at her. "I know that it's not fair…. We'll get through this, Stiles. I'm not going to let him…" Melissa couldn't even get the words out. It had started out like a such good day, she'd seen Chris for lunch, the victims from the car accident were going to make it, without too many bad injuries, and then she'd gotten the labs back. Melissa didn't know what they were going to do. She knew that it wasn't fair, and she had to tell Scott.

"I think we should let him have today, because it's going to get a lot worse quickly and soon, and I want him to have at least one more good day before he has to know." Melissa said. She could tell that Stiles was having a hard time processing the news, and she had to admit, she herself was on autopilot. It hadn't really sunk in yet for her either. Melissa didn't know how to do this, she had had patients with cancer before, but never her own son. It made sense to her now that she knew, Scott was a lot thinner than he had been, and he'd been sleeping so much lately. She knew that Stiles had to be feeling like his entire world was crashing down around him, he had lost his mom to a very serious illness, and it couldn't be easy to hear that he might lose Scott to one too.

That was when Scott stirred, and his brown eyes settled on his husband and mother. "Ma? Stiles? Are you guys okay?" He asked, worried a bit, and Stiles shook off the tears and came over to him, and he was kissing him and telling Scott everything was fine, they'd been talking about the Rafe situation. Scott kept his eyes on Stiles, and he knew that there was something that his husband wasn't telling him. Scott saw for the first time in a long time, fear in Stiles' eyes. He always did his best to hide his fear from Scott, but Scott knew it when he saw it.

Once Melissa had gone into the kitchen, under the guise of starting dinner, Scott tugged Stiles' chin so he was facing him. "Stiles, what's going on? You know you can't lie to me." They'd never been able to lie to the other one, it was just something that was impossible. "Tell me, I can take it." Scott said, as he sat up on the couch, the blanket bunching around his waist. Stiles sat on the couch next to him, and Scott knew something was wrong. Stiles' face was in shock. He knew that something was really wrong. Scott was starting to get scared. That's when Stiles was taking a deep breath, and telling him what Melissa had told him. Scott could hear a rushing in his ears when Stiles said the words, it didn't feel like it was real. Scott couldn't believe this. All he'd been doing had been giving blood like he always did. And now he had cancer? It wasn't fair.

Stiles watched Scott's face as the news slowly sunk in. He reached up and wiped some wayward tears off Scott's face. The news about Melissa and Argent seemed so pointless now. Scott's face crumpled, and Stiles immediately drew him close, wrapping his arms around Scott's waist. "You're going to be okay, baby, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you." Stiles whispered in his ear, as Scott's head buried itself in Stiles' neck. He didn't know how they were going to get through this, but Stiles knew they would. They had always made it through everything together, and Stiles had to believe that they would continue to do just that.

His hands stroked Scott's back, as Scott cried on his shoulder. Stiles wished he could wake up from this nightmare. That's exactly what it felt like. Stiles felt like it was one thing after another, and it really was getting to be too much. "Ma didn't want me to tell you, but I know that I can't lie to you." He said, his voice still a whisper. Stiles didn't know how to make this go away, and that was even more frustrating. He couldn't lose Scott to something that he couldn't see. Something that deadly. He felt so helpless, and he didn't like the feeling. He knew that this was how Scott felt most of the time, and he didn't know how he survived.

They just sat there, Stiles' arms wrapped around him, and Scott's face in his neck. Stiles knew it was going to get worse before it got better. It was going to be horrific. He had been through something like this already, and it had been hard watching his mother waste away to practically nothing. Scott was already halfway there. Stiles could feel how thin he was. It was breaking him in two. Especially now that he knew the reason why. It wasn't depression, as he might have thought. It was something so much worse. Stiles didn't know that he could be strong right now, he wanted to crumble. He knew that Scott needed him to be strong, but he was having a hard time working up the strength to deal with this right now.

There was a knock at the door, and they both shared a look before Stiles let go, reaching out to wipe Scott's cheeks again before he got up to go answer the door. When he opened it, it revealed Rafe. Stiles fought back the urge to punch him, he didn't want to give Rafe's lawyer any ammunition. Plus, never hit first. "What are you doing here?" He asked, his tone cold. It was unbelievable that he was here. "I'm not letting you in, and you aren't talking to Scott." Stiles said, his knuckles turning white on the door he was holding it so hard.

Rafe honestly wasn't surprised that Stiles had been the one to answer the door. Faced with his son's husband, he wasn't sure he could get through what he'd come to say. There was a gun in in the waistline of jeans, at his back, his tee shirt covering it. He wasn't planning on using it on Scott, Stiles, or Melissa though. "I'm not here to cause trouble, Stiles." He said, and it was honestly true. Rafe knew what he'd done, and a part of him honestly did feel guilty. A part of him really did love Scott. He hadn't known how to show it, maybe, but he did love him. "I also don't expect to get to see Scott." He added.

"I just…. I want you to tell him something for me." Rafe wasn't planning on ending this day alive, there was no way he was going to let himself go to prison. He knew that he'd end up dead anyway, child molesters, especially ones who had hurt their own children, didn't last long in prison. Rafe knew that. He was going to take the coward's way out, but he also thought it was going to be easier for Scott in the long run. He knew that a trial was going to be incredibly hard on his son, and he knew that he wanted to do what he could to spare him that pain. When Stiles kept his steely gaze on him, Rafe decided to tell him what he'd come here to say.

"Tell him, that… that I'm sorry. I know that neither of you believe it, and that's okay. I don't expect you to. You don't have to. I just, please, tell him that. Tell him that for what it's worth, a part of me regrets all of it, and being away from him so long. I know it was the right thing to do, but that doesn't mean I felt good about it." Rafe kept his gaze on Stiles the whole time, he wanted Stiles to at least try to believe him. "Tell him that I do love him in my own way."

That was too much for Stiles to handle. "Fuck off, Rafe." Stiles said, and slammed the door in his face. Stiles couldn't wait to see him pay for what he'd done. Stiles knew it wasn't going to ever be enough, even if he went to prison for the rest of his life. Stiles wasn't going to tell Scott any of that, it didn't matter. Rafe wasn't sorry for what he had done. Stiles trying to comfort himself in the knowledge that he was going to get murdered in prison for sure, people like Rafe didn't last long. Stiles was quiet a moment was he looked out the window, watching Rafe walking away. He wasn't going to let him hurt Scott anymore. Little did he know, there was one last way Rafe was going to hurt his son.

A couple of days later, Scott was awakened by his husband shaking him gently. "Stiles?" Scott asked, the day before, they'd gone to get those tests done at the hospital, and they were still waiting on the results. Scott knew that they wouldn't have come back that soon. His eyes didn't open, he was still trying to cling to the last vestiges of sleep. "I'm so tired, what is it?" That's when he heard the words Rafe, and suicide. Scott's eyes opened then, and his gaze fell on Stiles. "What?" Scott asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Stiles told him that someone had heard the gunshot a few hours ago, and one of his neighbors at the hotel had gone to check on him. They'd found him with half his brains on the wall, and the gun in his hand.

It wasn't fair….. Scott was glad that his father was dead… but he didn't think it was fair that he got to take the easy way out. Scott had wanted his father to pay, but not like this. He had wanted him to go to jail, a small part of him had wanted his father to get raped in prison. He knew that Rafe wouldn't have lasted very long. It had been the only thing that had been getting him through this whole turning him thing. Scott was shaking, and he felt Stiles pull him close. "It's…. It's never going to stop." Scott said, as his head buried itself in Stiles' chest. Scott didn't know that he could deal with this. It wasn't fair. Rafe hadn't had to deal with the whole world knowing what he'd done. Scott had wanted the world to know. Now he was gone. He could never pay for what he'd done. Although he had to admit, he was so glad that he was dead. Scott didn't have to be afraid that he was going to come and kill him for telling everyone what he'd done to his son.

When he heard the broken tone in his husband's voice, Stiles wished that he could take it back. He knew that this was hard. Stiles had to admit, he was a lot glad that the bastard was dead. He wondered if he should tell Scott what Rafe had said when he'd come to the house. Stiles didn't think he needed to hear it, but he also knew that Scott might want to know. Stiles said, "They called Melissa down to identify the body, even though they knew who it was. They need it for the official report, I guess." Stiles couldn't even begin to guess what Scott was feeling.

There had to be relief, and the fear that he'd been feeling years had probably abated, but other than that, Stiles had no clue. "I promise, it's going to be okay. Things will be okay. We just have to get through some shit first." Stiles said, in answer to what Scott had said about things never being over. He stroked Scott's back. "What are you feeling, baby? I know you hated him… but he was still your dad. It has to be hard, hearing he's dead." Stiles couldn't even begin to know what he was feeling. Stiles stroked his back softly, in soft circles, waiting for Scott to get a handle on his emotions.

Scott wasn't sure what he felt. "I don't… I don't know what to feel. I mean, I have to admit, I am glad that he's gone…. And I don't have to feel afraid of him anymore…. But…" Scott stopped himself. There wasn't a part of him at all that felt bad that he was dead. Rafe had been his father, but only in blood. There was nothing that was tying Scott to him other than that. Scott kept his head in Stiles' chest as he said, "He's nothing to me, Stiles. He's… he's not my dad. He never has been. Your dad, that's my dad. He's…" Scott paused, there was a thick lump in his throat. When it had dissipated, he spoke again. "Noah's my dad, there's nothing that I will ever need from Rafe ever again. I'm pissed he's not going to pay in a court of law for what he's done…. But I'm glad he's dead."

It felt good to say that out loud. Scott knew that it was completely true. He didn't think that it was wrong for him to feel that way, either. Rafe had never been for a minute a father to him. Scott was more worried about what this was doing to his mom. She had to be feeling a myriad of emotions. Scott was more worried about her with him being sick, too. Scott knew that she was dealing with so much all at once. He'd had longer to deal with the enormity of what Rafe had done to him, but Melissa hadn't had very long at all. Scott burrowed into Stiles' chest more, and Stiles' grip on him tightened. Scott knew that he could get through this with Stiles beside him. Scott didn't know how, but he knew that he could.

"Stiles, I love you so much. You're the love of my life, and I know that we're forever. I just… I know that you know that, but I have to say it."

Stiles' eyes brushed with tears, and he tried to compose himself. "Scott, I know that I don't have to tell you how I feel. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me, and there is no one else that I would want to be with." Stiles' voice shook as he spoke, but his stroking Scott's back didn't let up. "You are not just what your father did to you. You are so much more than that. You are the most amazing person I know. There's no one else on this planet like you. Not outside of comic books." Stiles couldn't believe that Scott was who he was. Not with all that had happened to him. It was amazing that he'd turned out as pure hearted as he was. He may be damaged, and who could blame him, honestly, with all that he had been through? But Scott was the most pure person that Stiles knew regardless.

It didn't surprise him at all that Scott had said that he was glad that Rafe was dead, but he knew what it had cost him to say it. He knew that Scott wasn't lying, either. It also was true that Rafe was the only person that Scott would ever say that he was glad that he was dead. Scott was one of those people who tried to see the good in everyone, no matter what they'd done to him. Stiles knew it had taken him a long time to realize that there wasn't ever going to be anything good in Rafe. It had also taken him a long time to believe that it wasn't his fault that Rafe had abused him like he had. Stiles was glad that he finally knew that it wasn't on him, and it never had been.

"I'm glad he's gone, too, baby. I'm not going to lie, I wanted him to pay for what he did too… but the silver lining to this is that he's gone. You don't have to live in fear anymore. You don't have to have people hear the horrible details in court, you don't have to tell the story of what happened five million times. If it helps to look at it that way, I'd rather you think of that it way." Stiles stroked down Scott's back, his strokes ending just before the swell of Scott's ass.

Scott listened, and he knew that Stiles was right. He lifted his head, and his wet eyes met Stiles'. "Make love to me, please." He said, his tone pleading. And as Stiles leaned out to kiss him, Scott knew that he would. Scott knew that whatever life threw at them, they could get through it. Scott kissed him back, his toes curling into the mattress. They only had so much time to be together before they found out what he was sick from, and Scott didn't want to waste a moment of it.

I remember looking up
To look up to him
I remember most of the time, he wasn't there
I'd be waiting at the door when he got home at night
He'd pass me by to go pass out in his chair

And I'd say, walk a little straighter, Daddy
You're swaying to side to side
Your footsteps make me dizzy
And no matter how hard I try
I keep trippin' and stumblin'
If you'd look down here you'd see
Walk a little straighter daddy,
You're leading me

Well he stumbled into the gym
On graduation day
And I couldn't help but feel so ashamed
And I wasn't surprised a bit when he didn't stay
He stumbled out before they called my name

And I thought,
Walk a little straighter, Daddy
You're swaying side to side
It's not just me who's watching
You've caught everybody's eye
And you're trippin' and stumblin'
And even though I've turned eighteen
Walk a little straighter, Daddy,
You're still leading me

Yeah, walk a little straighter, Daddy
You're still leading me

Author's note: Okay, I'm SO sorry for that. I am proud of myself that there wasn't any smut, because I usually can't write Sciles without it. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I know it's not everyone's thing. I wasn't planning any of this, if it makes ya'll feel better. There's going to be repercussions of Rafe's suicide, just a head's up. And I will tell you right now, Scott's not going to feel guilty for being glad about it. It drives me crazy when they try to make you feel guilty for not giving crap parents a second chance. They're always "but she's your mom" or whatever. My bio dad is going to burn in hell, and I don't feel a bit guilty for thinking so. And I hope that every day goes a little harder for him, and I don't feel guilty for that either. He's a piece of shit, and he deserves everything bad life can throw at him. There's just some things you can't forgive. And that doesn't mean that you're a bad person. I want ya'll to know that. Don't let them tell you any different. Review if you like! And again, I am SO SORRY.