"S'up, bro."
Stiles' head shot up as he heard the sound of Scott's voice bellow through the station. He smiled at his best friend as Scott walked towards his new appointed desk, Kira following him with a smile.
"You got a desk. Nice." Scott nodded in approval at Stiles' new work station.
"I know." Stiles chuckled, looking across his desk. It was plain and simple, covered in stacks of paper. "It's looking a bit bland. I might have to bring in some stereotypical shit in to place on it. You know; pen holder, pictures of the pack, all that nonsense."
Stiles tried to play it off as a joke, but he was almost certain that one of the pictures of Lydia on his wall would be framed and sitting on his desk in no time. Something to get him through the day.
"So, how's it been?" Kira asked, leaning against his desk while scanning the papers in front of Stiles. "You enjoying it?"
"At the moment, it's just filing everything and filling out paperwork. I'm basically the skivvy who's doing the work that the rest of the firm are too lazy to do." Stiles smirked. "But, however, I am enjoying it. I'm learning each day and it's something to keep me busy."
"That's the spirit, man." Scott grinned. "When do you start getting paid for it?"
Stiles laughed, knowing Scott would be quick to jump to the money side of it. "Dad's working on it. He's got to review my work then send it to the head faculty of this region so they can decide on whether to give me a job or not. Then training starts from there."
"Hey, that's awesome!" Scott grinned. "Won't be long before you can be beside me fighting the monsters off."
"Even with training, Scott, I will most definitely not be able to fight off a psycho were-wolf." Stiles smirked.
Scott chuckled at the comment before the sheriff left his office to greet the two teenagers.
"Hey, kids." Stiles' father smiled before his face fell. "Please don't tell me there's yet another supernatural creature slowly killing off of the population of this town."
Kira laughed politely as Scott stood up straight. "No, no, sheriff. As far as I'm aware, the town is safe, you know, supernatural-wise. We're just here to see how Stiles is doing."
"That's actually why I came out here. Stiles," The sheriff turned to face his son. "I just got off the phone to head faculty. They're really impressed in how you've done this past week."
Stiles' eyebrows shot up in surprise. He hadn't even tried hard, his mind was too preoccupied to be focusing 100%. "Really?"
"Yeah. They want me to get back to them at the end of next week with some feedback and then they'll take it from there. It's looking extremely hopeful, son."
"Wow!" Stiles stood up to hug his father. "Thanks, dad."
"Don't thank me." The sheriff patted his son on the back. "This is all down to you."
"That's awesome, man." Scott grinned.
"It won't be long till you're fighting crimes alongside your dad." Kira chuckled.
"Actually, Kira, I'm glad you brought that up." The sheriff's voice softened before he turned back to Stiles. "They was hoping to assign you to another station, maybe a precinct out of town."
Stiles' heart flipped. "Oh."
"I mean, that's your call. It's entirely up to you whether you'd want to go for it or not, but they could do with your help in a larger town, a city maybe." The sheriff explained.
Stiles immediately looked up to Scott. He looked just as shocked and torn as Stiles felt. Leaving Scott? His father? Lydia?
Stiles sunk into his chair. Lydia wasn't here any more, but it still felt like he would be leaving her behind.
"Me personally, Stiles...I think it would be a great opportunity for you." The sheriff added. "It would be a great way to use your knowledge, and if they're saying you'll be even more useful in a bigger precinct, then why waste that it here?"
Stiles didn't know what to say. Was he supposed to make this decision now? His best friend in the whole entire world was staring right at him and Stiles didn't have a clue what was going through his mind. What would Scott do? He's got Kira, his mom, but...Stiles and him have never been separated throughout their entire lives. Would Stiles be able to live without Scott? Probably not.
"H-how long do I have to think about it?" Stiles coated his throat and looked at his father with eyes a little too wide.
"Take as much time as you need, son." The sheriff reassured his boy. "They won't start assigning you until the end of your training. You've got plenty of time to make up your mind."
"O-okay, good." Stiles nodded, looking back down at his desk before looking up at Scott for help.
Silence fell between the group before Stiles' father cleared his throat. "Hey, how about you finish early today and go grab some lunch with Scott and Kira."
"Dad, you don't have to-"
"I insist, Stiles. You've done so well here, go and celebrate with your friends." The sheriff smiled.
Stiles smiled up at his father before gathering his things. "Thanks, dad. I'll see you at home?"
"I'll see you at home."
..
The three teenagers had finished off their burgers and were conversing about the memories they'd shared this past year. The majority of said memories included Lydia. After they all fell into a chuckling silence, Scott looked up at his best friend poking at his chips.
"Stiles, I think you should go for it."
Stiles looked up at Scott. "Huh?"
"The job. I think you should do it. It's an opportunity you can't miss." Scott replied.
Stiles exhaled. "Scott, I don't know..."
"I know why you're so 50/50 about this. You're scared." Kira spoke up, receiving two surprised glances from both boys.
"Elaborate." Stiles squinted.
"You don't want to move away because of Scott, and your father. And Lydia." Kira folded her arms across the diner table. "You've never been apart from your father or Scott, and you don't want to leave the town that you grew to learn about the amazing Lydia Martin. I completely understand."
Stiles looked down at his almost empty plate. He didn't give enough credit to Scott for finding such a level headed girl like Kira.
"But, Stiles...the two people you were worried about leaving have both told you to go for it. Being your father, he wants nothing more than to see you succeed at something you enjoy doing. You're good at this stuff. It was always you and Lydia figuring out the pieces of the puzzle. And I know you don't want to leave the town of Lydia's behind but, you'll be taking her with you. She'll be solving the crimes with you. You learnt off of each other and now you can put all that to good use."
Scott looked hard and deep at Kira before turning to Stiles. "She's right. You can't be held back from doing this just because you feel guilty of leaving us all here. That's life, Stiles. We'll always be here when you come back. Even if we're not all in Beacon Hills. We could be spread across the country, heck, the world, but we'll all still come back to each other."
Kira smiled. "We're a pack."
Stiles looked up at the couple before shaking his head with a proud smirk. "We're a family."
The three grinned at each other as Stiles' phone began to ring. Pulling the device from his pocket, he looked up at his friends. "It's my dad. I'll be right back."
Scott and Kira watched Stiles move out of the booth and towards the door before deciding on what smoothie to share between them.
"Hey, dad." Stiles answered as he stepped outside the diner. "It's funny that you called actually, I was gonna tell you that I'd made up-"
"Stiles, you need to come home right now."
The urgency in his father's voice brought the hairs up on Stiles' neck. "What's wrong?"
There was a pause on the sheriff's end, and that drove Stiles' mind to insanity. What had happened? Was he okay?
"They've found Lydia."