What Would You Do Without Me? // Teen Wolf

Brothers For Life

Since his afternoon in the Nemeton clearing, Stiles had barely been able to think straight. He wandered through the rest of his day as if on autopilot, still processing what he had learned. Briefly, he'd considered telling Scott just so he wasn't the only one that knew but some part of him understood that this was something he needed to do alone - at least for now. He wasn't even sure he was in a state to be explaining it, Scott didn't even know that Stiles had been visiting the Nemeton. Definitely a conversation best left for literally as far in the future as he could get away with, though there was no telling how long that would be.

Before he knew it, Stiles was standing outside the McCall house with Lydia on one side of him and Allison on the other, watching Melissa give her son one last hug before he set off in the car he'd just managed to scrape the cash together for to drive himself out of Beacon Hills and to a new place. The only reason Stiles knew he'd been taking care of himself while in his haze was the fact that nobody pointed out otherwise - that at least meant he'd been showering, brushing his hair, changing his clothes, eating and sleeping. It was the minimum but it was all he needed.

Lydia and Allison each embraced Scott, having their private moments with the boy that had changed their lives so much and all for the better. Stiles felt that sober him up, as if the mist that had overtaken his brain had cleared and he was finally present again. He made a mental note to ask the Nemeton if that was a side effect of what it had done, or his own shock. It wouldn't be ideal if that happened every time. Isaac came rushing up the driveway and dived on top of Scott, knocking the two of them to the ground, a mess of laughter and tears. Isaac may be dating Scott's ex-girlfriend, but they were friends first and foremost after Scott had opened his home to the homeless beta. They lay there on the floor for perhaps longer than was necessary, just breathing the same air and feeling each other's heartbeat - another mental note, speak to Peter soon. Stiles took out his phone to turn his mental notes into physical ones, the more tangible they were the less likely he was to forget them. Just as he was typing, Scott cleared his throat. When did he stand up?

"You do know that you're allowed to relax too, right?" He asked, reaching out and sliding the phone from Stiles' hand. Out of curiosity, Scott glanced over the notes and he couldn't help the way his eyes widened at the sight of the words 'ask the Nemeton' but to his credit he concealed his confusion and shock well. He wrapped Stiles in a hug and used his position to slide the phone into the pocket of the paler boy's jeans.
"Have you ever known me to relax, in my entire life?" Stiles asked from his position against Scott's shoulder and everyone laughed. They knew better than to assume he would.
"You act like I'm the only one that needs someone to tell me I'm allowed to be selfish." Scott whispered into his ear, knowing that even Isaac wouldn't hear. Stiles flushed and laughed, squeezing Scott even tighter.

His best friend may not be the most intelligent of their group, but he certainly wasn't stupid and especially not where Stiles was concerned, he felt foolish for forgetting that. He clapped Scott's shoulder and the two separated. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, both of their gazes glazed over with tears.
"What a pair of drama queens we are. You'll be home for Christmas." Everyone laughed at that and Scott took out his phone under the guise of checking the time and texting Kira. Instead, it was Stiles' phone that vibrated and Stiles knew better than to assume Scott was going to let the Nemeton detail go. He was like a dog with a bone, pun intended. Apparently he wouldn't be keeping this one under wraps for very long at all. Scott gave Stiles a final questioning look, then climbed into his car and everyone waved as he drove away down the street. He would pick up Kira before leaving Beacon Hills but then he'd be gone until Christmas. Stiles was planning to overhaul everyone's Christmas, not that anyone else knew that yet.

It'd been about half an hour before Stiles got the call from Scott that he'd been waiting for. The text Scott had sneakily sent had just told Stiles that they would be talking about whatever it was he was keeping, because they did everything together and him being away didn't mean Stiles had to do everything alone.
"Kira is here, now spill." Scott immediately demanded, making both Stiles and Kira laugh.
"Not even a hello?" Stiles asked and then Scott laughed too, realising how quick he'd been.
"Sorry man, but talking to the Nemeton? That's kinda important."
"I don't want to tell Deaton yet. I wanna do this on my own for a while. Not totally on my own cause obviously you two know now but.. Without magic help." Stiles explained first, adjusting the driver's seat in his jeep so it lay further back, that way he could relax while they spoke. He'd once again driven out to the preserve to feel the calm it exuded.

"Alright, that makes sense. Now tell us." Scott agreed, making Stiles sigh in relief. Scott was always on his side when it counted.
"I've been dreaming about the Nemeton for a while. I should really ask its name.. But anyway, I don't really know when it started. Some time after my spark kinda happened, I guess," he explained hesitantly, unsure how to lay out the foggy timeline he had of everything that had been going on between himself and the tree, "sometimes I come to the preserve to relax and just feel the peace and if I had a dream about it the night before, I always find it. No exceptions. Sometimes I find it even if I didn't dream the night before." He then told them, deciding he'd wait to see if they have questions.
"What happens in the dreams?" Kira asked and Stiles could imagine the exact look on her face.
"Nothing, really. I'm usually in the preserve just wandering around like I do in the daytime. But I always find it, and it's always there. Usually, it's the stump but there have been times where I've woken up just before I could get into the clearing but there was definitely more than a stump there." He explained, setting his phone on speaker so that his hands would be free. With one hand, he ran his fingers through his hair while the other drummed no specific beat into the jeep door.
"Alright. Since when could you talk to it?" Scott then asked, then swore at someone a little further from the speaker and Stiles assumed he'd been cut off, Kira scolding him and telling him to focus. Stiles explained to them what had happened just a few days prior, his concerns over trying it again as well as his determination to do it again anyway just to test.
"What aren't you telling us?" Kira asked, voice gentle. Stiles wouldn't have caved if it wasn't that voice, something Kira had picked up from Melissa to help with soothing the boys.
"It knew my mom." The silence that followed couldn't have been louder if it had tried.
"The Nemeton knew your mom?" Scott then asked, as if he may have just heard wrong.
"It said I reminded it of her. It didn't just know of her, it knew her personally. I can feel it." He sighed, rubbing his face with his palms, glad to finally be talking about it openly.

"Sounds like you need to start plan Peter sooner than expected." Was what Scott said next, surprising both the people who heard him.
"What's plan Peter?" Kira asked and Stiles could hear her shuffling in her seat.
"Peter is the oldest supernatural we know, other than Satomi, but I don't want to bother her. I'm going to pester him for information and books. He might be cryptic about it, but he always provides." Stiles explained, pulling his seat back up so that he would be ready to drive.
"You going now?" Scott asked and Stiles could hear the clicking of his indicator faintly.
"Not sure. It's that or go looking for the Nemeton." Stiles replied, tapping his fingers now on the steering wheel rather than the door.
"I say Peter first. If you go back to the Nemeton and it puts you in a weird daze again it'll set you back." Kira said and Scott voiced his agreement pretty quickly.
"Peter it is then. Thanks for the help you two, I'll keep you posted." Stiles assured. They all wished each other luck then Stiles hung up and twisted the keys in the ignition - time to go see Peter.