To be defeated by a name

Chapter 12

When Irene told him she would send a team over to help, the last person that Stiles thought would be included in that was Stan Hurley. To be honest, it shouldn't really have been that much of a shock after all Stan did to bring down Ghost, he should have known the man would want to be involved in taking down his brother, especially based on how hard it was to pin anything on the guy.

"Rapp." The man greeted before smirking somewhere over Stiles' shoulder, him instantly realising the pack had come to see who was at the house, "You wanna introduce us to your friends?"

"You might want to sit down for that sir, there's a lot of them," Stiles replied, noticing Stan's expression soften slightly.

"How're you holding up?" The man asked, voice unusually concerned.

"Better than I expected if I'm honest, aside from the Black Fox targeting everyone I love," Stiles responded honestly, letting Stan pass into the house along with the two agents behind him.

"These are agents Williams and Hill. Irene chose the best she could find that weren't going to piss you off as soon as they opened their mouths, didn't want her agents dying before the fight even began." He joked, Stiles nodding in greeting to the agents as they walked past, choosing to ignore his mentor's remark as he led them and the pack into the living room.

He was just about to start talking about a plan when he realised Scott wasn't there. His dad and Melissa were both at work so he knew they were alright, but Scott was nowhere to be seen.

"He's visiting Allison." Lydia stated, having picked up on Stiles' confusion, "We'll be fine here for a bit Stiles, go and talk to him."

Not waiting for Hurley to say his protests, Stiles grabbed his phone and keys and made his way out of the house and to the jeep. He had found out the day before that his dad had kept it in the garage, Scott having rejected it when he tried to give it to him, and he had, over the years, been fixing it up so it worked properly, no duct tape left in the engine to try and hold it together.

It felt strange to be driving the familiar route to the cemetery once more, Stiles deciding along the way to stop and buy two bunches of flowers, lilies for his mother and roses for Allison. 

A wave of memories hit him as he weaved his way through the gravestones to where he knew Allison's grave was located. He could remember the last time he was here, on the anniversary of her death just two months before that fateful day in Ibiza. He had come out here with Scott and Lydia, the three of them bringing a picnic with them and spending almost the whole day there, reminiscing on old memories and new ones, together in their mourning of the friend they lost too young.

He instantly spotted Scott, kneeling down next to the grave, silent tears falling down his face as he spoke to his former lover. Stiles was going to keep his distance, let his friend speak before announcing himself but Scott looked up suddenly, silently beckoning him over.

Placing the roses on the grave he sat down next to his brother, deciding to let Scott speak first, instead of pushing him.

"I'm sorry - for attacking you that is. I think, after all that has happened since we were thrown into this life, I thought you were some kind of imposter using Stiles' face and just... lost it." He stated, not looking up from Allison's gravestone as he spoke, but sounding sincere.

"I'm sorry too. I know it isn't much after what I put you through and I can't ever excuse that but I was scared. At first, I was scared of being Stiles Stilinski, of coming home when Katrina didn't and letting her killers get away. Over time though I was scared of how you all would react, to who I had become and the fact that I hadn't come home but left you to think I died. I just..."

He trailed off then, throat closing up as he tried to stop himself from crying. It was the first time since he had come home that it truly hit him just how long he had been gone, his dad and Melissa's wedding, everyone's graduations from school and everything else that had happened in their lives since he had been gone.

Suddenly he felt Scott turn and hug him, his friend crying himself. Stiles instantly hugged him back, feeling as though this was what they needed, a chance to talk without the pack or anyone else breathing down their necks.

"I know I haven't acted like it but I'm glad you're alive. I don't care if you're an assassin or anything else, I just care that you're my brother and you're alive. I missed you, more than anything and I'm glad you're back. I need you Stiles, and I'm going to do everything in my power to help you get rid of this Black Fox guy."

"I missed you too Scott, more than anything. The hardest thing I ever did was leaving you, dad and Lydia behind and I promise I won't leave again, not for good. I can't promise I'll always be in contact, but I'll always come back." He stated, before pulling away and picking up the flowers for his mom and making his way to her grave, Scott following.

He had his brother back and he wasn't going to lose him now.