Extinguish the Fire
A/N: This is a Peter/Stiles story. Warnings include: slash, a big age difference, pedophilia, implied statuary rape, might feature slightly dubious consent, and features a messy, co-dependent, unhealthy romance between an adult and a child. Part 1 of 2 or 3 parts. First part is decidedly K or K+, other part (or parts) will be T (or T+, not explicitly M thought).
Part 1: Dying Embers and Ash
??????????? Stiles knew his Mom was dying. The doctors and his Dad tried to make it sound different, more hopeful. ?She?s sick.? ?She?s getting the best treatment available.? ?Her spirit is strong.? His mom was dying and Stiles knew it. She was going to die, get a first-class express ticket to Heaven, and Stiles was going to have to take care of his Dad.
??????????? Just because Stiles knew all of this, because he was preparing himself for the tragedy that is to come, does not make him any less eleven-years-old. So he had been shooed out of the room while the doctor talked to his Mom and Dad. He had two crinkled dollars in his hand, he was supposed to go and get a snack, and wait in the waiting room.
??????????? Instead, Stiles takes one look at the vending machine, and feels sick to his stomach. He stuffs the dollars his Dad had given him in his pocket.
??????????? A minute later he finds himself standing in front of the elevators. He pushed a button, not really knowing, or caring, if he was pushing up or down. If they wanted him to get lost, he might as well get lost.
??????????? He pushed some buttons randomly. He got out of the elevator after a couple of stops and walked around. It was easy enough to pass by the nurses, he had a little sticker that marked him as a guess. The fact that he was a guess to the oncology unit and not whatever unit this happen to be would be a bit difficult for the nurses to detect.
??????????? Some redheaded nurse sent him a nasty look but paid him no more attention than that.
??????????? When he hears a commotion, along with some nurse yelling ?Code Blue,? he slides into a dark, unoccupied hospital room that had the door wide open. Only the room was apparently occupied.
??????????? There was a man, sitting in a wheelchair, facing the window.
??????????? Stiles attempt to sneak right back out fails massively as he stumbles into the door, closing it with a ?bang, by banging his funny bone into it. After his hissed, ?Ow,? he looks towards the man and starts to fumble for an apology, ?Oh, sorry, I didn?t mean to interrupt your? meditation or anything.? ?
??????????? The man?s only response was to tilt his head a bit, as to angle his handsome profile to Stiles. The light that poured in through the window was soft and hazy around his face, leaving him in shadows, like a halo for a dark angel.
??????????? ?Hi,? Stiles says, awkwardly, scuffing the tip of his sneaker on the linoleum floor, ?I?m here to visit my Mom. She?s sick.? He can?t get himself to say ?she?s dying? out loud, because it might make it more real. Maybe, maybe if that idea just stays in his mind, it won?t become real, won?t manifest into this world. Maybe all the doctors and his Dad are right. Maybe she will get better. Maybe her strong soul will rage war against the cancer plaguing her body, maybe her soul will win.
??????????? But, then again, they talk about the strength of her spirit, of her soul. But the cancer isn?t soul cancer, it is lung cancer.
??????????? She never even smoked.
??????????? The man sitting in the chair gives him a bit of a nod.
??????????? ?Is it okay if I stay here a bit? Maybe some of your zen-like serenity will rub off on me.?
??????????? The man does not reply. The shadows cover his face, so Stiles cannot really make out any of his expression. After a minute, Stiles turns to leave, to give this man his privacy, before a soft, raspy voice says, ?Stay.?
??????????? Stiles does an about face and begins to walk towards him, but the voice, guttural almost, commands him to, ?No closer.?
??????????? ?Um, okay,? Stiles, not really known for keeping his foot out of his mouth asks, ?why?
??????????? The man seems to hesitate, ??I?ve? been burned.?
??????????? ?Oh,? Stiles says, and suddenly he feels sick, like when he was looking at the vending machine. This man, who from afar and in this light and at this angle looks handsome, has been burned to the point that he does not want somebody to be able to look at him. And then another realization hit him. The Hale house fire had one man who survived. Who had survived, but just barely, ?I?m so sorry?? Stiles does not muster up the courage to put his hypothesis into action, to call him Peter.
??????????? The man gives him a slight nod again.
??????????? Stiles stands, eyes darting around the room. The Hale fire was almost a year ago. This room does not look really lived in. Stiles?s Mom had been here for a few months, and the Stilinski family had made it feel as much like home as possible. There were pictures propped up on the side table, flowers in vases, some of Stiles?s late grandma?s quilts were hung over the backs of the hospital chairs.
??????????? This room, there was nothing to indicate that there was somebody who has been living here for a while. Stiles sadly thought that maybe this man, Peter Hale, had nobody to make the hospital feel as much like a home as possible. That all those people that cared for him had died as their home burned.
??????????? ?My names Stiles. Well, not really, but my real first name is horribly embarrassing. It is foreign sounding, but worse, it is a girl?s name. A Kurdish girl?s name! And, trust me; the name is just about as attractive as the word ?Kurdish.? So I go by a nickname. A nickname that comes from my last name, Stilinski and not from the word ?style.? Because Lydia does not think I?m very stylish.?
??????????? Stiles?s introduction is a bit ramble-ly, but still. The man snorts in amusement.
??????????? ?So,? Stiles says, ?do you want to talk to me??
??????????? ?No,? the man?s voice sounds a bit like Smegal, during his unhealthy transformation into Golem. Like he is quietly coughing out words.
??????????? ?Oh, well, I can, um-?
??????????? ?You can talk,? the man chokes out, realizing how just saying ?no? might sound a bit mean. The man reaches his hand towards his neck, which Stiles now sees is bandaged but not as bandaged as the other hand that seems to limply just lay on his lap, ?it hurts to-?
??????????? ?Oh!? Stiles voice squeaks and his eyes widen, ?I?m so sorry. But, like you said. I can talk. Can I talk. I can talk like no other talker has ever talked before? I get in trouble a lot at school because I talk too much. But Mom and Dad never get upset with me for talking too much. They listen to what I say. The only other person who listens to what I say is my best friend Scott. But he does not listen as well or often as my parents do. I have the best parents in the world. But my mom? well, I don?t really want to talk about that right now.?
??????????? And talk he did. He sits on the floor, leaning his back against the door, and then he opened his mouth and let the words flow. Stiles talked about his misadventures with his friend, Scott. He talks about some wonderful times he has had with his parents. About how much he likes to go to the zoo. How he likes playing in the woods, even though he not really supposed to. He talks about how much of a jerk Jackson Whitmore is. He talks about how much he loves the strawberry blonde haired, green-eyed girl named Lydia (who seems to not know he exists. But Stiles insists he just ?hasn?t made it on her radar yet.?). He talks about how in kindergarten, his teacher could not figure out how to pronounce his last name while taking role, and had made a few different attempts, ?Stiles? Stiles-sky, Stiles-ski, Stiles-lin-sky?? And he talked about how that one incident, on the first day of kindergarten, had earned him his nickname.
??????????? Stiles basically gives this man the story of his life, though he ended the story a few months ago so he wouldn?t have to tell the story that involves words like ?cancer? and ?Mom? and ?death.? After he had said all he could think to say, he realized his Mom and Dad were probably worried about him by now.
??????????? ?I need to go,? Stiles says, ?My Mom and Dad are probably worried about me. I was only supposed to be picking up some Reese?s cups from the vending machine. So I need to go,? Stiles does not know why he is stalling till the words fall from his mouth, ?But can? I- I mean, do you? Would it be okay if I came back to visit you??
??????????? ?Yes.?
??????????? Stiles heart swells, ?Good, I?m glad, I?ll come back and talk to you, sometimes. Okay??
??????????? The man nods.
??????????? Stiles clambers up, when his hand is on the doorknob, the man says, ?Stiles??
??????????? The way the man?s rough voice says his name makes Stiles?s heart flutter for some unknown reason, ?Yes??
??????????? ?Don?t tell my nurse anything. She thinks I?m comatose.?
??????????? ?Oh,? well, that?s kind of weird, ?was she a mean-faced redhead??
???????????
??????????? Stiles can sense the smirk on the man?s face as he nods.
??????????? ?My lips are zipped!? he opens the door, and before he can think through what he was doing, he was saying, ?See you soon, Peter.?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
??????????? As Deputy Stilinski and his son drive home from the hospital, Stiles happily chats about his ?new friend? Peter Hale. The Deputy had attempted to scold his son when he had returned, but when Stiles claimed he had spent his time talking with a burn victim who had lost his home and most of his family, Deputy Stilinski?s scolding fizzled into some hugging and forehead kissing.
??????????? Deputy Stilinsky is struck by how kind his son is, how good he is. He readily agrees to Stiles visiting the lonely man.
??????????? Every time Stiles and his Dad goes to visit his Mom, Stiles goes to visit Peter Hale for a little bit, while his Dad and Mom make out or something.
??????????? Stiles makes sure to be sneaky about it. Peter Hale says that his nurse gives him the ?creeps? and he does not want to talk to her, so his answer is pretend to be comatose. He says it allows him time to think.
??????????? When his Mom dies, his visits to Peter stop and his panic attacks start.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
??????????? Peter realizes after only two week that Stiles was not coming to visit and what that meant. Stiles?s mom had died. Peter heart broke for the beautiful boy. The beautiful boy came to visit him when his surviving nephew and niece had packed up and moved to other side of the country, leaving him behind.
??????????? But, he did not care for Stiles the way he cared for Laura and Derek. He cared for him in a way he dare not let himself think about.
He convinces himself when a month had passed that Stiles would not be returning. He could not blame the child. This place was a reminder of his mother?s sickness and her death. He tries to just find joy in the time that he got to spend with Stiles.
Only, a couple days after Peter resolutely comes to this conclusion, Stiles sneaks into his room. But Stiles is wearing a medical gown.
?Stiles?? Peter asks, confused.
?Hey Peter,? Stiles greets. Peter had attempted to keep Stiles from seeing him, but today Peter was in his bed. And Stiles, who previously had carefully stayed as far away as possible, did not seem to think as he tip-toed to the chair, placed by his bed, and suddenly Peter felt very uncomfortable. He turned his burnt side away from the boy, ashamed.
?Oh,? Stiles says, as he sees Peter up close for the first time, ?well, I?m sorry if me seeing you makes you uncomfortable? But if it makes you feel any better, even with the burns you are still one of the best looking people I?ve ever seen.?
Peter?s laugh is startled, and it is probably the least sore his voice Stiles had ever heard. His smile was soft, and his green eyes were warm, ?Thank you, Stiles. That is quite the consolation.?
?I know I haven?t been to see you in a while, but-?
?I understand, Stiles,? Peter says, voice warm, and Stiles is happy to hear his voice. His voice as it was before the lining of his throat had been shredded by smoke. His voice as it was before the fire, ?I?m sorry.?
Peter does not say ?for your loss? or ?for the death of your mother,? because he understands. Understands how being reminded of your loss hurts like hell.
?I?m sorry that I haven?t come to visit you,? Stiles retorts.
?I have missed you,? Peter says. Peter Hale had always been rather open with his feelings. Much to the dismay of his shy, ?no chick talk? nephew.
?I?ve missed you too,? Stiles murmurs.
?Why are you in,? Peter sent a glare at Stiles?s medical gown, ?that??
?Oh, I, um, sort of hadapanicattack.?
Peter squints at Stiles, ?What??
?I had a panic attack. I couldn?t breathe. Breathing is kind of important to, you know, living. So I?m here. Which, is kind of a good thing, ?cause I got to see you.?
?Peter looked at Stiles, critically analyzing him, ?Do I need to worry about you??
?No!? Stiles waves off, ?No need to worry. But, could I, could I hug you? I mean, it wouldn?t hurt you physically or disgust you emotionally or anything-?
?Stiles,? Peter interrupts, smoothly. Stiles is fascinated with how smooth his real voice is, how soft, how civil, ?of course you can hug me. Just, be easy on the burned side.?
Stiles pushes himself out of the chair, walks the few steps it takes to get to the bed, and then, he stops. He looks at the bed, looks at Peter?s unburned side, and eases himself into the space on the bed by Peter, and buries his head into Peter?s shoulder.
Peter takes in a sharp breath and closes his eyes tightly. Peter slides his arm around him, carefully, and draws the boy closer to his chest.
Source: http://queenmoony.livejournal.com/9045.html
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