#square filled: fantastic racism (speciesism)

[sapphireginger]

Paw Patrol: Chapter #12

Summary:

“I never knew my family. My pride was wiped out when I was barely a year old. I was just a cub when I lost everything. It’s not the same but, like Cora, I had an uncle take me in. He was a stern man, cold to most, but then he took me in, and he softened up. No one knew a cub had survived from that pride and so no one came looking for me. I was safe with my Uncle Dubeaux.  “For sixteen years, I knew nothing but safety though I was still haunted by nightmares and my matka’s death meant that her magic was passed down to me. It ignited one day by pure instinct. It was the day I met my future wife and mate. Her name was Naomi. Her eyes were like emeralds, her hair black like the feathers of a raven and her smile just stole my breath away. She was it for me.”

AO3 Link

@badthingshappenbingo

Prompt: Fantastic Racism (Speciesism)

Peter felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, but he stood frozen, getting more anxious the longer Stiles was silent. Just as the wolf went to open his mouth and say something, though he had no idea what that something would be, Stiles spoke up. 

“I never knew my family. My pride was wiped out when I was barely a year old. I was just a cub when I lost everything. It’s not the same but, like Cora, I had an uncle take me in. He was a stern man, cold to most, but then he took me in, and he softened up. No one knew a cub had survived from that pride and so no one came looking for me. I was safe with my Uncle Dubeaux. 

“For sixteen years, I knew nothing but safety though I was still haunted by nightmares and my matka’s death meant that her magic was passed down to me. It ignited one day by pure instinct. It was the day I met my future wife and mate. Her name was Naomi. Her eyes were like emeralds, her hair black like the feathers of a raven and her smile just stole my breath away. She was it for me.”

Stiles swallowed thickly and pushed on as they kept walking, though their pace was much slower now. “I-I called her Nomi. She was everything I had ever wanted, and we bonded instantly. Her pride had been targeted too and she was rescued by my uncle’s sister’s pack. She and I were the only two felines though. Strange I guess but true, nonetheless. 

“When we turned nineteen, after receiving the blessings of the alpha’s, we began courting and then at the age of twenty, we mated. I never knew such happiness existed. Of course, I had the pack, but she was mine. She was my family and together we began planning our future. 

“It wasn’t easy of course, very few things worth having come easily but we fought for what we wanted and in time by the age of twenty-two, we were ready. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to my uncle and his sister, but it was time. Wolves remain in their packs but tigers? Well, we don’t. We’re much more exclusive and particular, very rarely seeking out those who are not like us. 

“There was a beautiful preserve, a three day journey from our former home and we made the trek together. Once we arrived, we started building our home from the ground up. After that we built our den. It was a close call that winter as we almost didn’t have it ready in time but when she began to nest…” Stiles trailed off, the scent of joy sharply cut with grief engulfing Peter’s senses. 

“Nomi told me she was expecting our first cub. We only learned upon hearing a second heartbeat that we were expecting twins. We would lie awake at night, stargazing while discussing names. She had always loved The Chronicles of Narnia and wanted to name a boy Caspian. She admired my cleverness and chose Reynard should we have more than one boy since Reynard means fox. 

“I loved both names, only adding in a suggestion that we use Noah for a middle name should we have a boy and use Claudia for a middle name if we had a girl. Both names were ones she loved as well, and she of course knew what they meant to me. I still remember the scents of my mother and father.”

Stiles closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. “My mother’s scent was a mixture of violets, lavender, cinnamon and petrichor. My father’s scent was earthy like the ground after a storm, sweet like honeysuckle and burning birch wood and had an overwhelming layer of strawberries. I’ll never forget their scents. It’s comforting to me even after all these years.”

For a moment Stiles seemed to sway as though he may fall but Peter caught his elbow to steady him, and Stiles gave a whispered thanks, guiding them to a smooth rock, overlooking the waterfall at the river’s end. This next part was the hardest. 

“When the twins were born it was the happiest day of my life and I knew my wife felt the same.” He fiddled with a chain around his neck on which sat three rings, but Peter couldn’t tell what they looked like as Stiles clutched them tightly as if to give him strength to keep going. 

“We named our son Reynard Noah Stilinski and named our daughter Caspiana Claudia Stilinski. Nomi was in love with them from the moment she knew she was expecting but she fell even more in love with them when she held them for the first time. We brought them to see their uncle and aunt when they were six months old. 

“My Uncle Dubeaux was smitten with little Cas and though she was usually shy and a total daddy’s girl, she loved him. Reyn was more outgoing, and his sister followed his lead. We spent the full moon with them and then made the trek back, promising to visit again after the winter passed.”

Stiles pulled his knees to his chest resting his chin on them and continued, his voice softer and full of barely disguised emotion before he shut that part off. If he let himself feel, he would never get through it. 

“We never returned. A few weeks later we learned that the two packs had been slaughtered by rogue hunters and caught wind of them heading further north. We thought we were safe further south, but we weren’t. Nomi had insisted the twins needed bonding time with their daddy and she would gladly take over the hunt. I never should’ve let her go but when Nomi made up her mind about something well, she was even more stubborn than me. It was one of the things I loved about her, that she could go toe to toe with me. 

“One moment I was watching my cubs learn to roll over and start to crawl and the next I let out a roar full of grief as I felt my mating bond snap. I knew at that moment Nomi was gone. It was like I died too in a way when our bond was severed. Time stood still and then I smelled smoke. I was heartbroken but the cubs were whimpering, and I had to keep them safe. I scooped them up by their scruffs and darted into the underground den just in time. I hushed them, using some magic to make them sleep as I watched the men, the men who murdered my mate, stalk into our clearing. 

“I could smell her blood on their hands, could smell the poison and had to lie there listening to them brag about their successful hunt. It was sick to hear them gloat, but the worst part was seeing a teenager at the center of attention. They killed my mate for a coming of age ritual and celebrated long into the night. I heard it all, every cheer, every laugh, every bigot and speciest slur. All the while I was tending to my one year old cubs in a secluded den that would never again bear witness to the most beautiful soul to ever live.”

Stiles shuddered, ignoring the tears on his cheeks as he subtly dug one shifted claw into his arm to ground himself. “W-We couldn’t stay there, and I had to leave everything behind. The only thing I couldn’t part with was our rings and the two small quilts Nomi had sewn for the twins. 

“Once more it was me against the world but this time, I had the cubs to think about. I had once heard of a haven and tried to make my way there. I was a day away at most when I smelled smoke and heard gunfire. I froze and I would’ve died if not for another were and his mate.” Stiles smiled slightly. “You met one of the two at the bar. Theo was at their den, but Jackson found me and urged me into hiding.”

Peter was slack jawed at the information. Letting an unknown shifter into your den was serious and he didn’t know whether to think this Jackson person foolish or very brave. 

Stiles seemed to guess his train of thought. “He wasn’t suicidal, but I sure thought him insane. There I was, a fully shifted tiger and he didn’t bat an eye or hesitate to offer me refuge. We stayed with him and Theo until the twins were five years old and then we reached the haven and were offered sanctuary here in Beacon City. It’s where I’ve been ever since.”

For a moment, Peter was silent, both men absorbing everything the other had shared and then the wolf asked, “She was killed with poison wasn’t she.” 

It was less of a question really and Stiles could only nod once. “Yes. It was a cocktail mix of wolfsbane, foxglove and catnip. They didn’t care to know exactly what being they were going after; they just wanted the beast dead. So, when you offered me the very thing that killed my mate, I was terrified, angry and so hurt. I loved you and wanted desperately to accept your court, having been waiting for it but then…” he trailed off. 

Peter nodded, swallowing the words he wanted to say, the questions he wanted to ask and softly voiced only one. “Loved?”

Stiles flicked his gaze to meet the wolf’s intense but open expression. “Love.”

“Love as in present tense?”

A subtle nod was Stiles’s response as he subconsciously turned his body to face Peter. “Yes.”

Slowly Peter leaned closer to rest their foreheads together and shuddered. “Oh, Stiles,” he whispered. 

Stiles too shuddered, his heart in his throat. “I know but I’m broken, Peter Wolf. I’m damaged and broken and a fucked up mess, sometimes failing as a father. I can’t burden you with that.”

Shaking his head Peter cupped the amber eyed man’s face and gave him a serious look. “As am I. Does that make me undesirable?”

“No,” Stiles negated softly. “As odd as it may sound, it makes you more desirable to me.” He huffed a bitter laugh. “We’re both hot messes, aren’t we?”

Peter echoed the huff of laughter and shrugged, placing a kiss on Stiles’s forehead. “Maybe but who better to love and call our own than someone who knows us down to our very soul and loves us regardless. We may be broken and bear both grief and darkness in our pasts, but we understand each other better than anyone else ever could.”

“Are you sure this is what you want, that I-I’m what you want?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. Are you sure?”

Stiles exhaled heavily and nodded. “Yes, but I-I need—I can’t just—I know it’s a lot to ask but please can we go slow?”

Peter nodded and felt relieved. “Yes. I would prefer we go slow. I don’t want to rush this when it feels like fate.”

“Fate?”

“Mhm. You love her and I will never ask you not to, but I’d like to think I can make you happy and love you too if your heart has room for me and for Nia.”

“It does. Can you love my cubs too?”

Peter smiled. “Already love them as much as my own.”

“As do I. Nia is such a sweetheart.”

“Your kids are as well.”

Stiles smiled and met Peter’s gaze. “For two messed up, broken people we have been good daddies, haven’t we?”

Peter nodded, returning Stiles’s smile with one of his own. “The best.”

“Thank you for opening up to me.”

“Thank you for being vulnerable.”

“You’re welcome,” they said simultaneously, laughing softly and then slowly they brushed their lips together. 

It was soft, barely a grazing of their lips but it was enough, and it was a promise. 

They remained close to each other as the sun continued its journey across the sky until it began to set, and they knew they had to return home. When they reached their cars, they paused and held each other's hand for a moment longer. Peter squeezed Stiles’s hand and mouthed, ‘I love you.’

Stiles blushed and smiled softly as he mouthed back, ‘And I love you.’

The two hopeful mates left their meeting place and went to see their kids. Both needed time to think things over before moving forward and both needed to talk to their kids. Despite the heaviness of the day and the tension they had felt, both Stiles and Peter felt lighter, and they knew this was just the beginning.