STILES | AVENGERS

20. I'm Gonna Kill Them

Stiles eventually cries himself out. Clint is surprised by how long it takes. He expected Stiles to pass out from sheer exhaustion ages ago. Phil glances down when Stiles stirs against him. "Do you need anything, Stiles?" He asks quietly.

"M tired, Uncle Phil." Comes the sleepy reply.

Clint chuckles. "I'd imagine so." He reaches over to run a hand through Stiles's head, and tries not to show how his heart clenches when Stiles presses into the touch. How could a kid that has been hurt so many times be so trusting? Lord knew how long it had taken most of the team to get used to casual touches. And here was this tough as nails teenager who had faced more than someone four times his age ever should, who soaked up attention like a flower starving for sunlight.

Even more concerning were the ones who had let him get this way. Why were they unable to see the beauty of Stiles's loyalty? Even Stiles's self-deprecating retelling of the story proved he was brilliant, loyal and clever. If Issac wasn't here thay wouldn't know about a lot of things he did for them. How could they have taken that for granted? One thing was certain - the Avengers would never make that mistake. There are some people who are out of the radar of their anger, but heaven help any other from Beacon Hills that crossed their path.

"Do you want to go to bed or would you rather stay here on the couch?" Phil asks Stiles, who blinks slowly before answering.

"Bed."

"Want someone to go with you?" Clint asks.

"Um..." Stiles stalls, clearly wanting it but afraid to ask and potentially burden someone.

Bucky huffs and rolls his eyes. "I'll take him." He says, standing and making his way over to where Phil, Clint and Stiles are tangled. He quirks an eyebrow at Clint and then tilts his head toward Phil and then the others. Taking a moment to really look at his partner, Clint can see what Bucky had caught. Phil is practically shaking with emotion. He needed time to decompress before he could focus on anything. Phil was probably holding himself together on sheer willpower alone right now. A quick glance at the rest of the team shows similar, though less extreme, states. Clint nods at Bucky and moves to give him space.

Bucky kneels down and gathers Stiles into his arms. "I c'n walk." Stiles protests weakly.

Bucky snorts. "You are mostly asleep right now. You'd fall asleep standing up if I let you."

Stiles's half-hearted comeback is cut off by the elevator doors closing. As soon as Stiles is out of sight, Phil goes deathly still. Clint turns to look at him fully. "Phil?" He asks warily.

"I am going to kill them." Phil replies in a perfectly calm, level, professional tone that has all of Clint's hackles rising.

"Not if I get there first." Natasha disagrees in nearly the same voice.

"Whoa," Sam says slowly, rising to his feet and gesturing peacefully. "I think we all need to take a moment here."

"I think too many people have spent too much time ignoring Stiles's needs." Tony growls. It appears that Pepper's bruising grip on his wrists is the only thing keeping him from calling the suit.

"That is enough!" Steve snaps, pulling himself to his impressive height. "Are you really using ignoring Stiles's needs as an excuse to ignore them now? Shame on you Tony. Nat.... well honestly I expected nothing less. But Phil? Stiles needs you. He needs you here, focused on him. Actually he needs all of us doing that. These kids has been through hell. It is up to us to help him recover like Isaac did."

Steve's words seem to snap most of the others from their revenge driven mindsets, but Phil is glaring mulishly at Steve. "Phil," Clint says quietly, reaching out to pull Phil's face toward him. "How do you think Stiles would feel if you killed the people he has given so much of himself to protect?"