Happy Holidays! 🎁 I hope you enjoy this fic—I know you like fantasy & AUs, but I couldn't for the life of me come up with a fantasy/AU plot that wouldn't end up being a longfic..... I’m sorry 😭🙇♀️
But I wrote this fic inspired from 4 songs by your favorite artists that you've been listening to recently (or at the time of my ask lmao), so I do hope you like this! 🥰
Spotify playlist for this fic: like the sun and stars playlist~
(I tend to take things too literally when it comes to songfics, which is probs why I struggle with them LOL but here we are: the fic is divided into 2 parts, with 2 songs per part ahaha 💛 I'll link the individual songs (with english subs if applicable) at the beginning of each part!) 🐥
*****
like the sun and stars
Derek didn't know the last time he'd been himself.
He didn't know if he even knew how to be himself anymore.
"The bite is a gift," he'd told Scott, but the words had felt wooden, sharp—a barbed stake impaling his chest.
Perhaps he'd said it because he'd grown up hearing that, perhaps he'd said it to convince himself, or perhaps he'd said it because saying it was a curse wouldn't help a panicking, newly-bitten teenager one bit.
Greenleaf, you had great prompts for this, and I gravitated for a fluffier, domestic fic that I hope you enjoy. ❤
*****
Home and Free
The Law of the Jungle actor Stiles Stilinski Heads Home for Christmas!
One of the perks of the job here at PopRave is getting to visit the set of upcoming film projects, and just today, yours truly got to see some of the amazing physical sets and practical effects that were built for The Law of the Jungle. Not only that, I got to sit and chat for a little bit (an exceedingly little bit) with its protagonist, the amazing Stiles Stilinski!
You’d think all his recent success would’ve gotten to his head, but he’s goofy and down to earth, like a high school friend you meet after a few years, but it feels like just yesterday you were complaining about chemistry class together. He told us he’s super psyched for fans to see his new movie, but the thing he’s looking forward to the most is spending some downtime during the Holidays in his California home with his family.
I tried to add in as many as your requests as I could in this small fic.
I was also heavily inspired by "It's All Coming Back to Now" by Celine Dion. It just adds to the feels.
May this holiday season be filled with many great fics, some relaxing times, and some happiness your way as well!! Happy Holidays!
*****
Tears to Dust
The whisper of a moan.
The feeling of laugh on his lips.
The caress of a calloused hand.
They all faded once he thought of them too hard. It was an echo that disappeared once he awoke. It would vex him more if he were more cognizant. As it was, he was wont for naught in his life. What right did he have to yearn for more than what he had. He was the most privileged man in the land; except he longed for his mother’s affection, his father’s reassurance, his sister’s joy, and the love of the one who would be his.
All hail King Derek Herodius Hale; defender of the people.
For @greenleaf1316. This is my first Secret Santa Fic ever and I'm so excited for my Giftee to see it!! Especially because one of the first Sterek fic I ever read was theirs, and I absolutely fell in love with it! I remember reading your fic, The Courting Dilemnas of a Spark and a Werewolf Prince, and falling in love with it, the characters, the world you created, everything. I hope you like what I've made for you even just a fraction of that!
*****
A Match Made In Trisekelle & Beacon
Derek isn't so sure as to why he is here; here being the study chambers of his mother’s.
The chamber is a small nook hidden in the Hale Castle, buried between the family quarters. Made completely of stones, it gets the coldest during winter, and it would constituent as a miracle to find his mother sitting at the desk in the corner, papers spilled in front of her gaze at the current time of the year. Talia Hale has always favored the warmth of the Sun; likes call to likes, he supposes.
So, he is confused as to why his mother is here, and as to why he is here.
"Mother?" He prompts, and she lifts her gaze from the myriad of papers on her desk, her face morphing from a concentrated frown to a bright smile.
"Derek," she says, and motions for him to sit on the wooden chair opposite her. He does. "You must be wondering why I called you here."
He nods, his bewilderment only growing as his mother's smile increases tenfold, as if the secret she wants to unearth to present to him is something fond, something dear to her heart.
For @greenleaf1316. I hope you like it!!!!! I tried to go for fluff but it got a teensy bit angsty at the end :D
Read On AO3
*****
Hiding In Plain Sight
1.
‘Shit.’ Stiles sat up abruptly and waved his hands frantically in Derek’s face. ‘Put your clothes back on.’
‘Huh?’ Derek frowned and under normal circumstances, Stiles would have been completely smitten with that little wrinkle between the Murder Brows ™ but he knew the sound of that car and he also knew that if Lydia caught them in flagrante delicto, he would never hear the end of it.
‘I mean it.’ He scrambled off the bed and peered out his window. ‘Fuck, she’s almost at the front door.’
‘Lydia?’ Derek, bless his heart, was actually up and fishing around for his henley, grabbing it off the floor and yanking it over his head. ‘Why are you worried?’
‘Because…well.’ Stiles wrung his hands. ‘Okay, so it’s literally only been a couple of months since we broke up and when we did break up, do you know what she said?’
‘That you were hung up on me?’ Derek grinned, all teeth. He had heard this story, in fact it was one of the reasons he’d finally made a move.
‘And do you know what I replied?’ Stiles narrowed his eyes at him.
‘That she was crazy and that you were in no way interested?’ Derek was smirking, amusement in every line of his face. It was a good look on him and Stiles was torn between wanting to wrestle him to the bed and carry on with what they’d started and shove him in the closet. That mental image made him snicker before the doorbell rang and he grabbed Derek and hustled him towards the window.
‘Stiles!’ Derek protested, but he let himself be steered. ‘You know you’re going to have to tell her eventually.’
‘Ha!’ Stiles wrinkled his nose at him. ‘I’ll tell Lydia that she was right when hell freezes over. She thinks she knows me so well.’
‘She does.’ Derek pointed out and Stiles gasped in betrayal and used both hands to bundle him outside.
‘Give it twenty minutes and then come back in.’ he ordered and left Derek muttering about not even having a chance to put his shoes on before he retreated onto the roof and out of sight. His head popped back in a moment later. ‘It’s all iced over up here and I’m freezing my ass off!’
‘You’ll live!’ Stiles slammed the window shut, barely missing Derek’s fingers, and hurtled out his bedroom and down the stairs, stopping briefly to untangle himself from his own shirt that he was attempting to put on upside down, and then skidded along the wooden floor of the hall until he slammed into the front door.
‘Dammit.’ he muttered, wincing as he pulled it open and found Lydia looking at him with a very smug expression.
‘I win.’ she announced and Stiles glared at her.
‘You absolutely do not.’ he hissed and she arched an eyebrow at him. Neither of them backed down until there was a sound like a cat being strangled from the roof and Lydia’s eyebrow climbed to Everestian heights.
‘No?’ She smiled sweetly but Stiles was wise to her cunning ways. Any show of weakness would result in his imminent destruction.
‘No.’ He folded his arms and then realised that his fly was undone. He turned around and jerked it up, squeaking when he nearly got his dick caught. He could hear snickering behind him and wheeled back around to find Lydia’s eyes sparkling with mirth.
‘It’s hard to do up your pants when you still have a hard on.’ she pointed out and he went red.
‘I was jerking off.’ he protested and that was of course the time when Derek’s usual grace decided to desert him and he fell off the roof, making a very un-wolflike noise as he crashed into the bushes that flanked the front of the house. He sat up, blinking blearily and shaking his head like a wet puppy.
‘Hmmmm.’ Lydia shoved Stiles aside and swanned into the house past him. ‘So I see.’
2.
‘It’s a bit of a situation.’ Stiles was slumped so low in his seat that his ass was hanging off the chair. On the other side, the Sheriff heaved a sigh.
‘I don’t get why you don’t just tell them.’ he said and next to him, Derek made an I told you so face.
‘Shut up.’ Stiles gave him a look that he hoped was clear in it’s dissent to that particular idea. Derek snorted and went back to eating Stiles’ popcorn that he’d abandoned when Erica and Boyd had walked into the cinema.
‘Son.’ The Sheriff sounded like he’d rather be chasing down a multitude of bad guys than talking Stiles down from his self-imposed ledge. ‘You’re all adults. I’m sure nobody is going to have a problem with that fact that you and Derek finally pulled your heads out of your asses and got together.’
‘It’s not as simple as you make it out to be.’ Stiles grumbled. ‘I mean they all made such a big deal about the fact that me and Lydia had finally gotten together.’
‘You mean Scott made such a big deal about you and Lydia getting together.’ The Sheriff chuckled and Stiles wanted to strangle him. ‘Look, Scott’s just got to put on his big boy pants and realise that just because he still has a stick up his ass about Derek coming back an alpha and taking back his pack, it’s no reason for you not to be happy.’
‘Fuck.’ Stiles’ entire face creased up. ‘I hate it when you’re reasonable.’
‘It’s a gift.’ His father sounded unbelievably fond. ‘No go back to watching your movie and make out with your boyfriend and stop trying to convince me to call in a bomb scare to the movie house.’
‘Thanks for nothing.’ Stiles pulled a face when he got hung up on, his father still chortling and then screeched like a small child when he found two pairs of glowing golden eyes looking at him from the row of seats in front.
‘You know we can hear you.’ Boyd said. His normally taciturn expression was bordering on gleeful and Stiles decided that made him look more evil than all the villains the pack had faced altogether, and that included Deucalion’s multiple iterations.
‘And smell you.’ Erica reached over and snagged a handful of popcorn. ‘Why are you two hiding back here and why is Stiles trying to cause a terrorist incident.’
Stiles gaped at them both and then looked at Derek accusingly.
‘You told them?’ He batted at Derek’s arm and his boyfriend fended him off easily, still managing to cram another mouthful in.
‘He didn’t need to.’ Boyd rested his chin on his arm. ‘We could smell it all over you the first time you fucked.’
‘’You’re just lucky that Scott is the ultimate failwolf and can’t use his nose for shit.’ Erica grinned, her fangs just showing. ‘Besides, it’s not like we have a problem with it. We won the pool.’
‘Cora’s still pissed about that.’ Derek smirked and Stiles felt he had no choice but to hit him.
3.
Stiles stretched luxuriously and turned to lean on one elbow, admitting Derek’s sleeping face. Even the fact that his wolf was on his back, mouth open and snoring like a band of happy lumberjacks let loose at a pine forest, couldn’t dim his ardour and he contemplated dipping under the covers and blowing him back to readiness.
Derek’s breathing hitched and he turned over onto his stomach, mumbling something about rabbis as he buried his face in the pillow and Stiles sniggered into his own pillow and then decided he needed something to drink. Sex with Derek was always athletic and enthusiastic and involved a hell of a lot of licking so feeling dehydrated was nothing new.
He sat up, using his toes to grab his discarded boxers and got up. He was still hitching them up when he cracked the door open and peered into the corridor. The new Hale house was a long white wood-cladded affair near the lake with Derek’s bedroom at the end of the corridor. Between him and the stairs was Peter’s room and Cora’s room, both of which were currently occupied. Thankfully, industrial strength soundproofing had been installed so he and Derek could be as loud as they wanted without anyone catching on. Boyd and Erica had been sworn to secrecy, as had Cora. She hadn’t even been allowed to tell Isaac, who she skyped daily.
He stumbled down the corridor, making his way downstairs and into the kitchen. It was all gleaming surfaces and had two enormous fridge freezers at the end. Stiles opened one, taking out a bottle of gatorade and cracking it. He downed half noisily and was just about to get started on the other half when the lights went on and he found himself face to face with a half naked Isaac.
‘Dude!’ He blinked in surprise. ‘Why aren’t you in France?’
‘Um…’ Isaac looked like a deer in the headlights. He had a series of huge bruises dotted all the way down his chest and it took all of a minute to put two and two together because clearly Cora and Her brother shared a marking kink.
‘Oh my God!’ Stiles hissed in excitement. ‘You two?’
‘Well, yeah.’ Isaac gave him a shy smile, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. ‘And I’m assuming that Derek did that.’ He gave Stiles’ neck a pointed look.
‘It’s new.’ Stiles opened the fridge again and grabbed a second bottle, chucking it over to him. ‘So are you back for good?’
‘I think so.’ Isaac’s eyes flitted towards the ceiling. ‘I’d like to be. I just got in this evening and things kind of got out of hand but this already feels more like home than any other place I’ve been.’
‘I’m glad.’ Stiles beamed at him. ‘And I know Derek will be really pleased to have you back.’
They drank the rest of their gatorade in silence, both of them catching each other’s eye and laughing.
‘This has got to be one of the most awkward things ever.’ Stiles grinned. ‘But if you’re back then what happened Chris?’ He stopped when that very person stumbled into the kitchen. He was also in nothing but boxers, his greying hair sticking up in every direction possible. He squinted at Stiles and Isaac and then looked sheepish as hell, especially when Stiles clocked the massive bite mark on the slope of his shoulder.
‘Huh.’ He nodded at Chris’ mark. ‘Guess it runs in the family.’
4.
Derek woke with a start. He shot up, fangs and claws out and eyes flashing and then settled when he saw who it was that had interrupted his sleep.
‘Jesus, Kira.’ He rubbed his eyes. ‘What the hell?’
‘Just visiting.’ Kira had her wicked smile on. Since she’d joined her sisters in the desert, her propensity for mischief in keeping with her kitsune nature had become even more pronounced. ‘I wanted to say hi.’ She was balanced on her toes on the iron foot rail of his bed, her katana on her back and her black hair floating around her face, eyes burning orange.
‘Did you drive?’ Derek asked, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.
‘No, I flew.’ Kira floated up into the air and landed soundlessly. ‘Isn’t it cool?’
‘Very.’ Derek couldn’t help smiling at her. ‘What time is it?’
‘Around three.’ Kira tilted her head, frowning at the bed he’d just vacated. ‘What are those?’
Derek looked behind him and felt his face heat up. He grabbed the black lace panties and shoved them under the pillow.
‘Nothing.’ he replied but Kira’s smile was now bordering on demonic.
‘You’re getting laid?’ she squealed in excitement. ‘Finally! Who’s the lucky girl?’
‘Oh...er..it’s…’ Derek floundered, not quite sure how to lay things out in a way that she wouldn’t be able to pick up on him lying. ‘It’s not so much a girl as it is a guy.’
Kira’s shriek of delight was enough to have him wincing at the assault on his eardrums.
‘Is it Stiles?’ She practically had heart eyes. ‘Oh God, please tell me it’s Stiles. You’ve had the biggest crush on him for about forever.’
That was when the toilet flushed and the ensuite door opened to reveal Stiles looking like the cat that ate the canary and possibly the entire aviary while he was about it.
‘A crush?’ He was beaming as brightly as Kira was. ‘On me?’
‘Shut up, Stiles.’ Derek ducked his head, knowing he’d been completely and utterly rumbled. Kira had been the only one he’d confessed to.
‘No, wait a second.’ Stiles’ grin turned smug. ‘All this time, I thought I was about the luckiest person on earth that you would even look at me and it turns out that you were pining for me?’
‘I wasn’t pining.’ Derek muttered, folding his arms and trying to get back some of his dignity. ‘I admired from afar.’
‘He pined.’ Kira giggled. ‘He pined so hard that I think we ate the entire grocery store stock of Ben and Jerry’s that first month you were dating Lydia. He made me go on a road trip to Vegas where all he did was mope and play the slots.’
‘I hate you.’ Derek growled at her but she completely ignored him and went over to throw her arms around Stiles, the two of them bouncing around like kindergarteners.
‘This is so great.’ Kira dragged Stiles back to the bed and hauled him onto it with her, all three of them getting tangled up. ‘It’s like my brother and my other brother getting together.’
‘That would be incest, Kira.’ Derek felt he was obligated to point this out. Kira crinkled her nose adorably and then shrugged.
‘Meh.’ She wriggled so she was between them, getting comfortable on the pillows. ‘Geez, I’m bushed after all that. Can I stay and nap for a bit?’
‘Sure.’ Stiles grinned badly at Derek over her head. ‘Although you do realise we’re both still naked, right?’
Kira mumbled something indistinct, already half asleep. Derek regarded her and brushed her hair out of her face.
‘She’s fucking nuts.’ he said, voice full of affection.
‘I know.’ Stiles replied. ‘But then again, who isn’t?’
5.
Melissa hummed to herself as she wandered the aisles of the grocery store. It was nice having this time to herself between shifts and she stopped to peruse a selection of sandwiches, tapping her fingers against her mouth as she contemplated lunch.
A familiar voice broke through her reverie and she frowned and walked to the end of the aisle, peeking around the corner and grinning as she took in the scene in front of her.
Canoodling. There was no other word for it. What was even more amusing was who exactly was doing the canoodling.
She’d always known how affectionate and tactile Stiles was. When he’d been in elementary school and she and Claudia had got together for coffee while he and Scott tore around the playground at the park, she’d always loved how free he’d been with his affection. He’d always come back to Claudia for a hug or a kiss on the head before galloping off again, something Melissa had envied. Scott had become withdrawn after Rafael had left, not as accepting of Melissa’s overtures as he had been and she had missed it.
Then Claudia had gotten sick and Stiles’ sunny nature had clouded over and he’d turned from tactile to clingy in his desperation. Melissa knew that whenever she’d visit she would find him on Claudia’s bead, tucked under her arm or snuggled into her side. Then Claudia’s dementia had gotten worse and she’d stopped recognising her son and that warm physical affection had dried up. Noah had tried to be a substitute but Melissa knew that nothing could ever take the place of Claudia’s touch. She had died and Stiles had grown up far too quickly, and that reservedness had persisted. He’d taken to pulling himself back, putting himself out there with words and manic energy instead and that sunny happy child she had known was hardly to be seen.
This though, this was like getting hit in the face with the past and it made her heart soar to see it.
Stiles had Derek trapped against one of the milk fridges, hands on his hips and their noses almost touching they were so close. It startled Melissa a little to realise that there was barely an inch difference between them and how broad Stiles had gotten in the shoulders. He and Derek now faced off as equals rather than antagonists and Melissa was equally surprised to see the look of exasperated love on Derek’s face as he looked into Stiles’ eyes, his own arms resting on Stiles’ shoulders.
‘I have to get milk.’ he said and Stiles snorted happily and nuzzled at him.
‘Well, I have to get kisses.’ he replied.
‘We’re in the middle of the store.’ Derek protested but his eyes were crinkled up and he was smiling in a way that Melissa could never recall seeing him smile. He looked utterly besotted and it was a very good look on him.
‘Stop being a worry wolf.’ Stiles laughed. ‘The pack shops on the other side of town. Nobody will see us here.’ He peppered Derek’s face with kisses and Derek started honest-to-God giggling, trying not very hard to fight him off until Stiles got him good and pinned and kissed him properly, Derek’s arms looped around his neck and their bodies pressed up tight against each other.
Melissa watched until it got a little too heated and then turned and left, a smile on her face all the way back to the hospital.
+ 1
‘Derek! Wake the fuck up!’ Stiles sounded panicked, more panicked than Scott had ever heard him. He was already moving to the door of the examination room when he was moved aside by Deaton. Boyd had laid Derek out on the stainless steel examination table, his shirt slashed by the harpy’s claws and deep rents in the skin underneath that bled freely. Stiles was in a state, his own clothes smeared with grime and his hair matted with what smelled like blood. Boyd wasn’t much better himself, battered and bruised, as was Erica. She was holding onto Derek’s hand tightly, not letting go even when Stiles shoved her aside to get to him.
Not for the first time, Scott realised he was out of the loop. He hadn’t even known that there was something up or that they were going hunting.
‘This is bad.’ Deaton’s usually calm was rattled. He disappeared and came back with a jar of oily looking green liquid. ‘Can someone hold his head?’
‘Why isn’t he healing?’ Cora asked, her dark eyes huge and full of tears.
‘Harpy venom is usually lethal to werewolves.’ Deaton nodded at Isaac, who lifted Derek’s head gently. Scott watched Deaton pry his mouth open and tipped the contents of the jar into it, Isaac steadying Derek so he wouldn’t choke. ‘Stiles. If ever you needed to use your spark, now is the time.’
‘Okay.’ Stiles wiped at his face, tears leaving clean streaks through the blood and dirt. He laid his hands on Derek’s chest and closed his eyes. ‘Come on, asshole. You don’t get to check out on me.’
Across the table, Cora took her brother’s other hand and Isaac laid Derek’s head down and moved to wrap his arms around her. Boyd came to stand alongside Erica, his arm around her waist.
‘Call him back.’ Deaton was looking at Stiles intently. ‘You know what he needs to hear.’
Stiles nodded, sniffling loudly when Derek’s wounds started to smoke as the potion kicked in.
‘Come on.’ He leaned down so his forehead was resting against Derek’s. ‘Please Derek, don’t leave me here without you. You know I can’t be alone anymore, not now I’ve got you with me.’
Scott frowned, his brain racing to catch up.
‘It’s not working.’ Erica was crying freely, her mascara streaked all down her face.
‘It will work.’ Stiles tightened his grip on Derek’s hands. ‘Come on, you stubborn son of a bitch. I need you and if you think I’m letting you go without a fight, well you can take that and stick it up your ass.’
As if on cue, Derek shuddered and took on a deep breath. He started coughing, eyes flying open to glow red as he convulsed on the table. All the other wolves ran to hold him down but it was horrible to watch, even as his wounds slowly sealed up and his breathing eased.
‘That’s it.’ Stiles was smiling through his tears. ‘Another deep breath, just like that baby.’
Derek’s head fell back to the table with a thump and he made a face that would have been comical if it hadn’t been for the circumstances.
‘I feel like I got chewed up and spat out.’ he croaked and everyone sagged in relief.
‘You almost did, man.’ Boyd laughed, but it was choked. ‘Fuck, we thought we’d lost you.’
‘I’m sorry.’ Derek looked up at Stiles, one hand coming up to cup his cheek. ‘I’m fine, okay.’
‘You’re not, but I’ll take it.’ Stiles replied, still crying and kissing Derek’s forehead. ‘You stupid self-sacrificing dick. If I didn’t love you so damn much, I’d kill you myself.’
Scott looked at Deaton, who shrugged, cryptic smile back in place.
Derek smiled, exhausted but soft.
‘I love you too.’ he replied, pulling Stiles down into an upside down kiss that went on and on and didn’t stop even when the back door slammed open and a wild-eyed Peter charged in, claws and fangs out and his eyes electric blue.
‘Harpies?’ He waved his hands at them, looking for all the world like Stiles when he flailed. ‘What the fucking fuck?’
Stiles and Derek broke apart, holding onto each other tightly.
‘Your pack.’ Stiles murmured, nosing at Derek’s hair.
‘Our pack.’ Derek replied and pulled him back down to kiss again.
Summary: Five times Laura played matchmaker for Stiles and Derek and one time she didn’t have to. Or: Laura’s guide to dating.
Autor’s notes: This is a Sterek Secret Santa 2019 gift for green-leaf, who asked for, among others, Fluff and Feels, Lydia, and Hale Family. I tried to make something lighthearted and it involves Laura and Lydia, although I couldn’t hold back angst completely – there is a mention of Kate and her relationship with Derek, although it’s vague.
I hope you’ll like the story! I admit I had some trouble finishing it because I didn’t have enough time (real life, am I right?) so if there are any mistakes, I’m sorry about that.
Inspired by isthatbloodonhisshirt's fic Get Together (Or So Help Me!).
That said, merry Christmas! May sterek stay strong with you.
*****
Tuples
The Things You Have in Common, Or, The Revelation
Laura doesn’t know what it is about mathematics that makes her think of anything but mathematics.
“A tuple,” says Deaton, “is a list of elements. What’s interesting about them, however, is that they can have different data types. I will explain this further during the math club if anyone’s here interested…”
And Laura is already watching Lydia’s perfect notes, her manicure, then turns to stare out of the window. At least she isn’t the only one to not pay attention to the class – Derek is scowling at his notebook, tightly gripping his pen. He grimaces and carefully whites out the pink heart that was drawn on the margin.
Honestly, Laura doesn’t know what’s the fuss about. Sure, Paige was nice, pretty, and funny, but it’s been so much time already. Things haven’t been that good between them for a while and it was coming, anyone could see it. Yet Derek always makes the same expression when thinking about her.
Paige had to move out because of her parents but it was an opportunity. Even Derek admitted she should go to this music school she's been dreaming about. However, he was marathoning Star Wars later, and sometimes Laura still catches him coming back to the films.
Laura sighs and looks away, a flash of something catching her eyes. It’s a keychain with R2-D2 hanging from Stiles’ bag. Because Stiles likes Star Wars.
And he likes Batman.
And comic books.
By the end of the class, Laura’s notebook is full of things common for Stiles and Derek instead of tuples, sets, and multisets.
As there’s a bell signaling the end of the class, Laura breathes, “I’m a genius.’”
* * *
“You’re an idiot,” says Lydia.
“Give me one reason for why that’s a bad idea,” replies Laura, raising her index finger.
“First, you’re making Derek fall into another relationship when he doesn’t want to. Second, you’re not giving him enough time to grieve. Three, what have I told you about amatonormativity? Expecting everyone to be better off in a monogamous-“
“Relationship, yeah, I know. But I’m not making them do anything,” says Laura. “I’m just… creating… possibilities. Just giving Derek a little push. Besides, how much time does he need? Come on, it’s been almost a year, and that thing with Paige wasn’t all that serious.”
Lydia doesn’t answer, so Laura continues, “And hey, at least I’m not heteronormative. So. Will you help me?”
“Of course not.”
School As A Natural Habitat
“I can’t believe I’m here,” says Lydia again.
“Shh. We’re observing them in their natural habitat, they can’t know we’re here.”
“They already know we’re here, it’s our school. And since when is school a natural habitat?”
Laura ignores her and lowers her voice. ‘Now we can see as the predator stalks his prey-“
“Wait, Stiles is the predator?”
“Well, it’s not Derek, right?” reasons Laura.
“You’re right.”
“The predator stops, analyzing his prey, his gaze gone cold and calculating, imagining the best way to conquer-“
“You think too highly of Stiles.”
“-but it means nothing when faced with the fiery heart of burning passion and desire. Stiles can’t stop himself anymore – he wants, no, he needs to see Derek-“
“Wait, how did it turn from an animal documentary to a soap opera?”
Laura shrugs. “I just describe what I see.”
“How does your brain work?”
Stiles comes up to Derek, they exchange a few words, and then Stiles nods and goes away.
Laura blinks. “Considering they are perfect for each other, that was rather disappointing.’
“Well, what did you expect?’
“Frankly, the same enlightenment I had during the mathematics. Like, they would see each other just understand, you know?”
Lydia makes a face. “I really don’t.”
“What do you think they talked about?”
“Probably math project.”
Laura slowly turns to Lydia, the hope reviving inside her. “Oh my god, you’re right.”
“What? Why?” asks Lydia, stiffening.
“They can work together for the math project. See? It’s all about possibilities.”
Lydia looks at her. “It always makes me nervous when you agree with me and it’s always for a good reason.”
* * *
2. Cinema Date To Get To Know Each Other
“Did you know that 0,5% of people find their significant others in a cinema?” says Laura. She has no idea what’s the real number but 0,5% sounds reasonable enough. “That’s why you should go to the cinema.”
Derek gives her his ‘you’re an idiot’ face but honestly, Laura can’t even acknowledge that he tries. He’s no half as good at it as Lydia.
“You say that like it’s a lot but it’s really not.”
“If you go, you raise the probability of the already possible,” argues Laura. “Which means it’s gonna happen.”
“Look, even I can tell that’s not how it works.”
“Even I can tell you don’t know shit about dating.”
“That makes no sense!”
“Jesus, just go,” says Laura, directing Derek to the door. “Here’s your ticket. Row at the back, seat 10, you’re welcome. Oh, and by the way, you’re going with Stiles.” Laura grins and closes the door in his stunned face.
* * *
“You’re a terrible date,” says Lydia. “Late, focused on other people, won’t accommodate my needs-“
“Your needs are stupid,” replies Laura, rolling her eyes. Who doesn’t like caramel popcorn?
“If you’re hungry we can go to the Red Sun restaurant after the movie.”
“I’m not going there, they always eye me oddly when I’m there.”
“That’s just because you had worn jeans, sneakers, and Wonder Woman shirt back then.”
“My Cat Woman shirt didn’t help either.”
Lydia gives her one of her My Patience Is Eternal But You’ll See The End Of It looks. “Black and white colors aren’t enough to make something elegant, Laura.”
“Whatever. And I told you I was late because it took me ages to convince Derek to come.” Laura straightens, then hides behind her bowl of popcorn. “They’re here! Why are they arguing?”
Lydia watches the boys for a while. “Seems like they don’t like the film you’ve chosen.”
“How do you know that?”
“Lip reading.”
Laura blinks and glances at Lydia. “Sometimes I forget how amazing you are.”
“Then don’t,” advises Lydia. “Derek is entirely against the film but Stiles is trying to defend it. I don’t think it’s working.”
“Free tickets,” mutters Laura, “and they still have problems. Well excuse me, but I didn’t have much room to choose from.”
“About that – why did you choose a romantic comedy?”
Laura raises her eyebrows. “Uh, so that they make a connection between love and themselves.” She barely holds back a ‘duh’.
“I don’t think that’s how a human brain works,” replies Lydia. “Also, are we going to talk about ethical repercussions of you stalking them?”
“I have good intentions so it’s fine,” replies Laura easily.
“You know, sometimes I’m jealous of how simply you see the world. But no, Laura, you’re stalking Derek and Stiles. It’s creepy.”
Laura mulls it over for a second. “How about I tell them later about it? And buy them food to apologize.”
“You can bribe Stiles and Derek, but it won’t work on your moral judgment.”
Laura frowns. “Wait, you think I’ll feel bad about it later? I won’t.”
Lydia shakes her head. “You sure are something else. Come on, they already went inside the movie room.”
They start walking, trying to remain hidden from Stiles and Derek.
“Oh, it’s like we’re detectives on a case! Hold my pipe, Watson.”
Lydia makes a face. “Sherlock Holmes never said that. How come it’s the first thing that came to your mind? And was it supposed to be sexual?”
“Oh,” notices Laura and laughs. “Man, I’m hilarious.”
3. Bowling Date With Mutual Friends
“Hey guys,” says the waiter and smiles at them. “Double date?”
Laura’s smile freezes for a second. She doesn’t like the thought and is surprised herself to see how much. It’s not the first time someone thought she and Stiles are dating, and the sheer thought that Lydia and Derek would date is ridiculous. Even back when Lydia was dating Jackson Laura was always rolling her eyes at the mention of two of them.
Derek is the first to react. He looks at the waiter seriously and says, “Never.”
“Oh, you wish you were on a date with me,” shoots Stiles.
“I can’t imagine a fate worse than that,” replies Derek. “I’d die of secondhand embarrassment.”
“I can be charming when I want to,” replies Stiles, defensive. “it’s just that there’s no point to make an effort for you.”
“That’s just it, you have to put an effort to be even remotely dateable. And it’s not worth it,” says Derek. “Dates are just… meh.”
Stiles raises his eyebrows. ‘Evidently, you’ve never been on a date with me.”
“No, evidently, you’ve never been on a date, period,” counters Derek. “You have to make conversation, think of the other person, plan everything, be nice and funny… It’s not worth it,” Derek repeats.
Stiles frowns. “Then how about you go on a date with someone you already know a bit?”
Laura watches in tension, wondering if that’s the moment one of the boys – or maybe even both – will realize.
“But there’s no one that I know and am interested in.”
“Huh. Well, that sucks,” comments Stiles.
“It’s not that bad,” Derek shrugs. “I got used to it.”
“It’s not a double date,” says Laura, turning to the waiter, “but it will be,” she promises darkly.
“Four cokes and one alley for an hour,” orders Lydia and watches the waiter leaving to prepare the drinks. She sighs deeply and says, “Tell me all about a secondhand embarrassment.”
* * *
“So I take it not one of us knows how to play bowling,” grins Stiles.
“I think I’m pretty good,” says Derek.
“Not you,” replies Stiles coldly. “You’re a freak when it comes to sports.”
“You don’t have to be jealous,” says Derek, condescending. “I could teach you.”
“Aren’t you the picture of an arrogant jock,” says Stiles. “Together with not understanding the basic concepts of math.”
Derek’s smirk falls off.
“Right!” Laura claps her hands. “Do you guys know already with whom you’ll be doing math project?’’
“Lydia?” asks Stiles hopefully.
“No way,” replies Laura. “Lydia’s with me.”
Lydia narrows her eyes thoughtfully. “As long as you promise a few strikes and at least one 5-bagger.”
“Promise.”
“I’m sold,” states Lydia.
“Don’t leave me like that! I know nothing about bowling.”
No one would believe something like that coming from Stiles.
“Fine, I may have read about it a bit,” Stiles huffs out. “I know the best techniques and all this shit but it’s not enough. It’s never enough,” he adds bitterly.
“Come on, how hard it can be?” asks Laura. “You’re just rolling a ball.”
“You have no right to speak,” replies Stiles. “You’re a freak like Derek.”
“And that’s why I’ll be in a team with Lydia and you’ll be in a team with Derek. For math project, too.”
“No way,” says Stiles. “I’d rather be in a team with you, and Lydia can be with Derek.”
Laura grimaces. “You want to play into the waiter’s expectations?”
“Why not? It’s funny,” says Stiles.
“Wouldn’t it be funny if he thought it was a double date but with me and Lydia and you and Derek?”
Stiles and Derek stare at her.
“No,” says Stiles. “That would be just weird.”
‘’You sound like a straight guy,” says Laura.
“Now that’s just offensive.’’
In the end, though, that’s how they play. Lydia and Laura win, although Derek does try to tutor Stiles. He gets considerably better but Laura did get a 5-bagger. She may boast about it.
4. Romantic Restaurant Date
“Derek opened the door for Stiles. They both dressed up nicely. They are still civil to each other. What the hell,’’ muses Laura, watching them through the aquarium, “my plan is actually working.”
“You sound way too surprised considering how confident you were in your project.”
“Oh please,” says Laura. “My idea is brilliant, Derek and Stiles should be together. It’s just that I was going about it the wrong way. I mean, let’s face it – Derek’s hopeless. Stiles is the one who can bring them together.”
“Is that so?” asks Lydia. Just as she opens her mouth to say something more, the waiter comes to take their orders. They talk for a while and once the waiter leaves, Lydia says, “Oh, Stiles is reading a book.”
“Hm?” Laura doesn’t take her eyes off of the menu. If there’s one thing she loves about Red Sun, it’s the steaks. Just imagining the taste of each one is a pleasure in itself.
“Stiles took out a book and now is reading it aloud to Derek,” explains Lydia.
Laura frowns and tries to watch the boys through the aquarium. She thought it was smart to take this table, to observe and not be seen, but it’s difficult to guess what’s exactly going on through the mass of water, algae, and fish swimming around.
“This dork,” she says finally, disbelieving. “I gave him The Manly Art of Seduction book under the excuse of him mentioning dating a lot during bowling. He was supposed to read it and try all of the moves on Derek! It even has a whole chapter about seduction at a restaurant.”
“They are laughing at all the advice,” observes Lydia. “At least they seem to be having fun.”
“I want them to be together, not have fun,” replies Laura, put off. “Can you tell what they are talking about?”
“No way, I can’t see them clearly through the water.”
“I’m going to the bathroom and will try to listen in,” says Laura. “They won’t recognize me like this, right?” she asks, gesturing at her clothes.
“Even I have a hard time believing it’s you,” says Lydia. “You look so nice today.”
Laura rolls her eyes and stands up.
“Basically, the right smile is the basis,” says Stiles now. “Give me your best smile, Derek.”
Laura doesn’t see the expression Derek makes, but it makes Stiles lean back from him. “Whoa, okay, it is an invitation to intimacy but of a deathly kind, you know? You should be friendly and relaxed, not dreadful and deranged. Come on, no smile, no game.”
“I don’t need a game,” replies Derek. “You want to be seductive and shit, you try that.”
Laura’s already passing them but she still hears when Derek asks, “Why are you winking? Jesus.”
Already on her way there, Laura decides to go to the toilet. Once inside, she catches her reflection in the mirror and has to pause.
She really looks different. Laura has never liked to wear jewelry and fancy clothes because they tend to hinder movements which makes no sense to her. That’s exactly the reason she decided to dress this way tonight.
Now that she thinks of it, Lydia’s words might have a grain of truth to them. Laura is confident neither Stiles nor Derek will recognize her as they won’t even imagine Laura being this elegant – they’d just assume it’s a look-alike. That’s also why Laura didn’t even bother to color her hair like Lydia.
On her way back, she again slows down her pace to listen to Stiles and Derek.
“It’s your shoe,” says Stiles. “It’s weird. I can’t focus, it’s shape is wrong.”
“It’s a normal shoe, Stiles.”
“And your pants. The material feels strange when I rub it.”
“Shut up and rub. It was your idea to try it out and get better.”
Their voices are hushed so she can’t hear as much as earlier, although that may be for the better. Because, okay, Laura must admit she feels a bit weird. As much as she thought about Stiles and Derek’s relationship, she’s never considered its… physical side.
She finds her table and sees that the entry was served already. Awesome – she’s hungry and can’t wait to try Red Sun’s food, the restaurant has never failed her. Yet now, instead of eating, she watches Lydia.
She’s beautiful, of course. Lydia’s always taken care to be elegant. Tonight, she has a new dress and earrings which bring out the green in her eyes.
“Well?” asks Lydia.
“Stiles and Derek are playing footsie.”
Lydia raises her eyebrow. “They are lucky the tablecloths here are long enough.” She turns to watch the boys for a second. “Who’d have thought, they seem quite serious about it.”
Laura makes a face. “We don’t have to do that, right?”
“Why would we have to?”
“I don’t know, it feels like we should do that. There’s always this scene in the movies,” replies Laura. “When characters dress nicely.”
Lydia shrugs, not looking at her.
‘So we won’t play footsie,” repeats Laura to make sure. “I mean, it’s not like you need to train, right? To get more confidence or something. Be charming. Whatever.”
It’s a while before Lydia replies, bringing a glass to her mouth to sip some water and put it down. “Yeah,” she says slowly. “We won’t.”
Laura already knew the answer but the time it took Lydia to answer kind of annoys her. “Yeah. Footsie is not, like, cello, it’s not based on the muscle memory,” she adds.
“I was thinking of telling you sometime so I suppose it can be now. I’m gay, Laura,” says Lydia. “I like girls more than boys.”
Laura’s mind blanks for a minute, then starts working a mile a minute. “Oh,” she manages through it all.
“I didn’t mean to hide it from you,” adds Lydia, sounding apologetic. “I just wanted to make sure first.”
“Make sure,” echoes Laura. Because Lydia is a lesbian. Right. You need to make sure of it first, huh? Yeah.
Lydia nods.
Laura wills herself to react normally. “It’s good that you know now,” part of her brain says. The other one still freaks out, even though, honestly, there’s nothing to freak out about. When she heard that Derek was bi and that Stiles was gay it made no change to her. But this is Lydia. She was, like, dating Jackson. Sure, it wasn’t serious, but they were going on dates and stuff together.
Lydia nods again.
The silence stretches between them but Laura has no idea how to fill it in. She gives up altogether when the waiter comes up with their dishes.
Halfway through the meal, Laura can’t believe her mind is still reeling from the news. She’s always thought of herself as an accepting person. Maybe she has this much difficulty now because they were always so similar, Laura has assumed Lydia was straight, too. To Laura, sexuality has never been a question. She liked boys. What’s there to think about?
Boys.
Laura suddenly remembers about Stiles and Derek and snaps her head to them. Fortunately, nothing’s going on. They are eating desserts and talking, so Laura turns away.
She frowns at the last bite of her steak and looks at them again. It’s actually going really well. Stiles must have just said a joke as he grins expectantly at Derek, who huffs out a laugh and looks at him from under his lashes.
“Oh, seriously?” she asks, breaking the silence, and looks at Lydia. She’s so frustrated she forgets about the atmosphere for a second. “They are still making fun of the advice in the book.”
Lydia observes them for a while. “Are you sure?”
“It’s chapter 10, ‘Body Language’ and Reading It. And it only makes Derek look stupid,” says Laura. At Lydia’s look, she adds, “I skimmed through it before giving it to Stiles.”
Lydia smiles. “Remember anything good?”
Oh. Laura didn’t know Lydia could make this expression. It’s like… it could mean something. Talking about flirting advice is not flirting itself, right? It’s just talking. How do you flirt? Lydia glances at her. It’s getting worse. How do you talk? “Uh-“
“Can I take your plates?”
Laura startles but nods at the waiter.
“Can we have a receipt?” asks Lydia.
“Sure.” The waiter leaves with their plates and Laura blinks. She kind of hoped for a dessert but then again, the atmosphere feels strange. No wonder Lydia wants to end this quickly.
* * *
During the weekend, Laura concludes that she’s a horrible person. No wonder Lydia cut their time short, she has all the reasons to avoid Laura now. She decides to apologize to Lydia on Monday and do whatever she asks, even if it’s taking a break from each other for a while.
However, when she sees Lydia the next day, she hears, “I’m sorry.”
Laura frowns. “Why?”
“I knew it was a surprise to you, yet I got frustrated that you weren’t 100% accepting.”
“I, uh, I tried,” says Laura with a grimace. “It’s just, well-“ she deflates suddenly. “Yeah. It was a surprise.”
It’s better, but not that much better. During lunch, it irks Laura that Lydia glances at Allison passing them and blurts out, “She’s straight. She’s dating Scott McCall.”
Lydia shrugs. “I’m just looking.”
And it still annoys Laura. She’s never thought she could be this much of a homophobe.
The thoughts of Lydia take up space usually sacrificed for Stiles and Derek, which means that by the end of the week, she finds Stiles just to say, “No plans for the weekend. Do whatever.”
“Oh, that’s good,” says Stiles. “You finished your project?”
Laura shrugs. “Something like that.”
“I’m coming over to Derek to play some video games.”
Laura stares at him. “To Derek?”
“Yep.”
“You’re willingly spending time together?”
“Well, not exactly. We need to prepare this math project and something to motivate us. So we decided that each gets to pick something the other hates to do while we meet.”
“Huh,” manages Laura. “Okay. I don’t get it.”
Stiles shrugs. “What’s there to not get? It’s mutual suffering for the mutual benefit.”
“Right,” nods Laura, staring at Stiles, the shrugs again. “If it works.”
“You’d be surprised.”
5. Home Visit
Laura watches as the teabag sinks and resurfaces with the movement of her hand. The teabag’s string stays on the surface of the liquid and Laura thinks about surface tension. Her mother always makes tea when she needs to think about something and Laura stares down at the liquid, waiting for the results, but so far nothing.
“Oh hey,” says Stiles, entering the kitchen. He looks at Laura for a moment. “You okay?”
“I’m thinking about surface tension.”
“That bad, huh?” Stiles pours himself some coke. “You can come to play sudoku with us.”
“Weren’t you supposed to play video games?”
“Derek’s turn,” explains Stiles. “It’s him tormenting me now.”
“Your fair system truly amazes me.”
“Honestly, me too,” says Stiles and angles to the door. “Anyway, the offer stands.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll go watch something.”
Derek’s always watching Star Wars when feeling down so Laura figures it wouldn’t hurt to try.
As The Force Awakens plays, Laura decides to try out Stiles’ method of using the sofa in every way but intended, with legs on the backrest and head on the floor. She still has no idea how to amend her relation with Lydia.
She sighs and looks to the side, under the sofa. Like this, she can notice something pink standing out from a place just next to one of the sofa’s legs. Frowning, she reaches to take it but it seems to be fixed to the material. Curious, Laura forgets about the movie completely and slides to the floor.
It’s a piece of paper pinned to the material of the sofa. Laura takes the pin and carefully releases the paper.
She sits back on the sofa, this time normally, and reads what turns out to be a note on a pink, girly paper.
Derek,
I hoped you were more mature than that but part of the fault is mine, for expecting something from a child you turned out to still be. I don’t hold it against you, sweety. We could still have some fun but I won’t wait forever.
Kate
Laura reads the note again and then again, but the content still doesn’t make any sense. The only Kate Derek could know is younger than them and deep in her goth phase. She’d never use this kind of stationery, with the imprinted hearts on the side. Not to mention that the note seems to written by someone older. The ‘have some fun’ part makes her especially uneasy.
Well, no point in thinking about it. Laura stands up and is already going upstairs before it strikes her as really bizarre that Derek would pin the note under the sofa. She stops, frowning. If he wanted to hide it, he could do that very well in his room, but for some reason chose the living room, used by everyone in the family and the guests.
This seems like the kind of thing you need to think about. Admittedly, that’s not Laura’s strongest point. What would Lydia do?
First, she definitely wouldn’t confront Derek about it right away. Slowly, Laura turns away and comes back to still playing Star Wars.
She reads the note one last time and carefully pins it back to place.
* * *
Laura waits. It’s not until Wednesday that she asks Lydia about the note. She wanted to have the time to think of something herself but it didn’t help. The longer she waits, the more it only unsettles her.
“Do you know if Derek knows someone called Kate?”
Lydia searches her locker for something but the moment she hears the name, she freezes. It’s just for a second, easy to overlook but Laura’s watching her closely.
“You know something,” she says, surprised. “And I could tell that,” she realizes, amazed. “Like I’m a special agent or something.”
“Or something,” agrees Lydia, her mouth quirking before she sighs. “Yes, I saw them once together. I can’t tell you more, though. Derek wanted me to keep quiet.”
“That makes no sense,” argues Laura. “Why wouldn’t he tell me? I thought he was thinking about Paige all this time. I called him Hopeless Romeo Soulpuzzle.”
Lydia doesn’t answer. “How do you know about Kate, anyway?”
“Found a note from her.” Laura glances at Lydia and bites her lip. “Honestly, I don’t know what to do about it.”
Lydia doesn’t answer for a second. “If I were you, I’d talk to him about it. Say something like, I found this by chance, I admit I’m curious but also a bit worried? And I know it’s not my business but-“
“It kind of is my business, though,” Laura interrupts her. “I mean, I have vested interest in Derek being single so that he can date Stiles.”
“Oh, haven’t you heard? Derek asked Stiles out yesterday but got rejected,” says Lydia.
Wait. What?
“What?” asks Laura stupidly.
“Yeah, I’m not sure what this is about,” continues Lydia. “I’ll have to talk to Stiles later.”
“He wasn’t supposed to do that!” says Laura, stunned. “Stiles was supposed to ask Derek out! I got this whole thing wrong. I should’ve given Derek this Manly Art of Seduction book.” Laura blinks suddenly. “Oh well, actually, that’s for the better.”
“How is that for the better?” frowns Lydia, confused by her changed attitude. “Wasn’t your goal them dating? This is the opposite.”
“No, now that I think about it, I wanted to give Derek a push,” says Laura slowly. “Make sure he’s still there. And he is, right? He even asked Stiles out.” She mulls it over for a second, then shrugs. “Oh well,” she repeats. “It will be fine.”
“You sure are easy-going,” comments Lydia.
Laura shrugs. “I should buy him some ice cream. And keep Stiles away from me. I can’t be held responsible for my actions around him right now.”
Lydia gives her an odd look. “Math club is about to start so you should probably-“
“Oh please,” says Laura, incredulous. “He won’t come to the math club right after he rejected Derek!”
“It was yesterday.”
“Same chance! He should be at home right now, crying in his pillow, tormenting himself and cursing everything that led him to reject Derek.”
“Um,” says Stiles awkwardly.
“I saw it coming from a mile away but it’s still satisfying,” comments Lydia.
Slowly, Laura turns to eye Stiles coldly up and down. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“We’re going to talk about tuples?” tries Stiles. “Look, don’t be mad, please. We can still be friends, right? Like, see, I’ll give you my keychain,” he shoves the R2-D2 towards Laura.
“I don’t like Star Wars,” Laura snaps.
Stiles frowns. “But this weekend you-“
“I was watching it because Derek always watches it to feel better.”
Stiles has enough sense to drop his eyes.
“So what is it about Derek that’s not good enough for you?”
There’s some mumbling that sums up to, “It’s not like that.”
“Well, tell me how it is, then.”
Stiles tightens his lips. “I didn’t exactly reject him, okay?”
“Oh, did you let him down gently?” asks Laura, scathing. “How kind of you.”
“I – it’s not like that,” he repeats, miserable. “It’s just… how can I tell that I can date him? I mean, sure, I like him but how do I know it’s enough to date? We could be just friends. What’s the threshold? How can I tell my liking is different?” asks Stiles.
“You’re overthinking it,” mutters Lydia.
Stiles shrugs. “Anyway, I said ‘I don’t know if I can’.”
“And what did Derek say?”
This time, Stiles meets Laura’s eyes. “’I understand’.”
* * *
“I bought ice cream,” says Laura, still in the door. “I’m not sure if they are celebratory or if they are to cheer you up.”
“Me neither,” mutters Derek, already sitting before TV.
“Sucks.”
“Mm.”
They don’t say anything more until the end of A New Hope, when Laura speaks up, “I tried to set you up.”
“Hm?”
“With Stiles,” clarifies Laura.
Derek rolls his eyes and takes another spoonful of ice cream. “You don’t say.”
“Wait, you knew?”
“Of course I did,” replies Derek, offended. “I just didn’t care. I like Stiles, so.”
In a sudden wave of affection, Laura hugs him. “I’m sorry. I feel like an asshole.”
She stands up to play The Empire Strikes Back but looks at Derek first. “Can I ask why did you decide to ask him out?”
Derek shrugs and busies himself with the ice cream for a while. “He was talking about dating and stuff. That he needs to find someone, everyone has someone, is Danny still with his boyfriend, so I just. Snapped.”
“You snapped? What does that mean?”
Derek fixes his eyes on the ice cream carton, his cheeks coloring. “I said something like, ‘Just date me if it’s such a problem’.”
“Wow, talk about disappointing confessions,” mutters Laura. At Derek’s glare, she adds, “Sorry! But honestly. Did you say something more at least? Explain?”
Derek makes an odd move, something between trying to hide behind ice cream and a shrug. “Kinda.”
Laura groans. “Well, I’m waiting!”
Derek comes back to watching the ice cream. “I said that I like him.”
“You said why?”
Derek sighs. “Do I have to say that again? Because he’s funny and smart, and, and pretty? You know, the usual shit,” he tries, and fails, in nonchalance. “That he lights up the room. That I feel like I can be myself and it’s okay.”
Laura blinks. “Whoa, dude.”
“Shut up.”
“What did Stiles say to that?”
A tiny, stupid smile appears on Derek’s face. “He, uh. He liked it.”
Laura takes pity on his blush and plays the movie.
They are almost finished when Laura suddenly remembers about Kate and can’t stop thinking about it. When the end credits scrolls down, she can’t hold it anymore.
“There’s something under the sofa,” Laura blurts out.
Derek stops licking his spoon full of twirling caramel chocolate. “Wha-?”
“Something, uh, something bad.”
“What are you talking about?”
Laura stares at the TV. “I may have found Kate’s note under the sofa.”
Derek tenses beside her but doesn’t say anything. It’s not a good sign, though – Derek will always win the silent wars.
“I didn’t know about her,” says Laura gingerly. “I thought you were still missing Paige or something.”
Derek doesn’t answer.
“Did she – was she – I mean, I kind of got the feeling that she-“
“She didn’t do anything,” says Derek, suddenly angry. “I was an idiot.”
Laura darts a look at him. “How old was she?”
“Twenty-eight.”
Now it’s Laura’s turn to stay quiet. She has no reply to that.
“I was an idiot,” repeats Derek. Laura winces at his tone, the self-hatred evident in a few sounds. “She didn’t do anything but she – she expected. She was waiting and kept talking to me and calling me a ‘child’-“ Derek breaks off, turning to the side.
“What happened?” asks Laura after a moment.
Derek shrugs. “She got bored. Moved out.”
“Can I ask you for something?” asks Laura, fiddling with the blanket.
Derek glances at her.
“I think you should throw it away. The note. Burn it in a ritual fire. Flush in the toilet. I don’t know, something, it’s disturbing that it’s still here.”
She didn’t expect an agreement, at least not an easy one, but Derek nods. “Okay.”
“Oh. Uh, really?”
“Stiles wants me to throw acid on it, too.”
“He knows about Kate?”
Derek shrugs. “Mentioned it.”
That requires some trust, right? Laura’s no expert but she can tell this much. This whole thing starts to look rather serious.
“Why is it here, anyway? If you wanted to hide it, you could’ve found a place in your room.”
“I wanted to remember it.”
“But what if someone found it?”
“What, like you did?”
“Oh. Right.” It makes an odd sense, she thinks. To hide but in a way that someone, sooner or later, would’ve found it. To not be able to say anything oneself, but wait for someone to ask.
“I think I can stomach Return of the Jedi,” says Laura, looking at the TV. “I expect some help in return if I have some trouble with something. Like Lydia.” Wait, that sounded odd. “Something.”
“You two are like that?”
“Like what?” Laura makes a face at Derek’s raised eyebrows. “Gross, I’m not dating anyone,” she says with a shudder. “Although if I had to, I guess it’d be Lydia.”
“So you’re just friends?”
“We are not just friends. She’s my best friend and… I mean, we are not dating, I don’t even want that, but we aren’t just friends either.”
“Huh.”
“Actually, I’m sure Lydia knows a word for it. I’ll ask her about it.”
“I kind of thought you were straight?”
“I don’t know what I am,” replies Laura. “I’m not straight because I like Lydia, but I’m not gay. I mean, I know the way Lydia looks at Braeden sometimes at the gym and… I don’t look like that at anyone. So I’m not bi either.”
“Huh. So, like asexual?”
Laura lets out the air. “Label is a label is a label,’ she says instead. “I don’t know. I mean, I guess? Whatever.”
+1. Your Everyday Dinner Date
Laura watches as Stiles eats Derek’s fries and Derek drinks Stiles’ milkshake. They argue about C-3PO, then discuss surface tension of the milkshake as Stiles drips his fry in it and Derek watches in horror but knows better by now than to stop him.
“When do you think they will realize they are dating?”
Lydia shakes her head. “They won’t. Ten years later, they’ll still think of themselves as platonic life partners or something.”
“I was thinking they might go down the friends with benefits way, except they have trouble setting boundaries.”
“Or the fake relationship. Everyone assumes they are dating so they decide to pretend to be dating to break up and have it over with, except they can’t quite just pretend.”
“Oh, I like this one,” Laura grins ad settles back in her seat. “Anyways, my plan totally worked.”
“It was a complete failure,” replies Lydia. “Your goal was to make them date.”
“There were a lot of goals, okay, they’ve changed, and many were achieved.”
“You can’t just change the goals.”
“Of course I can,” shrugs Laura. “It’s my plan.”
“I know I’ve said that a few times already, but I’m still impressed by your carefree attitude and easy-going nature.”
Laura bumps arms with her, smiling. She thinks back to the day she found Kate’s note, recalls heading to Derek’s room. Stiles was there then, wasn’t he? And it was just before Derek asked him out. Now that’d be a shitstorm if Laura went in to ask about Kate. “Good to have you to analyze everything.”
Lydia smiles back and Laura thinks suddenly of the talk she had with Derek. “Hey, is there like a name for when you’re friends, but more? Not like dating. Like, someone important, a friend, but not your… I don’t know.”
Lydia shrugs. “One that I just said. Platonic life partner?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“There’s also QPR. Queerplatonic relationship.”
“Hm. That’d suit us more, right?”
Lydia gives her an amused smile. “Is that your way of asking me out?”
“Is that your way of trying to embarrass me?”
Lydia nods. “Fair. Sorry. But is it?”
“Would you rather I call it a tuple like Stiles?”
Stiles grins. “My tuple rocks.”
“Ugh.”
“Jealous much?”
“Stiles,” Laura makes a face. “This is my brother.”
“Your point?”
Sure, Derek’s smitten, but Stiles is just as bad.
“So I have different options?” asks Lydia.
“Well, we can always stay friends, so yeah.”
Lydia looks at her, curious. “What about dating?”
“No way.” Laura wrinkles her nose. “I’m crossing this one out.”
“QPR sounds nice.”
Laura smiles, suddenly feeling shy. “Yeah?”
“But tuple sounds better.”
“Jesus, no one asked you, Stiles!”
“Yeah, well, no one asked you to play matchmaker, either.”
Laura narrows her eyes. “I know you just want my muffin but fine. Take it.”
“Thank you.”
“Though, seriously, don’t say I didn’t influence you getting together. I should get a gift, like, a fruit basket. Once a month.”
“Okay,” says Derek.
“Okay?” echoes Stiles, incredulous. “Those are terrible conditions!”
“Well, we are together, right?”
“Gross,” says Laura, staring at Derek in abject horror. “You’re sweet.”
Lydia smiles at Laura, getting her attention again. “Tuple is good, too.”
“Seriously?”
“As long as it’s with you.”
“Romantic shit,” comments Derek. “I approve.”
“This is the last time we have a date together,” hisses Laura.
She knows it’s not, though, and really, she doesn’t mind. She doesn’t even care about the name for her and Lydia’s relationship, as long as it has the space to change and shape what they may have. Even if it’s a tuple.
