A Sort of Affection
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Pairing: Peter Hale x McCall reader
Story Type: Angst, Fluff at the end.
Warnings: Age gap, violence, major character injury, near death experience, Peter is a little ooc, story not totally canon.
Summary: Scott's older sister, who is in her early 20's, is injured during a confrontation with Kali of the Alpha pack. She's human and therefore on the verge of death. Peter, despite his insistance that he is only out for himself, will do anything to help her.
...
You had a feeling you shouldn't have come out here with Peter, but you did it anyway. It was routine. You were trying to find evidence of where Noah and your mother were. Peter was headed to Ms. Blake's apartment to look for clues. You didn't trust him not to immediately act on anything he found without bringing it to the pack first. So you insisted on going with him.
There wasn't much to gather, other than the fact Ms. Blake clearly did not keep any evidence of her druid activities here. Honestly it didn't even seem like she actually even lived here. You should get back to the others and see if they were having better luck.
"Well, I don't think we're going to get much else from this place. Let's go back and meet up with the others?" You look to Peter, honestly expecting an argument. He never wanted to listen to anyone other than himself.
"Agreed."
"Well- wait what?!?" You ask in shock.
"I said, I agree, now let's get out of here." He gestures towards the door. You raised an eyebrow at him, trying to suppress a smirk. "What? I can be agreeable." He replies with mock offense.
"You? Peter Hale? Agreeable?" You shake your head in amusement.
"Yes, I can be very agreeable... as long as the person making the suggestion is not a complete idiot." He shrugs and you snort in amusement.
"So, I guess that means I'm not a complete idiot then?" You ask him as the two of you exit the apartment.
"You? No. Your brother and his friends however..." Peter trails off, feigning shame at the thought. You know him though, and you know there is not an ounce of shame there.
"Stop it." You playfully slap his abdomen with the back of your hand. "They're not idiots, you just think you're smarter than everyone else."
"I don't think that, I know it. Besides you're almost as smart as m-" Peter stops suddenly, just as you exit the building into a nearly empty parking garage. You turn back to him in surprise only to see one of the scariest sights you have ever seen. Peter Hale looking absolutely terrified.
"What is it?" You can hear the shakiness in your own voice.
"Get behind me." Peter steps forward and puts his arm out in front of you. Guiding you to stand behind him. That's when you hear it. The sickening scrape of claws on asphalt. Immediately you feel a shiver down your spine, cold sweat starting to trickle down your back. Kali.
"Well, well, well, look at this. A washed up, former alpha and McCall's pathetic human sister." She says with a sneer. A sadistic grin forming on her face. "Looks like this going to be easy." Peter leans forward into a fighting stance, a growl rumbling in his chest as he transforms. Claws and teeth extending. Kali smiles as she mirrors his stance.
"Y/N, run." Peter growls. You are frozen in fear for a moment before the two of them pounce at one another. As soon as the two collide you finally remember how to work your legs. You sprint as fast as you are able away from the wolves. Your breath immediately starting to become ragged. Damn asthma, never had you been so jealous of Scott no longer having to deal with his.
You make the mistake of looking behind you to see where Peter and Kali were. Only to see Peter on his own, staggering to his feet. Kali was nowhere to be seen.
"NOOO!" Peter roars out as you suddenly feel a hand on your neck. The wind is knocked out of you as you are lifted off your feet. Breath cut off by Kali's hand on your throat. You feel her claws drawing a bit of blood as they press into your skin. You struggle against her grip, but it's useless. She is too strong for you too fight. Peter is running toward the two of you as fast as he can.
"LET HER GO!!" He roars again. Kali cocks her head in intrigue, looking from Peter to you.
"Interesting." She says. Next thing you feel is your body flying through the air as Kali launches you at the wall of the building. You slam into the wall, head cracking against the stone before you crumple onto the ground. Your head is ringing, vision blurred as Peter runs toward you and Kali disappears from your sight.
"Y/N! Y/N! Are you okay?" Peter is frantic, face twisted with concern as he kneels down in front of you. You try to tell him you are fine, but all that comes out is weak groan. Peter takes in the damage done you. Checking the back of your head with his hand. Finding his fingers coated in blood as he pulls them away. Panic strikes him. He sees your eyes struggling to stay open as you try to focus on him.
"Y/N!" Peter shouts again. He pulls your limp body into his lap. That's when he notices your breathing. The shallow gasps as you struggle to catch your breath. Kali threw you against the wall so hard that you broke several ribs and one of them had punctured your lung. Peter didn't know that, but it was clear that the something was very, very wrong and he was terrified.
"Y/N, I'm going to need you to hold on baby. I'm going to call Derek and Scott. Just stay with me." Peter pulls his phone out and calls Derek.
The next few minutes are the longest of Peter's life as he prays the other two wolves get there in time. Holding you, taking as much of your pain away as he can. He is rethinking the whole night trying to see a way that this could have been prevented. Some way that he could have protected you.
"Y/N!" Scott's voice rang out across from across the lot. Peter sighed in relief as he saw Scott and Derek running toward the two of you.
"What the hell happened!!" Scott yells as they approach.
"Kali." Peter growled out, the name laced with rage. "She attacked us. Now, Derek help her!"
"What do mean 'Derek help her'? She needs to go to the hospital!" Interjects Scott.
"No, look at her Scott." Peter nods toward your limp form in his arms. "She's barely conscious and she can't breath! Scott, she's dying!" Peter's voice strains as he tells him.
"You want me to give her the bite?" Derek asks, standing above the three of you.
"The bite!" Scott is immediately terrified. "That can't be her only option."
"It is, Scott!" Peter insists. "She won't make it to the hospital, at least this will give her a chance." He is pleading now.
"He's right Scott." Derek adds. "Listen to her breathing." Scott looks at you, listening to your breath and hears it. You are fading and if they don't act quick, you will die.
"What if she doesn't want this?" Scott asks. Peter nearly looses it at Scott.
"Do you think she'd rather die!!" He shouts at Scott. "At least this will give her a chance. Please." Scott looks up at Derek.
"Do it." He says to Derek who simply nods in response. Derek kneels down next you and takes your arm. His eyes glow red and his fangs extend before he brings them up to your arm. The bite hurts. You groan in pain at the contact, fire lighting up in your veins. Peter takes your hand again easing your pain. All three of the wolves around you hold their breath as they wait for a sign of life.
A moment later and suddenly your breath evens out. There is a collective sigh of relief from all of them. Peter checks the injury to the back of your head.
"She's healing." He says.
"Thank god." Scott replies. "We should get her home."
"We're near my place, I'll take her back there to rest. You two go back to check on the others." Peter says as he stands up with you in his arms.
"I don't thi-"
"Scott, the others need you and she needs rest. I live right down the road. She can stay on my couch and I'll take care of her." Peter cuts Scott off before he protest, but Scott still looks unsure. Peter, in the most on brand move of the night, rolls his eyes. "And I'll make sure she calls you the second she wakes up, okay?"
"Fine." Scott grumbles.
Peter carried you all the way back to his apartment. You were unconscious for most of it. You stirred just enough to note him tucking you into bed and feel him press a gentle kiss to your forehead. Your last thought confusion over this sudden display of care from a man notorious for not caring about anyone other than himself.
...
The next morning you wake, warm and comfortable in a bed you don't recognize. For some reason you feel safe as you take in your surroundings. That's when you spot Peter, asleep in a chair next to the bed. The previous night starts to come back to you. Joking with Peter, then Kali, then pain and blood. Then your little brother was there and Derek. There was an argument. Then... a bite? That's right, Derek gave you the bite. You can't help yourself from pulling up your sleeve and inspecting the place where he bit you. There is obviously no mark, but you had to look anyway. Having a hard time processing that your whole life had changed last night and there wasn't even a scar to show it. You were so engrossed in your arm you don't notice Peter stirring.
"Are you okay?" He practically whispers. Your head jerks up at the sudden sound. You don't know how to answer him.
"Umm... I think so." Is the best you can manage. Peter stands up and steps toward before stopping himself. A look crossed his face, something you weren't familiar on him. Almost nervous?
"Okay, um, I'll go make some coffee." Peter quickly exits the room. You go to follow him, moving carefully expecting some pain or soreness. As you stand though, you realize you're fine. There's no pain, no sign of your injuries from last night. You need to talk to Peter about last night. There was something different about him last night. Peter was always out for himself. He only helped the pack when it meant saving himself. Yet last night he protected you. He put aside his own safety to care for you. He fought for you.
You quickly find Peter in the kitchen. Pausing for a moment to watch him move around the kitchen.
"Um, Peter are you okay?" You ask him as you lean against the doorframe. He pauses with two mugs in hand to look at you. He scoffs.
"Me? What could be wrong with me? I wasn't the one who got my brain scrambled like an egg last night." He shrugs, feigning nonchalance. You can't help but smile at him, seeing right through the deflection.
"You may not have gotten your brains scrambled last night, but you're acting like they're scrambled this morning." There was a bit of laughter to your tone, but neither of you really was in the mood to appreciate the joke.
"Maybe, but I guess I've got a lot to think about this morning." He responds quietly, almost to himself.
"Like what?" You ask. You take a few small steps further into the room, closer to him.
"You." He firmly places the mugs on the counter, seemingly in frustration. You take a few steps closer again until you're standing next to him.
"What about me?" Peter scoffs ever so lightly at your question. Leaning his head back and closing his eyes before he responds.
"Everything." His head hangs forward now. "Did you know when I first met you, when I first got brought back, I hated you. I saw the way you were with Scott and I knew in my very bones that I hated you. You were everything to Scott that I should have been for Derek. You have been there for him, protecting and loving him since the day he was born. Even after he was turned, you still set out to do everything you could to help him. I was jealous of the person that you were capable of being, the one that I could never seem to be." Peter leans on the counter palms pressed down onto it. He looked forward at the wall, refusing to look at you. You want to ask him what changed but decide it would be better to just let him speak. "Eventually though, that jealousy turned into a kind of admiration. I knew you were better than me and I started to realize that was a good thing. A great thing even. Then somewhere along the way that admiration morphed as well. It turned into a sort of..." Peter swallows hard like the word is difficult for him to say. "affection."
"Affection?" You ask quietly. He nods swallowing again.
"Once I recognized it, I couldn't let it go. Now it's practically all I think about." He runs a hand over his face. "All of sudden I can't help myself from wanting to be around you all of the time. Wanting to make sure that you're safe. Hell, last night when you volunteered to come with me I practically sighed with relief, because if you were with me I would know you were safe. I thought I would be able to protect you. I was clearly very wrong, but I thought I could." You step closer to him, placing your hand over his on the counter. He spreads his fingers so that you can intertwine yours with his before he continues. "I...I'm so sorry Y/N. When Kali went for you I thought my heart was going to rip itself out of my chest in fear. I... I should have stopped her, should have been faster." His head hangs low, eyes on the floor.
"But you did protect me, Peter." You say barely more than a whisper. "You did everything you could to keep her away from me. Then you stayed with me. Took away my pain. Made sure that my brother and Derek got to me in time."
"She should have never laid a hand on you." He responds sternly. "You should never have been hurt to begin with. And last night Scott was right. I made the choice for Derek to give the bite. I took that choice away from you, because I was too selfish to risk letting you go."
"You were right to push for the bite!" You respond in disbelief, causing him to turn to you for the first since you entered the kitchen.
"What?"
"Peter, if you hadn't pushed for the bite I would be dead. I'm not, because of you. I'm alive because of you. Maybe, I wouldn't have asked for this outside of a near death experience, but I'm glad that it happened. I know things are going to just get more complicated now, but at least I have some way to fight back. Some way to protect myself! Peter, if anything I'm grateful!" You plead with him, your other hand on his jaw to make him look at you. "You made me stronger and more importantly you kept me alive. Thank you."
"You're sure that you're okay with this?" He asks, making sure to look you in the eye as you respond.
"I'm sure. I want this and..." you trail off, making him nervous.
"What is it?"
"I...I want you." Peter can't help but let himself smile at that for second, but then his mask comes down. That stupid smirk of his comes out.
"Now there's something for the Beacon Hills' Top Ten Worst Ideas list." He says pulling back a bit.
"I mean it Peter. I've developed my own...sort of affection, for you." You say quietly. He looks at you, rolling his eyes, but he can't quite hide the smile that crosses his face. He is practically giddy hearing it, but he is Peter, so he can't let himself admit it.
"I still don't think that's a very good idea." He says it mockingly, but the tone isn't quite right. There is an undertone of sincerity there that you can hear. When you don't respond to him, he continues. "Everyone would hate it, especially your brother. I think the funny one wouldn't shut up about it for at least a year. Derek would brood over it for months. And Lydia - " You cut off his rant taking both of his hands in yours.
"Peter, I. Don't. Care. Scott and Stiles and Derek and whoever else can complain about it all they want. I still want this, with you."
"You really do mean that, don't you?" Peter stares directly into your eyes and you nod. He finds himself nodding with you before he leans down and presses his lips to yours. It's a gentle kiss at first, but you put your arms around his neck to pull him closer and he can't help himself. He wraps his arms around you and deepens the kiss. You don't want him to stop, but all of a sudden he pulls his head away. Arms not leaving your waist. He's looking at the apartment door, then he turns to you.
"I forgot to make you call your brother and now he's here." Just as Peter finishes his sentence a loud knocking proceeds at the door.
"Y/N!!" Calls your brother's voice from the other side of the door.
"Well, this is going to be fun." You say looking at Peter, still smiling to yourself when you make eye contact with him.