Chapter Text
When Stiles awoke the next morning on a very sunny Wednesday, he knew Lydia had already left the apartment.
Stiles didn't know how, but she always managed to make coffee and sneak out without waking him up even though their living room was right next to their kitchen and entrance.
Him being here on a Wednesday morning was a rather unusual occurrence, as he spent most nights working late and sleeping in the back room of their office downtown. It was more convenient for everyone. Or maybe just for him.
He hadn't actually discussed his sleeping situation with Lydia, and she had suggested he take the bed on multiple occasions throughout the first month. Eventually, she gave up though.
Stiles wouldn't take her bed and make her sleep on the uncomfortable couch.
Seeing as it was nearing 9am, Stiles decided to quickly get up and take a shower before work, it helped him clear his mind. On other occasions, the shower gave him a much-needed break-through with a case.
Not today though. Today was for singing. Taylor Swift, to be specific.
Stiles wasn't ashamed of his voice, it's just that no one had ever told him that it's good and Scott has been telling him not to do it in public since he was twelve, but he thought the shower wouldn't be too harsh of a judge.
He decided this day was going to be a good one. After all, Lydia was back at the office.
To add to his much better mood than yesterday, the warm sunlight fell through his windows as he stepped into his and Lydia's shared bedroom. Well, now more her bedroom and his closet. All his clothes were still there, as was his pillow. She couldn't get rid of it for some reason.
Choosing an outfit that would be easy to cycle in, as he had the spontaneous idea to take his bike instead of his car for once, Stiles settled on loose-fitting jeans and the only clean t-shirt that was left in the closet.
He paid a last quick glance into the mirror, swiftly made his way down to their apartment complex's bike room and swung his leg over his trusted bike. As he was leaving his new car behind, he knew it was the right decision. Ever since the Jeep broke down the final time, he didn't like driving as much as before. That car had helped him through his whole teen years.
He had told Lydia he loved her in that car.
They broke up in that car.
It was probably for the best that it wasn't around anymore.
________________________________________
When Stiles arrived at the office, Lydia was already sat at her desk with her eyes focused on the screen in front of her.
"Welcome to Martin-Stilinski Investigations, how can-" Lydia started but stopped herself when she spotted a familiar pair of brown eyes in the door frame.
"You're up early," she chuckled while her eyes followed Stiles walking over to his own desk by the windows.
"Good morning to you too," he smiled back, "I'll have you know our couch really isn't the most comfortable place for a good night's sleep."
"I told you we could alternate. I'll take the couch tonight, Stiles..."
"No, Lydia, it's fine. I'll just stay at the office."
Stiles could see Lydia already wanting to object, but he was faster.
"Please, Lydia. I'm fine, I promise."
For the first time since he came in, Lydia's eyes shifted away from him and back to her computer screen. A quiet sigh let Stiles know she wasn't fine with this plan but knew him well enough not to persist. And he knew her well enough not to make her sleep on the couch, she'd be cranky all day.
Just as Stiles' computer asked for his password, Lydia intercepted their silence and his thoughts.
"Kira called."
He had known this was coming.
"Yeah, Scott texted."
They both turned in their chairs to look at each other, now.
"Stiles, we have to give them a straight answer soon."
"I know... But-"
"Yes. I know."
"So, when are we telling them?"
Instead of replying, Lydia now looked at the floor, seemingly in thought.
"Lydia," Stiles pried.
"After..."
"Lydia, after? Are you serious?"
Stiles could feel his heart rate rising at Lydia's suggestion.
"They're our friends, Lyds."
"So, we pretend there isn't."
"Scott will smell that something's off."
"So, we pretend really good!"
Stiles couldn't believe his own ears. Lydia was actually proposing they pretend that they're still together and as in love as ever. For a whole weekend.
"I don't think that's-"
Stiles was interrupted by their office door opening rapidly. Right, they're there to work, theoretically.
Lydia immediately snapped out of their little disagreement and started reciting their spiel in the friendliest voice.
"Welcome to Martin-Stilinski Investigations, how can we help you today?"
Immediately as Stiles laid eyes on their potential new customer, he could sense that this wouldn't be their usual case. The man that was stood in their office had red-rimmed eyes, extremely tousled dark hair and seemed like he had just run about 15 miles.
"Sir, are you all right?" Stiles asked, instantly standing up from his chair and walking over to the man in large strides.
Holding onto the man's shoulder, Stiles walked him over to his desk where he helped him sit down on the chair he had just left.
"Sir, can we help you? Do you need a glass of water? Lydia, get the man some water, please," Stiles babbled on after the man continued to look to the floor without any reaction to what they were saying or doing.
Lydia immediately stood up and went to the office bathroom to fill up a glass of water which she held out for the man to grab and drink, but he didn't move.
"Sir, do you know where you are?" asked Lydia in a concerned tone as she bent down to be on eye-level with him.
"I... I saw them," the man finally started and looked straight into her eyes.
Lydia detached her eyes from his and instead looked at Stiles, his eyes meeting hers in shock. What could the man have seen? Glowing eyes? Werewolves? Something worse? If he was this shocked by it, he definitely didn't know about the supernatural world. Or the fact that he was now taking a glass of water from a banshee.
"Okay, you calm down first, all right? I will be right back," Stiles said and rushed from their desks to the back room where they kept their records and their spare mattress that was now more Stiles' mattress.
Lydia had no idea what he was doing leaving her alone with a clearly distressed man they didn't know, but still she trusted Stiles to have a plan.
And a plan he had.
It involved a bar of chocolate and a recording device which he held in separate hands as he walk-jogged back to Lydia and the dark-haired man.
Without words, he quickly grabbed onto the sweet and opened it. Before Lydia or Stiles could register, the man had already bitten into it.
Finally, the man in front of them started to breathe normally, alternately eating from the bar of chocolate and drinking water. Stiles' plan had worked. Well, it was more so Remus Lupin's plan, but Stiles liked to think it was his own.
It took quite a few minutes for anyone to start talking, then. The man devoured his chocolate, Lydia had since sat down on the floor completely and Stiles shuffled over to her, standing right behind her with his free hand on her head to comfort her. And himself if he was honest.
As the man took a deep breath and looked up at Stiles, Stiles pressed the record button on the voice recorder so they wouldn't lose a single word of his description.
"I saw them. I am completely sure that i saw them, I promise you. I'm not crazy!" The man stated calmly, then more agitated as he went on.
"Okay, we believe you. We do. But you should start from the beginning, alright?" Stiles replied and swiftly placed the device on Lydia's desk next to him.
"Yeah, yes... I can do that."
Stiles looked down at Lydia and held out his hand which she grabbed and held onto to stand up in a swift motion. When she had put on the mini skirt this morning, she hadn't planned on actually moving more than a few steps from and to the car and from and to the coffee shop near the office.
Lydia sat down in her own chair and Stiles grabbed the one that was technically meant for their customers at the other side of Lydia's desk and put it down next to Lydia.
Stiles knew this conversation wouldn't be an easy one.
________________________________________
Note: A quiet shuffling of sorts is heard. Probably Lydia grabbing a pen and paper.
SS: Thank you for contacting us. Today is Wednesday, August 25th, 2021. Please state your name and start recounting the events that lead you here.
JL: My name is James Lee. I'm 56 years old and I've been the manager of the Beacon Hills morgue for a little over 25 years. We take in deceased people when they died of natural causes and prepare them for burial. We also keep them for the hospital or the police department if the hospital's morgue is full, and that happens very rarely. It hasn't happened for quite a few years, actually, but it did last night.
Shortly after 1am I was called by someone at the hospital, I can't remember the name, but I still have their phone number if you need it.
SS: That'd be great, Mr. Lee.
JL: Okay, just a second...
Note:More rummaging.
LM: Oh, don't worry about it now, just continue please.
JL: Okay, so. She called to ask me to store 3 bodies. There was a huge car crash on the interstate, I'm sure you've heard. Horrible, really, 17 people died.
Note: JL takes a deep breath.
JL: I drove over to the hospital to pick them up and keep them safe until tonight. Everything went well, just like any other day on the job. A man from the hospital drove an ambulance with two bodies and I drove the third one down to the morgue. We unloaded them together and he even helped place them in the cooling chambers. I locked up and we both drove off.
And i thought that was it, I returned home and slept for a few more hours before going back there this morning. Everything seemed normal, I parked my car and unlocked the front door. I then realised I had forgotten to turn off the lights last night, but that had happened before. I was probably just too tired. I need to prepare someone else for burial today, so I opened her chamber and started my usual work. After this night of very little sleep, I was tired, so I decided to get coffee from the Target down the street.
I scoured the aisles for a snack when this teenager next to me knocked over a stand at the end of the aisle. Obviously, I looked, it was loud and almost gave me a heart attack. I do have a weak heart, anyway...
Note: JL takes long pause to breathe.
JL: He looked at me then, probably to check if I were an employee who would scream at him. And that's when it hit me. This... This boy in front of me. He was supposed to be dead. He... He is dead. He's at the morgue, my morgue. Right down the street.
I had made it a habit to check any body bags before shoving them into the cold. Of course, I'm not a doctor, but I've seen enough dead people to know. I know when someone is dead. And he definitely was.
Except now he was not, he was at Target creating ruckus and probably stealing something. You never know with teenagers... I don't know why he wasn't in school, anyway.
He smiled at me and ran away. That's when it hit me.
Twins.
They must obviously be twins. He was dead. I saw it with my own two eyes.
Then I left the Target. I didn't buy anything; I wouldn't have been able to stomach anything after that shock.
I went for a walk around the block, then, to calm down and enjoy the weather.
And then, on this bench near the cemetery, there sat this woman. At first, she looked like any older woman, but then she looked up from her book as I was walking by. I can't describe my thoughts, or if I even had any. This woman was dead. She was dead, she had died, she was deceased, her cold dead body was supposed to be in my morgue. But here she was, smiling at me and reading her book.
Two sets of twins seemed impossible.
But there was a third. This woman, she was around my age, I'd say. She stopped me while I was running back to the morgue. I had to check on the bodies, this couldn't be happening I...
To be honest, she didn't stop me. I kinda crashed into her. We were both on the floor, her rubbing her left elbow, me looking at her. I must have looked like I'd seen a ghost. They can't be ghosts, right? They're... they're three sets of twins. Or so I thought.
I apologized; I think. And I ran back to the morgue, unlocked the door and all three hatches to the cooling chambers.
They were empty. EMPTY, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
THESE PEOPLE WERE DEAD!!
LM: Mr. Lee, please calm down... We know how upsetting that must be for you, but we are here to help. We believe you, Mr. Lee.
JL: Yes, I... I apologize. I'm not in my right mind... I should probably just go; all this probably sounds insane to you. I should probably just go to the police, I...
SS: You were right in coming here. If there is something the police should know, we will take care of it. Can you finish your statement?
JL: Well, there isn't much to finish. As soon as I saw this, I came over here. I ran, I must say. And then I had this weird panic attack thingy, I thought this only happened in movies...
SS: That's completely normal in your situation, Mr. Lee. We will need your information and everything you know about the people you saw, and the bodies that went missing. The number of the person who called you last night, and the name of the man who helped you out. Can you do that, Mr. Lee?
JL: I'm quite sure I can. Do you have pen and paper?
Note: More shuffling. Lydia tears an empty piece of paper from her notepad, gives it to him. He writes all the information down that he knows. (See below)
JL: I think I... Well, there is a slight problem regarding the names of the deceased... or, formerly deceased. I, uh...
LM: It's okay, you can tell us.
JL: Well, you see, I don't know them. Not right now, anyway, there's a document at the morgue, I could go get it, but I really would rather go home if that's possible.
SS: Of course, thank you for your help. Could we come see you at the morgue tomorrow morning? We'd like to get an overview over the situation there, and take a few pictures, if you'll allow it.
JL: Yes, of course! Thank you so much.
Note: Shuffling. JL stands up, Lydia and I follow. 3 pairs of footsteps over to the door. The conversation is muffled now.
JL: Thank you for your help, Mr. Martin.
SS: Stilinski, actually. Mrs. Martin is my wife.
JL: Oh, excuse my mistake. I just thought, because of the company name...
LM: It's quite alright, Mr. Lee. We'll see you tomorrow, call us if anything else happens or you remember any more details. Nothing is insignificant in investigations like these.
JL: Like what?
Note: We pause.
SS: Like, uh... like yours, you know. Complicated ones. Weird, inexplicable ones.
JL: Okay, then. See you tomorrow, Mr. Stinski. Mrs. Martin.
Note: The door closes behind him. Stiles walks over to the recorder and presses stop.
________________________________________
Typing out recounts of cases wasn't Stiles' favourite part of his job, except if the case at hand involved supernatural creatures, of which he was pretty sure this one did.
"I'm done, what about you?"
Stiles looked up to Lydia's desk to find a familiar sight. She wasn't there.
"Lydia?" This time, he raised his voice and angled his head towards their office restroom.
"Just a second!" Her voice came back dull through the door.
Taking that second Lydia still needed, Stiles began typing up the customer's information he had written down in a very messy handwriting and left on Stiles' desk.
James Lee
Hallow's Street 84
95337 Beacon Hills
916-203-5139
Beacon Hills Morgue
Olympia Street 12
95337 Beacon Hills
530-760-0114
Teenager. 16-20 years old. Male. Dead.
Older woman. 80-85 years old. Female. Dead.
Middle-aged woman. 50-60 years old. Female. Dead.
Woman from the hospital. No name.
916-207-8154
Man from the hospital.
P. Stewart.
"Alright, what's up?" Lydia called out to Stiles as she settled down on her chair.
"I just got done writing down the statement and his notes, what about you?"
"I looked up all the things we know about the accident last night. Indeed 17 people died, 35 more are in the hospital, they haven't released any names though. There's also no mention of missing bodies yet, so that's good for us."
"We should still tell my dad. The hospital will know something is up when they come pick up the bodies tonight, so we should also call Melissa." Stiles replied, already taking his phone from the other side of the desk.
"Stiles, you should take a break. You've been working non-stop for 3 hours. Did you even realise that I went to get lunch?"
"3 hours, no that..." Stiles stopped himself when he saw the clock. It was past 1pm and he hadn't eaten a single thing, or even had coffee yet.
"I'll take care of it. Go get something to eat, please." Lydia now said, even more concerned.
"I probably should, yes. Okay, yeah. I'll be back soon, don't go anywhere. I don't have a car." Stiles quickly said and was already halfway out of the door when he heard Lydia's voice again.
"What happened to your car? Don't tell me have to get car duct-tape again."
"No, Lydia don't worry! I just felt like taking the bike today." Stiles replied with a chuckle and swiftly hopped on said bike to this time drive to Luke's coffee shop.
As soon as Lydia had mentioned that he should take a break, he wanted nothing more than to leave their office and taste another one of those weirdly sweet coffees and really ask Luke about the lamps this time. He had had a lovely conversation yesterday, so why not go back?
As he arrived at the coffee shop, he quickly locked his bike, and this time entered the room more prepared than last time. He walked up to the counter, already studying their menu and this time chose something with the word "strawberry" in it, just to try something new.
"Hi, what can I get for you today?" A new voice welcomed him to the coffeehouse.
"Hi, I'd like this uh, iced strawberry cappuccino? It's with caffeine, right?"
"Yes, it is." The nice barista chuckled back. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, actually. Do you guys carry sandwiches?"
"Unfortunately, sir, we only offer them between 12pm and 1pm."
"Oh, that's alright. Just the coffee, then."
"That will be-"
"Stiles!" A voice interrupted the barista wanting to tell Stiles his total.
"Luke!" Stiles laughed as he saw Luke come out of the kitchen behind the counter.
"How is it going? All good?"
"Yeah, well, kinda stressed today. And hungry. But coffee will do for now."
"Hungry? Olive, please delete his order. It's on me." Luke said nonchalantly, and added,
"What bagel would you like? I'll make one, just for you."
"Oh, no you don't have to..."
"I want to." Luke smiled warmly. And Stiles stared for a moment. At those dark brown curls that fell in a way that looked like he could be a prince. At his perfectly smooth brown skin and cheekbones that seemed to glow golden in this lighting. This smile that Stiles couldn't help but reciprocate.
"Alright, okay. Just make whatever's easiest, but please don't add arugula."
"Of course, everything you want, my liege." Luke teased, took a bow, and chimed in with Stiles' laughter.
"And you better not spit in it!" Stiles added as he turned around and took a seat at the same table as the day before. They both giggled at that, even as Luke entered back into the kitchen and Stiles couldn't see him anymore.
Now, he was just looking forward to his first meal of the day, prepared by the chef himself.
Just a few minutes later, Luke arrived with Stiles' coffee and the special bagel and this time, he sat down opposite Stiles without asking.
"Thank you, seriously. You didn't have to do this. You know, I do have money!" He continued to tease the man in front of him.
"Oh, I know. I just thought I'd do something nice for a stressed friend."
Friend. It was nice to have a new friend in town, it had been years since Stiles got to know someone his age in Beacon Hills that he hadn't known before. It was nice to get to know someone who wasn't a part of the supernatural world, or knew about it. Refreshing. Exciting, is what the warm feeling in his stomach told him.
Once again, Luke and Stiles had a lovely conversation while Stiles ate his bagel and drank his overly sweet, very strawberry-y coffee. Stiles explained his line of work, obviously leaving out his most recent case, and any others that weren't explainable without saying something about the fact that supernatural creatures existed.
Luke seemed like he loved to listen and ask questions. Stiles had never had someone be this interested in his work before. It made him really happy. It's what he needed right now.
Someone new to let into his life, someone to get to know.
Luke told Stiles about his work, the renovations, and his passion of cooking. So that's why he made him the bagel, Stiles thought
"IKEA, by the way."
"Hm?" Stiles was confused. This was such a random addition after telling him about his favourite meal to make.
"The lamps. You asked yesterday, and I never got around to telling you. They're from IKEA. I looked it up last night." Luke explained, and everything made sense.
"Oh, thanks man, I'll keep that in mind. Again, thank you so much for the food and drinks. Next time I'll pay you, I promise." Stiles said standing up from his chair.
"Can't wait for that." And something in Luke's smile told Stiles that he wasn't talking about him paying for the food.
________________________________________
Stiles hadn't realised, but when he arrived back at the office, it was already way past 2pm.
"Where have you been this long?" Lydia asked in an upbeat tone, happy to take a short break from staring at a computer screen.
"Oh, just biking around. Thinking."
Stiles didn't know why he lied to her. He never lied to her. This wasn't something they did.
Maybe it was different now, though. You wouldn't lie to your wife. You would lie to your ex you were trying to be friends with, though.
What was there even to lie about, Stiles then thought. He had a nice talk with a friend.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Still, he didn't correct himself.
"Did you talk to my dad? Melissa?" Stiles asked on his way to his chair.
"I did. He asked me to send the transcript, he agreed it must be something supernatural, though. No human had ever resurrected someone before. Melissa-"
"Hold on, hold on. Resurrection?"
"Yes, obviously. It must be some kind of witchcraft."
"We shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet, I think... But it doesn't sound far off. So, what about Melissa?"
"She said she'd try to convince the staff to leave the bodies where they are, to preserve them or something. She hasn't told me if it worked yet. If it doesn't, we're going to have a problem tonight. They'll involve the police, and I don't know how Noah is going to strike three stolen bodies from a police record..."
"Let's hope it works, then..." Stiles replied in thought.
"Thanks, Lydia."
"Sure."
They both returned back to work on their respective fields. Lydia tried finding any and all research papers into resurrection while Stiles worked on creating his murder wall and gather all clues. This didn't last for very long, as Lydia interrupted Stiles' though process after just a few minutes.
It seemed like he wasn't the only one who couldn't concentrate on work today.
"Stiles, we should talk about the Scott and Kira thing."
"I thought we already did," he said, now looking back at Lydia.
"We did, but we have to agree with each other. Do you want to go?"
"Yes, Lydia. Yes, I'd actually love to have a weekend away from here. Lake Tahoe sounds wonderful, and I really miss Scott, I just don't know if-"
"So, it's settled then."
"No, Lydia, it's not."
Stiles' good mood was immediately ruined. He couldn't believe Lydia actually disagreed with him on this one. Couldn't believe that she would lie to her best friend.
"Please, Stiles. I really want to go too. We'll tell them after. You know how sensitive Scott is with that stuff, I want him to have a nice weekend too.
"I guess you're right, yes." Stiles finally agreed. And sighed, very deeply.
"Just for this weekend. We'll tell them right after. Agreed?" Stiles added, still not completely convinced.
"Agreed."
A couples’ getaway with one couple back in their honeymoon phase and one couple about to secretly get divorced, enclosed in a house for three whole days. Stiles could only hope for the best.