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It was cold that day, Stiles remembers, it was almost unbearable, and there she was, staring at him. It was at best the scariest moment in his life, that which included Scott trying to kill him.
She looked sad, and after a much-heated debate with his mind, he gave in and just nodded to her. To say she was surprised would have been an understatement.
She flickered on and off and then she was gone.
Stiles will go to his grave and never admit that for the rest of the day that he had considered checking himself into the loony bin.
Two days later, it would be a Saturday morning, a day that Stiles would sleep in except for the fact that there was a person staring at him so intently that it would wake him up.
“Seriously Derek…we’re creep staring now?” and he would throw his pillow at Derek and he would realize when the pillow doesn’t come into contact with anything that Derek wasn’t there.
He will scramble as fast as he can out of the covers that some how managed to wrap around him like a snake during the night, and with blurry eyes he will see her again.
And like before she will be staring at him, and this time more curious than anything, and Stiles will have a small heart attack and blindly try to find his phone.
He will not find his phone before she would speak up and then he would just stop moving and stare at her.
“What has your attention so wrapped up that a floating ghost can’t seem to distract you?” It’s her voice that brings him back from the memories.
“You…well more like the first time I saw you,” he responds and falls back on his chair, and she is there floating, her long brown hair is falling on her face as she is staring at him.
“So what’s up?” he broaches the subject, she stares at him for a second and then vanishes only to appear again on his bed, and is picking lint off the bed, except she cant grab things so it’s not really working out.
“Is everything ok?” he swivels his chair around and turtle walks it close to her.
Her eyes look at him and then get this misty grey glow to them and she is looking thru him.
It’s still creepy. Super creepy actually.
“Derek?” he asks quietly, almost to scared to whisper it. He really hates that he has this thing, there is no word to describe the thing he has for Derek, or vice versa, it’s just a thing.
Her stare focuses again and she is staring at him and opening her mouth she shuts it again.
“Peter?” and this time she makes this face at him, eyebrow high arched and then she rolls her eyes.
“Look, its not always about him you know.” And she falls back on his bed, flitting in and out of focus.
Ghosts, at least werewolves were easy to deal with, you could always see them, and they certainly didn’t just faze out when they didn’t like where the conversation was going.
“Yeah, well, it should be, just saying.” And she is laughing at his suggestion.
“Stiles, seriously I am so fucking glad you are the one that can see me. I can’t imagine what I would have to endure if Scott was the one I had to deal with…I’d probably kill my self again…can that actually be accomplished.” And there is Stiles history book floating in the air towards her.
“I’m sure I can find that out on google?” he offers to her stupid question and she busts out laughing.
It’s sweet, and lighthearted, and Stiles wonders how she can be so chill.
It’s a question that had plagued him for a week before he just gave it up; he sure as hell wasn’t going to ask her.
“So why did you want my attention so bad?” he tried to steer the conversation back to the present.
“I didn’t, well… yet,” and he practically jumps five feet in the air.
Derek is right there on the windowsill and giving him the look that Stiles has only ever seen on the Alphas face once before, when Jackson was the Kenima, and Stiles wasn’t exactly happy to be sorted in the same category as a killing monster. Thank you very much.
“What?” and he flails around in his chair, there is laughter coming from his bed, tears running down her face and it’s all he can do to not turn to her and tell her where to shove it, because Derek is here, and he already thinks there is something wrong with him and Derek can’t see her.
“Who are you talking to?” and this time Stiles is ready to say he was on the phone if it wasn’t for the fact that said cell phone was firmly grasped in Derek’s hand, so he swiveled to his computer and hoped to what ever god was willing to listen that Skype was open.
“Skype, game buddy. What’s up?” he might just have to sacrifice a goat for the miracle that is Skype open on the screen.
“Nice save.” And he makes a face at the screen; she is behind the computer now, so there is that small victory, seriously goat sacrificing to olden gods might just be in the near future.
“Anyway, what. Is. Up?” and he made sure to pause and ignore the cackling ghost to his left.
Derek looks at him again and then takes a seat in the exact place she had been and he looks uncomfortable. Like it hurt him to be there and say what he was about to say.
“Derek?” and once again Stiles was turtle walking his chair to his bed, Derek for the most part ignored him and Stiles just held his breath and waited.
It wasn’t a long wait, and Derek was looking at him, Stiles could practically read the uncertainty and his complete discomfort at having to be doing this.
“I just need to be here.” Was what Derek finally settled on. It wasn’t much but it spoke volumes, after all he usually just asked for Stiles to do crap for him, stuff that Peters laptop could do as well.
Derek wasn’t exactly a master ninja assassin. A master kill you with my teeth werewolf, maybe, ninja assassin…not so much.
After enough time passed, and Stiles brain tried to catch up with him, the silence had gotten passed the stage of comfortable into just plain strained silence. Which oops.
“Um… yeah, sure.” He said finally stopping Derek as he was about to get up and more than likely leave.
He turned his back to Derek when he noticed that the older wolf wasn’t going to be offering information anytime soon, she on the other hand went and sat next to him.
It was creepy and surreally sweet.
Derek reading one of Stiles books and she was staring at him fondly.
The quiet intensified as the minutes passed, and it was eating at Stiles; the clacking of the keyboard was doing nothing to ease his nerves.
“So…Laura.” And the flipping of the pages of a book Derek had gotten his hands on suddenly stopped and Stiles could feel the steely look in the back of his skull, it didn’t help that it was being directed to him from two people either.
When he didn’t say anything else, Derek shifted and suddenly Stiles was dragged back and turned to face him.
“What about Laura?” he eyebrows were furrowed and the edges of the irises were tinged with red that was starting to bleed further out.
“Um…Well…” and Stiles lost his ability to talk, between Derek glaring and her shaking her head back and forth. “Um…her anniversary is tonight right?” and he was grabbing at Derek’s hand that was currently rumpling Stiles shirt.
Derek breathed heavily for a bit, and like the red in his eyes receded so did he, and Stiles was once again sagging into his computer chair and staring at the alpha that looked defeated.
“Yes, Peter is home, I just cant be there,” and Stiles felt like Derek had just punched him.
Because really, what was he supposed to say? Sorry? Did that even work?
He opened his mouth, anyway, he would ramble enough that he would at least hit the nail on the head somewhat except, Derek shook his head and Stiles shut up before he even started.
So he stared as Derek looked passed him and she stared sadly at Derek.
“I have no idea what I am doing, or how to go about it.” and Stiles just sat there, and listened, Derek never talked, ordered yes, talked no.
“She would have,” and suddenly she is right next to Derek glaring at him, and shaking her head.
“Bro, you must have me confused with mom, cause I had no idea what I was doing either, I took you and ran off to New York. You remember? Exactly what about that screamed knowledge?” and she was trying to run her fingers thru Derek’s hair and being a ghost it didn’t go so well, and a sadness would over take her.
“She was, she was something else.” Derek was still talking and Stiles was having the hardest time just sitting there, feeling like the biggest third wheel, even though one wasn’t even there and the other was actually having a conversation with him personally.
“If Lydia and me reproduced, it would be her.” And Stiles really hated how his mouth ran off without consulting his brain first.
He really hated it, especially with the looks that both of them were giving him.
Derek confused and Laura amused.
“I mean, that’s what I would think would be the only way I’d expect a person to be something else.” As Derek continued to stare at him, Stiles began to fidget.
“I mean come on, Lydia is scary as shit, she is all human, all immune and damn terrifying and you cant deny it, and not to mention genius and there is me. All awesome and fun…so I’d imagine her to be like that. Fierce, sweet and kinda care free-ish?” and he stopped his demonstration with his hands flailing as Laura’s laugh bounced off the walls of his bedroom and Derek just stared at him.
“Yeah…” and he just sat there.
The small snicker that Derek let out made even Laura stop laughing and now both Stiles and her were looking at the alpha, who had started to chuckle and Stiles wondered if he’d just broken Derek unintentionally.
“In a bizarre way, that is the best way to describe her, except unlike Lydia’s, Laura’s claws were very real.” And now he is sitting up and is looking at Stiles, and Stiles has the urge to just crawl over there and sit next to the big bad wolf.
He was never good at ignoring the urges.
Derek doesn’t say anything at having Stiles sitting next to him, but Laura is a whole other story.
“Seriously, aside from my bro you know becoming a cradle robber thing, you guys are adorable together.” And Stiles is blushing sky high, and Derek is looking at him funny.
And they were just about to have a good night with no body slamming or growling.
“You know, if it was anyone else, I would probably not have been happy, and totally unabashed about possessing you so that I can get rid of them, but you, you have my blessing.” And she was sitting behind them and attempting to clap the both of them in the shoulder, only achieving of course giving each a minor chill shiver.
“That’s great,” he mumbled under his breath, not that it really mattered, considering Derek turned to him sharply.
“What’s great?” and Stiles opened and closed his mouth a few times before giving up and shaking his head, nope, there was nothing coming to his brain to save him. Nothing. Traitorous brain.
“Laura would of liked you, a little to much, probably.” And Derek is plopping back on the bed and Stiles is just staring down at him.
“Excuse me, like anything could cut thru the sexual tension the two of you excrete. Please if anything I might of just pushed you together by now, totally locked you in a closet that’s for damn sure. There would be no more pussy footing around.” And she is flipping her hair back and Stiles is gaping at her.
“What?” he is almost afraid to ask.
“True, sometimes I wonder if I would have been able to handle the both of you together…Something tells me no.” and Stiles is looking at Derek and then at the currently cackling like a hyena Laura.
He was getting whiplash. Seriously the Hales were going to be the death of him.
“If you only knew little brother, if only.” And Stiles throws her a withering glare and plops back next to Derek.
“So, how’s Peter doing then?” he ventures to ask, almost afraid, but he was either going to change the subject or Laura was about to expose their little secret, cause he is for damn sure that he was going to slip up more so than he already did now.
“I don’t know, didn’t ask, just left.”
“Ah, yes, that’s healthy, pent up frustration, anger issues and all wrapped up in a building falling apart. Very nice.” And seriously he should just sow his mouth shut.
Derek doesn’t say anything for a while, after Stiles little remark, and Stiles is happy about it, maybe he can just forget about it, and let it fly in the wind.
“I know, but he just makes me so furious. He doesn’t even have to say more than three words to do that either,” and Derek turns his head so he is facing Stiles and Stiles is having a hard time breathing, if Derek knows it he doesn’t say thing about it.
“He is my uncle, and that is exactly why he can push my buttons, he used to do it all the time, before.” And he leaves it unfinished, but Stiles knows the answer to that.
Before the fire, before I fucked up, before my life went to shit, before I lost everything I cared about.
He doesn’t know what to say so he chooses to scoot closer and just have his forehead touching Derek’s and they are looking at each other and its quiet and it just feels right.
“And now, kiss.” Comes Laura’s voice way to close for his comfort and in his attempt to jerk he bangs their heads together and suddenly he is flailing and Derek is grabbing, they both end up off the bed, and unlike Stiles, Derek meets the cold floor and Stiles, well Stiles really likes how Derek feels under him right now, and also wishes he could just crawl in a hole and die, Laura is tsk-ing somewhere to his left, he just knows she is sitting in his chair.
“What was that?” Derek is asking him and Stiles pointedly ignores Laura’s comment about it being -a complete waste of a perfect moment to move their asses along,- and just shakes his head.
“Thought I saw a spider, false alarm.” Derek raises and eye borrow at him, a fine eyebrow at that.
“Spider? The guy who chased lizard Jackson around town, who is friends with a werewolf and is currently laying on top of an alpha werewolf and a spider scares you?” and he says it sarcastically, Stiles knew Derek was a gem, just never knew how much until he heard said wolf speak sarcastically.
It was like world was just turned on and he lunged forward and kissed the other. It wasn’t much, just a peck but it was electric, seriously, and the fine little hairs on his arms stood on end not to mention the goosebumps that rose up.
Derek is looking at him shocked and Laura is cackling in the background but he doesn’t care its remarkable how much he doesn’t care. Cause at that moment he wants nothing more than to just lie there and stare at Derek as Laura makes smartass comments in the background. So he does just that.