Work Text:
"Hey," Cora says, as she slides in next to Lydia. Lydia's heart skips a beat; it does that a lot when Cora's around, and for a while that had given her hope. But years had gone by, and Lydia still hasn't said anything to Cora about being her soulmate, so it's something else. It's got to be.
Maybe it's a heart defect, or something. Is it normal for someone's heart to skip theat much? Probably not. Cora should probably say something about it.
Except then Lydia would know, and Cora really doesn't want that.
Cora's is so lost in thought that she doesn't notice that Lydia is ignoring her until she gives a pointed cough and glares at her. Cora frowns.
"What? What did I do?" She asks; she's trying not to show it but Lydia's cold expression really stings.
Lydia sniffs haughtily and turns her nose up.
"If you don't know then I'm not going to tell you!" She exclaims, her eyes strangely bright. She's angry, super angry, that's for sure, but she sounds hurt too. Cora winces.
"Uh, Lyds," she says softly, "I'm really sorry, but I--- I can't fix whatever I did if you don't tell me, you know?"
Lydia smiles sharply.
"Sweetheart," she says bitterly, standing and gathering her things, "It's definitely too late for that."
When she leaves the classroom Cora isn't the only one staring after her in shock. Lydia Martin has never ditched chemistry before.
She finds Lydia later in the library. It's part being able to follow the sound of Lydia's heart, part luck, and part knowing Lydia so well and so long.
Lydia holds up her hand before Cora can speak.
"Don't," she says tiredly. "I just, I want to be alone right now. Ok?"
Cora swallows painfully and leaves without a word.
"Hi!" Malia says in her fake happy voice, as she drops next to Cora, who nearly jumps a foot. Scott sits down across from her, wearing an apologetic grimace that doesn't fully reach his eyes, and Stiles is hovering behind him. Cora groans, dropping her head to the table.
"Can you leave me alone?" She asks quietly. "I'm trying to eat my lunch. In peace."
"Nope!" Malls says brightly.
Cora looks to Scott for support, but he shakes his head, pursing his lips. She looks to Stiles next, but he almost looks almost angrier than Malia, so he's out. Cora sighs.
"I don't even know what I did," she says quietly, and everything stops.
"You don't know," Scott says carefully, blankly, after several horrible minutes have passed. Cora shakes her head. Scott makes a strange, strangled sound. It takes Cora a bit to realize that he's laughing. Stiles and Malia are staring at them in disbelief.
"What." Malia says, deadly quiet.
"You don't even know? You--- how do you not know?" Stiles blurts out angrily, before Cora can say anything. He's not hovering anymore; he's leaning into her space, eyes wide and angry. She pushes him away, and Scott and Malia snort, practically in sync. Normally, Cora would roll her eyes at them affectionately, but---
"Um, because she won't tell me?"
Stiles stares at her blankly. Then he bursts into hysterical laughter, as Cora stares on in bewildered horror
"Oh my god," he says finally, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I can't believe this. I always thought it was so romantic, like a fairy tale, but this whole time you never even knew?"
Cora glances at Scott, but he's laughing again, leaning heavily against Stiles. Malia is no help either, grinning maddeningly at her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she says finally. The three of them just continue to laugh at her, Scott the loudest. He'd always been her favorite of her family's soulmates, but she was going to have to change that now.
"Just go talk to Lydia," he chokes out, still laughing.
"I would if she'd let me," Cora grumbles. She's trying to sound angry, but she knows she sounds mostly hurt. Scott smiles at her, looking much softer than he has this entire conversation.
"It's ok," he says gently, and he's back to favorite, "Malia already texted her."
Cora blinks.
"When?"
Malia laughs, a little unkindly.
"When those two were laughing and you were gawking at them," she says. Then she smiles, and it's a little brittle still, but it's kinder than her first one.
"Go on," Malia says, shoving Cora roughly, "She's out on the bleachers. She's waiting for you."
Cora stumbles to her feet, running towards the hockey field, before she remembers her lunch and comes to sudden halt. She turns around to pick it up but Stiles is already picking her stuff up.
"Shoo!" He exclaims, waving his hands at her, "go find her!" His lips are twitching into a smile, and as she turns to go she sees him push Scott back down onto the bench, muttering something about being the favorite for once.
Lydia is staring blankly at the hockey field when Cora arrives. Her knees are up and her arms are hugging them tightly. Cora slides down beside her.
"Hey," she says quietly. Lydia breathes unsteadily, and her heart pounds loudly in Cora's ears.
"Lydia, I---"
Lydia holds up her hand silently, and Cora bites her lip.
"I just don't understand," Lydia says finally. She's blinking rapidly, and Cora belatedly realizes she's been crying. It makes her heart aches, and she takes Lydia's hand. Lydia doesn't respond, just breathes slowly, her eyes closed.
"Lydia," Cora says gently, "I still have no idea what's going on."
Lydia sighs, and her heart speeds up.
"It was really romantic," she says quietly. Her eyes are still on the field.
"What was?" Cora asks frustratedly. Lydia finally looks at her. Her eyes are red.
"The night we started dating!" She explodes.
Cora's mind goes blank.
What.
"What?" She asks breathlessly. This is not what she was expecting. Although, looking back on the conversation she had earlier, maybe it should have been.
Lydia glares at her and she's never looked more beautiful.
"This day, three years ago! We had a candlelit dinner! I told you that you meant everything to me and I would always love you! I said those exact words! How did you not know?"
Cora gapes at her.
"You never said we were dating!"
Lydia bristles.
"I made you a candlelit dinner!"
Ok, well.
Fair enough.
Cora groans, resting her head against her knees.
"I'm so dumb," she grumbles.
"Yeah, kind of," Lydia snipes.
Cora sighs. She can't even take offense to that.
"I'm sorry," she says quietly. "I--- I'm sorry."
For a while, there's silence. Then Lydia leans against her, all of the tension leaving her body.
"It's ok," she mumbles. She sounds exhausted. "Just take me out somewhere nice tonight."
"Yeah, of course," Cora says absently, her heart still going a mile per minute. She's not really sure what just happened.
"Wait," she says, "how come it took you so long to get mad?" Lydia gives her a long look.
"I just thought maybe you were shy," she says quietly. "I also thought things would have changed by now." She sounds bitter now, and Cora winces. She wraps her arm around Lydia's shoulders.
"I'm sorry, really I am," she says as Lydia tucks her face into Cora's side. "It'll be better from now on."
Lydia mumbles something unintelligible.
"What?" Cora asks, prodding her gently. Lydia raises her face to Cora. There are tears in her eyes, but she's smiling blindingly.
"I said," she says primly, "you don't have to apologize anymore." She pauses and blushes; her ears turn bright red. "Also, I really want to kiss me right now."
So Cora does.