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Stiles made multiple mistakes all at once. He agreed to a road trip that’s forcing him to be in the same car as Theo Raeken for hours at a time. He agreed to go on a road trip with a couple. He agreed to stay in a dinky motel somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
And this is where he draws the line.
“I’m sleeping in the car.”
Theo stares at him, toothbrush hanging limply from the corner of his mouth. “Why?”
As eloquently as he can, Stiles gestures towards the one bed in the middle of the room. Aside from the fact that it smells in here as if the room hasn’t been cleaned in a while, the one bed really is the deciding factor.
Drawing his eyebrows together, Theo looks from Stiles to the bed. His eyes widen slightly as realization dawns on him. With a huff, he pulls the toothbrush out of his mouth. “Seriously?” He spits into the sink, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I won’t kill you, don’t worry." That’s not what Stiles is afraid of. “You’re the only person I can stand on this trip.”
Stiles licks his lips. This is exactly what he doesn’t need to hear right now. “Why did you come?”
Theo shrugs. “Beats hanging out with the rest of the pack.” This honesty isn’t unusual for him, especially not towards him, but it hits differently now than it did back then. “The others are boring. You’re not.” He grins, now leaning against the doorframe to the tiny bathroom.
“What’s that supposed to mean?"
"That you’re fun.” Theo pushes off the door. “Calm down.”
Stiles purses his lips. It would really help if Theo didn’t run around half-naked. Because the word fun leads his thoughts somewhere Stiles doesn’t want them right now.
Or ever.
“Where are your keys?”
Theo stares at him. “You’re not really gonna sleep in the car.” It’s not a question. In fact, it sounds much more like a command. It really shouldn’t work in Theo’s favor, but it does.
“Well, I’m not going to share a bed with you,” Stiles says, folding his arms over his chest. It’s a lie too. He very much wants to sleep in the same bed as Theo, but he probably shouldn’t. Fuck that. He definitely shouldn’t if he wants to keep his act together. Jackson and Lydia have been obnoxious ever since Theo offered to drive them. His argument that he has the biggest car is pretty reasonable, but Lydia and Jackson think there’s something behind it. Stiles is pretty sure Lydia knows exactly how he feels about Theo.
Shaking his head, Theo closes the bathroom door behind him. “Don’t be an idiot.”
“Keys, Raeken.”
Theo rolls his eyes. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
What? That’s not at all the reaction he expected. Plus, Stiles doesn’t want Theo to end up sleeping on the floor. Especially not this one. Nobody knows what the hell is living in this carpet. Supernatural or not, a night on this floor might make anybody sick. Or kill someone. Who knows, really?
Stiles huffs out a breath. “Just give me the keys.”
“No.”
“Theo, give me the fucking keys.”
Smirking, he pulls the keys in question from the pocket of his jeans. “You’re not going to sleep in the car in the back of the beyond. You want me to give you these keys?” Theo dangles the keys on his index finger, quirking a brow. “You’d have to make me give them to you.”
Stiles stares at him for a moment, fingers curling tightly around the strap of his bag. Is Theo really fucking with him at 1 am in the morning? They’ve planned to continue their trip in about seven hours. All Stiles wants it to get a couple of hours of sleep, so he doesn’t accidentally fall asleep while on the road. It would only lead to highly embarrassing situations.
“Just… please.” Great, now he starts begging. This night is about to take a turn for the worse. “Give me the keys.”
Theo stands his ground. “Make me.”
This feels like a trap. That particular combination of words usually never ends well, but Stiles is tired and frustrated, and all he wants is to curl into a ball on the passenger’s seat of Theo’s truck to get some sleep. Is that really too much to ask? “Fine.” Stiles drops the bag, grinding his teeth. He can’t believe this jerk is making everything so hard on him. “Fine.”
Stiles crosses the room, knowing very well that Theo probably won’t budge just because he’s a fucking asshole who refuses to let Stiles have nice things. “Keys,” he orders anyway.
Theo merely laughs.
“I’m not going to ask you nicely.”
“Good.” The guy looks thoroughly amused by everything going on. “It wouldn’t help anyway.”
Stiles glares at him for a moment. Despite knowing that there’s no chance in hell that he’ll get the keys from Theo like that, he tries to grab them regardless. As expected, Theo pulls his hand away. Stiles has the urge to smack the stupid smirk off his pretty face. “Why are you making this so hard?”
Theo barks out a laugh. “Just go to bed.” He gestures briefly in the general direction of said bad while pushing the keys in the back pocket of his jeans. That asshole. How the fuck is he supposed to get the keys now? Stiles isn’t going to get anywhere near Theo’s ass — not unless they’re in an entirely different situation.
“If I find you crawling to my side in the middle of the night, I will turn you into a fur blanket,” Stiles says without much heat in his voice, studying the bed because the last thing he needs right now is to see Theo’s face. He probably thinks he’s an idiot, or he understands perfectly well why Stiles does not want to share his bed with him — and that would be so much worse.
Stiles runs his fingers through his hair. He can’t wait for this night to be finally over.
↬ ———- ↫
“Can you stop moving for five fucking seconds?”
Stiles makes a point of shuffling around, yanking the blanket closer to him in the process. Hearing Theo suck in a deep breath through his teeth is much more satisfying than it probably should be. “Should’ve let me sleep in the car,” he mutters, punching his pillow in a more comfortable position. If he had the option, Stiles would scoot even further away from Theo, but he’s almost falling off the bed as it is.
Huffing out a breath, Theo moves as well. “I don’t get why you’re so obsessed with sleeping in my truck.”
“I’m obsessed with not sleeping in the same bed as you.”
Theo is silent after that. It’s an uncomfortable silence. Heavy. Suffocating. It’s also a lie. A big fat fucking lie. Stiles wants to sleep in the same bed as Theo. In fact, he wants to curl up next to him, have his arms around him, and wake up right there. Since it’s not going to happen, Stiles wants to keep the distance between them intact, thank you very much. His self-preservation instinct might be questionable, but even he knows better than to run face-first into his next heartbreak. The few shreds of dignity he owns luckily prohibit that.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Stiles rolls onto his stomach. He boxes the pillow again and buries his face in it. At this point, falling asleep is a distant dream from a better world. He’s going to be tired and disgruntled all day then fall asleep in the car. He’s going to have a sore neck. With his luck, he might even drool — because, let’s be real, being stuck in a car for the last two days hasn’t exactly been great for him. He needs a day full of walking and freedom and a lot of room to move. As pretty as the places they visit are, Stiles cannot handle driving around much longer. He has so much pent up energy that Theo’s car feels like a sardine can. It most definitely adds to the fact that he’s got this much trouble falling asleep. He’d still rather sleep in the truck than crave Theo from the other side of the bed.
Stiles groans into the pillow then shifts onto his side.
“Stop moving,” Theo snaps, sounding much more aggressive than a second ago. “If you don’t want me to crash the car into a tree tomorrow, let me sleep.”
“Give me the keys, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“You’re not going to sleep in the car.”
“It’s your beauty sleep you’re losing.”
Theo lets out a long breath. “Just stop moving.”
“No,” Stiles shoots back, fumbling excessively with his blanket again only to piss Theo off more. If this comes down to who is more stubborn, Stiles has won already. He can outlast every single person on this planet. After all, he had to go up against his dad. “I guess you’ll have to make me.” The words are out of his mouth before he can stop himself. He snaps his mouth shut and prays that Theo is not going to suffocate him with a pillow. Saying stupid shit like that is exactly what’s going to motivate the chimera to do stupid stuff. The mattress moves behind him. Oh god, Theo actually might suffocate him with a pillow. “Wait—” Stiles tries to free himself from his cocoon, but Theo is faster. He simply yanks the blanket out from under him. Holding his breath, Stiles waits for his fate to come and get him. He expects everything.
What he doesn’t expect is Theo to slip under the covers, and he certainly doesn’t expect the arm firmly wrapped around his waist. “Stop moving,” Theo whispers against the nape of his neck. To make matter worse — or better, the jury is still out on that one — he shifts closer, pressing against back and ass and thighs. How is he supposed to sleep like that?
“Theo,” Stiles says, but he’s not entirely sure how to finish this sentence. His heart jumping into his throat doesn’t exactly make it any easier to talk.
Theo hums.
“What’s happening?”
Laughter brushes over the back of his neck. Laughter and breath and lips. Stiles can’t help but shudder, eliciting another chuckle from Theo. “You are aware Lydia and Jackson gave us this room, right? Their room has twin beds.”
Stiles swallows around the lump in his throat. He can feel Theo everywhere, and he shivers despite the warmth underneath the blanket. This is not exactly how he thought this night would go. Not even in the slightest. It doesn’t even make fucking sense. Why would Lydia and Jackson decide to give them the room with the— “Oh.”
“For a smart person, you’re surprisingly stupid.”
Stiles huffs out a laugh. “Asshole.”
“Yes, but I could be your asshole.” Theo brushes his lips over the nape of his neck.
“I like the sound of that.”
Silence falls over them. Softer now. Smiling, Stiles places his hand over Theo’s and closes his eyes.