Work Text:
Laura stalked down the hall toward Lydia's office, barely sparing a glance at the students who dodged out of her path. While normally she would relish in the way they trembled before her and fled at the sound of her voice, Laura didn't have time or the attention to spare on the helpless - hopeless - undergrads who made it habit to study in the halls.
She needed Lydia.
"Lydia," Laura said, marching inside Lydia's tiny office without knocking. Not that it mattered, because Lydia was the only one in the office, busy grading papers. Laura kicked the door closed behind her and slammed a piece of paper down on the desk, inches away from a stack of tests. "I need-"
"No."
Lydia didn't bother looking up from the paper she was grading, impatiently checking off incorrect proofs and scribbling down notes in the margin.
"You didn't even hear-"
"I got the same invitation. No."
"Just hear me out. I need-"
"A date to the wedding?" Lydia finally raised her eyes from the page, looking at Laura with a sharp look. "No."
"Lydia. Beautiful, lovely Lydia." Laura let go of the invitation and sank to her knees next to the desk. "I will do anything you want. I will grade papers, write your lesson plans, organize your notes-"
"Oh please, you couldn't handle grading these papers or write lesson plans for me." Lydia rolled her eyes but dropped the pen and put the paper down. Laura bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling - she had Lydia's attention now. "Need I remind you that I teach geometry? And my thesis is on orbifold singularities?"
Laura winced at the reminder, not that it was needed. She knew all too well that Lydia's field was out of her area of expertise, but Lydia didn't need to go rubbing it in. "I could help grade essays," Laura grumbled. She sighed and stood up, dropping into the chair across from Lydia. "Okay, so I can't help with your work duties. Lunch, then. Dinner?"
Lydia shot her a look, full of annoyance and disbelief and chastisement all at once, and Laura grinned at the girl who had become a good friend. Food was a poor choice, since Laura couldn't cook to save her life, and it would take more than one nice meal to get Lydia to agree to be girlfriend for the weekend of the wedding.
"You've been eyeing my new Louboutins," Laura said. Lydia's eyes lit up for a split second and Laura knew she had the girl, even if she hid that spark beneath a cool facade a moment later.
"I'm not going to take your hand-me-downs," she said. "Now, unless you have something else-"
"I remember where I bought those. Discounted, too." Discounted because Laura had grinned at the boutique manager, showed off a mouth full of fangs, and the man had been quick to offer up anything she wanted with a hefty discount. "I can tell you where to buy them."
"I'm actually more interested in the new Valentino jacket that's going to be all the rage this fall." Laura groaned as Lydia spoke, and Lydia ignored her. "In black, I think, to go with the new Louboutins you are going to buy."
"I'm not-"
"Laura. Beautiful, lovely Laura." Lydia smiled, sharp and deadly, mocking Laura's earlier words, and looking more like a wolf than any wolf Laura knew, with the single exception of her own mother. "Consider them courting gifts."
--
Wednesday was coffee night. A night away from papers, assignments, lesson plans, and research, at a coffeeshop as far from the college as they could get and still be in the same town. Like usual, Lydia was seated in their usual corner when Laura arrived, already sipping at the dessert-like coffee she preferred.
There was even a cup set out for Laura, steam still rising from the dark surface.
"You're the best," Laura said, dropping into the chair and reaching for her cup, going boneless as she inhaled the aroma of a perfectly prepared cup of coffee. Wednesday afternoons were the worst, but coffee made everything better.
"I am, yes," Lydia agreed. "Now, before you get lost in the joys of coffeehood-"
"Coffeehood?"
Lydia looked at her, giving her the same look as earlier, one full of annoyance and disbelief, tempered by fondness. "Not important. This fake-dating thing-"
"Coffee is too important," Laura said, curling her hands around the cup she held and pulling it close in an almost protective gesture. Lydia, for all of her wonderful traits, had limited tolerance for coffee, like so many people Laura knew. It was a disgrace. "And don't call it that, it sounds so cliched."
"And you wonder why I refer to this state as coffeehood." Lydia huffed and Laura could tell she was barely refraining from rolling her eyes. But she said nothing further on the subject, simply dug out a notebook, flipping through the pages as Laura watched. "Now, fake-dating-"
"It's not fake-dating. It's - it's, well, so it is fake-dating, but that makes it sound so convoluted."
"Because it is, darling. Keep up. Have you considered asking anyone else?"
"Like who?"
"Braeden."
"I'm not taking my brother's ex-girlfriend to his wedding. He broke up with Braeden for Stiles."
"Mm, yes, I did neglect that detail." Lydia scribbled something in her notebook, crossed out a name, and continued. "Allison?"
"Scott is going to be there, I don't think he'd appreciate seeing her."
"Scott and Allison have worked out their problems, stop looking for issues. But no, Ally won't work. No one would believe that."
Lydia continued down the list, mostly muttering names and crossing them off as soon as she mentioned them. If she didn't immediately strike off a name, Laura had some valid point on why they wouldn't work.
Laura watched as Lydia worked, fascinated by the woman sitting across from her and equally fascinated by her methods. Four years ago, Lydia walked into her undergraduate literature course on the early classics, claiming she needed a foreign language for her graduate degree and the literature course was the closest thing to Latin they offered, and Laura had been captivated ever since. Lydia eventually tested out of the language requirement - Laura hadn't been surprised by that, even in those first few weeks of actually knowing Lydia - and transitioned into TAing while working on her doctorate, placing them firmly in the category of colleagues, albeit in completely different fields. It was a move Laura appreciated.
"Why are you asking about this?" Laura asked finally. "You've already agreed."
"Trying to spare you the cost of the shoes," Lydia said, dropping her pen. "And the jacket, too. Pardon me for trying to be a good friend."
"You're a damn expensive girlfriend." Laura frowned down at her coffee, a long, drawn out sigh leaving her. "Maybe Jennifer would be better."
"We've already crossed her off. Remember, she doesn't do well around fire, knives, the outdoors, loud music, or Stiles."
"And having someone attempt to kill one of the grooms would be awful, I suppose. It might liven things up, but Derek would be sad."
Lydia snorted, rather delicately Laura thought, and Laura had to roll her eyes at herself and the odd thought. Snorting wasn't a delicate gesture, but Lydia managed to pull it off with more dignity than most. "Spare me a moping Derek, thank you. Now, since we have ruled out everyone else, we'll have to get our story straight."
"And this is where it gets convoluted."
"Exactly. We can keep it simple. Went on a date before the wedding, decided to go together-"
"No." Laura shook her head. "Won't work. I need something more."
For a moment, Lydia was silent, watching her with a steady gaze, the same one she gave to students who came in to visit her during office hours, panicking and frustrated. It usually made them squirm and Laura inwardly gleeful when she was able to watch. Now, she understood why they squirmed.
"Laura, why do you want a date to the wedding?"
--
"-And Derek and Stiles are just doing wonderful," Talia said, her voice taking on a fond, happy note as she talked about her son and his boyfriend. Laura, only paying the vaguest sense of attention to her mother's ramblings, hummed in agreement. "I never would have expected them to be such a good match, but here we are."
"Yep," Laura said, jotting down a note in the margin of her new edition of Dante's Divine Comedy. "They're great."
"Cora's going on a date tonight, too," Talia continued. "She's said she's considering settling down finally, now that she's done with her youthful travels. Might start teaching."
"That's great."
"No objection to her teaching. She's thinking of fifth graders, or maybe something in high school, or was it first graders-"
"What?" Laura dropped her book, wincing as it slammed into her foot. It healed a moment later, but she still rubbed it, the memory of the pain a strong one. "Why the hell would Cora even- she hates- Good one, Mom."
"Just making sure you were paying attention. She isn't actually thinking of teaching. She's considering the sheriff's department. But she has been talking about settling down."
Laura knew exactly where this was going. It didn't come up every conversation she had with her mother, just every three or four conversations, and every conversation made her anxious, unsatisfied and unhappy.
It helped when Cora had been single, and adamant about staying single. Now, with Cora possibly dating, it wasn't going to get any better.
"Mom-"
"You keep saying you're fine, honey, but I worry about you. I don't want you to be alone."
"But that's the thing, Mom. I'm not. I have friends, I go on dates."
"Just dates, though. I want you to have someone long-term, who loves you and will always support you. Eventually, you'll be the Alpha, and you'll need a strong-"
She was going to go there. Laura closed her eyes and pinched her nose, exhaling deeply. She hated it when her mother brought up the Alpha thing, and not just because it was a vivid reminder that her parents wouldn't live forever. "I have been dating someone, for a few months now. We're just taking it slow, and I didn't want anyone getting involved," she blurted. It was the wrong thing to say, she knew, but it was the only thing she could think of to derail the conversation.
Talia paused in mid-sentence, silent for a moment. "Well then, I wish you all the luck with this mysterious person," she said finally. Laura knew she didn't entirely believe Laura's claim, but she was going to accept it as truth. "We'll have to meet them eventually."
--
"So you lied to your mother months ago and have kept it up since then? Why didn't you fake a break-up?"
"Because then she'd start in on trying to set me up with people or something, I don't know."
"Laura, Talia is one of the most reasonable and understanding people I know," Lydia said. "If you told her you didn't want to be set up after a break-up, she'd believe you, since she believes this lie."
"I don't think she believes the story?"
Lydia sighed and rolled her eyes heavenward, a look of frustration crossing her face. It was familiar from all the times Laura watched her grading papers from her students, but now, faced with it, Laura felt something somewhat like shame. It was easily shaken off, and Laura went back to enjoying her coffee. Lydia had agreed, even if it annoyed her, and Lydia wouldn't back out of the wedding.
"Of course she doesn't believe it, she's not stupid." Lydia dropped her pen and opened her notebook to another page. "Have you said anything about dating? Given any hints, or talked about why you were taking it slow, or mentioned where you went on dates?"
"Nah." Laura shook her head. "Just that we're taking it slow, have been dating a few months, and I didn't want to get anyone involved. Mom's not asked about anything else."
"How surprising."
Laura understood where Lydia was coming from with that comment. Talia was amazingly nosy, always curious, involved in everything, especially the lives of her children.
"I think she understands that I want to do this on my own," Laura commented. "She did understand why I needed to move away, and doesn't complain much about that, so maybe she's learned."
"Whatever her reasons are, that does make it easier for us. No need to work around matching a story to a bunch of lies." Lydia tapped her finger on the notebook, staring down at it as she thought. Laura stared at her in return, taking in the strand of hair that drifted across Lydia's forehead, the curve of her cheek, the fan of her lashes -
Blinking, Laura reined her thoughts in, surprised by the direction they took. Lydia was like her best friend, and she'd never thought about her like that before. Well, no, that wasn't true. The moment she'd lied to her mother, she thought about Lydia. The idea had been in her mind, even then. And staring at Lydia longingly, noticing those adorable little details about her would help convince her family about their relationship.
"Now, we need to figure out how we transitioned from simply being friends to dating." Lydia's voice interrupted Laura's thoughts and she realized Lydia had been talking. "Any suggestions?"
"You kissed me?"
"Something believable, please. We already have to convince your family, who are a pack of werewolves need I remind you, that we're dating. We have to maintain some semblance of truth."
"Okay." Her coffee was gone, but Laura couldn't put the mug down yet. She kept rolling it in her hands, thinking. She knew how to lie to her family, but it was easier when there was something to support the lie, and Lydia was right - no one would believe that Lydia just up and kissed her.
The thought was surprisingly disappointing. Laura knew she wasn't that unattractive. Why wouldn't Lydia want her?
"How about - I was looking at you one night, over dinner or coffee, and realized how gorgeous you were, and asked you out right then and there. You didn't believe me at first, but I managed to convince you. We're taking it slow because of classes and your thesis work."
Lydia nodded her approval, and Laura continued on.
"That can also explain why you don't smell like me, just in case they ask. And our dates aren't any different from what we've being doing already. Dinner, coffee, the occasional movie or weekend in when I can pull you away from your work."
"Surprisingly simple," Lydia said. "Considering this fiasco, I was afraid you would have this grand, elaborate plan." Lydia jotted a few things down in her notebook, then closed it and slipped it into her bag as she prepared to leave. "This weekend, we should actually do something date-like. Try kissing, just so it's not too awkward. Oh, and I want those Louboutins by the wedding. I'm one of Stiles's attendants, so I'll be wearing them."
"I'll make sure to wear mine, then." Laura reached over, grabbed her hand and squeezed. "You're the best, Lyds."
"Please, tell me something I don't know."
--
Luckily, the wedding was in the middle of their Spring Break, so traveling the four hours back to Beacon Hills was simple. Even arranging to be there the entire week was plausible. Of course, Lydia spent the entire car ride Sunday afternoon muttering and jotting down notes, and snapping if Laura so much as breathed too heavily, but that was expected. Her thesis deadline was a few weeks away.
Laura was driving, so she couldn't spend too much time staring at Lydia. In the past two months, since they agreed to the entire fake-dating thing, or rather, since Laura begged her, Laura had been aware of Lydia in ways she wasn't before.
Like the fact that Lydia, beneath her perfume and her soap and shampoo, smelled like spring, green and fragrant and full of life, even though she was so tightly controlled. And that was another thing she noticed - how controlled Lydia always was, in her every day life, always moving from one project to the next to the next, and how winding down was rare for her. But she did it with Laura, when they had dinner or Laura dragged her out of her books and forced her to watch a movie.
And Laura noticed that she wanted to kiss Lydia. More than she wanted to kiss anyone else.
They've kissed, because it was necessary, and even gotten it to not look awkward. Lydia was inches shorter than Laura, but they worked with it, and now Laura could sweep in, kiss Lydia easily, and act like it was second nature.
It had been ages since Laura last kissed someone with no end goal in mind, and it felt nice.
Lydia felt nice.
Laura tried not to think about it too much. She definitely didn't imagine Lydia in bed with her. She most certainly did not picture Lydia stretched out in bed beneath her, petite and fragile and yet so captivating, with her neck bared and Laura's mark in the hollow of her clavicle.
--
"You're dating Lydia and you didn't think to tell me?" Talia demanded, later that night, once Laura had driven Lydia to her parents house, with promises to meet up for breakfast the next morning.
"I did tell you."
"Not her name!"
"I told you, we're taking it slow. I didn't want anyone to bother her." Laura frowned at her mother. "She's busy, thesis defense and everything, so she doesn't need outside distractions."
"You're out of your mind if you think Lydia couldn't manage people, and stay current with her studies," Talia shot back, matching her daughter in expression. That was one of the reasons why she enjoyed being away from home, as much as she loved her family. Arguing with Talia was impossible, and they seemed to argue more than anyone else in the family. Laura loved her mother, but sometimes she couldn't stand the woman.
"I'm still not going to dump the family on her. She's my girlfriend, I'm supposed to help her out at times like this."
"And you helped her out by keeping her a secret? How is that helping your relationship?" They weren't yelling, but Talia's voice had risen just enough that to a pack of werewolves, they were shouting. Laura could see Derek and Cora peeking around from the dining room, and she knew Stiles was there behind them. She tried to quiet her mother, but Talia barged on. "If you think Lydia wouldn't sing it- oh. Oh my." She stopped abruptly, her mouth dropping open. When she next spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. "You have no idea."
"What are you talking about, Mom?"
"Nothing, you beautiful, blind little fool." Talia shook her head, laughing a little. It wasn't an amused chuckle, but something that sent a shiver down Laura's spine. "I was cursed to raise a bunch of hopeless, helpless blind little children."
"Hey," Cora protested from the dining room, "I'm nowhere near as dense as those two."
---
The wedding was beautiful, a surprisingly simple affair that had most of the attendees wiping away tears, Laura included. The reception was, by the time any touching moments might have come up, more of a party than anything else.
Everyone bought the dating thing, no one asked Laura if she was planning on settling down, and it was glorious. Dating Lydia was the best idea she'd ever had.
If she sipped a little too much werewolf-infused wine and snuggled a little too close to her fake girlfriend, it was only to help the ruse. Nothing more.
---
Lydia drove back, despite protests. That left Laura free to look around at the scenery passing by, and think.
The wedding was over, there had been no questions about Laura and her future mating, and the next time the entire family would be together was months away. Christmas, probably, if not Thanksgiving. Enough time to find an actual relationship, especially with summer slowly approaching.
Laura opened her mouth to bring that up, only for Lydia to cut her off. "We're not talking about it until I finish my thesis."
"But-"
"Are you planning on finding someone to date in the next few weeks?"
"No. But you might run into someone."
"Yes, because I have copious amounts of spare time, during which I might meet someone who will sweep me off my feet while understanding that they will be third in my life for the immediate future."
"Third? Thesis writing and your classes are only two things."
Lydia stiffened next to her, and Laura swung her head around to stare.
"I wonder why, sometimes," Lydia said, muttering under her breath. "Fuck it."
As Laura watched, Lydia pulled over to the side of the road, killing the engine. They sat there for minutes, the ticking of the cooling engine surprisingly loud, while Laura stared at Lydia and Lydia stared out the window.
"You are the most obtuse woman I have ever met," Lydia began. "Probably the most obtuse person, and yes, that includes both Derek and Stiles - and don't try to protest," she said, when Laura opened her mouth to object; she wasn't obtuse! "I have invited you into my house while wearing nothing but panties and the most ridiculous top known to man, and you just acted like it was completely normal."
Laura remembered that incident. Last November, when they'd both been overwhelmed with grading and deadlines, Laura had declared a weekend of relaxation, and brought over Thai and cheap wine. Lydia had been scantily dressed, gorgeous despite the circles under her eyes, and Laura had refused to even let herself think about anything beyond food and movies and wine.
She remembered the exact shade of that tank top, and those panties, later.
At the time, she hadn't thought about it, hadn't thought it meant anything, and she opened her mouth to say that, but Lydia barged on, refusing to let her get a word in edgewise.
"We spend nearly all our free time together. You haven't been out with a person who isn't me in months. I haven't been out with anyone else in months. And you. Just. Don't. Get. It."
"Get what?"
Laura was a smart woman; she knew that. She had a Ph.D. in English Literature, and surviving grad school was no small feat. But she still felt lost in this, like there was something going over her head that she didn't entirely grasp.
Lydia snarled, and slammed her hand on the steering wheel. If they hadn't been parked, Laura would have worried, and not just for the car.
"Get this," Lydia snapped, and leaned across the center console, pulling Laura in for a kiss. She didn't entirely process what was going on, but her body responded without any need for input from her brain. This was Lydia, kissing her. She wasn't going to protest. She even tugged Lydia closer, although the center console didn't allow much contact.
When Lydia finally pulled back, she looked mussed, her lipstick bitten off, and Laura felt a rush of feelings - pride that she had done that to Lydia, nervousness and anticipation, and still some confusion. But Lydia was glaring at her, and Laura felt her heart melt. Lydia was her favorite person in the world. She hadn't dreamt of this before, because it was too risky, but in the darkness of her bedroom, under the blankets, she had hoped.
Lydia must have recognized something in her face, because she just huffed and started the car again, pulling onto the road.
"I have my thesis defense in four weeks, on a Wednesday. You may take me to dinner the following Friday. It gives you plenty of time to make reservations somewhere nice."
"Why am I taking you to dinner? You should be taking me-"
"Laura, darling, I am poor, starving student."
"Like I'm that much better. I teach English!"
"That's what you get for going into the Humanities. Didn't your mother warn you about that? But darling, if you want in my panties, you will take me to dinner. It's not like you're actually destitute."
"Mom encouraged me to go into the humanities," Laura grumbled. "Reading to me all the time, making me analyze - Not important, but fine. We'll go on a date. How nice are we talking?"
"We aren't going to the same places we have been going for dinner for our first official date."
"Wait - we're waiting four weeks to start dating?"
"I'm not going to start dating you now. I have a thesis to finish." Lydia shook her head, but Laura could see the hint of smile around her lips. She almost wanted to demand Lydia pull over again, so they could talk this out. "We'll still see each other, for coffee and dinner and everything else. But no dating or kissing until this is done."
Laura spent the rest of the drive plotting ways she could get Lydia to kiss her between now and then.
---
The Friday following Lydia's successful thesis defense found Laura standing in front of Lydia's apartment, a bouquet of flowers in her hand, and reservations at the fanciest French restaurant in town.