this was sort of inevitable [for Peter and Lydia]

[hatesbeingrobin]

"Wait...wait.  Lydia was there?  At Peter's?"  Stiles stared at Cora incredulously as he latched onto a seemingly insignificant detail that actually was a rather big deal to him.  

Cora didn't say anything after that, at least not out loud, but the look on her face had been enough confirmation for him.  For some reason that he couldn't even comprehend, Lydia had been at Peter's.  In the middle of the night.  

Even now as he stalked off the elevator of Peter's floor, he was hoping that he was wrong.  That maybe Cora had been somehow mistaken in the midst of her grief.  That she had been imagining Lydia being there at Peter's and that Lydia had actually been at home.  Safe at home.  Alone.  With no Peter.

But even as he told himself it wasn't possible, there was a chill settling into his bones.  Even with everything going on, he had noticed that Lydia was acting odd and not just in a creepy 'i find dead people' sort of way.  She was distant but happy, disappearing at the oddest times and, well, she just had that air about her.  The same air Scott and Allison had when they were sneaking around behind everyone's back so they could be together despite people not wanting them to be.  

Yeah, it was all enough to make Stiles feel sick.

Stopping in front of Peter's door, he held very still as he strained to listen to what was going on on the other side.  He was hoping he was wrong but he swore then he heard the soft murmur of a female voice.  A painfully familiar murmur of a female voice.

It was enough to make him bolt as he felt strangely breathless, much like he did when he was on the edge of a panic attack, but he forced himself to knock.  He had to see it with his own two eyes to believe it or he would just talk himself out of it later.  Delude himself into thinking that it just wasn't possible.  That Lydia wouldn't be hooking up with Peter Hale of all people.   

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[work_inprogress]

Peter was doing a bit better this morning with pushing back memories of the past. The quieter night with food and movies and something more like snuggling had been needed, and now he had the whole day to look forward to with Lydia. With thinking what to do next and probably checking on Derek, too, but...still a good day.

He was listening to Lydia when the knock came. It made him freeze in the act of getting ready to toss breakfast on the stove. He tilted his head, holding up one finger for her to quiet so he could listen, trying to gauge who was on the other side. Fast heartbeat, nervous, but without a scent he couldn't be sure.

Glancing at Lydia for a moment, he reached out and pulled her close, brushing a kiss over her lips. "Things might be about to get interesting..."

Moving to the door, he looked through the peephole and then closed his eyes resting his forehead against the door for a moment before taking a deep breath. His more usual distant and slightly sardonic expression slipped over his face as he pulled open the door.

"Stiles. You found the wolf den."

[hatesbeingrobin]

The night of food, movies and snuggling had been good for Lydia too and she felt almost 'human' again by the time morning rolled again. Leaning against the counter in his kitchen, she had been talking when the knock at the door came and they both froze in place.

Watching him, she tried to guess who it was and she wasn't sure he liked his comment about things getting interesting because that meant it wasn't Derek or Cora.

Moving forward, she hovered in front of the entrance way to the kitchen, watching him as he moved to the door and then seemed disheartened by whomever he saw through the peephole. And she understood completely the minute he opened the door to reveal Stiles on the other side.

Looking up, Stiles shrugged. "Not a network of caves deep in the woods but..." He stepped forward into the apartment without invitation only to have his stomach drop to the floor at the sight of Lydia standing there. In a shirt and nothing else. Clearly one of Peter's shirts, actually. "Well....I guess that answers my question."

The blood drained from Lydia's face. "Stiles."

[work_inprogress]

Lydia's distress was more worrisome for Peter than Stiles's. His gaze shot to her, noting the pallor almost clinically, but then remembered how his own heart had dropped when Derek came in. Still, he was watching her carefully for a moment before looking back at Stiles.

"Apparently we need to add discretion to Cora's list of lessons."

[hatesbeingrobin]

Stiles was ignoring him though as he stared at Lydia, moving towards her. "Seriously? You know, anyone else I might have gotten it? Might have even convinced myself to be okay with it but him?" He motioned back at Peter then. "Seriously, Lydia? Really?"

"Stiles." She frowned now. "..."

"Is this a mind control thing?" Stiles whipped around to look at Peter. "Are you mind controlling her again?"

[work_inprogress]

Peter had been expecting that and he knew he deserved it, but his eyes flashed bluer anyway, not that he fully expected Stiles to care. But occasionally the boy needed a reminder of what he was dealing with.

"No. She's here by her own choice."

That it was more a matter of pride than morality was meaningless to him when the result was the same. Having a mind-controlled little sex slave was boring and cheap, like hiring a hooker--maybe okay for getting off a time or two, but ultimately cheap and unfulfilling.

[hatesbeingrobin]

Stiles groaned at the confirmation that she was there of her own free will. Or at least Peter was saying she was but he still looked at Lydia expectantly.

"It's true." Lydia felt bad for the wince that came from him at her words but, for the most part, she was unapologetic about it. She didn't like that it hurt him but that was something that couldn't be avoided and it wouldn't change her mind about what, or who, she wanted.

"Why?" He asked softly.

Now that was the tricky part, wasn't it? She couldn't just say it was because they were connected because that would only, possibly, reaffirm the whole mind control bit. She looked to Peter then, wondering what he would have to say.

[work_inprogress]

But that they were connected was pretty much all Peter had. All the reasons he'd chosen her were why he was here (metaphorically. with her. not in his apartment). Peter wasn't completely sure why she was here.

"Because she wants to be?" Peter was doing his best to look relaxed, leaning against the door. "Why is anyone with anyone, ultimately?"

[wantadistraction]

"He's right." Lydia glanced at Peter before looking back at Stiles. "I want to be here, with him."

Stiles groaned again, rubbing his hands over his face as he tried to think of how to say what he was feeling or thinking but there was too much. So much so that his chest felt tight, causing his breath to come in and out a little faster. Then he jumped as he felt Lydia's hand on his arm, pushing him towards a chair.

"Sit down." Her voice was firm as she pushed him to sit and then she was rubbing his back. "You're going to give yourself a panic attack."

Stiles jumped away from her though, as if her touch burned him. Or maybe it was knowing that she touched Peter with those very hands. Probably in naughty ways he would have enjoyed if it was him but not with Peter. "I just don't get it. Are you telling me you're in love with him?!"

Lydia opened her mouth and then closed it before replying. "We're figuring things out."

[work_inprogress]

Peter...didn't move. He watched Stiles, though, listened to his heartbeat, his breath. He was going to be really irritated if the boy had an attack here.

He frowned when Stiles flinched away from her, more protective than anything, and worried about that, about a rejection of her. Because of him. She wasn't as isolated as he was and it hurt to think of her being cut off from people she cared about because of choosing him.

The question made him uncomfortable, too, simply because it slammed into things too raw. His gaze switched to her for her answer, though, almost relieved. There were words, things, he wasn't ready to say or talk about.

"I'm not hurting her."

[hatesbeingrobin]

Lydia stood back with her hands at her side as she watched Stiles, tilting her head to the side as she told herself that it didn't hurt that he had flinched away from her. She had gotten good at wrapping an invisible armor around herself and she was prepared to do so again.

"At least not yet." Stiles replied bitterly, glancing at Peter again.

[work_inprogress]

Peter knew she was hurt, could feel it, and it made the look he gave Stiles far more venomous under the supposedly calm exterior.

"Not, yet, no. Which is more than you can say."

[hatesbeingrobin]

Stiles looked offended by that, looking between them. "I am not hurting her!"

[work_inprogress]

"Oh, no. Of course not. Because everyone loves having their friends yank away from them when they're trying to help them," Peter said acidly, having no problem outright calling him out on it. The best defense, etc, etc.

[hatesbeingrobin]

"Peter." Lydia glanced over at him, recognizing what he was doing. She was grateful for it but she didn't want the fight getting any worse than it needed to be.

The guilt was quick and then Stiles frowned. "I just didn't want to sit."

[work_inprogress]

"So say that. Don't treat her like she's contaminated because she cares about me." Peter crossed his arms across his chest fixing Stiles with a look, another flare of his eyes surfacing.

They all hated him. Fine. He could take it. Like hell he was going to let them put it on her.

Or maybe he was feeling guilty because he'd put her in that position.

Either way, the protectiveness was clear.

[hatesbeingrobin]

Which Stiles saw even if he didn't want to.

It was easy making Peter the bad guy, to think he was doing something nefarious to Lydia, but seeing anything that reflected caring or even human didn't sit well with Stiles. It made him wonder, briefly, why Peter and not him? What was so wrong with him that Lydia would choose a man who had mentally tortured and scared her for months over someone like him? It was nearly as bad as when she had chose Jackson the homicidal lizard over him.

"Fine." He replied, nodding as he pursed his lips. "Sorry."

He glanced back at Lydia and for a second she could see it all in his gaze before he shut it away. Strange how good he was getting at that now. "Just...if you need anything or he hurts you, call me." Then he was stalking towards the door, refusing to look at Peter. He didn't need the werewolf mocking him.

[work_inprogress]

For once, Peter didn't feel like mocking anyone but himself. There was even a flicker of thinking he should tell Lydia to go with him, that Stiles was far, far better for her than he ever would be. It didn't matter how much he tried, there were too many parts of him too broken to make a whole again and thinking she could or expecting her to heal him just wasn't fair to her. She was just a teenage girl, after all.

He was still against the door, though, and he didn't move right away to get out of Stiles' way, just reached out and put a hand on his chest to stop him, fully prepared to stand there until the boy looked at him.

[hatesbeingrobin]

Even if Peter told her to go, Lydia wouldn't. She knew there were parts of him that were possibly broken beyond repair but she wasn't with him to fix him. Nor could she ever expect Stiles to fix hers. Which was the root of it: Stiles was much too good for her.

Stiles didn't think of it that way though. Frowning as Peter's hand landed against his chest, he looked up with a scowl. "Let me go or I swear I'll find a way to hurt you." He grumbled though there wasn't much anger behind it. He was too resigned to his fate.

[work_inprogress]

"Not as hard to do these days," Peter pointed out, though he didn't step out of the way, just held Stiles's gaze for a moment, almost searching, before nodding a little. "And if I hurt her again...I won't even try to stop you."

It was good Stiles cared, good Lydia had someone watching her back, even from him, though god help anyone who really tried to take her. Conflicting impulses--he wasn't sure what he'd really do in any one situation. It was part of the wreckage, probably, this indecisiveness when it came to emotion, self-preservation and the seeds of self-loathing buried deep inside of him.

Stiles's hurt over Lydia's choices, though, he couldn't do anything about. Even if he sent her away, he couldn't make her love the boy, and there wasn't much that could be done to ease that blow.

Dropping his hand, Peter stepped out of his way.

[hatesbeingrobin]

Stiles lifted his brows in brief surprise when Peter stated that he wouldn't try to stop Stiles from hurting him but then he nodded. "Good to know."

Then he was gone, pulling open the door and then stalking out with little else to say.

[work_inprogress]

Peter frowned as the door shut behind Stiles, worry for Lydia mingling with the darker mood, though...at least Stiles hadn't threatened to go to his father which would be just...unfortunate all around.

His gaze flicked to Lydia to see how she was, though he didn't say anything, yet.

[wantadistraction]

For a second, while she was unaware he was looking at her, Lydia was staring ahead with a vulnerable look on her face. Her long lashes flickered, blinking away the brief shimmer of tears as she swallowed thickly and shoved down the emotion that was rolling around inside of her.

Then her gaze snapped to Peter and the vulnerability was gone as she lifted her chin like a true queen. "Well." She pursed her lips as though annoyed, "We knew people weren't going to be happy." She gave a one shoulder shrug before turning to head back into the kitchen to check on the breakfast.

[work_inprogress]

Peter's frown grew, having caught the vulnerability. It was something he wanted to ease away, wanted to make all right for her, but he had no idea how to do it. He could send her away, back to her friends with a story to tell, maybe, but back to some sort of a normal teenage life. And then he'd be ripping away that piece of his soul forever and he wasn't sure what that would do to him.

Didn't seem fair, either, to contemplate making decisions for her. He'd done a lot of that already.

He watched the shift in her demeanor, then followed her back to the kitchen. "He really cares about you."

[wantadistraction]

He would find her pouring herself some orange juice, quietly contemplating, before she glanced over at him. "I know." She replied with a nod.

Then she closed the door. "And I'm sorry he's upset but I'm not going to feel bad. Feeling bad implies shame and I'm not ashamed." She informed him, as much for him to hear it as anything else. Even if he hadn't asked, she wondered if he worried about her being ashamed or not and so it was time to clarify before the dark shadows of doubt consumed him completely.

[work_inprogress]

He did need to hear it, more perhaps than he would acknowledge. She had nothing to be ashamed for, and he never wanted her to feel it. It wasn't something he felt, to be honest, though academically he knew he should.

"I don't think he's upset because he thinks you should be ashamed," was all he said, though as he moved to restart the batter he'd been working on before they were interrupted.