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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.
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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Date: 2013-07-28 04:27 pm (UTC)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.
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Date: 2013-07-28 06:45 pm (UTC)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.
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Date: 2013-07-28 07:32 pm (UTC)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.
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Date: 2013-07-28 07:47 pm (UTC)"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.
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Date: 2013-07-28 09:16 pm (UTC)Then he was gone, pulling open the door and then stalking out with little else to say.
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Date: 2013-07-28 11:55 pm (UTC)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.
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Date: 2013-07-29 12:38 am (UTC)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.
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Date: 2013-07-29 12:43 am (UTC)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."
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Date: 2013-07-29 12:54 am (UTC)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.
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Date: 2013-07-29 12:42 pm (UTC)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.