new york wolves } { of meet the parents and hard truths

[hereditare]

Cora: [so they're studying, not making out, because otherwise this would have made her spitting this out much more awkward:] DoyouwanttohavedinnerwithmyfamilyonSaturday?

Stiles: [blinks, because he didn't make out half of that] Do I what?

Cora: [sighs, and actually puts spaces between her words this time] Do you want to have dinner with my family on Saturday?

Stiles: .... Depends? Am I the main course? [grins]

Cora: [laughs] No. But my older sister and my uncle want to meet you, so it was either this or an elaborate ruse to make it seem as though it's harmless but it's actually not.

Stiles: [nods] Okay. Well, as long as Derek doesn't try and shoot me, I think I can handle that.

Cora: He won't. Laura will glare him into submission if she has to.

Stiles: Oh, that actually sounds worth seeing then. I'm in. [grins]

Cora: [smiles] Okay. My place at six?

Stiles: Sure. Should I dress nice, or should I dress like some goth boy to make them worried about you? [teasing]

Cora: [laughs] Just be yourself, and it'll be fine.

Stiles: Alright. And I'll try not to embarrass you too much.

Cora: I doubt you'd embarrass me at all.

Stiles: ... I can make that a challenge you know.

Cora: Please don't.

Stiles: Okay, I won't, but only because I like you. A lot. [grins]

Cora: [grins in return, before leaning in to kiss him softly] Thank you.

Stiles: So... is there a reason you want me to "meet the parents"? [and he actually makes the hand quotes]

Cora: [she blinks for a moment, before giving a bit of a shrug.] I don't know. I didn't really ... see it like that.

Stiles: No, it's cool then. I wasn't sure if there was a reason or not, that’s all.

Cora: Oh. [a shrug] No, I just ... figured if we're going to keep doing this, you should meet them.

Stiles: Okay. So Saturday it'll happen. I may even find a tie to wear.

Cora: I think my sister's making pizza. You won't need a tie.

Stiles: Even better.

Cora: Just bring yourself. We'll take care of the rest.

Stiles: Alright. So, that's settled, back to math?

Cora: [takes a deep breath] Back to math. [and with that they will do some homework!]

Stiles: [and when math is done, makeout times until Hal is due back and she has to go home, and then Saturday comes SO quickly and Stiles is at the front door ringing the bell]

Laura: [and she beats her sister to the door. but only because she sent her to walk the dog and pick up soda. She pulls open the door with a smile] Hi. You must be Stiles. I'm Laura.

Stiles: [bright, charming smile] That would be me. Hi. Nice to meet you.

Laura: You too. [tips her head to the side, curly hair tossing as she does] C'mon in. I was just getting ready to do the toppings.

Stiles: Anything I can help with? [he's already done the whole marvel at the loft bit so he doesn't look agape at the ritzy place]

Laura: Nah, I've got it. Cora went out to pick up some soda with the dog so she'll be back in a bit but if you want to sit there's water in the fridge?

Stiles: Water works. I can also go bug Malia if she's home so I'm not in the way...?

Laura: Not in the way. Sit. I want to talk to you.

Stiles: [chuckles] Alright. [goes to get the water, and then sits nearby and watches] So is this the part of the night I get interrogated on my intentions, or does Derek have dibs on that?

Laura: [laughs] Derek has been told to be on his best behavior. But no, this is just the part of the evening where I get to know a little more about you. [there are three medium sized pizzas sitting on the counter, both with sauce and cheese, and there are various sliced toppings - veggie and meat alike - sitting in little bowls next to them] To start - what kind of pizza do you like?

Stiles: I'm typically a Hawaiian type of guy, but I've gotten used to the every meat on the planet style that Cora gets on her half. Not everyone thinks pineapple belongs on a pizza.

Laura: I would have to agree with her on that. We like our pizzas salty or spicy.

Stiles: Then every meat on the planet it is.

Laura: Perfect. [and she'll start distributing] So how do you like New York?

Stiles: I like it just fine. I've been lucky to have a bunch of friends who are good on taking me to see the sights. We um, last weekend we went to see.... um... the tall building with the deck you're not supposed to throw pennies off of.

Laura: [eyebrow raise] The Empire State Building?

Stiles: [snaps fingers] That's it. I keep getting it mixed up with the Chrysler and the Trade.

Laura: [nods] We have a lot of skyscrapers, it is true.

Stiles: Yeah, I mean, you have them in LA too, but Beacon Hills? I think the hospital's the tallest building.

Laura: That's what I remember. Glad to see not much's changed.

Stiles: Nah, hasn't really changed a lot since I was a kid. I mean, we have internet now, and there's an influx of artists lately opening galleries. But other than that, same ol' town.

Laura: [her eyes flicker for a moment at the mention of artists, but she nods a bit as she looks down at the pizza again] Sounds nice.

Stiles: It is. I kinda miss it, but I've got enough distractions here to keep me from being too homesick.

Laura: [nods as she gets it back together and looks up again] So what are you studying?

Stiles: Computer science. Got it in my head I could be a programmer.

Laura: Interesting. What do you want to program?

Stiles: Games, mostly. I've been thinking up a zombie apocalypse field guide, but I figure that come an apocalypse, people aren't going to be able to charge their phones, so pretty much easy things.

Laura: There's a book, actually! I think I have it somewhere.

Stiles: You're into zombie survival?

Laura: I am a mysterious woman of many varied interests. [she slips the pizzas into the oven, before setting the time and pointing towards the bedrooms] Gimme a sec, I'll go find it.

Stiles: Okay. [and he will just sit in the kitchen and wait]

Peter: [top of the stairs, waiting for Laura] When do you want the rest of us to join you?

Laura: Pizza's in the oven. Feel free to come down whenever you want.

Peter: Alright. Oh, and your brother texted - he got a case and won't be able to make it. He asks for me to take notes for him.

Laura: [sighs] Of course he did. [shouting down the stairs] Looks like you lucked out, Stiles. No Derek tonight.

Stiles: I'm heartbroken!

Peter: [chuckles and goes down the stairs] Sadly, I will have to do the overprotective male role for two. I'm Peter, Cora's uncle.

Stiles: [gets up and shakes Peter's hand] I'm Stiles. It's nice to meet you.

Peter: I was actually back in Beacon Hills a few weeks ago and ran into your father. He's very proud of you.

Laura: [rustling rustling rustling in her room] A-ha! [and she will be returning with the book in hand shortly]

Stiles & Peter: [are just going to talk about school and the likes until someone else gets there]

Laura: [and she's coming down the stairs just as the door opens and Barron bounds into the penthouse] Got it! [and she'll hand over The Zombie Survival Guide]

Stiles: [looks at it, grinning] Oh wow, this is awesome. I'd heard about it but this one looks really detailed.

Laura: It's really good. I think you'll like it.

Cora: [wanders in with the bags of soda after the dog] I'm back. [and she spots Stiles and her face immediately brightens in a smile] You're here.

Stiles: I am, and your sister is helping me prepare for an apocalypse.

Peter: [chuckles and goes to take the bags from her]

Cora: Zombies or aliens?

Stiles: Zombies. [grins]

Cora: [laughs] Figures.

Laura: Hey. Zombies are the worst. They could actually happen.

Stiles: No true. Aliens are actually more probably. Zombies would be a temporary thing because it would be a biological agent that could be cured. Aliens will just want to wipe us out to get access to the planet's natural resources.

Peter: I can see we're in for delightful dinner conversations.

Laura: There is no local planet with actual intelligent life. It would take decades for aliens to actually get here. Zombies, however? Idiots are fucking with diseases they shouldn't fuck with every day.

Stiles: Aliens have been here. I mean, who do you think helped the Mayans?

Laura: [.... weeeeeeeell] Who says it was aliens? Maybe the world is just a little more interesting than you think.

Stiles: What else would it be? [shrugs and looks at Cora for backup]

Cora: [is giving Laura a look, before reaching a hand up to scratch the back of her head] South American natives believed white settlers to be gods. It's really hard to say that there were aliens involved.

Laura: [and the timer goes off and Laura goes to get the pizza] I just think it's more likely the answers to that are terrestrial more than extra-terrestrial.

Stiles: If you say so. But my money's still on aliens.

Laura: Guess we'll just have to see which end comes first. [pulls the pizzas out and places them on the counter, giving them a chance to cool] If we don't all die, then we'll settle up then.

Stiles: Works for me god that smells amazing.

Laura: Thank you. Just give it some time to cool. We don't want to burn ourselves.

Malia: [appears from her room, pulling out her headphones as she does] I smell pizza.

Peter: Yes, dinner's almost ready.

Stiles: Hey, Malia. What's up? [raises his hand in greeting]

Malia: [waves in return] Hey, Stiles. They haven't eaten you alive yet.

Stiles: Cora has assured me that I'm not on the menu tonight.

Peter: And Derek has a case and won't be joining us.

Malia: You lucked out.

Stiles: Maybe I should play the lotto on my way home.

Malia: All it takes is a dollar and a dream.

Stiles: Sure it'd help my dad with the bills. And let me afford the occasional night out.

Peter: [confused] College costing too much for a Sheriff's salary?

Stiles: Nah, I've got a full ride. More like, um, just... you know, bills and stuff. [looks at the living room] Or maybe you don't know. You know, I never asked but are you guys loaded or something?

Laura: Mostly insurance money. We bought it flat out so that saved us ridiculous rent later.

Stiles: Oh, from the.... oh. Yeah, sorry 'bout that. [he rubs the back of his neck]

Laura: [she shrugs as she picks up the pizza cutter to slice them] It's not the elephant in the room, Stiles. We can talk about it. We don't like to, but we can.

Stiles: Nah, it's okay. I maybe kinda read up in it a bit when I met Cora and Malia.

Laura: [eyebrows go up] Really?

Stiles: Okay, I may have hacked into my dad's work computer through the network but it's not my fault he has easy passwords.

Peter: [and his arms are crossing and that's an eyebrow going up]

Laura: [glances to Peter before turning back to him] And what'd you find?

Stiles: [looks over at Cora a moment, then back at them] You sure you really want to know?

Cora: [takes a couple steps forward and nods] Yeah, we do.

Peter: I'm pretty sure we already know most of it, Stiles. [and is actually glad Derek's not here for this]

Stiles: [his hands bounce on his knee nervously] Well, um... you knew it was arson then, right? I mean, there was one fire guy who tried to say it was a space heater malfunction in the wall, but the chief fired his ass cause he couldn't tell what side of the wall was burned.

Laura: [nods] Yeah, we figured as much.

Peter: Your dad mentioned to me that they arrested someone, right?

Stiles: Yeah, a couple years back these two jokers got arrested for trying to set the school on fire. Dad's notes said it was the same type of accelerator that was used on the Hale House. He got them to confess and they mentioned something about this wolf girl giving them the job, but dad never figured out what that meant or who the girl was.

Cora: [her brow furrows] Wolf girl?

Stiles: Yeah, the only thing Dad got on that was that they dubbed her it from this necklace she wore. It had a wolf on it.

Peter: [ just looks at Laura carefully]

Laura: [looks back at him and sighs]

Cora: [picks up on that and her brow furrows because she knows they know something, but they're not going to talk about it in front of Stiles] Guess they'll have to use it to find her.

Stiles: They... it's in the cold case files. They aren't actively looking for her. [rubs the back of his neck] I'm sorry.

Cora: [... not surprising. But still not easy to hear either. She swallows before turning back to the pizza] We should eat.

Peter: Yes, let's do that. Stiles, you're the guest, you go first. [motions for the boy to go to where Laura is with the pizzas to take a moment and put his hand firmly on Cora's shoulder to steady her]

Stiles: Awesome. [and he goes and grabs two slices and looks for a place at the table]

Cora: [looks over at him and leans into his side a bit, trying to push the sad feelings down]

Peter: [leans down to kiss the top of her head and whispers] We'll talk later. Just go keep your boyfriend from eating all the meat pizza.

Cora: [small smile and off she goes to grab her slices and slide into a seat next to Stiles]

Stiles: [scoots a bit closer to Cora, and after a moment he slid his hand under the table and just squeezed her knee] So what do you guys all do here?

Peter: Well, I work at the metropolitan library as a book conservationist.

Cora: [leans into his shoulder just a little, her hand moving to take his] And Laura basically raised me and Malia.

Stiles: Well, they look pretty raised now to me. You going into zombie training now?

Peter: [just smiles a bit at the hand holding, waiting until Laura and Malia get their food before he gets his]

Laura: Yes. I think that's precisely what my next career path should be.

Stiles: Awesome. I'll make you a training app.

Laura: [grins] Perfect.

Stiles: [eats his pizza, then looks up and squints a bit] You got some interesting ink there, on your neck. What's it mean?

Peter: [his hand goes to cover it, chuckling a bit] It's actually a very old mistake that is very hard to cover.

Laura: Something from his long forgotten teen years.

Stiles: Yikes. Guess i should definitely take that tribal art tattoo off the bucket list.

Peter: Probably a good idea. Tattoos are permanent, after all.

Cora: [nods] You never know what you'll regret when you're older.

Stiles: [he nods, just licking his lips because, nope, not something he's worried about] I'm sure.

Cora: [something in his scent shifts and she turns, resting her chin on his shoulder a bit]

Peter: [picks that up too, but it's there and then it's gone] So Stiles, what are you thinking about doing after college?

Stiles: Um... not really all that sure. I'm kinda one of those guys that just takes it one day at a time? You plan out too much, and you could miss opportunities, right?

Laura: You said you were doing programming, though, right?

Stiles: Yeah, but the technology changes so fast, so you know, you gotta go with the flow.

Cora: Besides, we're still freshmen. We have time to figure it out.

Stiles: Yeah, totally. [but the smile isn't as big as they had seen, and he looks down at his pizza before picking it up with his free hand]

Cora: [squeezes his hand softly, before looking up at the rest of the table] Can we go watch a movie or do you want to prod at him some more? [her tone is light, but she's getting good at reading him and wants to give him a chance to escape]

Peter: I don't know. Laura, you're the eldest sibling, and since Derek isn't here for the interrogation, it's your call. [he smirks though, teasing]

Laura: [shakes her head] Take a pizza and go. You're free.

Cora: [flashes her a smile before taking Stiles’ hand in one hand and grabbing one of the pizza trays with the other, going to lead him into the entertainment room]

Stiles: [is pulled along] It was nice meeting you all Ow Cora I need that arm...

Laura: [laughs and lets them go]

Cora: [and into the TV room they go. She places the tray down on the table, before dropping down onto the couch with him] You okay?

Stiles: Yeah, no, I'm fine. I think I'll heal before lacrosse season at least. [goes to sit next to her, smirking]

Cora: [eyebrow raise] Good to know, but not what I meant. You seemed a little ... on the spot?

Stiles: You brought your boyfriend home for the first time. Was I not going to be on the spot?

Cora: True, but ... I don't know, it seemed different from before.

Stiles: You mean about the whole interrogation for information about the fire? Yeah, that part was a bit less expected.

Cora: [no, she means the part that were more about him, but she doesn't know if she should keep pushing, or just let it go] Yeah. I don't think any of us expected that.

Stiles: But what do you mean different than before?

Cora: [and she can't just spit out that she was picking up on his bad feelings because she could smell them, so ...] You just seemed ... tense, I guess.

Stiles: .... Just nervous, really? [he has no idea what you're looking for]

Cora: I don't know. It was an ... instinct?

Stiles: Well, don't worry about me. We’re good. And now we have pizza and movies and nothing to worry about.

Cora: Okay. [and she will try and let it go, at least for now. She glances back to the TV, reaching for the remotes] What do you want to watch?

Stiles: Um, well we can change to looking at a new TV series, or a movie... or something?

Cora: Well, we have Netflix, and some movies over there, but it's mostly recent stuff. We had to rebuild our movie collection after the fire.

Stiles: [thinks] Do you like comic book movies?

Cora: [shrugs] I've seen a lot of them.

Stiles: Okay. Um... [thinks] you've been liking the British humor from Doctor Who, right?

Cora: [nods] Yeah, I like it a lot.

Stiles: [is about to suggest Death at a Funeral, but then stops himself] Um...

Cora: [eyebrow raise] Um ... ?

Stiles: Shaun of the Dead? Zombie movie.

Cora: I think Laura has that one. Let me check. [and with that she'll get up to head over to the movie shelves]

Stiles: Well, if you've already seen it, I don't want to repeat it...

Cora: I don't watch zombie movies with her.

Stiles: But you'll watch zombie movies with me?

Cora: Do you laugh in glee when a person's head goes flying off?

Stiles: ................. [that look is all she needs to know that it's a big yes]

Cora: [.... sigh] I will ... try to watch zombie movies with you.

Stiles: But most zombie movies are comedies where it's made to be funny.

Cora: No, those I get. She does it even in the ones where it's not. And I don't have half the stomach for gore she does.

Stiles: Oh, well I'm not really allowed to watch the really bad horror movies. I get nightmares. I still do, but not a lot.

Cora: Yeah, Laura doesn't care. She'll watch pretty much anything. Ironically, though? Her favorite movie is Titanic.

Stiles: [snorts] Does she laugh when Jack dies?

Cora: No. She still sobs like a baby.

Stiles: Yeah, don't get that.

Cora: My sister is a mess of contradictions.

Stiles: Couldn't tell. But no, Shaun of the Dead is a comedy. Straight up, not trying to be serious really at all. You'll enjoy it.

Cora: Okay. [and she will grab it, set it up, and curl back up on the couch next to him]

Stiles: [and they can totally watch this and devour the pizza and snuggle and be TOTALLY RESPECTFUL IN HER HOUSE]

Cora: [yep. they were the most well behaved teenagers you've ever seen]

Peter: [AND HE IS VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT]

Cora: [she's sure he is]

Stiles: [and then it's getting late] I should probably get back to campus.

Cora: [sigh] Okay. I'll walk you down.

Stiles: [and as they exit, he sees Peter with coffee in the kitchen] It was nice meeting you, Mr. Hale.

Peter: It was nice meeting you too, Stiles. Be safe getting home.

Laura: [holds up the book in hand] Still want to borrow this?

Stiles: Yes, please. Would you mind if I took it back to California for winter break if I don't finish it beforehand? I promise I'll bring it back.

Laura: [hands it over] Of course. Knock yourself out.

Stiles: Thank you. [he takes the book, planning on not letting it go until he was back at the dorms.] And thanks again for dinner. It was great.

Laura: Thanks for coming. It was nice meeting you.

Cora: [and with that, Cora will lead him out the door and to the elevator]

Stiles: [and he is going to pull her into the elevator once it's there to see him downstairs, and once the door is shut, she will be pressed up against the side and kissed nice and hard]

Cora: [there's a small sound of surprise, but good surprise, not bad surprise. She relaxes into him almost instantly, sliding her arms around his neck]

Stiles: [and he gets maybe a good minute of kissing before they hit the ground floor and he pulls back] I've been wanting to do that all night.

Cora: [sighs softly as he pulls back] I've been wanting you to do that all night.

Stiles: Well, wish granted. But I do need to get back to campus. I have a paper I need to start and it's due tomorrow at midnight.

Cora: [nods before leaning in to kiss him one last time and then lets him go] I'll see you on Monday, then?

Stiles: See you Monday. [and he will walk backwards and away until he almost trips over a garbage bag and then laughs, waves and heads to the subway steps]

Cora: [laughs as she watches him go, and waits until he disappears into the subway station before heading back upstairs]

Peter: [sitting with Laura and his coffee, eyebrow raised to ask his eldest niece what she wants to do when Cora gets back]

Laura: [glances up and frowns] What?

Peter: She's going to want to know why we rode Stiles hard for information on the fire.

Laura: [makes a face] I think she knows why.

Peter: I'm kinda glad Derek wasn't here for that. You know that confirmed Kate orchestrated this all. It'll destroy him when he finds out that he was right.

Laura: He's gotten better at burying that. I think it'll just have him gunning for her even more than he already is.

Peter: I just worry that he'll ruin his career on revenge.

Laura: He has his career because of revenge. That was always going to be a risk.

Peter: [sighs] We can't protect him if he uses NYPD resources to hunt her down and kill her in what will seem like cold blood to them.

Laura: I know. Trust me, I know. But the Argents have always been good at covering their tracks. Kate won't make herself known until she wants to be, and by then we can try and even him out.

Peter: And if we go after Kate that will bring Gerard to our door. And I don't know if we can risk the girls with that.

Laura: Absolutely not. And Derek knows that.

Peter: [licks his lips] I just hope Kate keeps herself good and hidden. As much as I want revenge for what they did, I can wait until the girls are ready, or somewhere safe.

Laura: [nods a bit] The only way we can get out of this without it getting bloody is if we can actually manage to get her arrested.

Peter: Which would involve Beacon Hills needing jurisdiction to get her.

Laura: [smirks] How handy that we happen to have a direct connection to the sheriff.

Peter: [smirks back] True. This little romance may work to multiple advantages.

Laura: [is about to say something else when the door opens and Cora comes back in] Stiles on his way home?

Cora: [nods] Yep.

Peter: He's a very nice boy, Cora. I can see why you like him.

Cora: [smiles at that] Yeah, he is.

Peter: And he survived meeting the pack, which is a bonus.

Cora: Everyone but Derek, anyway.

Peter: I'm sure we can find a way to fix that later. If you really want to. [grins]

Cora: [laughs] We'll see what happens. I'd like to at least get him home for Christmas.

Peter: Good plan. [and he's going to go back to his coffee and book]

Cora: [she lingers in the room for a moment, glancing between the two of them, for a moment, before spitting out the question she had since Stiles had brought it up] Do you guys know who killed mom?

Peter: [doesn't move, but his eyes go up to Laura to see how the alpha wants to play this out]

Laura: [takes a deep breath before nodding] We had our suspicions before, but what Stiles said confirmed it.

Cora: Is there anything we can ... do? Can we make them pay somehow?

Peter: Not yet, but trust me, sweetheart, we're just biding our time to figure out the right way to go about this and to make sure justice is done.

Cora: [swallows before nodding, wringing her hands a bit. then she looks up again] Should I know who it is?

Peter: [licks his lips, but no, he can't keep it secret. Derek can handle his own side because if he hasn't told her, he will have to now] Kate Argent.

Cora: [her jaw sets] So it was the Argents.

Peter: It was. [he isn't sure if Cora knew who Derek was dating at the time, but again, not his story to tell] It was a very long, methodical and planned attacked that we didn't anticipate. [he wasn't lying, not really, but that skip of his heartbeat was there just the same]

Cora: [she's not listening for it - she doesn't really anticipate Peter lying to her in this particular universe.] I hate that we know it's them but we can't do anything about it.

Peter: [gets up and walks to her, putting his hands on her shoulders and leaning down to look her in the eyes] They took a lot from us, Cora, and we will not forget that. But we need to be smart, and patient, and when the time is right, we will strike hard, fast, and without mercy. But until then, staying together, staying safe, making alliances, and learning to protect ourselves and those we care about are the most important things.

Cora: [she looks up at him, holding his gaze for a long moment, before looking down and nodding, indicating that she understood. She's not going to do anything to risk the pack - not right now. But there's still that anger there that she doesn't entirely know what to do with]

Peter: [leans forward and kisses her forehead] Our day will come, Cora. Hold onto that anger, and learn to use it. It will make you stronger than you like to think you are.

Cora: [she leans in to the kiss, before exhaling slowly and pulling back to grab her coat] I'm gonna go hang out with Alexis, if that's okay?

Peter: I'm fine with it. Laura?

Laura: [nods] Have fun. Call if you're going to sleep there.

Cora: I will. [and with that she dons her coat, grabs her phone, and she's off to spend the rest of the evening with the Castles]

Peter: [when she's gone] Derek needs to tell her. Sooner rather than when he's ready.

Laura: [exhales slowly] I agree but ... [shakes her head] If it took him eight years to tell me, he's never going to want to tell her.

Peter: But her not knowing is going to be a problem if Kate does rear her ugly head and uses it to her advantage. If they know, have moved to a point where it won't be a shock, it will make it harder for Kate to rattle her.

Laura: I know, Peter. I'll talk to him about it. But I can't make any guarantees.

Peter: I know you can't, but that boy is so afraid that she will hate him that he puts her in danger. If he knows that, I think he'll make the right choice.

Laura: I hope so. [when it comes to this particular secret, she can't say for sure]


Peter: [they can only hope] I think I'm going to turn in for the night and read in my bedroom until I pass out. Will you be okay?

Laura: [nods] I think I'm going to go watch a movie. I'll be fine. [she gets up with a small smile, squeezing his shoulder as she passes him to lock the door] Night, Peter.