canon au } { post-502: parasomnia

[impetere]

Stiles: [as his Dad walks away, he just turns to look back over his room. There's still boxes waiting to be packed. He was going, and he was scared that his leaving was the worst thing he could do right now]

Cora: [sitting on his bed, watching him carefully for a moment before stretching out her hand to reach for his] C'mere.

Stiles: [he purses his lips, then just goes over to sit next to her] I don't know what to do.

Cora: [she watches him for a moment, slipping her hand into his and linking their fingers together] About your dad or about Theo?

Stiles: Theo. [he wasn't sure how he felt about his Dad just yet.] Things are changing too fast. Maybe I shouldn't go...

Cora: You're going to Berkeley, Stiles. [her voice is firm in that respect, and she squeezes his hand] I know you're worried about everyone but high school is over. You need to take the next step too, even if everyone isn't ready to take it with you.

Stiles: I don't trust this kid, Cora. I just know something's wrong, and Scott's not going to listen if I'm not here. [runs his fingers through his hair] How can I take care of them that far away?

Cora: [she's quiet for a moment, before tracing her finger against the back of his hand] Can I ask you something? And be honest with me.

Stiles: [looks at her hand a moment, then up to her] Yeah, sure.

Cora: Were you that suspicious of me when they pulled me out of the vault?

Stiles: [nods slowly] A bit? But not like this.

Cora: [nods] I just ... I get what the kid's saying, you know? Wanting to be part of a pack, a good pack? It's all you can think about when you're an omega.

Stiles: [bites on his lips] I don't know. It feels like he's saying the things that we want him to say.

Cora: Alright but think if I had shown up, without the vault. Just dropped onto Derek's front door. One zombie sister he thought was dead, saying I wanted to be part of his pack. The pack of someone I knew and trusted because when you're an omega, you can't just join any pack. If you tried to be in a pack just to be in a pack, you get treated like shit at best and cannon fodder at worst. [there's a pause as she looks at him] Would you have believed me? With the alpha pack on the horizon and Boyd and Erica missing and no one being able to verify if I actually died in the fire or not.

Stiles: [he thinks] Probably not. I mean, I was still working on trusting your brother at that point, and don't even ask about Peter.

Cora: [she nods] You're a cop's kid. You're careful. You don't want anyone to get hurt, least of all Scott, so new people get a red flag and I'm not saying you shouldn't trust your instincts. But Scott has some pretty good ones too. I know you want to protect your friend but Scott is the alpha. You can advise him, but in the end he needs to start making his own choices and decisions. A lot of the community is watching him right now.

Stiles: And what if that choice gets him killed?

Cora: Scott is a lot stronger than you think. He's a true alpha, Stiles, that's ... huge. My mom wasn't even that powerful. And you're also forgetting that while he may not be immediately shunning this kid - he's also not ignoring you either. But sometimes you can find out more about a person by keeping them close. He trusts you more than he trusts any of us.

Stiles: [he nods, but he's not really satisfied with that either, and his bouncing leg is evident of his anxiety as much as his scent.]

Cora: [uses his hand to tug him closer, shifting them so that they're stretching out on his bed. She winds up being the big spoon this time around, which isn't their usual, but it's good for when Stiles anxiety is this bad] Your dad is right, though. If you're going to out this guy you need to do it passively, not actively. Until he feels like he's getting somewhere he's going to be hyper careful with everything he does. You need to let him get comfortable. Once he gets comfortable, he'll get lazy, and that's when he'll make the mistake.

Stiles: [he's just going to pull her arms around him to pull her closer] But what if it's not until after I leave? What if that's what he's waiting for and he's going to slip into the spot I leave behind and no one sees it?

Cora: [snuggles in as close as she can] I doubt you're the only one watching. Deaton is here too, and Dawn and Derek. Kira. You're already indoctrinating Liam against this guy and if there's anyone who wants to protect Scott as much as you do, it's Liam. It's instinct.

Stiles: I just... I hate this feeling.

Cora: I know. [she uses one hand to rub a soft circle against his chest] I hate it too.

Stiles: [sighs, relaxing a bit more at her touch, but he's still running circles in his head, worried about Scott and the others. And whatever is going on with his Dad and Sheriff Mills, and on top of changing schools and moving and it was just so much stimuli and not enough Adderall in the world.]

Cora: [she will just nuzzle his shoulder, slowly starting to try and calm him down] What else is going on up there?

Stiles: [sighs again, then looking at the door] Dad.

Cora: [her face softens a bit] I know it's a big thing. But it's a good thing too.

Stiles: If you can't really tell, I'm not all that comfortable with change.

Cora: I know. [her tone is gentle, not pushing, because she knows it's a big deal] Your dad's been alone for a long time. It's bound to be scary for him too.

Stiles: But Scott and I had a plan. It was a good plan. [pouting now]

Cora: [she laughs softly] So is this about your dad moving on? Or your dad moving on, but not with the person you wanted him to?

Stiles: Both? I think I'd be able to handle it more if it was Melissa.

Cora: [nods slowly for a moment, before picking her head up a bit] Maybe, in the time before you have to go, when you're giving Theo a little breathing room? You can get to know her. I mean, Sam and Dean are Sam and Dean, but she's here, you're here - I'm not saying interrogate her, but I think she'd understand if you wanted to make sure your dad was in good hands.

Stiles: Maybe. [he just sighed, then rolled onto his back to that he could look at her, and his eyes showed just how worried he was.] Just tell me everything is going to be all right?

Cora: [looks back at him, her hand still resting over his heart as she takes that hand in his] Everything is going to be fine. It always is. I know you don't like change, but don't just focus on the bad things that are changing. Think about the exciting ones too. Like us. [having their own place and living their own lives and just being together all the time instead of shuffling back and forth on weekends]

Stiles: [that managed to get a small smile out of him, his fingers lacing with hers] Yeah, I know. That’s the one thing I'm really looking forward to. Probably why I'm not just tossing it all away to stay here. Because I want this too.

Cora: Good. The rest will figure itself out. You don't have to solve every problem in Beacon Hills before you leave, okay? And it's not like you're not coming back.

Stiles: But if I'm going to be Scott's emissary, I do. It’s my position in the pack. Just because I'm leaving doesn't change that.

Cora: Okay. That's not ... quite what being an emissary is. Because if you're going to solve all of Scott's problems for him before they actually become problems then Scott's not actually leading his pack. You are. Being an emissary means you advise him when he asks for it, makes sure he knows all of his options, and then are patient enough to let him make that choice for himself. Deaton doesn't fix all of his problems for him - you shouldn't try to either.

Stiles: Yeah, but Scott's plans always suck. That's why I make them.

Cora: How is Scott ever going to learn to make better plans if you don't give him some room to make mistakes?

Stiles: But it then comes back to what is that mistake kills him?

Cora: [sighs] I think that's a risk you have to take. Which I know isn't easy, but you have to trust Scott, trust your pack, and hope that if it's a really terrible plan, the rest of them will help you talk him out of it before it gets that far.

Stiles: [and he's got that pout. the “I don't like this idea” pout]

Cora: [she knows that pout and she leans in to kiss it away] I know you want to protect him, because he's your brother. But what you're doing isn't really helping him. You keep shielding him and he's never going to get the chance to grow.

Stiles: I know. I know I just... I'm the human. This is all I got to contribute, Cora. What happens when I'm gone? This kid slides into my spot and... [and when he comes back, Scott has a new best friend and Stiles isn't needed anymore]

Cora: Hey. [and before he can argue with her she's going to flip them so that he's on his back and she's straddling his waist, leaning over him pointedly] You are not that replaceable. Especially not by that kid. Scott is always going to need you.

Stiles: [he looks up at her, his hands going to rest on her hips just more out of habit than anything else] Is he? I mean, my dad doesn't talk to anyone he was friends with in high school. I don't want that to happen to me too.

Cora: First of all, you're not just Scott's friend. You're his family. You're his anchor. Second, I'm not planning on leaving Scott's pack anytime soon and I'm not planning on leaving you, so you will always have that connection. But trying to overdo things in order to make yourself important is losing focus of the things about you that Scott considers important to begin with.

Stiles: [and he just licks his lips, looking off to the side a bit before nodding] Maybe.

Cora: He needs you to be his best friend. Just be his best friend, and the rest will figure itself out.

Stiles: [nods a bit] Do you think we can at least ask your brother to check this kid out? He's a pro at the whole stalking thing...

Cora: [she nods with a small smile] Sure. He's probably bored with nothing but wedding planning to do anyway.

Stiles: I think he's taken over some of the hunt for the Desert Wolf too when Peter left for Scotland. He was asking me about what I had the other day.

Cora: At least he's keeping himself occupied somehow.

Stiles: Yeah. And hopefully it can give Malia something.

Cora: [nods]

Stiles: I'm going to apologize now for all the separation anxiety that I'm probably going to have for like, the rest of the year.

Cora: [smiles softly before leaning in to kiss him again] I will help you through it.

Stiles: [hums as he kisses her] Well, this is a good start.

Cora: [smirks as she does it again] Is it?

Stiles: Yeah. Just a bit. [smiles, his fingers massaging her hips]

Cora: So should I keep going?

Stiles: I'm not really in a position to stop you.

Cora: [hums softly, before leaning in to kiss him again, soft and slow]

Stiles: [yeah, he likes that. And it helps him not focus on all the bad stuff in his head... except this as he pulls his head back] You know, if Dad's going to date Jody, I may want to warn him to go easy on Alex...

Cora: How do you mean?

Stiles: She was asking me where the local dealers were.

Cora: Like pot or something harder?

Stiles: Pot. But you know how dealers are...

Cora: Tend to get caught by cops?

Stiles: And try to push the more addictive stuff if they thing they can afford it.

Cora: Is this girl smart?

Stiles: Not all that sure yet. Apparently she was a vampire chew toy for most of her life.

Cora: If she was and she survived she probably knows a snake when she sees one. Does Jody know she smokes?

Stiles: I didn't ask.

Cora: If she does, then you might not have to worry.

Stiles: [thinks a moment] The other girl... Claire. She um... she and I talked about a shared experience.

Cora: In a good or bad way?

Stiles: She's been possessed too.

Cora: [her eyes widen a bit as she shifts to lie next to him more] That could be good though. Having someone who gets it?

Stiles: ... She was possessed by Cas.

Cora: ... Oh.

Stiles: But I introduced them to Scott and I figure I can get Liam to meet them and he can show them around school when it opens.

Cora: Sounds good.

Stiles: [he sighs and looks around his room, then at her] I love you, you know.

Cora: [watches him and nods] I know. I love you too.

Stiles: I also can't think of my life without you in it.

Cora: [she smiles a bit at that] Me either.

Stiles: I was kinda wondering what you'd do if I asked you to marry me. [there's a hesitant smile] Like, a very long, long engagement... but you know...?

Cora: [she doesn't really know what to say at first. It feels fast. It feels like too much because he just graduated high school and there's college and even though they talk about forever, that makes it seem more concrete and real.] Uh ... [yeah, she's got nothing, give her a minute]

Stiles: [he bites his lips, then just shrugs] You know, never mind. It was a crazy idea.

Cora: [she closes her eyes] No, I just ... I wasn't expecting it. It's not that I don't want to.

Stiles: I know. Just not the right time, right?

Cora: [she looks up at him and leans closer, taking his hand as she leans in to kiss him deeply]

Stiles: [and he smiles, kissing her back, his hand going to hold her neck to keep her nice and close]

Cora: [she holds the kiss for a moment, before pulling back, letting him keep her close] The answer's always going to be yes. You don't have to worry about that.

Stiles: [he just grins, a bright ball of sunshine before kissing her again]

Cora: [laughs a bit as she kisses him back, sinking into it for a moment, before pulling back again] But. I want an actual real proposal one day. With a ring. Possibly a cake.

Stiles: I could jump out of a cake with a ring and propose.

Cora: That seems like it would be a waste of cake.

Stiles: Until you get to eat it off me?

Cora: [wrinkles her nose and shakes her head] Separate cake, that we could still eat off each other later.

Stiles: .... Deal.

Cora: Good.

Stiles: [goes back to kiss her, and then sighs] And now I want cake.

Cora: [she laughs] We could go get some.

Stiles: Let's go do that.

Cora: [and off they go to have cake and we skip to something else?]