thepicketfencecliche | canon au } { post-513: codominance

Stiles: [so yeah, dropping Scott, Kira and her mom off at the McCall house before driving the jeep home and into the garage. He pets his jeep lovingly - they made it there and back without a lot of problem beyond gas and anti-freeze - before silently heading into the house. He was quiet as he passed the living room and went up to his bedroom and opened and shut the door softly so not to wake anyone.]

Cora: [and he will have someone else waiting in bed for him, curled up on her side and fast asleep, wrapped in blankets that smell like Stiles]

Stiles: [aw, she's adorable. He will change out of his sweaty clothes and put on his sweats before going to curl up in bed with her, covering her back to be the big spoon]

Cora: [she shifts a bit at the feeling of someone getting into bed next to her but she wakes up just enough to confirm it's Stiles before just shifting to nuzzle into him more and leaving it at that]

Stiles: [and he will just kiss her shoulder and snuggle in more before going to sleep himself - exhausted from being up for two days driving]

Cora: [and she will sleep through the rest of the night until the sun comes up. When she wakes up, however, she'll just stay there and watch him sleep, glad he came back home in one piece]

Stiles: [yeah, he is not going to be the prettiest sight. He will eventually be on his back, open mouth snoring and dead to the world]

Cora: [maybe, but he's still pretty adorable to her. So she's just going to sit there and watch him until he starts to wake up]

Sheriff: [he's going to knock and enter first, and Stiles doesn't even stir. But he sees him there sleeping and nods, then looks at Cora] You want some breakfast?

Cora: [she nods] Sure. Sounds good.

Sheriff: Come on, I'll make you extra bacon.

Cora: I'll be down in a second. [because she's still snuggly and comfortable and probably needs actual pants]

Sheriff: [nods and he will leave to let her do that. It'll take him and Jody ten minutes anyway to make food for them all]

Cora: [and she will wriggle out of Stiles' grasp an kiss his cheek gently before pulling on a pair of jeans and heading downstairs]

Stiles: [mumble groan and rolling into the warm spot. make a happy noise that sounds like a half smothered version of her name and he's back snoring]

Sheriff: [is making a large skillet of scrambled eggs and cheese]

Cora: [she smirks a bit at that, before heading downstairs and pushing up on her toes] Anything I can do to help?

Sheriff: I could use a refill on my coffee.

Cora: Comin' up.

Sheriff: Were you awake when he got back?

Cora: [shakes her head] Not that I can remember anyway.

Sheriff: Well, at least he's back safe, sound and not needing to go to the ER.

Cora: Agreed. [as she brings his coffee back over]

Sheriff: [and he will lean over and kiss the top of her head] Thank you, my dear.

Cora: [she smiles a bit at that, before pulling back to start to set the table]

Sheriff: [and he will finish the eggs and move the skillet to the table. He will then pull the plate of bacon from the microwave and set it down as well] The girls will probably join us in a bit. For now, it's just us.

Cora: Cool. [and she'll keep an ear out as she asks] Is it weird, having all of them here?

Sheriff: It is, but in a way I kinda like it.

Cora: Good. Stiles was weird about it at first, but I think he's getting used to it now.

Sheriff: I asked Jody and the girls to stay, you know.

Cora: Yeah?

Sheriff: Yeah. I mean, they need someone to help them get settled and I don't want to uproot them again.

Cora: And it'll be nice to not have an empty house when Stiles leaves for school.

Sheriff: That too. And since I'm out before the new year, I'm going to make sure he keeps his promise and you two go off to Berkley.

Cora: I think he's ready to. We've been talking about it a lot.

Sheriff: Think he'll go even with the Dread Doctors still around?

Cora: I think it'll depend on how things shake out, but yeah. He wants to move forward.

Sheriff: Good. We’re going to hold him to that then.

Cora: [she nods] I plan on it.

Stiles: [and then... someone rolls over and hits the floor because he's clumsy like that.]

Sheriff: [shakes his head]

Cora: [she laughs softly before shaking her head] I'll go check on him.

Sheriff: I'll start another pot of coffee. He's going to need it.

Cora: [she nods again, before turning and heading back up the stairs to make sure her boyfriend didn't hurt himself]

Stiles: [...... he just resettled on the floor and is asleep again]

Cora: [she laughs softly when she sees him before moving closer and shaking him gently] Stiles?

Stiles: [groans] Five more minutes.

Cora: Honey, you're on the floor.

Stiles: [he blinks awake, and then he pushes himself up] I don't remember being on the floor.

Cora: That's because you fell off the bed.

Stiles: [sits up and rubs his head] What time is it?

Cora: [glances up at the clock and reads off time] Your dad's making breakfast if you want some.

Stiles: Coffee?

Cora: Just put on a fresh pot.

Stiles: Mmmmm, okay, I'll wake up. [holds a hand up to Cora to help him up]

Cora: [and she will take his hand to help pull him up]

Stiles: [and when he's standing, he's going to just lean in and kiss her]

Cora: [there's a small sound of surprise, before she melts into it]

Stiles: [yeah, and then he will look back and just smile] Okay, now coffee.

Cora: [she nods before turning to lead him downstairs] Coffee it is.

Stiles: [and he will follow, going right past his father and all but hugging the coffee pot]

Cora: [watches this before shaking her head in response]

Sheriff: Morning to you too, son.

Stiles: Coffee first, then talkie.

Cora: Do you need any more help with breakfast?

Sheriff: Make him a plate so he doesn't end up just eating with his hands. I'm not sure how human he is at the moment.

Stiles: Warm coffee, strong coffee, big cup of joe...

Cora: I'm gonna go with "not very." [and she will go and makes sure he gets a good amount of food]

Stiles: Drink coffee. Happy coffee mmm, mmm, good. [and he's going to cradle his coffee cup]

Sheriff: What time did you get home?

Stiles: Four.

Cora: [she cringes] Ouch.

Stiles: We got Kira though. Mom too. Saved them from something.

Cora: Good. I'm sure Scott's glad to have her back.

Stiles: Oh, I'm pretty sure the make out session in the back of my jeep was a small hint at that.

Cora: [amused] It has been a few months.

Stiles: Trust me, I know.

Cora: But that's step one, right? Getting Kira back. Now we just have to round up everyone else.

Stiles: [nods, running his hands along his coffee cup] I don't think it's going to be as easy as that.

Cora: I think it's going to be easier than you think.

Stiles: [sighs, then looks at his Dad]

Sheriff: You don't want me to hear this, do you?

Stiles: Plausible deniability.

Cora: [her brow furrows but she'll suggest helpfully] We could go upstairs?

Sheriff: [sighs] You two do that. I'll clean up the dishes.

Stiles: [goes to finish the rest of his food quickly, and picks up his coffee mug] Thanks Dad.

Cora: [she will thank him as well before following Stiles upstairs]

Stiles: [and he will get to his desk chair and sit, sipping his coffee]

Cora: [And she will go sit on his bed and wait for him to talk]

Stiles: Before we left, Liam showed up wanting to talk to Scott. Scott doesn't feel he can trust him after what happened... I mean, they've got a lot to talk through too but that's not going to be as easy. [licks his lips]

Cora: Well, that was a given.

Stiles: [he thinks a moment, and then looks at the door before talking again] And we think Malia's planning something bad.

Cora: How bad?

Stiles: Um, killing her mother bad?

Cora: [presses her lips together before] She's been spending a lot of time with Peter and Faith lately. I don't know if Faith knows about their endgame.

Stiles: I shouldn't have fed her that information.

Cora: She would have found out anyway. Faith wasn't doing it just for her.

Stiles: Do you think Peter's in on it?

Cora: It would surprise me if he wasn't.

Stiles: She doesn't want to talk to either of us. I think she is worried about what we'll think of her.

Cora: Trying to save you the trouble of having to choose.

Stiles: Yeah. And then of course there's Lydia.

Cora: Lydia is fixable. We just have to be able to get to her.

Stiles: I think I may try to get in. Use the holidays as a distraction to get some visitation time.

Cora: Maybe you can try and take Willow with you? She can help you make a connection.

Stiles: Maybe. We'll see. [he looked in his coffee a moment, fingers on the handle. There's more he has to say.]

Cora: [and she knows that look so she'll just wait, watching him expectantly]

Stiles: [finally] I um... I told him what happened. [you can guess what that infers]

Cora: [FINALLY] How'd that go?

Stiles: [shrugs] He told me that I should have told him. That he knows what self-defense is. [his fingers tap on the mug] That we should have just kept talking that night. I told him that I couldn't, with him looking like I had been the one to smash his head in with that wrench with how he looked at me. Theo knew we wouldn't talk. He knew it would go down this way.

Cora: [she would like to add that he should have told Scott from the start, then Theo wouldn't have had anything to use against him in the first place, but that's pretty much a moot point right now] But you guys are back on the same page again?

Stiles: Kinda? I mean, it still feels off, but it's better than before. [licks his lips] He... he told me that with everything, he knew we'd eventually get blood on our hands. He just thought it would be him, not me.

Cora: [she nods] That sounds like Scott.

Stiles: [nods, but there's still something there, something he can't find the words for and he just bites his lip a moment]

Cora: [she'll be patient, reaching forward to take her hand and brushing her thumb against it gently as she does, using the wheels of the chair to pull him closer]

Stiles: [he goes to put his empty mug on his desk before being pulled closer, holding her hands too] It still feels off. But everything does lately. [he looked at her] Everything but us, that is.

Cora: That's because things are off. But you've made a lot of progress on fixing them, which is good.

Stiles: [nods] As long as I'm not the only one feeling it.

Cora: [she shakes her head] No. I feel it too.

Stiles: Do you think going away is going to help, or make it harder?

Cora: [she gives a small shrug] I think as long as you and Scott keep talking, you going to Berkeley isn't going to matter. It's only going to make things harder if you're using it to run away from things here.

Stiles: Part of me feels like I would be running away. Leaving the pack to solve all the problems without being there to help. Abandoning Lydia... Liam needs someone to help him if Scott isn't...

Cora: Okay, first of all? We still have a few weeks before spring semester starts. There's Christmas and New Years and a lot of other things happening that could change by the time we have to be at Berkeley. Second of all, sometimes you have to do things for you. You can't put your life on hold forever. There's always going to be something going on in Beacon Hills.

Stiles: I know. I know.

Cora: [she is willing to admit she's selfish in this too. She wants to start the life that he's been promising her - their time in Berkeley that is supposed to be theirs. She doesn't want to drown in this town, and she doesn't want him to either. She takes a deep breath, before shifting to lean in to kiss him]

Stiles: [and that settles him a bit, leaning in to meet her and just getting comfort from her lips. When he finally pulls back, he just looks up at her] I love you.

Cora: I love you too. You can do this. It won't be as bad as you think.

Stiles: I just know change is hard.

Cora: It is. But it can be good too. I think this'll be good for everyone - especially you.

Stiles: Okay. I'm just going to trust you on this. Keep reminding me that.

Cora: [she nods] I will.

Stiles: [nods] I should probably shower

Cora: [she nods] I'll go see if your dad needs any more help cleaning up.

Stiles: [and off he will go]

Cora: [and off she will go and we will skip?]