canon au } { post-s4, of christmas trees and presents

[impetere]

Peter: [and on the 23rd cards will arrive at the Hale loft for Cora, Derek & Laura (and one making it into Malia's locker at the school) inviting them to meet Peter at a set of coordinates in the Hale preserve at 3pm on the 24th. He will leave it up to them to join, but he will be waiting there all dressed warmly, a backpack over one shoulder that had a few hand axes in it as well as rope and gloves]

Cora: [will ride over with Derek when he goes, bundled up for the night and glancing around as she does. She doesn't really remember much of the Christmas traditions from before the fire, so she's not really sure what's going on, she just hopes she'll be out of this in time to meet Stiles later]

Derek: [he remembers Christmas well, but it had been a long time since he had celebrated that way. Dawn had been working to get him to celebrate more, but the card from Peter had been unexpected.]

Cora: [she stops on the coordinates before glancing to the rest of the area] This is it, right?

Derek: [nods, sniffing the air] Yeah, it's here.

Peter: [leaning against the tree but on the other side they wouldn't see him on] I was beginning to lose hope that anyone was going to come.

Cora: [turns to him] We got lost. Derek missed the turn.

Derek: I did not miss a turn. I'm just not used to not having the house as a landmark still.

Cora: [nods] He missed a turn.

Peter: [chuckles and shakes his head. He looks up a moment past them, hoping to see either Laura or Malia, but sighs] Let's go. If the others show up, they can follow our scent.

Cora: [nods and follows his lead, glancing over her shoulder to see if anyone else is coming.] What are we doing?

Peter: Well, Derek may remember, but there's a plot of land on the preserve that your great grandparents planted different kinds of trees including fir and evergreen. My father told me it was their hopes to be able to give the family many years of Christmas traditions. The rule was to take a tree in the winter, plant a new one in the summer.

Derek: I remember some of that. Dad used to go out with you and Mom in the morning and you'd come back with a tree.

Peter: Well, I finally went to ask the city for information on the land I still own here, and it seems that the tree lot is on my plot.

Cora: [perks up a bit] So we're getting a tree?

Peter: Yes. We're going to pick out one, cut it down, and take it back to the loft. Buffy and Dawn are currently out spending a small fortune getting decorations for it too.

Cora: [nods a bit] Cool.

Malia: [unfortunately there's going to be a text for Peter that she couldn't get away. She's being smothered by her dad's side of the family with Christmas traditions she really doesn't care about. To be fair, she doesn't really care about any of them but if she had to choose one she'd much rather be out on the preserve]

Peter: [stops to look at his phone, and there is a small sigh before he slides it back into his pocket] Follow me. You kids can always come here for trees too, and I'll make sure it goes to one of you after me. Just remember that you need to plant a tree in the spring or summer for what you take to be able to keep it going.

Derek: Are we getting one for your house too?

Peter: [shakes his head] There really isn't space in mine.

Cora: [nods a bit as she goes, studying the trees as she makes her way through so that she can find her way back. She takes in a deep breath to take in the trees]

Peter: Your mother and I used to play out here when I was little. We would run through the trees, and sometimes before Christmas we would come out and find the tree we liked and decorate it with pinecones and trinkets we found on the forest floor.

Cora: [her mouth curls downward a bit. She misses her mom a lot and she wishes she remembered more of her. Too much of it was caught up in the memories of the fire that she tried to forget. Sometimes she dreams about her, brief flashes of warm memories, but that's all she has] I remember she smelled like evergreens sometimes.

Derek: I remember that too.

Peter: It was these trees. [as they get to the area, the smell will hit them] She loved them, and always replanted evergreens for what she took.

Derek: Why didn't she ever take me out here for tree picking?

Peter: You were always busy with sports or some girl. [he looked back at the two of them] Cora, you would have gone out that winter when you turned twelve and had the strength to help chop the tree down.

Cora: [her eyes sadden a bit at that, as she glances away to let her hand rest on one of the trees, almost as though it would bring her closer to her mother, even if she wasn't really there]

Peter: [he stops by one of the trees and chuckles, reaching up to grab a string with some beads on it. He holds it for a moment, then holds it out to Cora] Looks like pieces of her still remain when you know where to look for them.

Cora: [glances over and reaches to take it from him, letting it rest in her hand for a moment]

Laura: [she lets a beat of silence settle before kicking one of the evergreens lightly] I planted this one. [sorry. she was late because she was waffling]

Derek: [leans over to look at the trinket, and then up at his older sister and smiles at her]

Peter: [sees her and smiles because he is so very happy that you came, Laura] You did. You were so happy that day to go out and help.

Laura: [she's still not sure how she feels about this but she's trying. She wrinkles her nose a bit as she squints up at it] It's not as tall as I thought it would be.

Peter: It'll get there. Just needs more time. Most of what you plant will be the trees your children will take from.

Laura: [there's a non-commital noise at that, before she glances back to them] So which one are we actually taking down?

Peter: It's going to Derek's house, so he gets to choose. [he lowered the bag to the ground and opened it to show the supplies]

Derek: [looks at his sisters] We can choose together.

Cora: [gives a bit of a shrug] How do we tell which one is good?

Derek: I guess we just look at which one we think we want to put stuff on. [he leans over to grab a pair of the gloves and a hand axe]

Cora: [does the same, looking them over as she goes]

Peter: [he's just going to hang back and let the kids go do this, looking back at the tree with the other trinkets still on it, reaching up to touch one gently because he really did miss his sister a lot]

Derek: [finds an evergreen one that looks about 10 ft tall] You think that would look big enough in the loft?

Laura: [glances up at it and tips her head to the side] Maybe. That big open area is pretty tall, isn't it?

Derek: It's a twenty five foot ceiling. But I don't know how we'd decorate anything bigger than this.

Laura: Yeah, and you don't want something [that] huge. Just enough to fill the space.

Derek: [looks around] We could maybe go up to twelve feet. Half the space?

Laura: We also still have to get this back to the loft.

Peter: That's what the rope and gloves are four. And I hope Derek drove.

Cora: Who else was going to drive?

Peter: You could have decided to walk. Or bring Stiles.

Cora: [she shakes her head. Stiles has his own Christmas traditions to deal with] Derek drove.

Peter: Then we'll be fine.

Laura: [is continuing to poke at some of the trees, giving a tug on some of the bristles to see how well they're holding up before she takes a step back from one of them] This one looks good.

Derek: [goes over to look at it and nods] Yeah, I like this one. Cora?

Cora: [wanders over and studies it for a moment before nodding] Smells good. [that's about all she really has to offer in that department]

Derek: Alright then. [and he's going to put on the gloves and heft the hand ax. Time to do this the old fashioned way]

Cora: [the girls will do some hefting of their own, though odds are at any given time one of them is probably being very unhelpful and just stating the obvious]

Peter: [and he will just be standing back and letting the kids do their thing because he's teaching tradition - he doesn't have to be a fully active participant]

Cora: [yeah, screw that, eventually your youngest niece will poke her head around the tree because] Aren't you going to help?

Peter: [small smile] I've cut down my fair share of your Christmas Trees. I think you three have this.

Cora: [she steps away from the tree, hands on her hips. She's just being a brat at this point, but she thinks she has the right to. She actually feels like a family again] So you drag us out here to chop down the family tree and you're going to make us do all the work?

Peter: [nods, and there is a smile there] That was the plan.

Cora: Yeah, I'm not okay with that plan.

Laura: [pokes her head out after her] She does have a point.

Peter: So you're telling me that the three of you aren't strong enough to chop down a single tree? [teasing now]

Derek: [huffing because thanks, sisters, leaving him to do all the work] Will you just get your ass over here and chop? At least you're more useful than those two.

Cora: [admit it, Derek, this is the part about having sisters you didn't miss] We were alternating!

Derek: Uh huh. Then Peter's alternating with me. [and he puts the ax into his hands and pushes his uncle at the tree]

Peter: [just shakes his head] Children.

Laura: You sound surprised. [you shouldn't be. This is what you wanted, isn't it?]

Peter: No, I'm not. I just forgot how you three could be sometimes. [it's nice, which is why he's smiling and not fighting them too hard as he goes to work, showing the kids how this was done and wow, did you three know Peter actually can do manual labor like this and make it look easy?]

Cora: [he's definitely putting them to shame so Cora will just back off and hang out with Derek - and to be fair she was doing a good amount of the work when it was her turn - and letting Laura and Peter finish the job]

Peter: [and in no time the tree is ready to tip over] Laura, if you will, push the tree towards my direction and it'll come down.

Laura: [which she will, though probably not as hard as she would have a few weeks ago]

Peter: [isn't going to be standing under it, but long enough to pull with her push, and is scooting out when gravity takes over and watches it topple over] Alright. Girls, if you would use the rope to try and contain the branches, Derek, see if you can get your truck up here. I'll finish the last few strikes to break the tree free.

Cora: [and the girls will go to work, starting at the top of the tree and working their way down]

Derek: [and give him about ten minutes and the truck is pulling up and Derek is hoping out] I've got some cords in the back for the roof rack.

Peter: Good. We will need them.

Laura: I think we're just about good here.

[and between the four of them they get it on top of the truck and pile in to drive back to the loft and carry the beast upstairs?]

Buffy: [yep where the Summers sisters will be waiting for them with tree decoration things and some kind of food. Probably pizza if no one has any objections to that]

Derek: [they should just buy a pizza place at this point with how much of it they consume] So how do we put this thing up anyway?

Peter: Buffy, did you get the stand?

Buffy: Yep! And the skirt. I figured over by the window would be good?

Peter: Perfect. Okay, Derek why don't you, Buffy and Laura lift it up. Cora, you're the smallest so you get to learn how to secure it once they have it up and in the stand.

Derek: [totally has no idea what he's doing, but okay...]

Buffy: [it's okay, Buffy's got this] She's actually used to that part.

Cora: Can we try not to shove the bottom branches in my face this time? [she asks as she gets down on her stomach next to the stand and waits for them to lower the tree]

Buffy: The branches have a mind of their own. We discussed this. [and with that she will coach the other two through hauling the tree over and trying to get it into the stand] Derek, brace more of the top since you're tall.

Peter: [he holds up his hands, willing to let her take over. He knows better than to get in the way of Buffy and the holidays.] I'll be right back. I have something in my car I need to bring up. [and since Cora knows what she's doing, he will let them at it.]

Derek: [sees Peter exiting and shakes his head] There he goes, getting out of physical labor again

Buffy: Don't worry. This isn't something we want too many hands for anyway. [she and Laura maneuver the bottle of the tree into the stand, and Buffy gives the command for Derek to push up so they can steady it straight before she glances back to her sister] Dawn?

Dawn: [a few paces back, to make sure it's straight] Little to the left.

Buffy: [maneuvers the tree] Good?

Dawn: My left.

Buffy: [sighs] Why can't anyone just say the side they mean? [maneuvers again]

Dawn: Perfect!

Cora: Got it. [and with that she's screwing the tree into place, making sure they're nice and tight against the stump of the tree.]

Peter: [ and he will return by then with an old tupperware container that he will put on where Derek's desk has been moved to this week and open it. The scents of cinnamon, evergreen, and their family will suddenly fill the air and Peter just stops and closes his eyes, taking it in.]

Derek: [ right now his nose is still in the tree so he can't smell it just yet]

Cora: [yeah, she's under the tree which means she's not noticing it either. Her hair is going to smell like Christmas trees for a while, which Stiles will probably appreciate]

Laura: [she picks up on that, though tilting her head around the tree to try and see what Peter's up to]

Peter: [and he's going to very carefully lift one of the glass ornaments into the air. It's very, very old and very breakable - not something that would be put on a tree around little children. He walks over to Buffy to show it to her] I hope you don't mind a few of these joining the ones you got.

Buffy: [glances over and shakes her head] Not at all.

Laura: [pokes her head out a little further and her eyes widen] Where did you find those?

Derek: [nope, he's looking around the tree now because what are the things?]

Peter: The vault. Not the one under the school, but the one closer to my apartment. [he goes to hand it to Laura] Your mother didn't put them on the tree because of the amount of children in the house the last few years, so they've been safe down there. I found them when I was looking for something else a few months back.

Laura: [there's a soft huff as she delicately takes them from him] I remember them from when I was really little. Grandma wouldn't let me near the tree at her house because she was worried I might accidentally knock it over. [then there's a smirk towards her sister who was coming out from under the tree] Which wasn't entirely unfounded considering Cora took down the one at home one year.

Cora: [scowl] I did not. [she totally did, she just doesn't remember]

Derek: No, you did. I remember because I found you first and you were crying and mom thought I knocked it down at first and you were upset because it almost hit you.

Peter: You were three, Cora. [thinks] Or maybe four.

Cora: [her eyes narrow] I do not remember this at all.

Laura: You were trying to get one of the pop-up ornaments to open. You tugged too hard, and you took the whole thing down with you.

Peter: So your mother packed up the good ones I think when Derek was five and told me to put them in storage because she didn't want to risk losing any more to little accidents. [he goes back to the box] There are about fifty balls in here, I believe. I thought there was a second case with the ones shaped like animals and icicles, but I couldn't find it.

Laura: [her face falls a bit] They might have been in the house.

Peter: They may have. But there's still great grandmother's vault that I don't know really where it was in the city. And I have no idea what's even in it, if it actually exists. Your mother had a few things she put in it, but she never told me where it was.

Laura: [she told her, once, mostly because she was supposed to be the next alpha, but her forehead furrows a bit before she shakes her head] I don't remember where it is. I'll have to look through some stuff later. Now that I'm an actual legal person again, I had some stuff in a safety deposit box.

Peter: Well, I hope you do find it. I used to joke that was where we hid our gold, and had a pet dragon guarding it.

Laura: [smirks a bit] I'd have to ask Candy but I don't think they guard hoards that aren't their own. [glances back to Derek] They're a little too vain for that.

Derek: [rolls his eyes] The one time I hit on dragon princess, and none of you will ever let it drop.

Peter: [both his eyebrows go up] You did what?

Laura: I don't think any male with a pulse would blame you. And to be fair, I think she thought you were attractive for your lack of scales.

Dawn: Okay, this is a story I need to hear in it's entirety.

Derek: No, you really don't.

Peter: That just makes me want to hear this more.

Dawn: Yeah, sweetie, that's really not helping.

Cora: I'm with Derek. I don't think I want to know this story ever.

Derek: Nope, and if you bring it up again, Laura, I will have to chime in on your tanuki....

Laura: Ryan was very sweet. I can't help it if he choose Istas over me.

Cora: [groans] Really?

Dawn: Really? You just gave up.

Laura: Istas was a waheela.

Dawn: Right. Giving up was probably the smart play. Now tell me about the dragon princess.

Laura: [laughs] It's not as big a deal as he's making it. His friend Verity took him to the club where she worked one time and he flirted with her. She was angling for a better tip. That's all there was to it.

Derek: [yup, he's just going to be focused on the tree, thanks]

Peter: [and where he had not really even asked about their time in NY, or felt the desire to know what they had done while he languished in the coma, he was listening now and just sitting back a bit, amused at their banter]

Cora: [rolls her eyes a bit as they keep talking about New York before going over to sit next to him, not really caring either] We should have put it closer to the stairs. Then we could have used it to do the lights.

Peter: Nah, it's fine. We can get a ladder to get up there and do the lights and the topper. It'll be fine.

Cora: [nods a bit as she watches them] This is way better than the tree we had in Scotland.

Peter: [nods, and after a moment he goes to wrap his arm around her shoulders] Where'd you used to get those trees?

Cora: [leans into him as she does] At the castle. I was the smallest but I was still strong so I got stuck with base-of-the-tree duty. Usually with five Slayers over my head squabbling about whether or not it was straight and where the base was. [a beat] I got smacked in the face with branches a lot.

Peter: Well, now you make sure that when you tie up the tree, you tie up those bottom branches so that they are held up, and you don't untie it until you have the tree in.

Cora: [she nods a bit] Christmas was good, though. It wasn't family, but ... sometimes it felt like it.

Peter: Buffy and Dawn were family. Sometimes family isn't always blood, but those who really care for you.

Cora: Buffy wasn't always there. She tried, but sometimes ... it was just me and Dawn, which wasn't bad.

Peter: [nods, watching the girls and Derek talking and trying to figure out lights and things] No, I don't think it ever would have been bad. Dawn seems to have always had a soft spot for Hales.

Cora: [nods a bit at that] Yeah. Thankfully her soft spot for me is not the same as her soft spot for Derek, because that would be awkward. [besides, she had Stiles] But even in all that time, she never made me feel like she was taking care of me because of Derek. She just took care of me.

Peter: Good. [he thinks a moment] Though I'm kinda disappointed that Buffy wasn't around.

Cora: She would have been if she could. When she's here, it's not the same. She can ... be Buffy. Do whatever she wants and not feel like she has to always be the woman in charge. When Buffy's in Scotland, she ... she needs to be colder. She's responsible for keeping all of them alive. She can't be their friends because she needs to be their boss. When she was with just me and Dawn or with Xander and Willow she was Buffy but with everyone else, she had to be the Slayer.

Peter: That I get. I know how crazy the Slayer world makes her life. [he looked over at her a moment, then back at Cora] But it's also why I trusted her to help us. Your mother didn't want to believe the fears I had about your brother and Kate, but Buffy was willing to help me. I told her to make sure if anything happened, to make sure you were safe.

Cora: She did. I was always safe.

Peter: Good. [kisses her forehead] Come on, let's go help them before they string your brother up in twinkle lights.

Cora: [snorts] Okay. [And off they go to do a lot of decorating and eat pizza and eventually Cora sneaks out to go see Stiles?]

Peter: [yup, and after Buffy gets her decorating on, he will give both Derek and Laura also baubles of their mothers that he pulled off the tree in the forest for them to keep]

Stiles: [meanwhile, he has hit his level of being with his father's family for the night, up in his room and pacing as he tries to burn off the adrenaline from trying to be sociable]

Cora: [very quietly sneaks in his window box in hand with his present. She's tired from chopping down a tree and the other roller coaster of emotions that come with delving into pre-fire stuff, but she wants to see him. She hangs back at the window sill before drawing his attention with a small smile] Hi.

Stiles: [when he sees her, he smiles] Hey, how was your thing with everyone?

Cora: It was good. [she makes her way closer and slides her arms around him] We chopped down a tree.

Stiles: That sounds very... lumberjackian.

Cora: It was. But we have a tree. [she leans in to kiss him]

Stiles: [kisses her back, and he would start to relax a bit from the high anxiety in the air]

Cora: [frowns as she starts to pick up on it more] What's wrong?

Stiles: Just... just a lot of people wanting to talk to me and give me advice and just imagine a room full people like my Dad hovering over me.

Cora: Well, I'm here now, so you can just hide upstairs with me and pretend they don't exist.

Stiles: Actually... dinner hasn't started yet. Dad kinda misjudged how long to cook the ham.

Cora: [wrinkles her nose a bit] So you can hide with me until dinner and I'll hang out here and wait for you to finish?

Stiles: Actually... Dad was hoping you'd join us. [small, hesitant smile] But I can tell him you haven't shown up yet.

Cora: [there's a beat] We ... sort of ate already? [but werewolf so that doesn't actually matter] Do you want me down there? I don't ... I can barely deal with my own family so I'm not sure how I would handle someone else’s.

Stiles: I dunno. I mean, you can come down, but you don't have to. It's very loud and busy and I'm the youngest so everyone wants to know my life.

Cora: [she pauses, before stepping in and looking up at him] Do you want me to? [because she'll do it for him if he wants her there. Even if the idea makes her incredibly nervous]

Stiles: [he smiles and kisses her] The fact you offered is enough. I think I can handle it knowing I get to escape back up here to you again.

Cora: [smiles a bit into the kiss and nods] I will be here. Good luck.

Sheriff: Stiles! Dinner's ready.

Stiles: [has to break the kiss] I'll be back in like, an hour. Just, don't disappear on me.

Cora: I won't. I promise. I still have to give you your present.

Stiles: Same here. No snooping. [one more kiss and he's running as his father calls his name again]

Cora: [and she will just settle back on his bed to wait. Unfortunately, she is tired from her lumberjacking and Stiles’ bed is warm and soft and smells like Stiles so she may be passing out for a bit, curled up against his pillow]

Stiles: [and he'll be detained for a long time and eventually will be overstimulated again when he escapes upstairs after the last family member is gone. He'll see her sleeping and isn't really tired yet so he's just going to.... sit in his chair and spin a bit]

Cora: [the squeak of the chair eventually draws her out of it, one hand coming up to rub at her eyes] Why didn't you wake me up?

Stiles: Because we have all night and you were tired. [spins] and I figured you'd eventually wake up.

Cora: [nods a bit, pushing up into a sitting position] I didn't mean to fall asleep.

Stiles: Nah, it's fine. So um, the family is gone but I told Dad you were up here so we managed to hide some of the desert for you. You like pie, right?

Cora: I love pie.

Stiles: Then let’s go down and have pie and presents. Dad's leaving for work so we have the house to ourselves tonight.

Cora: [nods as she reaches down to pick up the wrapped box] Sounds good.

Stiles: [and he goes into his closet and picks out a small box he had hidden, and a bigger bag] I'm ready!

Cora: Me too. [and with that she'll wait for him to lead the way downstairs]

Stiles: [and the Sheriff is walking out to door and waves hi and wishes Cora a Merry Christmas before leaving, and Stiles grabs the pie and two plates.] So, presents. Can I go first?

Cora: [nods a bit] Sure.

Stiles: [grins and he holds out the small box to her first] Okay, so don't laugh, but I took some metal art classes to fill in my art requirement, and I made you this. [Inside was a cuff bracelet]

Cora: [eyes the box, then him for a moment and when she opens it, she smiles as she examines it closely] No, I like it.

Stiles: I kept it simple because I figured if it was too fancy, it'd be too much for you.

Cora: Good instinct. [she picks it up out of the box before slipping it on, letting it settle on her wrist. Not too tight so that it's constriction, but not loose enough that it would be slipping around either] It's perfect.

Stiles: And the metal's soft enough that you can bend it a bit to make it tighter if you need it too

Cora: [she nods a bit] I'll wear it a bit and see how it feels.

Stiles: Cool. And then there's this. [he handed her the bag. She'd open it and it was one of his hoodies - the purple one he always wore. It was well worn in, frayed in a few spots, and smelled very strongly of him since he had worn it almost every day for his entire high school life]

Cora: [and that makes her grin widely, before reaching in and pulling it out. She doesn't even hesitate before slipping her arms into it and bringing the collar up to take in his scent] Really?

Stiles: Yeah. I figure that can at least get you through on more semester before you get me all the time. I've got like, 18 others that I never wear so I think this one should be yours.

Cora: [that grin doesn't fade and she reaches for him, pulling him closer so that she can kiss him] Thank you. [her gift doesn't feel as good or personal, but she loves this and is grateful for it all the same]

Stiles: [and he's poor and had to be creative, but he knew she'd like it and he's kissing her happily]

Cora: [she likes him being creative though. She holds the kiss for a moment, before pulling back and sliding the box his way. Inside is this] Merry Christmas.

Stiles: [and he opens it and grins] You got me a lightsaber. You are seriously the best girlfriend ever. [and he's going to snap it out and totally make lightsaber noises as he swings it around]

Cora: [she laughs a bit, leaning against the table as she watches him] I couldn't find a green one, but I remembered you saying that you liked blue too.

Stiles: Yeah, the blue one is Obi-Wan’s, and the green one is Luke’s. [he looks at her] Did you get one for yourself too?

Cora: [there's a beat] No. But I could probably find one? [she didn't realize it was a couple's thing.]

Stiles: Well, when you do we can totally have lightsaber fights.

Cora: Oh really?

Stiles: Yeah.

Cora: I'll see if I can find one then.

Stiles: [bright grin] Awesome.

Cora: [nods a bit before glancing around] So ... pie?

Stiles: Yes, pie. [and he goes to give her a nice, big slice]

Cora: [om nom pie. which she will take over to the couch and give him room to snuggle in next to her]

Stiles: [yup, he's following with a smaller slice - human metabolism and he just ate - but he's there more for the snuggling]

Cora: [snuggle she will, settling so that her back is resting against his side] So how was dinner? As bad as pre-dinner?

Stiles: I'm surprised my aunt didn't try to force feed me seconds saying how skinny I was, but otherwise I survived.

Cora: Did you tell them about Berkeley?

Stiles: I did. And I've been told that I need to major in something that will pay the bills, or at least make sure I take a second major in education because really, why are you studying folklore? And yes, they lecture me and call me by my real name, and not Stiles. I gave up asking when I was ten.

Cora: If they still give you crap, you can tell them that there's a very prestigious British organization willing to hire you once you get your degree. Also, there's nothing wrong with working in academia.

Stiles: I'm not going to explain to my off the boat German great aunt why I'm being recruited and where.

Cora: You don't have to get specific. Just ... put their mind at ease that you're not going to be one of those broke college students.

Stiles: I tried. But I think if I'm not going to be a cop or a teachers or like, a pastry chef - why am I doing it.

Cora: [she nods a bit, before tipping her head at the last part] A pastry chef?

Stiles: It's a... family thing we're German don't ask.

Cora: [nods a bit] finishing off her pie, before placing the plate on the coffee table. She then turned to rest her chin on his shoulder] People need historians too. To work at museums and teach history and ... learn from their mistakes. Same with folklore. It's not useless, even if people may think it is.

Stiles: Well, you know that and I know that. But this is my family.

Cora: I know. But don't let them discourage you.

Stiles: Oh, I won't. I mean, when have I ever listened to anything my dad says... you think I'm going to listen to my aunt?

Cora: [she shrugs] I've just seen it with my friends’ families - just because you don't listen doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt.

Stiles: I'm not hurt. I'm more annoyed.

Cora: That they don't trust you?

Stiles: That they can't see I want to go my own way.

Cora: Does your dad have your back?

Stiles: Yeah, he does. But Dad also knows that my girlfriend and best friend are werewolves and that's probably not going to change.

Cora: Your dad has your back, that's all that matters. Prove the rest of them wrong.

Stiles: And you have my back. That matters just as much.

Cora: I do. [smiles a bit, letting her arm slide across his middle] Besides, Watchers have awesome job security.

Stiles: Would mine come in the shape of a sexy werewolf?

Cora: [she grins a bit] Maybe if you get lucky.

Stiles: Well, I'm feeling pretty lucky.

Cora: [she smirks a bit at that] It is Christmas. You never know.

Stiles: I've been a very good boy. Well, for most of the year.

Cora: [she considers for a moment, before her hand comes up and fists the front of his shirt gently, pulling him closer] I think that's good enough.

Stiles: So maybe we can both get lucky? [grins and lets her manhandle him]

Cora: [pulling him over her as she leans back against the couch] Well, the season is about giving and receiving.

Stiles. [stretches out over her, leaning close and going to cup the back of her neck with one hand] Most wonderful time of the year. [and going to kiss her]

Cora: [she hums softly into the kiss, pulling him closer as she just opts to focus on the kissing. it's a much better plan than holiday innuendo]

Stiles: [he would probably try and sing against her lips. No, no he was going to. He may be humming Santa Baby as he kisses her, his free hand running up her thigh]

Cora: [eventually she breaks the kiss because she has to laugh] What are you doing?

Stiles: Kissing you.

Cora: What are you humming?

Stiles: Um... Santa Baby?

Cora: It's very distracting.

Stiles: Would you rather I hum Rudolph?

Cora: I think I'd prefer you just focus on the kissing.

Stiles: You know, you say that now, but later you're going to want me humming while my lips are kissing.

Cora: [eyebrow raise] Oh really?

Stiles: Uh huh. But that I can't show you until we go up to my room.

Cora: Then maybe we should head up there.

Stiles: We could. We totally could, even if I'm very, very comfy here on top of you. [grins and kisses her]

Cora: [laughs a bit into the kiss] Hey, you're the one who wants to show off your humming skills.

Stiles: I do. But we have all night. ALLLLLL Night. And if we're upstairs Santa will think we're sleeping when we're being very naughty.

Cora: There's nothing keeping us from being very naughty down here.

Stiles: Except for the fact that the condoms are upstairs.

Cora: Mmmmm. [she nods as she thinks about it] So I guess the question is ... do we want to be naughty or nice?

Stiles: Oh god, so hard.

Cora: [nods a bit as she leans in to kiss him, her legs hooking up a little higher on his hips] You should think about it very carefully.

Stiles: [the more she does that, the less thinking his brain is capable of]

Cora: [she has a feeling, which is why she's going to keep doing it]

Stiles: [five... four... three....] Okay, no, we're going upstairs.

Cora: [pulls back with a smirk] Okay. [and she'll wait for him to get up and lead the way]

Stiles: [and he's leading then up and he gets to the room and looks up at his headboard and frowns because] Crap, crap I didn't put it up before you got here.

Cora: [confused] Put what up?

Stiles: Okay, work with me here. [he goes to his desk and pulls out the fake mistletoe he got at the dollar store and shows it to her]

Cora: [her eyebrows go up a bit] You don't need mistletoe to kiss me.

Stiles: No, I know I don't. But. [just grabs a thumb tack and jumps on his bed, and then puts it up directly over where the head of his bed (and the pillows were)] Now my bed is a kiss only zone.

Cora: [laughs a bit] So when I'm on your bed, I can only kiss you?

Stiles: Well, that's just out lips. What we do with the rest of our bodies isn't dictated by the plant.

Cora: Good to know. [she makes her way closer, tugging on his shirt to bring him back down to kissing distance once she's close enough]

Stiles: [and he's kissing her, and his fingers are going to play with her pants, not going for the normal shirt stripping off]

Cora: [curious, she lets him, moving her legs and hips so that he can get them off her if he wants]

Stiles: [and once she's depantsed, he's going to guide her to the bed.] Lay down.

Cora: [does as she's told, settling back against his bed and getting comfortable]

Stiles: [and he's going to grin, and he's going to go down on her, playing at first with his fingers as he kisses along her thighs]

Cora: [she closes her eyes at the touch, her hips rocking up into his fingers as she just focuses on the sensations]

Stiles: [and he's going to slowly kiss up her legs until his lips go to pull her nub between them and suck.... two fingers gently pressed inside... and then he's going to start humming Jingle Bells while he's sucking]

Cora: [and she laughs, because it's ridiculous, but it feels good too, so the sound is a little breathy, with an almost nervous tremor to it]

Stiles: [totally smirking as he varies it to be able to make his lips vibrate more, taking it to higher notes to see just how much fun they can have with this]

Cora: [eventually the giggles stop and turn to more moans, one hand moving to her hair as her hips continue to rock up into his fingers, things starting to build more inside her]

Stiles: [and he's switching to Santa Claus is Coming to Town as he lets his fingers start to go faster in and out of her]

Cora: [she can feel herself getting closer, finding it harder to catch her breath, and as her fingers grip the sheets her hips changing to slow circles, grinding down against his fingers, her voice pitches up in a warning] Stiles ...

Stiles: [nope, he's not stopping, Cora. In fact, those fingers are going to be twisting as he works another one in. And while he's not going to push in, his other hand is going ti gently run along the ridge between her sex and her sphincter, gently teasing the other hole to see how she reacts. He's been reading again]

Cora: [her hips twist away a little at that - that she's not sure she's ready for, but it doesn't take her much longer to fall over the edge, her body tensing as her back arches and then she relaxes back against the bed]

Stiles: [he will pull back when he gets the clue, not going to push her comfort. And then he can feel her sex tighten on his fingers and he tries to press in deeper to keep her going]

Cora: [hums, her hips still rocking with the movement of his fingers, her legs hitching just a little in response]

Stiles: [when she's coming back down, he's going to kiss his way back up to her lips and kiss her deeply]

Cora: [kisses him back easily. she can taste herself on him, which is weird, but not as strange as she thought it would be]

Stiles: So about my humming now?

Cora: [laughs softly, fingers moving to tug at his shirt because he is wearing way too many clothes] I stand corrected.

Stiles: Good. I may make that a holidays-only type thing.

Cora: [her eyebrows go up at that] Holidays only?

Stiles: Yeah. Christmas songs, Valentine's Day, national anthem...

Cora: [laughs as she reaches the bottom of the buttons on his shirt, pushing it off his shoulders so that her fingers could brush against his skin] I see.

Stiles: I totally can try and see if I can get you to go off like a firework before I get to the end of the national anthem. [evil plotting now]

Cora: [the idea makes her shiver and there's close enough that there's no way he can't notice, so she's going to just pull off the rest of her clothes and tug him in closer]

Stiles: [yeah, he noticed. So he's going to start working at his clothes and leaning down to kiss her]

Cora: [she kisses him back eagerly, waiting until he's naked with her before sliding her legs around his waist, pulling him in closer.]

Stiles: [groans softly, pressing against her body] God I love you.

Cora: [doesn't pull far from the kiss, her lips brushing against his as she speaks] I love you too. [and she wants, she wants to let things go too far in the moment, doesn't want to stop but she knows better. She exhales before leaning back, hand slapping against the bed to try and find where he left the condoms]

Stiles: [he knows what she's doing and goes to help, opening the drawer and pulling one out, handing it to her] Looking for something?

Cora: [she takes one from him with a grateful nod before tearing the package open, letting her hand slip between them and stroke him slowly for a moment, before sliding it on him and pulling him in again]

Stiles: [and he's going to take that as his cue to slowly thrust into her]

Cora: [she moans softly as her does, using her legs to keep as little space between them as possible, allowing her hands to slide over his back and arms. He's warm and real against her and she knows that this is intense, and this is one of the things that Peter warned her about, but she can't stop herself from riding the sensation, leaning in to kiss him again]

Stiles: [he doesn't have her werewolf instincts, but he has his gut, and his gut wanted Cora and only Cora, and he was pretty determined to have her for the rest of his life if he could. He was a one wolf kinda guy after all.]

Cora: [she knows. She can feel it every time he kisses her. but there's still something in the intensity of all of this that scares her, but not enough to let him go. She has a feeling that being without him would be infinitely worse, and she has so few things that are hers. She keeps him close, and when she eventually needs to stop kissing him in order to catch her breath, she moves to his neck instead, letting her lips brush against his skin]

Stiles: [he's good with the slow lovemaking in this instance, taking his time to get nice and deep with each stroke. When she pulls her lips away he just presses his head to hers, panting in her ear and making soft noises with each thrust]

Cora: [it doesn't take long after that. her eyes flash just before the end and she dips her had a bit, her teeth biting down just below his collar bone as she falls over the edge]

Stiles: [he whimpers, that bite being the thing that sent him over with her, thrusting in hard and deep and just staying there]

Cora: [her body relaxes around him as she comes down, her legs slipping off to the side and her head falling back a bit against the pillows but she doesn't pull away, her head lolling to the side a bit to nuzzle against his head next to her.]

Stiles: [and he's going to kiss her neck where she usually kisses his, sucking on their gently as he just relaxes against her]

Cora: [she hums a bit at that, tipping her head to the side to give him better access, and just not wanting to move, just wanting to keep him pressed against her for as long as she can]

Stiles: [he will be your nice warm, human blanket Cora. One that teases along the neck with his teeth since she always liked that]

Cora: [she does like that, and there will be a soft whine to that effect as she settles in closer. There's a part of her that wants to ask if it feels this intense for him, even if she has a feeling that it doesn't. Humans don't feel that intense need to claim the way wolves do. So she just keeps it to herself, her fingers coming up and brushing over the bite mark she just left]

Stiles: [he kisses that spot on her neck, and then just lays down on top of her, finding a way so that he wasn't awkward but he wasn't moving away from her either]

Cora: [she gets what he's doing, so she shifts a bit, tipping them so that they're lying on their sides next to each other, and tucks herself into his arms. She knows they're going to have to get dressed and cleaned up eventually but right now she just wants to stay like this]

Stiles: [dressed and cleaning can wait until later. Snuggles and dozing off is what is in his future]

Cora: [hopefully they won't over doze so that his dad finds them like this because she might join him in that drifting off plan, wanting to soak in being tangled in him]

Stiles: [his dad knows better at this point and knocks and keeps his eyes closed]

Cora: [good job, sheriff. Cora is going to close her eyes, nestling her head against his shoulder and will fall asleep quickly in his arms]

Stiles: [sleepy sleepy until the morning where it's separate showers and cinnamon buns and the Sheriff having presents for both of them]

Cora: [oooh presents! Also cinnamon buns, this is a perfect Christmas morning]

Stiles: [yup. cinnamon buns from a can with extra frosting is Christmas to Stiles]

Cora: [that sounds pretty good. And the Sheriff gets a card and a coffee gift card because she wasn't sure what else to get him]

Sheriff: [he will love it because he needs coffee all the time to handle Stiles. And he wasn't sure what to get Cora, so she has a bag with matching fuzzy socks, gloves, and a cute hat that went with it all]

Cora: [she laughs a bit when she sees] I love it. Thank you.

Sheriff: I've been seeing all the girls around town in ones with animals and thought you'd like something without ears.

Cora: Yeah, I appreciate that.

Stiles: [will totally be playing with those pompoms like a kitten with a new toy]

Cora: [don't make her take it away from you, Stiles]

Stiles: [mrwo /bat]