My Storybook.

Alec got changed out of his sweatpants and sleeping shirt and put on a pair of jeans and the next best dark shirt he could find. Tugging the shirt down, he exited his room, put his shoes on and grabbed his bow and quiver. “Yes, ready if you are.” He said before adding onto their conversation before he left the room. “I might want to talk about it later. Or not at all. I’m not sure yet.” He shrugged apologetically, knowing that she understood.

“We can just see where the mood takes us.” She nodded, taking Buddy’s leash, the dog keeping close to her. It amazed her how quickly he picked up on her mood, knowing when she needed him the most. She was silently so thankful for Scott for getting him for them - even if he wasn’t trained as a therapy dog, he was the next best thing for Allison. She followed Alec, making small talk as they went, her shoulders relaxing that little bit more as they reached the clearing they practised in.

“... All clear? Nothing around?” She asked, awkwardly - after her panic attack, it’d become second nature for her to check they were safe, terrified of being caught unaware.

Stiles was in the middle of doing research for one of his papers when there was a knock on his door. Blinking, he closed his laptop, rubbing his eyes - when had he last taken a break from the screen? - and got up, shuffling towards the door while wondering who could possibly be knocking at his door. Usually, people left him mostly alone nowadays, knowing that he wasn’t really in the mood to socialize. 

Opening the door, he prepared himself to grunt something to get rid of the person in front of the door but before he could even say something, he felt a presence clinging to his leg and looking down, he noticed Celeste and immediately, a small smile showed up on his face. “I see my princess is feeling demanding today again, hm?” He said whilst ruffling her hair and with a warm expression - though his eyes still looked tired - he turned to Marie. “Did you bring me food again, mademoiselle? You know I can take care of myself, right?” While he was speaking, he was already trying to sneak a peak into the bag. “Now what kind of deliciousness have you brought me today?”

“She learns that from ‘er mama, monsieur.” Marie smirked, taking a seat on the couch while Celeste giggled at Stiles. She wouldn’t take up too much of his time, but she had learnt to come over unannounced, to avoid Stiles making excuses. He was alone far too much, and she knew that wasn’t healthy.

“I know that you can take care of yourself. But I also know that you are focused, you forget simple things like eating and sleeping. And while I cannot ‘elp you with one of those things, a beef stew is no trouble for me to make. I simply made too much, and thought I should share.” She smiled innocently, getting the container out of her bag. “Would you like it now, or shall I put it in the refrigerator?” 

 Marie could not get used to taking the bus. No matter how many times she’d taken the journey to visit Stiles, it still felt like an abstract concept, coming from the century she had. There was a home-cooked stew in a Tupperware container at the bottom of her bag, while Celeste sat looking out the window, saying hello to the passing cars, and pointing at all the different things she could see.

Getting to Stiles’ place at last, Marie knocked on the door, and when it was opened, Celeste walked in like she owned the place. “Stiles eat.” She announced, hugging his leg, and pointing at the bag. Marie laughed, and nodded. “I think someone wants you to take a look at my bag, monsieur.”

“That’s not the same and you know it.” Alec said as he returned with a glass of water and handed it over to her.

He shrugged and sighed at her question. “A lot’s been going on back in New York. My sister forced me to come here and recover because… things weren’t good.” He trailed off with another shrug. “Anyhow, I’m going to get changed, I’ll be right back.” With that, he turned and stepped into his room to get changed.

“But you also don’t deny that he’s been texting you. Good to know I wasn’t just paranoid.” She offered a smile, stroking Buddy’s head as he placed it in her lap, and taking a sip of her water with the other hand.

“You wanna talk about those things? I’m always happy to listen.” She offered, nodding and dropping the conversation as he was changing. They both knew each other well enough to know when to not push things. They were too similar in some ways, not just the archery. Once he was changed, she stood back up, whistling for Buddy to follow her. “You ready to go?”

“You know you can always text me, right?” Alec replied before petting Buddy’s head. If he missed one thing about this place, it was all the pets and people he’d met here. 

“And I really don’t mind at all, you know that.” He stepped aside, so that Buddy could enter the apartment and Stella watched the dog’s every step but stayed right where she was at. “I could use some distraction, too,” he admitted. “But first, do you want some water? I’ll have to go get changed and grab my bow and quiver, so feel free to make yourself comfortable in the meantime.”

“And there was me thinking my dad’d been texting you updates on me.” She teased, moving into the apartment and taking a seat on the couch, patting her leg for Stella to come over. She nodded for the water, and looked over in the direction of the kitchen when he went to get some.

“So what do you need distracting from?” She asked, relaxing against the couch. “If you want to say, I mean... my dad spent most of the past few weeks asking if I was okay. I know it can get... pretty annoying.”

Alec was at home, still recovering from his latest fight. As much as he wanted to be involved in NYC, he was pretty much forced by his absolutely stubborn sister to get to his apartment and concentrate on getting better. Which… she had a point when she said that he’d just keep going until he physically couldn’t anymore. 

Being here now though still didn’t mean that he was necessarily feeling any better. Quite the opposite actually. Being here, by himself with his cat as his only distraction. Just as he was almost about to abandon the apartment again - he’d deal with Izzy yelling at him later - he heard a knock at his door.

Setting his little fluffball down onto the couch, he made his way over to the door and opened it. “Allison,” Alec said in greeting, with a smile himself as he fully accepted the hug. “It’s good to see you.” 

When he let go of her, he noticed the bow and quiver which caused him to raise an eyebrow. “You up for some training?”

“Wasn’t sure if you’d be here, but I hoped so.” She smiled, kissing his cheek. Buddy was behind her, wagging his tail, and sniffing in the general direction of Stella. Being back at her dad’s, and knowing that she couldn’t call it home any more for multiple reasons had left a thin layer of anxiety in her, which was why training was the first thing she thought of doing when she got home.

She just wished her dad and Melissa would move closer so she could be done with Beacon Hills altogether.

“Only if you don’t mind.” She nodded. The shaking of her arms had gone away, but her aim still wasn’t as perfect as it once had been. And her fear of demons was still strong, preventing her from even bringing up the idea of helping Alec. “I just... need a little distracting.”

Allison had been out of town for a few weeks, having visited her dad and Melissa back in Beacon Hills. It had been difficult, staying inside most of the time lest someone see her and think they’d seen a ghost, but she didn’t mind - she’d missed them, and it had given Scott space to study for his exams. But now they were over, she knew she had to get back home. And back to training. 

Which was how she ended up knocking on Alec’s door early in the morning with no warning, her quiver over her shoulder and her bow in her hand.

“Missed me?” She quipped, smiling a little, before hugging him gently. She’d definitely missed him, if nothing else.

Previously @theargentbeta

I don’t know if anyone is still following me but hai