Another Way to Fight

Deep breaths, he’s reminded, and he has no idea how he keeps forgetting such a simple thing.

“Yeah. Yeah that sounds good.” Stiles offers, though he doesn’t really sound all that convinced.

He sticks his phone in the mount he’s gotten recently, and puts Derek on loudspeaker. He winces quite audibly when the movement causes whatever was wrong with his shoulder to protest.

He tries to ignore it and starts up the Jeep. One step at a time.

     He’ll tell him to breathe as many times as it takes until he’s forced to get off the phone for his flight. “Stiles, I will be there as soon as I can and we will get you through this, okay? One step at a time. Starting with you getting yourself home when you’re ready,” he assured him gently, hating that while the other was on the verge of freaking out he was on the other side of the country and couldn’t help him.

“Worth it…” Stiles agrees softly, letting out a shaky breath. He tries to keep his eyes inside the car–he doesn’t want them drifting towards the school again.

“I think it’s more duct-tape than car now. I was…I was fixing it tonight.” He offers vaguely, sounding a little stressed again, but he was handling it better now. He was more aware of himself.

“I got interrupted.”

    “I figured.” Snorting quietly, Derek lets himself out of his condo and locks it up behind him. He shoots a quick text to the property manager to let him know that he’ll be out of town for a while and to keep an eye on the place and his mail. “You’re incorrigible. Don’t ever change.”

Stiles nods, nod that Derek can see that, and starts trying to wrack his brain for answers. “I, uh…I had to write an essay. I wrote it about collective punishment and how it’s a war crime under 1949 Geneva Conventions. I only wrote it as a way to get back at the teacher for punishing the whole class the week before.” He mumbles, leaning back a little in the drivers seat of the jeep, trying to relax a little.

If anyone was going to understand that it was an accident–and that Stiles didn’t have a choice, it was Derek. He kept telling himself that.

     Letting himself smile a little, Derek kept packing as he listened to Stiles talking. He wasn’t really that surprised about his topic of choice. Or reasons for it. 

Stiles makes a frustrated noise, as he tries to follow along with Derek’s words, sucking in a breath and holding it for the count of five–exhaling, and doing it again. He does that a few more times before trying to find his words again.

“No. I can’t…I can’t call him. He can’t know.” He mumbles helplessly into the phone, as his free hand grips the steering wheel so tight his knuckle are bone-white.

“I don’t want to drive just yet. I need…a minute.”

     Something that Stiles feels he can’t tell Scott. Okay. This is definitely bad. Derek frowns and makes the confirmation on his phone for the flight. 

     “Okay... okay, just talk to me then. About anything. What was your last test in school?”

     He didn’t really know what else to ask, but wanted to keep Stiles talking. If he was talking, he had to breathe. And breathing was good. Tucking his phone to his shoulder, Derek started grabbing things and shoving them into an old rucksack.

Instead of taking the deep breath, he chokes out a miserable excuse for a laugh. Okay? Everything was so far from okay.

Still, he tries. He tries to calm his breathing, holding it for a few counts before allowing air to flow again

He’s trying his best to focus on that when Derek’s voice reaches him again through the phone.

“I’m here.” He offers, barely audible as he stares off towards the school. “I—I’m sitting in the jeep. I didn’t—I didn’t know what to do.”

     “I know... I know. Right now it doesn’t seem that way, but it’ll be okay. Whatever’s going on, we’ll figure it out, okay? All you have to do for me right now is breathe, okay? I want you to just keep breathing. Whatever’s going on, I’ll be there in the morning and we’ll figure it out, I promise.”

     He’s already booking his flight, mentally making a list of what he needs to throw into a bag to get him through a couple days, at least. He’s not sure what he’s going to be flying into, but it’s obvious that Stiles needs his help.

“we’re not made for big cities. the size of beacon hills is big enough, i think.” plus, they were animals, deep down. they just needed nature around them. he followed derek inside, then taking a look around, following derek’s gestures and explanations. “alright. – food sounds good, actually. i’d just like to take a shower first, if that’s okay? i could really use one.” it was a hot day, and he was pretty sweaty, not smelling that nice anymore.

Stiles just sits there in silence on the other end for a moment—the only noises coming through the line being his panicked breathing, and restless fidgeting.

What was he supposed to say? What was his plan? He didn’t have one. He didn’t even know why he picked up the phone in the first place.

“Hey—Uh…Sorry. I don’t know why I…” He trails off, and tries to calm his breathing, which kept on hitching in his chest.

His free hand is drumming nervously on the steering wheel.

     He knows those sounds and they’re not anything good. Not that he figured Stiles calling him would mean something good was happening, but he hadn’t expected him to be on the verge of panic. He’s already moving for his new phone before the younger male has a chance to speak.

     “Stiles... it’s okay,” he says, keeping his voice calm but firm. “Listen to me, just take a deep breath. You can do that for me, right? Just take a deep breath.”

     Fumbling with his phone, he somehow manages to pull up the internet browser, grateful that he’d become somewhat less technologically inept. It wasn’t easy to find a flight that would get him back to Beacon Hills on short notice, but there was one he might just make if he rushed.

@theblueeyedbeta

Slowly, one foot in front of the other, Stiles was moving.

He didn’t really remember making the choice to move, after picking up the library phone and calling the police, only to hang up again.

He knew this was bad—that it would look bad from every angle, so he grabbed his phone from Donovan’s body, and made his way out to his Jeep.

A policeman comes, checks the scene, and reports nothing out of the ordinary, all heard through the police scanner in Stiles’ Jeep.

But it was real. It had happened. The blood on Stiles’ hands proved that.

When he’s in the Jeep, thats when the reality of it all begins to sink in. Trembling hands reach for his phone, and his fingers act before his brain can catch up, dialing the only person he can think of.

     The phone has been sitting there since he left. He kept it charged in case they ever reached out to him, but it never rang. He’d emailed once to say that he wasn’t coming back unless they need him to. But it never rang.

     Derek got on with his life, starting a whole new one, basically. He wasn’t part of a pack, but was friendly enough with the local pack’s Alpha that he was welcome whenever he needed some contact. He had a job working in construction, keeping him busy and fit. He had a new phone, a new condo that he owned, but he still kept his old phone with his old number. But it never rang.

     Until it did.

     Startling slightly, Derek rubbed his eyes tiredly and looked around to his phone. It takes a second to realise that the ringing is coming from another source. His old phone. That’s enough to jolt him from his bed and running to the dresser where his phone had been laying silent for so long. He frowns when he sees the number and immediately flips it open.

theo nodded, a smile on his face. “it’s not that weird, actually.” he understood where derek was coming from. just some silence, nature. theo loved quiet woods, for example. it was simply relaxing and freeing. “– really? i’ll gladly take that offer.” it seemed like a nice place, after all. grabbing his bag from the back of his truck, he then followed derek towards the farmhouse. 

“we’re supernaturals. we just find each other, for some reason.” and that was the truth, really. not even a nemeton was needed for it. “i mean – sure,” theo replied with a nod, taking another glance around. “so… a farm?”

meme || accepting

@mccallofthewild