Ficlet: Right In the Middle
Author: on_the_ground
Title: Right In the Middle
Rating: G
Pairing/s: Stiles/Jackson
Character/s: Kyle (OCC), Ilya (OCC)
Summary: Kyle and Ilya talk and share different things about their lives.
Content Notes: Fluff, nobody is dead, future fic, original characters, Established Relationship
Warnings: None
Submission Type: Ficlet
Word Count: 1358 words
Prompt: #270 - Never again
Author's Notes: Posted here for the Full Moon Ficlet community. This will be part of my series "All I Saw Was You." Thanks so much to my lovely beta.
It’s sunny and certainly hot enough to have a swim. Kyle is standing near the door that leads to the backyard and he’s looking at Ilya swimming from one side of the pool to the other. It’s effortless and Kyle can’t help the little jealousy he feels at the sight. Ilya has no idea how long Kyle has been standing there, when he stops at one end, he sees the boy looking in his direction.
“Get in!” Ilya signals with his right arm. “The water is good!”
They got him a swimsuit too, so it’s not like he can’t use the pool if he wants.
Kyle simply shakes his hand, turns around, and goes back inside the house.
Ilya sighs but doesn’t insist. If he doesn’t want to be in the pool with him, he’s not going to pressure him. He knows he needs time to get used to being there.
When he gets out of the pool he finds Kyle reading a comic book on the sofa and he sits on the opposite side. Stiles and Jackson went shopping and Daniel had a soccer match, so they are alone in the house.
“You can get in now if you want. I’ve finished.”
Kyle doesn’t say anything at first and Ilya waits.
“It’s okay. I didn’t… I don’t want to,” Kyle finally says without looking up.
“So, it wasn’t because of me…” Ilya suggests.
“No, it wasn’t.”
“You don’t like water or something…” Ilya frowns.
“It’s not that.” Kyle shakes his head, obviously bothered by the conversation.
“Okay. Fine.” Ilya grabs the remote control and turns on the television. He’s about to find something to watch when Kyle speaks again.
“I can’t swim, okay?” Kyle finally looks at Ilya.
“There… happy now?” Kyle shrugs.
“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just wondering. I thought you were avoiding me. Besides, so what if you can’t swim… You can learn, right?”
Kyle huffs a laugh.
“What? What’s so funny?” Ilya raises his eyebrows.
“You guys… you have a solution for everything right. Everything is so easy.”
“And when you say guys, who are you talking about exactly?”
“Who do you think?” Kyle shakes his head. “Your parents…” Kyle waves his right arm “You… your brother… it’s like you think you can fix everything so easily.”
“That’s not true. But swimming? That I could actually fix… or my father, he’s an excellent swimmer. Actually, he was the captain of the swim team back in high school. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. He taught me and my brother.”
Kyle snorts and shakes his head. “Why am I not surprised… Is there anything your father can’t do?”
“Yeah, I guess he’s pretty good at everything… but his pancakes are not as good as my dad’s.” Ilya smirks.
“Although I’d have to kill you if you ever repeated those words.” Ilya smiles and Kyle can’t help it but to do the same.
“So you mean, you’ve never been in a pool?” Ilya asks.
“Well, I’ve never known anybody with a pool before…” Kyle waves his right arm. “So… no.”
“I went to the beach in L.A… sometimes. I liked to see the sea, but it’s not the same, I guess,” Kyle admits.
The fact that the idea hadn’t crossed Ilya’s mind suddenly makes him feel really stupid. And also, the last thing he wants is to make Kyle feel uncomfortable or out of place.
“So, what’s it like?” Ilya sits sideways on the sofa, turning off the television.
“What do you mean?” Kyle frowns, sitting sideways too.
“Being a foster kid? I mean, if you don’t want to tell me it’s okay. You know, I’m a curious person… I guess that’s something you should know about me.”
Kyle snorts. This is not where he thought the conversation was going if they were actually having having one. “It’s… pretty much 24/7 awesomeness, what do you think?”
“I--” Ilya hesitates.
“It sucks, okay? You live with people who don’t give a shit about you. And you never know how long you’re gonna stay there. You’re afraid that the next day somebody will wake you up at 6am saying, ‘Pack your bags - you’re out!’ They move you around like a puppet.”
There’s a silence after that. A few seconds when Kyle knows that Ilya wants to say something but he’s probably afraid of saying the wrong thing.
“I don’t know.” Kyle finally continues. “I guess you get used to living a certain way. You know, just not letting yourself get too comfortable. Not making real friends anywhere. You get used to people treating you differently. I had a foster father who wouldn’t let me or my foster brother stay alone in the house, so we were locked out until he got home every weekend and weekdays too. The agency knew about it but they didn’t think we were in any danger, and teens are hard to place, so they didn’t do anything. When I had enough I left and everything I owned was in my backpack… my whole life... until it was stolen… and I ended up coming here.”
“I’m sorry,” Ilya says with sincerity.
“Why?”
“I’m sorry that... you know… that your parents died. That you don’t have a family. I can’t imagine not having mine.”
“Yeah, well… it is what it is, right?”
“I’m sure that my parents and Derek will find you a family who cares about you. Derek is cool, you’ll see… and my parents are stubborn as hell. I’m sure they will never let you go through that again.”
Kyle stays silent and Ilya feels like he needs to say something.
“You know, people treat me differently sometimes, too. Especially, when I was little…”
Kyle looks at him with curiosity.
“Because I’m deaf, in case you didn’t notice.” Ilya waves his right am, smiling.
Kyle can’t help but smile too.
“I know it can’t compare to your story… I guess it’s totally different… but it’s also complicated.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, apart from the fact that my parents… hell, the whole pack have worried about me my whole life… about my feelings... the truth is that with this.” He touches the hearing aid in his right ear. “I can hear but for hearing people, I’m still deaf, while for deaf people, I can hear… and talk… so it’s like I’m in the middle… nobody fully accepts you… and that’s not gonna change no matter how old I get.”
(The rest will be posted on AO3)
Title: Right In the Middle
Rating: G
Pairing/s: Stiles/Jackson
Character/s: Kyle (OCC), Ilya (OCC)
Summary: Kyle and Ilya talk and share different things about their lives.
Content Notes: Fluff, nobody is dead, future fic, original characters, Established Relationship
Warnings: None
Submission Type: Ficlet
Word Count: 1358 words
Prompt: #270 - Never again
Author's Notes: Posted here for the Full Moon Ficlet community. This will be part of my series "All I Saw Was You." Thanks so much to my lovely beta.
It’s sunny and certainly hot enough to have a swim. Kyle is standing near the door that leads to the backyard and he’s looking at Ilya swimming from one side of the pool to the other. It’s effortless and Kyle can’t help the little jealousy he feels at the sight. Ilya has no idea how long Kyle has been standing there, when he stops at one end, he sees the boy looking in his direction.
“Get in!” Ilya signals with his right arm. “The water is good!”
They got him a swimsuit too, so it’s not like he can’t use the pool if he wants.
Kyle simply shakes his hand, turns around, and goes back inside the house.
Ilya sighs but doesn’t insist. If he doesn’t want to be in the pool with him, he’s not going to pressure him. He knows he needs time to get used to being there.
When he gets out of the pool he finds Kyle reading a comic book on the sofa and he sits on the opposite side. Stiles and Jackson went shopping and Daniel had a soccer match, so they are alone in the house.
“You can get in now if you want. I’ve finished.”
Kyle doesn’t say anything at first and Ilya waits.
“It’s okay. I didn’t… I don’t want to,” Kyle finally says without looking up.
“So, it wasn’t because of me…” Ilya suggests.
“No, it wasn’t.”
“You don’t like water or something…” Ilya frowns.
“It’s not that.” Kyle shakes his head, obviously bothered by the conversation.
“Okay. Fine.” Ilya grabs the remote control and turns on the television. He’s about to find something to watch when Kyle speaks again.
“I can’t swim, okay?” Kyle finally looks at Ilya.
“There… happy now?” Kyle shrugs.
“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just wondering. I thought you were avoiding me. Besides, so what if you can’t swim… You can learn, right?”
Kyle huffs a laugh.
“What? What’s so funny?” Ilya raises his eyebrows.
“You guys… you have a solution for everything right. Everything is so easy.”
“And when you say guys, who are you talking about exactly?”
“Who do you think?” Kyle shakes his head. “Your parents…” Kyle waves his right arm “You… your brother… it’s like you think you can fix everything so easily.”
“That’s not true. But swimming? That I could actually fix… or my father, he’s an excellent swimmer. Actually, he was the captain of the swim team back in high school. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. He taught me and my brother.”
Kyle snorts and shakes his head. “Why am I not surprised… Is there anything your father can’t do?”
“Yeah, I guess he’s pretty good at everything… but his pancakes are not as good as my dad’s.” Ilya smirks.
“Although I’d have to kill you if you ever repeated those words.” Ilya smiles and Kyle can’t help it but to do the same.
“So you mean, you’ve never been in a pool?” Ilya asks.
“Well, I’ve never known anybody with a pool before…” Kyle waves his right arm. “So… no.”
“I went to the beach in L.A… sometimes. I liked to see the sea, but it’s not the same, I guess,” Kyle admits.
The fact that the idea hadn’t crossed Ilya’s mind suddenly makes him feel really stupid. And also, the last thing he wants is to make Kyle feel uncomfortable or out of place.
“So, what’s it like?” Ilya sits sideways on the sofa, turning off the television.
“What do you mean?” Kyle frowns, sitting sideways too.
“Being a foster kid? I mean, if you don’t want to tell me it’s okay. You know, I’m a curious person… I guess that’s something you should know about me.”
Kyle snorts. This is not where he thought the conversation was going if they were actually having having one. “It’s… pretty much 24/7 awesomeness, what do you think?”
“I--” Ilya hesitates.
“It sucks, okay? You live with people who don’t give a shit about you. And you never know how long you’re gonna stay there. You’re afraid that the next day somebody will wake you up at 6am saying, ‘Pack your bags - you’re out!’ They move you around like a puppet.”
There’s a silence after that. A few seconds when Kyle knows that Ilya wants to say something but he’s probably afraid of saying the wrong thing.
“I don’t know.” Kyle finally continues. “I guess you get used to living a certain way. You know, just not letting yourself get too comfortable. Not making real friends anywhere. You get used to people treating you differently. I had a foster father who wouldn’t let me or my foster brother stay alone in the house, so we were locked out until he got home every weekend and weekdays too. The agency knew about it but they didn’t think we were in any danger, and teens are hard to place, so they didn’t do anything. When I had enough I left and everything I owned was in my backpack… my whole life... until it was stolen… and I ended up coming here.”
“I’m sorry,” Ilya says with sincerity.
“Why?”
“I’m sorry that... you know… that your parents died. That you don’t have a family. I can’t imagine not having mine.”
“Yeah, well… it is what it is, right?”
“I’m sure that my parents and Derek will find you a family who cares about you. Derek is cool, you’ll see… and my parents are stubborn as hell. I’m sure they will never let you go through that again.”
Kyle stays silent and Ilya feels like he needs to say something.
“You know, people treat me differently sometimes, too. Especially, when I was little…”
Kyle looks at him with curiosity.
“Because I’m deaf, in case you didn’t notice.” Ilya waves his right am, smiling.
Kyle can’t help but smile too.
“I know it can’t compare to your story… I guess it’s totally different… but it’s also complicated.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, apart from the fact that my parents… hell, the whole pack have worried about me my whole life… about my feelings... the truth is that with this.” He touches the hearing aid in his right ear. “I can hear but for hearing people, I’m still deaf, while for deaf people, I can hear… and talk… so it’s like I’m in the middle… nobody fully accepts you… and that’s not gonna change no matter how old I get.”
(The rest will be posted on AO3)