Spare Me The Details 1/1
Title: Spare Me The Details
Author: safaiagem / bloody-hellfire
Word Count: 3,639
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Laura Hale, Original Characters
Warnings violence
Summary: Laura did not consider herself a normal alpha.
Notes: Supernatural AU. Takes place directly after 'Turn It Up To Eleven' and part four of the Ten Years Gone series. A fully beta-ed version will hopefully be up at some point.
Spare Me The Details
Laura did not consider herself an ordinary alpha. Despite the fact that her pack consisted entirely of herself and Derek she never really felt an urge to expand it. Laura was sure that there were many therapists in the world that could give her a laundry list of reasons as to why she never felt the need to expand the pack but Laura wasn't really interested in them. All she knew was that, for now, it worked. Someone else around would probably negate how lonely she got with Derek traveling the country looking for monsters to kill. It was not that she had a problem with him being a hunter, if anything she understood his pathological need to save everyone in the universe, it was more his partner that she had a problem with.
After the fire Derek had tried to make a deal with a crossroads demon to bring back his family but the demon refused. That demon was Stiles. Years later and out of nowhere Laura found herself on the receiving end of a demon attack that had killed her. She knew she had died, she felt it happen, yet the next thing she knew Laura was opening her eyes to the frantic heartbeat of her brother echoing in her ears. Stiles had returned and brought her back from the dead in exchange for Derek's soul but the two of them struck a deal that if Derek helped Stiles kill a demon Stiles would end the deal. The fact that the demon just happened to be the one responsible for the fire made Derek leep at the chance. Laura had briefly considered tossing him out and making him an omega for what he had done but in the end the two of them managed to kill the demon. Stiles got sent back to the pit but came back. For some reason Derek still trusted the demon and now they were partners. Laura did not trust Stiles at all and she was waiting for the moment she felt her brother die because he trusted a demon.
The last time they had visited Laura witnessed Stiles having what looked to be a PTSD like flashback. Derek had told her about the torture that Stiles had gone through when he went back to the pit and how he made it even worse for himself when he got Derek put on a sort of 'blacklist' so no one could ever make a deal with him. Stiles could have gone back on his word and kept Derek's soul after they killed that demon but he didn't. Stiles had barely reacted when she threw holy water in his face despite the pain he must have felt from it. He slept outside and didn't make a fuss when she salted all of the doors. Yet at the same time he seemed to be playing some sort of game with her. It was like he was trying to mark Derek as his while every instinct in Laura's body screamed that Derek belonged to her. Derek seemed to trust Stiles but Laura could not make herself trust this demon that seemed to jump back into Derek's life at the most opportune moment. A crossroads demon just happened to be there when Derek was vulnerable enough to make a deal. None of it sat right with her.
Now Laura was even more worried because the previous day Derek had called completely out of the blue for no apparent reason. She tried to get him to explain why he had called, Derek never called for small talk, but he promised to call back and hung up without a word. Laura impatiently chewed on her thumbnail as she waited for Derek to call her back. Derek told her months ago not to call him unless it was an emergency since there was no telling what he could be tracking at the time. He was not so subtly implying that calling him could get him caught by something that could get him killed and it would be her fault. Laura could have throttled him for that.
The phone was barely through its first ring before Laura was picking it up. She knew it was Derek, no one else ever called her, but also it had been a day or so since he called before. There had been an edge to his voice that she didn’t like and now she was going to get an explanation for it.
“What happened?” Laura said by way of greeting.
“Hello Laura, it’s Derek, nice to talk to you too,” Derek deadpanned.
“You called me out of nowhere yesterday. To a normal person it looked like you were just checking in but you don’t do that so you must have had a reason for calling. Hence, what happened? Better yet, you said you were going to visit, when is that happening?” Laura asked. Derek didn’t reply right away but Laura could hear him breathing through the phone. Someone else was nearby and she could only guess who it was. “Derek.”
“Do I really never call just to check in with you?” The attempt to derail the conversation was about as subtle as a baseball bat to the face.
“I’m going to ask one more time,” she said. “What has you so shaken up that you’re checking in and want to visit?” There was another bout of silence and Laura was about five seconds away from pulling her alpha voice when she heard the phone move away.
“Think it’s okay if we go?” Derek asked.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Stiles replied. It was like someone just pulled the rug out from under her and Laura felt her claws biting into her palm as she tried to reign in her anger. Derek was her beta, her brother, and he was asking Stiles for permission to do something. If anything it should have been the other way around. If she growled Derek would hear her and she didn’t want to deal with him trying to distract her again by asking what made her so angry.
“We’re about five hours out,” Derek said. “We’ll explain when we get there.”
“Yes, you will,” Laura said and if there was some emphasis on the word ‘you’ instead of ‘we’ then Derek did not mention it.
“See you then.” The line went dead and she could hear the plastic of the phone straining in her hand. Laura set the phone back down on the charger, closed her eyes, and tried to ignore the rage at the thought of her beta, her brother, her pack, turning to someone else for permission.
It took nearly twenty minutes for Laura to calm down enough that she wasn’t going to put a hole in the wall.
+++
A little over three hours later and Laura was contemplating whether or not she wanted to clean the house. It wasn’t like Derek hadn’t seen worse and she was not worried about impressing Stiles but they were guests and it felt like the normal thing to do. At the same time there were about fifty other things Laura would rather do than clean the house. She was in the middle of settling this important debate when her doorbell rang. Laura glanced at the clock; there was no way Derek was two hours early and she wasn’t expecting anyone. Laura opened the door and immediately hit with an overwhelming scent of cologne.
“Hello, are the owner of this house?” a man said. He was older, in his late forties, with greying hair and dark eyes. It smelled like he bathed in his cologne and it made Laura want to gag. She had to reign in her senses so she didn’t look like a crazy person.
“I’m renting, actually, do you need my landlords number?” Laura asked. The smell was so distracting that she missed whatever the man had said. “I’m sorry?”
“I said my name is Walter; I’m selling some encyclopedias and I was wondering if you’re interested in taking a look?” his smile was pleasant but empty just like all salesmen.
“I’m not interested,” Laura replied. At this point she was have said anything if it meant she could close the door.
“I have a brochure here in my bag, please take a look?” Water said as he began to dig through the bag he had over his shoulder. Laura opened her mouth to disagree and ask him to leave when she picked up another scent over the overwhelming cologne. She recognized it but by the time Laura realized what she was smelling Walter had thrown powdered wolfsbane into her face. Laura coughed and stumbled but the world was already beginning to darken. As everything faded she could hear Walter laughing to himself and dear god did she ever hate hunters.
+++
The world slowly came back into focus and Laura wanted to tear the world apart. She couldn’t though because her hands and feet were bound together with another rope linking them together. She’s hogtied but at least the hunter lets her keep some of her dignity by bounding them in front of her instead of behind.
“Oh good you’re awake,” Walter said. Laura looked up and saw Walter setting up a shotgun on a stand pointed directly at her head. It looked like some sort of auto fire mechanism and he was tinkering with what looked like a laser. “I was wondering when that would happen.”
“I know you’re a hunter,”Laura said. “but what I want to know is why I’m still alive?”
“Direct, good, I’m not a fan of small talk,” Walter replied. “Your last name is Hale, correct? I know it is and I also know that Derek Hale is your brother. We have something of a score to settle.”
“My brother isn’t here.”
“He’s on his way. I tapped your phone once I figured out who you are.” Walter made a noise of agreement and set the laser on the contraption. “Do you know what this is? I’m going to point this laser at the door and when your brother comes in it will trigger mechanism that will fire a shotgun shell full of the most potent form of wolfsbane right into your heart. He gets to watch you die and then he will die. After that I can take care of that kid that follows him around.”
“I’m not sure that Stiles follows anyone around,” Laura said but she was too busy watching the gun. She could smell the wolfsbane and she knew that it was enough to kill her on the spot. There wasn’t just wolfsbane in the shells, there were some buckshot as well, and Laura wasn’t sure what annoyed her more. Walter smiled and turned the laser on. “Now we wait and don’t even think about howling for him. You’ll just make it harder on him.” Laura clenched her teeth; she could feel her claws digging into her palms and her teeth turn into fangs. Walter didn’t seem too worried about her and there was nothing Laura could do to get out of the ropes.
Time seemed to drag on and Laura wanted nothing more than to warn Derek about what he was stepping into. She just hoped that he noticed something was wrong and didn’t kick the door down like some action hero. Walter held his gun up and ready; Laura could hear the Camaro approaching but the wolfsbane that was still in her system made it hard to focus. She couldn’t hear if Derek had Stiles with him or if they knew something was wrong. Walter smirked and held up his gun; Laura couldn’t watch her only family die. An alpha is supposed to project their beta and an older sister should protect her little brother, Laura thought. She struggled against the ropes and opened her mouth to howl.
The window in the living room exploded inward as Derek charged through. His eyes were bright blue and he looked beyond angry. Time seemed to slow down for Laura in that moment because several things happened at once. Derek charged at Walter brandishing his claws like a weapon. Walter recovered too fast and reached out to break the laser. Laura wanted to tell Derek to stop him but he wasn’t close enough and she did not want Derek to have to watch her die. Laura squeezed her eyes shut and the gun went off.
Laura expected the burning from wolfsbane entering her system, she expected black blood and pain, but there was nothing save for the sensation that someone was standing over her. Laura opened her eyes and nearly gasped. Hunched in front of her was Stiles, shielding her body with his, and Laura could smell the blood on him. Stiles took a bullet for her.
“God damn that stings,” Stiles said through his teeth.
“You saved my life,” Laura whispered. She couldn’t believe it, her eyes must have be deceiving her, because there was no way that a demon was that selfless.
“Technically I’ve done that once before but I know you don’t like to talk about that,” Stiles replied. He moved like it hurt but Laura could smell that he wasn’t bleeding as badly as before. Stiles pulled out a knife and cut all of the ropes from her wrists and ankles. The marks would take time to heal. Stiles helped Laura to her feet but then went eerily still. Derek was fighting Walter and he was not pulling his punches. Derek knocked the gun out of Walter’s hand hard enough that Laura her finger snap. He cried out in pain and Derek pinned him down to the ground by his throat. Derek raised his claws in the air like he was going to rip Walter’s throat out. “Derek, don’t kill him!” Stiles shouted. Derek froze mid motion and looked up at them.
“He went after Laura Stiles, Laura, that cannot be forgiven,” Derek said. He was furious and Laura could hardly understand him. Stiles released her arm and put his hands out as if to placate Derek.
“Yes, I know, I completely understand, but do you remember what you said when we first met him? You told me not to kill him because hunters have friends and we don’t want to make enemies. Do you remember that?” Stiles walked toward Derek slowly and Derek didn’t lash out nor did he put his claws away.
“He went after my family Stiles,” Derek whispered.
“Yeah and we’re going to take care of it but not like this.” Stiles took Derek’s wrist and moved it down until it was hanging loosely at his side. The tension seemed to melt out of Derek’s shoulders the second Stiles touched him. “Besides, I have a better idea.”
+++
It didn’t take long for the police to show up once they were called. Something about women being taken as hostages and attempted murder really got them moving. Stiles told her that some waterworks would probably work in their favor since the world was a sexist place and a crying woman always seemed to bring the tension down. After that Stiles seemed to vanish into the shadows but Laura understood that he couldn’t be there. Derek was her brother and they could explain why he was there but as for Stiles Laura wasn’t sure they really had a cover story for him.
So she cried a little for a few police officers and held onto Derek like he was a lifeline while Derek broke most of her fingers he was clenching her hand so tightly. Laura let him because she was holding onto him just as tightly.
“They’re werewolves!” Walter screamed as he fought against the police. “They’re werewolves and there’s this kid running around that possessed by a demon!” They sounded like the rantings of a madman despite it being the truth. The police seemed to agree and Laura heard them talking about the hospital and getting this man some help. She had to suppress the urge to wave him goodbye as the police eventually drove away. Stiles seemed to melt back into existence and smirked as they watched the cars drive away.
“Let’s get some sleep,” Laura said. Stiles raised an eyebrow when she let him come inside but he didn’t say anything about it. After Stiles and Derek vanished into the guest bedroom Laura leaned against the door in her room and slid down. She had forgotten that she wouldn’t ever truly be safe as long as there were hunters in the world. There was always going to be someone that wanted to kill her just for existing.
“I need to go back to Beacon Hills,” Laura whispered to herself. It wasn’t safe here anymore because word would get out about what happened. There were loose ends there to tie up in Beacon Hills and there were a few rumors about activity there that had her worried. She’d been away from home for a long time, running, and now it was time to stop. Laura could feel Stiles’ presence in her home like an intruder and she lined the door to her room with salt just to be safe.
+++
The next morning Laura walked down the hallway to go make coffee when she saw that Derek’s door was open a little. She didn’t mean to look in but she was passing by and it was right there. Derek was asleep and it looked like it was peaceful. There was a relaxed expression on her little brothers face that she hadn’t seen since before the fire. Stiles was in bed next to him reading a book but as soon she paused he looked up and their eyes met. Laura held his stare for only a moment until she walked downstairs. Moments later she heard Stiles get out of bed and he joined her in the kitchen.
“Do you want a cup of coffee?” she asked because she wasn’t rude to her guests.
“Yeah I’ll take one,” Stiles replied as he sat down at the table. Laura moved around the kitchen and would not let his stare get to her.
“Thank you for talking him down,” she said as the coffee brewed. “He doesn’t need that kind of blood on his hands.”
“I know he doesn’t. That’s why I did it aside from the logical reasons,” Stiles said waving his hand in the air like he could dismiss the conversation right there. An easy silence passed as the coffee brewed and Laura was a little surprised to see a demon dump an absurd amount of sugar in his coffee. “Do you want to come with us?” Stiles asked breaking the silence.
“I beg your pardon?” Laura said.
“Come with us, on the road, come hunting with us,” Stiles said. He folded his hands on the table and leaned forward a little. Laura tried to get a read on him but he was like trying to read a blank slate.
“You don’t want me there,” she replied.
“No, I don’t,” Stiles said without hesitation. “but Derek does.” That surprised her and Laura hated herself for the fact that she couldn’t hide it. It was one thing if they both wanted her to hunt with them but it was another if Stiles was willing to let her come along just for Derek. Perhaps this demon actually did care about her brother.
“No, I don’t think I’m up for hunting,” Laura replied after a moment. Stiles nodded, like he knew she would have said ‘no’ but asked anyway, and went back to his coffee. Derek joined them some time later and when he asked if everything was okay when Laura answered ‘everything is fine’ it didn’t feel like a lie.
Laura called her landlord and broke her lease. He didn’t seem that surprised and he was even willing to give her back her deposit considering everything that had happened. Derek and Stiles stayed for the next two days and helped Laura pack her things into her car. It was strange to see Derek around someone that he trusted. There was something easy between them that reminded Laura far too much of her parents. Slowly, as they packed and mostly when Stiles was not around, Derek told her about what had shaken him up so much. It made her sick to her stomach that someone made her little brother watch his family die again like that.
“Do you know why they did it?” Laura asked.
“Yeah, I think so.” Derek replied. He glanced over at Stiles who was flipping through one of their father’s old journals with interest. “They wanted to find something out.”
“Did they?” Laura asked. It took a long time for Derek to reply and they were loading the last of the boxes in the car when he turned to her.
“I’m not sure yet,” he said. There was an uptick to his heart but Laura wasn’t sure if it was an indication of a lie or something else. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be safe, don’t worry about me. It’s my job to worry about you.” Laura smiled and hugged Derek as hard as she could. He muttered something about being able to breath but she held onto him a little longer. Stiles was leaning against the Camaro watching them carefully.
“Adios Sister Alpha,” Stiles called out. Laura wasn’t sure what to say to that so she gave him a half salute and half wave. She watched Derek and Stiles got into the car. She watched as they made an effort to make sure one touched the other. Laura watched the Camaro drive away and she took a deep breath. It was time to face home again. Laura turned on her car and headed West back toward Beacon Hills.
Author: safaiagem / bloody-hellfire
Word Count: 3,639
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Laura Hale, Original Characters
Warnings violence
Summary: Laura did not consider herself a normal alpha.
Notes: Supernatural AU. Takes place directly after 'Turn It Up To Eleven' and part four of the Ten Years Gone series. A fully beta-ed version will hopefully be up at some point.
Spare Me The Details
Laura did not consider herself an ordinary alpha. Despite the fact that her pack consisted entirely of herself and Derek she never really felt an urge to expand it. Laura was sure that there were many therapists in the world that could give her a laundry list of reasons as to why she never felt the need to expand the pack but Laura wasn't really interested in them. All she knew was that, for now, it worked. Someone else around would probably negate how lonely she got with Derek traveling the country looking for monsters to kill. It was not that she had a problem with him being a hunter, if anything she understood his pathological need to save everyone in the universe, it was more his partner that she had a problem with.
After the fire Derek had tried to make a deal with a crossroads demon to bring back his family but the demon refused. That demon was Stiles. Years later and out of nowhere Laura found herself on the receiving end of a demon attack that had killed her. She knew she had died, she felt it happen, yet the next thing she knew Laura was opening her eyes to the frantic heartbeat of her brother echoing in her ears. Stiles had returned and brought her back from the dead in exchange for Derek's soul but the two of them struck a deal that if Derek helped Stiles kill a demon Stiles would end the deal. The fact that the demon just happened to be the one responsible for the fire made Derek leep at the chance. Laura had briefly considered tossing him out and making him an omega for what he had done but in the end the two of them managed to kill the demon. Stiles got sent back to the pit but came back. For some reason Derek still trusted the demon and now they were partners. Laura did not trust Stiles at all and she was waiting for the moment she felt her brother die because he trusted a demon.
The last time they had visited Laura witnessed Stiles having what looked to be a PTSD like flashback. Derek had told her about the torture that Stiles had gone through when he went back to the pit and how he made it even worse for himself when he got Derek put on a sort of 'blacklist' so no one could ever make a deal with him. Stiles could have gone back on his word and kept Derek's soul after they killed that demon but he didn't. Stiles had barely reacted when she threw holy water in his face despite the pain he must have felt from it. He slept outside and didn't make a fuss when she salted all of the doors. Yet at the same time he seemed to be playing some sort of game with her. It was like he was trying to mark Derek as his while every instinct in Laura's body screamed that Derek belonged to her. Derek seemed to trust Stiles but Laura could not make herself trust this demon that seemed to jump back into Derek's life at the most opportune moment. A crossroads demon just happened to be there when Derek was vulnerable enough to make a deal. None of it sat right with her.
Now Laura was even more worried because the previous day Derek had called completely out of the blue for no apparent reason. She tried to get him to explain why he had called, Derek never called for small talk, but he promised to call back and hung up without a word. Laura impatiently chewed on her thumbnail as she waited for Derek to call her back. Derek told her months ago not to call him unless it was an emergency since there was no telling what he could be tracking at the time. He was not so subtly implying that calling him could get him caught by something that could get him killed and it would be her fault. Laura could have throttled him for that.
The phone was barely through its first ring before Laura was picking it up. She knew it was Derek, no one else ever called her, but also it had been a day or so since he called before. There had been an edge to his voice that she didn’t like and now she was going to get an explanation for it.
“What happened?” Laura said by way of greeting.
“Hello Laura, it’s Derek, nice to talk to you too,” Derek deadpanned.
“You called me out of nowhere yesterday. To a normal person it looked like you were just checking in but you don’t do that so you must have had a reason for calling. Hence, what happened? Better yet, you said you were going to visit, when is that happening?” Laura asked. Derek didn’t reply right away but Laura could hear him breathing through the phone. Someone else was nearby and she could only guess who it was. “Derek.”
“Do I really never call just to check in with you?” The attempt to derail the conversation was about as subtle as a baseball bat to the face.
“I’m going to ask one more time,” she said. “What has you so shaken up that you’re checking in and want to visit?” There was another bout of silence and Laura was about five seconds away from pulling her alpha voice when she heard the phone move away.
“Think it’s okay if we go?” Derek asked.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Stiles replied. It was like someone just pulled the rug out from under her and Laura felt her claws biting into her palm as she tried to reign in her anger. Derek was her beta, her brother, and he was asking Stiles for permission to do something. If anything it should have been the other way around. If she growled Derek would hear her and she didn’t want to deal with him trying to distract her again by asking what made her so angry.
“We’re about five hours out,” Derek said. “We’ll explain when we get there.”
“Yes, you will,” Laura said and if there was some emphasis on the word ‘you’ instead of ‘we’ then Derek did not mention it.
“See you then.” The line went dead and she could hear the plastic of the phone straining in her hand. Laura set the phone back down on the charger, closed her eyes, and tried to ignore the rage at the thought of her beta, her brother, her pack, turning to someone else for permission.
It took nearly twenty minutes for Laura to calm down enough that she wasn’t going to put a hole in the wall.
+++
A little over three hours later and Laura was contemplating whether or not she wanted to clean the house. It wasn’t like Derek hadn’t seen worse and she was not worried about impressing Stiles but they were guests and it felt like the normal thing to do. At the same time there were about fifty other things Laura would rather do than clean the house. She was in the middle of settling this important debate when her doorbell rang. Laura glanced at the clock; there was no way Derek was two hours early and she wasn’t expecting anyone. Laura opened the door and immediately hit with an overwhelming scent of cologne.
“Hello, are the owner of this house?” a man said. He was older, in his late forties, with greying hair and dark eyes. It smelled like he bathed in his cologne and it made Laura want to gag. She had to reign in her senses so she didn’t look like a crazy person.
“I’m renting, actually, do you need my landlords number?” Laura asked. The smell was so distracting that she missed whatever the man had said. “I’m sorry?”
“I said my name is Walter; I’m selling some encyclopedias and I was wondering if you’re interested in taking a look?” his smile was pleasant but empty just like all salesmen.
“I’m not interested,” Laura replied. At this point she was have said anything if it meant she could close the door.
“I have a brochure here in my bag, please take a look?” Water said as he began to dig through the bag he had over his shoulder. Laura opened her mouth to disagree and ask him to leave when she picked up another scent over the overwhelming cologne. She recognized it but by the time Laura realized what she was smelling Walter had thrown powdered wolfsbane into her face. Laura coughed and stumbled but the world was already beginning to darken. As everything faded she could hear Walter laughing to himself and dear god did she ever hate hunters.
+++
The world slowly came back into focus and Laura wanted to tear the world apart. She couldn’t though because her hands and feet were bound together with another rope linking them together. She’s hogtied but at least the hunter lets her keep some of her dignity by bounding them in front of her instead of behind.
“Oh good you’re awake,” Walter said. Laura looked up and saw Walter setting up a shotgun on a stand pointed directly at her head. It looked like some sort of auto fire mechanism and he was tinkering with what looked like a laser. “I was wondering when that would happen.”
“I know you’re a hunter,”Laura said. “but what I want to know is why I’m still alive?”
“Direct, good, I’m not a fan of small talk,” Walter replied. “Your last name is Hale, correct? I know it is and I also know that Derek Hale is your brother. We have something of a score to settle.”
“My brother isn’t here.”
“He’s on his way. I tapped your phone once I figured out who you are.” Walter made a noise of agreement and set the laser on the contraption. “Do you know what this is? I’m going to point this laser at the door and when your brother comes in it will trigger mechanism that will fire a shotgun shell full of the most potent form of wolfsbane right into your heart. He gets to watch you die and then he will die. After that I can take care of that kid that follows him around.”
“I’m not sure that Stiles follows anyone around,” Laura said but she was too busy watching the gun. She could smell the wolfsbane and she knew that it was enough to kill her on the spot. There wasn’t just wolfsbane in the shells, there were some buckshot as well, and Laura wasn’t sure what annoyed her more. Walter smiled and turned the laser on. “Now we wait and don’t even think about howling for him. You’ll just make it harder on him.” Laura clenched her teeth; she could feel her claws digging into her palms and her teeth turn into fangs. Walter didn’t seem too worried about her and there was nothing Laura could do to get out of the ropes.
Time seemed to drag on and Laura wanted nothing more than to warn Derek about what he was stepping into. She just hoped that he noticed something was wrong and didn’t kick the door down like some action hero. Walter held his gun up and ready; Laura could hear the Camaro approaching but the wolfsbane that was still in her system made it hard to focus. She couldn’t hear if Derek had Stiles with him or if they knew something was wrong. Walter smirked and held up his gun; Laura couldn’t watch her only family die. An alpha is supposed to project their beta and an older sister should protect her little brother, Laura thought. She struggled against the ropes and opened her mouth to howl.
The window in the living room exploded inward as Derek charged through. His eyes were bright blue and he looked beyond angry. Time seemed to slow down for Laura in that moment because several things happened at once. Derek charged at Walter brandishing his claws like a weapon. Walter recovered too fast and reached out to break the laser. Laura wanted to tell Derek to stop him but he wasn’t close enough and she did not want Derek to have to watch her die. Laura squeezed her eyes shut and the gun went off.
Laura expected the burning from wolfsbane entering her system, she expected black blood and pain, but there was nothing save for the sensation that someone was standing over her. Laura opened her eyes and nearly gasped. Hunched in front of her was Stiles, shielding her body with his, and Laura could smell the blood on him. Stiles took a bullet for her.
“God damn that stings,” Stiles said through his teeth.
“You saved my life,” Laura whispered. She couldn’t believe it, her eyes must have be deceiving her, because there was no way that a demon was that selfless.
“Technically I’ve done that once before but I know you don’t like to talk about that,” Stiles replied. He moved like it hurt but Laura could smell that he wasn’t bleeding as badly as before. Stiles pulled out a knife and cut all of the ropes from her wrists and ankles. The marks would take time to heal. Stiles helped Laura to her feet but then went eerily still. Derek was fighting Walter and he was not pulling his punches. Derek knocked the gun out of Walter’s hand hard enough that Laura her finger snap. He cried out in pain and Derek pinned him down to the ground by his throat. Derek raised his claws in the air like he was going to rip Walter’s throat out. “Derek, don’t kill him!” Stiles shouted. Derek froze mid motion and looked up at them.
“He went after Laura Stiles, Laura, that cannot be forgiven,” Derek said. He was furious and Laura could hardly understand him. Stiles released her arm and put his hands out as if to placate Derek.
“Yes, I know, I completely understand, but do you remember what you said when we first met him? You told me not to kill him because hunters have friends and we don’t want to make enemies. Do you remember that?” Stiles walked toward Derek slowly and Derek didn’t lash out nor did he put his claws away.
“He went after my family Stiles,” Derek whispered.
“Yeah and we’re going to take care of it but not like this.” Stiles took Derek’s wrist and moved it down until it was hanging loosely at his side. The tension seemed to melt out of Derek’s shoulders the second Stiles touched him. “Besides, I have a better idea.”
+++
It didn’t take long for the police to show up once they were called. Something about women being taken as hostages and attempted murder really got them moving. Stiles told her that some waterworks would probably work in their favor since the world was a sexist place and a crying woman always seemed to bring the tension down. After that Stiles seemed to vanish into the shadows but Laura understood that he couldn’t be there. Derek was her brother and they could explain why he was there but as for Stiles Laura wasn’t sure they really had a cover story for him.
So she cried a little for a few police officers and held onto Derek like he was a lifeline while Derek broke most of her fingers he was clenching her hand so tightly. Laura let him because she was holding onto him just as tightly.
“They’re werewolves!” Walter screamed as he fought against the police. “They’re werewolves and there’s this kid running around that possessed by a demon!” They sounded like the rantings of a madman despite it being the truth. The police seemed to agree and Laura heard them talking about the hospital and getting this man some help. She had to suppress the urge to wave him goodbye as the police eventually drove away. Stiles seemed to melt back into existence and smirked as they watched the cars drive away.
“Let’s get some sleep,” Laura said. Stiles raised an eyebrow when she let him come inside but he didn’t say anything about it. After Stiles and Derek vanished into the guest bedroom Laura leaned against the door in her room and slid down. She had forgotten that she wouldn’t ever truly be safe as long as there were hunters in the world. There was always going to be someone that wanted to kill her just for existing.
“I need to go back to Beacon Hills,” Laura whispered to herself. It wasn’t safe here anymore because word would get out about what happened. There were loose ends there to tie up in Beacon Hills and there were a few rumors about activity there that had her worried. She’d been away from home for a long time, running, and now it was time to stop. Laura could feel Stiles’ presence in her home like an intruder and she lined the door to her room with salt just to be safe.
+++
The next morning Laura walked down the hallway to go make coffee when she saw that Derek’s door was open a little. She didn’t mean to look in but she was passing by and it was right there. Derek was asleep and it looked like it was peaceful. There was a relaxed expression on her little brothers face that she hadn’t seen since before the fire. Stiles was in bed next to him reading a book but as soon she paused he looked up and their eyes met. Laura held his stare for only a moment until she walked downstairs. Moments later she heard Stiles get out of bed and he joined her in the kitchen.
“Do you want a cup of coffee?” she asked because she wasn’t rude to her guests.
“Yeah I’ll take one,” Stiles replied as he sat down at the table. Laura moved around the kitchen and would not let his stare get to her.
“Thank you for talking him down,” she said as the coffee brewed. “He doesn’t need that kind of blood on his hands.”
“I know he doesn’t. That’s why I did it aside from the logical reasons,” Stiles said waving his hand in the air like he could dismiss the conversation right there. An easy silence passed as the coffee brewed and Laura was a little surprised to see a demon dump an absurd amount of sugar in his coffee. “Do you want to come with us?” Stiles asked breaking the silence.
“I beg your pardon?” Laura said.
“Come with us, on the road, come hunting with us,” Stiles said. He folded his hands on the table and leaned forward a little. Laura tried to get a read on him but he was like trying to read a blank slate.
“You don’t want me there,” she replied.
“No, I don’t,” Stiles said without hesitation. “but Derek does.” That surprised her and Laura hated herself for the fact that she couldn’t hide it. It was one thing if they both wanted her to hunt with them but it was another if Stiles was willing to let her come along just for Derek. Perhaps this demon actually did care about her brother.
“No, I don’t think I’m up for hunting,” Laura replied after a moment. Stiles nodded, like he knew she would have said ‘no’ but asked anyway, and went back to his coffee. Derek joined them some time later and when he asked if everything was okay when Laura answered ‘everything is fine’ it didn’t feel like a lie.
Laura called her landlord and broke her lease. He didn’t seem that surprised and he was even willing to give her back her deposit considering everything that had happened. Derek and Stiles stayed for the next two days and helped Laura pack her things into her car. It was strange to see Derek around someone that he trusted. There was something easy between them that reminded Laura far too much of her parents. Slowly, as they packed and mostly when Stiles was not around, Derek told her about what had shaken him up so much. It made her sick to her stomach that someone made her little brother watch his family die again like that.
“Do you know why they did it?” Laura asked.
“Yeah, I think so.” Derek replied. He glanced over at Stiles who was flipping through one of their father’s old journals with interest. “They wanted to find something out.”
“Did they?” Laura asked. It took a long time for Derek to reply and they were loading the last of the boxes in the car when he turned to her.
“I’m not sure yet,” he said. There was an uptick to his heart but Laura wasn’t sure if it was an indication of a lie or something else. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll be safe, don’t worry about me. It’s my job to worry about you.” Laura smiled and hugged Derek as hard as she could. He muttered something about being able to breath but she held onto him a little longer. Stiles was leaning against the Camaro watching them carefully.
“Adios Sister Alpha,” Stiles called out. Laura wasn’t sure what to say to that so she gave him a half salute and half wave. She watched Derek and Stiles got into the car. She watched as they made an effort to make sure one touched the other. Laura watched the Camaro drive away and she took a deep breath. It was time to face home again. Laura turned on her car and headed West back toward Beacon Hills.