When Angels Fall with Broken Wings
Lydia comes home and collapses face down on her queen sized bed, every ounce of strength and hope she had ever had ripped away from the events of the past few weeks. She was forced to watch the boy who was supposed to be her rock be possessed by an evil creature, acting completely out of character and ripping her heart out. Then she watched that same boy almost kill himself, while all she could do was sit in strangled silence, her thoughts torn between knowing the guilt he'd feel if he survived when others died and needing him to live and be her support. She felt half of her heart crumble to pieces as her best friend was murdered and she couldn't be there to stop it. And she felt a gaping hole rip open in her heart as another boy she had grown to love was murdered by an Oni.
"How…d-did this become m-my li-ife? Wh-wh-what did I do to deserve th-this?" Lydia mutters to no one in particular between the sobs shaking her entire body.
"You didn't do anything," a voice comes, rough and tired, from the direction of her doorway. She recognizes the voice immediately. It's the boy that had been her rock and her partner-in-crime ever since she had been roped into this whole mess and had discovered her power as a banshee.
"S-Stiles what are y-you doing here? You should be at h-home resting, you're still w-weak," Lydia says without looking at him, feeling too weak herself to even lift her head.
"I knew you wouldn't be okay. And I'm not okay with you not being okay," he replies after a moment. She can practically hear the dumb smirk spreading across his face.
She lets out a laugh in spite of herself and groans, "You should've let the Nogitsune kill me…"A silence settles in the room as Stiles can do nothing but stand there, staring at the girl who has lost all hope and will to go on. And he doesn't like it.
"Lydia, don't talk like that, okay?" he takes two large strides and is suddenly sitting on the bed besides the grief-stricken girl, placing his hand on her back and rubbing in circles, "I don't know what I'd do with myself if you died…"
"How do you think I felt…?" Lydia mumbles, her sobbing reduced to dried tear stains on her cheeks and sniffles between words, "I had to stand there and watch you almost kill yourself, Stiles. And I knew that nothing I could say would make you change your mind because you felt like you needed to be the hero. I almost had to lose two best friends. How…how could you do that to me, Stiles?" As she finishes her last words, her voice cracks and tears began pouring down her face again. She buries her head further into her pillows, not wanting the boy to have to witness her tears.
"Shh, Lydia…Lydia calm down it's okay I'm right here. I'm alive, Lydia. And I'm not going anywhere, not any time soon. You're stuck with me and I'm stuck with you, whether you like it or not. Lydia, look at me," Stiles lightly grabs her arm, trying to force her to roll over and meet his eyes with her own.
"No, my makeup is running and I look awful when I cry," Lydia murmurs, her voice barely audible, muffled by her pillows.
"You know I don't think that's true. Lydia, look at me," she stops struggling against his pull, and he turns her onto her back so that he can see her face. The corners of his lips turn up slightly and he continues, "There's my beautiful girl."
Lydia allows herself to smile again, beyond grateful that, despite everything going on, she would always have Stiles to count on to cheer her up. "Don't be such a suck up, Stilinski," she jokes back, earning a grin from the boy sitting next to her.
"You know I've got a weak spot for girls who are five foot three with green eyes and strawberry blonde hair," as he talks, his grin grows wider if that's even possible.
Lydia rolls her eyes at the boy, and teases, "Trust me, I know."
Stiles' face suddenly softens, his wild grin turning into a light smile, "You know why I hesitated to…ya know…kill myself, right? I would've done it right then and there knowing I'd be saving you and Scott, but…I couldn't bring myself to do it. All I could think about was you and Scott. I couldn't leave you two. But…mostly it was you. I just…you just lost your best friend…and Scott lost his first love, yes, but…he has Kira. She'll never replace Allison, God no, but…she's something. You…I wasn't so sure about you. It's always been you, Lydia. And I know you don't feel the same as I do, but…" he stutters slightly, swallowing heavily and shifting his eyes down to his hands, "You're like my angel, Lydia. You're always there for me, and you keep me going every single day through this terrible mess we've managed to make our way into. And when an angel's halo falls off and her wings break, somebody has to be there to teach her to fly again. Lydia…Lydia, Lydia, Lydia," he moves a lock of her somehow still perfectly curled hair out of her face, then rubs a thumb over her porcelain cheeks, wiping away the tears that had fallen silently, "You're not broken, Lyds, you've just cracked your wings a bit. And I'll be right here by your side every step of the way while we fix them up. And then, I'll teach you how to fly again."
As he finishes, Stiles' hand cups her cheek, and a smile spreads across her lips as she leans into his hold, thankful for the warmth his hand brings. Her eyes flutter shut and she whispers, "Stiles…stay here tonight please…I don't think I can handle being alone."
"Are you sure? Do you want me to sleep on the floor?" He starts getting up, always the gentleman, and she feels the weight of the bed shift beneath her.
She grabs his arm before he can leave and pulls him back down beside her, her voice so quiet that she barely even hears herself, "No, I want you to stay here, with me. You're warm."
Stiles hesitates for a moment before cautiously slipping himself next to her in the large bed, pulling the comforter and sheets back so he can lay underneath them. As she feel him settle, she rolls over and throws an arm across his chest, wraps one of her legs around one of his, and uses his chest as a pillow, trying to absorb as much warmth from the boy as she possible can. He wraps an arm around her delicate shoulders and pulls her closer to him, enjoying being close to someone after feeling a nothing but a void for so long. He presses a kiss to the crown of her head, then says, "You comfortable?"
She nods her head then squirms a little, pressing herself up against the boy and responding quietly, "Yeah, you're really comfy."
Stiles sighs, satisfied that she seems to have calmed down and might actually be able to get some sleep. He's well aware that they probably won't make it through the entire night without someone having a nightmare, but right now he doesn't care. He's just thankful that, for tonight, they'll have each other to cling to as they push through the storm together. And after it has passed, like he promised her, they'd fly. Together.
A/N: Annnd done. One of my first attempts at a Stydia fanfic! Pretty short, other ones will likely be longer. Basically this is just gonna be a collection of those as long as you guys want me to continue. Feel free to throw me any suggestions, whether it be a particular song that inspires you, a prompt or just a word. I always appreciate things that get my wheels turning. Also, I don't own Teen Wolf. The title is a song called Angels Fall by Breaking Benjamin, and I don't own that either.
until next time…
Much love, peanutbutterpickle22 xx
