Title: come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~1,500
Characters: Scott/Kira
Summary: She shakes her head, feeling her hand above his heart tremble. "That much electricity… it could've killed you."
A/N: I just needed to get this out of my system, because "Galvanize"? IT HAD ALL THE SHIPPING FEELS. No spoilers unless you haven't seen the episode yet.
come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound
Her hands still feel like… like they're humming, her skin warm and tingling from the faint vibration she'd felt when the electricity had been drawn to her palms. But she knows she's just imagining it all over again because it's dark and the lights have gone out. She should be tired and exhausted after the day she's had, about to pass out.
But she feels wide awake. Her pulse is thrumming and her heart is pounding and she feels almost… almost energized.
It's freaky.
A grunt snaps her out of her thoughts, and she squints through the darkness of the substation as she sees a shadow moving. For a fraction of a second, she feels terrified all over again, but then a, "Kira," echoes through the room, steady and concerned and familiar, and an entirely different feeling of dread washes over her as she remembers, Scott!
She rushes forward, practically sliding to him on her knees, that's how quickly she drops to the ground. He's already propping himself up by his elbow, obviously trying to get up, so she sets a hand on his shoulder and tries pushing him back down. "Scott, stop, please," she says quickly, and he looks up at her, confused. She feels her eyes sting with tears and gnaws on her lower lip a little, trying not to cry. "What that guy did…" She hesitates, slowly moving her hand over the middle of his chest and pressing her palm flat against his shirt.
His heartbeat feels strong and steady underneath it.
A tear rolls down her cheek as she lets out a breath of relief. Scott whispers her name, lifts his hand to wipe the tear away with the pad of his thumb. "What did he do to you?" His voice is tender and comforting, but tight, too, like he's trying to brace himself for her answer.
"Not what he did to me." She shakes her head, feeling her hand above his heart tremble. "That much electricity… it could've killed you."
"Oh," he says softly.
"Oh?" she repeats, sucking in a breath, heart thumping. "That's all you… You could've died because of me, Scott! If you weren't… if we were both only…"
Human – but she can't get the word out, and she's yelling at him because she's so confused and terrified and still so, so worried about everything, even with the guy's body lifeless on the ground a few feet away from them. Realizing this, she glances back. He's still unmoving, the sparks of the frayed cords in his hand lighting up his hallowed face.
She shudders.
And then something is being placed around her—Scott's jacket.
She turns to look at him, though her vision is blurred with tears. She can tell that he's smiling, though. It makes her feel worse for snapping. He's trying to be positive, even though he got hurt, and because of her.
And, almost as if he could read the thoughts in her eyes, he says, "None of this is your fault, Kira. If anything, I should be the one apologizing." She furrows her eyebrows at him and he lets out a breath, adjusts his jacket to sit more comfortably on her shoulders. "If you weren't… whatever you are, you—you would've died because I couldn't get to you in time."
She hugs her arms tighter together. She knows that this is true, but… this isn't his fault, either.
More tears roll down her cheeks and he looks at her, her soft whimpers drawing him out of whatever trance he'd been in.
"Hey," he says softly, steadily, and for whatever reason, she cries a little harder. She normally wouldn't cry like this in front of anyone other than her parents and maybe the friends she'd been closest to back home. But there's something about Scott that makes it feel alright, makes her feel safe enough to cry in front of him. "Hey," he says again, a little bit louder. He lifts a hand, but then hesitates. Then she leans towards him and he wraps his arms around her and pulls her closer, her head pressing against his shoulder, and she pulls her hands from around herself and grips tightly onto his shirt. "We're alive," he tells her, rubbing a circle over her back. "We're alive, and we're together. And we're going to be okay."
"As long as we don't feed you sushi again, right?" she mumbles, but she doesn't realize she's said this out loud until Scott lets out this laugh. It's a little strangled, but still light and kind of really beautiful.
And despite everything, she smiles.
"No wasabi," he agrees. She chuckles and tilts her head up to look at him. "We can start with California Rolls, though."
She nods, opens her mouth to say something, but then a voice calls out, "Scott!" and echoes through the room. She grips onto Scott's shirt a little tighter, but Scott rubs her back again, obviously not worried, and she lets out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when Stiles comes running into view, a silver bat in hand. His eye catches the body on the ground and he jumps back a good foot or two, swinging, and she feels Scott's chest against her, rumbling with another laugh. "Oh," Stiles breathes, relaxing. "Good, he's dead."
Then he looks at them and his eyebrows shoot up.
"Where's Lydia?" Scott asks, taking Kira gently by the arm and pulling her up with him.
"In the car, because… I didn't have another bat." Scott chuckles again. "So, let's, um," he glances at the body and then back at them again. "Let's take Kira home?"
They both seem to be waiting for her answer, so she says, "Thank you," and they both nod. Scott pulls away from her and it feels almost reluctant, and she feels her heart thump as she reaches forward, taking his hand in hers. He meets her eyes. "Sorry, I got…" she begins, but he shakes his head and squeezes her hand a little, gripping onto it more firmly.
Lydia's pacing between Scott's motorcycle and the jeep when they get outside, and she looks up as soon as she notices them, visibly relieved as she meets them halfway.
"What happened?" she asks.
Scott and Stiles both glance at Kira, though Kira looks at Scott and nods a little. She knows he'll want to fill in his friends on everything and she's alright with it. Honestly, it'd comfort her a little, knowing that they'll know about her. It'll feel less like she has to deal with everything alone.
"I'll fill you guys in later," Scott promises. "But the guy's… you know… and right now we just need to take Kira home."
"Oh, crap," Kira mutters, looking at Scott again. "My parents…"
"We'll take care of that," Lydia replies, giving Kira a sort of knowing smile. "Coming up with alibis are something of a specialty of ours now. And if all else fails, I'll charm your way out of being in trouble."
"Figuratively speaking," Stiles adds, which would've seemed unnecessary to point out before, well, everything that just happened. "Come on, there's room in the jeep."
She shifts, looking at Scott as Stiles and Lydia are already heading back. As much as she feels like she can trust Stiles and Lydia (which is, namely, because it's obvious Scott trusts them absolutely), she wants to be with Scott, for more than one reason. He took his bike, though, and she doubts he can hide a second helmet in the seat compartment, but still.
"I'll be with you the whole time," he says, as if hearing her thoughts perfectly, and she nods.
Stiles opens the door for her and she gives Scott back his jacket, takes Lydia's hand so the girl can help her into the back, and she's a little surprised when Lydia gives her a reassuring smile and a light but comforting squeeze before letting go to fix her own seat. Kira mostly didn't have an opinion of the girl, though she'd heard rumors and was kind of intimidated by her when she intruded on their lunch conversation that one day, so this little gesture makes Kira feel a tiny bit relieved. At least Lydia doesn't hate her or anything.
The ride to her house is filled with Stiles and Lydia's hushed bickering on theories of other cases, though Kira doesn't pay attention much to remember details. She's mostly staring out the windshield at Scott on his motorcycle in front them, leading the way to her house. Dinner with him and her parents feels a lot longer ago than it really was.
She's also staring at the dark streets and dark houses and can't push back the feeling that this blackout is her fault.
The thought makes her shiver.
"Are you alright there, Kira?" Stiles asks, looking at her through the rearview mirror. Lydia's looking at her, too, eyes worried, and Kira stares passed them at Scott again and her nerves begin to dissolve, slowly but surely, as his voice echoes in her head.
"I'll be okay."