A Lack of Subtlety
Crouching next to a fallen log, Scott tilted his head and inhaled deeply through his nose. The usual mix of forest smells were there, wet leaves and earth, rotting wood and the countless little creatures and insects that lived in and around it. And on top of that, the unmistakable scent of another werewolf, almost human but not quite, just a tinge of that animal lurking under the surface.
"He definitely went this way."
Behind him, Malia hummed an agreement. As he rose to his feet, she stepped up next to him, arm brushing his, eyes glowing brilliant blue in the dark. "Look, there." She pointed to a narrow gap between two trees off to their right, then led him over to it. Kneeling, she grabbed a broken branch off the ground and held it up for inspection. "He must have come through here." He opened his mouth to agree, but she cut him off, brow furrowed and nostrils flaring as her eyes darted around. "You smell that?"
Again, he took a deep breath, his jaw clenching when he picked up on what she already had. "Yeah. Fear." Glowing his eyes, he peered through the gap, frowning when all he saw was more trees. "He's gotta know somebody's after him."
"Great."
He huffed out an amused breath at her tone as he held out a hand and lifted her back to her feet. "Could be worse," he said as they continued on, moving slowly but steadily forward, deeper into the woods. "He could be hiding his scent."
"Shut up!" She dug an elbow into his side, drawing a chuckle from him as he dodged out of the way. "Don't jinx us. And pay attention. You're better at this than me."
Which was true, but didn't mean he was having an easier time of it than she was. They couldn't go too quick and risk losing the scent, so it was a slow process, pausing every dozen yards to sniff around and make sure they were still on the right track. It was tedious work, especially in the dark, under the trees where only a faint bit of moonlight managed to filter down. Of course, he'd known he was in for a long night when he'd agreed to lend Argent a hand with his plan. But considering the circumstances, it wasn't like he could have refused.
It had all started with a series of break-ins at the campgrounds around Beacon Hills. At night, empty cabins were broken into, food and supplies stolen. At first, the Sheriff thought it was just regular criminals robbing easy targets. But then the break-ins evolved into assaults, as occupied cabins and even some tents were hit, the people in them reporting being attacked by wild animals who moved quick, cut deep, and whose eyes glowed in the dark. When two victims, two teenagers staying in different camps, ended up badly clawed up on the same night, Stilinski had reached out to Argent for help. The former hunter had laid a trap, very openly loading up a cabin with supplies, creating an irresistible target. The plan was to wound whatever showed up and have Scott track it back to its base, and its partner or partners.
At first, everything had gone according to plan. Mostly, anyway. The werewolf had attacked as Argent waited in the cabin, Scott and Malia lurking in the woods nearby, close enough to listen in but far enough not to spook their target. When the gunshots rang out, they'd both raced in to find the wolf gone, and Argent nursing a nasty gash on his leg. He'd given them a tiny tracking device and sent them out with instructions to follow it to wherever it was staying, and then text him.
For Scott, things had started off quick, heart racing and blood pumping as he raced through the trees, Malia on his heels, easily picking up on the anger and disappointment hanging in the air. But as time went on, and their quarry began to calm down, it got harder and harder to pick up his trail, until finally they'd been forced to slow to a crawl, sniffing around trees and rocks for any sign of him.
His efforts weren't exactly helped by the fact that with every inhale, most of what he could smell was her. Which wasn't unexpected, given how close she was. And he was sure he had to be interfering with her sense of smell too. But lately he'd been unusually aware of her, for reasons he was trying really hard not to think too deeply about. There was other stuff to think about now, like the potentially dangerous shifter they were chasing, so he pushed through his issues and did his best to keep them on the right path.
"Are you getting anything?"
He could hear the frustration in her voice, and couldn't blame her. "Not much," he admitted, pausing to sniff the air, mentally filtering out her slightly floral scent, searching for any traces of their target. "I, uh, I actually do think he's hiding now," he admitted sheepishly. "Or trying to, anyway."
She let out what had to be the heaviest sigh he'd ever heard. "Damn it, Scott. I told you not to jinx us."
"Sorry," he offered, as he leaned into to sniff around the base of a tree. There it was, just the faintest hint of the scent he was looking for. "I guess I should also probably apologise for dragging you into this," he said softly, as he wandered to the next tree, confirming they were heading in the right direction. "You could have been at home sleeping." He looked up and caught her eye, lips quirking up in a little smirk. "Or maybe studying."
He couldn't help but tease her a bit on that subject. After the Wild Hunt left town, he'd replaced Lydia as her primary study buddy. He'd heard enough about how much she loathed the activity to know he was walking into a difficult situation, but it was only once he actually had to try and keep her focused that he learned just how bad it was. It didn't take long to realise he just wasn't the taskmaster she needed. So instead, he'd taken to teasing and joking to try and keep her from cracking under the pressure as she tried to pass summer school and graduate. Movie nights and quiet conversations mixed in with study sessions as they'd grown closer, turning to each other as the rest of the pack dealt with their own relationships and lives.
Even now, plodding through the dark woods, no idea what he was about to find, Scott felt comfortable. Because of her. Because that's where they were. Two people comfortable together, whether he was trying to coach her through some homework, poking fun at her irrational love of old horror movies, or they were just sitting together, talking about stuff that didn't matter at all.
"Oh, God forbid I miss any of that." Sarcasm dripped from every syllable, drawing a grin from him. "I think I should thank you for helping me avoid it."
"You're welcome."
"I said I think I should, not that I do."
His grin widened as they faded back into silence, concentrating on the job at hand. The scent wasn't getting any stronger, but he was still picking up traces, winding through the trees and brush, moving steadily west.
Focused on tracking, he didn't realise Malia had moved closer, falling into step directly beside him, until she spoke. "You know," she said slowly, "when you texted and asked me if I wanted to do something with you tonight, this wasn't really what I pictured."
"Oh?" Turning to look at her, he tilted his head and shot her a bemused smile. "What did you think I meant?"
"I thought you were finally asking me out."
Scott nearly tripped over his own feet. Stumbling slightly, he caught himself against a tree before he could face-plant, and turned back, eyes wide and cheeks burning hot. She was watching him with a smirk on her face, eyebrow arched in challenge. His first instinct was to stammer out some kind of joke, but in that moment, looking at her, at her knowing expression, all the thoughts he'd been suppressing flashed through his mind. All the late night conversations about nothing, all the jokes, the teasing, the hours spent alone together. All the times he was bored, picked up his phone, and scrolled to her number before he even thought about what he was doing. She'd gone from a friend, from one of the pack to the person he talked to and thought about the most with such ease he almost hadn't noticed.
Almost. But not quite. Because he had to admit he had noticed her, a growing awareness in his mind of who and what she was, in general and to him. He'd felt the bond forming, deepening as they grew closer, but intentionally never really let the concept of the two of them together fully crystallise in his mind. Because she was a friend, and he didn't want to jeopardise that. Because he couldn't read her mind and didn't want to screw up what had become one of the most important relationships in his life. And because it was much easier to let things lie than to pick them up and try to do something else with them, something new, something different.
Except now it was obvious he hadn't been the only one to pick up on the change in their relationship. And unlike him, she apparently had no problem just coming right out with it, laying her cards out on the table for him, for everybody to see.
Confronted with the reality of the situation, he did the only thing he could. "Would you..." He trailed off and cleared his throat nervously. "Uh, is that something you'd be, y'know, interested in?" He grimaced at the slight waver, the hesitancy in his voice, even as he met her gaze.
She rolled her eyes. "I already said yes, didn't I? The real question is... are you asking?"
He only hesitated for a second. He couldn't help it, no matter how close they'd grown, no matter how much the idea of being with her intrigued him. She was still his best friend's ex. She'd been close to Kira. There were complications, things to consider if they were really going to move forward. But all that flashed through his mind and was immediately discarded. They were thoughts, excuses, and nothing more. Because none of them mattered. She mattered. They mattered.
"Yeah." Then stronger, more confident. "Yeah, I am. Malia, I really like you. Like, really like you. And I..." He trailed off, stumbling over his words, unsure of what exactly to say. What he wanted to do was kiss her. He'd always been more of an action guy, finding it way easier to convey what he was feeling nonverbally. But she was looking at him like she expected something, so after a second, he gave the mental equivalent of shrug. "Go out with me?"
He almost winced at how blunt and awkward it sounded, but when she just nodded and reached for him, he thought the smile that formed on his face might crack it in half, it was so wide. He was sure he looked crazy, especially given the setting, but he just couldn't find it in himself to care in that moment. A gorgeous girl he really liked was interested in him, and even though they were currently out in the middle of nowhere, hunting down a violent supernatural criminal, all he could feel was the wonderful warmth in his chest he hadn't experienced in a long time. The soft smile on her own face as she took his hand, intertwining their fingers together, only made it that much better, that much realer.
Hand in hand, the pair slowly started off back down the path. The abrupt shift from friends to something more, the physical contact that hadn't been there before was completely without awkwardness, something that surprised him a bit. At least until he thought about it a little more. While it was true they'd never held hands like a couple, Malia had never been shy about touching him or getting in his personal space while they were hanging out. She'd steal food right out of his hand without hesitation, or hug him without thought when she was particularly happy or excited. This was different, obviously more intimate, but familiar at the same time, and he found it all exhilarating.
"So," he finally said, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between them, "how did you..." He trailed off, unsure of exactly how to voice his question.
"How did I know you wanted me?" She arched an eyebrow as he nodded sheepishly. "Come on, Scott. I'm not blind."
He frowned. "What does that mean?"
A knowing smirk twisted her lips. "I saw how you were looking at me. Lydia saw you looking at me. Even Stiles saw it. And that was a fun conversation, let me tell you." She shook her head slowly, then reached out to pat him on the cheek softly. "Subtlety really isn't your strong suit, Scott."
He felt his jaw drop as his mind began to race, memories of the last couple of months playing in his head. Had he really been watching her? He hadn't meant to. He'd actively tried not to. Sure, sometimes he couldn't help but notice the way her whole face lit up when she smiled. And how could he not look when the sun happened to hit her hair just right, making it look like she had a halo? And...
"Oh, man." He closed his eyes and rubbed at his forehead, trying to ignore the little amused breath she let out as the realisation dawned on his face. "I really was watching you, wasn't I? I, uh, I'm sorry?"
"Hey, I didn't mind at all. It's not like I wasn't watching you back. I was just wondering when you'd finally make a move. Honestly, I was gonna give you another week to figure it out, and if you still hadn't made a move, I was just gonna jump you."
"Wow." He grinned and squeezed her hand. "Kinda wishing we could have gone that route now."
She let out a little snort and nudged his shoulder with her own. "Shut up. Besides, if we'd done that, I never would have got to hear you grunt 'Go out with me?'. Which was super romantic, by the way."
His grin widened at her teasing tone. "Yeah, I'm a real poet at heart."
"You should have just kissed me."
Before he could respond, the faint sound of voices suddenly reached his ears and Scott stopped dead, tilting his head, concentrating. Malia was a second behind him, her mouth already opening to ask what was wrong when she picked up the sound too and froze, listening. They were too far away to pick up any specific words, but it was definitely two people talking. Maybe more. He held his finger to his lips until she nodded, then crouched down and began to creep forward as quietly as he could. He could feel her behind him, could hear her heart beat, strong and steady, but forced himself to push that new hyper-awareness to the side for now and concentrate on the task at hand.
As they drew close enough to start picking out actual words, he paused and turned back to her. Pointing at himself, he motioned to the left. When she jerked her own thumb to the right, he nodded, then reached out and grabbed her hand again. They shared a quick smile, a brief squeeze of the hand, then went their separate ways, sliding into the trees and heading toward the source of the voices.
Slowly, carefully, he moved between the trees, calling on every bit of experience he had to keep from making a noise. He knew if they were really listening, he wouldn't be able to mask his approach, but from the sound of it, they were arguing, not paying as much attention to their surroundings as they should have been. It was enough cover to allow him to creep right up to the edge of the trees, which ended abruptly, replaced by an opening clearing. Crouching down behind a half-rotted stump, he scanned the area. In the very middle of it sat a log cabin that had seen better days, rundown, moss-covered, but still standing. And in front of the door were two figures, the two he'd heard from the path.
"I'm telling you I lost them," the one on the left insisted, frustration straining his voice. There was a slight southern accent there, weak but audible.
"And I'm telling you there's no way you can know that." The one on the right, the larger of the two, turned toward the trees and pointed, maybe ten feet to Scott's right. His voice was deeper, rougher, sounded older. "They could be out there right now. You said they were like us?"
"Yeah, I think so. Maybe." He didn't sound sure, a slight hesitant waver in his voice. "They caught my trail so fast, they have to be, right?"
The other let out a weary sigh and shook his head. "If they're like us, then they could have tracked you back here, idiot." Shaking his head, he growled low in his throat, then grabbed his companion by the shoulder and shoved him back toward the door. "Inside. Cameron's gonna want to hear about this." The smaller man muttered something under his breath, but didn't argue, wrenching open the door and stepping inside, followed closely by his friend.
Once the door swung closed behind them, Scott rocked back on his heels and let out the breath he'd been holding. Taking out his phone, he quickly texted Argent their location, giving silent thanks he had a signal so far out in the woods.
As he returned his attention to the cabin, he heard a twig snap off to his right and went still. Turning, he glowed his eyes, only relaxing when he saw it was Malia approaching. When she dropped into a crouch next to him, their hands found each other once again, drawn together instinctually.
"Did you see them?" she whispered, the corner of her mouth ticking up in a little smile at the way he wrapped his hand around hers.
"Yeah. There were two, and from the way they were talking, there's at least one more."
"Argent?"
"Already texted him." Even as he spoke, his phone went off and he glanced down at it. "He's on his way. Twenty minutes."
"Hmm. So, I guess we just wait?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Scott turned to look at her, and found her looking back, face much closer than he'd expected. Even in the dark, he could make out her features, her eyes, her lips. And suddenly it didn't matter that there were three or more potential threats less than a hundred yards away. All that mattered was her, being with her, showing her how he felt now that he could allow himself to admit it.
They came together hard, harder than he expected, hard enough to knock him off his feet and flat on his back. He might have protested at the sudden shift in position, except suddenly his arms were full of Malia, her lips on his, the comforting weight of her stretched out on top of him. His arms went around her reflexively as she squirmed in a way he probably would have found indecent if his mind wasn't entirely fogged by her feel, her taste, her presence. He felt her hands on his face, holding him where she wanted, taking control in a way neither Allison nor Kira ever had, in a way he found incredibly sexy. And when she finally broke away, both needing a second to catch their breath, he couldn't believe it had taken him this long figure things out.
"You wouldn't believe how long I've been waiting to do that," she whispered breathlessly, looking down into his eyes.
He couldn't help but grin up at her. "Hope it lived up to your expectations."
She pursed her lips, amusement dancing in her eyes as she leaned back down. "Practice makes perfect."
He was all for that. But as she kissed him again, he heard the sound of a door opening and immediately froze. Cursing the timing, and himself for letting his passion get the better of him when he should have been paying attention, he gently pushed her away and jerked his head back toward the cabin. The confused disappointment on her face disappeared as soon as she realised what was going on, quickly replaced by annoyance as she gritted her teeth and growled low in her throat.
"Later," he whispered as she rolled off him.
They lied side by side, listening as one, two, three sets of boots crunched over the hard ground behind them. Holding his breath, Scott tried to calm his racing heart before one of them picked up on it.
"You hear anything?" It was the southern guy again.
"No, nothing." The second guy. "Cameron?"
There was a momentary pause, then a new voice, a woman's voice rang out. "Somebody's out there. Another Alpha. I can feel them."
Scott swallowed, throat suddenly dry. Another Alpha, she'd said. Was she an Alpha? Or did this little group have yet another member hiding away somewhere? Either way, he didn't like it. He tilted his head enough to look at Malia and saw his apprehension mirrored on her face.
"What's our move, Cam?" Big guy again, deferring to the woman. Which probably, hopefully meant she was the Alpha, that there were only three of them.
"Time to go," was her reply. "We've overstayed our welcome here, I think. Get everything packed up, now." Even as she spoke, the other two headed back inside. Scott held his breath for a second as she lingered in the clearing, before she too turned and disappeared back inside the cabin.
"Oh, shit," Malia muttered, turning on her side to face him as soon as the door closed. "How long until Argent gets here?"
Scott checked his phone and groaned softly. "Too long." Letting his head fall back against the ground, he closed his eyes and considered his options. These wolves had hurt people. That was the part that he couldn't let go of. They'd wilfully attacked people, putting some in the hospital, and stolen their stuff. He had no reason to believe they wouldn't do the same thing somewhere else if they got away. Which meant his decision had already been made for him. Opening his eyes, he looked at Malia and sighed. "What do you think?"
"We can take them."
He couldn't help but grin at her confidence. "Damn right." After climbing to his feet, he reached down and pulled her up next to him. They turned as one to face the cabin, hand in hand. "Think we can get over there without them hearing us?"
"Probably not."
"Yeah." He paused for a second, then caught her eye and raised an eyebrow. "You ready?"
The answering grin that spread across her face then was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "Always."
-l-l-l-l-
Reaching up, Scott accepted Argent's hand, shooting him a grateful nod as he was helped back to his feet. Straightening, he stretched slowly, testing his body, taking stock of his injuries. There was a dull ache in his left shoulder where the Alpha woman had caught him with a hard shot, and he could feel blood trickling down the side of his neck where her claws had caught him, but the pain wasn't bad, was already fading. He was sore, tired, a little bloody, but otherwise, he was okay.
"You all right?" Argent asked, looking him over, brow creased with worry.
He waved off the concern and nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. Already healing." As he spoke, he watched Parrish load one of the handcuffed and unconscious shifters, the southern one, into the back of his cruiser. Lips pursed, he looked at the former hunter and arched an eyebrow, questioning. "Tranquilizers?"
"Yes. New product I'm trying out. And it worked well." Argent frowned. "Well, it worked well on them. Not so much on her." He nodded toward the Sheriff's car.
Next to the car, on the ground, was Cameron, lying on her stomach, arms handcuffed behind her back. Malia was standing over her, eyes glowing vivid blue, one foot pressed firmly between her shoulder blades, pinning the Alpha to the ground as she cursed, growled, and screamed to be released. As they looked on, she snarled something, then stomped down hard on the werewolf, driving all the air from her lungs, temporarily silencing the increasingly incoherent yelling.
Both men winced at the harsh treatment and shared a look, before Scott pointed toward them and started to walk that way. "I think I should probably say something before she..."
"Good call," Argent replied quickly, motioning him onward.
Malia spotted him coming before he was halfway across the clearing, and her expression immediately lightened, some of the tension bleeding out of her. Her eyes slowly faded back to normal as he approached, zeroing in on his wounded neck. "Are you okay?" she asked, as Cameron groaned in pain under her foot.
"Yeah, I'm all right." Tilting his head, he pulled back his collar to show her how insignificant the wound was. "See? Barely even bleeding."
It was only then, as her shoulders slumped and she let out a sigh of relief, that he realised just how worried she'd been. He'd heard her scream of rage when he'd gone down under Cameron's claws, but he'd been too focused on fighting, on surviving, to let it sink in. And then things had abruptly shifted with the sudden arrival of Argent, Parrish, and the Sheriff. She'd been the one to pull the Alpha off him, the only one with the physical strength to keep her restrained when the tranquilizers hadn't immediately knocked her out like they'd done to her Betas. She'd stuck with her quarry even while he'd been lying on the ground, trying to get his breath back.
Reaching out with both arms, Scott caught her hands and gently pulled her toward him, off the grounded werewolf. Sheriff Stilinski immediately took her place, but neither teenager noticed, too caught up in each other now that the fight was over and they were reunited.
"I thought she'd really hurt you," she admitted, voice soft, as her arms went around his waist.
He smiled, slowly shook his head. "Nope. Just got a lucky shot in."
She growled low in her throat, eyes flashing blue again as she glared over her shoulder at the fallen Alpha. "She's lucky that's all it was." There was a promise of pain in her voice that probably should have made him uncomfortable, but he couldn't find it in himself at the moment. He knew Malia, knew what she was, how she was. It was concern, concern for him. Had the situation been reversed, despite his principles, he wasn't entirely sure he'd react any differently. Not now.
When he suddenly leaned in, she mirrored his movements, meeting him halfway, tilting her head to accept his kiss. It was different this time, slower, deeper, more about communicating relief than just a visceral need to finally be close. And not for the last time, Scott wondered how he'd managed to deny his feeling for so long, to willfully ignore what had been staring him in the face.
Lost in each other, neither noticed the looks they were drawing from the two cops or the former hunter until the latter cleared his throat loudly. Pulling back slightly, Scott met his amused gaze over Malia's shoulder and cocked an eyebrow in question.
"Come on," he said, gesturing to his SUV. "I think you guys have done enough for tonight. I'll take you both home."
He nodded, and after sharing a quick smile, the two headed for the vehicle, hands clasped tightly together. As they passed by, he watched Argent pause next to the Sheriff and hand him a gun. "If she tries anything, put one in her shoulder. Wolfsbane." The hard edge in his voice seemed to carry weight with Cameron, who immediately stopped her groaning and complaining.
Once they climbed into the SUV and settled in, Malia leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. She fiddled absently with one of the buttons on his shirt as he slid his arm around her, liking the way she fit against him. The comfortable silence between them lasted until after Argent got behind the wheel and slowly pulled out of the clearing, following the overgrown path that led out of the woods. When the former hunter caught his eye in the rear-view mirror and cocked an eyebrow, Scott just smiled and shrugged.
"Hey, Scott?" Her voice was quiet, barely more than a whisper, breath warm against his ear.
"Yeah?"
"Would you mind if I stayed at your house tonight?" She arched an eyebrow and flashed him an impish grin as he looked into her eyes. "I don't know about you, but I think we've dragged this out long enough."
AN: Another one-shot, just something short that I had originally planned to take in another direction. I ended up with this and I'm not sold on my characterisation here, but it could have been worse. I think I'm going to work on a longer piece next, although I'll probably do a couple more one or two-shots along the way as well. As always, let me know what you think, and don't hesitate to PM if you have any questions.