Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor do I own the song "Like I'm Gonna Lose You." All credit goes to their respected owners.

It was a typical Tuesday night. Lydia was at Stiles's house helping him study, because the Lord knows that's the only way he was gonna do it. It was a tradition that developed recently: meetup and help Stiles with his math homework, while she worked on her AP Physics. Lydia helped him through it all: the confusing equations that weren't even relevant outside the classroom to just staying focused on the task at hand. These study sessions were easy for Lydia, though: explain some easy formulas she's known since freshman year and help Stiles understand it. Simple enough.

Unbeknownst to Stiles, Lydia looked forward to these Tuesday nights. In fact, she even made a playlist to listen to while she worked. Of course, Stiles would inevitably interrupt her while she listened, but she knew to expect that by now. These songs were important to her: they reminded her of the good times she's had in the last few years, even if there were only a few (granted senior year is hard enough without factoring in the hectic lives of the pack). But mostly, those good times involved Stiles.

She hated to admit it, but something had been eating away at her ever since Stiles (and the rest of the pack) rescued her from Eichen. This warm, yet anxious pit in her stomach every time she sees him. Every time he smiles, she can't help but smile back. The way his brown eyes disclose the horrors he's seen, yet emanate the hope he still has. Why hasn't she noticed these things before? Or were they just more noticeable now?

Lydia Martin was falling for Stiles Stilinski, and she could not handle it.

It was the one thing she couldn't figure out. It shouldn't be a big deal, but it was. They've been through so much together it seemed only obvious that they would grow closer. But this close? Maybe it had something to do with what Deaton once said, their "emotional tether."

Either way, Lydia found comfort in her playlist because she made it with Stiles in mind. Not that she would ever tell him that. She just wanted it for her ears only, until she could figure it all out.

But of course, nothing is ever that easy.

After explaining the inverse of trigonometric functions to Stiles, to little avail, she excused herself to go to the restroom. As Stiles stared at what Lydia had written, he was distracted by a slight murmur. It was almost a hum, in fact. Stiles began looking around for the source. It wasn't his computer, or his phone, or anything of his, in fact. He looked over where Lydia's stuff was. The only electronic she had out was her phone. He picked up one of the headphones sprawled across the bed and listened. It was Lydia's phone. It was her playlist. And the song playing was "Like I'm Gonna Lose You."

She had only recently added that song onto her playlist. Hearing it make her heart jump in a way she didn't know was possible; it was a nice feeling, but at the same time, scared her. This uncertainty was not something she was used to feeling. However, she felt like she had to add it, so she did. But she never expected Stiles to hear it.

Lydia returned from the bathroom and froze.

"Stiles, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I thought I hear something, but it turns out it was your phone. I didn't know you listened to this sort of music?" He explained.

"It's just a song I found recently," Lydia said, moving from her paralysis to take back her phone.

"Well, it's super lovey-dovey, I'll give you that. That bit about love and loss seemed kind of important, though."

"Maybe that's because it's called 'Like I'm Gonna Lose You.'"

"Aww, I didn't know you felt that way about me, Lydia." Stiles said jokingly, although, to Lydia, this wasn't a joke.

"Yeah, well, I don't know how I feel about you, Stiles. After all this time, how could I not care about you? I feel like I'm dying a little bit when I'm around you, which sounds totally insane, but it's just too much sometimes. I can't help but get flustered around you now and I don't know why. You make too much sense to me; in all the craziness that we've been through, you've never wavered. You're a constant variable, but now, it's like you're more. It shouldn't make sense, but it does. So yeah, maybe I do love you. It's taken me a while to realize, but you just mean a lot to me."

Stiles silently took in Lydia's words.

"I didn't k-" Stiles began after some time, but was cut off.

"That's not the point. I needed to figure this out and I did. I didn't want to deal with it. But you helped me figure it out, like I help you with math. It just makes sense now."

"Well, I love you, Lydia Martin, and you already knew that. Maybe you don't know everything, but we can figure it all out, together. Detectives Stiles and Lydia on the case." Stiles joked in his casual manner.

Lydia laughed. "What are we gonna solve next?"

"Well, I figured I'd start by asking: can I kiss you?"

"Yes, you may."

And when their lips met, everything seemed to fall into place.

Hey! Thanks for taking the time to read this! I don't usually write this style, but I got inspired last night and ran with it. Let me know what you think about it! Have a great day!