the maybes of tomorrow
Now that he picked up Malia on his way to school, the mornings have gotten less lonely. It became easier to forget about the nightmares he just had. It became easier to forget about waking up shaking so hard, he could barely brush his teeth. It becomes harder to focus on those things when a pretty girl is wedged into the front seat of your Jeep offering you a piece of her microwaveable breakfast burrito.
And sometimes she's wearing his clothes. Sometimes it's his jacket. Sometimes it's his tee shirts. And he remembers vividly the day she got into his car wearing her whole comforter around her because it was too fucking early and cold in California right now; he lent her sweatpants and every time he sees her wear them she makes them look more incredible than they ever could in his hamper.
And she's doing that foot thing that girls do, where they hitch their right leg up and rest their knee on the window. And she's cranky and her hair's a mess because she doesn't want to be up this early. He's thinking there may be more human in her than he thought.
Malia doesn't really like school because it's very hard for her and she has to take different classes than the rest of the pack, but she has to go when there isn't a supernatural emergency at their door. Besides, what would she do without him for 7 hours? At least at school, she knows he's as close as he can be.
While parking, he usually saw Lydia walking into . Sometimes she's unhappily third-wheeling with Scott and Kira, sometimes she's with just Scott or just Kira. Most of the time, she's alone. She actually helps a lot with getting Malia to understand. Lydia doesn't think it's hard because she got turned into a coyote when she was 9 and went to public school, why the hell wouldn't she know what lip gloss or a hug is?
Then they reached his locker, usually talking about the homework she needed help with. Sometimes he talked to her about not being able to drive her home because he had lacrosse practice and she always asked him if she could watch him practice. Stiles always goes quiet for a second. He never thought a girl would ask him to watch him practice, just like he never thought a girl would ever watch him score at a game. Especially not a girl he liked. She smiled at him when he nodded.
While changing, he realized that it was nice to be needed. She made him feel like a hero, despite what happened all but months ago. It seemed like an eternity. And he was so glad that Malia was the kind of girlfriend who made him feel like he wasn't just the sidekick who got possessed once. She needed him to calm her down and tell her what it's like to be human and he was more than willing to do so. Because he understood what it was like, kind of. Not the turned into a coyote and back into a teenage girl years later part. But the turned into a something people are terrified of part. Not being able to understand or control or process anything remotely associated with humanity because the human section of you had been fucked with unfairly.
He still felt the effects, especially when confronted with emotions. Things just didn't come out right. He knew what he's feeling, it just didn't connect with his tone and inflection. It was like there was two magnets, one for feeling something like sympathy for another person and one for expressing said sympathy and they used to attract and now they repel and he didn't know why. His body and his mind were missing the connection between feeling something and outward expression. Something that was there before wasn't there anymore and Stiles can't help but think that he must have taken it with him. A farewell gift after their short time together: an air of indifference and a taste for invulnerability.
He thinks that's what he likes about Malia so much. He's not really himself right now and neither is she but they're getting to become better. Slowly. Surely. Together.
She watched him practice alright. Thank God Kira volunteered to come along for safety reasons (and seeing Scott's muscles during warm-ups reasons) because Malia's first introduction to contact sports almost left her seething. When he or Scott scored, Malia didn't know why but she yelped. When Stiles would get hit, Malia took it personally. With all her ferocity, you'd think she was about to leap off the bleachers and play herself. And she probably would have if Kira hadn't been there.
He got the feeling that only 50% (okay probably 65% but at most 75%) of that was her wild kingdom predilection and the rest was her being bored. She doesn't like the average days when the threat to their safety is imminent instead of immediate. When there isn't a mystery they could solve. When time isn't so precious and everything isn't exciting and there isn't faith and risk and adventure around every corner.
She lives for it all, he thinks, because it reminds her of the wild. So she makes it up whenever she can.
After practice, they were all sweaty and dirty and gross. But they still crossed over to Kira and Malia before changing. Kira smiled at Scott and they'd talk about her dad's last chapter test and she thought she'd just keep Malia company and not about how badly she wanted to see him and how glad he was that she was there. It was almost like they were normal, listening to them talk. Scott had to get to work and Kira would get a ride with her dad so they performed an awkward embrace of some sort (each time it was different and each time was more amusing than the last) and went on their way, both wishing they'd kissed each other.
After changing, then he would drive her home. More often then not, they'd get something to eat if they had money because both of their appetites were nearly insatiable. He and Malia climbed in the Jeep and she hitched her leg up again, and joke about actually trying out for track. And sometimes he'd tease back and shove a fry in her face and she'd tell him to keep his eyes on the road. It got quiet for a second and he knew she was thinking of the supposed car crash so he didn't say anything. But then she'd smile and take the fry, and make a comment about when he's gonna let her drive the Jeep if he's gonna be such an irresponsible driver.
And it was almost like they were normal too and he valued that. Like they were concerned about junior prom and the SATs and if they were going to go bowling this Friday night or other things extraordinarily typical. It was refreshing. It wasn't something he got often and it was something that he felt very grateful for. It was nice to just be a 17 year old lacrosse player dropping off his girlfriend in his shitty Jeep and while she managed to look cute and eat 2 Burger King Whoppers at once.
He'd drop her off and her smile would last him the night.
At home, his dad was usually just about ready to eat dinner. Stiles always ate with his dad, no exceptions. In fact, if he was stuck at work, he would go to the police station and eat vending machine food with him there. His dad would ask him about Malia and take great joy in the blush that formed on his son's face. Because he'd missed that. It gave him relief to know that he was flustered around girls, that that was one thing that will never get old.
They'd eat and Stiles would wash and his dad would dry. And they would talk about what's happening with the pack, what happening at the station, how his Dad's diet is keeping up, how Stiles is keeping up, how things are with Malia and whether or not he and if he should leave the door unlocked for Lydia, if they were researching together tonight. Usually, on days like this the answer is no. She likes to savor moments when everything in her head is as quiet as possible. They usually research together when the threat is moderate to severe and as of late, they only research apart when the threat has one of them incapacitated or missing.
Malia always calls him before he gets ready for bed. It isn't something promised, planned, or required. It's just that she really can't help it. And he doesn't mind hearing her voice one last time before he gets to sleep. She always hangs up, ready for the maybes of tomorrow.
Maybe tomorrow Kira and Scott will kiss. Maybe tomorrow will bring about The Benefactor. Maybe tomorrow Victoria Argent will come back from the dead too. Shit, maybe they wouldn't see tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow will be another average day.
But this was their day. And he wouldn't trade it for the world.