Laura Hale.
Derek Hale's sister, one of the three survivals of the Hale fire.
Laura is Peter Hale's relative, his niece and the legit alpha. Peter is on the lead, however, because he's the oldest of the living Hales and the pack-dynamics had gotten pretty fucked up when the coup d'état happened.
You know, all the power-play, death-threats and manipulation, the usual package what comes when you're involved with psychotic werewolves. Stiles is pretty sure Peter's psychotic because not anyone slaughters their enemies like him - slowly and usually with fire, in front of big audience. If that's not sociopathic and therefore psychotic trait, Stiles doesn't even want to know.
Or okay, not only psychotic werewolves, Stiles has the feeling that the psychotic-part is quite same with humans and werewolves.
Not that he knows.
So now Laura's using her spare time -aka time when Peter's not watching her every move like obsessed bastard he is- to help the Grimms.
Honestly, the Grimms are the Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles of Beacon Hills - save for the mutants and turtles because last time he checked, there was no mutants nor turtles in the ship. The figurative ship, they don't actually have a ship. Even though that would be, like, awesome? But nope, no mutants, no turtles, no ships - or that's what Stiles calls them. Much cooler than the stars of god-knows how old fairytales. Because nothing that has word 'fairy' can be manly. Or cool. (Conly?) Yeah, definitely not anywhere near conly.
Stiles's own alias is the Red Riding Hood - because of his trade-mark hoodie - and if that isn't a nickname to make you curl over in shame, there's something probably wrong with you.
Unless you're 12, girl, wear lots of red and bake, which then, good for you! But the last time Stiles checked, he's not 12, he is a very manly guy, he wears red only every now and then and he doesn't bake.
Not that there is anything unmanly in baking, it just isn't his thing.
But yeah, the ridiculous alias; when Coach decides something, that's it and there's no budging from that. And okay, maybe Red Riding Hood is better than to be called 'Bilinski'. Maybe Coach has this creepy sense for catching nicks because at least tabloids seem to like it, too, even thought they have altered it to 'Little Red' - It just gets worse, really.
Danny, his partner, is the Hunter - which is kind of ironic because Stiles is the one who usually handles the missions on the field. The alias fits him though; he's collected and strong and ripped and he has this security in his steps and just whenever you're around the guy you feel safe. So even if he is a little bit jealous for Danny's surprisingly conly nick or his muscles or his totally smooth way around the guys, he's not going to admit it. Because he's Stiles, and he's not jealous because jealousy is over-appreciated and it's not like he can change his genes so.
But yeah. TMNT. Totally. Without the sewers. No sewers either, thank you very much, they like the breeze of fresh air so they use the old buildings in the Slum. Which is way more hygienic than sewers could ever be. Stiles has spent more than his own fair share in the sewers.
When you're running from werenoses there's very few things that can throw them off your tail, sewers, fortunately and unfortunately, being one of them.
So Stiles is almost best buddies with sewers.
They have had few candle-lit dates - when he was chased with torches -, blood-red moments of passion - few very nasty fights that took place underground - and he has even thought about moving in if their base gets busted.
He practically holds a long-term relationship with sewer.
And maybe they crack jokes about it in the base every now and then, but Stiles doesn't really find them funny anymore. It stops being funny when you have been standing knee-deep in shit few dozen times.
Literally knee-deep.
Only good things about it are that a) he's bloody good runner, b) he knows sewers like the back of his hand and c) he's fit. Well, fit in his skinny-gawky-way. Which is not attractive but it's not like he's getting laid anyway in the near future so he tries not to let it get to him too bad. Lydia's still hardly admitting the fact that he exists, Danny doesn't have any hots towards him - he knows, he has asked - and Greenberg's just... Ew. Greenberg's good guy, he really is, but it's just not going to happen. Which is kind of unfortunate because if we side them and Scott - Scott is just no-no, that's a line we won't cross because that's a road down self-disgust and nightmares -, they're the core of the cell and there's no getting attached to folks that are going to leave next week.
So yeah, no fun for Stiles.
And now he can't help but notice that his stupid skinny-boney-gawky ass has lost Laura from its sight and he curses under his breath.
"Oh for the love of—" he starts, but ruffle of clothes and sound of movement makes him whip around so quickly he thinks he might have sprained something.
Like his hip. Can you sprain your hip? He doesn't think it's possible, but there's definitely going on something sprainey-ish stuff on his hip, he should get it checked by Danny.
And now he's imagining Danny's fingers on his skin and okay, um, no? So not the best situation for that.
"You better not be finishing that sentence or I'll have to bite your ass for it", Laura says with wide grin, all joke and warmth in her features. She looks as beautiful as always, black locks shining in the dim light of the yellow street-lamp and her blue eyes sparkling with mirth.
They don't usually have the time or safety to actually talk and Stiles can't help the goofy smile that creeps to his face, his bat dropping to the ground with loud 'clank', Danny long forgotten.
"Long time not to see", he chuckles, scratching the back of his neck and trying to lean on the building next to him.
He misses, and almost tumbles down, yelping and flailing around goofily.
Beware, he's the dread of the city.
Laura laughs, a voice that world can never have too much, and she opens her arms in inviting way.
"C'mon pup, I know you want to. Gimme a hug", she says, the grin now almost predatory smirk. Stiles tries not to rush too obviously towards the woman, but by the way her gaze softens and the smirk changes to a smile, he knows that Laura can still tell. His arms close around her, and he squeezes her closer with a rough desperation he can't hide.
He doesn't even want to count the months they have been unable to get proper chat, and he had truly missed her voice and her slightly flowerish scent.
And it's not like Stiles is showering in human-contact if it's not for him bleeding to death, so this is more than needed.
He closes his eyes for a moment, hearing the steady heartbeat and wondering how rapid his own is compared to it. Laura's quiet, her hands comforting around him and rubbing small circles on his back.
"What's up? Got extra-much time to hunt bunnies or…?" he asks, his voice a bit muffled and the werewolf sighs. He can feel and hear the process of air filling her lungs and then getting out, and it's nice. Intimate in a weird way that makes him feel vulnerable, but... Nice.
He wonders how long ago he had been this close to someone. Not in months.
"No 'you look great' or 'wow Laura, you're so beautiful you shine like thousand suns'? All work and no play, when did you grow up, Stilinski? I must have missed it, last time you were all rainbows and cotton candy", she complains, parting them so Stiles's an arm length away from her and she gets proper once-over. Her eyes are critical, and she huffs like she isn't pleased about what she sees.
Stiles can't really blame her, he doesn't like his mirror-image either. It's not like he's all angsty-teenage-boy over it but he's not an eye candy and he knows it.
"Take off your mask, I want to see you. I mean, more of you than just your cute big eyes. Gotta say, that Bambie-look makes me want to eat you up", she says with an askew smile, shaking the boy a little. Stiles cocks an eyebrow, that's a new one.
"Bambie-impression? You know Bambie was shot by hunters and therefore I don't think that's a thing I want to be referred as to right now. Creates bad mojo. Not that I believe in bad mojo, but hey what do you know? You exist a-"
"Stiles", she looks a little amused, and Stiles smiles sheepishly.
He has the tendency to start babbling whenever he opens his mouth and Laura is one of those persons that won't actually get irritated with him when that happens. He does as he's requested – well, told, but he likes to think it's a request -. Not because Laura's werewolf or because she's an alpha, heck no.
Laura had known his mother. And her hands had been one of the first things he had felt after that one… Incident, gripping him tight and forcing him against her warmth, soft voice telling him to breath.
Laura's more than just an ally; she's a friend.
The mask clings to his neck when he unties it and he gives Laura a smile while he tugs his hood down. The woman returns it with fondness, cupping his face with her palms.
They're rough with work and all the were-business and there's certain kind of firmness in her hold that tell away the supernatural strength hidden in those delicate-looking bones. Her eyes inspect him with a look a big sister would give her little brother after being separated for long time, and Stiles feels warmth in his chest.
Until she actually opens her mouth.
"You still look like a thirteen-year-old", she giggles and Stiles lets out a pained groan, bringing his hands up to tug at her arms slightly. "Still on that?" he asks, looking up to the heavens pointedly. "Always", she chuckles, then getting suddenly serious. Her hold tightens, and her expression turns to disapproving.
"You have lost weight. And you smell like rust, dirt and misery. Why's that? Has something happened?"
When he had joined the Grimms, Laura was the one to contact him first. She had seen his picture on the television and she had sniffed him out with her super-sniffer - she was only werewolf who actually knew his scent.
She knew about his father, and she had guessed that Stiles had left willingly. She had guessed right, finding Stiles just after that one accident involving his watch and Danny and puke and they had few short conversations after Stiles stopped freaking out.
They switched information, talked about Stiles's parents, and after that, kept seeing each other.
Stiles first wasn't sure what it was about her that pulled him again and again to meet her - she's a werewolf, hello? That should scream 'DANGER' -, but then he realized he hadn't been afraid of Laura, ever. The first shock had been because he had thought she was far away from Beacon Hills, or dead, or captured - and she wasn't, and she came to Stiles, and she brought one precious piece of his childhood with her.
Laura wanted to support the Grimms, but because she is a werewolf, an alpha - you can't italicize it enough - and especially because she is one of the Hales, the others didn't trust her.
Stiles did.
And the first year he spent in the Grimms, Laura trained him. She told him everything that was vital for his surviving, taught him personally about the ways to fight a werewolf and flee from a werewolf, how to use wolfs bane, how to make a trap that holds, how to act in the presence of an alpha or a beta - or even an omega.
They even went on a few missions together before Peter got overly suspicious and Laura was put under constant surveillance.
Now he shrugs, averting his gaze. It takes few seconds under Laura's scrutiny before he breaks. He eases the woman's hold on him a little so that he can talk without looking like a fish, and shrugs his shoulders again.
"It's nothing. Everything's f-" Laura slaps his other cheek gently, but he still startles at the sting.
He should already be accustomed to the way werewolves are much more physical than humans, but somehow he often forgets that Laura, in fact,is a werewolf so when she suddenly pushes him against a wall face-first when he has pissed her off or when she noses the side of his head briefly when he has made her proud, he's taken by surprise.
"Why did y-"
"Don't even try to feed me that 'everything's just peachy'-crap. Report", she snaps, her eyes flashing red to emphasize the order. She had been a bitch of a supervisor, always challenging and strict. It took her only few weeks before she got Stiles's motormouth under control, finding all the right ways to stay alluring enough for Stiles's undivided attention - he had a really short attention-span.
Coach could learn a thing or two from her.
Stiles's voice drops monotony, his gaze sliding down, automatically avoiding her piercing stare.
"Scott's mom was caught and Scott was forced to switch sides. Lydia has disappeared long time ago. We thought she had left with her parents, but when we confirmed it, they hadn't heard of her in long time. Dad's still drinking but he's otherwise healthy. We tried to talk a few Omegas into chauffeuring some people over their land, but they are reluctant to make a deal. Greenberg got told off by Coach again and he's down. Danny got clawed in the last encounter, when we attacked the food-delivery" which had been two days ago and Laura seems to remember that too because her hold tightens alongside with her mouth "but we finally managed to get his siblings safely to the border, so he's content. We discussed about him going too, before they were sent to his parents, but he decided to stay. Stupid-ass decision, but he wouldn't budge", he lists, and Laura mutters out quiet "He's an idiot" Stiles laughs dryly, more bitterly than a person his age should. "Aren't we all?"
It had been quite a long time when Laura had last time ordered him to report, reason why it now took him by cold surprise. When they were training together -or when Laura was training Stiles- they had had few troubles at the start. You see, Stiles is not naturally submissive. No, no, he's anything but that. He might get scared or injured or hurt, but when the person that's doing it to him doesn't hold any of his respect, Stiles holds his ground. He strikes back with his silvery tongue, using his brains when his muscles are vain.
And because they were still quite unfamiliar to each other, that happened with Laura too; he didn't fear her but he didn't trust her either.
So when he was barked orders at without any explanations, when Laura demanded something from him that he couldn't understand, he didn't just zip it and obey.
No, he wanted to know why. He kept insisting, kept disobeying and Laura was surprisingly patient with him at first. It didn't work smoothly and when Stiles almost got them killed simply by ignoring Laura's commands, she was starting to have enough of it.
One time, Laura's patience snapped - in Laura's defense, it was a day before the full-moon - and she pinned the boy on the floor, all red eyes and command.
And Stiles reacted just the opposite she had expected.
He didn't bare his neck and go still, oh no; he held her gaze, giving Laura thin mouth and then saying 'don't even try to play this alpha-bullshit on me. Get off' and there was lots of snarling and shouldering and arguing before Danny came and interrupted them.
Laura then realized that Stiles didn't -couldn't, the boy hadn't had the luxury of trusting anyone after he was 12 and she couldn't really blame him for not to - just give in that easily and Stiles finally understood that this wouldn't carry a fruit if he couldn't trust Laura with his life. They started to work on that.
It took time, lots and lots of bonding and arguing and mutual hardwork before Stiles could finally still his quick tongue and stop the burning words on his mouth and do as he was told. He surrendered to his alpha, finally able to bare his neck without shame or the impulse to disobey. And they worked well together. Stiles finally had someone who cared and took care of him and Laura got the emptiness inside her dulled, giving her affections to someone who accepted them.
And Laura had never, ever used Stiles' compliance against him outside a battlefield or training exercise and she honestly didn't wait Stiles to do as she told outside a death-or-life-situation.
They stay silent for a moment, Stiles fidgeting on his place. For Laura, it's unnerving. He won't meet her gaze and he doesn't continue, doesn't start babbling about something completely unrelated. It's almost unnatural. The boy is sometimes even stupidly stubborn, especially when it's about him. So she speaks up again, determined to find out what's wrong. They're not exactly pack anymore, but she has her instincts, human and wolf, to protect the boy.
"How 'bout you?" she asks, easing the question out gently like it could spook the kid. And Stiles goes still for a moment, his brown eyes moving back to Laura's blue ones.
He searches something in them, before shrugging his other shoulder. It's not an order anymore, and that makes him feel more in ease. It's slipping back to be a conversation between Stiles and Laura, not Stiles and the big bad alpha-bitch.
"No rest for the wicked. But I'm managing" he says off-handedly, and Laura frowns, her eyes getting redder.
Stiles notices it and he smiles, a smile that is supposed to look reassuring but comes out tight and tired. Losing your bestie and long-time crush does that to you, especially when you have to worry about your friend's life at the same time. Laura feels bad for the boy, she really does. The war's ripping children out of their childhoods way too early.
"No, really. But how's things in the werelandia? Are you doing well?" the teen asks, and Laura levels him with the gaze, the one that says that she can't believe Stiles actually thinks she's going to swallow that bullshit but because she loves him she's going to play along and drop the subject.
Stiles gets that look from her really often.
"There's something going on. I haven't had the possibility to figure out what it something is, but Derek told me it's about the prisoners. He couldn't give me all the details because Peter has ordered him not to, but if I know Peter at all…" she lets out a sigh, gesturing vaguely with her hands after letting them drop down and hang on her sides. Stiles tucks his hands in his pockets, letting out agreeing hum.
There's no misunderstandings about what it could possibly mean.
"Alright-y thennnn… So psycho-grandpa is still on the roll and Derek's on his leash. Metaphorical leash, real one would be…" he makes a face "Talking about Derek, how is he?" he asks, interested, rocking back and forth on the heels of his feet.
He hasn't met the guy since he was, what, seven?
He had been quite nice, even if a little bit quiet and shy. Stiles had always been really interested in him.
He even thought he had small crush on the guy but that thought had been brushed off as ridiculous. Boys couldn't like boys, not in his seven-year-old's world. He had pestered the living hell out of the elder boy and he had had the feeling that the guys wasn't just as annoyed with him as he let out with. At least he answered to all of his questions - one-syllable words like 'yes' and 'no' were Derek's favorites - when he had tried to have a conversation.
He was like a mystery and if Stiles had loved something, it'd been mysteries.
Laura smiles sadly, looking away.
"He's lost, poor boy. He doesn't know who to be loyal to and whose side to take. It's a decision I don't like to force him to take, but soon there's no other options", she admits, and Stiles stills, his eyes narrowing. They had grown to know each other well, and he knows when Laura is skidding around something. "Why?" the question makes Laura turn her stare back to him, her expression weird. "Hm?" "What's going to happen?" the look of determined insistence is on his face. She ponders it, looking at the teenager thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if I should tell you." she says slowly, and Stiles purses his lips.
Oh, no, she didn't.
Laura knows him well enough to know that he can't let it be, not now when it has already sparked his attention. When something has his attention, it really has his attention.
"You know I won't let this drop before you do", he points out and Laura laughs, nodding. She had expected this, Stiles had been an open book for her when the kid was younger and she knew him to the very core. "Oh, I'm sure of that. Stiles..." she pries his hands out of the pockets, holding them carefully. She had gotten serious again, that funny expression back on her face. "If I tell you this, you must promise me: You must listen carefully", she says then reluctantly, and Stiles nods.
"Sure thing, I guess? I don't even need the weresenses to sniff out that something big is going on. Lay it on me, Laur, I'm big boy" the nervousness is creeping on his mind, the boy's having the worst feeling about this.
Even despite his words, he suddenly hopes he hadn't asked; something in Laura's expression freaks him out.
Laura smiles, that sad smile that no one wants to be directed towards them, and nods.
She can feel how uneasy Stiles is feeling, but she needs to tell someone. She has to do this alone, but it doesn't mean she wants to. Or that she's not scared. And she needs someone to take care of the aftermath if she fails, needs someone to clean up after her.
That someone being Stiles.
#
"I have told you about pack, how it's formed and how it's nurtured. Do you remember what I taught you?" and Stiles gives him a jerky nod, his feelings making an U-turn and changing to confused.
How could he forget something like that? He's pretty much the werewolf-specialist number one in the Grimms.
He can't help but speak up. "Of course I do, but what-" "I told you to listen. Are you listening?" another jerky nod "Good. So, you know that alpha has to protect her pack, no matter what it takes" now more deliberate nod "And I… I haven't been doing that", she goes silent, drawing circles with her thumbs on the soft skin.
And Stiles waits.
"I have been afraid. After the fire... I... Derek was broken. You can't even imagine. He..." she seems to have trouble with words, and she takes a deep breath, her gaze dropping.
This is the only creek he doesn't know about her, the only thing they haven't talked about and Stiles looks away.
"We left. This town was full of memories, and I didn't think we could cope with that. We believed that our whole pack had burned with the house, we believed we were the only ones left. My rank had suddenly changed from beta to alpha and I had to take care of my baby brother, who blamed himself for everything." she swallows visibly, and Stiles feels a little bit sick.
He had seen pictures of that fire, the flames eating out everything. And to think that Derek could possibly blame himself..? That is just...
Wrong.
"Politics were the other reason we left. Things were getting unstable, and we had no reason to stay", she shrugs, then continuing. "But nothing's ever that easy. I counted on the hope that only this side of America gets corrupted by the extremist groups, but I was so wrong. I didn't think, Stiles. I didn't plan. And before I noticed, we were in the middle of Wolf's Bane-activists. I think that's when Derek started to hate humans. His family had just been slaughtered and..." she can't finish the sentence, biting her lip. Stiles can only imagine how a pair of young werewolves were treated on the start of this ruckus. The silence goes on long, but Stiles can't make himself break it. He's feeling positively nauseated, and doesn't want to hear the rest.
He's afraid what's still coming. "We ran and ran. And after we finally found a safe place to stay, I started to follow the news from Beacon Hills and… It was Peter. He had been plotting to get his foot in on the politics when the fire happened. When he finally healed, he did as he had planned and being one of the Hales... He was celebrated as a tragic hero, welcomed back" her tone is disgusted and hurt and Stiles is burning to ask why she is telling him all this, and at the same time kind of wants to throw up.
But he keeps uncharacteristically quiet, listening.
"He started to send me letters. I answered to them, how could I... I had no idea... He was our relative, he was family and… And after he got the confirmation we're both alive, he started to pester me with invitations. The town didn't attract me in the slightest and I turned him down many times before Derek, restless, insisted me to go and meet him. So I did. I didn't give in when he kept asking to come with me, I didn't trust anyone at that point - I didn't trust him to keep it under control. I thought Derek was safer in our little den than he would be in Beacon Hills - and that's the only thing I got right, even thought it doesn't even matter in the end", her tone is slightly bitter "He got me. He wanted to collect what was left of his pack to make himself stronger and when I arrived without Derek… He locked me up. It was easiest way to get Derek here, of course Derek would come to find me", she sounds so sad that Stiles wants to rub his cheek against her - a thing that Laura does when he's upset, it's apparently some wolf-thing -.
"Peter used his anger and his hurt to manipulate him, and when he finally freed me..." her thumbs dig a bit too deep, and Stiles startles a little the sudden pain.
"He didn't let me in anymore. And Peter enjoyed it, knowing that he had tighter grip on my brother than I did." she scowls. "And I was afraid of death, God how afraid I was…" she sighs, not saying out loud the amount of indirect death-threats she had gotten from their uncle but it's quite obvious.
"I did nothing. Nothing to save me or Derek and that's where I went wrong again, Stiles. I didn't do all I could. I was weak alpha, not worth my title but how could I foresee my mistakes? I had just grown up and without the pack or elderly to guide me. I was lost. I didn't take my chance and once it passed I didn't even think about grabbing it"
Stiles doesn't understand, doesn't see the point and his mind is swirling around the new information, tasting it, prodding it.
"I could have stopped this all, Stiles, the first day I arrived. I could have ended this all, could have ended him. I could have, but I didn't" and it hits him, Stiles finally getting his voice to work, ice-cold realization making it hoarse and his pulse picking up. "You're going to… Laura, please tell me you're not, tell me I got this all wrong", he pleads, and Laura just sighs. Oh how she hates herself for doing this to Stiles, but she doesn't have any options. This is her check-mate; she has to do the move before Peter does or that's the end of the game. "Pup, it's all I can do. It's-" "You can't. Laura, please" he doesn't care how pitiful he sounds. This plan is crazy, there's no way it'll work and he can't bear to lose her. "Stiles, things are getting worse. For now, it has been mild. Mutiny, hate-crimes, it's the Cold War all over again. But soon, it'll explode: someone does something wrong and when Gerard or Peter gets an excuse to attack, it'll be hell. This is only reasonable thing to d-" "No" "It's the full moon next night, he's probably distrac-" "Or blinded with rage and want to kill everything that moves, Laura! No!" "It's the only op-" "Laura, no! What did we say about the party? I get it, you're party-animal, but you can't-" he's gripping Laura's hands tightly, his tone getting more and more commanding as his desperation builds.
Laura straightens herself, authority radiating off her. She won't take orders from a cub, that's where she and her wolf admit on.
"Quiet"
It's a single word, but Stiles's mouth snaps shut. He's obeying out of reflex and Laura is taken aback by that; she thought she could get few words between when Stiles would stammer but this? Her brows furrow in a frown, her own hands tightening around Stiles's.
"What have they done to you? They have trained obedient bloodhound out of you." she looks disturbed by the very thought, and Stiles huffs, shuffling his feet. "It's not... They haven't 'trained' me to do anything. I just… It's easier this way. Not picking up the commands I obey, just doing it", he mumbles. Laura growls low, before stopping herself abruptly. It's an ill thing, her pack-member taking orders from someone else but it's a must and she knows it.
And she knows Stiles is right.
Her grip loosens, before dropping Stiles's hands wholly. Stiles looks unsure, thrown a little by the werewolf's reaction. "Here's the address. I'll give you a key to one of the lockers. Inside is a bag and the bag holds the copies of the blueprints, codes, passwords... Any information I could gather. You're my back-up plan, kid" she slips the piece of paper and the key inside his pocket, holding his gaze with her own. "If something goes wrong, you have the brains. Contact Derek, tell him what I told you. Convince him that this is the right side, okay? I'm sure you can do that", she sounds so sure that Stiles leaps forward, sealing her in a tight hug, his throat's tight and his eyes are burning, but at least he's not crying.
He's shaking, though, and Laura must feel it because she takes him in her embrace, her hand slipping to brush over his buzz-cut.
"So there's no talking you out of this?" he asks raspy, hiding his face on her shoulder. "You're my pack, pup. You, Derek and papa Stilinski", she says with fondness, and Stiles laughs; it's a strangled noise, and Laura feels bang of pain in her chest. "This is not a way to treat your pack! Laura, please, I need you" and Stiles knows it's true, knows that he can't afford losing Laura without the nightmares and panic-attacks coming back again. "Stiles..." her voice is so soft, so calming, same tone she had used all those years ago, and Stiles almost loses it right there. He hates it, he doesn't want to bid any more farewells and he hates Laura for forcing his hand. "Your mother would be proud of you", she points out quietly. Stiles jerks like he has been hit, shocked by this sudden change but Laura won't let him go. She can hear how his heart beats fast, like a rabbit, and Laura can see tears in his eyes.
"For helping people, saving lives. Your mother was strong woman, Stilinski. And I'm happy to see that her good heart has passed to you. You've got great strength there, pup" she says softly, and she can feel how confused and torn the boy is. "You have to be careful with that. Mistakes are humane but they still do damage, especially to our loved ones." her voice drifts away and the teen coughs a little, blinking his eyes rapidly.
"You know I invented this technique. It's not gonna work on me." he says then, his voice a little bit choked.
He can almost hear how Laura smiles, and he kind of wants to punch her for that.
"I know" she admits softly: she hadn't even thought of it working on the boy and Stiles feels his chest tighten.
He can't handle thinking about his mother and Laura's kamikaze-attack at the same time and it's unfair for Laura to use it like that. To say things like that. He sobs brokenly, the noise unwilling and muffled.
Laura shushes him quietly, convincing herself over and over again that she's doing the right thing and Stiles just clings on her, swallowing the feeling of numbness creeping up on him.
He's not going to cry, not now, not when Laura's holding him like he's something precious. He can't stop the another sob, cursing his body for betraying him, and they stand there god-knows how long. He's not nearly finished with the hug and collecting himself before Laura forces him away with gentle hands.
"What-" he's struggling against it but no teenager can match his strength with a full-grown werewolf and win.
"Stiles, they're coming", she whispers, nothing care-free on her anymore, and for a single moment Stiles can see how tired and worn and scared she is.
She looks haunted.
That's the only reason why he doesn't object, why he lets the woman push him away. He sways on his feet, unsure about what to do and Laura cracks a smile. "You have to run. Do what you have to do to ditch them, I can't promise they won't start chasing you even if they're here for me", she whispers quickly, and Stiles is just about to object when she kisses his forehead, her thumbs sliding lightly on his cheeks to wipe off the tears. "I'll be okay. Run!" the last word is hissed out, and Stiles fastens his mask on, pulling his hood up. He takes only few steps away before he turns again, too anxious to just leave.
"Laura…" he has so much to say, but his throat won't work. He wants to reach out, wants to force Laura to stay, wants to tell her how much she means to him, how much he loves her. Laura seems to understand, and she nods, a slight moisture rising to her eyes. "It's okay. Everything will be alright. I love you, pup, and I'm sure you can do this. Now go" she says, turning her back to him. It's so clearly a dismissive gesture that he backs up, trying to contain his shaking to no avail. He picks up his bat before stealing last glance of the woman.