It takes another two weeks for Derek to set everything up. By the time his plan is ready, school is over and the summer break has already started. Aside from Stiles and Lydia, who are driving everyone crazy with their bantering, the pack hasn't been doing much in the meantime, mainly just waiting for something to happen.
Derek's text to everyone comes on a Monday afternoon. It says that they need to meet at the loft and that it's urgent. When they are all gathered there, Stiles and Lydia are impatient, not understanding what is so important about the meeting if no one is in danger and there aren't any other news about Peter or Malia.
"I was taking a nap, dude." Almost forgetting who he was talking to, the words are out of Stiles' mouth before he can stop himself and sound harsher than he intended.
"Don't call me dude." Derek snarls, directing him a glare. He actually wants to laugh at the whole situation but obviously can't. First because it would give it away, second because he's Derek. "What, you need your beauty sleep?"
"That's what I was gonna say." Lydia states cynically, not looking at Stiles, instead choosing to check her nails.
Stiles points an accusatory finger at her. "Don't you start. I'm not in the mood." He turns to Derek again. "What are we doing here, then?"
"I needed all of you here as soon as possible because we're leaving in 24 hours. It doesn't give us much time to gather our things."
"And where are we going?" Liam is the one asking.
Derek made sure not to tell anyone about his plans except for Braeden. Scott and Kira are only in on part of it because they are not such good liars and probably wouldn´t keep their mouth shut. Besides, Derek has some surprises planned for everyone.
"We're heading southeast. It's a 3-hour drive. We are taking three cars, two if Stiles takes the Jeep."
"The Jeep? My Jeep? Did I volunteer or something? I don't think so..." Stiles' can't control his bitterness and his rambling; his senses are tingling. He can't put his finger on it, but something's up.
Lydia wants to stay quiet and stop being sarcastic, she really does but she can't help it. This whole Stiles' agreement thing has her on edge lately. "Oh, sweetheart." She says rolling her eyes. "I think we're taking three cars. I'm not sure the Jeep can afford such a long trip."
"Don't you dare..." Stiles takes a step closer to her, but Scott puts a hand on his chest, stopping him.
"Derek, what's this trip about? You said there were no news, no sign of Malia or Peter..."
"There's nothing. There are no leads whatsoever and we already did everything we could think of to try and find them. Maybe they just left, I don't know." The older werewolf explains.
It's Kira's turn to inquire. "Then I don't get it. Where are we going?"
Derek grins as he crosses his arms. "We're going camping."
"I am not going camping." Lydia's tone is imperative.
"Wow, look at that. We finally agreed on something." Stiles mutters, gesturing between himself and Lydia.
Derek ignores it and continues. "Actually all of us are, no exceptions. And it's not really camping. We'll be sleeping in cabins, Lydia, not in tents. My family has this huge private property that has been out of use for years just outside this preserve in..."
"So we're going to an abandoned property in the middle of nowhere? I'm sticking with no." The banshee bites back, slightly irritated.
"Lydia, stop interrupting. There are plenty of cabins enough for all of us. And it's not that remote, the main road it's like 10 miles away. And it's near a lake."
Braeden tries to help her boyfriend. "It's beautiful. I've seen pictures."
Lydia keeps at it. "Didn't you just say it has been inhabited?"
"I took care of it. Everything's functioning. We'll have gas, electricity, water..."
"Wifi?" Brett asks.
Derek rolls his eyes. "Yes, Brett. There's Internet."
Brett shares a glance with Grace and they both nod, smiling. "We're in."
Stiles interjects again. "You still haven't told us why we're going."
"Look, we have been working our asses off lately and came up with nothing. We haven't heard anything, nor have the others. Not Deaton, Chris or Isaac… And nothing happened. I think for now we're in the clear, so we might as well make the most of it."
"I'm sorry. Are you telling me that we're going on a vacation?" That's probably the most ironic Stiles has ever managed to sound. He laughs humorlessly. "Good luck with that, dude. After Mexico, my dad barely lets me leave the neighborhood so I guess it's a no go for me, sorry. What next, you wanna bond?"
Derek's features are smug now. "Well, dude, I got it covered. I already talked to all of your parents. They are okay with it as long as everyone's responsible; it's not like you're just kids anymore. We'll still have to keep an eye on them, though." He points to the younger ones. "Other than that, they're fine with it."
He had everything worked out. There was food and plenty of things they could do. It was far away enough from civilization that they could just relax and enjoy their time by themselves, but they still had a small town not 15 miles from his property in case they needed anything.
The parents, actually, were the easy part. The Sheriff and Melissa were too eager to get their sons out of the house, Natalie didn't mind much as long as they had fun and behaved. Mr. and Mrs. Yukimura, however, along with Mason and Liam's parents, were a little harder to convince but Derek managed. As long as everyone is safe, it's okay. There's good cell reception and if anything happens, the pack is together anyways so they should be fine.
Stiles' jaw is open, somewhat in shock. "Scott, are you okay with this?"
"Yeah, I guess... We could use a distraction, Stiles. And it's summer. Come on, did you have better plans?" Scott crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow defiantly.
"Yes, Scott. Like, not doing anything or sleep..."
"I don't think even your bed likes you that much, Stiles."
"Oh my god, Lydia, I swear..."
"Both of you, that's enough." Scott takes charge, raising his tone a little. "We need a break. Hell, we deserve it. I'm saying we're going." Stiles opens his mouth to strike back, but Scott cuts him out. "And it's final. End of discussion."
Both Stiles and Lydia seem annoyed, but resign at the alpha's orders. Lydia tilts her head to the side, thoughtful. "How long are we gonna stay?"
"At least two weeks. Maybe more. Why?"
"We are definitely taking more cars. If I'm going, I'm not taking just a change of clothes, you know…"
"Great, now we'll have to take her wardrobe too. Fantastic."
Now it's Lydia's turn to take a step towards Stiles but Kira pulls her back slightly by the arm. The redhead is almost fuming. "I think what Lydia is trying to say is that we don't travel lightly. Us girls, I mean. We're definitely gonna have to take three cars, I think."
Derek answers. "Then I suggest you all go home and pack. We'll see about the cars tomorrow. We're leaving at 5 pm. If anyone…" He continues, now looking specifically at Stiles. "Is late or trying to bail, I'll chase you down and you'll be traveling in one of the trunks, see if I care. Am I clear?"
Everyone nods. When they leave Derek's loft, most of them are excited, some a little apprehensive. It doesn't come so natural to them to just have a little fun.
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Lydia, of course, was right.
Including the Jeep they take three cars, and every single trunk is completely packed along with some of the seats. As for the seating arrangements, Scott has to once again step up and dictate everyone's place before things get heated between the duo, which turns out to be Lydia's fault. The girls are taking so many travel bags with them that they will only fit in the Jeep's trunk and Lydia refuses to go in a different car and letting her bags out of her sight.
Truth is she just doesn't want to be away from Stiles. The tension between them is ever growing when they are not together, and even though Stiles feels the same way, it scares him. Things have been getting a little out of hand lately and he's not sure what he deals with better: being around Lydia or not being around her. Because he'll be driving, he thinks it's better to not take her with him in the Jeep, stating that he doesn't know how he'll possibly endure a 3-hour drive with her in the same vehicle without having to stab himself. Everyone rolls their eyes.
It's almost six when they leave thanks to all the arguing. Stiles ends up driving the Jeep with Kira by his side and Mason and Lydia in the backseat, Scott is taking Brett and Grace, and Derek is with Braeden and Liam. Their delay is rewarded with traffic and they end up stopping at a diner mid-trip to grab something to eat. Other than that, the trip actually goes well, excitement taking over all of them. When they finally arrive, it's already past eleven.
As soon as they get out of the cars, they can already see that the place looks beautiful, even though the moon is up high in the night sky. Trees are all around them and they are so tall that the group can only see shades of the moon and the stars in between the branches. The only visible light comes from the moon, now on its waning crescent, and only if they look straight up can they see the stars, a more star-filled sky than in the city. It should be stunning in just a few nights. Even though the night is hot, they can feel a slight breeze brushing their skin and the fresh air is invigorating.
They parked the cars right next to a big 3-floors house, which should be the main building. There are six cabins spread around the land, at least that they can see, 50 to a 100 yards apart in between all of them.
Everyone gets their bags out of the cars and starts gathering near the main building. "Didn't you say your mom used the property to get your family together?" Liam is the one asking Derek. In the car, Derek had shared that his family sometimes traveled there when he was little. Derek nods in response. "If it was for family then, why are the cabins so distant, so far away from each other?" Liam asks innocently.
"Well, we had a big family. And wolves tend to get loud, you know? You wouldn't want children listening to…"
"Oh, you mean…"
"Yes, Liam." The boy blushes, but it's not too noticeable in the dim light. "And it really gives each family some privacy. But you'll see in the morning. The property is really big, and there are even more cabins spread around. My mother made sure we could spend time together but at the same time enjoy some quality time alone. We really had a big family…" Derek smiles. "But you will not be having that kind of enjoyment." Liam chuckles nervously and looks down at his feet.
Derek continues. "Okay, room arrangements. You, Brett, Mason and Grace will stay here," Derek points to the main building and starts moving in its direction to open the front door. "It was a warehouse, but my mom redecorated it. It has eight bedrooms, two of them transformed into a study and a library. You should have fun with it." He comments, turning to Lydia. They all head in and Derek turns on the lights.
It's huge. It doesn't seem to make much Derek's style, being modern and well furnished. He carries on. "The kitchen is over there and this whole floor was turned into the living room. There's a bathroom in every floor and the bedrooms are upstairs." He hands each of the four younger members of the pack a key. "Please make yourselves comfortable. Anything you need, I'll be in the first cabin, alright? Just please text first." He says with a grin. "We'll see you guys tomorrow morning. And I'll be watching you, so keep out of trouble."
He turns to the others and starts walking back to the door, motioning for them to follow behind, but Lydia signals Kira and Braeden to take a moment. "Should we let her stay with them?" She whispers, trying not to draw too much attention to them.
"Who, Grace?" Kira asks.
Lydia nods. "She and Liam have been getting closer lately. I don't know if it's a good idea. She's very innocent, you know?"
Braeden smiles. "Oh, she'll be fine. Not only Mason is like a voice of reason, thank god, but also Brett is like her brother. Liam wouldn't dare." The girls end up laughing and join the boys outside.
Derek continues with the room arrangements, now to the remaining teenagers. "These are yours." He hands two keys to Scott and another two to Stiles. He turns to Scott first. "You can take the second cabin. That one." He points in its direction, a little to the right from his and Braeden's about 50 yards away before addressing Stiles. "And you will take that one." This time he points to their left, a little down the hill. "It's a little farther from here than the other cabins, but it's the one closest to the lake."
The girls automatically take a step forward trying to see the water beyond the trees. Stiles' cabin is about 100 yards away from where they're standing and they can only see a few moonlight reflections in where they assume the lake is. It looks big.
"I don't get it. Why do we have two keys?"
Derek rolls his eyes at Stiles. He knows what the boy meant, but pretends he didn't. "One for each of you, of course."
"No, why do I get two keys and Scott another two? I'm staying with him."
"No, you're not." Scott already has his puppy eyes on. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I'm staying with Kira."
Stiles blushes, knowing that it means he has to stay with Lydia. "No you're not, dude. Come on."
Lydia is blushing too. "Stiles is right. I thought I was staying with you, Kira." She admonishes stubbornly, her foot stomping on the ground for effect.
"We hmm… We were kind of hoping you'd understand…" Kira pauses, unsure of what to say. Of course she wants to stay with Scott, and one of the reasons they came here is so that everyone could actually have fun and remember they are actually teenagers turning into young adults, but the main reason they came was for Stiles and Lydia.
Still, the pair doesn't need to know that just yet.
Scott continues. "Yeah, Stiles. Come on."
"Scott, don't do this, please." Whatever the tether has been doing to the both of them, it's powerful. Stiles can barely resist the need to touch Lydia every time he sees her, and it always feels too urgent and intense, maybe a little too impulsive for his liking. For her it's the same.
It's like they can't trust themselves and it scares them.
"We've been waiting to be alone for weeks now. We haven't had that much time to ourselves, Stiles, you know that. I'm staying with Kira."
"Maybe I should just stay in the warehouse with the others, then." Lydia makes the suggestion but doesn't really want to go through with it.
Stiles is on the same page on this, at least. There's no way Lydia is staying with three teenage boys. Sure, two of them are gay but that's beside the point. "No, you're not." He tells her. "You're staying in the cabin. If anyone's not staying, it's me."
"As funny as this sounds, it's late and we're tired, so we'll see you guys tomorrow." Scott leaves with Kira quickly before Stiles and Lydia can say anything else about it and make them remorsefully change their minds.
Stiles turns to Derek. "Can't I just take another cabin?"
"Sorry, I only got these three ready." Not entirely true. "And neither you nor Lydia can take another room at the warehouse, I only have keys to four of the rooms." Another lie from Derek, but he hopes it'll be worth it. "Listen, the cabins are not too big, but surely they're big enough for the both of you." He places one hand on Stiles' shoulder and the other on Lydia's. "I'm sure you can handle it. Let's just get through the night, it's late." Derek leaves with Braeden, both giving the duo reassuring smiles.
Stiles and Lydia stay quiet for a while, not sure about what they should do. Except for pack meetings, Stiles and Lydia haven't been alone in a few weeks now and they can already feel the nervousness crawling under their skin.
Stiles breaks the silence, risking a glance at her. "I can talk to Mason. I'm sure he wouldn't mind staying with Liam and lend me the room for the night..."
Her voice comes out raspy, almost in a murmur. "Stiles, you can stay. We can handle it." She's not so sure that that's true, but she knows he's struggling with this just as much as she is. It'll probably be easier if they're under the same roof.
"Lydia, I don't know…"
She takes one of the keys from his hand, determined. "Come on." Trying to ignore the warmth of his touch, Lydia grabs her bags and starts walking the trail down to their cabin. Stiles holds on for a minute before following her, increasing his pace as he goes to catch up with her. Without a word, he reaches for her hand and takes one of her bags and Lydia lets him, smiling shyly. They walk in silence.
Taking a closer look as they approach, the cabin resembles a small cottage.
When they get inside, there's a living room with a couch and an armchair. There's some bookshelves spread around, a small coffee table in the middle of the room and a small flat screen TV above a fireplace built in one of the walls. Lydia can't help but wonder what it would be like in the winter. The kitchen is next, an archway connecting both rooms. The cupboards fill an entire wall and there are a few appliances in sight. In the middle there's a small square table and four chairs.
In the corner, a spiral staircase leads to a spacious bedroom with a sloped ceiling in what was supposed to be an attic, actually big considering it takes up most of the area of the floor below, and a bathroom in one of the corners with a full mirror and a bathtub that have Lydia quite impressed. Right next to the bathroom there's a considerable closet, bigger than Lydia expected, and the bed looks almost king size. Aside from that, the only other furniture in the bedroom are a desk and a chair near one of the windows and two bedside tables in each side of the bed.
Overall, everything is simple yet elegant. The cabin is not that big but is cozy and well decorated with a rustic vibe that somehow suits them, making both Stiles and Lydia feel comfortable.
They take their bags upstairs and Lydia starts rummaging through her things immediately, looking for a top and some shorts to sleep in while Stiles grabs one of the pillows from the bed and starts heading towards the stairs. Lydia notices and steps in front of him quickly, putting a hand on his chest to make him stop, looking right at him.
He looks down at his chest and then at her, making Lydia feel flustered. She takes her hand back. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going downstairs. You're taking the bed."
"Stiles, you are not sleeping on the couch."
"Well, I'm not sleeping on the bed either." He walks past her and is almost reaching the stairs when she speaks again.
"Why not?"
Stiles stops, but doesn't turn around when he answers, sighing. "Lydia, it's late and we're both tired. We'll talk in the morning, okay?" He sounds weak even to his ears and his chest starts to ache like it always does when they argue. It's involuntary and he still hasn't learned how to stop it.
Lydia doesn't waste time, repeating the question immediately, her breath uneven. "Why not, Stiles?"
He looks back at her over his shoulder with tearing eyes. "Why do you think?" He places the pillow on the chair by the desk and starts walking in her direction only, stopping when he's right in front of her. "You know why." He whispers, and the pull is already there. Almost a tangible, yet invisible force between them.
Her eyes are watery too. Lydia can feel his breath on her skin and her hands move up to his cheeks, stroking them gently. Stiles leans into her touch absently. "You're not the only one hurting." Her words brush his lips softly, her voice doing things inside him that he was supposed to be avoiding. She's too close.
He gives in only to place a kiss on her forehead. "I don't know if I can do this. I'm sorry." Then, taking a step back, Stiles turns around, grabbing the pillow as he goes and walking down the stairs.
Lydia doesn't move right away. Instead, she focuses on her breathing and closes her eyes. She doesn't know how they got here because now things are worse than they were before. They are not any closer to figure anything out. She might even admit they are more distant from it and their moods are a challenge every damn day. They can easily almost be kissing and right after ready to tear the other apart and she doesn't know how to deal with it. And most of the time they don't know if it's just them or the tether, something else they have yet to figure out how it works. And the others… She can't believe how they put up with them. It makes her sick to her stomach knowing that this whole situation is not only affecting the two of them, but everyone else. It's just too much to take in.
Moments later she lets out a shuddering breath and finally moves to get her clothes. In the bathroom, she changes and washes her face. It's a warm night and it was a long day and Lydia is not feeling so well so she opens one of the bathroom windows and just stands there for a few minutes, breathing the fresh air and clearing her head while looking at the landscape outside. When she walks out of the bathroom, however, the feeling simmers down when she sees Stiles on the bed, lying on his side. He's obviously not sleeping, he hadn't had the time to fall asleep but his eyes are closed, so Lydia heads to her side of the bed without saying a word.
For his turn, Stiles is upset that he chose to come back upstairs but he doesn't know what to make of his actions anymore. He'd be restless if he slept on the couch, but being beside her is probably not his smartest idea either. Lydia climbs into the bed and doesn't say anything, so he keeps quiet as well. After a few minutes, when he thinks she's already asleep, he murmurs "I'm sorry" and she mutters back "I'm sorry too."
Neither of them moves, staying in each one's side of the bed, facing opposite sides and back to back, dozing soon after that.
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They wake up three times during the night.
Lydia wakes up first, about an hour later to go to the bathroom. When she comes to, her head is resting on top of Stiles' chest and his arm is around her waist. She gets up slowly to not wake him up and when she returns to the bed, he hasn't moved so she falls back to her place in his arms.
He was awake.
About an hour and a half later it's Stiles who's thirsty, waking up to find he's spooning with Lydia. Her back fits perfectly against his chest and their hands are placed on her stomach, fingers entwined. He gets up carefully and goes downstairs. As it happened before, when he comes back to the bedroom she hasn't moved so he lies down beside her, spooning again, taking her hand in his.
She was awake too.
Around five in the morning, Stiles wakes up and Lydia is not there. Getting up, he starts looking for her to realize that she's not inside the cabin. Noticing that one of the lights outside is turned on, Stiles peeks out the window and sees her sitting on the edge of the dock by the lake, not too far away. Stiles looks around the cabin to find a blanket and then walks out to meet her.
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Lydia has been sitting there for almost twenty minutes, just staring up at the sky. It's still dark and the stars are looking back at her and she feels peaceful like she hasn't in a while. It's a little cold but she doesn't move; she could stay there for hours.
It bothers her that she knows that Stiles is there even before she can see him. A blanket is softly thrown over her shoulders before he sits beside her, silent. Staring up at the sky too, he lets himself lean back on his elbows and together they study the map that the sky presents them. He asks her about a few constellations and she answers, telling him what she knows about them and gesturing in its direction.
They don't know why sometimes it's easier and other times it's harder being around each other, but when it's easier they take it, no second thoughts. They stay there until just before sunrise, when Stiles gets up and holds out his hand for her.
"Come on, let's go back to bed."
Lydia nods and he helps her up, and they walk back side by side. Maybe today won't be so bad.
