It's almost ten when Lydia wakes up again.
Checking her phone, she finds a text from Kira saying that the group will be at the warehouse waiting for her and Stiles when they're ready, so Lydia gently wakes him up and they have breakfast together downstairs. After changing, they head to the warehouse to meet the others.
On the way there, they don't talk much preferring to play safe. Maybe if they don't talk much, things won't get too weird. When they get to the main building, everyone is chatting cheerfully and no one addresses the way the tension between the pair seems different. It's not necessarily better nor worse, just unlike before.
"I'm glad to see that you both made it through the night alive." Derek comments with a smile. "We were wondering if we had to send someone to check in on you."
"Very funny." Stiles lets out a nervous chuckle while he scratches the back of his neck and glances at Lydia, who's slightly blushing. He hides a smile himself. "So what are our plans for today?"
Everyone settles on getting to know their surroundings until lunch and then spend the afternoon together. Before that, however, they agree on which chores everyone will have to do like preparing meals, do the dishes or cleaning. No one complains. The idea of finally having some fun away from parental supervision is so exciting to all of them that they'll do anything if it might mean that they can come back sometime in the future. They have to be responsible after all.
When the group steps outside, the sun is already high in the sky and it's hot around them. The breeze from last night seems to have ceased and the place looks stunning; there's so much color around them. Aside from all the trees, there are bushes and flowers they hadn't been able to see last night and truly, they hadn't really noticed how beautiful the cabins are.
They all group behind Derek and follow him as he leads the pack through the woods. The property is much bigger than they all expected. Farther away from the entrance, they see a few more cabins spread around the land and there are a few small clearings; some just have grass or rocks, others are completely filled with flowers. But the lake is definitely what has everyone grinning. It's wide and has two docks, one near Stiles and Lydia's cabin and another farther to the right. The water is incredibly clear and reflects the sun in a way they can't seem to resist, so Derek suggests they all come back later in the afternoon, when he knows the water will be warmer.
Back at the warehouse, Scott, Stiles and Liam start preparing lunch while the girls set the table and help out. Derek disappears for a few minutes with Brett and Mason, saying he'll come back with a surprise.
Near the large dining table, the girls are whispering. "So, how was last night?"
"Funny, I wanted to ask you the same thing." Lydia answers back to Grace.
"What do you mean?" The younger girl blushes, looking very focused on setting the cutlery right.
Kira answers, whispering even lower. They had learned to almost hum when they are around the werewolves. "We noticed the way you and Liam have been looking at each other lately."
"And don't deny it, sweetheart." Lydia teases, smiling. "Nothing to be ashamed of."
Grace frowns. "Last night was fine. Why wouldn't it be? Nothing happened…"
"Well, do you want something to happen?" The girls have been encouraging Grace to open up for days now. "We don't judge."
"We just want to help." Lydia says, nodding reassuringly.
"I don't know. I mean, it's Liam…" She says the younger wolf's name like she's about to melt. "He's the popular kid. Why would he be interested in me?"
"Sweetie, why wouldn't he?" Braeden steps up. "You are gorgeous and incredibly smart. He's probably the one asking why you'd be interested in him, you know?"
"He gets really nervous around you. It's so cute." It was true. When he was too close to Grace or trying to get her attention or if the girl was actually speaking to him, he could sometimes be worse than Stiles when he's all clumsy.
The girls chuckle, bringing the boys' attention to them even though they are across the room.
Peeking through the kitchen door, Stiles' voice startles them. "What are you laughing about over there?" Scott and Liam join him at the door.
The girls shut up immediately, trying to hide their laughter and turning to face them. Kira smiles when she teases them. "Oh, you know, just talking about boys."
There are a few faces turning red at the comment. Scott laughs. "Them maybe we should join you."
"Oh no, no, sweetheart." Lydia says, playful. "What would be the fun in that?"
"Fun? Torture, you mean…" Stiles mumbles, feeling a little smug.
"Same thing." Lydia says, pursing her lips and looking right at him, cheeks reddening.
Stiles doesn't break the gaze as he walks backwards to the kitchen with the boys, a smile menacing to escape his lips.
"Soooo…" Kira elbows Lydia. "What was that about?" Lydia just shrugs her shoulders, hiding her face behind her hair as they continue to set the table.
"You know, Derek wasn't lying." Braeden comments half-jokingly. "We were actually concerned. You two have been a little tense lately…"
"I know. Sorry about that. We don't mean to, it just happens…"
Braeden, Kira and Grace exchange a look. Kira takes a chance. "Maybe you guys are overthinking it."
Lydia sighs. "I'm not even sure what we're doing anymore. It's like we have no control over what we do, at all. You saw how bad it was yesterday. And today we're being pretty civil, so far."
"I wouldn't call it civil. Kinda flirty, I'd say." Grace starts laughing but Lydia raises an eyebrow so she stops abruptly, embarrassed. "I meant, you two look at each other like you're about to rip the other apart. And I don't mean it in a bad way, you know…" She lets out a nervous chuckle.
"She's right, Lydia." Braeden looks amused. "Maybe you two should just let go." She says smiling.
"Let go?"
"Yes, Lydia. Let go. You two are tense, too tense. Maybe a little relaxing wouldn't hurt…" She grins.
Lydia slaps her arm slightly, but Braeden's words won't get out of her head for the rest of the day. She doesn't notice Grace looking at the kitchen's door where Liam appeared and is nodding back at the younger girl and smiling.
The boys had been passing along a similar advice to a very disconcerted Stiles.
xxxxxxxxxx
After lunch, everyone helped cleaning the kitchen and then settled for a movie in the common room, and Brett and Mason wouldn't stop muttering to Derek "Thank you" and "Can I tell you I love you?". They had been at it for over an hour.
It had been one of the arguments from the morning before. The boys had been whining that they wanted to bring with them video games and their consoles, but Derek kept telling them that they were supposed to spend time together as a group. However, this morning when Derek asked for their help, they complained at first but then they were all smiles and overly excited, that's for sure.
That Lydia could see, there was a PlayStation, an Xbox and a Wii, plus a box full of videogames, and a big box at that. Derek figured that everyone could benefit from a little friendly competition, so he didn't want to spoil the surprise by letting those little idiots bring their own consoles. Still, games were for later. Now it was movie time.
Or so he thought.
Everyone was already sitting on the couches and on the floor getting comfortable, but Mason and Brett and Liam wouldn't shut up about it, so Derek eventually gave in.
"Oh my god, just take it upstairs and go! You're being even more annoying than Stiles, geez."
Stiles, who's sitting next to Scott and Kira on the couch with Lydia and Grace close by sitting on the floor, can't help but retort. "God, don't be such a sour wolf."
Scott is the first to start laughing but everyone joins soon enough when a cushion comes flying through the room and hits Stiles right in the head.
"Hey, that's my face." He says throwing it back, obviously missing the target.
"Oh honey, your face is fine." Lydia murmurs tapping on Stiles' knee gently, smiling.
Everyone in the room stops to look at them and bursts out laughing again when they both blush hard. Lydia doesn't even remember thinking the words, let alone speak them. When the laughter calms down and the boys are already playing upstairs, the rest of them enjoy the movie.
Lydia's hand never leaves Stiles' leg.
xxxxxxxxxx
Around five in the afternoon, everyone is almost running when leaving the warehouse to change clothes. It's lake time.
They arrange to meet by Lydia and Stiles' cabin in twenty minutes. The boys, of course, only need five, so they are the ones waiting for the girls near the dock. As for the girls, Lydia insists that Grace go change with her at the cabin.
She's been thinking about Braeden's words all afternoon. And maybe Braeden's right. So if she's gonna put herself out there for Stiles, might as well have a little fun with it. And Grace needs to loosen up too, so it's a win-win.
"You are not wearing that, Grace."
"Why?" The girl looks down at her strapless black swimsuit. "I like it."
"It's cute, but it's comfortable. You just told me you want him, right?" The girl blushes. Lydia had finally heard Grace say that she wants to give it a try with Liam, so she's giving her a little push. "So you need to get out of your comfort zone, okay?" She nods and Lydia throws her a white bikini. "Here. I'll go black and you'll go white. We're gonna knock them down." Lydia teases with a laugh while Grace checks it out. "The top doesn't show too much and the fold bikini brief is great to make a statement without covering too much. I think it'll look great on you. Go on, try it."
When Grace comes out of the bathroom, both girls are open-mouthed looking at the other. The white bikini does suit Grace, Lydia never doubted it, but the girl always hid a little in her clothes so Liam is probably gonna die in a few minutes.
As for Grace, she's not sure how to put her thoughts into words exactly. "You're wearing that?"
Lydia chuckles. "Yes, I am." It's a classic triangle bikini, all black, tying on the neck and on her back, and it might be a little (more like a lot) revealing, not that she really cares. She's going for it. "How do I look?" She cracks a smile.
"Sexy! Holy shit. I'm kind of rethinking mine now…"
"Oh sweetie." Lydia grabs the girl's shoulders and directs Grace until she's standing in front of the mirror. "We both look hot. Now just let your hair down and put this on..." She throws her an oversized t-shirt and gets one for herself. "And follow my lead."
When they get to the lake, everyone is already there.
The girls stay behind as the boys take their shirts off and that's when it hits her. Lydia has never seen Stiles shirtless before. Sure, his shirts still hinted at his - she assumed from all the years of practicing lacrosse and running away from the supernatural - slightly defined torso, and she had found a new hobby checking out his arms and his hands, which she did anytime she could, but she had never really seen him shirtless.
So she definitely takes her time gawking at the sight of him as he pulls his t-shirt up, the muscles on his back and shoulders making her gasp while he moves, biting her lip when he turns around and she can see the defined outline of his abdomen now that he's only wearing his blue, plaid (of course) shorts that fit him perfectly. She has always liked blue on him. And now he's stretching up, the little bastard. Stiles doesn't seem to notice her staring though, because right after he's running for the water with the others, laughing happily like he doesn't have a care in the world.
The girls though, decide to put on a little show. They walk slowly until they reach the dock and then stand there chatting until they know that the boys are watching them, that their eyes are on them and them only. When that happens, they keep talking to each other and like they're in sync, all the girls slowly take off their shirts and keep walking, hips a little more bouncy than usually. Then they just run for the water, laughing like little kids, and jump. The water is warm, just like Derek said it would be, and the sun reflects in the water making it look like gold. It's breathtaking.
Everyone plays some game that the boys come up with and they enjoy it, their disguised freedom, because they are doing the best they can. And it feels good to finally be able to live a little without feeling guilty or scared or stressed out of their minds. It's fun, lighthearted.
It's what they were supposed to be doing with their lives, after all.
Minutes later, Lydia excuses herself and Stiles from the game saying that she needs something. No one comments on it, choosing instead to start spreading around the lake playing whatever it was they'd agreed on now to give the pair some privacy.
Her voice comes out as innocence as she can manage. "Stiles? A little help, please?"
He was already looking at her, cheeks flushed. No matter how hard he tried, she always looked like a goddess to him. Perfect… Flawless… Lydia took his breath away every time. He quickly swims to her side with a smirk on his face, and she's smiling too when she turns her back to him and to the others.
"It untied. Could you…?" She says, looking over her shoulder and gazing to her bare back.
Lydia did it purposefully. She had pulled the cords of her bikini top in a calculated move. She's not even holding the strings, giving Stiles loose rein to touch her freely because that's what she's been craving the most, his touch. And she knows he'll read her like a book like he always does. He knows her too well.
Stiles gets closer, letting his chest touch her back, reveling in the sight of a wet and barely clothed Lydia Martin so close to him. The same way he did so many weeks before, he moves her hair away and his fingers trail the soft skin of her shoulders and up her neck, then down her arms.
"Untied, uh?"
She tries not to moan because fuck his hands brush her breasts underwater as he catches the strings of her bikini top and easily tie them back again and it wasn't a sorry-my-hand-accidentally-brushed-your-breasts touch. It was an I-totally-meant-to-do-that touch. Not that it was uncalled for, but she didn't know it would feel so… Electric. She inhales deeply before answering, trying and failing to hide a grin. "Guess I didn't tie it properly…"
He laughs, his mouth really close to her ear, kissing her neck just below. "Is that what you're going for? 'My bad, I didn't do it on purpose.' Really?"
He is a little surprised when she turns around quickly and their faces end up just inches apart. She slams her fist on his chest tentatively. She needs to touch him. "No, Stiles." She bites her lower lip as her hand slowly goes down to his abdomen and underwater, her touch curious as she maps out his muscles. Her cheeks are burning but she doesn't seem to mind. He brings his hands to her waist, pulling her a little closer. She looks up at his eyes, god she missed them, and her hands trail up to the back of his neck to pull him down to her. Their foreheads touch. "I miss you."
He lets out a shaky breath, nervous. "I know. I'm not sure what we're supposed to do."
Lydia sighs. "I know." One of her hands moves from his neck to his cheek, her thumb touching his lips lightly. "I want to kiss you," she confesses in a whisper.
Stiles smiles. "You know they could be hearing us, right?" He looks back at where the rest of the pack is, swimming and playfully chasing each other far away from him and Lydia.
She peeks over Stiles' shoulder too. The others seem to be minding their own business and they are probably far away enough to not be prying. "If I'm being honest, I don't really care." Lydia murmurs, blushing. He'll never get tired of seeing her blushing. "I want you, Stiles."
He doesn't waste time, his lips eagerly descending to hers, finding solace on their taste. Lydia returns the kiss just as desperately, her lips parting for him easily, tongues meeting once more, teasing, experiencing. Their hands seem to be moving on their own accord, Lydia's fingers running through Stiles' hair trying to pull him impossibly closer, his wandering the skin of her waist and up her flanks.
The kiss soon becomes frantic, urgent. Stiles and Lydia part breathless, their lips brushing and their chests erratically moving up and down together.
He places a small, tender kiss on her lips, and then moves to press an open mouthed kiss on her neck, his fingers teasing dangerously along the waistline of her briefs. "I missed you too."
Stiles can't stop smiling. The sun, now lower in the sky, makes Lydia's hair shine in unholy ways, her eyes looking like fire. "God, you're beautiful." He says, kissing her again, his hands playing around her waist.
Before they can do anything else, they're both startled by a whistle in the distance.
Stiles and Lydia look over in the whizzing sound's direction to see Scott waving at them, far enough that he has to scream for the pair to hear him. "Guys, someone's coming. Come on."
They start swimming for the waterside immediately, their senses suddenly on high alert. They join the group as soon as they get there.
Stiles turns to Scott. "What is it?"
"I heard a car coming. Derek went to check on it, see who it was."
"What do you think? Any bad feelings?"
"No, not really. There's a familiar scent, but I can't place it…"
"So what? We wait for Derek?"
"I think we should go meet him, just to be safe. Strength in numbers, right?"
Stiles nods. Everyone starts to make their way up the hill, Stiles taking Lydia by the hand, bodies still dripping from the water.
As they all walk in a fast pace, Scott keeps focusing on his sense of smell. It's not just one scent he's catching, he notices. Taking a deep breath, he tries to place them.
And he does.
"Oh my god."
The group stops abruptly. "Scott? Scott, what it is?"
"No way! Stiles, it's…"