A/N: I'm updating a lot faster than I normally do, but I hope everyone enjoys! As always, please review!


05041646

England

2022 Hours

The Worthington Estate

Stiles crossed his arms as Lydia began folding down the covers on the bed. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Lydia groaned and sighed. "I told you, and for the tenth time, I'm fine." She had already taken off the bird cage-looking contraption that made her dress flare out and took her hair down as well.

"Well, you didn't look fine when you nearly passed out down there!" Stiles raised his voice slightly and pointed at the door.

"Why are you angry?" She asked with a bite.

Stiles scoffed and thought about it. He sighed. "I'm not-" He started loudly, and saw the look of annoyance on Lydia's face, so he took a deep breath and, softer, he said. "I'm not angry."

"You could have fooled me." She muttered. Stiles ignored the comment.

"It's just, I freak out when you get hurt, okay? I always have."

Lydia sighed. "I just haven't used my voice like that in a while and it took a lot out of me, but really...I'm fine."

Stiles nodded slowly, then changed the subject. "So, two down..." He made a face "Or...two not down I guess you could say."

Lydia chuckled. "Yeah, we did it. We got lucky." Lydia's look saddened. "That poor dog though." When Stiles tried to tell Henry that his wine was poisoned, Henry didn't believe him. It wasn't until Elizabeth's dog came up and licked up the contents of the goblet, then began to seize that Henry finally realized Stiles was telling the truth. Henry was grateful, Elizabeth was inconsolable, the assassin ran off, and the party was officially over before it had really begun.

"Poor Elizabeth." Stiles countered.

Lydia made a face and shrugged. "Eh."

Stiles's eyes widened. "Lydia!"

"What?" She lowered her voice and said, " She's horrible!"

Stiles was about to argue, but sighed. "She's not the greatest. I think she was trying to flirt with me earlier."

Lydia stifled a laugh. "Hey, can you undo my dress?" She turned around and moved her hair over her shoulder.

Stiles felt his cheeks heat up for a moment, then he cleared his throat. "Yeah." His voice came out a little high-pitched. He walked around the bed and over to Lydia. As he worked his fingers over the buttons that went down her back, his eyes stayed focused at the back of her neck. He was doing everything in his power not to think about how much he wanted to kiss that neck. It suddenly became entirely too stuffy in that small room, and he realized he was still wearing his jacket. He needed to take that jacket off right away, otherwise he may be the one passing out. Stiles quickly finished unbuttoning the dress and took a few steps away from Lydia. "Done."

"Thanks." She began to pull the dress off in front of him.

Stiles, who was desperately trying to get his jacket off, noticed. "Oh..."He didn't mean to say it. He definitely didn't mean for it to sound like a moan, but it slipped out, so he covered it up, "...My God. You're wearing a corset."

"Yeah, and it sucks." She told him without looking at him.

"No wonder you almost passed out." He said as he finished getting the jacket off and tried pulling his shirt out his pants, but sweat was causing the shirt to stick to his back, so he started unbuttoning the front.

Lydia let out a frustrated sigh. "Can you help me again?"

Stiles eyes widened and looked up at the ceiling, mouthing curses and waving his arms around.

"Stiles?" Lydia asked, still not looking in his direction.

"Yeah?" He put his hand on his hips.

"Did you hear me?

"Um...yes?" He scratched the back of his head.

She sighed. "If you don't want to do it, I'll just go find-" She turned around now and stopped talking when she saw him with no jacket, his shirt half untucked and halfway open, cheeks flushed, one hand on the back of his neck and the other hand on his hip. Lydia opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. "Um..are you okay?"

Stiles nodded, afraid his voice would give him away.

She sighed and walked over to him, the large dress hanging at her waist.

"Stiles! We went through this, this morning...or afternoon...or whatever it was, when we got here. You stared at my boobs for two minutes straight."

"Yes, and do we remember how that ended?" Lydia smirked and looked down as his waist. "Excuse me!." He started and lifted her chin with two fingers. "My eyes are up here."

"I''m sorry." She laughed lightly, then whined "Now, do I need to go find somebody or do you think you can keep it together for another minute and please help me get this thing off so that I can finally breathe again?"

"Only if you can help me get this thing off so that I can finally breathe again." When he didn't see her react he realized he'd said it in his head, which was probably for the better. He sighed. "Yes." She smiled and turned around and he unlaced her corset.

She went behind the partition to change her clothes and Stiles pulled the backpack out from under the bed and pulled his sweatpants out. They had decided to actually sleep at Henry and Elizabeth's before jumping to the next place on the list. It had been a long day and Stiles was sure that they had only taken a small nap back in Rome.

"Stiles, will you pass me my clothes?"

"Yeah." He dug back through the bag. "Oh, no." He muttered.

"What?"

"Are you sure you put your clothes back in here after you took them off?"

"Are they not there?"

Stiles shook his head then realized she couldn't see that. "No. I took my sweatpants out and now all that's in here is my shirt and your underwear." Then he quietly added, "Thank God there's underwear."

"Okay, well then give me that."

Stiles grabbed the shirt and picked the underwear up with it, then stopped. "Wait, then what am I going to wear?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if I give you my shirt then what am I going to wear?"

"Why do you need to wear a shirt? God, Stiles are you really that insecure about your body? I saw you without a shirt on today. You looked fine!"

Stiles made a face. "Just fine?"

"Seriously?! You're going to do this now? I'm naked here so unless you want me to sleep in the nude, pass me the damn shirt!"

Stiles looked down at the shirt, debating for a half a moment, before handing her the shirt and underwear. Stiles finished taking his shirt off and then quickly took off his pants and slipped his sweatpants on before Lydia could come out from behind the partition. He crossed his arms over his bare chest, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Stiles looked toward the door and realized that it didn't lock, so he looked around and found a chair then shoved it under the door knob to stop anyone from coming in without being invited. He took a step back to marvel at his work crossing his arms once again.

"Good idea." He heard from behind him.

He turned around and Lydia was standing next to the partition a few feet away from him. The sight of her in his shirt (and nothing but his shirt, really), was a sight he knew he could get used to. "It looks good on you." He told her with a smile.

She smiled then creased her forehead in thought. "You know," she started. "It fits a lot like the shirt I took out of Future Lydia's dresser that I was wearing."

"Maybe that was mine too." He joked, but then saw Lydia face. She brought her arms up and crossed them around her waist, as if she felt vulnerable. "Wait... wait a minute. Do you think it was mine"?

Lydia shrugged. "I...I don't know. Maybe?" She sighed. "Elbie just kept saying things that got me curious."

"Yeah," Stiles thought about the picture he saw and that Elbie removed of him and Lydia kissing. He debated saying something about it, but then Lydia spoke again.

"You know, she kind of reminded me of you a little."

"What?! How? I mean... No offense, but she's black, or at least half black, and I'm...pasty."

"I didn't mean she looked like you. I just meant the way she said things."

Stiles was still confused. "But, she has a British accent."

Lydia groaned. "I mean like her mannerisms when she said those things. God, stop being so defensive. I'm not saying she's your kid-"

"What?"

"I'm just saying she reminded me of you." Lydia registered what Stiles said and added, "And what do you mean 'what'?"

Stiles's mind was moving quickly. Where had that even come from?"I just..." He uncrossed his arms and placed them on his hips. "I never thought that's what you were saying. That thought never crossed my mind..." Lydia bit her lip and Stiles tried to read her expression."But it crossed yours?" Lydia opened her mouth, but her eyes weren't focused on his face but on his chest. "Lydia?" Lydia's eyes went back to Stiles's.

She stared for a moment and then shook her head. "Only for a moment. It was more than just the way she moved. It was the way she looked at you. In awe, with admiration, and a tinge of sadness. Like you were someone she looked up to before...you know. Or maybe someone she heard a lot about but never met."

"You got all that? I didn't even notice."

Lydia shrugged. "I always notice the way that other girls look at you." Stiles raised an eyebrow. Lydia sighed. " Not just at you. At all of my guy friends."

"Jealous much?" He teased.

Lydia shook her head. "Why should I be?" She turned away and walked to the bed. "I see the way you look at them."

"And how's that?"

Lydia looked back at him. "Like you don't really see them. Like you have eyes for someone else." She lifted the covers back and climbed into the bed. "I used to think it was because you were with Malia, but then you started looking at her the same way." How do you think I look at you? He wanted to know, but was too afraid to ask. Maybe she wanted him to ask. But what if she couldn't see how he looked at her? She sighed. "We should go to sleep."

"You're right." He said. To himself, he knew he was telling her that she was right about about him liking someone else, but he hoped that Lydia thought he was responding to her latter statement.

She raised her eyebrow for a moment as if trying to decipher what he meant, but instead of asking him, she just let it go. Stiles walked over to the right side of the bed since Lydia had claimed the left, and picked up a pillow threw it on the floor, then starting grabbing a blanket.

Lydia groaned. "Stiles, what the hell are you doing now?"

"I'm sleeping on the floor."

"The hell you are!" It was Stiles's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Pick up the pillow, put it back, and get in here next to me." She sighed. "I'd feel safer if you were right here."

Stiles smiled, knowing how difficult it was for her to say that. "Okay." He picked up the pillow off the floor and placed it on the bed where it belonged. Then he climbed in next to her. They lay there for a moment before their hands found each other under the covers. It wasn't the first time they held hands, although it was the first time that held hands while laying in a bed next to each other. Stiles thought about it and except for a few of his dreams, he was pretty sure that this was the first time they had laid in a bed together. Another thing he could get used to.

"Fyi." Lydia said, squeezing his hand. "You without a shirt? It's more than fine. It's actually kind of sexy."

Stiles felt his cheeks heat up and he smiled. "Well-" He started to say, but Lydia interrupted him.

"Shhh... it's time to sleep."

"-Ditto." He finished his thought in his head before drifting off to sleep.