Dans tout Paris
He felt as though he was unable to breath; his chest was on fire and sucking all of the remaining air from his lungs and when he finally woke up from whatever nightmare he realized that the need to breath was only inside of his mind. Stiles patted himself down thoroughly, feeling his chest for the wound that had stolen his life. Nothing. 'Whew was that just a dream or…' he took in his surroundings, the dark room unfamiliar yet recognizable. 'Not a dream, then.' He threw the cover off his legs and swung them over the side of the bed, wiggling his toes before placing them on the wooden floorboards. He bent down to rummage around for clothing before remembering that he didn't need to do that anymore, either.
"This is gonna take some getting used to." Stiles closed his eyes and imagined a comfortable pair of skinny jeans and t-shirt, which appeared immediately on his body. "Good little trick." He smiled to no one and exited the room listening for any sound that would indicate the direction of his new housemate.
The hall was mostly dark but for some oil lamps glowing gently guiding him towards the staircase. He peeked into a couple of rooms on his way without trying to see too much; locating Allison was his mission right now. He took a bit longer to appreciate the aesthetic of the cabin and ran his hand down the smooth banister tapping the knob at the bottom of the steps, his long fingers playing a small rhythm.
"Allison?" He called out hoping he wasn't going to wake her.
"In the kitchen!"
Stiles quickly shuffled in the direction he had heard her voice coming from and walked into a very nice simple style Kitchen with an island sitting dead center. It was cozy with soft polished wood cabinets and a sliding door that opened out onto a balcony. The roof was angled so as it had a triangle and low ceiling feel as you walked inside.
"Hey good to see you're awake." Allison said. She was standing by the sink with a mug in hand.
"I didn't realize ghosts needed kitchens." Stiles commented running a hand over the smooth kitchen surface.
"Well death would be eternally boring without the odd flavor. You want anything?" She asked tilting her head.
"Nah, I'm good." He walked over to the middle island and sat on a wooden stool, leaning his elbows on top of the counter and eying Allison. She was now wearing a dress he had seen on her a few times before she died; it still looked just as good. "How long was I out?"
"Not long. A few hours really, it's hard to keep track but it's nighttime now." She smiled and sat across from him placing the mug on to the table and wrapped her hands around it out of habit, even if the warmth did very little. "So." She started awkwardly not really used to the company anymore. "Did you sleep well?"
"I feel pretty rested but I had some strange dreams. Really weird actually, I woke up feeling as though…"
"As if you were dying all over again." Allison finished for him with a deep look of understanding.
"Yeah that. What's up with that?" He asked fighting back a shudder that still made its way to the surface, and it wasn't because he felt cold. He felt nothing particularly of warmth or coolness, as though those kinds of sensations were an expectation rather than a reality.
"It's a part of transitioning into the afterlife, you shouldn't get too many more of them. First time you sleep is usually the worst because you're still recovering and your body sleeping is part of having died recently." She sipped her drink thoughtfully and watched him over the rim of her mug as he processed the new information. "Stiles, you okay?"
"Hm? Yeah. Sorry I just, it all feels so weird y'know." He sighed.
Allison gave a deep suffering sigh of her own in sympathy and solidarity wanting to cheer him up somehow and yet knowing it was nearly impossible. She'd done this all before and yet seeing someone else go through that same process made the empathic side of her ache to make it all better. "You know what, we should do something."
"Hm? What do you mean?" He stared blankly at her his light brown eyes squinting in obvious confusion.
"There's plenty to do in the afterlife Stiles you won't get bored." She said smiling and tapping her fingers on the counter.
"Well what did you do all this time? Maybe we could do that!" He grinned and Allison paled at the suggestion.
"Uh- I erm, actually no that probably won't be any good. I did visit a couple new areas though that I could take you to." She thought about which one and then decided to just decide based on his next reply. "You ever been anywhere outside of California?"
Stiles pursed his lips thoughtfully and shook his head "Not really we didn't have enough money to vacation often outside of visiting San Fran."
"Great." She giggled to herself and stood up walking around to his side and grabbing his hand. "Follow me and don't ask any questions this'll be a surprise."
Stiles nodded and let Allison lead them out of the house down the steps and in the direction they had arrived from only a few hours ago. She let his hand go in order to turn around in place seeming to decide of which direction they should be facing; and Stiles already missed the soft skin contact.
"Okay I think we need to be pointing north east." Allison pointed her arm out to the correct direction and Stiles looked that way but he couldn't see anything but endless trees in the darkness, their branches intertwined so densely that there was very little you could actually find without wandering into the wood.
"Are you sure?" He said skeptically.
"Trust me." She walked a little ways forward and Stiles held back waiting to see what she would do, as her eyes closed Allison murmured something under her breath and he realized that she was doing the same as what had brought them to this here cabin. Once she finished an opening shimmered and materialized in front of them as a doorway to another area.
"How do you do that?" He asked her walking over to stand at her side and poke a hand through tentatively.
"You need a sort of zip code, ghosts tend to talk and we share them with one another." Allison smiled at him conspiratorially. "For a price of course."
Stiles eyes widened and his mouth formed a small o as he processed that bit of information and the idea that Allison had been going around finding these codes so that she could travel, and he wanted to know how or what she had done- however the conversation seemed closed for now as this time she grabbed his arm and tugged him through. On the other side his entire expectation changed into one of complete awe and shock. They arrived on a busy street lined with glowing tall black lamps interspersed with trees and bustling with life, women and men alike walking in clothes Stiles had never expected to see.
"Where are we?" He turned to look at his companion only to find her hair in an upsweep style and wearing a full black dress with two straps that clung to her curved shoulders and a long flowing skirt, the bodice framed her chest well too, although Stiles tried hard not to think about that part. "Woah."
Allison smiled brightly and curtsied. "Welcome to Paris 1962." She said giving him a small wink. "You'll need to change your clothes to fit in."
"How are we in the past?" He asked incredulously looking around the street once more; a couple turned his way to study him and he realized that they could see him and Allison just as he could see them.
"It's part of the afterlife- we're kind of in a frozen location where ghosts reside, there's a bar just a few streets away that I want to take you to. Hurry up and change!" She placed her hands on her hips and waited for him to take a hint.
"Okay Okay fine, hang on." He looked around at the men and noticed that most of them were wearing shirts and blazers looking rather smart, even a few had on hats. Stiles had never seen himself as the smart looking type but he wanted to do this, so he picked out an outfit mixed up from what he could see. Using that nifty trick, Stiles now sported a checkered navy blue and white shirt with a deep grey blazer and matching trousers. His tie was black and blue striped, and to top it off he included a suave hat that he tipped at Allison causing her to smile so brightly he thought he would go blind.
"Not bad Stiles you clean up well." She said appreciatively.
"Why thank you, Miss Argent, as do you." He stood up shoulders back and straightened his tie then held out a hand with a goofy smile on his face immediately shattering the illusion of a composed gentleman. "Shall we?"
Allison laughed and reached for his arm shaking her head as they walked down the street arm in arm. "You never did manage to grow up Stiles."
"I'll have you know it's part of my charm, also what's the fun in growing up?" He asked her as they passed a group of women chatting and smoking cigarettes. They were most certainly concerned with their conversation of which seemed to be engaging and a few of them laughed at something the darker haired woman said, she then flashed her eyes in his direction briefly as if to note his and Allison's passing before returning to her friends attention. "Are they speaking French?"
Allison tuned in and smiled "Yes they are. Do you know any?" She asked him tilting her head to look him in the eye. Allison had never been very short next to Stiles but he had managed to grow at least a couple more inches in the last three years, even if they weren't much, As such she still came just about to his chin level and only needed to look up slightly.
"No. Well, I remember a couple of phrases." He flushed at the memory "uh and it's probably horribly rusty."
"Give it a go." She said leaning further against his arm as they turned a corner and onto a main street that seemed to be completely lit up by glowing golden lights and there just in the distance was a bridge that looked newly built.
"Um." Stiles scratched his cheek for a few moments wracking his brain. "Comban?" He said as his lips fumbled around the letters and he felt if he could he would have blushed brighter than ever.
"Combien?" She asked him and he nodded at her causing Allison to huff out a giggle. "That's not too bad, I guess you're definitely at tourist level."
"Yeah well between being possessed and running for my life or trying to keep my friends alive it's not really been a priority of mine. French was the last thing on my mind." He sighed but then smiled slightly "although now that I'm y'know, dead, you could teach me?"
"Sure I don't see why not."
They continued onward in silence for the rest of the short walk just taking in the atmosphere. It was a beautiful place Stiles had to admit and there was no denying the excitement he felt actually being able to visit somewhere new without the worry of money, and he was in good company too. Who knew your afterlife was a lot more fun and joyful. They turned down a small cobbled walkway soon enough and Allison lead him through throngs of people now seeming to get more frequent, until eventually they walked into a road that proudly displayed a beautiful building with old fashioned flare.
"What is this place?" He asked her looked up at it trying to read the sign in French but she just tugged Stiles forward some more her heels clicking loudly as they entered the fancy establishment.
Inside were warm furnishings and a bar, men and women filled the room comfortably talking and smoking and a warm sound drifted into his ears causing Stiles to look over into the corner where a small stage was placed for entertainment. On it was a beautiful blonde woman sitting on a stool next to the piano, her deep alto voice singing huskily in flawless French.
"Okay this is pretty cool Allison." Stiles stared up at the ceiling to see its intricate design in a marble white and gold admiring the work that must have gone into such a thing. As he was turning to view the spiral stairs leading upward to probably what would be a more secluded and private area, Allison's grip loosened and he turned to find her walking over to a black man hunched over a glass of whiskey.
"Bonjour Marcel." Allison spoke fluently and openly and the man, Marcel, turned his handsome face to smile at her.
"Allison, c'est bon de vous voir." He kissed her on both cheeks and laid his hands on her shoulders. "Vous êtes vraiment belle."
Allison smiled brightly and bent her head, as she tended to do when complimented, her dimples deepening as she grinned, "merci", and then turned to Stiles once he made his presence known. "Voilà mon ami Stiles. Il parle anglais."
"Ah. An English man- is good to meet you Stiles. I am Marcel." He nodded in his direction holding out a hand, which Stiles gripped firmly and shook.
"It's good to meet you too Marcel."
"Come, sit. Drink." He snapped his fingers and there were two more small glasses placed before them as he and Allison joined him at the bar. "You have not brought your friend before Allison, why the change?"
Allison turned a bright pink-cheeked smile to Stiles before responding, "he just arrived, Stiles is a friend from before I died and only showed up not even a day ago, so I'm showing him around."
"Yes I see, I'm glad your friend found you." He smiled and knocked back some whiskey pausing to enjoy the taste and Stiles turned to look down at his own in consideration. Could ghosts get drunk? It was a question he had never in his life thought he would be asking himself. Truth be told a lot of this all exceeded any expectation of death he had ever envisioned- sure he'd entertained the idea of maybe seeing Allison again when he died but more in an abstract way. Now here he was in a 1960's bar in Paris, what a weird and surreal moment.
Taking a chance at it Stiles grabbed the glass and tested the liquor, the sharp kick of what he normally might expect was absent although it still tasted just the same as he remembered, if not slightly dulled. "Huh."
"Not what you expected is it." Allison had her back slightly to him and her head cocked in his direction, brown eyes glistening in amusement.
"I can't say any of today has been what I expected." Stiles admitted to her and the man Marcel barked out an amused laugh at that nodding his head in agreement.
"Oui monsieur Stiles , not as expected."
The lady on the small stage began a new song after a brief pause, her voice drifting through the air and around the three of them almost like a dance of lyrics and although Stiles couldn't understand much of her words, he was certainly enjoying the sound. He took another gulp of his whiskey and stared around at the people. Everyone looked to be rather laid back and enjoying themselves with a sort of energy that you would never find anywhere else. They were content in the knowledge that life was not a rush to the finish line and the variety in ages was something you rarely saw.
After a moment some people decided to stand up and dance to the new song, enjoying the slow rhythm that had been set. Allison watched them and thought of her school dance night and how it really had been the last chance she had to do so, turning to fully face her friend and ghostly companion Allison grabbed his hand and said "dance with me Stiles."
"What? Why?" He honestly felt baffled by her request.
"Because you're here and I look pretty, don't you want to?" She smiled and stood up tugging his hands so to bring him with her and he had no choice but to comply, briefly removing his hat to place it on the counter top. Stiles had no idea how he was all of a sudden in this situation- and Allison was pulling him to the floor where other couples were swaying. He bumped into someone and mumbled an apology to two women who glared at him for disrupting their dance.
"Okay stop pulling Allison." Stiles laughed, "be prepared to get flawed by my amazing dance skills." He puffed out his chest and smiled as he wiggled his eyebrows.
"Stiles we both know you're not the best dancer, let me lead." She laughed squeezing his arm.
"au contraire!" 'I know that one' he thought in triumph. "My mom taught me the basic waltz, it's all I can manage but it's good enough." He lifted her hand in his and wrapped an arm around her waist tugging her body closer; she fitted against his lean frame perfectly as they began to sway. Stiles lead the dance as best he knew how swirling around the other couples with Allison in his arms, her warm brown eyes gazing at him in a way that made his chest fill with some unknown emotion that almost made it seem as though they were gliding. 'What the hell?'
They continued their dance perfectly and soon blended into the second song enjoying the feeling of their feet matching each other's without fault and Allison tightened her hand against his smiling gently, they could barely look away. Usually she would lay her head on his shoulder but his gaze caught her in a trance that felt as though she was magnetized to his own. Stiles ran his hand down her back to rest on the base of her spine comfortably, it was less friendly and more intimate than behind her shoulder blades where they had started off but she didn't seem to mind as they moved in harmony.
Soon the second song came to an end and they slowly stopped still caught in each others eyes, Stiles blinked to break it and smiled rubbing the back of his neck. "You're really good."
Allison turned away trying to hide a look and they noticed the singer had finished her section for the night, everyone clapped her and she curtsied, leaving the stage. "What a beautiful vocalist." She commented sighing.
"Yeah she was amazing." They made their way off the floor and back towards the bar just as Allison's friend was standing up to leave.
"Oh Marcel are you off?"
"Yes I have some place to be, thank you for introducing me to your friend. Au revoir." He bowed and then leaned in to kiss Allison's cheeks once more and shake Stiles' hand and then he walked out the same way they had arrived.
"Nice guy. Hey what do you want to do now?" Stiles asked smiling, and Allison smiled back at him.
"Why don't we walk around for a bit, see more of Paris? Since you've never been before, I could show you a few other places."
"Sure sounds good." Stiles reached over to grab his discarded hat and then walked out with Allison's arm once again in his own, they must have looked quite the pair he thought.
Outside it was starting to get lighter as a dim glow permeated the edges of the horizon indicating that sunrise was only a mere few hours away. The air was cool and fresh as he breathed it into his lungs and the streets were becoming quiet like a peaceful and happy sigh. Allison and Stiles walked quite a ways just sharing conversation and she acted as tour guide for the small part of Paris they wandered within, she seemed to know her history and he was quite impressed with everything she told him. Tonight had definitely kept his mind occupied from wandering to the others and what was happening back in the life he had left behind, and he really didn't want to think about it at all. However every now and again his heart would pang at thinking just how much Scott and his father would have loved to see what he was seeing.
Soon they found an ornate bench to sit on to watch as the sun crested the horizon, and they lulled into small talk and silence, then he asked the question that had been bugging him for a while.
"You said that you could visit the physical realm when I asked how you knew to greet me, that you'd been keeping watch over the last three years and earlier this evening you avoided my question when I asked what you usually do to pass the time. And I couldn't really figure why it had stuck, but it did, can we talk about that?" He asked gently watching her face for signs of discomfort.
Allison squirmed a little and looked away before speaking. "I knew you'd catch on, even Marcel was surprised to see me with a friend he didn't know. I'm going to be honest Stiles when I died I found it difficult to let go- from all of you not just Scott. It kind of has been an obsession and so frustrating when I couldn't help."
"I see." He didn't judge her for that; hell if she wasn't here to meet him he was sure he'd be doing the very same thing. "I bet you saw some really interesting stuff." He grinned trying to lighten the mood and Allison laughed.
"Okay yeah, I did. Nothing I'm going to tell you!" She continued to laugh, especially at his wounded face.
"Why not!"
"Because I'm not a gossip. Don't give me that look Stiles!" She punched him in the arm and he threw his hand over it in surprise.
"Ouch hey- oh yeah." He looked down at the appendage but it didn't hurt at all, he'd only felt a strong pressure that should have been pain. "I forgot. That's still really weird."
"Shhh Stiles you're ruining the sunset." Allison said turning from him and looking toward the horizon as the sun began to crest slowly and it bathed the city in a soft warm light that outlined her hair and skin perfectly.
Stiles had been single for some time now, he never had managed to make it stick with Malia and once Isaac returned from France with his stupid hair and fancy scarves, well lets just say their relationship had been doomed since. How had he missed this beautiful person sitting near him? Oh, right. Scott had dated her; a good reason to pretend she wasn't totally the most gorgeous person he had ever laid eyes on. Plus at the time he had been completely fixated on Lydia who had always only ever seen him as a friend, which was better than a nobody he supposed.
"What a great view, thank you for bringing me here." He sighed and took in the moment never wanting to forget it. "If someone had told me when I died I'd be here visiting France with you I'd probably have laughed a bit."
She turned to give him a stare raising an eyebrow, "you never could keep quiet either."
"Also true." He laughed and shifted closer to her settling down and watching the rest of the sunrise in silence. Not long after Allison leaned in slightly to rest against him letting out a semi-happy sigh as she felt truly at peace for once in her undead life.
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter I hope you can tell, and that you will all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. :) Some more fluff next chapter and then hopefully on to the action! Please do remember, reviews are love~
Saiya