What Would You Do Without Me? // Teen Wolf

Plan Peter

Peter worked at the library. Stiles knew this because he'd had the sense to ask Derek, then equal sense to ignore the Were when he asked why he wanted to know. When he pulled up outside, Roscoe was giving her loud protests at being moved so many times in one day. Stiles sighed and hopped out of the jeep, patting the bonnet fondly as he locked it. He would worry about the noises she was making later, when it inevitably became an issue when he couldn't start the jeep to get home. It didn't matter that the thing was a hunk of junk, more duct tape than car parts, it was his mom's and now it's his - he'd keep driving it until he physically couldn't.

He pushed open the door to the library with ease. He'd been coming to Beacon Hills library for years and there had been a time when Scott and his dad had joked that it was his second home and Stiles couldn't deny that walking in did feel like coming home after a long time away. When he was a kid, Stiles would come to the library when his dad was working during the day at weekends, the librarians loved him. He'd curl up in the corner with a book that was out of his age range, holding it up with one hand and both knees so he was out of the way and could still fidget with the strings of his hoodie. With all the supernatural issues they'd had over the last few years, he'd had less time to visit, to just sit with a book and read, but he promised himself in that moment that he'd find the time to do so again. He greeted an older woman as he walked in, one that recognised him as the Sheriff's son and so he paused to spend a little while talking to her. Some people were just lonely and he quickly found out that was likely the case for the woman he'd spoken to. She mentioned the death of her husband in passing, as if it was always on her mind but had stopped hurting. Fleetingly, he wondered if he should ask how she dealt with the loss, but remembered that he'd come for a reason so when she asked the direction to the romance section, he pointed it out to her and then was back to looking for Peter.

Stiles felt his phone vibrate and a quick peek at the display revealed that it was the fourteenth text from Derek to ask why Stiles wanted to know about Peter. He set his phone to silent, firing a quick 'don't worry about it' before pushing it back into his pocket. It didn't take long to find Peter after that, he was taller than the majority of the shelves (the minority were those fixed to the wall, but of course they didn't actually create a problem) so when he actually put his eyes to work and looked, he spotted the man almost instantly. Stiles strolled up to the older man with a comfort he'd had some years now to practise and leaned against the trolley of books he was in the middle of sorting.
"Heyo Zombiewolf." He greeted with his usual, slightly lopsided, smile, and Peter only arched a brow in return to acknowledge the younger man.
"I've got a few questions to ask you, nothing major, just wolfy stuff." He replied casually, though he could see the way that Peter's lips pulled just slightly further into a small smile, indicating that Stiles was free to continue. He shuffled around for a moment, opening and closing his mouth a few times, vaguely gesturing, considering how to ask what he was trying to ask. The amused look on Peter's face was one that Stiles chose to ignore, refusing to cave to the Were's silent teasing. Eventually just decided he'd open his mouth and let it come out and it would become Peter's job to understand.
"I've been thinking about coming to ask some stuff for a while and had no idea where to start - until today. Plus, you're usually like totally unapproachable and not the most helpful guy ever, even if you're way less cryptic than Deaton and therefore way cooler," he paused to take a breath, "When Scott was leaving, Isaac like tackled him to the ground and then for a while they just kinda lay there.. Like no words, nothing special at all actually they just.. Lay there on top of each other in the dirt. Is that a 'those two being weird' thing or a werewolf thing?" Stiles went ahead and asked, taking care to lower his voice slightly so people wouldn't overhear him talking about werewolves as if they existed and were totally real - he didn't need the trouble of people thinking he was crazy.
"Born wolves can be rather affectionate, it's something about the bonds between us. Something perhaps 60% instinct and 40% lack of impulse control." Peter explained. He spoke simply and rarely said more than was asked of him to, but Stiles had known that would be the case walking in. The older man hadn't so much as looked up to address Stiles directly, instead continuing his work without a moment's pause.
"Can you tell me more about pack bonds? The way that they're supposed to be, I mean." That question had Peter finally pause in his actions and fully turn to face the young spark in front of him.
"Finally." He groaned with a roll of his eyes. He put away the book he'd been holding, then gestured for Stiles to follow him when he abandoned the cart to head for the librarian's desk. He slipped behind the desk, quickly unlocking a door that read 'staff only', leaving it propped open just enough for Stiles to follow. That certainly wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting to get to that question but it seemed better than the alternatives that Stiles had considered.