What I Didn't Finish

Mental Space

Today was one of the days that felt like an eternity had passed every minute. Stiles constantly checked the clock on the wall and flinched at every little noise he heard. It was hard to stay silent too. Even with Lydia in the next room with the door closed, her hyper sensitive ears could pick up his music through his headphones. And yes, the volume was all the way on low. The door to her study opened and he flinched, sitting up on the couch quickly, ready to help in anyway.
"Babe," she said quite tiredly.
"Yeah? Need anything?"
"Your music, Stiles." She purses her lips and lets a "sorry" slip between them.
"No, no it's fine I completely understand; you need absolute silence and I get it, anything you say, anything yo–"
"Stiles," she interrupted, rubbing her ears.
He realized how loud he had been talking. "Oh, sorry. . .I'll read some books."
She smiled and told him that was perfect before retreating into her secluded space. The door closed with a soft 'thum'.

He'd watched her do it only once, whenever her banshee battery wasn't so low and his breathing wasn't too distracting and he found the whole practice to be a little witchy. She usually started by lighting a few candles and getting everything prepared in a circle on the ground around her. She had a box of crystals and a small bin with dried up flowers and herbs. When he watched, it looked as though there was a certain pattern, a precise order than everything happened in. She would arrange the crystals in a spiral and then switch a few of them for the place of some thyme or a lily. Her fingers often pressed against her ears or her temples before tapping the crystals in a particular order. Honestly, the whole process freaked him out a little. But if it helped Lydia, he was down with it.

Sometimes it took all day, other times only an hour or two. Either way he was under strict instructions to stay silent or leave their apartment. He usually stayed.

When she was finally done a few hours later, she couldn't fight the soft grin that curled her face at the sight of her boyfriend on their couch, surrounded by encyclopedias and books bigger than his head. She scanned their pages briefly, her heart swelling when she noticed his post-it-notes scribbled with drawings of flowers and their uses in the supernatural realm. He happily allowed her to burrow into his side, sweeping her hair behind one ear to place a kiss on her skin, all while still looking at the book in his lap.
"Feel better?" He whispered.
She nodded. "More human. . .Whatcha doing?"
"Studying."
Lydia moved the book off of his lap and replaced it with herself, her arms curling around his neck as his hands automatically pulled at her hips.
"Find out anything interesting?" She asked.
He smiled and kissed her temple, hoping she wasn't just lying to him and that she actually was feeling better. "Vervain is supposed to heal sadness. Honeysuckle basically drugs you but apparently helps with asthma." He recited the notes he'd written.
Lydia whispered, "Find out anything interesting about me?"
"I already know everything about you." He laughed lightly. He held her tightly in their living room until she fell asleep and to him it seemed almost a peaceful thing. The supernatural took its toll on his girlfriend and he hated to see her so drained.