Ignite

Hot Chocolate and Pancakes

It was easy to fall into a routine after that. Derek and Laura worked to keep their little family in order, cooking and cleaning during the day and keeping Cora caught up with her schoolwork at night. Derek hated being at the school; people stared at him like he was poisonous, avoiding making eye contact with him and keeping quiet when he approached. Even his friends on the lacrosse team backed off, and after a few days being back he found himself sitting alone at the lunch table.

The only thing that made it really bearable was Stiles. He sat with Derek at lunch, kept him company during classes, even came over and studied with him at the apartment. Cora liked that best, when Stiles came over; she’d curl up next to him with Howly tucked under one arm and lean her head on his lap. Every day the pain lessened and lessened a bit more, until Derek actually thought things could go back to normal.

At night, Laura hunted. She’d stay out until all hours of the morning, searching for the Hunters, only to come back sullen and exhausted. It was her way of dealing with things, perhaps, though if anything it just made her more angry and ragged.

Dinner at the Stilinskis had become a weekly thing, and Derek was grateful for it. Officer Stilinski seemed more able to calm Laura than any of them, and they’d sit at the dinner table for hours after they’d finished eating just talking. Derek liked those moments the best, because it meant curling up on the couch with Stiles and Cora, usually watching a bad SyFy movie. Stiles and Cora watched the television like it was a sermon, their faces identical masks of amusement as they watched.

“You’re staying here tonight,” Laura told Derek one night, while Cora and Stiles did dishes in the kitchen.

“What? Why?” Derek frowned at her, but she shook her head. His shoulders sagged a little. “Laura, don’t go out there…”

She shut her eyes. “I have to, Derek,” she told him firmly. “Officer Stilinski had some possible leads, and I think I can help. I don’t want you guys to be alone while I’m out, and at least here I know you’ll be okay.” She glanced into the kitchen, where Cora had flicked soapy water onto Stiles with a gleeful giggle. “And it’s good for her to be here…”

“It’s good for all of us,” Derek murmured. Laura didn’t look at him, merely nodded her head. She grabbed her jacket from its hook by the door, and she and Officer Stilinski left not long after.

Stiles joined Derek by the window, watching Officer Stilinski’s car pull out of the drive and disappear down the road. He glanced at Derek out of the corner of his eye, his lips tilting in a half frown. “You like Mario Kart?” he suggested helpfully.

Derek looked at him and smiled. “Hell yeah.”

So they settled on the floor in front of the television and played Mario Kart while Cora perched on the couch, offering little shrieks of delight and head bops of encouragement as Derek and Stiles played. After a while she fell asleep, wrapping herself in Stiles’ red hoodie like a blanket. Howly’s head peered out of the cocoon with his little button eyes.

The silence with Stiles was oddly comfortable. Their knees bumped against each other as they raced their little digital cars, and every once in a while Derek would steal a glance at Stiles. He liked the way Stiles’ mouth curved in a smile, and the way he bit his lower lip whenever they reached the final lap of a race. Stiles didn’t seem to notice him looking; he was focused on the game, which was almost better.

They’d been playing for a little over an hour when Stiles paused, putting his controller down a little. “Derek, do you by any chance like hot chocolate?”

Derek smiled. “Sure.”

Stiles looked pretty relieved, and bounced to his feet. “Right this way, then.”