Work Text:
Something There
“There’s something sweet,
And almost kind,
But he was mean,
And he was coarse and unrefined,
And now he’s dear,
And so I’m sure,
I wonder why I didn’t see it there before”
Stiles didn’t know when he had started to notice a change in Peter’s behaviour. It just kind of happened. He looked up from his research, to find that, instead of sitting away from the rest of the pack sneering, Peter was sitting with them, actively looking through the Hale beastiary and various books, writing lists of possible beasts before scoring them out as he eliminated them as possibilities. Also, when had Peter made everyone lunch? It was puzzling. How had Stiles not noticed the change? And more importantly … Why was Peter changing?
Breaking out of his reverie, he realised Peter was staring back at him, eyebrow quirked in curiousity. Crap! How long had he been staring at the older man? Cheeks flushed, Stiles quickly turned his attention back to the book he had. It wasn’t much help, really. Although it did have some curious spells in it. Hiding ones scent, a cloaking spell, a gender swapping spell, a spell to … wait, what? A gender swapping spell? Why would someone want to use a spell like that? He made a mental note to question this later. It was an old book, so the whole idea of gender reassignment would have meant nothing to whoever wrote this.
Shaking his head, he looks up to ask Derek something, but pauses as he sees Peter looking at him. Smiling. Peter Hale was looking at him, and smiling. But it wasn’t his “I’m crazy and going to kill everyone” smile. It was a … genuine smile. A nice smile. If you were into that kind of thing, which Stiles totally wasn’t. Nope, not at all.
Maybe?
Stiles has to mentally pinch himself to free himself from Peter’s gaze. He knew what Peter was capable of, he had seen the evidence of the worst of Peter’s rage in his father’s case files. Which he would never admit to peeking at.
Which brought him back to his other train of thought (where the hell was his focus today?): Had Peter gradually been changing? Did he really want to be an active part of this pack, and not just a ghost, hanging around the edges? When he thought of it like that, Stiles had to admit he felt sorry for Peter. He was a Hale, and therefore pack, and yet all of them had been treating him like a leper. No one else seemed to have noticed this little revelation, so it was up to Stiles to show Peter that he was pack, that his help was appreciated. Taking a deep breath, he looked up again to catch Peter’s gaze.
“Thanks for all this help, Peter. I don’t think we would have much of an idea what to look for if you didn’t offer to do this for us”
The rest of the pack pause, glancing at him, uncertain. They didn’t know why Stiles felt the need to say it, but they were quick to agree, mumbling a quiet “Thank you” before munching on the lunch provided and going back to research. Still holding Stiles’ gaze, Peter gave a small nod and smile, knowing what Stiles had done. Of course Peter would know. Pulling his gaze away reluctantly, Stiles made a show of getting up for another drink, offering to grab everyone else one as he headed to the kitchen.
Opening the fridge, he took a couple of deep breaths before pulling out various cans of soda. He didn’t know what to think right now. Something about Peter was throwing him off kilter, and he wasn’t so sure it was a bad thing. In fact, Stiles thought it could be a good thing. Turning around, he almost drops the sodas in surprise, finding Peter standing directly in front of him. Slowly, Peter takes each can from his arms, before stepping closer, watching Stiles’ reaction carefully. Seeing no revulsion, or rejection, he slowly lowers his lips to the younger man’s, lips quirking into a smile just before they meet, hearing Erica sing in the living room …
“There may be something there that wasn’t there before …”