Unspoken - Book 4 - S.S.

Epilogue: Talk

Stiles didn't think his dad would actually leave him cuffed to his desk all through dinner and, in Noah's defense, he hadn't. Sure, he had taken Diana to a pizza parlor down the street and he had paid for some slices for her, but they hadn't eaten them at the parlor. Instead, the two of them bought their slices and a few for Stiles before the sheriff left Diana at the station again when she said she wanted to talk to Stiles for a moment.

So he told her to make herself comfortable in his office, gave her the key to Stiles' cuffs and said he'd be out for a while, dealing with something downtown. Diana smiled, thanking the man for the pizza - and everything else -, before making her way back into the station with a box full of pizza in one hand and a key in her other, smirking a little as she stood by the door.

"That was a quick dinner." Stiles commented, a smile forming on his lips as Diana chuckled, placing the pizzas down on the sheriff's table before she walked over to Stiles and uncuffed him.

"We didn't actually eat." Diana shrugged, looking up at Stiles once she managed to unlock the chains around his wrist. "But I did bring us back some slices, so would you like to eat with me?"

Stiles didn't respond, only nodding his head as Diana picked up the pizza again and sat down beside Stiles on the couch of sheriff Stilinski's office. For a moment, neither of them said anything, just enjoying the moment of peace as they ate, but once the two of them were done with their first slice, Diana bit her lip.

"You know, I told your dad I wanted to talk to you." She said, causing Stiles to turn around and look at her.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She nodded, looking down at her lap. "I just... I'm not sure how to start..."

"Maybe you can start at the beginning." Stiles offered gently as Diana let out a chuckle under her breath.

"Problem is... I'm not sure what is the beginning." She said, finally looking up at Stiles as she continued to fiddle with her own fingers over her lap. "You know... My mom used to believe that after you died, you went to Heaven, that was this place that is supposed to be everything good, you know? Good people, when they died... They were supposed to go to that special place where they were free to do anything they wanted. I kind of hope she did end up in that place, but I know I didn't."

"Diana..."

"When I died... I saw nothing." Diana whispered, her eyes already filling with tears as Stiles sighed, his heart shattering at the sight in front of him. "It was just... Dark, you know? And I... I don't know, Stiles, I... I spent three months dead and nothing happened during that time. It was like... It almost felt like I had just... Fallen asleep, you know? But then, suddenly, Lydia found me and I woke up somehow and then everything changed. It was... A lot for me to take in. And I know it was a lot for all of you too, but... You had time. You know? To adjust. But for me... It just felt like everything changed overnight and I just had to... I had to hit the ground running because, as soon as I opened my eyes, I had to remember that... Allison wasn't here anymore or Isaac or the twins or even Danny. And then... People were trying to kill my friends and then I figure out that I'm actually Peter Hale's daughter and then Kate is back and my dad is trying to kill Scott, it was just... A lot. And that without mentioning the fact that I had to come to terms that you had gotten over me."

"Diana..." Stiles mumbled, unsure on what to do with the information he had just been given, but Diana just shook her head.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is... I'm sorry." Diana whispered again, as Stiles sighed. "I'm sorry everything changed when I came back but I was too selfish to even try and talk to you about how it affected you."

"That's because you were trying to deal with all of it as well." Stiles said, his eyes gentle as he reached over the box of pizza in between the two of them to grab Diana's hand in his. "You don't owe me an apology, Diana. You don't owe anyone an apology. You said it yourself... You don't know how you even came back, so it isn't as if you were planning any of this."

"Still." Diana shrugged, her fingers playing with Stiles' as they held their hands together over her lap. "I should've had that conversation with you a long time ago."

"Maybe." Stiles nodded. "But that's partially my fault too, then, isn't it? I mean, I didn't reach out to you to explain anything either, did I?"

"You don't need to explain anything to me." Diana said as Stiles shook his head.

"Yes, I do." He said. "Because you're wrong. I never got over you."

"Stiles..."

"It's true. After you died, I found comfort in Malia and I care for her in a... Different way." Stiles explained, causing Diana to bite her lip as she nodded, allowing Stiles to say what he wanted to say since he had let her vent as well. "But she told me something that she realized after that talk she had with you at the vault. We both found something in each other that we wouldn't have found with anyone else. Her, because she wanted to feel like a normal teenager after being trapped in her coyote form for so long and Iade her feel normal again. Me, because I watched the girl I love die in my arms and I needed the comfort that she offered me. But after her talk to you, Malia realized that she needed time by herself to figure out who she was by herself and she said I could use some time as well to figure out who I was without you. Because you know what? After you died, I was sad for so long. Then I was angry. Angry that you left, angry that you killed yourself for us without giving us an option to try and save you. Angry that you weren't there with me anymore after telling me... Telling me all of that. And Malia helped me out of that dark place."

"She was your anchor." Diana realized, as Stiles nodded.

"She was my anchor and I was hers." Stiles said. "But you, Diana... You're something more. And, after these past few weeks with you back, I realized you'll always be something more."

At his words, Diana felt her eyes watering, a single tear slipping down her cheek as Stiles smiled a little and reached a hand over to wipe it away.

"You do realize that I'm Malia's sister, right?" Diana whispered, blushing a little at the way Stiles leaned closer to her, his body hovering over the uneaten slices of pizza. "I mean, half-sister, and I know you weren't actually together but... It's all close enough to make it slightly awkward."

"Yeah..." Stiles pulled back from her just slightly, but keeping his eyes on hers the whole time. "I'm aware."

"So, maybe Malia was right." Diana smiled gently. "Maybe you do need time to figure out who you are without me and I need time to figure out who I am without you. I mean, God knows I need time to figure out what I am and what I can do, so..."

"We will." Stiles assured as Diana nodded.

"Okay." She said. "But about... This... Maybe we can... Take it slow again, huh? Finish junior year, enjoy summer if we can, survive until senior year and then... Then we talk about... This, again."

"That's probably a good idea." Stiles nodded. "But you promise me, right?"

"Promise what?" Diana asked.

"That we'll talk." Stiles said. "That we'll never be so long again holding anything back from one another. We'll take it slow, but we'll do it together."

Again, Diana felt her tears gathering under her eyes at Stiles' words, her heart bursting with nothing but adoration for the boy sitting beside her. So, without a second of hesitation, Diana nodded her head.

"I promise." She smiled. "We'll do it together."

"Good." Stiles smiled back at her, squeezing her hand in his before untangling their fingers from one another as he pointed down at the pizza in between the two of them. "So... Do you want this last pepperoni slice or...?"

Laughing loudly, Diana shook her head, waving her hand around absentmindedly with a smile.

"Go for it." She said. "I'll have the last piece of that one over there."