Tangled Crowns

Breathless

The Martins showed up shortly after breakfast. A small greeting, much like the Hales had been greeted with, took place at the front of the castle.

Lydia stepped forward in a wine-colored gown, giving a deep curtsy. Cora and Laura mirrored it.

Derek swallowed his pride and stepped forward, extending a hand. "Your Highness."

Lydia gave a polite smile, placing her hand in his.

He bowed, pressing a kiss to the back. "You look beautiful, as always."

"Thank you." Lydia's eyes cut to where Cora was standing stoically.

"You four have a nice day. We have things to discuss," Talia said, her eyes soft as they landed on Derek.

Derek felt dirty. He hated pretending. He shot a glance toward Stiles, who wore a pained expression. Derek swallowed as guilt swept over him.

When they were left alone, Cora stepped cautiously toward Lydia."It's good to see you again." She fought to keep her tone polite.

Lydia pulled Cora into a quick hug. "You too," She whispered.

"Why don't we get you settled in, Lydia," Stiles suggested. He started up the stairs, but Derek caught his arm.

"Stiles, I—" He faltered. He had no clue what to say to him.

Stiles glanced to where Cora and Lydia were already in hushed conversation ahead of them before yanking from Derek's grip. "If your goal was to hurt me, congrats. You made your point."

Derek's chest clenched. This is what he wanted. To give Stiles a reason to give up. "So much for fighting," Derek said. He instantly regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

Stiles whirled around. "I've been fighting. But I also have something called dignity. If you're gonna do things like that just to hurt me, then—"

Derek grabbed Stiles by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him into a kiss.

Stiles went rigid under his touch.

Derek parted their lips but kept Stiles close. "It wasn't to hurt you," He breathed.

Stiles didn't move or speak.

"Lydia is..." Derek trailed off. His throat tightened around his words. "Nothing to me. I promise you."

"For your mother then?" Stiles asked, his tone quiet.

Derek knew he needed to tell him the truth, but he couldn't. He released Stiles and nodded.

"You're confusing as hell, Derek, you know that?" Stiles sighed. "One minute you're kissing me breathless, and the next you act like you can't stand to be in the same room as me."

"I can't stand to be in the same room as you because I want to kiss you breathless."

Stiles inhaled sharply.

Derek expected to hear a leap in his heartbeat, but it remained steady. He bowed his head. "But you keep masking your scent, and that makes me feel like I can't trust you."

Stiles' brows rose. "Oh." His voice was small.

"Why?" Derek needed to know that Stiles was truly worth fighting for. He'd been tricked before, and it cost him dearly. He didn't care how awful it made him seem. He had to know.

"I—" Stiles worried at his bottom lip. "It's not—"

Derek frowned at the way Stiles stumbled over his words.

"It lasts."

Derek scoffed. "None of those elixirs last more than twenty-four hours."

Stiles looked conflicted, or was it guilty? He couldn't be sure.

The silence grew thick between them when Stiles didn't argue.

"Right." Derek nodded. He tried to push down the disappointment, but it wouldn't go away. He hurried to follow after his sister and Lydia, hoping Stiles would stop him and explain himself, but he let him go.

-

Derek paced in front of Lydia's room, focusing on anything but the sound of his sister and Lydia locked in a heated kiss. When Stiles rounded the corner, he whispered, "Incoming."

"Derek," Stiles said in a surprised tone. "Is Lydia settled?"

"I am." Lydia opened the door. By the sounds Derek was hearing, she should be half undressed. However, not a hair was out of place.

"I was thinking we could go for a ride. It's a clear day," Stiles suggested.

"Oh." Lydia pursed her lips.

Cora shot Derek a look.

"I'd love to," Derek said. His enthusiasm fell short despite his best efforts.

"I'm actually tired of sitting. You two go ahead, though." Lydia smiled politely.

Stiles narrowed his eyes. "We can do something else if—"

"I'll take Lydia for a walk in the garden. You two go for a ride and we'll meet up later?" Cora cut in.

Stiles' eyes glanced between Cora and Lydia.

"If Derek doesn't mind," Stiles said. He obviously expected Derek to change his mind.

"I haven't been riding in a while. Lead the way." Derek gestured down the hall.

Stiles' brows rose once again, but he simply led Derek away.

When they were outside, Stiles leaned toward Derek. "How long has that been a thing?"

Derek stiffened. They weren't as subtle as he'd hoped. "What do you mean?"

"You willingly going for a ride with me? Not likely. You're just trying to distract me so that they can spend time together, aren't you?"

Derek shot a glare toward Stiles. "What do I have to do to buy your silence?"

Stiles stopped abruptly. "You really have trust issues, you know that?"

Derek crossed his arms. "You're trying to tell me you weren't going to negotiate a date of some sort in exchange for not telling anyone?"

"Wow, you really think low of me, don't you?" Stiles scoffed. He continued toward the stables.

"Nobody can know, Stiles." Derek's tone was pleading as he hurried to keep up.

Stiles threw his hands up. "I'm not gonna say anything."

"Just like that?" Derek frowned. This was the perfect leverage. And if he was lying, Derek had no way of knowing.

"Yes, Derek, just like that. Believe it or not, not everyone is so untrustworthy," Stiles snapped, not slowing down.

Boyd's words echoed in Derek's mind. "I don't want that fear for you. Despite what your mother may believe, not everyone is out to hurt you. I won't say there aren't dangers, but if you don't allow yourself to trust people, you'll never live."

"Since I know you're only distracting me for Cora and Lydia's sake, you don't have to go with me."

Derek took in a breath. Stiles was giving him an out. He could take it. But did he want to? When he left Lis in a few days, he'd likely not get the chance to spend time with Stiles like this again.

"I'd like to," he said, letting out the breath.

Stiles gave him a surprised look. "Really?"

"Maybe you can properly introduce me to Stella."

The smile that lit up Stiles' face made Derek's heart clench. Was this what Cora meant by leading him on?

*AN*
I managed to get this edited today. Thank you to everyone for your kind words. I really appreciate your patience. For those who didn't see my post, I lost my 13 year old dog recently. It has been a very difficult couple of weeks. He was my everything. I've had him since he was 6 weeks old. That being said, updates will be slow this month. Please bear with me.