Know Better - A Stydia AU

Chapter 16

It takes a toll on all three of them.

On Tuesday, when Lydia picks up Ariel from pre-school and tells her daughter that they'll have dinner at Stiles' for the first time that night, Ariel throws a fit on their way to the car much to Lydia's embarrassment, saying in between cries and shouts that she doesn't want to talk to Stiles. Because the little girl doesn't say that she doesn't want to see Stiles specifically, Lydia decides that they're going anyway. Still, just like the night before, Ariel doesn't address him even once during the evening, hurting him like he's hurting her.

Lydia can quite literally see how both Stiles and her daughter become more and more heartbroken as time passes and no solution to their conflict is reached. In fact, she doesn't think she's ever seen Stiles nor Ariel sadder than when she takes her daughter's hand and they leave for the night, following the plan so that Stiles finally gets to spend his first night at home alone ever since his accident.

On Wednesday, as agreed, Stiles is supposed to stop by for breakfast but when he calls Lydia to say that he's about to leave to meet the girls, Lydia has to tell him that Ariel didn't sleep well during the night and that she woke up earlier than usual, so the girl had already eaten. Stiles ends up staying put, skipping breakfast altogether until Lydia stops by and forces him to eat. After his physical therapy session, Stiles and Lydia have lunch and spend the afternoon together as planned, but whereas they could have taken advantage of that alone time to move some of his things back to his place or even to enjoy themselves, truth is those hours are spent discussing how they can make things better; how they can make everything right again.

They come up empty-handed, with nothing more than what they had already agreed on a couple of days before.

Both Stiles and Lydia pick up Ariel from pre-school that afternoon and have dinner at Lydia's. Surprisingly, Ariel doesn't throw a fit this time, resolving to keep quiet throughout the meal. Still, the little girl eyes Stiles constantly as if to make sure that he's still there but no words come out, and truly she's only scared of pushing him away any further. She doesn't understand what it is she did wrong to make Stiles want to leave.

Stiles spends the night there, yet the girl doesn't talk to him until Lydia puts her to bed, nor does she say a word the next morning as well.

And Thursday it's when it starts becoming worrying.

During breakfast, Stiles and Lydia really notice that Ariel has been eating less and less the past few days, having lost some of her appetite. It only concerns Stiles and Lydia further, so when they take her to pre-school Lydia makes sure to tell Cora about it so that the teacher can keep an eye on the little girl throughout the day.

It's when they learn from Cora that a couple of the kids in her class have their parents going through a divorce or a separation, and that because Ariel and Stiles had become so close so quickly - and also the whole ordeal his accident arranged (that even though unintended, ended up changing their routines so much) - it's only normal to expect that at the very least, Ariel is rather confused. Confused about what having so many new people around her and her mother means; about what Stiles - albeit temporarily - moving in implies. Confused about what it suggests now that he wants to leave. Regardless, Cora promises that she'll keep an eye on Ariel.

Stiles stays until late again, determined to figure out a way to make the little one stop hurting but it proves fruitless. During dinner, both him and Lydia try more than once to strike up a conversation with Ariel but she seems even quieter than in the last few days, sadder, and barely touches her food during the meal.

Lydia wants to believe that she lets Ariel go to her room after realizing that forcing the little girl to eat won't be the answer, hoping that she'll come around in an hour or so if she gets hungry. But it isn't the whole truth. A part of her just wants Ariel to leave so that she can cry.