As fate would have it

Chapter 3

Everything seems tidied. His comic books and the magazines she had been reading during the afternoon are all neatly piled up on the coffee table, the empty bags of gummies they'd shared and their glasses are put away; the cushions on the sofa are all fixed. There's a floral aroma in the air and so Stiles checks the floor. Yup, Lydia mopped it as well. This is Lydia when she's nervous, and in all honesty Stiles can't help but to reciprocate the feeling for the time being.

Stiles makes his way to the kitchen to find Lydia sitting on one of the chairs, one of her legs up on the seat and clutched against her chest, her chin resting on top of her knee. The table is all set up just waiting for him, so Stiles places the bags he's carrying on one of the counters before turning to face her.

Lydia doesn't even let him speak. "Stiles, can we forget that I said anything, please?"

The banshee is looking at him intently, pleading with watery eyes and Stiles hates seeing her like this. It's how their moments usually start. He shakes his head and makes his way towards her, cupping her cheeks instantly. He speaks softly. "No. We're gonna leave it for now, we're gonna sleep on it and talk about it in the morning. Don't worry about it, okay? It's all good."

He gives her a reassuring smile and Lydia nods reluctantly, knowing that he means it. She huffs to dissipate her nerves. "Okay."

Stiles doesn't move until he sees her smile, and when she does Stiles kisses her cheek; he knows her too well. "Good. Okay, so on a slightly different note, I'm really torn about your mom," he mutters playfully, starting to busy himself with taking containers out of the bags he brought.

Lydia smiles wider and gets up to help him, knowing that he's trying to distract her and make her feel better. Her voice still comes out more of a whisper. She's already starting to feel a little weak. "How come?"

He takes a box from one of the bags and hands it to her. Opening it, Lydia finds chocolate carrot cupcakes, his favorites. She lets out a laugh. "Your mom texted me saying there was something for me at Francies," he explains. Francies is a bakery in their neighborhood. The amount of times that Stiles stops by is close to indecent and Natalie knows it all too well. "A whole dozen cupcakes," he blurts out, licking his lips absently at the sight.

His hands move to rest on his waist as he stands straighter, exaggerating his speech. "She said, and I quote, 'Stop by Francies. I ordered something for you to apologize in advance. Love you sweetheart'. She knows me, Lydia, like really knows me. And my weaknesses too!" He runs a hand through his already unruly hair. "Honestly, I don't know if I should love her or hate her." Stiles watches mesmerized as Lydia swipes a finger through the frosting of one of the cupcakes, then licks it distractedly. He has to force himself to tear his gaze away. "So uh... Anyway, that's why I took longer to come home. I had to go pick up her bribe."

"You make it look like she has this hidden agenda against you, Stiles," Lydia laughs, growing more relaxed by the second but not feeling necessarily better. Dammit. Though Stiles has a point; all things considered, Natalie does have an agenda, just not against him. But Stiles doesn't need to know that.

Lydia hands him the cupcake, stealing a bit more of its frosting in the process before Stiles takes a bite. "Well," he mumbles with a full mouth, savoring his price, "she probably has. She's just as conniving as you are, so..."

Stiles shrugs his shoulders and laughs; Lydia slaps his arm, letting out a chuckle as well. As punishment, she gets closer to him and rises on her tiptoes, taking a bite of his cupcake right out of his hand, then licking her lips. She smirks at the blush that creeps up his cheeks. "Funny. I thought I was far, far worse."

His heart skips a beat like it always does when she's enticing, when she's too close. Even when meaninglessly, it happens dozens of times a day; he counts himself as a very lucky guy. Thankfully, he's more than used to it by now and reciprocity is something he cherishes. Stiles relishes in the way he can work her up just as fast. "You've got a little..." He cleans a bit of frosting from the corner of her lips with his thumb, then sucks it into his mouth like it's none of his business.