Allison throws on a pair of biker shorts and an oversized shirt, that may or may not be Sam's, before making her way down to the kitchen, feeling overly chipper that particular morning. She gets to work quickly, pulling out enough food to feed a small army, or in her case, two shape-shifters who eat like they've been starved for years.
She whisks two dozen eggs in a large bowl, dancing ridiculously to the Brittany Spears song that was playing on the radio. A laugh sounds behind her, and Allison turns, completely unfazed, now using the whisk as a microphone as she badly belts out the lyrics.
Jared merely shakes his head at her antics, laughing as he sits himself down at the kitchen table. He reclines himself back so the chair is tipped on two legs, watching amusedly as Allison continues to dance around the kitchen wildly, grinning the entire time. He occasionally shouts out praises or whistles at her horrible dance moves, which only fuels her to continue.
This is what Sam walks into a few moments later, and he was not surprised in the slightest. Allie has a very enthusiastic personality, and people around her can't help but join in. Her soul is so warm, she could melt even the coldest of hearts, and Sam thanked the ancestors daily that he was blessed enough to have her in his life.
"Sam!" Allison calls happily, snapping him out of his thoughts. "C'mon, join me!" She begs, giving him her best puppy-dog eyes. Sam chuckles, shaking his head lightly as he instead joins Jared at the table. Allison pouted for all of 3.7 seconds before shrugging and going back to dancing happily around as she cooked.
"Is she always like this?" Jared asked quietly, laughing as Allison moonwalked horribly toward the stove.
"Yes, you might as well get used to it. Hey- is that my shirt?" Sam called, his eyes trained on his best friend, who was now headbanging to a song that was definitely not made for headbanging.
"Do I even need to answer that?" Allison retorted with a snort, twirling around to show him that, yes it was indeed his shirt, before winking and returning to her previous shenanigans.
Sam shook his head, turning his face down slightly as a small blush coated his cheeks.
"Dude you have got it sooooo bad." Jared teased, his voice barely above a whisper, as he knew Sam could hear him clearly.
"Shut up." Sam muttered, pushing him lightly, causing Jared to almost lose his balance on his precariously perched chair. Sam hadn't even bothered trying to deny it, knowing Jared could hear his every thought anyway.
Allison broke a rather childish staring contest between them by setting down two plates in front of them, quirking up an eyebrow at the pair. They both immediately tucked into their plates, causing Allison to smirk as she went to grab her own.
"You are like a dream come true woman." Jared practically moaned with his mouth full.
"Ew dude, at least chew first." Allison giggled, her face screwed up in a mixture of disgust and amusement.
.
.
.
.
"So what's on the agenda for today? Or is it top-secret wolf stuff that no one can know about?" Allison asked between bites, rolling her eyes as she saw that both boys had already finished their plates, Jared eyeing his as if he was going to lick it clean.
"Well Jared's a quick learner, so I don't believe I have to worry about him phasing unintentionally anytime soon, but I'd like to keep him around here just in case, for the day, if that's alright with you." Sam, feeling very much like he was intruding, stated, keeping his gaze trained on the table.
"That's fine, Sam, you don't have to ask me. This is your home too."
Sam's head snapped up, his gaze meeting hers, confusion meeting determination, brown meeting black.
"Allie- I don't, I-" Sam started, too many emotions building up in his chest for him to form proper words. Allison kept her gaze trained calmly on him, and Jared quietly excused himself from the table, not that either of the two noticed.
"I mean it, Sam. This is your home. Not back there with- with him." Allison says the last part with a hint of disgust, not bothering to hide her hate for the man that boldly calls himself Sam's father.
"You're never going back there, as long as I'm breathing. I won't allow it. Especially not when I have this whole house here to myself." Sam kept his gaze on her through her entire rant, although his mind was far away, barely able to comprehend her words. Allison watched as his eyes unknowingly filled with tears, and sighed quietly. She stood and walked over to the other side of the table, taking his face in her hands, gently forcing him to look at her.
"You never have to go back there again." Allison whispered to him, wiping away tears that were now falling down his face with the pads of her thumbs.
Feeling uncharacteristically vulnerable, Sam wrapped his arms around her torso, and buried his head in her chest, mumbling teary thanks over and over again as she ran her fingers through his hair, hoping with everything she had that he couldn't hear how hard her heart was beating. Not from fear, not from anger or nervousness, no. In this moment, with her best friend slowly calming down and relaxing in her arms, his stomach full and his mind no longer having to be burdened by mental and physical abuse, she felt insanely, ridiculously overjoyed, and her heartbeat betrayed that to all that could hear it.
Minutes later, Sam's breathing had slowed back to normal, and he pulled away slowly, looking extremely ashamed of himself as he wiped the remaining tears from his face. He took a deep breath, hesitantly meeting those dark brown eyes he had come to love with his own. He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off before he could with a glare.
"Sam Uley if you dare try to apologize to me right now for letting yourself feel something, I will smack you so hard Jared will be able to feel it." Sam snorted, cracking a smile, which caused her to grin in return.
"Well, now that that is sorted, because even if you wanted to object I wouldn't let you, I have something else to talk to you about, but I need wonder-twin in here too, so if you could bat signal him or whatever that would be great." Allison joked, and Sam shook his head, not needing to say anything as Jared popped up a second later, a mischievous grin on his face as he pulled a chair out, straddling it as he rested his chin on his palms.
"Sooooo- when's the wedding?" Jared asked cheekily, glancing back and forth between the two best friends. Allison scoffs playfully, flicking his forehead before sitting down across from the two men.
"So, I've pretty much gathered that you two aren't going to be the only ones phasing in the tribe, right?" She asked, and Sam nodded hesitantly, not understanding where she was going with this. "I have a plan. Well, the start of one anyway. I have three bedrooms down here, and two upstairs. The two upstairs are mine, and Sam's." Sam's gaze turns quizzical, but she gives him a simple 'I'll explain later' look, and he quieted down, listening. "But- the three downstairs have absolutely no use. So, my idea was to turn them into bedrooms, for the rest of the pack. I can put bunk beds in there if needed, and obviously they'd have to stay in the garage until they aren't a danger anymore-" Her rambles were interrupted however, by two very different reactions.
"Hell yes!"
"Hell no!"
Both boys shouted simultaneously, the latter glaring at the woman in front of him.
"Are you crazy?" Sam seethed, and Jared flinched at his tone, turning to stare wide-eyed at Allison, who seemed to be completely expecting this reaction, and sat with her arms crossed in front of her, patiently awaiting Sam to explain.
"No no no, you're not crazy." Sam started, abruptly getting up from his chair, choosing to pace instead. "Crazy was having the alpha spirit warrior live with you. That was crazy. This is borderline insanity, Allie! You want a house full of us? What if someone gets mad, huh? What if you piss someone off and then you die? What would I do then?" Sam ranted, his hair messy from running his hands through it stressfully.
"Are you done?" Allison asked, and Sam puffed out a breath, nodding. "Yep, that about sums it up." He concluded, pacing still.
"First of all, sit down before I make you." She said sternly, pointing at Sam's abandoned chair, causing an unnaturally quiet Jared to bark out a laugh. Sam glared, but did as she said anyway, sitting down rather dramatically.
"Thank you. Second of all, believe it or not, I have thought this through. Most of the boys on the reservation won't be able to go home after this. At least not for a while after they've phased. I'm not dumb, I wouldn't let them stay inside until they had your stamp of approval. Until then, as I said before, they can stay in the garage, which I planned on renovating anyway. With you being the quote unquote Alpha, and this being your home, they will be here almost all of the time anyway. Why not just make it official and keep the option open if they need it?"
"She has a point, Sam. I, for one, have no idea what I'm going to do once my parents get back." Jared says sheepishly.
"The garage is always open, Jared." Allison says warmly, and Sam groans, rubbing a hand down his face dramatically.
"Woman, stop opening your house to every stray you see! No offense Jared."
"None taken." Jared chirps, quite liking watching the two in front of him bicker.
"Our house." Allison corrects, and both ignore the fluttery feeling their hearts get when she says that.
The kitchen is silent, Allison and Sam are currently having a staring contest, while Jared looks for more food, when eventually Sam sighs loudly.
"Fine! But there will be rules, Allison." Sam says sternly, and the woman squeals excitedly, running over and pecking Sam on the cheek quickly before running upstairs to get dressed.
"Can I be the flower girl?" Jared asks smugly from the inside of the fridge, laughing as he peeked out to see Sam flipping him off.
.
.
.
.
Hours later, Sam and Jared were on the garage roof, both motivated to get it finished now that Jared would be temporarily living there.
Allison, on the other hand, was moving boxes down to the basement, to clear the spare room upstairs so that Sam could officially move into it. She tried to ignore the contents inside the boxes, as Sam's new room was where she was storing her parents belongings, but ended up inevitably going through them anyway.
Allison smiled sadly as she lifted a picture frame out of a box, nostalgia carrying her back to the moment it was taken. She didn't notice the tears that leaked from her eyes as she sat down on the concrete floor with that picture in her hands, but Sam did when he came to check on her minutes later.
He said nothing, but instead sat down on the dirty floor next to her, hoisting her up and setting her on his lap. She curled up into him immediately, her gaze still on the picture of her, her parents, and Sam at the beach not all too long ago.
Sam looked down at the picture sadly, before turning his gaze to the sad woman before him, at a loss on what to do. He settled for tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and then putting his index finger underneath her chin, lifting it so that she would meet his eyes. "Allie, if this is too hard for you, Jared and I can do it. It's no problem, really. It's not even been a year yet, doll."
Allison sniffled. "It's okay, Sam. I can do it. I just miss them." Sam kissed the top of her head.
"Me too."
The pair sat in silence for a while, each in their own thoughts, before Allison broke the heavy silence.
"Can we go throw Jared in the pond and have a beer?" Sam threw his head back and laughed, causing Allison to giggle. "Yes. That we can do."
Sam stood up suddenly, and threw Allison over his shoulder, making her laugh even more. She wrapped her arms around his torso to keep from falling. "If you drop me from this height, Uley, I will probably die. God why are you so damn tall?" Allison ranted, interrupting herself periodically to giggle.
After a very entertaining wrestling match between Jared and Sam, which ended with Jared in the pond, the trio were now lounging on the deck, each with a beer in hand.
Allie and Sam were sitting side by side on the edge of the deck, while Jared was fully reclined on a deck chair, looking completely at ease.
"I don't condone underage drinking, by the way. This is a one time thing mister." Allison scolds Jared playfully. The latter rolls his eyes. "I'm physically like 30, Allie-cat, so kindly fuck off."
Allison stuck her tongue out at him childishly, causing him to scoff. "Oh yeah, and I'm the one who shouldn't be drinking. You're a literal child!" Jared exclaims, exasperated. "A child who is 3 years older than you!" Allison sings, looking over toward Sam, who shakes his head, chucking and taking a drink of his beer. They all fall into a comfortable silence, before a quiet voice breaks it.
"You've been laughing a lot lately, it's nice. I haven't seen you this happy in a long time." Allison notes, having noticed how much more upbeat he had been the past few days; joking around, laughing, letting his 'I'm Sam, I have to be serious all the time' mask slip, and just being regular Sam for once.
Sam looks out at the water, seemingly lost in thought.
"I guess it's just because it seems like everything is starting to make sense now." Sam said simply, his gaze still on the obsidian colored water.
"What do you mean?" Allison asked curiously.
"Well, I've never truly felt like I had a home before . Not with Joseph anyway. And now, I have one, and I'm not alone. Since Jared turned I feel like I have a purpose now, and a family. You know what I mean?"
Allison nodded, smiling warmly. "Yeah. I do."
"Well, this is heartwarming and all, and Sammie-poo I love you too, but I'm gonna head home and crash. My parents won't be back for two more days so you don't have to worry or whatever." Jared says, stretching as he stands up. "Thanks for the beer, Allie."
"No problem." Allison remarks, leaning back on her hands so that she can look up at him. "Do you need a ride or anything?"
To her surprise, both men started snickering at her, and she glanced back and forth between them, confused.
"I can run faster than you can drive. Four legs remember?"
Allison nearly facepalmed.
"Right. That's convenient." Allison mutters, embarrassed that she actually forgot.
"Hell yeah it is." Jared said with a smirk, before running into the woods.
Allison sighed, turning back to the water, leaning her head against Sam's broad shoulder.
"I wonder what my parents would think of me now." Allison mused quietly, watching a few fireflies above the water.
"They'd be proud of you. I know they would. I know I am."
"You are?" Allison asks, raising her head to look at him, eyes shining.
"Of course I am. Allie, you are the strongest woman I know. You put up with me, with Jared, and you haven't complained once. Your compassion astounds me."
Allison chuckled lightly at his wording, leaning her head back on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her.
"I always knew you were a poet."
"Shut up." Sam laughs, causing Allison to giggle, knocking her legs against his.
"To be or not to be, that is the question." She exclaimed dramatically, throwing her arm out in front of her as theatrically as possible.
"I'll push you in." Sam threatened, and Allison ignored him, continuing.
"Romeo, Romeo, where-" Allison's sentence was cut off with a shriek as Sam abruptly pushed her off the deck into the water, (gently this time).
"Sam you ass!" Allison yelled as she resurfaced, a wide grin evident on her face. Sam shrugged, an innocent smile plastered on his face as he turned around to start walking away.
"Not so fast, Uley." Allison called from the deck she had just hauled herself back onto, causing Sam to turn around in confusion.
"You are sleeping in the house tonight, no arguments."
"But-"
"No! Sam! No arguments. You are not a danger to me. If anything, with Alpha Sam sleeping in the same house as me, I'm the safest girl in town. If you can trust Jared, you can trust yourself. You're sleeping inside, even if I have to drag you there." Allison huffed, slightly annoyed.
"Drag me?" Sam chuckled. "Always such big threats from such a little human." Sam looks down and meets her determined brown eyes, and sighs.
"Fine."
Allison grins triumphantly, pushing Sam's back gently as they start walking toward their little home on Old La Push Rd, not realizing just how significant that house would be in the coming months, not just for them, but for everyone.
———————————————————————————
edited on april 25, 2021