( closed / free of any eden we can name )

[instinct]

WHO: derek hale + lydia martin.
WHERE: central city.
WHEN: backdated to the evening of the thirteenth.
SUMMARY: absolutely not a date.
WARNING(S): may get nc17.


[ it's exactly seven when derek knocks on the door of lydia's ground floor apartment. he's got flowers, because he does actually understand when a suggestion is not really a suggestion, and his clothes are clean, even if they're still just a dark tshirt and jeans. ]

[ he knows he shouldn't be intimidated by the thought of spending time with a girl who is probably six years younger than him and whose taste in men runs along the lines of jackson whittemore, who is an asshole (which derek knows because he was the exact same asshole in high school) and yet there's still a clench in his gut as he waits for her to answer. ]

This is a bad idea.

[ is the first thing he says, and then he presents her with flowers. they're nice — they're not roses, though he considered it, because he's never bought anyone roses before, but even buying her dinner is enough romance that it's freaking him out, so he didn't. ]

Comments

[afieldsmedal]

[ he's prompt, and she's still got her shoes in one hand and coat in the other. which means when she answers the door, frowns comically and drawls — ]

Thanks for the awe inspiring confidence.

[ — before smiling and batting her eyelashes, she has nowhere to put the flowers when they catch her eye.

but she coos; makes room. drops her shoes and scoops the bouquet from his arms. lydia nods at him with silent approval, with only the slightest undertone of bragging, because receiving flowers you pretty much demanded counts as winning something, right? ] These are lovely. Here, come in — I'll put them in water and then we can go.

[instinct]

[ it kind of does when it's derek. ]

[ he follows her inside with a wariness that says he's not sure he won't regret closing the door behind him. (after all, his track record with women is not great.) leans back against the doorframe like something out of a catalogue and watches her, tiny with bare feet, find a vase. ]

You look great.

[ he sounds embarrassed to be saying it, which means it's sincere, though really, he probably should have lead with that. still, being mr foreboding doesn't seem to have actually lost him any points. ]

[afieldsmedal]

[ victory it is, then.

the door doesn't smack him on the ass, and lydia doesn't bite — derek is perfectly safe. safe and in no danger of being molested without generous provocation. she feels normal, well and truly normal; in her own head without any outside agents impacting her sex drive. and how lovely is that, especially compared to some certain unfortunate individuals right now.

she doesn't have a vase, but there's a juice pitcher she never uses and that serves just as well. lydia shoves it under the tap and turns on the water, nearly splashing water all down her front when he compliments her. it's not that it's undue — she's taken her own advice to heart and is dressed in some of her newer clothes: a dark blue long sleeve sweater, a short black skirt and high socks — but still...surprising. lydia is, however, unflappable. ]

I know.

[ he he he, smug smug smug. ]

I mean, thank you. And you don't look like you've been hit by a semi truck any time recently, so that's a plus. Did I ever wish you a happy New Years? I don't think I did, so happy belated New Years.

[instinct]

Happy New Year.

[ derek sounds deadpan. he pushes forward off the door, and if she were anybody else, he probably wouldn't say anything else &mdash: nothing more about New Years, anyway. ]

I was with Stiles at the celebrations.

[ and he's pretty sure stiles is now not speaking to him, which derek has managed to convince himself doesn't bother him. ]

Got hit by another dose of...

[ he gestures instead of finishing the sentence, and then shrugs. ]

[afieldsmedal]

[ she snorts.

which is a little undue seeing as she knows actually nothing about what transpired between the two of them on new years, but she knows a pretty good deal about what's happening now. ]

Yeah? I'm not surprised. Stiles seems to get a hit more often than not.

[ she's nodding sagely, having experienced his most recent chip plight this very morning. the pitcher is full and lydia heaves it onto the counter, unwrapping the flowers and carefully arranging them to look their best. ]

They smell nice, [ lydia comments idly, picking up her shoes again and slipping them on. stiles' predicament is more interesting than the flowers, however, and since it's his suffering that's put her in such a good mood (wow, bad friend, awful lover) she'd much rather snicker about that. ] Have you seen him recently?

[instinct]

[ the flowers do smell nice: they're the kind that give out a fresh burst of scent every time they're tagged, and derek can scent the result of that all over his shirt, though he knows to ordinary human noses he probably doesn't smell too floral. ]

[ derek helps her into her coat pretty much on autopilot. ]

Not since the fireworks.

[ and gets the door. it's not even some weird sense of chivalry — he was raised in an intensely matriarchal household, it's not like he thinks women need his help — but something in him hums warm when he does nice things for her. ]

I think he's ignoring me. Why?

[afieldsmedal]

[ she's not going to complain. it's been month — months, multiple months both here and back home — since she's been on a proper date. "proper" being one she didn't go into pre-planning her one night stand departure speech for the next morning, or didn't purposefully derail to have meaningless quickies. it wasn't like she and aiden did much more than fool around in finstock's office. wasn't really like there'd been time for anyone to date, really, what with the whole constant near death experience aspect.

wasn't really like she'd ever been on a date where she didn't have to poke and prod and demand to be spoiled, so no — there will be literally no complaining about any of this. derek can help her in and out of her clothes as much as he'd like, this was a good arrangement. ]

Ignoring you? [ she has a handful of theories immediately relating to why that might happen, and all of them are plenty reasonable given how stubborn and standoffish the pair of them would be. suddenly she's very interested in what transpired at the fireworks. ]

Huh, that's too bad. You should still go see him, though. [ out in the hall, lydia's rummaging in her pocket for a key and locking the door, not paying that much attention to the door knob because she's too busy throwing a wink over her shoulder. ] He's, um...filled out recently. I think you'd like it.

[instinct]

[ derek's eyes narrow subtly, not getting the joke. ]

He's been working out?

[ he didn't look particularly filled out at new years'. ]

[ he can't help but wonder if lydia's trying to orchestrate something, here, much like he's pretty sure stiles' texts during the truth serum debacle, the ones inviting him over, had been sent with her encouragement if not her explicit instruction. ]

[afieldsmedal]

[ lydia martin, proclaimed mastermind of the threesome. ]

No, he's not exactly muscular.

[ or a he, for that matter.

is it bad? how much enjoyment she's getting out of this? ]

He's kind of distinctly more — [ ...look, lydia will even illustrate, lifting her hands and groping the air in front of her. ] — squishy than usual.

[instinct]

[ derek stares at her. ]

Is that supposed to mean tits?

[ he's pretty sure stiles doesn't usually have anything squishy going on there. the idea that this place can somehow give people breasts... derek just doesn't know what to do with that. ]

[afieldsmedal]

[ ding ding ding we have a winner~ ]

They're small boobs, but they're boobs. He's got breasts.

[ this is apparently appropriate date night conversation now. lydia's grinning, and watches his face eagerly for any sign that he might find this as hilarious as she does. then they can laugh about it. ]

He's got, like, everything.

[instinct]

Everything.

[ derek's mouth twitches left. this is both concerning, intriguing, and yes, really really funny. he starts to walk down the hallways towards the building's exit. ]

So what you're saying is, he's turned into a girl.

[afieldsmedal]

[ she sees that smile — or at least thinks she sees it, which is good enough for lydia, and she more than happily tags along with him. she even considers linking arms with derek, but that'd mean she couldn't talk quite as animatedly with her hands. ]

Full fledged girl. He's wearing my bra and was sort of freaking out this morning.

jan 29.

[instinct]

[ derek's still kind of a mess when he gets to the italian place, ten minutes early, but he's hiding it well. in fact, he's definitely datable: he's dressed a little sharper than last time, a shirt under his leather jacket and trousers instead of jeans, and he's brought something nicer than flowers: a simple necklace a jewellery-maker had traded him at katniss' "hob" in return for some bodyguard work. ]

[ it would be sweet, if it wasn't actually a really petty attempt to get back at stiles. but derek has his anger on lockdown thanks to long years of practice, and he lets the waiter show him to his reserved table, asks to taste a bottle of red while he waits. derek can't get drunk, so he doesn't really drink, but he has a nose to rival any sommelier thanks to his supernatural advantages. ]

[afieldsmedal]

[ lydia shows up seven minutes late with starbucks her hair still a little wet and piled atop her head in that elegant, messy style she's had perfected for when she's running late. the good thing about silver hall is that it's relatively close to everything, so she's not out of breath, and her lipstick isn't smeared. she's a little pink in the cheeks, but there's really no telling if that's stiles' rosé or the brisk walk.

the host offers to take her coat, and when she drops the name derek hale, he nods and escorts her through the scattered tables to where he's sipping wine. ]

Sorry, [ is the first thing out of lydia's mouth as she sits down. ] Sorry, I totally lost track of time.

[instinct]

[ derek doesn't seem too bothered. ]

I thought maybe you weren't coming.

[ he says with a shrug, like he wouldn't have been surprised. but he's glad she's here now, tops up the glass he's been tasting and nudges it over. ]

You look good.

[ like, not just aesthetic appreciation, he kind of really wants to kiss her right now. fortunately there's a table between them. ]

[afieldsmedal]

[ don't worry about the kissing; there can be plenty of that later, and they can always play footsies until then.

meanwhile, lydia's just going to get comfortable in her seat; unwind her scarf and nudge her handbag underneath her seat. and look incredibly affronted at that first bit. ]

What? No, I have no reason to stand you up. I would have at least texted you.

[ then look a little apprehensively at the wine glass he's nudging her way. ]

You know, I think I'll pass? I've already had way too much to drink on an empty stomach, and unless you want to be carrying me home again, I think we should respect drinking laws.

[ the compliment isn't ignored, but it isn't acknowledged either. of course she looks good. lydia always looks good. ]

[instinct]

[ derek slides it back towards him again. ]

You've been drinking?

[ it's just casual, as he opens his menu even though he already knows what he wants. actually, he thinks he already knows the answer to that, can scent the hint of alcohol on her, though she's showered and perfumed. ]

[afieldsmedal]

Uh-huh. Rosé out of a coffee cup.

[ it was all very classy, though — ah-hem, she will most certainly be leaving out who brought over the super sweet wine in light of current tension. ]

And chocolates.

[ also leaving out who brought her the chocolates... ]

It was all very girly. [ and then because she's mirroring him and opening the menu: ] Do you have any suggestions?

[instinct]

[ fortunately the girly means derek assumes it was with a girl, and since he really, really doesn't want to bring allison argent into this conversation, he's content to let the subject drop. ]

Sounds fun.

[ no it doesn't. ]

The ravioli here's pretty good. I'm getting a steak.

[afieldsmedal]

[ sure, yes — whatever it takes to avoid a completely truthful conversation. when she pries, she'd much rather him not know she was literally just talking about him. ]

It was. [ and a quick glance downward — ] I'd rather have orecchiette with ricotta. And water.

[ though she's investigated the soft drinks, debating a ginger ale, and idly glancing between him and the rest of her options. ]

You know, you should be careful. I'm actually beginning to think you enjoy my company.

[instinct]

[ derek looks up from the menu, catches her gaze, lifting an eyebrow. ]

Wouldn't be here if I didn't.

[ it's surprisingly earnest, all things considered, but he wants her to know that. for all he'd like to rub whatever this is in stiles' face in an attempt to make him regret ignoring derek's (totally reasonable) request, he does actually like lydia in a way that predates their fight. and their threesome. and proxima, really. she's smart, and very attractive, immune to the bite, and proven capable of calling him on his bullshit, and completely 100% not likely to turn out to be a murderer or arsonist. ]

Actually, I got you something.

[afieldsmedal]

[ only, like, 80% on the arsonist — it'd be a lie to say she wasn't still debating throwing molotov cocktails at your uncle, derek. ]

What? Really?

[ all stiles' misgivings which she'd been feeling by proxy go out the window, because he got her something and lydia's a giddy little girl when it comes to (romance in general, especially here where it's a readily skipped step) presents. ]

Oh, you didn't have to do that. I didn't get you anything...

[instinct]

I don't need anything.

[ once his entire house burnt down, derek has made a point of never attaching any significance to material possessions. and he doesn't like receiving gifts, because he doesn't like obligation or surprises — but he enjoys giving them, and there's a softness to his eyes when he pulls the box out of his pocket and places it in front of her. ]

[afieldsmedal]

[ she's giddy and has to all but sit on her hands to keep from grabbing the box right out of his hands. patience pays off, however, and lydia gives him the most bright, beaming smile. she puts a lot of work into being delicate while opening the box.

and then she sighs adoringly. ]

Oh, it's lovely. Do you want me to put it on? I'm going to put it on.

[ after she takes off her other necklace and tucks it into her handbag. ]