Teen wolf one-shots

A Place Where You Were Loved (Scott McCall)

He had to know you were there.

Surely he had picked up on your scent by now, your breathing, or even your heartbeat.

But as you stared across the space left between yourself and Scott as he spoke to Stiles, not once did he look up your way, or give any indication he knew you were there.

You had smelled both of them over a mile back, the familiar smell making you smile despite yourself, Stiles still wearing too much of that same cologne he had back in Junior High. Now since you were even closer, you found it almost hard to breathe at first, it was so pungent, but after a while, it became normal almost, an easy feeling settling into your gut, which made the rest of you crawl with unease.

Beacon Hills was not a place to get comfortable, especially out in the woods at night like you were now. You shook your head briefly, the smile growing a little larger for only a moment. These two idiots would never learn.

"You said you caught a scent back there at the crime scene," Stiles was saying when you came back to their conversation from the memories in your head. They were a dangerous place, easy to get lost in if you let yourself wander too far.

Scott shook his head, that look of deep concentration and yet confusion furrowing his brow. It was a look you had only ever seen on him, and it looked every bit like a puppy learning a new trick. "No, not at the crime scene," he said, looking from his feet back up to Stiles. "It was before that. On the edge of town, out by where the Hale house used to be."

"So she's definitely in town...." Stiles muttered, looking down to the ground himself, cupping his chin in his hand, deep in thought. "She must have tried to find Derek- God, has it really been that long since she came here?"

"That's what I thought, but no. She was here last year, remember? Kira was still with the Skinwalkers and we had just gotten you back from the Ghost Riders..."

"Oh, that's right!" Stiles exclaimed. "She helped us out for a little bit with the aftermath... Man, that was a mess," he chuckled a bit, Scott only groaning lightly and tossing his head back muttering, "Don't remind me," adding to Stiles' laughter.

Scott laid back on the hood of Stiles' Jeep the two were perched on, and silence fell between them for a few minutes. When Scott spoke again, his voice was almost a whisper, but it startled you, nonetheless. You shook your head, ridding yourself of the comfortable weight the silence had brought with it, almost like wrapping you in a comfortable blanket with its pure sense of 'home'.

"I finally admitted to her how I felt about her." Stiles took a deep breath and looked down to his friend, his heart rate picking up in anticipation. "I know she had been through that rough patch right after being turned, but, I told her I forgave her. I told her it wasn't her fault, we all make mistakes, and she deserved as much a second chance as any of us."

"Did you tell her that the bite was a gift?" Stiles mumbled, trying very hard to hold back a laugh, squawking quietly when Scott lightly batted his arm.

"No, you idiot. In fact, she told me not to say that exact thing because she had already heard it from Derek." Both friends chuckled, and you had to bite back your own laugh. "I told her that I loved her."

"Dude," Stiles breathed out, his eyes wide as he looked at Scott who just stared up at the sky. "I take it that didn't go well."

"Nope," was Scott's simple answer, and his steady heartbeat only added to the pain that one word caused you to feel. "The saddest thing is that when I told her I loved her, she thought I was lying. She never believed someone could fall in love with her." Scott looked up to Stiles, and they looked at one another in silence for a long moment. Finally turning back to the sky, Scott spoke quietly once again. "And no matter what I said, she wouldn't believe me, that was the last time I saw her."

"Well, now she's back in town, maybe you can try again?" Stiles offered in support.

Scott laughed sardonically. "Yeah. Right. Like that'll go well." He began gesturing largely like Stiles. "You know how she is. She's stubborn, and hard headed, and-"

"And a lot like you," Stiles interrupted, grinning down at his friend from his perch on the hood of the Jeep. "Which means she also is kind, and understanding, and one hell of a friend. Not to mention a kick ass fighter. I wouldn't mind having her in my corner again. Not after these last few months. We could use someone like her."

"We always could use someone like her," Scott agreed. "Problem is, girls like her are one in a million. She's our only shot at an advantage like that."

"Well, maybe this time she'll stay long enough to hear you out," Stiles said as you swiped at your eyes, tears falling despite your internal orders to them not to fall.

"It's Beacon Hills. There's always a chance for something unlikely to happen," Scott said, and you could hear the smile in his voice. "I just hope it does."

You stood abruptly, taking one step and snapping a twig, instantly dropping to the ground as quietly as possible, cursing at your one misstep as you heard Stiles mutter, "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah," Scott said quietly, his voice absent, distant. "Probably was just a rabbit or something." You heard his heart skip a beat at the lie, and you knew you'd been found. "Come on. Let's get out of here," Scott finally said, and you heard the squeaking of the Jeep doors. Though now muffled from the roar of the engine, you could hear Scott's steady heartbeat as he added with what you were sure was a smile, "I need to find a way to convince her."

"Can't she just listen to your heartbeat?" Stiles asked, voice fading as they began down the road.

"Yeah," Scott said in that distant tone again, before adding in a volume you were certain only supernatural ears could hear, "Yeah, she can."

His heartbeat was steady until it was out of your range, and it was only then that you let yourself breathe again. Everything felt sharper, crisper, and just felt right. You let the smell of 'home' sink into your lungs, and you felt lighter with every breath. Coming back was the right thing to do. Following the glow on the horizon, you let the light guide you back to the city, back to familiar streets, back to everything you once saw as a burden, a cage, and let yourself see it for what it was.

A place where you were loved.