[log] stiles&bob

[imeanbeastiary]

The hallway was long. Doors and windows into rooms lined the walls, as well as bright, cheerful pieces of art scattered about, trying to keep it from feeling overly sterile. But it was a hospital, it felt sterile anyway.

Or, it would, if there wasn't something else in the air. Stiles knew exactly what it was.

"No, no, nononono," he said quickly as he started moving to doors and opening them up, yelling at any kids, staff, and family members he saw that they needed to run. They needed to get out. He didn't say why, they wouldn't believe him. He knew they wouldn't. Stiles just hoped the sheer panic in his voice and face would tell them what they needed to know.

That's when the fire alarms started to go off and the screams began.

The lights began to flicker once in a while and he could see smoke and a glow coming from around a corner. He could hear laughter and footsteps getting closer to the hallway he was on. A blast of fire shot out and hit the nurse's station at the intersection of the hallways and Stiles immediately held up a hand, trying to use his power to put the fire out like he always could, but it wasn't working. "No, no, no... FUCK."

And then Stiles's worst nightmare came into view.

Dressed in black, skin paler than humanly possible except for the dark bags under his eyes, and blood smeared across his chin from where he clearly just fed, stood... Stiles. But it wasn't really Stiles at the same time.

"Heeeey, buddy," the vampire said, a flash of his fangs visible as he spoke, and a cruel smirk spreading across his face. "Can't get the powers up all of a sudden?"

And with that Stiles couldn't help it. He started backing back down the hallway. He needed to get away from this version of him, but he knew the speed the vampire could move at and he didn't want to take his eyes off him.

But Stiles knew there was nothing he could do. He couldn't save these kids. He was the reason they were all dead.

Comments

[imeanbeastiary]

Stiles couldn't help the slight grin that tugged at the side of his mouth at the playful teasing, and out of spite reached out to poke him again. "It helps keep people out of the life or death fray most of the time. Hell, my dad didn't know werewolves were real until after I'd been dealing with them for a couple years, and he's the sheriff. Scott's mom found out a lot sooner, but Scott's legitimately an awful liar." The last thing Stiles had wanted was for something to happen to his dad.

But he shrugged one shoulder again. "I don't know, man. You don't always need to listen to me. My brain just expects the worst-case scenario most of the time."

[justavoid]

Bob snickers and bats his hands away again— this cycle might continue a few times if Stiles keeps badgering him, until Bob finally catches his hand in his own; it’s a brief thing, he lets go after a second or two.

He shifts to lay on his back, but keeps his face turned toward the other man. “John and Melissa are great. You guys were… really lucky to have them.” His lips pull into a small, tight smile briefly before it disappears again.

“Well, I’m not, for the record,” he says, “so don’t worry about it.”

[imeanbeastiary]

Stiles was about to go back to poking at him, just to be annoying, when he noticed Bob's tension up a bit. "Yeah, we were," he admitted, watching Bob carefully. "I didn't get it back then, but now I think they were both trying to make up for being single parents? My mom died when I was 10 and Scott was even younger when his dad got thrown out. That piece of shit."

Frowning slightly and forever unable to actually stay completely still, instead of poking at Bob some more Stiles began to fiddle a bit with the hem of Bob's short sleeve. Honestly, he didn't even realize he was doing it until he finally looked away from Bob's face and down at his own hand, but instead of pulling it away this time he just kept messing with it. The mood tonight was really a rollercoaster. "Hey, thanks, by the way," he said simply, almost like he was talking to that sleeve. "I'm uh... usually stuck in my panic attacks a lot longer than I was tonight. I don't know how but you got me out of it pretty easy."

[justavoid]

“A good single parent is better than a shitty couple any day,” and he believes that wholeheartedly; maybe if his mom had left his dad things would have been different? But he can’t know that for sure. Maybe she was always going to be an addict, the same way his dad was always going to be abusive.

Stiles may not notice, but Bob does— his eyes drop to watch the other man fidget a little with his sleeve, but he never moves to stop him; he doesn’t mind, it’s kind of nice. “I’m just glad I helped… I’m pretty good at making things worse a lot of the time…”

[imeanbeastiary]

"Yeah, I won't argue with you about that." Stiles had seen plenty of bad parents in the past, or the result of bad parents. He wasn't friends with Isaac but his dad was trash, Scott's dad was trash, the Gallaghers he met were a mess, and so were the Milkoviches. "You can share my dad if you want. Scott already does. And you can also share Mrs. M."

Perking a brow, Stiles tilted his head up so he could get a better look at Bob. His fingers stilled but he didn't let go of the sleeve. "You're kidding, right?" he asked, confused by his statement. Maybe even downright incredulous. "I don't know, dude. You seem pretty good at getting my ADHD ass to calm down. Until tonight I hadn't even had a nightmare since you got here." And that was saying something. Usually while it was every several months between panic attack inducing dreams, it was only a couple days between regular nightmares.

[justavoid]

He smiles softly, “Thanks… And are you sure Scott is going to be as willing to share his mom?”

“What?” He asks, a confused frown on his face; his features shift into obvious surprise. “Really?” He glances over at him carefully. “Do you… usually have them more often?” he wants to ask what they’re about, but it doesn’t seem like a good idea, so instead he just fidgets with his own fingers, twisting them together.

[imeanbeastiary]

"Scott'll be fine, don't worry. If there's anyone in this world I know better than myself it's him," Stiles grinned back at Bob then. Dammit. He did like Bob's smile.

But then Stiles's grin turned a bit sad as he let his head plop back onto the pillow, shrugging one shoulder in the process. "Yeah. I mean, the panic attack ones? They're usually just a couple times a year. But just general regular nightmares are usually like... every couple nights. And this was the first any kind of nightmare I've had since you got here." Stiles fingers started twisting in the fabric of Bob's sleeve again as he looked away from his friend. Not that there was anything in his room worth looking at, he knew it all like the back of his hand. But he was slightly embarrassed by his nightmares. And admitting them.

[justavoid]

“Okay, I’ll take your word for it,” he chuckles softly.

He frowns a little at that information. He doesn’t like that— isn’t sure where the intensity of that thought comes from— but boy can he relate. “Nightmares suck…” he grumbles softly. “So, do you prefer to wait it out or to be woken up?”

[imeanbeastiary]

"Definitely wake me up," Stiles said, nodding. "I hate getting stuck in them and I can't always wake myself up well." He would have been incredibly stuck tonight if he hadn't dreamed Bob was there with him, at least. Which was still weird-- he never usually had any differences in his memory-dreams. Not even when he had a boyfriend. They were never involved in his dreams.

[justavoid]

“Yeah, same…” he nods his agreement. “It’s hard for me to tell, sometimes, you know… what’s real and what’s just what my brain cooks up for funsies.” Not really lucid dreams, he can never control anything in his own dreams.

He tries and fails to stifle a yawn. “Sorry,” he mumbles, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Do you feel like you can go back to sleep? Or do you need more distraction first?”

[imeanbeastiary]

Yawning himself cause of how contagious those damn things were, Stiles adjusted his pillow under his head a bit. "Yeah, I can probably go back to sleep now," he said simply, grinning a bit at Bob. "I meant it, though. You are good at relaxing me." There were many, many times when after a nightmare Stiles was completely unable to get back to sleep for the rest of the night, but here he was, confident he would be able to drift off again with little issue. "Sorry for waking you up, but thanks anyway."