CLOSED ♔ muffled rap music

[immuno]

WHO: STILES STILINSKI, LYDIA MARTIN, DEREK HALE, and NICK BURKHARDT
WHERE: Residence #023, Police Station
WHEN: Week of July 15
WHAT: Stiles and Lydia being a detective team (again).
WARNINGS: Stalking

[ starters in comments! ]

Comments

➢ derek hale @ residence #023

[immuno]

I told you we should break in.

[ Lydia’s standing on the doorstep of Derek and Nick’s home, hands folded in front of her and held tightly around her clutch bag. Impatient, she drums her fingers against the material, pressing her lips together in an unmistakable expression of ‘I told you so.’

Her head tilts a little to the side, eyebrows arched, but she seems to drop it after sneaking in that comment. The doorbell has already been rung and that ship has sailed.

After all, Derek’s unemployed. When could they break in? ]

[ex_question191]

[ stiles sighs, heavily, like that's the worst idea in the world. ]

He'd just smell us there after, with his weird werewolf super-nose.

[ he points out. adds: ]

Not to mention, I'm pretty sure he doesn't do much outside the room. So unless you want to wait until the full moon, then you're just gonna have to—

Heyyyyyy Derek!

[ how long have you been standing there. stiles winces, tugs on one ear while he squints awkwardly, trying to come up with a good reason derek should let them in. ]

[altercate]

[ it's not like they're being super subtle. derek can hear them, and when he opens the door his expression is somewhere between exasperated and affronted, like derek hasn't yet made up his mind which he wants to commit to. ]

What now?

[ does he have to point out he could hear you? he's not going to bother. ]

Why would you want to break in here?

[ aka is he going to regret letting you both in? probably. ]

[immuno]

[ When Derek swings the door open, Lydia looks up suddenly, eyes wide, eyebrows arched. She’s quiet for a moment, searching his expression, glancing over his shoulder into the house. For a second, she seems to be mulling over the possibility of providing a better explanation than the truth.

Nah. ]

We wanna spy on your roommate.

[ The slight nod in how she says it seems to demand he get out of the doorway so they can get on with it. She reaches out to rest her hand on his upper arm to gently start pushing him out of the way like pls excuse. ]

[ex_question191]

[ well. that's certainly. the truth. ]

[ stiles pulls a welp face and surges forward to just shoulder past derek, less gentle. ]

Thanks for getting the door, dude.

[ like he was integral to their mission impossible level plan. stiles gives a little fistpump, adds, sotto: ]

Go team!

[altercate]

Which roommate?

[ he has like three or four roommates, everyone has to be more specific. though generally derek assumes that if anyone's getting stared at it's mitchell or nick, so. ]

Why?

[ this is directed more to lydia, since stiles is already in the apartment and because derek sort of assumes he has a better chance at getting a serious answer from her. ]

[immuno]

Which do you think?

[ She gives him a slightly bewildered look, as if awed that he can’t guess, and then moves past him after Stiles. A quick point towards the stairs later, she’s glancing over her shoulder at Derek. ]

Which room is Nick’s?

[ex_question191]

[ stiles turns on his heel, walks backwards — which is probably stupid and inadvisable given he's not exactly a graceful ballerina, but he wants to talk to them both. ]

He gives her the heebie jeebies, so we're gonna check him out.

[ he explains helpfully, and then collides with the bannister with a mouthed fuck and an exaggerated grabbing of his badly wounded (read: barely bruised) side. ]

[altercate]

He's not human.

[ is he supposed to be keeping this a secret? sorry not sorry nick. he closes the door, though he looks over to roll his eyes at stiles, shakes his head. ]

What do you think you're going to find in his room?

[ though derek has stopped actively complaining about it, which is a very clear sign he's on board. ]

[immuno]

He's not alive, either. [ Lydia says it over her shoulder as she starts up the stairs. If Derek isn't going to give a clear answer, she'll invade everyone's privacy and guess until she's right. ] Probably. [ Stiles can be in charge of the evidence speculation. ]

plurk discussion topic: cee bringing mitchell into this log.

[ex_question191]

Clues.

[ stiles tells derek, following her. ]

Very definitely clues. We wanna know what this guy's deal is, okay? If he's a threat to you.

[ so it's totally in derek's best interest and has nothing at all to do with lydia and stiles' insatiable need to stick his nose in where it doesn't belong. ]

gratefully climbs in

[humanistic]

[Speaking of not alive...

In a departure from a more stereotypical vampire's habits, Mitchell does not have a room in the basement. It's at the top of the stairs, and he's been asleep, because (in keeping with stereotypical vampire habits) he mostly works nights. But now he's awake, still wearing the clothes he fell asleep in, and his big plan to go downstairs and eat crappy breakfast cereal has now been interrupted by the Bobbsey Twin and their faithful canine companion, Derek.

b r i l l i a n t]

Jesus God, what is this. [wait don't answer] No, sorry. I don't even know that I want t' know what's going on here.

casually boots out

[altercate]

[ derek is saved from weighing on the idea of whether or not nick is going to be a threat by mitchell. who derek has tentatively categorized as not a threat, but maybe an annoyance, based on that bracket text gosh. ]

Nothing's going on.

[ because getting immediately defensive is the way to divert suspicion, right? ]

They're visiting. Is that a problem?

[ in a tone that suggests it shouldn't be if an argument is to be avoided. ]

[immuno]

You really need to work on how you treat your guests.

[ Weird how she says that like they were invited. ]

[ Lydia moves carefully around Mitchell to continue on up the stairs, for all intents and purposes looking as if she wants to avoid all potential for physical contact with him. Who knows what she might catch, ok, dude wears fingerless gloves. ]

[ex_question191]

[ lydia keeps going, onwards to nick's room, but stiles is kind of stuck on the fact that his movie date, who thinks he's a nancy drew junior detective, has just emerged from nowhere to catch him junior detective-ing. ]

You live here?

[ looking from derek, to mitchell. }

[humanistic]

I think you mean how he treats his guests.

[He being Derek, and Mitchell gives him a really-you-hang-out-with-teenagers sort of look. Like he has any room to talk, when basically everyone is a teenager compared to 117 year old him. But these teenagers are tromping around upstairs like they have some business, with their pulses and their wonderfully warm blood. He watches Lydia go by, and tries to ignore that pulse.

As for Stiles--]

Yeah, I've lived here longer than him. You're friends with them? And-- with... Nick? [This is a guess, but all of this seems unlikely. Visits to friends don't go like this; sorry, Derek.] This isn't some detective work, is it.

[altercate]

It's a social call.

[ derek's tone is desert-dry. no one in this room is being subtle, but derek's watching mitchell watch lydia. when he follows her it's just to put himself between them, within arm's reach. ]

I mentor them.

[ this is clearly the lie derek is sticking with, though he immediately looks at stiles to wordlessly communicate "shut up" in his direction like that has ever worked. ]

[immuno]

[ About that social call thing. ]

[ Lydia glances blithely back as Derek inserts himself between her and Mitchell. Just the slightest turn of her head to acknowledge the move, and then she’s poking her head into bedrooms to try and identify which one is Nick’s. ]

[ Derek and Mitchell can argue this out. Lydia's going to keep on being nosy—especially now that she has a werewolf bodyguard. ]

[ex_question191]

[ wow thanks derek, apparently stiles doesn't rate protection? not that he really notices: he doesn't exactly register mitchell as a threat. ]

[ derek says the word mentor, and stiles lets out a short laugh, chin dipped, like it's the most ridiculous and hilarious thing he's ever heard. ]

We know each other from home.

[ he tells mitchell, in the kind of tone that makes it sound like a correction. derek is not his mentor. but he's also not going to tell mitchell that they are actually here for detective stuff, nosing into nick's room: lydia can go right ahead and do the thing while derek and stiles stop mitchell from noticing. ]

[humanistic]

[There's a fleeting shade of of guilt in Mitchell's expression, when he's forced to snap his gaze off of Lydia because of Derek's protective little sidestep. It's an expression that quickly fades--first into irritation, like he's not grateful that someone interfered--and then into scepticism, because--]

Mentor.

[He repeats that word right around when Stiles laughs, because yeah, his sentiments exactly, and that's without knowing dynamics or just how they know each other from home. Anyone could tell you that Derek isn't a mentor.]

Since you're all friends, you can tell me: does she always do this, at home? [It's okay to talk about Lydia because she's going in and out of bedrooms.] Make social calls, and start going in to people's rooms--'cause I'm not up on my modern manners, right, but I'm pretty sure this wouldn't be cool. With anyone.

[And, actually, maybe he ought to follow her, and that has nothing to do with pulses, or anything, thank you. Mitchell tugs his door shut behind him, with the intent to follow.]

[altercate]

[ if derek could get away with keeping the both of them behind him, he would. what he can do is track mitchell, follow the prickling thread of awareness that marks him as a predator and make sure that if something does happen then derek's between him and whatever it is he's leaping at. he's trying to be at least a bit more subtle about it. ]

Shut up.

[ to both mitchell and stiles, like the laugh is insulting. at least nick had pretended not to be openly skeptical. ]

She's making herself at home. She's fine.

[ though there's at least some invitation in the raise of derek's eyebrows, like, are you going to tell her to stop? ]

[immuno]

[ You go ahead and keep complaining. Lydia has found Nick's room and is now nosing through it, pulling open his closet and pushing hangers aside to examine the back of it as if she expects to find some kind of secret compartment. As she turns the room over, she pulls open dresser drawers, checks under the bed, etc. ]

[ And from outside of the room, there's suddenly the sound of metal clanging. ]

What. The hell. Is this?

[ Scythe is the word she's looking for. Inside Nick's room, Lydia is seated on the floor just beside the closet, scythe held out in both hands, looking deeply disturbed. ]

[ex_question191]

[ stiles is now also trying to get between Mitchell and lydia. not so much because of the dangerous thing, mostly so he doesn't see her rummaging around in nick's room, because it's invasive and ... possibly illegal? he's not clear on that. ]

[ it's pointless, though, because lydia has actually found something, and draws all three guys' attention to it. stiles squints at what she's holding. ]

Uhhhhh, thaaaat... looks like a scythe. You know, for farming?

[ not that nick's a farmer. ]

Or, I guess, creative murder.

[humanistic]

A scythe?

[Mitchell repeats it, incredulously, because look his age or not, he's from a time period where some people were still using scythes. Now he's really got to see what the hell is going on in there, and he steps to the side a little to see in the room, ignoring Derek and Stiles both, mostly--

Yeah. A scythe.]

...I think you should probably be putting that down now. [And, after a beat, with a noise of displeased censure that's far too casual for finding a scythe in someone's bedroom--] 'Creative murder'. Honestly. With that thing? Way too big.

[altercate]

[ creative murder. derek just looks at stiles, then reaches past him to take the scythe from lydia before stiles can. in the interest of not severing any heads with it, and possibly just because derek wants to hold it. ]

Where was he keeping this? The closet?

[ and then, like an afterthought-- ]

Speaking from experience?

[ because seriously, mitchell? when were you running around with a scythe? ]