in my younger days, i would have taken this gin bottle and thrown it against the wall.

[altercate]

CHARACTERS: allison argent + derek hale
LOCATION: floor 009 kitchen.
WARNINGS: will update as needed!!
SUMMARY: awkward kitchen encounters!!

[ tyke's up and out of bed. derek thinks briefly about loitering outside of Security's offices, but he doesn't think that would go over well. he takes himself up to the ninth floor instead. without tyke, he's abruptly at loose ends. it feels strange, the absence of her. and up until this moment, derek hadn't even realized how tired he was. he wants food and he wants to sleep. that he can do, until tyke's finished with whatever errands she's taking care of.

of course, the first person he finds in the kitchen is allison. allison who derek still doesn't quite know how to behave around. they're allies but they're not exactly friends. and scott's gone. derek doesn't know what to do with her. he isn't even sure his presence is welcome right now. ]

Allison? [ a little stiffly, questioning as he takes a few steps into the room. ] I'm--I needed to get something to eat.

[ like clearly he has to explain what he's doing in the kitchen. smooth. ]

Comments

[overdraws]

[ Talk about awkward. All Allison wanted was some Chunky Monkey or whatever passed for it on this stupid ship, and instead she gets caught off guard by Derek Hale, her head stuck in the freezer, looking for ice cream. She jerks her head out at the sound of her name, staring at him incredulously, because why was Derek here and also because duh, Derek, of course you're here for food, why else would you be here? She regains her composure quickly, however, and turns back to the freezer, grabbing the first container of ice cream she sees and shuts the door. ] Sorry, I'll just go.

[ Because, you know, it's her that's making this awkward. She chides herself a little, because she should be used to this by now, the whole 'people from home being surprised to see her' thing. At least Stiles and Lydia weren't getting spooked anymore. ]

[altercate]

You don't have to.

[ immediate, if stiffly. he knows it's the right thing to say, or close to it, but he doesn't know what comes next. it's not awkward because of her death. or it's not entirely awkward because of her death. it's derek not knowing what to do with her in general, how they interact when there isn't an immediate danger to focus on. ]

I didn't mean you had to leave.

[overdraws]

[ She stops, one hand clenching the ice cream, her other flexing a little and she nods, making her way over to the silverware and grabbing a spoon. She glances at him over her shoulder, gives him a small, awkward smile. ] I really shouldn't take this back to my room, Prada will be all over me if i do.

[ Allison hesitates and then peels the lid off, gesturing to it. ] Want some?

[altercate]

[ the offer surprises him. whatever derek says, he's still not entirely sure what to do here. it was easier when there was an emergency to be dealt with. to do this in the quiet, in peacetime, it's more difficult. derek takes a deep breath, nods. ]

Ice cream for breakfast isn't exactly what I had in mind.

[ but bacon and eggs are probably out of the question. ]

I'll get another bowl.

[overdraws]

[ She laughs a little, at that, hoists herself up to sit on the counter directly and digs in with her spoon. ] I actually haven't been able to sleep, so I guess this is more like late late dessert for me, than breakfast.

[altercate]

Are you having trouble sleeping?

[ it's the kind of question that's probably an effective mood killer all on its own, but. ]

Stiles and Scott were, before.

[ and derek hasn't followed up, isn't sure if that's still the case. he hopes it isn't. lydia said she was sleeping better with allison here, but derek isn't sure how that's playing out for her and for stiles. ]

[overdraws]

[ She stops cold at that, blinks at him once, and then goes back to her ice cream. ] No?

[ It's only partially a lie, and she knows it and she knows he knows it, so she sighs, because what if he relays that information to someone else? ] Not really trouble. Not like before.

[ When the darkness was creeping in. ] Just... I've been here a while and I'm still kind of getting used to it. [ Lie. Not a lie. Lie. ]

[altercate]

You will.

[ get used to it, he means. it's meant to be encouraging, though he doesn't mention that he's seen her adjust before, that he knows she's capable because he's witnessed it more than once. ]

It takes longer than you'd think. But it gets to be routine.

[ derek's been here long enough to know. it's not necessarily a good thing either, but he doesn't know what else to frame it as. ]

[overdraws]

[ Most things do. And she's been through enough crap in the past months to know that 'routine' doesn't mean boring or that it's good. Routine back home was fighting for the lives of her friends on a regular basis while trying to maintain decent grades and a healthy sleep schedule. Her grades had started to tank pretty regularly after she'd started following in her family's footsteps, and the sleep thing, well.

She was here, sharing ice cream with Derek Hale in the middle of the night.

She nods, squaring her shoulders a bit. She's terrified of the idea, but she's not going to show that to him. In fact, she really doesn't want to show that to anyone. ] I know. The hard part is just getting there.