2020.02.11 - Settling Stuff

This log follows the story from: 2020.02.05 - T.M.I.

Stiles is not having drama. Scott and Skitch talk.

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It's been a day or two since that night at the Sylvan Court Cafe, when Skitch actually bailed on Sam and Dean (again) and, more importantly, Scott. He's had a lot to consider, so he's stayed largely out of pocket and around the homestead.

Currently, he's doing some heavy thinking on the couch in the living room. The battered old piece of furniture is a common thinking spot, and currently the blonde is stretched out on it in just a pair of basketball shorts. Scooby is sprawled on his stomach, sleeping soundly as Skitch stares at the ceiling, his thoughts racing. It was a mistake to bail. He knows that. But it was literally...he wrinkles his nose at that line of thought and visibly shakes his head to clear it. Dammit.

Outside, a weathered blue 1980 Jeep C-5 rolls up. The pair inside seem to argue--or perhaps just talk animatedly--briefly, and then the door opens and a slightly dejected-looking Scott all but slinks out. Stiles emerges from the driver's side, gives Scott an oh, come on sort of look and smacks him lightly on the shoulder, throwing up his hands. Scott nods and straightens up some, managing a more hopeful but still concerned expression. Stiles claps him on the shoulder again, this time to squeeze it, and then nudges his friend toward the front door. They make their way up the walk, and when Scott hesitates, Stiles rolls his eyes, reaches over, and knocks firmly.

Scooby's head lifts at the sound of the Jeep pulling up, and he wriggles his way off Skitch's stomach to plunk down on the floor and listen intently. Skitch, for his part, ignores both sound and dog until Scooby comes to attention and scrabbles towards the door, barking his chuffy bark excitedly. Then there's the knock, and Skitch pushes himself off the couch. "I swear to God, if this is another Girl Scout...." he glances over at the kitchen counter, where six boxes of cookies sit, mocking him and the decimation of his wallet. Gripping the door knob, he swings it open. "Look, I gave the last troop the last of my mone --" He stops when he sees Stiles, and behind him, Scott.

Scooby has no chill, regardless of how awkward this moment might be. He scrabbles out the door to fling himself against first Stiles, then Scott. OH MY GOD THESE PEOPLE I KNOW THESE PEOPLE I KNOW THOSE SMELLS OH MY GOD SOMEONE PET ME RIGHT NOW.

After a long moment, Skitch steps back from the door and moves into the house. "Make Scooby come inside with you," he says, his voice strained but cheerful. "You guys want a water or something?"

Stiles reacts to the sudden onslaught of doggy by crouching down to grin at Scooby and give him a good scritch and petting, saying, "Hey, there, Scoob! Who's a goood booooyyy? Yeah, spoilers--it's you!" Dogs apparently make Stiles act like a total dork, but he doesn't seem to care much. It's not like he's alone in that, anyway. It's totally a thing. Scott gives the pup a more halfhearted but affectionate pat, and then Stiles steers them all inside, letting Scott pull the door shut after them.

Once inside, Scott fidgets nervously and chews his lip, looking horribly awkward, while Stiles glances around the place and then looks at Skitch. "Hey, dude," he says, bobbing his chin more out of habit than any real attempt at looking casual. "So, uh--stuff happened, huh? You got time to talk? 'Cause I'm pretty sure Scott's gonna chew his own shoes up from anxiety at this point, and normally that's Liam's job, so I figure it's probably best, for the sake of everyone's footwear, if you two hash this thing out." Scott looks mortified but, as yet, doesn't comment. Instead, he looks hopefully but warily toward Skitch.

Skitch moves into the kitchen as the others come inside, going to the fridge and pulling out three bottles of water. He straightens when Stiles mentions recent events, and stares at his new friend for a moment. There's a flicker of...-something- at the mention of Liam's job, and he shifts his gaze to Scott or a long moment with regret plain on his face. "I shouldn't have bailed," he says carefully, moving to set the water on the bar. "I'm sorry. I just...needed time to process stuff." He takes a deep, shaky breath, looking around the kitchen and finally picking up a box of Tagalongs and holding it out. "Cookie?"

Stiles takes a water, then reaches out and snags the box of cookies. He grins at Skitch and Scott, then waggles the box of cookies and says, "I, who am not having drama with any of my friends, get a cookie. You two need to straighten out your crap, and then you get a cookie." He waggles his eyebrows, smirks, and then heads back out to the living room. Looking back over his shoulder, he calls out, "C'mon, Scoob!" And then he's a room away, leaving the other two to, presumably, talk.

Scott, absently twisting at his bottle of water without actually opening it, watches Stiles go. He heaves a sigh, then looks to Skitch and offers a weak little smile. "It's cool," he says lamely, "I mean, you were uncomfortable. I'm sorry if I freaked you out. I mean, like... if you think I'm... I dunno." He sighs and looks down at the water bottle. "If you don't want to... hang out or, anything... anymore... then that's cool, okay? I didn't mean to make it weird."

Scooby follows after Stiles with only a passing glance for Skitch or the alpha. Because, cookies! And Stiles! And...he's gone, chuffing a bark at his new best friend as he goes.

Skitch watches the two of them go, then turns to Scott, his expression slightly wary. When the alpha speaks, however, his expression becomes confused, and he furrows his brow. "What are you talking about, dude?" he asks, folding his arms over his chest and frowning. "I wasn't freaked out. Well, okay, I was. But not about you." He sighs. "Well, yeah. Okay. About you, to some extent. But not like that." He exhales heavily, and drops his head. "I should be telling you it's okay if you just want to be friends or whatever." It doesn't sound okay, though.

Scott lifts his head up, brow furrowed, and peers at Skitch in bafflement. "Wait, what?" he asks, blinking, and takes a step closer. "You weren't--? Not like--?" He slowly reaches out to gingerly place a hand on Skitch's shoulder. "Dude," he says quietly, "then... what's actually wrong? I figured you were, like, totally grossed out or... something. If that's not it, then... what...?" Just like that, he goes from seeming embarrassed and uncertain to engaged, more focused, and if scattered, only because he's shifting gears into concern over anxiousness.

Skitch's head hangs even further when Scott touches him, and color creeps from his hair line down into his bare torso. "I..." he starts, then clamps his mouth shut as he considers. "I wasn't kidding when I said you were the first guy I did anything with," he says, the words coming out in a rush. "I mean, I had never even kissed a boy seriously until last week." His color intensifies, and he shakes just a bit as he continues, his voice unsteady. "And it shouldn't be a big deal, but that stuff..." he looks up, then, and his eyes are wide and anxious. His scent is taking on a definite fear tinge to it as his speech speeds up. "I don't know that kind of stuff. It feels like running when I just started walking and you've got this beta and you're all experienced and I'm just...me, and the only stuff I know is from the internet and you and it seems like it's unfair to ask you to do stuff with me when you've got this whole other thing that may never even be my thing and maybe that will start to bug you and then you'll go back to Oregon or wherever and...." he sighs (or catches his breath), and pulls away from Scott, then, dropping his face in his hands. "Jesus."

Scott stares at Skitch with his eyes wide and mouth open for a few seconds, and then he blinks and shakes his head. "Wait... what? Dude, no. That's--I mean, whoa, okay. Hang on." He holds up both hands, palms out, then looks down at them and drops them, trying to present calmer body language. "Skitch, man... c'mon. It wasn't that long ago that I was new to all this stuff, too, okay? And, I mean, yeah, I got into a few things that're... um. Different. But just because I did doesn't mean I think you have to! That doesn't bug me." He starts to move closer again, then stops, not wanting to make Skitch feel cornered. "Look, when I got together with you, I wasn't gonna try to, I dunno... change you or something, okay? I only want you to be you. You don't have to be into anything crazy extreme just for me to like you."

Skitch shudders, his face still covered, and curls in on himself a bit as Scott talks. At least his color is less red and anxious-looking. "I must seem like such a dumb ass," he mutters meekly from behind his hands. "I just don't want to be boring to you. I mean, you're a werewolf, and an alpha, and apparently some sort of sex dungeon master, and I'm just Sam Maxwell, uber-geek." He drops his hands, then, and his eyes are red-rimmed and moist, but his face is otherwise clear. Still, he scrubs at it anyway. "I really like you. I don't want to mess it up." He pauses, frowning. "Any more than I already have, I mean."

Scott moves closer again, reaching out to try to put his hand on Skitch's shoulder. "Hey," he says softly, warmth and certainty creeping back into his tone, "I like you, too! And I don't like you because you're, I dunno, someone else? I like you because you're you, dude! Just because I like some stuff you don't like, or might not like, or whatever, doesn't mean anything bad. I mean, if I'm totally honest, the whole dungeon thing isn't something I'd want to do all the time, anyway? It's really... a lot? But that's like a whole story, and it doesn't have to have anything to do with us--I mean, with you and me." He leans in closer, trying to get Skitch to look at him, and if he does, Scott will smile.

"I really like what we do. Part of me figuring out that I like to be with more than one person is because, I mean... I like that I can have different special relationships with different people. Like, with Liam, I'm his boyfriend, but I'm also his alpha, so it's this whole thing. With Rey... okay, that's probably a lot to get into. Just, like, it was something really different, okay? It gave me something else I need. And you? I just... I just like you. I like being with you. I don't know what to call what we've got, yet, but I really like it. I like you. For who you are." He says every word with absolute sincerity, but then, that's just his way.

Ugh. That smile. It's just...and the warmth. Skitch sniffs, then, scrubbing a hand over his face again and offering a sheepish smile. He can't quite say it, but his expression is repentant as he lets Scott move as close as he wants. "So is that part of being an Alpha?" he asks, rubbing the back of his hand over his nose. "Saying all the right things and being cute as hell so that people, like, instantly feel better?" He smiles weakly, and reaches out to tug at Scott's shirt, urging him closer. "'Cause it totally works."

Scott lets out a little, gentle laugh and lets Skitch pull him closer. He reaches out to wrap his arms around the blonde, hugging him firmly. "If it is, I've got no idea how it works, 'cause I've met a couple of alphas who were total assholes," he says. He leans forward to rest his forehead against Skitch's, snuggling against him. "Look, if you ever wanna try anything that you think sounds exciting, I promise I'll do my best to give you whatever you need. But I'm completely happy doing what we've been doing. I loved going out with you. I'm... really hoping that we can do that kind of thing again. And I still really want you to meet Liam. It's really important to me that the people I love can all be friends." He doesn't even seem to register that he's casually dropped the L-word, even if indirectly.

Stiles' vice breaks in from the living room, then, to say, "Hey! I made friends with him first, y'know. At least Scooby likes me better."

Skitch snuggles into that embrace, smiling as Scott continues to reassure him. "Just...if you're ever not, or you want to try something..." he takes a deep, shaky breath. "You can ask. I don't know that I'll say yes, but you can definitely ask." He exhales down his chest, ending in a shaky laugh. "Believe it or not, I had fun the other night. I want to do more of that. And the other stuff." He nods at the mention of Liam, and pulls back to look at Scott. "I want to meet him," he says earnestly. "I mean, if he's important to you..." he blushes, although it's unclear if it's because of his own words or the casual dropping of the L-word. In any event, Skitch lunges forward, then, to capture Scott's mouth with his own.

Stiles' comment makes him laugh, though, and he pulls back from the kiss with a grin. "You're pretty, too, Stiles," he assures his friend. "But you can't have my dog."