#// though it's obvious how much more he hesitates when it comes to gentleness ie) hugging akihiko

[ladyofloptyr]

i've also been thinking about how given for the most part utilizes sex in an understated way. i won't pretend that it entirely avoids mainstream yaoi tropes, but i do think every sex scene being fade to black and non-explicit is an artistic choice.

to akihiko, sex is transactional. on the nights he and ugetsu sleep together, he doesn't have to worry about them fighting or having to find another place to stay. when he shows up at haruki's place as well, sex is what he tries to offer in exchange for shelter which is pretty depressing.

for how guarded ugetsu is, i find it fascinating too that he brings his partners to his home. yes, he's using it to try to drive off akihiko and get under his skin, but i think there's more to it than that.

though he claims they mean nothing, ugetsu is always searching for understanding. i think sex is one of the few times ugetsu feels intimate and close to other people. it's also why i believe he still can't fully break things off with akihiko because he craves that feeling of togetherness.

[asagimeta]

In Defense Of Seto Kaiba..... From Someone Who Used To Hate Seto Kaiba

@youfancymemaddearie said she'd hear me out on why Kaiba isn't The Actual Worst, so for this I'm mostly only going to be using the material I'm personally familiar with because things like context and translations and stuff could get warped otherwise, wich means roughly the first half of the dubbed anime, but I might pull other things here and there that I feel like I know well enough to have a grasp on via things like wikipedia and other meta (it's a long story as to why I never finished the anime so I won't bother getting into it here)

The manga, being a separate canon, is going to be pretty much ignored for this, except for one breif instance where I feel it's necessary to compare something from it to how the anime did it

So, the thing is, for most of my life as a YGO fan (15+ years as of 2018), I bordered between a really weird love and hate of Seto Kaiba, I loved him the way that I love a good villain, the way I love Hannibal Lecter let's say, he's entertaining and I always liked having him on the screen but as a person I really hated him, because.. why wouldn't I? He's an absolute dick to everyone around him with the exception of Mokuba, and even Mokuba doesn't exactly get the cuddly treatment most of the time, he spends the beginning of the series toeing the line between outright villain and anti-hero, and the amount of low-blows he hits and lack of care he has for people who are trying to help him- or people in general- is pretty terrible, atleast... that's how he's presented on the surface and that's how I felt for close to fifteen years

And then I started writing him and the little bastard forced me to change my opinion

Firstly, it's established from the beginning that Seto's actions in stealing Grandpa Muto's card and tearing it up (not to mention giving him a heartattack) aren't entirely his own, Seto had an evil possessing him at the time that, wile manifested from his own feelings, was no less a different entity, it took him over, just like Marik's dark self took him over, it's well-established in YGO that you can be so overcome with pain and anger and negativity that an entirely different spirit manifests and takes over your mind, a process that- wile reversible if caught early enough- is really something that can only be reversed by magic, like a shadow game or a mind crush

Since this is the thing that Atem removed from Seto's mind in episode one....

The actions he took prior to being mind-wiped can't be held entirely against him, as he was not consciously in control of what he was doing at the time, much like the actions of Yami Marik can't be held entirely against Hikari Marik, you can sure as hell blame Marik himself for alot of the things he did during Battle City, but things like the duels against Mai, Joey, and Atem, wherein it was blatantly clear that it was his evil half in control and his good half didn't have access to the controls (made even more obvious by the Yami Duel wherein both spirits had to sacrifice parts of their lighter selves/hosts for losing life points) are impossible to hold entirely against him

We also see that everything is Not Ok after the mind-crush, given that Seto passes up the chance to do his all-time favorite things (dueling, winning, and showing off) on the grandest scale yet when he decides to skip Duelist Kingdom, he claims it's because he doesn't know how to handle being defeated, and wile that may be partly true, it's pretty canonical that it was because of the mind crush (why else would they bring that hideous glob of evil around to duel Yugi/Atem once more?)

And, here's where the manga reference comes in, when you take into account that in the manga, he was in a six-month long coma after the mind-crush- and, mind you (ha), Duelist Kingdom is the turning point where the manga's canon starts to get closer to the anime's- it's really hard to believe that Seto's existential crisis is based on losing and not based on having evil forcefully removed from his soul by an ancient Egyptian spirit who's out to have a good time and was really feeling attacked at the moment

There's really no convenient place to inject backstory, so I'll do it here in the hopes of flowing more easily into the rest of Duelist Kingdom

Seto has been taking care of Mokuba since they were extremely young, he's essentially more like a father to him than a brother, and he had to learn early on to defend him - and that meant getting rougher, getting tougher, getting meaner, and when it came to Gozaburo- who's just about as abusive as one can get and really puts the word "pressure" to good use- that meanness has to amplify, it's made clear that Gozaburo wouldn't tolerate anything less than perfection and ruthlessness and if that was how Seto had to survive, that was how he had to survive, he spent most of his formative years under that kind of hand so naturally he was forced to form that way....

But as someone pointed out in another post somewhere, we can see by how well adapted Mokuba is just how much Seto has taken on in protecting him from that kind of corruption and evil, Gozaburo never really wanted Mokuba around so the pressure he put on him compared to Seto was definitely minimal... but that doesn't mean he wasn't just as abusive, and the fact that Mokuba spent the majority of his life with no parents of any kind and has relied pretty much solely on Seto as a parental figure- both in the way of necessities like food and shelter, as well as for emotional health- and yet has come out of it as a generally upbeat, positive, gentle person, really shows that Seto has to be doing something right, otherwise, it doesn't make alot of sense for Mokuba to have no shreds of bitterness, resentment, or negativity in him (again, going by the anime only) And further, to show the outstandingly deep devotion he does for Seto- utterly unwavering and full of not only loyalty, but genuine love and affection- proves that Seto has done something right somewhere, Mokuba never shows a single ounce of fear or hesitation towards him and never gives a second thought to hugging him, following him around, or getting involved in his personal affairs, if Seto had ever given him reason to be afraid of him (IE: abusing him or simply not stepping up to protect him when Gozaburo was abusing him) I find it really hard to believe that Mokuba would act so completely care-free with doing things that Seto may find unpleasant

Mokuba is Seto's entire world, he flat out tells Yugi that Mokuba is "everything to him", not money or power or success- Mokuba, wich is already something that speaks volumes about who he is as a person, and the extremes he goes to in order to protect Mokuba are .... pretty fucking extreme

When I was a kid, I thought that the "attack my Blue Eyes and you might just kill me" stunt he pulls on the rooftop at Pegasus' castle was a really filthy trick and was probably my primary reason for hating him as much as I did- and let's be honest, it IS a filthy option to resort to.... but as an adult, I understand it now, and can't place blame on him for feeling so completely backed into a corner, he wasn't trying to trick Atem, he was being sincere, I mean.... filthy and sincere... but still sincere

He would rather die than lose his brother, he was so desperate that he was ready to let someone kill him/commit suicide because he was out of options, and in that perspective, it's alot easier to understand why he did what he did, I don't excuse it, but I do understand it, and really, when it really boils down to things, can anyone say that they'd sooner let the only person in the entire world that they love die, for someone who they don't even like? The true crime of this entire thing isn't really that Seto was desperate enough to resort to suicide and emotional manipulation to win.... it's that he and Atem were both so stubborn and downright stupid that neither of them thought to actually communicate about why Seto needed to win in the first place, despite him saying repeatedly that he needed to save his brother and Atem saying repeatedly that he needed to save "his" grandfather, neither of them paused long enough to say "... We have a common goal, let's work together, or at the very least, come to a compromise" before resorting to such desperation, no one on this planet can seriously tell me that Atem wouldn't have jumped at the offer to save Mokuba if Seto had presented it to him, though, to be fair, I'll never understand why he didn't just offer to save Mokuba along with Grandpa in the first place (plot convenience really)

Although communication is an enormous problem with Seto and is one of the main reasons why he's always such a complete prick, he has a tendency to talk in code and to cover up what he means with what words he chooses to use, most likely because he A. Wasn't exposed to other children between the ages of 8-14 and before that most of his exposure was negative, and B. Was taught brutally that even the tiniest sign of compassion or understanding is weakness, and even the tiniest weakness is going to get you severely punished, he was already closed off to people during his stay at the orphanage, this just cemented that experience further

(And as a quick note, he acquired a company at 14-years-old, he was still a baby and running this God foresaken thing by himself, had no parental figure, still raising his brother ALONE, and let's also talk about how this 14-year-old BABY turned a weapons manufacturing company into a gaming company in less than two years, as he was sixteen during episode one of Duel Monsters)

To mention also: When faced with the fact that his company, that he had worked so extremely hard for, and that means so much to him, was being sold to Pegasus and he was being kicked out, where was his focus? Still on Mokuba, his brother was ALWAYS the absolute forefront of his focus during the entire Duelist Kingdom arc and his company played a very small second fiddle in comparison, I'm not sure if he even brought up the company more than once or twice during the entire arc, that's ... a little shocking all things considered

Additionally, despite how cold, untrusting, egotistical, and downright mean he can be, he outright thanks Yugi for rescuing Mokuba- twice- within the first season, once after Duelist Kingdom and once after Legendary Heros, that's kind of an enormous thing as Seto doesn't hand out gratitude easily.... though, speaking of gratitude we definitely have to confront the Joey-shaped elephant in the room

The way he treats Joey early on IS deplorable, he doesn't exactly treat any member of the Nerd Herd well, but things are especially prickly with Joey, and I'm unclear of the reasons for that- I don't think canon ever gives one- but I think of all of Seto Kaiba's ill moments, the way he treats Joey all the way up to late Battle City is without a doubt what I cringe at the most, he early on drives Joey so low into the ground that it gives him NIGHTMARES and is so ruthlessly horrible to him during that first encounter at Duelist Kingdom that I think, to date, it's the Kaiba thing I cringe at the most, I definitely don't excuse that behavior, and it burns me up like a firey demon when he refuses to thank Joey for being the one who ACTUALLY saved Mokuba, yet turns around and thanks Yugi instead, I'm also not exactly pleased with the fact that he tried to keep Joey out of his tournament but I really chalk that up mostly to Joey not having anything Seto wants and not being a duelist he respects vs outright cruelty, remember that for Seto, Battle City is ALL about getting the god cards and drawing out rare hunters, Red Eyes is Joey's rarest card but Seto never seems particularly impressed by it, and that coupled with him not respecting Joey's skills- as he believes he rode Yugi's coat tails through Duelist Kingdom- makes some sense as to why he wouldn't want him participating (outside of just disliking him) it would be counterproductive

The thing is, Seto DOES slowly shift out of "I legitimately hate your guts and am going to make sure you know it" and into "I'm going to pick on you because it's fun when you fight back and it's just how we communicate now", Battle City is a big turning point in my personal opinion, the second time Joey and Seto duel is still full of terribly mean words but the vibe is very different, from where I'm sitting, it feels alot more like an "I'm pulling your hair because I like you" type of thing and alot less like outright bullying for the sake of bullying, the fact that Joey doesn't take any of it to heart and just fights mean quip with mean quip the entire time is solid proof to me that the relationship is just mutual antagonism now and not so much outright bullying

Speaking of Battle City... there's alot of growth for Seto there, he works with Yugi and Atem frequently, at times by force (to save Mokuba) but at times because he wants to, he agreed to help Atem find the rest of the nerd herd before getting any word that Mokuba was taken because he wanted a duel for Atem's Slyfer card... even though all logic dictates that they probably would have faced eachother during the finals anyway and there is was literally no reason for Seto to follow him around begging for a duel like a five-year-old except for A. Impatience (not untrue) and/or B. Just .... wanting to, he could have so easily said "Find your own freinds, I'll get that Slyfer in the finals either from you or whoever beats you" but instead he spends his valuable time and energy tracking down Joey via his duel disk, and after all is said and done and Mokuba is safe...... he still helps Atem, he claims it's because he doesn't like owing people but that's never prompted him to go out of his way for Yugi and the others before (post Duelist Kingdom and Legendary Heros, Mokuba is the one who lets Yugi use the arena at Kaiba Land for his duel with Rebecca, here Seto has built up two favors that he owes and yet never says a word or makes an attempt to return them, so why does "owing" someone push him to keep helping Atem in Battle City when it didn't before? Either his "I don't like owing people" philosophy is new- wich is still charector growth- or he just wanted a reasonable excuse to keep helping Atem because he knew it was the right thing to do) Speaking of the right thing to do, when they DO track down Joey and Tea`, Seto is... surprisingly inactive during the duel, he has plenty of perfect opportunities to stop the duel somehow, and, if he was REALLY feeling cruel, to just outright steal Slyfer (wich Atem tossed aside when he started the duel) and get rid of both Atem and Joey by interrupting and making the anchor sink, yet he carefully keeps his distance until the timing is right for him to save Tea` because he doesn't want ANY of them to get hurt, not the rival he can't defeat, not the "third rate duelist" he supposedly hates, and not even someone (Tea`) who he barely knows

This is the same guy who gave an old man a heart-attack and used it as blackmail in episode one

Additionally, Seto immediately leaves after saving the day, that all-important duel that Atem owed him that he had FINALLY won? It didn't happen, Seto was still nagging him about it even after saving Mokuba, yet when it came time for Atem to FINALLY pay up he just..... walked off and said "nah see ya' in the finals", maybe he knew how exhausted Atem was and didn't want to duel him at half-power, maybe he was personally too tired to bother with it (although dueling to Seto seems to work the same way twenty-five cups of coffee does to a normal person so I doubt this) or maybe he just didn't feel like making Atem come through on his deal anymore, it doesn't really matter, it's all growth

And let me also point out that Atem wouldn't even have Slyfer if Seto hadn't given him a freaking pep talk in order to win it, Seto could have just as easily waited for Atem to lose and then dueled the mime for Slyfer- and that probably would have been smarter honestly, since Atem is the only one who has a history of defeating him- and yet.... he chooses to put energy into helping Atem instead

I feel like it's kind of understated that in the Battle City finals, Seto actually has a doctor and an infirmary on board the blimp, he claims that anyone who can't handle dueling at high altitudes and with raging winds isn't worth his time so what is the doctor and full medical bay doing there then? If he was that worried about Mokuba alone he would have had a much easier time just telling him not to go above deck, and if it was about law suits I tend to believe he wouldn't have people dueling on top of a freaking blimp in the first place, so he either anticipated Marik's shadowy shenanigans coming up (wich is a POOL of charector development on alot of different levels) or he anticipated accidents, people getting air sick, issues with the high altitude and what not, and figured that he'd better be completely prepared even for things like that wich are relatively small and not really needing of the tricked out medical bay (he had atleast one LIFE SUPPORT machine in there so obviously it went above and beyond just a first aid kit) Also, I know I said I was using the dub for this, but it's come to my attention that in the sub Seto is alot less of a jerk than he is in the dub about landing the blimp- originally, the ONLY problem is that the controls are screwy from the Noah incident (wich, by the way, is an enormous Thing all on it's own about Seto all on it's own, it's basically a showcase of Wow Was His Childhood Fucked Up, Let's Rub It In, and it's made clear just how impacted he was by his father and his father's company throughout, from the importance of his duel with Lecter being weapons-themed to his final duel with Guzaburo and saying "I won't be burried by you Guzaburo", giving up his chance to defeat Noah because he refused to hurt Mokuba, and the gem of telling Mokuba that everything he's done has been for him and a better future for them) and speaking of moments where the dub fucked up, I find another important gem during mid-Battle City when Tea` mentions that Seto actually lowered the price of duel disks "so everyone can play", that sounds alot less like a strict businessman and alot more like someone who just wants to offer kids the same escapism that he had when he was their age to me, a similar motivation I'm sure to why he opens up Kaiba Land

This is sadly where my "I'm greatly familiar with this material" knowledge comes to an end, as I only saw roughly half of the Orichalicos arc and that was too long ago for me to remember most of the small details in (plus I tend to kind of ... try to wipe that arc off the books considering that I find it to be a butchery of.. alot of things..)

Seto Kaiba is a complicated charector, he's very prickly and definitely an asshole- that's not in question- but I think he's really a very soft person when you peel back the initial layer, he's very good-hearted at his core, he just has an incredibly hard time expressing that- and for VERY understandable reasons, for all of his selfishness and egotism, he pours absolutely everything about himself into protecting his brother and gives alot of himself to trying to make things better for people (turning a weapons company into a gaming company may have been his dream but it was also an outlandishly hard task to accomplish and one that ultimately was better for the world, for example) there are moments where this all shines through but he tapes masks of coldness and insults and dueling metaphors over top of it because he just sincerely doesn't know how else to handle things, he IS, after all, still a 16-year-old child when the series begins, and I think he's only 18-19 at most when it ends, in the grand scheme of life, he's still practically a baby and has been thrust into so much adulthood that most 40-year-olds would have jumped ship already, he takes on the responsibility of his brother and his company and being a half-ass decent person (in so far as, you know, not blowing up the world or anything) without ever once complaining about it or trying to shrug it off or giving it ANYTHING but his all, and when you earn his trust and respect (as Atem and Yugi do) you get alot of loyalty and trust back- the shenanigans he goes through that he doesn't explicitly have to are good showings of this, and all of the ruthlessness his shows are purely survival instincts at their highest, he's had his company nearly taken away from him FOUR. TIMES. between Duelist Kingdom and the Orichalicos arc, FOUR. SEPERATE. TIMES. and I have an outstandingly difficult time believing that those were the first or last times that some crusty old men thought that a teenage C.E.O. would be easy prey to steal a multi-billion dollar company from, he's probably been white-knuckling that company since the day he took it over and I don't see that ending any time in the near future

[thedaughterofkings]

I have a prompt if that's ok? The whole pack incl Erica, Boyd, Isaac, Danny + Liam think that Derek and Stiles (who are bffs) are the perfect match for each other and try to set them up and they try to make Derek jealous by all flirting one by one with Stiles but nothing works so during a pack meeting Danny ups the ante and it works Just not on Derek, it works on Jackson who snaps and kisses Stiles and that's when the pack realises they got it wrong, it's Jackson that Stiles likes not Derek haha

Of course it’s okay, Nonny! Your prompt was really cute and I hope you like what I came up with for it! And I hope you’re still around to see the fic^^°

Beta-read by the wonderful @ohfuckthisshit, who also did some much needed cheerleading! Thank you

Five times the pack tried to help Stiles’ love life and one time they did

Subtitled: Alpha knows best

Stackson, 4k, T, no warnings apply

1. Erica  

Erica realises it first: Stiles and Derek are totally in luuuurve.

They have been spending a lot of time together lately; most of the time, Stiles is already at Derek’s when the rest of the pack arrives for pack meetings or movie nights and the like. Their scents have even started to mix! At first Erica thought that they were keeping it quiet, being secretive while the relationship is still new, but eventually she comes to the conclusion that nothing is going on, that they are just that oblivious.

Boys!

It’s obvious that they need help. And Erica knows exactly what to do - a healthy dose of jealousy has revealed many a secret affection yet.

So for the next pack meeting she chooses one of her lowest cut shirts, the shortest skirt, and her favourite red lipstick. Dressed to kill, she makes sure to bend over a lot in Stiles’ vicinity, cuddles up close to him on the couch, and sucks seductively on her straw. Stiles reacts appropriately for the most part, blushing at her antics, staring at her breasts for an ego-boosting, but not creepy amount of time, and flirting back slightly awkwardly.

But Derek doesn’t really react satisfyingly - he perhaps rolls his eyes a little more than usual, but even now, with Beacon Hills safe and at peace and no danger looming on the horizon, his basic setting is ‘grump’, so there’s no telling whether Erica’s flirting makes him grumpier than usual. The only suspicious behaviour comes from Jackson, who suddenly develops a hacking cough that night. In fact, Stiles might have spent more time asking Jackson whether he’s alright than flirting with Erica.

To add insult to injury, Stiles takes her aside after the meeting to ask whether everything is alright with her and Boyd. And then he hugs her and reassures her that while he appreciates her body, and fuck anybody who doesn’t, he loves her mind and soul, and that there’s no need to use her body as a weapon among the pack. It’s all terribly sweet, and yes, there might be tears and a few more hugs involved.

All in all, Operation: Red Wolf, Trial 1 is an all around fail.

It might be time to call in reinforcements.

2. Kira

Kira is a die-hard romantic at heart.

She’s not naive; she knows things don’t always work out, but she firmly believes that you should at least try. But above all, she just wants everyone to be happy. So when Erica comes to her about helping get Stiles and Derek together, code name “Red Wolf”, for Little Red Riding Hood(ie) and the Big Bad Wolf, she jumps at the chance to play cupid.

Because the sexual approach has definitely failed, Erica and Kira agree to try something new - taking Derek’s place. Derek taught Kira how to backflip - a vital prerequisite of being part of the Hale pack - and now she’s going to do the same with Stiles, taking away Derek’s chance of teaching Stiles himself. It feels vaguely perfidious spelt out like that, but Erica assured her that it is necessary.

So in the name of love, Kira drags Stiles out into the yard the next time they are at Derek’s. Training goes well at first, even with Jackson distracting Stiles by doing his own backflips next to him. It doesn’t take long for Stiles to stop jumping at all and start watching Jackson instead, clapping at a particularly high jump and teasing: “You show-off!”

Jackson winks and does a double backflip next. Stiles gasps and then shouts: “Oh, just you wait!” before attempting a regular backflip himself. But this time he doesn’t seem to land right and Kira didn’t expect him to jump so suddenly and thus isn’t ready to catch or steady him.

Before anyone else can move, Jackson is at Stiles’ side already, hands hovering over his body as if unsure whether he’s allowed to touch.

“Can you stand?” he asks softly, while Kira hovers next to them, wanting to help but not wanting to make things any worse. When Stiles’ attempt to stand ends in him sinking to the ground with a cry of pain, Jackson reaches out to steady him. Where Jackson is holding onto Stiles’ bare skin, black lines are disappearing up his arm.

“You need to get that checked out,” he says firmly, and after some hesitation, Stiles nods. Jackson helps him up and when Stiles almost falls again after the first step, Jackson pulls him up into his arms without further ado, making Stiles yelp in surprise.

With a few quick steps Jackson reaches his car and Stiles’ complaints become fainter as they drive away. Kira remembers that this was supposed to be about making Derek jealous and sneaks a look at him. He’s looking after Stiles and Jackson and for a second Kira thinks that at least their scheming worked, but then he looks back down at his book, apparently not particularly bothered by what just happened. Erica seems to think the same, because she asks rather aggressively:

“Aren’t you worried about Stiles, Derek? Why didn’t you go to him?”

But Derek just shrugs and says calmly: “He had Jackson to look after him and I know I can trust Jackson with Stiles.”

“But wouldn’t you rather do it yourself?” Kira can’t help asking, completely confused. If anything happened to her significant other, she’d want to be the one to help, not someone else!

“Why should I?” Derek returns, adding: “Jackson wants to and I know Stiles is in good hands with him. I’m not going to come between them.”

And then he goes back to his book, conversation obviously over in his opinion.

Operation: Red Wolf, Trial 2 ends up being an even bigger fail than Trial 1.

It might be time to go back to Erica’s first idea: flirting!

3. Isaac

Isaac knows he’s a bit of an asshole. But so are pretty much all of the others. Except for Kira. Kira is adorable, and badass, and crazy, and many other things starting with d to z. But she couldn’t be an asshole even if she tried.

Stiles can be an asshole, though. As can Derek. Isaac actually likes that about them. And despite their fellow assholishness, he wants them to be happy. And if Erica thinks him flirting with Stiles to make Derek jealous is going to accomplish that, Isaac isn’t going to say no.

An opportunity presents itself a week later. The pack is going to spend the weekend camping out in the preserve. There have been some suspicious sightings reported by hikers and Derek wants to make sure there’s nothing malicious hiding in his territory. Allison and Lydia have come prepared, with blankets and scarves and warm hoodies, but Stiles apparently forgot that it still gets cold at night out in the forest. Everyone else is a supernatural creature and runs hotter anyways and thus isn’t bothered, but by the time the sun sets, Stiles is already shivering and badly hiding his chattering teeth. Isaac is just about to make a snarky comment when he remembers his mission: flirt with Stiles and make Derek jealous. And he has the perfect prop for that.

Stepping close to Stiles, he asks, voice soft and face innocent: “Are you cold, Stiles?”

Stiles shivers in response, though Isaac is pretty sure that comes from the wind blowing through the clearing they are in and not from his presence, and bites back: “We can’t all be natural, or rather supernatural furnaces, can we? Of course I’m cold, Isaac, what do you suggest I do, tap dance?”

Isaac bites back his instinctive response, which is decidedly not flirty, and instead decides to let his actions speak. He takes of his scarf and wraps it around Stiles’ neck, who splutters for a second, but then snuggles in, mumbling a reluctant: “Thanks.” Isaac just nods and steps back towards Erica again before they end up fighting after all. He’ll just let his scent … marinate for a bit and then try to flirt some more.

But he has hardly taken two steps aside when Jackson darts forward, whipping off his jacket and practically forcing it on Stiles, who laughs and slows him down with gentle touches. As Isaac watches on, Jackson helps Stiles slip into his jacket, completely overpowering the faint scent clinging to Isaac’s scarf still wrapped around Stiles’ neck. Then Jackson drags Stiles closer to the bonfire they’ve lit in the middle of the clearing, complaining about him being human and weak and too stupid to dress himself properly all the time. Isaac keeps expecting Stiles to just deck him, but Stiles simply rolls his eyes and punches Jackson lightly in the side when he gets too rude.

Isaac suddenly remembers to check on Derek’s reaction - Isaac’s scent certainly won’t be the one to make him jealous now, but perhaps it’ll still work! But Derek isn’t even looking in Stiles’ direction, his back to the rest of the pack, talking with Boyd who had refused to have anything to do with their scheming.

Looks like Operation: Red Wolf, Trial 3 is a fail, too. Time to bring in the big guns. 

4. Lydia

Lydia laughs in their faces when they come to her about getting Stiles and Derek together. Apparently the way to make Derek jealous is to use someone Stiles has had proven feelings for in the past - which is her. If only she starts flirting with him, Derek supposedly will suddenly wake up and see what has been in front of him all this time. Lydia doesn’t even bother pointing out everything that is wrong with that assumption. Most of all the Derek part.

But someone is going to snap soon anyways, so they’ll figure it out on their own eventually. Lydia will be ready to gloat then.

Operation: Red Wolf, Trial 4 never even gets off the ground.

5. Danny

Danny freely admits that he’s not the most patient person. He’s used to things going his way, helped along by his charms, his brains, or occasionally Jackson’s brawn, if need be. And Stiles knows just how to get on his last nerve. In hindsight, Danny might have been a bit short when faced with countless questions whether Stiles is attractive to gay men. Especially considering that those were probably asked in earnest, not mockery.

But while Danny might not be patient, he’s not mean either - there’s a reason everyone likes him!

So when Erica complains how every single one of her attempts to get Stiles and Derek together has failed, Danny jumps at the chance to get even with Stiles karma-wise. Erica warns him that it seems to be a hopeless endeavour, but agrees to let him try his thing. Given everything they’ve tried already, without success every single time, Danny decides that he’ll have to go big or go home.

At the next pack meeting, Danny makes sure he ends up sitting next to Stiles, pressing in close to him. He pulls out all the stops, touching Stiles frequently, fleeting touches becoming more lingering, more intimate, accompanied by compliments whispered into Stiles’ ear, Danny’s lips almost but not quite touching Stiles’ skin. But while it is obviously working on Stiles, who is blushing permanently now, the growling doesn’t come from Derek’s corner of the room. Danny can’t focus on that right now, though, because his hand is sliding up Stiles’ thigh into dangerous territory and either Derek will bite very soon, or Danny will have to put his mouth where his hand is or however that saying goes again.

But before he can do something he won’t be able to come back from, something hits his side, or someone rather, someone who half pushes him away, half pulls Stiles away from him, either way forces some space between them. Despite the not inconsiderable impact - he’s dealing with werewolves here after all, Danny is filled with triumph. He succeeded where every other member of the pack failed! When he looks up, however, it’s not at Derek’s red eyes and obviously unshakable control, but into Jackson’s bright blue eyes and half-transformed face, featuring less eyebrow but considerably more fang than usually. And Jackson’s control might be much better than it was before, but the rule of “don’t touch anything of his” only got twice as serious when he turned into a werewolf.

So Danny quickly scrambles backwards and thinks that Operation Red Wolf: Trial 5 will definitely be the last episode of this doomed from the start project.

+ 1. Jackson

Jackson has obviously had his issues with the pack - starting with Derek biting him, probably in the hopes that the bite would kill him, and certainly not ending with most of them actually trying to kill him. But they’ve mostly made their peace and Jackson would even admit to a certain grudging fondness for most of them. But lately they’ve been acting completely ridiculous. And it all seems to centre around Stiles.

Now, Jackson has certainly had his issues with Stiles, too - being kidnapped and imprisoned in a police van - naked! - features pretty highly on that list. But even when their rivalry was at its height, what bothered Jackson the most was how Stiles was never in awe of him, always regarding him as equal or even inferior, certainly not superior, like most of the school thought. It was a carefully cultivated image Jackson pursued, together with Lydia of course, and truly, most of it was her idea, and it smarted that Stiles refused to play along - especially as he worshipped the ground Lydia walked on. That might have been the worst part of it actually. And lately Jackson’s issues with Stiles centred mostly on things like his hair looking so maddeningly fluffy and touchable, and his eyes being such an unusual shade of brown that you’d have to spend hours staring into them and you’d still not be able to describe them adequately. And then there’s his moles, begging you to touch and count and lick them and either his shirts have been getting tighter or his arms have gotten thicker, either way his physique didn’t use to be so distracting! So there’s obviously a lot of very valid issues Jackson has with Stiles, but the pack’s treatment of him lately really goes beyond all reason.  

They’ve been acting really weird around him, and Jackson just doesn’t get why. First there was Erica using him to spice up her sex life with Boyd, or whatever was going on there with the cleavage and excessive touching. Then Kira tried to kill him through backflips - Jackson tried to show him how it was really done, but of course it was all in vain. Jackson ended up having to drive Stiles to the hospital, where Stiles got diagnosed with a sprained ankle. They had had to wait for hours, sitting next to each other on uncomfortable hospital waiting room chairs, Jackson’s hand on Stiles’ forearm, almost holding his hand, carefully siphoning off his pain. Despite the circumstances it was surprisingly nice to just sit with Stiles and talk to him, about everything and nothing, anything to distract him, and without interruptions in the form of the pack’s latest shenanigans. Eventually Stiles had nodded off, body slumping against Jackson’s, head coming to rest on his shoulder. It had taken some careful manoeuvering, but finally Jackson managed to wrap his arm around Stiles’ shoulders, which was much more comfortable for both of them he reasoned. Then he’d nodded off himself, too, and they’d slept until a doctor finally had time for them.

After that Jackson understandably became a little protective of Stiles - after all, he’d spent hours keeping him alive, or at least pain-free, and didn’t want to see his hard work go to waste. No one would have acted differently. It was just natural. Really.

So when Stiles didn’t dress properly for the pack campfire outing, and all the pack could come up with was Isaac half-heartedly giving Stiles his scarf, it obviously befell Jackson to make sure his, their human didn’t die of hypothermia. And if wrapping Stiles in his own jacket overpowered the faint hint of Isaac’s scent that clung to him because of the scarf, well, then that was just a side effect Jackson barely noticed and that definitely didn’t make him want to bury his face in Stiles’ neck and inhale their combined scents.

It all comes to a head a few weeks later with the betrayal of Danny.

Jackson had been sure that he could always count Danny to be on his side. Okay, he might not even be sure himself what side that currently is, but it is certainly not by Stiles’ side, practically in his lap, molesting him. Stiles doesn’t look like he is enjoying it, and he definitely doesn’t smell like it either. A low growl filling the room seems to echo his thoughts, and it takes Jackson a moment to realise that it’s coming from him, his wolf quicker on the uptake than his human side.

But before he can come to grips with what his reaction means, what all of his reactions to the pack’s actions lately, mean, Danny’s hand slides up Stiles’ thigh, Stiles’ panicked eyes meet his, and instinct takes over. Jackson launches over the couch table, pushing Danny away and pulling Stiles into his arms, where he’ll be safe. He knows that he has shifted, eyes glowing and fangs bared, but his head is filled with the red fog of what he now dimly recognises as jealousy, and he can’t calm down enough to shift back. A movement at the corner of his eye tells him that Danny got out of the way at least - however stupid he might have acted just now, he’s still Jackson’s best friend and he doesn’t want to hurt him, especially not while half out of control. But most of his senses are focused on Stiles.

Stiles, who is still in his arms, who hasn’t tried to get away, who is staring at him with wide eyes, but no hint of fear in their depths. Jackson stares back at him, unsure what Stiles is seeing in his own eyes, still glowing electrically, hoping it’s something more than outraged jealousy and feral possessiveness. Those are there, of course, but it’s not everything he feels, not even close. Jackson just doesn’t know how to tell Stiles that, doesn’t even know if he can right now, his mind foggy and his mouth full of fangs, but somehow Stiles doesn’t need him to.

With a little wriggle, Stiles frees one arm from Jackson’s strong, but careful grip, and cups Jackson’s cheek with his palm.

“Hey, Jax, calm down, would you? I’m alright, Danny didn’t hurt me or anything, and I’m sure all those nice people will stop their little games now,” he says pointedly, glaring around at the rest of the pack, who are surely all staring at them right now. Jackson doesn’t bother to check, but he does hear Derek shooing them out of the room, promising that there’ll be much more training in their future, because apparently most of them are deaf and blind and don’t know how to use their noses. It doesn’t really make much sense to Jackson, but it makes Stiles snort in quickly stifled laughter. When Jackson tilts his head inquisitively, still feeling slightly more wolf than human, Stiles explains:

“Erica and some of the others thought Derek and I should hook up - oh shush you,” he interrupts himself when that startles a growl out of Jackson, “them being completely wrong is the whole point of this story, so shut up and listen!” But before he continues, he tugs insistently until they are both sitting more comfortably on the couch again, instead of half on, half off it. Their manoeuvering ends with Stiles half in Jackson’s lap, so Jackson gladly lets himself be tugged and shoved. Already he is feeling a little calmer, with Stiles safe in his arms and the immediate threat removed from their vicinity, but not quite enough to shift back yet.

Finally Stiles continues: “So yeah, they tried to get me and Derek together, I’m not entirely clear on that plan admittedly, apparently too blind to see that Derek and I are just friends, and anyways, Derek is ace-aro, so there wouldn’t have been any point either way, but yeah. I wanted to tell them as much, but Derek said we should let them make their own mistakes, and well, I’m glad he did, because obviously their plan still worked - somewhat.”

There’s a small pause and then he adds, voice much quieter than before: “Derek kept leaving hints that you liked me, but I just couldn’t believe him, because why would you like me?”

He sounds so small and Jackson curses his lack of control because he wants nothing more than to reassure Stiles and convince him of his feelings, even if he wasn’t fully aware of them himself until five minutes ago, but he’s too close to feral still to put all of that into words. So he just settles for nuzzling into Stiles’ neck, like he’d wanted to at the campfire, scentmarking him, so that there’d be no more doubt for anyone with a nose. A shudder shakes Stiles’ body and his hand creeps up into Jackson’s hair, holding his head there for a moment.

“I guess Derek was right, then? He’ll be so unbearably smug,” Stiles says quietly, more to himself than to Jackson. “Now let’s see about getting you to shift back, so you can tell me as much in words, shall we?” His fingers grab a hold of Jackson’s hair and tug gently, but insistently. “Look at me, Jackson, please?”

When Jackson lifts his head to look at him, Stiles’ face is serious and for the first time there’s a hint of apprehension in his eyes, but also determination.

“I really hope I didn’t misread this terribly and that you’re not going to kill me,” Stiles mutters and then darts forward quickly, too quickly, pressing his mouth against Jackson’s. At first only the taste and scent of blood fill Jackson’s senses, Stiles’ blood, where he has nicked his lower lip on Jackson’s fangs, but soon that is overpowered by Stiles, just Stiles, all of Stiles, pressed against him, surrounding him, heart hammering in his chest, in Jackson’s ears, until all he is aware of is Stiles. When Jackson opens his eyes again, they are no longer glowing and his mind is clear once more, clearer than it has ever been.

“Sooo,” Stiles says, biting his lip, “you like me?”

“Yes,” Jackson replies, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly, “I like you. Do you want me to tick any boxes, too? Yes, No, Maybe? It’s definitely a Yes from me.” To be honest, he’s still a little shaken, but determined not to let it show, especially not to those idiots he calls pack who are sure to be eavesdropping on them right now.

Stiles just swats him lightly and quips: “We can talk about your weird kinks later, no worries. But now you should kiss me some more - those fangs of yours made the tongue action a little hazardous.” And then he sticks his tongue out and wriggles it at Jackson, who quickly draws him into another kiss to distract himself from wondering why he likes such an idiot. But the answer to that is surprisingly easy: He doesn’t like him because he’s an idiot, nor does he like him despite being an idiot, he just likes him, idiocy and all.

And if it took the idiots they call pack for him to realise that - then perhaps he is the biggest idiot of them all. And he doesn’t care one bit.