kira yukimura is electric. (electrocutie) wrote in blackpoint, @ 2014-02-07 02:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | isaac lahey (au), kira yukimura |
WHO RtW!Isaac Lahey & Kira Yukimura
WHAT Cute turns to awkward turns to a straight-up argument as they deal with some of the other things that happened in the latest episode. Isaac can't get over feelings of guilt because of show relationships (even though he knows firsthand that they don't really mean anything) and Kira's sense of independence rears its head. Unacknowledged feelings make everything even more complicated. Tension ensues.
WHEN Thursday afternoon, February 6
WHERE Isaac’s room.
RATING Nothing special!
They tended to alternate days when it came to study dates. Two or three nights a week, they met either at Isaac’s or at Kira’s. The others, they’d share answers over the network or over the phone. Though she was usually always in a very laid-back and casual sort of mood, Kira took the studying very seriously and made sure that they both managed to get their work done. While she very easily could’ve finished hers earlier in the evening and did so at the start of these study sessions, she’d taken to waiting to do her work with him so that it wasn’t so much a situation of her leading him through the work. She didn’t want him to feel self-conscious. Of course, as the days had passed, she’d seen a tremendous progress in his abilities. She didn’t know if he’d noticed it himself, but it took him far less time to do the problems that would’ve taken much longer only a week ago. She’d always been taught that building a routine was the best way to make positive improvements in many areas of life, so she was adamant on building a routine that involved homework. And she just tried to make it as interesting for him as possible.
It’d been a warm and beautiful day, as usual, and school had gone well enough for a Thursday. She was anxious for the weekend and to be done with the ridiculous week they’d had. She spent a lot of the spare time she had pouring over Japanese texts trying to find anything she could that would help Stiles, and was sending a constant stream of e-mails with her findings to the rest of the group. She hoped to be as helpful as she could, a desire that was even stronger given that she was the resident half-Japanese folklorist and they were potentially facing a Nogitsune. Ultimately, though, she couldn’t only do what they’d let her and hope that it was enough.
She lay on her stomach on Isaac’s bed, books open and spread out before her and her pen scrawling across a notebook. “What did you decide on for the theme?” she said, looking up at him to check that he’d gotten the right answer. Coming of age was the primary one, the one their teacher had harped on in class over and over again, but she wanted to see if he’d managed to get that. “Show you had one of these moments this week, actually,” she added, grinning. It was a gentle tease, spoken in the same way she treated most things from the show that didn’t actually impact them directly. Show Isaac and Allison were amongst that list.
Isaac’s school work hadn’t been the only thing improving since he had landed in Hawaii. In a way being separated from Derek had allowed him to get more in touch with his humanity, and while he wasn’t as comfortable around large amount of people or the friendliest person in a room, joining Scott’s pack had softened his rough edges. His snark, while still there, wasn’t as sharp as it had been when he had been a Hale wolf, and his relationships with the others from Beacon Hills were different. Scott wasn’t just another werewolf in school - he was his Alpha and close friend; Allison didn’t make his claws come out all of the time and they could talk a bit more civilly towards each other; Stiles was someone he was interested in saving instead of leaving to Scott to deal with; Lydia wasn’t rolling her eyes at him constantly to get over himself; and then there was Kira. She had changed from another girl in his class who was friends with Allison to someone he stayed up late talking to and sought out when he had someone on his mind. She wasn’t a fellow Beta like Erica was and never would be, but he was comfortable around her and that was something that never came easily to him.
While he had been making leaps and bounds on his homework over the past few weeks, it wasn’t something that came easily to him. Training himself to concentrate on it was hard even when he knew it would eventually be over. He’d want to go outside and enjoy the beautiful day outside instead of finishing the last two math problems, and there were days that he still gave in to the distractions instead of completing an assignment. Having Scott or Kira check in on him helped, but with the show and what was going on with their group homework was often the first thing that got pushed aside. He was close to shoving his English book aside on his desk when Kira spoke, but he pulled it closer and thumbed through the dog-eared pages. He could at least try for a few more minutes.
“Let’s see,” he hummed, opening a page at random and glancing between the words there and the worksheet they had been sent home with. A lot had happened to show-him in the last episode. Things had run the gauntlet from pretending to be an arms dealer to burning up inMr. Argent’s suit, and he still was confused why show-him put so much trust into the Argents. He understood that things were different in that world, but some things were still, even weeks in, hard to wrap his mind around. “Don’t have a meltdown in a suit?”
For Kira, this whole situation was terribly curious because while it seemed so different in so many ways, there was a lot that was still the same. Thankfully, they weren’t having to deal with the same sort of danger on a firsthand basis, but it seemed like there was a lot being carried over. Without the events on the show actually happening to them, it meant a lot more researching and a decent bit of flailing in the dark to try to figure out how to solve what had been brought over. For her own part, though, she was accustomed to being a bit independent. She frequently wandered off on her own back home as well, almost always to research or look into something that sparked her interest. Often, she could come up with at least a few things that would ultimately be helpful, too, so it was a bit like doing her part in the events that unfolded. Her electricity made her physically useful in the fights and things, too, which was nice. It was amazing to feel as though she was actually doing some good with all of those things that had for so long just made her quirky and isolated.
It’d been pointed out that she was spending a bit more time than usual with Isaac, and she supposed that was true. She liked helping him with his homework and he was a welcome companion on her tours to strange places. Really, though, he was amusing to be around. She enjoyed his presence.
She laughed at his response. “Close,” she said, rolling her eyes. The last show had certainly been an incredibly interesting one. “Coming of age, Mr. Kiss-for-Confidence.”
“So you’re saying that I have to kiss Argent to come of age, Miss Hand-Holding-for-Confidence?” Isaac asked, glancing up from his homework and raising a brow at her. On the surface he knew that his world was different than the one that the group watched unfold every Monday night. Events had happened in more rapid succession back home, some who died in his world swapped places with those who died on the show, people were driven by slightly alternative motivations, and even some of the supernatural powers and dynamics between the teens were different. However, there were some things that remained the same. The Argents still hunted the wolves, the Alphas still came to recruit for their pack, and Beacon Hills High School was still open after everything that had happened.
Isaac would be lying if he said that show-Scott’s feelings towards Kira didn’t concern him. He had talked to his Scott about it and had been given the all clear if he ever wanted to pursue something, but there was still evidence every Monday night that Kira liked Scott and Scott liked Kira. He knew it was faulty logic - he would never go after Allison like show-Isaac had - but a fear of doing something wrong was deeply instilled in him. That coupled with Scott’s insistence that he not put his happiness over Isaac’s own meant that he was a big ball of doubt when it came to how he was supposed to feel over Kira, so it was no wonder that show-Isaac had panicked when he put the suit on.
At his response, she was unable to resist laughing. “God, I hope not. I think it’s pretty safe to say that if that were the case, you’d be forever stuck in your youth.” Kira had taken a personal interest in documenting all of the differences she could find in the different worlds and the show, something she kept on a timeline in one of her notebooks. She didn’t actively seek the information from their counterparts really, but she was observant and took notes on anything that stuck out. It was easiest, of course, to note the differences between their world and the show. And really, there were quite a lot of them, from the more subtle to the outright drastic, such as Boyd and Erica still living while Peter was no more.
Unlike Isaac, though, Kira didn’t really think much of the relationships on the show in terms of having any bearing on reality. It was interesting, even amusing, but watching herself with Scott on the show hadn’t been strange for her at all. It was just like watching television, really, just with recognizable characters. It helped that her show version wasn’t really at all like her in personality in a lot of ways, perhaps, but really, she knew that she didn’t like Scott in the same way that show-Kira did. She’d been infatuated with him when they’d first met, but who wasn’t when they first met Scott McCall? It really had settled well into platonic respect by this point. Sure, she had rather flirty relationships with a lot of people, but that didn’t really mean anything either. She shrugged, grinning. “I mean, hand-holding is scientifically proven to provide confidence,” she teased easily, clearly unbothered by the reference.
“Good. I have no interest in becoming Isaac Pan,” Isaac chuckled, grabbing the pencil he had stuck behind his ear and jotting down the answer Kira had given him. He was glad nothing hinged on that fate because as awesome as it was being a teenaged wolf, he was pretty keen on the idea of finding a future without having to make out with Allison “I’ll shoot anything with fur” Argent. He could see why show-Isaac was attracted to her - she wasn’t unattractive and the one in that Beacon Hills seemed more invested in learning more about the boy and not the werewolf - but he was fine, just fine, the way their (lack of a) relationship was.
“Hand holding in general, or hand holding with Scott McCall?” he asked, frowning down at his homework. He erased his answer for something to do, concentrating on obliterating his words so he didn’t have to look up.
“I think you’re too tall to be Isaac Pan, so you probably don’t have to worry about that. I don’t know if anyone could actually mistake you as an eternal youth. Much too tall,” she responded, grinning still. “Although, the tumblr girls would have a field day drawing that fanart.” She looked back at her homework, re-reading a section of the passage to answer the next question, though she didn’t need to call out the answer because it was a rather easy one.
Kira might’ve taken his question as a teasing response to her own if not for the way he frowned and looked down. That part was interesting. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Scott McCall had the ability to give anyone confidence via physical contact,” she said, shrugging.
“I’d probably be confused for the Jolly Green Giant if that happened,” Isaac replied. He had a hard enough time passing as seventeen as is with his height and build courtesy of the bite, so he had to concede that to Kira. “Every time you mention them some little piece of art pops up on Tumblr.” Just when he thought he had seen it all Kira mentioned something and something out of left field appeared on Tumblr. So far he had been pretty impressed and slightly disturbed by the dedication of some of them. Was this what celebrities felt when they googled themselves?
Isaac brushed aside the eraser shavings and took a deep breath, stalling so he could swallow the comment about Scott and physical contract that was threatening to escape. “I’ll make sure to find him for you the next time you need a boost,” he told her, half turning to grab a fresh sheet of paper to replace the one he had almost erased to death.
“We’d have to paint you green first,” she said, then grinned a bit more. “You should be him for Halloween. Or just a tree, really. A tree would work just fine.” She laughed at that. Quick research had told her that the actor who played him was nearly thirty, which definitely accounted for that slightly more mature age, too. “You know, one might start to think I was the one drawing all of them and sticking them up online and then casually mentioning them in conversation so that you’ll go see.” Which really wasn’t vaguely true, but she teased anyway.
Her eyebrows stayed lifted, even more curious in the face of his response to her clearly teasing comment. She looked at him with that bit of confusion. “That’s super nice of you, thanks,” she said, still pushing a smile. “Luckily, he’s pretty free with his hugs and nibbles.”
“I’d make a rather fetching Asparagus too, and I think that if we start now we’ll be able to find enough paint to turn me green by October,” Isaac commented, stretching his long legs out in front of him to emphasize his point. Gangly was an apt word to use to describe him, and it was a toss up if his legs or his torso were longer. “One might wonder, especially with those hypothetical cameras that you have in my room. I’m on to you, Yukimura. Your plan to create a multimedia experience into the life of Isaac Lahey is now out in the open.”
His gaze lifted when he felt the weight of her smile land on him, and he pressed his lips together in response. A part of his brain told him that he was being unfair, that they were different than the show versions of themselves, but it was being squashed out by the young voice inside his head that kept telling him that there was a chance that he was going against Scott. “You shouldn’t thank me,” he said, “He’s the one that’s meant to give you confidence.”
“Oooh, you’re right. Or Gumby,” she responded, grinning. She knew how long his legs were, having had them wrapped around her that morning a few weeks back. Really, she rather liked how gangly he was. She hadn’t quite realized it herself, but she rather liked most things about him. “It’s going to be like Jurassic Park. I’ve been collecting DNA samples and I’m going to clone an army of giant teenagers.”
His continued responses were making her more and more curious, but when he responded the way he did this last time, she found herself certain that something was wrong. She pulled herself to sit up on her knees, her hands on his bed beside them. “What do you mean by that?” she asked curiously, her head tilting.
Isaac suddenly remembered a conversation he had had with Kira earlier. They had been joking offhandedly about how werewolves were ruled by their hormones, and while he was sure that this wasn’t exactly the case here, the theory behind it made sense. Werewolves were driven by what they felt. There were times when it was easier to give in to the more primitive parts of human behavior, but there were times like this were conflicts of what exactly was right were just as capable of sending him into a frenzy than if he was hopped up on hormones and acting on those instead.
He crossed his arms over his chest as she drew herself up. He was close to asking her to drop it, but his traitor mouth had other plans. “I mean just that. Scott’s the best choice when it comes to confident hand-holding.”
Really, acting based on hormones was bad enough as a teenager as it was, but tossing in the supernatural, particularly when it involved animalistic instincts, was just unfair. Luckily, their world had seemed to manage to keep from giving into those urges so often. They didn’t get into the way as much as in some of the others, at any rate. Perhaps that was because the girls weren’t largely love interests as they were in the show. She didn’t know for sure, but she wasn’t complaining.
She knew enough about body language to know that arms crossed over the chest were often a sign of discomfort and uncertainty, and that only furthered her assessment that something wasn’t right. “I’m sorry, are you implying that I ought to hold Scott’s hand? Why would you think that?”
Isaac had been sitting on this conflict for the better part of the past two weeks, so it had only been a matter of time before it came out in the open. He had talked to Scott about how he felt, but he hadn’t fully explained why he was feeling a conflict of interest. He liked spending time with Kira and he liked being a part of Scott’s pack, but both of these were new to him. Erica and Boyd had been his first real friends, and Scott was the first time he had someone who looked out for him actually care. He didn’t want to jeopardize either in any way, so he had kept his mouth shut until now.
“Shouldn’t you?” he countered, planting his feet on the ground. “I know it’s not the same as our home, but he’s still a great guy in both worlds who would be good to have around if the Oni ever bothered you.”
While Kira could understand the fact that it was a question she’d been asked lately, the whole Scott thing was a little bothersome for her. She didn’t mind clarifying her feelings on the subject, since they so definitely differed from her feelings on the show, but she didn’t want anyone believing that anyone else but her needed to be asked permission before she was dated. She was an adult (or adult enough). She did as she liked. There wasn’t much that got her annoyed, but that was one area that was gradually becoming a little frustrating for her.
“Of course he’s a great guy. He’s an amazing guy. He’s a great leader and a nice person and he’s genuine and kind and that’s wonderful,” she said, her voice a little more tense and agitated. “As far as we know now, he’s no more equipped to handle the Oni than I am. Maybe even less so, given that I’ve appeared in the same season as they have and that’s often a sign. And if I wanted to be with Scott, I’d try to be with him. Why does the show version of my relationship to Scott even matter, anyway?”
Isaac brought a hand up to his mouth as Kira talked, pressing it against his lips to keep him from interrupting what she was saying. Scott was a great guy, there was no doubt, and Isaac felt like it was part of his duty to keep it that way. Isaac still harbored a bit of guilt for not being able to help Scott properly close the door in his mind back home that he had helped create, and because of that he felt that he had to make sure that Scott, as his Alpha and friend, had everything that he wanted. He had seen on the show where Scott had said he was okay with Isaac and Allison but then had exchanged those looks with Allison across the room, and Isaac didn’t have that much experience with Scott from back home to know exactly what he was thinking. Yes, they had grown closer during their time in Hawaii, but he did not have that much to base off of.
“It matters because I want Scott to be happy after what happened with the botched anchoring,” he insisted, impatiently gesturing vaguely around him, “It’s partially my fault, and I know that in at least one world being around you makes him happy despite all the shit that’s being thrown our way.”
Kira was caught in silence for a moment or two after he finished speaking, just trying to wrap her mind around what he was saying and why he was saying it. She felt her irritation rising, though she did her best to stay as calm as possible, but she was honestly a bit flabbergasted that he’d even go there. And that she’d not realized he’d been going there for awhile. “I want Scott to be happy too, of course. I want everyone to be happy, but especially Scott. Who wouldn’t want Scott to be happy?” she said. “But just because I make him happy on the show doesn’t mean I’m the one to make him happy anywhere else.”
She shook her head. “I know you feel guilty. I get that. It’s so unnecessary, and I’m sure Scott’s told you that too, but I know you feel it. But just because you feel guilty doesn’t give you a right to assume I should be with Scott to make him happy,” she said. “He doesn’t want to be with me, and I don’t want to be with him. And when we want to spend time around each other, we spend time around each other. We make our own decisions.”
Isaac glanced back down in the silence, pushing down the feeling that he had done something wrong. He couldn’t go back and take back what he had said, and even if it seemed like he was going in circles, it was what was going on inside his head. Boyd wasn’t around to help him put together the best, logical plan for how to approach situations, and Derek hadn’t been the best at helping Isaac achieve confidence in his new role. The swagger had come, but he didn’t have the confidence in his decisions that the elder werewolf did. They might be misguided and disastrous at best, he couldn’t fault Derek for believing in his own actions just like he couldn’t fault Kira for what she was saying now.
“I’m just trying to make the most people happy,” he explained, exasperatedly passing a hand over the hair at the back of his head. “What would make you happy? Would zapping me do it? You can do it if you think it would help.”
It was very likely her own mix of feelings that she’d not directly acknowledged thus far that was making her so upset over what he was saying. This person she’d been spending more and more time with, who she was maybe interested in being around even more frequently, was trying to say that maybe she belonged with someone else. She couldn’t help but be upset by that. And maybe a little hurt. In her mind, it sounded almost like he was saying that she was a bit off-limits. She’d never been on a single date with Scott, but because there was a romance on the show, apparently she was off the table. Without her permission. And that bothered her, regardless of whether or not she wanted to go on dates or not.
“No. You’re trying to keep from overstepping yourself,” she said, shaking her head. “I do what makes me happy. I handle my own happiness. I don’t need anyone else trying to make decisions for me or trying to push me in certain directions and I don’t appreciate you doing that.” She closed her eyes then, taking a deep breath, then opened them once more. “I don’t want to zap you, Isaac. You feel bad and that’s why you’re asking for it and I’m not going to perpetuate that cycle of violence, even if I think you’re being an idiot right now.”
Doing what made himself happy was an unfamiliar experience for Isaac. He was a good follower, and perhaps that’s what had made him so appealing to both Alphas when they had been recruiting him to join in. Being part of a group that wanted him had been appealing, and the pack mentality of looking out for each other had been ingrained in him from the beginning. They operated as a pack, not individuals, and getting back in touch with what Isaac wanted wasn’t something they would come easily over night. There were still doubts that what he wanted wasn’t a good idea and he’d wind up getting punished in some way for it. Seeing Kira unhappy was a form of this. He liked spending time with her and had been looking forward to getting to know her even better than they had started to get to know each other, but he had messed up as usual.
“I’m sorry. I just,” he said, pausing and bringing his hands up together and tipping them in her direction. He paused for a moment, searching for a way to say that he hadn’t been joking when he had told her that she was the reason he had been smiling and laughing more often, but then figured he had done enough damage for one night and changed tactics. “I can stay back this weekend so you can enjoy your camping trip. I don’t want to get in the way of you and Jurassic Park.”
Kira really didn’t even know what to say. She knew that she was overreacting to an extent, but she couldn’t help it. Her feelings were hurt by all of it, and she felt frustrated and irritable and still not even entirely sure why she felt the way she did. Their conversations were usually so light and lovely and fun, not this. She didn’t know what to make of the change or why it’d happened in the first place, but she didn’t like it at all. She didn’t want to be angry at Isaac, but she was.
She was silent again at his offer, even more upset by it but entirely unaware as to why it only served to make matters worse. “I’m just going to go,” she said, directing her eyes to her belongings to sweep them up and tuck them into her bag. She pulled it over her shoulder, moving to her feet. “Don’t forget about the quiz in history,” she added as a sort of tense afterthought. “Goodnight, Isaac.”