Who: Peter Hale and Maria Hill What: Peter's in a mood When: Right after this Where: Her place Warnings: not really Status: Completed Gdoc
Peter had already had a bad day hearing that Malia had gone home but then he'd gone out to the woods to deal with that by taking it out on a few trees only to have the ghost of his dead niece show up. The niece he'd killed.
Mood completely unrecoverable now he'd left the woods with the memories of the fire and being locked into his own mind fresh and painful again. He hated when he was made to feel vulnerable.
He'd told Maria he might be by after he was done breaking things but Peter almost blew it off and didn't go with the mood he was in. Still, his other choice was to sit around at home and think about it. In the end he showed up on her doorstep with a frown on his face.
***
Maria had been dealing with a few things of her own, but mostly that was just business and something personal she was working on. She would, of course, be there for anyone if they needed her, but she was the type to give space. That was why she hadn’t forced herself on Peter.
To be honest, she hadn’t expected him to show up. He was more independent than she was, if that was possible. So when the knock came to her door she blinked to find him on the other side. “Peter,” she said. The frown wasn’t a surprise, though. “Hey. Come on in.”
***
Peter would have gone and been on his own if it hadn't meant more thinking. He didn't want to think. He wanted to do anything but that right now. There was other people in town he could pester but they were all related to the issues.
When she invited him in Peter just stepped inside without saying anything. He was in a mood. Not sure if it was anger, fear, depression or what but it was definitely a mood. The frown was still on his face but he was looking more off to the side than at Maria which wasn't normal.
***
And he was being awkwardly silent. Maria shut the door then stepped up to him, her hand coming to rest on his shoulder. “You okay? Want a beer?”
And she kind of hoped he wouldn’t notice the real estate and mortgage paperwork on the small dining table next to her laptop.
***
"A beer's fine." Peter wasn't sure why he'd come there. This wasn't going to go any better than being home by himself. The last thing he was going to do was notice papers right now.
"So there's ghosts in town I hear."
***
“That would explain the scream from upstairs,” she said as she went toward the kitchen. “It was more enthusiastic than it usually is.” Her neighbors were part of the reason for the papers on her table.
Maria came back with a couple of beers and a neutral expression. She wasn’t quite sure how she should behave at the moment. “Judging by your detached state I take it you saw one?”
***
Peter took the beer with a quiet grunt. Detatched. Maybe that was a good word for what he was. It would at least do for now. "Yes. No scent, no physical form really there but there anyway. First time I've seen one."
He probably wasn't helping her figure out how to react with him.
***
No, he really wasn’t. She’d seen Peter pissed off, and been able to handle that. This was actually scaring her. Maria didn’t get scared. Okay maybe the one time when Steve told her to blow up the helicarrier with him on it, but that was it.
“Come on,” she said as she took his free hand. “Let’s sit.” She started leading him to the couch.
***
Peter let her take his hand and followed her to the couch. There were probably those that would tell him he should talk about it but that wasn't the way he worked. Peter didn't believe in baring his soul or telling people what was going on in his head. Touchy feely wasn't ever going to be a thing for him.
"Wonder how many people are running into the ghosts."
***
“There’s been some chatter on the net.” Maria sat down with a tug on Peter’s hand to get him to lean back against her. They’d done this before with her legs wrapped around him. Usually it was to lead into other things, but this time it was an offer of comfort.
“But no ghosts here. Total ghost free zone.”
***
Peter wasn't one of the pack. No one would let him be. But that didn't mean that like all wolves he didn't crave close contact and being touched. It was one of the reasons he'd stayed around Derek in Beacon Hills instead of striking out on his own somewhere else. They were family, and even if Derek hated him he let him stick close enough to feel like he was part of something while he recovered.
Derek was an idiot. But Peter appreciated it.
So he let her pull him back and tried to relax as he leaned against her. "For now anyway. Who knows if you'll get a ghost at some point. We can call it Casper and tell it to stop being so friendly."
***
She put her chin on Peter’s shoulder as her legs and one arm wrapped around him. “Right? Seriously. What the hell is up with those eyes?”
Maria’s head turned enough so she could look at him. “Tell you a secret? I probably wouldn’t recognize my ghosts if they jumped out and said boo.” The only one that would affect her would be her mother, but since she died giving birth to Maria she’d have to introduce herself.
***
"Lucky you." He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. The fire was still behind his eyes and he'd dream about it tonight but Peter was very good at focusing past things when he wanted to.
"I know all of mine...actually I'm related to all of them."
***
Finally. A piece of the puzzle. Maria was patient. Honestly, she counted herself lucky that Peter didn’t just come here to her of his own volition, but that he was beginning to open up.
She sighed. She knew the story about his family being burned to death, and what Peter became after that. “They decided a family reunion was in order for the holidays?”
***
"Apparently." It had taken a long time for him to figure out that it was more than watching them die. It was the only time Peter had really belonged to the pack. He didn't want to be an Omega, he wanted to be an Alpha which meant having people around.
Peter might not like most people but the wolf part of him was lonely. Which might be why he was working so hard at behaving for right now.
"Fuck Christmas anyway."
***
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly before she kissed his shoulder. Everyone gave him a hard time. She’d been wary from all of the warnings in the beginning, but the more she got to know him, the more time she spent with him, the more she saw. It didn’t seem to her that Peter was avoiding people, but that they were pushing him away. There comes a time when a person gets accused so often they might as well live up to the reputation. So whose fault was it really?
“Does Derek know?” They were his family too.
***
He deserved the reputation. Peter did all the things they said he did after all. Well most of them, they did give him credit for a lot of things he didn't do.
"No." And he didn't plan to tell him. That conversation would be wonderful, oh your dead sister that I killed showed up for a chat. Merry Christmas.
***
It wasn’t what Peter had done that Maria focused on, but what he did and was doing now. Was he a nice guy? No. But Maria wasn’t exactly the girl next door, either. She had her strong ethics, and no, they didn’t agree with what Peter had done in the past, but she recognized the efforts he was making.
“All right.” She put her chin back down on his shoulder. It wasn’t her place to tell Derek or anyone else. This was Peter’s business. She’d just be here for him.
***
"Look you know me, I'm not a talker. I just want to...be here I guess. Do something to not think about it." Sex would be great but that would only last so long. Then he'd have to be distracted again. "So maybe that bloody Christmas movie marathon or something would be good."
***
“I’m not going to make you talk,” she said, a little taken back by the accusation. Only a little. Maria recognized the need for stubbornness to salvage the dignity, but if she didn’t protest a little it would be obvious that she was being sympathetic.
“There’s beer in the fridge and dumb movies. You have to let me up, though.” He’d have to get up to get the beer if he opted for that.
***
It hadn't exactly been an accusation but with how defensive he was it could definitely be taken that way. Peter just nodded and pushed himself up off the couch to let her up. He could get the beer, he had no idea where the movies were being kept.
"Set up the movies and I'll be right back."
***
The movies were easy enough to find. An idea came to her. It wasn’t a good idea and it could blow up in her face, but that would tell her something. She followed Peter to the kitchen then reached out for his shoulder before he got the beer.
“Hey,” she said when he turned around. She locked eyes with him as her hand touched his cheek. “You’re no Galahad, but you’re not Mordred either. Don’t let the past or Malia or Stiles or whoever say otherwise.”
***
That went straight into the didn't want to talk territory and Peter's eyes blazed blue as he pushed her hand away from his face. "You don't know anything about it. Just don't go there Maria." His teeth were a little sharper than usual but other than that and his eyes he wasn't changed.
***
Even though she knew this had been a possibility that still cut a bit. And pissed her off. It was tie between the two as her brows shot up, and she immediately went on the defensive physically. It was habit, a reaction brought by years of training. At least she didn’t do more than back up a step.
“I’m not the enemy, Peter. Back down.” The annoyance, okay. The teeth and eyes were a little too much of a threat, thanks.
***
He was a predator, part of him enjoyed seeing her back away. He clamped down on that and let out an annoyed snarl as his eyes faded back to their normal blue. The snarl could have come straight from a canine throat.
"I should go."
***
“You don’t have to,” she offered quietly. She wouldn’t stop him, but she didn’t want him to leave. “I have nothing to do with whatever happened before. I..this is a refuge. If you want it.”
She’d only make the offer once, however. Maria was new to all of this, but she wasn’t desperate, and wouldn’t make a fool of herself for anyone.
***
"If it's a refuge don't talk about it, or what kind of person I am." Peter didn't want to get into conversations about himself, his family, or anything else right now. He'd made his choices but that didn't mean he was always happy with them.
If she'd let it go he'd stay. If she couldn't he had to leave or it was going to end with more than a snarl and showing his teeth.
***
Maria sighed as she pushed a hand through her hair. He was leaving details out of his orders. Details that would be good for her to have right now. “I can’t promise that,” she said. “If we’re doing this…us thing…whatever it is…I’m going to talk about things and you can’t ask me not to.”
She looked back to him again with a resolved look on her face. “I thought we’d moved past the booty call thing.”
***
"I'm saying today don't talk about it, what kind of person I am. Or my family." Peter knew he wouldn't be able to stop her from prying into things eventually but he damn well could ask her to not do it right now.
***
Maria looked at him for a few moments as she took that in. Whatever ghost was haunting
him it reminded him of bad shit that happened and bad shit he did. If he didn’t care, didn’t
regret it at least a little bit he wouldn’t be asking this of her.
She nodded. “Get the beer,” she said then went to pick out the movies. Die Hard. Home
Alone. Scrooged. Definitely not Rudolph, Frosty or anything fluffy.