[ truthfully, derek's deliberately not specifying whether he'll be there in ten minutes or whether he needs ten minutes of her time. he woke her. there's some faint sense of guilt about that, but isaac--
derek's put it off long enough.
he gets to tyke's door in five minutes, knocks rather than let himself in. he's maybe punishing himself a little for the time spent away from her. if he put the space between them, he needs to earn it back. or that's how it feels to derek anyway. ]
It's me.
[ he tacks on, belated. she can't hear him anymore. derek's not going to get used to that any time soon, just another thing he's lost along with his powers. ]
[Her dogs pick up on him approaching before he knocks, Taylor caught in the middle of the room, still holding the handfuls of bloodied tissue she'd been in the middle of tidying up before he got there. She stares dumbly at the door for a moment, then hastily turns to shove the tissues in a drawer of one of the bureaus.
There's still a piece shoved up her nose when she opens the door, but that's necessary for the nosebleed that started again a few minutes ago.]
Hey.
[She steps back almost immediately to let him into the room, not really sure why he knocked instead of just coming in anyway.]
[ because derek's less certain of himself than he appears, secondguessing where his boundaries are. tyke lets him in, all the dogs perked up at his presence, and derek looks from them to her, shakes his head and offers his hand. ]
Here. Before I start bleeding too.
[ and because for all his gruff and evasiveness and uncertainty, he doesn't like seeing tyke in pain. ]
I have a problem. We should probably sit down first.
[Relief sweeps through her like a wave when she takes his hand, skin on skin and the pain easing back to a dull ache at the back of her skull. It makes her breath catch, flow out of her again in a long exhale, small smile flitting at the corners of her mouth.]
So you're not just here to see me.
[It's meant as a tease, buoyed loose by the near-giddy rush of the pain retreating. She regrets it almost immediately. He'd said he was coming to talk, she knew that, and now she's just stomped over that to push on the cracks only just healing between them.
It's awkward. She drops her gaze, bracing herself for him to pull away again.]
[ derek's thumb instinctively sweeps across her knuckles, affectionate. it's always easier like that for derek, when it's just actions, showing rather than trying to tell. even with the awkwardness, this part is still easy. their bodies know this. they remember how to fit together, how to touch each other ]
Tyke. [ a little imploring, trying to get her to look at him. ] It's not just about that.
[ because he still wants to see her, even if he needs to talk business. he feels wrong-footed, uncertain about whether or not he's doing the right thing. ]
But we need to talk about Isaac. Something happened.
[As distractions or subject changes go, it's an effective one, even if part of her is still snagged on not just about that, the awkwardness already smoothing out under the sweep of his thumb. Alarm and concern rise, brow pinching as she looks to him again.]
Is he alright?
[Because something happened in this context can't mean anything good.]
[ it's more complicated than yes or no, or derek wants it to be. but his usual method of answering around the question, or focusing on physical over the mental, that's not going to work anymore. ]
Something here's messing with his head. The red smile.
[There's something like a chill that drops through her skin at that, grip tightening on his hand. She's been here long enough, been tangled up in enough people's crazy shit, to know exactly what that can mean.]
What did Isaac do?
[That's what it is, when that happens. Caffrey's ramblings. Anonymous messages about Resnik being dead. The smile getting in someone's head was never the end of it - he was a manipulator, a puppeteer.]
[ they're not going to beat around the bush. that's a relief, in a way. while this would be so much easier if she could just get in his head, see for herself, derek doesn't try to dodge the question. ]
He killed someone from that team of people that tried to get onto the ship. He was talking about it.
[ and this is exactly what derek had never wanted to happen, but so it goes. ]
[The phrasing means Derek hadn't been there, hadn't seen it himself. But she doesn't doubt it. She already knew of one who'd gone out there looking to murder the new arrivals, another three who'd felt some compulsion to do it. Was Isaac the former or the latter? Was there ever going to be a way to tell?]
My sister's talked to a few people. Allison Argent and Lydia Martin know. I haven't told anyone else.
[ and he's banking on no one else being able to have understood that conversation. yellow to blue, it wasn't as if that meaning was common and none of them were going to explain it further. ]
[Don't is on the tip of her tongue. Don't tell anyone else, because if it spread she'd have to take action, have to put him in the brig. But in the moment she doesn't know if that's what she should do anyway, as much as she imagines Derek would hate it. She doesn't know what else can be done. She doesn't know if she wants to protect Isaac from that fate, if he's killed someone - truly gone out there and hunted one of the DUPRR crew down, compelled or mad or sane and in control.
Her brow pinches, frustrated with limited options and no real solutions. It weighs. It always does when she's confront with another piece of the ship's bullshit like this. She'd never intended to be a judge, a leader, someone to make these decisions. Sometimes she thinks it would be easier - better - if she stepped down.]
I'm guessing you've got him contained.
[She says, finally, turning to take a seat on the bed without letting go of his hand.]
[Taylor nods slightly, but it's more in understanding than agreement. She isn't sure if her knowing is really the right thing, but Derek keeping it from her might have been worse.]
You know I won't be able to ignore it. [She looks up at him, resignation and apology in her eyes.] If it happens again, or someone finds out.
[She won't be able to keep him out of the brig. Sweep it under the rug, pretend it hadn't happened or that Isaac was somehow not complicit, not guilty. Taylor already had one in the brig for the same crime, and it was too important, their treatment of the outsiders. Too many eyes on them, opinions heated, tearing back and forth. The fact the smile was even involved so directly was testament to how crucial it could all end up being.]
[It makes sense. It works, better than it might do if Derek didn't trust her, if he only concerned himself with keeping the problem contained, dealing with it themselves. But that was a level they'd reached a long time ago. Taylor just needed to be ready if things got worse.
She still smiles slightly, a crook in the corner of her mouth, teasing light considering the subject they'd been discussing.]
[ while she might be joking, derek takes it seriously. tyke's in a difficult position, and derek's the one putting her there. he's not isaac's alpha anymore, but isaac's still pack, and isaac's gotten swallowed up by the ship. derek shakes his head, arms crossing. ]
I didn't want this to be something you had to deal with.
[ that's always been the arrangement. derek takes care of his pack, takes care of the werewolves on board if need be. if he can keep them from being a problem then it never had to come to a conversation like this. and he's failed at it. ]
But if this gets out of control, I don't want it to blindside you.
[She'd meant it to be a tease, and maybe she's trying too hard in that vein, trying to reclaim that level of communication between them when they'd find their way back to it in their own time. But the way he's ignored it is something else, and she looks up at him for a long moment, brow pinching.
She knows what he's saying. But she also remembers how this started, the tiny bonds of trust they'd formed between them, linking stronger and stronger. She stands up from the bed again, stepping into his space, a hand lifting to his elbow as she meets his gaze, steady.]
You know I'm never gonna make you tell me what's going on with you or your pack.
[They'd always done that. Respected each other's lines, the circles of people and information they handled.]
But if you're dealing with shit, I'm always gonna be here to deal with it with you.
[She could handle whatever position it might put her in. And they could handle the rest together.]
[ they hadn't needed these kind of reassurances before their argument, before derek vanished into silence and separation for longer than he should have allowed. hearing tyke make this promise aloud is something they both need, in a way. ]
Does that mean I should start sleeping here again?
[ sober, rather than staggering drunk. it's a tease, breaking from the tension of the conversation. derek can't help but feel like he's already failed isaac, that everything he does even now is useless in the face of all the ways he's already let isaac down. ]
[There's a split-second where she worries that it's distraction. Derek deliberately evading what she's saying, avoiding the offer of help, support. She knows how hard he finds it to share burdens. She knows how important it's been to be there when he needs to.
But his expression's softer than that. No defensiveness in his eyes. She can't hear him anymore, but she knows him. That this is just them, tentative in feeling these things out, finding their way back to what they had.]
Yeah. [Plain, direct. True.] You should.
[A beat, and a touch more hesitation even as she pushes herself to say it:]
[ in some ways, derek had relied heavily on tyke being able to hear his thoughts, on having allowed her that and even projected them to her in some cases. puzzling out their interactions without that crutch is difficult, and that makes it all the more rewarding when they do get it right. ]
Okay.
[ just a response, without allowing himself hedge or backpedal. ]
[The smile she gives him is bright and wide for a moment. Fleeting, like all of her smiles are, but no less genuine for it. She feels like pressing in closer to him, kissing him, but she stays put, just her hand still resting on his arm.]
Let's get dinner first.
[The whole evening routine they'd do the nights he came over earlier, working out and eating and sleeping. She hadn't really realised how much she'd missed it, swept up in the general ache of just missing him.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text -> action.
[ truthfully, derek's deliberately not specifying whether he'll be there in ten minutes or whether he needs ten minutes of her time. he woke her. there's some faint sense of guilt about that, but isaac--
derek's put it off long enough.
he gets to tyke's door in five minutes, knocks rather than let himself in. he's maybe punishing himself a little for the time spent away from her. if he put the space between them, he needs to earn it back. or that's how it feels to derek anyway. ]
It's me.
[ he tacks on, belated. she can't hear him anymore. derek's not going to get used to that any time soon, just another thing he's lost along with his powers. ]
action.
There's still a piece shoved up her nose when she opens the door, but that's necessary for the nosebleed that started again a few minutes ago.]
Hey.
[She steps back almost immediately to let him into the room, not really sure why he knocked instead of just coming in anyway.]
action.
Here. Before I start bleeding too.
[ and because for all his gruff and evasiveness and uncertainty, he doesn't like seeing tyke in pain. ]
I have a problem. We should probably sit down first.
action.
So you're not just here to see me.
[It's meant as a tease, buoyed loose by the near-giddy rush of the pain retreating. She regrets it almost immediately. He'd said he was coming to talk, she knew that, and now she's just stomped over that to push on the cracks only just healing between them.
It's awkward. She drops her gaze, bracing herself for him to pull away again.]
action.
Tyke. [ a little imploring, trying to get her to look at him. ] It's not just about that.
[ because he still wants to see her, even if he needs to talk business. he feels wrong-footed, uncertain about whether or not he's doing the right thing. ]
But we need to talk about Isaac. Something happened.
action.
Is he alright?
[Because something happened in this context can't mean anything good.]
action.
[ it's more complicated than yes or no, or derek wants it to be. but his usual method of answering around the question, or focusing on physical over the mental, that's not going to work anymore. ]
Something here's messing with his head. The red smile.
action.
What did Isaac do?
[That's what it is, when that happens. Caffrey's ramblings. Anonymous messages about Resnik being dead. The smile getting in someone's head was never the end of it - he was a manipulator, a puppeteer.]
action.
He killed someone from that team of people that tried to get onto the ship. He was talking about it.
[ and this is exactly what derek had never wanted to happen, but so it goes. ]
action.
[The phrasing means Derek hadn't been there, hadn't seen it himself. But she doesn't doubt it. She already knew of one who'd gone out there looking to murder the new arrivals, another three who'd felt some compulsion to do it. Was Isaac the former or the latter? Was there ever going to be a way to tell?]
Who else knows?
action.
[ and he's banking on no one else being able to have understood that conversation. yellow to blue, it wasn't as if that meaning was common and none of them were going to explain it further. ]
action.
Her brow pinches, frustrated with limited options and no real solutions. It weighs. It always does when she's confront with another piece of the ship's bullshit like this. She'd never intended to be a judge, a leader, someone to make these decisions. Sometimes she thinks it would be easier - better - if she stepped down.]
I'm guessing you've got him contained.
[She says, finally, turning to take a seat on the bed without letting go of his hand.]
action.
[ as much as derek would like to pretend otherwise, he knows keeping isaac in the storage container is not a long-term solution. ]
We're trying to make sure it doesn't happen again. But you deserve to know.
[ because clearly they're fallible, derek and his people, his makeshift pack. and tyke can't be blindsided by this. ]
action.
You know I won't be able to ignore it. [She looks up at him, resignation and apology in her eyes.] If it happens again, or someone finds out.
[She won't be able to keep him out of the brig. Sweep it under the rug, pretend it hadn't happened or that Isaac was somehow not complicit, not guilty. Taylor already had one in the brig for the same crime, and it was too important, their treatment of the outsiders. Too many eyes on them, opinions heated, tearing back and forth. The fact the smile was even involved so directly was testament to how crucial it could all end up being.]
action.
[ though it would be so much easier if he could. ]
We might not be able to fix this. We'll need a back-up plan if we can't.
[ throwing him in the brig indefinitely isn't a fix either, but at least it's more secure than just sitting on him in a locked room. ]
action.
She still smiles slightly, a crook in the corner of her mouth, teasing light considering the subject they'd been discussing.]
So I'm your back-up plan now?
action.
I didn't want this to be something you had to deal with.
[ that's always been the arrangement. derek takes care of his pack, takes care of the werewolves on board if need be. if he can keep them from being a problem then it never had to come to a conversation like this. and he's failed at it. ]
But if this gets out of control, I don't want it to blindside you.
action.
She knows what he's saying. But she also remembers how this started, the tiny bonds of trust they'd formed between them, linking stronger and stronger. She stands up from the bed again, stepping into his space, a hand lifting to his elbow as she meets his gaze, steady.]
You know I'm never gonna make you tell me what's going on with you or your pack.
[They'd always done that. Respected each other's lines, the circles of people and information they handled.]
But if you're dealing with shit, I'm always gonna be here to deal with it with you.
[She could handle whatever position it might put her in. And they could handle the rest together.]
action.
Does that mean I should start sleeping here again?
[ sober, rather than staggering drunk. it's a tease, breaking from the tension of the conversation. derek can't help but feel like he's already failed isaac, that everything he does even now is useless in the face of all the ways he's already let isaac down. ]
action.
But his expression's softer than that. No defensiveness in his eyes. She can't hear him anymore, but she knows him. That this is just them, tentative in feeling these things out, finding their way back to what they had.]
Yeah. [Plain, direct. True.] You should.
[A beat, and a touch more hesitation even as she pushes herself to say it:]
I want you to.
action.
Okay.
[ just a response, without allowing himself hedge or backpedal. ]
I'll stay tonight.
Re: action.
Let's get dinner first.
[The whole evening routine they'd do the nights he came over earlier, working out and eating and sleeping. She hadn't really realised how much she'd missed it, swept up in the general ache of just missing him.]