robinonadderall | Kind of Creepy At Night Still Mansion

It was another banner night of sleeping for Stiles. Even to the outside eye he was restless; shifting in his sleep and mumbling to himself. Since he was on the couch and not a bed there couldn't be too much tossing and turning but he did have a death grip on the edges of the couch.

If you got close enough or had supernatural hearing you'd be able to hear him mumbling "don't let them in" over and over again.

Stiles

Not that Stiles realized he was doing that. As far as he was concerned he was waking up in a tight metal space. It was dark save for light coming out of slats in the door. Of course. A locker. He was in a locker. That was completely normal.

At least it wasn't locked. Stiles pushed open the door and found himself in the hallways of Beacon Hills High. Which was a pretty good indicator that this was actually a dream. Usually he didn't really know one way or the other.

He padded down the dark hallways, fear knotting up in his chest as he headed towards the one open door. He wasn't an idiot; he knew that it wasn't going to lead to good things.

Sure enough when he got to the room it...well it wasn't terrifying but it was weird. The room was trashed, desks and chairs flipped over and dirt covering the ground. But more importantly and weirder, the nemeton was in the center of the room, looking as big and intimidating as always.

Stiles knew he should turn around and leave but the thing about dreams was that you never did the thing that you logically knew you should do. So he stepped closer to the tree stump, arm slowly reaching out to touch the bark of the nemeton.

As soon as he got close enough to touch he hesitated for a moment. Maybe it was the sane part of his brain telling him it was a stupid idea to touch the evil tree of crazy. But the nemeton took matters into its own hands, roots coming up out of the stump to wrap around Stiles' hand and drag him down--

Stiles	Stiles bolted up in bed, breathing like he had just ran a mile. He was overheated and sweaty and it took a moment for him to realize he was in his own room at home. His hands were shaking slightly but he wasn't about to enter full on panic mode now that he knew he was home safely. It had just been a stupid nightmare.
Derek	There was movement directly beside Stiles and soon a comforting hand was gripping his shoulder. Derek sat up, looking like he had just woken up himself. "You okay?"
Stiles	"Just had a dream," Stiles said, placing his hand over Derek's. "It was weird, it was like a dream within a dream."
Derek	Derek laced his fingers with Stiles'. "A nightmare?"
Stiles	Stiles frowned, looking down at their hands. Wait. This wasn't right. He looked up and gave Derek a confused look. "What are you doing here?" When he got a "you sweet summer child" look instead of an answer, Stiles directed his attention to his closet door. It was cracked open slightly and for some reason Stiles needed it to be shut. He wouldn't be able to sleep knowing it was open.
Derek	"Stiles, where are you going?" Derek asked, gripping his hand a little harder when he felt Stiles trying to get up.
Stiles	Stiles shook loose Derek's hand and slipped out of bed, not bothering to look back at him. "I should have closed the door."
Derek	"Just go back to sleep." His voice was calm for the most part but there was a hint of worry there.
Stiles	"No, no, I should close it," Stiles said, walking slowly towards the door. It looked dark from the inside, and there wasn't a hint of clothing or anything else that would indicate it was just a closet. "What if someone comes in?"
Derek	"What if who gets in?" Derek asked, more forcefully now. "Just come back to bed, Stiles."
Stiles	"What if they get in?" Stiles stopped at the closet door, hand hovering over the doorknob just like it had been with the nemeton.
Derek	"Stiles, don't!" Worried and scared wasn't a look that Derek went for often, but it was happening right now. "Don't go in there! Stiles, come back to bed, please!"
Stiles	It was the "please" that finally made Stiles take a hold of the doorknob and open the door wider. Stiles could count on one hand how many times Derek actually said that word. Ignoring Derek's pleas for him to come back, Stiles opened the door wider so he could step inside. At first it was dark. Dark enough that Stiles couldn't see anything, but he could feel how cold it was and that the ground was wet beneath his feet. He had to have been outdoors. As soon as the thought crossed his mind stadium lights started popping on, illuminating a field surrounded by a ring of trees. In the center was the nemeton in all its creepy tree glory. "It's not real," Stiles murmured. "This isn't real." When the acknowledgement that this was indeed not real didn't wake him up Stiles, resorted to physical violence. He pinched his arms and smacked the sides of his head to try to jolt himself awake. "Come on, Stiles. Wake up! It's all in your head, wake up!" He was becoming more and more frantic with every second that he stayed in his nightmare. What if it wasn't a nightmare? What if this was real? No, it had to be fake. It was too weird to be real. "Wake up, wake up, WAKE UUUUUUP!" And then he woke up.

Kitty	The next day in town Stiles had invited Kitty to the Perk so he could tell her what happened. Sure, it probably added on to the whole guilt over drowning Stiles type thing but she had asked to help. "So you couldn't wake up?"
Stiles	"Nope, and it was beyond terrifying," Stiles said. "You ever hear of sleep paralysis?"
Kitty	"In passing," she said. "It's when you know you're dreaming but you can't move or talk, right?"
Stiles	Stiles nodded. "Happens because during REM sleep your body's basically paralyzed. That way if you dream about running you don't actually start running in your bed."
Kitty	"Makes sense."
Stiles	"Sometimes your mind can wake up before your body does," Stiles said. "So for a split second you're actually aware that your body is paralyzed."
Kitty	"And that's the terrifying part," Kitty said with a nod. "Can't say it's ever happened to me."
Stiles	"You don't want it to. Turns your dream into a nightmare. You feel like you're falling, like you're being strangled," he said, shaking his head. "Or in my case, that you're in a grove where a giant tree used for human sacrifices is."
Kitty	"You think it means something?" Kitty asked quietly.
Stiles	"I think it means that what we did that night is still affecting me," Stiles said. "Possibly Scott and Allison too."
Kitty	"I'm so sorry," Kitty said sympathetically. "I wish there was something I could do."
Stiles	"You know what scares me the most?" he said, looking down at the table. "I'm not even sure if this is real." Then Stiles finally did wake up at the mansion, screaming at the top of his lungs.

[For one! This is bastardized from TW 3x13 "Anchors". Thanks to

justlurkinghere and

throughaphase for letting me steal their icons and pretend to be their characters. 3B is officially a go]

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"Stiles," Derek tried again, making a soothing noise that was probably lost on Stiles at the moment. "Stiles."

Stiles stopped struggling after a few moments, and slumped against the couch, breathing heavily and doing his best not to cry.

"Is this real?" he whispered.

"This is real," Derek assured him quickly, still holding on tightly.

Stiles shook his head quickly. He had heard that before. "Show me your hands."

"What?"

"Y-your hands," Stiles said, pushing himself away from Derek just in case this wasn't real. "People have more fingers in their dreams."

That was deeply confusing and weird, Stiles.

But Derek pulled his hands back enough to show them off. With their ten fingers total.

"One, two, three..." Yeah he was counting for himself. "...six, seven..."

When he got to ten his shoulders slumped with relief and he flopped against Derek, starting to cry.

"It's okay," Derek muttered, wrapping his arms around Stiles again. "It's okay."

Stiles shook his head. "It's not. I can't--I don't know what's happening to me."

Derek frowned, eyebrows all turned up unhappily as he started to rub Stiles' back.

"You can't read in your dreams either," he continued, slowly but surely working himself up into a freak out again. "I couldn't read at work and I didn't know if I was really at work or if I was dreaming--I don't know what's real and what isn't anymore."

"That happened before too," Derek pointed out, shifting closer so he was on the couch with Stiles. "Remember? But it went away."

"But it's been getting worse," he said. "What if it just keeps getting worse?"

"Then we figure something out," Derek replied, probably a bit desperately. "Okay?"

Stiles nodded against Derek's chest "I'm sorry."

'Cause it was quite the rude awakening.

"What?" Derek asked, turning his head like he could see Stiles' face from this angle. Yeah. That was totally possible. "You don't have anything to apologize for."

If anyone understood nightmares...

"Screaming the whole house awake is something to apologize for."

"I think the dog was awake before that," Derek said. Because his sense of humor came out at the strangest times.

"Shut up," Stiles huffed, pulling away slightly to wipe at his eyes. "I wonder if Scott and Allison have to deal with this."

"Not your lame jokes, I mean."

"You should check with them," Derek said, rubbing Stiles' arms like that would also help.

Wait.

"In the morning."

"Yeah," Stiles said with a nod. "You should go back to sleep, I'll be fine."

"Do you want to be alone?" He'd hear that lie, so help him.

Which is exactly why Stiles didn't answer. He knew your tricks, Derek.

Uh huh. That's what he thought.

Derek sighed, shoving him over on the couch so there could be laying down. Together. Breaking all the rules this month!

"I'll stay until you fall asleep again." That was a lie and they both knew it.

Yeah, but it was a lie Stiles was willing to accept! He leaned back against Derek and grabbed his arm so he could wrap it around himself.

And Derek was just forced to do that as he tucked his face in against the back of Stiles' neck. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Not unless you know how to make nightmares stop," he murmured, twining his fingers with Derek's.

"That'd be quite a trick to know," Derek replied, moving both their hands up to tap at Stiles' collar bone.

"Then I guess you'll have to stay here and be my body pillow then," he said. Stiles still wasn't feeling great but this was definitely helping.

"I think I can manage that," Derek muttered. You know. However long Stiles still wanted him there. "It's a hardship."

"I appreciate it," he murmured. He said it lightly but he meant it.

At that Derek sighed quietly, turning his head to kiss the side of Stiles' neck. "You're sort of stuck with me."

See what happens when you treat him nicely? Do you see?

Stiles closed his eyes and smiled. "Good."

Kind of Creepy At Night Still Mansion | Night

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