spark

Chapter 4 : Stuck

A groan escaped Stiles as he awoke, the shrill sound of an alarm clock blaring in his ear. Reaching out to his nightstand, Stiles fumbled as he aimed for the off button, successfully hitting it on the third attempt as he shook the sleep from his head, blearily looking around the bedroom as sunlight soaked in through the curtains. Soft snores sounded behind him, causing Stiles to turn and see Buck still passed out, unsurprised at this point with how much the two of them did at their respective jobs. Heaving a sigh, Stiles got off the bed, doing some early morning stretches before taking a quick shower and heading downstairs to cook the two of them an easy breakfast. By the time that the second omelette's mixture hit the skillet, Stiles heard the distinct sounds of a person falling out of bed and rushing to get ready, making him chuckle as Stiles sprinkled some cheese on the cooking omelette.

Buck came down the stairs 10 minutes later, plopping down in the stool adjacent to Stiles at the counter. "Good morning, handsome. Rough night?" Stiles asks, watching as Buck began to scarf down the omelette. The sight made Stiles reminiscent of Scott, or rather, Scott's puppy-like behavior.

"More like a weird one. This-this guy, he's got this disease that causes horn-like tumors to grow from his skin, made him look like Groot." Buck says, gesturing to his face and his arms, enrapturing Stiles in the story. "So, his-his wife is trying to drag him out of the house to take him to the hospital, but she tugs on him too hard, and the horn tumors end up lodging themselves in a tree in their front yard. Eddie and I spent a solid hour cutting each end of the horns loose from the tree."

"Why not cut the horns?" Stiles inquires, pointing his fork at Buck, who was taking a break from his story long enough to take a couple more bites of his omelette and a drink of orange juice.

"Because they've all got blood vessels and nerves in them." he answered, earning a wince from Stiles. "Yeah, Eddie didn't think that far ahead and cut one of the horn, let's just say that the guy was not pleased."

Stiles leveled a skeptical look at Buck. "Really? And if I call Eddie right now, he's gonna back up that claim?" he questioned, placing his phone down on the counter next to his plate. Buck looked between Stiles and his phone, a nervous smile on his face. Stiles raised an eyebrow, unlocking his phone and navigating to the phone app, opening up Eddie's contact as his finger hovered over the 'call' button.

"Okay, I was the one that cut the horn." Buck relented, earning a snort out of Stiles.

"I knew it was you from the beginning, you're just so adorable when I make you squirm." Stiles teased, locking his phone and taking another bite of his omelette. Buck glowered at him, continuing to scarf down his own omelette.

"Keep it up, and we're gonna have a prank war on our hands." Buck says, earning a dubious look from Stiles.

"Really? Is that your declaration?" he inquired, placing his fork down on the plate and staring down Buck. Buck placed his own fork down on his plate, staring right back at Stiles. The staring contest only lasted two minutes, Buck eventually relenting as Stiles smirked in triumph. "How many times is it gonna take for you to realize you can't beat me in a staring contest?"

"As many times as it takes for me to ingrain the sight of your eyes in my mind for life." he replied, causing Stiles to blush as he smacked the back of his hand on Buck's shoulder. The doorbell ringing caught their attention, making the two men look at each other in confusion. "Who could that be?"

"I have no idea. Might just be Jehovah's Witnesses." Stiles pondered, standing up and making his way to the door. Opening the entry closet on the way, Stiles grabbed a hunting knife and tucked its sheathed blade into his back pocket.

When Buck saw Stiles grab the knife, his eyes widened slightly at the size of the blade, wondering why the hell Stiles owned such a thing. Letting the curiosity get the best of him, Buck got out of his chair and followed after Stiles, who glanced back at Buck harshly, earning a glower in response. "Go back to the kitchen." Stiles hissed, waving Buck backwards.