Teen Wolf Imagines.

definitely better./ malia tate

Malia lay awake in the dark, staring the ceiling as you rested next to her. She knew you weren't asleep yet, even though you had been lying next to her for more than an hour. She wanted to reach out and wrap her arms around you, but she didn't know if she should. She didn't want to do anything that could give you the wrong impression, even though her feelings for you were less than secret.
She missed the nights when she had first turned back to human, before things had been complicated. She remembered how she used to crawl into your window late at night when she couldn't sleep and didn't feel like being alone. She knew she could always talk to your brother Stiles, but even though you were twins she had always preferred you over him.
At first you had let her sneak in, but when your girlfriend Tracy found out about your impromptu sleepovers, Malia had to lay off. It wasn't like you were doing anything, but Tracy didn't know the supernatural. You couldn't exactly explain how Malia needed someone to teach her how to be human, so you had regretfully asked Malia to stop sneaking in.
She had understood, but her feelings for you hadn't disappeared. You weren't just the person who had taught her humanity or her best friend. In her eyes, you were her everything. She had hated keeping a distance from you because of Tracy, but once she had died, Malia had been right by your side.
While she may have had feelings for you, they didn't cloud her judgement, and all she wanted to do was be there for you. That meant a lot of late night talks, holding you when you cried, and coming over whenever you called, which was exactly what she had done tonight.
Your father was at the station and Stiles was with Scott, and you couldn't stand being alone in your empty house. You had called Malia nearly in tears, unable to stop thinking about Tracy and how she had died. Malia had run straight over, not even bothering to hop in her car to do so.
She had pulled herself through your window like she had done all those months ago, and you would be lying if you said you hadn't missed it. That was how you ended up lying side by side in your bed, wrapped up in your warm comforter and silently staring at the ceiling.
After about an hour of this, Malia was beginning to get worried about you. She could hear your heart beat fluctuating, and even though you had called her there to talk you had barely said one word to her. Finally, she decided that she would say something first.
"Alright, what's wrong?" she asked as she rolled over onto her side. "I can practically hear you thinking."
You rolled over to look at her, pressing your cheek into the pillow as you met her brown eyes in the darkness.
"Do you think we're meant to be with more than one person?" you asked quietly.
"What do you mean?" Malia asked.
"Like, if you're so sure you belong with one person, but then things change and you feel like you're meant to be with someone else, is that true? Or were you never meant to be with the first person?" you asked.
Malia took a deep breath, trying to decode what you were saying. She had never been good with emotions, especially not ones like forgiveness and love. You were the one exception, because if she was confused about everything else, the one thing she was always sure about was you.
"I think feelings can change," she told you honestly. "I think that you can love someone and that can change, but it doesn't make you a bad person. It doesn't make it wrong."
"Oh," you whispered. "Okay."
You took a deep breath and leaned forward, and before Malia could even realize what was going on, you were pressing your lips onto hers. The kiss was gentle and sweet, and Malia wanted to reach out and pull you closer, but you quickly jerked away.
"Sorry!" you cried as you quickly turned onto your other side. "Sorry, I-I didn't mean to do that."
"Y/n," Malia said softly as she reached out to put her hand on your shoulder. "I can tell when you're lying."
"Right," you said as you swallowed harshly.
Malia leaned forward as her fingers rested against your shoulder and you could just barely feel her hovering above you. She leaned down, balancing on her free arm as she pressed her lips onto yours again. You reached up to wrap your arms around her neck, finally facing all the feelings that you had been avoiding since you had met her.
You couldn't help but feel like you were betraying Tracy, but you knew she would want you to be happy. Thoughts of your former girlfriend slowly drained from your mind as Malia kissed you, because how could you hold a coherent thought when her hand was resting on your hip like that?
You ran your fingers through her silky, straight hair, tugging gently on one of the short strands as you rolled over. Malia knew it was late and she knew you were hurting, and maybe she shouldn't have been kissing you so soon, but at the moment she didn't care. She had been waiting almost a year to do this, and she never thought she'd ever get the chance.
"Malia?" you whispered breathlessly as you pulled away. "I think I love you."
Malia smiled and reached up to run her thumb across your cheek.
"I know," she whispered before pulling your lips back onto hers.
Thinking back on it, maybe she should have said it back. Malia wasn't one for words, but you didn't really mind. Her lips on yours told you everything you needed to know, and you couldn't imagine a more perfect way for her to share her feelings.
Stiles was sitting at the kitchen table, mindlessly flipping through a newspaper when he heard footsteps padding into the kitchen. He immediately thought it was you, and called out in annoyance.
"Hey, where'd you put the keys to the jeep? I can't find them anywhere."
"How the hell should I know?" a blunt voice asked.
Stiles blinked, thinking that your voice was a lot different and ruder than it had been when he had last talked to you. Considering it was about one in the afternoon, it took him a lot longer than it should have to realize that it wasn't you.
He whirled around and let the paper thump onto the table, only to find Malia walking over to his fridge and opening it with nothing but one of your long, flannel shirts on. He noticed how the shirt trailed down past her thighs, but Stiles was a little more concerned about how she had ended up in his house partially clothed, and why she was drinking his orange juice straight out of the carton.
"Uh, hey Malia," he said awkwardly.
"Hey," she told him indifferently, just before she made a disgusted noise. "This has pulp in it."
"Sorry?"
"That's okay," she told him as she set the orange juice down on the shelf. "I'll just have milk."
"Uh, did you and Y/n have a sleepover?" Stiles asked.
"You could call it that," Malia said.
Stiles blinked, and then his eyes went wide. He opened his mouth to say something, but the padding of your footsteps on the stairs interrupted him. He looked over as you walked into the kitchen barefoot, tossing him his keys in the process.
"Those were on my desk."
"Seriously?" Stiles asked as his eyes flicked from you to Malia. "I was home last night!"
"You were at Scott's!" you protested.
"Till like eleven!" he complained.
Malis frowned as she looked from you to Stiles. "I don't understand."
"Stiles is just bitching," you told her. "He's jealous because he's still hopelessly single."
Stiles made a disgusted noise and shook his head. "Can we please talk about something else? You guys know there's a pack meeting tonight right? We have to go see Theo and his chimeras."
"Chimeras?" you repeated. "Like, chimeras plural?"
"He didn't just bring back Hayden?" Malia asked.
Stiles nodded. "We don't know who they are yet. And since this beast thing is destroying the whole town, Scott thinks we need all the help we can get."
"He's going to trust Theo?" you asked him. "The guy who literally killed him?"
Stiles shrugged. "I didn't say it was a good idea, but it's the best we've got."
"And the chimeras," you asked after you swallowed thickly. "Is...is Tracy...?"
"I don't know," Stiles told you softly. "But if she's alive-"
"Maybe she needs our help," you cut him off.
"Y/n," Stiles said gently. "I think she wants to be with them."
"But-"
"Her dad is dead, Y/n," your brother told you.
"But he was already hurt," you tried. "And she didn't know what she was doing!"
"They found traces of a paralytic toxin in his I.V.bag, Y/n," Stiles explained gently. "It looked a lot like kanima venom."
"What?" you whispered. "She killed him?"
"I don't think she's a totally unwilling pack member," he admitted.
Malia reached out with a frown and put a hand on your shoulder.
"Stiles," she growled. "Leave it alone."
Stiles gave one curt nod. "Right. I'll uh, I'll leave you guys alone."
He sneakers thumped on the floor as he walked out of the kitchen, but you barely heard him. Malia reached out to wrap an arm around your shoulders and give them a gentle squeeze. She leaned into you, inhaling the scent of your hair fresh from your shower.
"Don't worry," she assured. you "Just like you always tell me, everything'll work out."
You nodded and as Malia wrapped her arms around your middle, you buried your face in her shoulder. She kissed the top of your head, but as she held you, she wasn't so sure she had told you the truth. While she wanted to believe everything would work out, she couldn't help but feel like everything would fall apart the moment you laid your eyes on Tracy.
The jeep screeched to a stop in the school parking lot, and you, Malia and Stiles all cringed at the squeaking of the brakes.
"We really need to get those fixed," you remarked as you tried to distract yourself from the coming meeting.
"Oh yeah?" Stiles asked. "And I'm guessing you're going to pay for that?"
"Maybe it can wait," you said with a sigh.
"Come on," Malia said as she tugged on your hand. "Scott and Kira are already here."
Malia opened the back door, and you both crawled out, looking around nervously. Scott and Kira walked up to you, small frowns on their faces.
"They're already here," Scott told you. "Behind the buses."
You took a deep breath and started to walk, tightly gripping Malia's hand as she walked by your side. In a few moments, you were rounding the corner of a bus and catching sight of the four pack members standing between two buses.
Theo was there, with a cruel smirk on his face like always. Corey and Josh were there too, but Hayden was nowhere to be found. You guessed she wasn't really cool with the whole evil chimera pack thing, but if she couldn't be there, why was Tracy?
You caught sight of her dark hair and bitter eyes, and any hope you had ever had of her coming back to your side disappeared. You felt like you had been punched in the stomach as she looked at you, so angry and bitter. When her eyes met yours, they lit up for a brief second.
"Y/n!" she cried as she darted forward.
In seconds, Theo had snatched her arm and yanked her back. At the same time, Malia darted in front of you in a protective stance, letting out a warning growl. A wave of tension seemed to spread through the air, and Tracy glared at Malia. You reached out and gently grabbed Malia's hand, intertwining your fingers through hers.
"Stop," you whispered.
Theo looked over at Tracy with a glare. "You're a part of my pack now," he reminded her. "Besides, it looks like she's moved on pretty fast."
Tracy frowned as she eyed you and Malia's hands together, and you instantly felt a wave of guilt wash through you. You knew she was incredibly hurt that you had gotten together with Malia, and you were just as confused. You wondered if you had made the right decision to confess your feelings.
You looked over at Tracy and her broken eyes, and a disturbing thought crossed your mind. From the moment you had met Malia, you knew you had had feelings for her. You had still been with Tracy at the time, but you couldn't get the persistent question out of your mind. Had you ever really loved her at all?
"I'm a horrible person," you whispered as you laid in bed with Malia.
Tissues dotted every surface of your bed, and you were curled up against your girlfriend's side. She ran a hand comfortingly down your hair, trying to sooth you.
"You're not a horrible person," she told you simply. "You're just confused."
"She must hate me," you said softly.
"Maybe," Malia agreed with a shrug. "But she's also a murderer so she really can't judge. And at least I don't hate you. I love you."
"Really?" you asked as your cheek pressed against her shoulder.
"Really," Malia told you. "And I'm really glad you told me how you feel. Otherwise I wouldn't get to do this."
She smiled and leaned closer to you, gently pressing a kiss to your cheek. You smiled in return and threw an arm around her waist, knowing she was right. It didn't matter what Tracy thought of you now, because she wasn't your girlfriend. You had loved her, but not in the way you loved Malia and not in the way she loved you.
You figured that Malia had had a point the other night when she told you about loving more than one person. Things changed all the time and just because one good love ended didn't mean you couldn't find another, maybe one that was even better. And as you lay there with Malia, you knew that this one was definitely better.