Handprint On My Heart

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or Teen Wolf. All recognisable characters, content, or locations belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Manners Like Yours

Pairing: Elizabeth Potter/Derek Hale (Teen Wolf)

Teddy's been grizzling for the last half hour, his routine thrown off by the emergency trip to the bodega down the street. He's tired and out of sorts, and by the time Elizabeth enters the foyer of their building, he's had just about enough of her nonsense. He howls his displeasure, tiny face red and streaked with tears, and Elizabeth - exhausted, emotional, lonely - is tempted to join him in his meltdown.

Rather than do so, she steps out of the way of any potential foot traffic, carelessly deposits her grocery bags to the ground by her feet, wrangles herself and Teddy out of his carrier, and does her best to soothe her despondent godson. She's not up to enduring the glares she'd likely receive from anyone forced to endure his wailing whilst in the confines of an elevator, and so she lingers in the foyer instead, rocks him and hums softly, and avoids eye contact with anyone who passes them by until Teddy, eventually, falls asleep in her arms.

Once she's confident he won't wake if she moves him, Elizabeth returns him to his carrier, shoulders the straps that will keep him against her front, and crouches to gather up her discarded groceries.

Before she can pick the bags up, however, someone else beats her to them, and Elizabeth glances up, startled. She's usually far more conscious of her surroundings - a byproduct of her adolescence spent embroiled in a war - but apparently she's more tired than she'd thought, because she'd not noticed anyone approach, and his presence is simultaneously surprising and alarming.

"Let me help you with those," he says, and as he straightens up to his full height, he hefts her three grocery bags as though they weigh nothing, "It looks like you've got your hands full."

Under any other circumstance, Elizabeth would proudly (RE: Stubbornly) inform him that she's a strong, independent woman who is perfectly capable of carrying her own groceries, thank you very much. She's been alone for most of her life, she's learned the hard way that people leave, and she's rather proud of her ability to take care of herself.

Quite frankly, though, Elizabeth is far too tired to make the effort. Between Teddy's nighttime feedings and her own nightmares, she's barely slept, her period has returned with a vengeance after 18 months of stress-induced, irregular spotting, and all she wants to do is sleep until November. Moreover, she's had those words memorised since the age of 11, and the fact she's actually hearing them gives her pause.

She's had a couple of false alarms before. Not many, but enough to make her wary. This time, though… Does she dare hope?

"Be careful," she says, attempting levity, but certain the effort falls flat, "With manners like that, I may just ask you to stick around."

He freezes where he stands, tall and broad-shouldered and strikingly handsome. The surprise on his face is obvious, and as he tilts his head to study her, Elizabeth rises to her feet, nervous and hopeful under his scrutiny. Teddy sleeps on, and the ensuing seconds seem to drag by.

He clears his throat, looks at her face and then his feet and then the room around them, and a blush creeps up his neck, over his cheeks, reaches the tips of his ears. He opens his mouth to speak, closes it again, attempts to speak once more, and then frowns at the tiled floor beneath them.

"I'm Elizabeth," she says, and it sounds loud and abrupt in the silence between them, "Or Ellie, rather, and this is my godson, Teddy. Thank you for helping me."

"Derek," he answers, "And I'm glad I decided to. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Elizabeth smiles, tentative, but hopeful, "Likewise."

They approach the elevators slowly, in a silence Elizabeth isn't sure how to fill. Derek, at least, seems just as lost for words, and in his carrier, Teddy snuffles in his sleep.

"So, I gather you're not from around here," Derek observes. Elizabeth presses the 'Up' arrow, and nods her confirmation, "How long have you been in New York?"

"I moved here at the beginning of August," Elizabeth replies, "So about two months now."

"And how do you like America?"

"It's… Different."

"You hate it." Derek is amused.

"I don't hate it, per se," Elizabeth denies, and the doors of the elevator slide open ahead of them. They both shuffle inside, and Elizabeth presses the button for her floor, "Hate is a very strong word. It's more that it's not what I'm used to."

"Well, for what it's worth, welcome to America."

Elizabeth huffs a laugh. "Thanks."

On her floor, Derek follows Elizabeth to her flat. She shuffles inside, but he hesitates in the doorway, uncertain.

"You can come in," she says, and prays she's not wrong to do so. "You can put the bags on the counter."

Derek does so wordlessly, and Elizabeth carefully removes Teddy's carrier from her front. She relocates her godson, too, stretches him out in his portable cot, and flounders for something to say to the man hovering by her kitchen counter.

"Would you like something to drink?" she asks, for lack of anything else to say, "I don't have coffee, but I have tea, juice, water…?"

"I'd love some water, thank you," Derek replies. He seems nervous, too, and Elizabeth is glad she's not the only one. How did Fred and Hermione make the soulmate thing look so easy?

"You can make yourself comfortable," Elizabeth says, retrieving a couple of glasses of water for them both, "I suppose we ought to talk."

"You said my words," Derek states. His long fingers wrap around the glass she offers him, and he meets her gaze with his own, an indiscernible blend of blue and grey. "Did I say yours?"

"You did," Elizabeth confirms. She can't suppress her smile for the life of her, because she's just met her soulmate, and New York City has just gotten a whole lot better.

AUthor's Note: Hello, long time no see. How's life?

I've already got a head canon going for this pairing, so expect a continuation. Otherwise, thanks for reading, -t.