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No one really understands it, no one outside the three of them.
It's not that no one accepts it. They're actually lucky because so many of the people who care about them accept it. Chris accepts it because Allison can take Stiles places where Scott would be killed instantly, and because it eases his mind to know that at least one of his daughter's lovers is human. Melissa accepts it because she knows neither Allison nor Stiles alone would be enough; she knows how much Scott needs them both to hold on to his control and his humanity. John...John was the easiest one. John accepts it simply because there is nothing he wouldn't do to see that smile of contentment on his son's face, and ignoring the oddity of his son being involved with not one, but two people at the same time was far easier than some of the other things he'd done in the name of ensuring Stiles' happiness. They all accept the strange three-way relationship their children have, but acceptance is a long way from understanding.
Their friends, Lydia, Jackson, Isaac, even Derek (do they dare to call him friend these days?) accept the trio as a unit. Lydia teases Allison with a voice that's only faintly colored with envy and does her best to make Scott blush. Jackson rolls his eyes and claims he's just glad Stilinski finally found somewhere else to direct his affections, but he's the first one to jump to their defense when anyone looks at them funny. Derek shrugs it off as unimportant as long as it doesn't endanger anyone, but his unreserved acceptance of Allison is proof of just how important he thinks it is. Isaac, curious, clever Isaac, asks lots of questions and really listens to the answers. He's probably the closest to actually getting them, and getting just how and why they work, but even to him, it isn't completely clear.
There are other opinions, of course, from people who don't know them as well, or even at all, muttered imprecations, accusations of infidelity, whispers of twisted and perverted sex practices (although honestly, when he first heard the rumor of occultic orgies, Stiles laughed so hard he got a cramp in his side). They get dirty looks from total strangers who talk behind their backs about their brazen immorality, because it's obvious to everyone that the whole thing is all about sex.
Except that it's not all about sex.
Certainly they won't deny that the sex is great. Stiles and Scott together are wild and filthy and occasionally a little dark and dangerous. With Stiles, Scott doesn't have to rein himself in so hard. With Stiles, he can relax that iron control just a little bit, because Stiles actually likes it. Stiles needs it, needs that edge of danger, the knowledge that even though Scott would never hurt Stiles, he could. So Scott can give Stiles something that Stiles needs, while taking something for himself that he needs.
Scott and Allison together are gentle and warm, with soft caresses and murmured words against smooth skin. It's easy, the two of them, easy and comfortable and relaxed. For the two of them, it's quiet secrets shared in low light and hopes for the future mixed with contented sighs as they curl together, or making love in front of a crackling fire while the rain pounds hard against the window.
Allison and Stiles, when they're alone together, are all about long, drawn out foreplay. They push and pull and strain each other until they're both so strung out that there's no room in their busy minds for worry or confusion or fear, and the orgasms, when they finally come, are more about a release of all the stress and tension their lives have brought than about simple physical pleasure.
When they're all three together, though, it's different. There's lots of laughter and playful touches that slowly turn hotter and more intense until they're all moaning and whimpering and urging each other on. Sometimes it's Scott and Stiles touching and licking every inch of Allison until she's begging for them to fill her, to let her come. Sometimes it's Scott and Allison using their bodies to reminding Stiles that he's an intrinsic and necessary part of this relationship, not just an occasional third. And sometimes it's Allison and Stiles soothing the raw edges of Scott's instincts and anchoring him to them both.
Still, it's not just sex. There's so much between them, so much history, so many shared moments, that if they were ever to try to unwind themselves, they'd each be left with holes that could never be filled. Like the many nights that Scott held Stiles as he cried for the mother he'd never see again, or those long, bleak birthdays and holidays when Stiles paid that forward by holding Allison as she mourned her own mother. Like the time Scott rescued Stiles and Allison from a particularly cranky group of elves, or the time Allison took down a Horned Lord before he could gut Stiles and Scott. There are the times they all three squeezed into one shower and filled the air with sounds that would make a sailor blush, and the times when those showers were instead needed to wash off blood and dirt and shared only because one of them couldn't stand without help. There are days of joy, nights of terror, and all the spaces in between filled with anger and sorrow and quiet happiness.
So it's okay if no one really understands how and why they work. They don't need anyone else to understand what they have. They understand it. They know that their relationship is beautiful and something to treasure. They know they have a bond that can never be broken. In the end, they don't have to have everyone else understand them. They have each other, and that's all they really need.
