Chapter Text
Scott thinks maybe it’s similar to how the Alphas kept Boyd and Cora away from the moon. Except Isaac has been here the whole time, being obvious, but even when things are obvious, it’s easy to push them to the edge of your head if they don’t mean anything. Not that—not that Isaac’s feelings don’t mean anything, but it’s kind of like how he has to get over Allison. Romance or whatever…it’s not really important. Not when people are dying; not when there’s a new threat.
And Scott loves Allison. He really, really does. Even now, when she calls him, he’s there. In ten years, probably, it’ll be just like that. But with Allison, it was never like this.
In the half-light of Scott’s room, with the sun freshly risen outside, Scott can’t keep his eyes from flashing. And Isaac’s still weak from the Alpha attack and the ice water, but his eyes are flashing too, and they are standing face to face. It was such a hard night. And they can’t find Boyd and Cora anywhere, but Scott is so tired. His limbs burn. They’ll stop burning soon, but maybe not, if Isaac is going to insist on staying here. He’s all messed up in the head, and it makes the room strange.
“You don’t mind, do you?”
“Uh…no. Not really.”
Melissa’s at work. It seems she’s always at work lately, but maybe the time is just doing that thing that it did last year where everything blurred together. It’s hard to keep track of everything. He doesn’t know when his mom’s supposed to be working and when she isn’t.
Maybe she’ll come home and see Isaac here. It won’t matter. She likes him. She says it’s sweet how he asked for Scott at the hospital, even if she doesn’t like when people ask for Scott (it’s always for something dangerous).
Isaac looks helpless, and even with Scott being so tired and confused and upset, something pulls at his chest when Isaac looks this way. And he looks at Scott like Scott is scaring him, but Scott really doesn’t mean to do that, he just… Well Erica’s dead, and Boyd is missing again, and Derek was so angry when Scott left.
“Are you okay?”
“I should be asking you that. You almost died in that tub of ice.”
“I’ve almost died a lot of times.”
Isaac comes closer to Scott and runs his fingers over his chin. There’s dried blood there still, but all the wounds are gone. “You’re really revved up, aren’t you?” he says. “I think it’s ticking my wolf a little bit.”
Isaac smirks like that’s funny, but Scott isn’t sure he likes the feeling. Maybe he’s just had too much grief, and it’s all hitting him at once. Like he’s been watching the cars in the pile up one by one, but now they’re all burning together, and Scott just wants Isaac to stop doing this thing that he does, with his fingers that are just as soft as Allison’s.
“Why are you here? I would have come to check on you on my own.”
“I know.” Isaac winces a little. “I didn’t like being in the loft with Stiles and Peter. They never shut up. And then Derek came back, and I could feel his pain. And he won’t let me do what I want.”
“Which is?”
“Scent him. Lick him. Weird wolf things that everybody seems to be able to ignore, but I can’t do it. I mean, it hurts when I do it.”
Scott smiles. “Nobody really talks about that stuff. Doesn’t make it weird.”
“Do you get those feelings? Even though you’re not pack.”
Scott doesn’t need to be reminded that he’s not pack right now (Derek does it so often), but he just shrugs and says, “I want to scent Stiles sometimes.” Because it’s true, and because Stiles would never let him.
Scott is imagining what it would be like to rub his face over Stiles’ neck (weird, probably), when Isaac reaches up and trails a finger slowly down the side of his throat. It draws the air out of the room.
“I want to scent you,” says Isaac.
Scott’s eyes flash orange. “Don’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m revved up. Like you said.”
“That was more of a hypothesis. You don’t seem revved, really. You seem…”
“Like I was the day I recognized you were a wolf.”
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s exactly it.”
But not exactly. Isaac does that thing where he asks permission with his eyes, so Scott just nods. Maybe it will make Isaac feel better. Maybe he’ll go back to the loft and be with his Alpha like he’s supposed to.
But Scott doesn’t want him to leave. Not with the way his tongue feels. He’d expected a cheek rub, or something, but this is way more sexual, and Isaac is probably acting out, that’s all. He’s taken a lot of shit the past couple of days, and he just wants someone to acknowledge that. Right? Scott’s not good at getting in people’s heads. Especially when he’s being distracted like this, and he wants to howl.
He feels his teeth elongate, and he doesn’t want to stand anymore. Isaac’s tongue laps over his neck and collarbone. He noses over the skin after it’s wet, breathing against it, and if Scott wolfs out from this, he’s going to be totally embarrassed. He’s never going to show his face to Isaac or Derek or Peter ever again.
Scott pushes Isaac back with two firm hands on his shoulders, and Isaac makes a whimpery, dog-like sound. He’s all the way wolfed out, and Scott can’t help but notice that Isaac looks way better wolfed out than anybody else does (except for maybe Erica). He’s noticed that forever.
He doesn’t feel embarrassed about doing it himself anymore.
“Hey.” He reaches up and touches the side of Isaac’s face, and God, everything reminds him of Allison. But Scott can feel all of this hard, in his stomach, and he wants to tear Isaac to pieces but also touch him like he’s glass. He wants Isaac to put his teeth in him, and he wants to sleep. “I think we’re both really tired,” he says.
“No.” Isaac is all whines, and he’s still not human. “I want you, and I need you, and I trust you. And you never notice me.”
“I notice.”
“You look at me, yeah. But you don’t notice. And you were all for me hurting myself for the pack tonight, and that’s the only reason I did it, okay? It wasn’t for Erica and Boyd. It was for you.”
Scott is exhausted, but Isaac’s panic is making him panicked, and he doesn’t know what to do to fix it. So he leans in and kisses Isaac (his lips are so soft).
When he pulls away, Isaac’s wolf has faded, and he tilts his head helplessly. “Scott.”
“I know. Just lie down with me, okay? I’m really tired.”
“Me too.”
Isaac falls asleep first, his nose pressed against Scott’s neck, and Scott just thinks that’s really sweet, considering he’s been running around the woods all night and needs a shower.