Isaac Lahey is worth saving (salvageable) wrote in blackpoint, @ 2014-02-02 00:42:00 |
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Entry tags: | isaac lahey (au), kira yukimura |
WHO: Run the World Kira Yukimura and Isaac Lahey
WHERE: Isaac's room
WHEN: Wednesday, January 29
WHAT: It's 8700+ words. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED ♥ TLDR; Two bets are cashed in. Kira ninja's her way into Isaac's room, wins a scarf, then falls victim to a puppy face and gives Isaac a face massage and they talk about a lot of stuff.
RATING: PG? Competition. Ninjaing. Puppy faces. Allusion to past deaths. Massages. OOH LA LA.
STATUS: log; complete.
It had taken careful planning, of course, but Kira was certainly clever enough to accomplish such a feat. The goal, as per their bet, was to manage to sneak up on him without him realizing she was there. The fact that he had his extra werewolf senses made it a challenge, but Kira enjoyed a good challenge. She’d set her plan into motion a few nights back when she’d offered to help him with his math homework, sneaking a glove into his bag when he wasn’t paying attention. It was simple enough, but she knew it’d smell like her. The plan was to have him smell her, realizing that the scent came from the glove, and then assume that any future catches of her scent could be attributed again to the glove. She’d given it a little bit of time, then, so that he’d get used to that smell and its apparent original source. She’d not mentioned losing a glove or anything, letting it fall just enough out of notice so that he’d forget to return it to her. She’d taken an interest in his schoolwork, if only because it was something she could actually help with that wasn’t too much beyond their comfort level. It wasn’t really her place, she knew, and she’d have absolutely backed off if he wanted her to, but she also figured that no one in his life so far had been super invested in his ability to succeed. She knew from the show that his dad had been aggressive about the outcome of his schoolwork, but that didn’t mean he’d gotten support. She believed he was much more capable than he realized, and she didn’t mind helping. Plus, it meant not having to do her own by herself. She’d waited until evening before ninja-ing her way into Scott and Isaac’s place, prepared to ask for Scott’s help if she encountered him. She managed to make it to Isaac’s bedroom without making a sound, stepping into the doorframe to see that he was wearing earphones anyway. Success. Kira couldn’t resist her triumphant expression. Still, she stayed light-footed, grabbing a scarf and tossing it around her neck before she moved to push herself victoriously to sit on his desk beside him. Once he could hear her, she grinned. “I like the green one, but I’m thinking I might need something different,” she said nonchalantly. “Green or blue?” It wasn’t that Isaac didn’t like school - he liked spending time with his friends and trying to guess what exactly the lunch ladies had spooned onto his tray - but there were parts of it that he wasn’t good at. He spent more time in class looking out the window instead of paying attention, and instead of taking notes he filled his notebook with random scribbles accompanied by one or two lines that the teacher said to write it down. He had spent so many years doing his best to avoid the stress of studying that would lead to bad grades and even worse reactions when he brought the grades home that it was ingrained in him. He normally ignored the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach when a teacher announced an upcoming test by helping Scott with whatever was going on in Beacon Hills, and Derek had never checked his report cards. He had been doing well enough to skim by, but it was clear that academics wasn’t his strong point. That trend had continued here. There were too many multiple versions of the people he knew to stay focused on his homework, and when Scott had appeared nothing seemed as important as making sure he was okay. Homework kept being put off by things he deemed better suited for his attention, and then Kira started to noticed. She had been one of the first people to take notice in how he didn’t turn in homework or struggled when the teacher called on him, and they had fallen into a habit of doing their homework together from time to time. Writing was still something that he struggled with, but she would rattle of random topics until he had something to put on paper, even if it was just transcribing their conversations. Isaac had found Kira’s glove one night after he came home, and he had tossed it on the desk to remind him to return it to her. Soon it became buried under stacks of books he was supposed to read and scratched out pieces of math homework, but every now and then he’d catch a whiff of her scent when he sat down to work on his homework. He would slip on his headphones and try to concentrate on what he was supposed to turn in, and he was trying to figure out his science homework when a strong whiff of sensual amber caused him to look up. He glanced at the open window, taking a moment to fight down the urge to go for a run outside, before turning back to his homework. Isaac hadn’t even finished the problem before a flutter of a familiar pattern caught his eye. He glanced up as Kira materialized next to him, triumphantly boasting one of his scarves around her neck. Damn, he hadn’t even heard her cross into the room. “How did you…?” He tugged the earbuds out of his ears and leaned back, the corner of his lips raising up in a lopsided smirk. “Red, definitely the red one,” he said, reaching up and tugging on one of the ends of his scarf. Kira came from such an extraordinarily supportive family that she had no real basis for comparison to Isaac’s upbringing. In fact, in many ways, her parents were almost overbearingly involved in her life. She loved them, though, and she knew that she was loved. While she never really had any trouble with school, she knew that her parents would support her however she needed if such had changed. Isaac hadn’t had those opportunities, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t have them now. Kira enjoyed helping him, even if it meant leading him along more than perhaps a tutor ought to have. In some cases, she thought it was best that he actually put pen to paper, even if he was ultimately just regurgitating her words into his voice. At least it was something! She was super proud of the fact that he was working on homework when she snuck in, and nearly gave away her successful appearance in her excitement over it. She knew she’d have to check over it eventually, just to make sure he was close to the right answers on his own, but she’d really noticed progress in his abilities lately, and had told him as much. It was amazing what a bit of attention could do. Of course, offering brownie bites helped coax him along. His look of surprise was met with utter triumph, and she fistpumped the air in her victory. “Ninja,” she offered in answer to his unfinished question. At his suggestion, she grinned, nodding. “The red one, definitely.” She dismounted his desk, moving to his closet to replace the scarf she had on with the red one, which she looped around her neck. “Perfect, right?” she said, then grinned brighter. “Wait.” She moved to the door way, leaning against it and offering her best Isaac Lahey impression, smirk and sex eyes and all. “Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?” Isaac said, recovering his surprise with a slight eye roll as she celebrated. Snark was his safety net. It was easy to slip in and out with, especially when it came to bantering with Kira. That was how he had ended up here, losing a scarf, in the first place. His hearing was poor for a wolf in the first point, and now he was paying for it. He wouldn’t hurt for it - it wasn’t like he hadn’t raided the clearance section when he got here, nope - and at least it was going to a good home where it wouldn’t be used as a kleenex. He shoved his book away and tossed his iPod on the desk as she went and rummaged around for a replacement scarf, glad for the distraction. He turned just in time to see her propping herself up in the doorway, arranging herself in a pose he had done many times before and had seen on TV not too long ago. “Mm, not too bad,” he said, standing up. He cupped his chin and tilted his head, lips pressed together as he tried not to laugh at the way she channeling him, before pointing a finger at her and grabbing the sweater that was hanging on the back of the chair. “You’re missing the best part,” he said, holding it up for her to slide her arms in. “You can’t just half-ass this, Yukimura.” “Because I’m a genius,” she said, shrugging. She patted his head. “It’s alright, Lahey. We can’t all be as totally badass as Kira Yukimura.” She grinned at his rolling eye and snarky expression, knowing she’d won anyway and that he was just hiding his surprise. She was very proud of her success and the planning that had gone into it, and the winning of one of Isaac’s prized scarves was definitely an added bonus. Of course, she was sure that in most circumstances, she’d have had no shot at overtaking him. He had those werewolf senses, after all, and even the weakest werewolf hearing was stronger than human hearing. But still, she could gloat for now. She knew her impression was utterly ridiculous, and not only because she was nearly a good foot shorter than Isaac and not at all built in the same way that he was, but that was really the point. She grinned at his suggestion, sliding her arms into the cardigan, which swallowed her whole. “Good idea,” she said, nodding. “I never half-ass anything, Lahey. Don’t get sassy with me.” She resumed her position. “How about now?” “And you call yourself a genius. I can overlook the lack of a v-neck, but not this,” Isaac tsked, pulling the sweater over her shoulders and taking a step back as she got back in character. He couldn’t help but laugh at the picture she painted. The sweater easily swallowed her petite frame and hung off of her like an ill-fitted superhero’s cape, almost hiding the way she held her legs in an attempt to make them look gangly. However, what got him was the smirk and eyes. He wondered briefly how he managed to pull it off without looking ridiculous, but on Kira’s features it looked pretty adorable. Not that he’d say that. “How long did you spend on my tag to get that down?” he finally laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Unfortunately, my wardrobe is more geek chic than carefully-tailored hipster, so v-necks aren’t as prevalent,” she responded, eyerolling at his continued sass. She knew the cardigan only amplified the utter ridiculousness with its size and the fact that it hung a few inches past her fingertips like wings. She knew she looked adorable, though, so he didn’t have to say it. His question made her laugh and she broke character finally, moving past him to sit cross-legged on his bed. “You don’t really even want to know,” she responded, shrugging. “So even in my glorious victory, I noticed that you were doing homework! How’s it going?” “I could have overlooked it if you were wearing your Avengers tights,” Isaac said, trying to be helpful. He had paid attention to random things on the show while the group watched together in an effort to not think about what was actually happening. The tights had appeared when he wasn’t looking at the way show Scott was looking at show Kira, the flowers on Allison’s chest when he wasn’t watching how show Isaac’s hormones were going into overtime over someone who had tried to kill him at one point. It was easier not to react in front of the group when he had things like that to fill his mind. He glanced at said homework before plopping down in the chair, twisting an arm to rest over the back and stretching his long legs out in front of him. “I’d rather talk about how you had to practice that instead of my homework,” he countered, turning slightly so he was blocking most of his desk from her line of sight. “Lamentably, those didn’t make it to Hawaii with me,” she said, pouting dramatically. “I’ll have to replace them. It’s on my list!” Kira had been excited to see them have a role in her presence in the show, as they were some of her favorites, but it had struck her as very intriguing that Isaac had actually noticed. Of course, she was glad for it. Her tights were badass, after all, and it was only right that he notice them for their awesomeness. She thought it was pretty adorable to watch her show version interact with show Scott. She’d had a crush on him when she’d first joined their group, but that had been some time ago and she was hardly the same girl as her show version in terms of personality. And the stuff between the show versions of Isaac and Allison were honestly a little hilarious to her, though she didn’t dare say as much aloud. “Didn’t take much practice, really,” she said, shrugging. “You’re pretty easy.” She lifted her eyebrows, noting the way he put himself between her and his books. “Are you almost done?” Isaac placed a hand over his heart and leaned back slightly, a playfully affronted look on his face. “I can’t believe you called me easy,” he gasped. His lower lip jutted out in a small pout and, even though she kept repeating that she was immune, flashed her some puppy dog eyes that were undermined but the slight smirk his pout turned in to. “Almost,” he gave in. Knowing that he was fighting a losing battle, Isaac reached back and grabbed his textbook. He tossed it on the bed next to her and crossed his arms over his chest while he waited for her to look over it. It was filled with as many crossed out answers as final solutions, and there might have even been a right answer or too crammed somewhere in the margins. “Being done with the first page counts, right?” Kira lifted an amused eyebrow at his dramatics, smirking as well. “You’re totally easy, are you kidding? ‘Do you want to paint my body?’” she said, imitating show Allison. It was such a hilarious thing, really, because she couldn’t even begin to imagine her Allison saying such things under any circumstance. She imitated his pout, infinitely less affected by it than she might’ve been because it wasn’t a complete attempt, given his apparent inability to keep from smirking. “Almost,” she echoed, that eyebrow up again. Almost might’ve meant more if it wasn’t coming from the guy who apparently had legitimately turned in a paper with an entire body made up of watermelon. She looked over his homework when he handed it to her, reaching a hand out for a pencil. Once she had one available, she made a few adjustments here and there and circled some hidden right answers, smiling up at him rather proudly. “It’s not totally done, obviously, because there’s more than just the first page, but this was really really close!” “Maybe I do, and didn’t we go over this hormone thing?” Isaac fired back, his own eyebrows lifting. He could admit that Allison was attractive in a ‘I want to shoot all of your pack and turn your pelt into a throw rug that always gets trampled on’ type of way, but he’d never ask her if she was sexually frustrated over him in anything but in a taunting way just to get under her skin. He settled in as she reviewed his work, taking the time to flick through his song selection between glances up to see how his work was standing up to her pencil. He could hear the marks that she was making if he took the time to concentrate, and he was still surprised when she positively told him that things were able to be fixed. He was used to thrown glasses and sharp words, not proud smiles and little comments tucked around his sprawling handwriting. “Close enough for me to call it quits for tonight, right?” “Excuses, excuses,” Kira responded, grinning. She knew that Isaac and Allison would never be a thing in their world, tease as she did. There was too much animosity and too much history. To be honest, she just hoped that they could eventually settle being vaguely cordial to one another, but she never pushed it either way. Allison hadn’t asked her to stop being friends with the wolves, and the wolves had never implied that she ought to stop loving Allison, so everything was fine enough for now. Kira had done her fair share of tutoring in the past, so she knew the right sort of comments to leave. She could correct without totally disintegrating confidence. In many places, where the errors were easy enough to fix and just simple ones, she went on and fixed it for him. Ultimately, though, she very much wanted him to succeed, and was very proud that he’d come as far as he had. “But you’re so close to being done!” “So close, yet so far away,” Isaac said, but he held out his hand for his book and pencil regardless. Kira was a bit like Scott in a way. Both were able to coax him into doing this that he wouldn’t normally do with a well-placed earnest comment or some sort of eager look. While he didn’t have to worry about Kira sliding out of her pants in public if he wasn’t trying to keep her happy, he didn’t want to disappoint her either. That’s what friends did, right? They didn’t let each other down. “So you used our bet to sneak up on me to do my homework instead of catching me in the shower,” he commented, crossing a leg and propping his book against it. He tapped his pencil against the book as he read the problem, but his mind wasn’t as focused on how much momentum a five kilogram ball rolling down a hill had it pushed and who even cares amount of force. Instead, it was focused on the girl sitting on his bed in his sweater and former scarf. “I’d probably let you walk out with my sweater if it wasn’t for our other bet,” he blurted out, dropping his gaze back down to the book. “Not even! You just need to fix 3, 4, 6, and 12, and do the three on the second page and you’ll be done,” she said, rolling her eyes at his complaints. Really, that and some playful comments were as poor as her reactions to him ever got where homework was concerned. She was there to help, not reprimand. That it worked was something she found very pleasing, but didn’t let herself think too much on. Isaac couldn’t have let her down where this was concerned, though, unless he just didn’t try at all. He was doing a very impressive job of trying, though. “If I wanted to see you in the shower, I’d just use my camera,” she teased nonchalantly, shrugging. She unfolded her body a bit, shifting so that she lay on her stomach, still facing him propped up on her elbows. She fell quiet to let him focus on school, unaware that she was too distracting just by being there. At his outburst, her eyebrows lifted and she grinned. “I was going to keep it anyway, so I’m taking that as permission. I intend on winning it in the other bet anyway.” “Seven’s a new record,” Isaac circled the problems that she noted, brow furrowing as he looked over the hints she had made. “And I think you just picked those first three so you could make up some sort of cheer. Go on, I’m listening.” He spent a few minutes going back and forth between the chapter, the problem, and his work, asking questions when he reached a wall that he couldn’t break through. Physics was interesting in a way that fancy cars were - neat to look at and talk about, but not for him in the end. He grinned when he caught her comment about the shower camera, but he didn’t look up at her so he could finish one of the problems on the second page. He had doubted its existence, but her compelling imitation earlier made him make a mental note to make sure that she hadn’t actually installed anything while she was ninjaing around the place. “Don’t go jumping the gun, sparky,” he said, lifting his pencil at her. “You might have won this battle, but the war’s not over yet.” “Seven is so much better than all,” Kira said, grinning. “And really, the ones on the first page are almost done. Just follow the hints and you’ll totally get it. And I bet you’d like the cheer, but I’m here to win a scarf and help with homework, not distract you by imitating a cheerleader.” She answered his questions, coaxing him along as he worked through the problems. She’d already done these problems on her own, so it wasn’t hard for him to lead him in the right direction. Kira really wasn’t so creepy as to put cameras in his living space, but it was an amusing joke to playfully bring up. Still, that he’d take her seriously enough to even vaguely consider that it might be true was something she found incredibly hilarious. “Nah, the war’s totally over, Lahey. I’m absolutely beyond immune to that puppy face of yours,” she said, laughing. “And this cardigan is super comfy, so I fully intend on taking it home with me.” “As much as it pains my scarf-clad soul to admit it, you’ve already won one. Cheer it up, lightning bug,” Isaac pointed out, a cheeky grin on his face as he placed his pencil down and looked expectantly up at her after he finished one of the problems to her specifications. He shrugged and placed his book back on the desk after he finished his last problem, thankful that the questions on the last page had been theoretical problems and the answers had been in the chapter. Those were easy enough to breeze through and didn’t need checking, just a bit of creativity to reword so he wouldn’t be accused of plagiarism. “Alright, you are. I’m lulling you into a false sense of security so one day, when you’re least expecting it, I’ll turn a full puppy face on you and you won’t even know what hit you,” he said, placing his elbows on his knees and leaning forward so he was at eye-level with her. “That’s not even my best cardigan. You have to really earn that one.” “Someone’s feeling awfully cheeky for someone who totally got surprised tonight,” Kira responded, lifting her eyebrows. “No cheering for me. I’m not wearing my cheerleading uniform anyway,” she said, shrugging. That was definitely a joke. “Hooray Lahey!” she said, and that was as far as she’d go. Kira had known that Isaac would breeze through those theoretical problems, so she knew he didn’t have much left. That was partially why she’d insisted he continue, knowing that he’d be done before too long. “Won’t even notice it, probably. Thus is my immunity,” she responded, grinning as he leaned forward. “Earn? Nope. I just have to win the bet. Which I’m basically doing.” She set her chin on her hand, which was propped up at the elbow. “And now it’s time for English,” she said then, feigning seriousness to see his reaction. “You’re winning? No one told me that.” Isaac sent a skeptical look at Kira as she gloated, the wheels in his head spinning. He had mastered the sad puppy look even before the bite, and it had magnified in potency when he turned it on full force. He didn’t do it often because of its ~powers~, but it had yet to let him down. He had been using baby versions of it to test the water with Kira to see how much he’d have to work to win that bet, and it looked like he would have to bring out the big guns. “English?” he echoed, “I was bluffing earlier. I don’t bring my book home with me unless someone tells me to, and I must have missed the assignment when everyone was leaving.” He let his jaw slacken a bit as his brow drew together in worry, blue eyes morosely finding Kira’s ark ones. “I’m the one wearing the scarf,” she responded, gloating so shamelessly with the knowledge that she’d end up paying for it eventually. She knew perfectly well that Isaac had an impressive puppy face, having seen it on the show. However, she’d only really been impacted by it when it was a serious moment. Otherwise, it was easy to see that Isaac was just trying to use it to his advantage and it was easy to poke him with a zapping finger and laugh it off. What happened next was very tricky, though. She might’ve just assumed he was kidding and trying to move straight into winning their other bet, but she knew that homework was something that he had some genuine hang-ups about because of his father. There was a very good chance that he thought she’d genuinely be upset with him over forgetting his book. Ultimately, her wariness and concern for him overruled the suspicious part of her and she frowned. “Oh, that’s okay. I remember the topic anyway. It’s not a big deal.” “From the first bet,” Isaac groaned, correcting her even though he knew that it was pointless. Even though he had just started to build up his small collection, a deal was a deal and he’d follow through with his end of the bargain. Plus, the red color wasn’t horrible on Kira. If pressed he might say it looked better on her, but he didn’t want to feed her ego any more than he had to right now. He ignored the guilty feeling in his stomach for using The Face against Kira when she had been so good about helping him out, but his face really needed that massage from all of the smiling and laughing he had been doing since she had come through the portal. “I sort of remember the topic,” he started, bringing his hands up to scrub at his cheeks. “It was ‘You Now Owe Isaac a Face Massage,’ correct?” He peeked over his hands and grinned, the sad puppy look turning into a happy, slightly devious puppy. The truth of the matter was that Kira would probably end up buying him a new scarf at some point over the near future, because scarves were easy to find and she knew he must be missing his collection from home. Such things seemed so simple and frivolous, but she missed her own wardrobe at times. Plus, she was terrible at taking things from other people anyway. Not that she’d let him know that. She was worried now, worried like she always was that her attempts to help him with homework would only really serve to give him flashbacks of his time with his father. She nodded when he said he sort of remembered, trying to encourage him, but then her jaw dropped a bit when she realized he’d played her. “Oh my god, you are the worst!” she said, laughing. “I can’t believe you got me!” Isaac couldn’t help the face-splitting grin that tore across his face when she gaped at him for actually being able to pull one over her. He knew that one day he’d be able to wear her down, but he didn’t imagine that it would be so soon. “No, I know I’m your favorite,” Isaac preened, unfolding his long form from the chair and sketching a bow in her direction. “I even laid out my game plan to you and you didn’t even bother listening to it. That’s what really hurts here. Now scoot over.” He didn’t wait for her to move before he slid on the bed next to her, his lanky frame balancing on the edge. He bumped shoulders with her, hoping he’d be forgiven for pulling at her heartstrings, and gave her a sheepish grin. “Can I collect my winnings now?” It showed a bit of that carefulness that she didn’t often display. Kira did well in her subtle attempts at keeping her concern for Isaac out of her words and actions. However, it didn’t take much when it came down to it before her desire to make him smile instead of frown showed through. And while it could certainly be said that she enjoyed making everyone smile, there was a sub-conscious part of her that was yet to be really recognized that focused even more on Isaac. “Eh,” she said, shrugging. Then smiled. She sighed, shaking her head. “You are a sneaky, sneaky thing.” She sat up and slid over, though. She wrinkled her nose at him at the nudge, showing her playful distaste at his antics, but a deal was a deal. She sighed dramatically, sliding up to the head of his bed and curling her legs to cross beneath her once more. “Put your head in my lap. And no funny business, Mr Trickster.” “I promise I’m all out of tricks for tonight,” Isaac vowed, glancing back at Kira as she moved back towards the headboard. Isaac wasn’t very good at keeping secrets from people that he trusted, and Kira was on her way to becoming one of those because she was willing to give him a chance and ask questions before firing off. He hoped that she didn’t feel like he had exploited her even though he had a bit, but she wasn’t throwing him off the bed just yet. Once Kira was settled he leaned back, carefully placing his head in her lap. It wasn’t too bad if he concentrated on the open area above him and the way his feet dangled in the air at the end of the bed, and he pressed his shoulder against her leg to signal that he was ready. “All set.” “Good, because the next one gets a zap,” she responded, grinning. She thought no ill will towards him for his actions, even if he’d exploited her, because it hadn’t really gone that far. Perhaps her response was driven by what she knew of his past, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he was attempting to use his past against her. She was quite sure he hadn’t been, and really was just rather impressed by his ability to trick her as he had. It was inventive and clever, and she couldn’t fault him for that. She knew his claustrophobia could come into play like this, so she was careful not to hover over him too much as he settled in her lap. “Let me know I need to stop, okay?” she said, just to give him a way out if he needed one. She tossed her hair over one shoulder to keep it from making a curtain around his face and setting him off, then brought her fingers to his temple. “I’ll keep the claws at bay.” Isaac couldn’t help but tip a saucy wink up at Kira as he tried to downplay his claustrophobia. It was hard to get over years of being locked in the freezer tucked away from prying eyes in their basement and he never knew when something would set him off, but it was something that he wanted to try and keep at bay right now. Positive human contact was something that he was still relatively unfamiliar with, so he tried concentrating on the way it felt to have someone holding him instead of pushing him away. There was a sense of security in the way that her legs supported his head and her hands worked out the tension that he held in his face to keep his face as stoic as he could. “I know we’ve talked about why you got into massage therapy,” he said, “but never how. Did you stalk another tag, or did you watch YouTube videos?” Talking was good. He wasn’t comfortable enough in this position to close his eyes just yet, but conversation was good at keeping the fear of being trapped down and tucked out of sight. “You’d better,” she teased back down to him, that wink making her roll her eyes. She was careful in the way that she treated him now, certainly not wanting to set him off for both of their sakes. Simply because she was sure she could handle him if he happened to wolf out on her didn’t mean that she wanted to be put into that position. She’d already electrocuted him once accidentally, and she didn’t want that to happen again. The way he’d looked in the aftermath as he cowered away from her had been more than enough to invoke her own insecurity over being worth fear, something that was a carry over from a childhood of terrifying her classmates with her bursts of electricity. “YouTube videos,” she answered, laughing. “You can learn anything on YouTube these days.” She didn’t mind that he kept his eyes open, even if it was a little unusual to have someone looking up at her like this. It was a strange reward for winning a bet, to be sure, but she didn’t mind. “A lot of these will get rid of a headache and a jaw ache, too.” “You’d think that,” Isaac hummed, bending his knees and shifting to arrange his lanky limbs in a more comfortable position, “but Derek forgot to put Werewolf 101 on there.” Learning from a video probably would have been better than being thrown around in Derek’s apartment, and probably more comprehensive. There were certain things that he conveniently left out that Isaac had learned the hard way through trial and error, and knowing that certain emotions could trigger the sideburns to bust out would have made some situations a lot less awkward. His jaw clenched slightly when she mentioned it, the muscle in his cheek jumping to attention. There were certain things - tall, brunette things - that set him on edge, even if their contact was limited here. It was almost an unspoken rule not to mention their differing relationship with Argent, and it was something that Isaac needed to deal with. They were both stuck on this island with no apparent way off, and unlike Beacon Hills they didn’t have their usual familiar turf to stick to. Their group of friends was more mixed and they were in more classes together in the school than usual, and ultimately he’d have to learn to get used to her. It didn’t have to be today, but eventually - especially if Scott kept looking at her with those sad eyes and sneaking off to fight her. “It’s your fault I’m here, you know,” Isaac gently teased, dropping his gaze towards his feet so he didn’t keep staring up at her. “My face isn’t used to contorting like this on a regular basis.” “Derek isn’t the sharpest crayon in the box, though. We know that well,” Kira responded, shrugging. She couldn’t accept the fact that Derek had sought out such young, vulnerable people to turn into werewolves. According to the show, he’d given them only the positive parts before getting them to make their decision, leaving out the negatives. She found it utterly repulsive, really, and she was just glad that his wolves had somehow managed to figure themselves out and knit themselves to Scott instead, who was an infinitely more moral leader. She felt and saw his jaw clench, which made her eyebrow lift. “You know, the whole point of this is to relax,” she said, moving her fingers over that tightened muscle in his cheek to coax him to release it. “I’m not surprised,” she said, shrugging. “I’m a ray of gosh darn sunshine.” “No, but he was better than joining Deucalion,” Isaac sighed, reaching up and around her to shove some of his sandy hair off his forehead. Not many people outside of his former pack knew his story. The local newspaper had painted his father’s death as a robbery homicide, and while it was true to some degree, it lacked a certain supernatural zeal that the Alpha had thrown in. Even now Isaac wasn’t entirely certain the real motivation behind the two Alphas competing for him, not Boyd or Erica, to join their packs. Perhaps it was his blind ability to follow and please authority figures, but joining with Derek seemed at the time to be the lesser of the two evils after Decalion tried to force his hand and killed his father. He might not have loved the man like most sons did their father and wasn’t raised in a caring household, but he was still his father. “I’m relaxing,” Isaac smoothed over, “Some of us just express that differently, ray of gosh darn sunshine.” “Oh, I can definitely imagine so,” she agreed, and let it go from there. Those werewolf politics and happenings, particularly earlier on, were not something that she could speak to personally because she’d not been there. She didn’t know the circumstances surrounding the decisions with enough depth to be able to make a judgment on them. She also couldn’t bring herself to judge Isaac for the decision he’d made then, particularly given the options he had before him. All that mattered really was that he’d gotten away from his father, and then from Derek, and now Scott could get him on the right track. “Your cheek muscle would beg to differ,” she responded, making a face down at him. “Don’t judge me on my cheek muscle, sparky,” Isaac said, latching on to the change in subject. “My masseter has a mind of its own.” He had down a little researching of his own after Kira had given him the link to the exercises so he could practice on his own. Making some of the faces like suggested helped when he actually knew what he was working on, and he had enjoyed looking at the different diagrams. Like show him had said to Allison, while he couldn’t read latin he could certainly look at pictures. It was no different than putting a puzzle together, albeit one with more complicated names than ‘the piece with one side poking out that looks like Texas.’ “Oh, I’d never. I’m pretty sure that it, like your dimples, are beyond your control,” she responded, a little bit of surprise showing when he dropped ‘masseter’ that quickly turned into a grin. “You learned something! I’m so proud.” She flicked his nose lightly, her fingers moving to the muscles around the hinge of his jaw. “So how are things with Scott now that he’s back? Is it all going well?” It seemed to be, at any rate. Scott was finally getting back to a more stable sense of normal, and she knew that he’d only get better and better as time passed. “I have selective learning abilities,” Isaac boasted, reaching up to rub at his nose after she flicked it. He fell silent at her questions, eyes drifting closed as he allowed himself time to think about how to answer. It was good to have Scott and an Alpha in his life back. He had talked to both Scotts about his sense of guilt that he harbored for what happened in his future. He came from a time before everyone else, and learning things secondhand wasn’t helping ease his nerves, especially with the way the show was unfolding. Were there demons in their future? Did everyone make it? Did Scott get to turn back into himself? “They’re good,” he hedged, opening one eye and peering up at her. “It’s good to have a roommate who speaks in complete sentences now, and he’s warming to the pants idea. It’s going to be a work in progress for a while.” “Clearly,” she responded, grinning down at him. “But you’re so much better at learning things than you realize.” Kira didn’t know anything about his feelings of guilt, though she really wouldn’t have been able to say anything to it either way anyway. She really wouldn’t have tried either, because only he could accept the truth for himself. He hadn’t been to blame for what had happened, though. She didn’t see any fault in him where Scott’s transformation was confirmed. He’d done everything he was supposed to do. “Excellent,” she responded, nodding. She continued to work her fingers around his jaw before her hands settled instead on his shoulders. “I’m sure you’re glad for that, though I imagine he’s still borrowing your pants a lot?” Isaac pulled a face up at Kira. “But why would I stop asking questions? You’re too good at Googluefu for me to stop,” he teased. He liked how Kira was a fount for random information. It wasn’t unusual to see her hunched over her phone as she looked up something that she had just thought of, and he never knew what she would say next. He’d rather eat grapes and listen than do the research himself, but he knew that she was capable of throwing them at him if he didn’t get his ass in gear and do his homework. He tensed slightly, caught off guard when her hands came to rest on his shoulders, but then let them relax under her touch as he got used to their weight there. “Of course I miss dressing him every morning,” he laughed, remembering the time he had tricked Scott into getting into a pair that had gorilla glue smeared on the waistband in order to combat the claws, “but I’d rather him wear my pants than no pants. I’ve even perfected how many times to roll them at the bottom to fit him.” Kira rolled her eyes. “I knew you were just using me for my random information,” she teased back. Kira’s research tended to fall in line with her morbid fascinations. She loved legends and mythology, in particular, and was lucky enough that pretty much everything – especially in Hawaii – had some sort of folklore around it. Her areas of expertise were different from the others, too. She knew less about the actual supernatural creatures like Allison might’ve known and more about the legends surrounding them. Sometimes that information was as useful as it was entertaining, but it was often just a hint towards the right direction. She didn’t mind that. She felt him tense, so she was careful with her touches around his shoulders. She probably should’ve warned him ahead of time. He relaxed, though, so she felt better about it. “It’s a bonding experience, I’d imagine,” she responded, grinning. She was glad that Scott was a bit more amenable to the clothes idea, even if he still wasn’t a huge fan of it. “Oh, I didn’t even think of that! I bet your pants are so long on him.” Not that Scott was too terribly short, but Isaac had such long legs. “That and to model my scarf for me. You’ll have to tell everyone who asks where you got it from so I can launch a career in scarf selection,” Isaac said. He didn’t know what he was going to do once school ended, but he figured he’d sort all of that out when the time came. College was almost out of the picture, and academics had never driven him. He didn’t have any skills he could tap into besides being a good follower, and there wasn’t much of a need for a functioning pack here. The only possessed people were the highway drivers, and he hadn’t seen anything indicating other supernatural activity outside of what the portal brought in - and 5-0 seemed pretty well suited to handle any of that. “Yeah, that’s one way of putting it. I’m sure I’d be a dead man if any fangirls heard how close I was to a naked Scott McCall,” he laughed. That or a star in a NSFW fanfic. He brought his feet up on the bed so his knees were bent, making no effort to take his head off of Kira’s lap. “See? I’m good for some things.” He wouldn’t have Scott tripping and wolfing out because he hit his head on something. “My morbid brains and my Isaac Lahey impression. That’s what I’ll have them put on my tombstone. And I’ll happily tell them all of my victorious conquering of Castle Lahey and show them the spoils of my victory,” she said, grinning. Even Kira, who had excellent grades and did fine in school in all aspects, had no idea what she’d ultimately do after high school. She’d have loved something to do with her research into myths and legends, but a lot of it meant sitting in stuffy libraries forever. She wanted to do more adventurous things, like perhaps archaeology or something. Something where she could research while still experiencing and discovering. “Absolutely,” she responded. “Naked Scott McCall would have everyone in a frenzy state. Though I imagine they’d be more concerned with the idea of you taking his clothes off rather than putting them on. There are a lot of Scisaac shippers.” “You’ll put me on your tombstone? That’s the sweetest thing someone’s ever done for me,” Isaac joked. Derek rescued him from joining Deucalion and fed and clothed him, but that was more out of duty as an alpha than compassion. He hadn’t encountered much where he was from, but he knew that eventually Scott would take him in. He didn’t have much to go on with Ms. McCall other than a few trips to the ER, and Scott’s revelation that in his future he had a mother figure again was the closest thing to something sweet that had been done for him in recent memory - that and Kira helping him calm down after he was zapped. “Is there anyone they don’t ship together?” Isaac asked, brow furrowing as he tried to remember all the different ships he had seen. Scott/Allison. Stiles/Derek. Peter/Derek. Derek/Happiness. Stiles/Lydia. Scott/Kira. Isaac/Allison. Etc. Etc. Etc. “Yep, and people will muddle my memory with you and leaves scarves at my gravesite in my honor. I’ll be known as the scarf diva,” she responded, teasing. She’d stopped massaging now, dropping one elbow to her knee and resting her cheek on the upright hand, making sure her hair fell to the other side of her arm so that it wasn’t over his face. “But really, I’m totally the sweetest. It’s a fact.” Kira laughed at that. “Not really, no. They even ship some of us with inanimate objects. Isaac/Scarf, for example. We’ve a very dedicated fanbase.” “You’ve really put some thought into this, haven’t you?” Isaac laughed, reaching up and tugging at one of the loose ends that was trailing down near his face. “There are worse people you could be muddled with. Imagine being lumped with Kali by some freak accident and everyone kept leaving nail clippers by your grave.” He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head so it was against her knee. “You’re pretty high up there on the sweet list,” he conceded. The truth was that there weren’t many others that could give her a run for her money. He had his pack and stuck to them, and ‘sweet’ wasn’t a world normally associated with a group of teenagers who had furry problems. “Isaac/Scarf is a pretty legit one. I ship that.” “Please don’t tell me you’re surprised that I spend a decent amount of time thinking about what will happen after I die,” she said, laughing. Her morbidity certainly wasn’t a secret, after all. She wrinkled her nose when he tugged at her new scarf. “Oh god, or Peter. And then they’d leave excessively deep v-necked shirts.” She grinned at his concession, far more pleased by it than even she realized. “I’ll battle royale anyone who says differently,” she said, making a mean face that really was hardly all that intimidating. “It’s probably the most accurate of them all,” she said. Her eyebrows lifted. “Do you want ice cream? Let’s go get ice cream.” “No, the tours were a bit of a giveaway, but that you included me,” Isaac clarified. He pulled a face at Peter’s name. There was no love lost between Isaac and Peter for his death besides the fact that a member of the Hale pack was killed. He had never liked the man and his v-necks, trench coats, and love for saying everything without saying anything at all, and he had been glad to be rid of him. “Just let me know when that happens so I can bring popcorn,” Isaac said, laughing as she pulled a face that was as scary as her attempt at a howl had been the weekend before. “And yes, food’s always a good idea.” He rolled his head around his neck, stretching it from the time it had been resting on her lap, and started towards his dresser to find the wallet he had tossed there after school. “Ice cream or shaved ice?” “Aw, well if I knew you’d take it so well, I’d include you in even more of my death fantasies,” she teased, though affectionately. She laughed at the face he pulled, less of a fan of Peter than he was given that she didn’t have the pack thing holding back her loathing. Plus, she and Lydia were close, and that added a great deal to the situation and the feelings involved. “Will do. I’ll put you on the mailing list,” she responded. When he got up, she stretched her legs out, which had stiffed just a bit at the position, then pushed herself to the edge of the bed, standing to join him. “Doesn’t matter. I’m flexible. Buyer’s choice,” she said, offering a wink at the end. Isaac found his wallet and turned around just in time to catch the wink Kira tipped in his direction. “Alright, I think I can cover you,” he rolled his eyes slightly, but didn’t argue. He didn’t mind spending money on other people, especially when treats were in the picture, and it was always just the right weather for ice cream and shaved ice. “Cute as it looks, the sweater has to stay here,” Isaac said, trying not to smirk too much as his cardigan attempted to swallow Kira whole as she stretched. “A bet’s a bet, Kira.” “I’ll cover you next time, I promise,” she said, crossing her heart with a finger. And she would, too. Kira was an independent lady, after all, and she valued equality too much to give into those ridiculous stereotypes of the men always paying. Besides, they weren’t dating. Of course, her words also implied future moments like these, which was more of a subconscious thing than anything and something that actually escaped her notice. At his words, she pouted at him playfully, pulling the cardigan off begrudgingly and tossing it at him lightly. “I don’t want your silly cardigan anyway, Lahey,” she said, but was all-smiles again quickly enough. She rearranged her new scarf proudly, even arrogantly, pulling her bag back across her chest. “Lead on, pup.” |