Derek was starting to wonder where his beta had gone off to. Isaac didn't generally stay out this late or go somewhere without telling Derek. He kept telling Isaac he didn't need to ask him for permission to go out places but Isaac never listened and told Derek anyway. So he continued reading on the couch until he heard the door creak open.
Some shuffling followed and soon Derek can see Isaac hobbling over to the spiral staircase. Trying to sneak in? Derek thought as he watches Isaac. He may have let him go upstairs in peace had it not been for the overpowering smell of pain that was coming off Isaac. Derek is concerned so he clears his throat. "Isaac? Where have you been?" Derek asks. Isaac nearly jumps out of his own skin at the sound of Derek's voice. "Oh hi Derek. I uh didn't see you there. I was just um-" Isaac stutters and then grabs his side with a gasp. He keeps his eyes trained on the ground as Derek gets up and approaches him. "Isaac what happened? You're hurt" Derek asks with a slightly gentler voice. "It's nothing. I just uh was-" Isaac voice is shaking as he tries to avoid Derek's concerned gaze. "Let me see Isaac." Derek commands.
Isaac finally lifts his gaze to meet Derek's. Derek is shocked by what he sees. Isaac has a black eye forming, a split lip, and a gash over his right eye. Derek's hand reaches out to inspect the gash but Isaac turns away from his touch. "Who did this Isaac?" Derek is now angry at the idea of someone hurting gentle and quiet Isaac. "Some guys from school. It was nothing they were talking about my dad and how he uh…how he didn't love me. I told them to stop and then they starting beating me up. I didn't want to wolf out on them and reveal myself so I just took the punches and kicks" Isaac finally tells Derek the whole story. Derek wants to break those kids in half but then notices Isaac clutching his side. "Lift your shirt" Derek tells Isaac. Isaac fumbles for the hum of his loose t-shirt. Derek realizes Isaac is shaking like a leaf after what happened. Derek then reaches out and grabs the edge of the shirt for Isaac. He lifts it tenderly exposing Isaac's pale but toned abdomen which is now covered with bruises. Derek knows the bruises won't last long so puts Isaac's shirt back down.
Isaac is still shaking. "Hey are you okay? Are you cold?" Derek asks gently. Isaac averts his eyes to the ground again and mumbles, "it's just that no one…that no one has ever cared about me getting beat up before". Derek can't believe what he hears. It hadn't really occurred to him that Isaac had never had anyone. His mom was dead, his brother left him, and then his own father beat the crap out of him for pleasure. Now some kids beat him up and brought back old memories of his father but this time Isaac had someone to take care of him. Someone who cared about him.
Suddenly Isaac gasps when Derek is hugging him. Like a full on bear hug that envelops Isaac in Derek's toned arms. It only takes a second for Isaac to melt into Derek's chest. Isaac finally pulls away and is glad to realize his bruises don't hurt nearly as much as they did before and the cuts on his face are gone. I guess that human contact stuff Scott talked about really worked.
"You want to watch a movie or something?" Derek asks as he looks over at Isaac who now is trying to hold back a huge grin. "Okay" Isaac responds quietly before yawning. They aren't ten minutes into the movie when Derek sees Isaac's eyes drooping. A second later, Isaac's head collides with Derek's shoulder as he fell over, asleep. Derek smiles for the first time in days and is perfectly happy finishing the movie with Isaac using him as a pillow.