When teenagers hit a point of maturity, both physical and emotional, they have a dream - a souldream - presenting to them their soulmate, the person they're supposed to meet, spend the rest of their lives with. Sometimes it's a face, or a name, or an address. Some get lucky enough to get a phone number, some get barely anything at all - the sound of a voice, the title of a movie or a book, an image that needs decoding.

Isaac hears a fucking song. That's it. Just some fucking song he's never heard before, and he's upset, because he was hoping to everything he could hope for, that his dream would be his way out, that it would reveal to him someone that would take him away from all of the pain his father causes him.

But all he has is a fucking song. Nothing more.

Danny gets everything, including instructions. His dream is vivid, a nightmare, which he's never heard of in a souldream, but when he wakes up, he still knows.

In his dream, he sees Isaac, curled up in the freezer, hands tied behind his back, sobbing. And he hears words. "Save him. Then give him time." And then, after all that, he gets the same song that Isaac gets.

Danny wakes up in a cold sweat, takes four deep breaths, and calls the police.

That night, 15 year old Isaac Lahey is pulled, scared and crying, from the freezer by Sheriff Stilinski, as his father is arrested in the next room over.

The call placed to the police, the one that saved Isaac, was anonymous, so the boy doesn't even know who's responsible for the fact that he's safe now, living with a kind, if not slightly eccentric, uncle, also conveniently located in Beacon Hills.

The first thing Isaac does once he has a chance to catch his breath is search the song he heard. Every Lyric, every note of the song is clear as day in his head...except it doesn't exist.

"What do you mean, it doesn't exist?" Jackson asks, frowning at Danny as they search the lyrics his friend heard in his dreams. Of course, Danny left off the rest of the story.

"It doesn't exist," Danny says, moving so that Isaac can see that their search yielded nothing.

"Maybe you heard it wrong?" Jackson asks. "What were the opening lines?"

"For once there is nothing up my sleeve, just some scars from a life that used to trouble me." Danny recites, and he knows it's not wrong. He's played it over and over in his head a million times since that dream.

At first he lay awake hearing it, but as soon as word broke that Isaac had been rescued, that his father had been abusing him for years, and an anonymous tip to the police had ended that for once and for all, he was able to rest easier, and the song was something of a lullaby, because his soulmate was out there, his soulmate was Isaac, but he couldn't just go for it. He had to wait.

And he could. He could wait. He had the song to remind him that he had someone, that he wasn't alone.

"Well, maybe it hasn't come out yet," Lydia stated, tossing her hair over her shoulder, hanging over Jackson to look at the computer screen.

"So you think my dreams just...made up a song?" Danny asks.

"Maybe." Lydia shrugs. "Maybe it's his song. You know how this works, it's not always so cut and dry."

"Yeah," Jackson scoffs. "I just got a passage from The Notebook."

"You were already dating Lydia," Danny says. "It's not the same. You knew it was her before you ever had that dream."

"He got lucky." Lydia smiles. "You'll figure it out. I promise. Just think outside the box. Maybe it's the song that will be playing the first time you meet him, maybe somewhere in the lyrics there are instructions, maybe he wrote it, and it's not on the internet because it's just something he plays in a garage with his band."

"Maybe." Danny shrugs, because he's keeping back the most important part of all of this.

He knows who his soulmate is, and he sees him in the school hallways every day.

"Have you had your dream yet?" Isaac's uncle Ross looks across the table at him over dinner about 4 months after Ross took him in.

"Um, yeah." Isaac nods.

"Any idea who it is?"

"Not a clue." Isaac shakes his head. "All I got was a song, and when I looked it up, I couldn't find anything. Doesn't seem to exist."

"Well that's puzzling," Ross says, a vague smile in place on his face.

"Why are you smiling?" Isaac asks.

"Sometimes the puzzling ones are the most important. Sure, it's nice and easy getting a face, or a name, or an address, but something like a song? Something you have to figure out is sort of invaluable, because you'll spend a lot more time trying to figure out who your person is before you meet them that way. You're not just scanning crowds for a familiar face."

"I guess so." Isaac shrugs.

"I'll bet whoever it is, they're the one that called the police," Ross states.

"What?" Isaac frowns.

"Just seems poetic." Ross shrugs. "It would make sense for your soulmate to be the one to save you."

"I guess." Isaac honestly hadn't thought of that before, that whoever he's supposed to spend the rest of his life with may have been the one to call in the tip, that there may already be someone out there looking out for him.

"What about your soulmate?" Isaac asks, wanting to turn the subject off of him.

"He's dead," Ross admits.

"Oh...my god, I'm so sorry."

"No, it's alright. We had 25 years together." Ross smiles at the memory. "He died, and that's it for me. I wouldn't trade the 25 years I had with Michael for a lifetime with anyone else, and hey, maybe it was for a reason. Maybe it's so I can take care of you."

Isaac smiles sadly at that, and looks back down at his plate, because of all of the things that have happened to him in his life, it seems like living with Ross is the first truly good one in years, and maybe he's right. Maybe the song is a good thing, Isaac's just not quite sure how yet.

When people first dream about their soulmates, sometimes that means it will take only hours before they realize who it is, sometimes, it takes years, and there's almost never anything in the dream that tells you which is which, but there is a right time.

Your soulmate could be someone you've known your whole life, and you can see them every day, even after the dream, and not know it until the time is right.

That's how it is for Isaac.

He's on the lacrosse team, he sees Danny every day, and even when Danny catches his eye and smiles (because he smiles at everyone) he doesn't feel anything special, and doesn't know to look for that special feeling, because he doesn't know who his soulmate is, and Danny? He keeps his distance. He's not sure when he'll know to stop giving Isaac time, but it doesn't feel right. Not yet.

"How goes the pursuit of happiness?" Jackson asks as he and Danny sit across the kitchen table from each other, doing homework after practice.

"I'm just sort of letting it work itself out," Danny says with a shrug.

"Okay, what gives?" Jackson asks. "You've been talking pretty much nonstop about who your soulmate might be since we LEARNED about the souldreams, and now you've had yours, and you're just giving up because you don't know the song?"

"I'm not giving up, I'm just letting it work itself out," Danny says again.

"Uh huh." Jackson narrows his eyes, closing his textbook. "See, I know you, Danny, and I know you're smart, and I also know you're obsessed with finding the one, so stop bullshitting me, either you're still looking into it and you just don't want to seem so damn obsessed, or you've already figured it out."

Danny can't hide the slight smile, because he's known since he had the dream - he's one of the lucky few that not only got a face, but got the face of someone he knew. He recognized Isaac from school, of course, but that was the point. His souldream saved Isaac's life, and right now, he's the only one that knows that.

"Oh my god, you figured it out!" Jackson's eyes widen. "Who is it? Is it someone we know?!"

"I..." Danny sighs. "Look, if I tell you, you have to promise to keep it a secret. From everyone. Including Lydia."

"You know I can't lie to her."

"Fine," Danny amends his statement. "Everyone aside from Lydia."

"Deal." Jackson nods.

"I...wasn't fully honest about my souldream the first time around..." Danny trails off, trying to think of the best way to phrase things before explaining to Jackson the entire souldream.

"Wait, wait..." Jackson looks at him in disbelief. "Lahey? Really?"

"Yeah." Danny nods. "But I have to give him time, so I'm just...waiting."

"How will you know when the time is right?" Jackson asks, frowning. "Does he know it's you?"

"I don't think he knows, and I think the song is the key to knowing when the time is right. Maybe we'll be in the same place, and it will come on, or something, I don't know, but I'll know, and then it will be...you know, I think it'll make sense."

"Wow." Jackson let out a low whistle. "Lahey. I just did not see that coming."

"He's not who I would have guessed, but he's cute, and I don't really know him, but if he's my soulmate, I mean, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Dude, you saved his life," Jackson states. "That's probably the most fucking romantic souldream story I've heard yet. You should submit it to lifetime or something, see if they'll make a movie about you guys."

"Shut up." Danny sighs. "What he went through isn't something to capitalize on."

"Right, sorry." Jackson clears his throat. "So what, you just...do nothing until the song tells you?" Jackson asks.

"Pretty much." Danny nods. "I keep an eye on him. I saved him, now I have to give him time. If I go before he's ready, it could ruin everything. He's got a lot of recovering to do."

"Fair enough." Jackson nods. "Can't argue with that."

Danny goes back to studying, and Jackson lets sleeping dogs lie, because he can't push this. Danny has been waiting so long, so patiently for his souldream, for his mate, and if Danny thinks he's content to wait a little longer, well, Jackson isn't going to be the one to push him.

But nothing happens.

They turn 16, they turn 17, and still, Danny hasn't done anything at all, at least not as far as Jackson can see.

What he doesn't know is that Danny has been keeping close tabs on Isaac, and he's noticed everything. He's noticed that Isaac doesn't eat alone anymore, that he eats with Scott and Stiles, and as weird as those two are, they make Isaac smile, and that makes Danny happy, especially because he knows that Scott and Stiles haven't found their soulmates yet, either, and seem perfectly happy. If they can be happy, he can be too, besides, he knows who his is.

Isaac, however, isn't so much patient as he hasn't really been looking.

He's had a lot going on in the last couple of years, and between therapy, and trying to make friends, and pull his life together, trying to find his soulmate through one fucking song hasn't really been at the top of his list. Everyone knows that you'll know when the time is right, and maybe the time just isn't right for him yet. He'll feel it when he does.

"It's just a song," he moans, burying his head in his hands. "I've told you a million times."

"A song that doesn't exist, right?" Scott asks.

"Right." Isaac nods.

"Well how long has it been since you checked?" Stiles asks.

"I don't know, a year maybe?"

"Seriously?" Stiles sighs. "If it were me, I'd be checking that shit neurotically! You have a whole SONG, all I have is a fucking leather jacket. Do you know how many people wear leather jackets? Spoiler alert? It's one HELL of a lot."

"You think I should look again?" Isaac asks.

"Yes!" Scott and Stiles say in unison.

"Okay…" Isaac pulls up google and types in the first lines of the song.

And this time, something pops up.

Isaac has searched this song a million and one times, and he's never gotten anything, and now there are a ton of things, all telling him the song is called Sight of the Sun, and it's by a band called Fun.

"PLAY IT!" Stiles practically shrieks in his ear, as Isaac does just that.

"Oh...my god." He gulps, his heart racing. "This...this is it. This is the song."

"This is great." Stiles smiles, watching the look on Isaac's face. He's in awe.

He's heard this song in his head every fucking day for the last two years, but it didn't exist, and now it's real, and even after Scott and Stiles go home, he can't stop thinking about what that means.

"So that's the song, huh?" Uncle Ross listens to it, nodding. "I like it."

"Yeah." Isaac nods. "Me too."

"What do you think it means?"

"I don't know," Isaac admits. "But it's nice to know it's real now."

"Yeah." Ross puts his arm around Isaac. "Hey, don't rush it, but this is an important step, and I'm glad you got it."

"Yeah." Isaac nods. "Me too."

Isaac falls asleep listening to the song on a loop, and it's the first night since he was a kid that he doesn't have nightmares. There is no essence of his father looming over him in his sleep, no horrible dreams of waking up locked in the fridge, screaming his brains out because he's trapped back in that personal version of hell again.

It's a peaceful sleep, and when his alarm clock goes off at 7 AM, Isaac wakes up stunned.

After that, the song becomes like a lullaby to him, too. He listens to it when he goes to sleep, and the nightmares disappear almost completely. He can finally get a good night's sleep, finally feels rested, and that doesn't go unnoticed. The bags under his eyes are almost completely gone, and Danny doesn't say anything, but he takes note of how much better, healthier, Isaac looks, though he's not sure of the reason.

Danny turns 18, and a few weeks later, so does Isaac. Their senior year is afoot, and Danny is hoping that the time is soon, because it's going to be a whole lot harder to keep tabs on Isaac from different colleges, and he somehow doubts that Isaac is checking out the same technical schools as he is.

"Hey." Danny sits down in the locker room next to Isaac, lacing his shoes back up after practice, getting ready to go home. "Thought about college yet?" he asks, picking probably the most common small talk amongst seniors, glad that no one will see through his questions.

"Um, yeah, I guess so." He nods. "I want Pitzer, stay in california, you know, but it's a good school." He shrugs. "My counselor thinks I can get in. She says my grades are good enough, and my test scores are high enough. She thinks I should write my essay on my dad, but...I'm not so sure."

"Ah." Danny nods. "Well, best of luck to you," he says with a smile, grabbing his things.

And that night Harvey Mudd moves to the top of Danny's list. Still a technical school, but it shares campus with Pitzer, and the other Claremont Colleges.

What he doesn't understand is how Isaac doesn't see it, doesn't feel it. When Danny so much as looks at him, he feels a pull, a tugging of longing for the other man, and it's growing stronger by the day. It used to barely be a blip on his radar, and now it physically hurts to be around him, because he wants so much more.

Not three weeks later, he finally hears the song.

Jackson is driving Danny home from practice (his car was in the shop), playing a mix Lydia put on his iPod for him.

"Stop the car," Danny screams as the song starts. "Pull over, pull over, pull over."

"What's wrong?" Jackson screeches the car to a halt. "What is it?"

"That's the song," Danny breathes. "Jackson, this is it."

"Holy shit, are you kidding?" Jackson turns to look at him. "You're sure?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? Of course I'm sure!"

"Okay...what...what now?" Jackson asks.

"Isaac's house, go. Now. Please."

"In this one instance, you are the boss."

"Thanks."

They drive to Isaac's house, and Danny's not sure, but he hopes he's home. Isaac had a head start, he and Jackson went for pizza after practice ended.

"Okay, just turn it up, all the way," Danny instructs as they pull up to the house where Isaac lives with Ross. "Windows down."

"Yessir." Jackson does as he's told, and Danny gets out of the car, standing by it awkwardly, hoping to god that this isn't a mistake.

"TURN THAT DOWN!" Isaac's neighbor is the first person to come out, and well, it's not that surprising, because Jackson's Porsche is tricked out with awesome speakers.

Danny looks nervously at the neighbor, but Jackson gets out of the car.

"Hey," he goes up to the old woman. "Just once through with the song. Soulmate stuff."

"Oh." The woman frowns, as though she can't possibly understand what this has to do with soulmates, but she lets it go.

"Isaac!" Ross runs to his nephew's room and yanks the headphones from his ears. "Come downstairs."

"What?" Isaac looks at his uncle, bewildered, before the familiar sound of the song - his song - fills the room. At first, he thinks it's coming from the headphones lying on his desk, but after a moment, it's clear it's outside.

"Oh my god." Isaac gulps. "Is that…"

"YES!" Ross nods. "GO!"

"Oh god." Isaac seizes up. "What...what do I do, I don't...is someone out there?"

"Yes." Ross nods. "And he's HANDSOME."

"Oh god, I can't." Isaac shakes his head. "I can't do it."

"He clearly knows it's you, kid," Ross smiles. "He's going to find you anyways, you might as well, you know, not leave him in the lurch."

"Oh...god, right." Isaac nods. "How do I look?"

"You look great," Ross says, and he's only half lying. Isaac's just out of the shower, curls still damp, wearing ratty lacrosse sweats and a Bastille t-shirt, but somehow, Ross doesn't think his nephew's soulmate will care.

"Okay." Isaac goes downstairs, slowly, holding the railing, his entire being shaking because he's nervous.

When he opens the front door, he almost runs right back inside, because there are so many people on their street out standing on their porch...and then he sees who's leaning against the car, and it just clicks.

"Danny?" Isaac walks towards him, and Jackson cuts the music.

"Hi." Danny smiles.

"It's you?" He asks.

Danny nods.

"Oh my god, I mean, of course it is, but...how...how did you know? All I've had is this song, this damn fucking song for years and years and years, and I found it a couple of months ago I guess, but…"

"I got more," Danny cuts him off. "When we were 15, I got your face, I got the song."

"When we were 15?" Danny asks. "Then why didn't you-"

"I got instructions to give you time," he says softly.

"And you gave me 3 years?" he asks.

"You needed it."

"I did, but I…" he trails off. "Oh my god. It was you."

"What was?" Danny asks.

"You called the police on my father." He says those words with absolute certainty, and there's absolutely no doubt in his mind, not know that he's looking his soulmate right in those beautiful brown eyes.

"Oh." Danny bites his lip, because honestly, he wasn't really expecting to have to face this one just yet. "Yeah, my dream...I saw you…" he trails off, because he can't say it. That image, of Isaac locked in the freezer, crying, is locked in his mind, it's the one that he's been comparing Isaac too every single day for almost 3 years, searching for comparisons, to see how much the young man is improving.

"You saved my life," Isaac says softly.

Danny shrugs, because he's knows it's not meaningless, and it also may be true, but he just doesn't feel right saying anything about it.

"Thank you." Isaac bows his head, curls falling over his face. "I...thank you."

"You're welcome." Danny reaches out, taking one of Isaac's hands, being sure to be gentle, because the soulmate bond...it doesn't always mean love at first realization. Sometimes, the love comes slow, and he's had years to fall in love with Isaac, but Isaac's just now getting started.

"So it's you?" Isaac asks, looking back up at those soft brown eyes.

"Yeah." Danny smiles. "It's me, and I promise - we'll go slow, whatever you need, just know that whatever it takes, I'm here for you. I'll keep you safe."

Isaac can't find the words, so he launches himself into Danny's arms, and Danny catches him, holding him tight, close, and people are cheering, Jackson's whooping, but it's all tuned out, because this, them, it's right, and they may still have a long road ahead of them, but Isaac has finally found his soulmate, the person who will be there for him for the rest of his life, and right then, in Danny's arms, he finally feels safe.

A/N This was written for Mahealahey fic week on tumblr, day 1 - soulmate AU! I hope you enjoyed it! The song used was indeed Sight of the Sun by Fun. And I know that the release date of the song doesn't really line up with the fic, but it is my number one mahealahey ship song, so I just had to use it!