~15~

They meet at lacrosse try-outs sophomore year. It was one of those things where they had both tried out their freshman year but didn't remember seeing each other. It was strange — Beacon Hills was a town where everyone basically knew each other if not of each other. Coach Finstock pairs them up in an effort to keep Stiles and Scott from making a mess of his try-outs two years in a row.

There's something in Scott's easy going smile…something that clicks. Isaac doesn't like the guy all that much but…well, let's just say he doesn't hate him either.

Isaac notices him from then on. Scott remains oblivious to the fact that anything has changed.

That is… until they've both received the bite and are once again paired up to protect Beacon Hills from the Kanima. That was the night Isaac notices Scott's brown eyes are just as hard to forget as his smile.

~22~

When Scott and Allison break up the second time, nobody expects it to last. The hunter and the teen wolf are their own twisted version of Romeo and Juliet.

No one was more surprised than Isaac when Scott showed up at his doorstep one winter morning and kissed him senseless. Their lips molded together, their breath hot as Scott seemed to be trying to steal a piece of Isaac for himself. When they eventually pulled apart, both their eyes glowing, Isaac tilted his head in questioning.

He got a bashful smile from Scott as the boy explained that he had been wanting to do that for a long time. He quickly apologized and began to back out of the entrance to Isaac's apartment. Isaac grabbed a hold of Scott's t-shirt and yanked him close again, grinning playfully.

"Don't apologize."

That's how the two of them started dating — fresh out of college.

~33~

They're 33 when Scott takes Isaac to the park on the anniversary of their first date.

They've been married for five years and Scott is surprisingly a sap when it comes to romance. (On their first anniversary, he decked out their entire room in red roses and had white win and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries waiting for Isaac when he got home from work.) He tells Isaac it's because his dad never did anything nice for his mom, so he wants to be sure and not let history repeat itself.

Still, Isaac isn't sure what they're doing sitting on a bench at a children's playground. He glances at his husband and Scott grins back.

"I want one."

Isaac blinks and then follows Scott's line of sight. Little kids playing on the jungle gym. His eyes widen and he turns his head back to Scott, who is looking back at him expectantly.

"A kid?"

"A pup…" Scott corrected.

"A pup?" Isaac struggled not to let his voice get too loud.

Scott bit his lip and nodded. "I was talking to Derek…the pregnant Omega from the other day… she wants to give her baby up. She wants to give her baby a stable pack life… not a life on the run. I… I think that we'd be good parents to a baby. We both said we wanted to have a big family some day… and we're doing great financially… I just.. I think we're ready, Isaac."

Isaac chewed on his lip for a moment before he smiled widely. The same smile he had given the day Scott showed him that he could take pain away. He laughed, "As scary as the idea sounds… I think you're right."

Scott's eyes lit up. "You mean…?"

Isaac wrapped his arms around Scott's waist — pulling him in close and brushing their lips together in a chaste kiss.

"Let's adopt a baby."

As Fate would have it, the Omega wasn't pregnant with a single pup but with twins. She told Derek and the Pack that she was willing to find another Pack to take the second pup if they did not want both. While surprised, Isaac and Scott decided to adopt both pups — a boy and a girl.

They named them Melody and Reed McCall-Lahey.

~45~

Even though they hadn't discussed it very much, both Scott and Isaac knew the day would come when Scott would take over as Alpha from Derek. They didn't want to think about the day Derek would no longer lead them even if Stiles constantly joked that his sourwolf would never let go of the reigns voluntarily and Scott would need to prepare to pry the position out of Derek's hands. They knew that the time would come one day.

"Derek wants me to deal with the visitors from the pack up in Alaska…to announce me as his successor and all that," Scott announced once morning as he poured himself some coffee in the kitchen.

Isaac looked up from his mug and his copy of the Beacon Hills Gazette. "That's great, isn't it?" he asked, wondering why Scott sounded so distraught.

His husband sighed and ran a hand through his trimmed, ever-greying brown hair. "It would be… if it didn't coincide with Reed's lacrosse game."

"Oh," Isaac put his mug down. "Well…Reed will understand. He knows you have a responsibility to the Pack."

"Reed might understand but he won't exactly be happy and Melody will hate me for missing out on the Father/Daughter bowling game I promised her we would play after the LAX game."

"You're not taking me bowling tomorrow?" Their twelve year-old daughter appeared at the entry way to the kitchen, her brother following close behind. Both of the twins had identical frowns on their faces as they walked in.

Scott sighed, "Mel… I have to deal with Pack business. Remember the visitors from the Alaska pack?"

Melody's eyes flashed with annoyance and she crossed her arms. "That's the Alpha's job…why isn't Uncle Derek doing it?"

"Well, your Dad is going to be the future Alpha… he needs the practice," Isaac offered.

Reed shrugged and passed his sister to sit at the kitchen table. He grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl in the center, tossing it from hand to hand. "It's not like there won't be other games for you to go to Dad…" he bit into his apple to hide his disappointment.

Melody huffed and rolled her eyes. "That is so not the point, Reed. The point is that Dad promised to do something and now he's breaking that promise." She glared at Scott once more before stomping off, ignoring Scott's calls for her.

Scott looked back at his son and husband. Isaac gave him a sympathetic look while Reed fought off a smirk and leaned back in his chair.

"See, Pop? This is why you and Dad should have only adopted one of us. Hint, hint to which twin you should have left with the Omega," Reed placed his feet on the table and pointed at the direction his sister had taken off in.

Isaac gave his son a stern look. "You're not a comedian…don't quit your day job," he gently smacked the back of Reed's head. "Shoes off the table."

Reed pouted and rubbed his head but listened to his Pop and took his feet off of the table and Scott couldn't help but smile.

~67~

"Higher, Poppy! Higher!" squeals their youngest granddaughter, Ylva.

Isaac grins watching as Scott throws her in the air and the rest of their grandchildren crowd around him, tugging at Scott's pant legs begging for a turn. Even their oldest grandson, Connor, at 10 years old wants to be tossed up in the air by their Poppy.

"Dad! Not so high!" Melody cries out as her daughter is once again tossed up into the air. Isaac looks at the she-wolf sitting beside him and smiles, looking down at the infant pup in her arms.

"I remember when you and Reed were that small. Oh, you grow up so fast… it won't be long before this little one isn't so little anymore," Isaac croons, wiggling his finger in front of the baby's face. The little one blinked his green eyes at his PawPaw and extended a tiny hand out to clasp around the finger in front of him.

Melody laughed. "Well, Reed and his wife seem to be ready for baby number four so you'll have your baby fix even when Seth is out of diapers."

Isaac chuckled and kissed the top of his duaghter's head. He glanced across the field at Scott and saw him carrying Ylva and Jacob, the two youngest. Connor and Clair were trying to climb his legs.

Scott — almost sensing his mate's glance — looks up. Their gazes lock and they smile at each other.

"I love you," Isaac mouths.

"I love you too," Scott mouths back before he's tackled by Connor and commences a puppy pile that has everyone laughter.

~99~

The fact that they've survived this long surprises Isaac. He guesses being a werewolf does decrease the risk of dying form illness but still… he knows that a wolf knows when their time is coming to an end. They can sense it in their bones. He's pretty sure that is what he's feeling right now. Scott whines softly in his sleep as if responding to his mate's train of thought. Isaac holds Scott tighter and reflects back on their life together.

How did they get so lucky? He and Scott have been happily married for years. They have two great kids and six beautiful grandchildren (Melody had been right about Reed and his wife getting ready for a fourth child. Little Lyall, however, was no longer very little — she had her 30th birthday two months ago.)

Scott suddenly shifts and snuggles closer, burying his face into his mate's neck. "What are you thinking about?" he murmurs.

Apparently, Scott wasn't as asleep as Isaac thought he was. "How did I get so lucky?" he responds.

Scott snorts. "That's my line."

"I'm serious, though… I'm lucky you love me. From the beginning I always knew you were special… different. I trusted you with my life decisions before I even really knew you. You're just… good. You've blessed me with so much. Thank you," he whispers, stroking Scott's bushy grey hair.

Scott shakes his head. "You'd think I gave you a prize or something. I just… I love you. I've been giving you everything that you deserve. You've gotten nothing but the best because you deserve the best. That's because you are so, so good. You just don't see it… it's my job as your mate to help you feel it even if you don't see it."

Isaac smiles, "Thank you."

Scott, who hasn't bothered to open his eyes up to this point, kisses his husband's neck. "Thank you for letting me love you."

Isaac pulls Scott away and his mate finally opens his brown twinkling eyes — still shining with the same light even after all these years together. They kiss softly; a kiss of comfort and understanding. They both drift off to sleep the same way they have done everything in their lives…

together….

one. last. time.