Request: Isaac gets de-aged (to around 6ish) and Derek has no idea what to do, so he calls Stiles for help. But tiny Isaac doesn't really trust Stiles that much.
A/N: this takes place when Derek is still the Alpha so obviously it's way before when Derek himself got de-aged so Stiles is surprised at this turn of events. Also since Isaac is a young kid, his mood and allegiance changes in the blink of an eye.
"Stiles, get to the loft, now," a gruff voice said in Stiles's ear. And before Stiles could even ask what the hell was going on, Derek hung up.
"Rude," he mumbled to himself. But, Derek never really called and was always hesitant to ask for help so Stiles knew he had to go. Just a quick text to Scott, to make sure his friend knew where he'd be in case he went missing. They didn't really trust Derek but considering that they were still up against the Kanima and now that Kate's dad was in town, they needed to band together. Just… just as long as Derek isn't going to ask him to sever a limb again- Stiles had gross dreams for a week after that! He scooped up his keys and climbed into the Jeep, hoping that this didn't take too long, he still had homework after all.
When he opened the door to the loft, Stiles didn't immediately register what was wrong, although Isaac must have something to do with it since Derek was calling his name.
"Isaac, where are you? Come out now please," he pleaded, crouching down to look under the table in the kitchen.
"Dude, why is Isaac hiding… wait, why would he be under the table? And why don't you just… you know… Wolf-y senses…? Can't be that hard to find him when he's the only other beating heart in the loft…" Stiles asked, dumbfounded by seeing Derek so out of sorts.
"Close the door before he runs out!"
Stiles jumped at the harsh tone but quickly closed the loft door, just as he heard the pitter patter of bare feet running across the wooden floors. It wasn't like Isaac couldn't just bowl him over and open the door himself right? Just then, a young boy leapt over the back of the couch, curly hair bouncing. "Oh shi- is that Isaac?!"
At the sound of his voice, Isaac slid to a stop and looked up at him, eyes glowing amber. "Stranger!" he shrieked, growling and shifting.
"Isaac, no! We don't hurt Humans," Derek admonished, grabbing the little boy around his waist and lifting him into the air.
"I… what?" was all Stiles could say, his brain actually failing him for once. There was no doubt that the struggling child in Derek's hands was Isaac but… "How?"
"I have no idea, we were in here training and all of a sudden, poof, Isaac is small…"
"Poof as in there was a cloud of smoke?"
Derek rolled his eyes, "No, nothing so dramatic. He kinda clutched his stomach and said he felt really funny, then he collapsed onto the floor, passed out. Just like that, he started shrinking! I've never seen this happen before… I have no idea…"
"Did he remember you at all? I mean, how come he thinks I'm a stranger but he's okay with you?" This wasn't even fair… well okay… maybe he and regular sized Isaac weren't on the best of terms but there was no reason for kid Isaac to hate him… Kids usually loved him! "And more importantly, does he remember that he's supposed to be… bigger?"
"Well, kind of… obviously he was just… physically de-aged because he's still a Werewolf, because he didn't revert back to being a Human, he hasn't actually been forced into his own past self. And no he doesn't re- will you stop squirming?!" Derek growled out all of a sudden.
"Stranger!" Isaac said again, howling out for the rest of his Pack. They needed to get the interloper out of their den!
"Stop, Erica and Boyd aren't here right now! And he's not a stranger, his name is Stiles, he's- um, a friend," Derek explained. He'd almost called him Pack, but that would have been lie and Stiles would have probably denied it anyways. Which would have confused Isaac even more.
Isaac wrinkled his nose, finally holding still, "St…Stiles?"
"Oh come on, it isn't that weird- you should hear my real name if you think Stiles is bad," he muttered to himself. "Derek, why the hell did you call me?! I thought you didn't need my help with anything…"
"I can't… get a hold of Erica and Boyd… and Scott ignores all my calls anyways. I don't… I can't take care of a kid! I don't know what I'm doing…" Isaac had resumed his struggle to get away from Derek and the Alpha was obviously afraid of hurting the small Beta… but that meant his grip wasn't firm and he'd just about dropped him on his head once already. Wow, little children certainly were agile, especially Were children. Certainly he hadn't been this bad when he was small.
Stiles was about to tell the Alpha he could stick it where the sun doesn't shine but then he noticed the absolute look of desperation on Derek's face and he sighed. "Has he even eaten anything, is he hungry?"
"I don't… are you hungry Isaac? If I put you down, are you going to be nice?"
"Food!"
"That's a yes. Now what does baby Isaac like…" Stiles wondered to himself, heading into the kitchen. "Better question… what does Derek even have to eat…"
"I have food!" Derek scoffed, setting his Beta down.
"I'm not a baby!" Isaac growled, flashing his amber eyes again.
"Sorry, toddler Isaac then," Stiles amended while looking through the fridge. "Dude, do you have cereal? Is this milk still good? How does cereal sound Isaac?"
Isaac crossed his arms and refused to answer. Stiles was a stranger, regardless of what Alpha said and Isaac wasn't supposed to talk to strangers. Besides, he'd just called Isaac a baby, so obviously he wasn't to be trusted!
Derek reached over and slapped the back of Isaac's head which promptly made Isaac cry. He looked on, surprised, when Isaac crouched down in fear and scooted towards Stiles. Didn't he not trust Stiles?
"Why'd you hit him?! Dude, not cool, he's like… 6! C'mere Isaac," Stiles called out, crouching down. Isaac took a few steps towards him and then remembered that he wasn't Pack and froze, uncertain, with tears streaming down his cheeks. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you, Derek is the one that hits children apparently," he commented, glaring up at the Alpha.
Isaac hiccupped and wiped his face, amazed that Stiles wasn't afraid of the Alpha. Cautiously he took a few more steps towards Stiles. Alphas were scary when they were mad and Isaac didn't want to get punished… was Stiles really a safer choice though? The fear of getting smacked again outweighed his fear of a stranger, especially when he heard the Alpha shifting behind him. So he ran into Stiles's arms.
"I didn't even…. It was barely a tap… I… ugh," Derek huffed. This is why he'd called someone- he didn't know how to handle kids! His Betas were old enough to understand a light cuff on the back of the head, and he'd automatically did the same to this younger version of Isaac. Clearly that had been a mistake.
Stiles ignored him though, turning to Isaac, "So, is cereal okay? I found some Frosted Flakes."
"Okay," Isaac mumbled, still nervous about being this close to a non Packmate. When Stiles reached out to ruffle his hair, Isaac growled lightly and ducked away before going pale and looking at the ground, scared again. He wasn't supposed to be mean to the Human and Stiles had said he wouldn't hurt him at all so growling was probably bad.
Carefully Stiles reached out and ruffled Isaac's curls, just to show him what he'd been planning to do. After the gentle touch, the little boy looked up at him, surprised. Stiles smiled to himself at the change in attitude. Tiny Isaac was exactly the same as big Isaac, tough on the outside but scared and nervous on the inside, not used to a gentle touch. He led Isaac over to the table and set a bowl down for him as he climbed into a chair. Then he poured out some cereal and checked the milk before adding it. "Let me know if you want more okay, don't be afraid to ask for seconds."
"Th-thank you," Isaac mumbled, scooping some cereal into his mouth. Were… were Humans okay? His Wolf bristled because he didn't smell like Pack but Alpha said he was a friend and even though he'd just growled at him, Stiles hadn't hit him. He really wasn't sure how to feel right now but he was hungry so he ate his cereal.
Derek stood there quietly, amazed that Stiles had adapted to this situation so quickly. It had taken him a full 20 minutes to say anything to Isaac (who had been crying then too, probably in confusion), unsure what to expect. Thankfully he recognized that Derek was his Alpha, and that he knew he had two other Packmates but, that was about it. It was weird that, while Isaac remained a Wolf, instead of reverting back to his old self… he was still a child mentally. He didn't remember Scott or Stiles, he didn't remember he was really 16, he acted and spoke like he was really 6 right now. He'd never seen or heard anything like it.
Now that Isaac was eating, Stiles went back over to Derek, "So, options?"
"Only thing I can think of is a Witch, but I have no idea how or why… we haven't seen any in Beacon Hills and I know Isaac couldn't have come across one on his own. So why was he targeted?"
"What about Faeries? They are known to cause mischief, right? They'd have less of a reason for picking Isaac specifically."
"I haven't heard of any Faeries in town either… that's the thing… I have no idea how this happened so I have no idea how to fix it…"
"Let's take him to Deaton then," Stiles offered. Deaton was supposed to be the expert here.
"NO! Don't take me away!" Isaac screamed out, leaping from his chair to attack Stiles's knees. "Alpha, don't let him take me!" he cried, slapping and scratching Stiles's legs. Humans weren't to be trusted after all!
"Ow, stop it you little knee-biter! Ow! OWW! Get him offff!" Stiles yelled, stumbling backwards. Those little claws were sharp!
"Isaac calm down, he wasn't going to take you away, Deaton is a friend too. He's a doctor, and he'd make sure that you are okay." Derek tried to grab Isaac but the little toddler had scooted out of reach.
"Okay? Why wouldn't I be okay?" he asked, backing away further. Isaac didn't feel sick, why would he need to see a doctor? He whimpered as he noticed the blood on his fingertips and the slashes in Stiles's pants. Afraid that the Alpha would punish him, Isaac ran up the spiral stairs and stuffed himself under the bed.
"Oh… dammit!" Derek growled, hurrying up after him.
"Wow that stings…" Stiles sighed, rolling up his jeans to get a look at his shins. "Derek you owe me a pair of pants, he's your Beta!"
"Not now Stiles!"
The teen made a mock face and went back into the kitchen, wetting a clean dish towel so he could dab at his legs.
Upstairs, Derek was down on his stomach, trying to coax Isaac out from under the bed, "Come on, you're okay."
"I hurt him… and you're mad!"
"Yes, well no… I'm not mad, I'm frustrated, it's different. And you were scared, you thought he was talking about taking you away from me, your Alpha. But Stiles isn't seriously hurt-"
"How would you know, you didn't even check on me!" Stiles stated, coming up the stairs, still wiping his legs. "For all I know they won't be able to save my legs from the extensive damage and they're gonna have to chop them off!"
Derek rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw, "Stiles, be quiet!"
Isaac whimpered, hearing the anger in the Alpha's voice.
"Oh calm down, I was just kidding, I mean, I'm bleeding a bit but that should stop soon enough. My pants took most of the damage anyways. Come on out bud, I'll make sure Derek doesn't punish you, it was an honest mistake. But next time, can we not attack the fragile Human please?"
"Y-y-you aren't mad?" Isaac asked in a whisper.
"No, I was mostly just surprised. It hurts but I've had worse, and I'll heal eventually. Derek, stop glaring, how is the poor kid supposed to believe me that he's not in trouble when you're looking at him like that?!"
"What? I'm not glaring… I just… this is my face!" Derek huffed and got up off of the floor. "There, I'm not 'glaring' at him anymore."
"Dude, I understand that your face just does that… aggressive look," Stiles said, gesturing to all of Derek's face. "But remember, you're dealing with a kid right now and your face looks super harsh. Plus… you did hit him-"
"Not even that hard, like I said, I didn't think… I won't do that again."
Stiles smiled and crouched down, looking under the bed, "Hear that? He said he wasn't going to do that anymore, so it's okay to come out now. Why not go back downstairs and finish your cereal, okay?"
Slowly, Isaac scooted closer to the edge of the bed and crawled out, nervously looking between the two adults.
"Go on and finish your lunch Isaac," Derek told him. They watched as he scurried back down to the kitchen and quietly sat at the table, finishing what was in his bowl.
"Seriously, until this is fixed, you can't be a Sourwolf around him, alright? I know you might have a hard time but, gentle touches, okay? No loud voices, no snarling. You're just gonna make the kid scared of you. Can you do that?"
"Wait, are you leaving already?!" Derek asked, eyes widening in fear.
Stiles held up a hand, "I just need to go see Deaton, see if he has any books on this. If Isaac is too nervous to leave the loft, I'll bring the research here instead. I'll only be like… an hour, tops. Trust me, no way am I leaving tiny Isaac in your hands… you almost dropped him on his head earlier!"
"He wouldn't stop squirming! It isn't my fault I don't know how to hold a kid…."
"Well then you better learn, don't you think? There is no telling how long he might be stuck like this," Stiles stated, hands on his hips. "Think you can handle him for an hour?"
Derek rolled his eyes, "Yea, we'll be fine, just hurry. And here… buy some kid snacks or whatever- for Isaac, not you!" Derek reached into his pocket, fishing some money out of his wallet for Stiles.
"I would never!" Stiles shrieked, looking offended. "Accusing me of taking food from a child's mouth, rude!"
As the two of them went back downstairs and Stiles said a quick goodbye to Isaac, the small Beta turned to Derek. "He's weird…" Isaac had no idea how to feel about the strange Human coming in their den but... he had been nice at least.
Derek smiled, "You don't know how right you are kid."