Isaac goes to school on Monday, but the words his teachers are saying aren't getting through to him. He's got so many words floating around in his head, the words from Melissa, from Jackson, and yes, of course the words that Danny said to him in the hospital. He wants to shake them, but he can't. There's something hanging over his head about all of them, and he's nervous, and scared, but Melissa? She helped him.
Of course he doesn't automatically feel worthy – one conversation, one person telling him that they really care, can't discount years of his father filling his head with worthlessness, but it helped him.
When he goes to Danny's after school, he's practically shaking in his boots, but he's excited. He wants to see his friend, and he wants to know what's going on with Maia.
He's not at all surprised when Jackson answers the door – he's been staying with the Mahealani's, and looking after Danny while they monitor Maia at the hospital. Isaac thinks maybe he misread Jackson, that he's not an asshole all of the time, he just only cares about a few people, and Danny is very clearly one of those people.
"Hey," Jackson says, letting Isaac in.
"Hey, how is he today?"
"A lot better. He's been eating a good amount, and he's not in as much pain, the meds from the hospital are dealing with a lot of it."
"Good, good." Isaac nods.
"Alright, well right now he's in bed watching TV, so you can go on up." Jackson nods, staying where he is, because he knows that this is between Isaac and Danny. There's something there, and he doesn't want to get in the way of it. He thinks, despite his better judgment, that they'd be good for each other. He wants Danny to be happy, with someone who won't hurt him, and Isaac? He's not going to hurt him like the other guys have.
"Thanks."
Isaac heads upstairs and knocks on the door, even though it's already slightly ajar.
"Come in!" Danny calls, turning off the television.
"Hey," Isaac says with a smile, coming in.
Danny's face lights up, his dimples all over the place.
"Hey, you," he says, his voice soft, and something inside of Isaac goes fucking crazy for that tone, for those words, said to him.
"Hey yourself," Isaac says, trying not to blush.
"See, you already said that," Danny teases.
"Right, right." Isaac rolls his eyes. "Here, I brought these." He takes a few more cranes out of his backpack, handing them to Danny.
"Jackson and I folded some, too." Danny lifts his own bag. "I think that pushes us to 1000."
"Oh my god!" Isaac's eyes widen. "We did it!"
"Yeah." He nods. "We did. Maia will be so excited."
"How's she doing?" Isaac asks, as he always does.
"Still good, everything's still going well. She's actually…she's gonna come home tomorrow."
"Really?" Isaac's smile is wide, even though it's not his sister – that's just…suck good news. "You should ask your parents to bring home the rest of the cranes from the hospital tonight. We can decorate her room with them."
"Oh, Isaac…" Danny looks at him, tilting his head to the side. "She'd love that."
"Yeah?" Isaac grins. "Well Jackson will help, and I can stay here tonight, I can help, too…I mean, I Don't have to stay the night, I can leave after, I-"
"Isaac," Danny reaches out, taking Isaac's hand. "Stay. Please. I want you here. I…I like it when you're here."
"But Jackson-"
"Jackson doesn't cuddle up with me at night." Danny smiles at him. "Jackson is my best friend, you're…" Danny trails off, because what the hell is Isaac? They share a bed, they curl up together, they kiss, Isaac is always there when Danny needs him, but they don't have any sort of label.
"Okay." Isaac nods, because it doesn't need saying, and he leans in, kissing Danny.
He's missed those lips, and it drives him crazy that he's gotten used to it. He always promised himself he'd never get used to something like this, but he's fallen into it, and now kissing Danny feels as natural as taking Melissa dinner at work, a responsibility that he and Scott now share. He has a brother, he has a maternal figure, and he has Danny.
God, how his life has changed in the last few months.
Danny's fingers tangle in Isaac's hair, and when they pull away from the kiss, those fingers are still there. Danny smiles at him, looking at him like he's something special, and Isaac can't help himself.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Isaac asks, his voice soft, quiet.
"Because," Danny says gently. "You're just…you're not like anyone I've ever met, and I can't believe you're in my life. You're so special, Isaac." Danny's hand moves down to caress Isaac's cheek.
"Danny…"
"No, let me talk."
Isaac shuts up, letting Danny say whatever it is he has to say.
"I've been waiting, because Maia…but she's doing better now, and I just want you to know that when she's home, when things go back to normal, because it's really seeming like they're going to, I still want you to be here."
"What?" Isaac gulps.
Since he's started hanging out with Danny, he's been sure that it would all end when Maia got better, even with whatever it is they've become, but now Danny's saying he wants the opposite of that.
"I really, really care about you, Isaac. I feel like an idiot for not seeing it sooner, for not seeing you sooner. You were barely a blip on my radar for so long, and now you're this…this forceful presence in my life, and if you were gone, there'd be a void, and I don't…I don't want that."
Isaac doesn't know what to say, doesn't know how to respond to that, because honestly, he's not all that sure what it means. He doesn't know how to react to it, doesn't know what to say, he's not even sure what to think, so he just sits there, looking at Danny, his expression unreadable.
"Okay…please say something," Danny says, sounding as nervous as Isaac feels. "Because I just majorly opened up here, and you're being basically silent."
"I just…" Isaac shrugs.
"Oh god." Danny's eyes widen. "God, you don't feel the same at all, I'm so sorry, Isaac, I didn't mean to, I didn't want to make this weird, god, I'm so sorry, I-"
"No, it's not that, it's…" Isaac shifts. "I don't…I'm not…" He doesn't want to open up, to tell Danny all of his issues and his insecurities, because god, that will definitely scare him off, and he doesn't want that. He's between a rock and a hard place here, and Danny's huge brown eyes are making it really difficult to focus right now.
"Isaac, it's okay. You don't have to be anything, I mean…" Danny shrugs. "I didn't mean to pressure you, I just…I want you to know that I care about you. That's all."
Danny's heard the whispers in the hallway, he's heard things about Isaac, and he doesn't know what's true and what's fiction, but he knows enough to know that Isaac has not had it easy. He doesn't want to make things worse.
"I think," Isaac says softly, choosing his words. "That there are some things you need to know about me before we can…before I can…" he trails off, shaking his head. "I really like you, Danny, I really, really like you, I-"
Isaac stops himself, because he's never really let himself admit that, and to say it out loud? It's kind of jarring.
"I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you – and I mean, I don't…I haven't really spent much time with people that I'm attracted to, so I guess I don't have a large pool of options, but I just…this is weird for me, it's new, and it's kind of-"
"Scary?" Danny cuts in.
"Yeah." Isaac nods.
"I remember my first intense crush." Danny smiles. "God, was years ago now, and it's probably nothing like what you're feeling, but…I can relate. It's confusing the first time around, and we did things in sort of a backwards way."
"I just think there are things you need to know about me first," Isaac says softly.
"Okay." Danny nods. "Well, I'm listening."
"I-"
Isaac's just about to say more, though he has no idea where to start, or what to say, when Jackson bursts into the room.
"Isaac, hallway. Now."
There's something in his eyes – maybe anger, and Isaac instantly knows that Jackson's been listening to their conversation. A part of him feels violated, but another part of him feels saved, like Jackson just rescued him from a conversation that he wasn't ready to have.
He nods silently, and gets up, following Jackson in the hallway, and away from Danny, out of earshot.
"What the hell are you thinking?" Jackson hisses, his voice a low whisper. "You were going to tell him!"
"I…I wasn't…I mean, I hadn't really figured out what I was going to say," Isaac admitted.
"I really think I need to be the one to tell him," Jackson says. "We've been friends forever, and I just…I just think that he needs to hear it from me. I thought you were cool with that."
"No, I am, I just…" Isaac shifts. "Jackson, I really like him."
"I know."
"And things with him and Ethan didn't work out because Ethan had the same secret that you and I have."
"And you don't want to put him or yourself through that," Jackson nods. "I get it. But I just don't think that now is the right time."
"I know, I think you're right. I mean, soon, but not…not today, it just…I felt trapped, Jackson."
"I know." Jackson nods. "Look, go back in there, and tell him that you really care about him, but you have some things he needs to know about, but you need more time to sort of…figure out how to say it. He'll respect your honesty, as well as your intent to tell him the truth."
"Yeah?" Isaac bites his lip.
"Yeah." Jackson nods. "And I'll tell him, okay?" He puts his hand on Isaac's shoulder, and it's almost comforting, something that shocks them both. "In the next 48 hours."
"Okay." Isaac nods. "Thank you, Jackson."
"You're welcome, Lahey." Jackson smiles gently. "Now get back in there."
"Okay."
Isaac goes back to Danny's room, biting his lip.
"Hey." He looks at Danny. "Look, I said…I said that there is stuff that you need to know about me, and…what I'm about to ask you is totally…I don't deserve what I'm asking for, but…I don't know how to say what I need to say, and I would like a couple of days to form my thoughts? I want you to know, I want to be honest with you, because I really do care about you, Danny. I just…I need a little more time. Like, a week. Tops."
"Okay." Danny smiles gently at him. "I can give you that, if it's what you need to be honest with me. I don't like secrets, and I don't like lies, so I really appreciate you taking the time to figure out how to say what it is you need to say. I would hate to force something out of you that's tough for you to say."
"I…thank you." Isaac lowers his head, unable to look at Danny right now. "Can…can I still help you decorate Maia's room?"
"Of course." Danny smiles. "I want you to stay over still, too. I can wait a week, Isaac, I really can. Something tells me you're worth the wait."
"I…I don't know about that," Isaac mutters.
"Well, I do."
Isaac just smiles gently and looks up at Danny, walking over to the bed and kissing him.
"Thank you."
"Any time."
Danny puts his arm around Isaac, and they lie like that, not saying anything, not sleeping, just being with each other, because it's what they're best at, and it's what they both need. It's comfortable, and Isaac's nervous as hell about what's coming, but at least right now, he's content.
A/N Okay...I know I said there wouldn't be any more updates the rest of the week, but I've just had CRAZY drive to write lately (don't know if it's all the support i'm getting, or just an overloaded writing muse after being really sick). Either way, thanks so much for reading! You guys are the bomb! On a slightly different note - I wanted to create a playlist for this story, so if you guys have any song ideas that you think would be good for it, that would be great! I listen to music while I write, and it would help a lot to have a playlist tailored to the stories I'm writing specifically! Thanks again, and I hope that you guys are liking the way the relationship is shaping up!
That was a really long Author's Note. I'm sorry! Thanks guys! Love you all!