Ethan/Isaac

Author's Note: So this would have been posted yesterday, except I was feeling a little down yesterday and the plot bunnies have not been cooperative. Hope you enjoy.

The house looked almost the same as it had since the last time he'd been there. The only big difference on the outside was the "For Sale" sign in the front yard. He honestly wasn't too surprised by that. With what had gone on inside those walls and people finding out why the house was for sale, he didn't expect there were too many people who could overlook all the bad memories in there.

He wouldn't have come back himself either. He'd made sure to get all his stuff out of there as quickly as possible, also as discreetly as possible since at the time he'd been a fugitive, so he wouldn't have to come back for anything. After that he'd never thought about coming back.

Except now Ethan was curious and wanted to understand. He wanted to understand why Isaac never talked about his family, why he felt no remorse for his dad's death, and why Isaac felt a strange satisfaction every time he saw his dad's grave. So Isaac had agreed to take him back to his old home, the one he'd never wanted to set foot in again.

Of course, there had been a few more dates between Ethan asking about it and Isaac agreeing to show him. Another trip to the movies, another late night meal after he'd finished working at the cemetery, and a few make-out sessions that left Isaac hungry for more and eventually he'd said yes. But as he did, there had been a voice in the back of his head telling him he was making a mistake. That showing Ethan what he'd gone through would somehow push him away.

There was no denying the slight bit of anxiety he felt as he opened the front door, but Ethan was holding his hand, silently letting him know that he was still there. When they got to the door to the basement, having gone through the rest of the house, Isaac let go of Ethan's hand and took a step back. There were too many memories for him to go back there willingly. The rest of the house he could handle, but he never wanted to set foot down there again.

Ethan looked at him, the question clear in his eyes, so Isaac said, "The worst of it happened down there. You can go down and see it if you want, but I'm not going back down those stairs."

Ethan didn't seem to know what to say that, looking from the door to the basement to Isaac then back again several times before cautiously saying, "Was it that bad?"

Isaac nodded and looked away from the door, "Yeah, it was."

"How did you get away?"

He walked over toward the kitchen a little, "I'd met somebody a day or two before it happened. He knew about … what my life was like and offered to help. So the night my dad died I ran away. Ran to someone who could help. My dad chased after me, but he didn't catch me. I found out later that he'd been murdered."

Ethan nodded slowly and came over to put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry. You can wait outside if you don't like being in here. I'm sure I can find my way back out."

Isaac glanced at Ethan over his shoulder, grateful for the out he was being given, "Yeah, I think I'll do that."

As soon as Isaac was out the door, Ethan turned toward the basement and started down the stairs. From what he'd been told about Isaac before meeting him and from what Isaac had just said, it was clear to Ethan that Derek had been the one to help him and that Isaac had run to Derek the night his father had been killed. Which made him wonder why Isaac hadn't fought back after he'd become a werewolf, but he knew that he hadn't gone through what Isaac had gone through and couldn't say what had been going through Isaac's head at the time.

When he descended the last few steps, he noticed the smell of old blood. Not like a bloodbath or so much that a person would die from it, but a little bit here and there. Like blood had been spilled often, but never very much at once. He could also smell sweat, although like the blood there wasn't much. He figured that whoever was trying to sell the house had tried cleaning up a bit. In their defense, if he wasn't a werewolf he probably wouldn't have noticed.

But he remembered that Isaac suffered from claustrophobia and that had developed because of one thing in particular that his dad had done to him. Punishing Isaac by locking him in an unplugged freezer chest. The rest of the pack viewed this little fact as a way of manipulating Isaac, a weakness to be exploited and nothing more. Yet he shuddered at the thought of being trapped in such a tiny space, unable to get out, and having no clue if he would be let out. Having that happen multiple times would certainly scar a person and Ethan had no trouble in noticing those scars that Isaac bore.

It all made Ethan's heart go out to Isaac because he had gone through so much suffering. Everything he'd been told was that Isaac had been abused by his dad for years. He could certainly see how it had been easy for Derek to recruit Isaac into his pack. Becoming a werewolf had probably seemed like a godsend, a miracle to turn his life around and escape from the hell Isaac had been living through. The idea of forcing Derek to kill Isaac, if Deucalion went through with recruiting Derek, just seemed cruel and heartless. After suffering through so much up to this point, why put him through any more pain?

He could see why Isaac refused to come down here. There was nothing but bad memories and the smell of old blood to dreg them back up when, no doubt, Isaac would want to keep them buried. He turned and headed back up the stairs, knowing that his one brief visit was more than enough. Isaac had been tense coming back to the house, now he was glad he hadn't tried to push Isaac into coming down here again.

When he got outside and saw Isaac standing by his motorcycle, he said, "I see what you mean about not wanting to go back down there. It gave me the creeps."

Isaac nodded slowly, bringing a hand up to the back of his head, "Yeah, and you didn't even see the worst of it. There used to be … a freezer chest … down there. But a friend of mine, after he found out about it, decided to smash it to pieces."

"He must be a really good friend. Should I be worried?"

Isaac grinned and ducked his head, but not before Ethan saw a blush appearing on his face, "I told you, there's no one else to worry about. Scott's just a friend."

Ethan got closer to Isaac and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close, "I'm glad. Because I'm not letting him have you. You're trusting me with your past, I can tell that means a lot for you. Thank you. And I'm sorry if coming back here was painful."

Isaac shook his head, "Its alright. I'm fine."

He smiled and tightened his grip on Isaac's waist so that there was no space at all between them, "Good, because I think after that its time to do something fun. Forget about stuff like this for a little while."

That brought a smile to Isaac's lips, which made Ethan's smile get bigger, "What did you have in mind?"