Isaac was not freaking out. He'd just been told that he was transformed into his six year old self for a week, but that was fine. It wasn't the craziest thing he'd dealt with in his life, right? The second he'd found out that werewolves existed and accepted the bite to become one as well, he left normal behind forever. This was just one more thing.

But it did kind of stick in his craw that this had happened to him. Why him? There were probably plenty of people who would embrace the chance to relive a part of their childhood. Isaac was not one of those people. His childhood was something he was happy enough to leave behind forever. Hell, he would leave everything beyond maybe the last six months or so. It wasn't perfect, but it was better.

Things with Derek had been in an okay place. There wasn't anything attacking them or something for them to hunt, which was nice. They had a goal of finding Erica and Boyd, which gave them something to focus on. The days were spent training, searching, failing, then doing it all over again. Lather, rinse, repeat. It was monotonous, but comforting. Isaac had a job and was useful.

And then this happened. It was like the universe sensed that things were going too okay for him. Yeah, he was getting a bit antsier as time went on and they couldn't find their packmates, but anxiety was an old friend to him. He was used to a constant thrum of unease just under the surface. Derek was putting up with it and that was the most important thing. He had a place to go at the end of the day that wasn't a chained up freezer.

So dealing with him as a mostly self-sufficient teen was one thing, but as a gross, helpless little kid? That had to have been too much for Derek to deal with. Isaac couldn't even wrap his head around the picture of them sleeping in bed. It made more sense that they'd been knocked unconscious somehow and put there to keep them out of the way. Because Derek was not the paternal type.

In fairness, Isaac didn't really know what a good paternal figure looked like. He had vague memories of his dad being okay before his mom died, but those were as hazy as his memories of her. Other than that, his dad had been an abusive shit. Derek wasn't like that, ignoring that one broken arm during training. Isaac didn't like to think about that, since it scared him shitless at the time. But nothing like that happened since, so it probably was an outlier.

Still, what had been Derek's reaction to being saddled with a kid? If Derek's demeanor at the clinic told him anything, it was that he was pissed. Derek probably hated every second of the time he had to spend with him. And he couldn't say or do anything about it, since everyone else was around. What was going to happen the next time they saw each other? Would Derek berate him for the whole situation? Would he finally wash his hands of him and kick him out of the pack? The mystery of those answers was the reason why Isaac was wandering aimlessly around town. He wasn't ready to find out.

What he was curious about was why Stiles was acting so weird. Derek's attitude he could get. And Scott's wasn't too off from how he normally was. But Stiles was wildly confusing. Why did he seem to care the most out of all of them? Stiles didn't like him at all. The last time they'd spoken, which was around the end of the school year when they'd all agreed to steer clear of each other's packs for the rest of the summer unless it was an absolute emergency, they'd thrown a few barbs, but otherwise ignored each other. When did that change?

Isaac racked his brain for any kind of memory of the past week, but came up with nothing. It was unsettling to know time passed without him having any recollection of it. It felt like Isaac went from looking for Boyd and Erica, then in the next breath he was in a completely different place. That would've been ideal during those long nights in the freezer, but he was ultra cognizant through all of those.

The smartest thing for them all to do would probably be to pretend like nothing happened. It would be easy for Isaac to, since he didn't remember. And even if he did, he was good at pretending nothing was wrong. Derek could suppress his emotions like it was an Olympic sport. And he could avoid Scott and Stiles until the objects of their affections came back into town and distracted them again. It would be easy to go on as normal.

But Isaac couldn't stop his mind from going back to that picture. And the fact Stiles had taken it at all. Maybe whatever had turned Isaac into a kid also turned Derek into someone who would like him as a kid. If that was the case, the effects didn't look like they stuck. Still, he knew he had to get the whole story. Not knowing where Boyd and Erica were was already driving him insane. He couldn't deal with another mystery when this one could be easily solved.

Isaac walked around for a few more hours, giving himself and everyone else time to cool down before he started off in the direction of a house he'd never been to, but had grown to envy. If he was going to get straight answers about what happened, it would come from him. He walked up to the front door and knocked, hovering awkwardly. Derek would've just broken in, but since Isaac needed something, he thought it was best to start off on the right foot.

"Isaac?"

"Hey Scott. Can we talk?"

Derek sat in a dark corner of his dilapidated family home, definitely not feeling sorry for himself. This was just what he did when he didn't have other responsibilities to take care of. He hunkered down, got whatever rest he could snatch up, then went on to do the same thing the next day. It was what he was used to and all he needed.

He didn't miss spending time in a real home with other people. Derek didn't need company. If a yearning for pack wasn't so important to him, he'd be a lone wolf. He wouldn't turn into a crazy Omega, he'd be fine. Because that would be the life he chose, instead of being forced into it.

Derek wasn't thinking about anything at all. Not the hurt and confusion on Isaac's face. Not the hurt and disappointment on Stiles'. Not the hurt. All encompassing hurt.

Derek dug his claws into the ruined floor beneath him, trying to ground himself. He didn't get to feel anything right now. After how he'd been at the clinic, he didn't deserve it. If he was blank and unfeeling with everyone else, he would be the same with himself. And by the time he had to see another person again, it wouldn't be the most impossible thing he ever had to do.

The sound of screeching tires outside told him that he wasn't getting the time he needed. Derek closed his eyes and tipped his head back to rest against the wall behind him, waiting for what was to come. He could feel the anger coming in like physical waves before Stiles even stepped foot in the house.

"You're an absolute bastard!" Stiles yelled, stomping to stand right in front of him. His fists were balled at his sides and he could possibly be considered intimidating, but only if you didn't know him. Derek kind of wished Stiles would take a swing at him. The surprise would at least momentarily distract him from everything else. "After everything, this is how it ends?"

"What did you expect?" Derek asked, sounding more defeated than he wanted to. He was going for aloof.

"What did I expect?" Stiles repeated incredulously, shaking his head. "I expected you to be the guy I've gotten to know for the past week! I expected you to give a damn!"

"Sorry I didn't meet your expectations," Derek shrugged. But dammit if he didn't mean that. He wished he was the kind of person who could stand there and pour his heart out to the people he cared about. He wished he was the kind of person who could admit that he cared about people at all.

"You left me alone in this. You decided that you got to drag me into a mess that was never mine, then you left me alone in it!" Stiles shouted, turning his head away. But not before Derek saw his chin quivering. "I went home and everywhere I looked, there was his stuff. Am I supposed to pack it away? Throw it away like nothing that happened matters?"

"It doesn't matter. He doesn't remember."

"But I remember! And you remember!" Stiles snapped, his anger picking up steam again. "You think you can pretend with me, but you can't. I'm the one who was there with you for every second. I'm the one who was there for you when you were scared out of your mind thinking you couldn't handle it all. When you were tearing yourself apart thinking of the mistakes you'd made."

"So what?" Derek yelled back, finally reaching the end of his rope. If Stiles wanted to do this, Derek was going to give as good as he got. "What does it help to bring all this up to me? What are you getting out of this?"

"I need someone to hurt with me, Derek!" Stiles roared, sucking in a shuddering breath that sounded painful even to Derek's ears. "I need someone who was there with me, who is feeling the same things I'm feeling. Scott doesn't understand because he wasn't the one who was planning his whole damn life around parenting a kid. You were. I was. And for you to just sit there and act like it meant less than nothing is bullshit that I won't stand for!"

"Stiles-"

"What am I supposed to do with all of this? I did everything I could for you. Doesn't that mean something? I get nothing in return?"

"Stiles-"

"I'm so sick of you playing the role of nonchalant asshole. Are you winning any cool points? Are you waiting for your round of applause?" Stiles mocked, clapping his hands harshly. "Here sits Derek Hale, king of not giving a shit."

"I don't get to feel anything, Stiles!" Derek shouted, finally done holding back what he was feeling. Stiles jerked back in surprise with his hands frozen in front of him. Derek was already hated and alone, so why not add pathetic to his list of achievements? "I don't get to mourn the relationship I lost because I had a chance to have one with Isaac this whole time, but kept him at arm's length. What right do I have to hurt when I brought it on myself? All I deserve is to feel nothing!" Stiles stared at him for what felt like hours, but was probably only a few seconds. Time when you were looking at spending the rest of your life alone flowed differently.

"God, I thought I was dealing with a sociopath, not a dumbass."

"Get out, Stiles."

"News flash, you don't get to bully yourself out of feeling things. That whole thing you've got going on right now is called regret."

"Stop talking to me like I'm stupid."

"Then stop acting stupid! Stop trying to push me away because I'm not going anywhere. I know you're suffering because you broke way too easily. It usually takes a lot more before I make you snap," Stiles pointed out. Derek felt a flash of a smile cross his face for the first time since he found out Isaac was going to change back. Stiles' joking attitude made everything feel normal again for a few seconds, but it didn't last long. It didn't change reality. "Can I sit with you?"

"Since when do you listen to me?" Derek huffed. Stiles took that as an invitation, plopping down next to him on the floor. He was way too close, brushing against Derek every few seconds as he shifted in his typically unsettled way. Derek decided to ignore it.

"Can I tell you something and you act like a healthy, functioning adult for a little bit? Or, not really human, I guess? Human adjacent?"

"I'm human, Stiles," Derek growled in a not really human way. "What is it?"

"I think the reason I'm so messed up by all of this is because it reminds me of losing my mom," Stiles admitted quietly, fiddling with a fray in the hem of his pants. "At least one of the reasons."

"Isaac is still here," Derek reminded him. He didn't know much about Stiles' mom, besides the fact that she'd passed. Maybe the two of them and Isaac could start a dead moms club.

"I know, but this feels like when she got sick. She was still here for a while, but her memory wasn't. The person I loved was there physically, but to her I was no one," Stiles sniffled, raking his hand across his eyes. "With Isaac, I'm left with these memories and feelings, but it's all gone for him. And I know it doesn't compare to losing my mom, but it's still an experience that I never thought I'd have to go through again. And I'm not sure how to get past it."

"You still have a chance to change it. It's not like you guys hated each other."

"Some pretty heated threats were exchanged during the kanima debacle."

"I think I hold the record for threats against you, yet here you are."

"True."

"So talk to him. Even if he doesn't remember everything you did for him, it doesn't mean you can't convince him to start fresh. He's a little bit too forgiving, given his history, so he probably wouldn't say no."

"That's actually not bad advice," Stiles said, tipping his head to the side to look at him. "Ever think of taking it for yourself?"

"It's not that simple, Stiles," Derek sighed, shaking his head. "Too much has happened."

"It hasn't."

"After all the time I've wasted, I don't deserve to have a relationship with him."

"Shouldn't that be for Isaac to decide?"

"I'm deciding because that's what's best for him," Derek said firmly. It was different when he'd be starting from scratch with a smaller Isaac. There was a clean slate and Derek had never let him down. But anything Derek did now would feel disingenuous.

"I know you're wrong, but I'm too emotionally exhausted to keep fighting with you right now," Stiles mumbled, slumping against Derek's side. It took the control of a lifetime of full moons not to push him off. "Remember how he would always pretend he wasn't tired, even as he was nodding off where he sat? I was the same way as a kid. Falling asleep in the craziest places, just to avoid admitting defeat in my bed."

"That doesn't surprise me," Derek huffed. Stiles was contrary, just for the sake of it.

"And man, he could put away a lot of food. Is he still like that?"

"Like he's worried the food is gonna run away from him," Derek confirmed with a quiet snort.

"He'd be able to catch it. Even without the werewolf boost, he was running me ragged in my backyard."

"Riding the lacrosse bench isn't really the best for stamina."

"Ouch! You may not have been around to see it, but I scored the winning goal at the end of last season. Before that whole kidnapping thing."

"After Isaac took out all the good players."

"From my own team, not the opposition! All I had left to help me were the dweebs."

"Your own kind."

"I don't have to listen to this disrespect," Stiles grumbled, lurching to his feet. Derek's hand reached out and grabbed his wrist before his brain caught up with the movement. Stiles looked down at him in confusion while Derek tried to get his mouth to form words that were so foreign, but kind of needed to be said.

"Thank you," Derek said evenly, flicking his eyes up to meet Stiles'. "I probably wouldn't have been able to do this without you." Stiles' gaze softened at his confession and Derek immediately wanted to take it back, in fear of the teen wanting to have another heart to heart. But then his look turned to more fond teasing before he spoke.

"Yeah, you would've. It just would've been a bit harder and a lot messier," Stiles laughed, shifting on his feet a little. "So, where do we go from here? Friends, enemies, reluctant allies?"

"I didn't know enemies was still on the table. I think that one would fit best."

"Such a dick," Stiles snorted, pulling his arm out of Derek's grasp. "I don't care what you say. There's no getting rid of me."

"No need for threats," Derek deadpanned. Stiles threw his hands up in exasperation before turning to walk away. "I'm still waiting for those apartment listings." Stiles froze mid-step, before looking at him with a curious stare.

"Three bedrooms?"

"At least," Derek confirmed. Stiles beamed at him, looking truly happy for the first time since Peter sent that text that he'd found the witch. Before everything they'd started planning for went up in smoke. And while Derek still felt an aching hole in his gut that would probably never get filled, he'd get over it. After a life marred with loss and pain, what was one more to add to the list?