#isaacscott

Stiles fakes a wounded look. “Oh, that’s just mean! I’m not sure I can go get coffee now. I’ll need to recover for at least four hours.”

“But Isaac’s shift will have finished by then,” Scott says with a pout. “Your peach fuzz beard was amazing, Stiles, I swear. Please, can we go see Isaac?”

Stiles smiles. “I don’t know… it’s a lot to ask. I mean, the café is right there,” he points to the building to their right. “It’s awfully far. I might not make it that far.”

Scott had been so busy with trying to convince Stiles that they should get coffee that he’d failed to realize they’d reached their destination already. Suddenly his excitement was replaced with butterflies in his stomach. “What if Isaac doesn’t like the beard?” he asked, frozen on the spot.

“Oh, my god, you are impossible!” Stiles said, exasperated. “Just go in, get your flirt on and ask them out for once. Seriously, I’m sick of the two of you dancing around each other!”

“I can’t just ask them out. They’re at work, Stiles. I’m sure they’re just being nice to me,” Scott says.

Stiles groans. “Seriously?! They keep drawing on your cup. Obviously they like you.”

“They’re an art major, I doubt I’m the only one who’s cup they draw on,” Scott says.

“They don’t draw on my cup,” Stiles argues.

“They don’t like you because you mocked their scarf last summer,” Scott says.

“It was like a thousand degrees out! People were melting on the outside and they were walking around in a massive scarf,” Stiles says.

Scott rolls his eyes. “Yeah… anyway… I’m not asking them out,” he says before walking into the café.

“Chicken!” Stiles calls after him. By the time Stiles follows him inside, Scott’s already busy talking to Isaac, so he decides to hang back.

Scott’s happy to see it’s not busy at all in the café and he walks up to Isaac immediately, smiling broadly.

“Wow, look at you. I see the hormones have kicked in,” Isaac says, looking impressed.

“Yeah, finally!” Scott replies.

“I haven’t seen you for a week, and now I barely recognize you. What are you going to look like next time you disappear on me?” Isaac asks.

“I didn’t disappear, I went home for a week because I didn’t have any classes,” Scott explains.

“Well, I missed my favorite customer a lot,” Isaac says with a pout. “And you’ll probably leave me again soon for Christmas too.”

Scott nods, looking upset. “Yeah… aren’t you going to celebrate with your family?” he asks.

“What family?” Isaac replies. “Mom’s dead and my dad’s in jail. No, I’ll work and spend the evening alone.”

“No, that’s too sad. You’ll come home with me. Beacon Hills isn’t too far and mom always cooks too much,” Scott says without a second thought. It isn’t until the words have left his mouth that he realizes just what he asked Isaac to do. “Um… I mean… if you want to, you can come.”

“I don’t want to be a bother,” Isaac says.

“You won’t be, I promise! The more the merrier, right?” Scott says. “Seriously, just come, even if it’s just for a day.”

“I suppose I could take a few days off.  Someone has to make your coffee after all, right?” Isaac jokes.

“Yes. I’m a mess without it,” Scott admits.

“So, it’s settled, I’m celebrating Christmas with you,” Isaac says, smiling. “Do I have to bring gifts?”

“No, you don’t have to. Mom will probably get you something, but you shouldn’t feel obligated to get her something in return. She enjoys getting presents for people,” Scott explains.

“I’d like to get her a little something, as thanks,” Isaac says.

“You are too kind,” Scott says.

Isaac shrugs. “I like making art, this’ll be a perfect opportunity.”

Scott wants to reply, but he’s rudely interrupted by another customer clearing his throat behind them.

“Some of us are here to get coffee, not watch two freaks flirt,” he says, looking disgusted at the sight of Isaac and Scott.

Before either of them can say anything, the man’s attacked by Stiles and a blonde woman.

“What the hell did you say about my best friend?!” they both yell. The insults that follow are lost on both Isaac and Scott.

“Meet my best friend, Erica,” Isaac tells Scott. “She’s fiercely protective of me.”

“I see. Well, you’ve met Stiles, he’s much the same,” Scot says. “They’re quite something together. I wouldn’t want to make them my enemy.”

“Yeah… I once pissed off Erica, I barely survived.”

“What did you do?” Scott asks.

“You know Boyd, right? They’re dating and I accidentally misgendered him. I knew him when we were kids and I didn’t know he was transgender. She got so angry, I’m glad Boyd protected me or she might have killed me,” Isaac explains.

“You should see Stiles when people misgender me. When I came out two years ago, everyone kept calling me a girl and he’d attack all of them. He got in so much trouble for it.”

“It’s nice having people to protect you, isn’t it?” Isaac asks.

“Yeah, it really is. I don’t know how I would have done this without Stiles. My dad’s terrible about this. He still treats me like I’m his daughter. Thankfully Stiles isn’t afraid to yell at him,” Scott says.

“My dad was terrible about me as well. Told me to stop making up genders for attention,” Isaac explained. “It got pretty bad after a while and now he’s in jail.”

“I’m sorry,” Scott says.

Isaac shrugs. “It’s in the past, I’d rather look to the future. The future is much brighter and filled with pretty dresses.” They twirl around for good measure, showing off their dress.

“You do look really good in dresses. I’m glad today is a dresses day,” Scott says.

“Yesterday was a pants day, so I’m glad you came in today. I like the way you look at me when I’m in a dress,” Isaac confessed, blushing a little.

“You do?” Scott asked, a blush coloring his cheeks as well. “Well… um… Thanks.”

“I’m also really loving your beard. You look so handsome,” Isaac says. “I hope you keep it.”

Scott scratches his beard, blushing. “I don’t know yet. I might.”

Scott’s so caught up in his conversation with Isaac that he doesn’t even notice that Stiles and Erica scared off the customer and are bonding over their best friends who refuse to make a move and ask the other out.

“Let me give you my number.” Isaac looks around for something to write his number on, before getting an empty cup. “I assume you want your usual.” They don’t even wait for Scott to answer before making his coffee.

“Thanks,” Scott says when Isaac hands him his coffee. Scott looks at his cup. Underneath the usual little doodle, a little Christmas tree this time, Isaac has written their phone number. “I’ll be in a study quarantine for at least a few days, but I’ll contact you when I emerge.”

“I’ll be waiting anxiously. Good luck studying, don’t hurt that handsome head of yours,” Isaac says.

“I’ll try not to.” Scott smiles at Isaac before reluctantly turning around. He’s met by two, widely smiling people.

“You got their number? Score!” Stiles says.

Scott pushes him backwards, towards the door, blushing brightly. “Time to leave, you wanted to go study, right?” He can hear Erica laugh somewhere behind him.

“Dude, you finally did it! You asked them out! I’m so proud of you,” Stiles says when they’re outside.

“I didn’t ask them out. I just asked them to celebrate Christmas with us so they wouldn’t be lonely. No big deal,” Scott replies.

“Wait… I have to spend my Christmas with them?!” Stiles says. “No… Scott, I care about your sexlife, but I don’t really want to spend the most joyous time of year with Isaac.”

Scott shrugs. “Deal with it, and I’m not sleeping with them.”

“Yet,” Stiles adds.

Scott groans and begins walking in the direction of the library, hoping Stiles will drop this soon. Of course Stiles doesn’t drop it. He keeps talking about Isaac until a librarian tells Stiles to either stop talking or leave.

Scott texts Isaac a lot while waiting for winter break to start. He finds out a lot more about Isaac. They share an apartment with Erica and Boyd and apparently those two can be really loud when having sex.  Scott’s received several cries for help from Isaac.

He also learns that Isaac has one teacher they absolutely hate, and the feeling is mutual. They can’t seem to please the teacher, no matter what kind of work they present. Scott counters that story by telling him about one of his own teachers who absolutely hated him and Stiles.

They talk about their childhoods and how they figured out they’re transgender. Scott tells Isaac about his mother, who’s been supportive of him since the moment he came out. Isaac tells Scott about the family they found with Erica and Boyd.

The more Scott talks to Isaac, the more he falls in love with them. Every time Stiles teases him about his obvious crush, Scott blushes. He doesn’t want to be this obvious about it. He’s sure Isaac doesn’t feel the same way about him. After all, he doesn’t even know if Isaac likes guys. Isaac’s a friend and Scott doesn’t want to screw up their friendship with his stupid, selfish feelings.

Finally the week before Christmas rolls around. Scott, Stiles and Isaac leave for Beacon Hills two days before Christmas. Being in such a small space as both Isaac and Stiles is interesting, to say the least. Scott has to defuse several small fights between them to make sure all three of them arrive safe and sound at Beacon Hills. The worst fight happens when they’re thirty minutes from their destination.

“I don’t get it. You wear a scarf in the bloody summer, but not in the winter and you dare complain about the cold?!” Stiles says.

“Your Jeep doesn’t have heating. It’s barely more than a piece of rust on wheels,” Isaac counters from where they’re curled up in Scott’s jacket on the backseat.

“You did not just insult Roscoe!” Stiles yells. “Roscoe is the absolute best car in the entire universe and it doesn’t matter if his heating doesn’t work perfectly.”

“You named this thing Roscoe? What kind of name is that?” Isaac snaps.

Scott groans, this can’t end well. “Come on, we’re almost there. Can’t you two leave this? We’ll be home soon and then you two can just ignore each other.”

“No!” both Isaac and Stiles reply.

Scott would be happy that they finally agreed on something, if they weren’t so stubborn about their fights.

“Please? For me? I feel a headache coming up and I don’t want to have to go to bed early today because of it.” It’s a massive lie, but thankfully it seems to work. Isaac and Stiles fall silent and don’t say anything the rest of the drive. Scott feels a little guilty about the lie, but mostly he’s happy they’re no longer fighting.

Finally they arrive at Scott’s home and Stiles lets them out before driving off quickly to see his dad again. Scott suspects Stiles mostly leaves so quickly because he needs some time away from Isaac. Normally Stiles would say hi to his mom before leaving. It hurts a little that Stiles and Isaac can’t get along, but Scott won’t push them to bond. Stiles is too stubborn to let his stupid grudge go anyway.

The second Scott enters his home, the smell of Christmas hits him.

“Come, mom must be baking cookies,” Scott says excitedly. He drops his bags by the door and drags Isaac to the kitchen. There are indeed cookies in the oven while his mother’s reading a magazine.

Melissa looks up when she hears Scott hurry over. “Merry Christmas, sweetie,” she says, holding her arms open to hug Scott tightly.

Scott hugs his mother back. “Merry Christmas, I’ve missed you,” he says.

Introducing Isaac to his mother is amazing. Melissa immediately pulls them into a tight hug and the look of surprise on Isaac’s face is both heartwarming and a little heart breaking.

“Thank you for having me over,” Isaac says, suddenly sounding a little shy.

“Of course. Any friend of Scott’s is welcome here,” Melissa says, a warm smile on her face. “Why don’t you two get settled, dinner’ll be ready soon.”

Scott leads Isaac to their guest room, which is right next to his.

“Your mom’s as amazing as you said she is,” Isaac says. “Is she this nice to everyone?”

“Yes. Unless you’re my dad,” Scott jokes. “We’re both really happy to have you here, I promise.”

Isaac steps a little closer to Scott. “Yeah? Are you really happy?” Isaac asks.

Scott nods, blushing a little. Seeing Isaac this close up is something new entirely. Usually there’s a counter between them. Now Isaac’s right in front of him, there’s nothing between them and they’re in Scott’s home. Isaac’s surrounded with everything that Scott associates with home and it makes his heart do somersaults in his chest.

“Why did you invite me over?” Isaac asks softly. It’s almost like he’s a little scared of the answer.

“I didn’t want you to be alone,” Scott answers.

“Is that all? I don’t want to be just a charity case. Erica… she keeps saying these things about me and you and… I can’t help but hope that they’re true,” Isaac says.

Scott looks down, too nervous to say this face to face. “Stiles says things too,” he admits. “That you like me as much as I like you.”

“So, you didn’t just invite me over because you pity me?” Isaac asks.

Scott shakes his head. “No. I didn’t want to miss you. Getting coffee is the highlight of my day nowadays and I don’t even like coffee all that much.”

Isaac lets out a laugh. “You don’t like coffee?” they ask.

“No. I mean, it’s okay and I’ll drink it when I have a big test I need to study for, but I don’t really like it. I just like this really cute and hot barista that serves my coffee,” Scott says. It feels like a relief to finally let it out.

“My best customer doesn’t even like coffee,” Isaac repeats, a smile on their face.

When Scott sees the smile on Isaac’s face, he relaxes. “You’re going to tease me with that, aren’t you?”

“Until the end of time,” Isaac promises.

“Just… don’t tell Stiles, okay? He’s got enough to tease me with already,” Scott begs.

“I think I can be persuaded to keep this hidden,” they say.

“Yeah? Do you think a kiss would do it?” Scott says.

“It might. I think you should try,” Isaac says.

Scott closes the distance between them. The kiss is nothing like he imagines. There’s no fireworks going off, no swell of romantic music. It doesn’t feel like the world stops turning. Still, it’s perfect. The kiss isn’t much more than a nervous peck on Isaac’s lips, and Scott knows he’ll remember this moment forever.

“Yeah, I might keep it quiet now,” Isaac says. “But I will demand daily payment of kisses to keep it hidden.”

Scott laughs. “I can do that.”

Isaac presses another quick kiss to Scott’s lips. “Erica’s going to be very happy I finally told you.”

“Stiles will be too. He’s been absolutely terrible about all this. He had no sympathy for me whatsoever,” Scott says, pouting.

“Oh, you poor dear. Was Stiles mean to you? Come here, Isaac will comfort you.” Isaac pulls Scott into a hug.

Scott lets himself get hugged by Isaac. It feels amazing to finally be this close to them. Scott almost hopes Stiles will tease him again so he can get Isaac to comfort him.

“So… what does this make us? Are you my girlfriend? Or… I don’t know. Is there a gender neutral term for this?” Scott asks.

“Datemate,” Isaac answers. “Which I think sounds cute.”

“It does, which is why it’s perfect for you,” Scott says.

“And I suppose you’ll be my boyfriend?” Isaac asks. “I’ve never had a boyfriend before, this’ll be a new experience.”

“I was going to tell you that I’ll be the best boyfriend you’ve ever had, but I guess the bar isn’t very high now…” Scott says.

“You’d be the best even if I had had dozens of boyfriends,” Isaac promises. “You’re Scott McCall, the best at everything.”

Scott blushes and looks away. “You and Stiles should start a fanclub. I’m pretty sure the only thing you two agree on is that I’m awesome.”

Isaac makes a gagging sound. “No, thank you. I’ll keep my distance from him. He just rubs me the wrong way. I know he’s your best friend, but…”

“Don’t worry, you’re not the first person to dislike him,” Scott says. “He’s an acquired taste and as long as you two don’t end up killing each other, I’m good.”

“I can’t make any promises, but I will try to keep the bloodshed to a minimum,” Isaac says.

“That’s all I can ask for,” Scott replies. “We should go down, it smells like dinner’s ready.” Scott reaches out to hold Isaac’s hand and keeps hold of it on their way down.

Melissa doesn’t seem surprised at all by the news that Scott and Isaac are dating and happily welcomes Isaac to the family. Stiles is also delighted by the news, even though he’s not happy that Scott chose Isaac of all people to date. Scott gets a phone call from Erica that night, threatening harm to every inch of his body should he ever hurt Isaac in any way. Isaac looks both embarrassed and happy that Erica’s so protective of them.

That night, Isaac crawls into bed with Scott in the middle of the night.

“Is something wrong?” Scott asks.

“I think I heard Santa,” Isaac jokes.

Scott rolls his eyes and pulls Isaac close. “Very funny. Go to sleep, I’m tired.”

“I didn’t want to sleep without you,” Isaac admits. “Do you mind?”

Scott wraps his arms around Isaac a little tighter. “Don’t you dare leave. You’re staying here.”

Isaac smiles softly, happy with Scott’s answer, and snuggles close to him.

Christmas morning comes, and like every year Scott turns back to his five year old self, excited for presents. He doesn’t even mind how Isaac’s giggling over him. He sticks out his tongue and runs downstairs, eyeing the presents eagerly.

“You really are like a giant puppy, aren’t you?” Isaac asks. They dragged the blanket from Scott’s bed down with them and curls up on the couch.

Scott nods. “Yep. This is who you fell in love with, remember that.”

Isaac rolls their eyes and pulls the blanket a bit tighter around them

“Are you cold, sweetie?” Melissa asks when she enters the living room.

“No, ma’am,” Isaac answers. “I’m always a bit cold, but mostly I’m still tired.”

“Call me Melissa,” Melissa says. “I get it. I’ve gotten used to getting up at the crack of dawn on Christmas day. Scott’s been like this since he knew that Christmas morning meant presents.”

“I think it’s adorable,” Isaac says.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m adorable, whatever. Can we open our gifts now?” Scott asks impatiently.

Isaac stays wrapped up in Scott’s blanket while watching Melissa and Scott opening presents. They’re happily surprised when they get art supplies from both Melissa and Scott. “You really didn’t have to,” Isaac says. “You’re already opening up your home to me.”

“Nonsense,” Melissa says. “It’s Christmas, there’s nothing better on Christmas than sharing gifts with those you care about.”

When it’s time for Melissa to open Isaac’s gift, they bite their lip nervously. A lot of work went into the gift, including a phone call to Stiles that Isaac would rather forget. They’ll never ask Stiles for a favor ever again if they can help it.

Melissa wells up the moment she sees her gift and immediately turns it around to show Scott.

“You didn’t… Oh, my god, Isaac!” Scott jumps up to pepper kisses all over Isaac’s face.

“You were complaining about not having any pictures from your childhood where you looked like you, so… now you do,” Isaac explains. They spent so many hours recreating an old photo of Scott and his mom. In the original Scott had long, curly hair and he wore a pink, lacy dress. He’s posing for the camera with his mum, both of them smiling brightly. Scott had told Isaac how much he loved the picture, except for the fact that he’s wearing a dress in it. After a lot of begging and the promise of free coffee for a month, Isaac had convinced Stiles to sent them a copy so they could paint a picture of it, only now Scott’s hair is short and he’s wearing pants.

“It’s amazing,” Melissa says, looking at the painting again with tears in her eyes. “Words can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

Isaac’s beaming with pride, they really picked the right gift for Melissa. “I’m glad you like it. I’m quite proud of how it turned out.”

“I’ll hang it somewhere this afternoon,” Scott says. Isaac can see he’s close to tears as well. “We’ll tell everyone my gorgeous datemate made it.”