Kings of the Moonlight

Flaws

You have always worn your flaws upon your sleeve and I have always buried them deep beneath the ground.

-

It occurs to Derek later, as he's washing up the remnants of dinner, that Isaac had probably scurried away to the bathroom so quickly because he was scared.

Fuck.

He locks the front door and checks it as he realises that Isaac probably thought that Derek had been a first row member of the Kate Argent School of Discipline and was thus going to scold him á la mode. Of course he would think that.

The whole incident was not that far off in their past, a couple of weeks was never going to be enough to erase the amount of hurt and fear that Isaac had gone through that night and however many nights previously.

Derek might be trying to redirect Isaac's thoughts to their new life, by carrying on regardless and trying not to panic because Kate still hasn't been found yet, but Isaac still has night terrors.

Some nights he wakes up terrified and yelling out for Derek, his heart beating hard and wild as he tries to escape the confines of his new bed. Those nights, Derek holds his son close, desperately whispering 'it's okay, it's okay now, baby' into his hair before ripping out the sodden bed sheets, changing Isaac's pyjamas and taking Isaac to his own room, where they curled up; falling into a vague restlessness as Isaac sniffles back to sleep.

In truth Derek has no idea what he's doing. He's going in blind in this and he doesn't have anyone else to fall back on. He doesn't want to mess things up but he can't not do anything. So after he re-checks the doors and makes sure all the windows are firmly locked, and he's heading down the hall towards Isaac's room, he resolves to call the psychiatrist's office first thing in the morning.

Sure enough when Derek steps into his son's room, already fully decked out with books, toys and stuffed animals courtesy of Erica, he finds Isaac sitting on his bed beneath the covers waiting anxiously for Derek. 

Derek's heart feels too small and all together too big as he watches Isaac hesitantly lift the corner of his duvet, shuffling over to make room for his dad as Derek lumbers over to him. With his bedtime book is placed neatly on his bedside table and open at the bookmark, as well as Benji the Penguin tucked securely beside him, it seems that Isaac trusts his father after all.

Derek slides in and pulls Isaac into his lap, where he automatically fits his head on his father's shoulder and relaxes as Derek pulls the duvet over him.

"Have you brushed your teeth?"

"Yeah."

Derek waits; he knows how this is going to parse out. Whenever he reprimands Isaac it always ends up like this, in silence until Isaac gathers up enough courage to speak to Derek.

Indeed, moments later Isaac speaks. 

"Are you still mad at me?" he asks.

Derek heaves a sigh, "Yeah, Isaac. I'm still very disappointed with you."

"'M sorry."

"Being sorry doesn't erase the fact that you upset Stiles," Derek explains gently. "Especially since he's going to be your new nanny."

Isaac pouts, his eyebrows furrowing heavily, "I don't want Stiles."

Derek kicks off his shoes and settles more comfortably in the middle of the bed and manoeuvres Isaac so that he is perched in front of him, with his feet against his father's chest and his back against Derek's legs.

"Well, I do," he sighs as Isaac crosses his arms and pointedly does not look at Derek. "He's going to come to work for us, Isaac, and you have to be nice."