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tamingthemuseTitle: Love Where You Least Expect It [1/?]
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Prompt: 387 – portmanteau
Warnings: Everybody's human AU. Isaac/Cora. Will be Derek/Stiles.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~1050
Summary: Cora invites Stiles to Christmas in New York with her, Isaac, and what remains of her family.
Disclaimer: It's all lies and I own nothing.
A/N: Title is temporary because my brain can't think of anything Christmassy that isn't super cheesy.
-- = --
Stiles is already halfway through his six-pack of Sam Adams Winter Lager when Isaac collapses onto the old couch beside him, reaching for the second Xbox controller on the coffee table. Stiles hands him a beer, exiting his current game to go to multiplayer mode. “Congrats on finishing finals,” he says.
Isaac pries the lid off his bottle before clinking it against Stiles'. “One more semester to go.”
Shaking his head, Stiles takes another swig. “Don't remind me. I'm not ready to graduate.”
Isaac laughs and puts his feet up on the table. “I don't know if I'll even make it to graduation. Did I tell you Cora wants me to go to New York with her to meet her brother and sister?”
“She mentioned it to me when I talked to her in class on Wednesday. Are you gonna go?” Stiles resolutely keeps his eyes trained on the screen as he starts one of their saved games.
“I think so, yeah. But I don't want to leave you here alone, you know?”
“Don't worry about me,” Stiles tells Isaac, finally looking at him. “I'll be fine. Besides – Cora's taking you to meet the fam. That's, like, serious, right?”
“I guess,” Isaac says with a goofy grin. “I'm kinda nervous.”
“You should be. I hear Derek's still an overprotective jerk. And Laura, Laura has zero boundaries. Be prepared for the third degree.”
“Gee, thanks, Stiles. As my best friend, isn't it supposed to be your job to make me worry less?”
“As your best friend, it's my job not to lie to you. And Derek and Laura will probably interrogate the shit out of you. So... be like a boy scout and be prepared.” He watches Isaac take a couple long swallows from his bottle then changes the subject because a nervous Isaac leads to a panicky Isaac and that's no fun for anybody. “As a legit couple, you're gonna need a couple name. Isaacora?” he suggests. “Corisaac?”
Isaac wrinkles his nose at Stiles. “We don't need a silly couple name.”
“We could do last names. Lahale?” Stiles cackles. “It sounds like l'chaim. Or, or, Halahey? That sounds like a yodel. A Hawaiian one.”
“You're really bad at this name-smushing thing.”
“I don't hear you trying to help.”
“Because it's dumb.” Isaac glances over his shoulder as the front door opens.
“You're dumb.”
“Why is Isaac dumb?” Cora asks, sitting on the arm of the couch next to Isaac and stealing his beer, then his controller.
“Because he's not helping me make up a couple name for you guys. I like Halahey.”
“It's like a yodel,” Cora says.
Isaac rolls his eyes. “I don't know how I put up with the two of you.”
“Because you love us,” Cora states, pressing a wet, smacking kiss to Isaac's cheek.
“If you say so.”
“I do.” She slides off the arm into Isaac's lap and wiggles over until she's on the middle cushion between him and Stiles. “I wanted to talk to you about Christmas,” she says seriously.
“What about it?” Stiles asks, thumbing absently at the controller buttons.
“Well, I was thinking that you should come with us. Isaac's not big on flying, so we're gonna drive out, make a road-trip of it, but Laura already bought my ticket, so...”
Stiles shakes his head. “Nah. Thanks for the offer but-”
“Come on. You don't want to suffer through another awkward McCall holiday, do you? And you totally shouldn't be alone. Just come with us and we'll have a merry orphan Christmas.”
Pausing the game, Stiles drops his controller onto the coffee table before turning to face Cora. “Did you seriously just-” He scoffs, shaking his head again. His dad hasn't even been gone a year yet and it's the first time he's ever had to think of himself like that. An orphan. Cora lost her parents and half her family in a house fire back when they were in fifth grade. Isaac lost his mom when he was a kid and his dad in high school. Stiles was eight when his mom died and his dad's heart attack was just this past spring. She's right, though – they're orphans. All of them. And christ, they're not even twenty-two.
Cora's eyes are wide when she reaches for his hands and squeezes them gently. “Shit, Stiles, I'm sorry. I'm such a jerk. I didn't mean to... joke or anything, but. Jeez, I'm sorry.”
Stiles blinks sudden tears out of his eyes, thinking about celebrating Christmas without his dad, about all the years of the rest of his life – birthdays, holidays, and other milestones – his dad's going to miss. It's overwhelming. “It's fine,” he tells Cora instead.
“No, it's not. I'm an asshole. Just, please come to New York with us. It's not even gonna be really Christmassy. Just lots of food and maybe some exchanging of gifts. We never really got back into celebrating after the fire. And Laura got this idea to open a bed and breakfast so Derek's been remodeling this huge-ass farmhouse for her. We'll stay busy, okay? It'll take your mind off everything.” Her grip tightens fractionally with each sentence until Stiles feels his fingers start to go numb.
He shrugs and pulls his hands away. “Fine.”
“You promise?”
“Yes.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“A little. But I'll let you make it up to me. And you heard her, didn't you, Isaac?” he asks, leaning forward on the couch to see around Cora. “She totally admitted to being an asshole.”
The uneasiness on Isaac's face – he's still extremely uncomfortable around confrontation or when disagreements become arguments with raised voices – slowly melts into a small smile. “Yep. I've made a mental note and will retain it for future reference.”
Cora punches his shoulder. “Some kind of boyfriend you are. Way to have my back.”
“I'm Isaac's bro,” Stiles says with a smirk. “Stisaac before Lahaley.”
Rolling her eyes, Cora flops back against the couch, and Stiles and Isaac reach over her to bump fists.
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Prompt: 387 – portmanteau
Warnings: Everybody's human AU. Isaac/Cora. Will be Derek/Stiles.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~1050
Summary: Cora invites Stiles to Christmas in New York with her, Isaac, and what remains of her family.
Disclaimer: It's all lies and I own nothing.
A/N: Title is temporary because my brain can't think of anything Christmassy that isn't super cheesy.
Stiles is already halfway through his six-pack of Sam Adams Winter Lager when Isaac collapses onto the old couch beside him, reaching for the second Xbox controller on the coffee table. Stiles hands him a beer, exiting his current game to go to multiplayer mode. “Congrats on finishing finals,” he says.
Isaac pries the lid off his bottle before clinking it against Stiles'. “One more semester to go.”
Shaking his head, Stiles takes another swig. “Don't remind me. I'm not ready to graduate.”
Isaac laughs and puts his feet up on the table. “I don't know if I'll even make it to graduation. Did I tell you Cora wants me to go to New York with her to meet her brother and sister?”
“She mentioned it to me when I talked to her in class on Wednesday. Are you gonna go?” Stiles resolutely keeps his eyes trained on the screen as he starts one of their saved games.
“I think so, yeah. But I don't want to leave you here alone, you know?”
“Don't worry about me,” Stiles tells Isaac, finally looking at him. “I'll be fine. Besides – Cora's taking you to meet the fam. That's, like, serious, right?”
“I guess,” Isaac says with a goofy grin. “I'm kinda nervous.”
“You should be. I hear Derek's still an overprotective jerk. And Laura, Laura has zero boundaries. Be prepared for the third degree.”
“Gee, thanks, Stiles. As my best friend, isn't it supposed to be your job to make me worry less?”
“As your best friend, it's my job not to lie to you. And Derek and Laura will probably interrogate the shit out of you. So... be like a boy scout and be prepared.” He watches Isaac take a couple long swallows from his bottle then changes the subject because a nervous Isaac leads to a panicky Isaac and that's no fun for anybody. “As a legit couple, you're gonna need a couple name. Isaacora?” he suggests. “Corisaac?”
Isaac wrinkles his nose at Stiles. “We don't need a silly couple name.”
“We could do last names. Lahale?” Stiles cackles. “It sounds like l'chaim. Or, or, Halahey? That sounds like a yodel. A Hawaiian one.”
“You're really bad at this name-smushing thing.”
“I don't hear you trying to help.”
“Because it's dumb.” Isaac glances over his shoulder as the front door opens.
“You're dumb.”
“Why is Isaac dumb?” Cora asks, sitting on the arm of the couch next to Isaac and stealing his beer, then his controller.
“Because he's not helping me make up a couple name for you guys. I like Halahey.”
“It's like a yodel,” Cora says.
Isaac rolls his eyes. “I don't know how I put up with the two of you.”
“Because you love us,” Cora states, pressing a wet, smacking kiss to Isaac's cheek.
“If you say so.”
“I do.” She slides off the arm into Isaac's lap and wiggles over until she's on the middle cushion between him and Stiles. “I wanted to talk to you about Christmas,” she says seriously.
“What about it?” Stiles asks, thumbing absently at the controller buttons.
“Well, I was thinking that you should come with us. Isaac's not big on flying, so we're gonna drive out, make a road-trip of it, but Laura already bought my ticket, so...”
Stiles shakes his head. “Nah. Thanks for the offer but-”
“Come on. You don't want to suffer through another awkward McCall holiday, do you? And you totally shouldn't be alone. Just come with us and we'll have a merry orphan Christmas.”
Pausing the game, Stiles drops his controller onto the coffee table before turning to face Cora. “Did you seriously just-” He scoffs, shaking his head again. His dad hasn't even been gone a year yet and it's the first time he's ever had to think of himself like that. An orphan. Cora lost her parents and half her family in a house fire back when they were in fifth grade. Isaac lost his mom when he was a kid and his dad in high school. Stiles was eight when his mom died and his dad's heart attack was just this past spring. She's right, though – they're orphans. All of them. And christ, they're not even twenty-two.
Cora's eyes are wide when she reaches for his hands and squeezes them gently. “Shit, Stiles, I'm sorry. I'm such a jerk. I didn't mean to... joke or anything, but. Jeez, I'm sorry.”
Stiles blinks sudden tears out of his eyes, thinking about celebrating Christmas without his dad, about all the years of the rest of his life – birthdays, holidays, and other milestones – his dad's going to miss. It's overwhelming. “It's fine,” he tells Cora instead.
“No, it's not. I'm an asshole. Just, please come to New York with us. It's not even gonna be really Christmassy. Just lots of food and maybe some exchanging of gifts. We never really got back into celebrating after the fire. And Laura got this idea to open a bed and breakfast so Derek's been remodeling this huge-ass farmhouse for her. We'll stay busy, okay? It'll take your mind off everything.” Her grip tightens fractionally with each sentence until Stiles feels his fingers start to go numb.
He shrugs and pulls his hands away. “Fine.”
“You promise?”
“Yes.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“A little. But I'll let you make it up to me. And you heard her, didn't you, Isaac?” he asks, leaning forward on the couch to see around Cora. “She totally admitted to being an asshole.”
The uneasiness on Isaac's face – he's still extremely uncomfortable around confrontation or when disagreements become arguments with raised voices – slowly melts into a small smile. “Yep. I've made a mental note and will retain it for future reference.”
Cora punches his shoulder. “Some kind of boyfriend you are. Way to have my back.”
“I'm Isaac's bro,” Stiles says with a smirk. “Stisaac before Lahaley.”
Rolling her eyes, Cora flops back against the couch, and Stiles and Isaac reach over her to bump fists.
