{ Let me shelter you }

{ Chapter 4 }

Derek clicking his pen started driving Isaac crazy.

Clicking the pen.

Putting it back down.

Folding the map closed.

Sighing. Desperate sighing. With the occasional rubbing of the temples, as Isaac noticed through the corner of his eye.

Folding the map open again.

Picking up the pen.

Clicking it again.

The repeating process had been going on for more than ten minutes and it pushed Isaac's nerves. Finally having finished with putting the dishes away, it was Isaac's turn to sigh as he turned around.

'Did that pen say something, Derek?' Isaac asked. Derek looked up, a startled yet confused look on his face.

'What?'

'Did it hurt your feelings?' Isaac moved away from the open kitchen and came closer to the desk, motioning with his hands as he continued speaking. 'Say something wrong? Because you've been massacring the tip of that pen for the past ten minutes and it's, to say the least, very annoying.'

Derek merely sighed in response as he looked back at his map. 'I don't have time for this, Isaac. I'm thinking.'

Isaac came up to the desk, standing opposite of where Derek was sitting, putting both hands on the surface. Not getting Derek's attention, as he'd hoped, he took the map and pulled it away from Derek.

'Hey, hey –' But Derek's protests were in vain. Isaac had already folded the map.

'We've done enough thinking for today. No – better yet, we've done enough thinking for the past week. And you, you need some fresh air,' Isaac continued talking as he made his way to the front of the desk and put the map in its regular drawer. 'So we're going out.'

Derek gave a confusing look, his eyebrows raising questioningly.

'Do I look like I go out?'

'Don't be ridiculous. All people go out,' Isaac mocked, making his way to stand in front of Derek again. He was met with a disinterested face. Isaac crossed his arms, showing he wasn't going to let this one go so easily. 'Come on, Derek! I swear, just one drink. It'll clear your head.'

'I'm sorry, Isaac, but I don't really feel like going out tonight.'

Isaac gave him an understanding look. When it came to Derek, not a single night would be right to go out. He knew Derek felt guilty every single minute he didn't spend on looking for Erica and Boyd. He understood that, better than anyone else; Boyd and Erica were just as much his pack as they were Isaac's. And he wanted to find them just as much as Derek wanted to. All of that, however, didn't imply they weren't allowed some fun anymore in the meantime.

A sly grin crept on Isaac's face. 'I'll pay the first drink.'

A little smile couldn't help but fight its way in on Derek's face as he looked at Isaac, amused with the younger one's perseverance.

'Come on,' Isaac motioned with his head to the door, indicating they should go. Derek reluctantly – or rather, pretending that he was reluctant, but Isaac knew better – got up and made his way to the door. Isaac grinned at his victory.

'Fine, but only because you're paying,' Derek said, taking his keys as he reached for the door. Isaac hopped, following right behind. He had great difficulty hiding his excitement.

'Hey, I said I'll pay the first one.'

Derek laughed while opening the door. 'What was that? I don't think I heard you.'

'Derek!'

The hall filled with laughter when Isaac playfully gave Derek a nudge as both made their way downstairs.

{ -x- }

'Are you kidding me?' Derek asked as he drove up to the parking lot of Beacon Hills' local pub.

'Why, what's wrong?' Isaac asked, genuinely curious as to why he should be kidding.

Derek pointedly looked at the entrance of the little café, which was crowded with young girls, each taking turns while smoking a single cigarette they'd probably taken from their parents. Isaac frowned.

'I swear, those girls are an exception. I've been here before, it'll be better inside.' Isaac tried to convince Derek.

Sighing, Derek got out of the car anyway and made his way to the entrance, with Isaac following right behind. The group of girls they'd been talking about were gathered smack in front of the door, requiring Derek to push his way into their little circle so he could get to the entrance. Isaac stayed as close as possible, not wanting to go through the circle on his own and embarrass himself. Noticing Derek, the girls immediately stopped talking and started staring at him, not even bothering to hide the lustful eyes they were giving him. Derek, however, ignored them and pushed the door open. The moment the door closed behind Isaac, a fit of giggling erupted from the other side. Isaac had to muffle a laugh; Derek's reaction was priceless.

After an obvious roll of the eyes, Derek took in his surroundings. And he had to admit, the place looked much better than he initially expected. The music was playing, yet not too loud so it was still agreeable to talk. A few tables were scattered around the place, candles stacked in old wine bottles providing just enough light. In front of the DJ, there was some space to dance. At the moment it was still vacant, but it was still early after all. And then Derek noticed the bar. All sorts of drinks were messily arranged on a large shelf that reached the ceiling. Now we're getting there, Derek thought.

'It seems you were right. This place is nice,' Derek admitted, looking at Isaac.

'Pfft, of course I was right,' Isaac boasted, going over to the bar and taking place on one of the dozen vintage leather bar stools. Derek did the same, taking his seat next to Isaac.

'So, what can I please you with?' Isaac gave a goofy grin, clearly in the mood for a fun night.

'You can buy me a whiskey,' Derek replied.

Isaac took out his wallet and yelled the bartender's name, which appeared to be 'Oscar. Derek was slightly surprised and wondered how he knew him. The bartender was wearing a gray, short-sleeve Henley, showing a tattoo that completely covered his wrist. He smiled when he noticed Isaac, immediately excusing himself with a customer he was talking to. As he came up to them, he greeted Isaac heartily while patting his shoulder.

'Lahey, it's been a while. Please tell me you have some news on Erica and Boyd?' Derek's ears perked up at the Scottish accent Oscar clearly attempted to suppress. He wondered how the hell he knew Erica and Boyd as well, but then remembered he never had all that much contact with his Beta's before two of them had disappeared. Who knows, they might've been spending most of their time at this little pub for all he knew. It still gave him a bad feeling that he knew about their disappearance. Isaac hadn't told him about werewolves, now had he?

Isaac merely shook his head disappointedly while the bartender sighed sadly and ruffled Isaac's curls, finally smiling comfortingly. 'Well, don't worry, buddy. The police'll find them; that's their job. So, what can I get you and your mate?'

'Well, the usual for me and a whiskey for this guy over here,' Isaac pointed his head at Derek. The bartender nodded and went to prepare the drinks.

'How the hell does he know about Boyd and Erica?' Derek urged the moment Oscar was out of ear's reach. He hoped the anger didn't seep through his voice, not wanting to get angry with Isaac before hearing the whole story. And he trusted Isaac not to have told anyone about werewolves. He wasn't stupid. Still, his distrust issues probably ran just as deep as Isaac's.

'Don't worry, Derek.' Isaac was convinced he had done nothing wrong.

'He knows just as much as the police and as Boyd and Erica's parents. Which is that they've been missing for three weeks. That's it.'

Derek immediately calmed down.

'You didn't think I'd told him about…' Isaac pointed his hand between Derek and himself, indicating he meant them being supernatural. Derek raised his eyebrows and shrugged, giving the impression that he hadn't been sure.

'Derek, I'm not stupid!' Isaac shook his head incredulously.

'Look, I used to come here with Erica and Boyd; we hung out with Oscar, the guy I just talked to. We became friends. Good friends. So you can only imagine his face when I came in on my own, for the first time. I couldn't avoid answering his questions. They were his friends,' Isaac innocently shrugged his shoulders. Derek hummed in understanding

'Anyway, we didn't come here to talk about Boyd and Erica,' Isaac grimaced, missing them. They used to come here so often.

Two glasses and a bottle of sprite were placed in front of them. Isaac looked up and smiled, taking out some money. The bartender however pushed his hand away.

'Don't worry about it, buddy. This one's on the house,' he smiled. Isaac seemed like he wanted to protest, but was interrupted immediately.

'How about you'll just buy me the next drink, when my shift's over?'

Isaac sighed in defeat. 'Sure, I'll keep you on that one.'

Nodding, he went over to some other customers to attend to. Isaac took his sprite and mixed it with the vodka that was already in the glass. Derek was staring at him, slightly amused.

'What?' Isaac asked, not taking his eyes off of his drink, scared he'd otherwise spill it. When the glass was finally full, he looked at Derek. His left eyebrow was raised questioningly, an amused grin on his face.

'I'm just going to ignore the fact that that,' he said while pointing his head towards Isaac's glass, 'is not pure sprite.'

Isaac frowned, looked at his glass and bit his lip. The sight amused Derek. He knew he shouldn't approve of the younger one drinking alcohol at his age or that he could even get these drinks at this pub without any repercussions. But at the same time, their age difference wasn't all that big and Derek remembered all too well how he'd been himself. Besides that, he didn't feel like taking over the responsible role tonight. At least he didn't go about and lied about the fact that he drank alcohol. Isaac looked up again.

'At least it's not pure vodka?' he tried, smiling apologetically. Derek scoffed, rolling his eyes and taking his drink.

'Wait,' Isaac smiled, lifting his glass towards derek's.

'I have something to celebrate.'

'Oh?' Derek was surprised.

Isaac's grin widened, seeming very excited.

'I found a job.'

Derek couldn't help the smile that fought his way onto his face. He was genuinely happy and even felt a little proud. He wondered how it was possible that only after a week of living together, he already started feeling so – what was the right word – paternal? Was he feeling paternal towards Isaac? He wasn't sure and it scared him a little; but he decided to push the thoughts away. Isaac seemed to begin worrying as Derek still hadn't said a thing.

'Well, congratulations Isaac. On your new job,' Derek quickly regained himself, clinking his glass to that of Isaac and then they both took a swig.

'So, where are you going to work?'

'It's a little café, not far from Beacon Hills Park. They sell ice cream, milkshakes, coffee and a variety of desserts.'

Derek noticed Isaac was wringing his hands. He wondered why he would be nervous talking about his job to Derek. Maybe he was scared to disappoint? It's not like he ever got positive feedback from his father.

'I work from 4 to 8, except on Monday. And it pays well.'

Derek nodded approvingly. 'I'm proud of you.'

The words were uttered before he knew what he was doing. He would've never said something like that to anyone before. But then he saw Isaac smiling uncertainly, asking, 'Yeah?' And Derek couldn't help returning the smile. 'Yeah,' he whispered.

They sipped their drinks again, both feeling happy and a little uncertain at the same time. This whole guardian stuff still felt very strange, and it wasn't like they actually addressed the issue all that often. So they were left with many unresolved questions, but they were working on it. Not even the Eiffel tower was built in one week after all.

'I start tomorrow, by the way,' Isaac told after a moment of silence.

'Well, I'll drive you,' Derek suggested. It was the least he could do. Beacon Hill's Park wasn't so close by the door anyway.

'No, it's okay, I'll take the bus.' Derek had never before suggested to drive him, or Erica and Boyd, to school unless he had to be there himself for some reason. He didn't want to bother him by having to drive half through the city to get Isaac to his work. He would manage, as he always has done.

'You hurt my feelings, Isaac,' Derek decided to pick the easy way out instead of having another heartfelt conversation about how Isaac shouldn't feel like he was a bother to Derek. 'Are you ashamed of me driving you to your work?'

Isaac scoffed, throwing his head back and laughing. 'I swear, sometimes I wonder if you're for real, Derek. You're an ass,' he grinned.

Derek was happy to see all the uncertainty was replaced with some confidence and even that slight, amical arrogance that would've been so typically Isaac had he not been so misused in the past.

'Shut up and drink up before I change my mind,' Derek held out his glass to give another toast.

'Seriously, you're an ass, I hope you know that,' Isaac replied comically, holding out his glass and clinking with that of Derek.

'You're no better yourself,' he said and winked as they both downed their drinks ad fundum.

{ -x- }

A few light-hearted conversations and at least twice as much drinks later, they both had loosened up immensely in comparison with earlier that night.

'No, but Derek, I swear. Scott is, like, the epitome of a douche,' Isaac snorted while motioning with his hands, as if he could capture Scott's implied douchery between them. The amount of glasses were piling up before them and he realized he'd started losing count already an hour ago.

The bar was crowded now. The young girls from earlier who had barricaded the door, had been sitting in a booth in the corner of the pub. Not for a single moment had they taken their eyes off of Derek, yet no one dared to come and talk to him. His occasional glare directed at the group probably hindered them to do so. Much to his pleasure, they had left at around 12 am, probably not even allowed to stay out much longer. That had been an hour and a half earlier from now.

The dance floor was now more crowded as well and the music had been turned up a notch since a while. If Isaac had been here with Erica and Boyd, he probably would've been there dancing the night away. But – even drunk – he knew he couldn't ask that of Derek; even if he seemed to feel the alcohol now as well.

Derek hid his sniggering face behind his hand, clearly amused with Isaac's expressive motions.

'Cut the boy some slack, please. He's not a bad kid!' he tried to stay serious, but it seemed to have become more difficult to do so with every drink.

'Nah, I don't know. I don't trust him.' Isaac scrunched his nose at the thought of the werewolf that ran with humans. Derek snorted at his younger Beta's naivety.

'You don't know him, that's what I say.' Derek took another sip of his glass, realizing it was empty as he put it to his lips. 'Damn, empty again? I swear, there are leaks in these glasses.'

He studied the glass.

Isaac ignored his last statement, instead continued dissing Scott. 'No, but seriously, he doesn't – '

But Isaac's babbling was interrupted by an arm that was swung around his shoulder. With a little difficulty, he looked to his right and saw Oscar had swung one arm around Isaac's shoulders and the other around Derek's while he squeezed himself between the two, clearly having had a few drinks himself as he was grinning at both of them. Derek looked like he would rip his arms off any moment now, which he probably would've done, had he not been in such a good mood. Oscar didn't notice Derek's glare and didn't bother to remove his arm either.

'Mate, you owe me a drink, I believe,' he laughed at Isaac, his Scottish accent more clear now, probably not even bothering anymore at hiding it. He finally released their shoulders and instead grabbed a bar stool from nearby and placed it between Derek and Isaac, taking a seat.

'I'll have a whiskey-cola, please.' Isaac seemed delighted Oscar had joined them, while Derek was anything but. But he decided not to ruin the mood, as he genuinely had enjoyed himself up to now. And who knows, this 'bartender' might be an okay guy after all.

'Derek, another whiskey?' Isaac asked.

Derek thought of the throbbing head he'd be feeling tomorrow morning if he drank another whiskey. On top of that, he still had to get his Beta home safely, which would be impossible now anyway. If the police caught him driving his 'adopted son' – God, that's weird. Derek concluded and decided to pretend he didn't just think that. It creeped him out. – his Beta in this condition, who knows what would happen with his custody. Better to just walk home then, he thought.

'No, I think I've had enough.' Derek frowned, looking guiltily at the stack of glasses in front of them. God, he felt awful; he hasn't been using his brain very much this evening.

Oscar however didn't agree to that plan.

'Aw, come on, mate. The night's just beginning,' he nudged his shoulder and as if on cue, Derek's good mood set in again. He grinned lazily.

'All right, but this is the last one.'

'Whatever you say, mate. Whatever you say,' Oscar concluded as he held up his hand towards the three other bartenders that had now taken over his shift. A blonde girl that had been swiftly cleaning glasses came up to them.

'What shall it be, boys?' She asked happily, clearly enjoying the work she was doing, no matter how crowded it was. There hung an exciting atmosphere in the air and she loved it.

'Ah, Ellie Bellie,' Oscar grinned, clearly familiar with the blonde. 'It shall be one vodka-sprite, one whiskey-cola and one whiskey pure, love.' She rolled her eyes at the nicknames he'd given her, clearly aware of his tipsy state.

'You're drunk,' she laughed.

'Anyway, who are your friends?' she asked as she filled the glasses in front of them. The glance she threw at Derek didn't go unnoticed as Derek gave her a cheeky smile in return.

'Well, you already know Isaac over here,' he said while pointing his head at the younger one beside him. 'So I'm gonna assume you're interested in this pretty lad over here,' he continued while he threw an arm around Derek again and patted his chest. Oscar obviously was not aware of the many boundaries he'd already crossed tonight concerning Derek. He was lucky he was a little occupied with the pretty blonde inquiring about him.

'Actually, I don't know his name. Isaac, what is his name?' he said while his arm stayed put loosely around Derek.

'Elle, this is Derek. Derek, Elle,' Isaac introduced them to each other as he paid the money to her.

'Thanks, Elle,' he said when she put the drinks in front of them. She smiled appreciatively at Isaac; she remembered him as always the polite one.

'Nice to meet you, Derek,' she gave another glance at the man next to Oscar.

'Likewise,' he nodded in return, smiling again as she made her way back to the sink.

Oscar still had his arm loosely around Derek's neck, gaping at the luscious look she had just given Derek.

'Blimey, you could get that, mate,' he stated simply. Isaac almost choked on his drink, trying not to laugh. He couldn't believe how Derek hadn't punched him in the face yet. His patience had been seriously tested up to now.

A simple glare however was enough for Oscar to remove his arm and put them up before him in defense.

'I'll back off, mate,' he grinned, not very capable of staying serious.

'Anyway, Lahey, I've noticed that pretty little redhead over there has been staring my ass off all night. So if you'll excuse me,' he said while hopping off of the barstool.

'Thanks again for the drink,' he said as he grabbed Isaac's head and ran his hands through his hair playfully. Isaac pushed him away, refraining him from messing up his hair any more than he already had.

'Okay, okay, I get it,' He laughed wholeheartedly. 'Go get that girl, or whatever,' he said as he gave another push in the right direction. Holding his bottle of cola in his one hand and his whiskey in the other, Oscar made his way over to the girl. Isaac and Derek watched him go off and then turned back to their drinks.

'Is that guy for real?' Derek asked incredulously. He didn't mind him as much as he did at first, even if he was a little too easy-going to Derek's liking. But he recognized his younger self in him, before he got overthrown with crap. Oscar was definitely no longer on his bad book.

'What do you think?' Isaac took another swig. 'He's a bartender,' he shrugged as if it was all so evident. Derek shook his head unbelievably.

'This is the last round, by the way.'

'We'll see,' Isaac grinned, his glass ready at his mouth for another swig.

'We'll see how much you'll laugh at your first day at work. You do know you have to work tomorrow, do you?'

'Aww, shit, I do, don't I?' he scrunched his nose, shaking his head. 'No…'

Derek merely nodded in reply, biting his lip as if he felt his pain.

'Now finish your drink. We're walking home,' Derek said as he took one last gulp and moved away from his bar stool. Isaac groaned, not as eager anymore to stay and have another drink. Luckily, he only had to start at 4 pm.

As he finished his drink as well, he quickly followed Derek, noticing his head was swirling at the sudden change of movement.

'But Derek, hold up,' he slurred. God, standing up had not been good. It was as if the amount of alcohol had multiplied by ten and he was feeling twice as drunk as before. He bumped into Derek, noticing he didn't seem to have as much trouble with walking as he did.

'Is it far?' he whined.

'It was only five minutes driving, so I'm sure we'll be back home in fifteen minutes,' Derek reassured his Beta. He really hoped the younger one wouldn't have a hangover tomorrow.

'Come one, the fresh air will stop the throbbing you're probably feeling.'

Isaac groaned, but followed anyway. All he needed right now was his bed.

'I need my bed,' he mumbled. And Erica, he thought, though refrained from saying that out loud. She always knew what to do to prevent a hangover, yet he couldn't remember any of her advice right now. He'll just have to get through it on his own tonight.

A/N: Oh my freaking god, it has been ages since I updated. I know and I feel guilty. But I've had a pretty rough summer, so Fanfiction was momentarily on the back of my mind. Plus, I've read some amazing Teen Wolf Fanfiction in general, and I always feel my writing is so little compared to some other amazing fics out there. So I had a little insecurity-issues about my writing. But your lovely reviews kept coming, and I suddenly got inspired to do it anyway. Other than that, I always feel I'm repeating myself as well? Like, Most of my chapters have been angsty up to now, and with this chapter I wanted something more light-hearted. Still, the angst can be felt and I don't know how to prevent that. If it bothers you, please say so and tell me how I can do it differently. Also, not a lot happens in this chapter.. And I don't know if that's bad or still enjoyable to read..? Let me know! ;)

And another OC; Oscar. Please don't hate on him..? :p He's based off of a real life friend of mine and I thought he fitted right in! :) Brought a little comical touch to the story.

I hope Derek's not ooc. :s The flirting; I think definitely not. Have you seen how he flirted with that police girl back in, I believe, season 1? The boy has some amazing hidden skills when it comes to girls, I'm sure of it! :p And we haven't seen a drunk Derek yet, so that had to be improvised. Oh, and I imagined Elle as Claire Holt. I always liked crossovers with Rebekah from TVD and Derek from Teen wolf, so that's that. :)

And yeah, so many irresponsibilities! I know Derek threw his 'guardian' position out of the window for a moment there, but idk, he's physically in his mid-twenties and he doesn't strike me as the type of guy that would get all responsible; telling Isaac he can't drink. Idk, I'm sorry if it bothers you. I just was a little conflicted as well on this issue.

And don't worry; Derek will make sure Isaac gets right on time on his first day at work, without any headache! ;) But I don't think I'll write that part, as it follows right up to this and I just have so many other ideas.

I hope you enjoyed this (extra-long btw!) chapter! :)