Learning To Appreciate The Ordinary
Author: verucasalt123
Title: Learning To Appreciate The Ordinary
Rating: PG
Pairing/s: none, mention of past Scott/Allison
Character/s: Isaac, Scott McCall, Melissa McCall
Summary: Melissa McCall is all kinds of awesome.
Warnings: discussion of past abusive situations
Word Count: 995
Prompt: Laughter
Isaac had been staying at Scott’s place for six months and finally, finally, was starting to get comfortable with the dynamics of the McCall family (his family, now) and how to process all of the little things that made up their life together.
Scott was supportive; that was really no surprise once he settled in. Kindness was such a big part of who Scott was, as was his desire to make other people comfortable and happy. Isaac knew there was a time when those instincts weren’t so strong - he’d heard from Stiles about Scott’s single-mindedness and sometimes selfish behavior when he and Allison were first together, and Stiles would never say anything bad about Scott if it weren’t true. Even though this was true, it was difficult for Stiles to admit how hurt he was that his best friend seemed to tune out everything else in his life in favor of a new love interest. All that was water under the bridge now. Allison and Scott were still friends, even Isaac had forgiven her past actions enough to be friendly with her, and Scott had seemed to learn his lesson, not getting so wrapped up in his latest romantic relationship that he forgot the other important people in his life.
Without trying to be obvious, Scott had welcomed him into their family with simple gestures; playing video games, helping each other out with homework, introducing him to the wonder that was mainlining entire seasons of shows on Netflix. It had taken a while, but comfort had settled in Isaac little by little as they bonded over mutual hatred of English literature and mutual love for Veronica Mars.
Along with Scott’s acceptance came the eventual trust and companionship of his friends. Isaac never thought it would happen, but he now found himself chatting easily with Danny at their lunch table, getting math tips from Lydia and trading sarcastic remarks with Stiles. Sure, he’d known all of these people before, but now it felt like they were his friends just as much as they were Scott’s; best of all, it was clearly not just because they saw Isaac as an extension of Scott, but because they’d taken the time to get to know him and found him to be someone they liked spending time with. That was probably the biggest surprise of all, as far as their social life was concerned.
When they were at home, though, the key to it all was Melissa. It had taken him weeks of constant reminders from her, but he eventually did stop referring to her as ‘Ms. McCall’. The first time he’d called her that after he’d officially moved in, she’d said, “Isaac, our family isn’t formal like that, in case you haven’t noticed”, with a grin.
She hadn’t pushed - it was clear that she knew what kind of situation he’d had with his father and, despite his hidden altruistic intention, with Derek. But she never pressed him to talk about it, never tried to get him to open up about those issues in the moments where he’d freeze up or get anxious about things that seemed like no big deal to her.
Obviously, she’d known what she was doing. Melissa just did her best to carry on their home life just as it had always been before Isaac had moved in. She often remarked on the care and feeding of two active teenagers with the metabolisms of werewolves, but in a loving way. She was also open with her appreciation of having an extra person in the house to help with cooking, chores and other everyday tasks. It was no surprise that Isaac happily stepped in to do things like doing laundry and wash the dishes for this woman who was offering him everything he’d ever wanted and never had - a stable life in a loving family.
What really sealed the deal, though, between the two of them was the way that Melissa laughed. There was never a sharp edge to it; his dad had frequently laughed at him, but Melissa tended more to laugh because she was truly happy or because Isaac and Scott had done something silly that honestly amused her.
The first time that Isaac had forgotten to haul the trash can to the curb the night before garbage pickup, he’d woken with a start at the sound of the truck going down the street. Even with his enhanced speed, there was no way he’d get it down there in time. It was six in the morning and Melissa walked in from her shift at the hospital to find Isaac standing at the bottom of the stairs looking intensely bothered. Immediately, of course, she asked him what was wrong, if something bad had happened. It took a minute for him to fully respond, explaining that he’d promised her before she’d left the night before that he’d take care of this task but had forgotten, and he’d tried so hard to get everything right, to always fulfill his obligations and now he’d gone and thrown that all away. She was going to be angry with him, tell Isaac how irresponsible he was for neglecting such a simple task. By the time he’d gotten it all out of his mouth and finally was able to look into her eyes, still shrinking in on himself a little and covering his chest with his arms instinctively, Melissa was looking at him with an expression very far from disappointment. Concern was clear, sympathy even, for his agitated state. After explaining that they’d lived in that house more than a dozen years and she and Scott had both forgotten trash day numerous times, she laughed and told him, ‘You know they’ll be back in three days, right?’.
Being met with concern and a smile instead of anger instantly made Isaac feel more like family. Melissa’s laughter was clearly a pretty damn powerful way for him to remember how much he was loved.
Title: Learning To Appreciate The Ordinary
Rating: PG
Pairing/s: none, mention of past Scott/Allison
Character/s: Isaac, Scott McCall, Melissa McCall
Summary: Melissa McCall is all kinds of awesome.
Warnings: discussion of past abusive situations
Word Count: 995
Prompt: Laughter
Isaac had been staying at Scott’s place for six months and finally, finally, was starting to get comfortable with the dynamics of the McCall family (his family, now) and how to process all of the little things that made up their life together.
Scott was supportive; that was really no surprise once he settled in. Kindness was such a big part of who Scott was, as was his desire to make other people comfortable and happy. Isaac knew there was a time when those instincts weren’t so strong - he’d heard from Stiles about Scott’s single-mindedness and sometimes selfish behavior when he and Allison were first together, and Stiles would never say anything bad about Scott if it weren’t true. Even though this was true, it was difficult for Stiles to admit how hurt he was that his best friend seemed to tune out everything else in his life in favor of a new love interest. All that was water under the bridge now. Allison and Scott were still friends, even Isaac had forgiven her past actions enough to be friendly with her, and Scott had seemed to learn his lesson, not getting so wrapped up in his latest romantic relationship that he forgot the other important people in his life.
Without trying to be obvious, Scott had welcomed him into their family with simple gestures; playing video games, helping each other out with homework, introducing him to the wonder that was mainlining entire seasons of shows on Netflix. It had taken a while, but comfort had settled in Isaac little by little as they bonded over mutual hatred of English literature and mutual love for Veronica Mars.
Along with Scott’s acceptance came the eventual trust and companionship of his friends. Isaac never thought it would happen, but he now found himself chatting easily with Danny at their lunch table, getting math tips from Lydia and trading sarcastic remarks with Stiles. Sure, he’d known all of these people before, but now it felt like they were his friends just as much as they were Scott’s; best of all, it was clearly not just because they saw Isaac as an extension of Scott, but because they’d taken the time to get to know him and found him to be someone they liked spending time with. That was probably the biggest surprise of all, as far as their social life was concerned.
When they were at home, though, the key to it all was Melissa. It had taken him weeks of constant reminders from her, but he eventually did stop referring to her as ‘Ms. McCall’. The first time he’d called her that after he’d officially moved in, she’d said, “Isaac, our family isn’t formal like that, in case you haven’t noticed”, with a grin.
She hadn’t pushed - it was clear that she knew what kind of situation he’d had with his father and, despite his hidden altruistic intention, with Derek. But she never pressed him to talk about it, never tried to get him to open up about those issues in the moments where he’d freeze up or get anxious about things that seemed like no big deal to her.
Obviously, she’d known what she was doing. Melissa just did her best to carry on their home life just as it had always been before Isaac had moved in. She often remarked on the care and feeding of two active teenagers with the metabolisms of werewolves, but in a loving way. She was also open with her appreciation of having an extra person in the house to help with cooking, chores and other everyday tasks. It was no surprise that Isaac happily stepped in to do things like doing laundry and wash the dishes for this woman who was offering him everything he’d ever wanted and never had - a stable life in a loving family.
What really sealed the deal, though, between the two of them was the way that Melissa laughed. There was never a sharp edge to it; his dad had frequently laughed at him, but Melissa tended more to laugh because she was truly happy or because Isaac and Scott had done something silly that honestly amused her.
The first time that Isaac had forgotten to haul the trash can to the curb the night before garbage pickup, he’d woken with a start at the sound of the truck going down the street. Even with his enhanced speed, there was no way he’d get it down there in time. It was six in the morning and Melissa walked in from her shift at the hospital to find Isaac standing at the bottom of the stairs looking intensely bothered. Immediately, of course, she asked him what was wrong, if something bad had happened. It took a minute for him to fully respond, explaining that he’d promised her before she’d left the night before that he’d take care of this task but had forgotten, and he’d tried so hard to get everything right, to always fulfill his obligations and now he’d gone and thrown that all away. She was going to be angry with him, tell Isaac how irresponsible he was for neglecting such a simple task. By the time he’d gotten it all out of his mouth and finally was able to look into her eyes, still shrinking in on himself a little and covering his chest with his arms instinctively, Melissa was looking at him with an expression very far from disappointment. Concern was clear, sympathy even, for his agitated state. After explaining that they’d lived in that house more than a dozen years and she and Scott had both forgotten trash day numerous times, she laughed and told him, ‘You know they’ll be back in three days, right?’.
Being met with concern and a smile instead of anger instantly made Isaac feel more like family. Melissa’s laughter was clearly a pretty damn powerful way for him to remember how much he was loved.