Chapter Text
Tomorrow is the big day. Three long months of planning and scouting the Casino has built up to this moment. They’ve learned everything there is to know about the building, the owners and their employees. Every minute detail has been figured out and nothing can go wrong, they won’t let it.
Liam stands alone in the study staring at the wall of paper, a black waistcoat clutched tightly in his hands. Theo swiped a uniform from the casino for Liam to wear on the day, he’d also gotten his hands on an extra key card for Liam to modify with his own fake details, incase anyone questioned who he was or if they got separated.
Liam glances at his watch. Theo arrived back from work a half hour ago, he’d broken out of Liam’s embrace placing a chaste kiss on his lips before excusing himself to change out of his work clothes. He had yet to reappear. Liam’s mouth twitches anxiously, what if he has cold feet?
Padding along the narrow corridor, he stops outside of their room listening for any sign of life. When all he hears is a slow, steady heartbeat, he apprehensively pushes open the door.
Theo is sitting on the edge of the bed, his head tilted back and his eyes closed. Is he asleep? Liam tiptoes across the cold, hard floor until he's directly in front of Theo. Leaning down in front of the boy, he fiddles with the small buttons of his waistcoat, trying to make him more comfortable.
“Your hair smells like flowers” he whispers sleepily, his warm breath hitting against Liam’s neck. Goosebumps break out everywhere Theo's words touch.
Liam huffs out a breathy laugh. “You should really get out of your clothes and try to get some sleep. Preferably in a bed this time.”
Theo hums quietly, slipping his arms from his waistcoat. He pushes himself onto his feet, unbuttoning his black shirt. Liam can’t help but stare when he catches a glimpse of smooth skin beneath the thin material. He forces his eyes back up to Theo’s face, he still has his eyes closed but there’s a lazy smirk fixed into place, it’s like he knows exactly what Liam is thinking.
Theo slowly lets his shirt drop to the floor like he’s trying to give Liam the world’s sleepiest strip tease. It makes him smile. He places a hand on Theo’s shoulder guiding him backwards, until his calves hit against the bed frame.
The chimera dips his head low, brushing his lips lightly against Liam’s cheek - even that small touch sends shivers rippling across his nerve endings, making his whole body tremble.
Theo rubs his palms up and down the length of Liam’s sides, lifting his t-shirt slightly. “If you want to stop, tell me now” he whispers, staring intensely into Liam’s eyes. “Or now” he mumbles, trailing soft kisses along Liam’s jaw.
Liam reaches out pulling him closer against his body. Theo’s words are lost against Liam’s mouth as he kisses him gently. It wasn’t gentleness Liam wanted, not now, not after all this time but Theo looks dead on his feet and they have a long day ahead of them. “Get some sleep” he tells the boy firmly, pulling back.
Theo groans low in his throat, frustrated but he doesn’t argue. “Fine, but you owe me. Big time .”
“You won’t hear me arguing” Liam chuckles.
“Y’know, when this is all over” Theo yawns. “I wouldn’t mind seeing some of California.”
Liam’s stomach flutters as he watches the boy climb under the bed covers.
It’s almost show time. Theo bounces nervously on the balls of his feet, looking up and down the corridor for a glimpse of Liam. He wants to see him before he leaves for the casino and everything becomes chaos.
Theo feels his face light up as he spots him in the distance. How is he supposed to focus on a casino heist when his nerves are on fire and every cell in his body is hyper-focused on Liam?
Liam’s hair is sticking up in all directions like he’s been incessantly running his hands through it. “I’m going to loop the video footage at precisely 12:08, we will need to move as quickly as we can to get in and out before anyone notices-”
“Li, I know. You don’t have to worry, we’ve got this under control.” Theo says tenderly. He pauses for a second before adding “You’ll come out by the storage room. It’s important that you take the stairs to the left, not the right. They’ll bring you out by the back reception, it’s never busy there and Miss Personality behind the counter is practically married to her computer screen. She won’t even look at you.”
Liam snorts at his nickname for Shanice - the receptionist, who might just be the most boring person Theo has ever encountered - before smirking at him. “I thought you said we have this under control?”
They exchange awkward goodbyes, staring longingly at one another. All the words that neither of them have the guts to say out loud, are written over both of their faces. Theo nods in understanding, reaching out to give Liam’s hand a quick squeeze.
“I’ll see you on the other side” he smiles, as he climbs into his truck. He allows himself one last look at Liam in the rear view mirror before pulling out onto the busy street.
The van which Liam is in, parks in an alleyway two blocks south of the casino. He’s sitting in the back with his laptop on his knees, his fingertips flying across the keyboard as he types line after line of code, gaining himself access to the CCTV set up within the casino.
He glances at the time in the right corner of the laptop screen and then at his watch. One minute until he can hit the enter key, setting everything in motion. His finger taps anxiously against the empty space below his keyboard, watching the minutes pass by on the clock.
It’s time, in 5..4..3..2..1. Pressing enter, he watches as the camera feeds jump to the looped video he’d downloaded from their server two days before.
He places the laptop on the floor, sliding open the heavy door of the van. Jumping to the ground he moves hastily over to the manhole in the alleyway. The Black Phantoms had already pried it open for him, just like they said they would.
“Don’t forget this” Inferno calls out, throwing a backpack out the window of the van. “You do not want to smell like a sewer all day long, trust me. Good luck”
Liam steps into the protective overalls, pulling a flashlight from the side pocket of the bag. He takes a deep breath wary of the darkness below. You don't have time for fear, he thinks to himself as he descends the ladder.
When he plants both of his feet on the ground, the rank smell hits him hard and fast. It makes his eyes water, it kind of reminds him of the smell of the Porta-Potties he’s used at concerts. Only ten times worse.
He shines his flashlight around the tunnel trying to gather his bearings before continuing forward. His footsteps squelch in the dampness, the sound echoes through the endless tunnels.
Liam glances back at where the bright light of day is peeking in through the manhole. He has to take a left up ahead which means he’s going to lose sight of the light soon enough.
Theo spends the morning inconspicuously placing signal jammers in hidden spots around the casino. The radio noise frequency should be enough to stop the alarms from being triggered by blocking their sensors.
He paces the perimeter of the room, stopping to ask the casino revellers if there’s anything he can get them or to make small talk with the security guards. Gazing up at the giant clock hanging above the casino floor, he cuts his conversation with Antonio short. It’s time to meet Liam for stage two.
Theo waits in the back stairwell, just past the second reception. He grows more and more apprehensive with each second that Liam doesn’t show.
Eventually, the door pushes open with a loud clunk. When Theo sees Liam standing at the top of the stairs with a bright smile on his face, all of his fears and doubt wash away replaced by a feeling of euphoria. He loves Liam and if they actually get through this, he’s going to tell him.
“Earth to Theo” Liam smiles, waving a hand in front of his face. “You ready to go?”
Theo nods, leaning forward to plant a small peck on his lips. “This way” he says gesturing down the next set of stairs.
They hurry down two further flights of stairs until they reach the service elevator. Liam impatiently presses the button three times.
“That’s not going to make it come any faster” Theo smirks, rolling his eyes.
When the doors ping open a moment later, Liam glances at him with his eyebrows raised like it somehow disproves Theo’s point. “You’re a ridiculous human being” he says following the sounds of Liam’s laughter into the elevator.
The doors open up onto the basement level floor. They exit the elevator together, walking confidently towards the door leading to the vault. The vault guard will be on his break right now, sitting in the security room watching the looped video feed whilst he eats lunch, unaware that Theo and Liam are even down here. They swipe the keycard over the lock, slipping through the door unnoticed as it flashes green.
Liam quickly gets to work on the vault door, pulling off the small toolkit he had strapped around his torso, under his shirt. He crouches down, putting his ear to the door as he fiddles with the lock, listening for that distinctive clicking sound. Theo smiles, he enjoys watching Liam work but he can’t allow himself to be distracted right now, he’s supposed to be on lookout. Turning his back on the young werewolf, he stares at the door listening intently for the sound of footsteps or a heartbeat.
A slow creaking sound makes him glance backwards at Liam, the vault door has popped open and he’s kneeling in front of it like he can’t quite believe he actually did it. Theo’s heart swells with pride.
“I could kiss you right now” he proclaims, pushing the door open wider, marching into the vault. He stares at all the money stacked neatly around the room. He lets out a low whistle, at a guess there must be at least $160 million in here.
“Uh Theo” Liam calls out. “We have a slight problem”
Theo looks over at where Liam is pushing against the empty space of the doorway, unable to cross the threshold. Mountain ash. Theo glances at the walls and then down at his feet, his nose twitches as he scents the air.
“The mountain ash is in the floor tiles” he says, his voice taut. He sighs. “If I break the ones by the door, it might break the effect it has on the entire room.” So much for them getting in and out without a trace.
Liam takes two steps back as Theo inhales deeply, gathering all of his strength. He pulls his arm behind his head, forming a fist and in one swift motion he punches the ground. Both boys watch as the tiles splinter and crack before their eyes.
Liam takes a cautious step forward, shuffling the toe of his shoe into the doorway. Theo understand his hesitance, he doesn’t want the mind splitting headache that comes with trying to bypass mountain ash. His foot makes it into the vault without any further problems.
The boy moves quickly, knowing they have to make up some time. “You start looking for the secret bunker and I’ll pack the bags with money.”
Theo nods in affirmation, feeling his way around the room. He’s busy smoothing his palms along the walls when a symbol, with five small indents catches his eye. He flicks his fingers exposing his claws, sizing them up against the grooves. “I think I’ve found it.” He calls over his shoulder. An uneasy feeling stabs at his stomach but he's not sure why yet.
Liam rushes over to him, dragging two bags behind him, both filled to the brim with cold hard cash.
Theo pushes his claws into the holes and a door to their right springs open. Liam peers inside, moving one foot slowly in front of the other. “I see a shelf filled with files, the deeds must be somewhere in there. Come help me look.”
As Theo pulls his his hand away, the door closes rapidly. His stomach sinks as Liam pounds on the door, calling out to him. They can’t both be inside at the same time. Theo comes to the startling realisation of why The Blank Phantoms needed him in the first place. It wasn’t for his ideas, they needed a fall guy, someone expendable. He was never supposed to make it out of here.
Sticking his claws back into place, he blinks hard trying to stop the tears forming in his eyes. As the secret door opens again, a wave of anxiety pours out of the room as he comes face to face with Liam.
“What the hell are you playing at?” The boy asks stiffly.
“I can’t come with you” Theo glances at the floor, he can’t bear to see the look in Liam’s eyes. “The door doesn’t stay open for long enough when I remove my hand.”
“ W-what? No” Liam stutters. “They..they would’ve told us .”
“It all makes sense Li, why they chose us . We hated each other, they assumed we wouldn’t think twice about screwing the other one over. We weren’t supposed to care .”
Liam sniffs, trying to hold back his own tears. “But I do care. I’m not leaving you here.”
“You have to” Theo hisses. “Take the money and run. I want you to be safe, I need you to be.”
Liam glances at his watch, the looped video feed will run out in six minutes.
“You have your parents to think about. I don’t..I have no-one that will miss me” Theo shrugs. “ Don’t ” he growls as Liam takes a step closer to say goodbye. “Just go” he yells angrily.
Liam feels like he’s on auto pilot, he moves without even realising it. Pulling the two bags behind him into the bunker, he runs over to the files and begins sifting through them for anything resembling deeds. He puts them all into a neat pile, securing them underneath his shirt and the waistband of his trousers.
Glancing at his watch again, the time is counting down the final three minutes of time. He looks around the room, there’s supposed to be a door here but he can’t see a thing. His chest tightens.
“Look for a symbol on the back wall” Theo yells, he must have sensed Liam’s panic. Liam squeezes his eyes shut as a tear escapes, rolling down his cheek. When he opens his eyes, sure enough there’s a symbol engraved into the stone wall with five perfect groove marks dotted around it.
As he tries to focus on his claws, he’s distracted by small jar on the shelf next to him. He sneaks a look at his watch, one-minute and forty-five seconds. Shit . He snatches the glass and runs back to Theo, twisting the lid off as he goes.
“ Liam. What are you doing? You don’t have time for this” He stares at Liam and then up at the security camera on the wall.
“Theo, I love you but shut up . I have an idea” Liam says his voice uncertain. He circles his fingers around Theo’s wrist, pulling it away from the wall.
As the door bangs shut. He shakes the contents of the jar into the palm of his hand.
“Those are-” Theo stammers.
“ Claws. Yeah. I don’t know what creature they’re from but it might just work” Liam whispers breathily.
They push them into the small gaps, as Liam sticks the last claw into place, they both jump and shriek as the door springs open once more. Theo grabs a fistful of Liam’s shirt, pulling him flush against his body. “I love you too, just so we’re clear.”
They run through the bunker grabbing the bags from where Liam had left them on the floor. Liam’s watch beeps signalling time is up just as the second door opens onto the underground sewers. They step through, breathing a sigh of relief as it slams shut behind them. They did it, they actually did it.
Liam leads the way back through the damp sewers, Theo trailing behind him. It doesn’t take them long for them to make it to the pick up point, three blocks north of the casino. They sit in silence in entire way back, both of them too exhausted and overwhelmed to speak.
When they pull to a stop outside of the familiar warehouse, Theo clambers out of the van first, holding his hand out for Liam to take. They each sling a bag over their shoulder and walk into the warehouse together. A united front.
“You both made it back in one piece, I see. How nice” The leader of the phantoms says in a honeyed voice.
“No thanks to you” Liam glowers. He lifts up his shirt, pulling out the stack of paper. “I believe these are what you wanted” he says, rolling up the papers and throwing them to the boss, not caring when they flutter apart scattering over the floor in front of him.
The Black Phantom scans the papers before nodding once. “I’m impressed. I’d like to offer you both a permanent job within our organisation, I think you could make a lot of money here.”
Theo barks out a laugh. “ For you, you mean. No thanks!”
“We’re retiring” Liam says, slipping his hand into Theo’s. “We’re not really cut out to be heartless criminals, like you.”
They step outside into the warm sun, taking a moment to let it all soak in. They robbed a casino and got away with it.
“Are you okay with all of this?” Liam mumbles shyly. “I didn’t even ask if you wanted to stop. I-”
“I’m fine with it. Besides, I hear California is the perfect retirement destination” he winks at Liam. “But first, we’re going back to my apartment to shower. You smell like a rotting corpse.”
Liam sniffs at his shoulder, wincing at the strong odour. “Yeah, well you try walking through sewers twice . I doubt you’d come out smelling like roses, asshole.”
Liam smiles at the sound of Theo’s laughter. They might have stolen some money but Theo also stole his heart.
Theo groans. “We really need to work on your thinking out loud filter. I can’t listen to this on a daily basis. What is
wrong
with you?” He chuckles, gently shoving at Liam’s shoulder.