Chapter Text
When he had opened the store ten minutes to 9:00, the sun was already high in the sky and it was almost unbearable to leave the soft summer breeze in exchange for the sterile smell of the store and bright overhead LED lights. Liam had wished he was outside enjoying one of his few precious days of summer vacation.
Now, as it neared 5:00 and thunder rumbled overhead, Liam wished he was at home enjoying one of his few days of precious summer vacation.
The weather really had no effect on how much Liam wished he wasn't at work.
He simply wasn’t a man who enjoyed the labor of retail. But the minimum wage grind never sleeps, he reminded himself as he started closing the store a few minutes before official hours ended. It was raining so hard the only reason someone would stop by a hardware store would be to buy wood for an emergency raft. He cringed at the prospect of walking home in this weather. Perhaps he would take advantage of his store discount and buy one of those umbrellas you're supposed to use at the beach.
It wouldn’t be entirely out of character for him to walk around in a thunderstorm with what would essentially be a lightning rod. He briefly considered taking Derek’s extra umbrella out of his work cubby but dismissed the thought just as quickly. Statistically speaking, he was much more likely to be killed by Derek for touching his stuff than he was to be struck by lightning, even with the added incentive of the pool umbrella.
Spinning the lanyard that held the keys to his house and the store, he wished, not for the first time, to have a car key on it. He didn't need something fancy like Jackson’s Porsche, or as flashy as Stiles’ Jeep. It didn’t even need to be a car for God’s sake. He would be fine riding any motor vehicle, even one like Scott’s death trap of a bike. Though a car would be preferable on days like today, his brain supplied as he stood in front of one of the store's wide windows, looking past the parking lot that was more suited for boats than anything else at this point.
He considered calling Theo to ask for a ride, his truck could probably make it through the lot without floating, but Liam called him so much already he was surprised his boyfriend hadn’t blocked his number already. Pushing thoughts of his inevitable walk (swim?) home aside, he continued shutting off lights with more force than strictly necessary. The isle with pool umbrellas seemed to call to him as he walked past it.
He swung his head back as the light he had just turned off flickered. He could swear this place was haunted. By supernatural shit as much as it was by Stiles (seriously, didn’t the guy have anywhere else to be?). With the exception of the soft glow of the computer screen, the place was completely dark, but he still had a few more minutes before he should technically clock out.
He started cleaning the counter inspired by equal parts guilt of leaving before he was supposed to, and desire to delay his walk through the pouring rain as long as possible. Despite the fact he cleaned it often, there was a ton of shit lying around on and under the counter.
He adjusted the pamphlets advertising some locally sourced firewood that had fallen into a crevice and wiped down the chip reader. Underneath, he found a bag of (Stiles’) half-eaten M&Ms, and enough discarded receipts to soak up all the water outside. And behind the trashcan he had just stuffed the aforementioned receipts into, he spotted a purple binder lying on its side. He grinned as he pulled it out and shuffled through the pages until he reached the store manager's contact.
Though he hadn’t needed to use it in ages, he easily spotted the number he had memorized all those months ago. He laughed at the memories of his embarrassing phone calls with Theo. Though they had paid off eventually, he much preferred embarrassing himself by calling Theo’s personal cell. Facetime, Liam thought, was God’s finest creation.
His reminiscing was interrupted by the jingle of the bell that hung on the store’s front door. Liam cursed under his breath. Were the dark store interior and ‘closed’ sign not enough to ward off clueless customers? He shut the binder gently and squat back down to put it where he had found it.
“Sorry, we close at 5:00,” Liam said, trying to keep the annoyance and rage out of his voice.
“Then why does the sign say it's open?” replied his new #1 least favorite customer. Not only was this person talking back to him, but they were also lying to his face? He was absolutely positive he had flipped the little plastic sign over so that inside the store he read the abhorrent word “open” while the general public was greeted by the sight of the blissful word “closed”. Liam is forgetful enough that he ordinarily might have neglected to flip it, but he specifically remembered relishing in the feeling of turning that stupid sign over.
“Look man-” he said as he stood back, well aware that his customer service voice was gone with the wind replaced with a blatantly hostile tone. “I’m not in charge of store hours, frankly if I was we would close before lunch-” He stopped the prologue of his rant when ended up face to face with this particularly rude patron.
“Well, it's a good thing you're not. That's not a very effective way to run a business.”
And as much as Liam loved Theo’s voice over the phone, it was nothing compared to hearing him just a breath away. Theo grinned when realization passed over his face.
“We’re closed” Liam repeated, just to watch the face of annoyance pass over his boyfriend's face.
Now Liam was the one smiling.
“Brat” Theo said in a tone that was probably meant to sound offended but was instead laced with affection. He flicked Liam’s forehead before sliding over the counter.
“I was gonna offer to drive you home, but seeing as you have done nothing but insult me since I’ve arrived-”
“I have done no such thing” Liam interjected, pushing Theo against the counter. Was this workplace misconduct?
“I was simply explaining store hours to an ignorant customer.”
Theo huffed as he expertly unplugged the register from the computer and put it to sleep. Liam still messed that process up, though he would never admit it. There were too many damn wires.
“You really ought to learn how to do this yourself, but I’ll help you just this once.”
Liam sputtered.
“I've worked here for a whole year, you asshole!” Throwing on his jacket, he dragged Theo towards the door
“And unfortunately, it doesn't show.” Theo snarked back as he held the door open for him, ever the chivalrous boyfriend
“You are insufferable I don't know how I put up with you.” Liam said as twinned their hands together around the stem of the umbrella Theo had conveniently brought with him.
“Maybe it's because of my good looks and dashing personality”
“Or maybe its because I can get you to drive me around”
Instead of granting him a response, Theo removed the umbrella over his head, leaving Liam exposed to the pelting rain, chilling him to the bone despite the warm summer evening. Liam retaliated by smacking the umbrella out of his hand. Both of them were soaked within seconds.
Theo just stood there looking as though he had expected Liam to do it. Maybe he was getting predictable.
“You know,” Liam started “I always thought it would be nice to be kissed in the rain. Like in all those movies or whatever.” H
He didn’t know what motivated him to say something so cringy. Maybe because Theo looked amazing with his hair falling in front of his eyes like that, water dripping down his face making his lips wet and very kissable.
“Oh yeah?” His boyfriend replied, looking equally enchanted by Liam, a wonder in its own right.
And in that moment, the prospect of lounging at home that he had been looking forward to all day no longer sounded appealing. Liam decided that standing in this poorly paved parking lot in the pouring rain was the absolute best way to spend every moment of his precious summer vacation.