Work Text:
“Stop looking so smugly, that was the most idiotic thing you ever did.” Liam scolded softly and pressed a wet washcloth against Theo’s cheek.
The older hissed softly but it didn’t stop him from keeping his smug grin. “Idiotic? I’d say it was pretty badass.”
“Sure, seeing you almost getting ripped apart by a Harpy was the most badass thing ever. 10/10 would recommend.” Liam replied dryly and continued to clean the scratches on Theo’s cheek. When they stopped bleeding so much, he took away the washcloth and dipped a cotton ball with cleaning and disinfection solution. Theo eyed it amusedly.
“You know I’ll heal in a few hours anyway?”
“You know Deaton said Harpy poison slows down the healing and you’re already healing slower thanks to you being a chimera?” Liam asked back and pressed the cotton ball against Theo’s injuries. The chimera hissed again, louder this time.
“That stings.”
“You will survive, big badass chimera.” Liam said without any pity. “Serves you right for being such an idiot.”
“I jumped in front of you!”
“You jumped in front of that thing!”
“Yeah, so save you!”
“Oh my, what would I do without you, my knight in shining armor?” Liam muttered sarcastically and rolled his blue eyes while dabbing the solution over the scratches on Theo’s face. Theo grimaced.
“You’re mean. I thought we were friends.” He complained.
“We are friends, hence why I would appreciate you in a whole instead of ripped apart by some winged demon thing lured here by the Nemeton.” Liam replied and inspected Theo’s cleaned wounds.
“Aww, you care about me.” Theo chirped and Liam narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Deaton also said Harpy poison gets people high. Looks like the effect is kicking in.”
“I’m not high!” Theo argued back. “She just scratched my cheek with her nails, Liam. Nothing I can’t handle.”
"How could I forget, you are the big bad chimera? Nothing gets to you, huh?” Liam mocked Theo but instead of snarking back, Theo puffed his chest.
“Right!”
Liam looked at his friend, took in how Theo sat on the edge of the bathtub in his bathroom, with his scratched cheek and looking up at Liam with glassy eyes. Suddenly he chuckled. “Oh my god, you’re really getting high. Come on, you should lay down for a bit.”
He reached out to help Theo to his feet but the older stubbornly shooed his hands away and scrambled to his feet. Only to sway slightly. “Uh, headrush!” He announced and steadied himself on Liam’s shoulder, Liam immediately supporting him. “Nothing you can’t handle, huh?”
Guiding Theo into his room he led him to the bed. Theo had his own room, the guest room, but Liam wanted to keep an eye on him while he slept. Theo flopped down on his bed there and then gave him a dopey smile which...cute. Really. Who knew Theo Raeken could be cute? But Liam supposed everybody was kind of adorable when Harpy poison was currently coursing through their bloodstream. Deaton had said it wasn’t deadly it just had the described effects. He recommended lots of water and to sleep it off.
Now he held out a water bottle for the older to take it. “You should drink some water. It will help you.”
Theo chuckled. “You’re cute when you’re so caring.”
Liam tried his best not to blush at the comment. “I’m not cute.” He muttered. The caring part, yeah that was him. He cared deeply about all his loved ones and Theo became one of his closest friends. So of course, he cared.
Sitting next to Theo on the bed, he opened the water bottle and handed it to Theo. “Drink!” He ordered softly and this time Theo did take it and sipped a bit of the water before almost dropping the bottle. Thankfully Liam caught it in time and closed it again. While he was setting the bottle on his nightstand, Theo made himself a home in Liam’s bed, trying to find a comfortable position to rest. He seemed to have found it after some wriggling and Liam eyed him.
“Good? Well, then you can sleep a bit. It will help you.”
“Are you staying here?” Theo inquired and looked up to Liam who chuckled once more. “I have some reading to do for homework. Guess I can also do this on the bed. Just let me grab my books.”
He got up and gathered the things he needed, before settling on the bed again, leaning his back against the headboard. Theo next to him was quiet for all about two minutes before he moved again, obviously not being too pleased with his current position. He moved and Liam tried to focus on his reading but suddenly Theo put his head in Liam’s lap and Liam almost dropped his book on Theo’s face.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re comfy. And safe. You make sure nothing gets me.”
With the poison in his veins, Theo’s guards were completely down. He did not only acted way fluffier than he usually was but it unfortunately also meant his demons were free to play and he could not hide it. Since they started living together, Liam learned about some things bothering Theo but he knew the older was still facing many demons alone.
Looking down on the other Liam raised his hand not holding the book and carded his fingers softly through Theo’s hair. “Yeah, you’re safe with me. I will protect you.” He promised and Theo beamed at him which made Liam melt a bit. Had he noticed before that Theo had this incredibly adorable side, he would have lured a Harpy into town way sooner so she could scratch Theo up. No, joke aside, Liam found it increasingly heartwarming to see Theo like this.
Now Theo started purring at the fingers in his hair and snuggled closer to Liam. Liam briefly wondered how touch starved Theo really was. He seemed to like the soft touches immensely, as well as the proximity of them. “You’re okay, right? Not hurt or anything?” He asked and Liam smiled softly. “I’m okay. No scratches or anything. Stop worrying about me and concentrate on getting better yourself, okay?”
Theo nodded solemnly at this and closed his eyes. Liam returned his attention towards his book again but he continued stroking through Theo’s hair. When he curiously glanced down after a while, he found Theo asleep, breathing even and completely peaceful. The scratches on his cheek were red and angry but aside from them, Theo looked so young and soft. He usually acted so mature and way older than he was, Liam tended to forget Theo was not even two years older than him. Watching Theo sleep now, made Liam smile and his heart skip a beat, gently stroking a few strands of hair out of Theo’s eyes. “Never do anything so stupid and jump in front of a Harpy ever again! I need you, okay? More than you might know.” He told the sleeping chimera and then went back to reading.
******
Liam woke up because something was rustling beside him. He slowly opened his eyes and saw his mother stretching the blanket over him and Theo before taking Liam’s book that was about to fall off the edge of the bed. Apparently, Liam had been falling asleep during his reading and moved into a more comfortable position. He had found it on his back and when he slowly turned his head, Theo was still sleeping beside him, curled at Liam’s side and with his face hid in the crook of Liam’s neck.
His mother stroke through Liam’s hair when she noticed her son moving and smiled at him. “Your dad and I need to go to start our nightshifts but dinner is in the fridge, you just need to heat it up.” She said softly. Dinner? Liam realized Theo and him must have slept longer than he thought. It was already dark outside and he sleepily nodded at his mother’s words. Mrs. Geyer stroke through his hair one last time and then walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
When she was gone, Liam turned his attention towards Theo again. The scratches were still visible on his cheek, not as angry as earlier but still prominent, but his breathing was still even and his sleep relaxed. He was fine and Liam really hoped Deaton had been right and Theo felt better after playing Sleeping Beaty for a few hours. This soft, dopey side was to melt for but Liam needed his Theo back. The sarcastic and smug asshole.
With a loving smile, Liam leaned closer and brushed his lips against Theo’s forehead in a soft kiss. Theo snuggled closer to him in his sleep once again, arm coming to loosely drape over Liam’s stomach. It felt nice to cuddle like this with the older boy, being so close and not worry about anything else. Their combined body heat made it cozy under the blanket and Liam felt his eyelids dropping again. Wrapping one arm around Theo, he fell asleep shortly after again.
******
When Liam woke up again, his stomach was grumbling. Theo had moved again, even closer to Liam, head now on Liam’s chest. Their legs were tangled and Liam really wanted to stay like this, stroke over Theo’s back and just cuddle, but he was too hungry.
Gently he pried himself out of Theo’s arms, trying not to wake him up, while he left the bed. When he finally managed, he instantly missed Theo’s warmth and proximity. But they both needed food, even when the poison was out of Theo’s system, he needed to eat for his circulation. No way Liam would let him collapse.
It had been already established that Liam cared deeply, right?
Making his way downstairs. He checked the food in the fridge but then decided to just make some sandwiches since he had no idea when Theo actually wake up and he didn’t want the food to get cold again. Grabbing all things he needed Liam started preparing the sandwiches, humming to himself when Theo suddenly stumbled into the kitchen. He knocked against the wall when he almost fell over his own two feet and needed a moment to steady himself before he slowly made his way towards the kitchen counter. Liam frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“I woke up and you were gone. I missed you.” Theo muttered, sulking while doing so. The poison was definitively not out of his system by now and Liam checked his watch. He had thought the effect would have stopped by now. The scratches seemed to have done more harm than expected.
“I just wanted to make sandwiches, I would have come back soon. Sit down, okay? I don’t want you to fall over.” Liam answered softly.
Theo rubbed his eyes and groaned. Liam glanced at him. “You okay?”
“I feel dizzy.” Theo complained and grabbed the kitchen counter to steady himself. Liam left the sandwiches and walked to him to steady the other young man.
“Do you need anything?” He questioned and Theo blinked a few times.
“Do you have chocolate?” He then asked, surprising Liam with that, but then Liam walked to a cupboard and opened it. “We have some chocolate with nuts, is that okay?”
Theo nodded happily and Liam learned something when he handed the chocolate bar over: Seeing Theo Raeken breaking off a small piece of chocolate and eating it with a happy smile topped anything on the cute scale.
He watched Theo for a while and then shook his head with a laugh.”You’re adorable and I know you will hate me for it when you’re better again, but right now you are.”
Theo scrunched his nose. “Am not adorable.” He muttered and ate another piece from the chocolate bar. Liam chuckled and walked over to lean against the counter. “You are, if you like it or not, Theo.”
Theo scrunched his nose once more and the held out the chocolate for Liam who politely declined. “It’s your chocolate.”
“But I want to share with you.” Theo eagerly exclaimed.
“Nah, it’s fine, big boy.” Liam squeezed Theo’s arm and then inspected the scratches on his cheek. “Do these still hurt?”
Theo grimaced and then worried his lower lip with his teeth while obviously thinking about a good answer. “I don’t want to worry you.” He finally confessed and looked at Liam.
Before he could stop himself Liam had reached out and stroke over Theo’s healthy cheek. “You are important to me, I will always worry about you. Especially when you are hurt.” He explained and Theo looked at him. For a while, they just looked into each other’s eyes and Liam realized he was stroking over Theo’s cheek with his thumb the whole time. Theo smiled softly and if Liam tried to ignore the sparks flying between them in the beginning, he soon found it to no avail. There was an undeniable pull between them and it took all his willpower not to lean in.
“I’m not going to kiss you while you’re high on Harpy poison.” He muttered and Theo made a face.
“Then kiss me later.” He announced in his carefree way and it made Liam chuckle.
“Deal.”
And to try and keep his word, he went back to making sandwiches, Theo watching him idly. “A man who can cook is attractive.” He finally muttered and Liam was happy he could busy himself with the current sandwich while his heart was skyrocketing.
Theo crossed his arms on the counter and put his chin on top of it, still watching Liam. “Not that you aren’t attractive enough already, I know why I developed a crush on you.”
“Stop it.” Liam cut in, voice soft and pleading. Theo was still under the influence of the Harpy poison, he surely was saying things he didn’t mean. But he didn’t want to think about this any further and so he finished the sandwiches while Theo sulked about being cut off.
“Let’s go back to the room.” Liam suggested and grabbed the plate with the sandwiches. “Can you walk on your own?”
“I’m not a child.” Theo grumbled but the way he moved showed he was still not trusting his movements. They still made it back into Liam’s room and Theo curled on the bed again, grabbing a sandwich when Liam offered. “Can we watch a movie?” He suddenly inquired and Liam nodded. “Sure. What kind of movie?”
“Disney. Something cute. What’s your favorite Disney movie?”
Liam thought about it for a moment. “Mulan.” He then answered. “I liked Mushu and wanted to have a pet dragon when I was a kid.”
Theo chuckled delighted and Liam rolled his eyes in fake annoyance before getting up and getting the DVD ready when Theo insisted to watch this movie.
******
They had fallen asleep again while watching the movie but when Liam woke up this time, Theo was gone and Liam could hear his heartbeat in the bathroom. He sat up and stretched before swinging his legs over the bed and got up. The tv was still playing in the background and when he went to turn it off, Theo excited the bathroom.
“That’s probably the most I have slept in a day.” He muttered and stroke his hair back with his usual move. “Not sure if I like it.”
Ah, they were back at the normal Theo and Liam felt himself partly missing the cuddly Theo but on the other hand, he was happy to have the real Theo back. “Welcome back.”
“Well, thanks.” Theo sighed and Liam found himself checking out his cheek. The scratches were just a few red lines now. “Feeling better now, huh?”
“Way better. Good, I was so out the last few hours. Sorry for causing any trouble.”
“Yeah, to avoid that, don’t jump in front of a Harpy next time.” Liam told him dryly.
Theo rolled his eyes. “I was trying to keep it from getting to you!”
“I had it handled!”
“Stubborn little beta!”
“Self-sacrificing idiot!”
Theo looked at Liam and then chuckled, causing Liam to throw his hands up in mock frustration and then start to clean up the room a bit, grabbing the empty plate with the sandwiches. But Theo held him back by gently taking his wrist and pulling him back.
“Hey, Liam?”
“Hm?”
And then he was pulled around and kissed and he instantly dropped the plate. Theo’s lips felt too good to be true against his own and he shivered at the soft contact. What was this man doing to him?
Theo broke the soft kiss after a while and Liam had to collect himself for a minute. “Uhm, okay, yeah...Well...”
“Are you mad that I did that? You said you didn’t want to kiss me while I was high on Harpy poison but now it’s out of my system, so I thought to give it a shot.” He explained his motives.
“Oh no, I’m kind of mad you kissed me first when I had planned to kiss you first but oh well.” He shrugged. “Guess now you need to let me have the second kiss.”
And this time it was him who pulled Theo in and kissed him. Theo smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Liam.
“You get as many kisses as you want if you’re up for it.” He told Liam softly when they party again and Liam grinned.
“I'm all up for it.” And to prove it he kissed Theo again.