Chapter Text
Thin blankets of white coated the streets of Beacon Hills officially marking the beginning of winter. Every cascading snowflake meant that they were one step closer to the ground being covered in snow, which made for a very happy Liam. Not only because school would be closed for the day, but because being the competitive person that he was, he was looking forward to an epic snowball fight. When Mason and him were younger they would get together every winter to battle it out in a full blown snowball war until their fingers were numb or his mother had to drag them in by their ears claiming “Any longer and you boys will freeze to death!” Now that Beacon Hills was finally free from threats he wanted to feel like a normal kid again. Even if that meant freezing his ass off in the cold winter weather.
Liam pulled the curtain away from his window, peering through it for the fifth time that morning. A smile grew on his face now that the streets were coated in layers of fluffy snow. His attention was torn from outside by the ding of his cellphone going off. He picked it up letting out a chuckle when he read the text message from his best friend. ~SCHOOLS CLOSED!!~ He couldn’t help but smile. For the first time in awhile he finally felt normal. ~HELL YEAH!~ he replied to Mason before making his way to the window again.
“I think you’ve looked out that window about eight times now.” Theo said with a smirk as he leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest as he looked at Liam. “It’s like you are an excited little puppy.” he added chuckling. Seeing Liam all giddy as he peeked outside was pretty adorable, but he wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t tease the beta a bit.
Liam tore his gaze away from the frosted window to roll his eyes at the chimera. Theo had been staying with him ever since they finished the fight with the Anuk-ite. He had learned that the older boy was staying in his truck for the past few months and he refused to let him live like that any longer, not after everything they had been through. So after what felt like years Liam finally convinced the stubborn chimera to come stay with him, it was the least he could do after Theo saved his ass more than once. If you told him a few months ago that he would have Theo Raeken living in his house he would laugh in your face. But now he actually had grown to enjoy the chimera being around. It was nice having someone to talk to and play videogames with, not to mention Theo was actually good company once you got use to the constant sarcasm.
“Shut up. You can’t tell me you are not excited.” Liam grumbles as he glared at Theo.
“Excited for what? The snow? Liam it’s nothing special. I mean what is so great about freezing your ass off while being forced to shovel so you don’t slip and crack your skull open.”
“You are thinking about the negative stuff!” Liam shoots back, throwing his hands in the air frustrated. “Think about the good stuff. I mean didn’t you enjoy going out there, having a snowball fight or building a snowman when you were younger?”
“Nope never did it.” Theo replied simply.
“Wait...Are you serious?” Liam asked wide eyed looking at Theo like the chimera had grown a second head.
“Deadly.”
“That’s insane! I get the whole Dread Doctors taking away your childhood thing, but you didn’t do any of that stuff before all that?”
“Nope. Cold weather isn’t good for Asthma.” Theo says with a shrug. He didn’t really get the big deal of it all. Maybe if he grew up differently his view on winter weather activities would be better, but now he just brushed them off as silly childhood things that he missed.
Liam didn’t even know what to say. He just looked at the chimera in shock. He understood that Theo didn’t have a normal childhood, but playing in the snow was practically a thing every little kid did. Hearing about all the stuff Theo missed, things as simple as playing in the snow made him sad.
“Yeah I know, weird childhood. Will you close your mouth before you catch a fly.” Theo huffs with a roll of his eyes when Liam continued to stare at him mouth open wide in shock. He watched amused when the beta finally looked away only to make his way towards his closet. Soon the clinking sounds of plastic hangers moving around filled the air, as Liam continuously searched through it. A few seconds later he returned with a scarf in his hands, making his way over to Theo and wrapping it around the other boys neck. Theo furrowed his brow looking down at him confused, watching as Liam wrapped the itchy wool scarf around his neck. “Liam what the hell are you doing?”
“I’m gonna show you just how great the snow can really be.” Liam clarifies with a wide grin.
That was how Theo ended up covered head to toe in winter gear as he waited outside in the snow with Liam. After Liam had put the scarf around his neck he had given him a bunch of other winter clothes to wear. He stuffed his mitten covered hands in his pockets with a sigh. “Is this all really necessary? I feel like a damn marshmallow.” Theo complains as he tugged at the itchy scarf around his neck.
Liam looked over at the chimera chuckling at the face Theo was making, he had to admit seeing the chimera dressed for the winter was actually really cute. But he wouldn’t dare say that outloud. All he needed was for Theo to tease him with the classic smug smirk on his face. “Yes this is necessary. I couldn’t exactly tell my mom we didn’t need all this stuff.” Liam retorts.
“Liam we can’t get sick, we don’t need all this.”
“Yeah I know that, but my mom doesn’t. If she saw us outside playing in the snow with just a t-shirt and jeans she would kill me.” Liam said tearing his gaze away from Theo as he looked around. “Where are they? They said they’d be here by now.” he complains as he continues his search for his friends.
“You are talking about Mason and Corey, the two are probably off cuddling and wearing matching sweaters.” Theo answers with a sigh. “Why are they coming here anyway?” he asked looking at the beta confused.
“For this!” Mason shouted as he sent a snowball flying towards Theo. The snowball hitting the chimera directly in the face, covering his skin in cold white snow. “Oh shit! I didn’t think I’d actually hit him.” Mason said excitedly, both proud and shocked that he managed to actually hit the chimera. Liam tried and failed to hold back his laughter as he watched the snow collide with Theo’s face.
“Nice shot babe!” Corey exclaimed from his spot next to Mason.
“What the hell was that for?” Theo asked, wiping the snow from his face before looking at the three of them.
“Uh- Liam texted me saying that we are introducing you to all the winter fun you missed out on as a kid...So I started with a snowball fight. I honestly thought you were gonna dodge it.” Mason replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Wow Theo I guess you are losing your touch.” Liam teased with a smirk.
“Shut up Dunbar.” Theo quipped before looking back at Mason. “Okay so let’s do this.” he said with a smirk. And with those words they started a full blown snowball war. They didn’t know how many hours have passed, but they all had ended up taking this snowball fight way too seriously. They had split up into teams, Theo and Corey versus Mason and Liam.
“Team Badass is totally going to kick Team Chimera’s ass!” Mason called out from behind the hill of snow Liam and him had formed as their shield.
“More like Team Dumbass!” Theo shouted as he threw a snowball towards the opposing team. Corey laughed loudly as he followed Theo’s lead, hurling a snowball towards his boyfriend and Liam.
“Did you just laugh? It’s bad enough you both are cheaters now you are laughing at us.” Mason whines angrily.
“Hey you never said Corey wasn’t allowed to use his abilities to his advantage” Theo answered smugly.
“Are you kidding me?! That’s common sense! How the hell are we supposed to throw snowballs at someone we can’t see?!” Liam yelled as he jumped up, no longer hiding behind their snow shield. He couldn’t help it, he was pissed off and even though he couldn’t see Theo’s face he knew the chimera was wearing a stupid grin and that riled him up more.
“LIAM NO!” Mason shouted as he tried to pull Liam back down, but the warning came too late. Corey had gotten Mason out and before Liam could get back to the safety of the snow hill they made, Theo had already whirled a snowball towards him, hitting the werewolf directly in the face.
“YES!” Corey and Theo both cheered in unison, celebrating their victory with a high five. Theo would never admit it out loud, but spending almost five hours battling it out in a major snowball fight with Liam, Mason, and Corey was probably the most fun he had in ages. Ever since Liam had welcomed him into his house the days have gotten better, at this point he considered the beta to be his friend and it was nice to actually have one for once. It made the days less shitty and it was nice not feeling lonely for once. He was torn from his thoughts by Liam tackling him, luckily the fluffy snow helped ease the blow but he still hit the ground with a quiet ‘ompf” “Come on Liam don’t be a sore loser.” he muttered as he looked into the beta’s blue eyes.
Liam was about to shout something to the chimera, but he froze when he took in Theo’s appearance. His cheeks were a rosy pink from the cold, little strands of hair peeked out from under his beanie falling into his face as little white snowflakes coated his eyelashes. The sight made him speechless and it also made him very much aware of how close they were, their faces only a few inches apart. He cleared his throat awkwardly before rolling off of Theo and landing next to him, laying on his back.
“Liam?” Theo spoke finally breaking the silence. Mason and Corey went for a walk deciding to give the two some privacy.
“Theo?” Liam replied with a grin as looked back at the chimera, luckily the cold did a good job of hiding the blush on his cheeks.
“I had fun today, the snowball fight was fun and uh hanging out with you guys was…”
“Fun?” Liam filled in with a smile.
“Shut up” Theo said chuckling as nudged the beta. “But yeah for lack of a better word, it was fun. Just thank you for showing me the snow didn’t suck after all.” he added with a smile.
“Wait a minute. Did Theo Raeken just admit that I was right?”
“Yeah I did, but don’t get use to it.” Theo said not bothering to hide his smile.
Seeing Theo smile like that made him happy. It was rare to see a genuine smile on his face, a smile that not only filled his face but also reached his eyes was a beautiful sight, usually it was small grins or smirks. The fact that he managed to make Theo smile made him incredibly happy, but most of all it made him want to make the older boy smile like that more often. “You’re welcome. I just hope you know this is just the beginning, I’m gonna introduce you to a bunch of awesome Christmas stuff.” Liam said as he stood up, brushing the snow off his clothes.
“Oh no what have I gotten myself into?” Theo snorts out as he also brushes the snow of his clothes.
“The fun’s just beginning Raeken.”