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The night was warm and beautiful. There was a slight breeze that caressed their skins and moved their hairs a little. The full moon was high and beautiful in the sky, seemingly smiling at them, and surrounded by little shining stars. It was the perfect night to leave the house and take a walk, it was the perfect night to relax and not worry about anything, it was the perfect night to forget about everything that clouded their minds and be free.
They had done exactly that. They left the house and their problems behind and walked around town together. It was peaceful and calm, it was exactly what they needed considering all the stress and danger that came with living in Beacon Hills, it was a nice and much-needed change.
At first, they had walked around town, not really paying attention to the streets they were in, just letting their feet take them wherever they felt like. They walked mindlessly for a long while, both of them eventually losing track of time.
They walked, hands clasped together, fingers intertwined and shoulders touching. They talked about nothing and everything, random things and serious things. They laughed and enjoyed each other’s company and care.
At some point they left the Beacon Hills streets and walked into the preserve, maybe it had been their inner animals asking to go there, or maybe it had been Theo planning it all along, Liam wasn’t sure, but whichever it had been he was glad they had gone there.
If the night had been beautiful in town, then it was magical in the preserve. They could still see the moon and the stars through the trees and that, along with the soothing noises of the night creatures, made them feel as if they were one with nature. It put not only their human selves at ease, but also their wolves. It was a full moon night, but it wasn’t affecting them negatively at all.
“I missed this,” Liam mumbled, a part of him telling him that he would disturb the calmness of the environment if he spoke any louder.
“What?” Theo tilted his head slightly to look at him while they kept walking through the preserve.
“Walking around with you, just talking without any worries,” Liam shrugged. “Life is far too complicated nowadays.”
“It’s called growing up,” Theo let go of his hand to put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer.
Liam didn’t answer, he didn’t need to. He knew that Theo felt the same way, he knew that he too was tired of all the worries and danger that was thrown into their lives all the time, but he also knew that none of them would trade the life they have for anything. He was way past the point where he still doubted Theo’s feelings, he wasn’t the kid that was scared of what would come with their relationship and he wasn’t the kid who tried to hide what he felt because he didn’t want anyone to know just how important to him Theo had become. He wasn't afraid now.
Both Liam and Theo had grown up as individuals, learning with their own mistakes and with other people, discovering things about themselves and following their own path, but they had also grown up together, their feeling progressing from cautious to undeniable love, their relationship grew into something sensual, beautiful and mature. Growing up was full of surprises, but Liam’s favorite ones were, without a doubt, all the surprises Theo brought with him.
He had loved to learn that Theo liked his tea without sugar, that he always had a pack of mint gums in his truck, that he always put his right shoe on first, that he didn’t like to shower in the morning and preferred doing it before dinner, that he loved chocolate with caramel and that he hated dark chocolate and all those other things he had found out with time. Getting to know Theo and exploring their relationship had been, and still was, one of the best parts of growing up.
Now, walking through the preserve with Theo, holding him close with an arm around his waist, listening to his breathing and heartbeat and feeling his scent enveloping him, Liam could only feel love and fondness, there wasn’t a single doubt in his mind about their feelings for each other, they were as bright and beautiful as the moon and the stars that were staring at them from the night sky.
And maybe Theo’s line of thoughts was following the same lines as Liam’s was, or maybe he had been planning it all along, maybe the walk through the city had been a way to calm himself as well as a way to be free from worries; Liam didn’t know, the only thing he was sure about was that his thoughts and his walk had suddenly been interrupted by Theo.
Theo who had stepped in front of him;
Theo who had taken a hold of his right hand;
Theo who had dropped down to one knee;
Theo who had taken a little box out of his pocket.
It was like Liam’s mind shut down after that. He wasn’t sure what Theo had said, he only knew he had talked at all because he had seen his lips moving. Liam’s brain wasn’t able to process any of the words he was saying, the only thing that he could hear was the loud and fast beat of his heart.
“What?” He asked dumbly when Theo’s lips stopped moving.
Theo chuckled and shook his head fondly, it was obvious that he was amused by Liam and how dumbfounded he probably looked just standing there, not saying anything and with a surprised and oblivious look on his face. Theo leaned his head down a little and touched his lips softly to the hand he was still holding in his, kissing Liam’s knuckles gently.
“I’m proposing to you, dumbass.”
Liam’s breath got stuck in his throat, his eyes widened and his heart started beating even faster. Theo was really doing it!
Liam squealed and kneeled down in front of Theo, his arms raised to go around Theo in a tight hug, the both of them almost falling to the floor. Theo laughed loudly next to Liam’s ear, a happy sound that Liam would never be tired of hearing, and Liam knew that he was in for a lifetime of teasing for his reaction, but he couldn’t even be bothered to care, not when the man he loved more than words could express was in front of him proposing to him.
With shaky breaths, a happy smile and teary eyes, Liam let Theo go and grabbed the box that had been in the other’s hand. He opened it expectantly and excitedly, curious to see the ring Theo had chosen to give him, only for his smile to be replaced by a confused frown when he saw what was inside the little box.
“Theo?” He asked.
“What?” He asked, pretending not to know what was confusing Liam.
“Seriously? You’re proposing with a key?!”
Liam watched as Theo’s lips stretched into his trademark smirk, an amused glint in his eyes and he was sure his future husband was patting himself on the back for his idea.
“Just making sure you get the right one this time,” he shrugged, smirk widening into a grin.
And Liam couldn’t help but laugh with him, a warm feeling settling in his heart, his stomach doing flips and filling with butterflies like it did all the time when they were younger and still did sometimes now. His eyes felt wet with tears and when he looked into Theo’s shining ones, he couldn’t imagine waking up to look into someone else’s eyes, he couldn’t imagine not being able to stare at those eyes every day, he couldn’t imagine his life with someone other than Theo.
Liam pulled Theo to his feet and grabbed him by his neck, their lips meeting like they had done million times before, but this time it was different. This time their kiss held a promise, the promise of more kisses to come, the promise of soft mornings and lazy nights, the promise of homemade dinners and shared smiles.
The promise of a lifetime together.