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"You look beautiful."
Malia stepped into Kira's bedroom, seeing her girlfriend in a long, black dress. It glittered in the mirror, and Kira looked absolutely stunning with her hair up and her makeup on. The werecoyote came closer to her, wrapping her arms around Kira's waist, who smiled.
"So do you," Kira sighed, blushing. Malia also had a dress on, this one a very pale pink. She'd convinced Malia over twenty minutes of trying on dresses in the mall that yes, she did look good in pink, so here they were. "I wonder how Liam and Theo are doing."
"If I had to take a guess, Liam is tripping over his own foot trying to get into some dress shoes and Theo's admiring himself in the mirror," Malia laughed, resting her chin on Kira's shoulder. Kira chuckled and nodded.
"We'll see them soon enough. I hope this works."
Malia smirked. The pair had invited Theo and Liam to this event in the first place because they could smell the sexual tension between the two. At the college they both went to, they were holding a gala for awards, two of which Malia and Kira were nominated for. It was all for charity, so the proceeds would go to funding something else important. Still, they were excited for a fun night of dancing together, eating fancy stuff, and watching Liam and Theo slowly but surely become more and more flustered seeing each other in such good lighting.
Sure enough, back at Liam and Theo's house, Liam was tripping over his shoes and Theo was adjusting his black tie in the mirror so it was just right. The chimera looked damn good in a suit, and he knew it, so there was a lot of his own expectations to live up to. He thought Malia and Kira invited them because they wanted to have someone see them for their awards, not even thinking about the fact that Liam would be there and they were probably trying to play matchmaker.
Liam stumbled into Theo's bedroom, looking just as good in his suit as Theo did if not a little dazed looking from almost falling up the stairs. "Are you almost ready?" His voice broke Theo's concentration on his reflection and he nodded, looking at Liam through the mirror. He had to admit, Liam looked good. He was wearing a simple black suit that fit him just right, the tie straight and his hair styled. Theo had a similar suit on, but it didn't matter.
They walked out to the car to start making their way to the college. It was around seven o'clock, the sun starting to set and the moon rising. Theo punched in the address so the GPS could show him where to go, following the route.
"What are they nominated for again?" Liam asked, having forgotten in the rush to get their suits ready.
"Kira has one for high academic achievement and Malia for community outreach," Theo replied, and Liam feigned surprise.
"Our Malia? Being sociable? Who would have thought!" Theo laughed at Liam's joke, and continued pressing on the gas pedal.
When they walked in to the auditorium of the college, they paid their admission and went to find their friends. It was only them and the two girls who would be there that night, since not a lot of people could go. "Hey!" Malia greeted, giving Liam a hug. "You two look great! The party's about to start, thanks for coming!"
"Thanks for inviting us!" Liam offered, shifting back and forth on his feet nervously. The auditorium had multiple tables set up for people who RSVP'd, name tags having been placed on them. The floor was still empty so people could eventually dance on it, but there were still at least 100 seats in the place with space to spare.
Theo was impressed. He didn't usually get the opportunity to go to a place so fancy, and even if it was just the college auditorium, this seemed like somewhat of a prestige event compared to other things he'd gone to in the past. Malia walked the two guys over to their table where Kira was sitting and waiting for them. She gave a small wave when she noticed them approaching, her knees bouncing with excitement. Music was flowing throughout the place, and college students and their plus ones started to filter in. The three took their seats around the table, their placecards being held up by those little metal posts. "Fancy," Theo observed. Malia smiled.
The Kitsune noticed Liam looking at Theo in his suit when he had started adjusting his tie. She nudged Malia as she watched Liam's blue eyes trail from Theo's hands to his face as he straightened it out, and let out a quiet laugh so low that Liam and Theo didn't acknowledge it.
Yeah, Theo looked fucking great in that suit and tie. He hadn't really stopped to look at his roommate before now, but as his well-groomed hands fidgeted with it, he was distracted from the event itself and instead wanted to watch him do that forever. A waiter with drinks on trays came past, and Liam was almost too distracted to notice until Malia cleared her throat. Liam blushed when he realized he'd accidentally ignored the waiter and took one of the stem glasses off the metal tray.
Theo noted how Liam looked at him, but how the waiter looked at Liam. He was handsome, with dark brown hair and the slightest bit of stubble. He was a lot taller than him, too. "Hey, I'm Anthony, but you guys can call me Tony," He greeted, but Theo was irked by the way he mostly looked at Liam. Liam shifted in his seat and his eyes finally met Tony's.
The chimera was having none of this, and realized what he thought were feelings of inferiority compared to Tony were actually ones of jealousy. Theo didn't hide a scowl when Tony smiled and showed his perfectly straight white teeth, and Liam laughed along to the banter with a breathy laugh Theo loved hearing. And his name had to be Anthony, and he had to just give out his nickname like they were friends. They were not friends. In fact, Theo found Anthony rather annoying.
"I'll come back in a few," Anthony said. He'd just finished laughing very enthusiastically at a joke Liam had made. Kira, Malia, and Liam turned back to the table, ignoring how absolutely pissed Theo looked. A few minutes was too short of a time.
"So," Theo said, trying to change the subject. Malia looked at her girlfriend with a knowing look, but decided to keep playing along with it. "High academic achievement! That's great! And so is community outreach!"
Kira smiled and nodded, looking down at her lap nervously from the praise. "Thanks," She breathed, and looked to Malia. "And I'm really proud of Mal for her nomination."
"Oh, stop," Malia groaned.
Theo looked to Liam again, who was looking at the tablecloth and his glass, obviously in thought. Kira's eyes flitted from Theo's gaze to Liam, and she nudged Malia. "Liam, I think you're getting some tonight," She said in a singsong voice, and both of the boys' heads shot up to look at her. Theo's once neutral expression turned back into one of anxiousness. "That waiter was definitely flirting with you, dude!"
Liam turned red and his shoulders shook with embarrassed laughter. "What?" He stammered, looking from Kira to Anthony, who was sure enough looking right over at him. "Are you serious?" Malia nodded, and Theo bit his tongue. "No, that can't... No," He laughed lightly, his eyes full of excitement.
"God, Liam, like it wasn't obvious?" Malia chuckled, playing right into Kira's plan. "You need to get on that."
"So what about this music!" Theo blurted out, a fake smile coming to his face. "I've never heard this song before!"
Malia raised one of her eyebrows at Theo while Kira smirked. "Yeah, it's a good song. But Liam, seriously," Kira continued, and Theo turned away and focused his attention on Anthony. He wasn't all that attractive... was he?
Theo excused himself to go to the bathroom even though he didn't need to. As he walked back from the bathroom to his table, he wondered what Anthony had that he didn't. When he reached the table and realized he was there talking to the three, he stopped in his tracks. Apparently, he had a good six inches of height on him. When Tony turned around, Theo stumbled backwards in surprise. Taking his seat, he hoped he wouldn't have to listen to too much more of his obvious flirting with the beta, but alas, he wasn't so lucky. "You two don't go here, do you?" He asked Theo and Liam, but mostly Liam.
"No," Liam started, but Theo interrupted.
"No, we don't. Liam's applying to Stanford, and he's pretty damn good, too. He'll get in," He interjected, but then remembered that if Anthony already liked him it was only going to make it worse if he bragged about Liam's achievements.
"That's great!" Anthony said to Liam, and Theo went back to looking at his hands. When Anthony finally went away, it was because the awards ceremony was starting.
"Welcome to the University of California!" A very perky female student said to everyone, the microphone having a split second of feedback before coming into focus. "Thank you all for coming tonight to our annual awards ceremony for achievements made by our students. They've worked so hard throughout this year to make the most out of their time here, and we at UC love to honor them for what they've put in to help our schools, their futures, and the community. Our first award up tonight is for high academic achievement."
Some cheered and some clapped even before she read out the nominees. Malia grabbed Kira's hand tightly and Theo and Liam smiled. Theo loved Malia and Kira and their relationship. As he looked at their hands clasped together, faces full of love and admiration, his mind betrayed him. Theo wondered what that would be like, to hold someone's hand like that, to have them look at him like he was the whole world.
He imagined it, but his mind almost couldn't fill in the details, emphasis on almost. Instead of Kira, he was in her place. The person next to him, the one holding his hand?
Liam.
Theo shut his eyes tightly to get the vision to go away, glancing over at Liam. He realized he'd missed the nominees. "And out of these wonderful students, the winner of the award for high academic achievement is..." The girl was handed a card, and she looked it over for a second before reading it aloud with a smile. "Kira Yukimura, majoring in engineering."
Kira's eyes widened and Malia was the one to start clapping first, everyone else following as Kira got up to get her award. It was a little gold statue, the same one out in front of the building. Kira shook the girl's hand and went to sit back down with Malia, Theo, and Liam, who were all beaming at her. Malia gave her a kiss, and Theo's heart beat a little harder. He definitely was trying not to imagine that alternate. Liam noticed, but didn't stop to think about why.
A few more awards were called, and the winners were all very happy. When it came to Malia's nomination, everyone was on the edge of their seats, at least at their table.
"This award is for Social Outreach, the students who have really made an effort to make the school and community a better place with their helpfulness, outgoingness, and people skills." This award didn't seem like Malia at all on the surface, but it did make sense. "Our nominees for the Social Outreach award are Anthony Verosa, Lillia Guild, Malia Tate, and Yasmin Iwaszkiewicz."
Liam and Theo looked over to Anthony, who was smiling and had his fingers crossed. Malia waved and he waved back, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "The student winner of this award is...Malia Tate, majoring in human biology!"
Malia's mouth fell open, and Kira squoze her hand even tighter. "Go!" Her girlfriend prompted, and Malia stood up, still looking shocked. Theo whooped and Liam clapped for her just as hard as he did for Kira. Anthony also seemed unbothered by the fact that he didn't win and was enthusiastically applauding Malia for her win.
Malia came back, starry eyed. She never expected to actually win this award, but she had been pleasantly surprised by her victory. Kira hugged her tightly, her hair tickling her nose.
More awards later, and it was over; it was time for the fun part of the evening. Waiters rushed around to offer hors d'oeuvres to everyone, and people got up to dance to the music that was now playing loudly. The four friends danced to the fast-paced songs.
Theo appreciated the way Liam let loose while still looking so good, and Liam did the same for Theo. "Having fun?" Theo laughed when Liam almost tripped over his foot for what seemed like the tenth time that night. Liam nodded. "Maybe we should take a little break, you look tired."
Theo and Liam sat down and watched the crowd move, Malia's dress swishing around her and Kira's hair falling loosely out of the bun it was once in. "This is actually fun," Theo mused, and Liam nodded. "I guess it's extra fun for you."
"What?" Liam asked, confused. Theo wanted to take back what he said, since if he said any more, it would really expose his whole feeling about Anthony flirting with Liam.
"Nothing, nevermind."
The pair sat quietly for awhile, both full of thought. Theo silently worried that he would have to spend weeks with Liam caught up on Anthony when they were inevitably dating, but Liam was thinking differently. He was wondering if Theo would ask him to dance any time tonight, even if it was an impossible feat for Theo to ask anyone to dance, and definitely not a slow one. Liam picked at his cuticles nervously, hoping that Anthony wouldn't come back over again. He was nice enough, but very enthusiastic and peppy about everything. He wasn't his type.
When the DJ turned the music down and switched the song to a slow-paced, smooth song, people calmed down. "Alright everybody, find your people for this slow dance!" The DJ said way too happily, enunciating the word "Slow" with a long drawl.
Liam glanced up at Theo, who was looking around. Everyone who was sitting were now standing up and finding their partners. A waiter and waitress were dancing with each other, their arms wrapped around each other. "Are we really the only ones without dates?" Theo wondered aloud, and Liam laughed.
"Looks like it."
There was a moment of heavy silence before someone caught Theo's eye. It was Anthony, who had pushed off of where he was leaning on the bar and started to walk over. Theo tensed.
If he let Anthony go to Liam, he'd miss his shot for months. He'd be stuck with Anthony, and stuck with Liam not being single anymore. Visions of Liam holding his hand and instead fading into holding Anthony's played through his mind, and he almost didn't acknowledge the words leaving his mouth as he said them. "Do you want to dance with me?" Theo asked, the sentence now out there. Liam raised his eyebrows in surprise, having not even seen Anthony.
"Y-yeah," He breathed, a small smile crossing his lips as he said it. Theo stood up first, offering out an awkward hand to Liam. He couldn't believe he'd asked, but as Liam placed his warm hand in his, he was glad he did.
Theo's hands were unsteady and his knees were shaky as he held Liam's hand. He wasn't sure what to do. Did this mean he and Liam were a thing? He was endlessly worried that he was reading this wrong, thoughts whizzing through his head at a million miles a minute. What if Liam really didn't like him like that and he had only said yes to not be the loner at the party, or what if he thought that this was weird and they wouldn't be able to talk like friends again? Dear god, he wanted them to be together. Theo's worry was stopped for a brief second when Liam put one of his own shaking hands on Theo's shoulder stepping closer.
Liam's heartbeat increased speed when he met Theo's green eyes. The Chimera had already been looking downwards at him, gazes meeting with a nervous intensity. Half of him wanted to look away quickly at the sudden seriousness, but he kept eye contact.
Theo put his hands on Liam's sides, the room starting to fade out around him. Never in their wildest, most alcohol-induced dreams would they have thought this would happen, being able to feel the heat radiating off of each other's bodies.
The feelings Liam had for Theo had been there for a long time, and even if Theo had realized his pretty recently, deep down, he knew he had them long before. A piece of Liam's hair fell out from behind his ear, and Theo reached up to tuck it back, the simple action making Liam's breath catch in his throat. The smallest smile graced Theo's lips, his eyes shiny and genuinely happy.
It was when Theo's body brushed his own when Liam knew. He knew he wasn't just there because they were the only two without dates, he knew his feelings for Theo weren't one-sided, he knew that he was in love with all of him. He knew he was in love with Theo's entire being, his eyes, the way he laughed, his presence near him. Their eyes met again, Theo's still already having been staring down at him. With the nervous expression on his face, Liam's eyes flitted down to Theo's lips and back to his eyes, and Theo noticed.
Leaning in to fill the slightest bit of space, Theo finished Liam's thought and pressed his lips to Liam's, shockwaves being sent through his entire body with the connection. Liam wasn't ready, but he doubted he ever would be for someone like Theo kissing him. The beta kissed him right back, the grip on his shoulders tightening as Theo's grip on his hips did. A hand that was once on his hip was replaced with one on the back of his neck, pulling him closer, desperately. Around them, it felt like time slowed down, both seeing stars behind their closed eyelids. Liam pulled off first, a quiet gasp for breath heard as he rested his forehead on Theo's. "I," Liam tried to say, but he had no words. Theo felt the same; the only thing he could do was interlock their lips again, breathing with difficulty but with a sense of freedom.
Over where Malia and Kira were dancing, Malia caught two suits out of the corner of her eye and turned away from Kira to look. "Kira!" She gasped, and Kira looked around in confusion until she saw them. Liam and Theo, right after kissing each other. "I think they just-" They did it again and Kira covered her mouth to prevent a noise from coming out.
Liam kept going, quick kisses on Theo's jaw and his mouth. "Liam," Theo sighed in contentedness, his arms still wrapped around his waist. "I... I don't even know what to say."
Liam smiled. "Then don't say anything," He replied softly, resting his head on Theo's shoulder. They swayed back and forth, not paying attention to anything else but each other, for the rest of the dance. Once it was over, people started to part ways and either prepare for the next fast one or sit down. Liam and Theo sat down at their table, Liam's face red and Theo's suit a little screwed up from Liam grabbing onto it so hard.
Malia and Kira sat down across from them with a smirk on their faces. "So," Kira said, running her manicured fingers along the table. "This was a pretty fun night, right?"
Both boys looked at each other simultaneously, humorous and toothy smiles on each of their faces. "Yeah," Theo said, still gazing at Liam. "I haven't had this much fun in a long, long time."