Work Text:
It’s the haziest memory he has, colorless and blurry around the edges, one that didn’t even make sense until he found out what had happened that night all those years ago. He recalls his mother’s eyes, wide and worried, the dark curls that couldn’t hide her tear-stained cheeks, the way she kept calling his name in a shaky voice. Her hands, however, were steady when she pushed the bangs out of his eyes.
And the thing is, Scott thought he knew what that felt like, to be completely overwhelmed with worry and fear because a loved one was hurt, because their life was in danger. He thought he got used to feeling like he will never stop being concerned about what could happen to his mom and Stiles and all these people he loves so much and who shouldn’t have been dragged into the supernatural chaos that his life has become. He thought he knew how to handle it.
And then Liam happens and Scott can’t remember what keeping a cool head even means, let alone how to do it.
His phone shows him Liam’s name but the voice he hears four seconds later is Garrett’s, and it’s only then that Scott begins to truly understand how terrified his mom must have been when he blacked out in her arms.
*
He stays quiet and watches as Liam’s wound heals slowly, pretending not to feel Deaton’s and Chris Argent’s eyes on him like he’s the one who’s still injured, the one who needs looking after. He doesn’t, he’s fine now. But he’s still immensely grateful for the warm hand that squeezes his shoulder every now and then, a reassuring reminder that he’s not alone, that he has someone who understands right there with him.
Scott doesn’t know how Chris can keep it together after losing Allison. He feels like he’s about to go berserk even though he knows that Liam will wake up any minute now.
Liam’s eyelids fly open the moment his wound is fully closed, blue eyes darting around the room before they finally land on Scott, flashing gold for a brief second. His heart is hammering, Scott can hear it so clearly he aches with the need to find a way to calm him down, so he does the first thing that comes to mind and brushes the hair back from Liam’s forehead again, letting out a relieved sigh when Liam’s heart rate goes back to normal, the panic subsiding.
Liam grabs his wrist, holding on tightly, just like he did when Scott pulled him out of that well.
“You’re okay, Liam. You’re okay,” he repeats once more, remembering the terror in those blue eyes, the small body trembling in his arms. “I’m not gonna let you fall.”
Liam nods and closes his eyes.
*
Chris drives them both to Scott’s house when it becomes obvious that Liam doesn’t react well to Scott not being around for longer than five minutes. He’s still freaked out and it’s understandable that he needs his Alpha, Chris says, a gentle smile on his lips when he catches Scott’s eye in the rear-view mirror.
Scott looks down at the boy who fell asleep with his head pillowed on Scott’s shoulder and can’t figure out why everyone seems to believe that he’ll be great at this when he honestly has no idea what he’s doing.
*
The lights are out but he can hear his mom’s heartbeat among the rustling of papers in the kitchen, can smell her anxiety and the cold coffee.
He hates himself a little for not putting the money issue first, for letting his mom deal with it on her own – but it’s only temporary, he reminds himself. There’s still a duffel bag with more money than he’s even seen under his bed, a potential solution for their problems, but he has to talk to Stiles about it before he can decide what to do. There’s no way he’s not helping Stiles with the Eichen House mess.
But at the moment every cell in his body is yelling at him to take care of Liam first. Anything else can wait until the morning.
His mom’s eyes widen when she sees them together – fair enough, the last time that happened Liam had a broken ankle and now he’s leaning against Scott again, so it’s not surprising that his mom gives him that exasperated look Scott knows all too well, the look he usually associates with being best friends with Stiles Stilinski for thirteen years.
It’s easy to pinpoint exactly when she realizes something is wrong, brown eyes going soft when she glances at Liam, her maternal instinct kicking in. Suddenly Scott feels small and young and vulnerable, wishing he could back to being five and climbing on her lap and letting her pet his hair until the world didn’t seem so scary anymore. But he can’t, and now it’s his turn to make someone feel that way, safe and protected and happy.
Scott tries to smile reassuringly at Liam as he wraps an arm around his shoulders, taking a steadying breath before asking his mom if Liam can sleep in the guest bedroom tonight instead of going home where his mother and step-dad are undoubtedly waiting for him, worried sick because he should have returned hours ago, and yes, something did happen. He doesn’t try looking for an excuse, just tells her that they need to talk.
She calls Dr. Geyer and makes up a story about them watching movies the entire afternoon and Liam being asleep already, while Scott pretends not to listen in on their conversation. That doesn’t stop him from breathing a sigh of relief when he hears the man chuckle, doesn’t stop Liam from thanking her after she finishes the call. It’s when she almost drops the phone that Scott realizes she must have understood what Liam being able to hear all of that actually means.
*
Liam is upstairs taking a warm shower and Scott falls apart the moment he’s left alone with his mom.
He breaks down while he tells her everything that’s happened, tells her about the bite, the full moon, the crushing need to make sure that Liam is alive and well every minute of every day. Tells her that two teenagers were killed by Berserkers and that he almost felt like they deserved it because they hurt Liam. Tells her that he’s afraid he’s turning into a monster.
She kisses the top of his head, her delicate arms engulfing him in a tight hug that feels like everything Scott fears he’s going to lose, and says that to her it sounds like he’s turning into the overprotective big brother she always knew he’d be if he had the chance.
Her heart’s beating faster than usual. It’s not a lie, but it’s not the truth either.
*
“It was my fault. I should’ve stayed with Mason.”
It’s not the first time Liam’s said that since Scott found him. It’s not the first time Scott’s heard Liam blame himself for something that wasn’t his fault since they met, either. He wants to know what that’s all about and possibly kick the ass of whoever it was that made Liam feel like every bad thing that was happening was his fault. But now is not the time for that conversation, so he just shakes his head and tells Liam that he’s proud of him.
Liam snorts and rolls his eyes. He’s wearing Scott’s old shirt and sweatpants that are two sizes too big on him, snuggled under a fleece blanket in what used to be Isaac’s bed, and Scott realizes he’d be willing to set the world on fire for him.
And he is proud of Liam, of how brave he was and how he tried to climb out of the well without anyone’s help, of how fast he’s learning to control himself. He’s already better at this than Scott was after his first full moon. And if there’s anyone who should be feeling guilty, it’s him. For not finding Liam sooner, for not paying enough attention and letting this happen in the first place. He hasn’t even taught Liam to howl, for God’s sake.
There’s so much he has to teach Liam and he’s already made so many mistakes, how is he supposed to do this when he doesn’t know what he himself can do, what being a True Alpha even means, when he feels like he’s suffocating every day, breathing in wolfsbane vapors, and every inhale is like the beginning of an asthma attack –
“Scott? You okay? Your heart’s, like, racing.”
Liam’s fingers are encircling his wrist again.
Scott focuses on his touch, taking deep breaths until his heart rate slows down and his world doesn’t look like it’s about to come crashing down anymore.
So. Maybe this thing is a two-way street.
He kneels next to the bed, smiling softly and running his fingers through Liam’s hair until he receives a sleepy smile in return that makes him feel like the blood in his veins has been replaced with something warm and golden and full of love.
“I thought about you, you know. When I was in there,” Liam confesses, blinking rapidly as if he’s trying to keep his eyes open. “I was angry that I couldn’t get out and then – ” he yawns, his eyes closing once more and he doesn’t try opening them again this time. Scott doesn’t stop stroking his hair. “And then I thought of you and remembered what you told me and I – I wasn’t angry anymore. So I tried again and almost made it to the top and then. You were there.”
Scott has to bite his knuckles to stop himself from crying out that he was wrong. He can’t do this, he’s only two years older than Liam, he can’t –
He can’t abandon Liam, that’s the only thing he can’t do. He’ll have to talk to Derek and ask him why the mere thought of Liam getting hurt again makes his heart jump in his throat and his eyes burn, the flash of red making itself known, so intense that Scott doesn’t even have to look in the mirror to check the color of his eyes. It has to be unusual, he thinks, because most of the Alphas he’s met so far weren’t overly protective of their Betas. Peter couldn’t have cared less, and Deucalion was, well, yeah. Derek was the only who showed that he cared about his pack, but then again, Derek wasn’t power-hungry, never even wanted to lead.
And Scott – he’s self-aware enough to admit he can be a bit slow at times, but he knows that he’s not like most Alphas.
He stares at the now empty mug of chamomile tea that his mom insisted Liam drink before going to bed and takes another deep breath.
He can do this. He’ll teach Liam to howl and roar, to listen to people’s heartbeats to discover if they’re trying to lie, to recognize the scents specific to every emotion, to cover his own scent. To fight and protect himself. To help others, if Liam wants to.
He can show Liam that he’s not a monster. That he’s not alone in this. Because even if he doesn’t know much about pack dynamics and werewolf hierarchy, Scott is used to being willing to do anything to protect his friends and family.