Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Home

A place where I can go

To take this off my shoulders

Someone take me home

That’s what a home is. A home is somewhere you can relax, forget about your problems for a while, feel safe and secure. Home is comforting. It’s a peaceful morning on a Saturday. It’s a fireplace burning, heating up the house while you’re on the couch snuggled under a blanket. Home is where you’re surrounded by those you love. Home is the fuzzy feeling in your stomach when you wake up feeling safe and happy. 

Unfortunately for some people, they don’t get that experience. Theo Raeken should know. He doesn’t have a home. He has a truck. He doesn’t have people who love him (at least that’s what he’s told himself multiple times). He has peers who tolerate him, and even some of them don’t tolerate him all that much. And he doesn’t have that fuzzy feeling in his stomach. He has dread, doubt, regret and sadness. Not that he’s let anyone figure it out though.

Theo didn’t even know what a home was. He had an idea but everything in his mind kind of jumbled together. All he ever knew, from the age of 9 to 15, were 4 walls, pain, suffering, and 3...people...in masks and black suits performing experiments on him to make him their emotionless puppet on a string. 

And it worked. Theo has never been good with emotions. Because of the Dread Doctors, he’s been so use to manipulating his own emotions to manipulate others, he’s almost forgotten what happiness feels like, what joy feels like, or any emotion where you could tell someone was enjoying life. 

But also, Theo wasn’t enjoying life. Living out of his truck since Liam had brought him back from Hell itself, didn’t exactly put money in his pocket. You may be asking, why doesn’t Theo just tell someone?

Simple. He was scared. A new emotion he’s just now getting use to feeling again. Fear was all he felt when he was first introduced to the Dread Doctors. The experiments left him scared out of his mind and in a horrendous amount of pain. 

But they taught him to dull his emotions, manipulate them in order to give off a certain emotion. Only one at a time. 

Now he’s back in Beacon Hills- well, he’s been back in Beacon Hills for quite a long time now. The things he did when he returned still haunted him to this day. But you can’t change the past, you can only move on from it. And Theo was having a hard time with that. 

Killing his sister was definitely his biggest regret. The Dread Doctors giving him Tara’s heart to make him a genetic Chimera really made things worse. But that’s what they wanted. 

They used Theo in order to fulfill their malicious wants. They made him to be the evil manipulative person he was. 

But since he was brought back from Hell, something in him changed. Hell changed him. Hell was such a horrid place, as many believe. But it was different. It was your own personal nightmare that kept repeating over and over. Theo’s nightmare was his sister ripping out and taking back her heart from his chest. Every. Single. Night.

Now Theo’s been out of that place, him doing everything he could to help Scotts pack in order to not be sent back, not that he really had a choice in the matter. They threatened to send him back multiple times but Liam was the one who convinced them that Theo was his responsibility.

Liam was another story for Theo. Liam was the one who brought him back. Liam was the one who trusted Theo enough to bring him back. Well, not at first, but eventually he trusted him. 

They had gotten rather close after the whole Hell thing. Liam trusted him way more than Theo thought he should. That’s another thing. Theo didn’t think he deserved the trust some of the others now gave him. Like before, he’s having trouble moving on from the past. 

But now to the present where Theo was sleeping, in his truck of course. He’s been parked in this spot close to the woods for almost 3 days now. It was almost 1 am and he had just gotten comfortable enough in the backseat to fall asleep. His head was resting on a small pillow that was flat on the seat. The small green blanket laid over him, just enough to cover his whole body. 

Since it was a bit chilly that night, Theo decided not to sleep in the bed of the truck. He didn’t have much room in the backseat. He was lying on his side with his legs bent a little in order to fit the blanket around himself. 

This was his home. Or in better words, the place where he slept and the vehicle that got him too and from places. It wasn’t the best but it did keep him sheltered 95% of the time. Other than the weather going bad here and there and the worry of Monroe’s hunters coming along, this was where Theo would reside. 

~~~~~~

Liam was exhausted but he couldn’t sleep. He didn’t know why, he just felt like something was off, something was wrong. But not just something- someone. So he obviously had to go out and walk around for a bit, hoping to find the root cause of his paranoia. He’s been feeling this way for some time now. The feeling of something wrong in the back of his mind at night. He use to just brush it off as nothing but tonight was the night he finally decided to go out and see for himself. 

He knew the risks of being out this late at night. Almost 2 am. Monroe’s hunters were still hunting them. It was less frequent now though. They usually only had problems with other supernatural creatures that came in the night, but there was the odd hunter- or hunters- out that tried to kill them. 

As he walked down the side of the road, getting further and further away from his house, he noticed he was getting closer to the woods. 

Again, he didn’t know why he felt that something- someone- wasn’t okay. It was a pretty calm night in itself so there shouldn’t be any type of danger but then again this is Beacon Hills we’re talking about. 

As he got closer to the woods where he and the rest of the McCall pack had fought off many types of supernatural beings, he noticed a truck. A black truck. 

Liam stopped where he was and stared at the vehicle. He felt an uneasy feeling wash over him but he still felt that there was something wrong. 

But because his eyes were growing heavier by the minute, Liam decided that it was probably him being sleep deprived and exhausted. So, he turned around and started his way back home. 

Chapter Text

Liam woke up the next morning to his phone going off. He turned over to grab it from his nightstand and hit answer without looking at who it was calling. 

“What?” Liam groaned, not liking that he was woken up so early on a Saturday at 7:23 AM. 

“Liam,” It was Scott. “you need to meet us at the sheriffs station.”

Liam was concerned as he sat up on his bed. “What? Why?”  

“Theo’s down there. Noah said that a deputy brought him.” 

Now Liam was confused. Why in the hell would a deputy bring Theo to the sheriffs station? Many thoughts started going through Liams head. Some good. Some bad. 

“I’ll be there in ten.” 

Liam ended the call and rushed to get dressed then hurried downstairs. His parents were nowhere in the house, indicating that they had already left for work. 

He grabbed his keys and quickly got out the front door. He jumped into his truck, starting it and immediately pulling out of the driveway. 

On the way to the station, Liam’s mind was running wild. Why was Theo taken there by a deputy? What did he do? Was it bad? Did he kill someone again? 

Liam shook the last thought out of his head before he could think about it too much. He knows Theo’s changed. He’s definitely not the same person they dispatched to hell. 

As he pulled up at the sheriffs station, he could see Scott and the sheriff standing outside, clearly waiting for him. 

He parked his truck and got out, walking over to Scott and Noah. 

“Hey, what’s going on? Why’s Theo here?” He rushed out. 

“A deputy of mine brought him in not too long ago.” Noah started. “Said he had been parked out by the woods for the past few days,” Noah suddenly looked nervous about both werewolves could hear his heart beat quicken. 

“Sheriff, what is it?” Liam asked. 

The sheriff took a deep breath and said, “Scott, do you- or any of you- have any idea where Theo has been staying since Liam pulled him up from the ground?”

Scott and Liam looked at each other and then back at Noah, shaking their heads. 

Noah looked upset. “He’s been sleeping in his truck.”

~~~~~~

6:35 AM

The sheriff of Beacon Hills was sitting in his office, going through some paper work when there was a knock at his door. One of his female deputies came in. 

“Sheriff, we have an 18 year old male who was just brought in. Apparently he was parked in a restricted area near the woods for the past few days.”

Noah sighed. They’ve already brought someone in this early in the morning? 

“I’ll be out in a minute.”

The deputy left, giving Noah a moment to clear his head and shake the sleepiness from himself. He stood up from his desk chair and made his way out. There, he saw a deputy with....

“Theo?”

Theo’s head snapped around to look at Noah. He wouldn’t meet his eyes though. The deputy had a hold on his arm. 

“What are you doing here?” 

The deputy started. “I found him in his truck near the woods. He’s been blocking the entrance for the past few days.” 

Noah told Theo to go sit down on the bench, knowing he wouldn’t run off in line of sight. The sheriff pulled his deputy to the side. “So why-” Noah tried to speak but was cut off. 

“And he has an unpaid traffic ticket as a result of the blocking entrance while parked. I finally took him in this time after seeing him in the truck because I previously had to tell him multiple times that where he was parked, which was in different restricted locations each time, wasn’t allowed.

Noah pinched the bridge of his nose. It was too damn early for this. Even if this was his job.

He sighed. “What was he doing in his truck?”

“Sleeping.” The deputy said like it was nothing.  

Noah froze. “I’m sorry- he was what?!”

“Sleeping. In his truck.”

“For how long?!”

“Well, a few months back, a few of us found him in the truck, sleeping, in different restricted areas as I had said. Then a few days ago I gave him a traffic ticket for blocking the woods entrance and this morning he was still there so I decided to take him in; let you handle him.”

Noah was appalled. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. 

He looked over at Theo who was practically falling asleep with his head against the wall.

“So some of you knew of a boy sleeping in his truck? For months? What in the hell? Why are you just now telling me this?” Noah was getting quite upset. He couldn’t believe that some of the others knew of Theo sleeping in his truck and yet they didn’t say anything. 

“Theo,” Theo’s head shot up at Noah’s voice. “son, come with me.” Noah waved him over. Theo got up from the bench, wandering over to the sheriff. 

Noah pointed his finger at his deputy. “I’ll deal with you later.” He clasp his hand on the Chimera’s shoulder and guided him into his office. 

The sheriff made Theo sit in a chair in front of his desk while Noah leaned up against it. 

“How long has this been going on?” Noah asked, arms on either side of him, holding onto the desk. 

Theo huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Why do you care?”

“I care cause no kid should be sleeping in their truck. They should be sleeping in a safe house, in a nice warm bed.”

“I’m 18.”

“Yes, but that’s barely a step into adulthood.” Noah sighed but his voice softened. “How long has this been going on, Theo?”

Theo looked at the sheriff, not wanting to give him an answer but as Noah just stared at him, he gave in. 

“Just a few months, alright?” 

“As it how many?”

It was Theo’s turn to sigh. He wasn’t use to being vulnerable to people. It almost made him uncomfortable. “I don’t know, 6? 7?” He shrugged his shoulders. 

Noah didn’t know what to think. This 18 year old kid who had been put through literal hell and back, didn’t have a safe place to say. Noah had to admit, even after everything Theo had done to Scott’s pack, he now felt sympathy for the kid. He had for a while now with seeing how much Theo has truly changed. 

~~~~~~

“Where is he?” Scott asked. 

“Still in my office.”

“What are we going to do?” Liam questioned. “I mean, he can’t keep living out of his truck.”

Scott answered. “We’ll figure something out.” 

The three men all made their way back into the sheriffs station. They got to Noahs office and opened the door, but saw no one inside. 

Liam looked over at Scott, then Noah. “I thought you said he was in here?” 

The sheriff pursed his lips. “He was.”

Chapter Text

After seeing that Theo had some how gotten out of the sheriffs office, Scott and Liam went to find him. They asked the sheriff where he was seen in his truck last and once they knew the answer, they were out the door in a heartbeat. 

They got into Liam’s truck and drove, trying not to break the speed limit. As they reached the entrance of the woods, Liam suddenly realized something. This was where he had walked to last night. Seeing the black truck, he didn’t realize it had been Theo’s. 

But there was no black truck here this time. It was gone. 

“We gotta find him,” Scott said. “we gotta talk to him about this.”

“I just can’t believe he didn’t tell us.” Liam had his hands still clutching the steering wheel even though they were parked. ‘Or me’ Liam thought. 

The smell of regret filled the truck. Scott, being the alpha, almost felt responsible for this. Even if Theo wasn’t part of the pack (yet), he and Liam were getting to be good friends and close enough with each other that Scott felt like he should’ve known. 

Liam sighed. “Why didn’t we check on him? Ya know, after I got him out of Hell?”

“Well, none of us trusted him at that point.” Scott replied. “But I will admit, we probably should’ve checked on him after we all- well, with the exception of Malia and Stiles- trusted him more.”

Liam didn’t know what to say. The only thing that came to his mind was, “Let’s just find him.”

They both got out of the truck, each trying to catch Theo’s scent. 

“I can’t catch his scent.” Scott stated.

“Me neither.”

Liam pulled out his phone, dialing Theo’s number, knowing it would probably go to voicemail. Of course, no answer. Scott then tried. Again, no answer. 

“Where would’ve he gone to?”

Scott shook his head. “I have no idea. This is probably just new to him; people helping- or trying to help him.”

The beta knew that Scott was right. No one had ever bothered to ask Theo to see if he needed any help. The only help they gave him was Liam dragging him out of hell and after that, left him to fend for himself. 

The alpha and beta decided to walk around the area for a bit, trying to catch the chimera’s scent but unfortunately had no luck. They realized that Theo must’ve masked his scent in order for him to not be tracked. 

They had made their way back to Liams truck feeling frustrated. Mainly Liam. Since he realized that this was where he had bene last night, and Theo being here, he felt off. 

“You okay?” Scott asked, concerned for his beta as he got into the passenger seat. 

Liam sighed. “I don’t know. Something happened last night and now I can’t get it out of my head.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“I kept getting the feeling that something was wrong with someone and so I went to take a walk and ended up walking all the way here.” Liam explained. “I saw a black truck at the entrance but since I was practically falling asleep while standing, I turned around and headed back.”

“You think it was Theo?”

Liam nodded. 

Scott honestly didn’t know what it make of this situation. He didn’t have an explanation for why Liam was feeling the way he did. He asked Liam how long he had been feeling like that and Liam answered with only a couple months but that was the first night he decided to finally act on it. 

“I don’t know, it’s weird.” Liam trailed off. 

Him and Scott sat in the truck for another 30 minutes. They even called Lydia and Mason in the process, asking them to keep an eye out for Theo and to call it they saw him anywhere. 

As the beta and alpha got back to the sheriffs office, Noah was there to greet them again. 

“No luck.” Liam said. 

“I’d say just give him some time.” The sheriff started. “He knows we’re trying to help him but I don’t think he really knows how to accept the help.”

“Yeah as I had told Liam, this whole ‘people helping him’ thing is probably new to him.”

Liam had zoned out as the sheriff and Scott continued to talk. He really wanted to find Theo. And fast. He wanted to help him more than anything. He truly cared about the chimera. And not just in a friendship why.

“Liam!”

Liam snapped out of his mind and back into the real world as he heard Scotts voice. 

“Sorry, what?”

“I said, have you noticed the way Theo acts with you and not the others?”

“What do you mean? Other than the obvious, there are only a few of us that consider him a real friend of ours?” 

“No, with you it’s different. I’ve noticed the way Theo acts around you; well I have ever since the whole pulling him from Hell but that was only because I didn’t trust him that much around you.” Scott said. “But...the way he watches you...like he’s ready to take a bullet for you at any given moment.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

~~~~~~

Later that night, after many phone calls and texts to Theo through out the day from him and other pack members, Liam was trying to sleep. 

But of course, that feeling came back. It was weird. It only seemed to happen at night. But tonight the feeling started to feel uncomfortably wrong because his wolf felt like it was scratching at his chest, like it was trying to get somewhere. Or too someone. 

After many attempts at trying to calm his wolf, Liam threw off the blanket that was over him in frustration, slipped on his shoes and hoodie, and snuck out the front door. He didn’t bother using his truck, he wanted some fresh air. 

He walked and walked, the feeling not going away. He noticed he was headed towards the woods again. 

As he walked deeper into the wooded area, he picked up a scent. Not just any scent though. Theo’s. 

Liam followed the scent and as he walked around one tree, he saw him. 

Theo was sitting on a bridge. The bridge where his sister had died. He was sitting with his legs close to his chest, his head leaned back against the railing. 

Liam could smell the sadness that was coming off of him in waves. Liam had never seen Theo like this. All he wanted to do was run up to him, scoop him up in his arms and tell him everything was okay. But he chose to only walk closer to the boy, not wanting to scare him even though Theo probably heard him coming. 

“Theo?”

Chapter Text

Theo turned his head to look at Liam. He didn’t seem too happy to see him. 

“What the fuck do you want, Liam?”

Ok. That hurt.

Liam was taken aback but started walking closer to him. “Hey, I’m just trying to help you here.”

“And what makes you think I want your help?”

That also hurt. Liam sighed. The whole ‘not use to people helping him’ and ‘not knowing how to accept it’ thing was definitely coming through.  

He walked onto the bridge, taking in Theo’s current state. He could see that his eyes were a bit puffy under the moon light, his clothes were wrinkled and his hair was all over the place. 

He sat down next to him, earning a confused look from Theo. 

“You’ve helped us more than enough times, Theo.” Liam said, his voice soft. “Let us return the favor and help you now.”

Theo bit his lower lip. He wasn’t meeting the beta’s eyes. “I don’t want your help, Liam.” It seemed as though Theo was forcing himself to say this. “I’m fine on my own.”

Liam huffed. “Yeah, and how’s that working out for you?”

Theo stayed silent.

“Theo, look at me.” Liam whispered. When Theo didn’t listen, he said it a bit more harsh, more harsh than he obviously intended for it to sound. “Look at me.”

The Chimera reluctantly turned his head to look at him. 

‘Why didn’t you tell us?” Liam questioned.

“Didn’t think it mattered.” Theo murmured. The next thing he said, Liam barely caught it. “I deserved it anyways.”

Liam was astonished. “Why would you think that?”

Theo was getting frustrated. “Because I did, okay!” Liam jumped at his outburst. “I deserved it after everything I did.”

Liam could see the tears welling in Theo’s eyes. He could hear his heart racing now. 

“Theo…”

“No, Liam!” Theo stood up, starting to walk off the bridge but Liam quickly stopped him, holding onto his arm so he couldn’t go anywhere.

“Let. Go.” Theo said through his teeth. 

“No.” Liam protested. “Not until you listen to me.”

Liam could hear Theo’s heart pounding in his chest. 

“Why did you not tell us?”

“Didn’t think it-“ Theo started.

“And don’t give me the same excuse as before.”

Theo sighed. “I didn’t want you to worry about me.”

“Theo, of course I’m going to worry about you. After everything you’ve been through, and what we put you through, I’m going to worry about you.” Liam stated. “You don’t have to carry the weight of the world all by yourself, you know?”

“Can you please stop?” Theo whispered.

“Stop what?”

“Caring about me.”

Liam was confused. “Why would I stop caring about you? Why do you want me to stop?”

Theo took a moment to reply. “Because I’m scared.”

“Why are you scared?”

The smell of fear and sadness whirled around them. “Because I’ve never asked for help before.”

Liam wanted to pull the hazel eyed boy into his arms and just tell him everything would be okay.

“Its okay to ask for help, Theo.” Liam said. “I know its hard and I hate that its like this for you. But I wish you would’ve told us sooner. You deserve a home, Theo. You deserve a place to call you’re own, and not some truck where you’re barely safe.” Liam still had a hold on Theo’s arm. “You deserve a home, whether you think so or not.”

“Liam…?”

“Yeah?”

Liam could tell Theo was more hesitant to say what he was about to say. It took him a good minute to say what he wanted. 

“Please help me.”

Liam smiled softly. “See? That’s you had to do.” Liam rubbed his hand down Theo’s arm. “You’re different now. You’re a better person. You’re not the same Theo as before-“

“How do you know that though?” Theo’s voice cracked, tears threatening to spill over. 

Liam sighed. “Because the Theo before would not have pulled me into the elevator to keep me from being shot, the Theo before would not have taken Gabe’s pain so he didn’t die in agony, the Theo before would not be standing here right now crying,” Liam reaches both his hands up and cupped Theo’s face, wiping the tears that had rolled down his cheeks. “because he’s scared to ask for help, because he’s afraid that he hasn’t changed, because he’s afraid he’s not a better person.” Liam looked into Theo’s eyes. “You are, Theo. You are one of the sweetest, most caring people I have ever meet in my entire life. You don’t deserve to sleep in a truck. You deserve a safe home. And I’m sorry I didn’t notice this sooner. I should’ve paid attention, we should’ve checked on you. And I’m so sorry.” Liam had tears in his eyes as well by the end of his long statement. 

Theo was speechless. He didn’t know what to say. No, there was one thing he wanted to say but thankfully Liam beat him to it. 

“Can I hug you?” Liam only asked because he realized that he had never hugged Theo before. 

Theo nodded his head. 

Liam smiled as he pulled the Chimera into a warm embrace. Theo only wrapped a single arm around him but soon both his arms went around Liam’s waist. Having Theo in his arms felt right. Perfect. 

When Liam tried to pull back, Theo let out a whimper and a “No.”, clinging onto Liam. “It’s been so long since I last hugged someone.” Liam felt like his heart had been ripped in two. But it was true. No one has hugged Theo in a very long time. Theo then said, barely above a whisper but the beta still heard. “I had forgotten how it feels to be held.” And with that, Liams heart shattered. 

When he tightened his grip around Theo, the chimera broke. Sobs wracked his body, clinging onto the back of Liam’s shirt like it was his life source. 

“Its okay, Theo.” Liam whispered. “You’re okay now. Everything will be okay.” Theo continued to sob in Liams arms as he nuzzled his face in the crook of Liam’s neck. 

After a few minutes of silence and the tears had died down, Liam spoke. “Lets go home, okay.”

Theo looked at Liam confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re coming home with me, Theo. I’m not letting you sleep in your truck tonight, or any other night after this, okay.”

Theo felt like he could cry again but he was too tired so he just nodded his head. “Where’s your truck?” Liam asked. Theo said that it was still at the entrance of the woods. Liam took his hand and they made their way to the truck. 

He made Theo get into the passenger seat. He’s had a rough few days. Dealing with being homeless for months and the sheriffs department just yesterday, he knew Theo was exhausted. 

As Liam got into the drivers seat, he looked over at Theo and could see him shivering. He may be a Chimera but even he still got cold. He quickly pulled off the hoodie he had on and told Theo to put it on, which he did. 

As Liam drove his truck back to his house, Theo was steadily falling asleep with his head resting on the window. 

Right before Theo had completely fallen asleep, he lifted the front of the hoodie and pulled it over his nose. He inhaled deeply, Liams scent calming him as he fell asleep. 

~~~~~~

It was almost 2 am when they arrived at Liams house and Liam gently shook Theo awake. They made their way into the house and into Liams bedroom. 

He gave Theo a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt to sleep in. He showed him where the bathroom was and he went to go change. 

Afterwards, Liam took Theo to the guest room. Theo seemed hesitant to even go in. “Are you sure-“

“Yes, Theo. It’s fine. I promise.” Liam reassured him. 

Theo swallowed back his tears as he said, “Thanks, Liam.” 

Liam smiled at him. Right before he shut the door to the room, he noticed Theo still had his hoodie on, telling Liam he must’ve put it back on after he had changed. 

~~~~~~

At around 5 am was when Liam woke up again. He almost growled when he felt that feeling he’s had for the past few months, return. He was about to ignore it, forget about it, and try to fall back asleep but a noise caught his attention. 

He listened closely and the sound came again. But it was a whimper. A whimper coming from the guest room. 

Chapter Text

Liam paused for a moment. He heard the sound again and this time he wasted no time in yanking back the covers and racing out of his bedroom. He opened the door of the guest room and saw Theo tossing and turning in the bed. The smell of fear filled the room. He was having a nightmare.  

Liam rushed to the side of the bed that Theo was on, shaking his shoulder, trying to wake him up. He said his name but Theo didn’t budge. He just whimpered in his sleep even more. 

“Theo? Come on, Theo, wake up.”Theo suddenly gasped and shot up in the bed, breathing heavily. Liam placed a hand on his shoulder and Theo snapped his head over towards the beta. Liam could see the tears in his wide eyes and hear his heart beating fast. 

“Hey, Theo,” Liam said softly. “you need breath, okay. Just calm down, you’re okay.” 

Liam rubbed his hand down the Chimera’s back and down his arm, Theo leaning into the werewolf’s touch. 

Theo’s breathing had started to even out but picked up again. “Hey, no, Theo, look at me.” Liam turned Theo’s face towards his. “Just focus on me, take a deep breath,” Liam took a deep breath, Theo trying to mimic him. He felt lightheaded, he felt shaky (which Liam also noticed that he was) 

“I can-can’t.”

“Yes you can, I know its difficult, but you got this.” Liam took Theo’s hand and placed it over his heart. “Just focus, it’s okay.” He another deep breath, Theo now doing the same. Liam told him to hold for it in for 7 seconds. Theo listened and exhaled for 8 seconds when Liam told him too. 

Soon Theo’s breathing was back to normal but the nightmare resurfaced in his mind. 

Liam watched how Theo brushed his tears away with the back of his hand. “You alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“I’m fine, Liam.”

Liam fought the urge to roll his eyes. He could still smell and anxiety the fear in the air but he didn’t want to push Theo into talking about it if he didn’t want to. 

Liam patted Theo’s back before getting up off the bed but stopped when Theo let out a quick, “Wait!”. 

When Liam turned back to look at Theo, he could see how small the chimera looked. With the big blanket covering him as he sat crisscrossed under it and Liam’s hoodie, which was oversized because that’s how Liam liked to wear them, the Chimera almost resembled a child. 

“Will...you stay in here?” Theo asked in a hushed tone. 

The question warmed Liam’s heart probably a bit too much. But the beta then realized why Theo was more than likely asking him to stay; because he’s never had someone comfort him after a nightmare. He’s lived in his truck for months, but then again he doesn’t know how long Theo has been having these nightmares, and he’s probably woken up from one but had no one there to calm him down. 

Liam only smiled softly and went around to the opposite side of the bed and crawled in. He got under the blankets and laid down facing Theo, who was laying on his side and facing Liam as well. 

It didn’t take long before Theo was sound asleep. It only took a few seconds, his head hitting pillow and him knowing that Liam was now beside him. 

The beta felt a bit weird watching the chimera sleep but he looked so peaceful. He didn’t look stressed, he didn’t look upset. He looked calm for once. 

The hoodie was definitely way too big on him. He had the sleeves covering his hands, one was under his head. Liam didn’t noticed how big his hoodies actually were when he’s the only one who wears them, apart from the occasional Mason being cold in school and begging Liam for his hoodie; it only happens when Corey isn’t at school and Mason forgot to bring a jacket which was rare but it happened sometimes. 

Liam felt his eyes grow heavier and soon he was asleep. 

The next morning Liam woke up first. It was only a few hours after their wake at 5 am. 7:17 am. 

Liam knew his mom would be home all day today apart from his step dad who was a doctor and worked all days. 

Liam also knew that he wanted to ask his parents a very important question concerning Theo. He knew it would take some convincing but he thinks he’ll be able to persuade Theo. 

He got up from the bed and headed out of the guest room, shutting the door to allow Theo to continue sleeping. He walked down stairs and found his mom in the kitchen. His dad usually woke up around 5 am and left around 5:30 so it was rare that they all had breakfast together. 

“Oh, good morning, sweetheart.” His mom, Jenna, said. 

“Good morning-“

“Pancakes or waffles?” Jenna asked before Liam could continue the rest of his sentence. 

“Oh, um, pancakes are fine.” Liam answered. 

He watched as his mom went to the fridge, going to get milk and eggs. “But mom, I need to talk to you about something.”

“Is it about why you and Theo are sleeping in our guest room?” She deadpanned but wiggles her eyebrows at Liam. 

Liam only narrowed his eyes at her. 

Jenna has obviously known about Theo. It was during the war when Liam told his parents about the supernatural and he told them about Theo. He only told his mom about his “tiny crush” on Theo as Liam put it.

It was weird because Jenna hasn’t talked to Theo before, yet she already seems so calm about him being in their house; which in Liam’s mind was good. Jenna has seen what he looked like before but hasn’t formally been introduced to the boy.  

“Mom, this is serious,” Liam said as he sat on a stool next to the countertop. “seriously.” 

Jenna went to grab a clean pan from the dishwasher “What is it then, sweetheart?” 

“It’s about Theo.”

“Asking for your permission to date him?”

“Mom!” Liam groaned. Sometimes his mother was insufferable. 

Jenna chuckled. “I’m only teasing, Liam. What is it?”

“Would it be alright if he maybe stayed here for a while?”

“How long are we talking?”

“A long time?” 

“Are you trying to suggest that he move in with us?”

“I mean... I didn’t want to outright say it but yeah.”

“Why? Is everything alright?”

Jenna obviously didn’t know about Theo being homeless. Hell, Liam only found out, what? 2 days ago? But while she made breakfast, Liam took a deep breath and explained everything to her. Everything from Theo being taken to the sheriffs department to what happened on the bridge to him having that weird feeling that he still doesn’t understand what it is. 

“Of course it would be alright, Liam. With the way you talk about him, I don’t see why he can’t stay here for a while.” Jenna said as she put two pancakes on a plate and sat it in front of Liam. 

Liam smiled. “What about dad?”

Jenna returned the smile. “I’ll handle him. Don’t you worry.” She kissed the top of his head. 

And sometimes, his mother was the best person in the world. 

Chapter Text

It was around 9 o’clock when Theo had woken up. He was confused as to where he was for a minute but soon caught a familiar scent. Liam. Now Theo remembered. He was at a Liam’s house. And he remembered how Liam ended up calming him down from one of his god awful nightmares and now he stayed with Theo the rest of the night.

He could hear Liam downstairs. He honestly wished Liam would come up there because he felt a bit awkward walking around in a house he wasn’t familiar with. But he had no luck with hearing the beta walking up the stairs so he decided to tough it out and made his way to wherever he could hear Liam.

He found the beta in the kitchen. He was trying to flip a pancake by the looks of it. And it definitely didn’t look good. He flipped the pancake, tried to catch it, but it missed the pan and landed on the floor.

“Dammit.” Liam said under his breath.

Theo couldn’t help but laugh. Liam whipped his head around so fast that Theo was surprised when he didn’t have whiplash. “Oh shut up!”

“You’re terrible at that, Little wolf.” Theo chuckled as he watched Liam pick up the pancake from the floor.

“Hey, it’s harder than it looks.”

Just as Theo was about to tease Liam even more, his mom had walked in chuckling to herself. “I’m sure it it is, Liam. Good morning, Theo.”

Theo was honestly expecting her to be upset about him being here, considering they’ve never meet before. “Oh, um, good morning, Ms. Geyer.”

“Oh you don’t have to call me that, Dear. Jenna is just fine.” Theo didn’t know anything else to say so he just nodded his head.

“I have to run to the store and while i’m gone, Theo, please make sure Liam doesn’t burn the house down.”

Theo felt himself smiling. “Will do.”

“I’m not that bad!” Liam complained but his mom was already out the door.

“I am not that bad.” Liam said once more, directing it towards Theo now.

“Judging by the pancake that fell to the floor, I think gravity would say otherwise.”

“Do you want breakfast or not, asshole?”

Theo chuckled and smirked. “Yeah. But I’d prefer it to not hit the floor this time.”

Liam now had his hand on his hip and was pointing the spatula at Theo. “I will smack you with this.”

Theo waved his hands in the air mockingly. “Oooo i’m so scared.”

When the beta glared at him, Theo only grinned.

Liam turned back to the stove, still keeping the spatula pointed at Theo as he did so. He had gotten rid of the pancake that had previously fallen to the floor.

As Liam started making the other pancakes, this time he would only attempt to flip them with the spatula, Theo sat on one of the stools at the countertop.

After about 10 minutes, Liam had 4 pancakes made. 2 on each plate he had gotten out of the cabinet.

He sat the plate in front of the chimera, earning a small thank you in response. Liam sat across from him.

They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, Liam was trying to find the courage to ask Theo this certain question.

“Hey, Theo?” He said once he found a bit of his confidence.

“Yeah?”

“How would you feel about moving in with us?” Liam mentally facepalmed at his inability to keep his own mouth shut. He didn’t want to outright stay it but guess that’s where it’s headed.

Theo froze. “Wha-what?”

“You. Moving in here. With us.”

Theo felt his heart rate pick up and Liam was quick to tell him that it was okay if he didn’t want to.

“I just don’t want you living in your truck anymore.”

Theo sat there, staring at Liam before standing up from his seat and then raced upstairs. He heard Liam calling for him but he ignored it.

Liam decided to let Theo calm down. He knew this was all new to Theo. He really wished he hadn’t blurted out the question like he did. He wished he had given it a little more time.

After a few minutes, he suddenly realized he couldn’t hear Theo’s heartbeat in the guest room. Or in the house in general.

Liam started to head upstairs, leaving his almost empty plate on the counter. “Theo?”

He knocked on the guest room and when he received no response, he opened the door.

There was no one in the room and the window was opened. Liam sighed. He had scared Theo off. Liam decided to just wait and give Theo some space. Maybe he would come back. He didn’t need to explain anything, in Liam’s mind. Liam knew Theo wasn’t use to this. Use to people helping him. He knew Theo would be okay, in time. Just incase, Liam texted Scott to tell him to keep an eye out for Theo and explained what had happened.

His mom came home an hour later. When she asked where Theo was, Liam told her the situation.

“Poor thing. I hate that he’s not use to people offering to help him.” Jenna said.

“I know. Me too.”

Liam felt partially responsible for this. Well, he and some other members of the pack do. They never, ever took a moment to ponder the thought of Theo possibly needing help.

Now they’re trying to help him, but only after horrible circumstances: Theo being taken out of Hell, him being fucking homeless for Gods sake, and him turning up at the sheriffs department with a deputy. Now an hour had passed of Theo not returning to Liams house. Then two hours. Liam was getting worried.

All of a sudden, a weird sensation came over Liam. His heart was racing. He felt panicked. He felt...pain. It wasn’t directed towards him though. It felt weird but he knew it was pain. It felt like it was in his stomach.

Liam didn’t want to think it was Theo but every time he had that feeling, it had been something wrong with Theo. Liam grabbed his phone to call him to hopefully calm his nerves. But when Theo didn’t answer, his racing heart became worse.

He decide it would be best to go and look for the chimera. He headed for the door, telling his mom he was going to look for Theo and that he would be back soon.

He got into his truck and pulled out of his driveway. As he road down the road, he kept the windows rolled down, following Theo’s scent. After 25 minutes of driving, he got to the entrance of the woods again. He parked his truck, heading into the woods. As he entered the woods, he caught a smell he didn’t want to catch. Blood. And he could tell it was Theo’s. He followed the scent until he came to the bridge. But Theo was no where in sight.

As he got closer, he could see blood on the bridge. It was dead silent until his phone basically jump-scared him when it began ringing. It was Scott.

He answered the call. “Hey Scott, we um, have a problem.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“What do you mean, you know?”

He heard Scott sigh over the phone. Oh no. “Theo’s in the hospital.”

Chapter Text

“What the fuck do you mean, ‘Theo is in the hospital’?” 

“Liam just get here, now.”

“Is it bad? What happened?”

“It was one of Monroe’s hunters. He shot Theo.”

Liam cursed under his breath as he made a sprint back to his truck. He had hung up on Scott, got in his truck and drove to the hospital. 

Of course. Liam thought. But a hunter? In broad daylight? Liam knew he probably should’ve wait a bit before he asked Theo about moving in and maybe this wouldn’t be happening right now. 

When he arrived at the hospital, he ran inside and was met with Scott, Malia, and Parrish. It was Parrish who caught Liam’s eyes first. He was covered in blood. And Liam recognized it as Theo’s. 

“What happened?” Liam rushed out. 

“A hunter.” Parrish started. “He was hiding in a tree-“

Liam interrupted him. “What, so they’re attacking in broad daylight now?” 

“Seems so.” Parrish shrugged his shoulders. “I was patrolling the area when I heard gun shots and fortunately got to Theo in time. We still don’t know how many times he was shot, I honestly wasn’t paying enough attention, I just wanted to get him to the hospital, and Melissa hasn’t gave us an update yet.”

“Where is he now?”

“Surgery.” Scott answered. 

Liam felt his heart drop. He went over and sat in one of the mildly uncomfortable hospital chairs. He was going to question why they didn’t just take Theo to Deaton’s but he remembered that the rest of Beacon Hills knew about the supernatural and knew how to treat them. His mind was all jumbled. 

“Oh, and I found this in the woods,” Parrish said, holding up a small green blanket.

“It has Theo’s scent all over it.” Scott said as Liam took the blanket from Parrish. 

Liam recognized it. “Yeah, I noticed this in his truck.” 

After 30 minutes of waiting, and Stiles and Lydia showing up, Melissa walked in. 

Liam was first out of his chair. “Is he okay?”

“He will be, ” Melissa reassured him. “but it’s going to take him some time before his body can heal itself.”

“What do you mean?” Scott questioned. 

“He was shot with three yellow wolfsbane bullets. Once in the leg and twice in the chest.”

“How the hell did they get yellow wolfsbane? I thought we banished the last of it during the war?” Stiles asked. Even if he might not particularly like Theo, or trust him, he had to admit, 3 yellow wolfsbane bullets? That had to hurt. During the war, Scott was only shot with one and it nearly killed him. So being shot with 3...that does not sound good. 

“I have no idea. We got the bullets and the wolfsbane out but not before we lost him twice.” Liam’s heart stopped at hearing that. “But he is okay. His healing is slowed, by a lot, from the wolfsbane and figuring out that he has the werewolf flu, which we caught pretty early, but he’s not going to be leaving that he hospital bed for a while.”

Liam just wanted to get to Theo. He asked Melissa if they were allowed to go and see him. She agreed and took them to the room Theo was in. 

As Liam, Scott, Malia, Stiles, Lydia and Melissa (Parrish needed to get back to the sheriffs station but he said he would call to check in on Theo in a few hours) made their way into the hospital room, the strong scent of cleaning supplies hit them. They could hear the beeping of the heart monitor, and the supernaturals could hear the dripping of the IV bag. 

Then there was Theo. Liam felt sick to his stomach. Theo was lying in the hospital bed, he looked pale. He had an iv in his arm, he had a hospital gown on, they could see where it was a bit bumpy, probably from the bandages on his chest. They’ve never seen Theo like this before. Sure they’ve seen him be forced into and then rise up from Hell, they’ve seen him murder people, they have seen him hurt before. But this was different. 

Laying in the hospital bed was a boy, barely 18 years old, starting to recover from being shot 3 times, even if he is a Chimera. Laying in the hospital bed was a boy who they just found out was homeless and living in his truck for months (Liam is still keeping his word on hopefully having Theo move in with them). Laying in the hospital bed was not the Theo they knew.

The Theo they knew never allowed himself to be this vulnerable in front of others, even is he was technically asleep and didn’t know it. He never showed the amount of emotions the others did (he did to Liam last night on the bridge but knowing Theo, he’ll put his wall of non-emotions back up). 

As the pack stood there, staring at the injured Chimera, Melissa went over to check his temperature once more. 

“He has a fever, but I’ve given him some medication that’ll hopefully bring it down to where we can knock the flu out so he doesn’t have to deal with that when he wakes up.”

“When will he wake up?” Liam asked, not taking his eyes off Theo. 

“It shouldn’t be too much longer but he’ll still rest so he’ll hopefully go back to sleep when he does. Just don’t crowd him when he wakes up.”

“We won’t.” Lydia spoke up. She had come to trust Theo in the time he’s been here. Mainly after helping them during the war. They haven’t talked too much but she knows that he’s someone she can trust. 

Melissa gave them a small smile as she left the room. While Scott, Malia, and Lydia sat in the chairs that were in the room, Stiles at on the window seat and Liam went and sat down at the end of Theo’s hospital bed. 

Scott decided to text Derek and Argent about what had happened. He told them about the yellow wolfsbane bullets that the hunter had used to shoot Theo.

Liam decided to call his mom and tell her where he was and what had happened. She asked if Theo was alright and Liam said that he was still asleep but he should hopefully be fine soon.

He got off the phone with his mom after also telling her that he was going to stay at the hospital with Theo for a while. 

As the beta got off the phone with his mom, he sighed as he looked back at the hurt chimera. He doesn’t deserve this. 

~~~~~~

It was 1 am when 7 knocks echoed through the quiet house. That was Theo’s signal. He quickly climbed out of his bed and grabbed his blanket. He opened his bedroom door, looking left to right like a spy in a movie would to make sure the coast was clear. When he knew that it was, the 6 year old made his way, sneaking down the hall and down the stairs, dragging his blanket as he went. 

He crept into the kitchen, grabbing the small step stool that was in there and positioned it in front of the counter. He sat his blanket down as he climbed up, opening the cabinet and took out the box of chocolate chip cookies. 

He sat them on the counter next to his green blanket and got down from the step stool. He put the stool back where it originally was and grabbed his blanket and cookies from the counter. He had to stand a bit on his tippy toes to reach them. He hid the cookies under his blanket. 

He snuck back upstairs, knocking 7 times in a specific pattern on the door that had big letters spelling out ‘Tara’ on it. The door opened. 

“Did you get them?” She whispered. 

Theo lifted the blanket to show her the cookies. His big sister smiled at him as she let him in her room. 

He sat them on her bed, which had candy, two cans soda, and a full bag of chips. And the additional chocolate chip cookies. 

He climbed onto the bed, wrapping himself in his blanket. Tara went and grabbed the remote to the tv that was in her room. As the 10 year old turned on ‘The Lion King’, Theo opened one of the cans of soda, or tried to. Tara saw him struggling and took the can out of his hand and opened it for him. 

“Thank you.” He told her, receiving a smile in return. 

As the movie began playing, both Raeken siblings took their turn digging their hand into the chip bag, reaching over and getting a piece of candy and maybe a cookie here and there. 

They only did this about once a week without their parents knowing. Sneaking out of their rooms for Tara to get most of the junk food and then getting back to her room, but not before knocking on Theo’s door 7 times as his signal to sneak out and get whatever snack Tara had told him to. Then the two of them, in Tara’s room watching The Lion King, which was Theo’s favorite.

When the movie came to the part where Mufasa dies, Tara heard a small sniffle from beside her. She turned her head just in time to see a tear slip down Theo’s cheek. 

The big sister raised her arm to wrap it around her little brother. He was pressed against her side, with his blanket, which Tara had given him as a Christmas present when he was 4, and tears on his small cheeks.

It was rare that they ever finished the movie fully before Theo fell asleep. Tonight was not one of those night. 

When she saw her little brother was asleep, she turned the tv off and quietly cleaned up all the candy wrappers and threw away the two empty soda cans. She took the unfinished bag of chips and box of cookies back to the kitchen.

When she got back into her room, she covered Theo with his blanket more and she got under the covers on her bed. Theo rarely slept under the actual covers on his bed, he mostly slept on top of them and under the blanket Tara had gave him.

The next morning when Theo and Tara’s parents woke up, they checked in on Tara first, seeing the two siblings curled up against each other. They always thought that Theo might be sneaking into his sisters room at night (which sometimes did happen when Theo had a nightmare and he wanted his big sister), not because they snuck junk food up there and watched movies at 1 am. 

~~~~~~

Theo, age 7, came home one day from school, crying. 

“Theo, honey are okay?” His mom yelled from the kitchen but he didn’t hear her as he ran up the stairs and into his bedroom, slamming the door. 

She dried her hands on the cloth she was using to dry the dished and went upstairs. She knocked on his door, earning a broken “Go away!” from inside. “Sweetheart, please open the door.

“No! G-go away!”

His mother sighed. This has never happened before. Theo coming home from school crying, I mean. It’s never happened. 

Whenever Theo was upset, he always talked to either his mom, dad, or big sister. So this was new. They also never pushed Theo, or Tara, to talk to them immediately. They always came to their parents in time when they were upset. 

His dad came up the stairs, asking his wife what was going on and once he knew, he knocked on the door, but gained no response. “Kiddo will you please talk to us.”

But once again they gained no response.

Tara then came out of her room. The 11 year old had stayed home from school that day because she woke up with a small fever. 

“Let me try.” She said. She politely asked her parents to leave, earning questioning looks from them but they knew Theo would probably allow Tara into his room. 

Once she was sure her parents were down the stairs, she quietly knocked on Theo’s door 7 times, in a pattern. 

“Come in.” 

Tara opened the door and saw her little brother sitting on his bed, with, of course, his green blanket wrapped around him and his knees pulled up to his chest. She shut the door and walked to the other side of the bed that Theo was not sitting on. 

“What’s wrong, bubba?”

Tears welled up in Theo’s eyes, a few slipping down his cheeks. 

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” Tara asked. Theo nodded his head. He knew he could tell her and trust her with anything. 

“Can…” Theo trailed off. 

“Can what?”

Theo hiccuped as he started crying. Tara quickly pulled him into a hug and rubbing his back. 

“Is it b-bad for a b-boy to like another bo-boy?” Theo cried into his sisters shoulder. 

Tara was taken aback. “What? Of course not, Theo. Why do you ask?”

The 7 year old pulled back from his sister, trying to wipe his tears away. “Be-because kids at school said so.”

“Why would they say that?”

Theo looked down at his lap, fidgeting with his blanket. After a minute of silence, Tara caught on. 

“Theo, do you like another boy?”

Tears rolled down Theo’s cheeks again as he looked at his sister and nodded his head. 

Tara only smiled. She pulled her little brother into her arms again and said, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The kids at school are wrong, Theo. Don’t you dare listen to them.”

“So there’s nothing wrong with me?” 

“Of course not. A boy can 100 percent like another boy, and a girl can 100 percent like another girl exactly how a boy can like a girl. It’s just how some of us were born. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, wrong with you.”

Theo hugged his sister tighter as he started to cry again. Tara hugged him back just as tight. 

~~~~~~

As the pack was talking quietly with one another about Liam wanting Theo to move in with him, a whimper stopped them. The 3 werewolfs could hear a racing heart beat. 

The heart monitor Theo was hooked up to started beeping fast. The Chimera started whimpering more. 

“What’s happening?” Malia asked. 

“He’s having a nightmare.” Liam quickly said. He sat down by Theo’s side and said his name once, trying to wake him up. When he didn’t wake up, Liam tried again. Still nothing. By this time, Melissa had found her way into the room.

“Come on, Theo, wake up.”

Melissa made Liam move away from the bed. She got beside Theo, placing her hand on the side of his face, caressing his cheek with her thumb as she whispered softly. 

“Shh, Sweetheart, you’re okay, you’re alright.” 

Liam went to the other side of the bed, ignoring the others looks as he grabbed onto Theo’s hand. Theo’s whimpers started to die down as Melissa continued to caress his cheek and Liam rubbed small circles on the back his hand. The heart monitor started to steady again as well as Theo’s heart rate as he continued to sleep.

Chapter Text

After Melissa and Liam had calmed Theo down, he continued to sleep. The rest of the pack had their eyes on Liam. Or in better words, Liam’s hand in Theo’s hand. Liam caught them staring but didn’t say anything. The beta only sat down on the hospital bed, his hand not leaving Theo’s. 

“After everything he’s been through, now he has to go and get shot.” Liam said.

“It wasn’t his fault, Liam.” Lydia told him, walking over to stand beside him. 

“I know.” Liam sighed. “But if he dies, I’m gonna kill him.” The beta wasn’t angry at Theo. He was more angry at himself for making Theo flee his house and then he got shot. 

“He’s not going to die, Liam.” Melissa reassured him. “Trust me.” She said to the rest of the pack that she would be back in about an hour to check in on them and to call if anything happens. 

Before she left, she took a knowing glance at the green blanket that was beside Stiles. 

Stiles said that he was going to go get something to eat and call Derek, who was his boyfriend. The two got together about two years of dancing around each other and a month after the war. It didn’t really shock anyone. They knew Stiles liked guys, he told Scott he was bisexual after realizing his feeling for Derek and he told the rest of the pack at the same time he and Derek announced they were together. The only thing that did shock people was the fact that Derek liked guys. But they were happy for the couple nonetheless. 

After an hour, most of the pack was still at the hospital. Malia was getting restless staying in a hospital room so she decided to go and walk around outside for a bit. She was still getting use to trusting Theo. She still didn’t but she was honestly trying. After the war, Malia (and Stiles) didn’t understand the point of Theo still being in Beacon Hills. Sure he had helped them but they didn’t trust him. 

They were uneasy around him, gave him distrusting glances and audibly told him their opinions on him being at Pack meetings and him being around in general. Both Scott and Liam defended Theo each time that happened. Liam more than Scott though. Scott had to occasionally calm Malia down and even once had to pull her out of the house when she tried attacking Theo at a pack meeting because she had, as usual, voiced her opinion on him being there and almost lost her temper. 

Liam was surprised at how Scott defended Theo each time. He told Malia and Stiles that Theo had changed. That he wasn’t the same Theo as before. But each time the werecoyote and human just replied with a derisive laugh and told Scott he needed to “open his eyes and see that Theo was still evil” and that he was “probably trying to manipulate them into trusting him”.

And you would think that after months of Theo trying to prove himself and be a better person that they would eventually come around an trust him 100%. 

Stiles did seem to be slowing trusting Theo. After hearing the news about him being shot with 3 yellow wolfsbane bullets and seeing him in the hospital, Stiles felt a bit concerned for Theo. Which surprised him. Because, him? Being concerned for Theo Raeken? A guy who put his entire pack through hell? Stiles didn’t understand it.

Malia on the other hand was only at the hospital because Scott was there. She wanted to trust Theo but after everything he did to the people she cared about, she just couldn’t forgive him or trust him. She wanted to trust him but…she just couldn’t let herself do that. 

Now it was only Scott, Liam, Lydia, and Melissa in the room with Theo. Melissa had come back into check on Theo. She checked his wounds and saw that he was healing, but it was at an extremely slow pace. She changed the bandages while Theo still slept. 

Stiles had gotten back into the room, with Malia, as Melissa was checking the rest of Theo’s vitals. 

“His fever’s not quite gone so he may feel sick when he wakes up. Other than that he’s doing perfectly fine. But It’s still going to take quite some time for him to heal I’m afraid.” Melissa reported. 

“Thanks, mom.” Scott said. 

“Oh don’t thank me.” She glanced over at Theo. “After all the bad things he’s done, I know that it’s probably hard for some of you to believe this,” She was referring to Malia and Stiles. “but he’s just a kid, guys. He’s not even out of high school yet. He doesn’t deserve to go through this.”

“No, you mean he’s a murderer.” Malia muttered. Oh no. 

“He is not a murderer anymore, Malia.” Liam almost growled at her.

She shrugged her shoulders and spoke louder this time. “Doesn’t change what he did to us.”

“Malia, that was almost a year ago,” Scott said in a calming voice. “and he was actually helping us a year ago.”

“He’s not the same person as before.” Liam tightened his grip on Theo’s hand. 

“For you all know he could be planning something to kill us all.”

“He. Is. Not.” Liam hissed. “He’s been sleeping out of his damn truck for months and you still want to call him the murderous person he was over a year ago. People changed, Malia.”

“And Theo has.” Lydia spoke up. Stiles had stayed silent. But Melissa did not. 

“You guys don’t need to be arguing. He doesn’t need that to be the first thing he wakes up to.”

“I don’t care. Let him wake up and hear us, maybe he’ll realize he got caught and admit that he’s still trying to kill us.”

Liam then growled at her. A low rumble in his chest. 

“Liam, calm down.” Scott ordered.

“Oh let him get angry.” Malia said. She knew what she was doing. She was trying to push his buttons. “Let him.”

Liam stood up, his eyes glowing but his claws weren’t out yet. Scott stood in front of him. “Liam, not here. Not now.”

“Tell her to shut the hell up then.” 

“Oh boo hoo. He can’t even handle a little arguing.”

“Malia, thats enough.” Scott demanded.

As Malia continued to try and get Liam to really get angry and all focus was on the two of them, no one noticed the Chimera waking up. 

Theo didn’t need to open his eyes to know that when he would have a headache. The voices he heard sounded far too close to him. They sounded too loud. He could hear the sound of the IV drip. It sounded too loud. 

Everything was too loud. 

Suddenly, it seemed like the voices got even louder. It was like they were yelling…or screaming. He sat up on the bed, still not opening his eyes. He covered his ears with his hands. 

As Malia and Liam were going at each others throats, and Scott, Lydia, and Melissa trying to shut them up so they didn’t kill each other, no one heard the broken “Shut up.” come from the hospital bed. 

They continued to yell at each until a scream stopped them. 

“JUST SHUT UP, PLEASE.”

Chapter Text

Everyone paused. The heavy breathing they heard made them all turn around quickly. They saw the Chimera, who they didn’t realize had woken up, sitting up on the bed, covering his ears. Since he was breathing heavily, the werewolves in the room could hear his erratic heartbeat. 

“Theo?” Liam called out. He rushed over to the bed and sat down in front of Theo. “Theo?” The Chimera whimpered and tried to cover his ears even more. 

“Theo, sweetheart you need to calm down.” Melissa said. 

“Shut-shut up please just shut up.” Theo pleaded. His voice gripped at Liam’s heart with how broken it sounded. 

“What’s wrong, Theo?” Liam asked. Theo just pushed his hands tighter onto his ears. 

Liam said Theo’s name again but Stiles stopped him. 

“Stop talking.”

Everyone was confused. “What? Why?” Liam asked. 

“He’s having sensory overload. He’s extremely sensitive to sounds.”

“Then what do we do?” Scott questioned. His voice made Theo whimper again. 

“Only talk if you need too. And keep your voice quiet.” Stiles voice was almost a whisper. Stiles surprised himself by actually feeling sympathy towards the Chimera. He had anxiety and had experienced sensory overload before. He knew how awful it was. 

Liam looked back at Theo. He was shaking and he still had his hands over his ears. “Maybe you guys should go outside, give him some space.” Melissa said. She didn’t direct the order towards Liam though. 

Scott nodded his heads towards the door to the members of his pack. Malia was the first out the door. As soon as everyone was out of the room, Liam slowly brought a hand to Theo’s hands on his ears. 

Theo’s head snapped up and Liam could see the tears in his eyes. Liam started to pull his hands away from his ears. Theo shook his head but Liam said in a soft voice, “Shh, you’re okay, Theo.”

As Theo allowed him to remove his hands from his ears, he didn’t take his eyes off Liam’s. But he blinked and looked around the room when he noticed the loud voices were gone. 

“Hey, look at me,” Liam whispered. But Theo didn’t look at him. His eyes were fixed on the green blanket in the window.

Melissa smiled lightly and walked over and grabbed it. She handed it to Theo who took it from her hands immediately. He sat it in his lap and fidgeted with it. 

“You okay?” Liam asked. 

Theo nodded his head. His heart rate was still racing but he wasn’t shaking like he was earlier. 

Liam didn’t understand. The last two times something had been wrong with Theo, Liam didn’t catch it. The nightmare from when they first got here and then he didn’t sense that Theo was upset and hurting when he woke up not too long ago. 

When Theo tried to sit up a bit more to get comfortable, he winced at the pain in his stomach. 

“You were shot, Theo.” Melissa told him. “Three times. Twice in the chest and once in the leg.” Now Theo could feel the pain in his leg.

“Do you feel sick?” Melissa asked, keeping her voice quiet to not upset Theo again. Theo nodded his head. He didn’t feel like he would throw up but he definitely felt like he was sick. 

Melissa reached over and placed her hand on his forehead. “You’re fever’s actually gone up a bit.”

Theo was confused. “Wait, but why am I not healing?”

“After you ran out of the house, you went into the woods and one of Monroe’s hunters shot you with yellow wolfsbane bullets.” Liam explained. 

“It slowed your healing by a lot. And you have the werewolf flu. I thought we would be able to knock it out before you woke up but I guess not.”

Theo didn’t know what else to say. He didn’t feel great. Obviously. His stomach hurt from the flu and the bullets and he definitely had a headache. He continued to fidget with his blanket that was on his lap. 

“I’ll be right back.” Melissa said, standing up from the chair that was beside the hospital bed. “I’m going to talk to Scott and the rest of them.” She lightly squeezed Theo’s shoulder before leaving. 

As soon as she was out the door, Theo asked, “Scotts here?”

Liam nodded. “And Lydia, Malia, and Stiles. Parrish was here because he was the one who found you in the woods, but he had to go back to the sheriffs department.”

Theo stayed silent, not knowing what to say. He wasn’t use to this. Use to being in this state where he wasn’t healing and he honestly felt horrible. 

“We were all worried about you.” Liam spoke up. “Apart from Malia but, you know how she is.”

Theo huffed and rolled his eyes. He didn’t believe that the others were actually worried about him. 

“I’m being serious, Theo. We were all really worried about you. Hell, I even think Stiles was a bit worried about you. And that’s saying something.” Liam said. They sat in silence for about a minute before he continued to talk. “And I’m really sorry, Theo.”

Theo was confused. “Why are you sorry?”

“Because I shouldn’t have asked you about moving in like that.”

“Liam, It’s okay.”

“If it was okay, you wouldn’t be in the hospital right now.”

“I’m fine, little wolf. It was my fault anyways.” Theo mumbled the last part. 

“What’re you talking about? It is not your fault.” 

“If i hadn’t been so careless and had heard the hunter, i wouldn’t be here right now.” Theo looked down at his blanket. 

“Theo, look at me.” When Theo didn’t, Liam took the opportunity to reach over and lift Theo’s chin up. When Liam did so, he heard the chimera’s heart jump. He chose to ignore it for now. 

“It was not your fault. Do you understand me?” Liam said, fixing his eyes on Theo’s. 

Theo felt frozen but he nodded his head. Liam dropped his hand just as the door opened again. 

“Liam,” Melissa said. “Your moms here.”

Liam turned to look at Theo. “I’ll be right back.” He smiled lightly at him before getting up and leaving. 

Now it was only Melissa and Theo in the room. 

“You still have it?” Melissa asked as she sat back down in the chair beside Theo’s bed. 

“What?”

“Your blanket.” She said simply. 

Theo was confused. “What about it?” He asked slowly. 

Melissa has a small smile on her face as she said “I remember when she gave it to you.” 

Chapter Text

Theo looked at Melissa, baffled. The hell did she mean by ‘I remember when she gave it to you’?!

“What do you mean?”

“I remember when she gave you that blanket for Christmas.” Melissa said. 

Theo was definitely felt confused now. 

“How do you know that?”

Melissa only smiled. “Because I was there, Theo. When you, Scott, and Stiles were 4, we all gathered together Christmas Eve. Including your parents and Stiles’.”

Theo could barely remembered anything before the dread doctors. He had a fuzzy memory of that Christmas day but it was hard to tell who was there. He actually had a lot of memories but he couldn’t remember what happened in them or who was in them. 

Theo started talking before he could stop himself. “Melissa? What...was I like when I was little?” Theo had almost no memory of being a young child. Only remembered from when he was 9 and up. 

Melissa could see the tears that welled in Theo’s eyes. She smiled at him as she started telling him about that Christmas morning. 

~~~~~~

Scott, Stiles and Theo, age 4, ran down the stairs of the Raeken household into the living room. Their eyes went wide when they saw all the presents under the tree. 

Each kid went to the room where their parents were at. They went to wake them up. The parents might not be happy about waking up at 6 am but the boys couldn’t care less at the moment. 

This was the first year that the Raeken’s, McCalls, and Stilinski’s would be having Christmas together. Usually they went over to each other’s house later on during the day but this year they decided to spend Christmas Eve together as well. 

The Raekens, McCalls, and Stilinski’s have known each other for 4 years now. Melissa, Noah, and Claudia have known each other the longest. They meet Theo’s parents, Kate and John, while in the park with Scott and Stiles, who were just babies. They saw a couple with a baby and a little girl. The little girl, who they found out to be Tara, had fallen down at the park and scrapped her knee and her parents had forgotten to bring bandages so Melissa offered them one. Being a nurse, she always carried extra bandages around. 

After that, they all got to talking and found out that Kate and John and just moved to Beacon Hills with their 4 year girl, Tara and their 1 year old baby boy, Theo. 

Kate had insisted that they all go out for lunch together as a thank you to Melissa for helping their daughter. Melissa didn’t have the heart to turn them down so off they went. 

Later that year at Christmas, they all went over to Melissa’s house. They had became good friends in the few months they had known each other. 

Fast forward to now. The little boys were 4 and Tara was 8. They were all at the Raeken household for Christmas Eve and Christmas. 

As Scott went to the room his mom was at and Stiles went to the room where his mom and dad were, Theo did the same. He opened the door to his parents room and immediately went over and jumped onto the bed. 

“Mommy! Daddy!” Theo shouted, a bit too loudly. “It’s Christmas!” 

His mom woke up first. “Theo, baby, what time is it?”

“I don’t know.” Theo said. “But it’s Christmas!” He jumped up and landed in the middle of his mom and dad, waking his dad up. 

“Alright, Teddy,” his dad gave him that nickname when he was just a baby. “if you’ll give us a few minutes, we can go have breakfast then open presents.” 

“Yay!”

Theo quickly got down from the bed and ran out the door, almost colliding with Stiles as he ran down the hall with Scott behind him. 

The boys ran down stairs, into the kitchen. They pulled themselves up onto the stools that were sat at the counter top. 

After a few minutes of waiting, Melissa, Noah, Claudia, Kate and John came downstairs. Tara followed a bit behind them. Tara went over to sit beside her little brother as the adults in the room went to make coffee and breakfast. 

Noah and John offered to cook breakfast. While the kids waited for the pancakes to be done, the three women had their coffee. 

The now 4 kids were getting fidgety in their seats, just wanting to run into the living room and grab their presents. 

Kate had gone to the fridge and got out the strawberries. She cut them up into a big bowl and put it on the table. 

Soon pancakes were being distributed among the kids. The 4 year olds had one while Tara had two pancakes on her plate. They all poured syrup on their breakfast. Stiles almost poured half the bottle on his before his mom stopped him. Scott nearly spilled his glass of milk while reaching for the strawberries. And Theo almost flipped his plate over with his elbow when he rested his arm back down to his side. Tara kept giggling at the three boys almost causing chaos in the kitchen, which ended with her getting choked on her orange juice. 

Once everyone had their breakfast, the adults sat over at the dining table which wasn’t too far away from the countertop the kids were sitting at. 

Even if the parents weren’t too fond of waking up at 6 am, seeing their kids happy made it all worth it. 

As they all ate, they all talked with each other about they would do that day. So far on the list was just, let the kids open their presents. Since they were having Christmas together this year, they were so use to going to each other’s houses that they didn’t really know what to do. 

Once breakfast was over, the parents released the kids and the 4 of them ran over to get their stockings down from the fireplace but not before Noah called out to them to be careful by the fire. 

They got their stockings down and the parents got theirs from under the tree. The small fireplace could only hold so many. 

As the kids opened their stockings, they got quiet a bit of sweets, combined that is. They each got a few sweets. While the boys got a few toy cars in theirs, Tara got a new pair of butterfly earrings and a barbie doll. 

When the parents opened theirs, they obviously didn’t get toy cars or barbie dolls. They did get sweets, but they also got socks, because as an adult you actually like getting socks now, and Melissa and John even got a small book in theirs. 

“Can we open presents now?” Scott asked. 

“Let’s get them all sorted and then you can.” Claudia told him. She had Stiles sat in her lap. 

Melissa and John grabbed the presents out one by one, setting them in front the persons who name was on them. 

Once everyone had a pill of present in front of them, the kids were allowed to open them. 

They tore through the wrapping paper, the boys got anything from legos to board games to nerf guns (they would possible regret that). Tara got anything from more dolls to legos to a polaroid camera and an easy bake oven. 

The kids also got clothes here and there, as well as the parents. 

“Oh! Tara,” Kate said. “didn’t you have something for Theo?”

Tara gasped as she got up and ran up stairs. She came back later with an adorably wrapped present in a puppy wrapping paper. 

She sat by Theo and handed him the present. He tore it open and inside was a green blanket. He got the last of the wrapping paper off and immediately put the blanket around himself 

“Thank you, Tara!” Theo said with a huge smile on his face. He threw his arms around his big sister in a tight hug. “You’re welcome, Teddy.”

~~~~~~

“You were so happy when she gave it to you. After that, you rarely went anywhere without it.” Melissa ended the story. 

Theo let a few tears slip down his face. He really hated that his memories of when he was younger were practically gone. 

Theo brought the blanket he still had after 14 years to his chest. He gripped it tightly in his hands. 

He let out a sob when Melissa sat beside him and put an arm around his shoulders. Theo surprised himself by letting his guard down and actually sobbing into Melissa’s shoulder. 

“Shh, it’s okay.” Melissa whispered as she ran her hand up and down his back. 

“I never should’ve killed her.” Theo sobbed. “I miss her so-so much.”

“Shhh, I know you do.” Melissa had to fight back her own tears. “I know you do.” She placed a kiss on his forehead.

When Liam had returned, Theo had fallen asleep against Melissa. 

“He okay?” Liam asked. That feeling had came back while he was talking with his mom. She came by to see how Theo was doing. Liam had forced himself not to rush back to Theo’s room and see what was wrong. He knew Melissa was with him and knew he would be okay. 

“He got upset again, but don’t worry about it right now, he just needs to rest.” 

Chapter Text

The next time Theo woke up, it was almost 2 pm and he wasn’t alone. Derek was there, sitting in the chair near the window. He was confused as to why it was only Derek in the room with him. He and Derek haven’t really talked as much as some of the others but when they did it wasn’t anything bad, they could actually have a conversation without trying to rip each other’s heads off. They would have more conversations if Theo wasn’t a bit afraid of Derek. He didn’t know why he was. Maybe it just because he was an Alpha and quite intimidating. But then again, so was Scott and Theo wasn’t afraid of him. 

“They’ll be back later.” Derek spoke up. “Liam said he was going to get you something to eat because hospital food is usually disgusting,” Derek made a mental note of the beat Theo’s heart skipped when he mentioned Liam. “and Scott and Stiles went with him. Lydia and Malia had to leave.” 

“When did you get here?” Theo asked, his voice a bit hoarse from the previous crying he had done. 

“Not too long ago. After Stiles called me, I showed up as they were leaving. Liam didn’t want to actually leave but I told him I would stay with you.” It was almost as though Derek knew what he was going. Because Theo couldn’t stop his cheeks from turning a rosy pink at the thought of Liam not wanting to leave him. 

After a moment of silence, Derek spoke up again. “You like him, don’t you?” 

Theo blushed even more as he looked down at his hands, fiddling with his fingers.

He opened his mouth to deny the claim but Derek stopped him, a smirk on his face. “And don’t even try and deny it. Forgot about the supernatural hearing, did you? I can hear your heart beating a mile a minute.”

Theo didn’t know what to say. Derek was right, he knew that. Theo knew he liked Liam. He has for a while now. It was just hard for him considering he’s never liked someone this much before much less been in love with someone before. Did he love Liam? Maybe. The thought terrified Theo. And He still thought he wouldn’t deserve Liam even if he returned his feelings. Which Theo thinks he won’t. 

“Fine, I like him.” Theo almost whispered. “Why do you care?” It wasn’t like Theo could lie and say that he didn’t like Liam. 

“Because I don’t want you making the same mistake I did.” Derek said. “I wasted a lot of time with Stiles, time where we could’ve been together if I had just told him how I felt.”

“Are you implying that I should tell Liam that I like him?” 

“Very much, yes.”

Theo looked at Derek like he had grown 2 heads and huffed. “Yeah, right. Saying Liam likes me is about as believable as saying Malia likes me.”

Derek sighed. He knew all too well the way Theo was acting. Because he acted the same way before he finally pulled his head out of his ass and asked Stiles on a date. 

“I’m just saying that you need to tell him. You don’t need to waste time being apart when you could be together.” 

Theo didn’t know what to think. Here was Derek giving him damn relationship advice when they’ve only talked a handful of times. 

“I don’t understand why you care so much.” Theo said, leaning back the pillows behind him.  

“Because I just do. I know its probably weird, me of all people giving you relationship advice but-” Derek was cut off when the door opened and Liam, Scott and Stiles came in. 

“We’ll talk later.” Derek said to him. Nobody paid them any attention as they went on doing their own thing. 

Liam had what looked to be 2 bags of food and as they came in the room he handed one to Stiles who had gone to sit on Derek’s lap (“There’s literally like 4 other chairs in the room, Stiles.”) and Scott was on the phone with whoever. Probably Malia. 

Liam walked over to Theo’s bed. 

“I bought lunch because hospital is absolutely horrible and I didn’t really think you would want to eat hospital food anyways.”

Theo smiled as Liam handed him the bag. Inside the bag was 2 boxes of different kinds of salads. 

“I know salad probably isn’t what you want right know but I asked Melissa and she said that this would be the best thing for you.” Liam said scratching the back his neck. 

Theo smiled. “Thank you.” He couldn’t help but appreciate Liam taking some of his time to buy him lunch. 

As everyone in room began to eat (Liam made them all get salads) Stiles and Derek were talking with Scott and Liam and Theo were sat on the hospital bed. Liam was sat at the end, sitting crisscrossed in front of Theo. 

Everyone ate in comfortable silence. Theo could see Derek with a sly look on his face. Derek kept noticing Liam and Theo, how each time one of them wasn’t looking, the other would be looking at them with a soft smile on their face and would immediately looked away when the other would look back at them. 

Derek swore that he had rolled his eyes more in the last 15 minutes than Stiles had in his whole life. He knew how the two were acting around each other. He had noticed it about a year ago or more so during the war. 

The way Theo was truly helping them (even Derek could see that he had changed). He noticed how him and Liam somehow were always working together. He noticed the quick glances they gave each other when the other wasn’t looking. 

They were acting like he and Stiles use to. He was surprised that everyone practically knew he and Stiles liked each other and when they came out and told them they were together, no one batted an eye. 

However, Derek figured out that everyone, including Liam and Theo, were so beyond oblivious to the fact that the two liked each other. 

“So, how are you feeling?” Liam asked. 

“Better than I was.” Theo said. “I’m just ready to go...anywhere that’s not here.” Theo hated hospitals. 

“Home, Theo.” Liam corrected him, making him look up at Liam. “You mean home.”

Theo still didn’t think he deserved to call Liam’s place ‘home’. 

“The offers still on the table if you decide you want to come live with us. Which I really hope you will.”

Theo got caught by Liam’s eyes. They were so soft and gentle looking. Theo’s heart rate picked up a bit at staring into Liam’s eyes. They broke away when they heard a cough. 

Melissa was in the room. She had a smile on her face. 

“Alright, Theo. I’m gonna have to check your bandages again.” 

Theo groaned. 

Melissa chuckled. “You’ll be fine, I promise.” 

Liam moved all the food off the bed to get it out of the way while the chimera removed part of his hospital gown that was covering his chest. The wounds on his chest were actually more serious than the one on his leg. The one on his leg was way less painful. 

Melissa removed the bandages, the new ones in her hands. 

“It seems they’re starting to heal now so that’s good news.” She informed him. “But it’ll still take some time before they fully heal.”

“How long will it be until he can leave?” Scott asked. 

“I’d say probably tomorrow. The wounds are starting to heal on their own now but it’s still going to be a slow process, and depending on how he feels tomorrow will decide if he gets to go home.” Melissa finished patching up Theo’s wounds. 

She grabbed a thermos and checked Theo’s temperature. 

“You’re fevers gone down since the last time, which is good. Let’s just hope it doesn’t go back up like last time as well.” 

Theo smiled at her. “That’s Melissa.” She smiled in return and told all of them that if they needed anything, to call her. 

~~~~~~

Later that night with Scott, Stiles and Derek gone, it was only Liam, Theo, and Jenna in the room. Jenna had stopped by again to see how Theo was doing. 

Liam and Theo were currently sitting on the hospital bed facing each other with two lamps in the room turned on, playing a serious game of Uno. 

Liam had to explain to Theo how the game was played since he had never played before but once he got the hang of it, he was kicking Liam’s ass at it. 

“Ok that’s not even remotely fair!” Liam complained as Theo dropped a draw 4 card on the deck. 

“Uno!” Theo laughed. “Draw 4.”

Liam playfully glared at him as he drew his 4 cards. 

Theo couldn’t hide the smirk on his face as he looked at his one card. 

“I swear to god if you put that card down.” Liam said through his teeth. 

Theo only replied....by putting his last card down. 

“Dammit!” Liam groaned, earning a “Language!” from his mom. 

Theo couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re such a sore loser, little wolf.” 

“I am not!” Liam said, crossing his arms. 

“Yes you are.” His mom commented from the chair she was reading her book in. 

Liam paused. “Fine, maybe I am just a little.”

The chimera smiled at him. “Want to play one more game?” He asked. 

“Yes!” Liam said. He was bound and determined to beat Theo. 

“Sorry, sweetheart,” His mom said. “we need to head home. It’s already 10 pm and you have school tomorrow.”

Liam looked back at Theo sadly. Theo just realized that he would be alone...again. 

“You can come by after school tomorrow.” Jenna said, walking over to the bed. She gave Theo a hug as he told him she hoped he felt better in the morning and not to forget that if he needed anything to call her, Liam, or Melissa, mainly Melissa considering she was the nurse here. 

She told Liam she would meet him in the car as she left the room. 

Liam turned back to Theo. He subconsciously started running his fingers on Theo’s hand. 

“I’ll be fine, Liam.” Theo told him, picking up on the beta’s anxiety. 

“I know you will.” Liam smiled. “But I’ll come by right after school, okay?” He picked up Theo’s hand, placing a gentle kiss on the back of it before letting it go and getting off the bed. 

Theo was practically frozen in place as Liam picked up the Uno cards that were on the bed and placed them back in the box. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.” Liam said as he started out the door. 

“G-Goodnight.” 

As Liam shut the door, Theo was sat there, stunned at what just happened. Liam had fucking kissed his hand. What the hell. 

But besides stunned, Theo also felt very tired. He decided to turn off the lights in the room and got under the covers of the hospital bed, having his green blanket right on top of him. 

He couldn’t fall asleep just yet. His mind was running wild. What the hell just happened? 

~~~~~~

Liam left the hospital, saying goodbye to Melissa on his way out. He got into his moms car, completely forgetting about the fact that he had his truck because his thoughts were a bit fuzzy and he was quite tired. 

The moment he slammed the door shut, a moment of realization came over him. He had remembered what he had done back in a Theo’s room before he left. 

“Oh no.” 

Chapter Text

So coming out hasn’t been something on Liam’s to-do list. Well, no, it was on there but it was at like the very bottom of the list and that list had been crumbled up into a ball and flattened back out a few times and the words were barely legible now. 

It was weird because he doesn’t know why he hasn’t come out. But he has told his parents. He just hasn’t told his friends though. He knows they’ll more than likely be okay with it because they were obviously okay with Mason and Cory, Stiles and Derek, and even Ethan and Jackson being together but there’s still that slight fear of getting told to fuck off and that he’s not their friend anymore. 

But the possibility of that happening was about a 1 in a million. 

As Liam and his mom drove home that night from the hospital, Liam ranted to his mom about what had happened and her response was “Just tell him!” and obviously in Liam’s mind, that option was off the table. 

When they got home, Liam went straight to bed but not before he laid in bed, thinking for 30 minutes about him kissing Theo’s hand. He hadn’t even realized he’d done it. He wondered what Theo must be thinking or if he’s even thinking about it. 

~~~~~~

The next morning, Liam had texted Theo, telling him good morning and that he would come to the hospital after school. His mind was still running with the thought of him kissing the chimera’s hand. When he had done it, because he didn’t realize what he was doing, it felt like the most natural thing ever. It didn’t feel weird, it didn’t feel wrong. it was just a simply kiss on the hand. And that’s probably all it would be. Just a simple kiss on the hand. Nothing more. 

But to Theo, it definitely was not just a “simple kiss on the hand”. It felt like his entire world came crashing down. He had never told anyone, except for Tara, that he was gay. He had only had a crush on a few boys (one who actually happen to be Scott when they were little) before. He obviously grew out of those very small crushes and pretty much forgot about them within a week or less. Then he had arrived back in Beacon Hills and met a blue eyed beta who couldn’t control his anger. 

Liam had been a turning point for Theo. When he was with the dread doctors, he thought him liking other boys was just a side effect of whatever experiment they did on him. But then again the boys he liked were in the past and were before the dread doctors. 

It was weird. He was also thinking about how Derek only asked him if he liked Liam. He didn’t ask him if he was gay, bi, whatever. And he seemed quite happy when he actually admitted to liking the beta. 

He’s definitely never thought about coming out before. He’s honestly always been scared to. He’s heard what certain types of people say about gay people. He’s heard about the violence and hatred towards lgbt people. He remembers one time hearing about how Liam got a call one night and it was Mason. He and Cory had gotten jumped while walking home by about 3 guys yelling out homophobic slurs. It ended with Magnus having a black eye, because he was trying to protect Cory, and a busted lip. Cory only had a few scrapes and bruises and when his head was finally screwed on right, he grabbed Masons hand and made them invisible so they could get away. 

After, Mason had called Liam who called Scott. When they arrived, the 3 guys were gone and Masons and Cory were sat, still invisible, on a park bench. Liam and Scott took them back to Masons house. Cory ended up carrying his sleeping boyfriend inside. 

The next day was when everybody else found out because they were asking where the two boyfriends were. When Theo had heard, he really couldn’t believe someone had actually done that to them. They were people just trying to get home and those 3 dicks had to ruin it for them. 

Theo’s thought about what the others would say if he told them he was gay. It had really shocked him when Liam kissed his hand because 1: he’s never heard anything about Liam liking guys before. And 2: the kiss was from someone who he really liked. It was someone he actually felt something for and was scared of screwing things up. 

That was another thing. He knew he felt something for Liam, but he didn’t know if it was love. He’s never been in love with someone before. He didn’t even think he was capable of loving another person the way they needed to be loved. And it definitely scared the shit out of him. 

~~~~~~

As Liam walked into school, his phone beeped and he had a message from Mason telling him he was in the library. Liam had previously texted him that he needed to talk to him. 

He walked to the library and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. 

What the fuck am I doing? Liam thought. He knew he could back out of this and say that he was running late or something but... he needed to do this. He didn’t know if the school library was the best place to but this is Liam we’re talking about; he didn’t even realize he had kissed the boy, who he’s been in love with for about a year and a half now, hand for fuck's sake.

He walked into the library, spotting Mason at their usual table. He took a deep breath as he walked over to him. 

“Hey, why’d you ask me to meet you here?” Mason asked. “Any supernatural nuisance’s I need to research?”

Liam smiled at his friend. He always seemed ready to research anything. “Not today. But I have to talk to you?”

“I don’t think that’s supposed to be a question.” Mason raised his eyebrows. 

Liam shifted in his seat. “Um, yeah sorry, I do have to talk to you though.”

Even if Mason wasn’t anything supernatural, he could sense his best friends anxiety. 

“You alright? Is it something bad?”

“No it’s nothing bad, its just-“ Liam groaned and rubbed his hands down his face. “I have to tell you something. Still not sure why I decided on doing this in a school library but.” 

Mason only stared at Liam with his eyebrows raised, waiting for whatever Liam was about to tell him. 

Liam sighed, he didn’t know why this was so hard. This was his best friend for gods sake! His heart was pounding in his chest as he took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. 

“I’m bisexual.”

Mason let out a sigh and his eyebrows dropped. A smile broke out on his face and he immediately stood up, taking Liam with him and wrapped his friend in a tight embrace. 

“You are an idiot, you think I didn’t know?” Mason laughed. Liam only hugged him tighter but laughed as well. 

“Was I that obvious?”

“Trust me, gaydar is an actual thing and mine works quite well.”

Liam laughed again. He knew this was probably how this conversation would go but he couldn’t help the tears that were brought to his eyes. When he first told his parents, he was already crying before he could even get the words out of his mouth. 

“Thank you.” 

“Don’t thank me, you know you’re my best friend and that I love you. You immediately accepted me when I told you I was gay, so I think it would be a bit hypocritical of me to not do the same.”

Liam pulled away from his friend, wiping his tears. The bell for 1st block rang and Mason kept the smile on his face as he threw his arm around Liams shoulder and they began walking out of the library together. 

Before they could even get out the door, Mason was saying, “Liam, Cory’s not here and I forgot my-“ 

“Yes, you can have my hoodie.”

“Awesome!”

~~~~~~

As the school day ended (nothing in particular had happened. Just boring school things.) Liam texted Theo again, saying he was on his way to the hospital and asked if it was okay if Mason tagged along with him which Theo responded that it was fine. 

On the way over to the hospital, Mason asked Liam if he was going to tell the rest of the pack about him being Bi. 

“I don’t yet.” Liam said. “I mean, probably at some point or another.”

“Have you told anyone else, besides me?”

“Only mom and dad know.”

It went quiet for a minute before Mason spoke up again. 

“So, do you like anyone?”

“Mason!” Liam groaned. 

“Come on, Liam!” Mason laughed.

Liam sighed at his friend. “I don’t like anyone.” 

Mason obviously didn’t believe that one bit but Liam knew what he was thinking. 

“I love someone, there, you happy?”

Mason immediately opened his mouth to respond but Liam cut him off. “But I’m not telling you his name.”

“Ah, why?”

“Because for all I know, he’s straight.”

“That never stopped me from telling you who I liked.”

“Yeah, and I got enough of you complaining about always falling for straight guys before you found Cory.”

“Fair enough.” Mason shrugged. “Can you at least tell me how long you’ve liked him? Or in better words, how long you’ve been in love with him.” 

Liam playfully glared at Mason. Mason put on his most innocent face and poked out his bottom lip. 

“You are actually pitiful. Fine.” 

“Yes! Okay, how long?”

“Over a year.” 

“Damn. And you haven’t told him?”

“Once again, straight.”

“You never know.”

Liam only stayed silent. They pulled into the hospital and Liam was truly thankful that Mason didn’t have supernatural hearing so he couldn’t hear Liam’s racing heart throughout their entire conversation. 

As they got out of the truck, Liam tried to calm heart rate as they made their way into the hospital. 

They found their way to Theo’s room. Liam knocked on the door, warning a “You don’t have to knock, you idiot.”

Liam opened the door. “Ok, what is with everyone calling me an idiot today?”

Both Mason and Theo responded in unison. “‘Cause you are one.”

“I hate you both.”

“Shut up, you love us.” Theo smiled. He was sitting on his hospital bed, crisscrossed with his blanket draped across his lap. 

“How are you feeling?” Mason asked as he sat down in the chair that was close to the bed and Liam sat on the bed with Theo. 

“Better.” Theo answered. “Melissa came by not too long ago and so far my leg is completely healed and one of the wounds on my chest is almost healed.”

“That’s good.” Mason smiled. Theo returned it. 

“What about your fever?” Liam asked. 

“It’s gone down. Again. One minute it’s almost skyrocketing then the next it’s plummeting.” Theo shrugged. 

“Damn. That yellow wolfsbane must’ve really messed up your system.” Mason said. 

“Yeah. Fucking sucks.”

Theo then glanced over to Liam who had immediately averted his eyes away from his.

~~~~~~

The next hour and a half was spent laughing and playing games. Liam convinced them to play a game of Uno and of course Liam lost each round. Theo would win one game then Mason the next. Liam just couldn’t win to save his life.

“When this is all over, I want my sanity back.” Liam groaned, only to make Mason and Theo laugh. 

“Maybe should play a different game,” Theo suggested. “Give Liam the chance at winning for once.” Liam glared at him but Theo could see there was no heat behind it. 

“Oh! I know!” Mason chimes in. “Never have I ever!”

“Oh god.”

“What is that?”

“Really, Mason? Out of every game, you pick that one?”

Theo was confused. “I still don’t know what it is over here.” 

Mason explained the rules to him while Liam basically protested the entire time. He did not want to play Never have I ever. He knew Mason would probably ask questions Liam definitely did not want to answer but then again that's how the damn game works. 

“Oh come on, little wolf, it’ll be fun.”

“I’m gonna regret this.”

They all held up their hands and began the game. The questions started off easy like ‘never have i ever hide something from my parents’ or ‘never have I ever kissed someone’. Pretty tame questions so far.

Then Mason of course had to say, “Never have I ever had a crush on someone for more than a year.” 

Liam gasped. “Ok, I’m gonna murder you!” he joked as he put his 6th finger down. To his surprise, Theo put his 4th finger down while his cheeks turned a rosy pink color and obviously Mason put his 6th down. 

“Theo, you like someone?” Mason asked. 

Theo shifted uncomfortably in his seat, tugging at his blanket on his lap but he nodded his head anyways. He was thankful he had all those years of “practice” from the dread doctors on how to control his heart rate. 

“Ok, never question!” Liam said, even though on the inside he was practically screaming at the thought of Theo liking someone. “My turn!”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Mason interrupted. “I have one more!” 

“No-“ Liam started. 

“Please! It’s a good one, I promise!”

Mason was poking out his bottom lip again at Liam. The beta sighed. “Fine.”

“Yes! Okay, so, never have I ever talked to the person I like within the last 2 days.”

And on cue, Theo seemed like he had choked on nothing but air and started coughing. Mason was trying to hide a smirk on his face and Liam was now patting Theo on the back, trying to get him to stop coughing. 

While Theo’s coughing subsided, Mason got a text on his phone from Cory, saying he was at the hospital to pick him up. Mason jumped up from his seat and when Liam asked him where he was going, Mason said that Cory was picking him so the two could go “study”.

“Study, yeah right.” Liam said, not convinced.  

“Yep, we’re studying human anatomy.” And with that, Mason grabbed his backpack and bolted out the door, leaving Liam and Theo to burst out laughing. 

~~~~~~

Later that night at the hospital, Melissa had come in and told the two boys that Theo would be able to leave some time tomorrow since his body is now starting to heal itself again and his fever has been down for more than 6 hours without shooting above 100.

It was almost 9 pm and Liam and Theo had finished eating and were now sitting shoulder to shoulder, leaned up against the headboard (?) of the hospital bed. 

As Theo continues to read a book Melissa had given to him to occupy his time there, Liam was doing his geometry homework.

“God, I hate geometry, it’s pointless.” Liam basically growled at his paper. 

Theo laughed. “It’s school.” He looked at Liams paper and caught an error. He pointed to question 6. “You’re supposed to subtract 20 from 23, not add.”

Liam gave Theo a questioning look and took a look back at his paper and saw what Theo was talking about. He still didn’t understand. 

“But why?”

“You’re trying to solve for X so you have to subtract 20 from both sides to get X alone.” 

Liam looked at Theo, still confused. “Let me show you.” Theo said as he took Liams pencil. 

“Okay, look, if you add 20, you’re pretty much just going to dig yourself a hole you can’t get out of.” Theo explained as he erased and wrote on Liams paper. “But if you subtract 20, then you get X equals 3 and boom, there’s your answer.”

A lightbulb turned on in Liams brain. “Oh! I get it!”

Theo smiled at him as he handed him his pencil back. “Thank you.” Liam said. 

“No problem.”

Liam continued his homework, asking Theo questions here and there. Once he was finished, he went to put his binder in his backpack while Theo excused himself to the bathroom. 

Liam was having a mental battle with himself as Theo was gone but he didn’t have much time to think about the thought before Theo was coming back. Liam’s mind was racing. He kept thinking back to his and Masons talk in the truck on the way up here. 

Liam watched as Theo took the book off his bed, sitting it over by the window for whatever reason. 

“So, have you?” And there was Liam opening his mouth before his brain could catch up and process what he was saying. 

“Have I what?”

Well, shit I’ve already asked him. Might as well finish it.

Liam swallowed down his anxiety. “Talked to the person you like in the last few days?”

Theo froze where he was. His heart was pounding in his chest. 

“Maybe.”

Chapter Text

Liam definitely wasn’t expecting a maybe from Theo. He expected a no, a drop it, or a fuck off even. 

“What do you mean by maybe?” Liam asked. 

Hearing Theo’s heart pounding made his do the same. 

“Your hearts racing.” 

“I know.” Theo breathed out. “So is yours.”

Liam took a step towards the chimera. “I know. Why is yours?”

“I don’t know.” 

They were standing almost to where their chests were touching. “Is it because of this?”

He could still hear Theo’s heart pounding in his ears. 

“Because of what?” 

Liam took the opportunity to reach out, hoping he wouldn’t make Theo uncomfortable and hope his confidence didn’t leave him anytime soon as he put his hands in the big pocket of the hoodie he was wearing (because since he was healing now, he was able to put on actual clothes), pulling him closer. Now their chests were touching. 

“Because of this?”

Theo swallowed hard and nodded. He watched Liam closely as the beta’s eyes flickered down to his lips. 

Liam didn’t move but eyes kept going from his lips to his eyes, like he was silently communicating with Theo, ask him for permission to do something. 

Theo swallowed hard again. He surprised himself by whispering, “You can kiss me.” He was really hoping his instincts weren’t wrong. 

Liams eyes flew up to meet his. He looked at Theo to see if he could find a trace of any unsurety. Luckily, he found none. 

The beta brought his hand up and slowly ran his thumb over Theo’s bottom lip. They both felt like their hearts would beat out of their chests. Liam leaned in and their lips brushed against each other. Without any second thought, he crashed his lips into Theo’s. Liam kept his hands on Theo’s waist, bringing him impossibly closer and Theo let his hands go around Liam’s shoulders and one of his hands found its way into Liam’s hair as they kissed. 

It was a soft, gentle kiss. Like they were both testing the waters. But it was perfect to them. Theo definitely didn’t feel nervous anymore. He had never kissed another boy before much less kiss someone he actually wanted to kiss and actually liked.

When they pull away, dopey looking smiles were plastered on their faces. Liam rested their foreheads together and saw Theo looking down, almost to the floor, with a smile on his face and rosy cheeks. 

Liam melted at seeing the boy he’s been in love with for over a year, get all shy after kissing him. 

Liam lifted Theo’s chin up. 

“I love you.” Liam breathed. 

Theo practically froze then. Liam noticed. 

Liam started to pull away from him. “Shit, sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, wait.” Theo stopped him before he could pull away too much. 

“I just-“ Theo sighed. This was why he didn’t do feeling. He didn’t do emotions. And he definitely didn’t do with letting himself feel this vulnerable. But then again, with Liam, it felt different. It felt like he could be. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he was.  

“I do like you, Liam.” Theo felt like his mouth was running on autopilot. “More than I should. I don’t know if I love you, hell I don’t know what love is because I’ve never been in love with someone before. I don’t even know if I’m capable of loving someone. But I do know one thing, I may not know exactly what peace feels like, but I think it may feel a lot like you.” 

Liam couldn’t help himself as he smiled and cupped Theo’s face in his hands. “It’s okay, I just wanted you to know.”

Theo sighed happily. Happy. He actually felt happy. He leaned in and pecked Liam’s lips. 

“So...” He started. “What does this mean?” 

Liam grinned. “I really hope it means that you’ll agree to be my boyfriend.”

Hearing the word boyfriend made Theo’s heart pick up again. Oh god he really didn’t think this through. 

“Liam, I-“ 

The beta’s face fell and he pulled fully away from Theo this time. “Do you not want to?” He asked slowly.

Theo was quick to answer. “No, I-I want to, it’s just-“ Just thinking about all the things that came with being in a relationship brought tears to his eyes. 

“I just don’t know how to do this.” Theo’s voice quivered. “I don’t know how to be with someone and I sure as hell don’t think your pack will be happy about us being together.”

“Forget about them. It’s only about us.” 

“Liam, they don’t even trust me enough to just exist so I definitely don’t think they’ll be okay with me be in a relationship with their beta.”

Liam put his hands on the chimera’s waist and pulled him closer. 

“Don’t worry about them. I know they may come off as not trusting you but that’s really just Malia and Stiles. And as I told you before, I think Stiles is coming around.”

Theo stayed silent for a moment. 

“I haven’t even told anyone that I’m-“ Theo realized that he’s never said the words out loud before. “g-gay. And I’m-I’m not ready to tell them, Liam. I-I can’t.” Theo stuttered. 

“Hey, shh,” Liam said, reaching up and cupping Theo’s face, wiping the few tears that fell down his face with his thumb. “It’s alright, we won’t tell them until you’re ready, okay?”

Theo sniffled. “God I don’t deserve you.”

“Yes you do, come here.” Liam pulled the boy into his arms, hugging him tightly with his hands around his shoulders and Theo’s around his waist. 

“I’d much rather be with you and keep it a secret than not be with you at all.” Liam said, making the chimera smile and hide his face in the crook of his neck. Liam didn't mind keeping it a secret. All he cared about was Theo and if he was ready to come out, and if he wasn't, Liam was okay with that. 

“So, we are together?” Theo questioned. 

“I’d hope so.” 

Theo pulled back, bringing his arms around Liam’s shoulders, one hand playing with hair that fell over the beta’s neck. He smiled and then pecked Liam’s lips. 

~~~~~~

An hour later at 10 pm, they were resting on the hospital bed. Liam was leaning slightly up against the back of the bed with Theo cuddled into his side, his head resting on Liam’s chest. They were surprised that Melissa hadn’t come in. She was probably tending to another patient. 

“Hey, Liam?”

“Hm?”

“Do you think we could tell Derek?”

“That we’re together?”

“Yeah,” Theo answered. “but we obviously don’t have to if you don’t want but I just asked because the other day when Derek was here, he pretty much had it figured out that I liked you and I just thought it might take some of the pressure off of you if we told at least one person but we don’t-“

“Theo, take a breath.” Liam chuckled, stopping Theo’s rambling. “I don’t mind if we tell Derek. But don’t do it for me, okay? If you want to tell someone, we will. But please don’t do this because of me. If you’re not ready, that’s okay.” 

“I’m not, don’t worry. I want us to tell him.” 

“We can tell him once you get out of here.” 

Theo smiled at him and buried his face back into Liam’s chest. 

“It’s getting late.” Liam said, rubbing his hand up and down Theo’s arm. “I need to get home.” 

Theo groaned. Liam smiled. “I’ll be back, don’t worry. Melissa said you’ll be able to leave tomorrow.”

“Yeah, my chest is almost healed so that’s good.”

They went into a comfortable silence. Content with just each other’s company. They both felt themselves grow more tired as they lay together. 

After almost 10 minutes, Liam caught himself before he could fully fall asleep. “I need to get home.” He repeated but earned no response. 

He looked down to see a sleeping Theo on his chest. He smiled down at the boy and placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head. 

He slowly slipped out from under Theo, hoping not to wake him. He got off the bed and grabbed the green blanket Theo’s had and covered him with it, practically tucking him in. He placed one more kiss on his hair and grabbed his things, quietly leaving the room with a smile on his face. 

The moment he got home, his mom asked him why he was smiling the way he did. He told her he would tell her in the morning. 

But Jenna definitely knew what it was that put the smile on her sons face. Or in this case, who, it was. It was the person who put Liam into a daze every now and then. It was the person who Liam gushed over time and time again. It was the person Liam told her he was in love with. 

Theo. 

Chapter Text

“So you and Theo, huh?” Liam’s mom asked him in the morning. 

Liam rolled his eyed. “And how do you even know that it’s him? For all you know it could be someone else.”

“Oh please, that boy is the only person I’ve seen who’s been able to make you blush the way you do.” And cue Liam’s blushing. 

“See.”

“Yeah. We’re together.” Liam finally said, a smile on his face. Jenna clapped her hands together. “But,” Liam started. “we’re not telling anyone yet. Theo said he’s not ready to come out so we’re waiting until he is to tell people.”

Jenna smiled at her son and kissed the top of his head. 

“We’re actually going to tell Derek at some point in the near future. Theo said he had already figured out that he liked me so Theo asked if we could tell him.”

“I’m glad you’re finally with him, sweetheart. And as for the ‘not telling anyone’, just be careful, okay?”

“I know, mom. We will.” 

~~~~~~

The cinema? No. 

Restaurant? No. 

Picnic in the park?....no. 

Throughout the school day, Liam has been trying to think of a place him and Theo could have a date. Liam still needs to ask Theo on a date but he wanted to think of what it would be first. 

The only ideas that came to mind were ideas that involved the possibilities of some of the pack stumbling upon them and finding out they’re together. 

Liam couldn’t, for the life of him, think of the obvious date idea for him and Theo. He ended up calling his mom who told him said idea. 

“Thanks mom!” Liam exclaimed over the phone before he hung up. He texted Theo asking him if he would like to go on a date. He also explained that it would be out of the way of the pack so it would be just the two of them. Thankfully Theo agreed. 

Liam asked him what his favorite movie and type of candy was so he could go out after school and get the candy. He would pull the movie up on his laptop. Theo asked what they were doing but Liam said it would be night before he found out what it was. 

The rest of the day was spent in boring classes. Liam definitely didn’t like school all that much but since he was a senior now he’s been trying to enjoy the rest of his senior year. He remembers some of the pack telling him and Mason about what seniors do before they graduate; going into the library and writing their initials on the bookshelves. When Mason asked if it was vandalism Lydia replied with, “Not...technically.” So he was definitely looking forward to that. 

After school was over with, Liam headed to the store to pick up a few things he would need for the date he had planned for him and Theo later tonight. 

Once he got home he took the bag inside, setting it in the kitchen. He ran up to his room to grab an extra shirt because Theo texted him, asking if he would bring him one since his was torn from where the doctors had to cut open his shirt when he was shot. He grabbed a random shirt from his closet and then left again to head to the hospital to pick up Theo.

His mom had called and said she would be home a bit later than usual so she may not be able to cook dinner. Liam said that it was fine and that he would order pizza, which is his go-to whenever he gets the chance. His step dad, with being a doctor and all, it didn’t really allow him to have dinner with his family that much. It was only on rare occasions that he did. He usually left at almost 6 am and got back home at almost 11 pm. 

When he arrived at the hospital, he headed inside and went to Theo’s room. He didn’t bother knocking this time. Melissa was in the room beside Theo who was sitting up on the hospital bed while she changed the one bandage he had left. 

Theo looked at him as the door shut and smiled. 

“Ready to go?” Liam asked, a smile on his face matching Theo’s. 

“Yep. Just getting this bandage changed.”

Melissa was actually wrapping a gauze bandage fully around his chest. “This last wound is just having a little more trouble to heal, so I’m just wrapping this around him instead of having just one regular bandage on him.” Melissa explained. “And it’ll probably be a lot more comfortable.”

She finished up, explaining to change the bandage after he showered and once he woke up and gave Theo a hug and said goodbye to him, telling him to be careful and to take it easy. She gave Liam a hug as well and then left. Once the door was shut, Liam said, “Here.” and handed him the shirt he had brought. 

“Thank you.” Theo pulled the shirt on over the previously wrapped bandages on his chest. Liam sat down on the beside him, running his hand through Theo’s hair. “You’re welcome.” He smiled.

“Ready?” Liam asked. Theo nodded, grabbing his blanket that was on the bed. He didn’t have much with him. Only the clothes on his back which Melissa has washed (the shirt courtesy of Liam), his blanket (which Melissa also washed for him) and his phone. 

“So are you going to tell me what this date idea of yours is yet?” Theo asked, standing up from the bed. 

“Hmm.” Liam tapped at his chin to make it look like he was thinking of the answer. He lifted Theo’s chin up, moving closer just so their lips would brush. 

Liam grinned and said, “Nope.” He quickly pecked Theo’s lips and rushed out the door yelling, “Come on!”

Theo smiled as he rolled his eyes and continued out the door, following his boyfriend. 

Once they arrived back at Liam’s house, Theo went to take a shower after not having one for a few days and Liam took the duffle bag of clothes that was in Theo’s truck and put them in the washer.

Once Theo was out of the shower, he had called for Liam to help him with his bandages. He knew it hadn’t been long since Melissa has changed them but she did tell him to change them after a shower.

He hurried up the stairs and to the bathroom. He knocked on the door and entered when he heard the ‘Come in.’ 

Theo was only in pants and had the bandage in his hands. “Please help me.” He said. Liam chuckled and grabbed the roll of gauze bandages from his hand. 

He unrolled some of it and placed the end of it on the side of Theo’s chest and the chimera held it there with his hand. Liam took the roll and started wrapping it around Theo’s chest. He wrapped it about 5 times, not to tight so it wouldn’t be uncomfortable for Theo while he wore it, and sealed it off with a small piece of masking tape. 

“Thank you.” Theo told him, picking up Liam’s hoodie that he seemed to have snuck from Liam’s room, and put it on. 

“Stop thanking me every time I do something for you.” Liam smiled. Theo blushed and Liam kissed his cheek. “Also, you can keep my hoodie. You look better in it than me anyways.” 

~~~~~~

Fast forward to night time, it was around 8 pm and Liam made Theo stay in his room while he went to get things ready for their date. 

He had ordered a pizza 45 minutes prior (without Theo knowing) and as Liam went downstairs the doorbell rang and Liam went to collect the pizza. 

Once he had everything ready, he went back upstairs, knocking on his door. Theo opened it and Liam grabbed his hand, taking him to the living room. 

When Theo saw the living room, he froze. Fairy lights were strung up, there were a few candles were on the table and even on an empty book case shelf. ‘The Lion King’ title screen shinned from Liam’s laptop, a pizza box was on the table with two cans of soda, two bags of Theo’s favorite candy (sour patch kids and reese’s) were on each side. The couch was piled with blankets and pillows and even Theo’s green blanket was on there. For some reason it felt oddly familiar. It felt warm and cozy, and...safe. 

Theo had tears in his eyes. No one had ever done anything like this for him before. He didn’t think he deserved such kindness. Yet, Liam still gave it to him. 

“You really did all this, little wolf?” Theo questioned. 

“I did.” Liam nodded. 

“Thank you.” Theo said, wrapping his arms around Liam in a tight hug.

“You’re welcome, baby.” Liam didn’t mean to let the pet name slip but when he felt Theo smile and hide his face in his neck, he made a mental note to call Theo that again. 

“Come on,” Liam pulled back from the hug, pecking Theo’s lips. “we don’t want the pizza getting cold.” 

As they say on the couch, Liam pressed play on the movie and they dug into the pizza and candy. 

The movie played and Liam was glad to see how relaxed Theo was. He was glad to see him being happy. And he was definitely glad that he could now kiss Theo whenever he wanted and make him blush the way he does. 

As they finished with their pizza, they were now sitting back against the couch with Liams arm thrown around Theo’s shoulder and Theo had his head resting on Liams shoulder. 

Once the movie approached the scene where Mufasa was about to die, a sudden realization hit Theo. That’s why this felt so familiar. Theo thought. 

When Mufasa was killed, tears were brought to Theo’s eyes and he quickly jumped up from the couch and ran upstairs into Liams room, ignoring Liam’s calls for him. 

Liam paused the movie and rushed upstairs into his room to find Theo crying on his bed. 

“Hey,” Liam spoke softly as he kneeled down in front of Theo. He took the chimera’s face in his hands, bringing it up so he could see his watery eyes. He wiped the tears that were falling down his cheeks with his thumbs. 

“Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?” Liam asked. 

“No, no you did absolutely nothing wrong.” Theo was quick to answer. Liam couldn’t have done anything. He didn’t even know. 

“Then why’d you run up here?”

“I-“ Theo paused and Liam said, “You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to, okay?”

But Theo did was to explain. “No, its just,” Theo took a deep breath. “seeing everything that you did tonight plus the movie, it just reminded me of someone.”

“Who?”

“Her.”

Liam knew who ‘her’ was. Liam knew what happened to ‘her’. 

Before Liam could say anything else, Theo continued talking. 

“When we were little, we would do something similar.” Theo’s voice shook as he spoke. “On a random day each week, we would sneak into each others rooms at night and eat candy and watch The Lion King without our parents knowing.” Theo smiled sadly at the memory he had thought he’d forgotten. Liam stayed silent, never had heard anything about Theo when he was younger. 

“We had this ‘secret code’.” Theo explained as he fidgeted with the blanket on Liams bed. He kept his head down, not looking at Liam as he spoke. “We would knock on each others doors in a certain pattern to let the other know that it was us. When she knocked on my door, she would run back to her room and I would sneak downstairs into the kitchen to get whatever snack or candy it was that she told me to.” Liam smiled lightly at the thought of a little Theo being all secretive, trying to smuggle snacks from the kitchen. 

Theo continued. “We always watched The Lion King for some reason. It ended up being my favorite movie. Whenever I would cry during the movie, she always hugged and told me it was okay.” Tears were building up in Theo’s eyes again. “She was always comforting me whenever I needed her. She was also the first person I came out to.” Liam scooted closer to Theo. He never knew all of this before. Theo was so closed off from them before and after going to Hell. He was never this vulnerable around others. Liam felt butterflies in is stomach knowing he was the one Theo felt comfortable enough to share this part of his life with.  

“I really miss her, Li.” Theo said, now looking up at Liam. 

“I know you do.” Liam raised his hand to wipe away a tear that fell down Theo’s face. Theo practically threw himself in Liams arms and Liam moved them so Theo was sitting on his lap with his legs wrapped around Liams waist as he hugged him. 

Liam ran his fingers up and down Theo’s back as Theo cried into his neck. Liam didn’t try to tell him to calm down in anyway because he knew Theo needed this. He knew Theo needed to cry. And Theo definitely cried. All the good memories of him and Tara came back. The bad memories of them came back. The bad memories of the things he had done in the past came back. He cried for the death of his sister. He cried for all the lives of the people he had taken. He cried because he was scared. He scared of Liam’s pack finding out about them. He was scared they may resort to killing him or sending him back to hell depending on how angry they were once they find out. He just…cried. And Liam let him. 

~~~~~~

They were back in the living room now. After Theo had stopped crying, Liam gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead and said that they didn’t have to continue watching the movie if he didn’t want to and that they could watch a different one. But Theo said he wanted to continue the movie. 

They were laying on the couch spooning, Liam being the big spoon and Theo the little. Liam had his arm wrapped around Theo and had their hands intertwined. Liam had also put his cold feet against Theo’s, causing him to jump. 

“Oh my god, your feet are so cold, Liam!” 

“And yours are warm.”

Theo laughed. “I don’t care, get them off of mine.” He tried to kick Liam’s cold ass feet off of his. 

“Noooo,” Liam whined and put his feet under Theo’s. “you need to warm them up.”

Theo sighed. “You are a baby.” He said, accepting defeat and allowed Liam to warm his feet up. 

By the time the movie had gone off, both boys were sound asleep, cuddled up against each other. 

At around 10:30 was when Jenna and David both came home. They walked into the living room to see the two boys on the couch. They both smiled fondly at them. Jenna walked over and grabbed the blanket at the end of the couch and placed it over them. 

Before she was out of the room, she heard Liam say, “Thanks mom.”

“You’re welcome, Sweetie.” 

Liam smiled and cuddled closer to his boyfriend. 

Chapter Text

The next morning, Liam woke up first. He noticed a weight on his chest and looked down to see that Theo was sleeping practically on top of him. They seem to have gone from spooning to this some time during the night, however the hell that even happened. He smiled and ran his hand through Theo’s hair, placing a kiss on his forehead. 

“Aren’t you two just adorable?” 

Liam looked up to see his mom walking in the living room. He couldn’t hide the blush and smile on his face. 

“Dad made breakfast.” Jenna said simply. 

Liam cocked his head a bit to the side. “Dad’s still here? I thought he would’ve been gone by now.”

“He would. But he called in and said he would be a bit late to work. He wanted to finally meet him.” And with that, Jenna left the room. 

Liam knew what she what meant. His dad hasn’t formally met Theo yet like his mom has. He wasn’t worried. Well, he was a bit worried. Only for Theo though. He did obviously didn’t know what his dad was going to say, but he also knows that it won’t be negative. 

Liam brushed his fingers through Theo’s hair again, making him stir. Theo nuzzled his face into Liam’s chest a bit before tilting his head up to look at him. 

“Good morning.” Liam said. 

“Morning.”

“So, my mom just came in and told me dad wanted to finally meet you.” Liam said while absentmindedly playing with Theo’s hair. 

Liam caught Theo’s heart picking up speed and he quickly told him that it would be okay. That he promised nothing negative would be said. 

Theo nodded his head and they both got up from the couch. Liam took Theo’s hand in his and they walked into the kitchen, Liam giving Theo’s hand a reassuring squeeze. 

Liam’s step father, David, was setting plates and bowls on the table while his mom was pouring herself a cup of coffee. 

David looked over as the two came into the kitchen. “Ah, good morning, Liam.” He said. 

“Morning dad.”

“And good morning to you to, Theo. I’m glad we’re finally being able to meet.” 

“You too, Mr, Geyer.”

“Oh you can just call me David, son. Mr. Geyer makes me sound old.” Liam watched as Theo cracked a smile. 

Jenna has started bringing over the food and everyone had taken their seats at the table. While David asked Theo a few questions here and there, Liam kept his hand on Theo’s knee, rubbing small circles with his thumb. 

Everything had gone right, just as Liam had said. His dad was very respectful, even telling him that he was sorry a couple times when he had asked about his home life which Theo said it was okay. 

Everything was okay. 

~~~~~~

It’s been 7 months since Liam and Theo had that with Liam’s parents. It’s been 7 months of hiding behind walls, secret kisses and secret late night drives. Theo has fully healed just a few weeks after the conversation with Liam’s parents. 

They had told Derek a few days after talking with Liam’s parents. Before Liam or Theo could even get the first word in, Derek already said, “So you two finally pulled your heads out of your asses and got together?”

They told Derek they still weren’t planning to tell the rest of the pack just yet and Derek said to be careful. 

After that conversation, Liam told Theo to go wait in the truck while he talked to Derek about something. 

Liam explained to the Alpha about the feelings he’s had for quick a long time now. He told him about the first night in the woods to finding Theo in the woods after having the feeling. 

Derek simply told Liam that Theo was his anchor and Liam was Theo’s. It had all made sense to Liam now having a clear answer. He thanked Derek before he left. 

He told Theo what Derek said and Theo had replied that he already knew. Liam then asked why he didn’t tell him and Theo told him he didn’t want to scare Liam off. Which obviously didn’t happen. 

One day, Liam had said that there was a pack meeting and he wanted Theo to go. He told him that they would be careful around them, not giving their relationship away just yet. 

He managed to convince Theo and they went off. 

They arrived at Scotts house, Liam gave Theo a quick kiss on the cheek before they got out of Theo’s truck. 

Everything was running smoothly, up until the 3rd hour they were there. Malia had started once again which caused Liam to spiral into a panic attack. 

Liam huddled in a corner of the room, trying to get away from Scott, who was trying to calm him down and Malia, who was frantically apologizing to him. She never wanted Liam to have a panic attack, that was never her intention. It was just that Theo being there made her snap again. 

Theo stood back and watched as they tried to calm his boyfriend down. Nothing was working. Finally after 5 minutes, Theo quickly told them to move as he started his way towards Liam. But Malia got in between him and Liam and wouldn’t let him near him. 

“I said move Malia. You’re the one who caused this, now move.”

“I don’t think so. I’m not letting you near him.” 

“I said move.” Theo almost growled. “Don’t make me say it again.”

“Malia ple-please just move!” Liam cried which shocked everyone. But then Theo did something, after Malia had moved, that stunned them. 

Theo quickly got to Liam, dropping to the floor in front of him. Liam had thrown himself in Theo’s arms, in front of everyone. Theo didn’t exactly care at the moment. 

Liam was shaking and Theo was rubbing his back, telling him everything was okay, that he was okay. It only took a few moments for Liam to calm down after Theo was there with him. 

Everyone was silent as Theo did so. They had never seen Theo like that before. 

“Ok what the hell was that?” Malia asked. 

“I was calming him down, what do you think?” Theo said, holding onto Liam’s arm as he stood up. 

Malia then kept pushing Theo into telling her why Theo did that. That “Monsters can’t calm people down.” That last statement had Theo running out the door, Liam shouting for him. 

“What the fuck, Malia!?” Liam shouted, his eyes turning yellow. 

“Liam, stop.” Scott demanded, getting in front of Liam. 

Liam closed his eyes, trying to calm back down. He had thought of Theo, pictures of him flashing in his mind which lead him to calming down. 

“I hear one more negative thing about my boyfriend from any of you all, you’re gonna wish you’re able to calm me down.” Liam knew had he had said. He didn’t know whether he was going to regret it or not. 

“Liam- what?” Stiles started. “You and Theo? Oh fuck.” 

“Wait, Liam, are you sure about being with him?” Scott said. Which surprised Liam. Scott was clearly okay with him and Theo being friends but he guess that dating was crossing a line for him. 

“Really Scott? I know you’re my alpha and I know that because I’m your beta, you want to protect me. But you don’t need to protect me from Theo. Trust me. If anything, he’s been the one protecting me. And you should thank him for that otherwise I would be ripping a few heads off right now.”

“Liam-“ Scott tried. 

“No, Scott. I’m done here. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go make sure my boyfriend is okay.” Liam’s voice was quick cold. He stormed out the door, leaving everyone in shock. 

Liam didn’t see Theo anywhere, but his truck was still there. Liam jumped into the truck and took off back to his house. 

He got in and immediately picked up Theo’s scent and heard the shower upstairs on. He sighed in relief. 

Liam listened closely and could hear Theo’s heart pounding and racing. He rushed upstairs and knocked on the bathroom door.

He heard a quick ‘come in’. He opened the door and noticed a pair of soaked clothes on the tile floor. He could hear heavy breathing and asked Theo if he was alright. Theo didn’t reply with the answer Liam was expecting. 

“Will you join me?” Liam froze. Did he hear Theo right? They had never even seen each other fully naked and now Theo wants to take a shower with him? 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Liam striped off all of his clothes and pulled the shower curtain back a bit to climb inside. He saw Theo standing under the water and he would see him trembling violently. Liam didn’t hesitate on wrapping Theo in his arms, underneath the spray of water. Liam was running his fingers up and down his back to hopefully get the boy in his arms to stop shaking. 

“Why didn’t you just wait for me in the truck?” He asked. 

“I-I almost lost con-control , Li. I- that hasn’t happened in so long. I didn’t know what I was doing. So I ran back here.” 

Liam really wanted to say I love you to Theo right then and there but he wanted to give Theo time and say it whenever he was ready. 

Theo was standing on shaky legs, Liam was practically holding him up. Theo tucked his face into the space between Liam’s shoulder blade and neck. 

“You’re okay, Theo. I promised. You’re alright, I’m here.” 

“They hate me-me Li.”

Liam knew who he was talking about. “They don’t hate you, T. They just need time to adjust.”

“Adjust to what?”

Liam froze. Theo didn’t know he accidentally outed them. The moment he said it in front of the pack, he obviously couldn’t take it back so he went with it. 

“I, um, may have accidentally outed us when you left.” 

Liam felt Theo stop shaking for a moment. He thought he had stopped breathing. “I’m sorry.” Liam started. “I didn’t mean to, it just kind of slipped out. I was angry at them for hurting you and-“

“It’s okay, Li.” 

“But you weren’t ready to come out and I kind of took that away from you.” 

“It’s okay, Li, I promise. I’m actually kind of glad you were the one to tell them.” 

“Are you sure?” Liam asked. 

Theo nodded his head and Liam placed a kiss to his hair. They decided to finish out the shower before getting out and going back to Liam’s room. 

Soon it was night time and they hadn’t heard from any of the pack, asking about what happened. Liam felt like it was better that way. 

Around 10 pm was when they decided to go to bed. They climbed in and Theo took his place on Liam’s chest, and Liam’s arms wrapped around him. Liam felt like he was physically holding back the words I love you at this point. But he knew he wanted Theo to say them first when he was ready. 

On into the night and while Liam was sound asleep, Theo was awake. He wasn’t laying on Liam’s chest anymore, he was laying beside him now, staring up at him. 

Theo’s mind was racing. 

They hate you. They hate that you’re with Liam. They don’t want you near Liam. They probably want you dead so you won’t be near Liam anymore. They want to protect Liam from you. You’re just a monster who can’t do anything good no matter how hard you try. Liam’s better off without you. 

Theo had tears steaming down his face from his thoughts. But they were right. Theo thought. Liam needed his pack more than he didn’t him. His pack was more important. 

A thought came to Theo’s mind which made him hold his breath. He held a hand over his mouth to hopefully not wake Liam with his cries. 

Could he really do this? Well, of course he could. If he chose to. The window was right there. Liam wouldn’t wake up. 

He’s better off without you. He needs his pack and because of you, he’s losing it.

Theo looked at Liam, trying not to let out a sob. Liam was on his side, facing him. He was sleeping soundly, practically dead to the world. 

Theo reaches out a shaky hand and placed it on Liam’s cheek. Theo held his hand over his own mouth once again to stop him from crying out loud. 

He ran his thumb over Liam’s cheek as he scooted closer to him. Theo gently rested his forehead against Liam’s. He placed a gentle kiss to his cheek. Then his nose. Then his forehead. And then a kiss to his lips. It took everything in him to get up from the bed. He walked over to grab Liam’s hoodie, which Liam told him he could keep, and pulled it on. 

He quietly went and put on his shoes, tears continuing to fall down his face. After 10 minutes, he had set a piece of paper on Liam’s nightstand, hoping he would find it in the morning. 

He slowly opened the window of Liam’s room. He took a deep breath and looked at Liam. He knew he shouldn’t look at Liam again, knowing it would be harder to do this. But he did it anyway. 

“Bye, baby.” Theo whispered before climbing out the window and disappearing into the night. 

~~~~~~

The next morning when Liam woke up, he noticed some thing was off. The weight he fallen asleep with on his chest was no longer there. 

He cracked his eyes open and looked beside him to see that the bed was empty. He listened for another heartbeat somewhere in the house but there was no one. 

He looked over at the clock on his nightstand, it was 8 am and Theo was no where to be found. He then saw a piece of paper with his name on it. 

He slowly sat up in his head, his heart starting to race. He grabbed the piece of paper and opened it. By the time he finished reading it, tears were streaming down his face and sobs were escaping his mouth. The note had said:

“Liam,

I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry for doing this. For doing this to you and your pack. I’m the reason you’re mad at them and I’m so sorry. Please don’t come look for me. You’re better off without me. You need your pack more. I don’t know where I’m going but I won’t be in Beacon Hills anymore. I’m sorry. I love you Liam. Okay? I love you so fucking much, you gave me a home when my entire world was crashing down. You saw the good in me when no one else did. At this point I still don’t know if there is any good left after what I’ve done to you and your pack. And i’m so sorry. But thank you, Liam. Thank you for everything. I’m so glad I found someone like you. Tell your parents I said thank you for allowing me into their home. And tell Scott and them that I’m sorry for everything. Maybe they can forgive me one day. Until then, goodbye Liam. 

- Theo. 

P.s.

I want you to have my blanket. I left it on the chair. It kept me safe when I needed it and I want you to have it so you can feel safe too. I love you.”

Liam looked over at the chair and surly enough, the green blanket was there. He rushed over and picked it up, holding it to his chest and cried. 

He raced back over to his bed, grabbing his phone and dialing Scott’s number. When Scott picked up, even if Liam was still mad at him, he knew he could help. He broke down in sobs as he said, “He’s gone, Scott. He’s fucking gone.” He repeated that several times before Scott was able to ask who he was talking about. 

Liam said it was Theo. “Please, Scott, you have to find him. I know you don’t like him right now but please try and find him. For me at least. I can’t let him be alone. I can’t, Scott. I need him, please.”

“Liam, calm down. I’ll find him, I promise.” 

~~~~~~

It’s been a full two hours of Scott looking for Theo while the rest of the pack was over at Liam’s. 

Yeah, Scott may be a bit upset with Theo but right now he knew he had to look past that. He knew he needed to pull his head out of his own ass and fix this. He didn’t understand why he reacted the way he did to finding out Liam and Theo were together. His mouth seemed to work before his brain could catch up. He needed to fix this. 

Soon Scott had picked up Theo’s scent. It was by an abandoned building. He walked to the side of the building, still following Theo’s scent. Then there was Theo. Sitting with back against the wall and knees pulled to his chest. 

“Theo?”

Theo whipped his head around and froze when he saw Scott. 

“What do you want, Scott?” Theo asked. “Come to send me back to hell?”

“What- Theo, no, I’m not here to hurt you.” 

“Funny that you say that.” Theo angrily wiped at his eyes. 

“Theo, I came to take you back to Liam.” 

“And why the hell would you do that?” 

“Because Liam needs you.”

“He doesn’t need me.” Theo whispered. 

“Theo, please. I know we haven’t been on the same page for a bit, but I need to know that I’m sorry.” 

“Why are you sorry? I’m the one who fucked things up.”

“No, Theo, you’re not. I am.” That took Theo by surprise. He watched as Scott took a seat next to him on the ground. 

“What’re you-“ 

“Please just let me talk first Theo.” Scott said. Theo stayed silent and let Scott talk. “I fucked things up, okay? Not you. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did when we found out you were with Liam. I had asked Liam if he was sure he wanted to be with you and, God, If I could take it back I would in a heartbeat. When Liam called me this morning, he was crying his heart out, begging me to go look for you. He cares about you so much Theo. He needs you whether you think so or not. And I’m apologizing on Malia’s behalf as well. She’s still pissed at you and I don’t understand why. You’re not a monster Theo, you’ve just been treated like one when you’re not and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the way we’ve treated you. When I saw how you calmed Liam down last night, believe me, I was shocked and for some reason I still reacted badly to finding out you were together. And I’m so sorry, Theo. I hope you can eventually forgive me and I don’t blame if you if you never do. And I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but thank you. You’ve helped us out quite a lot these past few years and I haven’t told you thank you once. So thank you. I know I’m kind of just rambling at this point-“ 

“Scott.” Theo said. “I forgive you, okay?”

“You...do?”

Theo nodded. Scott smiled and said, “How about we get you back home to Liam, yeah?”

Theo blushed and smiled. He allowed Scott to pull him up from the ground. 

“Oh and Scott?” Theo said. “Thanks.”

~~~~~~

Scott and Theo soon arrived back at Liam’s. 

Liam had obviously heard them because he came running out the front door, taking Theo into his arms. 

“God, I thought I lost you.” Liam cried. Theo has buried his face in Liam’s neck, silently crying, gripping the back of Liam’s shirt. 

The rest of pack, minus Malia, was stood watching them with small smiles on their faces. 

“I love you.” Theo sobbed. 

“I love you too.” Liam pulled back from the hug, cupping Theo’s face in his hands. 

“I’m home.” Theo sniffled. 

“Yeah...” Liam wiped the tears on Theo’s face with the pad of his thumbs. “you’re home.”

Sometimes a home isn’t a house or a warm bed. Sometimes its a person. And Liam was Theo’s home. That’s what a home is.