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See, the thing was, Mason knew.
Of course he knew. How could he not, when it was his best friend, who Mason practically spent all his time with, when he’s not alone with Corey? There was no way in hell that Mason didn’t know, because he knew Liam.
But there was one thing Mason didn’t account for.
The unbelievable stupidity of Theo and Liam.
Mason could honest-to-God write an entire dissertation on how moronic the two of them were. No, forget dissertation, he could probably major in it.
The science of Theo and Liam’s stupidity.
Mason would be valedictorian if that was his major, no joke. Maybe then he wouldn’t have to put up with all these dumb chemistry classes.
But anyway, back to Liam and Theo.
They just had something about them, and Mason could grudgingly admit, it took him a while to notice what it was.
The first time Mason realized something was up was at Scott’s house, after the war. Bone-deep weariness had taken ahold of everyone in the room, and barely anyone even noticed when Theo came through the door, a few steps behind Liam. The chimera had driven everyone that was at the hospital, but Mason hadn’t expected him to come in, and it really said something about how exhausted the pack was that no one had even blinked an eye at the chimera’s appearance. Mason wasn’t suspicious anymore, not after seeing Theo take Gabe’s pain (and Mason had made a mental note to apologize to Theo for saying he didn’t care; Theo had brushed it off when he did the next day, but Mason knew how much his words had fucked with Theo, and his guilt had been crushing him), but he was still curious why Theo had shown up when it was obvious even without supernatural senses that Theo was uncomfortable around the pack. But even Theo couldn’t deny his fatigue, and he had pretty much collapsed on the couch next to Liam, close enough that their thighs and arms were pressed together. And Mason knew Liam, knew how he detested feeling crowded (even though he was literally a puppy in human form) after a fight. And they’d just gone through a goddamn war, so Mason was alarmingly stunned when Liam didn’t push him away, instead leaning (purely subconsciously, Mason realized, after watching the way Liam’s eyes were half-closed) into the touch more. Theo’s eyes were drooping rapidly, and it really said something about how tired he was that he was asleep within minutes, apparently too tired to even think about how vulnerable he was in front of the pack (not that anyone would try anything– Liam had been weirdly bringing up Theo more and more in pack meetings, repeatedly announcing the chimera’s tendency to save Liam, and the pack had slowly started to adjust to the chimera’s presence, even if they were still a little hesitant about it). Surprisingly, Liam didn’t fall asleep, and Mason was fucking exhausted, but he kept watching discreetly from his corner on the other sofa as Liam carefully opened up the reclining seat he was in, his eyes flicking to Theo every few seconds to make sure he was still asleep. And Mason had thought that would be it– that Liam would comfortably fall asleep with his head tilted back and his legs spread out in front of him, but god he had been wrong.
Instead, Liam gently shifted his shoulder (where Theo’s head had somehow managed to fall) and slowly brought Theo’s head down, until it was resting on his thighs. Mason thought it was a rather uncomfortable position to be in, with Theo’s body folded in half awkwardly, his legs still facing forward as if he was sitting normally, while his upper half was lying down, and Liam must’ve realized the same, because with his eyes glued to Theo’s face, he reached over and pulled the chimera’s legs up one by one until Theo was fully lying down on the couch, his head still in Liam’s lap. Theo suddenly shifted, and Liam froze, his hand inches away from Theo’s hair, but it was a false alarm, and Mason could feel Liam’s relieved breath when Theo snuggled into Liam’s thighs and stilled again. Liam’s hand continued its previous journey, and Mason scrutinized his best friend as he slowly carded his fingers through Theo’s hair lightly. And Theo (also subconsciously, because he was asleep, but Mason was still shocked ) pushed into the touch, and Mason swore Liam’s lips twitched (although at this point, Mason was not completely sure if he was already asleep and that this was all just some absurd dream). After that, Liam had drifted off quickly, and Mason was left trying to figure what the hell just happened. But he didn’t think about it too much, because his exhaustion practically pulled him under, and by the time he woke up, both Liam and Theo were gone. And Mason chalked it up to his delirious state, and forgot about it.
Or, he would’ve, if things like it didn’t keep happening.
The next time was a little different, mostly because he hadn’t meant to watch. He didn’t even know there was something to watch until he caught Liam’s frown in the pack meeting, and granted, Liam had multiple reasons to be unhappy, with Scott and Argent’s rundown about Monroe still being out there, but Mason somehow knew that it wasn’t because of any of that. Because Liam’s frown was directed at Theo, even if the chimera didn’t notice it (truth was, no one but Mason noticed it, because Liam and Theo were standing in a corner, their bodies sort of hidden behind Derek and Lydia to the rest of the pack), and Mason watched as Liam’s eyes flickered between Scott and Theo every couple of seconds. The chimera was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and his head hung low, and for once, his hair wasn’t perfectly styled, falling over his face and hiding it (and Mason was only human, so he could admit how hot the messy hair look was on Theo). And right as Mason was about to look away from the two teenagers, Liam shifted a little closer, nudging Theo’s arm softly with this shoulder. Theo’s head was still facing down, but he tilted it to the side, his brow cocked in question at Liam.
And if Mason was majoring in Theo and Liam’s absurd relationship, he’d definitely conduct a few experiments on what happened next, because he got lost.
It wasn’t anything big, in fact, it was practically nonexistent, the way their faces barely moved as they stared at each other, but Mason caught the twitch in Theo’s cheek, and the way Liam’s face hardened minutely, so subtle that Mason wasn’t sure if he was just making all this up in his head. It went on for another minute or so, Mason trying to keep up with the rapid back and forth but ultimately failing to even comprehend a single thing, until Theo shook his head slightly, and looked away. His jaw was clenched, and Liam’s eyes stayed on him for a few moments before he turned away too, a blank expression falling on his face as he pretended to listen to what Scott was saying.
Mason didn’t know what that was, but he stored it away in the back of his mind, because he had a distinct feeling that it was important somehow. Important for what, he didn’t know, but he knew it was important for something.
There were a few more instances of similar things happening, but what finally made it click for Mason was when Liam had gotten hurt during a hunter attack. It wasn’t even that bad, all things considered, just a few bullet wounds (and yeah, Mason knew how desensitized that sounded, but after everything they’d been through, his view on what fell into the category of “bad” had shifted a lot ), but Theo had gone feral. Liam had been rushed to the hospital by Mason and Corey, as the rest of the pack continued fighting, and Theo had practically stormed into the room after, the door slamming against the wall loudly.
“I’m going to kill you,” Theo had snarled as he stomped over to Liam, and Mason and Corey had exchanged an alarmed glance, but Liam wasn’t even fazed, just followed Theo with his eyes. “Why the fuck did you do that?”
Liam’s face was completely relaxed, as if he had expected this, and he stared right at Theo as he spoke. “We have each other’s backs, that’s the deal we made.”
“That is not the deal I made,” Theo had let out a subvocal growl that Mason felt in his chest, and it kinda scared the shit out of him. Theo wasn’t evil, Mason knew that, but hearing him this pissed off was jarring.
“How many times have you done the same for me, huh?” Liam’s expression had gone sour, his mouth twisting as he glared at the chimera. “I can’t even count how many times you’ve saved my life, and you’re mad that I did it once? ”
“You could’ve died,” Theo had snapped, and Mason could tell that his anger was reaching its peak, and he did not want to be there to see it break, but he was frozen, watching the interaction with wide eyes.
Liam’s eyes flashed dangerously, and Theo, despite his fury, seemed to acknowledge it, his own eyes turning gold for a moment. “It was only three bullets, Theo, I wouldn’t have died.”
And yeah, Mason had pretty much thought the same thing earlier, but even he felt his anger burn in his chest at hearing Liam dismiss it like it was nothing , like there was no chance that he could’ve died, when Mason knew good and well that the wolfsbane had almost taken him out. But as irritated as Mason was, Theo was worse.
“You are the dumbest person I’ve ever met,” Theo had barked, his voice so strained that Mason could almost feel the pressure in his own throat. “You could’ve died, Liam, what about that isn’t getting through to you? You’re not invincible, and you sure as hell aren’t bulletproof.”
“I don’t need you to save me!” Liam finally exploded, his voice toeing the line between regular angry and IED angry. “I don’t need you, Theo. Stop acting like I do.”
And Theo’s expression had crumpled. But only for a split-second; Mason had barely caught it before it had disappeared, the chimera’s airtight mask once again painted on his face.
“Sorry for giving a shit,” Theo had muttered harshly before turning around and practically flying out of the room. Mason and Corey were dumbfounded, gaping at the place Theo had disappeared, and slowly moving their gaze to Liam, whose jaw was clenched as he stared at the door.
And everything just clicked in Mason’s head.
All the subtle touches, and the silent conversations, and the delicate glances, all of it suddenly made sense. But Theo didn’t know how to express it, and Liam didn’t know how to understand Theo’s poor expression of it without getting riled up, and Mason realized how tragic this was going to be for him. The rest of the pack didn’t know, Mason was sure of it, and he was going to be the lone soul witnessing the absolute clutterfuck that was Liam and Theo’s… well, Mason didn’t even know what to call it.
And god, Mason had never been more frustrated that he had been right.
The days following the fight hadn’t been much better, with Theo avoiding Liam like the plague. And Mason could see that his best friend was getting annoyed, because Mason had already figured out that Theo was Liam’s anchor a long time ago. And Liam was starting to blow up at every little thing, even yelling at Malia at a pack meeting when she suggested getting takeout from the pizza place downtown (Mason had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that Liam and Theo frequented there a lot, but he wasn’t about to bring that up when Liam looked like he was about to punch the living daylights out of someone). Theo, of course, had managed to avoid the meeting again, and at this point, even Scott could tell that Liam’s restlessness was a direct result of the chimera’s absence. And someone must’ve contacted Theo (Mason was almost certain that it had been Stiles, which was absurd, but Mason’s seen weirder things in the last few months, so he didn’t give it too much thought), because he actually came to the next meeting, though he didn’t acknowledge Liam at all.
The tension between them went unnoticed by the rest of the pack, who had been content with the fact that Liam wasn’t as antsy as he had been before, but Mason was practically suffocating in it. Theo was standing next to Brett, his lips quirking every once in a while as the blond werewolf drawled something sarcastic under his breath (Mason didn’t want to admit how much that friendship frightened him), his body angled in a way that made it clear he was ignoring Liam. And Liam was pissed. He tried to hide it of course, because Mason knew his anger was bordering on just being about Theo ignoring him and being about… other things, and Mason also knew that Liam had dug himself into a hole of denial.
See, Theo and Brett were friends– Mason knew that, Corey knew that, and deep down, maybe even Liam knew that. It was obvious that the tall werewolf only had eyes for a certain ex-hunter that turned traffic-light red in his presence. But Liam’s emotions controlled him when they got too intense, and that meant that what Liam knew was shoved to the back of his mind to make room for what Liam saw. And what Liam saw was Brett and Theo cracking jokes softly at the expense of the rest of the pack, their lips barely moving in a way that Mason knew even Liam with his werewolf hearing couldn’t fully hear what they were saying. Mason didn’t exactly know all the ins and outs about how anchors worked, but it was clear that Liam was clearly struggling to reign in his anger (there was another word Mason could use here, but he wasn’t going to, at least not yet) despite Theo’s presence not even ten feet away from him. Mason supposed that when your irritation and your calmness stemmed from the same person, it was bound to go wrong sometimes. But Liam managed to hold it in, at least enough that the pack didn’t notice, but this was Mason’s best friend, and he couldn’t hide anything from him even if he tried.
Scott ended the meeting, telling everyone to just stay for the night– which Mason honestly thought was a horrible idea, but it wasn’t really up to him. Theo was clearly about to leave, he practically had one foot out the door, but Brett stopped him with an arm thrown over his shoulder, dragging him to where Nolan and Alec were, and Theo begrudgingly let him. Liam’s eyes were fixed on them, and Mason wasn’t sure he was even blinking as he watched Theo slowly lose his tense posture and settle into the couch next to Brett more and more. Mason looked at Corey, who confirmed with a slight nod that Liam’s chemosignals were going wild, which Theo probably noticed, but he was sticking to his “ignore Liam” plan religiously, and he didn’t even glance at the beta once.
And it pretty much got worse from there.
Even some of the older pack was starting to catch onto the weird push and pull game Theo and Liam were playing, although it had been more of a push for the last two weeks. But Mason was the only one who realized how bad it was.
Mason knew Theo’s feelings for Liam hadn’t just disappeared, and in times when he let himself examine the chimera in pack meetings, Theo’s blasé attitude wasn’t as impenetrable as he probably hoped it was, but he hid them well. But even through it all, Theo still cared, and as much as he tried, he couldn’t turn that off.
Scott was explaining the patrol rotations, and Liam volunteered to take the first shift by himself. Mason was about to protest, when Theo did it first.
“Don’t be an idiot, you can’t go by yourself,” Theo said, rolling his eyes. Liam, of course, took immediate offense.
“Why? Just because you can’t stand the thought of doing something to protect everyone else doesn’t mean I can’t,” the beta snarled, and Mason stared at his best friend in shock. Even he could tell how much Theo had changed, how often he put everyone else’s safety in front of his own, and this was the same Liam that had told Theo a few weeks before that Theo kept risking his life to save Liam’s. But Liam was bitter, from a combination of a lot of things, and his glare was piercing as he stared at Theo.
“Oh shut up,” Brett hissed at Liam, and Mason noticed how he glanced at Theo, whose face had closed up immediately after hearing Liam’s words, out of the corner of his eye. “You know just as well as everyone else that wasn’t what he was saying.”
“Do I?” Liam snapped, and Mason could tell this wasn’t going to end well if someone didn’t cut in soon. “It could all just be an ac–”
“Liam,” Mason finally interjected, cutting his words off before he dug himself into a deeper hole, but the damage had already been done. Theo physically stepped back when he realized what Liam was saying, and his control had wavered just enough for Mason to see how affected he was.
“Text me the schedule,” Theo mumbled to Scott, barely even lifting his head towards the alpha, “Or just tell Brett. I have to go.”
Brett and Alec tried stopping him (the latter had apparently gotten quite close with the chimera; Mason didn’t even know when that happened), but Theo was persistent, and a somber silence filled the room after the door slammed shut. Brett’s eyes were narrowed at Liam, but he seemed to be waiting for something, and only after a few moments did Mason realize he was waiting to hear Theo’s truck drive off. And then Brett snapped.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Brett growled, ignoring everyone’s requests for him to calm down. “You know how much he’s been trying, and you– you accuse him of pretending? ”
Liam, to his credit, looked like he was drowning in guilt, like everything he’d been doing for the past few weeks had just hit him. And Mason could sympathize a little bit– he knew his best friend wasn’t the best at accepting help, at letting other people risk their lives for him, and Theo had done nothing but that. Mason knew that Liam appreciated it deep down, knew that he understood that saving Liam was Theo’s saving grace– that having someone to save was what helped Theo become a better person, helped him change after his brutal time in hell. But Theo played it off with sarcastic comments and his asshole act, and all of it just pissed Liam off. But on the other hand, Mason was stunned at what Liam had said, especially after he knew that Theo was his anchor and vice versa. They understood each other like no one else could (although Mason and Brett came pretty close), which is why Mason knew Liam’s words were specifically designed to hurt. Liam was mad and hurt that Theo had been avoiding him as much as possible (and Mason didn’t know how to tell him that was also kind of his fault) and wanted to hurt the chimera just as much.
“I–” Liam’s voice broke off, and Mason exchanged a look with Brett. The werewolf was furious, that was clear, but he was also fed up with whatever had been going on, and understanding passed between them. Mason grabbed Liam’s arm and dragged him outside, not waiting to see what the rest of the pack would say after that mess.
“Liam,” Mason said, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at his best friend. “What’s going on?”
“I… nothing,” Liam finally said, and Mason’s irritation flared.
“Cut the bullshit, dude. Tell me the truth.”
Liam’s jaw clenched as he looked away from Mason’s searching eyes. “I didn’t mean it. I just… I was mad.”
Mason wasn’t a therapist, but he’s been Liam’s friend for long enough to know that helping Liam think through his emotions was going to be exhausting. “Why?”
“No reason, just a bad day.”
Mason made a noise of disbelief. “So you’ve been having “bad days” for the last two weeks? Coincidentally starting right when Theo started avoiding you?”
Liam’s teeth grinded together, and he glared at Mason. “What are you trying to say?”
“That you’re in denial,” Mason sighed out, and Liam tensed. “Dude, it’s been pretty fucking obvious that there’s something going on, and maybe you hid it from everyone else, but you can’t hide it from me. Why are you still denying it?”
“There’s nothing to deny,” Liam gritted out. “Apparently, Theo isn’t as much of an anchor as I thought, because he just pisses me off.”
Mason barely held himself back from rolling his eyes. “I’m gonna give you one chance to admit what we both know, or I’m gonna say it out loud right now. You’re making this worse, not just for you, but for him too.”
Liam was silent, and Mason could tell he was thinking about whether to finally stop denying it to himself or not.
“I… I like Theo,” Liam whispered slowly, and Mason almost sighed in relief. Finally.
“Good, we got that down at least. Now,” Mason said, looking at Liam cautiously, “You want to tell me why you exploded on him at the hospital two weeks ago?”
Liam seemed to just deflate, and he dropped down on the grass, Mason copying him a few seconds later. “He just… he keeps doing that, risking his life for mine, and I hate it. It’s like he doesn’t even care if he dies, and he got mad at me for doing something he does all the time.”
Mason didn’t have the time to celebrate being right, not when these two dumbasses were still like this.
“So you’re mad that he keeps saving you, and he’s mad that you keep putting yourself in danger. Great,” Mason drawled, “The only solution here is to tie you both up and keep you both from doing anything.”
“Mason.”
Mason sighed. “Liam, did you ever consider that he keeps saving you for a reason? A reason that might not be too far off from what you just admitted?”
Liam stilled, his eyes flickering to Mason and then back down to his fingers. “No, you’re just saying that to make me feel better. Stop doing that.”
“I’m serious,” Mason said, exasperated. When did he become a couples counselor? Does it even count as being a couples counselor if they're not actually together? “You’re both fucking obvious to everyone but yourselves. Well, at least to me. I’m pretty sure the rest of the pack just thinks you’re having a regular fight.”
“I fucked up,” Liam blurted out suddenly, his eyes widening in horror. “Mason, I fucked up, Holy shit, Theo’s never gonna want to talk to me again. Mason, what am I gonna do? ”
Mason could see the panic rising, and he placed a firm hand on Liam’s shoulder. “Yes you did, but you can still fix it. Go and talk to him, Liam. He’ll listen.”
Liam still looked like he was going to shit his pants, but apparently something Mason said got through to him, because he stood up hastily, yelling a thanks as he ran off. Mason didn’t even get a chance to respond before Liam was a block away, with no sign of slowing down.
Mason made his way back inside, closing the door gently before realizing he had everyone’s eyes on him. “What?”
Stiles cocked a brow. “You wanna tell us what just happened?”
Mason’s lips curved up as he exchanged an amused look with Brett, who was probably the only other person who knew exactly what was going on.
“Nah, I’m good.”
____________________________________
Mason was considering this his graduation.
It had been a rough journey, and there were definitely times he thought he should drop out, but he pushed through, and he was so fucking glad he did.
He didn’t know what went down between them after Liam had run off that day, but what he did know was that Liam and Theo had entered Scott’s living room together two days later.
And that wasn’t even the best part.
Scott told Theo that he was on patrol with Brett, and Theo acknowledged it with a salute, pushing off the wall from next to Liam and started making his way to the front door. But before he could even take a step, Liam grabbed his hand and pulled, Theo yelping as the two crashed into each other, but Liam didn't’ give him a chance to catch his breath, instead pressing his lips firmly to Theo’s.
Holy shit.
There were various noises of disgust and surprise and indignation around the room, but Mason just grinned as Liam pulled back, leaving Theo with a sort of dazed look in his eye that he blinked away a few moments later.
“What was that for?”
Liam smirked. “No reason. Just remember that when you’re alone with Brett in an empty car.”
Theo snorted, pushing Liam away with a push on his forehead. “You’re a dumbass.”
But Liam’s smile didn’t waver, and as much as Theo was trying to hide it, his didn’t either.
And Mason?
He was just happy that they had finally pulled their heads out of their asses.