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1.
"Marry me."
Liam could hear the tick of Theo's heart and how it started speeding up, though he couldn't say for sure if it was due to his sudden proposal or the giant monster of the week chasing them.
The chimera spluttered, staring incredulously at the werewolf's god-awful timing just as he dodged a particularly nasty swipe. "What?"
"I asked you to marry me!"
Theo was pretty sure his heart had stopped beating at one point in time. "Oh, for fuck's sake, Liam!" He cussed, practically leaping at the beta to push him out of the monster's way. The pair rolled around in the dirt, sending specks of soil flying everywhere as they grappled, trying to maintain a tight grip on each other. When they'd finally stopped moving, chests firmly pressed against each other, he snarked, "You couldn't have picked a better timing, could you?", though there wasn't any malicious intent behind his words; just well concealed amusement.
Liam easily saw through the chimera's act - another skill he'd picked up from spending three (or more - honestly, who was counting?) years with Theo, seven months of which he had spent dating him. "So, is that a yes?"
The monster bellowed yet again, effectively breaking the could've-been tender moment between the two supernatural beings. "Liam? Theo? You two better not be dead! Or worse, making out in the preserve!" Stiles' voice rang out, surprisingly strong and steady despite the amount of running the human had to suffer through.
An unhappy growl was pulled out of Liam as the werewolf wiggled out of Theo's firm grip. "He needs to sort out his priorities," he grumbled, watching through narrowed eyes as his could-be - well, would-be - fiancé stood up and dusted himself off, easily catching Liam's reference.
He extended a hand to the beta and laughed. "Come on, Ron. Hermione requires our assistance."
2.
Liam had this amazing idea - stuff the ring in the cake and watch Theo's surprised face as he found it. Granted, it wasn't the most original idea, but heck it - he was desperate; he loved Theo and just wanted him to be his husband already, damnit!
And in true fashion, of course nothing turned out the way he had planned.
For starters, the cake he'd intended to bake - by himself, mind you - turned out so burnt and inedible that the werewolf was left with no choice but to either ask Derek, their - surprise, surprise! - resident baker, for help or purchase a cake from their local bakery. Since Derek and Theo have gotten close to the point where they could be considered best friends, Liam wasn't all too keen on the idea of approaching the ex-alpha on this matter. Yet, he couldn't exactly go to the bakery either - the humble corner store had been smack in the middle of Theo's workplace and seemingly every pack member's apartment, and the chance he'd get spotted handing the ring to the cashier was way too high; but then again, he couldn't exactly buy a premade cake and dig through it to stuff the ring in himself.
(He ended up buying the premade cake and digging through it to stuff the ring in himself. The chocolate cake now had a huge chunk of whipped cream mixed with brown dye - in the wrong shade of brown, by the way - splatted messily on one side.)
Theo, bless the chimera, hadn't questioned the suspiciously missing chunk when he'd returned to the McCall house - his newfound place of residence. Instead, he'd merely kissed Liam briefly and took out their utensils, raising an eyebrow at how off-kilter the werewolf had behaved. Liam very visibly relaxed when the chimera cut out the slice with the ring in it for himself, slumping with relief in his chair as he practically stared his boyfriend down with wide, apprehensive eyes. The werewolf sagged further in his seat with every delicate bite Theo took, getting nearer and nearer the hidden treasure, until-
"THEO!"
Liam was up in an instant, hand flying around frantically as he racked his brains for ways to just fix this. "Oh my god, this wasn't supposed to happen!" The werewolf cried out, fists uselessly thumping at the chimera's back to dislodge the ring.
Of-fucking-course this would happen. Of course Theo would swallow the damn ring. Stupid, Liam, stupid.
Another few moments later, Melissa walked through the front door of the McCall house to find an extremely panic-stricken Liam attempting - keyword: attempting - to perform the Heimlich maneuver on an extremely red-faced Theo. The werewolf began calling to her for help, sobbing on about something regarding a failed proposal and burnt cake and being an absolute failure - Theo frowned deeper at that - and the nurse had dropped all her groceries, unceremoniously nudging the beta aside so she could help her (basically) adopted son.
And another few hours later, every pack member had been called to the house, whereby Melissa gave them a very strict lesson on the Heimlich maneuver after realising how crap the pack's first-aid skills were. Everyone tried to ignore how Liam had tears in his eyes and how the chimera who had been latched onto him seemed just a tiny bit breathless.
No one mentioned the overly generous portion of whipped cream on one side of their celebratory chocolate cake for passing Melissa's "Heimlich test" and the glint of silver that peeked out from behind the dish drying rack either.
3.
It was like the war all over again. Gunshots, grenades, flashes, claws, roars, yells and the sharp, pungent stench of fear lingering in the air.
Fear from the hunters, who didn't know better and were doing what Monroe had told them to do.
Fear from Scott, who didn't want to hurt anybody but had an obligation to protect Beacon Hills, to protect his pack.
Fear from the pack, who weren't sure if all of them would be able to make it out of this alive again.
Fear from Liam, who just about had enough of a certain blue-gray-eyed chimera jumping in front of everyone - sacrificing himself - to protect others.
"Don't do anything stupid." The beta had cautioned, his voice wavering at the mere prospect of going home that day without the chimera walking just fine beside him.
He hadn't explicitly said what "stupid" implied, but the message was clear as day, and Theo stiffened beside him. Liam continued, keeping his eyes trained on his partner, his ears monitoring the other creature's slightly erratic heartbeat. "You deserve to be in this pack, T - you don't have to prove anything to anyone. You doing all... this, this putting yourself in front of others, it's scaring me and not just me, okay? The rest feel it too. Theo, you don't have to do things like this to show you care.
"We already know you care. We care too, okay?"
Theo slowly exhaled, turning to look back at Liam. "Okay."
"Okay."
Turned out, that still wasn't enough to get Theo to stop becoming a literal chimera shield. His protectee this time - none other than Liam Dunbar.
"You fucking asshole," the werewolf growled out, eyes flashing dangerously as he stomped - much like a child would when throwing a tantrum - into the chimera's room, the scent of fire and wolfsbane still lingering in the air. Scott threw the window open, giving his adopted brother (not officially but technically Theo had been adopted by Melissa) a sad look before letting himself out, allowing the couple some semblance of privacy.
Theo forced out a wry grin. "Hello to you too, Li."
"You could've died!"
"And if I didn't do what I did then you'd be here, not me." The chimera snapped. "It wouldn't have been any better."
A tense minute ticked by, both parties glowering at one another until Liam let out a heavy sigh, dragging his tired body onto the bed and relishing in the way the chimera instinctively pressed closer to him. "I know," the werewolf whispered, tucking his head into the crook of Theo's neck. "I hate it when this shit happens, like it's either a 'you save me' or 'I get injured' situation. Like, a lose-lose situation. I still hate that you keep doing this to yourself, though. How many more bullets can you withstand, how much wolfsbane can your body endure until you-"
He cut himself off with a pathetic whimper, practically smushing his entire face into the chimera's skin, breathing him in. "I won't, Liam." Theo snorted, "Cheap knock-off, remember? I can manipulate mountain ash and have a higher tolerance to wolfsbane. It won't kill me; I'm practically untouchable."
"S'not funny," Liam huffed. "You can't die."
"Being a cheap knock-off does have its benefits, sprout, but in case you forgot, it doesn't make me immortal."
The werewolf mock growled, opening his mouth and nipping at Theo's neck, leaving faint teeth marks that seemed to disappear instantly in a barely-there ripple of skin. "You can't die before we get married and grow old together," he corrected himself, pulling back slightly to look better gauge Theo's reaction to the topic, though his face still hovered near the chimera's neck. "So, what d'you say to the million-dollar question?"
(The million-dollar question was very obviously - will you marry me.)
Theo let out a small sigh, shifting slightly so he could properly meet Liam's awaiting gaze, careful not to further aggravate his still-healing wounds. "Liam, I love you and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you, even though you can be a really big pain in my ass sometimes."
Liam let out a tiny whine. "It sounds like you're going to reject me."
"I'm not," the chimera reassured him, carding a hand over the werewolf's hair. "I'm just saying - I want nothing more than to be your husband and call you mine - in the most official, legal way possible - but I don't want to do it like this, yeah? When we're running around for our lives, not knowing if we'll live to see another day or die in another fight with those goddamn hunters that never seem to leave us alone. I want to marry you when we're in a good place, when we're happy and safe, and can lead peaceful lives where we won't have to constantly worry about surviving."
Were those tears in Liam's eyes?
Yeah, those were definitely tears.
"That was the best way to get rejected," the werewolf sniffled, leaning in to press a gentle kiss to Theo's lips, letting them linger before pulling back. "I love you a lot."
The chimera barked out a laugh, tightening his grip on Liam's waist. "I love you a lot, too."
4.
Liam was a lightweight.
Of course Liam was a lightweight.
And of course, he'd be an emotional, sentimental drunk.
Theo scowled, yet he still couldn't fight the fond smile - Mason called it his Liam smile - threatening to shine through as he watched the werewolf prance around the entertainment room in the McCall house, belting the lyrics to Bruno Mars' "Marry You". From beside him, Corey elbowed the other chimera suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows for the additional effect before Theo growled and shoved him off - gently, of course - settling back to grin stupidly at his boyfriend.
"Aw, Theo has his lovesick look." Stiles cooed, leaning over to make kissy faces at the chimera.
Sometimes, he really wondered why he continued to tolerate the pack.
The boy flipped the human off, ignoring the laughs that echoed around the room as he settled further back into the couch, re-focusing his gaze on Liam who had started spinning around wildly, all but shouting the lyrics out.
It's a beautiful night, we're looking for something dumb to do
Hey baby, I think I wanna' marry you
Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice?
Liam stopped abruptly, turning to look at Theo with messy hair and red cheeks.
Who cares, baby, I think I wanna' marry you
Theo thought his heart might've exploded in his chest right there and then, which was pretty funny considering it had been Tara's heart, not his. But Liam - God, Liam - looked so innocent and eager and excited and in love, that the chimera had stood up from his spot, crossing over to the spacious makeshift dance floor to envelope the werewolf in one of the tightest hugs he'd given.
He may or may not have nipped hungrily at soft lips that tasted like rum and carried the slight bitterness of wolfsbane.
"I love you so much," the chimera barely whispered the words, keeping his voice low enough so that only Liam could hear, all too aware of the multiple supernatural beings in the room who had suddenly taken an interest in the couple, especially since Theo wasn't too big on PDA and refrained from doing anything like this in public.
And of course, emotional drunk Liam would start bursting into tears at that, practically shrieking about how much Theo meant to him and yeah, that was enough partying for the beta for one night. The chimera easily scooped the werewolf, who was all too willing to comply, into his arms, turning to glare at Lydia who'd whipped out her phone some time ago. "Right, anyway, we're going back to my room now. Goodnight."
He decidedly ignored the clock on the wall, where the numbers 2:37am glared at him. As long as they hadn't slept yet, it was "goodnight".
Back in the safety and quiet of his own room - well, their room, at this point - Liam fell asleep rather quickly. Tucking him in and a soft kiss pressed to his forehead was all it took for the werewolf to shut his eyes and surrender himself to the sweet caress of rest. Theo, though, was still too jittery to fall back asleep.
Through the bright glare of his phone screen, he managed to see he numerous notifications he received from the pack group chat - starting from the video Lydia took, to Scott typing "Did my beta seriously just propose?", to Mason saying, "Did Theo just steal Liam for himself?", to Malia typing "You two better not fuck too loudly, we can hear you." and finally to Stiles chanting "SAY YES" in all caps, which the rest of the pack gladly followed.
Theo snorted, looking away from his phone to gaze at Liam's sleeping profile. (He promises this isn't as creepy as it sounds.) "Soon," the chimera promised, turning his phone off in favour of snuggling closer to the werewolf.
In his sleep, Liam let out a pleased sigh.
5.
"Welcome, class."
Theo blinked cluelessly up at the werewolf, making it a point to look around the empty kitchen, his half-eaten toast still lying on his plate. Liam waved away his unvoiced questions, pressing his presentation clicker. The title slide nearly made the chimera choke on his coffee.
"Today, we are going through Proposals 101, subtitle: Why Theo Raeken should say Yes; prepared by Liam Dunbar and fact-checked by the McCall pack."
"All of the pack?" Theo croaked out, his throat burning from when the coffee hadn't exactly travelled the correct way.
The werewolf let out a small growl, clicking the remote again. "Raise your hands when you want to ask questions - that's basic courtesy." The title slide transitioned to the next one and Theo should not be feeling this many... well, feelings just because Liam prepared a goddamn slideshow on why they should get hitched.
Liam cleared his throat and continued, "Besides the fact that both of us love each other and would definitely die for each other" - both parties snorted at that throwback - "we would make a badass couple and have a badass last name to go with it." The werewolf rested his hands against the dining table, leaning forward to peer at Theo, almost challengingly. "Do you dare tell me that Raeken-Dunbar or Dunbar-Raeken won't make a good last name?"
He shook his head.
"Good," the younger man grinned, clicking the remote yet again. "My second point - well, fourth if you count the first two I mentioned in brief detail just now - is that we have excellent chemistry. We get shit done together and we won't distract each other - unlike Derek and Stiles, I said what I said - but we still have that sexual tension, y'know? And that's just fantas-"
Theo cut Liam off with a low growl and firm, eager lips. "As much as I hate to interrupt your lecture," he whispered, harsh and nearly breathless against the werewolf's opened mouth. "I am extremely turned on by the fact that you're doing this, so can we take this to the bedroom please?"
"Yes."
Liam sounded way too eager for his PowerPoint slides to go to waste like that, especially after he made the pack read through all 105 slides, but how was he supposed to resist Theo's sultry "I'm sexy, you're sexy, let's fuck" voice? So yeah, Liam didn't mind all that much when he'd straddled Theo and allowed the chimera to whisk them back up to his bedroom, desperate lips attached to his neck and drawing needy growls from the latter.
Turned out that Liam didn't really care either when their... sounds practically became any supernatural being's alarm clock for that morning.
+1
Unsurprisingly, it happened a mere few days after Liam's series of proposal attempts.
The pair had been all cuddled up in bed, drifting in between sleep and consciousness - well, mostly Liam - as they tried to ready themselves for the long day ahead, including one pack meeting with way too many nosy packmates that were wholly invested in their relationship status. Theo had been up longer than the werewolf, as per usual, staring contemplatively at Liam before finally letting out a breath and gingerly took the man's hand, slipping the ornamental jewellery onto the correct finger.
It was almost comical how quickly the werewolf had reacted, unfocused blue eyes meeting slightly amused blue-gray ones as Liam broke away from his little spoon position to turn and face the chimera. A beat passed and neither party said anything, until Liam cracked a small smile and positively beamed at Theo.
"Yeah?" The slight hesitation and uncertainty in the chimera's voice made Liam want to kiss him harder and scream "yes" over a million times.
Instead, he grinned even wider - if that was even possible - murmuring out a sleepy, "Yes, of course, Theo," before manoeuvring himself so that he was pressed tightly to his boyfriend - no, his fiancé. But, he was still Liam and being the annoying brat he knew he was, he'd teased, "What happened to waiting until we were all settled down and safe?"
Theo shrugged. "Couldn't seem to wait any more. Fuck Monroe."
"I'd rather you not."
"Me too."
The pair shared a soft smile, basking in the soft morning light streaming in through their windows. Liam was on the verge of falling back asleep again when Theo whispered, "Hey, Li?"
Liam forced an eye open, peering sleepily at the chimera.
"I've been thinking about doing this for months, actually, I just - uh - wasn't sure how to do it since nothing felt like us, y'know? And I might've wanted to just let you do your own shenanigans because you looked really adorable and I might have wanted to marry you more because of it and I couldn't wait anymore and I ran out of ideas so I just did... y'know, this."
Bless Theo and his perfect self. The werewolf smiled gently, resting his head against the chimera's bare chest and sighing happily. "Honestly, I'm just glad we're engaged now. And I liked this, it wasn't super stressful... just you and me and well, us. I like that, T." Theo grinned. Liam frowned ever so slightly. "Y'know what I dislike, though?"
Theo's scent tanked and Liam bit back a laugh.
"Lydia might actually murder you for not letting her take proposal pictures."
"Oh." The chimera visibly relaxed, curling around the werewolf more and soaking in his presence. "It's alright. What's the worst that could happen?"
~
Three hours later when the pair finally strode into the pack meeting, Lydia had caught sight of the ring on Liam's finger and screamed so loud that everyone in town might potentially never recover.
"When did that happen? Why was I not there? Theo!"
The chimera groaned, the ringing in his ears increasing tenfold as the banshee turned to him, designer clutch raised threateningly. He turned to stare incredulously at his fiancé just as the woman called dibs on wedding planning rights, causing a whole other ruckus from Stiles and Mason, which would no doubt lead to the two humans ganging up on the banshee before turning their backs on each other.
Chaotic. It was really, very, extremely chaotic.
"This," Liam hissed out, "this is the worse that could happen." He gestured to the mess that was Peter's spare apartment, with foods of different kinds flying around in a sudden food fight, with unwilling pack members being dragged as reluctant allies - Scott and Derek with Stiles, Parrish and Malia with Lydia, Corey and Alec with Mason, and the others either gaping (Nolan and the adults) or rolling their eyes (Peter, who is technically an adult but not considered an adult by the pack).
Theo couldn't help the sly smile that spread across his lips. "Can't say it wasn't worth it, though."
Liam barked out a laugh and stared down at their intertwined hands, at the glinting of the silver band on his finger. He echoed Theo's words, "Definitely worth it."