Work Text:
“Sit,” Theo orders softly.
He helps Liam over to the toilet, closing the lid before letting Liam sit. Theo forces himself to turn and face the bath when Liam lets out a groan of pain.
It’s a white stone, deep, Rosalind acrylic clawfoot tub with lion paw feet. To Lydia, it’s very designer. Theo wouldn’t know. The last time he remembers having a bath, he was seven. So to him, it’s a bath, and it’ll do the job he needs.
He leans over and turns on the faucet, letting it fill with hot water. He pours some vanilla-scented muscle-relaxant oil into the water. It foams as the bath begins to fill and smell of sweet, calming vanilla. He lets the calming smell anchor him, bringing him back to the present. When he no longer feels the overwhelming panic or simmering anger that settled in the pit of his stomach when he saw Liam collapse in the middle of the fight, he turns around.
Liam is where he left him, sitting on the toilet with his arms wrapped around himself. He watches Theo with wide and wary eyes.
“Come on,” he holds his hand out.
After a few beats, Liam rises and steps forward, taking his hand. “You—You don’t have to do this,” Liam mumbles. “I’m fi—”
“—Don’t,” Theo snaps, levelling him with a look. His tone isn’t harsh, but it’s firm. He has no interest in hearing Liam downplay his injuries or insisting that he’s fine. He’s very much not fine.
When hurt coils around Liam’s scent and the lingering scent of pain, Theo softens his tone. “You’re not fine, Little Wolf. I can smell how much pain you’re in.” He sighs and then says: “Just let me help you, please.”
He smiles a little when Liam gives him a small nod.
Letting their hands drop, he moves closer to Liam. He grasps the bottom of Liam’s shirt and settles his eyes on him. Liam gives a minute nod, a faint flush rising to his cheeks. That’s all Theo needs before he’s slowly lifting the shirt and pulling it over Liam’s head. He scrunches up the shirt and casts it on the floor.
Admiring Liam’s physique, he sinks to the floor. Liam’s breath hitches when Theo’s fingers unzip his pants and slowly pulls them down. He holds Liam’s gaze and taps his ankle. “Lift,” he orders, his voice soft.
Liam doesn’t blink as he does as he’s told, resting his hands on Theo’s shoulders and lifting his feet. Theo takes off his jeans but leaves black briefs on.
He keeps his gaze on Liam as he stands back up. Liam’s cheeks are flushed a pretty pink, and he averts his gaze to his hands.
That won’t do.
“Hey,” he summons Liam. When Liam peeks up at him, he cocks his head to one side. “You’re fine, okay. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
He takes Liam’s chin and tilts his head up to reach his eyes. He keeps his green eyes soft and warm, letting Liam see everything he’s too afraid to say. “Come on, Little Wolf,” he says, taking Liam’s hand and helping him step into the bath.
While Liam stands awkwardly in the bath, he turns off the faucet. The water temperature is perfect for helping soothe Liam’s muscles. “You can sit down now.” Liam settles into the warm water and lets out a soft groan. He lies back and closes his eyes, relaxing in the alleviating warmth.
Theo retrieves the shampoo and conditioner from the shower and grabs the washcloth sitting on the sink. When he kneels by the bath, Liam opens his eyes and gazes at him. His eyes are dark and grateful.
He ignores the rapid beat of his sister’s heart and reaches for the body wash, and squirts some onto the cloth. Once the cloth is wet and foaming, he runs it over Liam’s neck and starts gently rubbing the soap into the skin, watching as the clear water starts running red. Next, he moves down Liam’s chest, massaging gently over the bruises that haven’t healed. His eyes linger on Liam’s left side, where the rogue alpha had buried his claws into. The skin is still pink and swollen, but he can see it slowly healing itself.
Tonight was close, too close.
Rogue alphas crossing onto Hale territory isn’t anything unusual. Theo’s helped the pack fight their fair share since becoming an ally, cautiously crossing over to something more. But this alpha had been infected with a gold strain of wolfsbane that somehow gave him twice the strength of a normal alpha. They didn’t know that at the time. Otherwise, Scott would have sent teams of four instead of two to patrol sections of the preserve.
And of course, it had to be he and Liam that stumbled across the out of control alpha on super speed. They held their own fairly well after sending out a howl to the others. But Theo miscalculated and got thrown into a tree hard enough to crack four of his ribs. But that pain was nothing compared to seeing Liam lying on the ground while the alpha towered over him and dragged his claws down Liam’s side. After that, everything was a blur.
Theo killed him, and he’d do it again. Every time. He didn’t hesitate to run over and slash the alphas neck. He knows Scott will be pissed, and Stiles will probably have a crack about how he hasn’t changed and that he’s still dangerous, but he honestly doesn’t care.
He throws the washcloth into the sink. “I need you to lean back so I can wet your hair.”
His request catches Liam off guard because he looks at him and freezes. His teeth sink into his bottom lip, and Theo has to hold back a groan.
He’s doing this on purpose. He’s sure of it.
When Liam tilts his head back, Theo grabs the vintage pull-out hand shower and turns on the faucet. He combs his fingers through Liam’s hair and runs the water over his head.
Once he’s satisfied Liam’s hair is wet enough, he turns the faucet off and grabs the shampoo. “Just relax,” he tells him, squeezing some shampoo into his hand. “I’ll wash your hair for you.”
Liam’s whole body goes rigid with tension. “Relax”, he orders gently. “Let me do this. Please.”
Liam assesses him for a moment, then sighs. “Okay.”
“Good.” Gently, he starts to massage the shampoo into Liam’s scalp. From his temple, Theo works his way over Liam’s head. Liam’s eyes close, and Theo grins when he lets out small hums of pleasure.
“Head up,” he tells him. Liam lifts his head, and Theo soaps the back using his fingernails on Liam’s scalp. Liam’s eyes close back shut, and Theo spends a few more minutes massaging the shampoo into his hair before turning on the faucet and rinsing it out.
He repeats the same steps with the conditioner and watches as the exhaustion starts to hit Liam. He barely blinks his eyes open when Theo’s fingers comb through his hair while he rinses out the conditioner. After, he turns off the faucet and pulls out the plug, draining the bathtub. He rises and grabs the towel hanging on the hook.
“Alright, let's get you to bed.” Grasping Liam’s shoulders, he helps him to his feet.
Liam looks small and vulnerable as he wraps him in the softest, fluffiest towel Theo has ever touched. He doesn’t protest as Theo dries him off or when he leads him over to the bed. He grabs a pair of loose sweats and hands them to Liam before grabbing the towel and heading back to the bathroom, giving Liam some semblance of privacy.
Liam’s in the sweats and lying on top of the bed when he returns. Moving over to the bed, Theo sits on the edge of it, next to Liam and grabs his wrist. He can feel Liam’s heavy gaze on him, but he keeps his eyes firmly on his hand on Liam’s wrist.
The black veins travelling up his arm, disappearing and appearing in an almost synchronised fashion, are stark against his pale skin. Almost immediately, Liam lets out a small sigh of relief and closes his eyes.
“Thanks, Theo,” Liam mumbles and gives him a sleepy smile, nestling his head deeper into the pillow.
Theo lets a smile curl his lips, his sister’s heart softening as he takes in the relieved expression on Liam’s face. Closing his eyes, Theo takes a deep breath and focuses on absorbing the last remnants of Liam’s pain.
The pain isn’t as intense as it was on the drive over or when he had dropped to his knees and moved Liam’s head onto his thigh, draining his pain to jumpstart his healing.
Liam’s fast asleep by the time Theo’s taken the last of his pain, the steady rise and fall of his chest a soothing echo in Theo’s ears.
He hears Scott’s bike pull up into Liam’s driveway and reluctantly lets go of Liam’s wrist. Sighing, he leans over and brushes Liam’s temple with his lips; it’s the gentlest of touches and conveys every ounce of Theo’s longing for the other boy.
He doesn’t look back as he exits the bedroom, stalking down the stairs to let Scott in. Scott tries to talk to him as he leaves, but he ignores him and gets in his car.
The empty feeling in his chest gets louder the further away from Liam he gets.
**
Theo finds himself at the bridge, his bridge. His sister’s bridge. He knows he won’t be able to sleep tonight, too worried about Liam and struggling with the depth of his feelings for the young beta. The bridge seems fitting tonight, considering Theo feels like he's drowning in a deep well of conflicting and painful feelings that he doesn’t want to acknowledge and definitely doesn’t want to feel.
Letting his legs dangle off the side, he puts his arms on the beam and rests his head. He sighs. The silence of the preserve he once found comforting is now almost unbearable.
He startles when the phone vibrates against him. Grateful for the distraction of the text, he grabs the phone. The gratitude and relief die when he sees Liam's name light up the screen.
Little Wolf: You're a coward, Raeken.
He blinks. The fuck? He stares at the messages for a few moments, processing, before his fingers glide over the screen and he types out a response.
Theo: Not a coward, Dunbar. Scott took over. You were fine. There was no reason for me to stay.
It's a lie, and he knows Liam knows it too. But he's not about to admit Liam's right. That he ran away like a coward because he couldn't bear to see Liam hurt like that. He couldn't stay and risk giving in to the urges Liam invokes in him. If Scott hadn't shown up, Theo would have kissed Liam, which would have ruined everything.
Little Wolf : I call bullshit.
Theo: Call it whatever you want, Little Wolf.
Little Wolf : You're an asshole! Where are you?
Theo: Around. Here and there. Places.
Little Wolf: Have I mentioned that you're an asshole?
Theo smirks, picturing the scowl and angry pout that is no doubt on Liam's face. His fingers glide over his phone.
Theo: Once or twice. What's your point?
Little Wolf: My point, asshole, is, tell me where you're and face me like a man.
Theo: As much fun as that sounds, pass. I'm super busy—crazy busy. You know how it is, Little Wolf. No rest for the wicked.
Little Wolf: I swear to god, Theo, I WILL sniff you out.
I wouldn't be too sure about that, Little Wolf, he mutters while staring down at his phone. Yet, he can't help but relish the thought of being hunted, of Liam wanting to see him. It's that thought that makes him send the next text.
Theo: Come and get me, Little Wolf.
Liam's response makes him smile, and despite the fact he doesn't want to have the conversation Liam will no doubt force on him, he can't help the hum of excitement that forms in the pit of his stomach.
Little Wolf: 1. 2. 3. Ready or not, here I come.
The End.