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Theo shivered again for what felt like the hundredth time tonight. It was a cold night in Beacon Hills. There was a steady rain dripping against the window of the room he was in. Despite the coziness and warmth of the bedroom that he was in at the Geyer-Dunbar residence, he couldn’t help but feel the chill creeping in around the edges.
Now, being a supernatural creature-experimentally created or not- Theo was known to run warmer than most average humans. That being said, he was still cold as hell.
He rolled to his back to stare at the ceiling, pulling the blankets up around his neck. He laid there debating silently with himself for a few moments before throwing the blankets off in a huff. Across the hall, Liam slept soundly, sprawled out on his back, blankets askew. Theo watched him for a second, making sure that he hadn’t woken up when his bedroom door was slowly pushed open.
Sliding the door shut behind himself, he walked until he was next to the other boy’s bed. He gently lifted the covers and slid into the bed, sighing immediately at the warmth. Freaking werewolves and their stupid body heat.
“Theo?” Liam grumbled, voice deep from sleep.
Theo shivered for a different reason and glanced to his side to look at Liam. Blue eyes, hooded from sleep stared back, questioning.
“Cold,” Theo said, leaving it at that. He pulled the blanket up over his shoulder, unintentionally sliding closer to Liam.
Liam seemed to accept that as an answer. He smacked his lips, and then shuffled so he was pressed against Theo, his side warm where it rested against him.
And as awkward Theo expected it to be in the morning, it wasn’t. In fact, Liam didn’t seem to care at all, just rising from bed and going to get ready for school in silence.
Theo laid in his bed a little longer, trying to decide if he should go or continue to lay there a little longer. The bed was still warm, especially the side that Liam had vacated. He let himself sink into the comfort for a moment more before he too got up. Back across the hall in his own room, he let himself slide back into his own bed, not ready to start his day just yet. But it wasn’t the same. His sheets were cold, and the bed felt different than it usually did.
Eventually, he heard Liam leave for school, stumbling down the stairs and out the front door, yelling up the stairs as he went. Theo grinned silently to himself at the werewolf.
It would have been fine that first night, but it kept happening. Every night Theo would crawl out the coldness of his own bed, go walk across the hall to Liam’s and steal the werewolf's body heat.
At some point, they didn’t even bother pretending that Theo was going to sleep in his own bed. Liam would gently guide him from the bathroom where they brushed their teeth side-by-side and into his bedroom, pushing him to the bed while he turned off the light.
It became a routine.
Neither one of them mentioned it. But he could tell the pack was starting to notice. They smelt so much like each other, more so than two people who were just roommates should.
The first person to actually mention it was Scott. And somehow it was even more awkward than Theo expected it to be.
At the next pack meeting, Theo and Liam arrived early to help set up. Liam went in to help Lydia and Stiles while Theo helped bring in groceries from Scott’s car. Arms heavy with food, Scott gently grabbed Theo’s arm before he could walk away.
“Hey. Can we talk for a second?”
Theo shrugged, ignoring the way that the bags were beginning to cut into his arms and hands.
Scott nodded, glancing back at the house over his shoulder. “I know I don’t need to tell you how important Liam is to me- to the pack,” he said. He paused and then continued.
“So if you hurt him, just know I will kick your ass,” He finished with a smile.
Theo stared confused as Scott turned and walked inside. Had he just gotten the Alpha’s version of a shovel talk? More than that, Scott hadn’t even given him the chance to correct him.
Doing his best to brush it off, he followed the other man in the house and tried to act normal, ignoring the side glance that Liam sent him.
That night as they crawled into bed, Theo snuggled down under the covers while Liam turned off the light. Liam shuffled under the blanket, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling. Theo waited. He knew that the beta had something to say, could see it in his eyes.
“What...What did Scott say to you outside earlier?”
Theo sighed. “You couldn’t hear?”
“I didn’t want to intrude. But you looked so...upset when you came in,” Liam said, still not looking away from the ceiling.
Theo debated for a second whether or not he should tell Liam the truth. Keeping careful control of his heart and scent, he settled on a half-truth.
“He just wanted to ask me about you.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” Theo rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling too.
At some point, he must have let the sound of Liam’s breathing lure him to sleep because when he woke up next, the blue-eyed beta was gone.
The next person to mention it was Malia. Theo was helping her with something in the preserve when the wind seemed to shift. Theo looked up from what he was doing, to see Malia holding her hand over her nose.
“Is everything okay?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow and glancing around.
Malia’s muffled voice answered. “You smell like Liam.”
Theo squinted. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No. I just don’t want to think about what you guys get up to for you to smell that much like Liam. “
Theo’s gritted his teeth and subtly leaned down to smell himself. Jesus, he did smell like Liam. Like he’d just straight up rolled in the other boy’s scent.
“Sorry? But it’s really not what you think,” he tried to explain quickly.
Malia shook her head, and held out her other hand, stepping around Theo so that the wind was going the opposite direction. “I really don’t want to know.”
“But-”
“Nope!” Malia said, marching off.
Theo shook his head. Note to self. Shower before meeting Pack.
“Mason wants you to come to the movie night tomorrow,” Liam said, stirring the food on the stove.
Theo, confused, watched him. “I thought that it was just gonna be you guys? I don’t want to be a third wheel.”
Liam’s shoulders hunched around his head, clearing guarding his next statement.
“You wouldn’t be. Mason invited Corey too. You’d be saving me from being the third wheel actually. Also...I want you to come…”
“Oh. Well, okay then. What time?”
“Six.”
Theo nodded and went back to what he was doing before the conversation, Liam beginning to hum. Theo did his best to ignore the happy scent that he was slowly releasing, trying not to read too much into the other boy’s actions.
~*~
At six the next night, Theo and Liam pulled up to Mason’s house, getting out of Theo’s truck and walking to the front door.
Liam reached out to knock when the door swung open on its own, Mason on the other side, slightly out of breath and disheveled looking.
“Hey, guys!” He said, waving with one hand. His clothing was wrinkled, and his cheeks flushed.
The smell reached both of them at the same time and they wrinkled their noses up. “Dude really?” Liam asked, glancing around Mason to find Corey standing behind him, trying to appear put together.
“Sorry,” he said, sheepish. “I told him you guys would know but he said he didn’t care.”
Liam turned his annoyed eyes on Mason, rolling his eyes. “Theo and I are gonna go pick up the pizza then, and let all that,” he gestured behind Mason, “air out a bit.”
Theo was already halfway back to his truck, Liam following slower behind him when he heard Mason shout back. “That’s convenient!”
The werewolf flipped him off and crawled into the passenger seat, sharing a glance with Theo. They both began laughing, shaking their heads at the couple’s antics.
~*~
Liam had leaned over, laying on his shoulder, almost across Theo at his point. He was letting out light snores, something he only tended to do when he was especially tired.
The movie played on in the background and Theo could see that on the other sofa Mason was slumped across Corey, asleep as well. He was pretty sure Corey was awake, able to hear his soft, calm heartbeat from across the room. His eyes were closed, and he looked completely relaxed.
Thankful for the calm atmosphere of the house, Theo wrapped his arm around Liam, letting the wolf’s soft breathing lure him into a state of ease. His eyes gently slid shut as he rubbed up and down the other boy’s arm.
“He seems happy lately.”
Theo’s eyes slowly opened, staring in confusion at Corey.
“I guess I know why now.”
Theo’s confusion didn’t lessen. “What are you talking about?”
“Liam. The last couple weeks he just...he seems so happy.”
Theo raised an eyebrow at the other chimera, briefly gripping Liam a little closer.
“What do you mean?” Theo asked, speaking softly as to not disturb the beta resting on him.
“You idiot. You make him happy. He just seems more...like himself when you’re there,” Corey said with an eye-roll. “You both do actually. I’m glad you have each other.”
Theo really didn’t have a reply to that. Corey seemed to know too much.
Awkwardly enough, the next person that mentioned the time that Liam and Theo spent together was Stiles.
He was trying to help Liam with some anatomy homework because honestly, he sucked at it. Theo had a pretty good grasp on it considering his time spent being an experiment. They were bent over the textbook on their bed, Liam taking notes while Theo explained the concepts to him.
Theo gestured to the book, pointing as he spoke. “Okay so, you have the simple squamous cells, the stratified squamous, the cuboidal, and then-”
Liam’s phone gave a buzz off to the side, both boys ignoring it. Until it buzzed again with another text. And then it buzzed again, this time signaling a call coming in. Liam sighed, and rolled back to grab it, bringing it to his ear while he stayed in the reclined position.
“What do you want, Stiles? I’m kind of busy,” He said, tone even.
“Too busy to talk to your favorite human pack member?”
“Mason’s my favorite human pack member.”
“Ouch. No, but really, are you busy?” Stiles asked.
“Theo is showing me some anatomy stuff so-”
“Homework stuff or sexy stuff?” Stiles asked, voice edging disgust.
“What? No, Stiles, he is helping me with anatomy homework,” Liam said, side glance cast to Theo who was watching him. They both knew that Theo could hear the other end of the conversation as well.
“Oh. Well, I guess that’s fair. You guys can’t always be going at it like bunnies.”
Liam choked on his spit. “Stiles! What on earth are you talking about?”
“You don’t have to hide it from me buddy,” Stiles said, amusement in his tone,” I’ve already talked to Malia and Scott who can confirm that you two reek of each other.”
Liam wasn’t proud of the way he hung up on Stiles, face burning and heart pounding in his chest. A glance at Theo proved that he wasn’t unaffected, face tinged pink as well.
Liam awkwardly threw his arm across his face, trying to control the blush. “Can we just pretend like I never picked up the phone, please?”
“Absolutely,” Theo said, shuffling himself and then launching right back into his explanation regarding the various types of cells.
Theo really should have expected this. With all the other members of the pack thinking they know something they obviously don’t, it was only a matter of time before Liam’s best friend cornered him. Especially after the whole Corey thing during movie night.
“So, a little bird told me that you and Liam smell a lot like each other. Like all the time…,” Mason said, standing in front of Theo one afternoon while they were both helping out Deaton at the clinic.
“Is ‘little bird’ your nickname for Corey?” Theo said, eyebrows raised.
“Figure of speech. Anyway, let me just inform you in case you didn’t already know, but I figure you know that Liam is as dense as a bag of rocks sometimes, but in case you missed it, if you’re interested in him, you’re going to have to actually spell it out for him. I’m not as hopeful as some of the others that you two already have your shit figured out, so I know the feelings discussion hasn’t happened yet. But when it does, and I mean this with the utmost feeling, if you hurt him, they will not find your body,” Mason said, sweet smile like he hadn’t just casually threatened actual murder. And despite the fact that Theo had already received a shovel talk from Scott, he actually believed Mason. The human could be quite scary when he wanted to be.
“Uh...Okay? If that happens, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
“When it happens,” Mason said ominously.
Theo wasn’t expecting the next time his weird relationship with Liam was mentioned. He was puttering around the Geyer-Dunbar kitchen, Liam at lacrosse practice, and the other member of the family home being his mother.
Jenna loved Theo. It was a little strange, considering that while she was aware of the supernatural, she had no idea of the whole Theo previously being evil part. Theo would like to keep it that way, terrified of what she’d do if she found out that at one point Liam had been but a pawn in his plan to become an Alpha.
He was busy cleaning the dishes from the morning, having just got off work not that long before. Jenna came in, getting juice out of the fridge and grabbing a snack.
“You didn’t have to do that, Theo. It was Liam’s turn to do those,” She sighed, shaking her head.
“It’s fine. He’s gonna be tired when he gets home and he had a big anatomy test today so…,” Theo trailed off, scrubbing a stubborn spot on a plate.
Jenna nodded her head somewhere behind him. He heard her heart rate pick up slightly, and then settle.
“Hey, Theo...I don’t know much about the whole supernatural-werewolf-chimera healing thing, but I just wanna ask you a question, as a concerned mother,” Jenna said.
Theo nodded,” Go ahead. I’ll probably be able to answer you more than Liam.”
Jenna gave a tight smile, tilting her head. “Actually it is regarding Liam. Well, and you,” She said, stepping around the kitchen island until she was standing behind him slightly. “You guys are using protection right? I don’t know if werewolves can still get STI’s and I know obviously, that pregnancy isn’t a worry but still. Not that I think I have to worry about that really with you two but.”
Theo owed her a new plate, spinning to look at her with wide eyes, half a plate cracked in his hand and blood dripping down his arm.
“Uhhh…,” He replied dumbly, trying to mentally calculate how they got to that question.
Jenna gasped, reaching for a dish towel and taking the broken piece from him. She wrapped the towel around his arm and clicked her tongue.
“Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to ambush you quite like that. I’m just worried...Liam doesn’t talk to us anymore about stuff. I just...I wanna make sure he’s making good choices…,” She said.
Theo swallowed, throat dry.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s just uh...Liam and I aren’t you know...sleeping together?” He said, confused.
Jenna didn’t look like she believed him.
“I mean, yes we’ve been sleeping together in like, the completely innocent sense, but not like, sleeping together!” Theo yelped.
Jenna patted his arm, glancing down where the blood had stopped wetting the towel.
“I...I have bad nightmares sometimes, and Liam helps sometimes…,” Theo said, staring down as she wiped his arm down, the cut completely healed. He felt that by admitting it to her, he was also admitting it to himself. This stopped being whatever it was at the beginning a long time ago.
Jenna gave him a soft look, patting his cheek in a motherly fashion. “Okay then. I believe you. But if something changes, you’ll let me know, right?”
Theo watched her take her juice and her snack and leave the room, heart beating rapidly in his chest. He didn’t answer her, just watched her accept his silence and leave. She really had no filter, did she? At least he knew where Liam got it from.
His run-in regarding Liam with Dr. Geyer was just as awkward as his run-in with Jenna. It also involved Theo bleeding a lot more. Which wasn’t his fault thank you very much.
It was getting warmer outside, the weather changing from the cold fogginess that Beacon Hills usually was to a slightly warmer springtime air. The sun had set for the day, but the heat lingered.
“Dad! Dad!” Liam yelled, dragging a half-conscious Theo in behind him.
Dr. Geyer ran down the stairs, gasping when he saw the two boys, Theo’s eyes blinking rapidly as he tried to stay conscious.
“What are you doing!? Why didn’t you take him to the hospital!” The doctor yelled, already running for his first aid kit.
“It’s wolfsbane bullets! I would have taken him to Deaton but he’s out of town! I called Scott and he is bringing some wolfsbane so that we can burn it out of the wounds, but we need to get the bullets out!” Liam said. He laid Theo down on the couch, gripping his hand tight while his dad got to work on pulling the bullets from Theo’s thigh and shoulder.
“When will his healing kick in?”
“It might take a while. Theo heals a little slower than normal werewolves.”
David nodded, pulling a bullet out of Theo’s thigh. The teen writhed in pain, and Liam squeezed his hand tight.
“Theo?” Liam asked, bending down over the chimera, “Just one more bullet okay? Hold on,”
“Hurts…,” Theo mumbled, panting.
“I know, I know…,” Liam chewed his lip, seeming to debate with himself for a moment before he leaned down, trying to get Theo to meet his eyes, “Theo? Theo, I'm going to take your pain, alright? Please don’t hit me.”
And then Liam was pressing his lips to the injured boy. There were black veins running up his neck causing the blonde-haired boy to squint. David took the opportunity to pry the final bullet from Theo’s skin.
Scott skidded to halt behind the sofa, and they both watched as Theo slowly stopped moving in pain, pressing more into Liam’s kiss.
David cleared his throat. Liam fell back, gasping and looking between the other two people in the room, his face red.
"This doesn't seem like the time for that guys," Scott said, amused.
Theo cleared his throat. “Scott can help me burn out the wolfsbane if you guys wanna go get cleaned up,” he said, sitting up slightly. David pushed him back down, shaking his head.
“I’ll help but why don’t we give Liam a second to get himself together,” he said, shooting his stepson a glance. Liam nodded and stood, staring down at the blood on his hands. He went up to the bathroom, and they heard the faucet turn on.
“Okay Theo,” Scott said, seemingly back to business, “ This is gonna hurt a little. I’m uh..not gonna take pain the way Liam did. He really needs to learn how to do this right eventually.”
Theo gave a soft laugh and nodded, bracing himself as they burned the wolfsbane out of the hole in his thigh. He saw dark veins run up Scott’s arm. The fact that Scott was willing to help at all was something that Theo would have to examine later.
The Doctor set him up to get to the other wound. He clenched his teeth and held on tight to Scott’s arms, breathing a sigh of relief when they were done and his healing kicked in.
“Okay. You should be good now,” Scott said, patting his leg. He helped Dr. Geyer clean up the mess, both of them leaving the room just as Liam came down the stairs.
The beta threw himself on the floor in front of the sofa, leaning his head back. He reached a hand up and back so that he was holding onto the other boy’s arm.
“So…,” Theo said.
“So…?” Liam replied.
“You really need to learn how to take pain the proper way. Can’t have you going around kissing everyone, now can we?”
Liam snorted, replying before he could consider his words carefully. “I didn’t hear you complaining.”
Theo laughed, wincing. “Ouch. Don’t make me laugh yet.”
“Sorry.”
Scott came back in, significantly cleaner than before. “Alright. If he’s okay I think I'll head out. Call me if you need anything alright?”
Theo and Liam nodded.
The front door shut behind him and Liam’s dad came back into the room.
“So…,” He said, mimicking the conversation the two boys had earlier. “Liam really needs to learn how to take pain without kissing people apparently.”
Liam threw his hands up in the air. “I get it! But I was kinda panicking and just did what I knew!”
David laughed. “Alright, alright. I’m just saying, for the sake of your boyfriend, learn.”
“Boyfriend?” Liam squeaked.
“Hey, hey. You don’t have to be shy about it now. I saw the way you two kissed. Not to mention the fact that you’ve been sharing a bed for the better part of six months. And you’re welcome by the way because your mom was not ecstatic about that until more recently.”
Theo thunked his head back on the armrest of the sofa. “Actually Dr. Geyer, Liam, and I aren’t...well dating. As I explained to Jenna, it’s more of a comfort thing than anything,” He said, squeezing his eyes closed, embarrassed.
“You talked to my mom about us?” Liam asked, spinning around to study the chimera.
“She cornered me.”
“Well...I have the feeling you guys have something to talk about so I’ll just go...anywhere else but here…,” David said, backing up the stairs.
Liam waited until he heard the shut of the bedroom door upstairs before he got to his feet.
“What on earth did she want?” Liam asked, nervous. Theo could hear it in his heartbeat, not that he needed to listen. It was written across the other boy’s face and Theo had become adept at reading Liam.
Theo tested his injuries, finding that they were already mostly healed. He sat up with a deep breath. “Nothing.”
He must have lost his edge, because Liam scoffed and folded his arms, clearly not believing him.
“Really it was nothing. It doesn’t even matter.”
Liam raised an eyebrow. “I’m not gonna give it up until you actually tell me what she wanted.”
Theo stared at the ceiling, avoiding the werewolf’s gaze. “She just had some questions about our sleeping arrangements, as your dad said.”
His heart didn’t skip a beat this time, and Liam seemed to accept it as mostly the truth because he nodded his head. He offered his hand to Theo, pulling him up off the sofa and gently running his hands over the places where his wounds were previously.
“Come on. I’ll let you shower first,” Liam said.
Theo laughed. “Well, thanks. And all it took was me getting shot. Maybe I should put myself in danger more often,” He said, following Liam up the stairs.
The werewolf paused midway, turning to look at him. “Not funny, Theo. I was worried about you.”
And you can’t blame the chimera for melting at that.
“I know. I’m sorry I scared you,” He said, staring up at Liam on the next step up. They held eye contact for a moment, but Liam was the one to break it first. He turned around and started back up the stairs.
Liam let Theo shower first, standing at the sink while he brushed his teeth. If they had any boundaries left Theo might be bothered by the domesticity of it all, but as it was, he didn't want Liam too far from him.
He dried himself off in the shower, wrapped the towel around himself, and slid the curtain open. Liam sat on the counter swinging his legs and smiled when he saw the chimera. "I left you some clothes on the bed," he said, standing and yanking off his bloody t-shirt and turning the shower back on.
Theo nodded and went into the bedroom, grabbing the sweats off the bed, but leaving the shirt. It was starting to get hot and even if Theo himself didn’t get as warm as a regular werewolf, Liam ran too hot to sleep comfortably with a shirt now.
Theo threw his towel in the dirty clothes basket and walked back to the bathroom where he could hear the beta softly humming in the shower. He grabbed his toothbrush, smiling softly at the song Liam was humming.
“Dude, isn’t that song from like 2010?” Theo asked, putting his toothpaste on the brush.
Liam pulled the curtain, glaring at Theo. His hair was lathered with shampoo, sticking up straight in places. “And your point is? I happen to like it. Formative years and all that,” Liam sniffed, sliding the curtain shut again.
Theo laughed around his toothbrush. “Sure. I’ll give you a free pass on that I guess. Isn’t it just kind of cheesy? I mean, I think most people can tell the difference between an airplane and a shooting star?”
Liam flipped off him from around the curtain, and Theo smiled as he spit. When he was done and had wiped his mouth, he paused. Glancing at the shower, Liam was already back to his humming. Theo thought about earlier. Specifically, when Liam had taken his pain by kissing him. He brushed his fingers along his lips, softly remembering the press of the other boys against them.
Maybe he wouldn't mind if it happened again. You know, for a reason other than Liam not being able to take pain properly.
Liam’s hand slapping around the wall brought Theo out of reverie. “Yes?” He asked, leaning against the counter, amused.
“Can you get me a towel?”
“Can’t you just shake off like a dog?”
Liam slid the curtain open to glare. “Theo I swear to god, if you don’t get me a towel, I’ll shake off all over you.”
And no, Theo did not need to think about a very wet Liam, over him. He did anyway. Liam coughed. “Can you please get me a towel? It’s cold.”
Theo blinked and nodded. “Fine, hold on.”
He tossed a clean towel at the werewolf and left the bathroom. When he crawled into the bed, he grabbed his phone charger from the side table and plugged it in. Liam had carelessly thrown his on the bed when they came up the stairs, and Theo knew that if he didn’t plug it in also it wouldn’t get charged. He leaned onto the other boy’s side and plugged it, hearing it chime as it began its charge.
Liam came out of the connected bathroom a moment later, still rubbing the towel over his wet hair as he went to switch off the light. He tossed the towel, toward the hamper. Theo heard it miss and make a wet ‘plop’ as it hit the wall and slid down to the ground.
Liam stopped where he stood next to Theo’s side of the bed, an evil smirk spreading across his face. Theo would find it terribly attractive if he didn’t know it was a sign the boy was about to do something that would annoy Theo.
“Hey,” Liam said, staring down at him.
“Yeah?” Theo asked, trying to keep his bored tone.
“Payback,” Liam said, leaning over Theo and ruffling his hands through his hair, dripping the remaining water over Theo’s shirtless chest.
“Oh come on!” Theo said, rubbing it away with his hands and pushing at Liam’s thigh with his foot, “You’re such an ass.”
Liam shrugged. “Don’t compare me to a dog.”
“Don’t act like a big puppy.”
Liam pouted. “I am not a puppy. I’m nearly an adult,” he said, crawling over Theo’s lap to reach his side of the bed.
Theo couldn’t breathe for a second, holding himself still as a statue so they didn’t accidentally touch. Or so he didn’t accidentally pull Liam down onto him.
Only when Liam settled at his side, staring did he speak.
“Still pretty small for an adult,” Theo said.
“Fuck off. We’re like the same height!”
“If you were a dog you’d be a chihuahua.”
“Why?” Liam whined, pouting again.
“Small. Angry. Ready to rip someone’s arm off at a moment’s notice.”
“You’ve put a lot of thought into what type of dog I'd be,” Liam replied.
Theo shrugged his shoulders, rolling to face Liam. “Not really, the thought just kind of popped into my head.”
The werewolf smiled and rolled his eyes. When they made eye contact again, Liam suddenly looked nervous.
“Hey...I just wanted to say thank you. For like..saving me again tonight,” He said, reaching out a hesitant hand to run across where Theo had been shot earlier in the evening.
The wounds had finally knitted closed, but the skin felt tender still, Liam’s brush of a hand across sending a shiver up his spine. And maybe his brain was still a little out of it, at least that’s what he would blame it on because the next words out of his mouth were far too honest.
“I couldn’t let them hurt you,” He whispered.
Liam’s eyes followed his own. “I thought you said you wouldn’t die for me.”
“I didn’t. I won’t. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe though.”
Liam’s eyes were studying him far too closely for Theo’s liking. Those baby blues staring straight into his soul.
“Oh,” He finally said. Not the ‘oh’ of someone accepting a simple reply, but the ‘oh’ of someone who had just had several very large realizations at once and wasn’t quite processing what it meant.
“Oh?” Theo said, already knowing he was pushing his luck when he should be down the stairs by now, running away, far away from Beacon Hills, and the beta who knew now Theo’s true feelings.
“You… Do you love me?” Liam asked.
And damn Mason for being right about having to spell it out for Liam. And damn Theo for not being able to shut his stupid mouth when it mattered.
“Yes.”
But mostly, damn Theo for not telling him sooner. Because the way Liam hesitantly slid his hand up from where it had been resting over his heart without either of them realizing it, up to his jaw, cupping it gently before he slowly brought their faces closer together, pressing their lips together for the second time that night, it made Theo go absolutely blank. His brain stopped processing, and maybe his heart stopped beating for a second too before he was returning the action.
Theo sighed when they parted, holding on to Liam so he didn’t completely move back to his edge of the mattress.
“I love you too. I don’t know when, but I know I do,” Liam said.
“Okay,” Theo said, connecting their lips again.
And when they ended up wrapped around each other that night, warm bodies pressed together from head to toe, Theo wasn’t cold. Not even a little.
At the next pack meeting, no one even mentioned the way Theo and Liam held hands, their heads tilted together, talking amongst themselves. Except for Lydia, who sat on the arm of the sofa they were on.
“Took you guys long enough,” She said with a sweet smile.
“You didn’t already think we were dating?” Theo asked, eyebrows raised. Liam looked at him confused.
“What do you mean?” The beta asked.
“Literally everyone thought we were already dating,” Theo replied, exasperated.
“Yeah. They did. Because werewolves go by their nose, instead of their eyes,” Lydia informed him with an eye roll.
Liam blushed. “I didn’t think we smelt like each other that much,” He mumbled.
“Oh, we did. And trust me, I've got at least three shovel talks now.
“I knew Stiles thought so, but like..everyone else too?”
“Yeah well, Stiles told everyone once Scott and Malia said something. If it wasn’t already obvious that you two liked each other I wouldn’t believe any of it had any merit,” Lydia said. She reached out and patted them both on the heads. “Glad you two are happy.”
And then she swung her hair over her shoulder and went to go talk to Malia.
Theo ducked his head into Liam’s shoulder, hiding his embarrassment.
“Are you cold?” Liam asked, wrapping his arm around Theo’s shoulder and pulling him into his side.
“Not anymore,” The chimera replied, squishing himself closer. Freaking werewolves and their stupid body heat.