Stiles takes a deep breath and presses the balls of his hands to his eyes. This is fine. Theo is fine. Everything is fine. There’s no reason for him to freak out. Absolutely none. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. He is not going to have a panic attack in front of the other chimeras. He is not going to have a panic attack because Theo’s hubris almost got him killed.
What was he thinking taking on the beast by himself? Theo can consider himself lucky Liam called Stiles to tell him what happened and where they found Mason. Otherwise, Theo might have very well bled to death in a shack in the middle of fucking nowhere.
Stiles lets out a breath. Fuck. Swallowing, he wipes his cheek. Okay. Stiles nods to himself and curls his hands around the railing, leaning forward a little. One more minute and he’s going back in the other room as if nothing happened. Because nothing did happen… other than Theo getting himself almost killed.
He feels like throwing up.
“Hey, you good?”
Stiles startles and looks up. “Yeah,” he whispers, pretty sure his voice betrays his words, “I’m good.” He just so managed to scrape by a panic attack, but Josh really does not need to know that. Nobody needs to know that he was mere seconds away from breaking down because of Theo fucking Raeken.
“No offense,” Josh says in a soft voice, “but you don’t look fine.”
Stiles chuckles. “Thanks, Josh.” Taking another steadying breath, Stiles forces himself to let go of the railing. His fingers shake, and now it seems to be a miracle that Stiles managed to stitch Theo’s abdomen up in the first place. How did he even get the fucking thread through the eye of the needle?
After a moment of hesitation, Josh steps into the room. “Thanks for saving him.”
“I owed him,” Stiles replies, knowing full well it’s a lie. Well, partially at least. Stiles did owe Theo his life, but he would’ve saved him no matter what. He would have dropped everything to make sure Theo survives his own idiocy. It’s probably not the healthiest approach considering that Theo — now that he has his own pack — most likely wouldn’t return the favor. But that’s okay. That’s fine. He saved Theo once, he will do it again, and he’s going to hate himself for crushing on a guy whose only obsession is power.
Josh crosses the distance, making room for Stiles to see Theo. “He’s going to be okay,” he says, curling a wet towel around Stiles’ left hand. “You saved him.”
Stiles swallows, staring at Theo’s almost lifeless body. His bandages are crimson already, but it’s just leftover blood. It’s just the blood Stiles didn’t clean. “God,” Stiles breathes, stomach contorting painfully, “I hate him.” He never wanted Theo to open his eyes as much as he does right now. Just open your eyes, please.
Sighing, Josh rubs the blood off Stiles’ hands. “You love him.”
Stiles squeezes his eyes shut. Fuck. He’s not going to cry. He is not. “I know,” he whispers because speaking any louder would give away how he really feels. Not that it would matter because Josh knows. How? Stiles has no clue. He tried his best not to be obvious, he tried to keep it under control. That Lydia noticed didn’t come as a surprise. She’s his best friend and one of the smartest person he knows. But Josh? Josh?
“We all know.”
Stiles opens his eyes and stares at him. We all know. Oh god. Does that mean—
“Stiles?”
His heart plummets, but Josh merely presses the towel into his hands and walks up the stairs and out of the operation theater. Stiles digs his nails into the towel. They’re alone now. Stiles didn’t know when the other chimeras left, but they did, and now he’s all alone with Theo. Fuck. Stiles takes a deep breath. The distance from him to Theo isn’t far, yet it feels like an eternity until he standing next to him. “You shouldn’t sit up,” he says quietly, hoping against hope that Theo isn’t aware how Stiles feels about him and that he didn’t hear what he’d just confessed to.
Theo grunts, sitting up regardless, and motions for Stiles to sit down next to him. “Thanks for—“ he gestures in the general direction of his stomach, reminding Stiles exactly how shirtless he really is.
“How’d you know that was me?”
Theo chuckles, and the sound turns almost immediately into another grunt. “You’ve got… there’s blood on your face.” Smiling, Theo tugs the towel from his grasp. He shifts ever so slightly, pressing the wet cloth against Stiles’ cheek. His movements are a lot softer than Josh’s. “And my chimeras have the finesse of butchers.”
Although he probably shouldn’t, Stiles closes his eyes and leans into the touch. He can’t help it. Theo is alive, Theo is well, and he hasn’t kicked him out yet. The wet towel drops onto Stiles’ legs. Worried, he opens his eyes. “Are you—“
Theo cups his cheek, skin cold against his skin, and Stiles almost chokes on his words. Theo’s bright blue eyes flick down to his mouth, back up again, and down for a second time. That’s where his gaze remains, almost transfixed on Stiles’ parted lips. His thumb brushes against the corner of his mouth. He smiles. Theo fucking smiles. Only a heartbeat later, he kisses Stiles as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
And Stiles sinks into the kiss, feeling a sudden calmness instead of a rush of adrenaline. The world around them goes silent until nobody else exists but them until he feels nothing but Theo’s lips on his and his hand in Stiles’. He’s intertwining their fingers, not intending to let go of him ever again.