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Crying won’t keep Theo alive. Neither will begging, hiding, running. Nothing brings him back to life. Any tears or pleas are met with a fist through his chest, his back hitting the ground, dying slowly while Tara stares down at him with dead eyes.
He runs anyway. His feet slip on the marble floor when he rounds a corner, the flickering hospital lights above drawing haunting shadows on the ground. Voices, whispers of his own name, fill the air from every direction. He slams through a set of doors, spinning when he realizes he’s reached a dead end. His heart, the same he knows won’t be beating for much longer, pounds in his chest, so hard he feels it in his head. Every breath is soft, shaky, watching the doors, waiting. When he curls his fists, cold air brushes against his neck. A shiver goes down his spine.
He turns.
And a hand goes through his chest. A gasp slips from his mouth when it’s torn back out. He makes eye contact with his sister for only a second. Then, he’s falling, knees hitting the cold floor. His vision blurs, one hand coming up to clutch at the bloodied wreck of his chest. Tara says his name again, but he can’t look up. His arm drops to his side, and his body slumps to the floor.
The pain doesn’t come.
Just darkness.
And the feel of cold metal underneath his back. His eyes blink back tears, staring up into the pitch black of the morgue bed, the stench of death coating his senses. He wipes his face, choking back a sob. This is his hell. And there’s no hope of someone letting him free this time.
---
Liam brushes a hand across Theo’s forehead, his sticky skin burning up worse than before. His brows furrow when he can’t take the chimera’s pain. He looks back to Scott, who’s standing at the foot of the hospital bed, arms crossed.
“I’m not sure why we can’t take his pain,” Scott says. “I can’t get into his head either, and the doctors have no idea why he’s in a coma.”
“I don’t understand.” Liam smoothes the bangs out of his eyes, wishing they would open, and he could beg Theo never to leave him again. He’s been hoping for the same for the last week, since he found Theo asleep in the back of his truck outside an abandoned factory. Scott dropping everything in the middle of the night to help him meant more than anything. “Did Malia and Peter find anything last night?”
Scott sighs. “They’re looking, and they’ll catch up to it. I promise, we’ll get Theo back.”
His eyes trail the hospital gown clinging to Theo’s pale skin, the machines monitoring his vitals, the shallow breaths Liam is desperate for him to keep taking. The chimera protects him and the pack like it’s his purpose, even this many months after they chased Monroe from Beacon Hills. And yet, the pack couldn’t protect him in return, or even realize that he’s been sleeping in his truck for so long. So at least for now, until they can find a way to get him from this, Liam can take his hand, nestle his head into his shoulder, and stay at his side until he wakes.
---
Getting locked in a closet isn’t what Theo planned, pounding his fists into the glass of the door to get out. The wall is at his back, darkness and fear so close to him, surrounding him. He draws his hand back, ready to put it into the wood again, but he stops at the sounds of voices. Scott, Liam, Malia, the pack- He shouts their names a few times, rattling at the broken door handle, throat getting hoarse. Their voices are just outside the door, chemosignals so happy and free. Footsteps fade out as fast as they started, their laughter flittering out as they pass.
Theo slumps to the ground, to his knees, fist punching at the door so weakly it doesn’t even rattle. A sob makes its way out of his mouth, curling forward with his forehead on the door, arms wrapped around his shaking torso.
The tearing of skin and bone through his back is a secondary feeling. He groans, slumping forward, fingers clenching his shoulders, face hitting the ground. The scent of blood fills the air, and the sound of his heartbeat is no longer coming from within his own body.
They’re so close. So close, and yet I can never reach them.
---
The vial in Liam’s hand smells like shit, the scent burning his eyes when he lifts them to look at Deaton. “Is this safe?”
“Even if you die in a dream, you’ll just wake up,” the vet answers. “An old colleague assures me it’ll do the trick, at least to get into Theo’s head. If he’s trapped in a nightmare, the only way to get him out is for him to free himself. You can’t do it yourself.”
Liam nods. “He can’t stay like this for much longer.” He takes Theo’s hand as instructed, the skin cold against his own. He sniffs the liquid again, nose curling. “Make sure the others find what did this, and I’ll get Theo out.” He drinks the entire vial in one gulp, acrid taste burning his throat.
When he opens his eyes again, the hospital room is vacant, lights off, red glowing through the hazy windows. There’s a phantom feeling around his hands, where he’d been clutching onto Theo, even though the hospital bed is now empty.
Footsteps echo down the hall. Liam gets to his feet and pushes the door open, peeking into the hall. His eyes widen when he sees a figure down the hall, stepping backward and nearly tripping over their own feet. They whip around and Liam steps out of the room fully.
“Theo,” he murmurs.
The chimera is at his side in a second, grabbing his arm and pulling, not wasting a second to run the other direction. Liam almost trips. He tries to talk, but Theo just keeps them going, racing through the halls of the hospital. A voice saying Theo’s name trails after them, sending shivers up his spine.
Once they’re both exhausted from running, and the whispers are further away, Theo grabs Liam by the shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. “How are you here?” he demands.
Liam throws himself into Theo’s arms, nearly knocking him over. He catches the beta, body tensing for a moment before Liam slides an arm around his waist, burying his face in Theo’s shoulder. He’s shaking, half a beat away from sobbing.
“Hey,” Theo says softly, his hand rubbing across his back. “We don’t have a lot of time, what are you doing here?”
Before Liam can answer, a low hiss fills the air. He looks over his shoulder, blood turning to ice. At the far end of the hall is a shape. Shadows move slowly, menacing, lights going dark when it passes. Its eyes glow red, blood red, more so than any alpha ever has. The sight tells Liam to run. Instead, he stays wrapped around Theo, desperate to not let him go.
When the figure sweeps out of existence, disappearing into the walls, he turns back to press his face into Theo’s shirt, fingers clenching around his upper arms. A sob breaks the silence. Liam pulls back, eyes widening at the sight of tears sliding down Theo’s face. Their faces are so close he can feel his stuttering breaths, when Liam lifts a hand to wipe his cheeks.
“Just let her kill me,” Theo mutters, gaze darting away from the beta’s own. “You need to go.”
“No.”
A grunt escapes his lips as from behind, something goes through his back. The pain is dull, almost fake, but Theo screams . He lurches forward on weak legs. Strong hands catch him, Theo tugging Liam so his back is to his chest, protective arm around his waist. Liam looks up through bleary eyes. He recognizes the grey eyes of the woman in front of him, even though they’ve never met. Her dark hair and filthy clothes are dripping wet, muddy footprints on the marble floor.
There’s a heart in her hand. His heart.
Suddenly, he’s falling. Theo doesn’t let him go, holding him in his lap on the floor, hands rubbing soothing circles on his shoulders, through his hair. His chest is empty, throat building to cry, to scream, but nothing comes out. No tears fall.
“Tara, please,” Theo begs from behind. “Please, you can have me if you let him go.”
Liam’s head rolls back against Theo’s shoulder, who lets out a broken sob. Darkness overtakes his vision, a swarm of black crowding his burning eyes.
Then, bright lights blinked away. It takes a second to wake up fully, hand sliding to the front of his chest, a low breath passing his lips. To the side, Theo is in the hospital bed, unmoved from before, his hand clenched in Liam’s own. A metallic tang hits his tongue, throat bobbing as he struggles to swallow.
“Liam.”
His eyes finally focus on his alpha kneeling in front of the chair before him. “Tara killed me,” he says, voice soft and gravelly. “She was his sister.” His jaw clenches. “Everything was… red. I couldn’t see through the windows, the haze was red, the shadows.” A memory of a dark figure crosses his mind, sending a shudder through his body.
Deaton notices from where he’s standing. “You saw something.”
“There was a shadow… thing. Red eyes, vanished into thin air.” He leans forward in the chair, one hand coming to brace on his forehead, eyes squeezing shut. His other hand is still laced with Theo’s on the bed, feeling the dull heartbeat at his wrist. The beeping machines keep his desperation to keep the chimera alive high, to keep that noise going. His voice is so soft, he barely hears it himself. “He was so scared of it.”
“I know what it is.” Liam’s head snaps up, eyes meeting with the vet’s. “It’s called Oneiroi. They’re rare, and I’ve never heard of one outside of Europe.” He sighs. “Most of the time, humans barely pick up their presence. They usually don’t cause problems, but some choose not to create warm and happy dreams. Negative emotions give them more power, and nightmares draw out the worst in people. They latch onto the emotionally vulnerable, and once they have nothing left to take, the person dies.”
Goosebumps erupt on his arms, cold wind licking down his spine. “What do I have to do?”
“If the Oneiroi gets Theo to believe nightmares are all that’s left, we’ll lose him.”
Liam squeezes the chimera’s hand gently. “Then I’ll give him something else to believe in.”
---
Hoping for anyone other than Tara is useless. Theo hears voices, sees figures running back and forth, all away from him. The only who approaches is his sister, to tear out his heart and leave him to bleed.
He locks himself in an exam room, back against the door while he pants. His eyes squeeze shut. If he weren’t an atheist, he’d beg every god to put him out of his misery. Anyone watching over him is cruel. Especially when he doesn’t hear Tara’s voice.
But Liam’s.
When it’s outside the door, he wrenches it open. He only has a second before Liam surges forward, hands cupping both sides of his face, and kisses him fiercely. Theo loses his breath, almost tripping. The beta pushes forward, and he steps back, trying not to tread over his own feet while keeping up with how fast and hard Liam’s going. The back of his legs bump a chair. Liam pushes him down without breaking contact, fingers digging through his messy hair as he sits on his lap, kissing him deeper.
Every instinct screaming at him that this is a trick is silenced by the way his body arches into Liam’s, how his mouth parts with a whine and the beta nips at his lower lip. Hell has created a loop of his regret, the beginning of his evil deeds. Why not throw in what he really wants, rip it away, and leave him even worse?
Knowing that, he holds on tighter to Liam. Knowing this is bound to slip through his fingertips, he at least wants it for a bit longer. His fingers clench in the beta’s shirt. He desperately wants to ask what’s happening, wants to hear Liam say such beautiful lies. Instead, he sits and gives back as good as he has.
He barely takes a breath until he gasps, eyes snapping open, when the hands on his face slide to his shoulders, then down his arms. Liam’s gaze catches his, a grin on his face as he captures Theo’s lips again. His fingers stroke lazily down his arms, stopping at his hands, thumbs rubbing across his knuckles, entwining their hands tightly. Theo lets him pin his arms to the sides of the chair, relinquishing control to the boy he loves.
Liam shifts forward, knocking a groan from Theo’s chest at the way their chests press together, how Liam takes their hands and pushes, crossing them behind the chair, behind his back. His shoulders stretch, head tilting back.
As if by magic, something rough wraps around his wrists, snapping his hands back against the chair hard. He’s so dizzied by the way Liam kisses him, he barely notices. That is until it tightens and he loses the warm hands on his own. There’s a rope around his wrists, binding them together and to the chair. He searches Liam’s blue eyes for answers, but gets only a hand gripping his chin, stopping him from chasing another kiss, and a snarky smile.
One he recognizes as a cruel joy he might’ve partaken in with the Dread Doctors.
His heart - the one he knows isn’t going to be his for much longer now - tumbles. He swallows hard, chest heaving with sharp breaths. The hand on his chin is warm, but so rough and unforgiving.
“Theo!”
His eyes snap to the doorway.
To… Liam?
He’s exactly the same as the one on top of him, just with blood across his shoulders, staining the white t-shirt he’s wearing. Lips brush across his, as a taunt. “How long have you held out hope that I’ll ever love you in return?” he teases, biting at the skin of his jaw, next to where his hand is holding him. “And look at this, the one time you thought you gained something, it was a trick.” His free hand tugs on the ropes around his hands, the rough cord biting into his skin. “Such a wasted life.”
“I’m not a trick,” the Liam at the threshold interrupts. He steps into the room, door slamming shut behind him. Theo follows his every move, eyes darting between him and the beta sitting on top of him, stroking a finger down his neck. “I’m real. I’m here. And I want to take you home.”
“Aw,” he croons, rocking forward into Theo, who whimpers at the way his hot breath trails across the side of his neck, the way he rubs his fingers into his skin. “Don’t you see, such a fleeting example of the hope you hold. Your anchor and love, a real home instead of just a truck, a way out of your mistakes. If he or I said we loved you, would you believe us?”
When a hand cards through his hair, twisting around the short strands there, he sinks further into the chair, baring his throat and squeezing his eyes shut. He doesn’t want to see this anymore. He just… he just wants this all to be over.
“Theo,” he whispers, biting at his ear. “I love you.”
“No you don’t,” he returns without hesitation. Tears build behind his closed eyes, throat tightening, but he doesn’t move. “This is my hell. You’ll never love me.”
The next words are further away, not from the boy sitting on him, nosing at the side of his neck. “You’re in a dream, not hell. He’s trying to take everything from you.”
A chuckle brushes a breath across his skin, a chill skittering through his body. “Oh what a pleasant thing that would be, for everything you have to be taken… oh wait! You have nothing!”
Tears slide down Theo’s cheeks, rolling his head forward and opening his eyes, head dizzy. Liam pulls back from his neck, stroking his hair gently, smirk still on his face. His eyes are red, burning red, like the hazy glow from the windows and the shadows shifting across the ceiling. Liam would make a good alpha, one who Theo would’ve followed if given the chance. Unlike himself, who killed his pack.
Lost his power.
His family, his friends, his life, his everything. He’s lost it all.
“You love me so much, would sacrifice yourself a thousand times if it meant keeping me safe.” Liam dips his head and bites at the junction of his neck and shoulder. A shudder goes up his spine. If he did it again, harder, he’d be marked as Liam’s. But he knows no one, not even Liam, wants him. “And yet, he sends you back to hell and keeps you here.”
Across the room, leaning on a table, blue eyes tracking their every move, Liam says, “He’s not real, he doesn’t love you but I do. ” He steps closer to the two. The other tightens his grip in Theo’s hair, almost painfully, gaze snapping up to meet Liam’s, red burning bright in his irises. “Believe me when I tell you, there’s so much for you.”
He tugs at his bindings, the rope holding his arms without even a little give. He whimpers pathetically, earning him a brief kiss that he chases. Liam grins down at him. “Pathetic.”
“Please.”
Liam leans forward, so his lips are just above Theo’s own, smile curling the corners. “I think you’re finally ready to give up.”
He nods. His head falls forward to rest on Liam’s shoulder, silent tears soaking into his shirt. The hand on his arm strokes there, the other tugging at his hair. The room stays dead quiet for a few haunting seconds. Theo thinks it’s finally over, it’s done.
“I’ve been at the hospital the entire last week,” the other Liam says, having gotten a little closer to the two. “I’m the one who found you, tried to help, and then stayed with you.” He takes a breath. Theo turns his head, still tucked into Liam’s shoulder, but watching the other through blurry eyes. “Peter and Argent have scoured through every book of lore from both families. Derek barely had to push Stiles to reach out to their contacts, he wanted to help you. I’ve never seen Lydia’s banshee abilities pushed so far as they have been since I found you. Malia’s been in the preserve without a break, she misses you. I miss you.”
The ropes around his wrists seem to tighten, same as his throat and his pounding heart. He shakes his head slowly. I tore their pack apart. Malia would kill me without a second’s hesitation, and Stiles never trusted me. The rest don’t care. Why would they care, I’m-
“You’re a liar, a master of manipulating people into getting what you want,” Liam says, hand sliding to his waist. “You should know a trick when you see it.”
His words are scratchy when they come out. “And… what about Scott?”
Liam - the one whose blue eyes don’t leave his - smiles slightly. “He’s the one who helped get me here, into your dream, to you. There’s a true alpha sitting next to your hospital bed, trying to bring you back to us.” He pauses. “To me.”
For the first time, Theo feels his claws itching to come out. Every time Tara takes his heart back, his shift goes with it. His fangs and claws have been nowhere within his grasp, hidden away behind his missing heart. But with that small feeling, something clicks in his head. I can’t shift in hell. Claws descend from his fingertips, and this time, he actually does let out a sob. I’m not in hell.
The hand on his waist tightens to the point he can feel fingertips pushing in on his ribcage, nails scraping his skin painfully. He winces, tries to move away, but Liam is draped over him, keeping him in place.
“Get off him,” Liam growls, gold eyes flashing.
Something snaps. His Liam is golden. The Liam on top of him is the one he wanted so long ago, the one who took Scott’s true alpha power so Theo could steal it in return. That power, something he craved so desperately, can’t compare to the way he wants Liam now. Not the alpha who loves him back. But the beta who he’d save no matter what. Who he’d die for.
The ropes around him tear in half easily. Both Liams seem surprised. Especially the alpha, when Theo hooks an ankle around his leg and twists, tipping him off balance. Theo shoves forward, arms aching from being held back. Liam hits the ground with a snarl, which Theo reciprocates, louder. His legs are shaky when he gets off the chair, scrambling back, away from the alpha. He reaches Liam, who is staring at him, eyes gold and full of something soft, warm. They don’t touch, don’t even speak.
But they don’t have to.
Theo knows it’s his Liam, the one he’s loved for so long it hurts.
On the ground, the alpha’s body disappears into the shadows. The red of the room gets darker, the scent of blood hitting Theo’s senses so hard he nearly topples over. From behind the closed door, a singsong voice says his name.
“We’re trapped,” he says through the lump in his throat.
“She’s not real,” Liam says softly. “I’m real.”
Theo’s heart skips a beat. “I don’t know what’s going on, but what you - other you I guess? - said, it wasn’t wrong. I do love you.” He swallows hard. “I would die for you.”
“I know,” he whispers. The feel of Liam’s hand taking his makes the fear of Tara beyond the door vanish. His hold isn’t demanding and cold like the other’s was. It makes him love Liam that much more. “You’re my anchor,” he goes on, taking Theo’s other hand, squeezing gently. “Finding you sleeping in your truck, unable to be woken, was the worst day of my life.”
His breath stutters. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not.” Liam’s smile is nervous. “It made me realize that you’re not just someone I work with well when the pack needs your help. You’re who I can’t live without. Who I would die for.”
“I wouldn’t let you.”
Liam chuckles. “Feeling is mutual.”
The red staining the room is softening, the oppressive colors sinking away. It’s the first time in he doesn't even know how long, the color isn’t burning his retinas, keeping an anxious feeling perched in his chest. It leaves behind light blue, the same as Liam’s eyes, holding his with intensity enough to make him completely break. Fear keeps him in place when Tara tears out his heart, keeps him running and hiding.
Liam pulling him in, wrapping him in a hug, is what brings him back.
“I love you,” Theo mutters, over and over. With each repeat, the sound of Tara’s voice outside is less threatening. The shadows hanging over them slink back. Liam’s hands at his back hold him close, breathing in the beta’s scent that Theo looks for whenever he’s lost.
Theo slides his hands up into Liam’s hair and closes his eyes. No whispers haunt behind the door. All he hears is soft breathing, and his own gasp when the hands on his back pull him somehow closer, so their foreheads rest together. One hand snakes to his front, curling in the fabric just above his heart.
The beta’s voice is shaky, just above a whisper. “Tell me you believe you have something left.”
“I thought I didn’t,” he admits, running his hands through the soft strands of Liam’s hair. “Maybe I don’t. But I’ll fight for what I want anyway. I just… I want to belong somewhere. Anywhere. With anyone. ”
“You do.”
Liam’s voice is so soft, his heart so steady with the truth, tears fight their way from Theo’s shut eyes. He nods. Even if this is all a dirty prank his mind, his hell, is playing on him, he doesn’t care. Liam feels real, pressed against and wrapped around him. And it’s enough.
The hand on his back disappears, his own slips from Liam’s face. A low beeping sound floods his hearing. He blinks, terrified to look up and see no one. Instead, his head lolls to the side, fluorescent lights piercing his already tired eyes. When his vision clears, he sees Liam, lifting his head from the bed next to him, their hands tangled together on Theo’s stomach.
Liam immediately starts crying. He surges upward, letting go of one hand to wrap him in a tight hug, as well as he can with Theo laying on his back. New scents swirl through the air. When he looks to the side, he sees Scott sitting in a chair, a relieved expression on his face.
Gently, he nudges Liam off, so he can see his glistening blue eyes, the bright smile despite the wetness on his cheeks. His own arms have wires connected to them, limiting his movement, but not enough that he can’t reach up, running his free hand across the side of Liam’s face. The beta moves into it, eyes fluttering shut.
“Thank you.”
Liam wipes the tears from his face before glancing to his alpha. Scott nods to both of them. “Our pack will be happy to hear the news,” he says.
The words don’t sink in for a few seconds. Wait. “Our?”
Scott gives him a look, confirmation enough for a sob to slip from his mouth. Liam squeezes his hand. “You’ve saved us enough times, dumbass. Let us return the favor.”
Theo just cries harder.
—
Liam helps Theo sit up in the hospital bed and get comfortable. Melissa checks him out, declaring him to be entirely physically healthy and in good condition. That alone sends a shockwave of relief through the entire room. Scott texts the pack group chat, which blows up both their phones with excited messages.
With the bandages and wires off the chimera, Liam helps him out of bed, the awkward hospital gown ill fitting on his muscular form. He moves sluggishly, chemosignals uncontrolled and switching so fast it’s almost unbearable. Liam holds onto him. Every part that touches Theo lights up, his heart so happy to be with him again. Not in a dream. But here, in real life.
Out of nowhere, Theo’s knees buckle and he goes down. Liam catches him easily enough, tugging his body into his own. Scott snarls and Liam looks up. His alpha’s eyes are red.
Matching the outline of the shadowed figure standing in the middle of the room.
Nausea swirls in his gut. In his arms, Theo is shaking, his eyes open but unseeing, hands clenched around Liam’s wrists. He pulls the chimera away, towards the doorway. The figure - what Liam can assume is the Oneroi coming to finish the job - barely moves. It stands and waits. There’s no form to it, no head or eyes or limbs. Just darkness.
Theo goes completely limp. The weight knocks them both over, Liam landing hard on the ground, cradling the chimera’s body close to him. His skin is ice cold. Trying not to provoke the Oneroi into action, he scoots back, slow, until his back hits the wall next to the door. Theo is across his lap, staring up at the ceiling with teary eyes.
“Scott,” Liam whispers, voice hoarse. He pulls Theo to his chest, arms wrapped around him protectively. If his chemosignals were bad before, now they’re intoxicating, Liam’s throat burning at the feelings washing over him. “I can’t lose him.”
Someone crosses the threshold of the room. The Oneroi surges forward. Liam shrieks, unable to move with how Theo clutches onto him. For once, neither of them have to jump in front of the other.
A jagged blade goes through the center of the Oneroi. Stiles is standing over them, driving the knife deeper, until it lets out a deafening scream. The wolves in the room all shrink back at the sound, but Stiles doesn’t. He just twists the blade in a full circle. Red light fills the room, starting from the creature’s head, its burning eyes.
Stiles stares it down, not letting the dagger drop. He holds on, makes it wait, until with a final scream, the shadows are ripped apart by gold mist coming from the blade. The room fills with light. Liam shades his eyes until it dies down again, blinking up at Stiles, lowering the blade.
Theo is still pressed into him, hands clenched almost painfully in his shirt, claws digging into his sides where the fabric ripped. Liam lets his own grip slacken a little, dragging one hand up to brush back the sweaty hair fallen in the chimera’s terrified eyes.
Stiles drops to a crouch next to him, studying Theo for a few seconds. “The Oneroi’s hold should break from him in a few minutes,” he says. “You good?”
“Thought you didn’t trust me,” Theo mumbles.
Stiles shrugs. “The pack child got attached to you. Plus, I sort of missed ganging up on Scott with you.” He shoots a grin over at the alpha, who rolls his eyes. “You’ve somehow endeared yourself to Derek too.”
“There’s the truth,” Theo snorts, tugging himself further into Liam, who keeps stroking his hair. “We bonded over how much you annoy us.”
Scott laughs, and tries to morph it into clearing his throat. “I think he’s fine.” Without much effort, Scott helps both of them off the floor, sitting Theo on the edge of the bed so he can regain his balance. Liam stays at his side, as something to hold onto.
Once the two are left alone, a hand drifts up the back of Liam’s neck, tangling in the short hairs there. Theo leans into the beta, his head dropping to his shoulder with a sigh. Liam takes his hand, rubbing his knuckles gently. His heart is racing so fast, his scent rife with anxiety.
“Come home with me,” Liam says.
Theo glances up, surprise lighting his eyes. “I… I feel like I should explain myself first.”
“I love you,” he interrupts. “I…” he fights to catch his breath, trying not to look away from the chimera’s shattered expression. “It was never one sided.”
The world tilts on its axis by the way Theo catches his gaze.
When Theo lurches forward, pressing their lips together, it’s everything Liam could’ve dreamed of and more. The sight of an evil version of himself straddling the chimera and kissing him with nothing behind it melts from his mind. For all their fighting, broken noses and cutting words, they’re so soft. There’s a time and place for Liam to shove Theo back and kiss him until they can’t breathe, until his body and sounds are the only thing he feels. It’s not now. Liam sinks forward, looping an arm around Theo’s waist, kissing him deeper. Theo hums happily against his lips, parting with a smile.
Pulling away takes more effort than he can admit. Still holding Theo tight, he lays on the hospital bed so they’re face to face, tangled together. Their hearts beat in time with one another. Theo snuggles into Liam’s chest, head buried into his shoulder, hot breaths warming the side of his neck.
The pack will be here soon. Theo should get into real clothes, move out of the hospital to process everything they just went through. For now though, neither of them make a move. For now, Theo’s alive on his own account. He has something to live for, to fight for. They love each other.
And no one can save the fool who tries taking that from them.