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The moment Scott’s claws sunk in the back of Theo’s neck, the lurching in his stomach intensified tenfold. His stomach had already been twisted violently as he had to watch Liam's hand shake in his lap, recounting what had exactly happened with his biological father, the way his eyes never once moved up from the floor. It’s not that Theo–he cared , he did. But, he didn’t think he was allowed that right. Not after what he had done.
But hearing Liam recount the way he had frozen when his father had swung at him, how he reacted just a second too late, being splayed out on the floor until he came back online, it made Theo wonder why Liam didn’t react as quickly as he usually did. Why Liam didn’t pull the first swing out, like usual. The blood was still crusted on his upper lip from where it dripped out of his nose, the skin of his knuckles had already stitched itself back together by this point.
He blinked his eyes open as the weight in his stomach settled, his nose wrinkling against the dust floating around the room, the rich scent of Scott pulling his head around to the left, where the alpha was staring off to the side. Theo followed his line of sight, his breath catching in his throat, as he found Liam, no younger than five, humming softly as he pushed a toy truck around the floor with his left hand, shaking an action figure over the truck with his right, the soft noise of him talking for the action figure pulling their attention to look around the rest of the room.
“This isn’t where I thought he was taking us.” Scott mused out loud, his brows furrowed. Theo nodded his agreement as he slowly stood from the couch he had been sitting on, trying to hold back a sneeze when more dust settled around him, his nose twitching.
The two of them walked around the small living room, Theo’s fingers trailing gently over a few of the shelves, his eyes catching onto a photograph in the center of one of them, tilting his head a little as he studied the three figures in the photo. In the center was Liam, hair sticking up wildly, just like it did now, and Theo found himself smiling softly–some things just never changed, did they?
His eyes rolled over to the figure on the left, noting it as Liam’s mother, Jenna. He had seen her a few times in passing, though he never stuck around long enough to have a full conversation with her. Her hair was still that bright, vibrant blonde like it was in the photo, which made Theo wonder if she had always been a natural blonde, or if she had dyed it that way. Soon, he found his eyes straying to the person on the right, and he felt his throat close up, a lump forming in the center. He had enough context to know who this was, and he knew enough from what Liam recounted earlier that day to tell him exactly what he needed to know about him.
Lifeless eyes stared back at him in the photo, and he tore his gaze away, not wanting to see more than what he had.
It’s no wonder Liam couldn’t stop shaking. Theo had seen a lot, had done a lot, but something about the way Liam’s father was staring made something uneasy settle inside of his stomach. He was pulled out of his musings when he heard the soft pattering of feet against the floor, his eyes landing on the little figure that now rested near his calf, staring up at him.
Theo raised a brow at little-Liam, before his eyes traveled up, his body jolting a little when he found Scott staring right at him, eyes wide.
“What?” He mouthed, and Scott just shook his head, reaching out to grab Theo’s wrist, tugging him forwards.
Theo winced a little as his vision went dark, before he was brought back to the moment to the sound of a broken yelp, his head whipping to look behind him only to find himself gasping out in horror as Liam, who looked to be a few years older, was cradling his arm close to his chest, tears pouring out of his eyes, the bone of his wrist protruding, almost poking out through his skin.
“God, look at what you did to yourself, Li… Don’t know how we’re going to explain this one to mom.”
“You pushed me!” Liam’s voice broke on another cry, and Theo could feel the anguish rolling off of Liam, Scott whining low in his throat at the image in front of him.
He figured it was different for Scott than it was for him, since Liam was like Scott’s little brother. Liam was Scott’s first bitten, and really only beta, so the bond the two of them had was something unlike Theo has ever seen before.
“No, you fell. There’s a difference.” The condescending tone sent Scott’s jaw to clench, knowing exactly what it was like to be talked to like that.
He and Liam were more similar to one another than he had originally thought.
Theo watched Liam, unsure of what exactly he was planning on doing. Logically, Theo knew Liam could scoot over until he could prop his good arm up to pull himself up, but he didn’t think little-Liam knew to do that. His body winced in sympathy as Liam pushed himself up using both of his hands, his lower lip trembling as he tried to keep the scream of agony trapped in his throat. Theo could hear the bone shifting under Liam’s skin, wanting nothing more than to reach out, to try to soothe the ache. He hated it when his Liam got hurt, became like a goddamn mother-hen with him, but he didn’t know what to do about the sight in front of him.
He didn’t know how to process seeing this Liam push through the sheer agony he must’ve felt, didn’t know how to process seeing this Liam cradle his broken wrist to his chest, his bright blue eyes darting around the room, filling to the brim with tears.
He didn’t know how to handle this Liam, whimpering out in pain when he pressed down on the jutted out bone of his wrist, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to push it back into place, his chin trembling with the force in which he was trying not to cry.
It made Theo’s heart break, he could hear the pieces falling through the cracks of his ribs.
His vision turned spotty again, black clouding the light he could see from the room, before his ass landed firmly onto a patch of grass, grunting at the impact. He looked to his left to find Scott staring in horror from his place next to Theo at the scene that was playing out in front of him.
It took Theo’s brain a minute to catch up, before his eyes turned towards the deck, where a new version of Liam sat, his arms around his knees, his lower lip trembling as the sound of yelling and banging came from inside. Liam’s body flinched when the door slammed itself open, Liam’s father stomping his way across the deck, and down the stairs, knocking his leg into Liam harshly. Liam gasped softly, hand darting out to grab onto the railing, his eyes snapping to where his father stood.
“You called the fucking cops on me, kid?” Liam’s father sneered, and Liam sneered back at the man, his gaze hardening.
Theo remembers this, from when Liam confided in him. It was the day his father had left for good, the last day Liam had ever seen him–up until now.
“I don’t care if you hurt me, I don’t. But you put your hands on mom . I don’t fucking play when it comes to that, you of all people should know that.”
There was dried blood crusted around his left nostril, his lip bleeding out, the blood slowly dripping down to his chin, most likely from where his father had put his hands on him. It made Theo’s blood boil, to know that Liam had been through this before, and at so young of an age as well.
Theo knew how protective Liam was over Jenna, like it was ingrained in his bones from the day he had come into this world. And Theo figured, sadly, that it was. His eyes snapped up from where they had rested on Liam, to the woman trembling in the doorway, her blonde hair in disarray, her fingers gripping tightly to the door frame. When Theo had seen Jenna in passing, she had this air around her, this vibrant, excited bubbly persona that never seemed to fail.
It was like seeing a whole new person.
Scott had stood finally, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched the scene play out in front of him, his brow furrowed in concern, something that made Theo snort. He had always looked like that, even as a child, and Theo had teased him with Melissa that if he kept looking like that, his face would get stuck.
“I just… I just don’t get what this all means. What is the purpose of showing us these memories?” Theo stared at him, just a bit shocked that Scott had forgotten the whole reason for going into Liam’s mind in the first place.
“So we could understand why Liam reacted the way he did around his dad. So we could understand what makes Liam, Liam. Weren’t you there for that conversation?” Scott looked at Theo, deadpan, before his eyes traveled back to Liam and his mother, the furrow in his brow slowly falling away.
Jenna had embraced Liam, so tightly Theo wondered if Liam could breathe. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his shoulders, and Liam’s were wrapped tight around her midsection, his chin hooked over her shoulder.
“I’m so proud of you, Bug.” Jenna whispered, and though Theo knew Liam wanted them to see this, it still felt too private.
Like Liam was finally allowing Theo to see him for everything that he was.
The scenery around them changed, the grass that was green was now dead under Theo’s thighs, the wind blowing violently, a shiver wracking through his body at the chill. The house looked much the same, though it was now nighttime, and Liam, who was now aged to fourteen, sat on the steps on the deck, holding the makeshift ice pack made from a bag of peas against his mouth.
“This is when he got the diagnosis of his IED.” Scott muttered quietly, and Theo perked up with slight interest, seeing Liam shift his weight from his left side to his right, shifting the bag of peas to the other side of his face.
Theo winced in sympathy as he saw the bruise that had formed on Liam’s lower cheek, near the corner of his mouth. But, he took in the taut lines of Liam’s shoulders, how they were hiked all the way up to his ears, how his body tensed even more when Dr. Geyer opened the door slowly, his throat clearing softly from behind Liam.
“Liam.” His voice was even, calm.
Liam didn’t answer, but he tilted his head to indicate that he was listening, but that wasn’t enough for Dr. Geyer– David , Theo’s mind supplied–to be satisfied with. David slowly came out from the doorway, before he settled his weight down next to Liam on the step. The two of them stared out at the night sky of Beacon Hills, Liam’s shoulders easing down slowly, finally slumping as the last bit of tension escaped his body. It was then that David put a tentative arm around Liam’s shoulder, pulling him against his body, Liam falling into it as easy as breathing.
“I need you to tell me what happened, kiddo. Why’d you swing at that kid, huh?” David’s tone was gentle, but he was firm in not letting Liam budge, in not letting Liam flee like they all knew he liked to do.
“Said some things I didn’t like.” Liam mumbled the words, but Theo and Scott could hear them just fine. “Just–I just got so angry, David.” Liam squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head a little, slowly. “I’m just like my dad.”
David’s jaw clenched, and he shook his head vehemently, pulling Liam tighter against his body.
“You are nothing like that man, do you hear me? Nothing. You have so much goodness in your heart, so much love to give to this world. You have always been, and always will be, a good person. Not a perfect man, but a good person.” It was the simplest explanation that Liam had ever been given in his life about himself, and it’s one that he had forgotten numerous times.
“David, I punched a boy because he said something I didn’t like. If that’s not my dad, then–”
Scott whined low in his throat, knowing that this was still how Liam thought of himself. He could smell the guilt on Liam every time he laid hands on someone else, and could scent the layers of grief and agony at what he had done to another person. He could smell it now, on Liam, who should’ve only had to worry about whether or not he had a clean shirt for school the next day.
“You’re not your father, Liam.”
Just like Scott had told him in the privacy of his bedroom. Just like Jenna had told Liam as she held him through the calm-down period of an episode, after he had damaged everything in his room in a fit of rage. Just like Mason told him after he had found out about their coach’s car.
Just like Theo would do, should Liam ever need the reminder.
Theo went to take a step back, alongside Scott, only to tumble down onto the floor, on his backside, right into the net located on a field. Theo grumbled a little as Scott landed right on top of him, both of them pushing at each other until they stood.
The blaring noise of a whistle pulled their attention to the left, finding Liam huffing as he threw his stick down, shaking his head a little bit. There were small bruises formed along his arms, down his thighs and calves, and against his neck. Scott tilted his head, trying to think of where he could place them, but Theo knew.
Theo knew .
It was the day after Brett had locked Liam into the cage of the zoo, where he and all the other lacrosse junkies pelted balls at Liam until they were finished with their torment. It clicked for Scott after a moment, when the coach aggressively pointed at the bench, his mouth moving a mile a minute, but no sound coming out.
This was when Liam was benched for the rest of the season, this was when things had gone downhill for them.
Liam’s jaw was set in a taut line, his fingers clenching and unclenching from a fist, his eyes darting between his coaches. Theo could see the simmering rage underneath his skin, could smell the rolls of anger, of rage that Liam exuded. Brett could smell it too, from what Theo and Scott could see, the way his nose wrinkled in disgust, how he turned his body away from the rest of them, his shoulders hunching a little.
Liam’s feet started to carry him out from the field, and to the doorway to get back into the school. Scott and Theo weren’t well versed with Devenford, nor were they sure of where they were going. So, they did what they always did best, which was follow Liam.
The hallways were pristine, the tile a starking white color compared to the deep emerald green that adorned the lockers, the banners, and the railings. It made Theo’s eyes roll a little, just at the thought of Liam going to a school like this.
Preppy rich kids. His least favorite kind.
Liam upped his pace, causing Theo and Scott to break into a light jog to keep up with him, until Liam suddenly cut left in the hallway, Scott and Theo stumbling over one another as they tried to find their footing.
It’s not like they were werewolves, or anything.
They found Liam digging through the janitor's closet, the stench of dirty-mop water alongside the chemicals from the cleaning supplies they used hit Theo in the nose violently, causing his lips to pull back in disgust, his feet taking two steps back from where they hovered near Liam. Liam pulled back after just a few more moments with a crowbar, and Theo felt his heart plummet slightly into his stomach, then down to his ass, as he knew where this was going. He had researched this part of Liam extensively, and had used it against him at one point. It made the guilt churn over in Theo’s stomach, his hands closing into fists.
Theo and Scott backed up quickly when Liam turned on his heel, marching back down the hallway they came, until he cut a corner again, both Theo and Scott predicting it this time, no longer stumbling after the beta.
The doors were slammed open as Liam pushed his way through them, his head whipping from left to right, until it stayed to the right, his feet carrying him all the way to a filled and packed parking lot. Scott wanted nothing more than to reach out, grab Liam by the shoulder, and pull him back, to tell him to stop, to not go through with this. But he couldn’t– they couldn’t, and it broke something deep inside both of them.
“Fuckin’ asshole. Benching me, all because of one little mistake?” Liam muttered quietly to himself, digging the sharp edge of the crowbar into the paint on the door of the passenger side, before he jammed it into the door, denting it.
He soon then walked around to the other side, doing the same thing, until the rage inside of him bubbled over, faster than Theo had ever seen it, causing him to start slamming the crowbar down onto the windows, the windshield, the mirrors, the back doors, the trunk, then soon the hood. It terrified Theo a little, not of Liam, but because of how deeply the layers went with Liam’s anger.
He wondered if it would ever have laid dormant if Liam’s dad hadn’t kickstarted the whole process. If Liam’s dad wasn’t such a piece of shit. If–
“Holy shit! What the fuck are you doing?” Brett yelled, Theo’s body wincing at the sheer volume of his voice, but Scott stayed standing frozen in his spot, his eyes following Liam wherever he went.
“None of your business, Talbot.” Liam spit out, and Brett’s brows rose to his hairline, a scoff escaping his lips.
It made Theo want to punch him.
“I’m your captain, Liam. And you’re damaging property, on school grounds, might I add! Did you even think this through?”
Liam locked eyes with Brett, nothing but fiery rage sitting behind the blue in them, before he raised the crowbar above his head, slamming it down onto the hood of the car one last time.
Theo blinked, then, and suddenly, both he and Scott were in Liam’s room, the blonde staring down at his hands, red, half crescent shaped marks adorned the pale flesh of his palms. Theo wondered why there was such a jump in time between that last memory, to now. He knew the missing pieces was when Liam had first been bitten, but he didn’t know what had happened between the transfer to Beacon High, to when Theo got to town. Not really, at least.
“He didn’t really know how to control his shift yet, his anger. Not really, at least. He was using music as a distraction, but even that… it didn’t work for him. He used to dig his claws into his palms, that’s why there’s blood.” Scott was looking sympathetically down at his beta, and Theo felt his heart tug a little at the thought that Liam would do this to himself, just to keep himself in line.
The bedroom door was pushed open slowly, and Theo scented the room before he turned, finding Mason to be standing there with a soda in one hand, a plate in the other. Mason smelt like sadness, like pity, but there was an underlying scent of happiness. He wondered what was going on.
“So, your mom said I could stay over.” Liam smiled softly at Mason, though the smile never reached his eyes. Not really.
“What are you standing over there for, then?” Liam scooted himself over on the bed, making room for Mason to sit down with him, both of them balancing the plate of food on both of their legs, before Mason popped open the tab on the soda cans, handing one over to Liam before he kept one for himself.
“Look, dude…”
“I don’t wanna talk about it, okay?” Liam’s voice was soft, and Mason conceded his statement, nodding a little, before he handed over a pizza roll to Liam, smiling a little.
“Enjoy some processed bread and cheese then, my friend.”
Liam laughed softly, taking the pizza roll from Mason’s hands, throwing it up into his mouth, chewing down on it slowly. They went like that for a few moments, before Liam’s head dropped down to Mason’s shoulder, rubbing his forehead into the fabric of the shirt that covered it. Mason rested his own head on top of Liam’s, his eyes slipping shut.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Mason.” Liam’s voice was strained even as he whispered, but Mason shook his head, pressing down harder onto Liam’s head, his eyes squeezing shut now.
“Don’t. You know I’m in this for the long haul.” Liam scoffed a little, knocking their heads out of place as he looked up at Mason, tilting his head. His lips were pulled into a frown, and he shook his head.
“I just–”
“You’re my brother, Liam. Have been since we were little. Wherever you go, I go. That’s not going to change just because you grow a pair of fangs and your eyes glow, okay?”
Liam carefully took the plate and soda from Mason’s hands, setting them down off to the side, out of the line of fire, before he lunged at Mason, throwing his arms around the boy. Mason wrapped his arms tightly around Liam’s body, almost to the point of crushing the air out of his lungs.
“I love you.” Liam’s voice broke, and Mason held him even tighter, squeezing his eyes shut.
“I love you.”
Scott and Theo both looked away, finding it to be too intimate. Too much. Theo had known that it was him who got Liam to tell Mason what he really was, but he never thought of them like this. It made his heart swell to know Liam had someone like this.
Theo turned to look at Scott, and Scott turned to look at him, before they both turned around, coming face to face with the open field of the lacrosse pitch. This time, it was Beacon Hills, and not Devenford, but Theo wondered why the sport held so much space within Liam’s mind.
The sound of the balls swishing around the net pulled Theo’s attention to his right, finding Liam to be scooping another one into the stick, cradling it just a bit before he threw it again. Theo took his time to stare over Liam, his eyes catching on the wet streaks that ran down his cheeks, the way his lower lip was wobbling slightly, at how Liam’s hands shook when he wasn’t in control of the ball anymore. He knew what this was, and he wondered why Liam was showing it to Scott.
“Liam.” His own voice called out from the left, and Theo did a double-take of himself, wondering why the hell he wore that outfit.
Liam kept his back turned to Theo, continuing his assault on the net with the lacrosse balls, throwing them quickly, his arms burning with the pace in which he was throwing. Memory-Theo watched as Liam sank the last three of his balls into the net, before he took three long strides, finding himself at the back of the beta. Liam’s shoulders were tense, and his jaw was set, his eyes downcast to the muddy floor of the pitch. Memory-Theo came up behind Liam, wrapping one arm around his chest, the other one around Liam’s waist, pulling them flush together. Liam wrapped his fingers around Memory-Theo’s arms, digging the pads of them into the skin harshly, pulling his head up to lean back against Memory-Theo’s shoulder. Memory-Theo pressed a gentle kiss to the exposed skin under Liam’s ear, nearing his jaw, before he nuzzled gently, his forehead pressed against Liam’s temple.
“I’ve got you.” Memory-Theo whispered, and Liam nodded once, letting his eyes slip shut.
“I didn’t–”
Theo waved him off, shrugging. It’s not like they were a secret–not anymore, at least. Scott turned towards the memory of them again, his brows drawn together in a slight frown, before he spoke up again.
“What happened?”
Theo didn’t like to remember what Liam had told him, how Liam had stared at him, his eyes filled to the brim with tears, his lower lip wobbling. Theo didn’t like to remember Liam like that, so scared, so vulnerable, to the point where he could barely speak.
“His mother and step-father found out he was a werewolf. They didn’t react well to it, not at first. It took them a week to even think about letting him back in the home. It took another week for them to even look at him.”
It had taken a bit of coaxing with Jenna and David, but Theo remembered how they hadn’t reacted out of fear, but more so out of anger, that Liam had held this in for so long. That Liam hadn’t trusted them.
“And now?”
“They’re better.”
On Theo’s next blink, it was like seeing the memories in fast-forward, unable to pinpoint exactly what memory they were in. There were flashes of Mason, of Scott, of Brett and Lori, of Theo, of Lydia and Stiles, of Derek, of Argent–almost everyone, Theo realized.
Theo was pulled out of Liam’s mind, a pained gasp sitting on the edge of his tongue, his hand squeezing the skin of his thigh through his jeans as he found his bearings again. He could hear the exertion in the way Scott gasped, but his main focus was on Liam, whose chest was heaving slightly, hands clasped tightly on his lap.
Liam let his eyes dart over to Theo, before he pushed himself to stand, turning to face both of them, his eyes stopping at a spot in the wall between Scott and Theo’s bodies.
“Do you both understand now?”
His voice was so soft, that if Theo wasn’t listening to it so attentively, so closely, he would’ve missed it. He nodded, though, and he could hear the sound of Scott’s shirt moving as he nodded as well, both of them turning to look at one another.
“Good, because I never want to do that again.”
**
The ride back to Theo’s apartment was a silent one, with Liam’s head turned to look out the window as the scenery of the forest flew by them, his hands still clasped gently in his lap. It worried Theo, as Liam was always moving about in the car, always playing with the buttons on the radio, even going as far as messing with Theo’s temperature gauge because he was bored.
To see Liam so quiet, so still, it ate away at him. It made him wonder what Liam was thinking.
The trek up to Theo’s apartment door was also silent, the beta hanging back while he let Theo unlock the door, only gently pushing his way through once the door was open. Theo watched Liam putter around the room, how he carelessly let his shoes fling gently against the wall, how he let his coat hang awkwardly off the hook, how he started to strip on his way to the bathroom from the alcove just inside the door.
Theo let himself take his time as he took his shoes off one by one, lining them up against the wall with a few of his other pairs. He shucked off his jacket and hung it beside Liam’s, straightening the beta’s jacket out before he started to make his way over to the bedroom. Liam had already started up the shower, and if Theo strained his hearing enough, he could hear the quiet snapping of the lids on the shampoo and conditioner bottles.
Theo pulled his shirt up and over his head, tossing it aside, nearly missing the hamper. He started to unthread his belt from the loops of his jeans, letting the leather and metal clink down onto the floor, before he started to work on the button and zipper of the jeans, pulling them down his thighs until they pooled at his ankles. He stepped out of the jeans, bending down to work his socks off of his feet, throwing them over to the hamper where he had thrown his shirt. He needed to change his boxers, so he let his feet carry him over to their shared dresser, his fingers curling around the handles on the top drawer, pulling the wood open. He rifled through the boxers until he found a red and black pair, changing out of his old ones and putting the new ones on.
His attention was pulled from the drawer when he heard the bathroom door creak open, turning on his heel, coming face to face with Liam in one of Theo’s old band t-shirts that he had stolen from some shitty retail chain, and a pair of Theo’s basketball shorts. His hair was still damp from his shower, though it was disheveled because of how much he had toweled it, but to Theo, he was beautiful.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.”
Liam felt his cheeks heat, before he looked down at his feet, shuffling them a little. Theo smiled softly, walking over to where Liam stood, before he encompassed Liam into his arms, Liam’s nose resting against his pulse point on his neck.
“Thank you.” Liam hummed in confusion, and Theo smiled a little, before he spoke again. “For showing me those memories. For letting me in.”
Liam nodded a little, his arms coming to wrap around Theo’s lower back, nuzzling the skin of his neck, before he huffed a little.
“I just–I just wanted you to see me, finally. For me, for all the shit I’ve done. Why I am the way that I am.”
Theo held Liam just that much closer to himself, nodding a little as Liam trailed off, turning his head to press a kiss against the crown of Liam’s head.
He walked them over slowly to the bed, only separating them long enough to get into their respective sides of the bed, before their bodies joined together once more, Theo’s arms pulling Liam close to him, Liam’s head tucking neatly under Theo’s chin, his own arms coming to wrap around Theo as best as he could with their position.
“I love you so much.” Theo whispered into the air, Liam humming softly.
“Love you most.”
Theo thought back to everything that he saw tonight, thought back to how he had found Liam bleeding after his father had attacked him. But one sole fact remained, and that was that Liam was the strongest man he had ever met. From the beginning, with his father. With his coach at Devenford, with what Brett did to him. With Mason, and Scott, and his parents.
With Theo.
He was Theo’s strong, beautiful boy, and he’d never been happier to be given the blessing of a lifetime, after all he had done. Theo shifted a bit, tucking Liam in closer to his body, letting his eyes slip shut.
He’d never let anyone hurt Liam again.
end