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It was hard to stop thinking about Theo. Thoughts of the chimera circled Liam’s mind day and night. In between classes, he would wonder if Theo was eating enough. During lacrosse, he thought of ways to tell Theo he knew the chimera was homeless, and that Theo could move in if he wanted. And when Theo would climb through the bathroom window at night, he thought about how his lips felt.
Only a month ago, Theo came into his house late at night and asked Liam to kiss him. At least once a week since then, they found themselves wrapped in Liam’s sheets, gently exploring each other’s mouths. They hadn’t gone any further than that. In fact, they hadn’t done anything as intense as the first night. It was all gentle and innocent. Liam didn’t mind. He really didn’t, but at the same time, he wanted more. Liam refused to push Theo, though. Their friendship was good, and Liam didn’t want to ruin that by asking for more “benefits”.
He knew if he told anyone else about it, they would want to complicate things by asking if they liked each other, if they’d been on dates, or if they wanted to be together. They were just friends. Friends that sometimes kissed each other. Liam was pretty sure that girls did the same thing, so it shouldn’t be a big deal.
Liam had stopped trying to fall asleep before Theo arrived. He knew if he did lay down and got comfortable, he would just be woken up by the sounds of Theo entering his house. He still insisted on using the window even when his parents were working late. Liam didn’t bother looking up from his computer as Theo entered his room. The chimera didn’t say a word as he trudged over to their—now shared—closet and pulled off his work clothes.
After weeks of Liam insisting that Theo have a proper breakfast and most nights being able to get him dinner, Theo had been able to gain back some weight. It was a good thing. Not only did Theo’s muscles begin to define themselves again and his ribs had disappeared, but he also seemed to have more energy, at least at the beginning of the day. Theo flopped himself onto Liam’s bed and groaned into the pillow.
“Long day?” Liam said as he closed his computer and leaned back onto his headboard. He wasn’t whispering, but he made sure to speak quietly. His parents liked Theo well enough, but they probably wouldn’t respond well to him sneaking in every night.
“Fuck off.” Theo didn’t say it with any heat, and he even shuffled closer to Liam.
“I was trying to be nice, you ass.” Liam lightly kicked Theo’s leg and let his eyes roam over Theo’s body. Liam figured it was normal for friends to notice how defined each other's back muscles were, or how thick their thighs were, or how their back arched as they stretched. These were totally normal friend things.
“Well, don’t be; it’s weird.” Theo’s voice snapped Liam out of his thoughts. It was late. They were both tired and had school in the morning.
“Your face is weird,” Liam whispered as he reached over to the bedside table and turned off the lamp.
“Hmm, yeah, that’s more normal.” They both worked their way under the covers and moved closer to each other. There was plenty of room for them to spread out, but Liam liked how Theo radiated warmth and how he sometimes drew small patterns into Liam's torso when they faced each other.
He knew that Theo liked when he gently played with his hair, so it didn’t surprise him when Theo leaned into his hand. It was too dark to see with human eyes. Liam was tempted to flare his eyes and observe Theo’s angular features. Liam wanted to watch as Theo’s eyelashes brushed along his skin as he blinked. He wanted to see the moments Theo’s tongue would dart out to wet his lips.
“Your heart’s beating fast.” Theo’s voice was soft and quiet as he moved a hand to press against Liam. Liam felt it now. Felt how fast it was thrumming in his chest.
“Sorry.” Liam did his best to calm his pulse as Theo moved his hand back down to his waist.
“I’m not mad, little wolf. It’s cute.” Theo closed the small space between them and started to kiss Liam lightly.
They fell into an easy pattern. Liam would lead for a while, then Theo would nip his lip or scrape his nails into Liam’s side and take control. Only for a moment, though, while Liam was flustered enough for his mind to go blank, just to prove that he could. Then Liam would retake control. Theo’s lips were hot against his and always tasted a bit like honey. The taste made Liam dizzy. So did the lack of air. They stayed pressed into each other as long as they could, and when they eventually pulled their lips apart, the quick breaths that fell from Theo’s lips found a home in Liam’s lungs.
“You should let me sleep…” Theo said as he dipped his head down and started to trail kisses along Liam’s neck.
“You’re the one kissing me, dipshit.” Liam wanted his voice to be accusing, but his words were a whine as Theo bit down and dragged his teeth on the supple skin of his neck.
“Good point. Do you want me to stop?” Theo pushed closer to Liam and mouthed at his pulse point.
“No, not really, but we need to sleep.” He gripped Theo's hair and trailed his other hand up and down Theo’s stomach. He loved the way he could feel Theo twitch and squirm beneath his touch.
“A few more minutes won’t hurt,” Theo said with a pleased sigh, and Liam couldn’t find a reason to disagree, especially when Theo moved back up to press their lips together.
One of his favorite things about being with Theo is that he didn’t feel the need to be fully in control. He would lead Theo when they kissed, but it allowed the other to move and touch Liam’s body in ways that made him groan and whine. Control was fluid between them as they tried to make the other feel good. When Liam pulled a bit on Theo’s hair, he felt a hand move to grip his thigh.
This was new, and it was a lot. Liam moaned into Theo's mouth as nails dug into the soft skin of his thigh. Suddenly he could see his room in detail, and he knew his eyes had flared. It felt like every nerve in his body lit up for a moment, leaving him a bit dazed and wanting more. It was too much too fast, and Theo must have known that.
“Shhh. Don’t wanna be caught with someone in your bed.” Theo laughed as his hand moved away from Liam’s thigh and brought it up to rub gentle circles into his arm. “Deep breaths. Just try to chill out, and we’ll go to bed.” Liam leaned further into Theo and tried to bring himself back down to earth.
“Yeah, yeah, sorry.” He didn’t like that they had to stop suddenly, and he almost felt guilty. He knew that Theo had wanted it to last longer.
“It’s okay, little wolf.” Theo’s voice was reassuring and helped to lessen the knot in Liam’s stomach, “Some other night, when your parents aren’t here, we’ll definitely… explore this more,” Theo said, and Liam could hear the smirk on his lips.
“I think if you do that again, I’ll cum in my briefs.” Liam tried to laugh it off, but there was an air of truth to his words. The feeling of Theo’s hands on him like that was intoxicating.
“You’re really into thighs. Noted.” Theo said as he knocked his forehead lightly into Liam’s.
“Fuck off.” Liam wrapped his arms around Theo and rested his head on his chest. Theo moved a bit to pull the cover over them more, then tangled their legs together. Liam liked falling asleep with someone else in his bed. More specifically, he liked falling asleep with Theo in his bed. It was more comforting than he’d care to admit.
– – –
Harsh noise attacked Liam's ears. He reached his free arm out of the covers and fumbled around with his phone to turn the alarm off. Theo groaned as Liam started to pull away from him. Coach had insisted on having morning practices along with their after-school practices now that the season had started. Both Liam and Theo resented it because it meant they woke up earlier.
“Stop moving away; it’s cold,” Theo said with his face pressed into the pillow, and his arms drew Liam back in.
“Maybe you should sleep with a shirt on.” Liam didn’t fight as he was pulled back under the covers. Liam would be severely disappointed if Theo stopped sleeping without a shirt. Unless it was one of Liam’s shirts.
“Maybe you should get a warmer house,” Theo said as he lightly pushed on Liam’s chest.
“I’ll add it to my to-do list.” As much as he didn’t want to, Liam detangled himself from Theo and began moving around his room. The sun was barely rising, but it gave him enough light to avoid turning on a lamp. The tiny amount of daylight also gave Liam a wonderful view of Theo as he got up and started rummaging through Liam’s closet.
They got ready together in sync, pulling on pants and shirts and packing their bags together. Before they left the room, they stood by the door and listened for Liam’s parents. They were downstairs, moving around and murmuring to each other. Their coast was clear, and they moved across the hall into the bathroom. Side by side, the two brushed their teeth and shaved away thin layers of stubble in relative silence.
Liam looked into the mirror distastefully as he tried to brush his hair into submission. He saw Theo snickering at him in the mirror. The chimera's hair lay in a messy way that still managed to look nice.
“Practice is just gonna mess it up anyways. Besides, it looks sexy like that.” Theo winked as he opened the bathroom window and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Liam felt blood rush to his face, and his heart stuttered slightly.
“Hey,” he moved over to Theo, who was already halfway out the window, “I’ll pick up some breakfast for you.”
“Thanks,” Theo smiled and leaned up to give Liam a light kiss, “See you at school.” he pulled away and jumped to the ground. He looked up and gave Liam a small wave before he started towards his truck parked down the street.
“Drive safe.” he didn’t bother raising his voice; he knew Theo could hear as he jogged away.
– – –
For the rest of the week, their nights were calm. They were both tired. Liam’s lacrosse practices had been going later and later into the night, and Theo had begun to work extra hours. It was late afternoon on Saturday, and Liam was still decompressing from his trip to the mall with Mason and Corey when his phone buzzed.
Theo: Your parents are out of town this weekend right?
Liam: yeah why?
Theo: Just wondering. I got off early so pick out a movie I’ll be there in a bit.
Liam didn’t bother going downstairs and unlocking the front door. He knew Theo would just use the window no matter what. He moved onto his bed and tried to find something good to put on, but nothing new sounded interesting. Liam decided on a movie they’d already seen as he heard the bathroom window being pried open. Theo must have had music playing from his phone because the voice of Billy Idol traveled across the hall and into Liam's room. He could hear the sounds of Theo pulling off his clothes and folding them in a neat pile. It was an oddly domestic habit of Theo’s that Liam had noticed. The chimera had even started folding Liam’s clothes when they were freshly washed and waiting to be put away.
He could tell when Theo stepped under the spray of the water. Instead of the harsh sound of water crashing onto tiles, he could hear the soft patter of water drops landing on Theo’s shoulders and back. Liam wondered how he looked in the shower. He wondered how quickly rivets of water would slide down Theo’s chest, or how his muscles would tense as he scrubbed his body.
He sat up and dragged his hands down his face as he tried to find something else to think about, but as he sat, all he could think about was Theo. Liam groaned and started pacing his room.
He let the sound of his foot fall overpower his hearing. At least until he heard his bedroom door close, “What’s up with you?”
“I’m fine, it’s noth-” Liam turned to see Theo in a low hanging towel with wet hair and smothered in the scent of Liam’s soap, “it’s nothing…” he put all his focus on controlling his chemosignals and taking his eyes off of Theo, both of which were very difficult. This was all totally normal friend behavior.
Liam also managed to act very normal about the fact that Theo then chose to dress himself in a tight pair of black boxer briefs and Liam’s lacrosse hoodie. He definitely avoided staring at Theo’s thighs, and it didn’t even cross his mind that Theo looked so good with Liam’s number scrawled across his chest. Liam kept his wide eyes on Theo’s face as the older wolf climbed onto the bed next to him. They were close. So close that their arms and legs pressed together.
“Little wolf?” Theo grinned at him as he gently took the remote from Liam’s hand, “Watch the movie.” All Liam could do was agree as Theo hit play.
Two hours later, the movie ended and Liam was left pressed into the familiar softness of his own hoodie. At some point, Theo had wrapped an arm around Liam and pulled him in to rest on his chest. Theo’s other hand was peacefully still where it was encased in Liam’s. About halfway through the movie, Liam had found himself reaching over to grab Theo’s hand and tracing the lines of his palm.
As the credits rolled, Liam craned his neck to look out the window. The sun was set and it was dark and gloomy outside as a light rain came down. But it didn’t matter because Liam was warm and anything but gloomy as Theo held him.
Eventually they found themselves in the kitchen rummaging around for food, “God, I really need to learn how to cook.” Liam said as he pulled out a frozen pizza and set it out on the counter.
“Your lack of basic life skills astounds me sometimes.” Theo stated as he moved next to Liam.
“Oh fuck off,” Liam bumped his shoulder into Theo’s, “Do you even know how to cook?”
“Duh,”
“Wait, seriously?”
“Yeah, it’s really not that hard,” Theo said as he looked softly at Liam, “Maybe I could teach you sometime.” Theo’s voice was smooth and quiet as he shifted even closer to the beta.
“That’d be nice.” Liam felt a hot red spread onto his face as butterflies rose in his stomach. He leaned over and gave Theo a quick peck on the lips before turning to set the pizza in the oven. When he turned back to Theo, Liam saw a slight blush fading from his cheeks. Liam was a little scared of how much he liked the shy smile that played on Theo’s lips, but that would be a problem for later.
– – –
Theo made it a habit to wear Liam’s clothes—specifically his lacrosse hoodie—often. It was annoying some days, but oddly comforting other days when his clothes would smell like Theo.
He actually hadn’t washed his hoodie in a few days, still clinging to Theo’s scent from the last time the chimera had worn it a week ago. That was just before he left with Derek and Chris to help find a lost omega in LA.
It was weird to be worried about Theo, to not sneak him breakfast before school started, and to sleep alone in his bed. But he’d be back soon, and that fact soothed Liam. Mason had definitely noticed how tense he’d been, but it would have been hard to explain his friendship with Theo, so he’d resorted to wearing his hoodie a lot and texting Theo throughout the day.
Theo made the whole ordeal sound boring, but Liam was getting updates from Derek about fights with hunters, tracking down a local alpha, and something about a car chase. Liam was a little pissed at Theo for not being honest about the dangerous shit that was happening. Of course he was worried when one moment Theo was telling him how mundane the day was then the next minute Derek was telling the pack about how they’d been shot at.
He didn’t bring it up yet though. Liam would wait till Theo was back in Beacon Hills, safe and sound, before kicking his ass for being a stupid liar.
Day’s passed and Liam’s worry grew. It didn’t help that he had to eventually wash away Theo’s scent on his hoodie and he didn’t have anyone to talk to about it.
Liam was pacing his room, waiting for Theo to message him back. It’d been hours since he asked if Theo was alright, and he’d only gotten silence in response. He was so panicked he felt he might cry. Liam heavily debated just calling Derek, but if they were fine it would be a weird and awkward conversation.
After a while he found himself sitting on his bed, head in his hands, imagining Theo coming back. He ran through the scenario a few times. Theo would open the window to the bathroom like he always insisted on doing. Maybe Liam would wait in the room, or maybe he would meet Theo in the hallway. It didn’t matter. It all ended the same way, with Liam berating Theo for lying to him and insisting the next time Theo was away, that he needed to keep Liam in the loop. Liam wouldn’t admit it to Theo, but he wouldn’t be able to handle that amount of worry again.
He started the scenario again. It felt more real this time when he imagined the sound of the window opening, Theo climbing through, and footsteps making their way down the hall. Then the door creaked open, and Liam’s breath caught.
Theo was there, standing in the doorway in dirty clothes and smelling like Chris’s cigarette smoke. Ideas of yelling and punching and generally trying to convey how worried Liam had been and how stupid Theo was crossed his mind. But without thinking, he stood, quickly walked to Theo, and threw his arms around him.
Theo staggered under Liam’s full weight, but in an instant wrapped his arms tightly around Liam’s center. He walked them back into the room and kicked the door closed. They stood there for a long time, wrapped in each other, not saying anything. Liam nuzzled his head into the side of Theo’s neck and breathed in the familiar, comforting scent.
“You didn’t message me back. You didn’t tell me you were okay.” He said into Theo’s neck, still holding him close.
“I’m sorry. I’m alright, though. My phone just broke.” Theo explained, rubbing a hand up and down Liam’s spine.
Liam realized he was shaking as his entire body tried to relax after days of being tense, “I’ll get you a new one.” He said pulling back to look at Theo who just smiled at him.
Theo’s eyes darted over Liam's face, “I’m alright, I promise.” he reassured before bumping his nose lightly into Liam.
In the warm embrace Liam leaned forward and lightly pressed his lips into Theo’s. Then walked him further into the room and pressed him into the bed. Finally, Theo was with him again, and Liam wasn’t going to be letting him go anytime soon.