Work Text:
Liam wasn’t one to judge, heck- how could he? He was a werewolf with IED and daddy issues, but that didn’t stop him from being observant. Since the war had ended Liam had taken Theo in, after finding out the chimera had been sleeping in his truck.
Liam didn’t like that, he brought Theo back only for him to sleep in his truck? Theo was his responsibility after all, the least he could do was offer him a room to sleep in. Considering his parents both worked so much, he hardly noticed Theo’s presence let alone questioned it.
But that is what led him to this point in time, he had noticed the little things that Theo did. Things that were sure to blow his cover as a werewolf if his parents saw or heard them, that was for sure.
Let’s start with the first thing Theo did that Liam noticed, growling. Liam knew werewolves growled, he did it too. But it was different when Theo did it, it was not on purpose and it rolled off the tongue. It was almost as if that was Theo’s first instinct. Just the other day they had been gaming, Liam was teaching him how to play mario kart. Originally it had gone well, until the chimera had the nerve to growl at him.
Theo had appeared to be frustrated by the controller, “Theo, hold it like this-” but before he could take the remote to show him, the chimera had growled at him.
At first Liam had been taken back, he didn’t expect that. Usually when someone growled at him it was because they were in danger or he was in trouble, but with Theo it was different. It was like an expression, Theo was frustrated and protective.
“I’m not gonna take it,” Liam reassured him, his thumb brushing over the chimera’s who let out a smaller growl- still hesitant. “Theo, move your hand and hold it like this,” Liam explained, demonstrating with his own controller how to hold it.
Theo seemed to appreciate a visual demonstration a lot more, finding it easier to hold the remote once he had been shown. “Thanks,” Theo said before looking down at the remote, pushing the joystick with his thumb and looking back up to the TV.
Liam had found that odd, confusing and kind of weird. But he brushed it off, he didn’t dwell on it. He was used to Malia reacting that way, he just figured maybe it was a coyote thing? But then it happened again, but this time it was during a pack meeting.
“I don’t trust him,” Stiles shrugged, looking the chimera up and down he didn’t care. “He screwed us over once, Scott- whose to say he isn’t plotting something right now!”
Liam rolled his eyes, “because he’s changed, so can you stop?” He didn’t care that everyone’s eyes turned to face him, he wasn’t going to stand back and let his pack rip Theo apart when he wasn’t doing anything wrong.
“Yeah well you haven’t exactly made the bets choices in your life now have you Liam?” Stiles retorted, but before Liam could even clap back a low growl had erupted from beside him, he turned to see Theo’s fangs protruding.
“See! Evil, he is evil-” Stiles complained, flapping his arms about meanwhile Theo looked about ready to rip into the humans jugular. Theo’s growl slowly became louder as his eyes glowed that bright and golden colour, Liam knew to act fast.
“Theo,” he said softly, his hand grabbing the chimera’s arm. He didn’t fully understand their connection, but he knew they had formed somewhat of one since he brought him back. Theo was able to calm him down and Liam could do the same thing, “breath.”
Theo’s nostrils flared as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling protective whenever Liam’s past was mentioned, especially being an over-thinker he always assumed the worst. “If I was plotting something you’d know,” Theo snarled, turning and exciting the room- wondering why he even bothered.
“Theo wait-” Liam called out, following after him. “I know Stiles can be a dick, I’m sorry,” he sighed. He knew Stiles didn’t mean it, he just didn’t think before he spoke. It was probably the adhd, but it wasn’t an excuse. “I appreciate you sticking up for me but just cool it ok?”
Theo scoffed, feeling his claws begging to release as he turned his face. “I’m going home, are you coming?” he asked and Liam nodded, quickly getting into the passenger's side and buckling his seat belt.
The entire drive he was lost in his thoughts, wondering why Theo always reacted the way he did. Liam’s first urge was to yell at Stiles, not to tap into his supernatural side- but Theo was different. It was odd, but he wanted to understand it better.
Theo’s weird habits didn’t stop there, Liam had noticed something else odd about the other boy, hissing.
Theo hisses when he’s annoyed.
It was a pack get together, a night for them to all just sit around and chill. Usually they would order pizzas, play board games, and watch a movie that Lydia or Stiles chose.
They had all grabbed their slices of pizzas and dug in, squished in the small living room of the McCall house. Theo saddled up beside Liam, his shoulders pushed against Theo’s. He felt an odd sense of comfort with the chimera beside him. Theo turned to look at him, a small barely there smile crept onto the chimera’s face but didn’t stay for long.
“Who wants to play monopoly?” Stiles’ loud voice questioned from the hallway as he came through holding a colourful cardboard box above his head. Liam eyed the box carefully, the corners torn but held together by silver duct tape.
Most of the pack groaned at the mention of the game, including himself. Mostly because of who would be playing the game. Stiles was a monopoly pro, usually buying every property and pushing everyone out of the game slowly.
“Me! Liam play with us please,” Mason bounced up and down on the carpet, his dark brown eyes stared into Liam’s blue ones. Liam doesn’t understand how the other boy hasn’t given himself carpet burn by now.
Liam just simply shook his head, not wanting to join a game that would surely last hours. Mason’s eyes turned from begging to pleading, “Please Liam, I will let you borrow any comic book you want.” He proposed the idea.
“Any of them?” Liam asked skeptically, wondering where the loophole is, surely Mason didn’t want him to play that badly.
“Any of them! However long you want.” The other boy bargained.
“Fine,” Liam reluctantly agreed before turning to Theo, “You in?” he asked with hopeful eyes that said don’t-make-me-play-alone. Theo had never really played monopoly, he did as a kid.
But that was a long time ago now, he didn’t really remember it. “Sure,” Theo said before getting off the couch and joining the others at the table, he didn’t want to play but he thought he should try to bond with them.
The game began almost immediately, no rules explained. Theo was just expected to pick it up as they played, thankfully Liam had tried to be helpful. But with the beta’s own frustration and annoyance rising Theo was left to fend for himself.
“Alright Raeken, your turn,” Stiles snickered, having already bought the most expensive two properties his face showed a cock grin that Theo wanted to wipe off his face.
Theo grabbed the dice and rolled them, “six,” he counted before grabbing his little car figure and moving it across the map. A loud laugh caused him to look up, Stiles’s was cracking himself up.
“Back in jail it is,” Stiles teased, but Theo didn’t take it lightly. A small hissing sound coming from him as Stiles dragged his figure back to the jail cell, “don’t complain, just roll doubles and you’ll be out in no time.”
Theo could feel his fangs burning as he fought the urge to bare his fangs at the human. Liam being by his side was comforting, almost grounding him. “Don’t worry, you’re doing good,” Liam whispered although half the pack could hear him.
Theo nodded and took a deep breath, after a few turns he had managed to get out of jail and start playing again. That ended up being a bad thing, his first roll out of jail and he managed to land on one of Stiles properties.
Fuck- “Pay up Raeken, that’ll be…” Stiles pretended to lick his thumb before flicking through his many property cards and pulling out the dark blue one, “two thousand dollars,” Stiles snickered.
Theo looked down at his money, “I don’t have that,” he said, happy to accept defeat and end the game where it was. But Stiles wasn’t having it, he was playing it straight to the rules- pissing Theo off.
“Give me your money, sell two of those properties to me and you’ll have paid me off,” Stiles said, holding out his hand but instead Theo hissed. Except this time it was loud, like a cat. His fangs were on display and his nose scrunched up, Stiles immediately retracted his hand, “calm down kitty.”
Liam flashed him a glare, “Stiles shut up,” he said before grabbing Theo’s arm and leading him out of his chair. “We’re done playing, continue without us,” he said, feeling himself grow more agitated by the game as well.
“Calm down Theo,” he said once they were in the hallway, out of human earshot. He cupped Theo’s face in a gentle way, watching as the chimera’s frown slowly subsided. “You hissed at him,” Liam said, but it was more of an observation than a comment.
Theo nodded, he didn’t care. Stiles deserved it, he usually did. “Can we go home?” Theo asked, usually he wouldn’t and he would just suck it up for Liam but he could tell the beta didn’t really want to be there either.
Theo’s animalistic behaviour didn’t stop there no- Liam had noticed Theo also had this odd habit of curling into a ball. Almost like a dog- a wolf. Liam honestly found this one adorable, it didn’t bother him at all despite how odd it was.
The first time he had noticed it was after an argument, between the two of them. It was no secret the pair didn’t always see eye to eye and agree on things. This hadn’t been their worse fight, but it had been their first since the war had ended.
It hadn’t even been over anything serious, just a disagreement…
“I told you i’m not calling her,” Liam groaned, his arms crossed as he for the millionth time complained about Hayden leaving him and moving towns, Theo’s solution was always the same- why don’t you just call her?
Theo clicked his tongue, “you always do this.” Liam frowned at that, his brows furrowed as he turned to face the chimera, as they were sitting on the couch.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Liam snapped back, feeling defensive to Theo’s comment. Thankfully his parents weren’t home, but that also meant this could escalate without parental supervision.
“You’re scared of facing your emotions,” Theo pointed out, his voice calm and monotone which only seemed to piss Liam off more.
“No-”
“Yes,” Theo replied, his phone in his hand which Liam made a point to snatch. Standing up and holding it behind his back, “give me back my phone Liam.”
The beta shook his head, “no,” he said, holding it tightly. Theo leapt forward, his hand reaching as he tried to grab it from Liam but the beta tilted so it was just out of Theo’s reach.
“Give it back Liam!” Theo growled, but Liam shook his head. If Theo wanted to give him shitty advice then Liam was going to take his phone- simple.
“Liam I said give it back,” He clenched his teeth tight, a low sound from the back of his throat coming up with the words.
Liam once again simply shook his head again, “Nuh-uh,” He said like a toddler being asked to go to sleep.
Theo sighed and took a step back. He squeezed his eyes together and rubbed his temples with his fingers.
“I’m sorry for trying to pressure you into calling her,” Theo looked into Liam’s eyes and apologized. Liam looked happy with the apology, he straightened back up, and held Theo’s phone out to him.
“I forgive you. Just please stop trying to get me to talk to her, I just don’t want to,”
Theo reached his hand out and took his phone, checking to make sure it was turned off before pocketing it. When Theo doesn’t know what to say back he will completely change the topic, “Can we go watch a movie in your room?” His lips puckered inwards.
Liam just let out a snort, eyeing the things Theo would do with his mouth when he’s feeling awkward. Liam had found himself doing a lot of noticing lately. They ran up the stairs, pounding on the wood as they took two steps at a time. Liam pushed into his room, Theo right behind him.
Liam decided to change into something comfortable to lounge around in, as he dug through his drawers, Theo took the chance to get comfortable on the beta’s bed.
Liam slipped into a pair of basketball shorts and turned around, not making any movements as he watched Theo. The chimera had gathered all of Liam’s pillows, minus his normal head pillow, and was pushing them into place.
He arranged the pillows into a U shape before grabbing a soft throw blanket. He must have sensed Liam staring at him as he turned to look at the beta.
“Are you just going to stand and watch me like a freak or are you going to put a movie on?” Theo asked, annoyance laced in his words.
Liam finally snapped out of his trance as he walked over to the bed and jumped in, not before grabbing his x box controller.
“What do you want to watch?” Liam thought he would be nice and give the other boy the option.
“Vampire Diaries.” He didn’t even turn to answer Liam, he was too busy getting comfortable on the bed.
Liam’s fingers moved the joysticks as he went to Netflix and found the show, he hit resume on the episode they had left off on.
They were pretty far into the show, it had become their thing to watch an episode as they ate dinner and as they went to bed each night. They laid in silence, every now and then making comments about one of the characters attractiveness.
Liam had gotten lost in the show, he hadn’t looked up in awhile, too entranced with the drama that was going on in the show. When he finally looked up he was met with an adorable sight.
Theo had curled up into a ball, his knees tucked up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them. He looked adorable, Liam couldn’t help the smile that had formed on his face.
A small snoring noise came from the chimera and Liam had never seen him look so peaceful. Curled up in a ball he looked precious, Liam didn’t want to disturb him or risk waking him. Not when he looked so comfortable, and he didn’t want to give up his bed either.
Liam laid back, his arm open and behind his head as Theo curled up by his side. It was almost like sleeping with a dog, Liam didn’t mind it at all. He actually found comfort in it, Theo’s presence brought him peace- despite his odd ways.
That may have been the first time Theo curled into a ball, but it wasn’t the last.
Theo had done it during a pack night as well. In Theo’s defence they had been tired, overworked and exhausted by the time they got to Scott’s- being there didn’t actually help.
Stiles and Scott continued their rambling and ranting, both trying to figure out a plan for Liam to follow while they attended college. The beta didn’t need a plan, he knew how to take care of his pack and this town- he watched Scott do it for years.
“He’s not even listening-” Stiles groaned, his hand flicking in Theo’s direction, the chimera was curled on the couch. His knees close to his chest as he formed a u shape with his body, “why do we keep him around?”
Liam flashed him a glare, not in the mood for Stiles’s attitude. “I’m going to wake his wolfy ass up-”
“You will do no such thing,” Liam snapped back, standing in front of Stiles and blocking his view of the chimera. “He is asleep, this is the first time he has felt safe enough to sleep around you guys- let him sleep,” Liam’s eyes glowed gold in warning.
“Safe? He’s the one who attacked us!” Stiles proclaimed, but Liam wasn’t having any of it, the beta shook his head, turning to see Theo and more importantly how calm the chimera was.
“Yes Stiles, safe.” Liam snarled, turning to Scott for help but to no avail. “He paid for what he did ok? We sent him to the skinwalkers and he paid his price, he’s allowed to be afraid of us,” Liam explained.
Stiles rolled his eyes at Liam’s dramatics, still seeing Theo in one way- despite the fact that the boy was quite literally curled up on the couch like a cat. “Whatever, I'm leaving,” Liam said, shaking his head and trying to find the best way to move Theo without disturbing him too much.
He decided picking him up would probably be the best idea, he leaned down with open palms and was able to scoop the chimera into his arms. He didn’t waste time with goodbyes, instead he carried Theo towards the door. Managing to get it open he carried Theo out to the truck, he knew the chimera would probably kill him if he drove it so he decided now was a good time to wake him. He was safe in his truck, away from the pack and their judgment.
Theo’s odd habit’s didn’t stop there, hissing, growling and curling up in a ball were just the beginning of Theo’s weird ways. Liam had been keeping a mental track of them all, taking notes on what he observed.
But Theo Raeken nibbling and biting him was something he didn’t expect, it caught him off guard. He wasn’t being aggressive or violent, it was just different. Odd? Liam wasn’t sure what the right word to describe it was, but it was becoming one of the many odd things Theo Raeken did.
The list was never ending when it came to Theo, Liam could go on and on about the odd things Theo did but it is easy for Liam to choose his favorite.
Theo was curled up beside Liam, his back pressed against Liam’s side, curled up into his usual Raeken ball. His brown shaggy hair was splayed out on the pillow under his head- Liam’s pillow.
They were sitting atop Liam’s bed, they had planned to watch a movie, more specifically, ‘Finding Nemo’. After Liam had found out that Theo had never seen the cartoon he had made it his job to introduce the movie to the other boy.
So this is how they found themselves curled up on his bed, “Theo?” Liam asked, watching as the chimera was glued to the screen. “You’re so focused,” Liam teased, poking at Theo’s face but the chimera didn’t budge.
Liam found this amusing, continuing to poke at Theo’s cheekbones, “Theooo,” he sang not liking not having the chimera’s attention. Within a flash Theo whipped his head to the side and bit Liam’s finger, “hey!”
Liam looked down to his finger, “did you just bite me?” he asked in shock. The only time he had been bitten was by Scott, he wasn’t sure how to feel about it. “Theo?”
“You kept poking me,” Theo said with a shrug as if it was normal behaviour to bite people. “So I bit you,” he added almost proudly.
That had been the first time Theo had bit Liam, but it wasn’t the last. The second time occurred while they were messing around, it wasn’t even meant to be serious but Theo still bit him.
“Uh no, Iron man is better,” Theo declared after Liam made him watch several marvel movies but Liam wasn’t having it, not when Captain America was clearly the better superhero.
“Captain America is so much better, plus he’s hot,” Liam laughed, it wasn’t a secret that the beta was bisexual. Sure he didn’t wear a rainbow flag around his neck and it wasn’t obvious, but his close friends knew.
Theo rolled his eyes, “of course you’d find him hot,” he said, shaking his head. While Liam was distracted he made a move and pushed the beta over, “admit iron man is better,” he said.
Liam’s eyes glowed gold in warning and challenge, “or what?” he said with a smirk. He could take Theo and he knew it, the chimera knew it too. “Captain america is better, you’re just in denial,” the beta teased.
Theo snarled, his fangs on display. “No,” he said.
“Uh, yes?” Liam laughed, despite their position of Theo hovering above him and pinning him down he knew he could easily overthrow the chimera, “just cause you have a boner for Tony doesn’t mean I have to.”
“But he’s clearly a better hero!” Theo protested, and Liam again disagreed. When the beta pushed him he was quick to bend down and nip his shoulder.
“Theo!” Liam complained, more mad about the teeth marks in his shirt than anything else. “I’ll get you a muzzle if you keep biting me,” he snapped, flicking the chimera on the nose once Theo released his wrists.
“You’re just mad cause your favourite character sucks,” Theo shrugged, again pretending like he didn’t just bite the beta. It made Liam more curious, confused and intrigued by the chimera.
Lastly, Theo had a habit of puring. You heard that correctly, the chimera purred. The first time Liam heard it, he thought he was losing his mind. He didn’t remember bringing a cat inside, the noise was so loud and obviously a purr.
Liam was sitting at the kitchen bar, his head ducked down over his math homework, he could feel a stress headache setting in behind his eyes.
His fingers found themselves rubbing his temples out of stress. His pencil hovered over the paper, he hoped that if the pencil hovered over the math problem long enough that the answer would miraculously form in his head.
He typed the problem into his phone, maybe cheating was sometimes justified he thought, but he stopped typing when he heard a noise from the living room.
He stopped and listened, his supernatural hearing reaching the other room, he tried to make sense of what he was hearing. His face screwed up in confusion, ‘was something vibrating? Or is that something growling? Or maybe it’s a cat?’
The questions rang through his head, he doesn’t remember letting a cat into the house, then again Theo had been wanting a cat, it wouldn’t have surprised him if Theo stole a cat off the street.
He silently stood up from the bar stool, trying to keep the chair from squeaking, he tiptoed out of the kitchen, not making any noise as he snuck into the living room.
What he saw was nothing that he had imagined it would be, the sound was not a cat, it was the Chimera. The boy was lying on the couch, sitting under a pile of blankets, a fluffy blanket was held close to his nose, Liam recognized it as the throw blanket at the end of his bed.
A low vibrating noise was emitting from the other boy, his eyes trained on the TV, playing an old Disney movie.
Liam just stood and watched for a little, trying to not be noticed by the chimera, his eyebrow quirked up, he couldn’t figure out how Theo was making these noises, what kind of noises were they, he wondered.
He continued to stare at Theo, his head tilted each time the vibrating got louder, Theo must have been able to smell the other boy, “You know it’s creepy to stare, little wolf,” He didn’t even turn to look at the boy as he addressed him.
Liam’s eyes widened at being caught, the smell of embarrassment permeated the room. “I-I wasn’t staring…” he said although his heartbeat betrayed him in an instant.
Theo looked up at him with beady green eyes, the resemblance to a cat was almost ridiculous. It didn’t help that Theo was oddly curled up in a ball, like a cat. “You were definitely staring,” Theo replied.
Liam shook his head, refusing to admit he had been caught. “No, I was-” Liam took a deep breath, “okay so what? I stared at you for a minute cause I heard a noise and wasn’t sure where it was coming from,” Liam admitted with a shrug.
Theo rolled his eyes, resuming his position with his head buried into his arm shielding the light as his knees were curled close to his chest. Soon enough the chimera began to fall back asleep, a low rumble coming from him that still confused Liam.
Liam opened the notes app in his phone, he had in fact made a list of the weird things Theo Raeken did. He shook his head with a small smile, it was ridiculous really.
Weird things Theo Raeken does:
- Growling
- Hissing
- Curling into a ball
- Biting
- Purring
Liam looked at it, he used to feel confused and weirded out by it. Simply because he didn’t understand why the chimera did it, or even how. But looking at it now made him smile, Theo was an odd one.
But the chimera had a special place in Liam’s heart, that included his weird animalistic habits. He didn’t mind it, it seemed to occur the most when Theo felt threatened or safe.
“What are you all smiley about?” Theo asked with a frown and Liam didn’t have the heart to point out Theo’s odd ways, he simply smiled.
“I’m just smitten as a kitten,” Liam laughed with a shrug, ignoring the way Theo rolled his eyes and pushed him, “come on kitty let’s get some food.”
Theo didn’t hate that nickname, he actually liked it… But Liam didn’t need to know that, “oh shut up,” Theo said, shaking his head as they walked towards the kitchen.