Chapter Text
Day 0
Scott wasn’t sure why the hell he’d done it. He certainly hadn’t planned to but when he heard Theo calling his name, practically begging for help… well Scott hated the thought of leaving somebody to some cruel unknown fate when he could have saved them. So he’d rushed forward and pulled Theo out of the hole he was being dragged into.
Except now Stiles was looking at him as if he’d just slit his own throat and the betrayal in Kira’s face stung right down to Scott’s heart. Nobody looked happy with the choice Scott had made but he wasn’t sure he’d even made the decision. He’d just acted on his never-ending need to rescue somebody asking for help. He hadn’t even stopped to think about how Theo probably deserved it, how it was a just revenge for all of the misery he’d put the pack through – hell, what he’d put him through. Scott and Theo’s recent history had been nothing short of complicated and yet here he was with the chimera’s life safe thanks to him.
Even Theo looked surprised at what he’d done. Scott was sure the expression was mirrored on his own face. Guilt was already starting to creep in as he realized how much more pain he was going to put his pack through just by saving the other. Apparently he wasn’t the only one thinking it either.
“What the hell did you just do?!” Stiles snapped, sounding angrier than Scott had heard him in a long time.
Scott wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t have any rational excuse, at least not anything that would make sense to his pack. “I… I don’t know.”
Day 2
Theo’s silence was starting to worry Scott. He had the chimera chained up to his radiator the way Stiles had always done with him on full moons back before he had Derek to guide him or understood anything about anchors. Theo hadn’t struggled or tried to escape or anything, he was just silent. Scott had no doubt that he was plotting something and it was going to come back to bite him in the ass but right now he wasn’t sure he had the energy to confront him.
The pack weren’t speaking to him. Or at least Stiles, Kira, Liam and Malia weren’t. Lydia had stopped by that morning and while she’d remained polite and level-headed Scott could tell she was angry and didn’t understand why he’d saved Theo. He didn’t exactly have any answers for her.
“I suggest you work out what you’re going to do about him soon,” she said rather curtly upon her exit. Scott understood the warning in her words but it only served to make him feel uneasy. He couldn’t keep Theo chained up in his bedroom forever, could he?
The more he thought about it though, the more his immediate rescue started to make sense in his head. Theo hadn’t always been a bad guy. He still remembered what he was like as a kid, back when he had bad asthma and Scott had been there to help him out. Maybe it was hopeless optimism but Scott had to believe there was still a part of that Theo in there buried under everything the Dread Doctors had put him through and all the hate he allowed himself to fester in since.
No, it was stupid to think like that. This was what Stiles was talking about when he said Scott always chose to see the glass half full. The Theo he remembered from their childhood wasn’t coming back, he was too far gone. Scott had made a mistake saving his life and he was going to pay the price for it.
Day 4
“Why did you save me?”
Scott almost thought he’d imagined the voice that came from the other side of the room. He’d been working late in the night on a project he was falling behind on and he was tired so it made total sense that he could imagine Theo had broken his four-day silence. Except when he looked up from his laptop and over at the other, the chimera was giving him a look that said he expected an answer.
“I couldn’t just leave you to die,” Scott muttered in response, not quite able to meet the other’s eyes. “That’s not who I am.”
Theo didn’t say anything else for the rest of the night. He watched Scott work in silence but when Scott finally called it a night and shut down his laptop the other was already fast asleep.
Day 5
Saving Theo had ruined Scott’s life a lot quicker than he’d expected. He wasn’t dead or bleeding or even hurt but he was sick with worry whenever he left the house, especially if his mom was home alone with Theo, and his friends still weren’t speaking to him. Stiles wouldn’t even look him in the eye anymore He’d given up trying to eat with them at lunch. Instead he sat with some of the boys on the lacrosse team who were more than a little confused by his sudden appearance on their table.
Facing the silent treatment from Kira and Liam was rough enough as it was but the real killer was being abandoned by Stiles. Things had been rocky between them when Theo had first come back to town but this was even worse. It was as if saving Theo from the skinwalkers had told Stiles that he was siding with him rather than his life-long best friend. It wasn’t true at all but Stiles wouldn’t even give him the time of day to explain himself. The worst part was Scott couldn’t even blame him for it. He’d messed up big time and he knew it.
Deaton was luckily a little more understanding than his friends. His boss always had a way to make things sound reasonable and he put Scott at a temporary ease from the anxiety he’d been feeling for days. “You did what you felt like you had to,” the man assured him, his hand resting on Scott’s shoulder and filling him with a warmth he desperately needed. “You’re not a killer, Scott, nor a fool. It’s unreasonable of your friends to think you could be the former and just as unreasonable of you to consider the latter.” Scott wasn’t sure if that was necessarily the case but he felt comforted for it anyhow.
“Do you know what you’re going to do about Theo?” Deaton asked. Scott shifted uncomfortably on the spot and shook his head. “And you said he’s not tried to escape at all?”
“He barely even speaks. I’ve only got like five words out of him,” Scott offered in reply. Theo had once again fallen silent after his question the night before.
Deaton seemed to consider that for a few moments before speaking again. “Come back to me in a few days. I may have something that might help,” he offered. Scott allowed himself to cling onto that hope. He was in too far over his head and just for once he wanted somebody else to make the tough decisions for him.
Day 7
Theo spoke for the second time during dinner that night. Scott’s mom had refused to cook for the unwanted guest so Scott had taken to preparing meals for the other and feeding him. He wasn’t about to give Theo access to cutlery he could potentially use as a weapon. It was uncomfortable and awkward feeding the other boy knowing that weeks ago he had been plotting his murder – and probably still was – but Scott wasn’t prepared to let him starve either. Two meals a day wasn’t much but it was what he had to do in order to feel okay with himself. He was starting to feel bad that Theo couldn’t even get up and walk around but he knew those kind of thoughts were dangerous. He couldn’t let Theo have that freedom or who knew what he would do with it.
“Scott?” Theo muttered, his voice hoarse and cracked from days of disuse. Scott paused, fork full of baked potato awkwardly held in the air. Nothing about this situation was normal and the pause only highlighted that in Scott’s brain. What was he even doing? “Thank you.”
The simple phrase was enough to turn Scott’s stomach. He felt sick. He didn’t want any thanks or praise from Theo, the words were tainted even before they left his lips. Scott felt an anger burn up inside of him, an anger rooted in the fact that his friends all felt betrayed because he’d dared to save Theo’s life. Being the hero had cost him everybody he had been desperately trying to keep safe for years now.
“Don’t,” he said firmly, forcing the food into Theo’s mouth just for an excuse to shut him up. Suddenly he much preferred it when Theo was silent.
Day 8
“So it’s a spell?” Scott asked, not sure he was quite understanding what his boss was saying to him. It was a lot of information to take in at once after all.
“For lack of a better word, yes. Think of it was a binding between yourself and Theo. You’ll remain control and he won’t be allowed more than fifty feet from you,” Deaton explained, his expression as neutral as ever. He wasn’t recommending Scott do this but he wasn’t saying it was a bad idea either. He was giving Scott the option and that made things so much worse.
Scott didn’t want to be the one to decide but he knew that he had to be. He’d been the one to make the mistake of saving Theo and now the other boy’s life was his responsibility. If anybody died because of Theo then that blood was on Scott’s hands and he had to live with it.
“I’ll think about it.”
Deaton smiled sympathetically. “You don’t have to rush this decision. Make sure you’re prepared for the responsibility before you commit. I’m sure I can find other options.”
Scott just smiled. It was nice to know that at least one person was fighting in his corner for him.
Day 10
Theo looked terrible. He had barely moved for days and was even more unresponsive than usual when Scott tried to feed him. He wondered this was just one of Theo’s tricks to make him bring his guard down and it was very possible but that didn’t make him feel any better about himself. So for the second time in ten days, Scott made a decision he wasn’t sure he totally agreed with and undid the chains keeping Theo tied to the radiator.
“If you try and leave this room, I will break your arms and legs,” he threatened when Theo gave him a confused expression. Gritting his teeth together, Scott grabbed Theo by the arm and pulled him up. The boy was so weak on his legs that he almost immediately stumbled over. Scott had to keep hold of him just to make sure he didn’t fall right back down.
Instead of attacking Scott or making an attempt to escape, Theo just stumbled around the room as if re-learning how to use his legs. After an hour of stretching out his limbs, he laid down on Scott’s bed and promptly passed out. Scott let him stay there while he remained at his desk, looking up from his homework every now and then to make sure the other boy hadn’t moved. Theo looked so peaceful in his sleep that it was hard to match him up with the same boy who had tried and technically succeeded in killing him a few months before.
It was two in the morning before Scott shook Theo awake and led him back to the radiator. He felt almost guilty as he chained the chimera back up and made a point not to look him in the eyes. There was no struggle which Scott was thankful for but Theo apparently wasn’t going to let the day end without making his savior feel uneasy once more. “Have a nice sleep,” he muttered.
Scott spent the rest of the night wide awake, wondering if it had been a threat or an understated thanks without having to say the exact words.
Day 11
“He’s not even chained up?!” Stiles screamed, grabbing Scott by his jacket and pushing him against the lockers. Scott was so caught off guard that he didn’t even resist even though he could have easily forced his best friend’s hands off of him. “Are you crazy?”
Truth be told, Scott wasn’t sure how Stiles had found out that Theo had spent the past day out of his chains but he was beginning to panic anyway. He hated arguing with Stiles anyway but this was public and the rest of the pack were watching, not to mention their classmates who had no idea what was going on.
“He is,” Scott assured him but apparently it did nothing to calm Stiles down. His nostrils flared and his grip on Scott’s jacket only tightened.
“I saw you! Yesterday, he was on your bed and there were no chains, nothing to stop him from jumping out of the window, nothing!”
Scott wasn’t sure if there was anything he could say that would calm Stiles down. He had always known that Theo was a sore spot for the other boy but he’d expected their eventual discussion about him to be a little more reasonable. He certainly hadn’t expected Stiles to be looking through his window to see if he’d actually done anything about the chimera he’d taken prisoner. God, if Stiles knew about Deaton’s offer then he’d probably commit homicide on the spot.
“He has been chained up,” Scott insisted, trying to keep his voice quiet so they couldn’t be overheard. He didn’t need people thinking he had a boyfriend who was into some really kinky stuff that shouldn’t be discussed in school. God, he could already imagine what those counselling sessions would be like. “And I was there to watch him. He hasn’t moved in ten days Stiles, what else was I supposed to do?
“I don’t know, let him die?” Stiles snarked in response, finally pulling his hands off of Scott’s jacket and stepping back. “You know, I thought you were smarter than this,” he spat as he stepped back into the ranks of the pack. Scott was forced to look at them and take in the variations of hurt and betrayal that were etched across all of their faces. Even Lydia looked disappointed in him.
For a moment he wanted to assure them that he had things under control. That Theo wasn’t going to be a threat. The words never made it past his lips though. He couldn’t feed his friends empty lies like that when he didn’t even believe them himself. He didn’t know what to do about Theo and it was eating him up. So instead of addressing the issue, he just turned on his heel and walked home.
Somehow Theo seemed like more tolerable company.
Day 14
“Scott, I don’t feel easy having him in the house. He’s a killer! It keeps me up at night thinking about what he might do if he gets free,” Melissa sighed, the worry and fear lining her face. Somehow this hurt even more than the pack’s distrust did.
“He’s not going to get free, mom. I promise,” Scott lied, hating himself for every moment of it. He didn’t want to lie to his mother or to his friends but he couldn’t keep Theo locked up forever, his conscience wouldn’t allow it. As long as he was always there to keep Theo in check things would be fine. “I’d never let him hurt you.”
His mom’s expression darkened. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”
Day 16
Theo asked about Scott’s history assignments. It seemed like a safe enough topic to discuss so Scott opened up. It wasn’t terribly interesting, just important dates and names from the civil war. Theo knew a surprising amount about it and even offered a few suggestions for essay topics.
It was the first friendly conversation Scott had had in weeks.
Day 19
Much to Scott’s surprise, he received a visit from a member of his pack. Well, he wasn’t sure if Mason qualified as a pack member or if he could even call them his pack considering how long it had been since he last spoke to them, but he appreciated the visit.
Even more surprising, Mason wasn’t angry with him. He wasn’t there to pass along Liam’s anger either which was what Scott had been expecting. He just wanted to ask how Scott was doing and whether he had the situation under control. “I do,” he bluffed, hiding all of his worries and fears behind a smile. Mason seemed convinced.
Scott knew Theo had been listening in from the expression the other gave him when he returned to his room. “You wanted it to be Stiles, didn’t you?” he asked in an impassive tone. Scott fixed him with a glare and got back to work on his assignments. He refused to listen to any of Theo’s suggestions for the rest of the night.
Day 21
Scott had let Theo out of his chains once more. This time the boy was awake for longer but he was still curled up on Scott’s bed, enjoying the comforts that had been afforded to him for a short time. Scott had made sure to draw the curtains before he’d let Theo free, just in case Stiles or anybody was spying on them. He couldn’t let them think he was being careless about Theo because he wasn’t. Quite the opposite, he was caring too much.
Now that his history assignment was over Scott found he had a lot of free time on his hands. He didn’t exactly have friends he could hang out with and he still didn’t feel comfortable leaving the house for long periods of time. Luckily there was no looming threat to keep him distracted. Beacon Hills was quiet for the time being and it seemed like both a blessing and a curse because Scott was starting to feel bored.
When Scott suggested they play some Gears of War together on his Xbox he was pretty sure Theo’s jaw dropped a fraction. The chimera tried to hide his reaction of course but Scott could see the excitement hidden behind the other’s eyes. Considering how bored Scott had been he couldn’t even begin to imagine how Theo felt. Then again the boy had no doubt had his thoughts to occupy him and Scott really didn’t want to know what was going on in that brain of his.
“You’re really bad at this,” he laughed after his sixth successive kill on Theo. The other boy just scowled at him. Thirty seconds later and Theo had his first kill of the game. Scott blamed himself for jinxing it.
They played for hours without stopping and Scott found himself glad for the distraction. For a moment he felt like he was just chilling with Stiles the way they had done for years but Theo’s frustrated death noises were so different from Stiles’ and he gloated far less whenever he got a kill. That realization killed Scott’s mood somewhat but he forced himself to smile and keep playing. For just a few hours he wasn’t an alpha of a pack who hated him and Theo wasn’t the sociopath who had betrayed everyone he had ever met, they were just two teenage boys desperately trying to beat the other at a dumb video game.
When the gaming had thoroughly exhausted the both of them, Scott allowed Theo to remain on his bed for a little longer. They sat there in silence, both staring up at the ceiling. Scott willed himself to stay awake. He couldn’t let Theo spend the night out of his chains, he knew the boy would take any chance he could to get the hell out of there. Luckily he wasn’t distracted from his own drowsiness by Theo suddenly speaking up.
“I didn’t think you’d actually save me,” he croaked, breaking the tension Scott hadn’t even realized had built up in their silence. “I thought you’d let me get dragged under.”
Scott didn’t reply. What could he say to that? That he wished he had? That he’d made a mistake saving Theo and now he was paying the price for it every day?
“I know you don’t want to hear it but I am grateful,” Theo continued. Scott wanted to tell him to be quiet but he didn’t, he forced himself to hear the other out. He’d spent too long telling Theo to be quiet when it was becoming more and more obvious that Theo was the only person that actually wanted to talk to him. “I don’t admit this easily but, yeah, I was scared. So… thank you.”
They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Scott decided that he’d had enough. “Come on, I need sleep.” Theo complied as easily as always, walking over to the radiator and offering his hands for the chains. Scott gave him the briefest of smiles to thank him for his co-operation.
Day 22
“Have you thought any more about my offer?” Deaton asked. It was the first time he’d brought it up since that initial meeting two weeks before. Scott had appreciated the time to think about his choice but now he felt a little surer of what he wanted to do. He thought about the Theo who had complied every time he’d been locked back in those chains and the Theo who had helped him with his assignments or played on the Xbox with him just the night before. Maybe Scott wasn’t a hundred percent sure that he was making the right decision but at least he’d given it some thought this time. He wasn’t rushing into it again.
“I want to give it a shot. I think I’m—he’s ready.”
Deaton fixed him with a serious look. “Are you sure?” he asked, still calm and collected. Scott took the moment to reconsider, wondering whether this was the opportunity Theo had been waiting for to finally get back at him and his pack. It was always a possibility but it was a risk he was going to have to take. He couldn’t keep Theo as his prisoner for the rest of his life, it wasn’t fair.
“I’m sure,” he confirmed, ready to handle the responsibility for this choice, “Let’s do it.”