Chapter Text
Rainy days were busy, bustling times for a cafe-bookstore like the Crescent Moon Corner, but by the evening most of the coffee nursers had gone home and even the most devoted of rainy day readers had long since retreated to their own homes. In the quiet emptiness, Ethan was busying himself sorting the inventory into what they’d keep for the next day and what he’d have to unfortunately get rid of…though on a day like today with the number of pastries the patrons had been eating, even that task wouldn’t take him very long if he wasn’t prolonging every step of it intentionally to wait out the last fifteen minutes before closing. Isaac had disappeared into the storage area on the pretense of picking out their featured shelf for tomorrow, but Ethan wouldn’t blame him for hiding back there until the end of the day.
Given the threat of boredom, Ethan wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or irritated when someone burst in, dripping wet with no umbrella. “Pardon, juste pour que vous le sachiez, nous fermons dans quinze–” he stopped when he caught the whiff of wet dog smell that signaled someone not entirely human had walked in, only there was a metallic tinge to the smell that was…unique. “Theo? Is that you?”
Theo tossed off his hood, sending droplets of water flying all over the place as he pushed his soaked hair out of his face. “I–yeah, how did you know?”
“You have a very distinct stink,” Ethan said flatly. Theo just stood there for a second, slowly dripping onto the entryway mat, before Ethan decided to break the silence again, “So are you planning to say what you’re doing in Toulouse, halfway around the world from where you were last staying as far as I was aware or…”
“Maybe I just wanted to visit, see the sights, check out France, and stay with some…buddies?” Theo said unconvincingly.
“And so you decided to come all the way to our neck of the woods in the far South of France instead of asking Argent to stay in his whole mansion, which would be much closer to the sightseeing destination of Paris?” Ethan asked dryly, “Plus you decided not to call ahead and tell us you were coming with your…single backpack and small duffle worth of luggage?”
Theo glanced at his bags and shrugged, “I don’t own that much, so I don’t bring that much, is that a problem?”
“Not necessarily, it’s just that to the untrained eye one might think you left in a hurry.” Theo shuffled on his feet, not responding. “Regardless, I’ll go get Isaac. He can drive you to the hostel while I close up shop.”
“Hostel?” Theo said with alarm creeping into his voice.
Ethan stopped at the edge of the counter, “yeah, the supernatural hostel where we house stray supernatural beings that don’t have a place to belong and are drawn to the nemetons. There are several beds open there so you could probably even get your own room.”
At that moment, Isaac emerged from the storage area, fiddling with his keys at first before he looked up to the sopping sight before him. “Uh…hey, Theo. What are you doing here?”
“Well I was hoping I could stay with you guys for a little bit, just while I…figure out my next move,” Theo said, an edge to his words.
Isaac narrowed his eyes, “If I didn’t know any better, that’d sound suspiciously like you were on the run from something…or someone.”
“It’s also a detail you conveniently omitted in your defense of showing up here instead of going to Argent, so that’s also suspicious,” Ethan added, “Not to mention your reluctance to stay at the hostel.”
“Okay, in my defense, that part is just because I don’t mix well with large groups of strangers,” Theo said, raising his hands.
“And your answer for the other two parts of our suspicions is?” Isaac raised an eyebrow.
“Look, I don’t want to talk about the details, but the short version is that I needed to get out of Beacon Hills in a hurry, but not for any reason that would break any laws, human or supernatural. And I was hoping that I could actually stay in a place with people I know while I decide where I want to go looking for roots,” Theo explained hesitatingly.
“Well that narrows the field of potential reasons to more than likely someone you’re running from,” Isaac grinned at Ethan, “I don’t know E, do you think we should let him stick around? At the very least until we find out the full juicy story?”
“It’s a loft apartment with a single king sized bed,” Ethan said flatly, “even if we wanted to let you stay here, I’d have to hope you brought a sleeping bag.”
“The couch is a pullout, actually,” Isaac corrected.
Ethan’s brow furrowed, “It is? Why…when…?”
“I may or may not have gotten it for this exact type of thing,” Isaac admitted, “but you really didn’t notice? It’s a lot heavier than a normal couch.”
“Well seeing as it’s the first couch I’ve ever owned myself and we have enhanced strength that offsets any normal object like that from seeming heavy, no, I did not notice it, Isaac,” Ethan glared at Isaac.“You could’ve just told me.”
“It didn’t seem relevant at the time! You told me to pick whatever couch I thought would work best, and I picked one that seemed comfortable and functional considering how many times random allies can just come wandering into our lives, especially with a Nemeton basically down the street,” Isaac said defensively.
Theo’s eyes bounced back and forth between them like a spectator at a table tennis game, “Oooooh, are Dad and Papa having a fight?”
“Shut up, Theo,” they both snapped in unison.
“Also, this is the reason I advocated for us getting a fourth key, one for each of us, one to keep in a safe place outside the building if we ever got locked out, and one for guests,” Isaac continued.
Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose, “Why is this the preparedness you excel at but not most of the stuff relevant to our business?”
“I wish I knew,” Isaac shrugged, “in any case we can let Theo stay here if you’re willing.” He turned to Theo and shrugged again, “You’ve gotta get a unanimous agreement in a two-person household, so if he vetoes you, I hope you’re ready to make some new friends.” Theo let a low growl slip out of his throat, though it partially sounded more like a canine whine than a true growl of anger.
Ethan thought for several seconds, just standing there gazing into Isaac’s eyes, until he finally broke with a sigh, “Alright, he can stay, for now, but only if he abides by house rules and eventually tells us more about why he’s here.” Isaac pecked him on the cheek, satisfied.
“You won’t even notice I’m here,” Theo said with the slightest of smiles.
“Oh I will, actually, that’s the other stipulation. If you’re going to live under our roof, I fully expect you to help out around the store and café,” Ethan said, a sly grin growing on his face.
“Am I going to get a salary for that?” Theo asked, though he had a hunch he knew what the answer would be.
“Consider your salary the fact that we’re letting you stay here without paying rent,” Ethan responded dryly. “Now, do you want to give him the tour, or should I?” Ethan turned to Isaac.
“Since you're the one who probably has a lot more rules for him to follow, I think you should probably do it,” Isaac patted Ethan on the shoulder, “I'll lock up while you two…chat.” Isaac brushed past Theo to fiddle with the front door, spinning his keyring around his index finger and whistling all the while.
Ethan glared at Theo, “Alright then, follow me…and first and most important rule, if you break or damage something, you're paying for it.”
“With what money?” Theo grumbled, hefting his bag higher on his shoulder.
“That sounds suspiciously like a you problem,” Ethan replied with his back to Theo, leading him up the stairs.
Ethan opened the loft door to reveal a relatively spacious room with a couch, bookshelf, television, plus a small ottoman and a small side table on either side of the couch with a lamp on one and a short stack of books on the other. On the other end of the room the space transitioned into a kitchen/dining room with a small table and chairs made to seat two and a kitchen counter with sink, stove, oven, and cabinets all in one row. Under one window was a surprisingly sizable sculpture of a wolf reminiscent of the Capitoline Wolf, albeit without the babies…or the teats. Next to the kitchen, a wooden doorframe led back into what Theo assumed was the bedroom, though all he could see from this angle was a mirror, the closet door, and another small TV positioned in the corner. There was also another door behind the dining table, such as it was, that presumably led to the bathroom, and Theo noticed upon walking in that there was a second door on the TV-side wall.
Ethan noticed where Theo’s eyes were going and brusquely said, “Fire codes mandate an extra exit, not that we’d need it in a pinch. Now take your shoes off,” he gestured to a tray to the left of the door that he was already kicking his own shoes into.” Theo hesitantly slipped off his soaked tennis shoes, wincing at the squelching noise one of them made when he set it on the plastic mat. Ethan continued, ignoring it, “There’s not much of a tour to give, seeing as you’ll be sleeping on the couch and you can obviously tell where the bathroom is. I don’t know how long you plan to stay, so I don’t know how much food you plan on making or eating while you’re here, but dishes have to be washed and dried right after you use them, or at least put in the dishwasher, don’t let food expire or I’ll throw you out on the street, track water anywhere in the loft outside of the bathroom and I’ll make you scrub the whole floor till it’s spotless, and again, damage anything and you’re paying for it out of your non-existent pockets. Any questions?”
“Yeah, does that bedroom have a door? Because I’m not sure I want to be listening to you and Lahey…being intimate.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes and walked over to the doorframe, slipping his fingers into the edge and revealing a pull door which he demonstrated impassively. “Any questions that don’t make me want to punt you down the stairs?”
“Can I ask about the wolf statue that seems like it’s going to watch me while I sleep?”
“No, and you should’ve expected no privacy anyway when you agreed to sleeping on our couch. Anything else?” Ethan growled.
Theo set his bag down in the corner of the room hesitantly, several inches away from both the bookshelf and the statue, “Is that…an acceptable place to put my bag? Your Highness?” Ethan looked like he was barely resisting the urge to throttle Theo, but nodded. “Also…can I go…” he gestured vaguely to the bathroom.
Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose, “Yes. Yes you can. Just don’t make a mess.”
“You make it sound like I’m a feral stray you picked up off the street.”
“Because that’s not far off, genius.” Ethan shooed Theo into the bathroom just in time for Isaac to slip into the room, casually kicking off his shoes, and gliding over to Ethan.
“How’s our lovely new guest doing?” Isaac asked, resting his hands and chin on Ethan’s shoulder, “started any fires yet?”
“Not yet, though knowing him he’ll find a way to make a turd into a fireball,” Ethan grumbled.
“You guys know I can hear you through the door, right?” Theo barked from the bathroom.
“Of course we do, I was hoping you’d hear that and be insulted enough to choose to stay somewhere else!” Ethan snapped back. Isaac nuzzled into Ethan’s neck silently and Ethan melted a little inside, finding it hard to concentrate on his irritation. He managed a sigh of defeat and glanced around the room, “Even if the couch is a pullout, where exactly are we keeping the sheets for it? Or do we not have any and you didn’t plan this part out ahead of time?” Ethan tried to keep the tinge of hope out of his voice, but given he could still detect it, Isaac probably could too.
Luckily Isaac just smirked and popped open the ottoman, “That’s what these spare sheets are for, E. I thought that would be kind of obvious given they aren’t even queen-sized.”
Ethan stared off into space for a second, processing this information, before sliding his fingers up his temples and groaning, “Do you have any other contingency plans and not so secret secrets I should be aware of?”
“I mean there’s the baby phoenix I’ve been raising in the microwave, but other than that…”
Ethan narrowed his eyes, “Hilarious…you are kidding, right?”
Isaac laughed with a wide grin, “Of course I’m kidding, if I actually had a baby phoenix sitting around it’d probably be way too cute and destructive not to show you,” he booped Ethan on the nose playfully, “plus it’d have to stay in the oven, which you use at least once every other day so…”
“Not entirely sure how I feel about you having thought this through so well when phoenixes aren’t real, but I’m glad you’d share with me if they were,” Ethan hugged Isaac from behind, who leaned back into it.
Isaac spun around inside Ethan’s grip and wrapped his arms around Ethan’s neck, “Of course I would, I’ve been thinking we should get a pet anyway…”
“With how many animals hate us? That wouldn’t go over well,” Ethan chuckled, “though I guess now we sort of do have one that’s going to sleep on the couch…”
“Sorry not sorry to interrupt, but did you just compare me to a PET?!” Theo stepped out of the bathroom forcefully. “That’s not a very nice thing to say about a friend and/or roommate.”
“Tenant,” Ethan corrected flatly, not taking his eyes off of Isaac.
“Whatever. Can I make my bed now? Or do I have to sit and watch the ‘Isaac and Ethan make googoo eyes at each other Show’ for thirty minutes before I earn that privilege?” Theo grumbled.
Ethan broke away from Isaac, reluctantly, and pulled open a kitchen drawer, finding the spare key inside and tossing it to Theo. “There, now you’re officially a tenant of the Lahey-Steiner residence. Hope you enjoy your stay,” he snarked with mock sweetness.
“Is that the kind of customer service you offer downstairs? How are you guys even still in business?” Theo snorted.
“No, we’re nice to paying customers, we’re less nice to freeloaders who show up on our doorsteps looking for a place to stay out of nowhere,” Ethan snapped.
“Still nice though,” Isaac grinned, “Ethan’s got a big heart.”
“When it comes to some people,” Ethan shrugged, wrapping an arm around Isaac’s waist casually.
Theo rolled his eyes, “Would you two just get married already?”
“What, are you volunteering to be the flower boy?” Isaac asked. “Actually, now that I say that out loud, you would make a cute flower boy…”
“Shut up,” Theo growled, “go make love in the other room and let me sleep.”
“I’m not hearing a please,” Ethan smirked.
“Please may I go to sleep now? Oh great and generous landlords?” Theo snarked back.
Ethan and Isaac glanced at each other. “Good enough I guess,” Isaac shrugged, slinging an arm over Ethan’s shoulder and spinning them around. “Oh, by the way,” he said without looking back, “we do have cameras all around the entrances and exits, so if you try to sneak out or go somewhere, we’ll know about it. Sweet dreams, puppy!”
Theo stood there for a moment, rolling the word puppy around in his mouth, before making his preparations to go to bed. Even though he did, it was several long hours before he could finally get to sleep, even in the perfect quiet of the apartment (save for Isaac and Ethan’s eerily synchronized breathing). Eventually Theo managed to close his eyes and drift off from sheer exhaustion, even as his mind still fought to keep him awake with thoughts and worries of what he’d left behind him.
***
Far too little time later Theo found himself awoken by a sharp prick on his earlobe, opening his eyes to find Ethan crouched next to him with a single extended claw. “Ow,” Theo growled sleepily, “is that really necessary?”
“I mean I did need to wake you up, but this way just seemed more fun than sticking an alarm clock in your face or banging pots and pans over your head,” Ethan tilted his head back and forth as he listed the options, “or yanking the blankets off of you, or flicking the lights on and off, or–”
“I get it,” Theo groaned, “so what did you need from me at…” he glanced at the clock on the wall, “6:15 AM?”
“We open downstairs in forty-five minutes, since in case you hadn’t noticed, people like coffee and pastries early in the morning before they go to work,” Ethan explained simply. “I’ve already been up half an hour, but I thought I’d be nice for your first day, even though you still have to shower. Quickly.”
“This is nice?” Theo sat up and rubbed as much of the grogginess out of his eyes as he could, “stabbing me in the side of the head early in the morning to be your unpaid labor is what you call nice?”
“Like I said last night, the hostel is always an option if you don’t like the terms of staying here, Raeken,” Ethan said flatly, “but assuming you don’t want to spend the night somewhere else, I suggest you get up and wash up. You’re down to forty-three minutes. And I’d prefer you at least come down in time to learn how the machines work lest you burn down our home within 24 hours of arriving.”
Theo grumbled as he shuffled out of bed and towards the bathroom, stopping for a moment when he heard rustling from inside the bedroom. “Is Isaac still in bed?”
“He gets to sleep in this morning. He’s got stuff to do which you don’t need to be concerned about. Now for the last time, get in the goddamn shower, Theo,” Ethan growled. Theo thought he detected the slightest of skips in Ethan’s heartbeat, in the middle of his explanation, but the daggers he could feel from Ethan’s glare even without looking told him not to press the issue.
As soon as he heard Ethan escort Theo downstairs, Isaac slipped out of bed and turned on their desktop, pulling up Zoom and accepting an invite from Scott, whose worried face popped up immediately. Isaac couldn’t help but smile a little, “Hey Scotty, what’s new?”
“Uh…not much at the moment,” Scott stammered, “other than the reason I wanted to talk, obviously. Theo…”
“Ran all the way to France and begged us to let him stay here?” Isaac interjected. “Do you know why he’s here?”
“No, and that’s what worries me,” Scott shook his head, “he’s been more agitated in general lately but it’s been more of his standard snark and aggression and all that. Nothing suggested he would just up and leave, much less run halfway around the world.”
“If he wanted to disappear he would’ve,” Isaac thought aloud, tapping his fingers on the desk, “but instead he came here, to us, even though there’s no way we wouldn’t tell you.” Scott raised an eyebrow silently. “Okay, there’s no way we wouldn’t tell you at some point, even if we didn’t right away. And he isn’t exactly in a hurry to leave either, one way or another, so if I had to guess he just needed to not be in Beacon Hills. He wouldn’t say why, all he said was that he had to get out of Beacon Hills in a hurry…for some reason.”
“But I don’t understand what that reason could be!” Scott exclaimed, “nothing’s happened here recently that would make Beacon Hills any less secure and Malia isn’t even sideeying his every move anymore.”
“You don’t think he could’ve seen or done something that you don’t know about, do you?” Isaac asked, “I mean he has murdered people in cold blood before, who’s to say he wouldn’t do it again?”
Scott shook his head again, “I know it doesn’t exactly sound reassuring, but he’s been better, for years in fact. Even his more…sadistic moments have gotten so few and far between that it’s hard to remember the last time one happened. I just don’t think he’d do something that…wrong. Or at the very least he wouldn’t and then act this weird about it.”
“So you really can’t think of any cause? At all?”
“No, nothing. I’ll ask around and see if anyone else knows anything, but I’m drawing a blank here, Isaac.”
“Okay, well…not much we can really do about it then. I guess we’ll just…try to be good hosts?” Isaac leaned back and let out a breath. “Ethan’s already putting him through his paces in the shop, so if nothing else he’ll get some extra work ethic out of this whole…whatever’s going on with him.”
Scott sat back in his chair and chuckled, “Yeah, I can imagine. Just…keep an eye on him, will you? Not that he’s going to try and do anything…bad, but…” Scott trailed off.
“What?”
“He’s a good person, is all. He’s got his rough edges, but…whatever’s going on inside his head, I don’t want him to lose sight of how far he’s come.”
“Didn’t he rip into your chest and literally kill you?” Isaac asked dryly.
“Your boyfriend threw me into a concrete wall and then cut me open like a fish fillet,” Scott shrugged, “nobody’s perfect.”
***
“Have a nice day!” Theo managed through gritted teeth, handing the blank-faced woman her coffee cup and maintaining his forced smile long enough for her to get out the door and out of sight.
“Well that’s a two-star rating for customer service,” Ethan muttered behind him, rolling the croissant dough without even looking, “and one of those stars is just for effort…and partially out of pity.”
“I can’t help it that I’m not a people person,” Theo growled, “and you’re the one who stuck me up here in this apron when you’re standing right there, perfectly capable of doing it yourself.”
“Well seeing as last I checked you don’t know how to make pastries,” Ethan replied, sliding the tray into the oven, “and I’d be genuinely surprised to find out you’re a bibliophile, what else do you propose you do to help out besides…this,” he gestured with his dough covered hands.
“I could lift crates or whatever,” Theo grumbled, “or shelve books if you teach me the system, or you could just teach me how to bake and all that. It can’t be that hard.”
“Baking isn’t the hard part,” Ethan said simply, checking his timers, resetting one of them after glancing into the left-hand oven, “it’s quality control that I’m worried about. As much as I would love to have the weight off my hands, it would take a while and a lot of resources to teach you how to bake well. And sure we can work on that post-closing if you want to, bit by bit, but that just begs the question again…how long do you actually plan to stay here?”
Theo clenched and unclenched his fists while shuffling in place, “I…still don’t know that. And it’s not like I’ll find the answer cooped up in this shop all day.”
“So we can safely confirm you’re not planning on going back to Beacon Hills then?” Isaac emerged from the backroom, causing Theo to jump slightly.
“No, no I’m–” Theo bit his tongue, “I can’t–won’t, go back there. I just…”
“Want to live on another continent with no plan? Or visa, I’m assuming?” Ethan raised an eyebrow.
“I might go back to the States soon, but I’m staying clear of California. There’s gotta be somewhere…” Theo cut himself off sharply. “When did this turn into an interrogation? I thought we were supposed to be working.”
“Do you see any customers here at the moment?” Isaac gestured around them dramatically, “what’s wrong with a little midday chat between friends? About your very suspicious behavior no less?”
Theo crossed his arms, “Is this how it’s going to be every day? You two prodding me to spill all my heart’s deep dark secrets so you can immediately run and tell everyone?”
“You know technically it wouldn’t have to be a daily thing if you just spilled the beans on the first day,” Isaac tilted his head, “and what makes you so sure your secrets are worth spilling to anyone?” Theo immediately clammed up again.
Something finally clicked in Ethan’s brain, “Oh, oh I think I got it now. Theo Raeken’s actually caught feelings for someone, and because he never got to go through his teenage crushes phase, he’s having a full blown mental breakdown about it. Am I close?” Theo’s jaw clenched to avoid saying anything, but the blush creeping into his cheeks gave him away.
“Now it all makes sense,” Isaac smirked, “You’ve got a crush you’re not ready to own up to and it’s tearing you apart inside.”
“And what if I did,” Theo growled through clenched teeth, “are you going to run gossip about it?”
Ethan and Isaac shared a glance, “No, not likely,” Ethan shrugged, “Besides, it wouldn’t be quality gossip if we dropped the news before finding out who it is anyway.”
“Though that is a short list,” Isaac added, “so it won’t take too long to figure that part out. But even then we might not bother telling anyone.”
“I–what–why?” Theo stammered.
“Well I’d think as a ‘former’ manipulator yourself you’d understand how blackmail works,” Ethan smiled with the slightest glint of sadistic pleasure, “It’s much more useful to hold your little secret over you to get you to do something, like say, work here, for instance, than it is to just blab about it right away. How are you supposed to hold any power over someone if you just give away everything about them?”
“And practicality aside,” Isaac picked up where Ethan left off, “it’s a crush, Theo. We had to break up a ring of drug smugglers sneaking yellow wolfsbane and other anti-lycan products around alongside all the usual narcotics a couple weeks ago, and we had to pay to replace that big window after I got thrown through it by a disgruntled customer who turned out to be a crappy Alpha trying to track down and ‘reclaim’ one of his Betas who’d gotten away from him, for good reason. In the grand scheme of our deranged lives, Theo Raeken’s little crush is not that big a deal to anyone but him.”
Theo looked between the two of them, seemingly trying to decide which one he hated more. “You two are terrible hosts.”
“The five star reviews beg to differ,” Ethan shrugged, hustling into the kitchen to swap out his baking trays. “Maybe we’re just saying things you don’t want to hear because it puts into perspective just how much you might be overreacting. Does this crush of yours have any indication you might be into them? Or for that matter, do you have any indication they aren’t into you?”
“He–” Theo bit his tongue.
Isaac and Ethan’s stares didn’t waver. Isaac finally broke the awkward silence, “Sorry, was the fact that it’s a guy supposed to be shocking to us? No offense, Theo, but you don’t exactly scream heterosexual.”
“The hell does that even mean?” Theo burst out. Isaac opened his mouth to respond but Theo cut him off, “You know what, never mind, I don’t think I even want to know. Anyway, no I don’t have any indication they aren’t into me outside of the obvious fact that I’m the untrustworthy asshole who tried to take over the whole operation and murder the boss, using them against each other the whole time. Call me crazy, but I don’t think anyone in that town is ever going to fully trust me, much less fall in love with me.”
“I don’t think I even need to say anything when you’re literally staring at evidence contrary to your argument, Theo,” Ethan said dryly. So aside from that age-old excuse, what else have you got?”
“I don’t know, maybe that I’d be a terrible boyfriend? I stabbed the last girl I thought I might have feelings for in the literal back and murdered her too, and even this much possible romantic interaction sent me running halfway around the world. What the hell kind of person wants someone like that?”
“All I’m hearing still is ‘woe is me, I’m unlovable, I’ve got no chance to ever be with the man of my dreams because I’ve done bad things before,’ etc., etc.,” Ethan said mockingly, “nothing you’ve said so far is evidence that you’re actually in trouble or the person you’re definitely crushing on hard actually holds that much resentment towards you behind your own perceptions of resentment that likely stem from guilt.”
“Put in simpler terms than my beloved Mr. Philosopher tends to talk in,” Isaac stepped forward, “you’re guilty and sad and have convinced yourself of a whole bunch of statements without verifying their authenticity in any way shape or form. And then when a situation came along, I’m guessing, that would challenge those notions you’ve decided are true, you ran rather than confirming they’re true or invalidating them completely. In other words, the big-bad scary Theo you’re so worried people are going to hate is acting a lot more like a little scaredy-Theo.”
“I–I need some fresh air,” Theo sputtered, yanking off his apron and tossing it aside, Isaac lunging forward to catch it, “don’t–just don’t try to follow me, alright?” He stormed out the door, slamming it behind him, though thankfully not with enough force to break it…again.
“We can’t chase you anyway, we have jobs and a business to run, dipshit!” Isaac called after him. Ethan flicked the water off his hands and sidled over, resting his folded hands and head on Isaac’s shoulder. “Was I too harsh there?”
“Maybe a little, but I’d also say we can safely confirm that Theo is a wee bit…sensitive, in general,” Ethan murmured, “I think I know who it is now though. You?”
“Oh yeah, that part’s blatant as all get out,” Isaac nodded, “do you think he just got worse at keeping secrets or he’s just really bad at this type of secret in particular?”
***
Theo was strolling up a hill, aimlessly, when he heard the distinctive growl of a motorcycle closing in on him and gliding to a halt right alongside his stride. “You done tantruming yet, or should I come back later?” Theo growled and didn’t respond, so Ethan just hopped off the bike and walked it, keeping pace with Theo easily. “I brought you some bottled water and a jacket, seeing as it’s the middle of autumn, and you stormed out with nothing but a T-shirt on.” Theo still didn’t respond. “Kid, you can come with me, or I can go get your stuff and drop it at the hostel so you can stay there after all. Or maybe I’ll donate it since you left without it and you can try to find a way to survive in Europe without any resources whatsoever.”
“A. Don’t call me kid, you’re barely older than I am,” Theo grumbled under his breath, “and B. That threat’s not going to work on me forever. I was seriously considering just walking to the hostel tonight and coming back for my bag tomorrow in the middle of store hours, just so I wouldn’t be subjected to another tag team interrogation starring Bad Cop and Worse Cop.”
“As much as I’m tempted I’m not going to ask which is which,” Ethan replied, “and if you come with me I can explain to you in a bit more detail why we’re being so hard on you, if you’d like. Or we could just go home, you could go to bed still agonizing over your decisions and the possibilities, and nothing could get accomplished. For you I mean, Isaac and I get stuff accomplished every day just by living here.”
“Braggert,” Theo growled, but he reluctantly slid onto the seat behind Ethan, “you said you had water?”
Ethan passed back a full sized bottle complete with a push-pull bottle cap. “Isaac’s idea, he figured you’d be parched even just from walking with no idea where you’re going around here. He even insisted I bring you the still kind. Seeing as you’re still basically a tourist and I haven’t seen you touch sparkling water since you got here.”
“Uh…thank you. And him, I guess,” Theo managed.
“Don’t mention it,” Ethan shrugged, revving the engine back up, “despite what you might think, we don’t hate you, Theo. And I’d be willing to bet most of the people you ran away from in Beacon Hills don’t hate you either.” Ethan gave it a moment’s more thought and tilted his head, “Except maybe Malia. She’s masterful at holding grudges, so don’t hold your breath on that front even if I taught you how to cook her favorite meats…but other than her you should be fine.” Theo didn’t say anything, but Ethan caught his nod out of the corner of his eye…and the moderately terrified expression in Theo’s eyes when Malia was mentioned. “Oh, and safety first,” Ethan dug into one of the bags on the side of the bike and pushed a helmet into Theo’s hand, “trust me werewolves aren’t immune to concussions. And artificial ones probably even less so.”
Theo opened his mouth to snap back but stopped when he saw Ethan’s grin, “It’s a joke, Raeken. Not every quip or jab is intended to be a personal attack or a sign of distaste.” While Theo sat, still pondering that and slipping the helmet on, Ethan pulled them away from the curb and they sped off deeper into the city. Ethan drove them through backroads, across a bridge, along the river, and finally stopped right next to another bridge, where Ethan hopped off the bike, took off his helmet, and wandered over to the railing, gazing out at the water.
“Do I want to ask what we’re doing here?” Theo walked up behind him, glancing around, “is there some sort of secret meeting spot or…”
“Nothing that complicated, Theo, it’s just a spot in the city that I like, the Pont Neuf, or literally, ‘New Bridge’...which is an ironic name for a bridge that’s several centuries old now, but in a way that adds to the charm.” Ethan kept his gaze fixed on the water.
“Not that I don’t find this fun factoid fascinating but…why are we here?”
Ethan groaned and rubbed his temple, “Please don’t make me regret this…I just wanted us to go somewhere where we could talk and you wouldn’t feel like Isaac and I were ganging up on you. Which to be clear, we were never trying to do in the first place.”
“Even though you ended up doing it anyway,” Theo interjected, evoking a fresh glare from Ethan, to which Theo folded his arms, “you two can’t help being so mind-melded or whatever but it doesn’t make you feel any less like two people ganging up, not one shared mind.”
“We’re not–look, Isaac and I have been together and off on our own away from most of the pack for years now and we’ve adapted to work as a team and synergize well and–”
“Get along well in bed?” Theo smirked.
Ethan bopped him gently on the side of the head, “Don’t interrupt. The point is we’ve adapted to thinking like a duo and it works. We…complete each other, in a way I never even had with Aiden despite our very literal fusing technique,” Ethan fidgeted with his helmet straps.
Theo stared blankly for a moment, “Okay…so as lovely as you two’s love story surely is, I already knew that and I’m not sure why you’re telling me this now.”
“Because you can have someone like that and if you want the honest assessment, you’re too much of a coward and a guilty mess to recognize that you’re allowed to want it,” Ethan snapped back. “That’s what you’re actually running from, that’s what Isaac and I were trying to tell you back in the café, and it’s the same way I felt back when Aiden and I first lost our Alpha spark and were trying to figure out how to exist in a world that we’d done so much damage to. But I was lucky, even then, because I already had a boyfriend that stood by me…even if he admittedly didn’t know the whole truth at that point. I don’t think. Maybe I should call Danny when we get back…” Ethan trailed off before shaking his head. “All that to say you didn’t have that when you first got out of…hell or whatever it was Kira sent you to, and now you finally might have that chance, and instead you came all the way here to sleep on our couch and complain about us being in love. You don’t find that ever so slightly telling, Theodore?”
“Don’t call me Theodore,” Theo growled under his breath.
“The fact you’re not responding to anything else I said tells me plenty,” Ethan responded. “I can’t force you to take any steps or walk down the road to forgiving yourself, but what I do know, speaking from experience, is if you don’t take any, that empty, lonely, miserable feeling that gnaws at the borders of your every step is just going to stay there. Maybe it’ll get worse, maybe it won’t, but it will never go away.”
Theo clenched and unclenched his fists, and the slightest whiff of blood indicated his claws were fighting to come out. “What if you’re wrong? What if I don’t want the fairytale ending or the beautiful love story or any of it? What if I want to be alone?”
“I can’t answer that question because I’m not inside your mind,” Ethan shook his head, “though I guess if you wanted me to I could poke around in there, but I’m guessing it’s full of lockboxes and things you’d rather stay buried. All I can say is that it’s a really weird choice for someone who so desperately wants to be alone to want more than anything a pack of his own, even if he had to steal or bully it into existence. Or for that same person to stick around and hang out with a pack even more tight-knit than average. Those don’t strike me as the actions of a loner who actually wants to be one, but maybe I’m wrong.” Ethan spread his hands and turned back towards the water, “Either way it’s not really my business or my choice. You’re free to implode your own life if you want to and ensure you wasted the last several years of your life, my world will keep turning.”
“When you put it that way, it’s not much of a choice,” Theo grumbled.
“Well I’m not the one who put you in that position, Ethan replied, “though the bike does have mirrors if you want to take a look at the person who did.”
“Very funny. Can we go home now?”
“Oh so it’s home, is it?” Ethan said sarcastically, “I seem to recall you mentioning you were strongly considering that stay at the hostel. Have you changed your mind?”
“As long as every day isn’t going to be interrogations and attempts to get me to open up about my feelings, I’d rather stay somewhere I know is secure than…there,” Theo admitted, “Besides, you guys make great coffee.”
Ethan blinked, “Did you…sample the merchandise without asking?” His eyes flashed blue, “I thought I made it abundantly clear that we do not. Sample. The merchandise.”
Theo raised his hands in surrender, “Okay it was one, tiny espresso cup while you were upstairs for a second, and I was just curious.” Ethan held his glare. “Please don’t kick me out, I promise I won’t do it again,” Theo added as quickly as possible.
Ethan relented and blinked again, “I think that might be the first time I’ve ever heard you apologize. I guess anything really is possible.” He slipped past Theo and mounted the bike again, vaguely gesturing for Theo to get on. Theo obliged, even if he held a nugget of resentment for Ethan patting the seat like Theo was a dog.
***
As they pulled up to the garage next to the main building, Theo craned his neck to look inside the still well-lit store area. “Uh, did you tell Isaac to leave the lights on?”
“No, I didn’t, and they were off when I left,” Ethan said softly, slipping his helmet off and quietly stepping off the bike, “stay here for a second. It’s probably just some kid.”
Theo was close on his heels, “And if it isn’t it’s entirely possible you could use the backup.”
“I have backup,” Ethan growled back, “his name is Isaac, I think you two have met.”
“Unless he’s unconscious,” Theo responded simply, “if he got blitz attacked or overpowered. And if the same thing happened to you, what am I supposed to do then?”
“Fine, but just…stay behind me, alright?”
“That I can do,” Theo mumbled.
They crept up to the door, Ethan opening it with barely a sound, and slipped into the shop…only to find Isaac seated at the corner table across from someone, drinking hot chocolate. Isaac waved casually, “Hey, I guess we have a second guest now. Turns out our first guest is so missed they sent someone after him already.”
The newcomer turned around revealing the concerned, slightly bruised face of Liam Dunbar. From behind him Ethan heard a barely audible, “Shit.”