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“I had a Theo once.”
Liam glances up as Scott sits beside him. They’re all gathered in Liam’s backyard, celebrating the older members of the pack finishing their first full year of college. The summer air swirls around them in a gentle breeze, tugging at Liam’s loose curls as he fondly watches the scene before him play out.
Theo and Brett have been tossing a foam football back and forth for a while now, teasing and taunting each other with progressively harder and faster throws. Brett has just thrown the ball to the side in favor of chasing Theo around the yard. Theo is light on his feet, dodging Brett’s hands as his laughter fills the space around them. The sound sets something warm ablaze in his chest. He turns his attention back to Scott, who is watching the scene with a sort of wistful nostalgia.
“What do you mean?” Liam murmurs, brows creasing. “You two were friends before, weren’t you?”
Scott shakes his head, pulling his knees up and resting his arms loosely around them. “No. I mean, yes, we were, but that’s not what I’m talking about. What Theo is to you - what you are to each other…”
Realization dawns on Liam and he looks away, jaw clenching with emotion. Scott doesn’t talk about Allison often, he had only heard the full story from Lydia after prying the information free when Scott and Stiles weren’t there. Now that he knows, he supposes he can see the comparison. “You mean Allison?” he asks, as gently as he can.
Scott looks surprised for half a second, before huffing a small laugh. “I should have known someone would tell you eventually,” he muses. “Allison was my first everything. Love, lust, all of it. She was pivotal for me. But, no. Not Allison either.”
Now Liam is confused. He knows of Allison, of Kira and Malia, though the latter ended as quickly as it had begun when Malia left to travel the world and the two agreed it would be too much of a strain for them. Liam doesn’t know of another girlfriend. “Then… who?”
Scott smiles, just a little, and it’s so sad that it makes Liam’s own chest ache. He watches his alpha sink into memories, head tilted toward the sky. “I don’t know if anyone has told you about Derek’s old pack, his former betas.”
Liam shakes his head. He’s heard it mentioned in passing, that Derek used to have three bitten betas, but it seemed like too painful a topic to broach, so Liam hasn’t. “Not really. Any time it comes up, everyone looks so sad that I’ve learned not to ask.”
Scott nods, still looking up. The moon is just a sliver in the sky, waning as the month comes to a close. “Yeah,” he breathes. “It was a time when we lost too many people. People we didn’t need to lose at all. It still happened. Two of Derek’s betas, Erica and Boyd, they didn’t make it out. The third…” Scott huffs a shaky laugh and scratches the back of his head. “Fuck, this is harder than I thought it would be.”
Liam can see tears shining in his eyes. “She must have been special.”
Scott swallows thickly and nods. “Yeah. Yeah, he really was.”
That gives Liam pause. He didn’t know Scott had interest in men as well. Whoever this person was, must have really messed him up. “What was his name?”
“Isaac,” Scott whispers, as if just saying the name relieves him of a crushing weight on his chest. “His name was Isaac, and he was… God, Liam, he was everything.”
Liam listens quietly as Scott tells the story of a broken boy, a boy desperate for love, desperate to be saved. He tells Liam of Isaac’s smile, his laugh, his tears. He tells Liam how much Isaac was loved, and how much it had hurt when he had to say goodbye.
“Is he…?” Liam doesn’t want to finish the question, so he changes it. “What happened to him?”
“When Allison died, Argent went to France to deal with his grief in his own way,” Scott explains. “Isaac didn’t have anyone, no parents, no guardian. He was almost eighteen at the time anyway, so Argent took him along. Last I heard, he was backpacking in Norway. That was over a year ago.” He pauses, jaw working as he blinks back more tears. “It started to hurt too much to keep asking.”
Liam’s back straightens and he looks out to the yard again. Brett and Theo are lying on the ground now, breathless and sweaty and laughing without a care in the world. Theo seems to sense Liam’s gaze this time, and turns his head to lock eyes with him. Liam can’t help but smile, but his chest aches with emotion. If Theo left - if he crossed an ocean and traveled to other continents without so much as a word to Liam while he was gone - Liam doesn’t know if he’d survive. He can’t even begin to imagine the pain Scott had felt - is still feeling from this loss.
Theo seems to see something in Liam’s gaze, and he tilts his head curiously as if to ask what’s wrong. Liam shakes his head dismissively, resolving to tell Theo everything later and share the beginnings of the plan already forming in his mind.
Scott has done so much, sacrificed so much, lost so much. He’s borne more on his shoulders than most men twice his age, and he’s done it all with grace and a smile. He gives and gives and gives, without expecting anything in return, to the point where Liam can see the emptiness inside him if he dares to look close enough.
Scott has saved Liam, and countless others, and while he would never claim a debt from anyone, Liam owes him this. He owes Scott this happiness, and he prays to whatever god is listening that the plan taking root in his mind can come to fruition.
~
It takes weeks, even with the help of Theo and Argent combined. Isaac doesn’t seem to want to be found, and when Liam finally does find him, it takes a hell of a lot of convincing to get the older werewolf to agree. Countless hours of messages and phone calls solely consisting of Liam on his proverbial knees, begging Isaac to come home and take back what the cruelty of the world snatched away from him.
Isaac seems adamant about never setting foot in the United States, let alone Beacon Hills, ever again, until Theo offers to talk to him one night. It’s a four-hour long phone call, with Theo downstairs and Liam pacing in their room the entire time. By the time Theo returns, his phone nearly dying, Liam feels like crying when Isaac finally says yes.
It’s another two weeks after that before Isaac is able to get travel plans in place. Argent funds the plane ticket, on the firm condition that it’s a one-way flight. Isaac agrees, claiming he can simply buy himself an exit flight when the time comes, but even he sounds unconvinced that he’ll be the one choosing to leave.
Liam and Theo pick Isaac up from the airport. He’s taller than Liam pictured - a lot taller. He towers over Liam by a full eight inches, and while Theo is broader and bulkier, he still has to look up slightly to meet Isaac’s eyes. Liam feels incredibly small between the two of them. He stands aside as Isaac and Theo place the suitcases into the bed of Theo’s truck, then dutifully takes his place in the passenger seat once they’re ready to depart.
“Do you think…” Isaac cuts himself off by snapping his mouth shut, staring out the window instead.
“Think what?” Theo asks casually, carefully navigating out of the hellscape of the airport and back towards Scott’s house. “That he’ll be beyond ecstatic to see you? Yeah, we do.”
Isaac scoffs, but there’s no heat behind it. “You weren’t there when everything happened,” he mutters bitterly. “He’d be a fool to even smile.”
“Then he’s the most foolish man I’ve ever met,” Liam chimes in. “Cause I will bet a solid fifty that the first thing he does after getting over his shock is kiss you senseless.”
Liam can see Isaac’s blush in the rear view mirror. “I still can’t believe you two talked me into this.”
“You and Scott both deserve this, despite what either of you believe,” Liam says softly, meeting Isaac’s eyes in the mirror reflection. “And there’s nothing I want more than to see both of you happy with each other.”
Whatever Isaac tries to say in response is cut off by Theo pulling into a driveway and parking the truck. He sucks in a sharp breath, the scent of anxiety spiking in the air. With shaky hands, he unbuckles his seatbelt. “I guess wish me luck,” he laughs nervously before getting out and slowly approaching the house.
Liam rolls the window down and watches Isaac knock on the door with trembling fingers. There’s a pause, and Liam can hear Scott shuffling around, clearly not expecting any company. He bites back his excitement when the lock on the front door turns, and the door swings open.
Scott’s mouth is open, likely to greet whoever is there, but he freezes in place when he sees who it is. Liam hears both of them stop breathing, their heartbeats pounding in sync with each other, as if in greeting. “Oh,” they seem to say to each other, “there you are. It’s been a long time.”
Even from the truck, Liam can see the tears spring to Scott’s eyes and his lower lip start to tremble. “I…” he starts, reaching up then stopping just short of touching. “Isaac?”
“Scott,” Isaac breathes, sounding just as wrecked as Scott. “Hey, baby. I’m home.”
Scott launches himself forward, arms wrapped tight around Isaac’s neck as Isaac lifts him off the ground in a quick spin. Their joint laughter rings through the air, and Liam feels his throat tighten and eyes sting. He feels Theo’s hand in his, and he squeezes.
Scott and Isaac hold each other for a long time, swaying back and forth and whispering sweet nothings into each others’ shoulders. Eventually, Scott pulls back just enough to take Isaac’s face in his hands and pull him into a searing kiss.
It’s then that Theo squeezes Liam’s hand twice, gaining his attention. “We should give them some privacy,” he says softly once Liam is looking his way. “I’m sure they have a lot to talk about.”
Liam nods and glances at the reunited couple one more time. “Yeah, I’m sure they do. We’ll catch up with them later, I’m sure.”
“I’m sure,” Theo echoes, putting the truck back into drive. “Besides,” he adds with a smirk, “it’s not like Isaac is going anywhere.”
Liam can’t help the grin that spreads across his lips. Theo is right. From the first look, Liam could tell that there is no way Isaac is leaving again.
Not unless it’s with Scott.