Work Text:
Theo is almost surprised to see Mason’s name appear on his phone screen as it starts vibrating against the work bench. Mason doesn’t normally call him, much less when he’s at work. The only times he can remember (and he can count them on one hand) have all been either pack or Liam-related emergencies. Liam is supposed to be with Mason, and Corey for that matter, and the human teen is responsible enough to keep them all out of trouble. If it’s pack-related, that’s an issue that Theo needs to be aware of.
He swipes to answer the phone after wiping the excess grease from his fingers onto his jeans. “Hey, what’s up,” he mumbles, already leaning back over the car he’s working on.
“Have you heard from Liam today?” Mason asks, and Theo’s hands pause unscrewing the oil cap.
“He’s with you and Corey,” he says slowly, already feeling an icy dread crawling down his spine.
There’s another pause, and even through the phone, Theo can hear the uptick in Mason’s heartbeat. “No,” Mason drawls, “Liam and Corey are with you. That’s what Corey told me this morning.”
Theo wipes his hands again and picks up his phone, taking it off speaker to press against his ear. “No, Liam said you three are spending the day playing video games and eating junk food at your house.”
Mason curses under his breath. “We’ve been played.”
“Fuck,” Theo hisses, running a hand across his jaw. “How long ago did Corey leave?”
“Two hours. Surely they haven’t-“
“That’s plenty of fucking time.” Theo growls and tosses his wrench down. “I’m heading your way. Have you tried calling them?”
“No answer from either.” Mason sighs heavily. “I can’t believe they got us so easily.”
“Next time,” Theo rumbles, already making his way to his truck. He’ll text Frank his excuse for leaving. “Check with me when they make plans.”
“Back at you,” Mason retorts before hanging up.
~~~
The semi-frantic search for their boyfriends leads Mason and Theo to… Liam’s house.
“This might be worse than somewhere public,” Mason mutters, unbuckling his seatbelt before the truck is even parked.
Theo silently agrees and together they approach the house. Theo doesn’t even bother knocking, just pulls out his spare key and lets himself and Mason inside. The house is almost eerily quiet, but a moment later two sets of giggles burst the silence.
Theo and Mason share a look before bolting up the stairs. Theo flings open the bathroom door, and freezes.
There’s red everywhere. In the sink, on the counter, and covering Corey’s hands and Liam’s t-shirt. For a piercing, heart-stopping moment, Theo feels himself pale in panic.
Then the smell hits.
Thick and chemically, permeating the air so heavy that it brings tears to Theo’s eyes. The bathroom window is open, and there’s a small desk fan on the counter, but neither are much help to the overwhelming smell of…
Hair dye?
“Liam,” Mason growls, shoving past Theo and storming into the bathroom. “I told you, you can’t dye your hair!”
“I’m not!” Liam chirps, grinning despite all the evidence that he absolutely is. He points to Corey, who is still holding the dye brush. “Corey is!”
Corey shrugs when Mason turns to him. “He said he wanted to go red.”
“That is not,” Theo wheezes, lungs burning from the smell, “a good enough reason to aid and abet.”
Corey just shrugs again.
Mason sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of his nose, as if to ward off an oncoming headache. “This is never happening again,” he warns, pointing at Liam and Corey. “Just… finish and come downstairs. And air out this room, Jesus Christ, it smells like a chemical bomb went off.”
“I maaaay have put too much developer and we had to start over,” Liam admits sheepishly.
Mason just sighs again and drags Theo out of the room.
Twenty minutes later, Theo’s nose still itches and the shower upstairs turns on. Corey bounces into the living room, hands stained red but otherwise unmarred by the scene in the bathroom. “He’ll be down soon,” he announces, plopping into the Laz-E-Boy beside Mason and smacking a loud kiss on his cheek.
“I trusted you,” Mason states, obviously trying to keep a stern facade but failing miserably.
Corey just shrugs. “That’s on you.”
Another ten minutes pass, and the water shuts off. There’s shuffling upstairs, a door closing and another opening, before finally muted footsteps pad down the hallway and Liam appears.
His hair is still damp, small droplets of red water falling onto the towel around his shoulders. It’s messy, like he hasn’t even brushed it yet, and half is pulled up into a hair band haphazardly, but still…
Theo is enthralled.
The red makes Liam’s eyes stand out even more than they did before, bright sapphire against burning crimson. The length only adds to the appeal, almost falling past his shoulders at this point, with smaller chunks framing his face. He has small red stains on his cheeks and forehead still from the dye, but Theo has never seen someone so beautiful in his life.
“So?” Liam asks, shaking his head a little to emphasize the new look. “I think it suits me.”
Mason lets out a low whistle. “Okay, yeah, maybe this time it was an okay idea.”
Liam grins proudly and turns to Theo, eagerly awaiting his boyfriend’s reaction to his new hair.
Theo clears his throat, tries to speak, then clears it again. “You look… good.”
Liam’s shoulders drop, just a fraction, but to Theo it’s as if all the light in the world has faded away. “Just good?” Liam laughs, but there’s an underlying tone of insecurity.
Theo casts his eyes to Mason and Corey, who are just staring in amusement, then back to Liam, who is looking more dejected by the second. That simply won’t do. He stands up suddenly, startling the other three, and points to Mason and Corey. “Out.”
Corey blinks. “Excuse me?”
“Out,” Theo repeats. “Unless you wanna listen to me fucking the life out of him, then by all means feel free to stay.”
Liam makes an embarrassing squawking sound behind him, as Mason and Corey scramble for the door. Once Corey’s car is started and leaving the driveway, Theo turns to Liam, who is flushed almost as red as his hair. “That was unnecessary,” he says weakly as Theo approaches.
Theo hums. “It got them to leave,” he murmurs, reaching up to cup Liam’s jaw with his hand. “Good thing too.” He leans in until his lips brush Liam’s ear. “Because I intend to follow through on what I told them.”
Liam gasps softly as Theo uses his other hand to twirl a lock of damp hair around his fingers. “I didn’t think you were serious,” he says weakly.
Theo cards his fingers into Liam’s hair and grips - roughly. “Oh I’m serious, baby,” he says, a growl on the edge of his voice. He smirks, then adds,
“This new color is gonna look so good wrapped around my fingers.”