Chapter Text
When Liam heard Mason's voice say, "Heading to practice, you coming?" he yanked the phone from his ear and shot a glance at the clock.
5:20 PM.
That was Theo's time (well, the swim team's practice time) and normally there was no way he'd forget it. But between the new semester starting and his to do list ballooning by the day, he'd turned into a certified airhead. "Thank god you called, I almost totally spaced. Love you, best friend of my life. Give me ten minutes."
"Sure."
He'd been mid call while tidying his room, dusting, doing a bit of cleaning here and there. He was about to drop everything in his hands right in the middle of the room and head out when it hit him: he reeked of detergent and sweat head to toe. So he ducked into the bathroom for the fastest shower of his life. By the time he stepped out, it was already half past five. He threw his clothes on in a rush and bolted out the door without even bothering to dry his hair. He wasn't exactly in the mood to run, but if he showed up late, he wouldn't get to see him and that would be so much worse. So he ran like his life depended on it, and didn't look back once.
He and Theo Raeken had saved each other's lives. You'd think that kind of thing would forge a bond, turn people into close friends, right? And if you'd gotten trapped together in an elevator staring death in the face, swearing to protect one another (allegedly), that would make you so much closer. Maybe you'd date. Or get married. Yeah. Definitely get married.
Except things hadn't gone anything like Liam had pictured. Setting aside the whole issue of the pack refusing to accept Theo, the man himself was a bit cold, a bit avoidant, with what Liam had privately diagnosed as attachment issues (a diagnosis made with zero formal training, zero psychology degree, and one hundred percent gut instinct and vibes). Years under the Dread Doctors' thumb, shaped by whatever twisted lessons they'd drilled into him, had turned him into something close to a fortress made of ice. Even Scott couldn't get a read on his actual feelings, and honestly, that was part of why Liam felt drawn to him. Constantly reading people, even when he didn't mean to, wore him out. He'd worked hard to unlearn the habit, and it still took real effort, real vigilance, every single time. But with Theo…he could just be himself.
And besides, Liam's palms ran warm. He was sure that if Theo ever let him touch that ice cold soul of his (cold enough to freeze over Vesuvius) he could melt that whole glacier.
The second he made it into the training hall, his eyes went straight to his best friend, Mason. When his search came up empty, he let out a frustrated huff and headed toward the stands. The idiot rookies had trashed the place again. Random gear and swim caps scattered everywhere. Sure, Liam wasn't exactly Mr. Tidy himself, but even Corey had complained about the mess -and Corey never complained about anything.
He turned around to shout Mason's name, and while he was at it, tried to kick one of the swim caps out of his path. Naturally, his good intentions ended in disaster, same as always. He slammed into some guy he hadn't even seen coming, and as he started tipping to the left, he reflexively grabbed for the poor kid's arm and yanked. Hard. Very hard.
Liam could've sworn that the shriek he let out in that moment was higher pitched and more mortifying than Scott's terrible newbie alpha roar. He'd remember this as the single most humiliating moment of his entire life, hands down. Worse than telling Hayden -right as they were breaking up- that he had (unfortunately) fallen for Theo, and worse than the 130-decibel laugh she'd let out right in his face in response.
Flailing around like a newborn foal that hadn't figured out its own legs yet, he felt the guy underneath him grip him tight. His eyes were still squeezed shut, but every so often his mouth fell open for air, and every time, a mouthful of disgustingly chlorinated water rushed in instead.
He hated his life. He hated swimming. He hated water. He hated Theo.
"Hey, Liam." That voice! He'd know it anywhere, even from the other side of the world. Theo!
His eyes flew open. Clinging to the guy like a crab, he watched droplets fall from his own hair and lashes straight into his eyes -which was why, for one second, he thought he was hallucinating.
He was in the pool. He'd nearly drowned. He was in Theo's arms. Theo was holding him. Theo had two arms, and they were wrapped around Liam's waist. Theo-
"You good? Hold on tight," Theo said, already moving, lifting him with zero visible effort and setting him down at the pool's edge like it was nothing.
"I am so sorry," Liam blurted out immediately. He was pretty sure he looked pathetic, soaking wet hair, his shirt plastered to his body, cargo shorts clinging everywhere. He was sure he looked ridiculous. "I- I really didn't see you. I mean, if I had seen you, I would've just shoved only you in the pool instead -why would I fall in myself. But obviously I didn't do that. I don't even know how to swim, so-"
Theo started climbing out of the pool from the steps a few feet away, and Liam completely lost his train of thought mid sentence. His brain had apparently decided to devote its entire processing power to the sight in front of him: water streaming down Theo's bare torso, chestnut hair swept back with an infuriatingly effortless flick, muscles rippling with every move. Liam felt his throat go dry. Maybe diving back into the pool for a drink of water wasn't the worst idea.
He caught himself staring as Theo got closer and gave his head a quick shake to snap out of it. He didn't bother trying to calm his racing heart. Theo would probably just chalk it up to the near drowning anyway.
"You good?"
"Yeah. You?"
"How do you not know how to swim? Aren't you like, half dog?"
"Hey, yo… Some of us have traumas, okay. Also, 'half dog?' Rude much?"
Theo's lips twitched. Liam felt like a flower blooming in spring. He'd made Theo smile. Well, almost smile. The second he realized he was smiling too, without even meaning to, he immediately arranged his face into something more serious.
"My bad. Watching you flail around like that... should I have gone with 'fish' instead?"
"Theo." Liam closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his one and only, deeply annoying platonic crush was standing over him, smirking. "I was literally almost dying, don't push it. Is there a towel around here or something? I'm freezing. You guys are all standing here half naked and you keep the AC at minus nineteen, why?"
Theo's expression turned serious all at once, the smirk vanishing. "Wait here," he said, then jogged carefully off toward the locker room. A few minutes later he came back with two different towels, one much bigger than the other, more like a beach towel.
An idea struck Liam out of nowhere and he immediately shot to his feet. He called him half dog, right? Fine -he'd act like one, then.
The second Theo got close enough, Liam whipped his head side to side, sending droplets flying off his long, honey brown hair straight into Theo's face. Theo shut his eyes and turned his head away slightly. Once Liam's little revenge plot was complete, Theo tossed the towels onto his head and turned to head back to the locker room.
"Watch out for other dogs around here!" Liam yelled after him. Then he stopped and actually thought about it. Other dogs. And Theo. Wait. Did that mean someone else could get tangled up in a swim cap and fall into the water with Theo? Was that not supposed to be a Liam-exclusive kind of disaster?
Just the thought of it was enough to sour his mood, so he shoved it out of his head and instead replayed, over and over, the intimate little moment he'd just shared with his one and only Theo Raeken.
The next morning, way too early for Liam's taste, he dragged himself out of bed to get ready for lacrosse practice, and Theo wasn't on his mind -nothing was on his mind, really. All he wanted was a decent breakfast and to go right back to sleep.
Since it was the first day of the new semester, and a fresh batch of rookies would be showing up, he had no choice but to be there. He could already picture exactly how exhausting it was about to be. If the coach woke up in a good mood, they'd get five laps. If he woke up in a bad mood, ten. As far as Liam was concerned, 0.25 laps sounded plenty. It was already blazing hot out, and given that he'd nearly drowned the day before, he wasn't entirely sure he had the energy for this.
He moved as quietly as he could so as not to wake Mason. He showered fast and walked out, and the second he pushed open the dorm door, a wall of heat smacked him in the face, leaving him dazed for a second before he trudged off toward the field, grumbling the whole way. He still hadn't managed to get a bike, because he never had time for anything anymore! First he'd gotten roped into volunteering for the incoming freshmen's orientation program (or else the professor of his highest credit class had threatened to tank everyone's grades -yes, apparently that kind of nonsense still happened in college), and now he had to deal with the team on top of it. If idiot Peter Hale hadn't wrecked his bike and moved to some city nobody knew about, Liam could've just biked to practice. But thanks to idiot Peter Hale and his broken promises, he had no bike and now had to save up for a new one.
By the time he made it to the field after a good half hour of pure suffering -the kind of walk that made him feel like he'd trekked across the Sahara- his hair had already dried, and his roots were starting to sweat all over again. He dumped his stuff on the bench and pulled off his shirt. After wiping his face down, he suited up in his lacrosse gear. Every glance at the rookies and their shiny, brand new equipment gave him a headache.
The coach showed up right on time, so there was no waiting around. After an icebreaker nobody actually cared about, everyone formed a circle for warm ups. The coach was on a phone call the whole time, and whatever it was about, he came back in a foul mood.
If the rookies had had any sense, they'd have known better than to whine when the coach announced five laps because complaining would only tick him off more and bump it to ten. But rookies being rookies, the second one of them let out a groan and the coach heard it, five laps became ten just like that. On top of it, Liam got chewed out for the rookies' attitude, because apparently that came with being team captain.
Nobody but the new kids whined or groaned. After the coach walked off, there was a brief group chat about how things were supposed to be done, and the kid responsible for their punishment apologized to Liam and everyone else.
Once they actually started running, Liam felt a little better. Between the heat and some restless energy that had been building up inside him, he needed an outlet, and even with the sun beating down, running and feeling the wind on his skin did him good.
After the eighth lap, he glanced back without slowing down and saw that only six people were still running, so he adjusted his pace accordingly. Ninety percent of the team was human, no supernatural abilities involved. Liam had proven himself ages ago -he didn't need to convince anyone of what he could do. By law, none of his supernatural teammates were allowed to use their abilities. A rule that had driven everyone else up the wall at first, but for Liam, it wasn't something he even had to think about anymore.
By the time he wrapped up the ninth lap and moved into the last one, only four of them were left. Liam could see the finish line. One of the rookies was tracking the time on the coach's stopwatch. This time, Liam didn't look back. He just needed to keep his eyes on the finish line -but the second he glanced up toward the benches and caught Theo watching him, eyebrows furrowed, his entire world flipped upside down. Theo's handsome face gave way to a blur of blue sky and the red surface of the track. Liam went down. Face first, straight onto his hands and knees.
A collective, worried gasp rose up from everyone around him, but Liam's wounds sealed themselves shut almost instantly, the pain vanishing right along with them. His chest was heaving, and when his eyes snapped back to the benches, not finding Theo there again set his nerves on edge. Had he imagined it? Probably imagined it. Why would Theo even show up to lacrosse practice?
"Liam!"
"Did I make it? Did I finish the last lap?"
He let his back hit the ground and sucked in quick breaths. If he'd blown it because of stupid Theo Raeken's stupid ghost, he was going to beat the guy senseless. He'd find some excuse, pick a fight, and then give him a proper beatdown.
"You made it. Took a bit longer than last time, but that's normal in this heat," said a teammate from his same year.
Theo Raeken had just dodged a beating.
Between how packed the next few days were, Liam hadn't had a spare second for anything love related. He missed Theo. Admitting that made his stomach turn, but unfortunately, he missed him. A whole two weeks had gone by without a single chance to needle him, and worst of all, he hadn't been able to make it to a single practice. If nothing else, he could've at least stood off to the side and watched him with perfectly innocent thoughts... But no. Fate had other plans entirely.
As if that weren't enough, the man he used to call dad had shown up all the way at his school for a visit. If Liam hadn't stepped out to fill up his car with gas, the guy would've shown up right at his dorm.
Compared to the last time Liam had seen him, he looked like he'd aged a decade. His hair was thinning, and he had that same run down look he always did. Faded jeans, a fucking American flag tee with the print cracked and half worn off. Liam felt his stomach sour.
As Liam walked toward him, his father plastered an ugly grin across his face. "Liam, my boy!" he called out loudly. Liam said nothing. He didn't step into his father's open arms. He clenched his fists and fought to keep his temper in check.
"What do you want?" he asked flatly.
"Can't a father wonder about his own son? Not even gonna say hello?"
"No, I'm not. Say whatever it is you came to say and go."
Once his father realized Liam wasn't buying it, the mask slipped. The ugly grin vanished, replaced by something more serious. "I tried to talk to your mom. Damn woman never answers my calls. Too busy ridin' on that doc, huh?"
Liam clenched his jaw. He knew this was the same old trick, talking like this just to get a rise out of him, same as always. Still, right about now, beating him within an inch of his life didn't sound like such a terrible idea. "Shut up. If you're not gonna say any shit I am leaving."
"Did you know your mother owes me money, Eugene?"
"Don't fucking call me that. And even if it's true, you ain't gonna get a single penny."
"Ten thousand dollars," his father said, closing the distance. Up close, Liam realized he was even uglier than from a distance -like every ounce of rot in his heart had leaked straight onto his face. "You don't pay up in two days, I'll tear this school apart. That fucker Geyer can't do a damn thing about it either, I'll tear that house down too, you hear me?"
Just as Liam felt the last scrap of his patience give out, a figure stepped up on his left. He turned his head, and Theo was the last person he expected to see. His heart lurched with fear and panic. There was no way he hadn't heard all of that! He was already enough of a mess in Theo's eyes -now this.
"Liam? Everything okay?" Theo asked. His neat eyebrows were drawn together in suspicion and he was ready to strike at any second.
"Yeah. We were done talking anyway."
His father cut in. "I'm Liam's dad, Donald. And who the fuck are you? One of them freaks?"
Liam caught Theo's jaw tighten and forgot his own anger for a second, focusing on him instead. "Theo, let's go. Nothing left for us here."
"Theo, huh." His father kept going, clearly angling to rile them both up and start something. Liam might've been immune to his father's dirty games by now, but this was Theo's first time meeting the man. And for whatever reason, when it came to protecting Liam, Theo could get a little too serious about it.
Then his father delivered the final blow. "So now you're a fag too, huh? If it speeds up my payment-"
Before he could finish, Liam spun around, swung his arm back with everything he had, and his fist connected with the man’s face with a small crack.
"Son of a bitch!" his father spat, clutching his nose. Liam was breathing hard, fury radiating off him. If Theo hadn't grabbed him by the elbow, he probably would've kept going and beaten the bastard senseless right there.
"If I ever see you near me or my family again, I will beat the fuck out of you. Understand? Forget about that stupid lie and get lost." he snarled, breathing hard, and shot one last glance at his father crumpled on the ground. He grabbed Theo by the wrist, dragged him to the car, and pulled out of the gas station straight onto the road, not even caring they had their seatbelt on.
Theo didn't say a word the whole ride. When they reached a park near campus, one that stayed mostly empty during the day, Liam pulled over and got out of the car. He raked his hands through his hair and kicked the tire in a burst of anger. He was still furious. He wanted to break something, punch something until his knuckles bruised.
When he turned to Theo, he found him already out of the car, sitting on the hood. His black tee clung tight to his frame, and his thick legs looked powerful under the black jeans. For one second Liam felt his focus slip but the shame and anger from what had just happened with his father came rushing back immediately.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't want you to hear any of that."
"You have nothing to apologize for Liam. No offense, but your dad's a piece of shit. If I wasn't worried it'd land you in trouble, I'd have cheered you on to hit him a few more times," Theo said, the corner of his mouth curling up. Liam laughed despite himself.
"Yeah, he's a piece of shit. Don't take anything he said seriously."
"I honestly don't get what's supposed to be wrong with being gay," Theo said. He said it in a tone like he was commenting on the weather. Liam left his spot on the driver's side and climbed up onto the hood next to him.
"I don't know either. Nothing wrong with it, I guess," he mumbled. Could Theo hear how hard his heart was pounding right now?
"Yeah."
Liam turned his whole body toward him. "So, hey, could you not mention any of this to anyone? Especially Mason. If he finds out I've been dealing with that guy, he'll get all upset. And once Mason's upset, he's famous for giving lectures that break world records for length."
Theo laughed. Shaking his head, he said, "I promise, I won't say anything." Then: "But are you sure you're okay?"
Liam nodded. "Yeah, thanks. He was always a creep. So, that punch was kind of a mercy for him. Whenever he’s short on money he pulls shits like this."
"I've always thought having a bad family is still somehow better than having no family at all," Theo said honestly, eyes fixed on the tips of his shoes.
"Trust me, you'd never want a dad like mine. The guy does way more harm than good. His existence is worse than him not existing at all. When I was a kid I used to ask Santa to just hocus pocus and get rid of him. Son of a bitch never granted a single wish of mine. Guess that's proof you shouldn't believe in that fairy stuff."
"Right. When'd you stop believing though?"
"Last year."
"Liam…" Theo laughed again. Liam smirked and shrugged.
"What? A man can only dream. Habits aren't easy to shake. Also, when I was a kid, our neighbor across the street was this guy with a huge belly, white beard, glasses and I was dead sure he was Santa, right up until high school. Then I grew up and stuff. I guess I stopped believing once I saw how huge and impossible the gap was between the things we wish were real and the things that actually are."
"Makes sense. I don't even remember the last time I wished for something, or believed in someone. I think... I believed in you and Scott."
Liam figured it must've been the heat, because he was pretty sure he was about to melt right there on the spot. He couldn't read Theo's chemosignals, couldn't hear his heartbeat, but he could see, plain as day, the tips of Theo's ears going from pink to red.
"I never really got the chance to thank you for that. Guess now's as good a time as any. I mean, given that you almost drowned us both recently... I've started thinking life's short."
Liam stared at him, dumbfounded, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Excuse me, I already told you I fell by accident and already apologized for it. Also, what was the point of building all that muscle if you're gonna drown in a handful of water anyway?"
"Are you checking out my muscles?" Theo's brows knitted together, but the corner of his mouth had climbed skyward, and his eyebrows made no secret of exactly how entertained he was by all this.
"What's that got to do with anything?" Liam said. Even though Theo could probably tell he was lying if he wanted to. So unfair! He hated being caught emotionally naked in front of him like this. "I mean, no point lying. There they are. We can see them."
"We? Who's 'we'?"
"We. The whole school. All of America and the whole world?"
"Hm. One person would've been enough though."
Theo shot him a look so soft that for one terrifying second, Liam genuinely thought he was about to confess his undying love right there. He panicked and pressed his lips together to keep from spouting nonsense.
Theo must've taken pity on him, because he changed the subject.
"How's lacrosse going?"
"Going good. Some of the rookies are actually pretty talented. Feels like we might pull better scores this year."
"As long as you don't faceplant on the field."
"How-" Liam couldn't finish the sentence. His mouth fell open and he shot up off the hood, buzzing with the thrill of realization. "IT WAS YOU! I knew I wasn't imagining it! You were on the benches that day, and I fell, trying to look at you!"
The confession was out before he could stop it, and there was no taking it back but he tried anyway, in a doomed, last ditch effort to salvage the situation. "I mean, I was surprised to see you, that's why I fell. You made me a laughingstock in front of my friends because of it. Don't do that again."
"So I shouldn't come anymore?"
"NO, COME." Liam shouted. Idiot Liam. Absolute moron Liam. The human mirror, reflecting his every thought straight onto his face Liam.
He hated Theo for this; the way he sat there so casually across from him, watching with obvious enjoyment. The way that sly, scheming brain of his kept catching Liam off guard, every single time. The way he managed to look this good even in hundred degree heat. The way he was standing right there and Liam still couldn't touch him.. A ridiculous wave of sadness washed over him, and he swallowed hard, looking away. But of course, Theo noticed. He always dis.
He pushed up off the hood he'd been half leaning against and bumped his shoulder against Liam's. "Hey, I was kidding. I'll come watch if you want me to. I actually came by that day to give Mason his keychain back. I was gonna apologize for making you faceplant, but not gonna lie, that was a pretty funny scene."
"Thanks bud. You’re great with words.”
"Don't mention it." A few seconds of silence followed. Theo let out a sigh at the sight of Liam's continued pretty pout and stepped in closer, lifting a hand to his face. The second his fingers brushed his jaw, Liam couldn't stop the jolt that ran through him, like he'd been struck by lightning. Theo held his chin and tilted his face toward him. His warm fingers lingered there, and up close, he looked even more devastatingly handsome.
"You look pretty badass when you're mad, but you're prettiest when you're happy, Liam. Whatever's bugging you, try not to let it get to you. You should always be laughing, always be happy."
Liam blinked.
Not let it get to him? The thing bugging him was Theo himself. Thing was the way he could be standing this close and still feel so impossibly far away, the way even this tiny touch on his jaw could send his heart racing and alter his entire chemistry. The thing bugging him was this love he'd fallen into for Theo.
Theo Raeken was an idiot. Such an idiot that he could tell Liam not to let something get to him, when that something was him.