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They don’t talk about it.
They don’t talk about it when the rift breaks, and all the people tumble out of it blinking and disoriented, and the first person Liam looks for is Theo. They’re all standing in a disorganised crowd, cramped in the dank underground space, and people are hugging each other and crying because – and really, Beacon Hills, it’s about time – they can’t pretend the supernatural doesn’t exist anymore. Stiles and Scott are looking for their respective parents, and Lydia is already standing with her mother, and Malia and Peter are off to one side looking awkward, and Liam should be looking for his stepdad, or for Hayden. But he isn’t.
He sees Mason first, but his best friend hasn’t spotted him yet – too busy sucking face with Corey – so he bypasses him, shuffling through the crowds, frowning because even to himself he can’t admit what he’s looking for.
And then he sees him.
He’s just standing there, on his own – who would he be with? – with his hair kind of falling into his face and this oddly vulnerable look in his eyes, and then he glances up and sees Liam.
For a second it’s like everything just stands still, like all the movement and noise around them stops mattering, because it’s just the two of them in the room. Theo’s mouth is just slightly open, and Liam’s hands are shaking, and they both take just half a step forward—
Then suddenly Hayden is in front of him, throwing her arms around his neck, and whatever moment there might have been is lost. Hayden – Hayden is his girlfriend, and he loves her, and he’s missed her ever since she threw herself under the bus. She trusted him to save her, and that means something. That means something.
They don’t talk about it when the entire group gathers in the Sheriff’s office, Argent inexplicably holding Scott’s mom’s hand, and discuss in loud whispers what should be done with Theo now that the crisis has been averted.
Hayden and Malia are all for putting him back in the ground, until Theo – listening in from behind bars, because none of them are bothering to hold their conversation out of his earshot – points out that Liam broke the katana. Scott turns betrayed puppy-dog eyes on Liam, which makes his stomach do that awful twisty thing until Stiles points out that he hadn’t had a choice.
“What if we just keep him in here?” the Sheriff suggests, gesturing vaguely towards the cells. “He’s a criminal, I’m the Sheriff…” His voice trails off.
“I don’t like him any more than you do, but he’s a kid,” Scott’s mom says.
“He’s a murderer,” Malia says flatly.
“Still here, if you were wondering,” Theo says. For some reason, Liam finds himself suppressing a smile.
“So what do we do?” Scott asks earnestly. Most things Scott says are said earnestly. “We can’t trust him.”
“No shit,” Stiles mutters. The Sheriff cuffs him around the back of the head, although a moment later he’s stroking it fondly. It’s still kind of weird, remembering someone he forgot.
“Maybe we can,” Liam says before he quite knows he’s done it. Several pairs of incredulous eyes turn on him. He shrugs self-consciously. “He saved me,” he says quietly.
Hayden frowns. “He did?” She turns almost accusingly to Theo. “You did?”
Theo looks uncomfortable. “I didn’t have a choice,” he says.
“Yes, you did,” Liam says.
Eventually – mostly because no one can think of anything else to do with him – Scott lets Theo go with a heavy warning to keep himself out of trouble. Theo nods, his eyes flickering briefly to Liam, and takes himself off as soon as Scott removes his hand from his shoulder.
They don’t talk about it when Liam comes out of school after practice – because lacrosse, like school itself, is one of those constants that continues even when the entire town has been kidnapped by supernatural forces – and sees Theo loitering awkwardly underneath a tree in the parking lot. There’s no question that he’s waiting for Liam. There’s no one else he could be meeting.
Hayden is off with Corey – they’ve bonded, apparently – talking smack about their respective boyfriends, so there’s nothing to stop Liam from falling into step with Theo with a slightly embarrassed smile. They start walking aimlessly, dead leaves rustling underneath their feet, and their hands jammed into their pockets.
Eventually, Theo says: “How’s school?”
Liam snorts. “Do you care?”
Theo gives him a quick, searching look, like he’s trying to figure out how to take that, and then he laughs. “No.”
“How’s your freedom?” Liam asks. Theo shrugs.
“Lonely,” he says. He laughs again, although this time the sound is somewhat unnatural. “It’s fine. I found an apartment nearby.”
Liam can’t really imagine Theo settling down somewhere as mundane as an apartment. “I didn’t figure you’d stick around in Beacon Hills,” he comments.
Theo looks at him again, catching his eye. He smiles just a little. “I have more ties here than anywhere else,” he says, which Liam figures is true. “Anyway, I like it here,” he adds, which Liam thinks probably isn’t true.
“What will you do?” he asks.
Theo shrugs. “I’m applying for jobs. Not sure college is my kind of thing.”
Again, Liam tries to picture it; Theo either at college, or working. He can’t. “I guess I always think of you as plotting,” he says. He grins without meaning to, and Theo smiles back.
They talk until Liam’s stepdad comes to collect him, and then Theo just kind of fades into the background so that Liam doesn’t have to explain. He finds himself thinking that he didn’t get Theo’s number, and then wondering why he wants it.
They don’t talk about it when Liam and Hayden break up. It’s not got anything to do with the supernatural, which comes as a bit of a surprise to Liam; from the sound of it, most of the pack’s relationships have been derailed by the enemy of the day. They start spending less and less time together, and they stop hanging out at school, and finally Liam just can’t really remember why they’re together at all.
He realises it when he’s watching her during soccer practice. She’s scoring goals, and cheering in that relaxed self-confident way she has, and he should be happy for her. He is happy for her, but not the way he used to be. He feels kind of detached from the whole thing, because honestly cheering about scoring goals in soccer practice feels kind of mundane after everything they’ve been through.
She looks over and sees him watching, and walks over. “Hey,” she says. There’s an odd note in her voice.
And that’s when Liam realises: he doesn’t love her anymore. He’ll always care about her, but that heady rush he used to get when he looked at her is gone.
“Hayden—” he says.
She smiles, a little sadly. “I know,” she says.
“Sorry,” he says, and he does feel bad, because he’d genuinely thought she was the one.
“Don’t be,” she says. Then, a little guiltily: “I think I like Brett.”
“Oh,” Liam says. He waits to feel jealous, is mildly surprised when he doesn’t. “Good luck?” he tries.
Hayden laughs, and then hugs him unexpectedly. “You too,” she says.
They don’t talk about it when Liam runs into Theo in line at Starbucks, and they start talking to each other like it’s totally normal. Theo tells him that he has a job at the local diner, and he somehow ends up paying for Liam’s hot chocolate. Liam finds himself laughing at something Theo has said, which makes him have to go home to re-evaluate his life choices.
They don’t talk about it when Liam ends up at the diner wearing his nicest shirt, and Theo serves him coffee and pie and they both pretend that it’s a total coincidence. Liam sits on a stool at the counter while Theo cleans the cappuccino machine and eats his pie, and when he’s finished he spends a long time getting every crumb from his plate so that he has an excuse to stick around.
When it’s finally time to go, he says: “Are you working tomorrow?”
Theo smiles a little tentatively. “Yeah,” he says. He hesitates. “I start at eleven.”
“See you then,” Liam says.
He does see Theo the next day, bringing his homework after school and sitting up at the counter to puzzle out his math assignment. Theo gives him his third slice of pie free and tells him about some of the places he’s seen on his travels since he left Beacon Hills as a kid.
When it gets to six o’clock, Liam snaps his textbooks shut, figuring he’s done enough homework for one night. He looks up at Theo, who is hovering behind the counter looking unsure.
“Are you sorry?” he asks.
Theo’s face twists. “I want to be better,” he says, which isn’t quite an answer but isn’t not one either.
“Okay,” Liam says. “Are you working tomorrow?”
Something like relief passes across Theo’s face. “Yeah,” he says.
“See you then,” Liam tells him.
He ends up going to the diner every afternoon that he doesn’t have practice, which is doing wonders for his grades. Theo isn’t exactly helpful when it comes to homework – he spends a lot of time trying to confuse Liam with alternative history facts that he’s made up – but it’s as good an excuse as any to keep coming back, and Liam finds that more often than not he’s laughing his way through his work. Theo, it transpires, has a wicked sense of humor when he’s not actually being wicked, and his sharp wit has Liam snorting into his peach torte on more than one occasion.
On one of these days, he says as he always does: “Are you working tomorrow?”
Theo hesitates. “No,” he says. He’d been smiling broadly a moment ago, but now he looks uncomfortable. “I have the day off.”
“Oh,” Liam says, at the same time as Theo says: “Did you—?”
They stop. Theo is blushing. “What were you going to say?” Liam asks.
Theo fidgets. “If you’re not doing anything—”
“I’m not,” Liam interjects. It’s a Saturday tomorrow. Theo smiles, looking relieved.
They don’t talk about it when they start spending the weekends together, hanging out at Theo’s little apartment watching crappy TV and eating pizza. Theo expresses great shock that Liam hasn’t seen Stargate Atlantis, so they end up binge-watching episodes all through the winter, and it’s during one of these sessions that Liam looks over at Theo and realises that they’re friends.
This seems pretty momentous, given that Theo is still fairly unpopular in Beacon Hills, so he seeks out Scott. The seniors of the pack have been keeping their head down and trying to get through their final year for the most part, but they still have the odd pack night, and they always invite Liam to sit with them at lunch if he wants to. There’s still no one he trusts more than Scott.
He corners him after practice and asks if they can talk; Scott smiles in his trusting way, because no one is attacking them these days and they can finally let their guard down, and they start walking aimlessly away from the rest of the team.
“What’s up?” Scott asks.
“I’ve been hanging out with Theo,” Liam blurts out. His heart is beating too fast.
Scott frowns. “I know,” he says. Liam blinks at him, and Scott rolls his eyes. “You always smell of him.”
“No, but,” Liam says, because somehow it feels important that Scott understands, “we’re friends.”
“I figured,” Scott says. The crease in his brows deepens. “Is this… Are you, like, asking permission to hang out with Theo, or something?”
Liam thinks about this. “No,” he says. “I’d still hang out with him even if you told me I couldn’t.”
“Well, good,” Scott says easily. “I’m not here to tell you what to do anymore.”
That feels right; it’s been a long time since Liam felt like he had to obey Scott’s every whim. “Okay,” he says. He pauses, biting his bottom lip. He says: “Doesn’t it bother you?”
Scott seems to be considering the question. “I don’t think I’ll ever trust Theo,” he says. “But I think he’s really trying to change.”
“He has a job at the diner,” Liam says.
“I know,” Scott says patiently. “I’ve been keeping tabs on him too.”
“Oh,” Liam says. Then: “He says he wants to be better.”
“Do you believe him?” Scott asks.
“Yes,” Liam says. He doesn’t have to think about it at all; that’s new.
“Cool,” Scott says. He hesitates, like he’s on the edge of a really big decision. Then he sighs. “You should invite him next time we have a pack night,” he says.
Liam says stupidly: “But he’s not pack.”
Scott shakes his head in wonder. “You’ll be Alpha soon, Liam,” he says. “Then it’ll be up to you who’s pack.”
They don’t talk about it when Liam throws it out into conversation, oh-so-casually, that there’s a pack night at Stiles’ house that Friday and Theo is invited.
Theo looks fucking terrified at the prospect. He says hesitantly: “Does Scott know you’re inviting me?”
“It was Scott’s idea,” Liam says. Theo’s eyes widen as he processes this.
“Okay,” he says at last.
Their reception isn’t exactly warm – Malia bares her teeth when Theo walks in, her eyes flashing blue, and the Sheriff casts longing glances towards his holster on the back of the kitchen door – but Scott has obviously warned them all that Theo is coming. Hayden, surprisingly, is the most welcoming, coming up to kiss Liam’s cheek and giving Theo a quick pat on the shoulder.
“Hi,” Theo says, chin in the air, because he doesn’t let himself get cowed by anything.
“Hey,” Stiles speaks up, which is a pretty big shock from Liam’s standpoint. Then again, Stiles is currently folded into Lydia’s arms on the couch, so he’s in a pretty relaxed place.
They order Chinese and watch a movie, and it’s awkward but not impossible, and when they leave – because Liam doesn’t think it’s fair to make Theo walk out of there all by himself – Scott invites him to the next one as well.
They don’t talk about it the night Liam falls asleep on Theo’s couch after a particularly late one watching TV and chatting lazily about school and the future of the pack once the seniors go off to college, and when Liam wakes up in the early hours it’s dark and cold and he can hear Theo crying.
He gets up so fast that he gives himself a head rush, an overwhelming feeling of panic taking over him, and heads blindly through the darkened apartment to the source of the sound. If he stopped to think about it, he’d know that there’s no one here, no one hurting Theo, because he can’t hear another heartbeat or catch another scent, but his heart is pounding too hard to think rationally.
Theo is curled up on the floor by the window in his bedroom, his arms wrapped around his chest and his whole body shaking, and when he sees it Liam calms himself down and just goes over to put a tentative hand on Theo’s shoulder.
“She took my heart,” Theo says in this distant, lost-sounding voice. He’s staring out of the window, although there’s nothing to see but the outlines of trees and a scattering of stars. He swallows. “Every time I close my eyes, she takes my heart.”
Liam doesn’t need to ask who he’s talking about. He slides his hand across Theo’s chest, touches the place where his heart is beating steadily away under the flesh. “Your heart is still here,” he says. Almost unconsciously, his fingers are tapping along to its thrumming beat. “I can hear it.”
“I let her,” Theo says. When Liam starts to pull his hand away again, Theo traps it against his chest. “She did it over and over, while I was underground.”
“You let her,” Liam repeats. He frowns. “Why?”
Theo lets his head drop a little. “You know why.”
Mason talks about it, just a little, when Liam seeks him out to ask about what it feels like to be gay. He raises his eyebrows in that totally unflappable way he has, and says: “Is this about Theo?”
“What?” Liam says, in a poor attempt at pretending that it isn’t. “No – I don’t—”
“Dude, it’s okay,” Mason says, holding up a hand. “We all know anyway.”
“Know what?” Liam says, this time genuinely nonplussed. Mason just rolls his eyes, and tells Liam that sexuality is fluid and really, in his opinion, society puts far too much weight in labels. Feeling slightly better about the situation, Liam proceeds to kick his ass at Halo.
They don’t talk about it at the party Scott’s mom throws for all the graduating seniors, when Liam and Theo arrive together and both sign their name to the same card as a gift. Everyone is just slightly aware that by right of his age Theo really ought to be graduating as well, and it’s a bit awkward, but then things always are in the pack. Malia still glowers at Theo at pack nights, but he’s attended quite a few by now, and even Scott’s mom has stopped pointedly ignoring him when he walks in the room.
Liam actually feels like that’s a bit unfair. It took way longer for her to forgive him for trying to kill Scott.
Stiles and Mason – pretty much the only ones who can feel the effects of alcohol and who aren’t, well, Lydia – are pleasantly drunk, and the werewolves are chatty and relaxed, and Liam walks into the backyard to find Theo having an in-depth conversation with Scott about something related to the childhood they shared, which pretty much means that he’s been accepted as far as Liam’s concerned. For a few moments he just watches them together and smiles to himself, and then he hurries on, because Hayden has caught his eye with a knowing look.
Later, when the barbecue has been put away and the sun is setting over the hills, Liam sits next to Theo on the garden bench and sips at a cider that won’t affect him, and they look out at their family, their pack.
Everyone seems to have drifted off into little groups; the Sheriff is talking to Peter, and Scott’s mom has her head resting on Argent’s shoulder, and Stiles won’t stop trying to kiss Lydia, and Corey and Hayden are laughing together at something Mason has said, and Scott pulls Malia’s hair teasingly and somehow she’s smiling instead of ripping his head off, which clearly says something big about their relationship. It’s not as though Liam and Theo are out of sight of the others, but none of them are really looking their way either.
Theo has this small satisfied grin on his face, like he’s exactly where he wants to be, and he looks sideways at Liam because they both know it’s going to happen. Not here, not right now, but it’s going to happen, so they don’t need to worry about it. They don’t have to talk about it.
For a few minutes, Liam just looks at Theo, and it’s like it was after the rift: everything else just falls away. Then he wonders why he’s waiting, and he kisses him.