Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

A whole coven of witches arrives in town right at the beginning of spring break, which is the only reason, Liam thinks, that all of them manage to survive.

With Scott and the rest of the pack back for the time being, they manage to stop the coven from making too much damage around town while they go about their business of tracking down a fugitive dark witch. Scott claims they're not bad people, they're just a bit unaware of the fact that you shouldn't go around throwing dangerous spells in a town full of fragile humans. Stiles says it's probably less them being unaware and more them thinking of humans as lesser beings, which Mason agrees with.

Liam doesn't have an opinion on it, all he wants is for them to leave as soon as possible so they can go back to pretending their lives are at least some level of normal - as such, that is the opposite of what actually happens, because as he's come to learn in the past few years, life hates him very much.

"Why would you tell them that?" Stiles shouts over the sound of trees and dirt exploding from misdirected spells. "I told you they weren't nice people!"

Scott, who's hiding behind a large tree between Liam and Stiles, lets out a short breath and looks around in mild panic. "I just told them not to kill anyone or we'd have to take action, I didn't know they'd take it as a threat!"

"It was a threat, though! You clearly worded it as a threat!" Liam yells, pushing himself further up against Scott when a spell brushes right past his ear, leaving the smell of burnt wood behind. "You even did the glowy eyes thing!"

"And the deep voice thing!" Stiles adds.

"And the lowering your head and clenching your jaw thing!" Malia yells from somewhere nearby.

"Okay, I get it!" Scott says, knocking his head back against the trunk of the tree.

Stiles pats him on the chest, strangely sympathetic, and says, "Just tone down the alpha thing next time, okay buddy?"

Scott nods, lips pursed.

"Honestly, sending Corey away was a bad idea," Liam mumbles, trying to peek around the tree to check out the witches' location. Another spell flies past him, singeing the tips of his fringe, and he tucks himself back against the tree with a choked yelp. "Okay, not doing that again."

"Liam!" Theo shouts from somewhere ahead of them. "Did your hair just get burned?!"

"Dude, there are more important possibly-deadly-things happening right now besides Liam getting his hair a bit ruined!" Stiles shouts back, his hand coming to grab at Scott's shirt as three consecutive spells hit their tree.

Liam can hear wood splintering behind them and knows they don't have long before it gets blown to pieces and they're left out in the open. They need to find some new place to hide or they'll be hit with one of the spells in moments, and while he thinks he and Scott might survive one or two hits, Stiles is still decidedly human.

"I'm okay!" he yells, which seems to reassure Theo somehow because he doesn't say anything more. "We need to find another cover, this tree won't last long."

Scott grabs his arm and pulls him against his side. "Right," he says. "On three, we run for that one over there." He points to a massive oak tree a few feet ahead.

Stiles and Liam nod.

"One, two, three!"

The three of them sprint towards it, Liam and Scott running ahead of Stiles, who almost trips over a root but gets grabbed by Malia, who jumps out of nowhere to save him from meeting an embarrassing demise via face plant. In under ten seconds Liam is throwing himself against the trunk of the new tree, and he's pretty sure he's lost Scott somewhere along the way, though he's reassured of his continued survival by the sound of his ragged breathing somewhere to his left.

"Liam," Theo says, breathing hard, and he's pressed up against the same tree as Liam, his hair falling into his eyes and his mouth half open in surprise.

Even with the adrenaline rushing through his veins, Liam can feel his heart skip a beat at the sight of him.

"Oh, hi!"

A spell hits their tree, making the ground tremble, and Theo lets out a curse, leaning around the trunk to see where it came from. Liam hears a loud woosh and pulls him back against his side just as a spell flies by.

"Yeah, tried and tested. No peeking around, please," he says, hands digging into Theo's waist to keep him still.

Theo nods, sucking in a shaky breath of air. "I thought they just wanted to catch their runaway witch or something, why are they attacking us? It can't just be because Scott was a bit threatening."

"He's a true alpha," Liam hears Malia say, and he looks around but still can't see where she is. "According to Stiles that makes a big difference."

"What? Who are you talking to?" Stiles asks from the same direction.

"Liam. Now hush," Malia says.

Liam exchanges a look with Theo, who just shrugs and tilts his head towards another tree. "We can't stay here. We have no way of fighting them and at this rate someone's gonna get hurt."

"Mason and Corey went to get Lydia, we just need to hold out until she gets here."

"Oh, a long range ability," Theo says, understanding falling over his face. "That's a good idea, but still, I don't think hiding and ducking will work for much longer."

"I know. But we can't just run out into the open or we'll really end up dead. It's already lucky they're keeping their distance because they're scared of Scott."

"We just need a distraction," Theo says. He leans his head back, eyes closed, and after a moment of silence he turns to look at Liam again. "I've got an idea."

"Please tell me it doesn't involve any of us getting hit with one of those spells."

Theo shrugs. "Hopefully not."

"Very reassuring."

"I try," he says with a grin, and Liam can do nothing but helplessly grin back.

***

The plan works, but not without leaving Theo with a hole in his side.

"Theo-" Liam says, dropping to his knees next to him. He presses his hands to the gaping wound and blood soaks through the sleeves of his sweater and stains his fingers. "There's a-" he swallows hard, his ears filled with static.

Theo lets out a terrible gurgling sound and coughs, blood dripping from his mouth. "Yeah, I noticed," he says through gritted teeth.

Liam presses his hands harder against his side, feeling his claws coming out. "It's- there's a lot of blood," he says, his tongue heavy in his mouth.

"I'll be fine," Theo says, his jaw clenching. "I can hear your heart racing from here." He grabs Liam's shoulder, leaving a bloody handprint on the fabric. Liam has to swallow down a wave of nausea at the sight. "Hey, Liam." Theo snaps his fingers in front of his face. "I'll be fine. I can feel myself healing already."

Liam gives a quick nod, trying and failing to will away the glowing of his eyes. He can hear Scott and the others fighting, Lydia's ear-shattering screams loud over everything else, but somehow it all seems distant, like he's underwater.

Theo tries to sit up, saying, "We need to go." And he's right, but all Liam can see is the way fresh blood spills from his open wound when he moves, and his head fills with cotton.

"No, no, no, you gotta stay still. You have a hole in your side. Theo," he chokes out, pushing Theo back down with a hand to his chest. His heart is beating so fast it hurts, and his fangs poke out of his mouth, making his words come out slurred. "Don't move."

Theo looks at him, surprise evident on his face, and then lays back down. "Okay," he says. He taps two fingers to the hand Liam has pressed against his chest. "I won't move."

Liam lets out a shaky breath. "But you're right, we can't stay here." He looks around, seeing nothing but trees and bushes. No sight of the witches, but no sight of the others either, even though he can still catch the sounds of the fight moving further away from them. They're completely alone, and it's both a blessing and a curse. "You can't move." He grabs Theo's hands and places them over the wound. "Keep putting pressure."

Theo watches him warily as he gets up, and then seems to relax when Liam doesn't make any moves to walk away.

"I'm gonna have to carry you," Liam tells him, after a long moment of deliberation. He focuses on Theo's smell under the metallic scent of blood, on his heartbeat and the soft rise and fall of his chest, and in a moment, he feels his fangs and claws recede. "There's no other way."

"Wait, what," Theo asks, watching him through half lidded eyes. His face is pale and wet with sweat, and Liam wants to brush his hair away from his eyes and touch the back of his hand to his cheek, but he doesn't. Instead, he crouches down next to him and hooks an arm under his legs and another around his back.

"Up we go!" He says, heaving him up, hand digging harder into Theo's thigh when he shifts against him in surprise. "Don't move, you might bleed out."

Theo wraps an arm around Liam's shoulders, his right hand still pressing on his wound. "I can walk!"

"I'd rather you didn't, though," Liam says, starting to make his way through the trees, ears out for any noises that might mean a witch is close by.

"Why?"

"Just for my own peace of mind." He grunts, jumping over a fallen log. "Just- stop talking and heal."

"Hah," Theo says, letting out a pained groan when Liam almost trips on a rock. "You're bossy when you're worried."

Liam opens his mouth to deny that he's worried, but then realizes how pointless it'd be. He's carrying Theo, and he quite literally lost control over his shift just a few moments ago, so denying that concern is eating away at his chest right now would probably do nothing but make Theo think he's embarrassed, which he isn't. Theo's his anchor and Liam's allowed to care about him, even after all the things that happened between them in the past.

He thinks it's time he stops overthinking things, because no amount of chewing on his feelings will make them change, and he's been through enough to know that denying himself what he wants will only leave him with worlds of regret.

So yeah, he likes Theo.

He likes Theo.

He wants to hold his hand and run his fingers through his hair. He wants to lick into his mouth and kiss his neck and smell him on his own clothes. He wants to tell him he deserves to be happy too and that, despite everything, Liam still wants to watch him fall asleep next to him and see the way his eyes squint against the sunlight coming through the windows in the morning.

It's crazy, but it also feels right, somehow. Like it's been a long time coming.

Theo must notice the way his heart picks up speed again, because he lets out a soft sound of confusion and looks down at Liam's chest. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Liam says, clearing his throat.

If Theo hears the way his heart skips at the lie, he doesn't comment on it. He just leans his head down on his own arm and closes his eyes. "Okay, I see, just another Liam freak out." Liam can feel his breath on his neck when he speaks, and it makes goosebumps rise all the way down his back and arms.

He lets out a breath through his nose, suppressing a shiver. "Don't fall asleep."

"Yeah, yeah," Theo says, fingers tapping at Liam's shoulder blades. "Wouldn't be able to even if I wanted," he mumbles, burying his face on the inside of his elbow. 

***

Theo stays at Liam's house. He dresses into a pair of Liam's pajamas and collapses on his bed with an exhausted sigh, falling asleep almost instantly. Liam understands that he must be tired from the slow healing of his injury, but that doesn't mean Theo's head resting on his pillow doesn't drive him insane anyway, his thoughts falling into a loop of 'Theo's scent all over my bed!!!' .

He is, admittedly, not the best at dealing with his feelings, specially when they consist of a desperate kind of want and a need to be closer and as tender as humanely possible. He wonders why it is that, somehow, his feelings for Theo are of a gentler kind than his feelings for Hayden had been. If he'd ever guessed he'd end up in this position, he never would've imagined he would just...want to hold Theo's cheek, and kiss his nose, and smell his hair.

It's honestly ridiculous.

He spends a good amount of time watching Theo sleep, tracing the soft lines of his face, his slack mouth and his long lashes brushing against his cheeks, and then he realizes how weird it is to be staring at him like a creep so he gets under the covers next to him, pulling one of his fallen pillows from the floor and puffing it up before setting it under his own head.

He tries to sleep, he really does, but his whole body is hyper aware of Theo lying right behind him, the warmth of his skin spreading under the sheets, his scent surrounding him. It's impossible for Liam to even breathe right, let alone fall asleep. He stares at the wall and wills his brain to shut down, going as far as counting sheep for a while out of desperation, but no matter what he does, nothing seems enough to distract him from the warm body behind him.

When it reaches 2a.m. he finally gives up and moves to stand up, carefully pulling the covers up so Theo doesn't get hit by the cold. He's just about to slip his feet inside his slippers when a hand shoots out to grab his arm. He feels his fangs come out, but immediately relaxes when he realizes it's just Theo.

"Where are you going?" he asks, his voice heavy with sleep. His eyes are barely open and he doesn't even seem fully aware of what he's doing, but his grip on Liam's arm is solid, fingertips placed right up against his pulse point.

"Uh, I can't sleep, I'm just gonna-"

"Come back," Theo mumbles, pulling Liam back under the covers with a surprising amount of strength for someone half asleep. Liam falls back against his pillow and turns to face Theo, unable to help himself. "You're like a furnace."

"You're the one that's unusually cold for a werewolf," Liam whispers.

"Not a werewolf," Theo corrects, pulling Liam closer to him. His eyes are closed now, and his voice drowsy, like he's on the edge of sleep.

Liam takes in a chocked breath and pulls on Theo's hand with trembling fingers. "Can you let go now?"

Theo doesn't answer, but his fingers release Liam's wrist, his limp hand falling down on the bed between them.

Liam licks his lips, feeling his heart beating so hard against his ribcage it hurts. "Good night," he whispers.

***

Theo sleeps well into the afternoon, not waking up even when Liam gets up and showers, moving around the room not so quietly and getting dressed in the bathroom for fear of Theo rousing and seeing him naked. He's still asleep by the time Liam has had breakfast and sent a text to the pack group chat to let them know that Theo is fine - though he doubts many of them were that worried.

It's only around 1 p.m. that he steps into the kitchen where Liam has gone to get some snacks.

His hair is mussed and he has pillow creases all over his cheeks, his shirt wrinkled up from being rucked up under him in his sleep. He brings a hand up to rub at one eye and blinks owlishly at what Liam is doing, a haze of sleep clearly still clouding his thoughts.

"Good morning," he says, his voice hoarse with sleep.

Liam looks away from him, biting down a smile. "Good morning."

"What time is it?"

"Around one." He grabs a box of cereal from one of the cabinets and holds it out to Theo, who looks at it but makes no moves to grab it. "You should eat something."

Theo runs a hand through his hair and nods, seemingly trying to shake off his sleepiness. He takes the box from Liam and stares down at it for a moment, before slowly moving forward to grab one of the bowls drying by the sink. "Thanks for letting me stay over."

Liam shrugs, leaning his hip against the counter and opening a pack of cookies for himself. "No problem. Feel free to crash here whenever, my parents don't mind. Mason stays over all the time."

He says it light-heartedly, but he knows the real weight of his offer. Just a few weeks ago he'd been worried about the pack smelling Theo in his room, and now he's giving him a free pass to staying over whenever he wants. 

He doubts Theo will really take him up on the offer, but he must realize how much it means for Liam to be saying it because he looks up from filling his bowl with milk and says, "Oh," his face going through a complicated set of emotions before settling on a neutral one. "Thank you."

He speaks softly, the edges of his mouth twitching like he's holding back a smile, and Liam wants nothing more than to spring forward and kiss the corner of his lips - nudge that smile out with his own mouth so he can bask in the feeling of knowing he's the one who caused it.

Maybe it's time he gains a little courage; if not about confessing, then at least about the other pressing issue in his life. Realistically speaking, he's never going to get anything out of Theo by spying on him or trying to be sneaky in the least sneaky way possible. The thing about Theo is that he only lets you see what he wants you to see, and the rare moments when his real emotions slip through are so far and few between they might as well be non-existent.

A direct approach is best, Liam realizes now.

He draws on all of Mason's past pep talks and takes a deep breath. "Theo."

Theo glances at him, a questioning look in his eyes. "Yeah?"

"Are you in love with anyone?"

If he's honest with himself, he doesn't want to know, because just the thought of it fills him with that deep sense of bitterness he felt at the coffee shop when he first saw Eve. He knows he has an annoying jealous streak, but this isn't the same thing he felt when Hayden stared at other guys, this is a kind of hopeless jealousy that comes with the knowledge that he has close to no chance of being with Theo the way he wants.

"Wh-" Theo says, clearly caught off guard. He makes an aborted motion with his hand and then frowns. "Why would you ask that?" His ears are red.

"Just something you said a while back," Liam says, taking a small bite out of one of his cookies, acting nonchalant despite his racing heart.

Theo curses under his breath, looking away. "I knew that'd come back to bite me in the ass," he grumbles. He looks at Liam, who stares back at him with raised eyebrows, and sighs. "Look, I don't know why you're asking this but I don't think we're at that stage in our relationship yet."

Liam almost chokes on his cookie, swallowing it down in one quick gulp. "I'm just curious, that's all! And the pack would probably feel reassured knowing you have someone keeping you from going on a killing spree." He frowns. "Unless the person you like is a bad person."

"He's not," Theo rushes to say, and then bites his lip, looking immediately regretful about giving himself away so easily.

Liam tries and fails to will away the sting of hurt at the confirmation of what he already knew. Somehow, it hadn't felt as real before - there was still a chance he'd just misunderstood Theo's words back in his room.

That chance is gone now.

"It's a guy?"

Theo runs a hand through his hair. "Is this why you were following me around last month?" he asks, ignoring Liam's question. "You guys are ridiculous."

Liam purses his lips. "I mean, in hindsight it does seem kinda dumb, but I didn't consider that if I asked, you would've blurted it out this fast."

Theo scowls, turning back to his bowl and starting to fill it with cereal. "Maybe being in the same room as you makes my IQ drop."

Liam scoffs, stuffing another cookie into his mouth. "Asshole."

"Dumbass."

He rolls his eyes. "Who the hell are you in love with? He must be something else for even you to be into him."

Theo stares at him, an unreadable look on his face. "He is," he says, and then faces away from Liam, a light scent of embarrassment filling the air.

Liam eats another cookie and tries not to wallow in self pity.

***

Eve has her hair pulled up into a pony tail today, and it drags Liam's attention to the large bright blue pearl earrings she's wearing. "Oh my God, you're in my history class."

She gives him a sunny grin. "I was wondering how long it'd take you to figure it out."

Liam looks at Theo, who's hiding a smirk by ducking his head to check out the menu he probably already knows by heart.

"I've literally never seen you with your hair down at school, and you always sit at the very back so it's not like I've had many chances to see your face clearly," Liam protests, turning back to her and eyeing her earrings with a hint of suspicion. "Have you been wearing those every time we've come in?"

"Yes," she says, cocking her hip against their table. "But my hair covers them most of the time. Is that seriously why you finally recognized me? My earrings?"

"They're very eye-catching, I remembered them better than your face," he hears Theo let out a muffled snort, "I mean, sorry, I didn't mean to say your face is forgettable or anything like that, you're very pretty, really, I just-"

"We'll take the usual," Theo cuts in, thankfully stopping Liam from falling into an embarrassing rant.

Eve sends Liam an amused look and then nods at Theo. "Coming right up."

Once she's gone, Liam finally allows himself to look at Theo again, his face burning with embarrassment.

"You really have a way with words, don't you?" Theo says, his nose twitching in his efforts to stop a grin from breaking onto his face.

"Shut up," Liam grumbles, looking away and suppressing a grin of his own.

Theo snorts, looking out the window, and after moment of silence he says, "Do continue what you were saying before she came."

"Oh, right." Liam looks down at his hands, picking at the loose skin around his fingernails. The good thing about being a werewolf is that he doesn't have to worry about leaving an open wound. "As I was saying, Scott and the others are leaving again and we're having a barbecue on saturday at Lydia's to say goodbye to them."

"Okay," Theo says slowly, looking confused. "What does that have to do with me?"

"I was wondering if...you wanted to drop by for a while?" Liam says, squinting one eye in preparation for rejection.

Theo looks at him like he's grown a second head right on the spot. "You're inviting me to Lydia's barbecue?"

"It's not Lydia's barbecue. It's the pack's barbecue, it just so happens to be at Lydia's place."

"Okay, the question still stands, though," Theo says, raising an eyebrow. "You're inviting me to your pack's barbecue? They all hate me, in case you haven't noticed."

Liam shrugs, looking away. "You don't have to worry about that," he tells him. He can't tell him that the pack has become a little more accepting of Theo now that they know he's Liam's anchor, but at least he can try to reassure him that no one will try to secretly poison his food, like he seems to think Stiles would if given the opportunity. "The most you'd get would be a glare or two from Malia."

"Seems like exactly the place I'd like to spend my saturday at, really," Theo says with an eye roll.

Liam sighs. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He tries and fails to mask his disappointment.

Theo stares at him for a long moment, and then groans, running a hand through his hair in clear frustration. "Fine, I'll go."

"Wait, really?" Liam asks, his excitement jumping through against his will and making him lean forward in his seat. "I mean," he clears his throat, leaning back against his chair. "That's cool. Nice. Yeah."

Theo raises an eyebrow at him. Liam thinks he has unfairly expressive eyebrows for a guy who barely even manages a smile every other day.

***

When he gets home from shopping for a new pair of sneakers on saturday, he finds Theo lying on his couch, head smushed between two pillows and hair all over the place.

"Theo?" he asks, and watches as Theo stirs softly for a moment before turning his head into one of the pillows.

Liam drops his shopping bag by the couch and sits on its arm, his thigh almost brushing one of Theo's stray limbs. "Theo," he says again, louder, and feels momentarily brave enough to nudge him on the cheek with the back of his hand. "Wake up."

Be it the touching or the louder volume, something seems to work this time around and Theo turns his head in Liam's direction, eyes squinted and lips pursed. "Liam?" he asks, confused, and then a look of clarity passes over his face and he quickly pulls himself up to his knees. "Liam."

"Yeah, it's me," Liam says with an amused smile. "Sleep well?"

Theo drags a hand through his hair, making even more of a mess of it. "I didn't mean to pass out."

Liam shifts down to sit on the couch next to him, their thighs touching for a moment before he moves a few inches away. "What are you even doing here?"

"Well, I couldn't just show up to the barbecue and risk you not being there yet," Theo says with a pointed look. His eyes are so pretty from up close, Liam notices - it's honestly unfair that someone this good looking exists. "I came by to give you a ride and your mom let me in as she was leaving for work. She somehow recognized my name when I introduced myself?"

"Oh yeah," Liam says, sheepishly picking at a loose thread on one of the holes of his ripped jeans. "I kinda mentioned you a while back and since I couldn't very well tell her how I knew you, considering those circumstances, I ended up telling her you were Scott and Stiles' childhood friend."

"Ah," Theo says, a complicated look falling over his face.

"Anyway," Liam goes on. "Scott told me to get some butter and bread on the way there so if you're giving me a ride you'll have to come and get them with me."

"Shopping, sure, how much excitement can you have in one night?" Theo says dryly.

Liam punches him softly on the shoulder and gets up from the couch. "Come on, I just came back to drop my bags, we have to go or we'll be late."

Theo gets up, stretching his arms above his head. A sliver of milky white skin peeks out from under his sweater and Liam averts his eyes.

"How were you going to get to Lydia's?"

"Bus," Liam tells him. He grabs the collar of his shirt, pulling him along behind him. "Let's go, let's go."

Theo slaps his hand away and pats down the stretched collar of his sweater. "Calm down, you caveman," he grumbles, following behind him as he opens the front door.

"You don't wanna be late to a Lydia party," Liam says, letting him pass through before closing the door behind them. "She's even scarier now that she can control her screams like that."

Theo pulls his car keys out of his pocket and clicks his car open. "I thought it was the pack's, not Lydia's."

Liam ignores his comment and opens the passenger door, settling into the seat as Theo rounds the car to the driver's side. He wonders how he didn't notice Theo's car on his way inside, it's not particularly hidden sitting here in front of his garage. Not only that, he didn't even realize Theo was inside the room until he saw him, despite the fact that his scent must have trailed all the way in.

Has he really become so used to having him around that he doesn't notice when his scent is where it shouldn't be?

"Where to?" Theo asks, tilting his chin at the road in front of them.

Liam gives him directions to the nearest supermarket, eyes fixed on the road to keep himself from staring at the way the muscles in Theo's forearms flex every time he turns the wheel. It's harder than he imagined, keeping his eyes to himself.

Was it like this with Hayden too? He can't remember.

"Just bread and butter, right?" Theo asks as they finally enter the supermarket.

Liam nods, heading towards the dairy products section. He passes by a candy isle on the way and snags a chocolate bar, unable to resist.

"You know you could've just stayed in the car, right? This won't take long," he says.

"I don't really trust you to buy the good stuff."

"It's just bread and butter, dude."

"Still."

Liam snorts, walking into the cold foods aisle. He immediately spots the butter on one of the lower shelves and goes to grab it, the cold of the freezer making goosebumps rise on his arm, but Theo pushes his hand away right before he does, a disapproving look on his face.

"See, this is why I wanted to come," he says.

Liam frowns. "What? What's wrong with that butter?"

Theo raises an eyebrow at him. "That's the off brand no salt butter, which I guess you would buy if you needed to save money and didn't care about the taste, but I'm pretty sure you can afford the decent one just fine."

"Oh." Liam looks down at the box he was about to grab and then looks at the other ones around it, utterly lost. "Which one is that?"

Theo bends down and grabs a blue one. "This one."

Liam takes it from him and turns it around in his hand before shrugging. "Okay, now we just need the bread."

"Wait, just like that?" Theo asks.

"Just like what?"

"Aren't you at least gonna check the price?"

"You just said it was fine," Liam says, confused.

"I could be lying."

"Why would you lie about that?" he says with an eye roll. "You're pretty straight forward when you're not secretly planning evil stuff, so I'm gonna trust your word on this."

Theo stares at Liam like he doesn't believe what he's saying. "Trust my word on this?" he echoes softly, brow furrowed, and then his expression shifts into something different, harder to decipher. "Oh," he looks away, "okay."

Liam eyes him for a moment, unsure, and then shrugs it off and says, "Well, whatever, lets go get the bread, yeah?"

Theo nods and follows after him as he starts to look for the aisle the bread is in. It takes a while, because the bread is at the very back of the supermarket, but once they get there Theo immediately grabs three bags of it.

"Do we really need that much?" Liam asks him, eyeing the bags in his arms.

"You guys have werewolf metabolism. Trust me, we need this much bread," he says, and then gives Liam a look that must mean something, except Liam has no idea what.

"Uh, okay, let's go pay, then."

Theo lets out a soft sigh and an amused expression crosses his face. "You're really dense, huh."

Liam scowls. "No, I'm not."

"You wouldn't know." Theo snorts and takes the butter from him. "Let's go."

"I'm not dense!" Liam calls after him, fast walking to catch up with his long steps. They're practically the same size, how on earth is Theo so much faster than him?

"You are," Theo insists, coming to a stop at the end of one of the lines by the registers. "You really are."

"Shut up. Just because I can't read your mind doesn't mean I'm dense." Liam takes his wallet out of his pocket. "If you have something to say just say it."

Theo stares at him for a moment, then shrugs. "Nah, forget it."

"You're really frustrating, you know that?"

Theo grins. "Yeah."

***

There's something about seeing his pack and the person he's possibly, probably, very likely in love with together that settles something in Liam's chest. Maybe it's a werewolf thing, seeing all his special people all gathered like this, or maybe it just makes him happy to know half of his loved ones don't actively hate Theo anymore. It might be both.

He's been sitting on the sidelines for a while watching everyone with a wistful smile when Stiles comes to sit next to him. He has this look on his face that immediately tells Liam nothing good is about to come out of his mouth.

"You really did invite Theo, huh?"

Liam looks over at where Theo's standing by the fire, flipping meat on Lydia's barbecue grill and scowling at Mason and Corey, who've dragged him into a conversation about the best fish recipes they know. He's contributing with his own suggestions, but mainly he seems to be filing away the ones they're saying, piping in now and again when he thinks something sounds particularly gross.

Liam couldn't be happier to see him getting worked up over fish.

"Yeah, I did say I would."

"I kinda thought you'd chicken out at the last minute," Stiles admits, looking over at Theo as well. "He's okay now, I guess. Not great, not exactly good, but okay." He pats Liam on the back, giving him a tentative smile. Liam smiles back.

"Are you giving me your blessing? Is that what's happening right now?" 

Stiles laughs and gets up. "Just don't mess things up. You know how Scott gets when one of us is sad," he says, and leaves Liam to ponder on that on his own.

He doesn't know how Stiles figured it out, and he isn't sure if Scott knows as well until he meets his eyes across the yard and he throws him a thumbs up. Guess that means he has his alpha's support, which is nice but doesn't really make a lick of difference in the end when he knows Theo's in love with someone else. It doesn't matter how Liam feels about him, it's best to keep his mouth shut and not risk ruining the still fragile relationship they've managed to form.

His mood sours a little after that, and he stays nursing his drink by himself for much longer than he'd planned. His pack is good at reading his mood, which means they mostly leave him alone, but Theo either isn't as good at it or he just really doesn't care, because at the half hour of sulking mark he gives up the grill to Mason and walks over to where Liam is sitting.

"I can't believe you invited me here just so you could sit far away and sulk."

"I'm not sulking," Liam grumbles.

Theo raises an eyebrow. "Really? Then pray tell, what exactly are you doing?" He sits next to Liam, their knees knocking together. Liam doesn't pull away.

"I'm, uh, finishing my drink."

Theo eyes the cup in his hand with disgust. "That must be all warm and gross by now."

"No it's-" Liam brings the cup to his lips and takes a sip, "ah," he smacks his lips together and wrinkles his nose, "yeah, it's pretty gross."

"So all you got from your brooding was a warm gross drink," Theo says dryly. He takes the cup from Liam and places it by their feet. "What's wrong?"

Liam eyes him warily, pulling his knees further against his chest. "You're being strangely nice, so maybe I should be the one asking that."

"I can be nice."

Liam raises an eyebrow. "Really."

Theo scowls and looks away. "Mason suggested I should try to be more...open...or something. I don't even know why I thought taking advice from him was a good idea." His ears are red, and the scent of embarrassment coming off of him is intense enough that Liam wouldn't have missed it even with a blocked nose.

"No, hey, it's nice, really. Just a bit unexpected." He tries for a weak smile when Theo turns back to him, a wary look on his face. "When did you guys even talk about that, last I was listening to you were discussing fish recipes."

"Oh?" Theo smirks. "You were listening in on our conversation?"

Liam affects a look of disinterest. "Well, you can't blame me. I don't really see you talking to people all that often, specially my friends."

"I talk to you."

"Yeah, well, that's different."

Theo looks at him out the corner of his eyes. "It is?"

"Uh..." Liam bites his lip, looking away in embarrassment. He catches Stiles's eye across the yard, who gives him a knowing smirk. He looks back at Theo. "It's different because we're friends."

Theo's eyes widen, a look of complete shock falling over his face. Liam doesn't think he's ever seen him this surprised before, which is a bit insulting, really. Didn't Theo even consider that they could be friends before?

"We're...friends?" Theo asks in a low voice. Liam can hear the way his heart skips at the word, and it makes his own skip in turn.

"Yeah...Is that so surprising?"

"Yes," Theo says bluntly.

Liam scowls, averting his gaze. "Oh, I see."

"No, I don't mean it like-" Theo scrubs a hand over his hair in clear frustration. "I just meant...I didn't think you'd ever consider me anything like that. After everything that happened."

"Ah," Liam purses his lips. "I get why you'd think like that, but, I, uh, I like," he stares down at his hands, sweat clinging to his neck, "I like when you're around."

"Oh," Theo says breathlessly, looking like he's been punched in the gut. "You're dumb."

"What?" Liam is suddenly very confused about the turn their conversation has taken. "You're dumb."

Theo shakes his head. "I've got to go."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, I have to leave." Theo gets up from his place next to Liam and starts walking towards the yard gate.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Liam calls after him, getting up as well.

Theo looks at him over his shoulder, a look of barely contained panic on his face. "Away. From you."

Liam stops in his tracks, a weight dropping in his stomach. "What?" He feels like a broken record.

"Just, I'll be around, okay?" Theo says, already by the gate. Liam can feel everyone's stares on them, but that's the last thing on his mind right now. He honestly can't figure out what went wrong and what about what he said freaked Theo out so much. All he did was take a page out of his book and try to be more open.

It clearly didn't work.

"Okay. Sure," he says, even though all he wants to do is shout at him and maybe punch him once, just to feel like things are back to normal and not whatever the hell is happening right now.

Theo nods and walks through the gate, leaving Liam to stare after him until he disappears down the road.

"What was that about?" Malia asks, coming to stand next to him.

"No idea," Liam tells her.

***

He only sees Theo again four days later, and it's not for lack of searching on his part. Apparently Theo's been doing his best to avoid him, which is both depressing and infuriating. If he doesn't talk to him how is Liam supposed to figure out what he did wrong and fix it?

He's on his way out of school after lacrosse practice when he sees him leaning against his car in the parking lot. He's got a serious look on his face, and the moment he sees Liam he gestures for him to come over.

"Look who's decided to show up," Liam says grumpily, knowing he'll hear him even at this distance.

Theo rolls his eyes. "Liam, come on."

"Ugh." He gives in and walks over to him - it's not like he would've been able to resist much longer anyway. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

Theo runs a hand through his hair, looking to the side. "Mason...talked to me."

"Wait, he did?" Liam asks, surprised. He couldn't find Theo when he was searching for him and he's got werewolf senses, how the hell did Mason find-?

Oh, right. Maybe Theo was just avoiding Liam specifically and didn't bother to hide from anyone else. That stings. A lot.

"He said...you think you did something wrong?" Theo looks at him with a frown. "I just- you didn't do anything wrong. You're-" He looks away. "You're fine. I'm not- upset or anything."

"Oh," Liam says, feeling a huge weight lift off his shoulders. Well, knowing he didn't do anything wrong is a big relief, but it still leaves the question of what the hell made Theo leave so abruptly mid conversation. And why he's been avoiding him these last few days. "What was that all about, then?"

Theo grimaces. "I'm just working through some stuff."

He doesn't say anything else, and Liam can take a hint, no matter how dense Theo says he is. He clearly doesn't want to say any more on that subject, and if there's one thing Liam's learned in all his time of knowing Theo is that putting pressure on him just makes him even more closed off. Best to wait it out, and then, if he's lucky, maybe Theo will willingly tell him what's going on.

It's unlikely, but still a possibility.

"Okay." He glances at Theo's car. "Give me a ride home?"

Theo looks at him - his lips are pursed but his eyes are smiling. Liam has definitely gotten better at reading him and he can't help but take pride in that. Even if the others don't care, he's taken the time to learn how to better understand the way Theo works, the ins and outs of his personality. He still doesn't know what goes on in his head most of the time, but he's probably the only person alive who can look at Theo right now and know without a doubt that he's amused. It sends a small shiver of exhilaration down his spine.

God, he's got it bad.

"Sure," Theo says. "If you're asking so nicely." 

Liam spends the ride home fiddling with the radio buttons on the car, moving from station to station without staying on one for too long. He's nervous, his heart beating erratically in his chest, but he has no idea why. He's used to the tingling in his chest and the way his palms sweat whenever he's around Theo - now he even knows why that happens - but this is something different. He can't think of one single reason for why he'd be so anxious. Theo already explained he's not upset with him, and besides that the only thing that could worry Liam is a supernatural threat but that can't be it because, thankfully, things have been quiet since the older half of the pack left.

He looks at Theo, who's taping his fingers on the steering wheel to the sound of some unknown song, and realizes with a start that despite his calm expression, his heart is also racing in his chest.

Could it be...?

Maybe Liam isn't the one that's nervous, maybe his heart just subconsciously synced to Theo's without him realizing. But what-

"We're here," Theo says, cutting into his thoughts.

Liam looks out the window in surprise, seeing his house. "Oh," he turns to Theo, "thanks for the ride."

Theo shrugs, still taping his fingers on the steering wheel. It must be a tell he doesn't realize he has, and Liam can't help but feel special, somehow, about having figured that out.

"Do you," he hesitates, glancing up at Theo and biting his lip, "uh, do you wanna come in?"

Theo looks surprised at his question, but he recovers quickly. "Your parents aren't in?"

Liam shakes his head. "Still working. And besides, they wouldn't mind."

Theo looks out the front window of the car, visibly unsure, and then turns back to Liam after a long moment of deliberation. "I- yes, okay. Sure."

Liam almost grins but manages to refrain himself - the last thing he needs is for Theo to get embarrassed and leave again. He still doesn't know what set him off last time.

They leave the car and head into his house, Liam leading them to the kitchen after his stomach lets out a loud rumble.

"Do you want anything?" he asks Theo, opening the fridge door and grabbing a yogurt.

Theo shakes his head, leaning back against the counter. "This feels familiar," he says with a small smirk.

Liam looks up at him, feeling his face warm at the reminder of his small interrogation into Theo's love life. In retrospect, it's a bit embarrassing, and it only gave him grief in the end knowing that Theo's in love with someone else. It's like Liam keeps on making terrible decisions when it comes to this guy, no matter how hard he tries to steer them in the right direction.

Maybe the universe is working against him.

"Is this your way of asking if you can stay over again?" Liam teases, trying to mask his embarrassment.

Theo scowls. "No."

Liam shrugs, grabbing a spoon from a drawer. "I bet my bed is way better than your car," he says, waving the spoon at Theo's face with a smug grin.

Theo snorts and rolls his eyes, batting the spoon away. "It's your bed, so of c-" he cuts himself off, letting out a chocked cough and hitting his chest with a fist. His cheeks and neck are red. "I mean, any decent mattress is better than sleeping on a car seat."

Liam eyes him warily, listening to the loud beating of his heart. It's suddenly so much faster than before, and it was already beating considerably faster than normal back in the car. "Are you okay?"

Theo raises an eyebrow at him, despite his still very red face. "Of course."

Liam takes a spoonful of yogurt into his mouth and swallows it. "You've been acting strange since earlier." He points the empty spoon at Theo and narrows one eye. "Why is your heart going 20 miles an hour, did something happen?"

Theo makes a face, nose wrinkling and lips pursed.

Liam grabs another spoonful of yogurt. "Are you...constipated?"

Theo looks at him like he's the dumbest person to ever walk the earth. "No," he says dryly.

"What? It's a valid question!"

Theo sighs. "I got myself into this, really, it's my own fault," he mutters to himself.

Now he's talking to himself? It's not exactly strange but it's definitely out of the usual range of Theo behaviours. Actually, a lot of the things he's done today have been out of his usual brand of behavior.

"Are you okay?" Liam asks again, watching as Theo keeps muttering to himself, having moved on to incomprehensible gibberish.

"You...are ridiculous," Theo blurts out, a complicated look on his face.

Liam raises an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"Utterly ridiculous."

"Uh...where's this coming from? Is it because I asked if you're constipated? Sorry if I offended you but there's no need to be embarrassed about that kind of stuff, it's perfectly normal sometimes to-"

"Oh my god, stop, please," Theo says, and he's covering his eyes with one hand. "I'm not constipated, Liam."

"It's okay if you are."

"I'm not!"

"Okay! Whatever you say." He scrapes the bottom of his yogurt carton. "Just...know that the bathroom is down the hall from the living room. In case you need it."

Theo lets out a groan. "I'm just nervous, okay?! It has nothing to do with my bowel movements!"

Liam stops with his spoon halfway to his mouth and looks at him. "You're...nervous?" He frowns. "What about?"

Theo pinches the bridge of his nose, letting out a long sigh. "Great, of course this would happen." He glares at Liam. "You can never leave well enough alone, can you?"

"What, now you're mad at me? What's up with all these mood swings?"

"It's your fault!"

"I didn't do anything!"

"You made me say I'm nervous!"

"I don't even know why! What's the big deal?!" Liam yells, throwing his spoon and yogurt in the sink. He tries to breathe in but it just makes him angrier. This really is nothing to get all worked up about, he knows, but Theo is getting agitated and Liam can't help but mirror him. He' s never been good at keeping his emotions in check, and if his anchor is acting like this, there's no way he can get himself under control. "You're acting weird and you won't tell me what's going on, I told you I'm not a mind reader!"

"You don't need to read my mind! I told you I'm fine!"

"But I know you're not!" He yells, advancing on Theo and hitting him on the chest with his finger. "Why did you run away at the barbecue?! Why do you keep avoiding my questions?! I don't know what you want!"

"You!" Theo yells, slapping his hand away. His face is red, his pupils dilated. "I want you!!"

Liam stops with his mouth half open, about to yell a reply before Theo's words registered. "W-what?" he asks, his hand slowly dropping to his side.

Theo looks like he might explode with how red his face is, and he immediately covers it with one hand, letting out a prolonged groan. "Argh, you're infuriating!"

"Theo, Theo, what did you say?" Liam asks, leaning forward and grabbing Theo by the wrist, pulling his hand away from his face. "You-"

Theo can't meet his eyes, looking at the ceiling, his eyebrows furrowed in embarrassment. "Liam, shut up."

"No, you said- you said-"

"I know what I said! I didn't mean to."

"Oh," Liam says, dropping his hold on Theo's wrist and stepping away. His chest feels constricted, it's hard to breathe. "You didn't mean it." Of course he didn't mean it, it's Theo he's talking about. Theo, who's in love with someone else and probably only tolerates Liam's presence because he's a bit on the low side when it comes to having friends. Theo, who's been, agonizingly slowly, trying to be if not a good, then an okay person, or at least someone Liam's not completely ashamed to say he has feelings for. Theo, who's looking at Liam like he's just uttered the biggest nonsense he's ever heard in his life.

"No, you idiot," he says, running a hand through his hair. "I meant it. I just didn't mean to blurt it out like that."

And just like that, Liam feels the dying spark of hope in his chest grow into a forest fire. "You...want me?" he asks, hesitant.

Theo looks away. "I hate you a little bit, just this moment." His heart skips a beat.

"But you want me," Liam insists, more confident now. His heart is beating so hard against his ribcage it's almost painful. Is this what dying feels like? If so, then he thinks this might not be the worst way to go.

"Yeah, yeah, stop repeating it, I know what I said." Theo scrubs a hand over his eyes. "What now?"

"What?" Liam asks, confused and still a little dazed. He knows what Theo's accidental confession means, but it feels like his brain still hasn't caught up yet. His head is screaming at him to say something, to stop standing around looking like an idiot and just grab Theo and pull him in, but his body refuses to comply. Theo was right, he really is ridiculous.

"I kinda...said I- ugh- have feelings for you," Theo bites his lip. "You're not really saying anything, I know you obviously don't feel the same way but-"

Something hits Liam just then. Theo said he was in love with someone, some other guy, but if he likes Liam, then-

"I'm your mystery guy?!" he cuts Theo off.

Theo's eye twitches and he flicks Liam on the forehead. It doesn't sting, but Liam still rubs at it. "I know you're slow, but really? That's the first connection you should've made."

"No- I was-" he pauses, his brain finally catching up with what Theo had been saying before he cut him off. "What do you mean, obviously?"

Theo grimaces. "Well, I know what I'm like, I know I'm not-" he licks his lips and looks down. "Just, forget it." 

"No, wait, what?" Liam says, finally understanding what's going on. "No! I'm in love with you too!" he blurts out. His face is hot and he's pretty sure he's sweating through his clothes but, well, rip the bandage off in one go, as they say.

Theo wasn't kidding about not expecting his feelings to be reciprocated, because he stares at Liam like he's just grown another limb, and then shakes his head, a look of confusion passing over his face. "What?" he asks, and Liam almost laughs at his reaction - it's basically the same as his, Theo really had no room to complain.

"I said," he steps forward, pressing a hand to Theo's chest, over his heart. It beats unsteadily, an erratic drum against his fingers, and the warmth of Theo's skin soaks through the shirt and warms Liam's palm. "I...love you too."

Theo blinks, once, twice, and then his eyes widen. If Liam thought he looked surprised at the barbecue, now he looks like the earth has fallen from under his feet and he's suddenly found himself free falling.

Slowly but surely, Liam watches as he processes his words, and when it finally hits him, he lets out a soft breath and says. "You really are an idiot."

Liam scowls. "That is such a rude way to res-"

Theo cuts him off by pulling him into a kiss.

His mouth is hot, unlike his hands, which send shivers down Liam's spine when they touch his neck. Liam doesn’t immediately return the kiss, shocked and a bit confused, but the moment he realizes what’s happening he circles his arms around Theo's waist and grabs the back of his shirt with more strength than necessary - dating Hayden helped his control in moments like these, but he's not sure he'll be able to keep his claws in without that extra fabric to hold onto. He has to tilt his head just the slightest bit to reach Theo's mouth, but it's worth it for the way Theo's lashes brush against his cheeks when they move. He traces his tongue over Theo's lips, delighting in the small gasp it brings out of him, and Theo pulls him closer in retaliation, his fingers running through the short hairs at his nape and eliciting a soft groan from Liam as a spike of hot hot pleasure courses through his whole body.

When he pulls away to catch his breath, Theo chases down his lips for a moment, before he seems to remember himself and pulls back as well.

Liam traces his face with his eyes, from his bitten red lips, to his flushed cheeks and almost iris-less dark eyes. He's never seen a prettier sight in his life, it's really, really, unfair.

"You know, Theo," he says, and Theo tilts his head to show he's listening, apparently not up for speaking just yet. Liam himself is still out of breath, but that won't stop him from saying what he wants to. "You're the idiot."

"What?" Theo asks, snapped out of his daze by Liam's words. "Why?" he asks, with narrowed eyes. His hands flex against Liam's neck, and Liam can hear his heart trip over itself.

"Because you said I obviously didn't feel the same, and, I don't know how to break it to you, but you were pretty wrong." He grins.

Theo snorts, pulling him closer by the collar. "You're still an idiot anyway."

"Yeah, but you like me."

Theo rolls his eyes but doesn't deny it. "Whatever."

Liam leans his head against the crook of his neck. "Stay over?" He asks, his voice muffled by Theo's shirt.

Theo shifts against him. "Okay."

***

"I'm your what?"

"My anchor."

"Since when?!"

"I don't know, dude, I only noticed it a few months ago."

"Months?!" Theo says, pushing Liam off of him to see him face to face. "What the hell, Liam. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I mean, it'd be kind of a dead giveaway to my feelings, don't you think?" Liam says dryly. "Besides, the pack thought you might use it against me or something."

"Oh," Theo says, and lies back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling for a long moment before adding, "You thought so too?"

"No." Liam snorts. All he'd thought back then was that Theo looked pretty nice every time he saw him. In retrospect, he was pretty much drooling over him even before he noticed his feelings. Maybe he really is as dense as Theo claims. "But I didn't have any real reason to tell you, you know?"

"I guess you're right..." Theo turns his head so he can look at him, his cheek resting on the bed. "Do they know?"

"Know what?"

"About you...you know..."

Liam takes a moment to figure out what he's trying to say. "It's really not that hard to say it. Repeat after me: you have feelings for me, I have feelings for you. Romantic feelings. Gushy feelings."

Theo flips him off and he laughs.

"But to answer your question, yes, they know. Or at least Scott and Stiles know. Possibly Mason too, he's been kind of too helpful lately for it to just be a coincidence."

"Huh."

Liam pokes him on the cheeks, and watches as Theo goes cross eyed trying to look at his finger. "You're strange, you know." Despite everything and all the terrible things he did or tried to do, Theo's still just a kid like Liam, he snores a little bit when he sleeps, soft like a kitten, and his eyes drop when he's tired. One time, Liam saw him trip on the sidewalk and thought oh, he can be clumsy too, with a kind of breathless relief only Theo can really bring out of him. All these terribly mundane things about him that no one else would really notice, Liam's been cataloging them all in his mind. Bit by bit, he’s building Theo out of all these little pieces, and the best part about it all is that it’s never going to be complete, there’s always going to be something new to figure out about him. Liam can’t wait.

"You're strange too," Theo says, and the smile on his lips is the softest Liam's ever seen on him. It's crooked and a bit weird, like he never learned how to do it properly, but it's the prettiest thing in the world.

"We can both be strange, then."

Theo closes his eyes and links his fingers with Liam's. It's an unexpected gesture coming from him, and Liam has to bite his lip to keep from laughing in delight. "I like that."

Liam squeezes his hand, watching the lines of his face soften with sleep. "Yeah, I like it too." 

End.