Work Text:
After Gabe's heart stopped, all the loud, panicked urgency of the night had faded into a somber, peaceful din of whispered conversations
Liam and Theo found the wireless radio emitting Monroe's angry demands for answers right after Lydia had called Melissa with the good news.
Liam placed the radio back on the ground where he found it and surveyed the room around him. He felt the muscles in his body relax, and the pain from the bullets that grazed his side and thigh seep into his bones like a cold comfort.
Melissa had appeared at Theo's side and started examining the bullet wound on his shoulder when Liam focused on them. Theo was staring at Liam. When Liam met his eyes, Theo nodded minutely then turned his attention to what Melissa was asking him.
Mason was standing a few feet away, carding a hand through his boyfriend's hair as Corey crouched next to Nolan and whispered what Liam assumed were careful words of encouragement to get up and exit the gory mess of a hospital with them.
Lydia's call had urged them to get to Deaton's as soon as possible to assess the situation, treat injuries, and wait for the dust to settle.
"Do you think you can make it back to the clinic to do this, or should we cut the bullet out here?" Melissa's quiet voice broke through Liam's thoughts and he looked at Theo once again.
"I'll be fine. I won't heal around the bullet, and its a short drive." Theo forced a small smile after he answered. Liam didn't blame him. They all wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible.
"Better get going then." Liam chimed in, turning to the others to make sure they heard.
The sheriff and Rafe pulled up outside as they exited the building. Liam felt the pressure in his chest get a little bit lighter with every familiar face he saw.
Melissa handed her keys to Mason and instructed the boys to tell Scott she and the Sherriff needed to take care of Nolan and they would keep them updated.
Corey and Mason handed Nolan over to the Melissa, who looked at him with a strange mixture pity and compassion as Rafe let him in the back of the cruiser.
****
The drive to the animal clinic was slow and quiet.
Corey and Mason had driven away right behind the Sherriff's car, Mason nodding at them out the window. Liam hadn't even thought about it as he instinctively walked with Theo to his truck, grabbing the keys Theo offered him while shrugging his uninjured shoulder.
Liam couldn't focus on his thoughts. He didn't have the energy, so he drove slowly and cautiously toward the clinic, focusing on the road ahead.
A sudden increase in Theo's heart rate caused him to glance over at the passenger. His face was slightly contorted in pain, his left hand clenched in a fist.
Liam took his right hand off the wheel and pried Theo's hand open to thread their fingers together, squeezing slightly.
"Dont." Theo squeezed back briefly. "I want to feel it. I wish it hurt more." Theo looked out the window then, any indication of pain gone from his face.
"Okay." Liam heard Theo's heart slow down to a normal pace again. He knew that his comfort, even without using his werewolf powers to take his pain, was easing the older boy's suffering. Liam glanced at Theo one last time before letting go of his hand and turning onto the street for the animal clinic. "I know what you mean."
****
Scott pulled Liam into him arms the second they walked through the door. Mason and Corey herded Theo toward where Lydia and Deaton were tending to injuries that weren't healed yet for the others.
Liam and Scott smiled weakly at each other as they pulled apart. Liam figured he wouldn't ask just yet about the traces of dried blood around Scott's eyes, as he let his alpha him pull further into the room to see the others. He figured he'd hear about their fight all too soon.
Scott quickly pointed out occupants of the room that the four wouldn't recognize. Each of the introductions went without explanation or backstory.
Liam was thankful for that. His head couldn't take much more information to process.
Lydia looked up at all the recent arrivals from where she was applying a bandage to Derek's arm over a small, gaping hole that was slowing showing signs of healing. Corey explained to Scott and Lydia where the Sheriff and Melissa had gone. Mason helped Theo hop up on the table a couple feet away.
"Let me finish up here and I'll go get clean foreceps." She focused on Derek's wound again.
"Oh, I can do it!" Stiles jumped up from where he and Malia were digging through Deaton's medical supplies, brandishing a sealed package of medical pliers.
Without looking up, Derek and Lydia shook their heads, and stated, "You faint at the sight of blood" in unison.
Stiles frowned and sputtered objections. Jackson barked out a laugh right next to them. Liam hadn't heard much about Jackson, but his distaste for Stiles was something on legend in the pack(and in the locker room). Almost as much as Stiles' distaste for Theo.
"I don't care how much Stiles makes it hurt if he does it, I just would appreciate it being cut out soon." Theo muttered weakly, wincing as he rotated his shoulder. "I'm pretty sure it has wolfsbane in it." Liam's eyes snapped to the wound on Theo's shoulder. He crossed the few feet between them swiftly, ripping the hole in the shirt over the wound a little wider.
"Hey!" Theo growled. "I was going to take it off, geez."
"Why didn't you let me help? How long has it been like that, you dick?" Liam glared at the greenish yellow lines staring to creep from not just one, but two black wounds close to eachother.
His claws slid out without his permission. Theo ignored him and stripped off his shirt, gasping as he moved it over his arm, then chucked it with his other at Liam's face.
"Since the hospital." Mason supplied from where he and Corey still stood close by. "That's why Melissa asked if he could make it."
Liam looked at Theo's shirt in his hands, anger rising as he remembered how he had been pretty zoned out at the hospital.
"Can you grab me a new shirt, Corey?" Theo mumbled. Liam watched as Corey silently walked into the supply closet and came back with one of Theo's thin hoodies and what looked like an undershirt. He placed them on the table next to Theo as Lydia gently pushed the others away and went right for the bullet with the clean foreceps.
Liam knew that Theo had started to stay somewhere indoors at night, and it made sense that it was the animal clinic, since Deaton had closed his doors to the public, and for his own safety, pretended to leave town when Scott first had. He had only been in contact with the pack since then as far as Liam knew, but now it seemed Theo as well.
Liam looked up as Theo let out a pained half groan, half growl, at the ceiling. He looked around the room, expecting to see people looking warily at Theo and Lydia's interaction, but instead, most of the room was looking at him with confusion.
"Liam," Theo ground out, without looking at him. "Calm down."
Mason grabbed the shirt from Liam's hands and Liam realized his claws had stayed out and blood was now dripping from where he clutched Theo's shirt. His tongue ran along his teeth and he felt fangs. He looked up in panic at everyone staring at him. His eyes settled on Scott, who looked concerned at the state of his beta.
Liam slammed his eyes shut. He tried to concentrate, but he was so tired and he had no idea why he shifted like that. He didn't even understand how he managed to shift in his exhausted state.
"Liam?" He heard the quiet clang of a bullet against metal. He tried harder to concentrate, ignoring Scott's concerned voice.
Liam heard another quiet, hollow clang and the blood rushed in his head til he could barely hear over the beating of his own heart.
He stood there, trying to a control his breathing for what felt like minutes, and was about to storm away in anger at his own emotions when he heard the shuffling of clothes right next to him and felt a firm hand grab the back of his head. All he could smell was Theo. He felt surrounded by the dirty, coppery, distinct scent and his heartbeat slowed from an angry hammer to a slightly slower, still nervous pace.
"Hey. You're okay." Theo whispered. The hand on the back of Liam's neck tightened briefly, but Liam couldn't unshift. He opened his eyes and met Theo's. They were worried, but unlike Scott's, they were sure and content. "Liam, I'm okay." Theo nodded at him.
Liam felt his fangs retract, and his nails recede into their normal state. Theo's brow raised in question, and Liam nodded back.
"You didn't die for me." Liam muttered, nodding again, his heartbeat settling back down to a normal pace.
Theo grinned at him.
"I told you I wouldn't."
****
The tension in the room was palpable.
Theo was once again sitting on the table, and Deaton, in place of Lydia, was applying temporary bandages after making sure Theo's wounds were completely clear of wolfsbane.
Liam sat in a chair a few feet away, staring at his slightly bloodied, but fully healed, human hands. Lydia was sitting with Jackson and Ethan, whispering with uncessary politeness about their plans and when they had to leave for London. Other than them, no one felt the need to speak, either mulling over the events of the past day or still staring at Liam with concern.
Scott had let Peter, who they had entrusted with a food run (which likely meant he broke into a grocery store as it was the middle of the night), into the clinic, and instructed him and Malia to pass out waters and gatorades.
Liam saw Scott sit in the chair next to him out of the corner of his eye. He took the water bottle offered to him and drank half of it in one go before looking up at Scott.
"Thanks." Liam smiled weakly at the older wolf, getting a more sincere smile in return.
They sat in silence, staring ahead as Theo put the clean tank and sweater on and started to help Seaton cleanup their makeshift triage station.
"How long?" Scott asked. The normal volume at which Scott spoke grabbed the attention of everyone in the room, but most were too polite to act like it.
"How long what." It didn't even come across as a question, and Liam knows it as he says it, but for some reason, he needs someone to say it out loud.
He didn't necessarily want it to be Stiles, though.
"How long has Zombie-boy been your anchor?" The human asked, sitting in the chair on the other side of Liam, Gatorade in hand. Liam heard a faint growl come from the direction of the supply closet, where Theo had disappeared with Deaton.
"Stiles." Scott scolded before turning back to Liam.
"A while." Liam looked up toward the closet and saw Theo stop and lean against the door jamb. The look on his face was blank, but Liam had never felt something more comforting. They held eye contact for a few seconds longer before Theo pushed off the door and went back to cleaning up. Liam looked down at his hands.
"Hey," Scott put a hand on his shoulder and waited til Liam looked up at him, "You know thats okay, right?"
"I mean, it's not ideal..." Stiles chimed in again, this time prompting Derek to stalk over and grab him by the elbow and drag him away. Stiles sqwaked in protest, but let Derek guide him over to the powwow Lydia was holding in the corner with the out-of-towners.
"Liam, I know its hard." Scott squeezed his shoulder gently. "I know you feel like you can't trust him, but something inside you already does. And maybe, one day," Scott paused and Liam looked up to find him and Theo staring at eachother across the room, "we'll all be able to see what that something inside you does."
"Except Malia." Malia chimed in, chucking a Gatorade straight at Theo's injured shoulder from across the room, causing him to reach out and catch it with his healing arm, having been holding medical supplies with his good arm. He let out a gasp of pain and soft growl in her direction.
"Even Malia." Scott chuckled, clearly thankful for the break in tension. He looked back at Liam, squeezing his shoulder one last time before standing, nodding at Theo, and walking over to his girlfriend.
"Okay, seriously." Peter chimed in. He stood with Malia, Mason and Corey. They were all scarfing down the beef jerky and candy bars Peter had proffered. "Is it just me, or has this town become ridiculously gay since I left?"
Everyone was quiet and stared at Peter for a second before Stiles all but yelled with a mouth full of Snickers bar, "Fuck yeah it has. It's awesome."
The room burst out in laughter, and even Liam couldn't help but smile, wide and satisfied. The pack he fought for, the pack who fought for him, was happy. The battle was won, and this was their victory cheer.
"Whatever makes you happy, Stiles." Lydia snaked her arms around her boyfriend's torso, "Just as long as you don't revisit that giant crush you had on Derek before junior year and leave me for him." She smirked, stretching up to kiss him on the cheek as his jaw dropped wide open and he looked over at Derek in mortification.
The entire room, mostly Jackson and Peter, were wailing with laughter. Stiles turned to Malia and pointed angrily.
"I told you that in confidence!" Stiles accused in a high pitch voice. Malia shrugged and shook her head innocently.
"Stiles." Derek rasped out from his spot right next to Stiles, trying to politely gather his composure after choking at Lydia's statement. "Literally wasn't even close to a secret, anyway." Derek grinned and winked at him. "We're werewolves."
"Oh my..." Stiles turned back to Scott and Malia, only for Scott to shrug this time, nodding in confirmation.
The laughter died down and everyone began to chatter and replenish with candy as Stiles buried his head in Lydia's shoulder in embarrassment, Derek patting his back sympathetically.
Liam felt Theo sit down next to him. He looked up and saw how content and pain-free Theo's face was, and something finally settled in his chest, warm and relaxed.
"Get your stuff. Meet me at your truck?" Liam whispered, low enough that no one else heard. Theo furrowed his brow, but nodded, getting up again.
Liam crossed the room to where Scott was adoringly watching Malia devour some beef jerky, as she nodded along to Mason's story.
Scott looked up at him approaching and put down his water. He crooked his head toward the door and threw an arm around his beta's shoulders. The two walked outside, where Theo was tossing a duffel into the cab of his truck.
"I want to thank you guys. For helping keep this town and tonight, my mom, safe." Scott spoke softly, but loud enough that Theo would be able to hear.
"Hey," Theo interrupted, walking a bit closer. "She saved our lives instead, man. We would've been Swiss cheese without her."
"That's my mom." Scott grinned. He turned to Liam and gripped his shoulders. "I'm proud of you."
"Thanks, Scott." Liam managed a tired, but firm squeeze to Scott's forearms in appreciation. "We're gonna go... talk." Scott raised a judging eyebrow at Liam and crossing his arms across his chest.
"I don't mean to assume anything, but-" Scott shrugged and looked back and forth between them.
"Yeah. Neither do we." Theo cut in, looking straight at Liam with purpose. He turned back to Scott. "Let us know if you need anything, but I think I'm going to sleep for a day if this kid gives me a real bed." Theo threw his keys at Liam once again and jumped in the passenger side of his truck.
Liam rolled his eyes and smiled at Scott.
"I'll see you soon." Scott grinned as he walked back inside.
Liam hopped in the truck and observed Theo already leaning against the window with his eyes shut.
"Can we talk tomorrow?" Theo mumbled.
"Yeah, man." Liam smiled, turning the key in the ignition. "Let's get you a real bed."
Theo reached across the seat and put his open hand in Liam's lap without opening his eyes.
Liam looked over and saw the chimera try to suppress a smile as he took a hand off the wheel, laced his fingers his companion's and took off toward home.