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When you’ve spent as long as Theo has pining after your best friend, and all your mutual friends know, it inevitably becomes an inside joke. They’re not laughing at his expense, Mason even said that he thinks Liam feels the same, but that didn’t stop it from irritating Theo for the first few months. The pack had been relentless, even Stiles had taken to making jokes about Theo’s not-so-secret crush, and none of the jokes were ever discreet. Theo spent the first few months walking on eggshells, shushing his friends loudly when Liam would be in the next room over, or blushing bright red whenever one of them would call him a simp when Liam was around. When he realized that Liam didn’t really understand, only ever providing confused looks or startled laughs, he started to feel more comfortable with the entire thing.
Theo had even started to make jokes about it himself, joining in on all the laughing. Self-deprecating humour had always been his brand, and it helped that this particular joke didn’t really have to do with anything but his hopeless romanticism.
Three months into the inside joke, Theo started making memes about it. At first, he would just post dumb stock photos with silly captions about his whole thing with Liam, but eventually he upped his game. It started with the stock photos and elevated to actual funny memes, and from there he started to make TikToks about it, most of which were actually pretty funny.
If Liam ever asked him about whether or not he had a TikTok, he denied, denied, denied, hiding the app on the second page of his phone’s health folder, notifications off. It was mortifying to admit that he had the app in general, but he would rather die than tell Liam that he had it.
The rest of the pack knows, of course. Alec, Corey, and Brett had been his first followers, and now nearly the whole pack followed him. Theo still had yet to meet Isaac or Allison, but just based on the sarcastic humour in their comments he’s certain that he’ll get along swimmingly with both of them.
Theo had kept the secret for this long, and any sense of getting caught had gone out the window completely at the four month mark. He sleeps in the room directly next to Liam, and they haven’t been seen without each other for months, like some two-headed cryptid. If Liam was going to find out, he would have by now.
Theo just got off work, back sore for some inexplicable reason, and he’s quick to hang up his apron in the back. He practically runs across the counter, sliding himself into Liam’s side of the huge booth. Liam grins, eyebrows raised, before he uses his right hand to scoot a glass in Theo’s direction.
“Got you a milkshake,” He smiles, looking between the glass and Theo.
Theo smiles back timidly, reaching out for the glass, “thanks, Li. You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to,” Liam responds before looking back at the textbook in front of him.
Brett makes a scene of coughing, “simp.”
Nolan slaps him on the arm, and Theo coughs in response, more awkward and quiet than Brett had been, “asshole.”
Corey giggles and Mason just gives them a disapproving look, shaking his head before writing something down in his notebook.
Theo lets his right hand wander until it’s at Liam’s head, and he gently scratches as Liam continues to study his biology notes. With his other hand, he angles his phone towards the opening of the booth and scrolls through TikTok, editing a new idea that he has.
Liam groans, closing his eyes, “stop that.” His voice isn’t very convincing, eyes fluttering shut, “if you keep doing that then I’m going to fall asleep, and unlike you, some of us actually need to study for biology to get good grades.”
Theo laughs but he doesn’t stop, just scratching Liam’s head in slower and deeper motions. Theo finishes the video and posts it right as Liam’s head drops onto his shoulder, heartbeat nearly slowing to a sleeping state. The TikTok is silly, just some trend he kept seeing on his for you page. It’s a screen recording of someone making a milkshake, some celebrity chef or something, with the caption overhead reading:
Liam: I want a milkshake.
Me:
Brett interrupts the comfortable silence of the table with a loud laugh, his phone in his hand. Nolan leans over to see what he’s laughing at and giggles, looking from the phone to Theo.
Liam opens his eyes, squinting at Nolan and Brett before shifting to look up at Theo. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” Theo responds, his smile faltering.
Liam frowns, bringing his head up but not moving any further, “are you guys making fun of me?”
“Of course not!” Theo exclaims with a reassuring smile, “we wouldn’t make fun of you behind your back, Little Wolf.”
“Hey!” Liam yells, but he smiles back, satisfied with Theo’s answer. He puts his head back down on Theo’s shoulder and closes his eyes, hand blindly wandering until it captures one of Theo’s, guiding it back up to his hair.
Theo laughs lightly, looking down at Liam as he goes back to relaxing, once again carding his fingers through the soft hair. When he looks back up at the rest of the table, they’re all looking towards him and Liam, expressions ranging from exasperated to amused.
“Ridiculous,” Alec sighs under his breath, shutting his notebook with a little more aggression than necessary.
Theo rolls his eyes, pulling Liam’s notebook towards him to finish writing the younger boy’s practice flashcards, no doubt that he’ll be up late quizzing Liam on the cards in preparation for their test tomorrow.
Liam’s heartbeat and breathing slow down, and Theo feels him slump further into his shoulder.
Corey is looking at his phone, showing Mason and Alec what he was looking at. They both laugh, Alec a little more hysterical than Mason. Alec takes the phone from Corey and flips it around, showing the friends only TikTok that he had just posted. “Dude, you’re so fucking whipped.”
“Oh, really?” Theo smirks, “so where is L-”
“Oh my God!” Alec yells over him, looking around frantically. Brett gives him a wry look when they make eye contact, squinting.
“Dude, I already know you like my sister,” Brett laughs.
“Oh my God,” Alec repeats, putting his face in his hands.
They all burst into laughter, Theo trying to contain his laughter so he doesn’t wake Liam, who just cuddles into him more at the feeling of Theo’s shaking.
By the time that Liam has woken up, and everybody is ready to clear out from the diner, Theo has completely finished the flashcards. Hell, he colour coded them using Liam’s notes as a guide and Corey’s highlighters and sticky notes as tools. The study notes are anal, and certainly over-the-top, but Liam is not failing any biology test as long as Theo’s around. <
----
A week and a half later, Theo sits in his bed, scrolling through TikTok. It’s a Friday night, and Alec, Brett, and Corey had tried to coax him out of the house but he made up some excuse about having to wash his hair or something else like that. Liam is at Mason’s for their monthly movie night, Jenna and David on a weekend visit with David’s parents.
Theo posted a new TikTok a few minutes ago, once again friends only, and the comments were rolling in. Brett in particular claimed that he had gatorade coming out of his nose from laughing, Corey making a joke about how trauma makes people funnier.
Theo’s public TikToks usually average 700-1000 views, so he’s used to a pretty constant flow of notifications whenever he’s on the app, but this one is a little different. Theo checks out every account that follows him, partly out of curiosity and partially out of paranoia. Usually he just checks the account and leaves, but this account is a faceless, voiceless account that posts acoustic covers of a bunch of different songs. From the three recent ones alone, Theo can tell that he and this mystery person have similar tastes in music, and he decides to follow back. The account is only the 40th that he follows, having kept his for you page mostly vague. The last thing he needs is a video trying to psychoanalyze his trauma or make him feel attacked about his one sided crush. He has heard too many horror stories about the app’s algorithm to give in.
He finds himself scrolling through ShyGuitarGuy’s profile, listening to covers of Fall Out Boy and Gregory Alan Isakov songs for an hour until he hears the front door open downstairs. His assumption that it was Liam coming home is dissuaded when he is hit with the offensively overpowering scent of Old Spice and smugness. Corey’s old books and pine scent and Alec’s melon and mint scent are far more mellow in comparison.
“Hey, asshole,” Brett greets, flopping onto Theo’s bed, “what gives? Too cool to hang out with us on a Friday night?”
“We’re hurt,” Corey says as he flops into the beanbag chair in the corner. He pretends to be in pain, putting one hand over his heart and the other on his forehead, “getting ditched is truly the worst pain in the world.”
“Oh, shut up,” Theo rolls his eyes, groaning as Alec takes a running start to flop on top of him.
“So, what are we doing tonight, Sir Simps-a-lot?” Alec asks after squirming to get comfortable. He winds up laying next to Theo, head on Theo’s arm.
“Nothing, I told you guys I don’t want to go to Sinema tonight.”
“Who said anything about Sinema?” Brett quirks an eyebrow.
“I guess I kinda just assumed that you wanted a slutty night out.”
Brett gasps, eyes widening. “Don’t be fucking rude!”
Alec bursts out into laughter, watching on as Brett jokingly punches Theo and Theo fights him off with one hand.
“Rude? I would never,” Theo laughs, squirming when Brett finally manages to pin his arm down.
“But seriously, dude. My slutty days are over, I’m a taken man.”
“Half of that was true,” Corey pipes up, playing with a fidget toy from Theo’s desk.
“This is why we can’t have nice things,” Brett groans. “We weren’t planning on going to Sinema, Alec is like, twelve.”
“Hey!”
Corey groans, “we were gonna go to the movies, but we can do pizza and a movie marathon if you don’t feel like going out.”
Theo’s eyebrows knit together, looking up at the ceiling. Brett and Alec have stopped bickering, both of them now still on the bed. The only sound in the room is the squeaky wheels on the chair as Corey mindlessly rocks back and forth, fidget cube long forgotten. Theo can feel all of them looking at him, he can practically picture the looks on their faces. He has to fight off a smirk, making a show of stroking his chin as if he is contemplating.
“It’s been like a whole minute and you haven’t given us an answer, seems to me like you’ve lost your right to choose,” Alec shifts to sit criss-crossed on the bed. “So, Marvel, DC, horror? What are we feeling?”
Theo sits up too, caught in a strangely tense round of eye contact between the four of them. Brett looks from Corey to Theo, and their eyes lock.
“Alien,” Brett says, slowly squinting his eyes.
Theo returns the look, glaring as the two of them have a staring contest. Brett manages to slowly raise one eyebrow, eyes still squinting, and Theo breaks, a smile spreading over his face. “I guess you’ve got me, who can say no to Ellen Ripley?”
“Great!” Alec exclaims, bolting up from the bed in one, sudden movement.
“So, PJs, pizza, popcorn, and p-”
“Brett!” Corey yells.
“What?” Brett smirks, “I was totally gonna say Parker. He’s one of the best characters!”
Theo rolls his eyes before walking towards his closet, opening it to reveal his sweaters and sweats. He eyes the dresser underneath the hanging clothes, each drawer roughly carved with a different letter: A, B, C, Liam’s room having a matching one with L, M, N. “Do you guys want your own clothes, or do you want to borrow something?”
“Borrow.”
“Borrow.”
“Uh,” Corey hesitates, “does Liam still have Mason’s green sweater in his dresser?”
Theo snorts, nodding as he reaches in and grabs three hoodies. He reaches into the A and B drawers respectively to get Brett and Alec their own sweatpants, and pulls a pair from a hanger for himself.
Corey wordlessly gets up to go to Liam’s room, footsteps quiet despite the creaky floors.
“And you guys call me a simp,” Theo says as he tosses Alec and Brett their clothes.
“I heard that!” Corey chirps, footsteps getting louder as he returns to the room.
“Duh, that was kind of the point.”
Corey sticks out his tongue, flashing the room a not so polite hand gesture. He’s already in Mason’s clothes, his discarded jeans and t-shirt in his other hand. “I’ll order the pizzas while you guys change. Bring down comfy stuff when you’re done.” He discards his clothes in the hamper by the door before leaving, steps disappearing down the stairs.
Theo sits back down on the bed, distractedly scrolling through his phone as Alec and Brett change. When he opens TikTok, he has a lot of notifications, all sorts of likes and comments, all from ShyGuitarGuy. Some of them are funny, like commenting ’relatable’ under a video he had filmed of a raccoon rummaging through the trash behind the diner, while others are less so, like the comment ’I’d eat anything you make under the TikTok he had posted at the diner last week.
He writes it off as strange, because it definitely is, but he has that anxious feeling in his stomach again, like he’s an animal in a trap. He quickly shakes it off when he notices that Brett and Alec have both changed, Brett the only one still in the room.
“Come on, dude. Time to get cozy.”
Theo laughs, pulling his blanket off his bed and handing it to Brett, stacking the pillows on top. “That was probably the least cool thing that you’ve ever said. Actually, it’s probably a close second after every lame thing you’ve said about Nolan.”
“Whatever,” Brett snorts, “just remember that the only citizen of Simp City is you. Meet us downstairs.”
Brett leaves, and Theo is left to lurk through his phone again, confused as to who his new follower is and why they’ve shown such an instant liking to him.
“Theo! Get your ass down here!” Alec yells, startling Theo out of his trance. He practically trips over his jeans when he takes them off, rushing downstairs shirtless, pulling his hoodie on once he’s at the bottom.
“Jeez, you guys want me around that bad?”
Corey looks over, face completely straight, and flutters his eyelashes, placing his right hand over his heart, “more than you know.”
Theo rolls his eyes and flops down into the blanket pile on the floor. Brett, Alec, and Corey are all spread out on different pieces of furniture, but Theo knows better. He knows that even though they might be the least cuddly group in the pack, by the time the movie is halfway through they’ll all be in a heap together on the floor. Theo can hear the popcorn popping in the kitchen, and Corey is opening Disney+ to cue up the first movie. Almost habitually, Theo finds himself scrolling through his TikTok again.
“I know that guy!” Brett exclaims, leaning forwards on the couch above Theo.
Theo quirks an eyebrow, generally unamused at the act of over-the-shoulder stalking. “Who is it?”
“I think his name is George, or Jonah, or something else ‘J’ sounding.” His eyebrows knit together as he swipes the phone right from Theo’s hand, “guys, isn’t he on the lacrosse team?”
Brett angles the phone, moving it like a kindergarten teacher would move a book to show the pictures. “Yeah! He’s that niner that Liam’s mentoring or whatever, isn’t he? I think his name is Jessie.”
“Eugh,” Theo’s mouth scrunches up, eyebrows high on his forehead. “A niner? Should I block him?”
“He seems pretty harmless if you ask me, he’s human and he looks like he could be broken by a breath in his direction,” Brett shrugs, handing the phone back.
“Whatever you say,” Theo locks his phone, tossing it blindly onto the blanket.
The doorbell rings just as Brett manages to nag Alec into getting the snacks and drinks from the kitchen, and Corey gets up to pay for the pizza.
A night of binge-watching the Alien movies, in all their quotable glory, is far better than any night at Sinema could ever be.
----
“I swear to god, if you don’t tell Liam then
I will
. Your stupid TikToks give me anxiety,” Nolan hisses, glaring at Theo from across the table.
“Shut up! He’s literally down the hallway!” Theo shushes, throwing a couch cushion at Nolan’s head.
“You shut up! You’re the one that’s too scared to say anything about-”
“Brett, if you don’t get your boyfriend to shut up, I will turn him into a skinsuit,” Theo threatens, looking between the two of them.
Brett’s face flashes from taken aback to horrified to impressed. Nolan shifts on his lap so that they can look at each other, and Brett plants a kiss on his nose.
“Would you still love me if I was a skinsuit?” Nolan giggles.
“Of course, sugarplum,” Brett smiles back, leaning their foreheads together.
Theo groans, “Alec, could you throw back that pillow? I’m going to use it to suffocate myself.”
“Don’t kill yourself, you’re so sexy,” Corey jokes.
“That meme was dead like four years ago,” Theo replies, hiding his smile.
“Maybe, but if you died I’d be pretty fricking sad,” Liam adds just as he walks back into the living room, drink cans piling up in his hand. He hands Nolan and Corey their root beers, Mason his Dr. Pepper, and Alec and Brett their cokes, two reusable bottles left in his hands.
Theo furrows his brow, mouth open ever so slightly. Liam grins, raising an eyebrow, “thought I forgot?” He hands one of the bottles to Theo, sitting down next to him and placing the last one on the table.
Theo opens the cap and takes a sip, smiling around the tip of the bottle. “Gatorade and sprite?”
Liam hums an affirming tone, nodding, “I know you don’t like pop on its own.”
Theo takes another sip hastily, hoping that the top of the bottle will manage to hide his goofy smile. From the twinkle in Liam’s eye, it doesn’t really do the job, and he can see Nolan glaring back at him. He coughs awkwardly after finishing his sip, “thanks, Little Wolf.”
“My pleasure,” Liam turns back around, smile now concealed from Theo’s view, and he leans sideways until his back is almost against Theo’s chest, Theo further adjusts so that it is. “So, another round of cards against humanity?”
Brett nods, handing out the newly shuffled cards into seven decks. “This time maybe someone will finally defeat Theo.”
“Nice try,” Theo snorts, overly conscious of Liam’s weight against him, “I just know exactly what makes you all laugh. And what was that thing that Corey said the other day?”
“Trauma breeds comedians,” Liam huffs out around a laugh.
Brett falters in his handling of the cards, eyes gone wide for just a second, meeting Theo’s. Theo has to physically fight off the need to tense up, mind racing at how Liam could have known that.
“Oh yeah,” Corey laughs, a little too sunny for the sudden tone shift, “during biology.” He looks up at Liam, overplaying the humour of the situation. Theo sees a glimpse, a mere second of reassurance when Corey looks up at him, nodding.
“Alright, alright, virgins. Are we going to start round eight or not?” Brett asks, motioning to the cards.
Liam leans forward, reaching for two piles from the table, handing one to Theo when he returns to the warm spot on his chest. Theo spends most of the round trying to keep his heartbeat under control, but it doesn’t stop him from completely wrecking everyone else for the first few rounds.
“Li,” Theo whispers, “I can see your cards.” He uses his right hand and cups Liam’s hand that has his cards, pulling the cards closer to Liam’s chest.
“We should just play together, maybe we could do a couples game or something?” Liam responds, resisting the force of Theo’s hand.
His heartbeat absolutely spasms, lips parted as his brain races for the right words to say.
“That would suck,” Alec says, rolling his eyes, “I have no partner.”
“I could call my sister!” Brett jokes, and Alec launches himself at the older wolf, playfully wrestling him to the ground. Liam laughs as he watches on, Brett taking control far quicker than usual, probably wanting to be joined at the hip with Nolan again.
Theo finally stops trying to force Liam’s cards closer to him, dropping his hand down onto his thigh. Liam makes a small movement, cards going from one hand to another.
Corey and Mason are jeering as Alec continues to squirm, effectively pinned by Brett. Nolan is just groaning, complaining about his sudden lack of werewolf warmth at his side. Brett gives Alec a couple flicks to the forehead, the younger wolf adorably scrunching up his face, before Brett finally gets off, going back to having his arms wrapped around Nolan as if they would die without contact.
Nolan sighs, content with his new position. “So, who’s the card Czar?”
They are quick to resume the game, Corey being this round’s card Czar. Theo searches for the perfect card, exactly the right one to make Corey laugh. He’s stuck between two of them, brow wrinkled and eyes squinting, when he feels Liam’s fingers on his thigh. First it’s just a brush, then the warmth of a palm in his lap, and finally, Liam slips his hand into Theo’s, fingers intertwined. Theo tries to play it off, he tries to be as nonchalant as Liam had been when he initiated the touch, but he’s not strong enough to push down his giddy smile.
----
Theo wakes up, panting so hard that he’s seeing black spots in his vision. He feels dizzy, and his heart rate would be at heart-attack levels if he weren’t a chimera. If he weren’t a monster.
His bedroom door bursts open, Liam stumbling past the threshold. His hair is messy and he’s shirtless, not that Theo was in any state to appreciate it.
“Shit,” Theo manages past his wheezing, “did I wake you up?”
Liam raises his eyebrows, frowning. “Of course you didn’t.” He takes long strides towards the bed, sitting so close that he’s practically on Theo’s lap. He wraps his arms around the chimera, strong and warm, using one hand to hold the back of Theo’s head.
Theo is shaking, toeing the line between conscious and unconscious as his breathing continues to come out in sporadic, wheezing gusts.
“Breathe with me, baby. Can you do that?” Liam asks, gently rocking them. Theo nods against his chest, letting out a particularly painful gasp as hot tears make tracks down his cheeks. “Alright, baby. We’re gonna do 5, 5, 5, 5, okay?” Theo nods again, squeezing Liam tighter.
Liam breathes deep, as deep as he can, for five seconds, holds for five seconds, breathes out for five seconds, and holds again. After the third time, Theo is trying to follow along, though his breaths are still ragged. Liam keeps going, even when it starts to make him a little lightheaded, rocking Theo in time with the five second beats.
After a few minutes, Theo is breathing fine, grip lessening on Liam’s torso. Every few inhales, Theo can’t help but wheeze as he finally gets used to the feeling of breathing again. Liam moves his fingers through Theo’s hair, playing with the messy waves.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Liam whispers, pressing his lips to the crown of Theo’s head.
“No,” Theo shakes his head, “I’m sorry.”
“T, stop apologizing,” Liam scorns, “and I’m not leaving. Seems like you’re stuck with me for a night.”
Theo laughs wetly, practically melting when Liam starts rubbing his other hand up and down his back.
“Lay down,” Liam says softly. Theo listens, laying his head down on his pillow as he lays on his side. He groans when Liam’s heat disappears, and the ceiling light is off, nightlight on, when it finally returns. Liam pulls Theo into his chest, wrapping both arms around him. “Want me to sing to you?”
Liam can feel the heat from Theo’s face, and he can just barely make out the pink on his ears. Theo hesitates, completely still, completely silent, before nodding timidly.
“Whatever you want, darling.” Liam resumes his previous motions, one hand in Theo’s hair, scratching his scalp, and the other rubbing comforting circles up and down his back.
Liam makes a show of singing the song’s introductory piano melody, Theo giggling against his chest. He smiles softly, just looking down at the chimera, just feeling the warmth in his chest, before he starts singing.
It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside. I'm not one of those who can easily hide. I don't have much money, but boy if I did, I'd buy a big house where we both could live.
Theo hums appreciatively, nearly across the threshold of sleep. Liam’s voice is soothing and soft, vibrating from his chest. By the time the song is over, Theo is fast asleep, curled up against Liam, a soft smile on his lips.
----
The bed is empty when Theo wakes up the next morning, still smelling strongly of Liam, cookies and cinnamon. The bed is even still warm, pillow dipped where Liam’s head had been.
Theo rubs his eyes with his balled fists, scanning the bed for his phone. He spots it at the bottom, dangling off the end, saved by the charger, and Theo drags it up by the chord.
Mowgli: had 2 go to sunday practice :(
Mowgli: wanna do smthn later?
Theo smiles, unlocking his phone. It opens to TikTok and he decides to indulge in some morning scrolling before he responds. The very first video is from ShyGuitarGuy.
Theo had noticed weeks ago that ShyGuitarGuy stuck to a pretty constant schedule, covers being posted almost daily. Most of them were songs that Theo knew, even some of his favourites, while the others were unknown to him.
Today it was an old favourite of his, a classic. Today the cover is Your Song.
Theo closes the app and bolts out of bed, tripping as he gets tangled in the blanket. He fumbles through his apps until he reaches FaceTime, taking a split second to choose between Alec, Brett, or Corey: sarcastic, smug, or sardonic. What a variety.
“Hello?” Corey’s voice is muffled, and he’s visibly outside.
“Hey, can I talk to you really quickly?” Theo rushes out.
“I’m at lacrosse practice, dude.”
“Theo?” Liam calls from out of frame.
“Shit, sorry. I forgot,” Theo sighs, “call me later?”
“For sure!” Corey smiles.
“Text me back, dumbass!” Liam yells just as Theo presses the button to end the call.
He can’t bring himself to respond with anything more energetic than ‘sure’, hyper aware of how publicly private he had been about his feelings towards Liam. He should delete all his videos, or maybe his entire account. Or maybe he should delete himself, let a pit of embarrassment swallow him whole.
----
“Okay, what is up with you?” Liam asks, shifting to look at Theo.
“Nothing,” Theo responds, eyes not leaving the road.
Liam crosses his arms, making a show of huffing. Theo can picture his pout: pink lips drawn together in a near-frown, crease between his eyebrows. Just the mental image almost breaks down his resolve, but he manages to pull into the drive-thru and order their tickets, and search for a parking spot that is almost exactly between the food stand and the screen.
When Theo throws the car into park, he finally sneaks a look towards Liam, who looks just as he had pictured. “C’mon, don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad! I just want you to tell me what’s wrong,” Liam once again positions himself towards Liam, bottom lip stuck out.
“Nothing’s wrong, Li.”
“Come on! You’ve been acting weird since I got home from practice! Is it because of your nightmare?” Liam grasps, exasperated, “I don’t care if you wake me up! I want you to wake me up every day for the rest of our lives if you have to! You don’t have to be embarrassed.”
“I’m not embarrassed!” Theo shouts, feeling the familiar electric buzzing just under his skin, “I’m not embarrassed but I am in love with you!” Theo feels the electricity turn to ice water instantly, reaching for the car door and throwing it open. He leaves the car completely wordlessly, walking between rows of cars until he’s close to the concession stand, sitting on the uneven ground, just barely caught in the light of the stand.
He runs his hands through his hair, pulling hard. If it weren’t for the delicate atmosphere of drive-in movie theatres, he’d probably scream. It’s almost poetic, the fact that they’re here to watch Grease and Theo fucked up at the drive-in. He keeps his head in his hands, more embarrassed than he’s been in years,
He looks up, tired and on-edge, when he hears footsteps that continue past the food stand, coming in his direction. Liam’s features are hard, nearly indecipherable in what he’s feeling. Theo opens his mouth to say something, to apologize, but Liam puts a hand up to stop him.
“No, don’t say anything,” he scorns, continuing to walk forward. He clumsily falls next to Theo on the ground and just looks at him. He just looks. His eyes take in everything, finally landing to his lips, and he leans forward.
Initially, the kiss is clumsy, Theo can almost taste the hesitation on Liam’s tongue, he can smell it in the air. Theo embeds his hand in Liam’s hair, pulling him as if the two of them could possibly get closer. It’s soft and violent, loving and passionate, slow and impatient. It’s contradictory, all of it, but it works. Just like them.
When they pull away, Liam holds Theo in place so he can’t move any further. Their foreheads touch, eyelashes fluttering against cheeks, Theo can feel Liam’s smile.
“I want a milkshake,” Liam laughs, confirming Theo’s suspicions about his not-so-private TikTok.
Theo’s cheeks go pink, a soft contrast to the sharp lines formed by the shadows from the food stand. The light perfectly catches Liam’s face, illuminating it in a way that makes the blue in his eyes feel like Theo could swim in them.
“Anything you want.”